ASI Magazines Recognized With Prestigious National Honors For Editorial Excellence

TREVOSE, PA – April 14, 2017 – A series that inspired struggling businesses, stories on cutting-edge strategies to preserve long term profitability and the savvy use of social media earned magazines published by the Advertising Specialty Institute^® (ASI) national recognition through the prestigious Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Awards.

Considered “the Pulitzer Prize of business media,” the Neal Awards recognize and reward editorial excellence in business media. In the 2017 competition, ASI’s Wearables magazine won for Best Series and earned a finalist nomination for Best Use of Social Media, while Counselor magazine earned a finalist nomination for Best Instructional Content.

“I could not be more proud of our editorial team of writers, editors and designers for continuing their impressive winning streak while serving our readers with intelligent, top-of-the-line journalism that helps companies of all sizes become more successful,” said Andy Cohen, ASI’s vice president of editorial and marketing services. “It’s a true honor to be recognized among so many incredible magazines in the fiercely competitive Neal awards.”

Below are the ASI magazines and journalists honored at the recent Neal Awards ceremony in New York City:

Winner

• Wearables^®, “Extreme Shop Makeover” for Best Series, by Theresa Hegel, executive editor of Wearables. In 2016, Wearables singled out two struggling apparel-decorating businesses to undergo an “Extreme Shop Makeover.” Each shop was paired with an industry consultant who spent two days on site assessing and advising the shop owners, with Hegel documenting the process. The series included essential business-building tips and sidebars, as well as multiple videos and slideshows. Wearables is the industry’s number-one source for the decorated-apparel market.
• One judge called the winning series “a bravura piece of service journalism” and said, “I was really rooting for these store operators and their employees to make these improvements, all the while hugely enjoying the consultants’ exertions to get them to change their thinking and their day-to-day practices.”

Finalists

• Counselor^®, “State of the Industry” 2016 issue, for Best Instructional Content. For its annual issue, Counselor staff tackled the slowing growth in the promotional products industry, the first test of the industry’s resolve since the Great Recession of 2008. The issue, which featured articles, statistics and infographics, focused on proactive strategies readers can employ to protect themselves in the short-term while preserving long-term profitability. The issue was spear-headed by then-editor C.J. Mittica, with research conducted by Nathaniel Kucsma, market research director. Counselor magazine, considered the voice of the promotional industry, serves executive-level distributors and business owners.
• Wearables, for Best Use of Social Media, to Theresa Hegel (@TheresaHegel) and Nicole Rollender (@NRollender_ASI), editor-in-chief of Wearables. The magazine was recognized for its strong following on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest. The magazine uses social media and interactive online tools like polls and quizzes to engage readers, gather feedback and supplement print features. Wearables also covers live events and showcases behind-the-scenes photos and videos on Instagram and Twitter, and generates reader responses and commentary via Facebook.

ASI publishes six catalogs, four magazines and eight newsletters. ASI’s magazine circulation is audited, and Counselor‘s Top 40 and Power 50 lists are now the industry standard.

ASI publications deliver award-winning editorial content to suppliers, distributors, decorators and screen printers throughout the advertising specialty industry. In the past decade, ASI magazines have been honored with over 180 journalism awards and remain the only industry publications to ever win a national Jesse H. Neal Award.

To learn more about ASI’s publications, contact Andy Cohen at [email protected]. For info on advertising, contact Matt Barnes, ASI’s vice president of publishing and media services, at [email protected].

About ASI
The Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI^®) serves a network of 23,500 suppliers, distributors and decorators in the $22.9 billion promotional products industry. ASI’s flagship product, the technology platform ESP^®, serves the industry’s supply and marketing chain. ASI also produces award-winning digital and print content, live events and educational programs that enable companies in 61 countries to be more efficient, productive and profitable. ASI’s Counselor^® magazine provides the most authoritative business content in the industry, and the ASI Certification Program features 500+ live and online education courses for over 40,000 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. For more info: www.asicentral.com.