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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.
Tuesday
May 5, 2009 New Virtual Trade Show for our IndustryFiled under: ASI Shows, Industry Initiatives, Member Benefits, News About ASI May 20 is a special date on the ASI calendar – our virtual trade show for the industry featuring Dard Products, Maple Ridge Farms, Prime Resources, and other top suppliers. This all-day, real-time event is the perfect alternative in challenging times for distributors, suppliers and decorators to connect, network and sell – without packing a single suitcase – and will feature a variety of top suppliers. And, it’s free for distributors.
A virtual trade show isn’t a substitute for face-to-face meetings at bricks and mortar trade shows (ASI Chicago is coming up fast in July), but we’re thrilled to provide an additional way to bring people together. Today it’s more important than ever for salespeople and suppliers to find each other, find the right products, and sell. And for many sales staff who often can’t travel to industry shows, there’s no more productive outlet than this show. Click here for a video message from me with more information.
More details are provided in the press release, available here. And if May 20 is already booked on your calendar, don’t worry. The show will be available anytime for six months following the live event. Registration for the ASI Virtual Trade Show is available to distributors for free – and with an added bonus. At registration, distributors will receive a free download of ASI’s new Distributor Success System – worth over $180 – with tips and proven strategies to spur business. Visit asicentral.com/vts to register. Let me know what you think about the trade show by posting a comment now or by emailing me here.
Wednesday
April 29, 2009 Interesting Research ResultsFiled under: Education, News About ASI, Research While the headlines this week were about industry sales being off, we dug deeper to figure out what separated the winners from the losers. Of all the reasons we checked, here are two numbers that matter: Among those distributors reporting an increase in sales for the first quarter of 2009, 71% had ESP Online. Among those reporting a decrease in sales, only 59% had ESP Online. Our research geek says “the difference is significant at the 95% level of confidence” — which he patiently explained to me translates to “this is definitely NOT a coincidence.” If you’re using ESP Online from ASI, you’re using a business management tool that truly sets you apart, and gives you a real advantage in finding ideas that matter and creating proposals that close business — now more important than ever. If you’re not yet using ESP Online, visit asicentral.com/esp to learn more and sign up for a free demo to see what you’re missing. Also, look through the other recent blog posts for useful resources, marketing tools and business tips to help you in this challenging economic time. Tell me how you’re boosting business by posting a comment on the blog now or emailing me here.
Monday
April 27, 2009 The ASI Store is open for business 24×7Filed under: Industry Initiatives, Member Benefits, News About ASI In today’s fast-paced marketplace, 24×7 is the new 9-5. So it’s no wonder online sales are growing at four times the rate of offline and businesses need to offer around-the-clock convenience. ASI is responding with the opening of the ASI Store, a new online shopping site available to distributors, suppliers and decorators. With the click of a mouse, ASI members can buy products and services, including the ESP Online business tool, customized LogoMall company websites, ASI catalogs and subscriptions to Counselor, Successful Promotions, Advantages, Stitches and Wearables magazines. Still thinking of becoming a member? Your can apply and pay online with a credit card, and it’s secure. It doesn’t matter if you’re halfway across the world on business, waiting for an early morning flight or awake and ready to roar at 4:00 a.m. We’ll continue to expand in coming months, adding more award-winning products and services from ASI. As always, we’ll continue to offer personalized service through our account executives, but for those times outside of normal business hours or across time zones, the ASI Store is always open. Take a look around and let me know what you think by posting a comment now or emailing me here.
Tuesday
April 14, 2009 Research for Awards & Engraving ProsFiled under: Industry Initiatives, Media Coverage, News About ASI, Research I was recently asked by Recognition Review, published by the Awards and Recognition Association, about what research, trends and information awards and engraving professionals can use to expand their promotional products business and to service current clients asking for them.
Promotional products provide a high ROI for marketers, and companies need them now more than ever to help them grab market share from their competitors. *************** According to the annual industry sales estimate from ASI, promotional products sales topped $19.6 billion in 2007, and we’re projecting the industry to be up slightly from that for 2008. ASI released a new study that indicates that over 80% of recipients who receive a promotional product remember the brand on the item. That’s powerful advertising and high recall for your marketing investment. The study is available free at asicentral.com/study and you can use it to educate your clients about the value of promotional products in their marketing. The study also found that about 81% of recipients keep an item because they consider it to be useful. So choose items for your clients that customers find valuable everyday. The return on your promotional products investment is stellar. Promotional products provide an estimated average cost-per-impression that is a fraction of a penny ($.004), which is lower than TV ads, radio ads or newspaper ads. The annual State of the Industry report, published by ASI’s Counselor magazine, indicates that the top five most popular advertising specialty categories are:
And the top end-user markets are:
In addition, your creativity is the limit. At the ASI Show in New York, one of five national promotional products trade shows we host throughout the year, I found iPod carriers, customized LED name badges, rubber calculators that you can roll up, and other innovative tech items to be in demand with clients. Watch a video with some of the products here. There are many more product ideas for businesses in videos from our national trade shows, available anytime and posted at asicentral.com.
Friday
March 27, 2009 Counselor Wins Third Neal Award, Stitches NominatedFiled under: Industry Initiatives, News About ASI, Using Ad Specialties
The Neal Awards are considered to be the Pulitzer Prize of the business press and Counselor was selected as a winner for “best news coverage.” The winning series of news articles was written by editor Andy Cohen, an eight-time Neal Award-winner, whose guidance helped Counselor take home its first Neal in 2007. For the press release, click here. I believe this recognition reflects our strong commitment to independence, objectivity and overall excellence that readers rely on each month to help them grow their business and make smarter, better decisions. Also, Stitches magazine from ASI, serving embroiderers and equipment manufacturers, was a finalist for its first Neal Award. Nicole Rollender is the magazine’s editor, and the nomination was for an ongoing feature series called “Business Spotlight: The Next Level.” While it didn’t win, it competed with well-known national publishers, including Hearst, publisher of O, The Oprah Magazine. All told, ASI’s magazines have won nine nationally-recognized writing, reporting and design awards, including its three Jesse H. Neal Awards. I couldn’t be more proud of our entire editorial staff and many of our 26,000 members, who contribute and help make Counselor and all of our publications some of the best in North America. For more about the Neal Awards, click here. Also, a reminder that American Business Media, host of the Neal Awards, has extended its deadline for the upcoming “sales promotion awards” to March 30 and is looking for more entries to round out the competition. The awards honor promotional and collateral materials and more information is here. Tell me about your latest accomplishment. Post a comment now or email me by clicking here.
Monday
March 23, 2009 Now’s Your Time to Advertise and Get the Word outFiled under: Industry Initiatives, Member Benefits, News About ASI, Using Ad Specialties
In fact, Counselor was ranked No. 1 in ad pages for 2008 among all business-to-business magazines, which just goes to prove what I’ve been saying all along – suppliers know that advertising works and now’s the time to ramp it up and reach the right qualified distributors. Read the press release here. A recent article in min’s b2b, a publication that tracks the magazine industry, also noted that Advantages magazine ranked No. 3. Together with Counselor, the two books accounted for 15% of all ad pages among the top 25 business-to-business publications in the nation. The article also ranked magazines in the advertising/marketing/sales management category for North America, where Advantages, Counselor and Successful Promotions comprised 29% of all ad pages and Successful Promotions posted the highest percentage increase versus the prior year. Competing industry publications accounted for only 18% of ad pages. I believe the rankings help get the word out that the advertising specialty industry is important and vibrant. What are you doing to get the word out about your business right now? Post a comment now or email me at tim.andrews@asicentral.com. |
Following is what I shared with them, which might be helpful to you in convincing your clients to increase their spending on ad specialties – particularly in these challenging economic times. 
