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Wednesday
February 16, 2011 A Hot Time in TexasFiled under: ASI Shows, Education, News About ASI The ASI show in Dallas opened Wednesday with a bustling Education Day featuring six dynamic new speakers and a slew of sessions – all of which qualify toward the Advertising Specialty Institute Certification Program. We’re hosting a “Build Your Industry Contacts” networking reception and Thursday we start two days of exhibiting – including nearly 120 suppliers that did not exhibit at Dallas last year. There are tons of wild and crazy new products – from the wacky and weird to the super cool and high-tech. I’ll showcase some of them in upcoming Tim’s Takes videos. Thursday night, we return to what’s always a hootin’ hollarin’ good time at the Ultimate Texas Bash at Eddie Deen’s Ranch. Friday, a sold-out crowd will enjoy a morning keynote by former first lady Laura Bush, who’s also addressing a lunchtime crowd at our second annual ASI Women’s Summit. I can’t wait to hear what she has to say about her days in the White House and especially her advocacy work on behalf of women’s rights in Afghanistan and women’s health. Stay tuned for updates all this week. On with the show! If you’re in Dallas, tell me about your experiences by posting a comment or emailing me here. I’m also on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Thursday
February 10, 2011 All’s Fair in Love and Promo ProductsFiled under: Members, News About ASI, Using Ad Specialties No matter how you celebrate “love and affection between intimate companions” – the official Wikipedia definition of Valentine’s Day – you might get some fresh ideas after browsing our annual top 10 list of sexiest products. There is really no end to creativity when it comes to romance – and promo products. Consider the chocolate lip balm, feathered bikini top and edible bubble bath on our list and think about ways clients could use them in special, themed promotions. For a YouTube video featuring a demo of some of the products, click here. For photos and info, click here. Whether your intimate companion is a special spouse or a beloved calico cat, I hope you enjoy this year’s list:
Let me know how you celebrate the special day by posting a comment or emailing me here. I’m also on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Thursday
February 10, 2011 O Canada: Buyer’s Guide Now AvailableFiled under: News About ASI, Using Ad Specialties Every year, ASI’s The Professional Buyer’s Guide sells out – for good reason. It helps increase sales. For 2011, distributors are loving full-color imprinting and 120 pages of product ideas. This year, pre-sales for the go-to catalog for the Canadian marketplace are even stronger. Guaranteed circulation is 50,000, and we’ve already received pre-orders totaling nearly 39,000 copies. I thoroughly enjoy my visits to Canada, a great nation that offers everything from the cool jazz of Montreal to the glorious vistas of the Canadian Rockies. And who doesn’t tear up when hearing their moving national anthem, “O Canada”? ASI Canada is in the very capable hands of VP Fred Oesen and Jay Ostrow, our executive director of distributor services. For more info on ASI Canada, check out the website here. The Professional Buyer’s Guide is elegant-looking and features select products from elite suppliers in all categories across all price ranges. Whether you want antibacterial products, auto accessories and awards or watches, whistles and wine accessories, this catalog has it all. The catalog features numerous Canadian-made products, from apparel to custom wooden boxes, and an exclusive selection of environmentally friendly “green” goods. There’s even quick-response-code technology for smartphones to deliver additional info and specials. With exclusive full-color imprinting, The Professional Buyer’s Guide can now include the distributor’s color logo and contact information on the cover any time throughout the year, which means distributors can create a personalized marketing approach to differentiate themselves from their competition, build strong brand awareness and create a more professional image for clients. Why should distributors include catalogs in their marketing mix? It’s simple: Research shows they remain a proven advertising vehicle. According to a recent study of end-buyers, paper catalogs drive 93% of purchasing decisions. It’s hard to argue with stats like those. To see sample pages or order online, click here. For more information, contact Dan Brown, executive director of distributor services, at dbrown@asicentral.comor at 800-546-1350. Distributors receive free shipping on orders placed by Monday, February 14. Let me know how catalogs have helped you increase sales by posting a comment or emailing me here. I’m also on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Wednesday
February 9, 2011 Better Navigation of Tricky ComplianceFiled under: Guest Blog, Member Benefits, News About ASI We all know how challenging it is to navigate through ever-changing product-safety compliance regulations. With escalating concern for product safety and compliance in our industry, there couldn’t be a better time to announce that ASI – in conjunction with our Safety and Legislative Advisory Board – has selected Intertek as its exclusive partner for product quality and safety solutions. And, ASI has negotiated a preferential rate for members to save 20% on all services related to safety testing and compliance. Just this week, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) extended the enforcement date for testing of lead content in children’s products to December 31. That means U.S manufacturers will be required to have CPSC-approved third-party certification for children’s items to prove that products they produce or import contain no more than the allowable limit of lead. So even though there’s more time to meet that one requirement, federal restrictions governing manufacturers and importers will change once again in August. We gave a lot of thought to this issue and worked closely with the ASI Safety and Legislative Advisory Board before selecting Intertek, the accredited world leader in testing, auditing, inspection and certification of consumer goods across all product lines. How will Intertek benefit your company? By helping you answer questions like the ones below:
Click here to get more information on how Intertek can work with your company for product testing and to sign up for Intertek’s consumer newsletter. To read our press release, click here. And if you have any further questions, please email me at kcoates@asicentral.com.
– Karyn Coates, ASI’s director of member benefits
Thursday
February 3, 2011 Super Bowl Means Super BucksFiled under: Industry Initiatives, Members, News About ASI No matter who wins the Super Bowl, it’s clear one industry will emerge a winner no matter who takes home the fancy rings: the ad specialty industry. We spoke to a number of companies that are working overtime to produce everything from official Super Bowl jackets and fan-favorite foam fingers to title towels and T-shirts. We were so impressed with the massive output, we put out a press release detailing who’s doing what. It’s all part of ASI’s ongoing effort to publicize our industry to end-buyers. Click here to check out recent press coverage and to read some of our many press releases. The bottom line when it comes to major sporting events is that a big game means big bucks for promotional products companies. Jim Silver of Pittsburgh, PA-based Precision Screen Printing (asi/603946) says his company will produce 25,000 to 35,000 T-shirts by devoting two presses and 14 people over a 36-hour period. Another company in Steelers territory, All Pro Embroidery, produced about 40,000 T-shirts leading up to the game and expects to print 20,000 more if their team wins. More than 2,000 jackets are expected to be ordered online immediately following the big game. “Craftsman-style Super Bowl jackets, our most popular item, are decorated on-demand and shipped within 48 hours directly to the fan,” said Matt Gray, chief operating officer of Dunbrooke Apparel Corp. (asi/50930), a leading supplier of NFL jackets under its licensing agreement with Reebok and the National Football League. “We bring in 12-hour nightshift crews to man the 250 embroidery-machine heads and begin the process the minute the final game whistle blows.” Dallas, TX-based Purple Giraffe (asi/80086) is operating 16 hours a day to produce packaged T-shirts in the shapes of footballs, postcards and DVD cases, as well as to put Super Bowl T-shirts into Pepsi bottles. “We’ll make enough money to pay owner and general manager Jerry Jones for signage rights to the new Cowboys Stadium,” joked manager Robbie Weinberg. “Just kidding, Jerry.” In a nod to the record-breaking cold snap in Dallas, Purple Giraffe is also selling quite a few iBEANi’s (beanie caps with built-in iPod speakers). They even scored Martellus Bennett, tight end for the Dallas Cowboys, pictured above, to pitch them. In addition, sports-related products provided by ASI member companies include watches from Fossil (asi/55145), a cooler shaped like a helmet from America Zebra Line (asi/35745), a helmet snack server (chips stay in the top and dip goes in the facemask) from LarLu Display-Tec (asi/66390), and oversized, logoed cowboy hats from Spirit Industries (asi/88740). “It’s great for our industry,” said Joe Durand, senior VP of LarLu (asi/66390), an officially licensed provider of the Green Bay Packers’ Titletown Towel and the Pittsburgh Steelers Terrible Towel for Super Bowl XLV. McArthur Towel & Sports, a LarLu company, has produced the renowned yellow towels fans have waved at Pittsburgh Steelers games for the last 14 years. Recently, the company was also licensed to bring back a new version of the Green Bay Packers Title Towel. “The towel is a tremendous sponsor product with excellent visibility at sporting events,” Durand told us. McArthur will work around the clock to produce the Super Bowl XLV Trophy Towels that will be used during the on-field celebration. Let me know if your company jumped into the game by posting a comment or emailing me here. I’m also on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube. |
