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Thursday
December 10, 2009 ASI Radiothon: Help ASI Raise Money for The G.I. Go FundFiled under: Community, Guest Blog, Industry Initiatives, News About ASI The hosts of ASI Internet Radio’s Tuesday Morning Show are getting their charitable vibe on this week. Just launched this week, we’re introducing the first-ever ASI Radiothon. The live event will take place next Tuesday, December 15, at 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time, when we’ll dedicate our regular radio show to a charity drive to benefit The G.I. Go Fund, a great organization that assists veterans when they return to the United States. In conjunction with the live Radiothon, there’s a silent auction taking place this week. Go to www.gigofund.org/asiradio now to check out the items up for bid (high-end promotional products all donated by industry suppliers). There are watches, sleek pens, gift sets, sunglasses, digital photo frames, and more. In this silent auction, items will go to the highest bidder and the top bid each day will be updated on the Web site. Check back often. It’s a great way to donate to charity and do your holiday shopping at the same time. The G.I. Go Fund is definitely a worthy cause to donate to this holiday season. The organization helps veterans with financial and medical assistance upon their return from overseas. And it even sets up job fairs exclusively for returning veterans so they can find work and acclimate quicker into everyday life. Jack Fanous, the executive director of The G.I. Go Fund, will join ASI Radio on the phone next Tuesday to share stories of veterans he’s encountered and tell our audience exactly how his organization helps these people. It’s sure to be a revealing phone call to start off our Radiothon show. So, join in on the charity drive and help us raise money for this valuable cause. Go to www.gigofund.org/asiradio now to bid on items in the auction or to make a donation. And make sure to log-on to www.asicentral.com/radio on Tuesday, December 15 at 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time to take part in the live Radiothon. Call the show at (215) 953-4979 or e-mail us at radio@asicentral.com to pledge your donation – and help us make the lives of returning veterans that much better. To read a press release about the fundraiser, click here. And please help us get the word out by posting the auction link to your own Facebook page and social media sites, and Twitter about it too. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go bid on some auction items – I have my eye on a sweet watch. -Andy Andy Cohen is editor of Counselor magazine and he can be reached here.
Monday
November 2, 2009 Help shape the future – join a new ASI advisory boardFiled under: Guest Blog, Industry Initiatives, News About ASI The secret to serving customers well is relatively simple: Listen, and then take action on what you’ve heard. Every day, ASI listens to members’ needs via emails, phone calls and conversations. Over the past few years we’ve also enjoyed great feedback through our editorial and ASI Show advisory boards, which help us make tough decisions while providing significant insights from multiple perspectives. Now, ASI is going one step further and establishing four new advisory boards where we will share information, discuss pressing industry issues and receive guidance from each other. The four boards are:
I’m thrilled to be involved in these boards and work directly with each board chairperson. Tim Andrews, president and CEO of ASI, will chair the ASI Advisory Board and the other three boards will be chaired by one of the ASI members serving on each board. Board member positions are not honorary. We expect everyone to be involved and prepared for each meeting, and board members will have the opportunity – through our discussions and meetings – to shape the industry and in some cases ASI’s role in the marketplace. I’ve had the pleasure of serving on several boards, including for-profit, non-profit and advisory. Each experience has been personally and professionally rewarding, allowing me to gain new experience while benefiting the organizations by sharing my knowledge and insights. I’ve developed lifelong relationships that have increased revenue in my own organization. The more energy I’ve put into a board, the more everyone benefits. So the cliché rings true: You get what you give. No matter who you are, no matter what size your company is and no matter how long you’ve been in the industry, I encourage you to consider serving. To nominate yourself or someone you know, complete the online form by clicking here, or send me an email at dale.denham@asicentral.com. The nominating committee will select the final ballot from the nominations and present it to ASI members for an online vote in December. Final board members will be announced in January. Details about each of the boards are available in the press release here. — Dale Dale Denham is senior vice president of ASI.
Thursday
October 29, 2009 Calling All Rock Star Sales Reps for a ContestFiled under: Guest Blog, News About ASI I love you: Salespeople who didn’t view the bad economy the past year as a hopeless situation, but rather, looked at it as an opportunity to really stand out and get it done. In a year that could have resulted in the death of any salesman (or woman), you rallied. I come to my love of great salespeople from being the editor of Advantages magazine for many years and having written about them, read about them and gained the utmost respect for them. And if you’ve read my columns in Advantages, you also know, I’ve been married to Steve, a sales executive, for 22 years. (I was a child bride…no comments, Tim Andrews.) I’m no stranger to your agonies of defeat, having heard about the “end of the month,” “making quota” and how sales “is not a 9 to 5 job, Kath,” time and time again. On the flipside, I’m happy for your thrills of victory. Through years of relationship-building, establishing trust and loyalty among his clients, and simply checking his BlackBerry daily, Steve wrapped up three sales while we were on vacation in Key West last week. And, despite the economy, this is turning out to be one of his best years ever. Yes, I am a proud wife. But I’m also proud of you…the dedicated and determined sales professionals in our industry who have hung in there and made it happen. Sales pros are so important to a company’s bottom line that our sister publication, Counselor magazine, even named the distributor sales rep its Person of the Year. And at Advantages magazine, we also want to recognize outstanding sales performance. So we’re looking for entries for our first-ever Salesperson of the Year contest. Think about it: In the past year, did you come up with something really creative that led to a huge sale? Did you have the largest sales volume in your company? Did you go way over 100% of your quota, despite the challenging times? Have you gone above and beyond for a client? Are you the one and only ad specialty sales rep your client would ever work with? If you think you or one of your colleagues could be a contender, send me an e-mail pronto to: khuston@asicentral.com. Let me know what makes you so spectacular in 100 words or less. Write about the measures of your success and give us one of your sales secrets. If you would like to include a client testimonial, do that too. If you’re the winner, you’ll be in the spotlight because, let’s face it, you are a superstar in your own right. Not only will you be profiled in our January issue, but you will also be the subject of a podcast interview. In addition, a $500 Amex card and prizes to help you further succeed will be all yours. And of course, you will have bragging rights for the year…and maybe a crown. I’ll think about that one. – Kathy Huston is the editor of Advantages magazine at ASI.
Thursday
September 24, 2009 Inside Look – ESP Image ImprovementsFiled under: Guest Blog, Member Benefits From Candace Hershey, executive director, ESP Online Information Team: It’s hard to believe fall is here. But, rest assured, the ESP Online Information Team Many of you have provided suggestions to improve the overall quality of product data and that feedback has resulted in countless improvements over the past year. The following accomplishments represent just a few of the changes we’ve made:
We love feedback and strive for perfection. We want 100% of products in ESP Online If you run across an image or ACE page in ESP Online that isn’t as impressive as it should be, please tell us. Email the ASI number and the product number to espupdate@asicentral.com, and we’ll take care of it. We listen, so keep the comments coming. I’m confident that if you have ESP Online, you have the best business-building tool in the advertising specialty industry and the best product data and image quality available anywhere, hands-down. Learn more about ESP Online here. – Candace
Monday
July 13, 2009 Digitally Speaking, for Sex and the City and Wedding CrashersFiled under: Guest Blog, Using Ad Specialties Marketers across all industries are asking themselves the same question, “How Integrating digital elements into promotions is not an exact science, nor is it a straightforward process, however there is a methodology to deploy the best programs. Each promotional concept, incorporating digital, needs to be approached from a unique angle with consideration of the product, the audience and the end goal. For example, when our team was creating promotions to market the Sex and the City movie, we thought of a partnership with Mercedes. It was the perfect pairing to highlight the upscale feeling of New York City and bringing people into NY Fashion Week.
Similarly, the Budweiser and Wedding Crashers promotional program ‘Trailer Crashers’ was extremely successful because the concept of ‘crashing the trailer’ allowed consumers to participate in the key concept of the lead characters of the film by interacting with the property.
Good luck with your marketing efforts and feel free to post a comment now about your experience with the digital marketing world. – Gordon Gordon Paddison is the founder and principal of Stradella Road, a consultancy providing marketing strategies for brand and entertainment companies, and he is the keynote speaker at this year’s ASI Power Summit. Gordon will share his best practices and industry insights on how to leverage new media for your marketing promotions. He has experience marketing over 200 movie titles, including The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Wedding Crashers and Sex and the City.
Wednesday
July 1, 2009 How Can I Enhance my Print Catalog Online to Grow Sales?Filed under: Guest Blog, Industry Initiatives, Member Benefits When it comes to catalogs, suppliers want to know how many to print and Distributors continue to use print catalogs and find them effective for generating sales and getting the word out about the products they offer. There’s no doubt that catalogs work. And now there’s a way for suppliers to enhance exposure digitally for their print catalogs – through ASI’s Digital Express service. The new service acts as a 1-2-3 marketing punch to boost exposure through ASI’s Email Express and through ASICentral.com’s catalog library. It works like this: ASI takes a print catalog and creates an online flip Suppliers should also make the online Digital Express catalog a big part of their website by putting it front-and-center on the home page. Companies invest a lot of time and effort to make a catalog great, so why not highlight it all year long on your homepage? The Digital Express service also provides an interactive searchable format, enabling distributors to search for the exact item they’re looking for. I’ve also suggested to every supplier who has signed up for Digital Express so far to include the link to their online catalog in the signature line of their emails. That way, every single time they send an email to a distributor, their online catalog is right in front of their potential client. Digital Express really is a unique service that helps suppliers increase leads and helps distributors find items for their clients faster, and at a time when you need it more than ever. For more information on the Digital Express program, or any other digital product, please do not hesitate to give me a call at 1-800-546-1295 or email me here. I’m more than happy to help you out in any way. Click here for examples of the digital catalogs (use your ASICentral.com email and password). – Dan Dienna is ASI‘s advertising director for catalogs and electronics.
Thursday
June 11, 2009 Act Now – Physician Payments Sunshine Act Could PassFiled under: Education, Guest Blog My father always told me to be prepared to fight for what I believe in and I’ve And while there are many causes and challenges to commit to, there’s one facing our industry that needs action from nearly every distributor and supplier: the Physician Payments Sunshine Act of 2009. This act would require drug companies and medical device manufacturers to disclose the value of payments or gifts of ANY amount to physicians, including all advertising specialties. While there is some consideration the House might provide an exemption for items under $5, this amount is still too low, and the Senate bill still does not exempt any promotional products of any value. So, either way, we have to push to increase the exemption to $25, in order to save thousands of industy jobs. Any drug or medical device company will be prevented from handing out promotional items at trade shows or in the office, because no one will want to take the time or painstaking effort to report the value of every single promotional item given (like pens, clipboards and mugs.) This bill has good intentions, however, it also has far reaching ramifications. Since I’m obviously against bribing my doctor to give me medicine, I support the spirit of this bill. But, the way it’s written will damage pharmaceutical promotional products sales for our industry, which will further impact the overall economy. In addition to the revenue lost by distributors who sell to these companies, suppliers will obviously lose revenue and overall declining sales could lead to even more industry job cuts. Doctors are constantly bombarded with messages and new information. Frankly, I want my doctor to be able to keep a pen or portfolio that will remind him of a drug or device that may make a difference to my health. I hope you recognize how significant this issue is to you and to the health of our overall industry – whether or not you sell promo products to the pharmaceutical market. So what can you do? Small things done by 100,000 of us can go a very long way and I’ve put together a few easy links for you to contact your representative. Take a quick moment to send them your thoughts, using these links and the draft of my letter below, and be sure to pass this information to your sales and support staff. Please comment on this blog to indicate that you’ve sent a letter to your representative. Together, we can make a difference. – Dale Denham is senior vice president at ASI. Email him here. To email your Senator: 1. Click here and select the link after each of your Senators to contact them using the web form. 2. Insert your information and send your version of the letter below. Draft of Letter: Dear Senator [Last Name]: I oppose S.301, the Physician Payments Sunshine Act, and ask that you strongly consider the potentially devastating effects on those of us in your constituency. While the intentions of the bill are commendable, there are significant negative ramifications that may not be clear to the drafters of the bill. I am not a manufacturer of drugs or medical devices, but I am in the promotional products industry and this bill will drive out hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue and result in a significant loss of jobs. Specifically, the proposed law does not establish a minimum dollar amount related to the “transfer of value,” which will cause manufacturers to stop providing promotional products. Promotional products are very cost effective advertising items, not a “free trip” or other “gift” that has no advertising or educational value. If you support this bill, I strongly urge you to allow tangible forms of advertising and education to be exempt from the bill, or at a minimum exclude those under a reasonable dollar value. With over 30,000 promotional products businesses across the United States, many of them entrepreneurial small- and medium-sized businesses that now help drive most of the business growth in this country, and the thousands of jobs potentially at stake in the 19 billion dollar industry if this act passes, it is a very important issue. Thank you for your time. Sincerely, [Your Name] |
can I capitalize on social media and actually integrate it into my marketing so it works?”
