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Monday
September 19, 2011 What’s In Your Bag?Filed under: Industry Initiatives, News About ASI, Research, Using Ad Specialties Once again our industry is tapping into a growing worldwide trend by capitalizing on the plastic bag bans enacted in states as diverse as Alaska, California and North Carolina, and countries like Italy and India. According to Counselor’s 2011 State of the Industry report, bags accounted for 9.7% of all revenue from the sale of promo products last year, or $1.7 billion. And searches for bags in ESP rose more than 10% in the last year, with more than 10,000 bags from over 800 different suppliers currently available. California really seems to be on the cutting edge of this trend. The Los Angeles Times reports that a city councilman favors a bag ban that goes even beyond action already taken in other California cities and counties, calling for stores to stop using plastic and paper bags. There’s no question recyclable bags help reduce the billions of plastic bags circulating around the globe. It’s estimated that if each bag is used multiple times – at least once a week – four or five reusable bags can replace 520 plastic bags a year. There’s also no question bags make for terrific marketing vehicles. When compared with other promotional products like pens and caps, bags generate the highest number of ad impressions in a month – 1,078 for a single bag – because they’re used repeatedly in and out of the office, and the message they carry is seen by significant numbers of people. Don’t believe me? Next time you’re at the mall, a grocery store or a college campus, take a look at how many bags – and advertisers – you see. I rest my case. We spoke to distributor Michelle Altobelli of Altobelli Advantage, Inc., who called bags “a functional, usable, ageless item,” and suggests distributors help clients maximize their potential by tying in a marketing program to make it a really worthwhile promotional investment. What’s in your bag? Let me know by posting a comment or e-mailing me here. I’m also on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Friday
September 16, 2011 Log On, Learn and SellFiled under: ASI Shows, Members, News About ASI Our most recent Virtual Trade Show attracted a whopping 1,759 participants – and a ton of great comments. As always, the show featured multimedia demos, free catalogs and tons of top new suppliers. At this all-day virtual event, we had 27 show booths with sales reps and 40 ASI Education and certification programs. One participant was so impressed with the connections he made that he suggested we host a virtual show every week. Below is a sampling of other comments we received:
At the show, participants chatted with each other, viewed docs, catalogs and Webcasts and competed for $17,000 in prizes – all for free and without spending a dime on travel. The best part is no matter where you are – or how you’re dressed – you can log on and learn, network and sell. And if you missed the virtual event, you can access it on-demand here. 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. Our next Virtual Trade Show is scheduled for February 15, which seems like a long way off when the leaves are still (mostly) green but it’s just five months away. Yeah, there might be snow outside your door by then but with a virtual event, there’s no need to slosh through anything to participate. And, don’t forget – you can attend classes that are applied to your BASI or MASI certificate right from the virtual show floor. Let me know what you think of virtual events posting a comment or e-mailing me here. I’m also on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Thursday
September 15, 2011 Hop on the Holiday Preview TrainFiled under: ASI Shows, News About ASI The ASI Holiday Preview Tour kicks off its four-city excursion next week with stops in Los Angeles (Sept. 23), Toronto (Sept. 27), Atlanta (Oct. 18) and Philadelphia (Oct. 26). The full-day schedule features leading ad specialty suppliers showcasing their seasonal products – along with their hottest ad specialty items for the all-important fourth quarter – in a tabletop setting, free hot-topic education focused on ways to boost your revenue and a fun networking reception. Taking part in the ASI Holiday Preview Tour is good business. Free to all distributors, the tour will provide you with new, inspirational marketing ideas for your clients without spending a lot of time away from the office. Plus, just for attending you will be entered to win an iPad (drawing taking place that day) and a two-year lease on a new Mustang. It can’t get any better than this. Register today at www.holidaypreviewtour.com. Or, call 800-546-3300 with any questions. To exhibit, suppliers can call their ASI Show sales rep at 800-546-3300 or contact manager Nick DiNicola directly at ndinicola@asicentral.com. I hope to see you next week at the ASI Holiday Preview Tour. – Karen DiTomasso, VP of sales for The ASI Show
Tuesday
September 13, 2011 Get Your Avatar OnFiled under: ASI Shows, Community, News About ASI ASI’s next Virtual Trade Show kicks off Wednesday and there’s still time to register. The show features multimedia demos, free catalogs, tons of top new suppliers, 27 show booths with sales reps and 40 ASI Education and certification programs. Plus, you can win more than $17,000 in prizes. Click here to register for free for the 10 a.m.-3 p.m. ET show. Altogether, more than 1,500 visited our last virtual show, which generated 1,037 one-to-one chats. In addition, visitors viewed a total of 1,858 documents and 757 webcasts, staying at the show an average of 78.5 minutes – not bad for a free day with no expensive travel. The best part is no matter where you are – or how you’re dressed – you can log on and learn, network and sell. And if you miss this week’s virtual event, you can access it on-demand later here. 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. And, don’t forget – you can attend classes that are applied to your BASI or MASI certificate right from the virtual show floor. Let me know what you think of virtual events by posting a comment or e-mailing me here. I’m also on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Wednesday
August 31, 2011 You Spoke, We ListenedFiled under: Industry Initiatives, News About ASI ASI has long been committed to staying ahead of the technology curve, continually updating and improving our many products with one firm goal in mind: helping you close more sales. To that end, we just announced significant improvements to ESP Web that should benefit every subscriber. In many cases, you spoke and we listened, upgrading and adding new features based on your input, suggestions and feedback. Distributors and decorators should find significant enhancements to ESP Web’s user interface that improve speed and workflow, making the industry’s most accurate and up-to-date supplier and product database even faster and easier to navigate. Suppliers will find new advertising opportunities designed to help boost sales via trigger marketing and supplier specials. Like any system upgrade, this one is the result of months of hard work on the part of numerous members of our team. Some of them even worked with a hurricane bearing down because they were determined to make their deadline and guarantee a smooth transition for everyone. Now, it’s time for you to kick the tires and take it for a test drive. Please let me know what you think by posting a comment or e-mailing me here. I’m also on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube. Distributors and decorators who need info on subscribing to ESP Web can contact Dan Dienna, ASI’s VP of distributor services, at ddienna@asicentral.com or 800-546-1295. Suppliers should call 800-546-1226 or e-mail Gene Rahill, ASI’s digital advertising director, at grahill@asicentral.com.
Tuesday
August 30, 2011 Move Over, Disney WorldFiled under: Community, Members, News About ASI If you enjoy lists, there’s one to fit every bill – from Best Films and Best Restaurants all the way to Best Lunchboxes and Best Blogs. But one of the most prestigious for our industry is Counselor‘s annual Best Places to Work, a compilation of the happiest, hippest workplaces. All told, Counselor honored 85 ad specialty companies, with Seaena, a Las Vegas-based supplier that creates laser crystal promotional products, scoring the No. 1 spot. How hip is Seaena (asi/47782)? When three Counselor editors hit Vegas during their cross-country tour of cool companies, they were greeted by a Seaena sales rep dressed in full showgirl regalia, blue-feather headdress and all, toting an Elvis costume and driving a convertible mini cooper down the Sunset Strip. There’s no doubt Seaena is a hoot-and-holler kind of place, To see videos, picture galleries and blogs from the 2011 Best Places to Work road trip, click here. To see all 85 companies on the list, click here. To read more about those companies, click here. And for a special Best Places to Work Facebook page, where each week a different company on the list is profiled, click here. Let me know what qualities you think make a good company great by posting a comment or e-mailing me here. I’m also on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Monday
August 29, 2011 Hurricane Recovery UpdateFiled under: ASICentral, Community, News About ASI I hope all of you, and your family and friends, are safe and secure as we recover from this weekend’s hurricane on the East Coast. Like all of us at ASI (which was in Irene’s path), I know many distributors and suppliers are dealing with various stages of recovery – assessing water damage, trees down, travel issues and client and shipment concerns. Please let us know if there’s anything we can do to assist, or if some special accommodation is needed. We’ll do anything we can to help. We’ll post hurricane-related updates at http://www.asicentral.com/. If you have a business update for us to post about your situation, please email details to feedback@asicentral.com. Our information products and services, including ESP and LogoMall, have been up during the entire storm, with our backup generators being used during one relatively brief period. We have fully backed up technology and power in our main offices, as well as at an offsite location near Atlanta. In coming days and weeks, please let us know if any ASI materials (end-buyer catalogs, references, etc.) have been damaged at your homes or offices. We’ll replace them at no charge ASAP. Please also let us know if there’s anything we can do to help you or another colleague. My personal e-mail is tim.andrews@asicentral.com. I weathered the storm at my house in N.J. and came through relatively unscathed with a power outage and flooded basement. Luckily, I had a generator from an ice storm two years ago and a friend who came to help out – who then got stranded when the water rose. He’s since made it home to his family, which is what I hope for all of you. Let me know how you and your business fared by posting a comment or e-mailing me here. I’m also on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube. |
but that fun never stands in the way of profits. The company has grown its revenues by double digits in the past year and attributes the company’s teamwork-oriented atmosphere to its recent success.