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Wednesday
August 3, 2011 The Gift Book Worth GivingFiled under: News About ASI, Using Ad Specialties When you have a most discriminating client (you know who they are!) there’s no better catalog to show them than The Gift Book. But don’t wait too long to order yours – we’ve already sold over 50,000 copies. Distributors ordering The Gift Book will receive a free personalized digital version and free color imprinting if they order by August 31. The catalog comes with a guaranteed circulation of 75,000. It’s sophisticated, yet designed for easy browsing, by product type, price and line, allowing clients to choose from more than 400 products from 60-plus suppliers for any occasion. Not only that, it’s a real beauty – and distributors can choose between two cover options: standard and a stylish deluxe blue version. As always, the front cover of each Gift Book can be imprinted in full color with the distributor’s logo and contact information, helping to drive immediate leads and sales. For more information about The Gift Book, contact Dan Brown, executive director of distributor services, at dbrown@asicentral.com. To order The Gift Book online, click here. Need more proof? How’s this: According to Counselor magazine, more industry sales occur in the fourth quarter than any other period during the year; much of it is due to end-buyers in need of quality items for incentives and corporate gift-giving programs. In fact, according to a recent ASI study of end-buyers, 91% of recipients take action as a result of something they noticed in a paper catalog, with nearly half (49%) purchasing a product. Flip through and let me know what you think of The Gift Book by posting a comment or e-mailing me here. I’m also on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Tuesday
July 26, 2011 Vampires, Superheroes … And Ad Specialties?Filed under: Industry Initiatives, Media Coverage, News About ASI, Research, Using Ad Specialties Whether you’re a geek or a Gleek, you probably saw news reports on Comic-Con, a gigantic comics fanfest in San Diego. As CNN reports, promotional products were an undisputed “star” of the 42,000-strong annual convention. Conventioneers collected free T-shirts and tote bags along with branded buttons, sunglasses and other souvenirs promoting popular franchises like True Blood, Twilight and the upcoming movie Captain America. Click here to view the CNN report (wait past the inevitable commercial) and to take a look at numerous examples of imaginative ad specialties in action. Cape and alien mask optional for viewing. On another “good news” front, I recently saw a blurb about a “prop drop” for the popular TV show The Office. The Greater Scranton Chamber of Commerce, a real organization in a real city where the fictional TV show takes place, asked local businesses to bring in promotional products touting their companies for possible display on the desks of characters like Dwight, Pam and Jim. They asked for pens, mugs, magnets and the like in triplicate to be sent on to the show, which is about to embark on its eighth season on NBC. So next time you tune in, look closely at desk items to see what ad specialties you can spot. All of this is boffo news for our industry, which Counselor Promogram just reported enjoyed the sixth consecutive quarterly increase in Q2 revenues. Ad specialty industry distributors increased their revenues by 5.9% in Q2, with sales totaling $4.6 billion, rising by $257 million compared to the same period in 2010. This follows a sales gain of 7.6% in Q1. According to the survey conducted by our executive director of research services, Larry Basinait, the majority of surveyed firms are also forecasting continued growth during the rest of 2011. The number of distributors anticipating an increase in sales this year is four times greater than those that expect a decline. That’s a great big “woo-hoo” for all of us, especially on the heels of a very successful gathering in Chicago. Let me know which Office character you resemble and what you think of our latest survey by posting a comment or e-mailing me here. I’m also on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Friday
July 22, 2011 It’s a WrapFiled under: ASI Shows, Media Coverage, Members, News About ASI, Using Ad Specialties The heat wave followed us home from the Midwest, but we’re trying to stay cool with a final wrap-up from a very successful show in Chicago. Total distributor attendance was 4,500 – up 9% from last year – from 1,930 distributor firms. The show generated a ton of positive feedback, and I’d like to thank everyone who tweeted about our events and their show floor experiences. NBC in Chicago sent two reporters to the convention center and from the looks of it, they had a great time. Click here to see the story and dozens of pics from the show floor, featuring numerous products along with video demonstrations and an interview with Counselor senior writer Dave Vagnoni. NBC posted everything to its business website Inc.Well, a how-to blog for Chicago business. Speaking of products, click here to check out my latest hot products video, featuring three great items for the fourth-quarter selling season: a gigantic fortune cookie from Good Fortunes (asi/57689), a vinola from Logomark (asi/67866) and a heart-shaped mirror from Hirsch Gifts (asi/61005). And if you missed former NFL coach Mike Ditka (at right), click here for a recap of his keynote. We also enjoyed a terrific reception and “pinning” ceremony in Chicago for recipients of our gold standard education certificates: Bachelor and Masters of Advertising Specialty Information. Click here for a recap and interview with Melinda Ligos, our senior VP of professional development. We now have 7,000 people registered for classes and working toward their certification. Let me know what you learned at the ASI Chicago show by posting a comment or e-mailing me here. I’m also on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Wednesday
July 20, 2011 Windy City Kickoff for ASI SmartSalesFiled under: ASI Shows, Industry Initiatives, Member Benefits, News About ASI, Research, Using Ad Specialties ASI chose its Chicago show – the biggest industry event of summer – to offer a sneak peek of its biggest technology investment in years: ASI SmartSales™ . The Oracle-powered tech platform is a customized solution for maximizing sales and revenue opportunities. Click here to watch the SmartSales video for yourself. Read the press release we dropped to the industry here. ASI spent millions researching and developing SmartSales, a high-tech sales and marketing tool to help distributors and decorators close more sales and increase profits with modules dedicated to sales management, marketing campaigns and revenue-generating capabilities. ASI expects the rollout of the new service to begin in the fourth quarter. Expect an announcement shortly about an upcoming customized Oracle-powered technology platform designed exclusively for suppliers. We paid a lot of attention to the security aspect of this new business platform, leveraging Oracle’s cloud-based technologies with all of ASI’s products to create a unique, highly secure platform consisting of a hybrid implementation of cloud and locally hosted software and databases. The new technology will include the core ASI services vital to members’ success, allowing them to access ESP for comprehensive product sourcing from 3,400 suppliers; ASI ProfitMaker, which provides ERP and financial management capabilities; ASI LogoMall; their own company websites; exclusive ASI research; and the latest professional development resources available for BASI/MASI certification. ASI distributors with ESP who are interested in being the first to receive ASI SmartSales when it becomes available should e-mail smartsales@asicentral.com or visit www.asicentral.com/smartsales. Members who want to sign up for ESP and ASI SmartSales should call their ASI account executive at 800-546-1350. The video demos were just one of the many highlights at ASI Chicago, which takes place through Thursday at McCormick Place convention complex. If you’re at the show, I hope you’re enjoying yourself. If you had a chance to see the video, let me know what you think by posting a comment or e-mailing me here. I’m also on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Thursday
July 7, 2011 Celebrating a New CatalogFiled under: News About ASI, Using Ad Specialties Launching a new catalog like the 2011 Spectrum Celebration is a really big deal. We forged ahead for two key reasons: because it provides distributors with a catalog featuring the newest products from top suppliers, and it helps them boost sales during the all-important second half of the selling year. As Dan Brown, our executive director of distributor services puts it, “Clients are always looking for what’s new and now, distributors have the answer.” To view sample pages of Spectrum Celebration and to order online, click here. For more information, contact Dan at dbrown@asicentral.com or at 800-546-1350. Spectrum Celebration is available in this brand new summer/fall edition with a special “select” section featuring the top-rated suppliers everyone wants. But jump on it now before it’s too late. Guaranteed circulation is 200,000 and we’ve already received pre-orders totaling nearly 41,000 copies. The catalog contains over 200 products from over 50 suppliers, in all price ranges, and of course comes with full-color imprinting for distributor logos on the front cover. Other features include:
If you have any suggestions or comments, post a comment or e-mail me here. I’m also on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Monday
June 27, 2011 Crazy, Hazy Days of SummerFiled under: Members, News About ASI, Using Ad Specialties I love learning about new crazes. It gives me something to talk about at a party or while stuck in line at the DMV. Recently, Joe “The Joe Show” Haley turned me on to disc golf, which is a game played much like traditional golf. Instead of a ball and clubs, players use a flying disc. The object is to complete each hole in the fewest number of throws, instead of strokes. Joe discovered this newest sports fad sweeping college campuses and the burbs while researching products for our annual list of sizzling summer products. Par One (asi/75912) makes the discs, which come with a great grip and a large imprint area to promote everything from beach resorts and golf outings to company picnics and swim clubs. Since there are just 92 days in summer, I’m sure you’re working hard to take advantage of every one. If you have any products you think we should feature, send on a sample to Joe here at ASI. You never know when it’ll hit a list like the one below. The Top 10 List of Sizzling Summer Products:
Click here to watch a Joe Show demo of the products. Click here for more photos and complete product descriptions. And if you have any super summer promotions planned, post a comment or email me here. I’m also on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Friday
May 27, 2011 Stay Hungry, Stay FoolishFiled under: News About ASI, Research, Using Ad Specialties As recent college grads set off on their quest to become masters of the universe, I’d like to pass along some tidbits from a 2005 commencement address given by Apple CEO Steve Jobs at Stanford University. Jobs, now worth about $5.5 billion, never graduated from college. He started Apple from his parents’ garage when he was 20 and by following the self-imposed mantras below, became one of the greatest American success stories of all time:
Great advice for grads now entering the working world. Lucky for them, hiring is finally on the rise, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). For the first time since 2007, employers report a double-digit increase in their spring hiring projections, the NACE reports. ASI’s crack research team got to thinking about the job fairs those grads are hitting, hopes in one hand, diploma in the other. And so we surveyed HR pros about ways they’re using promo products in their search for new talent. Results of the new survey found 56% of responding HR staffers say promo products imprinted with a company’s name or logo convey a positive image when distributed during job fairs and other recruiting efforts. Of those surveyed, 55% choose pens and 41% use logoed items like T-shirts, calendars and high-tech accessories in conjunction with hiring. We spoke to an HR expert about what else companies can do to grab the best grads’ attention, and she said to think creatively – and think geek, employing technology like QR Codes on event giveaways for tracking and analytics. Hand out unusual and useful branded items like an iPhone cover to drive word-of-mouth conversation and branding exposure, says Jessica Miller-Merrell, CEO of Xceptional HR. Be original, interesting, useful and, if at all possible, interactive. When Jobs closed his commencement address, he gave the grads one last bit of advice, which stayed with him after he spotted it on a Whole Earth catalog in the 1970s. Above a photo of an early morning country road on the final catalog’s back cover, it read “Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.” Those are words to the wise, no matter what your age or position. If you heard any sound advice from college speakers this year, let me know by posting a comment or emailing me here. I’m also on Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube. |
