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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.
Thursday
April 10, 2008 New 2009 event – Fall Holiday Expo in VegasFiled under: News About ASI Today we announced the fall 2009 launch of the ASI Holiday Expo, the industry’s first and only national show focused on products for the important fall and holiday selling seasons. The ASI Holiday Expo will be limited to no more than 400 booths, and suppliers invited to exhibit will be required to have four or more stars in the ASI Supplier Rating System or be nominated by distributors.
Tuesday
April 8, 2008 Advertising Specialties Sales Reached Record $19.6 Billion in ’07Filed under: Education, Media Coverage Today we announced results of our exclusive annual advertising specialties sales analysis – showing that revenues reached $19.6 billion in 2007 – up 5.4 percent from 2006 and a new record. This is the highest industry sales we’ve recorded – reflecting that the industry has been growing consistently over the last five years and that marketers are using advertising specialties to deliver their brand in a powerful, memorable and cost-effective way.
Friday
March 28, 2008 Personalization, Technology, Ideas for Higher ROIFiled under: News About ASI Recently editors at ONE magazine – published by industry marketing services company WorkflowOne – spotlighted promotional products and the serious return on investment they’re providing for clients. They also asked me why advertising specialties are becoming so popular all around, and I believe several elements are driving our industry’s success: • Technology. We’re all serving clients better and faster than ever. • Tangible return-on-investment. Marketers can include a promotional product in a direct mail campaign that says “click on this Website to receive your free hat” and the results can be tracked immediately. How many people requested hats? How many sales did you get from those who requested hats? • Personalization. A growing trend – technology now allows us to record a personalized message that plays when someone opens a bag. That’s interaction with a brand that few advertising mediums can match and it’s hard for end-users to put them down. For some additional thoughts and business tips, click here to read the article. Tell me what you’re seeing in the market – post a comment now 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.
Friday
March 14, 2008 Counselor Gets Second Neal Award in a RowFiled under: News About ASI
Today in New York City, ASI’s editorial team was named winner of a Neal Award for outstanding journalism for the 2007 ‘State of the Industry’ issue of Counselor magazine. This is the highest editorial honor bestowed on a business-to-business publication. It is given by the trade association in publishing, American Business Media. We are among 35 winners, selected from 100 finalists and 1,050 entries. This year’s award is our second consecutive Neal. We were honored last year for our Counselor series on family businesses. |
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