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Friday
March 12, 2010 Win Cash and Prizes Just for Taking Our SurveysFiled under: Research, Uncategorized
But this research would not be possible without the data, which is why it’s so important that any and all ad specialty professionals should be taking the time to fill out our surveys — we want as many submissions as possible so that we know the research is accurate. Of course, filling out surveys can be time consuming and we know time is money. That’s why Counselor is offering an added incentive to both distributors and suppliers to take the surveys. Here are the details.
Please take the survey that applies to you today and help Counselor produce the most important research report done in the ad specialty industry each year. –TeamCentral
Thursday
March 11, 2010 ASI Store: Reserve Your ASI Show Booth Online (And Save!)Filed under: The ASI Show, Uncategorized
Not only have we added the ability to reserve your 2010 and 2011 ASI Show booths online in the ASI Store, but if you act this month you can save big $$ on booths and marketing. The following are the deals being run this month:
In addition to these deals, you can also get “Early Bird Specials” on 2011 shows as well as multi-show savings packages, all through the ASI Store. So what are you waiting for?! Click here to learn more about reserving your ASI Show booth in the ASI Store. And if you have any questions don’t hesitate to contact us at feedback@asicentral.com. For more information about The ASI Show, go to www.asishow.com, or call 877-ASI-SHOW. –TeamCentral *Must be done through the ASI Store
Wednesday
March 10, 2010 Tip of the Day - Create More Selling TimeFiled under: Tip of the Day Ad specialty distributors often spend so much time on tasks that don’t involve selling – fulfilling orders, following up on invoices and talking to suppliers, just to name a few – that they neglect their main objectives. Yes, you need to create as much time in your day as possible for dealing directly with clients. Carving out time for prospecting, cold-calling, following up on sales proposals and crafting new promotional programs for current clients is vital for distributors. You can’t get so caught up in other administrative tasks that you forget the thing that’s most important to your business: bringing in revenue.
From Counselor’s Game Changer: How To Craft A Creative Sales Approach
Tuesday
March 9, 2010 Tip of the Day - Top 10 Phrases That Kill CreativityFiled under: Tip of the Day Here are the top 10 phrases that kill creativity:
Source: Chic Thompson
Monday
March 8, 2010 Interactive Map: Hottest U.S. Sales RegionFiled under: Education, site updates Of the 4 major U.S. regions (Northeast, South, Midwest, West), which do you think did the best in overall promotional products sales in 2009? What were their top markets and hottest items? Unemployment numbers? Give up? Well Advantages’ magazine has done a terrific feature this month called What’s Hot in Your Neck of the Woods where all of these questions are answered, and more including regional sales forecasts for 2010! And best of all, we here at ASICentral took the liberty of creating an interactive map that allows you to simply mouse over the region for a pop-up of all the details. Simply click here to see the map! (Or click here for entire article.) And for those of you who would rather get the numbers right here, below are all 4 regions ranked by overall sales in 2009 (Go South!). – VINteractive
Tuesday
March 2, 2010 Poll: Is Green Movement Losing Steam?Filed under: Green, Uncategorized Just a few years back it seemed that everyone was jumping on the eco-friendly bandwagon. Whether you were buying an electric car or an organic t-shirt, “going green” was the hip thing to do and it was said to be more than a fad, but a trend that was here to stay. Then the recession hit, and the cards were shuffled a bit. According to a recent article in Counselor magazine, not only is the green marketing losing steam, but a number of experts agree that it is no longer as integral a focus as it had been just months ago. “A lot of businesses jumped on board because it was trendy, not because they believed in it. They did it because the polls showed this or a focus group said that. Others never got started,” says Simon Sinek, owner of strategic marketing consultancy Sinek Partners. “Now it’s not trendy.” But according to Marc Held, national sales manager of Bodek & Rhodes, not only is the green market doing well, but it’s poised to make a significant comeback, especially with apparel. Watch the video here, or click on the video below. What do you think? Is the Green movement losing steam? Take the new ASICentral poll now, or post a comment to the blog.
–MeanVinGREEN
Thursday
February 25, 2010 Photos From the ASI Show San DiegoFiled under: Uncategorized While we here in the Philly area suffer through Snowmageddon Part III, my pal Joan Chaykin is basking in the lovely California weather at the ASI Show San Diego. She also brought along a camera to further rub in just how nice it is out there on the Left Coast. Joan, this ain’t helpin’ us! Anyway, enjoy the pics …
Gotta be California …
Two clowns and a red snapper fish head. Nice.
Ahhh, California sunsets.
Giant statue of the sailor and nurse in that famous kiss pose.
Melinda and Kathy on the entrance to the Gaslight District.
Group shot posing with Andy. Strangely, we all think it looks like we’re visiting Andy (one of the youngsters) in the old-age home “Wave hi to the camera Andy!”
USS San Diego.
USS Midway.
Anchors aweigh!
Statue of Bob Hope entertaining the troops.
Southern California!
CJ and Matt.
Gaslamp Quarter.
Tuesday
February 23, 2010 Got A Favorite Promotional Product?Filed under: contest
Yes, it’s actually quite an interesting and fun industry. Anyway, we here are ASICentral want to know, What Is Your Favorite Promotional Product? And we’re encouraging you to upload images of your favorite promotional product to our Facebook page (NOTE: chance for egregious self-promotion!) for a future vote. In a few weeks we’ll post all the products to our Facebook fans and let them decide which one is the best one. So, go to our Facebook page now and upload an image of your fave promotional product, tell us a little bit about it, and you’ll be automatically entered in the contest. (Not a fan yet? Just click the “Become A Fan” link at the top of the page.) And if you’re wondering what the spoils are, it’s bragging rights, a blog writeup and a mention in our newsletters! That’s all folks! – Buggsy
Friday
February 19, 2010 About Tony Robbins …Filed under: General
Sure, they were lovely and big and bright, but why would I always wake to them? Did Tony Robbins own the late-night infomercial market? Well, if you grew up in the ’80s and had, like, only a handful of stations, then yeah, I think he did! Anyway, my first impression of Tony Robbins was of an annoyingly verbose, albeit well-spoken, talking head who seemed to have an excellent grasp of what he was talking about, though I never listened. I was too fixated on his bleached teeth, and so I just didn’t like him. But in the early 2000s, he appeared in the movie Shallow Hal with Jack Black — the movie where i not only discovered how ginormous Robbins is, but also that he has “banana hands” — and a newfound respect was born. He played himself in the movie and really came across as endearing and genuinely interested in helping others help themselves. Since I joined ASI in 2007, Tony Robbins has been a keynote speaker at one of our ASI Shows and is set to be the keynoter next week at our San Diego show and, though I’m not going, I really wish I could. Because from what people have told me from the last time Tony appeared at a show, he’s really something special. So if you’re going to the ASI Show San Diego next week, but aren’t going to see Tony Robbins, then I need to ask … what’s wrong with you!!? It’s FREE!!! And all you gotta do is click here to register! And if you simply can’t make it, I’ll be glad to go in your place. – deezTV
Monday
February 15, 2010 Tip of the Day - 7 Niche Markets to Target SwimwearFiled under: Tip of the Day Stitches magazine found seven cool niche markets that want decorated swim gear now. 1. Pro sports. Lori Coulter, president and CEO of Lori Coulter LLC (asi/46771), says professional sports teams in the NFL and Major League Baseball are buying bikinis – but fortunately, not for the players. “We get a lot of requests from cheerleading teams, particularly for professional teams,” she says. “They may do a calendar and need everybody in the same swimsuit.”
3. Fishing. Stan Rudman, a principal owner of Sportailor Inc. (asi/88796), has taken advantage of the fishing industry’s newfound interest in swimwear via one of its brands, Hook and Tackle Outfitters. “The fishing guys are wearing boardshorts,” he says. “My company came out with boardshorts for the fishing industry, but added features to make it fit into that industry, like utility pockets. They can also be sold to beach stores.” 4. High schools. John Amsterdam, president of Neet Feet Inc. (asi/73525), says flip-flops have come a long way in terms of popularity, both in swimwear and in general fashion. “At first they started as a novelty,” he says. “They’ve become more mainstream and visible, from celebrities wearing them to the Northwestern University championship women’s lacrosse team showing up at the White House with flip-flops.” 5. High fashion. Who knew that flip-flops are high fashion? “We do private-label projects for retail customers,” Amsterdam says. “One of our biggest customers is a top New York City fashion designer and we do flip-flops for his retail stores.” 6. Lifeguards. At municipal swimming pools, lifeguards have always been a popular target in terms of swimwear, but Gulbenkian says business is picking up in this area. “This has been a growing market,” he says. “Drownings are up, and people are a lot more safety-conscious. What’s the first safety item at a pool? It’s the lifeguard, just as the policeman is the first safety item downtown.” 7. Swim teams. “The competitive swim-team market grew a little bit after the Olympics and Michael Phelps, no question,” Gulbenkian says. “What is growing is a solid swimsuit with the individual team logo on it.” From Stitches’ February 2010 cover story, “Suit Up“ |
Ahh, what an industry. When I first started working with promotional products, I thought it was gonna be all pens, notepads and T-shirts. Alas, I’ve discovered that promotional products can be more than that, including journals made of elephant poop, motorized coolers and USB drives in the shape of just about anything … including carrots (honestly! see image at right).
2. Car and boat dealerships. Coulter also sells some of her skimpier swimwear to high-end auto and boat dealers for what she calls the “age-old image” of an attractive woman standing next to a shiny new car or boat to add appeal for the consumer. “The dealerships are very interested,” she says. “If a decorator has a relationship with a dealer, it’s an easy add-on to the account – so decorate a branded Lexus or Porsche bikini that models can wear for an event.”