Want this Success Story as a PDF? Click here to download.
One of the nation’s most prolific large-format print manufacturers, AMI Graphics (asi/80160) didn’t find their success overnight. For more than two decades, AMI Graphics has been scaling their operations, punctuated by the acquisition of Quality Banner in 2017 which allowed their workforce to expand to triple digits.
With two state-of-the-art facilities in New Hampshire and Florida, AMI Graphics now services custom flags, banners, pennants, signs and trade show displays for a wide range of distributor clients all over the country, but according to Director of Marketing Aaron Radbill, none of this growth would have been possible without their ASI® membership.
“We found the value proposition of ASI to be very beneficial, and it’s made it easy for us to expand our relationships,” Aaron said. “All the opportunities within ASI have been invaluable.”
In order to build their distributor rolodex, AMI Graphics takes advantage of many ASI Advertising opportunities, focusing mostly on digital advertising.
With Pay for Placement and Most Popular in ESP+, they’ve been able to get their products listed prominently amongst a sea of their competitors, allowing their listings to stand out to interested distributors. They’ve also had success using Connect™, ASI’s prospecting and credit reporting pool that allows suppliers to target new audiences, identify ideal markets and instantly qualify distributors’ leads.
Recently, AMI Graphics have even expanded their advertising services to email marketing through EmailExpress™. After attending ASI Show® Chicago in the summer of 2024, they experimented with a post-show email blast to follow up with warm leads to rousing success.
“ASI advertising spots continue to generate leads for us,” Aaron said. “There’s a lot of competition for distributors’ attention these days, but ASI’s suite of advertising options has always been able to keep us top of mind.”
Radbill gives a lot of credit to AMI Graphics’ ability to grow their client base on the strength of their ASI Advertising opportunities,
but ads alone can only take a supplier so far in this industry. In order to get ahead and make your mark on prospective distributors, you’ve got to show up in person at ASI events.
Having already parlayed their successful trip to ASI Show® Chicago into future business, AMI Graphics now sets their sights on upcoming hosted-buyer events, fASIlitate and ASI Show ConneX™. At these more exclusive and intimate settings, they can focus on one-on-on interactions with interested distributors.
The exclusive nature of these events also ensures a unique lineup with every event they attend, opening doors to new business ventures that may have previously been unavailable.
“These events are great opportunities to have targeted conversations with distributors who have a clear interest in what we have to offer,” Aaron said. “It’s like speed dating!”
“Knowing that the distributors we meet this year will not be the same as the ones we meet next year brings added value,” Aaron continued. “We love to showcase our products in a one-on-one setting.”
Aaron contributes most of AMI Graphics’ success in the promotional products industry to their relationship with ASI’s support team.
“We have a great relationship with our account manager,” he said. “She is a wealth of information and always makes us feel like we are no. 1 on her list. She helps us understand everything that’s available within our budget and is a big reason that our investment in ASI has continued to grow.”
Aaron is insistent that if you put in hard work and invest your time and resources in the right partners, success will follow. Slow and steady growth is the most sustainable way to make a lasting impression in the promotional products industry, and AMI Graphics is in a great position to continue to thrive with ASI by their side.
“ASI will help any supplier form a thoughtful plan and marketing strategy to leverage assets that make the most sense for you,” Aaron said. “Even if you start small like we did, there’s plenty of room to grow in this industry.”
Want this Success Story as a PDF? Click here to download.