Call for Submissions!

Filed under: Editorial

Hi Everyone & Happy March!

Next week, my editorial colleagues and I will be going through submissions for this year’s ASI Spirit Awards. I’d hate to see you and your spectacular promos left out!

If you’re a supplier, have you done a creative, effective self-promotion mailer to distributor clients that shows off-the-charts ROI (see below for some examples of previous winners)? If you’re a distributor, have you done a campaign for a client that wowed them and has measurable results? If so, please e-mail me the details ASAP at mbell@asicentral.com.

Good luck and more next week!

– M

Bodek & Rhodes’ organic promotion. Read the story.   iClick’s Starbucks promotion. Read the story.

Screwed By Lloyd Dobler…

Filed under: Fun, Personal

Hi Everyone!

I hope you’re all having a cheery and festive February and aren’t buried in the remains of The Blizzard of 2010 like us icicles on the East Coast.

Itchy to get out of the house, I met my friend Meg — who, as we met on the first day of first grade, is my oldest friend — for lunch the other day. She brought her 12-year-old daughter and let me tell you: This girly girl was decked out from head to toe in everything Robert Pattinson — the mopey guy from the Twilight movies who looks like he needs a bath and a B-12 shot. She had a T-shirt, a button, a book bag and a hat, all adorned with his pasty face. Why? Valentine’s Day was approaching and she was expressing her adoration of sullen Edward Cullen. Of course, I let loose with a tirade.

“Where was all that stuff when we were young?” I asked her mother. Where was the gear logoed with the fine visage of Jake Ryan from Sixteen Candles, and Lloyd Dobler, the weirdo, kickboxing iconoclast from Say Anything, or The Breakfast Club’s resident bad-ass, Bender — the first in a long and sketchy line of bad boys to pique my interest. I felt gypped, and wasn’t shy about ranting.

Robert Pattinson, star of the stunningly successful Twilight movies. Can someone buy this boy a brush, a sandwich and a sun lamp, for the love of God? Say Anything’s Lloyd Dobler: Oh, Lloyd… To me and my girlfriends you were anything but “null and void.” You can be our Key Master anytime.
Sixteen Candles’ Jake Ryan: The boy who ruined dating for scores of teenage girls when they quickly realized that few guys would live up to his standard of being way hot, too cool and sensitive in that broody, sexy way. The Breakfast Club’s John Bender: To spend time with this smart-ass, whip-smart, degenerate-with-a-heart-of-gold, I would have followed him down the halls, through the ventilation ducts, across the ceiling panels — and right behind the bleachers. And you better believe he would’ve had my diamond earring.

Meg, always the voice of calm and reason to my torrents of reactionary mouthiness, pointed out that we did, in fact, have tons of logoed items from Duran Duran, The Cure, The Thompson Twins and Bananarama in our youth, but it’s different — the music industry has always been ahead of the curve in promoting its pop stars (think The Beatles).

All I’m saying is, movie star groupies and teenyboppers today have it easy: There are vast amounts of imprinted merchandise with which to express their affection for silver-screen boy toys. But for Lloyd Dobler and his ilk back in my heyday, not so much. To paraphrase a line from Say Anything: I gave him my heart, and I didn’t even get a pen.

Who was your teen crush? Do tell …

Cheers, and more next week!

– M


PSI’s Dusseldorf Show Gets Its Gold On!

Filed under: PSI Shows, Travel

Hi Everyone!

Just got back from the 48th PSI Show in Dusseldorf, Germany, which was quite the success! The show, the largest ad specialty trade show in the world, attracted 883 exhibitors, nearly 19,000 distributor attendees from all over the world, and took up more than 370,000 square feet of exhibition space.

It was a special year for my PSI friends, as the organization is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. The show’s exhibitors seemed to give a nod both to PSI’s golden year and the hot commodity that is gold, as that was the predominant color most items were shown in. My favorite new items? A pocket, portable GPS device for those walking around a city, personalized logos to customize bottles of beer and wine with one’s face, a motorized mini-hovercraft toy that can be controlled by your iPhone, BlackBerry, etc., and a watch that doubles as a phone… How cool and secret agent-ish is that?  

Other news included the announcement of ProPSI — an alliance of Pro Exhibitors & Publishers and PSI, who are joining forces to create a new show that will be held from August 25-27, 2010 in Amsterdam. (Will I be there? That’s a “hell to the yeah!”) For more information go to http://www.pro-8.eu/page/news/155

I took some photos, below, but here are some from PSI’s professional photographer of the 48th PSI Dusseldorf Fair: http://www.psionline.de/bildergalerie_messe_1-946.html

The 49th installment of the PSI Dusseldorf Show will be held from January 12-14, 2011. For more information go to www.psionline.de.

Cheers, and more from the PPAC Show in Toronto next week!

– M

Here’s my travel pal Ed Koehler, ASI associate publisher and an all-around super guy! My favorite thing about Ed? He has a voice like Lurch from the Addams Family. Listen here: http://www.addamsfamily.com/addams/yourang.wav. In this photo, we were at a fabulous Mongolian barbeque restaurant in Düsseldorf called Mongo’s, where they have intensifying degrees of hot-sauce marinade. Special Ed went for the hottest, called “The Bomb.” This is his reaction after taking his first forkful. Me? I drank my weight in Riesling… ; ) (From left): My boss, ASI executive vice president & publisher, Rich Fairfield, Polyconcept’s CFO and member of ASI Advisory Board, Yann Leca (have I told you all lately how much I adore Yann???) and Ed Koehler, having dinner aboard Polyconcept’s boat which they keep docked on the River Rhine for the duration of the show. The Polyconcept staff — about 100 people — stay on the boat, and clients and special guests are invited to join them each night for dinner.
Why do I love Europe? Because the boys look like this… Meet Francois Vehoeven (left) of the Netherlands-based company Big Bang and Albert van der Veen, PF Concept’s director of product development. They were as charming as they are adorable… These sparkly white winter woodland sprites were the spokesmodels for the Thermo Togo booth at the PSI Show. They looked like the ice princesses from fairyland, and as though they needed some Irish coffee to warm up…
A unique way to exhibit promotional displays, these life-size cut-outs were eye-catching and drew lots of traffic to the supplier’s booth. The Polyconcept team invited their friends and clients from Staples Promotional Products for dinner on their boat and graciously invited me along too. It was a relaxed, fun and interesting evening, and meeting Nina was highlight — she’s one of my new favorite industry people. (From left): Graham Winter, managing director of PF Concept UK Limited; Yann Leca; U.K.-based Nina Lyons, purchasing manager for Staples Promotional Products; U.S.-based Howard Trilling, vice president of international sales for Staples Promotional Products; Polyconcept’s chairman of the board, Philippe Varnier; and U.K.-based Rod Cullen, managing director of Staples Promotional Products.
The PSI lounge, a rest area for attendees, was tres cool and came complete with squishy beanbag chairs, hanging beads (which reminded me of the kind you used to have to walk through to get into that Den of Iniquity of 70s retail stores, Spencer’s Gifts, where my mother was convinced orgies were being held under the black lights and velvet posters of nymphs riding unicorns) and a bar. I sank into one of the bean bag chairs and wallowed in the comfort, until it was time to get up again. Then, I struggled like an upside-down turtle on its shell… 
The Macma booth — which, with its partner company’s booth, Easy Gifts, costs over $1 million (US) — is spectacularly baroque/rococo, in a red and black velvet, True Blood/Marie Antoinette kind of way. After the second day of the show, a party was held in the Macma booth, featuring a band, open bar, hors d’oeuvres and many smoking (both in the aesthetic and inhaling sense) Europeans.
Philippe Varnier, Polyconcept’s chairman of the board and the suavest man alive, and me during dinner. Jeff Kramer, the founder and former owner of Bullet Line — which was sold to Polyconcept in 2006 — recently bought a thoroughbred race horse. Its name? “Thank You, Philippe.” (See images, below) 

Hot Times in Chilly Orlando…

Filed under: ASI Shows, Editorial, Fun

Happy 2010, Everyone!

I’m just back from the ASI Orlando Show, where — despite record cold temps (in the ’30s!), the show was a huge success. From Education Day, to General Colin Powell’s keynote address, to the sizzling fashion show and rollicking amusement park gala, the show was a fantastic way to kick off a new year and decade.

There were tons of creative, wow-worthy new products introduced by our industry’s ingenious suppliers and everyone’s mood was positive, upbeat and optimistic.

Here are some quick photos from the trip, and more next week when I’m in Dusseldorf, Germany for the PSI Show — the world’s largest ad specialty event.

Cheers!

– M

Dave Saracino, one of the industry’s favorite personalities and the man at the helm of Counselor Top 40 supplier BIC Graphic, held court at an Orlando establishment — Aw Schucks — with as much character as he has. The highlight? Senoir Saracino did a rousing rendition of Frank Sinatra’s “My Way.” When you’ve loved and lost like the Chairman of the Board and the vice president of BIC, you bring down the house.  (From left): The always-charming president of Counselor Top 40 supplier Polyconcept North America David Nicholson, Counselor Top 40 distributor Gateway/CDI’s CEO Chuck “Chuckles” Fandos and Polyconcept North America’s national sales manager, Scott Anderson, my new favorite person. David graciously invited us all to dinner and that evening was the highlight of the show for me. Rock on, revelers.
Counselor Top 40 supplier Gemline’s national sales manager, Steve Hettrick (center) and Chuckles Fandos — someone who just makes me happier whenever I’m around him — pose with a friend at Aw Shucks. If you ever get a chance to have some cocktails with Chuck or his partner at Gateway/CDI, Conrad Franey, run, do not walk.

See You in Orlando!

Filed under: ASI Shows, Editorial

Hi Everyone!

I hope you’re enjoying this fabulous holiday season and are getting ready for a new year and decade so awesome that it’ll erase all the angst, stress and hardships of the last one.

Are you going to be in Orlando for the ASI Show from January 3-5? I am! If you’re there, please join me on Education Day (Sunday, 1/3) for two panel discussions I’ll be moderating.

If you’re an exhibitor, take a break from setting up your booth on Sunday for a free luncheon panel just for suppliers featuring four top distributor salespeople: Dan Jellinek from Touchstone Marketing — one of Counselor magazine’s Fastest Growing Distributors; Mercy Crespo from Counselor Top 40 distributor HALO/Lee Wayne; Burke Buchanan from Counselor Top 40 distributor Vernon; and Joe George from Counselor Top 40 distributor American Solutions for Business. They’ll share with you what it takes to win and keep their business, and their stance on topics like who’s responsible for product safety, what makes a great supplier and what they’d like to see from trade show exhibitors. This exhibitors-only luncheon discussion, “What Distributors Want From You,” will be held from 12:00-1:30 p.m. in room 202AB of the Orlando Convention Center.

If you’re a distributor, join me for a panel discussion on a topic near and dear to my heart: “The Fine Art of Creative Self-Promotion.” To be held on Sunday, 1/3, from 2:45-3:45 p.m. in room 104 of the Orlando Convention Center, this panel will feature: Power 50 member Greg Muzzillo, co-CEO of Counselor Top 40 distributor Proforma — a company that’s won numerous awards for its phenomenal self-promo campaigns; Leo Eisner, a 50-year industry veteran and top sales rep with CounselorTop 40 distributor HALO/Lee Wayne who’s generated a majority of his business over the years through self-promo initiatives; and Jake Krolick, ASI’s new media marketing guru, who’s an expert at using tools like video, Facebook and Twitter to boost sales and business.  

I look forward to seeing you all at the first national ad specialty trade show of the year, and hope you can make it to one of my panel discussions. 

Have a very Merry Christmas and a spectacular 2010!

Cheers,

M  


Be a Giver!

Filed under: Editorial, Fun

Hi Everyone! 

I hope you’re all doing well and embracing the spirit of the holiday season. I love this time of year for a multitude of reasons, not the least of which is that festive benders are sanctioned as “yuletide cheer.” ; ) 

Another reason I love the holidays is that everyone seems so much more giving and altruistic. Not so altruistically, I ramp up my charitable efforts in December because I know that as the year comes to a close I’ll be needing a Silkwood shower-style karmic cleansing and will have to do lots of good deeds to neutralize 12 months of toxic, self-indulgent antics. Let’s just say that I’m a charter member of Santa’s “bad” list. (Yet another example why I prefer the Easter Bunny… He’s not so big into the pesky judgements.)

Here’s a cool way you can share the holiday spirit: As one of the hosts of ASI Radio (www.asicentral.com/radio), I — along with Melinda Ligos, Joe Haley, Kathy Huston and Andy Cohen — will be doing a radiothon on ASI Radio this Tuesday (12/15) at 10:30 a.m. to raise money for members of the military transitioning back to life in the U.S. after their service overseas. See below for more details and to find out about some of the cool items we’ll be auctioning off from my beloved BFFs at Gemline, IMC, Leed’s, Logomark and Sweda, among others. Big kudos to those companies for being so gracious and generous. 

So, if you can donate an item, please do; if you can pledge money, that’d be super too. ‘Tis the season to be ginchy, not Grinchy! ; )

Cheers!

– M

PS: Here, for you viewing pleasure, one of my favorites of the Christmas season: The “Mr. Heatmiser” song from The Year Without a Santa, as sung by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMjAf8Nwohs

ASIRadiothon: Help ASI Raise Money For The G.I. Go Fund
The hosts of ASI Internet Radio’s Tuesday Morning Show are getting their charitable vibe on this week. Just launched yesterday, we’re introducing the first-ever ASIRadiothon. The live event will take place next Tuesday, December 15, at 10:30 a.m. eastern time when we’ll dedicate our regular radio show to a charity drive to benefit The G.I. Go Fund, a great organization that assists veterans when they return to the United States.
 
In conjunction with the live Radiothon, there’s a silent auction taking place this week. Go to www.gigofund.org/asiradio now to check out the items up for bid (high-end promotional products all donated by industry suppliers). There are watches, sleek pens, gift sets, sunglasses, digital photo frames, and more. In this silent auction, items will go to the highest bidder and the top bid each day will be updated on the Web site. Check back often. It’s a great way to donate to charity and do your holiday shopping at the same time.
 
The G.I. Go Fund is definitely a worthy cause to donate to this holiday season. The organization helps veterans with financial and medical assistance upon their return from overseas. And it even sets up job fairs exclusively for returning veterans so they can find work and acclimate quicker into everyday life. Jack Fanous, the executive director of The G.I. Go Fund, will join ASIRadio on the phone next Tuesday to share stories of veterans he’s encountered and tell our audience exactly how his organization helps these people. It’s sure to be a revealing phone call to start of our Radiothon show.
 
So, join in on the charity drive and help us raise money for this valuable cause. Go to www.gigofund.org/asiradio now to bid on items in the auction or to make a donation. And make sure to log-on to www.asicentral.com/radio on Tuesday, December 15 at 10:30 a.m.eastern time to take part in the live Radiothon. Call the show at (215) 953-4979 or e-mail us at radio@asicentral.com to pledge your donation – and help us make the lives of returning veterans that much better.


Break Out the Crystal Ball!

Filed under: Editorial

Hi Everyone!

I hope you all had a fabulous Thanksgiving and didn’t pass out in a tryptophan-induced coma face down in a Jell-O mold. ; )

As we enter the last month of 2009, it’s a natural time to look ahead and try to prepare for what 2010 has in store for us. In that vein, I’ll be moderating a Webinar this Thursday, 12/3, from 2 p.m.-3 p.m. (ET) called, “Get Ready for 2010: Top Sales and Market Trends.”

My whip-smart panelists are three of my favorite people in the industry, all of whom are at the helm of distinguished supplier companies and each of whom is on this year’s Counselor Power 50 list.

My pal Bonni Shevin-Sandy is the executive vice president of Counselor Top 40 supplier Dard and this year’s Counselor International Person of the Year. My girl knows her stuff, and is so savvy when it comes to finding new markets into which to sell that the international and custom division of Dard, of which Bonni is president, was up double-digits in 2009.

Bill Korowitz, president of Counselor Top 40 supplier The Magnet Group, is a new friend of mine. He’s very much the renaissance man — a trained economist as well as a guitar aficionado (he’s been known to stay up til 2 a.m. jamming, with his amp cranked “to 11″). Bill has one of the driest, most sardonic wits I’ve come across in some time and is equally astute at reading sales and marketing indicators both for our industry and the U.S. economy.

And last but not least, we have Ira Neaman, owner of Counselor Top 40 supplier Vantage. Ira is one of my oldest friends in the industry, and the person who — when I was new to the ad specialty business nearly 13 years ago and knew nothing about imprinted apparel — was patient enough to give me many in-depth tutorials. Still, to this day, when I have an apparel-related question and need someone to explain the intricacies to me, Ira — who was one of the youngest people ever to graduate from Harvard Business School — is first on my list. For that reason, I have always called him my wearables “Yoda.” As apparel constitutes the largest category of product sales in our industry, Ira the Yoda is an expert on the latest trends and applications. Learn from him, you will.

If you’d like to listen in to the Webinar this Thursday to hear Bonni, Bill and Ira discuss such topics as keeping your company competitive in a down economy, where industry sales will be in 2010, new growth markets for ad specialties and the smartest thing companies can do in the upcoming year to be successful, click on the link below to register.

https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/174512624

 Cheers, and more next week!

– M


Photos From This Year’s ASI Power Summit!

Filed under: Travel

ASI’s third annual Power Summit is in full swing at La Costa Resort & Spa in sunny Carlsbad, CA. Two hundred of the industry’s most prominent professionals are here, taking part in panel discussions on topics like safety and legislation issues, new media for marketing and challenges for the industry for 2010 and enjoying many great networking events.

I’m moderating a panel at 8:30 am, Cali time, on the topic of keeping employees motivated in a down economy with Lon McGowan, owner of iClick, my pal Eric Johnson (aka, “E”), executive vice president of Halls & Co., Tina Montgomery, president/CEO of L.W. Barrett Co. Inc., Fred Albrecht, founder and co-owner of Proforma Albrecht Co. and Mark Ziskind, COO of Counselor Top 40 distributor Caliendo-Savio Enterprises (CSE) — all of whom have been on Counselor’s “Best Places to Work” list for the past two years. With this fabulous panelists, it should be awesome

More later and enjoy the photos!
Cheers!
– M

When last year’s Power Summit attendees said they wanted more networking time, we responded with our own version of “speed dating” for networkers, in which people sat at a circular table and rotated seats so they could meet 10 new people in 20 minutes. It was a hit! (From left): Here’s my BFF Jim Hagan, president of Counselor Top 40 supplier Sweda and a member of Counselor’s Power 50 this year; Neal Harper, Logomark’s COO and owner Trevor Gnesin’s consigliere; and the illustrious Trevor himself. LOVE these guys!!!
Scott Pearson, vice president of merchandising for Sweda and the genius behind their “24″-themed YouTube videos touting the company’s 24-hour service, gets ready to show Trevor Gnesin, owner of Logomark and a member of Counselor’s Power 50, the love. On the second night of the Power Summit, I hosted a table of some of my industry favorites including, from the left, Scott Siegel, owner of R.S. Owens; Todd Singleton, owner of The Singleton Co. Inc. — who was on our “Marketing with New Media” panel and did an awesome job; and the lovely and talented Laura Holt, a Geiger MVP.
A view of La Costa’s spectacular golf course from view on the patio of the resort’s Legends Grille. When we arrived on Friday and took a tour of the facility, ASI executive vice president/publisher Rich Fairfield, Counselor editor Andy Cohen and education coordinator Dana Reaume and I came upon an Oktoberfest Party, complete with lederhosen-clad musicians playing polka.
Here’s Rich Fairfield, Dana Reaume and Andy Cohen, posing with the Oktoberfest mascot. A view of the Resort Pool, where dinner will be held on Monday night and this year’s Counselor “Power 50″ will be announced.
Because we were here on Halloween, the fun and festive staff at La Costa got into the spirit by donning costumes. “Medusa” was our cocktail waitress at the Blue Fire Grille. ASI Show director of operations Cheryl Childers, senior vice president/editor-in-chief Melinda Ligos and Rich Fairfield at La Costa’s Blue Fire Grille the night before ASI’s third annual Power Summit began.
ASI vice president of supplier sales Ron Ball and Dana Reaume at dinner on Saturday night. Jo-an Lantz, executive vice president of Counselor Top 40 distributor Geiger (left) and Vera Muzzillo, co-CEO of Counselor Top 40 distributor Proforma. LOVE my pal Jo-an’s butterscotch leather jacket!
A group shot of all industry attendees at ASI’s Power Summit, for an upcoming issue of Counselor. Sunday night’s dinner was held outdoors, on La Costa’s Terrace Lawn. It was chilly, but fun!
Industry BFF’s Marc Simon, president of Counselor Top 40 distributor HALO/Lee Wayne (left) and Jonathan Isaacson, president of Counselor Top 40 supplier Gemline. Suzie Gunsauls, vice president of sales for Counselor Top 40 supplier Sweda (left) and Tina Montgomery, president/CEO of distributor company L.W. Barrett.
Barry Deutsch, vice president of sales for Counselor Top 40 distributor BDA (left) and Memo Kahan, owner of Counselor Top 40 distributor PromoShop. (From left): Ira Neaman, president of Counselor Top 40 supplier Vantage; Kris Robinson, vice president of Counselor Top 40 distributor PromoShop, ASI’s Melinda Ligos and Andy Cohen.
(From left): Shepenco’s Dan Townes, Todd Singleton, owner of distributor The Singleton Co. Inc., and PromoShop’s Memo Kahan.

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