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Wednesday
October 6, 2010 Select the Best of the BestFiled under: News About ASI, Using Ad Specialties Here at ASI, we take your feedback seriously. In the last year, for instance, distributors rated over 100,000 transactions in 25,000 supplier ratings reports to help determine the industry’s top-rated suppliers. Those suppliers – the ones you rated four-stars or above – are now featured in the 2011 Select catalog. When distributors choose Select to market themselves, what they’re really choosing is excellent customer service, high-quality products and timely delivery. It’s the worry-free choice. To read our press release on the 2011 Select, click here. To see Select pages, click here. Select is one of eight customized catalogs offered by ASI as sales-generating tools for suppliers to advertise a wide variety of products and for distributors to sell, market and promote their brand. What sets Select apart is its keen presentation: the high-quality product display looks and feels professional. Inside, you’ll find more than 175 products, including clocks and watches, apparel, executive gifts, and food and drink items, all of which will appeal to a wide variety of buyers for their marketing campaigns, events or recognition programs. And each copy can be imprinted in full color and personalized with the distributor’s logo and contact information on the cover any time throughout the year. For more information about Select, contact Dan Brown, ASI’s executive director of distributor services, at dbrown@asicentral.com or at 800-546-1350. Check out the 2011 Select and let me know what you think by posting a comment or emailing me here. I’m also on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Thursday
September 30, 2010 Industry Joins Fight Against Breast CancerFiled under: Industry Initiatives, Using Ad Specialties In October, during National Breast Cancer Awareness month, the promotional products industry is following the lead of the NFL, MLB and NHL to help raise money for cancer research – using unique, sports-themed items targeted at men. Pink boxing gloves, hockey pucks, baseball bats and beyond are joining the ubiquitous pink ribbons adorning women’s fashion to raise money and awareness. Anyone trying to raise money for this cause should consider broadening their scope to include men – and what better way to do that than with stuff you can hit, throw, whack and wear? The professional sports community jumped on the cancer awareness bandwagon with campaigns like NFL’s A Crucial Catch. In partnership with the American Cancer Society, the NFL is auctioning off pink game apparel worn during October. Major League Baseball auctions off pink Louisville Sluggers during games played on Mother’s Day and the National Hockey League raises money through its Hockey Fights Cancer initiative. Numerous promotional products companies are also donating a portion of profits from pink items to the cause, including Alumicolor, of Fort Collins, Colorado, which donates 10% of the list price of aluminum pink rulers to breast cancer research, and Kingport Industries, of Northbrook, Illinois, which donates a portion of profits from its “pink ribbon” collection to the American Cancer Society and other affiliated organizations. Diana Haake, owner of Promotional Product Partners, created several hundred shirts for a breast cancer awareness event last year. “It brought in students from several local high schools for an all-day event, and they received the shirt for participating,” she says. “It was very well received.” Another distributor, Win Oppel, president of Ad-Merica (asi/107275), recently created breast cancer awareness umbrellas for a client. He’s also worked with St. Vincent’s Medical Center Foundation in Connecticut on developing a set of ornaments, featuring a logo designed by a volunteer at the foundation and her niece. And Ash City USA (asi/37127) launched a “We’re Thinking Pink” campaign to help fund research for the American Breast Cancer Foundation. ASI reviewed some of the products available throughout the industry and devised a Top 10 “think pink” list of sports-themed products that can be used for breast cancer awareness promotions and fundraising drives:
Let me know what charitable organizations you’re helping by posting a comment or emailing me here. I’m also on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Friday
September 17, 2010 The Tailgater’s Checklist: Games, Gear and MoreFiled under: Using Ad Specialties No matter who you bet on during the NFL season opener, one clear winner emerges week after week: the billions being made on merchandising. Forbes estimates the Steelers alone are worth $1.01 billion, taking into account everything from TV, advertising and tickets to sponsorship and jerseys. One emerging new market? According to a Huffington Post football blogger, women now make up about 50% of the league’s fan base, and women’s apparel is now the league’s fastest-growing business. In the spirit of the season (and the marketing), ASI recently posted its first-ever Top 10 list of ultimate tailgating games and gear. I never knew asphalt games like cornhole and sholf existed, never mind that they’re a big part of the pre-game tailgating experience. You can even order frozen, mail-order steaks to grill next time you hit the stadium. Take that, weenie roasts! There’s an entire science to tailgating and an actual Tailgating Institute, which says a typical tailgater is a college-educated male between 35-44 who hosts and/or attends six to 10 tailgate parties a season, spending over $500 on tailgating food and participating in a variety of interactive games with fellow tailgaters. Need some ideas? Here’s our list of Top 10 list of ultimate tailgating games and gear:
To see a Joe Show featuring many of these items, click here. For a complete list, photos and ordering info, click here. Let me know what’s a winner in your book by posting a comment or emailing me here. I’m also on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Thursday
September 2, 2010 Celeb Marketers=SalesFiled under: Education, News About ASI, Using Ad Specialties As ASI’s Successful Promotions reports in this month’s issue, when it comes to marketing, sex still sells. And if you’ve got a sexy celebrity hawking your goods, look out: You just might make international news. In addition to a list of the 10 sexiest celebrity marketers, Successful Promotions details five successful marketing campaigns that incorporated sexy themes. The scintillating promotional products featured include Sexy Water and the “candom,” a can cooler shaped like an oversized condom. To read the Successful Promotions “Sex (Still) Sells” issue, click here. The reports were written by ASI Staff Writers Jennifer Vishnevsky and Daniel Walsh, who interviewed a slate of marketing experts about celebrity appeal and the role of sex in advertising. The key is to match the right celebrity to your brand – and integrate them in the campaign beyond just paying for them to show up for an event or a photo shoot. While there’s no guarantee that star power will translate directly into super sales, a successful sexy campaign can have a huge impact on the bottom line. As Walsh reports, Calvin Klein’s sales increased by 275% after the clothing company ran ads in 1980 featuring a young Brooke Shields saying, “You want to know what comes between me and my Calvins? Nothing.” Here’s our list of the Top 10 Sexiest Celebrity Marketers:
Successful Promotions is read by more than 50,000 corporate marketers throughout North America who are looking for innovative techniques and products to promote their businesses. As an added-value service, more than 800 of ASI’s biggest distributors have a gift subscription for Successful Promotions sent to their biggest clients. Let me know who you think is the hottest celebrity marketer by posting a comment or emailing me here. I’m also on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Monday
July 26, 2010 The Gift Book: Christmas in JulyFiled under: News About ASI, Using Ad Specialties When the thermostat hits 90 and beyond, it’s hard to think of winter, but now is the perfect time to plan for the fourth-quarter gift-giving season, when more industry sales occur than in any other period. The Gift Book is the right catalog at the right time, providing loads of quality items for incentives and corporate gift-giving programs – some starting as low as $1.19. Order by August 31 and receive a free personalized digital version of the 2010-2011 Gift Book, plus free shipping. Distributors can also choose between two covers options: standard and a stylish, deluxe red version. No matter what the occasion, or the budget, you’ll find what your clients need among more than 400 products from 60-plus suppliers. Searching is easy, thanks to special sections on food and drink, cards and stationery, and the ever-popular golf section. Looking for high-end thank-you gifts? Choose from a variety of trendy electronics, writing instruments, desk accessories, stylish watches and leather portfolios. The Gift Book is just one of nine customized catalogs offered by ASI as sales-generating tools for suppliers to advertise a wide variety of products and for distributors to sell, market and promote their company. Best yet, distributors can personalize each catalog by imprinting thier logo and contact information on the cover in full color. For more information, click here to read our press release. And don’t forget – Saturday is the last day to nominate yourself or someone else for one of four ASI advisory boards. Nominations close July 31; voting begins September 1 and ends September 30. Names will be announced at the ASI Power Summit in November. Click here for more information. Let me know how catalogs have helped you sell by posting a comment or emailing me here. I’m also on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Friday
July 16, 2010 Cool Products From Hot SponsorsFiled under: ASI Shows, Using Ad Specialties How do you determine what’s hot? Counselor magazine editors tackle that question every year when devising their annual list of the hottest people, products and ideas in the ad specialties industry. Luckily, our editors have a lot to choose from, given the high “cool factor” inherent in this business. At the HOT Party, held this week at the ASI Show in Chicago, we got a look at a number of innovative products, including several from our party sponsors. For a look at the sponsors’ products, click here to watch my Tim’s Take video, which features:
Let me know your favorite cool products by posting a comment or emailing me here. I’m also on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Thursday
July 15, 2010 School’s Out – But School Products Are InFiled under: ASI Shows, Using Ad Specialties It’s never too soon to stock up on Back to School items, and I got a terrific preview of fun products this week at ASI’s Chicago show. Click here to watch my Tim’s Take sampling of the many products I discovered browsing a packed show floor. Here are just a few:
Let me know your favorite product from the show floor by posting a comment or emailing me here. I’m also on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube. |
