ASI's SGR Magazine Gets Bold and Beautiful

Industry's most sophisticated supplier platform sets pace for the future with major redesign

TREVOSE, PA – April 26, 2013 – SGR™ magazine sets a bold new pace for the future with the May debut of its most extensive redesign ever, showcased in a fiercely frank cover story on game-changing industry mavericks.

SGR, published every two months by the Advertising Specialty Institute^® (ASI), launched the print redesign after thorough research of consumer demand and in-depth outreach to supplier members.

“Knowing globe-trotting suppliers want business essentials delivered as fast and efficiently as possible, SGR now boasts a tighter editorial focus and renewed emphasis on the international coverage, competitive intelligence, hot trends and innovative sales strategies readers crave,” said ASI Publisher Rich Fairfield.

Along with its redesign, SGR unveiled the new “Last Laugh” on its back page, featuring a business-related cartoon and funniest caption contest.

Michele Bell, SGR editor since the magazine’s launch in 2005, complemented her May cover story on five wildly unconventional ad specialty industry CEOs with a striking cover design as bold as their business outlook (hint: when asked what it takes to be a good boss, one CEO told Bell, “Just don’t be a dick”).

“What sets these execs apart from the pack is that they’re larger than life and have chutzpah in spades,” said Bell. “At the same time, they’re hugely successful – and weirdly inspiring. With every issue, I want the new SGR to be as smart and original, and as challenging and compelling, as they are.”

In 2011, Bell was honored with a Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Award from American Business Media, considered the Pulitzer Prize of business journalism, for her story, “Asia’s Seismic Shift,” detailing how labor unrest and other issues in China would affect suppliers in the promotional products industry.

The magazine’s most familiar sections, departments, columns and features remain, and SGR will continue to cover all major international shows and to showcase the hottest products. In addition to the print edition, the SGR brand offers readers a biweekly SGR e-newsletter, a companion website, SGRmag.com (a password-protected site available only to ASI supplier members), SGR virtual trade shows exclusively for supplier attendees and SGR member exhibitors, an iPad app and an online version of the magazine.

Recently, SGR also began offering a new, supplier-exclusive membership to connect non-North American manufacturers and agents with ASI’s North American suppliers. In the fall, SGR will introduce a sourcing tool to ASI supplier members for no additional charge that will allow suppliers to rate SGR members based on selected criteria such as overall quality, delivery and problem resolution while highlighting products, images and pricing.

ASI publishes seven catalogs, five magazines and seven newsletters. ASI’s magazine circulation is audited and growing, and Counselor^®'s top lists are now the industry standard. In less than 10 years, ASI magazines have been honored with nearly 100 journalism awards and remain the only industry publications to ever win the prestigious Neal Award.

To learn more about ASI’s publications, contact Melinda Ligos, ASI’s editor in chief and senior VP of professional development, at mligos@asicentral.com. To learn about magazine advertising opportunities, contact Ed Koehler, ASI’s VP of magazines and catalogs, at ekoehler@asicentral.com.

About ASI
The Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI) is the largest media, marketing and education organization serving the promotional products industry, with a network of over 25,000 distributors and suppliers throughout North America. ASI leads the industry in technology solutions, providing cloud-based e-commerce, enterprise resource planning software (ERP) and customer relationship management software (CRM). ESP Web^® is the industry’s leading tool for sourcing hundreds of thousands of products. A family-owned business since 1962, ASI also provides online research, marketing, advertising opportunities, trade shows, education, award-winning magazines, newsletters, custom websites and catalogs to help members sell, market and promote their brands. Visit ASI at www.asicentral.com and on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and the CEO’s blog.

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