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Filed under: ASI Shows, Editorial, Fun, Travel
Hey Everybody!
Try not to drop your jaws like Nutcracker dolls, as I’m actually posting two blogs in one week!
The last one regaled you with all the delicious details of the fabulous PSI Dusseldorf Show; this one is way closer to home — ASI’s Orlando Show, which was off-the-charts crazy busy and tons of fun, with the weather sunshine-filled and in the mid-70s (which those of us on the East Coast just covet at this time of year…). My favorite part? The optimistic, forward-thinking, sunny mood everyone was in — drastically different (and much better) than shows three years ago.
So, without further delay, take a moment to scroll down and peruse my fairly extensive Rogues Gallery of industry raconteurs, luminaries, superstars and hurricane force hell-raisers (aka, All My Favorite People). Sometimes, as is the case here, the photos tell the story far better than I could. ; )
Cheers, and more soon from my upcoming trip to France on February 5th, for the CTCO promo products show (www.salon-ctco.com/en ) in Lyon.
Can. Not. Wait.
— M
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A word about the BrandFuel boys: Robert Fiveash and Danny Rosin (shown here, doing their signature move, the “Tebow Plank”), co-owners of the NC- and VA-based distributorship, have been friends since they were kids — which makes them similar both in origin story and capacity for cocktail-fueled fun to The Stones’ own Glimmer Twins, Keith and Mick. As stunningly talented (I worship at the altar of their self-promo campaigns) as they are humble and gracious, I just think the world of them. Click here to see a mini-profile on Robert and his workspace from ASI’s supplier magazine that I edit, Supplier Global Resource.
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(From left): I don’t use the word “beloved” often, but truly, that’s how her clients and industry friends feel about Kellie Claudio, vice president of sales for Counselor Top 40 supplier Sweda, shown here with Paige Millard (fact: if you’re really a show road warrior, who doesn’t know and love Paige???), Sweda’s trade show manager, and the lovely Lauren Anselmo, Sweda’s sales operations coordinator.
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(From left): Here’s my colleague (hence, much-beleaguered) Joe Haley, managing editor of our magazines and star of ASI’s The Joe Show, with the always-delightful Kathleen Milbier, who heads up the sales efforts for the CA-based supplier Skinit (check out their awesome items here: www.promo.skinit.com) and one of my industry faves, Brad White, vice president of sales for Counselor Top 40 distributor Boundless Network. I’ve branded the extroverted Brad with the moniker “Captain Loudmouth,” which is ironic, of course, since the level of audio coming out of my trap at any given time is a fearsome thing that could make one’s ears bleed.
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(From left): The vivacious Candace Hershey, shown here with my pal Vicky Tirpack, Midwest regional manager for Promo Marketing magazine, and her hilarious and awesome colleague, Meredith Edelman, Northeast regional manager for Promo Marketing. Is it me, or do they — a redhead, a blonde and a brunette — look like the industry’s own Charlie’s Angels?
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I’d like to tell you that this photo of my editorial colleagues (from left) C.J. Mittica (Wearables‘ editor), Larry Basinait (ASI’s research director), Melinda Ligos (senior vice president/editor-in-chief) and Joe Haley was taken in this blurred fashion to be aesthetically edgy. In fact, I think I still had the shakes from all the Riesling I drank at the PSI Düsseldorf Show.
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Why do I love this photo? Not only because it features one of the nicest guys in the industry — Mark Graham (center), owner of the Canada-based distributorship Right Sleeve Marketing (winner of last year’s Counselor Distributor Entrepreneur of the Year award!) — but it just cracks me up that Dana Zezzo (left), ProTowels’ marketing guru and industry gadabout, and ASI’s Joe Haley (right) were clearly Separated at Birth!
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Here’s Scott Anderson (left), national sales manager for Counselor Top 40 supplier Polyconcept North America, with One of My Favorite People Ever, PCNA’s Steve Gelernter, known the world over as “Stevie G.”
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PromoKitchen, a group of whip-smart and very marketing/social media-savvy suppliers and distributors (the “Chefs”), held a slammin’ soiree at a Greek restaurant in Orlando called “Taverna Opa,” which was fabulous! This is one of the sultry sirens who greeted guests at the door. Learn more about PromoKitchen at www.promokitchen.com.
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PCNA’s celebutante, Stevie G, with one of the hostesses at Taverna Opa.
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A crowd shot from the rollicking PromoKitchen party at Taverna Opa in Orlando.
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So at one point at Taverna Opa, the exotic Greek hostesses roused the crowd at the PromoKitchen party to join them for some on-the-bar dancing. The first two to leap at the offer? ProTowel’s gregarious Dana Zezzo (right) and ASI’s Jake Krolick. Hands up: Is anyone shocked by that? Anyone? (Crickets… Crickets…). And that’s why I love them!
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Two words that describe the looks on the faces of BrandFuel’s Robert Fiveash (left) and ASI’s creative director of our marketing department, Jake (or “Jakey,” as we call him back at the home office) Krolick: Mayhem. Imminent.
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Two of my favorite ASI colleagues, Jakey Krolick (left) and Colin Graf, marketing director of supplier services. Love, love, love them!
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Meet Alex McKenzie (left), a distributor salesperson with Masterwork Custom Wholesale Signs — who used to play for the Seattle Seahawks and the Atlanta Falcons — here with The Funniest Person in the Industry, Glen Colton, owner of the GA-based distributorship Seville Marketing. Glen and I have known each other for 14 years, and he has the distinction of making me laugh so hard that I cry every time I talk with him. He is a HOWL…
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Aakron Rule owner Devin Piscitelli, who was also at the PSI Show in Düsseldorf I attended earlier this month, is someone I’ve only recently gotten to know — we always moved in different circles throughout the industry, though I’d always heard how great he is. And truly, he lives up to the hype. Smart, inquisitive, engaging and slyly sardonic, I enjoy him more every time I see him and look forward to getting to know him better.
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Here’s my colleague (and designated “handler”) Joe Haley, modeling two creepy masks: one of Spiderman’s nemesis, the Green Goblin (shout-out to Nerdville!) and one of Gary Busey (see photo to the right), as he poses with ASI’s IT saviors, Jason Cissorsky (left) and Jim Talone. We all agreed, hands down, that Busey is way more shudderingly frightening.
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| Holla! to Mary Ellen Nichols, one of the most effervescent and bubbly personalities in the industry, shown here with ASI chairman Matthew Cohn (center) and the salesperson everyone loves to love, Bodek and Rhodes’ Marc Held. |
Counselor Top 40 supplier SanMar won the Best Booth award for an apparel company, and here’s my friend John Lindgren, marketing manager for SanMar, who was integral in the booth’s snazzy, retail-inspired design.
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For the first time, ASI presented Best Booth awards to exhibitors, based on attendee text voting. Spirit Awards’ self-created, stadium-style booth took the prize for Best Booth over 10′ x 10′. A fairly new supplier, Babble Text, won among the booths that were 10′ x 10′.
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Hollywood may have Brangelina, but in our industry, we have “Mardine,” the impossibly-attractive industry celebs that are Pacific Coast Golf’s Mark Hobbs and PromoBiz’s Nadine Panetti, two of my favorite pals.
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Having dinner with Jamie Raynor, my dear friend from JournalBooks, is like being able to relax with someone you can feel supremely comfortable with — she is the definition of grace and equanimity.
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My pal Jason Emery, vice president of sales at Counselor Top 40 supplier Logomark and someone who was on Wearables magazine’s “Best Dressed” list in 2011 — a title he lives up to in spades every time I see him.
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I just had to snap this photo of CJ Schmidt, someone I adore, right before his company Hit Promotional Products won the Distributor Choice award for Best Keytags & Luggage Tags.
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Rarely do I take a photo of someone that captures their personality as much as this one does, of my BFF Tim O’Boyle (“Ringo,” to his nearest and dearest…) from JournalBooks. Something about the glint in his eye and smirk on his face just makes me giggle.
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Ah, my dear friends Pete Gleason (left) and Christopher Duffy, with Counselor Top 40 supplier BagMakers, who won a Distributor Choice award for Best Shopping Bags. I’ve known these gentlemen since my wild heyday in the industry (Yep… I used to be worse. Swear. To. God.), and remember with perfect clarity how Christopher, at a party during the PPAI Show in Dallas one year, carried me around on his back — like an organ grinder with his yappy little pet monkey. Good stuff.
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| Do you know the awesome folks at Counselor Top 40 supplier, Broder? You really should, and I’d recommend starting with Ken Seidl (left) and the ever-charming Chris Blakeslee, who are as super-nice as they are whip-smart about industry apparel. Here they are with my editorial colleague C.J. Mittica, editor of Wearables magazine. |
Every year at the Orlando Show, two colleagues of mine at ASI on the Supplier Sales team — the very gracious Phyllis Mutnick and Suzanne Rozick — hold a celebratory dinner-to-die-for at The Palm, for their clients who’ve won and were finalists in the Counselor Distributor Choice Awards. They’re kind enough to invite me along to host a table of guests, and each year, I’m lucky enough to have David Byrne (left) and Jason Grindall from Graphco Line sit with me. The antics ensue soon after… ; )
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You know you’ve “arrived” when your visage has been drawn on the famed walls of The Palm, alongside legends and luminaries. Here’s ASI’s president/CEO signing his image at The Palm in Orlando.
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Love, love, love these two: Vantage’s Ira Neaman and Bodek and Rhodes’ Mary Ellen Nichols.
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Back story: At the aforementioned annual dinner at the Palm, I met Michael Moore, whose family owns Bay State Specialties, last year for the first time. Thirty minutes and four martinis between the two of us later, I was in shock and awe. Oh, Holy Hell: He’s the male me. I only get to hang with him once a year, at this dinner in Florida, and when we do, our cocktailing and subsequent antics have been described as “When Godzilla Parties With Mothra.”
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Take a good look at this photo: This is your face on Patron shots. Michael Moore and I, cavorting at The Palm (after which, we may or may not have jumped in a hypothetical fountain and then taken a theoretical golf cart for a joyride…).
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Here’s the fabulous Dan Jellinek, vice president of Counselor Top 40 supplier (and 2012 Distributor Choice award-winner!) Magnet LLC, with the most fun couple in the industry, this side of Dan & Natalie Townes: Janet & Bill Korowitz, who run Magnet. So awesome are they, that I actually flew to a show once just to hang out with them. They’re like F. Scott & Zelda Fitzgerald, without the darkness. “Hilarity was right up their alley, with pandemonium just around the bend…”
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ASI’s creative marketing director, Jake Krolick, posing with the models he hired to tout ASI’s new SmartSales service.
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How fitting to end this blog with a photo of my illustrious “work husband,” Ron Ball. Our boss, Rich Fairfield, claims that though he loves us, we are his “two most unmanageable employees.” Really? I just don’t get why… ; )
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Filed under: Editorial, PSI Shows, Travel
 Well, hello and welcome to a new year, my little revelers and libertines!
I just returned from two back-to-back shows — PSI Dusseldorf and ASI Orlando — each of which was off-the-charts awesome in its own right. First up, PSI Dusseldorf:
Europe’s largest ad specialty trade show, PSI Dusseldorf welcomed 993 exhibitors — a record number for the show and a 16% increase from last year — and 16,167 visitors to the three-day event.
PSI, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, is kind of like the ASI/PPAI of Europe, producing the trade show, publications and analysis of the European marketplace.
“According to the recent forecast by Zenth-Optimedia, one of the world’s largest media agencies, the worldwideadvertising market presents itself in a very robust condition in 2012, in spite of the crisis of the euro and stock exchange slumps, with a predicted 1.8% increase for Western Europe and 2% growth for Germany,” said PSI Managing Director Michael Freter, during the show’s kickoff press conference.
 ASI’s president and CEO, Tim Andrews — invited by PSI to speak on behalf of the U.S. market — told the international group of VIPs in attendance at the opening event that ASI’s quarterly surveys of its supplier and distributor members have shown eight consecutive quarters for growth. “We expect 2011 will show an overall increase for the industry in the 5%-7% range – for an expected total of about $18.4 billion – about a billion dollars more than in 2010,” Andrews said.
Also announced at the opening press conference was the first Europe-widestudy on the advertising efficiency of promotional products, conducted by the Association of the German Advertising Industry (GWW). “With total sales of approximately 3.5 billion euro, the promotional products industry in 2011 succeeded once again in increasing from the previous year, when sales of approximately 3.4 billion euro had been generated,” said Patrick Politze, GWW chairman. “Over a period of two years, the promotional products industry recorded an increase of almost 16% compared to the 2009 crisis year.”
In addition to having to-die-for booths and the delicious tradition of serving cocktails and food in each booth, the PSI Dusseldorf Show has become a hallmark for showcasing new design, packaging and color trends, all of which tend to get exfoliated to the North American ad specialty marketplace.
ASI also held a panel discussion on the topic of how European companies can penetrate the U.S. market and vice versa. Tim Andrews asked questions of panelists Michael Bernstein, CEO of Polyconcept’sEuropean supplier group (PFConcept), Michael Nick, CEO of Senator, and Maurizio Castelli, CEO of Lediberg.
 Nick pointed out that, having attended trade shows in the U.S. and Europe, one notable difference is the amount of time distributor attendees spend in exhibitors’ booths. “Here at PSI, visitors to the Senator booth spend approximately 45 minutes discussing business; in the U.S., distributors just wish to be scanned and maybe will spend a minute or two in the booths. It’s a completely different way of doing business.” Bernstein noted that for European companies interested in doing business in the U.S., the two keys are speed of product delivery and avoiding the tendency to “over-promise and under-deliver.” “In Europe, five-day turnaround is considered fast; in the U.S., many of our orders at Polyconcept North America are produced and shipped in a day.” Rod Brown, president of US distributor Made To Order, who was in attendance at the event, said that while the Polyconcept companies in the U.S. — Leed’s, Bullet Line and JournalBooks — have exceptional products, it’s the company’s superior, streamlined operations that he and his company really depend on. “The fact that they do what they say they’re going to makes all the difference,” he said, echoing Bernstein’s point about the advantages of having such streamlined business operations.
Maurizio Castelli, whose leather journals and day planners are sold in the U.S., noted the importance of being true to one’s brand and focusing on the company’s core business. “To concentrate on being a market leader in your niche category is so important,” he said.
The other major news from the show is that for the week of January 9, Germany ran out of Riesling. Why? ‘Cause I drank it all. ; )
Next year’s PSI Dusseldorf Show will be held from January 9-11, 2013. Go to www.reedexpo.de for more information. Will I be there? Check out the photos below and you’ll know the answer. A resounding “Hell to the YEAH!”
Cheers and more on Monday with photos from the ASI Orlando Show (and oh my, were the PromoKitchen peeps in rare form at their party … Love them!).
— M
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| Did you ever play that game, “If you could pick three people from the industry to be trapped on a desert island with, who would they be?” Well, meet #1 on my list: Michael Bernstein, PFConcept’s CEO. Michael and I have been friends for 15 years, and he’s like my brother (some people actually see a resemblance). I once flew across four states just to have pizza with Michael; to revel in his sardonic wit and whip-smart banter, I’d fly a lot farther for a lot less. |
Here’s the uber-bright and super-talented Jo-an Lantz, executive vice president of Counselor Top 40 distributor Geiger. Did you know that she’s been at Geiger since she was 19 years old? She started as a bookkeeper and worked her way up through the ranks. When I first started in the industry 15 years ago, Jo-an was kind enough to mentor me; I’m proud to say over the years that she’s become one of my dearest friends in the industry. |
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| Here’s Michael Woody (left), president of International Marketing Advantages and a past Counselor International Person of the Year, and Bjorn Harenstam, his partner who handles the European market, at the PSI Show, accepting their Oscar for Most Charming Guys Ever! Quite a few people at the PSI Show commented on how much Michael resembles Richard Gere … |
Rich Fairfield, ASI’s executive vice president and publisher (and, most challenging of his job descriptions, my boss), gamely poses with two gigantic Teddys at the airport in Nuremberg. I like how the bear on the right looks perpetually stunned — similar, ironically, to Rich’s expression when traveling with me. |
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| Hans Jakop Burkens, head of PFConcept’s sales in the Netherlands (left) and Michael Bernstein, CEO of PFConcept, the European arm of Polyconcept. Michael, whose family founded Leed’s and who was, for years, its CEO, recently reentered the industry and moved his family from Pittsburgh to the Netherlands to helm PFConcept. One of the most brilliant, talented and capable people I know, the company could not be in better hands. |
Please — for the love of God — if you’re ever in Sweden, look up Christian Nystrom, who runs the Swedish office of PFConcept, shown here with Michael Bernstein. In equal measures hilarious, dynamic and super knowledgeable on the European marketplace, he was one of my favorite people to spend time with on this trip to PSI. Also, an as aside, his ability to consume cocktails rivals my own and has earned him this nickname from me: The Swedish Fish. Love him! |
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| (From left): Miranda Rodenberg, one of PFConcept’stop salespeople and a woman with so much personality that her aura has an aura, here with Christian Nystrom and Michael Bernstein. If I lived in Europe and bought ad specialties, I’d want Miranda as my rep, as she is known for her rabid devotion to her clients. |
ASI’s president and CEO, Tim Andrews, was invited by the management of the PSI Show to address the international press and VIPs at the event’s opening ceremonies. During his speech, Tim discussed the similarities and differences between the U.S. ad specialty market and that of Europe. Similarities? An emphasis on product sustainability; differences? Europe is much more focused on the design elements of a product, while the U.S. concentrates on speed-of-light turnaround time. |
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| This year is the 50th anniversary of PSI, so it was a great honor to have the show’sfounder and industry legend, Walter Jung (left) in attendance with the ever-awesome Hans-Joachim (Hi-Jo) Erbel, who oversees the PSI Show currently. What a fantastic legacy Walter Jung started and nurtured, and what a fabulous caretaker for that vision Hi-Jo is. |
Walter Jung (left) and ASI’s Tim Andrews, at the opening press conference kicking off the 50th anniversary of PSI and the start to its 2012 show. |
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| Matthew Cohn, ASI’s vice chairman, jumped behind the podium after the press conference, showing that he’s never met a mic he didn’t like. ; ) |
ASI’s Tim Andrews and Matthew Cohn, overlooking PSI’s trade show floor. |
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| As I was snapping this photo, I remember thinking, “Oh, Holy Hell: Three of my favorites all in one place — how lucky am I???” From left: Sweda president Jim Hagan, PFConcept CEO Michael Bernstein and Sweda’s vice president of merchandising and marketing, Scott Pearson. Did I giggle like a schoolgirl with these three around me? Yep, so much so I should have my own Disney show… |
The PSI Show doesn’t have education events like our U.S. shows do. However, in conjunction with PSI’s 50th anniversary, ASI put together a panel discussion on how to sell into the U.S. marketplace. Here’s Tim Andrews, moderating that discussion, with panelists Maurizio Castelli, CEO of Lediberg (which sells into the U.S. as Castelli); Michael Nick, CEO of Senator and PFConcept’s Michael Bernstein. |
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| (From left): Michael Nick, CEO of Senator (love, love, love him!); ASI’s Tim Andrews; Lediberg CEO Maurizio Castelli (I could listen to him say my name with his Italian accent for days …) and PFConcept’s Michael Bernstein. |
Here are two people I’m always happy to see, regardless of the country I’m in — the very charming and fun Paul Bellantone (left), PPAI’s president, and David Natinsky, CEO of SAGE. Two of the smartest cookies in the industry, I always enjoy chatting with both Paul and David. (Note: I think Paul’s eyes were closed in this photo because he was thinking, “Oh God, no… I’m on Michele’s blog again…” LOL!) |
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| Maurizio Castelli, CEO of Lediberg, and the one and only Missy Kilpatrick, quite the industry celeb in her own right. Missy handles all the sales and operations of Castelli in the NorthAmerican marketplace, and they’re very lucky to have her with them indeed. She is such a luminary in the U.S. marketplace, she practically hauls the sun around with her. |
At dinner one night aboard the PFConcept ship they bring in for staffers, execs, top clients and friends to stay on at the show each year (seriously, they dock it right on the Rhine, across from the convention center in Düsseldorf), I got to bask in the fabulousness of The Most Suave Man Ever, Philippe Varnier (right), Polyconcept’s chairman of the board, shown here with Polyconcept North America’s Jeff Brown (left) and Rodolphe Normandin (center), PFConcept’s very sweet marketing and product development director. Fact: Sometimes, when Philippe is talking to me with that mesmerizing French accent of his, I have to mentally snap back to attention and focus on what the hell he’s actually saying. |
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| Here’s my pal Missy Kilpatrick– so cute, SO fun — who partied with me one night on the PFConcept boat, with my friend Frank Driessens from the tres cool Netherlands-based supplier company Big Bang International. Truly, the next morning at an 8:00 a.m. breakfast — having just gone to bed at 4:30 a.m. — I was mentally begging for a quick death. Then I remembered something Oscar Wilde was fond of saying: “Only dull people are brilliant at breakfast.” And with that, my friends, I have my new mantra. |
Missy, surrounded by the European cuties from the supplier company Big Bang. Hand to God: That really is the name of their company (www.bigbanginternational.com), and they really are as awesome and fun as they look. |
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| Why did I have a hangover that burned with the intensity of 10,000 suns one morning? Meet Francois Vehoeven (left), who runs Big Bang Int’l., shown here with Serge de Warrimont, who really does look like that (no Photoshop needed for him!). I only see Francois once a year, at the PSI Show aboard the PFConcept boat, but that’s enough for me, because his ability to entice one to excess is downright Dionysian, I tell ya! He should walk around with his own theme music, like the opening chords for “Sympathy for the Devil.” ; ) |
Meeting Yngve Blomstrom (left) and Michael Englund, from the phenomenal company Sporrong, left me impressed and dying to know more. Their company was founded in — wait for it — 1666 (not a typo!), and it’s been in continual operation since then, crafting custom-made metal products. Click here to learn more about them: www.sporrong.com.
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| Me, with the stunning Cecile Tall, PFConcept’sgeneral counsel, who’s as smart as she is fascinating. I was fortunate enough to have Cecile seated next to me at dinner one evening, and had a delightful conversation with her. |
Here’s Jeff Brown, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Polyconcept North America, someone whom I profoundly enjoy because he gets my humor and I get his. Sometimes, when we’re in a group, I look at Jeff and know exactly what he’s thinking … |
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| A new friend, Chris McKee, who heads Geiger’s corporate sales division. A completely engaging conversationalist, Chris is one of those people who makes you feel instantly at ease. |
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Michael Bernstein and Tim Andrews, at dinner on the PFConcept boat. The PFConcept folks were fabulously gracious hosts to the ASI and Geiger teams.
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ASI’s Rich Fairfield, Geiger’s executive vice president Jo-an Lantz and ASI’s Tim Andrews relaxing on the PFConcept boat after a memorable and fantastically fun dinner on the PFConcept boat in Düsseldorf. |
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Tim Andrews, ASI’s president/CEO, isn’t exactly Michael Phelps in the swimming arena and not so fond of being on water. Consequently, dining on the PFConcept boat, though fabulous, made him a tad twitchy. Cut to the ever-ready Monsieur Varnier, who grabbed one of the ship’s life preservers for Tim to use as an “accessory.” It was, as you can see, the hit of the night.
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| Geiger’s Jo-an Lantz and Polyconcept’s Philippe Varnier, two of the most fascinating and charismatic people I know in the industry, combining at the PFConcept dinner for some mega-watt star power. |
Meet my friend John Lynch, an American who owns Lynka, the largest ad specialty company in Poland, where he lives. John is on the editorial advisory board for Supplier Global Resource, ASI’s magazine for industry suppliers that I edit, and is one sharp guy. Love him to death, and not just because he brings me a bottle of Polish vodka every year at the PSI Show. ; ) |
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| And winning the prize as my Favorite New Friends are Alistair Mylchreest and Liz Young from the U.K.-based company Sourcing City, with whom ASI just announced a strategic alliance. (Learn more about them here: <a href=”http://www.sourcin |
Wednesday
December 28, 2011
Filed under: Editorial, Fun
Happy Holidays, Everyone!
Hope you’re all still basking in the warm glow of being with friends and family, eating your weight in butter cookies and consuming festive cocktails at swanky soirees like it’s your job. Me? I’m on self-imposed detox for the next 10 days, until I retox my way through the PSI Show in Dusseldorf (I’m looking at you, Michael Bernstein. Can. Not. Wait.) and ASI’s Orlando Show.
However, certain factors this holiday season got me thinking, and I’m going to take a stand that will surely have some of you (my gimlet eye is on you, Brad White), shaking your heads and saying, “God, she’s so antiquated.” You know what? Meh. I don’t care.
Now, while I appreciate all the holiday e-cards and social media festive “e-greetings” that have been sent my way in the last month, nothing — and I mean nothing — takes the place of a handwritten holiday card or a self-promo holiday mailer.
Case in point: My OCD is never worse than at the holidays when I send out 500+ (Kid You Not … This year the grand total was 511) cards, each with a handwritten personalized note. Even more obsessive, everyone gets a card chosen especially for them. No mass sentiment for me, thank you very much. Which means, for example, that Danny Rosin from BrandFuel got a card chosen specifically for him and different than the one I sent his business partner, Robert Fiveash, also chosen just with him in mind.
I know it sounds crazy, and trust me, my right hand looks like a swollen claw after writing out 500+ cards, but you wouldn’t believe the response I get. Industry salespeople are always asking how they can set themselves apart from their competition, how they can build their own brand and stay top-of-mind with clients. Take my word for it: It’s as simple as sending a handwritten note. Why? Because no one does it anymore.
So, I implore you: power down from your e-communications and go old-school, just for two weeks. You’ll be pleasantly surprised, I believe, by the feedback you get. Don’t believe me?
Witness the entrance to my office at ASI: Filled with cards from industry friends, colleagues and acquaintances, most of whom received my card and were so giddy over the tactile experience of getting actual mail, that they responded in kind. The byproduct? Increased communication and stronger relationships.
Two whip-smart distributors we all know took it one step further by sending out holiday promos — Counselor Top 40 distributor Proforma and one of the hottest shops out there, Bluegrass Promotions (see photos and descriptions below). I spoke to reps at both companies, and return they’ve already seen from a comparatively small investment in the products, packaging and mailing has been off-the-charts. Seriously, what a way to start the new year. (Side note: Right up there with how Kim Kardashian graduated high school and whether Nancy Grace truly is the Antichrist, I’m continually baffled by why my beloved suppliers — who know more about the effectiveness of their products than anyone — don’t employ their own marketing medium and do self-promos.)
I love how Proforma “themed” its holiday promo around coffee: a substantial travel mug, festive cookies and a Starbucks gift card. The personalized Leed’s pen? A classy touch …
Who DOESN’T love baked treats at the holidays? What makes this mailer, from the smart cookies at Bluegrass Promotions, so unique is the customized packaging and tie-in promo copy: “This holiday season, we’ve cooked up something special for you.” Billy Booe, vice president of business development at Bluegrass and a multimillion-dollar sales producer, sent an e-greeting in advance of the cookies being mailed, letting recipients know they’d be getting something special (a Photoshopped Booe as an animated elf was a howl). The response? “People go wild for these mailers and remember us for their promotional needs because of it,” Booe told me.
So, here’s my challenge to you: Create a self-promo campaign within the first quarter of 2012 for 20 clients or prospects. Putting my money where my (really expansive) mouth is, I’m willing to pony up $250 for both the supplier and distributor company with the best campaign. Send me samples of your mailer and the facts behind it (products used, message conveyed, audience targeted and the ROI/ROO — Return on Objective — metrics) by April 1st to be considered.
You know, when I moderate education panel discussions at ASI shows on the topic of “The Power of Self-Promotion Campaigns,” one of the main obstacles people seem to have is that they’re overwhelmed and don’t know how to get started. Well, as the folks at Nike would say, Just Do It. Do something. Pretty much every supplier I know is happy to offer discounts for distributors doing self-promos, and and I’m willing to help brainstorm ideas with you. Just send me an e-mail: mbell@asicentral.com.
Cheers and more soon from the PSI Show in Europe (my favorite show ever!) and ASI’s Orlando Show!
— M
PS: If you’re a supplier who’s going to be at ASI’s Orlando Show, please take a well-deserved break from booth set-up on Monday, January 16th to be my guest at a free, suppliers-only luncheon and education session that I’ll be moderating from 12:15-1:15 p.m. in room W202A. In the “What Distributors Want” panel discussion, four top distributors will take your questions and discuss how you can become a valued promotional partner and integral member of their creative marketing team.
Filed under: ASI Shows, Editorial, Travel
Hi Everyone!
Hope you’re enjoying your summer and staying cool in this Serengeti-esque heat!
Next week (from 7/19-21) is the ASI Chicago Show at the McCormick Place Convention Center. I’ll be there with bells on, as Chi-Town is one of my favorite cities in the U.S. (filled with some of my favorite industry people — I’m looking at you, Sharon Biernat!).
If you’re an exhibiting supplier at the show, please join me for two free panel discussions I’ll be moderating on Education Day.
The first, on Tuesday, 7/19, from noon-1:15 in the dining room behind the Registration Area is titled, “What Distributors Want.” Take a break from setting up your booth, enjoy a free lunch on ASI and learn from four top distributors — all from Counselor Top 40 companies — what they’re looking for from their suppliers. Covering issues like pricing, product safety, building trust and relationships between suppliers and distributors and what types of marketing get their attention, my panelists — Brown and Bigelow’s Cindy Jorgenson, American Solutions for Business’s Sadie Schlief, HALO Branded Solutions’ Julie Harms and WorkflowOne’s Mike Riddle — will address it all! For sure, it’s a panel discussion not to be missed by suppliers. And did I mention there’s a free lunch served? ; )
The second Suppliers-Only panel discussion I’ll be moderating is on the topic of pricing, held from 4-5 p.m. in Power Session Room 1, on the show floor. For sure, one of the trickiest, most time-consuming and critical business responsibilities facing suppliers today is setting pricing for products. A little like Goldilocks, you don’t want your prices too low — which will adversely affect your profits — or too high, which will give your competitors an advantage. So how do you find that sweet spot where you have the ability to make money for your company and keep your clients happy? Our panelists — all respected industry veterans on the supplier side of the business — will share their expertise on the topic: Bonni Shevin-Sandy, president of Counselor Top 40 supplier Dard Design, which imports all of its items from overseas; Eric Johnson, co-owner of Halls & Co./ID Line, which imports items while handling some manufacturing in the U.S.; Mel Ellis, president of HumphreyLine, which manufactures 100% of its items in the U.S.; and Ira Neaman, president of Counselor Top 40 supplier Vantage Apparel, who has expertise and insights on handling pricing in a volatile economy and dealing with cotton fluctuations.
So I look forward to seeing you all at the ASI Chicago Show on Education Day, on the show floor and in the evenings at Kitty O’Sheas in the Hilton, where I’ll be planted like a lawn dart. ; )
Cheers, and more next week with tons of fun photos from the show!
— M
Filed under: ASI Shows, Editorial, Fun, Travel
Well, hey there everyone!
Hope you’re all getting ready for a raucous Memorial Day weekend, as I am!
Having just returned from the ASI San Diego Show, I wanted to share my slide show of fun and festivities from all the after-hours events (when I, and my degenerate ilk, really shine!). Did we have fun? You betcha! Did it take me days to recover? Hell to the Yeah! Some may leave their hearts in San Francisco, but I have no doubt my liver’s quivering somewhere in a gutter in San Diego.
Enjoy the photos of some of my favorite industry celebs, all of whom were in fine form at swanky soirees like the Counselor Top 40 banquet (and the subsequent after-party at the Hard Rock Cafe). Now, without further adieu, take a moment or two to gaze upon my prodigiously talented, profoundly insane, chronically eccentric, hurricane-force hell raisers. Love. Them. All.
Cheers and more soon!
— M
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| At every show we attend, my editorial colleagues and I have a great dinner the night before Education Day, courtesy of our boss, Melinda Ligos, ASI’s senior vice president and the editor-in-chief. Here, we’re at The Strip Club in San Diego which — despite its name — did not have writhing women on display (though it did have lots of prints by famed artist Alberto Vargas of his WWII pinup “Varga Girls” on the wall…). Here’s ASI’s Editorial Crew (from left): Managing Editor Joan Chaykin; Managing Editor and star of “The Joe Show,” Joe Haley; Counselor Editor Andy Cohen; Senior Writer Dave Vagnoni; Advantages Editor Kathy Huston; Editor-in-Chief Melinda Ligos and Larry Basinait, the executive director of ASI’s research services. |
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| The concept behind The Strip Club restaurant? It’s a steakhouse where you pick out the cut of your meat and cook it yourself. Let me just stop you all right there. I’ve never cooked meat. Ever. Not because I’m ethically opposed to it, mind you; just ’cause I’m lazy. So, our editorial boys stepped up to the plate and cooked steaks for us chicas — and let me tell ya, they are masters behind the grill. |
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| Here’s ASI’s marketing manager extraordinaire and an industry favorite, Jake Krolick (left), shown here with his BFF Jeff Anderton, an industry consultant who owns VideoFarm.TV. Want to create the coolest videos ever for your company? Jeff is your guy (plus, he’s just the cat’s meow). |
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| Here’s Jakey (as we call him back in the Trevose home office) with The Best Event Planner Ever, Sat Mamuels (that’s his alias, as he hates to be searched out online). Sat does every special event for us here at ASI, including our yearly Power Summit and the Counselor Top 40 banquet, which was just held in San Diego. Triple-snaps and a huge “HOLLA” to him for always kicking it up a notch. |
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While the location and venue of ASI’s annual Counselor banquet change each year, one thing that remains the same is that Damian Want, the senior vice president of Counselor Top 40 supplier Logomark, always brings me a wrist corsage, as we refer to the event as “the industry’s prom.” This year, he bought me orchids from farm that grows them specifically. This is our 2011 prom photo!
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| Each year, I host a table at the Counselor banquet of those nearest and dearest to me. This year, I was lucky enough to have the lovely ladies from Counselor Top 40 supplier Dard Products and my pals from Counselor Top 40 distributor Jack Nadel Int’l (JNI). Here’s Michelle Michelsen, Dard’s director of sales and marketing with one of my all-time favorites, Craig Reese, senior vice president/partner, of JNI. For years I’ve called Craig “The Porkchop” because he’s so yummy. ; ) |
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| One of my closest girlfriends in the industry, the lovely and talented Bonni Shevin-Sandy — who runs Dard and Dard Design — with one of my new favorite people, Anthans Zafiropoulos, the vice president of new business development and a partner at JNI. He may be one of the most gracious people I’ve met in quite some time. |
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| Industry veteran (and quite the hoot!) Stacy Horton shown here with my beloved Craig Nadel, president and scion of JNI. |
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| (From left): The always-entertaining Paul Kory, director of sales for Counselor Top 40 supplier Vantage; Ira Neaman (the Yoda of Wearables — uber-knowledgeable, he is), owner/president of Vantage; and Mark Johnson, the very charming president of Counselor Top 40 distributor EmbroidMe, at this year’s Counselor banquet, held at the Air & Space Museum in San Diego. In addition to it being a way-cool venue, guests were invited to test-pilot flight simulators and other attractions. |
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| (From left): One of my two “work husbands” at ASI (the other is Ron Ball, vice president of supplier sales and legendary industry character…), here’s Christian Brandt, executive director of ASI’s distributor services, with his pal Tipton Shonkwiler — brand director/vice president of Plan Ahead Events and vice president/director of United Franchise Group — and Rebecca Viani, the vice president of operations for Plan Ahead Events. |
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| What a fun pair! Jay Deutsch, CEO of Counselor Top 40 distributor BDA with Paula Shulman, the vice president of sales for Counselor Top 40 supplier Prime Line. |
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How much do I adore Craig Nadel, shown here with the Counselor Top 40 award for his company (JNI had double-digit growth in 2010!)? Oh, let me count the ways. Craig is the second person I met in the industry, over 14 years ago, and we’ve stayed close ever since due to the fact — as he’s fond of telling people — that we have spirited discussions on everyone’s top three favorite topics: Politics, sex and the state of our industry. “If you knew anything at all about sports, Michele, you’d be perfect.” There are 10 people I’d walk through fire for in the industry. Craig’s in the top five.
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(From left): JNI’s Craig Reese, Athans Zafiropoulos, Hit Promotional Products’ CJ Schmidt, Dard’s Bonni Shevin-Sandy, Stacy Horton and Sunrise Identity’s Mitch Mounger, enjoying quality time at the Counselor Top 40 banquet.
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The one and only Trevor Gnesin, president of Logomark and Craig Nadel, president of Jack Nadel Int’l. — two of my favorite California-based industry celebs!
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CJ Schmidt, vice president of sales for Counselor Top 40 supplier Hit Promotional Products, and JNI’s Athans Zafiropoulos. A few words about CJ: I’ve just gotten to know him over the past year or so and jus think the world of him. As smart as he is fun, you have to love someone who dressed up for Halloween one year as Will Farrell’s Ron Burgundy character from Anchorman. He’s just fabulous!
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| Have you met the guys from ETS Express? You should! They’re new to the Counselor Top 40 list of suppliers this year (their sales were up 58% from last year — way to go!) and couldn’t be happier! They do an awesome job — stop by their booth the next time you’re at a show with them and say hi! (From left): Sharon Eyal, CEO; Leeton Lee, vice president of compliance and general counsel (seriously, one of the smartest and most knowledgeable people I’ve met on the topic of product safety and compliance!); and the awesome Adam Kovar, ETS’s director of sales. |
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| (From left): Benn Chazen, sales manager for BamBams; Hit Promo’s CJ Schmidt; and JNI’s Craig Reese. |
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| Vantage Apparel’s Paul Kory and a fabulous new friend, Jerrel Bohac, operations manager of promotional marketing at Counselor Top 40 distributor WorkflowOne. |
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(From left): Vantage’s Paul Kory; WorkflowOne’s Jerrel Bohac; Tekweld’s Roee Tadmor; and Josh (or Joshy, as those of us who love him call him!) Goodelman of Liqui-Mark.
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Dave Saracino, sales guru at Norwood & BIC Graphic USA, shown here with the lovely Tonia Allen Gould, owner of TAG! The Creative Source.
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| WorkflowOne’s Jerrel Bohac, shown here with my colleague, the vivacious Candace Hershey, ASI’s executive director of supplier advocacy. |
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| Do you know Scott Pearson, vice president of product development and marketing for Counselor Top 40 supplier, Sweda? Of course you do. Everyone loves Scott, or as we call him, “Giggles,” due to his infectious laugh and gregariousness. |
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Meet my new favorite person in the industry, Larry Cohen, president/owner of the NY-based Counselor Top 40 distributor Axis Promotions. Not only is Larry HIL-ARIOUS (I told him, with my trademark Kissinger-esque diplomacy, “I always thought you were kinda nerdy, but you’re really funny…”), but his company had 20% growth last year. Why? Due in no small part to the jaw-droppingly creative self-promotion campaigns he and his team consistently craft and send out to clients and prospects. Put Larry on your “get to know” list.
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Two of my absolute favorite rock stars in the industry, as graciously charming as they are take-your-breath-away fun! Memo Kahan (left), owner of Counselor Top 40 distributor PromoShop and Jim Hagan, president of Sweda. ADORE them!
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| The first time I met Memo Kahan, owner of PromoShop, I was coming back from the beach at 6:00 a.m. in Long Beach, CA, during the SAAC Show, sandy and missing a stiletto. Four hours later, I was conducting a podcast interview with him on industry trends and he refrained from snickering at me. That was seven years ago and we’ve been friends ever since. He is, quite simply, the best. |
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| Here’s Memo, me and Chris Clark, vice president of sales for Counselor Top 40 supplier Ash City. Chris is a delight, and I am fascinated with his enigmatic boss, the apparel oracle, Garry Hurvitz. I haven’t met Garry yet, but he is on my list of “People I’m Dying to Meet.” Can. Not. Wait. |
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Memo Kahan and CJ Schmidt, giving each other the “bromance” gaze. These boys crack me up!
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| Vantage’s Paul Kory and industry bon vivant, Dan Townes, owner of Shepenco/Shelbyville Pencil. |
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| Shlomo Cohen, sales manager at ETS Express. Shlomo and I have known each other for years, having first met on the party circuit at the SAAC Show. |
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| (From left): The always-stunning and charming Lori Bauer, trade marketing manager with Counselor Top 40 supplier Norwood & BIC USA; Memo Kahan and Chuck (or “Chuckles,” as we call him) Fandos, CEO of Counselor Top 40 distributor Gateway/CDI — someone who always makes me giggle with delight when I see him. I’m at the bottom of the photo, looking like a little drunken Muppet. |
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| Norwood/BIC’s lovely Lori Bauer, PromoShop’s Memo Kahan and Gateway/CDI’s Chuck Fandos. |
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| Here’s me, with Lori Bauer and Memo Kahan. I look at this photo and think, “this is exactly the moment when I should have put myself to bed.” But, of course, no… |
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Axis Promotions’ Larry Cohen (in the foreground), with Kris Robinson, vice president of PromoShop behind him. Note that something is amiss with K-Rob’s finger. If I was a betting girl (and I am) I would guess that he was doing his famed “Flaming Statue of Liberty” trick, where he dips his fingers in a shot of Sambuca, lights them on fire and raises his arm in a majestic fashion, as if to say, “Worship me, bitches.” And of course, we do. ; )
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(From left): Chuck Fandos, Memo Kahan and Dave Saracino. Seriously, if this industry had mayors, it would be these three. They might not make it past the confirmation hearings due to their legendary, Stones-esque reveling, but I’d vote for them.
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WorkflowOne’s Jerrel Bohac (left) and Hit Promo’s CJ Schmidt.
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My favorite publisher in the world is my boss, Rich Fairfield, ASI’s executive vice president (’cause he puts up with me like he has the patience of Job!). But my second favorite publisher is my pal, Matty Barnes (left), the publisher of Promo Marketing magazine. Matty and I talk once a week and have some laugh-out-loud conversations about the industry — he’s awesome. Here he is, with one of my oldest industry pals, Eric Johnson, owner of Halls & Co./IDLine. When I need someone to talk me off the ledge, E is a voice of reason amongst my chorus of crazy.
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| Here’s my colleague and pal Joe Haley, ASI’s managing editor and star of The Joe Show. On this particular day, he was demonstrating a light-up glove he found on the show floor and was about to demo on The Joe Show. He moonwalked for me because I harangued him. And, after working together for 14+ years, he knows better than anyone that no one harangues like I do. |
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| Jeff Grippando, the awesome guy at the helm of Counselor Top 40 distributor WorkflowOne, shown here with my colleague Joan Chaykin, managing editor of Counselor and Advantages magazines. |
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| Some back story: After three days in stilettos, I whined like a toddler about walking anywhere. So, I made Counselor editor Andy Cohen take a rickshaw with me, from the Hilton Bayfront hotel to Petco Park (which is all of a 10 minute walk, if that), where we were seeing the Padres game with some supplier pals. As Andy correctly pointed out, as he sighed and rolled his eyes, people were walking faster than our rickshaw was moving. Meh. I loved it. |
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| My colleague Colin Graf, supplier marketing manager at ASI, put together an event in the Picnic Area at Petco Park for ASI clients. The venue was so awesome (and included barbeque and beer!) that we were literally this-close to the Padres’ pitchers in their bullpen. So nice were they that they even came over and signed autographs. |
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| Eric Johnson from Halls & Co./IDLine with Counselor editor Andy Cohen at the Padres game at Petco Park in San Diego. |
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Andy Cohen with Jeff Sliva and Jeanna Abercrombie from Pepco Poms, who graciously sponsored the outing. It was an awesome event and big shout-out to Jeff, Jeanna and all the fine folks at Pepco!
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| I’ve been told that when Dan Townes, owner of Shepenco, and I start drinking together, people run for cover. As I looked at this photo, taken by my friend Karen Cohen, owner of the awesome San Diego-based supplier All In One, I was reminded of that scene from Jaws where Quint and Hooper compare their aquatic injuries. If there were cartoon thought bubbles over our heads, the conversation would go something like this. Michele: “Remember that time I broke my ankle when we fell out the front door of Dick’s Last Resort in Dallas?” Dan: “Yes, m’am. Remember that time I woke up on the bathroom floor of my room in the Adam’s Mark and had tile marks on my face for half a day?” Good stuff. |
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| Here’s my other work husband (yes, I have two — what good is having one of anything?), Ron Ball, ASI’s vice president of supplier sales. He is a lunatic, and I mean that in the best possible way. |
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This is Dan Taylor, owner of BamBams and one of the nicest guys you’d ever want to meet, with Phyllis Mutnick, one of my favorite sales reps at ASI.
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| Another industry fan favorite, Worldwide Line’s Steve Rone (left), with ASI’s Candace Hershey and Jake Krolick. |
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Counselor editor Andy Cohen and ASI’s research superhero, Larry Basinait.
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(From left): Worldwide Line’s Steve Rone, Shepenco’s adorable Natalie Townes and ASI’s Jake Krolick.
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My Sweda BFFs! (From left): Jamie Berridy, marketing manager; a friend of Scott Pearson’s & Jim Hagan’s, who was so much fun to party with and so delightfully mischievous that he shall henceforth be known as “the Gremlin”; Scott and Jim. Love, love, love them.
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Graphcoline owner Jim Humphrey, me and my pal Jason Grindall from Graphco. Jason and I once spent a week traveling through the Midwest on a bus together, on an Advantages road show. I made sure the bus was stocked with beer and cocktails at the end of every show day, so we had quite the rollicking time.
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Here’s a new friend, Chris Barrett of ModernLine, with ASI’s associate publisher, Ed Koehler.
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Chris Lovell, ASI’s senior vice president, makes friends with The Padre.
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Dan “The Man” Townes, ASI’s Joan Chaykin and Andy Cohen.
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BamBams’ Ryan Person and my favorite Dans: Townes and Taylor.
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After the Padres game on Thursday night, my colleagues Jakey Krolick (left) and Colin Graf (a.k.a. “El Diablo”), both from ASI’s marketing department, took a bunch of suppliers and distributors with us “off the grid” to Pacific Beach. This is still fairly early in the evening…
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Every so often, you see a photo that absolutely captures the personality of its subject. This photo of Jakey, who — in addition to being one of ASI’s star marketers — is an awesome music critic for online publications, is him to a T… the latter-day version of Lester Bangs.
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My pal Colin is usually the calm and measured yin to Jake’s yang and the epitome of stoicism at work. Here, we see his alter-ego, Kyle, tearing it up on the dance floor as though he was a contestant for the Mirror Ball trophy.
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ASI’s sassy distributor sales rep, Meghan Bogarde, and our executive consultant for the Canadian marketplace, the legendary Freddie Oesen (or “The Prime Minister of Canada,” as I call him…).
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As with every good story, this one ends with someone in recovery mode on the plane ride home. Here’s one of ASI’s favorite staffers, Gene Rahill, our director of digital advertising, trying not to wince as my camera flash goes off. Gene, good boy that he is, waited until the end of the show to rage like a rock star. I tell you, he kept those sunglasses on for 10 hours straight to dull the pain. We love him here at ASI!
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Filed under: ASI Shows, Editorial, Fun, Travel
Hi Everyone & Happy May!
Long time, no blog. I know… I’ve been incommunicado, off the grid and under the radar, working on deadlines for ASI’s supplier magazine that I edit, Supplier Global Resource, and writing the Person of the Year cover story for June’s Counselor (stay tuned for this year’s exciting choice). It’s nice to resurface!
So, how’s your spring and summer shaping up? I’ll be heading to San Diego — one of my favorite cities ever (due in no small part to its high concentration of hottie, long-haired surfer boys) — on May 17th for the ASI Show. Will you be there? If so, join me for one or both of the education sessions I’ll be moderating on Wednesday, May 18th.
If you’re a distributor who’s interested in learning how you can immediately increase your sales, get new clients and gain market share, please join me for my session on “The Secrets of Successful Self-Promotion Campaigns.” It’s from 11:00 a.m.-noon in room 26B of the San Diego Convention Center, and features such award-winning industry luminaries as Cliff Quicksell, Bluegrass Promotions’ Billy Booe and Counselor Top 40 distributor Boundless Network’s Brad White — all of whom will be showing examples and discussing techniques for growing your sales and client base with stellar self-promos.
How much do I love self-promo campaigns? Oh, let me count the ways. When they’re done with a modicum of time, planning and creativity, they deliver off-the-charts ROI. Check out these three examples…
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| When Leed’s, a member of Counselor Top 40 supplier group Polyconcept North America, wanted to tout its new totes, it used a pizza theme to convey the message. The creativity wowed clients, and the company saw sales of the item skyrocket. |
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| When Counselor Top 40 supplier Bodek and Rhodes sent clients light-up Rudolph the Reindeer noses affixed to holiday cards with its sales reps’ photos, the apparel company saw 25% of recipients follow-up — a striking increase over past years, when only basic cards were sent. |
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Last year’s winner of the ASI Spirit Award for Best Distributor Self-Promotion Campaign was IL-based Edventure Promotions. Click here to read about his promo that garnered the company $50,000 in new business. (Check out June’s Counselor for the winners of this year’s ASI Spirit Awards for Best Self-Promotion campaigns…)
If you’re a supplier, take a break from setting up your booth to join me for my session, “What Distributors Want,” featuring key staffers from four top distributors, all sharing tips and strategies for becoming their industry partners. The session will be held from 1:30-2:30 p.m. in Session Room B, right on the show floor, and my panelists include Craig Reese, senior vice president/partner of Counselor Top 40 distributor Jack Nadel International and Todd Singleton, owner of the third-generation distributor, The Singleton Co. Inc. There’s no need to register, and snacks will be served.
Hope to see you all in San Diego from May 17-21. When I’m not moderating education sessions or walking the show floor, you can find me perched on a bar stool in the nearest surfer bar, getting my shedonism on with my hurricane-force hellraisers (Memo Kahan, Kris Robinson, Chuckles Fandos, Mark Hobbs & Nadine Panetti, Dan Townes and Jakey Krolick, I’m turning a gimlet-eyed gaze in your direction…). Come find me and I’ll buy you a cocktail! ; )
Cheers,
M
Filed under: Editorial, Fun, Personal
Hi Everyone!
Hope you’re all doing well and as am excited as I am about the the start of spring and — more importantly — season four of True Blood (go Team Eric!). ; )
I’ve been off the show tour and office-bound for the past few weeks (so nice!), though some editorial colleagues and I trekked to New York City last week for the prestigious Neal Awards luncheon. The Jesse H. Neal national business journalism awards are given out by American Business Media and are known as “the Pulitzers of Business Journalism.” To even be selected as a finalist is quite an honor, so imagine our delight when three of ASI’s publications — Counselor, Wearables and Supplier Global Resource — were singled out to compete for various awards.
The luncheon itself, commemorating the 57th annual Neal Awards where this year’s winners were announced, was held at the Mandarin Oriental hotel in a stunning room with jaw-dropping views of the city. Midway through the program, the category for which I was up for an award — Best News Coverage for my article on the issues surrounding sourcing product from China (see the cover image for the winning issue, below) — was announced. Much to my shock, I won the award. I’m thrilled, yes, but it bears noting that there are three reasons the article was award-worthy. 
1. Melinda Ligos. As the editor-in-chief of all ASI’s publications — in addition to the huge responsibility of running our education initiatives — Melinda has the Herculean task of being my boss. When the time came for us to enter the Neal Awards, I carried on like a lunatic that “I have no time for blah-blah awards,” “Who cares if we win awards,” yap yap yap. Thankfully, Melinda cares if we win. She told me in no uncertain terms that if I didn’t make the time to enter, she’d enter for me. Only because of her persistence, patience and support was my receiving the award even possible.
2. Tim Andrews and Rich Fairfield. Imagine trying to control the wind. Now imagine trying to control the wind and stop the waves from rolling in. Then imagine that the aforementioned wind and waves hate rules and rack up rock star-sized bar bills at trade shows. That’s a little what it’s like, I would imagine, to have me as an employee. Yet these two, ASI’s president/CEO and executive vice president/publisher, do it with grace, loyalty and only intermittent eye-rolls and sporadic sighs of exasperation. I couldn’t do what I do here at ASI — for 14 years now — without their flying buttress-esque support.
3. My supplier brain trust. Most importantly, I share this award with the nine supplier principals who graciously allowed me to interview and quote them, on a topic that wasn’t the easiest for them to discuss. The impetus of this article was my friend David Nicholson, president of Counselor Top 40 supplier Polyconcept North America, who reached out to me and explained — in painstaking detail — what was going on last year in Asia (factory closings, employment shortages, shipping delays) and the monumental impact it would have on the industry. “Would you be willing to go on the record,” I asked, “and explain how these issues are negatively affecting Leed’s and the industry?” Not something the head of any company would relish. You know what? He didn’t hesitate.
Getting my other supplier friends to dissect the troubling issues was equally as easy. In addition to David, Dard’s Bonni Shevin-Sandy, SanMar’s Marty Lott, Gemline’s Jonathan Isaacson, Impex’s Randy Chen, Logomark’s Trevor Gnesin, Sweda’s Jim Hagan, Ash City’s Garry Hurvitz and Prime Line’s Jeff Lederer took the time to tell me exactly what was happening and how it would impact different aspects of the ad specialty supply chain. It wasn’t pretty, but they didn’t waver and not once did I hear, “This is off the record.” Click here to read the article.
Only because of their openness, forthrightness and trust was I able to tell their story. To them I say a heartfelt thank you.
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| Some members of the senior management team at ASI (from left): Rich Fairfield, executive vice president/publisher; Melinda Ligos, senior vice president and editor-in-chief of ASI’s publications; and Tim Andrews, president/CEO. It meant the world to me that all three of them attended the Neal Awards luncheon at the Mandarin Oriental hotel in New York City. |
Here are some of my awesome editorial colleagues who were also nominated for Neal Awards (from left): Andy Cohen, editor of Counselor, who was nominated for Counselor’s 2010 State of the Industry issue; Dave Vagnoni, senior writer for Counselor and editorial Swiss Army knife (he does it all!), who was a critical player in the creation of Counselor’s 2010 State of the Industry issue; and C.J. Mittica (“Chaz,” as we call him here in Trevose), the editor of Wearables magazine, who was nominated for a Neal Award for his awesome article “From Seed to Shirt“, for which he went to Honduras and worked in the cotton fields (seriously!), following the contruction of a T-shirt from start to finish. I’m so proud of these boys! |
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| Shown here with Chaz is Larry Basinait, The Statistics God here at ASI. Larry (the “Basinaitor,” as we call him) oversees all our surveys, statistical data, focus groups and research for articles and market studies. He is our favorite numbers wonk and we’d be lost without him! |
Rich Fairfield (left) and Tim Andrews, shown here with the Neal Award for Best News Coverage given to ASI’s Supplier Global Resource magazine for my article titled, “Asia’s Seismic Shift,” which deals with the multitude of issues that were happening last year, primarily in China, that affected the ad specialty industry. |
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Cheers, and more soon!
— M
Filed under: ASI Shows, Editorial, Fun, Travel
Hey Y’all! (See, I’ve still got my Dallas on!)
So I just returned from a rollicking, rave-worthy ASI Dallas Show that was one for the books (along with my bar tabs…). I’ve always loved Dallas, since way back when PPAI used to have its shows there, so I truly look forward to this ASI event each year. As you’ll see from the voluminous amount of photos below, a grand ole time was had by all (I’m looking at you, Billy Booe, Julie Ditchik and Scottie Nussinow)! My favorite parts? Meeting new friends like Proforma’s Kelsey Anthony, who I’ve talked to numerous times on the phone and via e-mail, but had never met in person, and spending time with those I don’t see as often as I’d like to — my gal pal Lisa Horn, Polyconcept North America’s Melissa Lehman and Sweda’s Kellie Claudio, for example.
The show itself was an undeniable success: 3,600 distributors in attendance, an increase of 8% from last year, and record-breaking attendance for first lady Laura Bush’s keynote address, with more than 600 people packing the ballroom of the Dallas Convention Center to hear Mrs. Bush speak.
And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention ASI’s second-annual Women’s Summit, held at the magnificent French Room in the Adolphus Hotel. Networking with my favorite industry ladies, sanctioned mid-day drinking and a keynote address from the lovely and inspiring Mrs. Bush. What more could you ask for?
Hope to see you all soon at the next show, where my goal is to keep the good times — and optimistic mood we’re all in — going!
Cheers, and more soon!
— M
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| Here I am at the Dragonfly restaurant, located within the very swanky Hotel ZaZa in Dallas, with (from left) Mark Hobbs, president of Pacific Coast Golf, Nadine Panetti, vice president of PromoBiz USA and Christian Brandt, executive director of ASI’s distributor sales department. Their aliases, by which they’re better known, are McDreamy (for obvious reasons), the Saucy Aussie (Australia’s most sassy export!) and Tigerbeat (my colleague who all the girls swoon over like teenyboppers). When Christian and I go out with Mark and Nadine, we always have a memorable evening (followed by soul-shattering hangovers the next morning). |
I really can’t remember if Nadine was patting Christian’s face in an affectionate, sisterly way or preparing to give him a slap for being a smartass. Either way, it was hilarious. |
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| I love that at the haute Hotel ZaZa in Dallas, the maitre’d greeted everyone — in lieu of traditional candy or nuts — with a martini glass full of fruit loops. Which, considering my dinner companions, is irony at its finest. |
Have you met Jake Krolick (“Jakey,” to you and I), ASI’s uber-creative and weapons grade-wacky marketing manager? Jake says I have a talent for taking photos of him that showcase his libertine, rock-star self and this one is no exception — he looks sketchy, but in a fun way. Want to know how to use social media to create off-the-charts innovative marketing? Jakey’s your guy. |
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| Murray Siegel (left), marketing manager for Towel Specialties, is the face of the company and one of the reasons it continues to win Counselor Distributor Choice awards year after year. Murray and I have known each other for years, having bonded over the sheer brilliance of the movie Diner, and its fabulously sardonic dialogue. Here, Murray joins Brad White, vice president of sales for Counselor Top 40 distributor Boundless Network, for some cocktails. See you on the Chisholm Trail, Murray! ; ). |
Here’s a funny story for ya: So Brad White overwhelmingly wins the Supplier Salesperson of the Year award from ASI’s Supplier Global Resource magazine (as voted on by distributors) for his above-and-beyond service and salesmanship with the San Diego-based supplier AddVenture for 14 years, and promptly becomes a distributor, joining Boundless Network as its vice president of sales, much to the chagrin of his distributor clients, who simply adore him. Here he is with his award, which he so richly deserves for his sheer enthusiasm and sales talent — Brad will always be one of the best, regardless if he’s a supplier or a distributor. Next to him is my girl Jilly Albers, who you’ve met in this blog many times before and is director of business development for the OH-based distributorship Shumsky. Jilly always stays with me in my hotel room when we’re at shows together, and we always have a blast. I don’t have a sister, but if I did, it’d be Jilly. |
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| Sweda’s Paige Millard (inexplicably looking as though I just kicked him with my stiletto in an especially sensitive area) and Jilly each stand well over 6′ feet tall and make someone like me, 5’4″ in heels, look like I should be baking snacks in the Keebler tree when I stand next to them. I call Paige and Jilly my “leaf-eaters.” Love them both! |
ASI’s senior vice president of professional development and editor-in-chief of its magazines, Melinda Ligos, in the midst of a delightful dinner at The Palm — hosted by supplier sales rep Mary Sells and ASI’s executive management consultant for ASI Canada, Fred Oesen — with Billy Booe, vice president of business development for Charlotte, NC-based distributor Bluegrass Promotions. Billy was on my “Secrets of Successful Self-Promotions” education panel earlier that day and made it a huge success. He is as charming and fun as he is smart and creative! |
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| Having just celebrated his 8th anniversary as ASI’s president and CEO, Tim Andrews (center) welcomes the very vivacious Leslie Austin and Loren Hudson, new suppliers who own MojoGlo, and an awesome company with tres cool products. (Check them out at www.mojoglo.com) Also shown, Pinnacle Designs’ Julie Ditchik. More on Jules momentarily… |
Tim, one of the smartest people I’ve ever worked for (and second in sassy snarkiness only to me), poses with the one and only Julie Ditchik, director of sales for the CA-based supplier Pinnacle Designs. Jules and I have known each other for years and she is a whirlwind of energy. More accurately, she’s a pistol — without a silencer. LOVE her! |
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(From left): Typically, you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone more raucous than Jules and I at a gathering, but this guy — Bill Miller from BCG Creations in Canada — made us seem like wallflowers at the prom. Here’s Bill and Jules, with one of my two “work husbands” (the other is Christian “Tigerbeat” Brandt), Ron Ball, ASI vice president of supplier sales — another “introvert.”
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Bill Miller and his lovely wife, Sharon, from BCG Creations. I was lucky enough to have these two firecrackers at my table during a dinner in a private room at The Palm, making for a very entertaining evening. |
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Mary Sells (center), one of ASI’s hosts for a very memorable dinner at The Palm, celebrated her birthday with her guests, including Bluegrass Promotions’ Billy Booe (to her left), with some singing and cake.
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Mark Bruk (left), vice president of CFS Promotions for Now!, once convinced me that it was a good idea to join one leg of an Advantages roadshow to “experience life on the road.” Consequently, because I stocked the tour bus with beer, wine and various “spirits,” and encouraged suppliers to drink through the Midwest with me, my liver still quivers at the thought of it. Thanks for the memories, Mark! Next to him is Barry Hermanson, the owner of Aunt Beth’s Cookie Keepers.
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I love going to dinner with ASI’s sales reps, because I always get to meet interesting, new people outside of my usual lunatic fringe of kooks and degenerates. At this particular dinner, I was able to meet Frank Rocco (left) from Marathon Prestige and Ray Mancari, with Aunt Beth’s Cookie Keepers.
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If there is a male version of me, in his deep, deep love of wine and the superhuman capacity to consumer large quantities of it, it’s Stuart Johnson, president of CFS Promotions for Now! Should we ever be at a vineyard together, we’d cause more devastation than locusts. ; )
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| Leslie Austin of Mojoglo and her stunning, so very Texas Christian Louboutin stilettos, which were red suede and rhinestone. I stand in awe of these shoes and this chica wore them well! |
These boys, who are responsible for the livelihood of many a bartender, are some of my favorites. (From left): Scottie Nussinow, vice president of marketing for Points of Light; ASI’s Christian Brandt and Bluegrass Promotions’ Billy Booe. |
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| Joe Hoffman (left), vice president of business development for Jetline, who wears a perpetually amused smirk that conveys he knows everybody’s secrets, is shown here with Loren Hudson, from Mojoglo, as we all partied at the bar at The Palm, post-dinner. |
You know how they say “a picture speaks a thousand words”? This one speaks two: “delicious” and “trouble.” (From left): Points of Light’s Scottie Nussinow; ASI’s social butterfly and executive director of the ESP Information Team, Candace Hershey; and Dan Townes, owner of Shepenco/Shelbyville Pencil, with whom I once went on a legendary 15-hour bender in Hong Kong. |
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| Some of my awesome ASI colleagues: Christian Brandt; Angela Wright, manager of ASI’s electronic advertising; and Freddy Oesen of ASI Canada — or, as I call him, The Prime Minister. |
My pal Scottie Nussinow and the beyond-delightful Megan Erber, the mid-Atlantic sales manager for Jetline. Megan, a martial arts expert, could incapacitate you more swiftly than Spock with his Vulcan Death Grip, incidentally. |
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Here’s Joe Haley, ASI’s managing editor and star of The Joe Show, channeling his inner Golden Girl and hiding behind his alter ego, Betty White.
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My sista Jilly and one of my industry faves from way back, Eric (“E,” to you and I) Johnson, co-owner of the MN-based supplier Halls & Co./IDLine. True story: E and I met 14 years ago at my very first PPAI Dallas Show. Not knowing any better, I was walking the show in 4″ stilettos and wanted to die after about six aisles. I spotted E in his booth and noticed he had an extra chair, which I promptly commandeered after introducing myself. Now, at every show where we’re both in attendance, E gets an extra chair for me in his booth, where I plant myself for extended periods of time — like a lawn dart. |
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| Freddy Oesen, head of ASI Canada (and the aforementioned “Prime Minister”) held a private dinner at famed chef Stephan Pyles’ restaurant, which he graciously invited me to attend. Two of the many awesome guests were my pal Harry Fotopoulos, sales manager for OraLabs, and Kirsten Olson from Showdown Displays. |
Stephan Pyles’ famed restaurant in Dallas was just stunning, and the food was off-the-charts. The only thing better was the fabulous people in attendance.
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| Two people who define “life of the party”: ASI’s Candace Hershey and OraLabs’ Harry Fotopoulos. |
The host with the most at our private dinner at Stephan Pyles’ restaurant, here’s Freddy Oesen (center) with Gigi Grein and Richard Bubis from the Canadian supplier Fersten.
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| My ASI colleague Angela Wright was seated next to the very charming and cordial Jeff Firkser, from St. Regis Crystal. A native South African, I could have listened to Jeff’s accent all night. |
Kharl Douyon with Fersten sat next to me at dinner and is one of the most interesting people I’ve met in quite some time. Born in Haiti but living now in Canada, Kharl’s family still lives in Port-au-Prince. |
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| A little background for this photo: Kharl Douyon, who was born and raised in Haiti, shared with our table that he had never had tequila before and was curious as to its allure. Now note Dan Townes — who never met a bottle of tequila he didn’t love — sitting at the table as well. Quicker than you could say “Patrone,” we each had cordial-sized shot glasses filled to the brim with tequila. Because, as Dan rationed, “I’m just trying to be hospitable.” Yes, Sweetie. |
Held in the famous French Room of the Adolphus Hotel in Dallas, ASI’s second-annual Women’s Summit was a smashing success, with over 65 of the best and brightest ladies in the industry gathering to meet former first lady and Texas native Laura Bush and hear her deliver a keynote speech on empowering women on a global level. With an hour of cocktails and networking and a fabulous lunch in addition to that, the event was not one to be missed. |
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(From left): ASI president and CEO Tim Andrews greets Laura Bush and Fran Ford, executive vice president of J. Charles Crystalworks, one of the sponsor’s of ASI’s Women’s Summit.
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The Shumsky & Boost Rewards’ ladies — the Blonde Bombshell Wrecking Crew, as I call them — give Laura Bush a warm welcome. |
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| Tonia Allen Gould (left), owner of the distributor TAG Marketing, spends some quality time with one of my faves, Bonni Shevin-Sandy, president of Dard Design, vice president of Dard and one of this year’s “10 Women to Watch,” as voted on by suppliers and distributors. The ASI awards were presented at the Women’s Summit. These two ladies exemplify the phrase role model. |
Executive vice president of Castelli North America and one of ASI’s 10 Women to Watch, the always-delightful Missy Kilpatrick (left), shown here with my pal Lisa Horn, the founder and chief content officer of the boutique marketing and PR firm Content Matters. Big kudos to Missy for also being the first runner-up for Supplier Global Resource‘s Supplier Sales Rep of the Year, as voted on by distributors. You rock, girlfriend! |
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