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Wednesday
May 19, 2010 Working for You: Promo Products on CBS StationFiled under: Education, Industry Initiatives, Media Coverage, News About ASI, Using Ad Specialties CBS affiliate WFMY of Greensboro/Winston-Salem (weekly audience: 671,980) recently showcased a number of promotional products on its long-running “Good Morning Show,” including caffeinated soap, the electric riding beer cooler and the “instant abs” tee shirt. The segment was centered on the “Top 10 Wacky Ways to Promote a Business in 2010,” a recent promotion that’s part of ASI’s ongoing push to educate end-buyers about the power of the $16 billion ad specialty industry. To view the segment, click here. The Top 10 Wacky Ways to Promote a Business in 2010:
For photos of all products and purchasing information, click here. So far, the ASI press release touting the “Top 10 Wacky Way to Promote a Business in 2010” has been picked up or posted by more than 150 news outlets and blogs. I’d love to know what promotions are working for you, so please post a comment or email me here. I’m also on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Wednesday
March 24, 2010 Virtual Trade Show Attracts Nearly 1,500Filed under: ASI Shows, Education We just completed our first virtual trade show of 2010 this week, and nearly 1,500 attendees visited, did business, went to education sessions, and learned about the new ESP Web and ESP Orders. ASI is the only company in the industry to offer distributors and suppliers a way to go to a trade show while drinking your coffee in the office. You can enjoy an archived version of this week’s show through this Friday, at www.asicentral.com/vts. Feel free to forward the link to anyone. It’s free. Be sure to join us for our next virtual trade show on Wednesday, April 28 – and there are two more after that one yet this year. They provide a great way to network online, and I strongly encourage you to attend at least one if you can. You’ll love it.
Monday
January 18, 2010 ASI Pledges $100k to Education InitiativesFiled under: Education, Industry Initiatives, Media Coverage, News About ASI, Research, Using Ad Specialties ASI is seriously committed to education, so it should come as no surprise we’re committing a serious amount of money – $100,000 – to our latest campaign to demonstrate the value of promotional products to end-buyers. Taken together, ASI’s latest broad-based education efforts will encourage buyers to increase their use of advertising specialties in their marketing plans while creating a bigger buzz about the power of promotional products in the national media. We definitely hit the ground running. Check out highlights of the campaign: Media blitz. Aggressively pitching stories to media nationwide, highlighting the reach and effectiveness of promotional items. A recent ASI story about the dramatic increase in sales of hand sanitizers resulted in nearly 100 media mentions nationwide, including spots on CBS Money Watch, Philadelphia Business Today and Live 5 News. ASI Show-related publicity. Increasing pursuit of media coverage of advertising specialties among the five metro areas of the ASI Shows. Florida State Representative Kevin Ambler and Senator Paula Dockery visited the just-completed Orlando show and the Orlando Sentinel wrote an article about it (comments accepted online) and posted ASI TV videos featuring interviews with the politicians on its blog. Orlando’s CBS station, Local 6 News, also provided a sneak-peek of the show. Successful Promotions magazine campaign. ASI’s award-winning editorial team is sending a monthly e-newsletter to 600,000 marketers, filled with case studies and education. A PowerPoint presentation about the positive return-on-investment (ROI) of promo products has already been featured, available to download here. Also, a new Facebook fan page for the magazine will be launched first quarter, providing additional resources and editions of The Joe Show. ASI Marketing Advisory Board. This recently-formed board of business leaders is driving the industry forward by connecting with end-buyers and sharing their feedback and suggestions with the industry. Research. ASI Research published an advertising specialty impressions study in 2009 for distributors to send to their clients and prospects, showing them the high ROI of promotional products. The study will be updated this year. For more details, read the press release by clicking here. Tell me which initiative you think will have the most impact – or what ideas you may have – by posting a comment or emailing me here. I’m also on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Tuesday
November 3, 2009 Power Summit Video About EconomyFiled under: Community, Education, Industry Initiatives, Members, Research
Click here for a video outlining these key insights from our sessions:
Click here for the video. What are your thoughts? Post a comment or email me here. I’m also on Twitter and LinkedIn.
Thursday
August 13, 2009 SAAC and State of the IndustryFiled under: Community, Education, News About ASI, Research I participated in an industry event recently – the 2009 SAAC Show in Long Beach, California. The Specialty Advertising Association of California invited me to discuss the state of the industry before the APS Group (Advertising Products Suppliers). I shared results of our second quarter sales survey, conducted by ASI’s Larry Basinait, who takes the pulse of the industry through numerous research studies and surveys. I thought you might be interested since, not surprisingly, it shows ad specialty sales are off about 14%. The report broke down the forecast for the second half of the year by company size and it discovered something worth noting: the bigger the distributor, the more pessimistic. Of those reporting sales of less than $250,000, 26% expect sales to be higher, and 47% expect sales to be lower. Of those earning $1 million and up, 19% anticipate higher sales while 50% percent expect lower. As far as trends, the study showed that buyers want more services, like fulfillment. They also want more access to marketing program information, such as educational videos and materials beyond a product leave-behind. They want ideas on how to use promotional products, how to track ROI and how to educate their bosses, peers and colleagues. I also shared with the group recent improvements ASI has made to education – in direct response to what members are requesting. In sum, we took a great education program and made it even better, by merging it with our editorial team. You can see many of the new offerings by clicking here, including free access to the brand-new, 10-CD Distributor Success System. Tell me what you think about the current state of the industry by posting a comment now or emailing me here.
Tuesday
July 21, 2009 New Email Marketing Tool for DistributorsFiled under: Education, Industry Initiatives, Member Benefits, News About ASI, Using Ad Specialties Today we’re launching a new, easy-to-use email marketing tool that allows distributors to quickly create and send email marketing messages and promotions to customers with the click of a button. The latest ASI distributor benefit was unveiled on our first day of ASI Show Chicago. Read all about it in the press release, by clicking here. ASI chose RatePoint, Inc., a leading provider of user-friendly, Web-based communication tools, to provide the program to ASI distributor members. RatePoint is providing the program at a substantial savings, exclusively for ASI distributor members. I’m especially pleased with this powerful marketing tool because it costs about the same as the price of lunch, and you can choose from over 100 ready-made templates or can create a custom template. The new program includes:
Additional features include customer feedback tools that allow your clients to easily provide testimonials and feedback that distributors can use to promote their Website and LogoMall site, and at no extra charge. The new email marketing tool is available immediately, with a 30-day free trial for distributors with no further obligation. This latest distributor member benefit joins more than 12 other member savings programs from ASI, including discounts on UPS® shipping, group health insurance options, office supplies at OfficeMax®, credit card processing and digital artwork services. To check it out, visit asicentral.com/ratepoint. For more information, contact Dale Denham, senior vice president, at dale.denham@asicentral.com. I’d love to know what you think. Post a comment on the blog or email me here.
Wednesday
July 15, 2009 Serious About Education with New ASI Distributor Success SystemFiled under: Education, Industry Initiatives, Member Benefits, News About ASI ASI is serious about education, as is evident from the $1.3 million we invest each year Our new learn-as-you-go series includes an introductory DVD and ten 30-minute lessons on CDs, along with a workbook and motivational flash cards. The best part is you can use it when you want, where you want – at home, in the car, on a PDA or through a smart phone. The program is part of ASI’s generous ASI member benefits program, and is shipped free to new ASI distributor members. Distributors attending three education classes during the New Distributor Success Track at the ASI Show in Chicago on Tuesday, July 21, will receive a complimentary copy. It’s also available electronically to all ASI members, by clicking here. You’ll recognize some of the faces in the series, as it’s led by ASI executives, and supplemented with interviews from successful distributors, top suppliers and industry experts. Let me know what you think of the series and post a comment now. See you in Chicago! |
