|
Wednesday
November 24, 2010 “Power” to the People!Filed under: Travel Hi Everyone, Before I share some fun photos I took at this year’s ASI Power Summit at the beautiful Turnberry Isle Resort in Ventura, FL, last week, I wanted to point out a few of my personal highlights: * The industry panelists who really spoke their minds and had the cojones to be controversial were among the best. When asked, on the “Supplier & Distributor Point/Counterpoint” panel, about the issue of distributors trusting suppliers enough to bring them to client meetings, industry veteran Dan Townes, owner/president of Shelbyville, TN-based supplier Shepenco/Shelbyville Pencil, brought down the house with this assessment of the situation: “You have a better chance of throwing a saddle on a unicorn and riding it around than seeing distributors trust suppliers enough to bring them to client meetings.” Bill Korowitz, CEO of Counselor Top 40 supplier The Magnet Group, made this pronouncement during the “Follow the Leader: Meet the Counselor Power 50” panel, on the topic of inventory issues: “Listen, I’m happy to have a million pieces of something in my inventory if you need it; but I can have a million pieces of everything that you may or may not need in my inventory. Distributors need to do a better job conveying what they need to suppliers. Once we know what your inventory needs truly are, we can help you.” * During a discussion session I moderated, in which suppliers and distributors broke off into groups and hashed out some of today’s pressing problems, a distributor approached me on the stage and asked me to convey to suppliers that what distributors really want is “significant benefits at insignificant costs” to help them fight inflation and stay profitable. So, good luck with that one, Suppliers! ; ) * ASI’s exclusive new and updated “Advertising Specialties Impressions Study” was released at the Power Summit and is an eye-opener to the power of promo products. The study went global this time, in that we surveyed businesspeople who use ad specialties in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Philadelphia, as well as London, Sydney, Toronto and Montreal. Click here to see the study and download it as a way to prove to clients that ad specialties really do offer the best bang for the buck. * Sometimes, what you think will end in disaster turns out for the best, as was the case with dinner on the first evening. It was held outdoors, by the beautiful Laguna pool on the resort’s property. Unfortunately, as ASI’s president/CEO Tim Andrews began interviewing the keynote guest, economist Sean Snaith, it began to rain — hard. Not to be deterred, everyone poured inside and headed right to the bar, turning the event into an impromptu fun fest of networking and cocktailing (the open bar was a definite hit!). And Mr. Snaith’s (who was great, despite having a name that sounds like a Harry Potter villain) predictions on the state of our country’s economy and how it will affect the industry? My editorial colleague Andy Cohen interviewed him inside and the video was shown the next day. Click here to see that interview. And now, on to some photos I snapped of various behind-the-scenes events and industry friends frolicking. Next year’s Power Summit (from November 6-8) is at the drop-dead-gorgeous Ritz Carlton, Laguna Niguel in Dana Point, CA. Go to www.asicentral.com/psreg for more info! Enjoy, and Cheers! — M
Monday
November 1, 2010 Meet Brad White, SGR’s Supplier Sales Rep of the Year!Filed under: Travel As the winner of Supplier Global Resource’s inaugural Supplier Sales Rep of the Year contest, Brad White, vice president of sales for San Diego-based AddVenture (asi/31940), garnered an overwhelming number of nominations and accolades from the hundreds of distributors who voted. A uniquely creative thinker, profoundly talented at self-promotion & social media, constantly in touch with clients and always on his game, Brad is the sales rep distributors dream of working with — a true renaissance man for our plugged in digital age who makes their lives easy. Read on for his guest blog, and search him out online and at upcoming ASI shows in 2011 — you won’t be disappointed! To read more about Brad, click here.
— Michele When Michele asked me to write a guest blog I was immediately flattered and honored. Now faced with this opportunity, the task is as daunting as it is exciting. How to write a guest blog for ASI about the Supplier Global Resource Supplier Sales Rep of the Year award? I asked Michele (The Chief) for advice and she gave me a list, which included sharing what I’ve learned, talking about the industry, thanking people, and mentioning my social media efforts. I wonder – can I achieve all of that in one blog? Well here goes. This is my “Things-That-Have-Helped-Me-That-I-Would-Like-To-Acknowledge-And-Share” list. Make friends. Your professional life is easier, better, and more fun when you build friendships. You achieve together, you influence each other, and you help each other grow. Whether you know it or not, you are shaped by your group, so you might want to surround yourself with good people. My group starts with my supplier constituents and colleagues, specifically those that have become dear friends like Cindy Kronen from DLX, John Costelli from Castle Merchandising, Amanda Nannini from Hit Promotional Products, and Devin Piscitelli from Aakron Rule, among others. It’s been a pleasure growing with you and I appreciate your friendship. Find good partners. Simply put, business happens when people agree to do business together, and the success of that relationship depends upon the contributions of each partner. Every success I have achieved is due to my alliance with strong distributor partners like Sarah Demont at Massive Marketing, Josh Ebrahemi at Jack Nadel Int’l., Gary Cornwell from Shamrock Promotions, Cadi Stephenson from Canary Promos, Brice Dick from Adventures in Advertising, Sarah Clasen from The Kinetic Group and Tom Goos from Image Source. Thank you for contributing your creativity, expertise and effort.
Learn from mentors. Everyonecan learn from somebody. Having a mentor to provide wisdom and encouragement is priceless. I have been lucky to find some exceptional mentors. To be specific, Roni Wright of The Book Company is the best example of positive energy I have ever met. Roni, you light up a room and you have inspired me more than I can explain. Mr. Dan Collins right here at AddVenture. You have been kicking my butt since we first met. Your solid principles and strong work ethic have influenced me tremendously. Build a solid team. You can operate with confidence when you trust your team to pick you up when you fall, help you find answers, and fight along your side. I have had the extreme pleasure of teaming-up with some talented and hard-working people. Janice Boyd, Kenn Watson, Robbie Gallo, Angela Bankston, and all the other past and present members of Team AddVenture who have made it fun to come to work every day. And of course, the team leader, Mr. Alan Davis – a passionate businessman with a big heart and an open mind, who has always given me every opportunity to grow. Make people proud. Want motivation? Realize that people who care about you would be proud of your hard work, ethical decisions, and positive example as a professional. I know it’s a cliché, but I always wanted to make my Mom and Dad proud – I still do. And now with a wife and kids of my own, I feel that desire even more. My wife Toni is my rock. Thanks Babe! I would not be worthy of an award without your support. I would like to thank my family and friends for their impact on my life. My brothers, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins – and my friends Mitchell Brown, Cam Newlin, Darren Hicks, Adam Sancic, Mike Foote, Kris Sherman and so many other of my trusted crew. Thank you ASI for this honor. Thank you, Michele, for the opportunity to be your guest blogger. And thank YOU for reading. If you want to read more, please visit www.whitethreads.com Well there we go – list complete. Brad White, AddVenture Products
Friday
September 24, 2010 What I Learned on My Summer “Vacation”Filed under: Personal Hi Everyone! As many of you know, I was away for two and a half months this summer, tending to a family medical emergency in Florida. My mom, who lives with my stepdad in Sanibel, had surgery at Tampa General and was in the hospital for 43 days. She’s much better now and at home recovering, but to say it was a trying, stressful, hectic experience (I refer to it as “my season in hell”) is putting it mildly. However, as I’ve always been a glass-half-full kind of girl, I made notes during my time away, chronicling the lessons I learned (listed below) — not the least of which is that Florida bugs aren’t bugs; they’re teradactyls. 1. Doctors aren’t gods (but nurses come close). Oftentimes, the nurses were much more patient and amenable to taking the time to explain issues than the doctors. Maybe the most crucial point I learned was that you need to ask questions of doctors and not be intimidated by their position. I told a young attending cardiologist who was treating my mom that I would be asking to see the head of cardiology for a second opinion. When she asked if it was because of her age, I reassured her that that had nothing to do with it, explaining patiently, “I read your notes in my mom’s chart and you misspelled both ‘ventricular’ and ‘thoracic.'” Oy. 2. Pets make everything better. My mom and stepdad have two insanely adorable and spoiled Lhasa Apsos whom they adore. Being away from them for so long was causing my mother great distress, until her pet sitter started texting daily photos of the pups, much to my mother’s delight. It made all the difference. Additionally, Tampa General is one of the increasing number of hospitals that have “pet therapy,” allowing dogs and cats to visit with patients whose condition allows for it. The doctors and nurses told me that in many cases, the pet visits had a more restorative effect than medication. 3. If it sounds ludicrous and nonsensical, it probably is. I’ve never understood how a simple cell phone could disrupt a plane’s operational system or take down a hospital’s monitoring equipment. I think that line of reasoning could best be described as “cockamamie.” Proving my point, not once did the good people of Tampa General — even when my mom was in the ICU — ask me to turn off my cell phone. Consequently, I was able to research pharmaceutical remedies, surgical terms and procedures, locate medical supply stores and pharmacies and write and edit for Counselor and Supplier Global Resource, all while on my hand-held, at my mother’s bedside. What did that teach me? You can conquer anything with one BlackBerry and a pen. 4. You’ll be amazed what you can do when you have no choice. As the person designated to be my mom’s primary caregiver upon her release from the hospital, the medical staff trained me in how to flush an occluded IV line, give an injection, properly sterilize and dress an abdominal incision and monitor a heart rate to determine sinus rhythm. For those of you who know me, you’ll agree that my areas of expertise typically lie in nails, males and cocktails, not surgical recovery. Still, it was my mom and I did it — like a M*A*S*H nurse under the command of Major Manolo Blahnik. 5. Ad specialties really, really work. Whether it was the jaw-droppingly impressive and delicious gift baskets I had delivered to the nurses at Tampa General from Maple Ridge Farms (asi/68680), the fun pens imprinted with “Editorial Diva” that my pal Michael Linderman, owner of Express Pens (asi/53411), makes for me, or the notepads and bags from JournalBooks (asi/91340) and Leed’s (asi/66887) that I had shipped to Tampa, each time I gave something away as a “thank you for helping me,” people responded — and wanted to help me even more. 6. Just because it’s a hospital doesn’t mean it’s conducive to good health. Patients in a hospital only average three hours of continuous sleep per night, due to constant interruptions for such things as administering meds and tests, taking vital signs and the cacophony of noise from the monitoring devices the likes of which could rival a casino. Equally counterintuitive, at Tampa General, there’s a McDonald’s and a smoking section on the premises. Come to think of it, with the noise, lack of sleep, calorie-laden food and half-naked people, it’s a little like being at the Palms Hotel & Casino in Vegas. If the Palms smelled like antiseptic and offered IV drips. 7. The Embassy Suites rocks. For the 43 days we were in Tampa, my stepfather and I “lived” at the Embassy Suites near the convention center. I don’t know how we would have survived without the extraordinarily kind staff and heavy pour of the bartender during its sanity-saving daily two-hour complimentary happy hour. Couldn’t get a glass of Pinot Grigio in the state of Florida during the month of July? Yeah. That’s ’cause I drank it all. 8. Lean on your support system. I hate asking for help — it’s just not in my nature. There are times, though, when you simply can’t handle the magnitude of a situation alone. Luckily, I have the Wonder Bra of support systems. So many people have asked me how the management of ASI dealt with me being away for nearly three months. The answer: simply and graciously, continually asking only two questions: “Are you okay?” and “What can we do to help?” 9. It’s the heartfelt gestures that get you through.In the midst of my 40+ day stay at the hotel in Tampa, it was my birthday on August 9. Aside from seeing my mom during the day in the hospital, I was alone at that point and prepared for my birthday to be considerably more craptacular than the lavish, legendary and Dionysian celebrations with friends as in past years. But as I opened the door to my hotel room that evening, it was filled with flowers, bottles of wine and champagne and slices of cake ordered from the hotel restaurant from many of you (thanks especially to ASI’s design chica extraordinaire, Hillary Braubitz, and my trio of distributor divas — WorkflowOne’s Jilly Albers, Creative Promotional Products’ Sharon Biernat and Service With A Smile’s Diane Sakowicz!) who were so gracious as to let me know you were thinking of me. Truly, your thoughful gestures made it one of my favorite birthdays. Well, that and the sinfully sassy Jimmy Choos I bought myself online that night, which I now refer to as my “Leather Boots of Badass.” ; ) Thanks so much for the love and support, and it’s great to be back! More soon & cheers! Michele
Wednesday
September 1, 2010 Football, Vampires & Excessive Eating: Hello, September!Hello there. I’m Jess, and I work in the Production Department at ASI, located in beautiful, downtown Trevose, PA. My job is to coordinate ASI magazines and catalogs. I basically annoy all the other departments into submission so the publications go out on time and in one piece – I’m a professional pest, if you will. I do have a claim to ASI fame, however: I once escorted a certain lovable exclamation point named “Promo” around the trade show floor at ASI New York. So I’m a pretty big deal. And, did I mention that Michele Bell is my mentor? Actually, more like my hero. So why am I writing this blog post? Because Michele said so. And, since you’re reading her blog, I’m sure you know what that means: What Michele wants, Michele gets! While I’m sure this post will not hold a candle to what goes on in Michele’s twisted mind on a regular basis, why not cross another one off the good ol’ bucket list?! So here I will pay homage to September … “It’s the most wonderful time of the year” – the Staples back-to-school commercials say it all. And, while it’s referring to the time of the year when parents and school children flock to office-supply shops and buy up all the loose-leaf paper, I think it really rings true on a deeper level: September is perfection. For starters, you have the beginning of regular-season NFL football (Fly Eagles Fly…), which is the greatest professional sport known to man. At the same time you’re gearing up for the only segment of the never-ending Major League Baseball season worth following. Fall premieres of everyone’s favorite TV shows reel in the testosterone levels between games. I’m especially pumped for the Vampire Diaries premiere on September 9. The weather is becoming borderline acceptable, and aside from a few last-minute beach trips, the pressure to have the perfect beach bod has faded. Come to think of it, you’re the furthest away from needing to worry about being in beach shape. You scoop up another serving of pasta, you add another layer of clothing. September is forgiving like that. On a selfish note, my birthday is in September (shout out to my fellow Virgos). I’m super-excited for the birthday celebration (I will be making my first trip to Chicago –fingers crossed for Oprah tickets) and the attention I’ll receive (I suffer from middle-child, Jan Brady syndrome to the max). Not so excited for the another-year-older part, though … Last but certainly not least, September delivers a batch of particularly scintillating ASI magazines, and I’m in the position of power to have access to them all before they hit the streets. Because I love and must plug the magazines, here are some insider highlights from me to you:
So live it up while it lasts. We have 30 days of bliss until October comes around. And as we all know, October is just creepy and cold. Until next time, peace, love and magazines … –JF
Monday
August 2, 2010 Going With the FlowWhat’s that saying about the best laid plans? Well, in my case this summer, they went to hell in a handbasket. As with every summer, I was planning to spend weekends in my beloved Avalon, NJ (“the sunny place for shady people,” as W. Somerset Maugham once said about the French Riviera), attend the SAAC Show (one of my favorites) and then spend a week in Europe at the end of August with my pal Hillary Braubitz, ASI’s award-winning senior designer who lays out our magazines, at the brand-new Pro10 Show (a collaboration of PSI and its competitor, Pro8) in Amsterdam, followed by a weekend in Paris. Sounds fabulous, right? Enter my mother, Judge Judye (she doesn’t sit on the bench, but is judgmental!) who decided to have an elective surgery at Tampa General (she and my stepfather live in Sanibel, FL) on June 30. The surgery was considered a success, but complications set in and she had to have a second surgery on July 1. Upon speaking to the doctors and my stepfather (who has the early signs of dementia), I immediately flew in from Philly on July 2, and have been here ever since. It’s amazing how quickly you can adjust to a new reality. For the last month, my stepdad and I spend eight to nine hours a day in my mom’s room at Tampa General and our evenings at the hotel. Remember the famous children’s story of “Eloise living at the Plaza in New York”? My version is, “Michele at the Embassy Suites in Tampa.” That the hotel staff has been phenomenally hospitable, gracious and accommodating has made this whole experience that much easier. If there was ever a case for exceptional customer service winning someone over for life, it’s me and my new devotion to the Embassy Suites. What’s been interesting to see, because the hotel is situated right next to the Tampa Convention Center, is the different trade-show groups and conference attendees who have come and gone. The good news? They all love ad specialties. What types of ad specialties they love varies according to the personalities of the groups. For example, the Convention of Physical Therapists went nuts for stress balls of all shapes and sizes; the meeting of Anime and Comic Book fans (which sold out my hotel), whose demographic is over-stimulated Gen Y-ers, got their freak on for bright, shiny, blinky items; the Florida Bar Association had its law students taking the bar exam at the Convention Center last week, so they craved pens, notepads, USB drives and coffee for late-night, last-minute cram sessions. The Stephenson family reunion (with over 200 people in attendance!) snapped up custom T-shirts, caps and slankets, all bearing a familial logo designed by a family member, and digital photo frames. And, the guests who attended the huge wedding held at the Convention Center (and corresponding cocktail parties by the pool and brunches at the hotel) were treated to gift bags filled with logoed, personalized candy, bottled water, beach towels, lip balm and sunscreen. And in answer to the question, “Do recipients take their giveaways with them or leave them in their hotel rooms?” I’ll share with you what one of the physical therapy attendees told me in the elevator one day: “I’d leave my husband behind before leaving the bag of goodies I’ve collected at this show!” The doctors tell me that my mom, who has been making excellent progress in the last 10 days, may be able to go home on August 9 (my birthday, ironically). Until then, I’ll be here – splitting my time between Tampa General (like the Embassy Suites, another extraordinary staff) and the hotel. How do I get by? As Ringo famously said, with a little help from my friends:
More soon from sunny Florida where – on the upside – it’s actually cooler than it’s been in Philly! Cheers, Michele
Friday
July 16, 2010 Counselor “Hot Lister” Jill Albers, account executive at WorkflowOne, guest blogs from ASI Chicago!Filed under: Travel (Read on for a report on the fun side and wild times of the ASI Chicago Show, from Jilly Albers, account executive for Counselor Top 40 distributor WorkflowOne and a member of this year’s Counselor Hot List, who’s filling in for her partner in sugar, spice and all things vice, ASI Editor Michele Bell.) If there was one adjective that could best describe ASI Chicago this year it would be “hot.” Hot products, hot people, hot “literally.” I believe ASI’s Ron Ball described it best as we stood in a cab line Wednesday evening: “Jilly, this has to be the freakin’ hottest day of the year,” he said. With highs getting up into the 90s, the pavement steam rose as the 40-minute-long cab line snaked around the hotel entrance. The heat did not stay outside … it was radiating through the show floor, as well. The aisles were packed and distributors and suppliers alike had an infectiously energy about them. Matty Tomb of Promo Fish had a hot new product line on the show floor. These thermo products are perfect for the health-care, food and energy industries. The products help to monitor temperature, improve quality and save costs.
Following the show Wednesday I caught up with other WorkflowOne colleagues and former Visions Awards colleagues.
The heat followed me Wednesday evening. I had the pleasure of dining at “WE” in the W Hotel. I was ready for what Josh Goodelman of Liquimark and I call “Uncle Ron’s Legendary Dinners.” It started as I sat sipping a French martini at the hotel bar. The swanky lounge lamps and scantily clad hostesses set the scene for what was to be a “hot” dinner with some of the industry’s best. I was seated by Fran Ford of J Charles, Lori Bauer and Quinten Wentworth of Norwood/Bic Graphic, and Damien Want of Logomark. The conversation turned to old industry stories and memories from shows of the past. Ron Ball had a few great stories… with the combination of his 34-year industry tenor and Fran’s paparazzi-like knowledge of the who’s who… we were introduced to the way “things used to be.” The energy and passion for the industry was prevalent as we dined. I looked around and noticed three people at this table were on my Holiday Card List. Was this an industry dinner or a room of old friends that I was blessed to get to spend time with?
As 10 p.m. approached it seems as if we had just been seated. We walked up the grand marble staircase to ASI’s 3rd annual “HOT Party.” The music pumped and glow-in-the-dark necklaces were worn by most. As the night went into full tilt I caught up with old friends and finished the night off at Shenanigan’s (as usual). It was a hot week packed full of hot products and hot people. Now it’s back to Ohio, to set the “hot” ideas I found this week into action with my clients.
Thursday
June 24, 2010 Six Reasons Why I Love the Industry (& Three Reasons I Don’t)Filed under: ASI Shows, Asia, Editorial, Fun, Personal, PSI Shows Hi Everyone! Hope you’re all doing well and enjoying the summer so far! I’ve been reading about how McDonald’s yanked the Shrek glasses (thanks to the sharp, stinging crack of the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s whip) because of the minute amounts of cadmium, and found myself getting increasingly aggravated and ranty (never a good combination). Granted, I’ve always had what can be charitably described as “authority issues,” but doesn’t the CPSC have anything better to do with its time than bring the hammer of the Gods down on McDonald’s? The amount of cadmium in the glasses was negligible — certainly less than in the glasses we all drank from as children. How, for the love of God, did we all survive (she asks sarcastically)? Really, have the CPSC, FDA, etc. ever taken a good, hard look at Circus Peanuts and maraschino cherries? Forget about cadmium: If anything’s going to be the demise of our species, I turn a suspicious, gimlet eye in their direction. No faux food like Circus Peanuts — with the consistency of a Serta memory foam mattress — or maraschino cherries, steeped in jars of radioactive-red sticky goo, can be good for you.
So, I’d like to give a shout-out to the industry and show it some love, as I’m tired of it getting bitch-slapped by the CPSC, the FDA, PhRMA and all the other alphabet bullies. Forthwith, the top six things I love about this industry. 1. Suppliers. I’m probably a little biased because I’m the editor of ASI’s magazine, Supplier Global Resource (www.supplierglobalresource.com), which is just for them. But knowing as many suppliers as I do, I’m acutely aware of the burdens and responsibilities that rest on their shoulders. From having to be safety experts, marketing geniuses, DaVinci-esque product inventors and financial lenders to their clients, the success of this industry — in my opinion — begins with suppliers. If I could get them all together in one room and buy them drinks, I’d happily do it. In lieu of that, I’m inviting them to a free luncheon and panel discussion I’m moderating at the ASI Chicago Show on Tuesday, 7/13 (set-up day), from noon-1:30 p.m. On my panel will be four suppliers — MediaTree’s Rob Watson, iClick’s Niko Pamboukas, Custom HBC’s Larry Wilhelm and Build NY Inc.’s David Frank — all of whom had at least double-digit growth in the past two years. Suppliers, come join us, take a break from setting up and listen to your colleagues share their secrets for success. Additionally, there’s a complimentary happy hour just for suppliers at the ASI Chicago Show on Wednesday, July 14, from 5 p.m.-6 p.m. after the show closes in the Exhibitors’ Lounge. I’ll be there, so come have a cocktail with me! ; ) 2. Distributors. Much as the suppliers are my beloved ones, many of my closest friends in the industry are distributors, and I stand in awe of their jaw-dropping creativity. Want to know the way to this girl’s heart? Send me a sample of a well-done, clever, funny, effective self-promo piece and I’m in. For those of you who may be attending ASI’s Chicago Show, I’m moderating a panel discussion on Tuesday, 7/13, from 4 p.m.-5 p.m. on the most effective ways to do self-promotion campaigns. And while the sum total of what I don’t know could stop a herd of buffalo in its tracks, what I do know is that people who do self-promotion campaigns make more sales. Period. 3. Trade shows. Yes, yes — I know the sheer number of them are the bane of some people’s existence. However — even after 13 years in the industry — I still get excited exiting the plane at certain show destinations and giggly with anticipation over seeing all my industry BFFs and meeting new ones. There are many shows I love (and one I don’t… see below), but if you’ve ever been to the SAAC Show in Long Beach and engaged in “Pool Day” (set-up day) at the Hyatt with Awesome Havier the Waiter serving Greyhounds (Grey Goose and grapefruit juice) to the industry’s best characters, social butterflies, rock stars and raconteurs, you know what it is to love being with your peeps at a show.
4. The products. Oh, let me count the times I’ve been WOWED by a product so clever/creative/funny, it slays me. If you love Sexy water, pens that smell like cupcakes (thanks Harris & Karen at All in One!), light-up bunny ears and leopard-print slankets, this is the industry for you. Joe Haley, star of ASI’s The Joe Show, and I still love discovering the next Coolest Product Ever. Admittedly, we’re dorks, but we get why this industry’s product offerings rock. 5. The PSI Show. What? You’ve never been? Please come with me the next time I attend and you will see the genesis of genius design — where trends are exfoliated by other markets, booths that will leave you slack-jawed and exhibitor hospitality that will explain why attendees show up as soon as the event opens each day and stay until the very last second it closes. Offering snacks, beverages (both alcoholic and the other, less fun kind) and comfy seating, each booth is like a mini bistro. No wonder attendees often stay with an exhibitor for upwards of 45 minutes and place orders on the spot. The PSI Dusseldorf Show, held each January (next year’s show is from January 12-14), is the largest ad specialty show in the world and definitely worth a visit. In addition, this year, PSI is partnering for the first time with a competitor show organization, Pro8, to form the Pro10 Show, which will be held in Amsterdam from August 25-27. Yeah. Amsterdam. I’m assuming I don’t need to tell you that I’ll be there. (For more information on the PSI Shows, go to www.psionline.de).
6. Michael Bernstein. His family started Leed’s, and for a while, he ran Counselor Top 40 supplier Polyconcept North America. And though he’s not in the industry on the level he once was (much of his time is devoted to a new business venture in the music industry — his first love), he remains on the board of Polyconcept as its vice chairman. I once flew across four states just to have pizza with him at a delightful dive in Pittsburgh called Mineo’s. To bask in his wit, wisdom and misanthropic snark (or have him talk me off the ledge), I’d fly a lot farther. And now, three things I could do without: 1. The cart draggers. Truly, I get why some people need carts — it can be exhausting hauling catalogs and samples around a trade show, especially if you have an injury or ailment. However, when scores of people show up (I’m looking at you, guy with the Dumbledore beard in Dallas last year dragging a wheeled trash can full of supplier offerings…) pulling various luggage contraptions in the aisles and suddenly stop, it can make one (read: Me) nearly pop a cranial vein. Mark my words: I am going to fall over one of those things sometime soon, and it will not be graceful (or quiet). 2. The bitching. Hands up: Who thinks that if people spent as much time selling, creating and marketing as they do bitching, gossiping and lamenting about inane industry nonsense that we’d be well on our way to making up the sales ground lost last year? Just sayin’… 3. The Canton Fair. Distributors have probably never experienced this massive (120,000+ attendees; 10,000 exhibitors), unorganized, sweltering sourcing show, located in beautiful downtown Guangzhou (insert eye roll here) China, but I’m willing to bet many suppliers have. Let me just say this: For those of you who don’t believe in the existence of Hell, I challenge you to walk that show and then come talk to me. Whew! I feel better now, and I hope you do too. Please remember, regardless of what the alphabet bullies would have you think: None of you are poisoning kids, sabotaging a doctor’s ability to offer patient care or single-handedly trashing the planet, so don’t let anyone make you feel like you are. Unless you manufacture maraschino cherries or Circus Peanuts — then you’re on your own. ; ) Cheers to all of you, and hope to see you at the ASI Chicago Show from July 13-15! More soon, M
Friday
June 11, 2010 Guest Blogger: Colin Graf, ASI’s Marketing Manager for Supplier SalesFiled under: Travel So, when Michele asked me to write a guest blog post I was honored, but perplexed. Basically, because many of you reading this have absolutely no idea who I am. I’m just some marketing jabroni. If you attended the most recent Counselor Awards, I was the guy in the kitchen making sure the winners didn’t get run over by the waitstaff when coming off the stage. I’m even surprised Michele trusts that I have the social skills to grace this prestigious space. THE Bellwether Blog … and me. But, who am I kidding? This blog is like the People magazine of the advertising specialty industry. And the only instructions I received from Ms. Bell were, and I quote, “I’ll never tell you what to write or not to write, just don’t use the ‘F’ word, or any variation there of.” I figure that should be easy enough to f’ing do … OOPS! So, being the marketing beotch that I am, I immediately started thinking about what product to promote. Should I talk about Spectrum, the new Catalog ROI Program and the benefits to both supplier and distributors? Maybe all of the new enhancements to the Register Express Box? Digital version, upcoming Gift Box edition in October, new easier-to-use layout… How about the importance of keeping your information and pricing up to date in ESP? Suppliers with out-of-date info drop to the bottom of search results and distributors can easily remove any suppliers that are not “Confirmed Accurate” from the search all together. (For more information or questions about ESP, don’t hesitate to reach out to me at cgraf@asicentral.com.) OK, now that my plugs are done, I’m running with this blog thing. I can write about anything, right? I don’t get this chance often. Let’s talk about something that has piqued my interest lately.
In the interest of full disclosure, I own a cell phone with Google’s Android operating system and LOVE it. But I also own a MacBook, which I also love. What has become of Apple? It used to be the hip, cool, cutting-edge company. That was not so long ago, when I purchased my MacBook. No useless software to uninstall, no 10-minute boot-up, and NO viruses. Sweet – sold! Here’s my credit card. But lately, Google is wiping the floor with Apple, and Apple seems more like Microsoft – the stuffy corporate company that it’s tried not to be. Here are just a few of my gripes and Apple mishaps:
Now on the other hand, Google …
Now I know I’m coming off like a blatant fanboy. And actually, after re-reading this, it seems that I am one. But, Google is churning out user-driven updates, new features and applications fast. Really, right out of the early 2000s Apple textbook. It’s really put Steve Jobs back on his heels. But, the battle has just begun and there is no doubt that we, the end-users, are going to benefit. That’s what makes this so exciting for a geek like me – what new toy will I get to play with in the coming years? So pick your side and pray that it’s the winner. Either way, we all make out. |
