Shoot and Search: ASI Now Offers Visual Search in ESP

TREVOSE, PA - January 3, 2014 - The Advertising Specialty Institute^® (ASI) today announced visual search technology is now available in ESP Web and ESP Mobile. Distributors can upload images to ESP^® for an instant scan for similar items in the industry’s largest and most comprehensive product database.

The core technology uses images (as opposed to keywords) as search queries for products. Simply click on the camera icon in ESP Mobile™ and either snap a photo instantly or upload an image from a photo album and ESP will quickly scan its 750,000-product database and return matching products.

The ESP Mobile app for Android, iPhone and iPad is available free to authorized distributors of promotional products who are ESP subscribers.

“I love intelligent technology that does the work for me, which is exactly what visual search in ESP provides,” said Timothy M. Andrews, president and chief executive officer of ASI. “It’s a powerful, time-saving technology that’s as easy as it sounds: If you don’t know the name of a product you need, just upload a picture and ESP finds it for you. Together with all the other upgrades, ASI is making working on the run quicker and more viable than ever.”

In addition, ASI announced additional ESP features now available:

• Decorator Finder. Distributors can search for qualified decorator members in ESP Web.
• Event Planner Redesign. ESP’s event planner is newly designed with dynamic product viewing enhancements.
• Order History. ESP Websites™ now allows distributors to see comprehensive records of all customer purchases, making reordering a snap.
• Shareable Presentations. Users can now share a copy of their ESP presentation with anyone else in their company.

All told, ASI’s User Experience and Product Development teams have made over 350 enhancements to the ESP platform within the last year, resulting in new features, stronger functionality, faster speeds and a superior experience.

ASI will demonstrate all of ESP’s latest features, including visual search, at the ASI Booth throughout its first trade show of 2014, the ASI Show in Orlando, Sunday, January 5 through Tuesday, January 7, at the Orange County Convention Center. The show also features a special presentation by the stars of the ABC hit reality TV show, Shark Tank. Co-hosts Barbara Corcoran and Kevin O’Leary will judge live pitches from the industry’s top suppliers competing for $5,000 to help launch a cool, new product. Click here to register for ASI Orlando.

Integration with ASI’s ESP Web and ESP Mobile means distributors can source and order every ad specialty product in the industry from more than 3,200 suppliers. In addition to searching ESP, users can get industry news updates, view the latest product pricing, see razor-sharp images, check out supplier ratings, request quotes and e-mail products to clients 24/7.

Download free iPhone and iPad apps from iTunes by clicking here, and download the free Android app from the Google Play store. To purchase ESP, call your ASI account executive at 1 (800) 546-1350. Contact ASI’s product and technical support team at support@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.