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Wednesday
April 25, 2012 Get Your Free, Extra ESP LicenseFiled under: Industry Initiatives, News About ASI In 1964, the great R&B singer Sam Cooke sang “The Best Things in Life are Free,” live at the Copa. The moon, the stars, flowers in spring – all free. To that list, I’m happy to add a free, extra ESP® license for members subscribed to the ad specialty industry’s largest and most accurate product sourcing tool. The additional license gives subscribers access to the entire ESP platform – Web, Online and Mobile – allowing users to take advantage of all ESP benefits, including:
A free, extra license can go a long way toward helping satisfy your sales needs while providing direct access to every product in the ESP platform. Current ESP customers can get their extra, free license by visiting www.asicentral.com/plusone (excluding those with program pricing). New customers are eligible to buy ESP and get their additional license by visiting www.asicentral.com/espweb or by contacting their ASI account executive at 1(800) 546-1350. And if you haven’t already, don’t forget to download ESP Mobile™ for the iPhone and iPad devices from the Apple App Store. For all you Droidsters, ESP Mobile for Android users will soon be available in the Android Play Store. Finally, if Sam Cooke put you in the mood for some more good music, check out R. Kelly’s version of the Cooke classic here. It’s free too! Let me know what the best thing you got for free recently was by posting a comment or e-mailing me here. I’m also on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Friday
April 20, 2012 Earth FirstFiled under: Community, Industry Initiatives, Members, Using Ad Specialties I still have the $10 Earth Day T-shirt (my first ad specialty tee!) I helped sell in the quad in 1982 during my first fundraiser as secretary of the Society of Professional Journalists at Ball State University. I’m still involved in ad specialties and still concerned about doing all I can to help protect the Earth. Earth Day is celebrated worldwide on April 22, and more companies than ever before are using “green” giveaways to promote their commitment to the environment while advertising their brand, product or event. This year, in what’s become an annual Top 10 list of eco-friendly freebies from ASI®, the theme is products made from renewable resources like bamboo and using manufacturing processes that don’t harm the environment. It’s clear there’s no better way for a company to advertise its brand and its conscience all year long than with logoed giveaways that are biodegradable, all-natural or mercury-free. To see a Joe Show, photos and descriptions featured on this year’s Top 10 list, click here. ASI’s Top 10 Eco-Friendly Freebies: 1. Stone paper journal, from Yanlee Trading Co. (asi/98766). An eco-friendly alternative made from actual stone via a bleach-free process, making it recyclable, compostable, smudge-resistant, water-resistant and tear-proof. 2. Eco golf balls, from MVP Gift Bag (asi/68322). Made from recycled golf balls and packaged in boxes made from recycled paper. Comes with pre-addressed pouch so damaged balls can be returned, recycled and replaced by manufacturer. 3. Seeded paper, from Symphony Seed Paper (asi/74930). Honor Earth Day by planting flowers from seeds embedded in paper branded with company logo. 4. Wooden bead Karma bracelets (asi/78140) from Pinnacle Designs. Made from all-natural wood, easy to imprint. 5. Water bottle with carbon filter, from Ad-N-Art (asi/31518). BPA-free, squeezable water bottle with a carbon filter keeps 200 fewer water bottles from the landfill. Filter allows for turning public fountain or spigot water into clean drinking water. 6. Eco-tee, from Royal Apparel (asi/83731). Tee consists of 50% organic cotton and 50% polyester made from recycled water bottles. Imprinted with water-safe inks and made in the USA. 7. Bamboo serving utensils, from Bay State Specialty Co. (asi/38980). Bamboo grows upwards of 6 feet a day without fertilizers or pesticides. 8. Billboard bags, from Landes Inc. (asi/66230). Worried about your used vinyl billboards and banners clogging up landfills? Landes recycles them into attention-grabbing bags. 9. Dog training treats and pad balm, from Solar Advertising (asi/88148). Made from all-natural, organic materials. Tube is biodegradable. 10. Coco-Eco flip-flops, from Neet Feet (asi/73525). Made from recycled rubber and recycled coconut fibers, they’re great for promoting any company associated with the great outdoors. Let me know what Earth Day product is your current favorite or what your company is doing to promote Earth Day values by posting a comment or e-mailing me. I’m also on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Thursday
March 22, 2012 Vote for Promo ProductsFiled under: ASI Shows, Industry Initiatives, Using Ad Specialties There’s no end to the creativity – and money – to be found in ele Some election products, like dog T-shirts, iPhone cases, basketball jerseys, can koozies, cufflinks, martini glasses, jewelry and tote bags, are for sale, while more standard fare like bumper stickers, buttons, signs and T-shirts will be given away free to promote the president. Click here to read a story on Obama products and what promises to be a hot topic in our industry from now through November – and especially after the Republicans finally choose their nominee. ASI’s executive director of research, Larry Basinait, estimates $350 million will be spent on federal election-related promo products alone in 2012. That’s big business by any measure. In case you want to stock up, Obama’s official online campaign store is advertising “merchandise madness” and “daily deals” on items like “I Shamrock Obama” T-shirts and “I Bark for Barack” Bo car magnets. Featured items in the official GOP store include “I Really Miss Reagan” buttons and the GOP apron and spatula set. How many election-related products have you seen so far this year on trade show floors? How many of you are already selling election-related goods? Let me know by posting a comment or e-mailing me here. I’m also on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube. I’ll let you know what I spot on the show floors at ASI San Diego, taking place April 2, 3 and 4, followed by ASI New York, May 8-10, and ASI Chicago July 17-19. Click here for more info and to register.
Monday
January 23, 2012 Sourcing City And ASI Form Strategic AllianceFiled under: Industry Initiatives, News About ASI ASI is very pleased to announce a new strategic alliance with Sourcing City, the market leader of digital services and networking trade events for the ad specialty industry in the U.K. Together, we’ll work closely together to foster connections and introduce best practices that will benefit the U.S. and U.K. markets. To that end, Sourcing City and ASI created a three-year, multi-point strategic plan, with various elements to be rolled out over the next year. Initially, supplier members will be able to exhibit at both ASI and Sourcing City trade shows. Sourcing City has an invitation-only event called Marketplace in September 2012 and will be launching a new trade show, Sourcing City Live!, in January 2013. Sourcing City also has strict policies to ensure its suppliers are properly vetted to guarantee they are truly U.K.-based manufacturers or importers of products, preserving the supply and distribution chain ASI has endorsed and nurtured for more than 50 years. ASI believes this alliance will help members on both sides of the pond form lasting, mutually beneficial relationships. I was invited to the recent Sourcing City Marketplace event and thoroughly enjoyed my time there. ASI is looking forward to fostering an even greater understanding of customer relations and the needs of distributor partners in both regions. Alistair Mylchreest, CEO of Sourcing City, said in the release he’s excited to be involved with ASI on such a close level. “In particular,” he continued, “we want to help professional distributors and suppliers grow their per capita spend in the U.K. market, and we are certain joining forces with a U.S.-based powerhouse like ASI is one great way to accomplish that.” Click here to read the press release announcing the alliance. For more information about Sourcing City, visit www.sourcingcity.co.uk.
Tuesday
January 17, 2012 ESP Mobile Is HereFiled under: ASI Shows, Industry Initiatives, Member Benefits, News About ASI, Using Ad Specialties Drumroll, please. You can now download the free iPhone app from the Apple App store, free with your ESP subscription. For a video with all the reasons why this should be your No. 1 app, click here. Any iPhone user can download the app today directly from iTunes here. ASI’s development team has automatically applied an ESP Mobile license to all members with a current license to ESP Web. These members simply download the app from the Apple App Store and enter the same log-in credentials as ESP Web. That’s all it takes. Users who only have a license to ESP Online will need to get set up through Product Support – in a process that takes about the same time it takes to fix yourself a cup of coffee. If you have any questions, please contact ASI Product Support at 800-546-1350 (press option #2). If you’re on site with us in Orlando and have any questions about ESP Mobile, come speak to our Product Support team at the ASI Booth. To download ESP Mobile from the App Store, follow these few simple steps: 1. Visit the Apple App Store on your mobile device. 2. Search for “ESP Mobile.” 3. Download the free app. 4. Once the download is complete, tap the app icon to start up the app. 5. Enter your credentials. 6. Kick back and enjoy everything this new app has to offer. Why get ESP Mobile? Check it out:
Suppliers interested in advertising in ESP Mobile should contact their ASI rep or contact Gene Rahill at grahill@asicentral.com and Suzanne Izzo at sizzo@asicentral.com. Try it and let me know what you think by posting a comment or e-mailing me here. I’m also on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Wednesday
December 28, 2011 Business Grab BagFiled under: Community, Industry Initiatives, Research, Using Ad Specialties How many of you gave gifts to clients and prospects this year? According to a recent gift-giving survey from ASI, average spending on such gifts was up 13.9% to about $30 per gift this year. Our executive director of research, Larry Basinait, found clients aren’t the only ones benefiting from corporate beneficence. Employers who answered our survey say they spent an average $42.52 per employee “thank you” gift this year, up 19.6% from 2010. Like last year, our survey shows gift cards and cash remain the most popular employee gifts, with 38% of respondents planning to give gift cards to employees. Cash bonuses are second, but fell by 8 percentage points to 24% since 2010. Does gift-giving work? Nearly a quarter of respondents say giving gifts to clients and prospects results in sales and leads, with over one-quarter (27%) of those surveyed saying the gift resulted in a referral and 24% reporting generating a lead or a sale. Other survey highlights include:
Over at “The Joe Show,” Joe Haley demonstrated a number of the year’s hottest business gifts, including: Coffee table books, from National Geographic Society, asi/73383. Beautiful books from National Geographic not only include incredible photography, but they can also be customized and personalized. iPad keyboard, from Pingline, asi/78137. High-tech products and accessories like the Bluetooth-activated keyboard – which makes typing a whole lot easier – are on everyone’s wish list. Outdoor jacket, from Trimark Sportswear Group Inc., asi/92122. Jackets are essential and appreciated, come in men’s and women’s styles and are perfect for people who work and play outdoors in the winter months. Leather wrapped thermos, from Sweda Co. LLC, asi/90305. Practical and elegant, it’s just the thing for the sales rep on the go. Customized wine and spirits, from A Plus Wine Designs, asi/30223. Make a strong showing with a giveaway that’s perfect for holiday parties and to leave with clients on visits. Leather Nook cover, from Royce Leather, asi/52390. Sure to give the iPad a run for its money, the new Nook tablet is a best-seller this year, and accessories will show thoughtfulness. Throw blanket, from KTP Design Co., asi/63773. Winter months bring images of snuggling up in front of a warm fire. Enhance that experience with a custom woven afghan that companies can imprint with any image or logo. Ogio bag, from SanMar, asi/84863. Duffel bags are perfect for travel and going to the gym. This bag has flexible spines, allowing it to stand or bend at will. Ornaments, from Faro USA, asi/53697 & Marbex Inc., asi/68708. A finely-crafted holiday ornament doesn’t have to be expensive or elaborate. Most can be easily mailed, hung from a company’s tree or given out to visitors. What was your favorite gift to give this year? Let me know by posting a comment or e-mailing me here. I’m also on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Monday
December 12, 2011 Marching Toward Success with ASIFiled under: Community, Industry Initiatives, Member Benefits, Members, News About ASI ASI’s ongoing commitment to advanced technology is moving two giant steps forward with the launch of two new initiatives: ASI SmartSales for distributors and ASI SalesPro for suppliers. Designed specifically for this industry – in cooperation with tech giant Oracle – ASI SmartSales and ASI SalesPro represent the next generation of sales tools for industry professionals. We spent a year on R&D, and millions of dollars, to ensure our members possess the most technologically advanced sales arsenal available. Now, it’s your time. Using ASI SmartSales, distributors will have a complete contact and lead management system to help them close more business and provide accurate forecasting. Every individual salesperson in an organization will be able to easily send out personalized e-mail campaigns with tracking and analytics. Managers will be able to track the sales pipeline and forecasts. But don’t just take our word for it. Here’s what user Lisa Marks, president of On Your Marks, had to say: “Organizing customer contact information is key to a profitable distributorship. SmartSales is helping me organize my marketing and my time for the first time in many years. The fact that it’s cloud-based means our entire team has access day or night. I’ve looked for a perfect solution to help me manage all our communication for a long time, and this is the best. I’m so grateful to ASI for teaming up with Oracle to provide this very powerful, cost-effective tool.” ASI SalesPro offers suppliers a sophisticated sales tool dedicated to sales management, marketing campaigns and revenue-generating capabilities. With SalesPro, every single salesperson becomes a marketing machine, with the added bonus of superior tracking and analytics. The plug-and-play business platforms integrate Oracle’s cloud-based technologies with the appropriate ASI products to create a unique, highly secure platform consisting of a hybrid implementation of cloud and locally hosted software and databases. Distributors with ESP who are interested in ASI SmartSales should e-mail asismartsales@asicentral.com or click here (Password: Own The Customer). Members who want to sign up for ESP and ASI SmartSales should call their ASI account executive at 800-546-1350. Suppliers interested in subscribing to ASI SalesPro should e-mail salespro@asicentral.com or call 800-546-1226. For a video demo, click here. These new tools are intelligent, powerful, efficient – and easy to use, since we build everything at ASI with one person in mind: you. If you have any questions, please call your sales rep today. And let me know what you think by posting a comment or e-mailing me here. |
ction-related ad specialties. As of this week, the Obama campaign reported already stocking nearly $800,000 in merchandise and apparel in its Chicago election store. 
