"The Shark" Lights Up the Stage at ASI New York

NEW YORK, NY – April 4, 2014 – Shark Tank judge Daymond John wowed a captive audience of more than 500 Friday at The ASI Show™ New York, dishing out surefire tips on supercharging personal and professional brands and boosting social media profiles to the max.

“Daymond lit the stage on fire,” said Albert Galimidi, of Allegra Print & Imaging (asi/372155). “He shared so many important points and inspirational stories. The best advice he gave was ‘just keep swimming. Times get hard for all of us, but if you keep swimming you’ll get there.’ ”

As a judge on the ABC hit reality show, Shark Tank, John fields business pitches from everyday people hoping to launch their company or product to new heights and then invests his own money into the best projects. His keynote was the highlight of the two-day trade show hosted by the Advertising Specialty Institute^® (ASI; www.asicentral.com) at the Javits Convention Center, Thursday, April 3 and Friday, April 4. The convention featured 2014’s new items from throughout the $20.5 billion promotional products industry.

“ASI New York has been great,” said Cynthia Weaver, of Polished with Etiquette (asi/296807). “The products I found are going to not only grow my current business but allow me to break into new markets. The ASI Show gives business owners the unique opportunity to find fresh and new ideas to bring back to our clients.”

The high-energy event attracted over 1,900 distributors from as far as Switzerland and Trinidad and Tobago, and 220 suppliers showcasing their newest ad specialty products for the second half of the year.

“The show has been very good,” said Louis Massaro, of Cooler Graphics (asi/80345). “We gathered many great leads and have been able to spend valuable time with our existing clients. The best thing about the show has been the quality of the attendees.” Pete Nutty, of Showdown Displays (asi/87188), added: “ASI New York has been fantastic. Everyone should be at this show.”

The show attracted a ton of media attention, including MSNBC’s Your Business program and Fox 5 News. Friday, ASI’s products expert, Joe “The Joe Show” Haley, demonstrated some of the show’s coolest products during an appearance on Fox TV’s Good Day New York morning show alongside anchors Rosanna Scotto and Greg Kelly. ASI will post links to all TV coverage on its website next week.

“ASI’s New York show was terrific,” said Timothy M. Andrews, president of The ASI Show and president and chief executive officer of ASI. “There was excitement from start to finish, a rock star keynote and plenty of quality suppliers. Daymond John was a huge hit and we had so many people come to his presentation they spilled out into the hallway.”

Throughout the show, ASI also hosted free education classes on social media, relationship building, demographics, sales and the secrets of successful entrepreneurs. All classes qualified for points toward the ASI Certification Program. To date, over 29,000 industry professionals have registered for classes necessary to obtain the industry certification through ASI’s free Online Learning Center.

ASI kicked off events Tuesday and Wednesday at the Javits Center with its invitation-only hosted buyer event, fASIlitate, featuring productive, one-on-one meetings between leading distributors and some of the industry’s most sought-after suppliers.

“fASIlitate has been great for us,” said Owen Zibrak, of Ecocentric Brands (asi/51443). “We have met some great people and have made valuable business connections. Each of the individual meetings we had today were a success. We will definitely be doing future fASIlitates!”

The networking continued Thursday night at the annual Counselor^® Hot 25 party at an exclusive rooftop downtown club at the Gansevoort Meatpacking hotel featuring a DJ along with stunning views of New York City landmarks. Click here for Counselor magazine’s list of the industry’s hottest, most innovative game-changers.

For more coverage of ASI New York, visit www.asicentral.comand the ASI Show Facebook page.

The next upcoming 2014 ASI Show is Chicago (July 15-17). To learn more about exhibiting or sponsorship opportunities for 2014, contact sales VP Karen DiTomasso at kditomasso@asicentral.com. On August 11, ASI hosts the Promotions Southwest expo at the state-of-the-art Irving Convention Center in Dallas. Click here for more info and to register for the show, timed to help distributors prepare for all-important fourth-quarter sales.

About The ASI Show
The ASI Show was created for active ASI member distributors and suppliers, and attracts more distributors than any other industry show, with 20,000 attendees. Offering a full education conference, networking opportunities and a manageable one-floor/one-hall layout, The ASI Show provides a complete trade show experience. In five host cities per year (Orlando, Dallas, Long Beach, New York and Chicago), The ASI Show is ideal for advertising specialty businesses searching for new ideas and new business. Additionally, The ASI Show runs the Advantages Roadshow, the ad specialty industry’s most popular traveling show, and fASIlitate, ASI’s hosted buyer event.

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.comand on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and the CEO’s blog.

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