Signs of the Times - March 2014 - (Page 112)

Ed it o r i a lly S p e aki n g By Wade Swormstedt Adding Ad Specialties Wade Swormstedt is the publisher/editor of Signs of the Times magazine, celebrating his 30th year on staff. Our ASI/S+D Pavilion debuts in July in Chicago. S T's parent company, ST Media Group Intl., has previously created very popular, sign-related conferences to fill vacant niches. Back in the late '80s/ early '90s (when we published Identity magazine), we hosted numerous Identity Management Conferences in Stone Mountain, GA. These were geared toward your customers, the end users. Then, from 2006-2011, we held the Signage and Graphic Summits, which were designed for executive-level readers of ST and its sister publications, The Big Picture and Screenprinting. In both cases, these were conferences, not tradeshows, and, valuable as they were, they weren't pertinent for 95% of our readers. But now, for the first time, we have created a tradeshow component completely designed for our core readers, in conjunction with the Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI), which hosts five tradeshows annually. Officially, we will present the Signage + Decoration Pavilion at the ASI Show, which will be held July 15-17 at McCormick Place in Chicago. For attendees of ISA and SGIA shows, which generally have 550 exhibitors, the ASI show may be the biggest tradeshow you've ever attended. More than 700 exhibitors are anticipated. An axiom states that, in order to boost sales, it's much easier to sell more to an existing customer than it is to generate a brand-new customer. Advertising specialties can be viewed as diminutive signs, because they absolutely perpetuate your customers' branding messages. Would your customers be interested in onestop shopping with you for more of their branding requirements? At the ASI show, you can view myriad options to add to your product mix. Ad specialties, aka promotional products, encompass a $20.5 billion industry, which probably doubles the size of the on-premise sign industry. So what, exactly, are ad specialties/promotional products? ASI divides its exhibitors into groups. One, not surprisingly, is signs/displays, which includes companies that provide floor graphics, banners, plaques, etc. For those of you who specialize in vehicle graphics, what if you also offered automotive accessories: sunshades, hitch covers, license-plate frames, family decals, etc.? Some of you may already screenprint T-shirts on the side. Could you also offer caps and apparel emblazoned with your customer's logo? What about awards, trophies, coasters, buttons, badges, glassware, playing cards, inflatables, blankets and towels? Most of the exhibitors can provide you with such items, with the same logo you used to make their sign. Maybe you'd want to 112 SIGNS OF THE TIMES March 2014 offer some of these items free of charge to your more loyal (or first-time) customers. The show's first day kicks off with a three-hour presentation by Harvard MBA Stephen M. R. Covey, entitled "Selling at the Speed of Trust." (The last four words are the title of his best-selling book.) During this interactive workshop, Covey will explain the types of trust you can start to build, including market and societal trust; identify the 13 behaviors of hightrust salespeople, including how to listen first, talk straight and deliver results; relate examples of people and companies that are achieving unprecedented sales success from high-trust relationships and cultures; and share his insights as a former CEO about how to build sales - and a company brand - on trust. The keynote speaker will be graffiti artist, author and entrepreneur Erik Wahl, who will address The Art of Vision and Leadership: Awaken Your Creativity. He authored Unthink: Rediscover Your Creative Genius. The ASI Show includes a full, three-day, educational slate. It holds its Education Day on the first day; two days of Power Sessions follow while the tradeshow floor is open. Of special interest to sign companies new to ad specialties on Education Day is an introductory overview seminar called "Launch Your Successful Career: The Essentials of Ad Specialty Sales," which will help you understand and speak the language of promotional-products professionals. A "Meet the Experts" networking lunch on the first day enables first-come, first-served attendees to discuss trending topics with popular ASI Show speakers, subject-matter experts and industry peers. The second day begins with a session about "hot new products" to sell - along with advice on how to use them in profitable marketing campaigns. A Power Session that could benefit any salesperson is entitled "Overcome Price Pressure." Power sessions on the final day are primarily geared toward using social media to connect with prospects and clients. As for the specific S+D Pavilion, Power Sessions are in development. They will specifically be geared toward sign companies who are adding promotional products to their repertoire. For information on the overall ASI show, go to www.asishow.com/14Chicago/index.html. Companies interested in exhibiting in the S+D Pavilion should contact Murray Kasmenn at murray.kasmenn@ stmediagroup.com. n http://www.asishow.com/14Chicago/index.html

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Signs of the Times - March 2014

Signs of the Times - March 2014
Contents
ST Update
Technology Update
Designing for Large Format
Vinyl Apps
Strictly Commercial
Lighting Techniques
The Moving Message
Technology Review: Summa’s DC5 and DC5sx printers
Technology Review: PrinterEvolution Neo Series printers
Design Matters
New Products
Happiness Squared
They Speak the Language
The 2013 Lighting Survey
Ganassi Racing’s Green Light
Dynamic Digital Signage Made Simple, Part 3
Industry News
Advertising index
Editorially speaking

Signs of the Times - March 2014