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Wednesday
September 1, 2010 Nominate the Supplier Global Resource Sales Rep of the Year!Filed under: Uncategorized Guest blog from Supplier Global Resource Editor Michele Bell … Supplier Global Resource, the industry’s only magazine dedicated to ad specialty suppliers, is holding its inaugural Supplier Sales Rep of the Year contest to recognize outstanding performance, exemplary service and top-notch professionalism. Do you work with a supplier sales rep who’s gone above and beyond for you this year? Do you have a supplier partner who always puts you and your customers’ needs first and has a “do whatever it takes” attitude to make you shine? If you know a perfect contender, e-mail the nominee’s name and details regarding what makes him or her award-worthy to Michele Bell, editor of Supplier Global Resource (mbell@asicentral.com), by September 15, 2010. The winner will be profiled in ASI’s magazines, receive an array of awesome prizes and get to bask in his or her own fabulousness for the year! Best of luck!
Wednesday
September 1, 2010 California Bill to Ban Plastic Bags FailsFiled under: Uncategorized If you’ve been paying attention to environmental news lately, you know that a bill that passed the state Assembly in California in June was up for approval by the state Senate yesterday. The bill, which — had it become a law — would have banned plastic bags from grocery stores, was voted down yesterday by a 21-14 margin late Tuesday night. Had it passed, the Governator even said he would’ve signed it into law, thus making California the first state to ban single-use bags from grocery stores. Here at ASICentral, we want to know what you think? Take our poll, below, or simply post a comment to this post.
Wednesday
July 21, 2010 Counselor State of the Industry 2010Filed under: Research, Uncategorized, site updates
From the exclusive Distributor and Supplier Top 40 list to the strategies on how to improve your business, the Counselor 2010 State of the Industry is chock full of stats, facts, how-to manuals and much more! Plus, as an added online bonus, we’ve created a video with tons of charts, graphs, quotes and “Did You Knows” regarding the industry in 2009. So what are you waiting for?! Check out www.stateoftheindustry.com now!
Thursday
July 8, 2010 ESP Pay for Placement: Is it something you should use for your products on ESP?Filed under: Uncategorized Guest blogger and ASI Marketing Manager Jake Krolick dishes on the newest ASI Store addition, ESP Results Screen Advertising, or ”Pay For Placement”.
Interested in learning more about Pay for Placement? Click here.
Thursday
June 17, 2010 Tip of the Day - Motivate Your Employees the Smart WayFiled under: Uncategorized
Those numbers don’t surprise Michelle Smith, vice president of business development for O.C. Tanner, an incentive management company. “Many workers are feeling underappreciated with their leadership right now,” Smith says. “As the job market thaws, they’re going to go somewhere they feel more valued.” One of the main source of workers’ discontent these days, Smith contends, is the fact that their companies didn’t spend as much time – or resources – focusing on employee recognition last year. “Unfortunately, too many businesses pulled back on incentivizing employees last year, and now businesses are going to feel the effect of that,” she says. Now, some good news: If you make the effort now to connect with your salespeople and motivate them to succeed, you can gain their loyalty. The key is in retooling your recognition and rewards programs – immediately. You need to give them a reason to feel connected with your company other than a paycheck. That may have worked last year, but not now. And, don’t fall into the trap of continuing to use the same motivation and rewards programs that you’ve always used, Smith warns. “Your business has changed in the last 18 months,” she says. “Make sure you update your recognition plan accordingly.” Engage Employees Sooner Rather Than Later For this reason, Smith says, many of her clients are focusing on on-boarding programs, where new hires are recognized early on for their achievements. Indeed, Margaret Dickinson, founder of a graphic design firm, gives new hires a welcome basket stocked with promo items featuring the company’s logo, including a pen set, a company mug and a notepad. Every month for the new hire’s first year (assuming good performance), she adds additional items to the employee’s desk. “It’s kind of a game to see what I’ll give next,” she says. One recent month, Dickinson rewarded a new hire with a desk clock. The month before, it was a colorful mouse pad. “I also use this gift-giving sessions as a chance to check-in with the person,” she says. “I’ll say, ‘What are you working on?’ and ‘Are you doing the kind of work you expected?’ and ‘How can I help?’ Often, what results is a great conversation, which will help me learn more about what makes this person tick.” Wells Fargo & Company recently completed a merger with Wachovia and is in the midst of developing a new recognition program for the 26,000 members of its technology and operations group. According to Lisa Massiello, group recognition manager, Wells Fargo also makes a point to check in with new hires several times within the first year. After their first year with the company, employees are acknowledged with a Wells Fargo pin or other token of appreciation. Such programs are crucial, Smith says, especially at companies that are planning on ramping up their staffs this year. “It’s critical to make sure that everybody is rowing the boat in the same direction, right from the start,” she says. From Stitches Embroider Business Insights
Monday
June 14, 2010 Chinstrap - An ASICentral Local Celebrity!Filed under: General, Uncategorized Last year, I wrote about ASICentral’s very own Steve “Chinstrap” Hawk and how close he came to winning the vaunted annual “Philly Beer Geek” contest, losing by a hair of his chinny, chin-chin to Nate “Nugget Nate” Gefvert. In a battle that saw Steve get down on one knee and propose to his favorite beer — in this case, his fiancee and good sport, Crystal, dressed as a beer – Steve was dynamite that night, and we all thought he was robbed. Fast forward one year … With the bitter, skunky taste of 2009’s loss lingering in his mouth like an Old Milwaukee Light, Steve-O not only dusted himself off but raised the bar to a level that would make even the staunchest of beer connoisseurs and historians proud. By riding into the competition on a motorized beer cooler and composing a hilariously clever and inventive campaign speech hailing his nomination for Philly Pale Ale for mayor, “The Human Growler” — as he’s known in beer circles – not only blew away the competition, he tore a hole in it and tapped it! And we’re proud to say that today we here in ASICentral have a true local celebrity in our midst. Ladies and gentleman, congrats to this year’s Philly Beer Geek, Steve Hawk!
For more images from the event, click here. And for a text version of his campaign speech that put Steve-O over the top, click here. And for the winning campaign poster Steve-O designed, check this out!
Tuesday
May 4, 2010 Tip of the Day - Where Demographics MatterFiled under: Tip of the Day, Uncategorized Here are 4 occasions where demographics matter:
From May 2010 Advantages University.
Thursday
April 29, 2010 Poll: Should Prizes Be Banned From Kids’ MealsFiled under: Poll, Uncategorized
Santa Clara County, CA, supervisors have passed an ordinance this week that bans restaurants from giving away toys and other promotional products with high-calorie kids’ meals. The ordinance won’t be enforced for three months, but after that there will be fines of up to $1,000. According to Supervisor Ken Yeager, “This ordinance breaks the link between unhealthy food and prizes.” Sure, it’s a nice idea, but is the Happy Meal prize really the reason our kids are so fat and unhealthy? Hardly. It’s the parents who allow their kids to eat these foods five times a week that are the problem. But that’s just my opinion. What do you think? Take the poll now!
Thursday
April 1, 2010 Tip of the Day - Protect Your DataFiled under: Uncategorized Counselor Top 40 distributor Cintas recently released this top-10 list of ways to protect your data.
For more information, click here.
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 |
Yes, folks, it’s that time of year again! Time to get a raw data look into the overall health of the promotional products industry, as well as gain some insight on how to move your business in the coming years. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to 
The world is a competitive place. Everyone is trying to get a leg up on everyone else. Just think about your everyday life: At the supermarket it’s good to be in the front of the line as opposed to the back, and it seems that on check-out it becomes a race with your fellow shoppers. I was at a concert last week and had seats in the 25th row. Now, my seats were OK, but I was watching the front rows with envy of their unobstructed sight lines and better overall experience. At the airport, first-class passengers and frequent flyers get the first rows on the plane, plus expedited boarding and check-in. Being ahead of shoppers, concert goers or passengers is not a necessity, but can make your life easier and more enjoyable. However, when it comes to business, being ahead of your competition is a necessity.
First, some bad news. Your top performers may be getting ready to jump ship. At least that’s what the results of a recent survey indicate. Right Management, a career consultancy, asked more than 900 workers in North America if they planned to pursue new job opportunities as the economy improves in 2010. Sixty percent said “yes.” Another 20% indicated they would be updating their resumes and attending networking events “just in case” a better opportunity comes along.
OK, maybe it’s me, but I just think this is ridiculous.
