ASI Announces 2021 Trade Show And Magazine Production Changes

TREVOSE, PA – December 18, 2020 – The Advertising Specialty Institute^® (ASI) and ASI Show^® jointly announced today that out of continued concern for the health and safety of ASI members and employees, the large, in-person ASI trade shows scheduled for March in Orlando and May in Fort Worth will not be held as planned.

“After serious consideration of CDC guidelines and recommendations from government and health professionals, it’s clear we cannot safely hold our traditional, large ASI shows before summer,” said Timothy M. Andrews, ASI president and chief executive officer. “We will focus on our well-received virtual events, including our Digital Expo in February, helping bring together distributors and exhibitors to learn, network and facilitate sales. We’re also looking forward to hosting ASI Show Chicago as scheduled in July, with a dynamic trade show floor to kick off the second half of the selling year.”

In addition, ASI is completing its transition of Counselor^® and Advantages^® magazines to a full digital content operation. ASI will continue to publish special quarterly print editions of Counselor, like its annual State of the Industry research report, but Advantages will cease print editions altogether after January.

ASI’s editorial content, including prestigious industry recognitions like the Power 50, will continue to be produced by ASI’s editorial team and overseen by Andy Cohen, senior vice president of editorial and marketing services, and Michele Bell, ASI vice president of education, editorial and special events. All of ASI’s award-winning editorial content will be available online, at ASIcentral.com/news, and distributed across social media channels like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.

“What this move really represents is a new digital era for ASI media – digital is the present and the future,” said Andrews. “ASI will continue to generate unique, exclusive, valuable and valued information and analysis, distributing it digitally through e-newsletters, topical packages, podcasts, videos and social media. We’ll also continue publishing product catalogs and providing industry research conducted and overseen by ASI Executive Director of Research and Corporate Marketing Nate Kucsma. I’m proud of our decades-long commitment to award-winning reporting on important industry issues, along with our tradition of bringing together suppliers and distributors at large, in-person trade shows as soon as it’s safe. Those commitments endure.”

ASI Show Chicago remains as planned with hundreds of exhibitors expected, Tues., July 13 (education) through Thurs., July 15 (two exhibit days), at the McCormick Place Convention Center. Plus, the fASI500 remains scheduled for June 7-10 in Austin, TX, and Denver, CO, June 21-24, along with three fASIlitate events in the second half of the year. In-person fASIlitate events in Salt Lake City and Philadelphia originally scheduled for April will not be held.

Ongoing ASI Show digital events like fASI Virtual 1:1 for distributors and suppliers will continue. And registration is open for the ASI Show Digital Expo, Wed., Feb. 3 and Thurs., Feb. 4, 10:30 a.m.-5 p.m. ET, free to ASI members and non-members. The virtual trade show will offer product sourcing, new product displays from suppliers, education, idea sharing, networking and engaging with industry colleagues.

Check the ASI Show website for the latest updates, schedules and registration. For editorial questions and info, contact Michele Bell at mbell@asicentral.com. Suppliers can contact Matthew Barnes, ASI’s senior vice president of supplier sales and marketing, at mbarnes@asicentral.com.

About ASIThe Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI^®; asicentral.com) serves a network of 25,000 suppliers, distributors and decorators in the $25.8 billion promotional products industry. ASI’s flagship product, the technology platform ESP^®, manages the industry’s entire supply and marketing chain. ASI also produces award-winning digital content, live events and educational programs that enable companies in 53 countries to be more efficient, productive and profitable. ASI’s media and research operation provides the most authoritative business content in the industry, and the ASI Certification Program features 200+ live and online education courses for industry professionals. The company, family-owned and -operated since 1962, is proud to have been consistently ranked among the “Best Places to Work” in Philadelphia and Bucks County, PA.