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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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Filed under: ASI Shows, Editorial, Fun, Travel
Hi Everyone!
Despite the sketchy weather on the East Coast, I’m back from the ASI Orlando Show, where multiple records (number of distributor attendees, exhibitors, education day participants, etc.) were shattered. This proves to me that the sense of resurgence and recovery I felt at the PSI Dusseldorf Show two weeks ago wasn’t a fluke: The industry’s bad days have passed, and, as they say in NoLa, laissez les bons temps rouler! Trust me — the good times in Orlando were plentiful and memorable.
A special shout-out to my supplier panelists who shared their secrets for success (and mistakes they’ve made along the way) with their supplier peers at a free luncheon on set-up day: World Wide’s Kim Newell; Counselor Top 40 supplier Hit Promotional Products’ C.J. Schmidt (huge congrats to Hit, this year’s ASI Supplier of the Year!); MediaTree’s Rob Watson; and Shepenco’s Dan Townes — all of whom were simply spectacular!
Were you in Orlando? Post a comment below sharing your favorite moment(s)! (You’ll see some of mine in the photos below…). Couldn’t make it to the show? Meet us in two weeks for the ASI Dallas Show, where we’ll keep the good times and optimism for the industry’s success in 2011 rolling!
Cheers, and more next week!
— M
PS: If you will be at the ASI Dallas Show, check out my Education Day session on how to create effective, measurable self-promotion campaigns (Wednesday, 2/16, from 9:45-10:45 a.m.), with my superstar panelists Brad White, vice president of sales for Counselor Top 40 distributor Boundless Network, and Billy Booe, sales & self-promo guru at Bluegrass Promotions, one of Counselor‘s fastest-growing distributor companies.
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| Some of my fabulous ASI colleagues (from left to right): Managing Editor and star of The Joe Show, Joe Haley; Computer Support Specialist Jason Cissorsky; Manager of ESP’s Data Processing department, Sharon Pullins; Advantages‘ editor, Kathy Huston; and one of my two “work husbands” (the other is vice president of supplier sales Ron Ball!), Christian Brandt (aka, “Tigerbeat”), executive director of ASI’s Distributor Services. |
My second-favorite publisher (after ASI’s executive vice president and publisher, Rich Fairfield, my boss), Matty Barnes, publisher of Promo Marketing (left) and his industry BFF, Jeff Lederer, president of Counselor Top 40 supplier Prime Line. |
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My colleagues Phyllis Mutnick and Suzanne Rozick, ASI supplier sales reps, hosted an awesome dinner at the Palm restaurant in Orlando for their clients who were the winners and finalists of the prestigious Counselor Distributor Choice Awards. I was honored to host a table, and imagine my delight when I discovered it was me and six gregarious and hilarious men. Here, meet the very charming Tim Hanson (left), president of Ball Pro, and Kent Davis, the regional sales rep for Counselor Top 40 supplier Vantage. I couldn’t have asked for more wonderful and entertaining dinner companions. To say we were raucous is putting it mildly… ; )
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After 14 years, it’s a rarity that I meet someone new in the industry whose quirky hilarity and Dionysian excess makes me giggle with delight. Pleased to meet you, Michael Moore (national sales manager for supplier Bay State Specialty Co.), hope you guess my name. Partying with you is like dancing with the devil — sinfully fun. Michael and I drank martinis and wine like it was our job.
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My pal Jason Grindall (left) of Graphco Line, with whom I once did a legendary week on an Advantages roadshow (complete with a fully-stocked bar on the bus and $200 worth of fireworks… Oy. Don’t ask…), and his colleague, David Byrne — equally as cool and lots more fun, I suspect, than the Talking Heads frontman of the same name. ; )
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My ASI colleague, the always-effervescent Candace Hershey, executive director of the ESP Information Team and my pal Paul Kory, director of sales for Counselor Top 40 supplier Vantage, the winner of a Distributor Choice Award for Best Decorated Apparel. Mucho kudos to Paul and his team! |
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| As I decided to drink my dinner at the Palm, Graphco’s Jason Grindall kindly stepped in and ate my filet like Fred Flintstone with a slab of brontosaurus. |
Bay State Specialties’ Michael Moore, my new favorite person in the industry. Witness the sea of empties at our dinner at the Palm… From that moment on, I was entranced, intrigued and utterly enthralled by his love of excess, second only to my own. If you haven’t met Michael, take my advice: Search him out at the next show and invite him to your dinner party. His entertainment value does not disappoint and he reminds me of how Lady Caroline Lamb once described Lord Byron: “Mad, bad and dangerous to know… .” In all the good ways. ; )
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| Here’s my pal Paul Kory from Vantage, with the thing that used to be me — before a demon overtook my body and made my eyes look like that — downright frightening. I think I was inhabited by the ghost of Hunter S. Thompson that evening in Orlando… |
Ah, Mr. Bistocchi. Michael Bistocchi (left), the senior vice president of sales & marketing for Clegg Promo, and I go wayback, to the old days when we carried on like Keith & Mick. But we’re so much more mellow now. Really. We are. Swear to God. Michael’s the driving force behind Clegg’s success and its win of the Counselor Distributor Choice Award for Best Glow/Light-Up Products. Next to him is his new employee, Chris Gohl, Clegg’s southeast account manager. Isn’t he the cutest thing (asks the creepy cougar…)? |
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| Billy Booe, sales expert and self-promotion aficionado extraordinaire with one of my favorite distributor companies, Bluegrass Promotional Marketing in Charlotte, NC, and the hilarious Kent Davis of Vantage. |
Some of my ASI editorial crew (from left): Andy “Captain Killjoy” Cohen, editor of Counselor; Kathy “Give me wine or give me death” Huston, editor of Advantages; and Nicole “Don’t make me impale you with my 5″ stilettos” Rollender, editor of Stitches and director of education. I couldn’t ask for better — or more delightfully kooky — colleagues. |
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| Ladies and gentlemen, meet Joe Haley, ASI’s managing editor, star of The Joe Show, and my editorial “handler.” Next time you see Joe at a trade show, buy him a drink — as his office is next to mine, he needs it! The Joe Show is now so popular, Mr. Haley was asked for autographs at the Orlando Show! Seriously. |
It’s a bag, it’s a pen, it’s PromoMan, ASI’s new mascot for the industry! Fans couldn’t get enough of PromoMan’s spongy muscles and sense of truth, justice and the ad specialty way. |
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At the Peppermint Twist event, starring music legend Joey Dee of the Starlighters, this festive couple began dancing the minute they entered the room. Love it!
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Here’s my editorial girls doing the Peppermint Twist (from left): Nicole Rollender; Senior Vice President and Editor-In-Chief Melinda Ligos; and Kathy Huston. |
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One of my favorite people in the industry, Tim O’Boyle (“Ringo” to you and I…), who runs the Polyconcept North America company JournalBooks, which his family founded, took me, Jamie Raynor, JournalBooks’ director of sales and operations, and Scott Anderson, national sales manager of Counselor Top 40 supplier Polyconcept North America, to Christini’s, an Italian restaurant that’s an institution in Orlando. Between the amazing food and company, that meal ranks in my top five of all time.
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Scott Anderson and the lovely and talented Jamie Raynor, enjoying the exquisite wine ordered by Ringo during our sumptuous dinner at Christini’s. |
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| You had to hear it to believe how great it was, but this accordion player at Christini’s did a dead-on version of Zeppelin’s Stairway to Heaven. Kid. You. Not. |
Scott Anderson, looking quite fetching with one of the roses the waiter at Christini’s gave Jamie Raynor and I.
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| The fantastic Rick French, sales manager at Polyconcept North America, upon returning from the Universal Orlando Harry Potter theme park, where the ASI Show had its gala. He loved it… |
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Filed under: Editorial, PSI Shows, Travel
Hi Everyone!
I’ve just returned from Europe, where I attended my favorite show of the year, PSI Dusseldorf. It is a HUGE event in the European ad specialty marketplace, where you’ll see trends that will have an impact on the North American industry in the coming year. Trust me: No one does packaging, fashion and design better than the Euros.
Optimism permeated the show floor, with business, sales and moods rebounding after two years of doom and gloom. The German Association of Promotional Products, for example, announced that sales of ad specialties in that country reached 3.43 billion euro ($4.61 billion US) in 2010, up from 2.97 billion euro ($3.99 billion US) in 2009. Another sign of good things to come? The European arm of Polyconcept, the world’s largest ad specialty supplier — PF Concept — once again held its grand party, which had been on hiatus for the past few years. Billed as “Imagine: The Party of the Century,” the fetewas back and better than ever, courtesy of Cees Martens, the Netherlands-based CEO of PF Concept International, with help from the supremely organized and capable Annette de la Rie, the Goddess of PF Concept. (See more on the party with tons of photos, below).
The PSI Show itself, the 49th annual event, is Europe’s largest ad specialty trade show. Held from 1/12-1/14, it showcased 849 exhibitors from 30 nations, covered 35,000 square meters of floor space in five halls, and drew 17,122 attendees, up from 16,464 last year. Michael Freter, PSI’s managing director, noted that while this year’s show numbers “are by no means record-breaking,” they do allow for “careful optimism.” “PSI is a barometer of public opinion … and reflects the performance of the manufacturers and distributors of promotional products,” Freter said. “The signs are positive that this year’s PSI Show will be carried by the current economic upswing.”
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| Taken from the vantage point of the VIP Lounge at the Messe Convention Center in Düsseldorf, the show had yet to open, but Hall 10 — which contained some of the largest suppliers in Europe (PF Concept, MidOcean and Senator) — readied for the crowd of 17,000+ attendees. |
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| Even the lighting fixtures brought in by the exhibitors to decorate their booths at the PSI Düsseldorf Show are aesthetically amazing, as evidenced by this chandelier made from wine glasses and these multi-colored light-up spheres (right) that alternated blinking lights. |
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That sense of optimism for increased industry sales carried through to the show floor, with distributors and the heads of Europe’s largest suppliers, such as Polyconcept’s Chairman Philippe Varnier and Senator’s CEO Michael Nick, indicating increased sales in the second half of 2010 and high indicators for a successful 2011.
Product trends from the show floor include an emphasis on creative eco-friendly packaging, such as sports drinks in toothpaste-shaped tubes constructed of recycled material and vegan bags constructed from vegetables. Earth-based, rustic colors such as bark brown, pine green and leaf orange were the hues shown most prominently. Additionally, QR (Quick Response) codes are ubiquitous on the show floor, on suppliers’ booths, on attendee badges and exhibitor catalogs. Intermed Asia Ltd. attracted crowds to its booth with a video demonstration of a new application that allows logos to act like QR codes; by merely scanning a company’s logo on a bag or mug, for example, a client can launch additional promotional messages.
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So how cool is this? To tout its new “Verve” pen, the clever folks at Senator built this vending machine into their booth, with each slot housing a brightly colored pen and corresponding descriptive info. Prior to the show, Senator reps send out tokens to select clients and prospects, asking them to stop by the booth and redeem the token for a coin to get a Verve pen from the vending machine. Of course before attendees were give the coin, they got some face time with their Senator rep. Brilliant! Further tying in their promo, the booth’s bar (all the large suppliers have bars built into their booths that serve complimentary coffee, tea, water, soft drinks, champagne, wine and beer… Kid You Not) they had a special cocktail concoction named for the Verve pen that was so potent, I’m convinced it was designed to keep one in the booth as long as possible. If you’ve never met Michael Nick, Senator’s CEO, put getting to know him on your “to do” list.
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Each year at the PSI Düsseldorf Show, Philippe Varnier, Chairman of Polyconcept, and his team nicely let Rich Fairfield, ASI’sexecutive vice president and publisher, and I stay on the River Queen, a huge boat (it sleeps over 100 people and has a bar, a restaurant, a workout area, etc.) they bring in and dock on the Rhine outside the convention center in Düsseldorf. It’s very convenient and very, very gracious of them to let us stay aboard with the PF Concept team. Here, everyone’s favorite multiline rep from San Diego, Jodi Friedman-Antonelli, who now lives in Lucca, Italy, and my colleague Ed Koehler, ASI’s associate publisher, yuck it up in my cabin. |
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| At one of the booths on the PSI Show floor, a man was doing caricatures of attendees who stopped by. Witness, then, the truly terrifying drawing of my boss, Rich Fairfield, who in this picture looks like he should be lurking under a bridge with the other trolls, waiting to eat billygoats attempting to pass. |
Now this, my friends, is how you build buzz for your booth and attract hoards of attendees: Have a mid-day fashion show, as Bella did, with a bevy of Euro beauties strutting their stuff to Ke$ha’s “Tik Tok.”
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Another clever way to lure soccer-crazed attendees? Have a pro soccer player do tricks in your booth.
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Have you met Ed Koehler? He’s ASI’s associate publisher and a great person with whom to travel. His baritone-rich voice is so deep, it resembles Lurch from The Addams Family. http://www.addamsfamily.com/addams/yourang.wav |
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My fun group at the PF Concept party at the Sofitel Hotel in Düsseldorf (from left): Rich Fairfield, Jodi Antonelli, Ed Koehler, Polyconcept’s Shanghai-based sourcing director, the lovely Michelle Armstrong and Karen DiTomasso, ASI’s vice president of sales for the ASI Show. Karen is officially my new favorite person to travel with!
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Hans-Joachim Erbel, the executive director of PSI, or “Ha-Jo,” as he’s known to his pals. Ha-Jo is one of my favorites, since an infamous night years ago when I threw one of my stilettos at him at a bar in Düsseldorf and he promptly drank champagne from it.
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The host with the most, the Chancellor of All Things Suave, Mr. Philippe Varnier, chairman of Polyconcept and personality extraordinaire. Philippe is as comfortable with a mic as I am at a vodka bar.
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A few German beers in, and Ed Koehler really lets his hair down, as shown here after he commandeered a bottle of Riesling for our table at the PF Concept party. |
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If you’ve never been to the PSI Show, or want to know anything about the European marketplace, these two are my top “go-to” guys: Philippe Varnier (left) and Michael Freter, the stunningly knowledgeable and charming managing director of the PSI Show.
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Manfred Schlosser, the editor-in-chief of the PSI Journal, the association’s excellent monthly magazine. |
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| One can never have too many “Micheles” in their life! Here, Polyconcept’s Michelle Armstrong, Philippe Varnier and I at the PF Concept “Imagine” party. The party, the entertainment and the atmosphere among guests could best be described as “electrifying.” |
How much do I adore Yann Leca, the CEO of Polyconcept’s Supplier Group? Let me count the ways… Here, he takes solace in the arms of The Micheles. |
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| Philippe Varnier and one of his favorite clients, Howard Trilling, vice president of international sales for Counselor Top 40 distributor Staples. Howard attends the PSI Show in Düsseldorf each year, and it’s always so nice to see his familiar face. |
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Next year’s PSI Dusseldorf Show — which, for the first time in years, won’t overlap with any U.S. show — will be held from January 11-13. I’ll be there, and would be happy to be your guide to the show and all the fun events, including an international reception to be hosted by ASI in the VIP Lounge of the convention center at the close of the first show day! From there, we’ll all go to PSI’s PHENOMENAL party at one of the best nightclubs in Dusseldorf. Trust me, it is quite the time. ; For more information about next year’s PSI Show, go to www.psi-network.de.
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PF Concept’s amazing party, attended by nearly 900 people and held at the SofitelHotel (a shot of the room pre-party, to the left) in Düsseldorf, featured gourmet food, alcohol and a surreal and spectacular event that was a mix of kabuki theater and Cirque du Soleil. The riveting theater, told in four acts, regaled us with the story of an Ice Queen who lost her light and the trials she went through to regain it. It was just stunning… And just when you thought it was over, the curtains on the stage parted and a 13-piece disco band, The Boston Tea Party, began playing and didn’t stop until 2:00 a.m.
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| Cees Martens, the Netherlands-based CEO of PF Concept International, was the mastermind behind PF Concept’s jaw-dropping “Imagine: The Party of the Century.” |
Kabuki-esque musicians like this one weaved their way through the crowd at PF Concept’s party, rhythmically thumping their tribal drums to signal an especially poignant moment in the four-act play. |
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Cheers, and more next week from ASI’s Orlando Show!
— M
If you’re a supplier who’s attending ASI’s Orlando Show, please join me for a free luncheon panel discussion on Sunday, 1/23, on the show floor from noon til 1:30 p.m. Take a break from setting up your booth to hear my panel of esteemed suppliers who’ve experienced growth in their businesses and are ready to share how they’ve done it: C.J. Schmidt, vice president of sales for Counselor Top 40 supplier Hit Promotional Products; Kim Newell, president of World Wide Lines Inc.; Rob Watson, president of MediaTree; and Dan Townes, owner of Shepenco.
Filed under: Personal
Hi Everyone and Happy 2011!
Hope you’re all having a great new year so far and looking forward to show season!
How were your holidays? I traveled to Florida to spend Christmas with my mom and stepdad, and had a few incidents happen that made me go “WTF?” (Why the Face?, in Modern Family parlance) and really contemplate what constitutes good customer service. I’m also in the midst of compiling the profiles on some of the industry suppliers who won this year’s Counselor Distributor Choice awards (to be announced at ASI’s Orlando Show on 1/23 — if you’re going to be there, join us for the awards celebration and cocktail party at 5:00 p.m. in room S320 of the Orlando Convention Center). What do they all have in common? Stellar, “save the day” customer service.
Here are two examples of craptacular customer service, from companies that could take a lesson from the award-winning suppliers in our industry.
1. TD Bank. As I was at the Philadelphia Airport two days before Christmas to fly to my mom’s house in Sanibel, Florida, I stopped at a McDonald’s to get coffee. I used my debit card, which was promptly declined. When I called TD Bank, with whom I do my banking and have credit cards, they informed me that my card had been cancelled due to “suspected fraudulent activity in Homer, Oklahoma.” According to the customer service person, Homer is a hotbed of identity and credit card theft. Who knew? I’m just guessing here that there’s not much to do in the thriving metropolis that is Homer, Oklahoma. Just sayin’.
Now, while I was thankful that the bank was vigilant in spotting the attempted fraud and shut down my credit card, couldn’t they have, you know, TOLD ME? As I explained to the customer service woman that I was ready to board a plane and would need a new card overnighted to me, she informed me that I’d have to “fax a handwritten letter” giving them authority to ship my new card to an address (my mom’s) that wasn’t my own. Couldn’t I e-mail an authorization to them, providing telling data to authenticate my identity? Nope. Ladies and gentleman, you’ve now met a business in the year of 2011 that “doesn’t accept e-mails.”
Brenda, the first in a long and undistinguished line of customer service people I dealt with, suggested — wait for it — that I find a fax machine AT THE AIRPORT and dash the letter off to them that way. Yes. Because the Rosetta Stone kiosk and the Relay magazine stand have fax machines at the ready. Clearly, Brenda doesn’t fly.
At this point I didn’t freak too much, because I was traveling to be with my family and knew they’d lend me cash, etc. But what if I wasn’t? What if this happened as I was boarding an international flight to Dusseldorf, as I will be next week? When I landed, my mom took me to an Office Max where I faxed (so archaic I might as well have used a chisel and a slate) the handwritten letter to TD Bank, who — as I called to confirm its arrival — assured me I’d get my new card the next day.
Long story short? I didn’t get my card until the following Tuesday — nearly a week — which is baffling to me in this day and age. I’ve gotten phones, flowers and shoes overnighted to me — but apparently a 2″ x 3″ piece of plastic is outside the realm of possibility. Those of you who know me can imagine how my demeanor steadily declined as I checked twice daily on the status of my card, each time speaking with a different supervisor — none of whom were “allowed” to give me their last name or direct phone number and all of whom gave me different information (“we never overnight cards,” “your card will be delivered today,” “your card is stuck in the snowstorm”). My favorite had to be when one customer service agent told me she couldn’t provide me with a tracking number “until the card was delivered.” Not a high point for my patience, I suggested she “take a moment of silence for the death of logic in that statement.” I was also so tired of repeating my personal information that I began to get more snarky than usual.
Customer Service Rep: “Can you spell ‘Sanibel’ for me?”
Bitchy, Exasperated Michele: “Sure! S as in Subpar, A as in Asinine, N as in Nonsensical, I as in Inept…”
The lessons to be learned here (which I enumerated in a letter to the president of TD Bank):
* Allow your customers to have direct access to customer service reps so they can deal with one person and not have to repeat their story again and again. It’s annoying and frustrating.
* Get everyone on the same page. I think the thing that made me the most incensed was that even reps at a supervisory level all had different answers for me. The message conveyed was confusion and distrust — not what a bank wants to put out there, I would think.
* It bears noting that every one of the 14 people I spoke with at TD Bank was extremely nice and empathetic. However, when you’re getting the runaround and incorrect information, nice only goes so far.
* Communicate clearly with customers when there is a problem. The main point of contention with me was that the bank never notified me that my credit card had been canceled — McDonald’s did. The numerous reps apologized for this oversight and said I “should have been contacted immediately.” Shoulda Woulda Coulda. Follow through on your methods of operation.
* Let Brenda out of the office to visit an airport, for the love of God.
As an amusing little epilogue, when the credit card so guarded and protected by the bank that it was like The Grail finally did arrive at my mom’s house via FedEx, I was neither required to sign for it nor show identification. Kid. You. Not.
2. Southwest Airlines. Truly, Southwest is one of my favorite U.S. companies. Its employees are cordial and kooky, they don’t charge for baggage and still offer complimentary beverages and snacks. And you’ve just got to love a company that was started by a genius, loony libertine (Herb Kelleher) on the back of a cocktail napkin while drinking a snoot-full of Scotch. However…
While in Sanibel and dealing with the credit card clusterduck over at TD Bank, a wicked snow storm socked the East Coast, causing my flight back to Philly to be canceled. Now, I fly enough that disruptions like this do not even phase me and I was able to go back to my mom’s house for two more days. The quandary? As I had already checked my bag for the flight that was ultimately canceled, no one at Southwest could tell me where my bag was — still on the plane, sitting at the Fort Myers airport or on its way to Philly. What I find interesting is that these days (creepily) you can track anyone and anything with technology. Except my Louis Vuitton bag, which was apparently sneaky enough to avoid detection.
The lesson for Southwest? You guys are amazing at practically everthing you do… Perhaps you should focus as much on your technology as you do on your people.
That’s it, I’m all bitched out. Despite these events, I had an awesome Christmas and am ready to start traveling for show season — just not to Homer, Oklahoma. ; )
Do you have a customer service story that sent you off the rails or restored your faith in humanity? Post a comment!
Cheers, and more next week from the PSI Dusseldorf Show!
— Michele
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