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Monday
April 8, 2013 How’d They Do That? The Making of a Logoed LollipopOne of my favorite sections of Advantages magazine is the Strategy section titled “How’d They Do That?” where the making of promo products comes to visual life! This month’s product: A logoed lollipop. Here’s the 7-step process, provided by Grumpe’s Specialties Inc. (asi/58480). Enjoy! (Click below for a larger pdf version to see all the sweet detail!)
Click here for a larger image (PDF).
Wednesday
April 3, 2013 Top 5 Reasons Why Employees LeaveFiled under: Tip of the Day
For this month’s Advantages cover story titled “Staying Power,” my colleague Jen Vishnevsky dug deep into the HR market for information on how and why human resources is so freakin’ hot right now. Along the way, she discovered interesting tidbits like this. Top 5 Reasons Why Employees Leave:
Want to learn more? Check out this article now!
Tuesday
April 2, 2013 Pantone’s Color of the Year 2013 - EmeraldFiled under: Wearables
How exactly does this affect the promotional products industry? If you deal in apparel, then you know that ASI has its finger on the pulse of fashion trends and our Wearables magazine devotes ink each issue to the hottest hues and how you can use them. Want to see some cool examples of emerald in action and how to pair it with other hues? Then you don’t want to miss this issue of Wearables Fashion Sense.
Thursday
March 28, 2013 New Changes for Wearablesmag.comFiled under: Wearables, site updates
Have you noticed the new changes at Wearablesmag.com? No? Good, that’s sort of the point. Our ASICentral team, under the guidance of team leader and France’s very own Yann Perrin, have instituted a number of subtle changes that have seamlessly improved the browsing experience. Here’s a rundown:
We still love the print medium (call me old fashioned, but that’s how I still read my magazines), but there are plenty of digital options available to our readers. Wearablesmag.com in particular has online exclusives and our latest videos and newsletters. And if you haven’t tried it yet, you should check out the digital edition of the magazine, which can be read on the iPad. (You can find it by searching “Wearables magazine” or “Advertising Specialty Institute” on the Apple App store.) Admittedly, it’s pretty swank.
Wednesday
March 27, 2013 Poll Results: Has Trust Between Suppliers and Distributors Improved?Filed under: Poll Results Is trust between suppliers and distributors Better, Worse or the Same today than five years ago? That’s the question we posed to our users last month, and according to our results, the answer is bleak. By a margin of 42% (93 votes) to 34% (76 votes), our users voted for “Worse” over “Better” with the remaining 24% (52 votes) saying “Same”. (Don’t miss Counselor magazine’s 3-part look at trust issues in the industry.) Here’s the complete breakdown to this poll: (TOTAL VOTES: 221)
Friday
March 22, 2013 6 Tips for Negotiating with SuppliersFiled under: Tip of the Day
In an April management article, Counselor magazine offers some great tips and advice on how get your haggle on. Want to improve your negotiation skills? Then this article is a must-read. In the meantime, here are 6 tips for negotiating with suppliers:
Tuesday
March 19, 2013 5 Advantages of Face-to-Face Relationship BuildingFiled under: Tip of the Day Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer has recently come under fire for requiring remote employees to actually come into the office to work. So great was the backlash against her that my colleague Michele Bell felt compelled to awaken from her three-month blog slumber and post in support of Mayer. Crazy how far things have come in the workplace, huh? (I still remember scratching my head and asking “What’s email?”) This month’s Advantages magazine has a great little Strategy article about this very situation and how you should consider the benefits of face-to-face relationship building. Sure, it’s a great perk to be able to work from home now and then, but being in the office and forging relationships still has value, and this article stresses that. If you’ve got five minutes, read it now, and here are 5 advantages of in-person face time:
Thursday
March 14, 2013 Exclusive Team Blog Interview with Grumpy CatGrumpy Cat, the new Internet sensation that’s sweeping the globe faster than the Harlem Shake, is currently killing it as the star attraction at the annual South by Southwest Conference and Festival (SXSW) in Austin, TX. Interviews with His Grumpiness are hard to come by these days, but I recently had a chance to sit down with the legend — also known by his real name “Tard”, short for “Tardar Sauce” — to ask him a few questions. The following is the transcript of our conversation. Team Blog: So Grumpy Cat, let’s start with an obvious question: Why are you so grumpy? Grumpy Cat: Team Blog: OK … coulda fooled me. Anyway, onto the next question. I work in the promotional products industry, or ad specialties, you know, products with logos that promote a company, product or service. Like T-shirts, pens and mugs. Got any favorite promotional products? Grumpy Cat: Team Blog: Alrighty then, appreciate the honesty. Now that you’re a big Internet sensation, inspiring thousands of grumpy memes and rubbing elbows with celebrities, you must have some good stories, right? Grumpy Cat: Team Blog: I’ve been called worse. But anyway, there must be things you like, right? Got any favorite movies? Grumpy Cat: Team Blog: Awesome! Well, that’s a start. Whaddya think about the new Star Wars Episode 7 currently in pre-production. Are you psyched? Grumpy Cat: Team Blog: Well, that makes one of us. Grumpy Cat: Team Blog: OK, I guess we should end here before your claws start doing the talking and I end up with cat-scratch fever or something, ha ha! Grumpy Cat: Team Blog: That was a joke … a bad one … sorry. Please don’t hurt me.
Wednesday
March 6, 2013 5 Steps to Survive a Business DisasterFiled under: Tip of the Day
These storms, though rare in their severity, beg the question: Just how prepared are you in case of a major business disruption? That’s the topic Counselor magazine researched for this month’s “Before Disaster Strikes” feature. With examples of companies affected by disaster as well as expert advice on what to do, this is a must-read for any company. Read it now, and in the meantime, here are 5 steps that will help you survive a business disaster:
Tuesday
March 5, 2013 10 Books That Inspire SalesFiled under: Fun, General, Tip of the Day
From the popular (The Biography of Steve Jobs) to the unusual (Who Moved My Cheese?), this article titled “Book It! 10 Title to Inspire Your Sales” is loaded with great tips and advice on how to find motivation when you need it. Read this article now, and in the meantime, here are the 10 titles chosen:
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If you’ve had more than one job in your career, chances are your reasons for moving on were monetary in nature. It’s not a bad thing, and I’ll admit I’ve moved on for this reason, but it’s far from being the top reason employees leave for greener pastures.
I love the color green, and all the shades in between, especially the warmer ones like turquoise and teal. That’s why I was so happy to see that Pantone selected a shade of green — Emerald — as the 
Guest blog from Wearables’ Editor C.J. Mittica:
Negotiating … yeah, it can be daunting, especially if you’re a small distributor just starting out. But when dealing with suppliers, remember: You have the right to negotiate.
The past two years have seen significant hurricanes — Irene in 2011, and Sandy in 2012 — barrel up the Eastern seaboard, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake and causing major issues and headaches for industry companies.
I’m not much of a book reader outside the occasional novel about serial killers (don’t judge). But when I found out 