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Before the show began, ASI released its latest distributor sales report showing 2014 was the biggest sales year in the history of the promotional products industry, with reported sales of $21.5 billion, up 5.1% over 2013. Promotional products, also known as ad specialties, are items imprinted with a logo or slogan to market a company, nonprofit organization, achievement or event.

Also in Dallas, ASI celebrated the 25th anniversary of its signature brand ESP^®, which the company first launched at a Texas trade show.

“People are coming from all over the country, and even the world, to attend the Dallas show, which is the best indication of how strong this show is and how much industry people rely on it to kick off the selling season,” said Rita Ugianskis-Fishman, vice president and general manager of ASI Show.

“We love Dallas,” said Andrews. “It’s a great gathering place for people in the industry to come together and do business. This year, we were especially delighted to partner with three large regional associations at the show – the Promotional Products Association of the Southwest, Promotional Products Association of the Mid-South, Inc. and the Sunbelt Promotional Products Association.”

The show included a full slate of ASI education training and seminars, including several sessions dedicated to website best practices and digital marketing strategies. Attendees also visited ASI’s new Social Lounge, featuring a live feed of social media posts tagged with #ASIDallas. All told, the three-day show generated nearly 600 tweets alone. Participants enjoyed new networking activities like rock climbing, yoga and running, along with the traditional Gala Celebration at Eddie Deen’s Ranch, complete with giant foam cowboy hats and line dancing lessons to a live country band.

ASI Show introduced several features new to Dallas, including the “marketplace!” to showcase products from five of the most popular money-making industries – health care, financial services, education, technology and construction/manufacturing. During ASI’s “Minute to Win It” game show, participants competed for fun prizes.

Suppliers told ASI they loved the show.

“Dallas has been fantastic,” said Miles Wadsworth, of Logo Mats (asi/67849). “We’ve been busy the entire time, with people in our booth looking to know about our products and us. The quality of distributors has been great. The attendees are taking the time to not just be scanned, but to actually learn about who we are and what we do. We come back every year because ASI provides us with the distributor base to sell our products.”

Distributor Liz Cavitt, of Scarborough Specialties (asi/319940), came with 35 people and also attended a company meeting at Dallas, to get together, brainstorm and talk about new products and ideas. “It’s so helpful to be at the show and talk to our suppliers to make those one-one connections, but also hear how people are using products in different applications,” she said. “It helps you to come up with new ideas and keep things fresh for your customers.”

For complete coverage of the show, including blogs and videos, visit www.asicentral.com and www.asishow.com.

Upcoming 2015 ASI Shows are Long Beach (March 24-26), New York (May 5-6) and Chicago (July 14-16). To learn more about exhibiting or sponsorship opportunities for 2015, contact Karen DiTomasso, vice president of sales, at kditomasso@asicentral.com.

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 an interactive show floor, 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 ASI Roadshow, the ad specialty industry’s most popular traveling show, and fASIlitate, ASI’s hosted buyer event.