Advertising Specialty Institute

Online shopping has been on the rise for years, but the coronavirus pandemic kicked the trend into overdrive. Amazon recently reported that its Q3 revenue in North America was up 39.3% year over year. And brick and mortar chains have been seeing dramatic gains in online sales this year: Best Buy, for example, reported that its Q2 online sales were up 242% year over year, and Target saw a 195% jump in e-commerce. Even as societal lockdowns are loosening, many consumers are not giving up the convenience of one-click shopping from their sofas. Promotional products pros who’ve invested in technology – with user-friendly, e-commerce enabled websites – have been the most likely to survive during the pandemic – and will be the most likely to thrive in its aftermath. In this episode of Promo Insiders, ASI staffer Theresa Hegel speaks with Marshall Atkinson, a decorated-apparel industry veteran turned success consultant about the power of online stores and how to market your business on the web.

ASI's Vinnie Driscoll chats with social media expert Taylor Gaines about the importance of a social media manager to a business.

Lee Fine of Juice Marketing details how he pulled off a global campaign for the first-ever virtual Boston Marathon.

Next Level Apparel’s 1800 – Unisex Ideal Heavyweight Crew is the first of its kind for our industry. Finally, there’s a premium entry-point T-shirt distributors can present to their clients, regardless of their budget. But this game-changing garment didn’t come out of nowhere – it was actually four years in the making and went through 22 different iterations before the final version was brought to market. To learn more about what goes into creating innovative and imaginative apparel, we’re interviewing Caius Olowu, Director of Design and Pre-Production at Next Level Apparel. We’ll hear straight from the expert what really went in to crafting the 1800, what challenges Olowu and his team faced and why the end result is so groundbreaking for promo professionals.

Meg Erber, of S&S Activewear, joins ASI's Vinnie Driscoll for a lively discussion about fashion apparel and social media.

This year is sure to go down in history as one that everyone couldn’t wait to forget. But that shouldn’t include Q4 promotional gifts. In fact, it’s more important than ever to recognize and show appreciation to employees and clients as we look ahead to 2021. In this episode of Promo Insiders, Sara Lavenduski, Theresa Hegel and John Corrigan of ASI’s editorial team discuss ways to sell useful and fun items in the fourth quarter, from kitchen tools to accessories for Fido and Fluffy and more.

ASI's Vin Driscoll and Melissa Newman chat with Johanna Gottlieb, the VP of sales at Axis Promotion, powered by Halo, on how to use social media effectively for sales.

The ninth annual State of Women-Owned Businesses Report found that 42% of all businesses – almost 13 million – are run by women. In total, women-owned businesses employ 9.4 million workers and generate revenue of $1.9 trillion. However, those numbers haven’t come without challenges, even in the promotional products space. To understand this more, today we’re speaking with Nikki Stella, CEO of AIM Smarter. Now managing one of the largest distributor membership organizations in our industry, Nikki knows what it takes to succeed as a woman in promo: and she’s here to share her insights and experience with us on what we can learn to do the same.

With staffers at many businesses working at home this year – and beyond – it’s important to find fun and creative ways to keep them motivated.

Margie Floris, founder of Aqueous Wellness, discusses how to enter and capitalize on the seemingly recession-proof industry.

ASI's Melissa Newman chats with Sara Webb, CEO of InTandem Promotions, about the importance of integrating company culture into your social media strategy plan.

Barry Myers, event expert and founder of getgeeked Media, shares strategies for creating successful events during COVID and speculates on what the future of experiential marketing will look like.

In this Social Angle podcast, ASI's Melissa Newman and Vinnie Driscoll chat with Quianne Savoy, of Moore & Moore Merch, about how she uses Instagram for business. In this insightful conversation, Savoy discusses everything from inspiration and strategy to tools she uses and if the network has helped her with sales. Don't miss it!

In this Social Angle podcast, ASI's Vinnie Driscoll chats with Glenn Closson, a small-business brewery owner in Orlando, Fl., to discuss the effect COVID’s had on his business in 2020, his use of promo products and whether they’ve helped his bottom line during the pandemic, and how he uses social media to promote his brand. And yes, they even talk about beer!

The name change takes hold in January. It heralds new initiatives on service, products and sustainability from the Top 40 supplier.

A look at the surprising stats for logoed masks, eco-friendly products and more.

When it comes to promo apparel, there’s no shortage of decoration options available. However, sometimes the sheer amount of methods can feel overwhelming. How do you know which method to use, and for which customers? Do all methods work on all fabrics? And most importantly of all – what do they all cost? In today’s podcast, we’re taking the mystery out of apparel decoration once and for all with help from Alison Zuccaro, Strategic Product Manager of STAHLS’, a leading decoration materials manufacturer. We will explain what all the different decoration options are, why it’s so important to pick the right method and how STAHLS’ can help steer you in the right direction on your next order.

In this episode of Promo Insiders, Sara Lavenduski of Advantages magazine discusses supplier diversity with Jamie Crump and Kiruba Sankar, and what promo companies need to do to be able to serve those end-buyers with diversity programs.

In this short snippet from The Social Angle Podcast, Jeremy Picker, CEO and creative director of AMB3R Creative, discusses why he likes Pinterest and how he uses it for business.

In this Social Angle podcast, ASI's Vinnie Driscoll and Melissa Newman chat with Maria Kleger, a faithful and rabid user of Pinterest. Kleger, who is also a customer support team lead at ASI, understands the ins and outs of the platform and shares insights on how to use it effectively for business.