ASI San Diego Launch Exceeds Expectations

Attendance Tops 2,200 Distributor Attendees; Tony Robbins Rocks the House

TREVOSE, PA – February 26, 2010 – The Advertising Specialty Institute’s inaugural San Diego show wrapped up this afternoon after attracting more than 2,200 distributors, exceeding early projections and providing a strong platform for future growth of the new show. 

The distributors were drawn from about 1,000 firms across the United States. 

“We are very pleased with the strength of the turnout, the breadth of the geographic representation and the incredible spirit and energy everyone felt this week,” said Timothy M. Andrews, president of The ASI Show and president and chief executive officer of ASI.  “Distributors really turned out to support the new event, and we appreciate all of the suppliers for investing their time and energy and in believing ASI would deliver – and we did.” 

In addition to strong distributor attendance, the first major California show of the year drew more than 300 exhibitors – including a majority of Counselor Top 40 suppliers – to the San Diego Convention Center, Wednesday, February 24 through Friday, February 26.”

The show opened with more than 500 people attending a full day of 55 educational seminars and workshops (sponsored by Fields Mfg., asi/54100 and MediaTree, asi/70303).  Attendees also enjoyed a number of spirited networking opportunities, including a packed “Gala Celebration” at state-of-the-art Stingaree Nightclub, one of the hottest dance clubs in the nation. 

Highlights of the three-day show included a standing-room-only keynote by legendary life coach Tony Robbins, who brought the crowd to its feet with empowering advice on achieving outstanding success through passion, focus and action.   

ASI added San Diego to its large, super-regional trade show lineup after members voted the city a “top choice.”  One of the most active economic regions in the country, California is home to the largest number of distributors and suppliers, making the southern seaside city an ideal destination. 

“We’re coming off one of the toughest years in our industry’s history,” Andrews noted, “but everyone is focused on a major turnaround for 2010.  There was a great, positive vibe among both suppliers and distributors.  People were here to do business and cultivate new relationships.” 

Suppliers were enthusiastic about steady traffic during two exhibition days and reported being bullish about sales in the coming year. 

“ASI San Diego has been absolutely superb for us,” said Fran Ford from J. Charles Crystalworks, asi/62985. “It’s a great venue and a lot of the key distributors sent people to this first-time event. I think this show will be twice the size next year.”

John Hill from Stuffed Tees, asi/79662, added, “ASI San Diego was fabulous. I’m so glad to be here.  The booth traffic has been wonderful.  I’m handing out a lot of samples and getting lots of leads.  This has actually been one of the best shows of the year.”

“The show’s been great,” said Benn Chazen from BamBams, asi/38228, who summed it up well by saying, “We’ve had good traffic in terms of both scans and quality distributors.  We’ve gotten a lot of good leads – and we’re having a good time.”

Distributors also left ASI San Diego pumped-up for the new sales season.

“We’ve had a terrific meeting at ASI San Diego,” said Stephanie Critchfield, from The Vernon Company, asi/351700.  “We are happy for the chance to see our suppliers this time of the year.  It’s been great visiting with over 300 leading suppliers on the show floor, not to mention our preferred and accommodation lines.  But moreover, the proximity for our California reps is terrific.  They are so excited to have a California show.”

“The ASI Show San Diego has been great,” said Ross Silverstein, from iPROMOTEu, asi/232119.  “We just love going to all of The ASI Shows, and in fact have meetings at each one.  It is especially nice to be here in San Diego, because it’s such a lovely city.  My affiliates and I have benefited from visiting the show floor and we’ve seen tons of hot, new products for the start of 2010.”

Beverly Walter, from Brown & Bigelow, asi/148500, said, “We are so impressed with everything ASI did for us at ASI San Diego.  The show is great.  We will definitely do it again!”

Register today for the next ASI Show in New York, Tuesday, May 4, through Thursday, May 6, at asishow.com.  To learn more about exhibiting or sponsorship opportunities, contact Karen DiTomasso, vice president of sales, at [email protected].

About ASI
The Advertising Specialty Institute is the largest media and marketing organization serving the advertising specialty industry, with a membership of over 26,000 distributor firms (sellers) and supplier firms (manufacturers) of advertising specialties. Supplier firms use ASI print and electronic resources to market products to over 22,000 ASI distributor firms. Distributor firms use ASI print and electronic resources, which contain nearly every product in the industry from more than 3,500 reputable suppliers, to locate supplier firms and to market services to buyers. ASI provides catalogs, information directories, newsletters, magazines, websites and databases, and offers e-commerce, marketing and selling tools. Visit ASI online at uat-asicentral.com and on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, the CEO’s blog and the ASI Social Network.       

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