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Monday
November 8, 2010 Promotional Products Beat Prime-Time TVFiled under: Industry Initiatives, Member Benefits, News About ASI, Research, Using Ad Specialties ASI just released the results of a landmark study that proves advertising specialties beat out prime-time TV, radio and print advertising as the most cost-effective advertising medium available. Soon, we’ll send the message about the power of promotional products to the world via a far-reaching public relations campaign. The most significant findings of the 2010 Global Advertising Specialties Impressions Study show advertising specialties are less expensive per impression than most other media – just a half a cent! – and are very affordable and effective when compared to other forms of media. Click here for the global study results, an explanatory video and supporting graphics. Everyone in this industry should make it their business to deliver this message loud and clear to customers, prospects and end-buyers, across every channel available to you. Bring the data with you on every sales call. Perhaps even include the study’s link on your email signature. To help, we’ve prepared a pdf of the study to download, and we encourage you to send it out and especially to chat it up on your social networks. Click here for the pdf to pass along. To Tweet about ASI’s 2010 ad impressions study, use this shortened link: http://bit.ly/diQ6zp. We released the study at the 2010 ASI Power Summit, an exclusive annual gathering of the best minds in the business, taking place this week in Aventura, Florida. Hopefully, everyone there will immediately start spreading the news. The study is the result of 3,332 online and in-person surveys, including interviews with businesspeople in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, London, Sydney, Toronto and Montreal metro areas. The 2.0 study, a follow-up to the definitive 2008 survey, includes new demographic information on politics, ethnicity, gender and age, since knowing the likely recipient of products is paramount for an advertiser. This year, the comprehensive report also adds global markets and includes more products, such as automotive accessories and food. Among key findings, results show:
There’s good reason ASI’s research studies are the most influential in the industry’s history, continuously cited throughout the B-to-B industry and across the advertising and marketing spectrum: They work. I credit ASI’s executive director of research services, Larry Basinait, and his research team, for delivering the material that can help us once again prove the undeniable power of promotional products. At $0.005, the average cost-per-impression (CPI) of an advertising specialty item is less than nearly any other media. To make that claim, Larry gathered data from the Nielsen Company, Outdoor Advertising Association of America, Columbus Dispatch and AdAgeOnline.com. What this study shows us is that even smaller companies can deliver the kind of high-impact punch enjoyed by multi-million-dollar companies. It’s also important to note that the pass-along rate has actually increased 11 points from just two years ago – which speaks directly to the global recycling trend. Not only do ad specialties make impressions on everyone who sees them, but messaging is reinforced every time the item is used. No other form of media can allow the advertiser to so closely tie a benefit to the recipient. So start spreading the news. All we ask is that you properly credit ASI when distributing the study. Let me know your ideas for getting out the message by posting a comment or emailing me here. I’m also on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Monday
October 18, 2010 Get Happy with Affinity ExpressFiled under: Industry Initiatives, Member Benefits, Using Ad Specialties How many times do you wish you had an extra pair of hands to manage heavy workloads? If you’re like me, extra work and projects that need to be done “yesterday” have a habit of arriving when you’re already struggling to keep your head above water. Additional orders are always welcome, but the reality is that in addition to more sales, they mean more artwork. Obtaining perfect (or even usable) artwork can be as painful as a root canal – putting even more strain on you and your design department. Since we’re in the midst of the industry’s peak season, I thought this would be a good time to let you know about a secret weapon that many leading industry companies are utilizing: outsourcing artwork to ASI affiliate Affinity Express helps businesses enhance turn times, improve product quality, save money and, more important, keep customers happy by meeting and even beating deadlines. Happy customers mean repeat orders! Here’s how they can help: Affinity Express can produce embroidery digitizing files for almost all machines and garment types. They have over 800 designers on staff who are experts in Wilcom, Pulse, Punto and Ethos, as well as Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, CorelDRAW and dozens of other software programs. And each digitizing order receives a sew-out swatch so you’ll know what your item will look like before you even sew a stitch. Need vector artwork? No problem – Affinity Express can take raster images or raw input and recreate, or redraw, to provide vector artwork for any product/any size. I’ve seen beautiful artwork Affinity Express created from drawings on a cocktail napkin (which looked like they were done by my 6-year-old grandson). And, you can store all your artwork in a free password-protected design locker so it’s at your disposal 24/7, all year round. In addition to fast, realiable turn times, Affinity Express offers very competitive pricing. As a matter of fact, they’ve recently taken pricing to a new level with “Affinity Express Basic,” which can save you 66% on vector artwork and 38% on embroidery digitizing. Now that you know the secret, be sure to contact Affinity Express to help you continue to keep things flowing smoothly. Click here or call Kelly Glass, 847-930-3205, for more information. – Cathy Cathy Martino is ASI’s affiliate relations manager.
Thursday
September 30, 2010 Industry Joins Fight Against Breast CancerFiled under: Industry Initiatives, Using Ad Specialties In October, during National Breast Cancer Awareness month, the promotional products industry is following the lead of the NFL, MLB and NHL to help raise money for cancer research – using unique, sports-themed items targeted at men. Pink boxing gloves, hockey pucks, baseball bats and beyond are joining the ubiquitous pink ribbons adorning women’s fashion to raise money and awareness. Anyone trying to raise money for this cause should consider broadening their scope to include men – and what better way to do that than with stuff you can hit, throw, whack and wear? The professional sports community jumped on the cancer awareness bandwagon with campaigns like NFL’s A Crucial Catch. In partnership with the American Cancer Society, the NFL is auctioning off pink game apparel worn during October. Major League Baseball auctions off pink Louisville Sluggers during games played on Mother’s Day and the National Hockey League raises money through its Hockey Fights Cancer initiative. Numerous promotional products companies are also donating a portion of profits from pink items to the cause, including Alumicolor, of Fort Collins, Colorado, which donates 10% of the list price of aluminum pink rulers to breast cancer research, and Kingport Industries, of Northbrook, Illinois, which donates a portion of profits from its “pink ribbon” collection to the American Cancer Society and other affiliated organizations. Diana Haake, owner of Promotional Product Partners, created several hundred shirts for a breast cancer awareness event last year. “It brought in students from several local high schools for an all-day event, and they received the shirt for participating,” she says. “It was very well received.” Another distributor, Win Oppel, president of Ad-Merica (asi/107275), recently created breast cancer awareness umbrellas for a client. He’s also worked with St. Vincent’s Medical Center Foundation in Connecticut on developing a set of ornaments, featuring a logo designed by a volunteer at the foundation and her niece. And Ash City USA (asi/37127) launched a “We’re Thinking Pink” campaign to help fund research for the American Breast Cancer Foundation. ASI reviewed some of the products available throughout the industry and devised a Top 10 “think pink” list of sports-themed products that can be used for breast cancer awareness promotions and fundraising drives:
Let me know what charitable organizations you’re helping by posting a comment or emailing me here. I’m also on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Thursday
September 23, 2010 Log On, Tune In and Sell, Sell, SellFiled under: ASI Shows, Industry Initiatives, News About ASI Our September Virtual Trade Show got off to a roaring start with 640 attendees logging on in the first hour alone. And they kept on coming. Each booth averaged 722 visitors and each distributor spent about 80 minutes enjoying the show. There was a ton of networking, too. In five hours’ time, a whopping 5,000 one-to-one chats took place. If you missed this week’s virtual event, you can access it now on-demand at www.asicentral.com/vts. Who attended? A number of top exhibitors, including The Magnet Group (asi/68507), Tri-Mountain/Mountain Gear (asi/92125), Harry & David (asi/59710) and World Emblem (asi/98264). Comments streamed in fast and furious:
ASI’s virtual shows always feature top suppliers, virtual show booths, multimedia demos, digital catalogs, online sample requests, a complete passport program and thousands of dollars in prizes. We know the all-day, online events are effective because exhibiting suppliers experience an average 24% increase in ESP searches the day after each show. Virtual events certainly won’t replace our bricks-and-mortar ASI Shows (Orlando is January 23-25) but in these busy times, they’re an added value. The next ASI Virtual Trade Show is Wednesday, January 5 from 10 a.m. -3 p.m. ET, so mark your calendar. If you “attended,” let me know what you thought by posting a comment or emailing me here. I’m also on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Wednesday
September 22, 2010 Education Is the Key to SuccessFiled under: Education, Industry Initiatives, Member Benefits, News About ASI We just took a giant step toward boosting the professionalism level of every member of our industry. Starting now, distributors, suppliers and decorators can work toward the industry equivalent of a bachelor’s and master’s through a brand-new education initiative: the Advertising Specialty Institute Certification Program. The program is free, all-encompassing and user-friendly. And the virtual component means anyone can take part – from anywhere and at any time. What better way to impress new and existing clients than with proof of your industry knowledge? The demand is clear. In 2010 alone, 4,600 distributors took more than 16,000 live education courses at our trade shows, making ASI the largest educator in the $16 billion ad specialty industry. And no matter where I am, I hear from members who have a burning desire for more. This latest initiative is all part of our ongoing commitment to educating our members. ASI already invests about $1.3 million a year on education, and this new program is expected to cost another $100,000. What’s incalculable is the value of the skills needed to out-think, out-perform and out-service the competition. Tuesday afternoon, I held a heads-up conference call with members of my inner circle and almost immediately started receiving emails from people excited about the certification, which we formally announced during a special ASI Internet Radio show this morning and during today’s Virtual Trade Show, from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. ET. For answers to just about any question and even more info, click here. Here’s how the Advertising Specialty Institute Certification Program works: BASI (Bachelor of Advertising Specialty Information)
MASI (Master of Advertising Specialty Information)
Both live and online ASI Education courses qualify for credit. Candidates must complete certification within three years of beginning the program. Following defined guidelines, courses taken at a past ASI Show, on the ASI Education Online Learning Center, or completed at major industry events, such as the PPAI Expo or regional association conferences, will be eligible for transfer. There’s more. ASI members who earn BASI and MASI certifications will also qualify for numerous perks, like invitations to exclusive cocktail receptions at ASI Shows, VIP access to select events, advance copies of ASI surveys and research, and conference calls with me. In addition, you’ll get a certificate ready for framing and authorization to add BASI or MASI to your title, website, business cards and the like. You can start the certification process right now. Go to www.asicentral.com/education for a complete overview of ASI Education. ASI members can take advantage of a full slate of online offerings, including webinars, video packages and ASI Radio programs on the ASI Education Online Learning Center (www.asicentral.com/education). We’re also offering educational sessions at the ASI Power Summit, taking place November 7-9 in Florida, in addition to live courses offered at all ASI Shows in 2011. Please get in touch if you have any questions or need more info, and let me know what you think of the program by posting a comment or emailing me here. I’m also on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Wednesday
September 15, 2010 Only Creative Corporate Cultures Need ApplyFiled under: Community, Industry Initiatives, News About ASI Anyone who’s ever placed a “help wanted” ad knows how much is involved in finding, training and retaining quality employees – even in a tough economy. Making sure those employees enjoy coming to work every day, through good times and bad, takes real effort. This month, 75 companies that routinely go that extra mile landed on Counselor’s 2010 list of “Best Places to Work.” Every ad specialty company on the list provides typical health-care and financial benefits. But some turn into regular Picassos when it comes to devising creative incentive programs, like offering employees $1,000 for buying an eco-friendly car. Other companies on the list – perhaps thinking of the old adage about the stomach being the true path to the heart – court employees with tasty bennies like wine tastings and family barbecues. Dacasso (asi/48125), a Gainesville, FL-based supplier that landed in the number-one spot, gives off such a good vibe that even computer repairmen who visit the office leave thinking, “This is a great place to work!” Dacasso sets itself apart with everything from all-company murder mysteries to a tax-advantaged profit-sharing plan that allows employees to become fully vested at three months. To read our press release about the “Best Places to Work” list, click here. To read the cover story, which was written by Counselor Editor Andy Cohen and Staff Writer Dave Vagnoni and includes a very cool interactive map, click here. Here at ASI, we’ve received the Philadelphia Business Journal’s “Best Place to Work” award two years in a row. And we’ve been nominated by the Wall Street Journal for a “Top Small Workplaces” award. Employees tell us our annual employee recognition ceremony, on-site day care, ice cream socials and fiercely competitive Field Day helps set us apart. I’m proud to say our turnover is historically low. If you’d like to check out our career site, click here. We’re hiring! Let me know what creative benefits or programs your company offers by posting a comment or emailing me here. I’m also on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Friday
July 2, 2010 A Billion-Dollar IdeaFiled under: Industry Initiatives, News About ASI How does a billion dollars in sales sound? That’s what the industry could realize if distributor firms answer my challenge to add 20,000 new sales reps to grow our market, stimulate the national economy and put Americans back to work. ASI is doing its part by placing help-wanted ads for 100% commission-based sales reps on the job sites Monster and CareerBuilder across major markets. All you need to do to participate in this pilot recruitment program is email us at recruitment@asicentral.com with your contact info, number of sales reps needed, experience level desired and regions or states to cover. We’ll pass on all leads generated by our ads. This call to action – an industry first – is also appearing in the July issues of ASI’s Counselor and Supplier Global Resource magazines, hitting desks and mailboxes now. We’re sending it out across all social media channels as well, and we encourage you to do the same. Distributors will benefit by increasing their turf and making more sales. Suppliers will benefit by selling more products. The unemployed will benefit by getting back to work. It’s a win-win-win situation. Let’s face facts. Since the downturn, this industry has shed thousands of sales reps and lost $4 billion – the same loss Chrysler posted since declaring bankruptcy. When an industry’s suffering like automakers, it’s time to think big and act bold. We can get the ball rolling in three simple steps: 1: Generate sales. Get more reps on the street and making sales calls. 2: Get new reps up to speed fast. Tap into ASI’s array of multimedia education offerings, including the New Distributor Success Track, the Distributor Success System, free online webinars and education sessions at every ASI Show. 3: Sell people on this industry. How? By giving them the facts. Promotional products are one of the most efficient advertising mediums available in business today. The average cost-per-impression of an ad specialty item is $0.004, which beats nearly all other forms of advertising. Every time I meet someone outside the industry, I ask how often they’re contacted by distributors. Most of the time, their answer is “never.” That tells me we’re simply not covering all of the geographic and end-user markets. There are opportunities out there right now – and we should be taking advantage of them. Adding more reps will also solve another crucial problem: lack of diversity in our industry. A sales force that reflects all Americans will be better able to develop all opportunities the marketplace has to offer. If you’re still not convinced of the need to hire one commission-only sales rep, ask yourself this question: What do you lose if you don’t? The answer? Sales. Let me know what you think of ASI’s call to action by posting a comment or emailing me here. I’m also on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube. |
