Advertising Specialty Institute

In this episode of Promo Insiders, Sara Lavenduski, senior editor of Advantages magazine, speaks with product safety and compliance expert Larry Whitney, managing partner of Whitney & Whitney Consulting Group, about what promo firms need to know when selling face masks and coverings. Since the products come in contact with the mouth and nose as well as sensitive skin on the face, it’s important to work with trusted manufacturers and make sure purchased products are tested and labeled.

Two leaders in the European promotional products market provide perspective on the state of the industry there amid COVID-19, offering insights that apply across the pond as well.

Memorial Day weekend marked the unofficial start of summer, but with the coronavirus pandemic ongoing and many states still in lockdown, tourism is going to look a lot different, compared to years past. In this episode of Promo Insiders, members of the editorial team – Theresa Hegel, executive editor of digital content; Sara Lavenduski, senior editor of Advantages; and John Corrigan, senior writer – discuss their (lack of) vacation plans, their shared love of ambrosia salad, despite the naysayers, and how distributors can take advantage of the new opportunities that this drastically different leisure landscape has brought.

After 11 weeks of working from home, senior writer John Corrigan has grown quite content. Meanwhile, Nate Kucsma, executive director of research & corporate marketing at ASI, can't wait to get back to the office. In this edition of Promo Insiders, the colleagues debate the pros, cons and logistics of permanently working from home.

It may sound counter-intuitive during a crisis to ramp up social media ad spend, but that's exactly what you should be doing says ASI's Vinnie Driscoll and Melissa Newman. Find out why, as well as the dos and don'ts of posting social media ads during a pandemic, in this informative Social Angle podcast.

As governors begin to lift closure orders, offices with remote work forces prepare for the physical and emotional challenges of reinstating in-person work. Just as organizations needed to help employees transition to home offices, they’ll need to do the same as they welcome them back to a workplace that’s going to look and feel very different from when they left it in March. In this episode of Promo Insiders, Sara Lavenduski, senior editor of Advantages magazine, discusses this next phase with Mike Goldman, a New Jersey-based business leadership coach and the author of "Breakthrough Leadership Team: Strengthening the Heart and Soul of Your Company."

After nearly a decade at Top 40 supplier Next Level Apparel (asi/73867), former CSO Mark Seymour has left due to the COVID-19 crisis. In his first public statement since his exit, Seymour – a member of Counselor’s Power 50 – opens up to senior writer John Corrigan about adjusting to life at home and what his next chapter may look like.

Patrick McHargue of promo products recruitment agency PromoPlacement offers practical tips that will help you land your new position.

Jake Krolick and Vinnie Driscoll discuss the current state of live events, where the opportunities are for promo products professionals, and what lies ahead for the future of one of the most important markets in the advertising specialty industry.

In this episode of Promo Insiders, first aired during a Facebook Live session, Theresa Hegel, executive editor of digital content, talks with apparel industry veteran Brian Burr about what he thinks are the most important qualities a mask should have, why fit and comfort are key, why it’s important for apparel decorators and distributors to educate themselves on masks and how they can market the items to their own customers.

Get sharp insights and practical advice from a promo products distributor who has grown sales and strengthened client relationships despite COVID-19’s challenges.

Larry Cohen of Axis Promotions powered by HALO (asi/128263) shares how his NYC-headquartered firm is still thriving and preparing for the future from the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic.

Sloan Coleman, co-owner of St. Louis print shop Tiny Little Monster, came up with a way to generate revenue for themselves and other struggling small businesses during the coronavirus pandemic.

For the first time in more than a decade, promotional products distributors’ collective sales experienced a quarterly decline, dropping nearly 5% in Q1 2020. In this podcast, Counselor Executive Editor Christopher Ruvo and Nathaniel Kucsma, ASI’s Executive Director of Research & Corporate Marketing, discuss the out-of-the-blue drop, offer insights on how 2020 industry sales will go, and share signs of hope for a revenue rebound.

In this episode of the Promo Insiders podcast, Sara Lavenduski of Advantages magazine speaks with Counselor’s Chris Ruvo, staff writer John Corrigan and multimedia coordinator Kyle Ashenfelder about what they’ve been up to in isolation during the coronavirus pandemic. The group’s been getting into different streaming shows, learning new things and following fun social media accounts.

In this edition of the Promo Insiders podcast, Sara Lavenduski with ASI Canada welcomes Fabio Campanella, a tax, investment and personal finance expert with Campanella McDonald LLP in Toronto, for a look into key aspects of the government’s COVID-19 Economic Response Plan and how it benefits companies and workers who’ve been hard-hit by the recent business shutdown orders.

This Promo Insiders podcast explores the ramifications of Wayfair v. South Dakota, a landmark case that completely changed the rules of sales tax for online companies. Featuring Stan Hansen, director of tax for the ASI Family of Companies, and hosted by senior writer John Corrigan, the podcast includes a discussion about the obligations of suppliers and distributors when collecting sales tax and how to avoid the administrative headaches.

In late March, HanesBrands (asi/59528) came up with a design for three-ply cotton face masks, working closely with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, to meet a critical need among frontline workers fighting the spread of the coronavirus. In the span of a week, the apparel company was able to finalize designs, get approval by the Food and Drug Administration, and then convert its factories from T-shirt, fleece and other basics and ramp up production on millions of masks. In this episode of Promo Insiders, Theresa Hegel, executive editor of digital content at ASI, chats with Rachel Newman, vice president and general manager of Hanes Activewear, to learn more about how this impressive feat was accomplished.

Randy Chen, the president of Impex International, shares an in-depth account of the harrowing personal health battle he went through after contracting the coronavirus.

In this edition of the Promo Insiders podcast, we break down the CARES Act – the $2 trillion coronavirus relief package signed into law last week – and how it pertains to small-business owners. Theresa Hegel, executive editor of digital content, talks with Tom Vaughn, a corporate finance lawyer with Detroit-based law firm Dykema, about the best loan and grant opportunities that struggling entrepreneurs can pursue right now.