Advertising Specialty Institute

At the urging of her speaking coach, Jamie Young -- the founder of WA-based Uptown Screen Printing (asi/184812) -- went on Facebook Live for the first time. Just a few days later she picked up her biggest client ever. In this live video interview, Jamie talks with Vinnie Driscoll about how she did it, what she talked about why you, too, should be harnessing the power of going live on social media.

Business been tough? Winter blues got you down? Well, it’s time to break out of this funk and have some fun. How? With our new ASI Promo Insanity contest. Our goal is to crown people’s favorite promotional product. To do that, we’ve chosen 16 of the most popular promo items, put them in a bracket and seeded them based on their total number of searches in ESP last year. Each round, readers will vote for their favorites until a single champion is remaining. The contest has launched and will take place throughout March. With the first-round of voting underway, the Promo Insiders crew gathered together (virtually) to dive deep into the matchups and make their predictions. What’s the toughest first-round matchup? What’s their dark horse pick? And which product will win the title? Enjoy the predictions as we profess our love for our favorite promo categories.

End-buyers aren’t only looking for new and exciting promo products this year: they’re looking for new and exciting decoration methods too. Today we’re sitting down with Rachel Corey, promo fulfillment manager of leading decorator STAHLS’ to learn more about the latest print to order trends and technology shaking up the industry, plus how you can provide the most popular methods to your clients.

Anyone can post content on social media, but how do you make it pop? Taylor Borst of American Solutions for Business knows! In this fun Social Angle podcast, Taylor – who likes to infuse pop culture and music into her social media marketing mix – dishes on how to she stays relevant in a saturated market. What networks are hot? Is meme marketing a thing? And is Schitt’s Creek better than Parks and Rec? It’s all here!

Wellness expert Martha Munroe shares her suggestions for a much-needed reset.

In this Social Angle podcast, Vinnie Driscoll and Melissa Newman talk to Danny Rosin of Brand Fuel about how he uses social media to help get the word out about fundraising for nonprofits.

One of the biggest issues facing the promo industry during the COVID-19 pandemic is the overabundance of paid time off. We all needed an escape in 2020, but with government-imposed lockdowns and travel restrictions, there was nowhere to go. Even employees that had plenty of PTO weren’t encouraged to use it because of pandemic-related staffing cuts. So, where did it all go? And for those that did get away from work, how did they spend their time? In this episode of Promo Insiders, Executive Editor Theresa Hegel talks with Senior Writer John Corrigan about his feature story on the promo industry’s inability (and refusal) to take time off. Nearly half of the promo industry used less PTO in 2020 than they did in 2019, according to ASI data. Travel restrictions was a major contributor with many vacations scrapped because either people couldn’t fly or didn’t feel safe. Even if they did go somewhere, there were limits on activities, such as wearing a mask when you left your hotel room. Plus, with most people work

How can you build an authentic online presence and cultivate consistent engagement with your followers? Charity Gibson, national accounts coordinator at supplier Peerless Umbrella, certainly knows! Gibson, who’s also known as “Charity Poppins” for her love the promotional parasol, has mastered the art of social media engagement simply by being authentic, helpful and real. When she’s not hosting a room on the hottest new network Clubhouse or posting inspirational quotes on Instagram, the omnipresent Charity can almost always be found in Facebook groups guiding her peers in the right direction. “We’re all wearing the same jersey, and a rising tide lifts all boats” says Gibson. “You’re representative of my brand as well, so why wouldn’t I want you to shine?” And because of her generous nature and penchant for helping others, Charity has cultivated an enormous following. In this jam-packed and fun-filled episode of the Social Angle, the sanguine sales rep joins Vinnie and Melissa for a discussion you can’t

It would be an understatement to say that a lot has changed in our industry since last year. While many distributors are aware of changes like the rise of PPE products, not as many are caught up on how decoration needs have changed as well. Today we have the pleasure of being joined by Ira Neaman, President of Vantage Apparel and Rob Watson, Chief Experience Officer of Vantage Apparel. We’ll break down all of the top decoration trends for 2021 that you need to know.

After one of the most challenging years on record for the promo industry, distributors are looking for fresh ideas to excite and inspire clients for the year ahead. To that end, today we’re speaking with Eric Simsolo, Director of Business Development at Next Level Apparel. We’ll explain what collection audiences are interested in this year, which selling points to emphasize on your sales calls and which markets will be a strong bet for sales.

Valentine’s Day is coming up. How are you showing appreciation to your best clients and unstoppable staff? In this Facebook Live, ASI editorial staff Theresa Hegel, Sara Lavenduski and Melissa Newman will share ideas for how to tell the people in your professional life that you truly care all year long. And to keep it fun, they’ll also be sampling unusual and unexpected Valentine-themed foods.

It’s no secret that this year has been filled with challenges for distributors. While things are expected to improve, it’s important to understand what obstacles you face so you can not only survive, but thrive in 2021 – and as it turns out, you don’t need to be going through this alone. Here to tell us today about why community is so crucial for distributor success is AIM Smarter CEO Nikki Stella & Executive Vice President of ACS Affiliate Services, Kirk Ross. Let’s get started.

In this fun and informative episode of The Social Angle podcast, Melissa Newman talks to ASI's Rick Angeloni about hiring an agency for your social media marketing. What are the benefits and how do you make sure you hire the right one? Listen now to find out!

Promo pro Steven C. Peeke shares can’t-miss strategies for handling order debacles based on his experience with a $39,000 campaign that presented major challenges.

ASI's Vinnie Driscoll and Melissa Newman talk to Callie Rojewski, a marketing and brand strategist, about the customer journey: what it is, why it's important to your business, and the role social media plays in it.

Kevin Quinn of Boundless talks about the daily emails of encouragement he's sent to colleagues since the beginning of the pandemic.

Ohio-based screen printer Brian Baxter opened a brick-and-mortar location last summer. In this podcast, he talks about some of the challenges he faced.

In this quick-hit Social Angle podcast, ASI's Vinnie Driscoll and Melissa Newman discuss the hottest new social media platform Clubhouse. What are the features, benefits and potential drawbacks of the network? And is it right for your promo business? Listen now to find out! Photo by William Krause on Unsplash

In this episode of Promo Insiders, Executive Editor Sara Lavenduski speaks with the 2021 Distributor Salesperson of the Year, Brett Marz of BAMKO.

The first quarter of 2021 is jangling the nerves of many distributors in the promotional products industry. And not without reason: The fourth quarter holiday sales surge is over, while the monumental business challenges presented by COVID-19 remain. Nonetheless, it’s possible to achieve success in the first quarter and beyond. In this podcast hosted by ASI Executive Editor Christopher Ruvo, which is adapted from a January 19 webinar, two distributors that engineered banner years in 2020 (despite the historic hurdles of the pandemic) share strategies for how they’ll execute similar success this year.