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Monday
June 16, 2008 ASI Launches Assistance for Flood VictimsFiled under: Community, Industry Initiatives, News About ASI During the past several days, I’m sure you have joined me in thoughts and concerns for the tens of thousands of innocent people whose lives have been disrupted by flooding across several Midwest states. The photos and videos are nearly unbelievable. For those of us at ASI, the news and the visuals are very personal: — The Norman Cohn Family is originally from Iowa, and ASI Computer is based in Cedar Falls. Several employees have lost personal possessions or sustained flood damage to their homes. — I’m originally from Columbus, Indiana, and much of that rural town of 40,000 is under water or swept away. To help those in need of immediate food, shelter and clothing, the Cohn Family and ASI are making a cash contribution of $25,000 to the American Red Cross on behalf of its employees and 25,000 members. In addition, the Cohn Family and ASI will make a second $20,000 donation when total industry contributions reach $100,000. Visit http://american.redcross.org and designate your gift to the Disaster Relief Fund. Any amount will help and is greatly appreciated, as officials said this morning this fund needs to be replenished. To ensure your gift is counted by ASI, fax a copy of your donation receipt to Mark Quinn, chief financial officer, at 215-953-3908. Or mail it to Mark at Advertising Specialty Institute, 4800 Street Road, Trevose, PA 19053. We have been advised that shipments of product aren’t preferred at this time, due to challenges associated with distance and logistics. Your generous giving in recent ASI charitable drives — for the victims of the Florida hurricanes and later for the tsunami in South Asia — was a warm reminder that we are a compassionate, caring industry. Please join me in making this another remarkable effort.
Wednesday
June 4, 2008 Advantages Roadshow Expands to 77 LocationsFiled under: Education, Media Coverage, News About ASI
The Advantages Roadshow provides opportunities for distributors, suppliers and decorators to connect and do business locally across the United States, and over 9,200 distributors and suppliers have attended so far this year – with several weeks to go. We just announced the 2009 schedule – the second year for the shows – and it includes six locations where the Advantages Roadshow will co-locate with the Stitches Roadshow.
That’s important, because embroidery equipment and supply companies can do business with suppliers and distributors – perhaps for the first time.With over 700 distributors on average attending an Advantages Roadshow per week, I urge you to check out the new schedule and determine if there’s one near you to attend. Registration is free and the shows are open to ASI members and non-members.More details are in today’s press release, below:
Tuesday
June 3, 2008 More Advertising to End-Buyers? See our Folio adFiled under: News About ASI Our industry is about products that advertise, but interestingly there’s little advertising promoting advertising specialties to end-buyers. Folio magazine recently invited us to place a print ad in its latest issue to congratulate ASI on winning two consecutive Neal Awards for Counselor magazine’s editorial excellence. While the two-page spread is about us on the left half, on the right half we dedicated the space to educating Folio’s readers – media professionals and businesspeople responsible for marketing decisions at their companies – about how important advertising specialties are for branding themselves. Click here to see the ad. We included brief stories, pulled from Successful Promotions magazine, that highlight how other magazines – like Jane and Maxim – have successfully used advertising specialties to get results for their marketing campaigns, parties and events. We also invited readers to visit www.successfulpromotions.com to subscribe to Successful Promotions for more case studies and to find a local distributor. Tell me what you think about the ad and our effort. Post now on the blog or email me anytime, at tim.andrews@asicentral.com.
Monday
May 12, 2008 NYC Results – More Business for You, Barbara Corcoran Tips, USA Today MentionFiled under: News About ASI I wanted to let you know about last week’s ASI New York Show and some feedback I’ve received from distributors and suppliers. Attendance was higher than we anticipated – more than 2,800 distributors – and was up 50% from last year’s Philadelphia show. Suppliers told us that distributors attending were large customers and prospects and that they did above-average business. Many said that high-quality counts just as much, if not more than, quantity. Early results from distributor surveys show that they were pleased with the variety of exhibitors – 500 suppliers total – including 100 not appearing at any other Northeast show. Of course, there are things we’ll do differently next year, when the show moves to early March. And, I welcome any suggestions.
Thursday
May 8, 2008 From NYC: Watch Video of 7 Products to Sell and Counselor Awards WinnersFiled under: News About ASI We’ve had an energetic event at our inaugural ASI Show in New York City and I’m excited to share seven unique products that caught my attention from suppliers. Over 100 suppliers here are not exhibiting at any other Northeast show, and 70 suppliers are exhibiting at their very first industry show. [flashvideo filename=http://cdn.asicentral.com/idesign/global/videocast/asicentral/Tim_video_new_york_08_final.flv image=TimNewYork.gif /] The video includes:
We also announced the winners of the 2008 Counselor Awards to recognize outstanding individuals and business achievements in nine awards categories. The Top 40 distributors and suppliers rankings were also revealed, along with the winners of the Product Design Awards. Visit www.asicentral.com/counselorawards for photos from the Cole Porter-inspired event at Cipriani’s on Wall Street. You can also view the complete Top 40 rankings and learn more about the winners – including the story behind Person of the Year, Jack Teague, and how he is leading the way in product safety, compliance and product development. Congratulations to all of this year’s winners:
The 12 Product Design Awards winners will be featured in the May issue of Counselor and in the upcoming May/June issue of Supplier Global Resource. Tell me what you think about the New York show, other products you’ve seen this year, or anything else on your mind – post now on the blog or email me anytime, at tim.andrews@asicentral.com Also, stay informed and submit your email in the window called ‘Enter your email for updates’ at the top right of the screen and you’ll get a note when my next post is live.
Tuesday
April 29, 2008 Bonjour! New Products from ASI Canada and Toast Your BunsFiled under: Guest Blog, News About ASI From Colin Graf, marketing manager for ASI catalogs: Bonjour! I recently returned from the great north city of Toronto at ASI Canada’s spring seminars, along with Jay Ostrow from ASI.
When I say spring, I mean 0 degrees Celsius. That’s about 32 degrees Fahrenheit for all you yanks. My good friend Fred Oesen, vice president of ASI Canada, taught me an easy conversion trick. Multiply by two and add 32. But no matter what way you convert it, it didn’t feel like spring. There were several interesting products on display and as is the trend at many of the events that I’ve been attending, “green” is hot! Also, the new Blossom Ballpoint line of pens from Spector Image (asi/88660) were noticeable, since they’re not only pens, but also lights with the color of the light matching the color of the pen. Another cool product was the hotdog stand from Bonica Precision (asi/40903) – a compact version of the old style hot dog roller with an integrated toaster oven to toast your buns. If only I had room in my suitcase, my kitchen would have had a new toy.
Anyway, the ASI Canada seminars are held in a very personal roundtable format that give each supplier involved 15 minutes of face-time with six to eight distributors at a time. These are held twice a year in both western and eastern Canada. The attendance and interest this time around was great and the feedback from both sides has been nothing but positive. Both groups seem to really enjoy the half-day seminars, and hey…breakfast and lunch is included. A win, win. In this industry the building of relationships is essential, and that’s what these seminars are all about. I know I made some good friends on this trip. I had a great time with Bernie from Minimedia (asi/71475) and Brent from Bonica, and Alex from Debco Bag (asi/821555) was dependable for a good laugh.
Jay handled the ASI table, covering everything from catalogs to LogoMall. The main focus of interest was overwhelmingly for ESP Online, and he demonstrated the basics for beginners and the tricks, advanced features and ins-and-outs for the current users. It seemed everyone walked away impressed, even the doubters. On the way home, Jay and I discussed how satisfying it was to be able to help so many people optimize their use of ESP and see the wide-eyed amazement from the non-users. I’m sure he’ll be hearing from quite a few of the week’s attendees. All in all, it was a successful trip. We even had a chance to sample local flavors from the Sleeman and Steam Whistle Breweries. I highly recommend the Steam Whistle Pilsner – check out the imprinted glass. What do you think? Post now on the blog, or email Colin, at cgraf@asicentral.com.
Friday
April 11, 2008 Video of 7 Products to SellFiled under: News About ASI I just came from the energetic floor of ASI Vegas and noticed several interesting products to sell to your clients. Suppliers and distributors were buzzing about them and they’re products that you may not have seen before. [flashvideo filename=http://cdn.asicentral.com/idesign/global/videocast/asicentral/homepage/morevideos/Tim_new_products_vegas_2008_final.flv image=tim_vegas.jpg /] Products featured are: • Light-up badge, from Chemical Light (asi/44880) I hope the year is going great for you and sales are brisk. Let me know what other products you’re seeing. Post now on the blog or send me an email anytime – at tim.andrews@asicentral.com. Also, stay informed and submit your email in the window called ‘Enter your email for updates’ at the top right of the screen and you’ll get a note when my next post is live. |
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