ASI's Counselor Magazine Wins National Award for Product Safety Coverage

TREVOSE, PA - December 16, 2013 - The Advertising Specialty Institute^® (ASI) today announced Counselor^® magazine won a national award for its coverage of product safety issues and Wearables^® magazine earned top honors for reporting on eco products, in the largest awards competition in media publishing.

“Product safety is extremely important to our industry and ASI’s Counselor magazine has once again distinguished itself for exemplary journalism,” said Timothy M. Andrews, president and chief executive officer of ASI. “In addition to news articles, ASI provides valuable resources to the industry on this key issue, including coverage in all of our magazines, panel discussions at our Power Summits and hours of education and instruction in our Online Learning Center.”

“I’m equally as proud of Wearables and Stitches^® magazines for earning recognition for original work that consistently sets them apart in a field crowded with quality publications,” said Andrews. “Wearables went above and beyond to tackle a subject of keen interest to everyone in our industry – the true meaning of ‘eco’ – once again providing our readers with news and information they can actually use to further their business.”

ASI magazines earned a total of two first-place national awards and three honorable mentions in FOLIO:’s 2013 Eddie & Ozzie Awards competition – including prizes for Best Full Issue and Best Single Article. The Eddie Awards recognize editorial excellence for consumer and business-to-business media and the Ozzie Awards recognize excellence in magazine design. The awards were presented December 5 at a ceremony at the Grand Hyatt in New York City. Other publications honored included Forbes, Entertainment Weekly, Sports Illustrated, Saveur and Architectural Digest. ASI magazines were the only industry publications recognized.

ASI magazines were honored in the following categories:

• Winner, Single Article: Counselor, “Suitable for Children?,” November 2012. Written by Betsy Cummings, it investigated an industry category at a critical crossroad due to heightened legal and regulatory awareness and the intense focus on children’s products. Andy Cohen is editor of Counselor.
• Winner, Full Issue: Wearables, April/May 2013. “The Eco Issue” examined the industry’s effort to define and regulate what it means to be “eco,” while featuring products and sales strategies distributors can use in successful eco promotions. C.J. Mittica is editor of Wearables.
• Honorable Mention, Single Article: Wearables, “Made In America,” October 2012, an examination of the root causes allowing domestic apparel manufacturers to thrive here at home. Written by C.J. Mittica, Sara Lavenduski and Christopher Ruvo.
• Honorable Mention, Best Overall Use of Social Media: Stitches, edited by Nicole Rollender.
• Honorable Mention, Best Use of Typography: Counselor, “Writing On The Wall.”

In the 2013 National Azbee Awards of Excellence competition, Wearables was named a Top 10 Magazine of the Year along with receiving honors for graphics and editorial content. Wearables, Counselor and Stitches magazines were honored as finalists for a record six 2013 Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Awards.

Since 2004, ASI publications have been honored with over 100 editorial and design awards. Melinda Ligos is editor in chief of all ASI magazines, and senior vice president of professional development. ASI publishes seven catalogs, five magazines and seven newsletters. ASI’s magazine circulation is audited and growing, and Counselor’s collection of top lists are now the industry standard.

To learn more about ASI’s publications, contact Melinda Ligos at mligos@asicentral.com. For info on advertising, 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.