Archive for September, 2011

Last week, the Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI)’s The Joe Shoe filled us in on hot promotional items for the 2012 election season. As potential candidates make their way through the preliminary debates and approach the 2012 primaries, it’s becoming clear that their promo campaigns are going to have to be impressive (and expensive) to compete. While presidential hopefuls will no doubt be employing several promotional strategies, promotional product distributors are getting ready to see a record-breaking amount of orders.

According to Reuters, the 2012 election will be anything but a shoo-in for President Obama.  Indeed, his senior promotional campaign advisor told Reuters that the president is looking at a “titanic” uphill re-election battle.  That’s why we’re expecting Obama and his GOP rivals to pull all the stops in preparation for voting day.  According to an ASI press release, spending in preparation for the election is expected to break current records.  Presidential aspirants will be implementing a variety of strategies, from tech-savvy QR codes to standard pamphlets and brochures.  And it should come as no shock that postulants will also be spending record-breaking amounts on promotional items.

“PQ Media, a media research company that analyzes political campaign spending, estimates that the 2012 election spend could surpass $6 billion, far more than the $4.5 billion spent in 2010,” reports ASI. “The group estimates that … about $30 million went toward promotional products … and forecasts big increases … in 2012.”  And while Americans are only just starting to educate themselves on next year’s election, the candidates are already stocking up on their promotional items of choice.  Have you seen election orders come through yet? Share your thoughts!

The Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI) is looking for your help! The November issue of ASI’s Counselor magazine will feature an analysis of steps that distributors think are necessary to take in preparation for the future.  ASI poses the following questions to promotional items distributors:

1. Do you think you’re set up for success in five years?
2. What are you doing today to make sure that your company’s future is solid?

   

If you’re a promotional products distributor and think you’re prepared for what the future has in store, then help ASI out! All you have to do is send a short E-mail to Counselor editor Andy Cohen (acohen@asicentral.com) and you may be included in Counselor’s November issue.  In your E-mail, be sure to outline your company’s strategies for tomorrow’s success.  Also include your ASI number and a contact who can be reached for an interview.

So, do you have what it takes to be a ‘Distributor of the Future’?

There’s a new kid on the block in the ad specialty industry!  Counselor Top 40 supplier Gemline has partnered up with one of the biggest names in private retail, Brookstone, reports the Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI).  The two companies have entered a partnership deal will introduce Brookstone to the ad specialty market.  According to ASI, the new affiliation grants Gemline exclusive rights as a provider of Brookstone products within the promotional items industry.

The new business deal comes at a pivotal time of the year– just in time for the holiday season.  Indeed, ASI reports that Gemline is planning to carry Brookstone products that will complement its upcoming holiday gift line.  However, this is not merely a holiday season deal.  Jonathan Isaacson, Gemline’s President, told ASI that supplier will be “the exclusive provider of Brookstone items” and that the categories of items that Gemline carries “will definitely grow and evolve as time goes on.”

Retailer Brookstone will also benefit from the new partnership.  The deal serves as a way for Brookstone to enter the ad specialty industry and will surely create new opportunities for the organization.