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Posts tagged Counselor
Trending in Apparel: Plaid!
058 days
by Brandon
in Promotional Trends
Expect to see a lot of tartan and checkers this season.
You’ll probably either love it or hate it, but plaid is definitely back for spring. Counselor magazine reports that the “Casual Chic” look, which was made popular in the 90s, is being seen again on runways from big names like Louis Vuitton and Brunello Cucinelli. Indeed, GQ notes that “this season designers are playing with the linear pattern for the warmer months.”
Even those within the promotional items industry have noticed an increased demand for plaid. “Our sales were up 50% in 2012. We are having better sales than in the grunge era in the ’90s,” John Ottaviano, director of sales and marketing for Rothco, told Counselor.
How can promo pros take advantage of this trend? Counselor advises that the style “can be pitched for a variety of apparel applications for men and women, including imagewear and youth markets.” That’s because it’s both trendy and classic, giving the look a wide appeal.
Have you noticed an increased interest in plaid?
Winners: Counselor’s Distributor Choice Awards
0135 days
In a media release today, the Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI) announced the winners of Counselor’s annual Distributor Choice Awards. The list honors 270 of the advertising specialty industry’s best suppliers.
The prestegious Supplier of the Year award went to The Magnet Group. “The Magnet Group is recognized as much for its creativity and new product development as it is for having one of the most dynamic management teams in the business. It’s no wonder distributors rate Magnet as the very best,” noted ASI president and CEO Tim Andrews.
The winners were announced during ASI Orlando, which ended today at the Orange County Convention center.
Other winning suppliers include SanMar, Sweda Co and Gold Bond.
To see all of the winners, click here.
ASI Takes Home Four Folio Awards!
0187 days
The Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI) — one of the promotional items industry’s leading organizations — has done it again! Today, it announced that three of its publications earned 2012 Eddie Awards from Folio: magazine.
According to a media release, receiving an Eddie Award is one of the industry’s biggest honors. ASI’s three winning magazines beat out over 2,000 other nominees.
How did they place?
Counselor
- Best single article, “Best Places to Work Road Tour,” September 2011, Silver
- Best series of articles, “State of the Industry 2011,” Bronze
Advantages
- Best single article, “Build a Better Business Card,” February 2012, Bronze
Stitches
- Best single issue, September 2011, Bronze
“I’d like to congratulate our editorial team on a huge 2012 winning streak,” said ASI president and CEO Timothy M. Andrews in a statement. “We have, without a doubt, the most talented B-to-B editorial and education team in the nation, and I’m mighty proud of the hard work everyone on the team puts into each and every issue, making sure our readers benefit from insightful reporting and quality design.”
Please help us congratulate ASI!
Is the Promotional Items Industry Still Green?
1310 days
Is your promotional products company still selling eco-friendly items?
According to Counselor magazine, an Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI) publication, the demand for green products has begun to decline. Cathy Cummings, supplier relations manager for AIA Corporation, told Counselor that the decrease in requests for eco products is due to the high price. “With the economy in such a fragile state, the average consumer isn’t going to pay more for a product just because it’s green,” Cummings said.
What kind of green shoppers are there? According to Colette Chandler, a green marketing expert,”there are two types of buyers who purchase eco-friendly goods: those who do so only when it’s financially viable, and those who think of the environment before any purchase and are willing to pay more for items that are truly green.” The good news is that the latter group is said to be on the rise.
But customers are also becoming more conscious of what truly is environmentally-friendly. For example, consumers are becoming more and more familiar with the term “greenwashing,” which is the practice of exaggerating or flat-out lying about how eco-friendly a product or line of products is.
The solution? Offer affordable products that are 100 percent green if you want to appeal to eco-aware customers.
President’s Re-election Campaign Sues Promo Distributor
0338 days
A word to the wise for those within the advertising specialty industry: Be careful this election season. One distributor, Washington Promotions & Printing Inc., will soon face a legal dispute with the Barack Obama re-election campaign.
Counselor magazine reports: “The suit claims the website [Demostore.com] – which sells apparel, buttons and bumper stickers with the campaign’s signature ‘O’ and ‘rising sun’ logos – is ‘creating consumer confusion’ and ‘competing unfairly’ with Obama’s official branded items.”
The company’s owner, Steve Schwat, told Counselor magazine that he’s disappointed with lawsuit. Schwat asserts that even the Obama offices themselves have ordered materials from Demstore.com.
Still, the campaign seeks to stop Schwat’s website from selling branded Obama items, claiming that “it loses monetary contributions when supporters purchase Obama gear from Demstore.com and it also misses out on a chance to collect contact information from people buying merchandise, hurting future fundraising efforts.”
Do you think the Obama campaign has an argument?