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Thursday
July 19, 2012 Blown Away in the Windy CityFiled under: ASI Shows, Community, Members, News About ASI Here’s all you need to know about ASI Chicago: Tony Robbins rocked. Mayor Daley delivered. And from all accounts, everyone who attended enjoyed the nonstop networking, show floor action and unprecedented education. Officially, the 2012 show season is over. All that’s left is the packing up and plane rides. As always, the end comes with mixed emotions. I’m happy to put another successful year behind us – and excited for 2013, when another incredible lineup awaits. It’s never too soon to register for the 2013 ASI Shows (Orlando, Jan. 5-7; Dallas, Feb. 6-8; Long Beach, March 22-24; New York, May 8-9; and Chicago, July 16-18) – registration is open at www.asishow.com. We’ve got a great lineup of speakers already locked in: Steve Forbes in Orlando, Emmitt Smith in Dallas, Ben Stein in Long Beach, “The Cake Boss” in New York and Christopher Gardner – the inspiration behind the movie Pursuit of Happyness – in Chicago. If you missed us in Chicago this year, go to ASI Show, www.asicentral.com and Counselor magazine for complete coverage, including blogs and videos. Click here for Hot Party pics (look for me in the crowd. I’m the one with the red tie and big smile). The McCormick Place show, undeniably one of the most significant shows within the industry and continually ranked as the industry’s most important summer show, featured 718 exhibiting companies, up 5% from 2011 – including many Counselor® Top 40 suppliers and 204 new exhibitors to Chicago. Total distributor attendance was about 4,400 from 1,800 distributor firms. Leadership authority Tony Robbins alone attracted over 1,000 distributors and suppliers on Tuesday, a record-breaking day of education. Robbins’ full-day program, which was co-sponsored by Fields Manufacturing (asi/54100) and Showdown Displays (asi/87188), spoke to companies large and small. Nikki Edwards, of Red Line Graphics (asi/305643), summed it up best: “Tony Robbins was fabulous and extremely energizing … I would have paid over and over to see it, but thanks to ASI I didn’t have to.” And that wasn’t all. The three-day show featured the industry’s most innovative products for the fourth quarter, the New Exhibitor and Incentive Pavilions showcasing the most unique items and a total of three receptions. Earl Bateman, from DVL Enterprises (asi/261648), says he’s already planning to share the ideas he discovered on the show floor with his clients for the upcoming holiday season. Now there’s a forward thinker! Don’t forget, for information on exhibiting or sponsorship opportunities for 2013, contact Karen DiTomasso, vice president of sales, at kditomasso@asicentral.com. And if you were at the show, please let me know what you thought – and any suggestions or ideas you may have for 2013 – by posting a comment or e-mailing me here. I’m also on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Thursday
July 19, 2012 Winning!Filed under: ASI Shows, Community, Industry Initiatives, News About ASI Things are happening fast and furious here at ASI Chicago. Wednesday night, we celebrated this year’s Counselor Hot List with a wild party at the downtown hot spot, Crimson Lounge. It’s clear that for the 38 men and women hitting the 2012 list, “the future’s so bright, they gotta wear shades.” Click here to read all about the star power lighting up the industry. If there’s one thread running through each of their stories, it’s fearlessness. As we learned from this week’s all-day education session with Tony Robbins, true winners have one gear: drive. Speaking of winners, we kicked off the last day of our three-day Chicago show with a keynote by one of the most successful mayors in our nation’s history – Chicago’s own Richard Daley, considered the nation’s top executive for his deft handling of the machinations of the Windy City during his unprecedented 22-year tenure. And, continuing ASI’s own winning streak, we just got word that three ASI publications have been recognized for editorial excellence by the American Society of Business Publication Editors (ASBPE) in a stiff competition that included Bloomberg Businessweek and Computerworld. The winners are: Gold: Original Research for “State of the Industry” Bronze: Feature Article for “Behind Bars” Gold: Front Cover Photo for “The Style Issue” Silver: Front Cover Photo for “Head of the Class” Silver: Feature Article Design for “The Color Issue” Silver: How-To Article for “One Company, 12 Contacts, Big Bucks” Bronze: How-To Article for “Social Networking Boot Camp” If that’s not enough, ASI just announced that nearly 2,000 ESP Websites™ are now live, setting an all-time record high for user adoption in the launch of an ASI product. Launched in May, ESP Websites continue to gain momentum – with thousands more new ESP Websites going live in the weeks ahead. It’s clear the industry has embraced ASI’s latest product offering with gusto. If you haven’t jumped on the ESP Websites bandwagon yet, click here to climb on board and give your business the online boost it deserves. We’ve still got a full day of exhibiting left here in Chicago. If you’re at the show, let me know what really caught your eye on the show floor by posting a comment or e-mailing me here. I’m also on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube. |
