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Tuesday
November 8, 2011 Counselor Names Power 50Filed under: ASI Shows, Community, Industry Initiatives, Members, News About ASI Timidity has no place in business. And if Polyconcept’s recent history has shown us anything, it’s exactly that. When Polyconcept’s Philippe Varnier, Yann Leca and David Nicholson purchased Trimark Sportswear, they changed the game by becoming the first major supplier to sell both hard goods and apparel. This big, bold move also helped propel them from No. 8 to No. 1 on this year’s Counselor Power 50 list. By definition, the business leaders on our annual list set the agenda for the market, provide successful examples for others to follow and, ultimately, dictate how business is done in the ad specialty industry. Last night we honored them for their outstanding business acumen at the fifth annual ASI Power Summit in Dana Point, California. Here’s the top of the 2011 Counselor Power 50 list:
For the complete Counselor Power 50 ranking, click here. For photos of the Power Summit and Monday’s awards ceremony, click here. It’s also worth noting the newcomers who hit the list for the first time, since they’re definitely among the ones to watch. They are:
For more info and details on why these leaders moved up – or down – read the upcoming December issue of Counselor and check it out online at http://www.counselormag.com/. Let me know what you think of this year’s ranking by posting a comment or e-mailing me here. I’m also on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Monday
November 7, 2011 James Carville Tackling ASI RadioFiled under: ASI Shows, News About ASI You could never accuse political pundit James Carville of being a shrinking violet. The upcoming ASI Show keynoter – a guest on ASI Radio this morning – stakes his claim to fame with the very first words posted on his website: “The man who has devised the most dramatic political victories of our generation.” Even if you disagree with his politics, you gotta admire Carville’s verve. The Democratic strategist credited with ushering an unknown Arkansas governor into the White House always tells it like it is, whether he’s opinionating on Sunday morning talk shows or addressing a corporate crowd like ours. I can’t wait to hear what he has to say on ASI’s weekly radio show. To listen in at 10:30 a.m. ET today, click here. You don’t have to prefer blue over red to enjoy Carville, a blunt-talking Southerner who dishes sports once a week on XM Radio and is married to Republican consultant Mary Matalin. His fierce frankness is why we chose him to square off with conservative Bill O’Reilly in “Live from the No-Spin Zone” January 18 in what’s sure to be a highlight of ASI’s first show of the year in Orlando. Carville and O’Reilly, Republican and popular host of Fox’s “The O’Reilly Factor,” will give us the straight scoop on the 2012 presidential elections just as the already divisive race kicks off. I, for one, can’t wait for this smackdown. Sparks will definitely fly. So tune in as our radio hosts get the first stab at the Ragin’ Cajun. I guarantee it’ll be one of the liveliest exchanges ever heard over our airwaves, as Carville gives us his firm opinion on everything from the huge role promotional products will play in the 2012 elections to whether LSU will take Tulane. Let me know what you think the hosts should ask Carville by posting a comment or e-mailing me here. I’m also on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Thursday
November 3, 2011 Applause! Applause!Filed under: Media Coverage, News About ASI One of the first things I ever won was an award for a school science fair project. All told, Folio: presented ASI with two gold, one silver and two bronze awards for editorial and design excellence, capping a record-setting year for the editorial staff. In 2011 alone, ASI magazines won an astonishing 26 national awards. Folio’s awards are considered the most inclusive and sought-after recognition in the industry, drawing more than 2,000 entries annually from magazines as impressive as Bloomberg Businessweek and Entrepreneur. Personally, I think ASI’s magazines consistently come out on top because they provide a service to readers, complete with ace reporting on vital industry issues and dazzling photo spreads. To check out the award winners yourself, just click on the links in the list below:
As top-notch as it is, the editorial department might have to make room for another byline – from our very own Rich Fairfield, who was published this week in none other than the venerable New York Times. Rich wrote a very funny story for the Times’ “Frequent Flier” column about the trials and tribulations of logging more than a million miles in the friendly skies. Anyone who travels for business will relate to Rich’s first-person account. To read it, click here. Let me know the last good story you’ve read by posting a comment or e-mailing me here. I’m also on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Wednesday
October 26, 2011 Delivering One-Click ConfidenceFiled under: News About ASI Safety and compliance is a paramount issue in our industry – whether it’s lead content in children’s products or simply knowing a product won’t fall apart when handled. After consulting with members of the ASI Safety and Legislative Advisory Board, we’ve made it easy for suppliers to add safety and compliance product certifications to their profiles in ESP. Here’s how: All ASI suppliers who have password access to ESP Updates can add either PDF documents or links to safety and compliance documents. This info appears on the supplier detail pages, which are viewed by more than 35,000 distributors using ESP. Safety and compliance information may be added by clicking on Manage Safety and Compliance Documents on the ESP Updates–Update Center page or by e-mailing info to espupdate@asicentral.com. Distributors can find safety and compliance info on ESP Web by clicking on the safety and compliance tab on a supplier’s detail page. If you have any questions, we’ve got a great team ready to answer them. You can e-mail Liz Kennedy, ASI’s director of product and technical support, at support@asicentral.com or call 800-546-1350, option 4. It’s crucial everyone in our business understands product safety laws – it’s a major value add for you and your clients. Let me know your thoughts by posting a comment or e-mailing me here. I’m also on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Tuesday
October 11, 2011 Automate with ASI SmartBooksFiled under: Guest Blog, News About ASI When I was a kid, my main chore was dishwashing. Since this was before automatic dishwashers were popular, it meant running hot soapy water, scrubbing hard with a threadbare dishrag and drying each dish by hand before putting it away into the cupboard. I despised dishwashing, much preferring playing on the swing, chasing the chickens, skipping rocks in the pond, even just watching the clouds go by. So getting the dishes done fast was a very important motivator. My father, who flew jets off aircraft carriers for the U.S. Navy, would occasionally get out the white gloves and inspect my work. His fastidious attention to detail often meant I’d have to start the process all over again until I got it right. I enjoyed a eureka moment when I read “Cheaper by the Dozen” in school, authored by a child of efficiency experts who invented the concepts of time/motion studies in automation. The book explains how, when you have a dozen children, you have to plan carefully. The concepts of process measurement, time control and quality metrics are all explained in a way even a 10-year-old could understand. Applying the same principles to my dishwashing, I determined the fastest, most efficient method with the greatest quality control. Years later, I became part of a team at ASI Computer Systems, Inc. that applied these same automation concepts and delivered them as a software product for the advertising specialty industry: ASI SmartBooks, a new, industry-specific business management software that allows distributors to manage their entire business with a single, flexible, powerful business application. To read our recent press release about ASI SmartBooks, click here. The basic principles about “which is fastest” and “how do we maintain high quality” have been applied to this new piece of technology that should do for distributors and suppliers what “Cheaper By The Dozen” did for my dishwashing. We started the two-year R&D process by taking our stopwatches and notepads out to scores of industry firms, watching what you do each day and asking lots of questions about how you get it done. These studies led us to some of the best practices in the industry that we tried to make fundamental to our new product, ASI SmartBooks. Thanks so much to those who helped us understand how to quote, order, process, deliver and account for promotional products fast and with quality. With ASI SmartBooks, you can get out of the kitchen, so to speak, and get back to selling. For more information on ASI SmartBooks, contact Tara Barbatti at tarab@asicomp.com to find out more. ASI Computer Systems is also offering ASI SmartBooks product webinars on October 13, 20 and 27, with additional webinars offered in November and December. To join the free webinars, e-mail ASISmartBooksInfo@asicomp.com. Click here to learn more. – Mark Bloom Software Product Manager, ASI Computer Systems, Inc.
Wednesday
October 5, 2011 Are You Ready For Some Football (Products)?Filed under: Media Coverage, News About ASI, Research, Using Ad Specialties Whether you’re betting on the Packers or the Bears, the Tarheels or the Cardinals, chances are you’re gearing up for some kind of NFL or college football party this season. Knowing how important football – and tailgating – is to millions of Americans, we conducted a survey on the use of gridiron-related promotional products. Results show a whopping 66% of those surveyed have been given a free football-related shirt that also advertises a business. The survey concerned tailgating habits along with the use of ad specialties in high school, college or professional football tailgating or parties. All told, 62% told us they’ve attended a tailgating event at a football game. So it’s clear that football-related promo products are a safe bet for businesses looking for inexpensive and effective advertising. For a Joe Show demo of some cool tailgating promotional products, click here. We sent out a press release with the survey results and it generated a lot of interest, including a story in the Big Lead Sports blog, which ranks No. 4 in the U.S. among all online sports properties in terms of unique visitors. Other survey highlights you might be able to use to liven up a sales pitch:
Larry Basinait, our executive director of research services, also found the most popular NFL teams among those surveyed are Dallas Cowboys (10%), Chicago Bears (8%) and Pittsburgh Steelers, Green Bay Packers and New England Patriots (all 7%). And like David Puddy in the “Face Painter” episode of Seinfeld, many tailgaters (17%) also report painting a part of their body before a game. In fact, nearly twice as many women as men have painted a body part for a football party (20% vs. 11%, respectively). That one really surprised me! Fans surveyed about their favorite football-related item cited everything from an autographed Joe Namath helmet, Dallas Cowboys clock, Green Bay Packers Crock-Pot and stuffed Penn State Nittany Lion to vehicle flags, terrible towels, bobbleheads and custom golf carts. Do you have a treasured souvenir? What’s the one product you always bring to tailgating events and games? Let me know by posting a comment or e-mailing me here.
Wednesday
September 28, 2011 Get Ready to Shop Till You DropFiled under: ASI Shows, News About ASI Pumpkins are on the stoop, which means the holiday season is upon us. The good news for the business community is that forecasters predict slightly higher sales than a year ago. We’ll take it! In our industry, there’s no better way to jump into the crucial fourth quarter than with the ASI Holiday Preview Tour, which attracted nearly 600 distributors at its first two stops in Los Angeles and Toronto. The next stop on the train to greater sales is Atlanta on October 18, and then Philadelphia on October 26. For distributors, the one-day tour offers the perfect place to gather fresh marketing ideas for clients, quickly and efficiently. And suppliers can meet hundreds of distributors in a few hours. What other show offers all that? Each show features leading ad specialty suppliers showcasing their seasonal products – along with the hottest ad specialty items for this final quarter. The show takes place in a tabletop setting, with free hot-topic education focused on ways to boost revenue. There’s even a fun networking reception. And in Philadelphia, Top 40 distributor Proforma (asi/300094) will co-locate a Proforma End User Showcase, giving those end-users an escorted tour of the show floor to discuss their needs with exhibitors. All distributors are invited to attend the Holiday Preview Tour for free and can register on-site with a business card or pre-register today at http://www.holidaypreviewtour.com/ to receive exclusive exhibitor specials and show updates in advance. To exhibit, suppliers can call their ASI Show sales rep at 800-546-3300 or contact manager Nick DiNicola directly at ndinicola@asicentral.com. Here’s one last sobering thought: There are only 88 shopping days left till Christmas. Are you ready? Let me know by posting a comment or e-mailing me here. I’m also on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube. |
To this day I can remember the pride I felt. But I doubt it even comes close to the feelings experienced this week by our publisher, Rich Fairfield, and editor-in-chief, Melinda Ligos, whose magazines just won five more national awards.
