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Thursday
May 21, 2009 Virtual Trade Show Draws 2,000+ Distributors; Next in AugustFiled under: ASI Shows, Industry Initiatives, Member Benefits, Members, News About ASI At a time when other shows are down, ASI is delivering. Our first industry virtual trade show took full advantage of the latest technologies and attracted over 2,000 distributors. Demand from suppliers was so great we’ve added a second virtual trade show, scheduled for Wednesday, August 19. For those who could not attend this week’s show, it will be available on demand at www.asicentral.com/vts, beginning Tuesday, May 26. Read the press release here. No one else in the industry is doing more for distributors, suppliers and decorators. By offering a cutting-edge virtual trade show, ASI proved it’s able to respond effectively to the times with the resources you need now.
Above and below: ASI staff interacting with attendees in the show’s online chat rooms.
In addition to networking and selling, our online event also featured leading education sessions for distributors. Sessions included sales tips, research from ASI’s advertising specialties impressions study, information from the Counselor State of the Industry report, and a live broadcast of the ASI Internet Radio Show that attracted over 200 live listeners. Reactions from attendees were positive:
The next event in August will build on these great features we offered this week:
Registration for the next ASI Virtual Trade Show is free for distributors – more information coming soon – and suppliers can exhibit. To exhibit, contact Dan Dienna, advertising director for catalogs and electronics, at ddienna@asicentral.com.
Thursday
May 14, 2009 Facts and Photos From Toronto’s RoadshowFiled under: ASI Shows, Community, Industry Initiatives, Member Benefits, Members, News About ASI I attended an Advantages Roadshow in the world-class city of Toronto, along with our “True North” hosts, Fred and Leslie Oesen, and wanted to share some photos and information from the trip. Canada is one of the largest trading partners overall with the U.S. and promotional products sales are about $3.5 billion there. We’re committed to the Canadian marketplace and provide Canadian versions of LogoMall websites for distributors and ESP Online – featuring Canadian suppliers – and our best-in-class Advantages Roadshows now reach nine cities in Canada. I’m also looking forward to seeing our Canadian suppliers and distributors at the ASI Show in Chicago, where we host a special Canadian reception that’s typically packed. When you share a border that’s 5,522 miles long, shows on both sides are paving a lot of two-way streets leading to better business. Let me know if you have any stories or experiences from the beautiful Northern Lights country by posting a comment now or email me here.
Monday
April 6, 2009 Words of Wisdom for These Challenging TimesFiled under: Education, Members, Research
During the current economic downturn, you have an incredible opportunity to INCREASE SALES and BUILD MARKETSHARE. But don’t take my word for it…here’s some proof to back-up the common sense. Click here to download and use the “Recession Sales Sheet” with results of studies encouraging companies to increase marketing now, including the information below. • 1940’s, 50’s, 60’s – Buchen Advertising tracked advertising dollars vs. sales trends for the recessions of 1949, 1954, 1958 and 1961. They found that sales and profits dropped at companies that cut back on advertising and, after the recession had ended, those same companies lagged behind the ones that maintained their ad budgets. • 1970’s – An American Business Press study showed that companies who advertise and market aggressively can maintain and increase sales during a recession and in the following years. • 1980’s – McGraw-Hill Research analyzed 600 B2B companies and found that those who maintained or increased advertising grew significantly…both during the recession and the following three years. In fact, by 1985, sales of companies that advertised aggressively had grown 275% over those that didn’t. • 1990’s – A MarketSense study concluded the best strategy for coping with a recession is balancing long-term branding with promotions for short-term sales. The study shows brands like Jif and Kraft Salad Dressing experienced sales growth of 57% and 70% respectively after increasing their advertising during the recession. • 2009 – The results are up to you! ASI Marketing has created an informative sheet with additional “recession-busting” information for you to personalize and share with your clients and prospects. To access and use the “Recession Sales Sheet” now, click here .
Thursday
April 2, 2009 Charitable giving: Dig a little deeperFiled under: Community, Members, Using Ad Specialties No matter what your personal situation, it’s a guarantee somebody out there has it worse, which is why it’s more important than ever to give. Right now, organizations like food banks and homeless centers are in critical need, especially since many of those organizations depend on contributions from foundations that are feeling the pinch. Here at ASI, we have a longstanding tradition of giving – in good times and bad. Last year alone, United Way received about $23,000 from ASI employees, including the company match. ASI is a family-owned company, chaired by Norman Cohn, which also believes strongly in giving back.
Above and below: The Cohn family at this year’s Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation fundraising walk. Left to right: Suzanne Cohn, Norman’s wife; Norman Cohn; Sydney (middle), Matthew’s daughter; Mackenzie (front left), Matthew’s daughter; Lea (front center), Matthew’s wife; and Jennifer Morrison (front right), Lea’s mother. Norman’s son, Matthew, vice chairman, and Matthew’s two young daughters, Mackenzie and Sydney, have spearheaded a drive (www.cohnsisters.com) to help cure diabetes and have raised nearly $300,000 so far this year – and a total of over $700,000 over the last two years. Many industry folks generously supported the team with donations or products that were used during this year’s walk.
Even if you don’t have a dime to spare, there are other ways of giving back. Volunteer time at a community organization, clean out your closet and bring clothes to a homeless shelter or donate blood. Believe me, you’ll feel great.
ASI is recognized as platinum-level sponsor for a total pledge of $120,000 to the Promotional Products Education Foundation. Here I am receiving an award on behalf of contributions made by the Cohn family and ASI, from Wayne Greenberg, left, account manager for Geiger. Our employees feel great all year long by contributing to a wide variety of causes, including the Adopt-a-Family program with our local American Red Cross, which a good majority of our staff participate in each year and have contributed over $11,000 to since 2005. We’re also involved with the Bucks-Montgomery Center for Human Services food drive, MANNA, Boy Scouts food drive, Toys For Tots, A Woman’s Place cell phone drive, and the Ronald McDonald House. The list goes on. I’m not sharing this to toot ASI’s horn, but to remind everyone that we can’t forget others who still need our help, especially in these economic times. Every dollar counts, and every dime matters. As more floods affect our colleagues and friends in North Dakota and other weather-related disasters are becoming a challenge for people in several states around the nation, please consider donating to the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund here. Tell me how you or your company contributes. Post a comment now or email me here.
Wednesday
March 18, 2009 Promo Products to Keep us Focused – VideoFiled under: ASI Shows, Education, Members, Using Ad Specialties
The beauty of our industry is that promoting your business during downturns is cost-effective with promotional products, and now is the time to educate your clients about the high ROI advertising specialties provide. I mentioned earlier that my friends and I decided to take a break one weekend from the doom and gloom of the recession coverage in the media and I hosted a “Recession Calls it Quits” gathering. We traded ideas and looked at our glasses as half-full. For attendees I ordered – what else? – promotional products, and I wanted to share them with you so you could see what several industry suppliers created to help make the event memorable:
And during our recent ASI Show in New York, I found a clever bumper sticker saying “I Refuse to Participate in a Recession,” from Gill Studios (asi/56950). Click here to watch the video with the sticker now. I’ve had numerous conversations with people about what they’re doing to build their business. Tell me your ideas – post a comment now or email me. Also, visit YouTube to watch my video of hot products from New York and share it with your clients.
Wednesday
February 25, 2009 Ideas for the Auto Body MarketFiled under: Education, Members, Using Ad Specialties
I’m sure some nearby auto shops could have used a magazine like FenderBender to help me with my car. FenderBender – a trade publication mailed to 55,000 collision repair and auto body shop owners around the U.S. – recently asked me to share the value of promotional advertising with their readers. Click here to check out the article. The new publication, which hits a whopping 85% of the collision repair market, helps shop operators “think outside the blocks” with their marketing, which we all need to do these days. I shared some results from ASI’s latest end-user study, which indicates that over 80% of recipients who receive a promotional product remember the brand on the item. You know those car air fresheners everyone seems to have? I suggested that shops could give one away stamped with a special Website customers can visit for a monthly prize drawing. Business owners get proof of traffic because that item is the only marketing vehicle carrying that Website. Another thought: include a clickable link online so customers can send the contest Website to friends and expand the shop’s referral base.
To find products, shop owners can search their local area for qualified ASI distributors at successfulpromotions.com, hosted by ASI. If you have any other ideas, I’d love to hear them. Post a comment on the blog or email me at tim.andrews@asicentral.com.
Friday
February 6, 2009 Hot Product Videos and Record Dallas AttendanceFiled under: ASI Shows, Education, Member Benefits, Members, News About ASI, Using Ad Specialties
Read the press release here. I enjoyed checking out “must have” products for this year, meeting with distributors and suppliers, and of course sampling Texas barbeque at Eddie’s Deen’s Ranch. Also, watch my products video from the ASI booth featuring these cool items for 2009, like:
There’s also my video on closing day, featuring the new stainless steel drinkware with digital wrap-around printing and a double-wall acrylic travel cup with leak-proof seal. They’re all great products that will brighten your day and interest clients, no matter what the economic challenges are. Now, more than ever, marketers need the impact and high ROI that advertising specialties provide. Everyone’s been really excited after attending Don Hutson’s keynote and we’re ready to put into action the sales tools and strategies he’s devised to get any business cracking. Everyone who attended his session also received a copy of his book, The One-Minute Entrepreneur: How to Prosper Beyond Your Wildest Dreams. Along with all the great distributors and suppliers I met and friends I reconnected with, I’m returning to ASI more energized for the year and with a really interesting piece of Texas trivia: In the Lone Star State, it’s illegal to put graffiti on someone else’s cow. What products have you seen that caught your eye in Dallas or elsewhere? Post a comment on the blog now or email me anytime at tim.andrews@asicentral.com. |
