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Thursday
February 10, 2011 All’s Fair in Love and Promo ProductsFiled under: Members, News About ASI, Using Ad Specialties No matter how you celebrate “love and affection between intimate companions” – the official Wikipedia definition of Valentine’s Day – you might get some fresh ideas after browsing our annual top 10 list of sexiest products. There is really no end to creativity when it comes to romance – and promo products. Consider the chocolate lip balm, feathered bikini top and edible bubble bath on our list and think about ways clients could use them in special, themed promotions. For a YouTube video featuring a demo of some of the products, click here. For photos and info, click here. Whether your intimate companion is a special spouse or a beloved calico cat, I hope you enjoy this year’s list:
Let me know how you celebrate the special day by posting a comment or emailing me here. I’m also on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Thursday
February 10, 2011 O Canada: Buyer’s Guide Now AvailableFiled under: News About ASI, Using Ad Specialties Every year, ASI’s The Professional Buyer’s Guide sells out – for good reason. It helps increase sales. For 2011, distributors are loving full-color imprinting and 120 pages of product ideas. This year, pre-sales for the go-to catalog for the Canadian marketplace are even stronger. Guaranteed circulation is 50,000, and we’ve already received pre-orders totaling nearly 39,000 copies. I thoroughly enjoy my visits to Canada, a great nation that offers everything from the cool jazz of Montreal to the glorious vistas of the Canadian Rockies. And who doesn’t tear up when hearing their moving national anthem, “O Canada”? ASI Canada is in the very capable hands of VP Fred Oesen and Jay Ostrow, our executive director of distributor services. For more info on ASI Canada, check out the website here. The Professional Buyer’s Guide is elegant-looking and features select products from elite suppliers in all categories across all price ranges. Whether you want antibacterial products, auto accessories and awards or watches, whistles and wine accessories, this catalog has it all. The catalog features numerous Canadian-made products, from apparel to custom wooden boxes, and an exclusive selection of environmentally friendly “green” goods. There’s even quick-response-code technology for smartphones to deliver additional info and specials. With exclusive full-color imprinting, The Professional Buyer’s Guide can now include the distributor’s color logo and contact information on the cover any time throughout the year, which means distributors can create a personalized marketing approach to differentiate themselves from their competition, build strong brand awareness and create a more professional image for clients. Why should distributors include catalogs in their marketing mix? It’s simple: Research shows they remain a proven advertising vehicle. According to a recent study of end-buyers, paper catalogs drive 93% of purchasing decisions. It’s hard to argue with stats like those. To see sample pages or order online, click here. For more information, contact Dan Brown, executive director of distributor services, at dbrown@asicentral.comor at 800-546-1350. Distributors receive free shipping on orders placed by Monday, February 14. Let me know how catalogs have helped you increase sales by posting a comment or emailing me here. I’m also on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Wednesday
February 9, 2011 Better Navigation of Tricky ComplianceFiled under: Guest Blog, Member Benefits, News About ASI We all know how challenging it is to navigate through ever-changing product-safety compliance regulations. With escalating concern for product safety and compliance in our industry, there couldn’t be a better time to announce that ASI – in conjunction with our Safety and Legislative Advisory Board – has selected Intertek as its exclusive partner for product quality and safety solutions. And, ASI has negotiated a preferential rate for members to save 20% on all services related to safety testing and compliance. Just this week, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) extended the enforcement date for testing of lead content in children’s products to December 31. That means U.S manufacturers will be required to have CPSC-approved third-party certification for children’s items to prove that products they produce or import contain no more than the allowable limit of lead. So even though there’s more time to meet that one requirement, federal restrictions governing manufacturers and importers will change once again in August. We gave a lot of thought to this issue and worked closely with the ASI Safety and Legislative Advisory Board before selecting Intertek, the accredited world leader in testing, auditing, inspection and certification of consumer goods across all product lines. How will Intertek benefit your company? By helping you answer questions like the ones below:
Click here to get more information on how Intertek can work with your company for product testing and to sign up for Intertek’s consumer newsletter. To read our press release, click here. And if you have any further questions, please email me at kcoates@asicentral.com.
– Karyn Coates, ASI’s director of member benefits
Thursday
February 3, 2011 Super Bowl Means Super BucksFiled under: Industry Initiatives, Members, News About ASI No matter who wins the Super Bowl, it’s clear one industry will emerge a winner no matter who takes home the fancy rings: the ad specialty industry. We spoke to a number of companies that are working overtime to produce everything from official Super Bowl jackets and fan-favorite foam fingers to title towels and T-shirts. We were so impressed with the massive output, we put out a press release detailing who’s doing what. It’s all part of ASI’s ongoing effort to publicize our industry to end-buyers. Click here to check out recent press coverage and to read some of our many press releases. The bottom line when it comes to major sporting events is that a big game means big bucks for promotional products companies. Jim Silver of Pittsburgh, PA-based Precision Screen Printing (asi/603946) says his company will produce 25,000 to 35,000 T-shirts by devoting two presses and 14 people over a 36-hour period. Another company in Steelers territory, All Pro Embroidery, produced about 40,000 T-shirts leading up to the game and expects to print 20,000 more if their team wins. More than 2,000 jackets are expected to be ordered online immediately following the big game. “Craftsman-style Super Bowl jackets, our most popular item, are decorated on-demand and shipped within 48 hours directly to the fan,” said Matt Gray, chief operating officer of Dunbrooke Apparel Corp. (asi/50930), a leading supplier of NFL jackets under its licensing agreement with Reebok and the National Football League. “We bring in 12-hour nightshift crews to man the 250 embroidery-machine heads and begin the process the minute the final game whistle blows.” Dallas, TX-based Purple Giraffe (asi/80086) is operating 16 hours a day to produce packaged T-shirts in the shapes of footballs, postcards and DVD cases, as well as to put Super Bowl T-shirts into Pepsi bottles. “We’ll make enough money to pay owner and general manager Jerry Jones for signage rights to the new Cowboys Stadium,” joked manager Robbie Weinberg. “Just kidding, Jerry.” In a nod to the record-breaking cold snap in Dallas, Purple Giraffe is also selling quite a few iBEANi’s (beanie caps with built-in iPod speakers). They even scored Martellus Bennett, tight end for the Dallas Cowboys, pictured above, to pitch them. In addition, sports-related products provided by ASI member companies include watches from Fossil (asi/55145), a cooler shaped like a helmet from America Zebra Line (asi/35745), a helmet snack server (chips stay in the top and dip goes in the facemask) from LarLu Display-Tec (asi/66390), and oversized, logoed cowboy hats from Spirit Industries (asi/88740). “It’s great for our industry,” said Joe Durand, senior VP of LarLu (asi/66390), an officially licensed provider of the Green Bay Packers’ Titletown Towel and the Pittsburgh Steelers Terrible Towel for Super Bowl XLV. McArthur Towel & Sports, a LarLu company, has produced the renowned yellow towels fans have waved at Pittsburgh Steelers games for the last 14 years. Recently, the company was also licensed to bring back a new version of the Green Bay Packers Title Towel. “The towel is a tremendous sponsor product with excellent visibility at sporting events,” Durand told us. McArthur will work around the clock to produce the Super Bowl XLV Trophy Towels that will be used during the on-field celebration. Let me know if your company jumped into the game by posting a comment or emailing me here. I’m also on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Tuesday
January 25, 2011 Orlando Attendance Soars 38% to New RecordFiled under: ASI Shows, Community, Education, Members, News About ASI The doors are closed and the results are in. The ASI Show Orlando posted record-breaking attendance of more than 6,110 distributors, up 38% from last year and up 5% from the prior record. What a show! It’s clear we’re charging into 2011 pumped up by big attendance numbers and a re-energized industry. It’s also clear that ASI Orlando has developed into the leading East Coast show in January, drawing from distributors across the country. And the number of suppliers exhibiting this year is up nearly 10%, which reflects their recognition of the power of ASI Shows across the board. Suppliers tell us Orlando was one of the busiest industry shows in recent memory. We think you’ll agree that pushing the dates a few weeks later in January made a world of difference, allowing everyone time to calm down after the excitement of the holiday season. Equally as important is the economic up tick we reported today in PromoGram. There’s no doubt the industry is finally in rebound. Throughout the show – from a record-breaking Education Day through the Counselor Distributor Choice Awards, the Gala Celebration and the Michael J. Fox keynote – the feedback we’ve received has been enormously satisfying. Jason Grindall, from Graphco Line (asi/57956) said, “We saw more distributors here at ASI Orlando during the first day alone than we did during the entire PPAI show. We’re leaving with quality leads and have spent time with many wonderful people.” Mary Ellen Nichols, from supplier Bodek & Rhodes (asi/40788), loved the incredible volume of distributors and quality attendees while David Regan, from The Vernon Group (asi/351700) called the show “a great way to start the year.” We had a blast last night along with 1,700 others who attended an exclusive networking Gala Celebration at the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios. Les Kania, from Imprinted Specialty Products (asi/23070), put it perfectly: “This is the way to go to an amusement park. The bars are open, the lines are short and the food is good. It’s a terrific evening.” Click here for full video coverage of ASI Show Orlando. Click here for pics of our fashion show. And don’t forget to register today for the ASI Show in Dallas, Wednesday, February 16-Friday, February 18, and the ASI Show in New York, Tuesday, March 22-Wednesday, March 24, at www.asishow.com. Let me know your thoughts on Orlando by posting a comment or emailing me here. I’m also on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Tuesday
January 25, 2011 Let the Rebound BeginFiled under: ASI Shows, News About ASI We announced some great news for the industry at our show in Orlando this week: According to an ASI study, the ad specialty industry began its recovery in earnest in 2010, increasing by 9.1% over 2009 to $17 billion. Click here for a Tim’s Take video with more details on this awesome news, which we broke first in PromoGram. In the video, I also discuss our record-breaking attendance on Education Day, which attracted over 2,000 people to more than 60 education sessions, sponsored by Fields Manufacturing (asi/54100). This year, 95% of ASI’s sessions are brand new. It’s been a terrific day in Orlando. We started off early this morning with a wonderful keynote by actor and activist Michael J. Fox, who addressed nearly 2,000 people. He was exactly as you’d expect – funny and forthright. “The script of your life is not written yet,” he said, stressing his fight with Parkinson’s disease has been an opportunity to help others. “Life is about choices and the only choice I don’t have is about Parkinson’s. Everything else is up to me.” As cheeky as he was playing Alex P. Keaton on “Family Ties,” Fox told the audience about moving to Hollywood to pursue his acting dreams and living in an apartment so small he washed dishes in the shower. His big break happened in 1982, when the producers of “Family Ties” called. “I didn’t have a phone, so I closed the deal on a pay phone outside a chicken joint,” Fox said. When he was 29, and starring in another hit sitcom, “Spin City,” he was broadsided. “One day there was a tremor in my pinky finger,” he said. “Later a doctor sat me down and told me I had Parkinson’s. I didn’t want to believe it.” Refusing to give up, Fox devoted himself to finding a cure for Parkinson’s disease, raising the hopes and quality of life of those who suffer from the disorder. To date, the Michael J. Fox Foundation has raised more than $225 million for Parkinson’s research. “Answers aren’t going to fall from the sky,” Fox told ASI’s audience. “We have to reach up for them.” Who’s inspired you? Let me know who and how by posting a comment or emailing me here. I’m also on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Tuesday
January 25, 2011 Twisting for a Good CauseFiled under: ASI Shows, Community, Media Coverage, News About ASI I haven’t danced the twist in at least 30 years, but Monday night I happily joined nearly 2,000 other hearty souls in an attempt to break a Guinness World Record for twisting. The “Peppermint Twist-off” took place at our ASI Show in Orlando and it was a hoot. The twist-off was for a good cause – and made for great TV. The NBC affiliate in Orlando, WESH, ran a segment on our efforts and WKMG, the CBS affiliate, promoted it on their broadcast Monday morning. Joey Dee – nattily decked out in a brilliant red suit and shoes – led the crowd in twisting to his No. 1 hit, “Peppermint Twist.” Dressed adorably in classic ’60s “poodle” garb were Sydney and Mackenzie Cohn, the daughters of ASI Vice-Chairman Matthew Cohn. The girls, who were diagnosed with juvenile diabetes at age 7, co-chaired the twist-off to help raise money for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International. So far, Sydney and Mackenzie, now 11 and 9, have raised over a million dollars for the foundation. Monday, they helped raised a few thousand more. It’s remarkable how much they’ve accomplished at such a young age, especially in the face of such a sobering disease. No one knows why their immune systems went haywire and started attacking their pancreases, keeping their bodies from making insulin. Now, they live each day trying to balance their blood sugars with small machines attached to their bodies, constant blood tests, counting carbs, and insulin injections or infusions, all while trying to be regular kids. Monday, they were exactly that. Click here to watch a video of the girls discussing the twist-off and if you can, please make a donation to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International. Click here to watch a video of the twist-off. We won’t know if we broke the record until Guinness officials get back to us. But that’s really not as important as the effort everyone made to come together for a good cause – while having an awful lot of crazy fun. If you were at the twist-off, please let me know how you did by posting a comment or emailing me here. I’m also on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube. |
