TREVOSE, PA – August 12, 2009 – Advertising Specialty Institute®, the largest media and marketing organization serving the advertising specialty industry, announced today that Counselor magazine published its second annual HOT issue, featuring the advertising specialty industry’s hottest people list, new products and business trends. 

The issue reveals the exclusive list of the 40 innovators who are shaking up the market with their ideas, products and approaches.  It also includes snapshots of dozens of hot products to sell to clients and identifies important business trends affecting how ad specialty companies are moving forward in today’s marketplace.

The “Objects of Hotness” section features some of the most unique, practical and intriguing advertising specialties.  Leading up to the August issue, the products were featured on seven weekly episodes of The Joe Show, and viewers voted on their favorites in seven categories.  Innovative products include a biodegradable first aid kit, a basketball-shaped foam hat, poolside saddle tote bags, and an iPod speaker bag with a carabiner.

Important business trends are also reviewed in detail, including why green is the new black and how ad specialty companies are increasingly “greening” their operations in an effort to save the environment, lower expenses and appeal to the sensibilities of their customers. Another trend story describes how distributors are increasingly selling incentives and loyalty programs.

“The HOT issue is always one of our most anticipated, since it highlights many of the people, products and ideas that are adding to the industry’s creative mix,” said Rich Fairfield, publisher of ASI’s magazines.  “In addition to the hottest people, the issue is packed with marketing tips for increasing sales of resort wear and school apparel.”

This year’s hot people and products will be celebrated at the HOT Party on Wednesday, September 16, at the Christian Audigier Nightclub in Treasure Island, during the new ASI Holiday & Incentives Expo in Las Vegas. 

The Counselor HOT issue has been sent to the magazine’s 13,500 paid subscribers.  Counselor is the leading publication for distributor principals in the advertising specialty industry and this year won its third consecutive Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Award for editorial excellence.  It also received a silver award for news analysis and investigative reporting from the American Society of Business Publication Editors. 

To learn who made the Counselor HOT people list, click here.  To see the “Objects of Hotness” products and to learn about business trends in the issue, click here.  For more information, contact Rich Fairfield, publisher for ASI, at [email protected].

About ASI
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 uat-asicentral.com.    

# # #

556-818324 0809