| TREVOSE, PA – January 5, 2024 |
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A standing-room-only crowd at ASI Show Orlando went bananas when marketing genius Jesse Cole hit the stage in his iconic yellow tuxedo. “It’s show time,” Cole said, instantly captivating the crowd. “How do you stand out? How are you different? That’s what we’re going to talk about today.”
In a first for an ASI Show, promotional products distributors belted out Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer” during a sing-off, vying for a pair of Cole’s best-selling banana-branded tighty-whities. “Best promo item we’ve ever had,” Cole said. “Create a moment, get people talking – that’s what people remember…. In your industry, what’s one thing you can do no one else is doing? Stand out, be different, have fun, swing hard.”
Hosted at the Orange County Convention Center from January 3 to January 5, ASI’s trade show featured bustling show floor aisles packed with 4,500 industry professionals creating a dynamic marketplace. The show also attracted 353 woman-owned and 137 minority-owned supplier and distributor companies.
Of total attendance, 97 companies are Orlando based and 668 are from Florida. According to ASI Research, Florida alone contributed $1.7 billion to annual $9.9 billion in Southern regional sales, reinforcing its promotional prowess.
“From the moment we cut the ribbon to the last song played by our DJ, we delivered a show packed with nonstop action, the latest products for a brand new year of selling, proven advice from renowned motivational speakers, plenty of networking opportunities and just plain fun,” said Timothy M. Andrews, president and chief executive officer of ASI, the most authoritative technology, marketing and information provider in the $25.8 billion promotional products industry. “ASI Orlando 2024 – where innovation met inspiration.”
Strategically scheduled as the first industry trade show of the year, ASI Orlando helped distributors set the stage for a robust sales year. More than 800 took sales, marketing and social media classes during Education Day, and 10 distributor companies chose ASI Orlando to host meetings, including AIM (asi/522700), iPROMOTEu (asi/232119), HALO (asi/356000) and Proforma (asi/300094).
Distributors raved about the show experience. “This is the first time we attended an ASI Show and it’s been absolutely wonderful,” said Gina Moon, of Image Marketing (asi/230242). “I love the family feel of ASI and the networking that’s encouraged here. We took advantage of Education Day before we hit the show floor to meet suppliers and it’s fueled us for what’s next for our business. I’m motivated, energized, ready and willing to go home and start increasing and growing my business, knowing we have the support of ASI behind us. We can’t thank you enough.”
Happy suppliers like Hunter Johnson, of C-Slide (asi/43075) were thrilled with steady traffic. “It’s been super eventful and yesterday was impressive,” Johnson said. “I talked to a lot of great people. This show offers a wonderful opportunity to introduce our products to new people and put faces to names of those who have recently discovered our products.”
The ASI Gala at Planet Hollywood provided a platform for industry leaders to connect after hours. And two stellar keynotes left a lasting impact – Jesse Cole’s high-energy presentation and Beth Paretta’s awe-inspiring journey from a five-year-old obsessed with race cars to leading the first women-forward INDYCAR team.
Cole described ways his Savannah Bananas barnstorming baseball team makes baseball fun, via stilt walkers, flaming bats and ball players dancing in bright yellow uniforms and checkered kilts. Overflowing with sales and marketing advice uniquely tailored to promo distributors, Cole repeatedly brought the audience to its feet.
Mary Smith, of I Can Market That (asi/229755), in Maitland, FL, loved the challenge Paretta gave the audience: Consider how much you can accomplish in the same number of seconds her team has during a race day pit stop to fuel up, change tires and send the car barreling back onto the track. “I thought, ‘I could make a cold call in 6.2 seconds,” Smith said. “She was a very good speaker and she made me laugh.”
Up next from ASI: ASI Fort Worth 2024, Monday, March 4, through Wednesday, March 6, at the Fort Worth Convention Center in a walkable, historic downtown. Click here to register for ASI Fort Worth.
For more info on ASI Show, contact Andy Cohen, senior vice president of events, media and marketing services, at [email protected]. For info on exhibiting at ASI Shows, contact Meghan DeFrancesco, ASI’s executive director of supplier sales, at [email protected]. Check the ASI Show website (asishow.com) for the latest updates and schedules for all ASI shows and events.
About ASI Show
The ASI Show Family of Events features ASI Show, fASIlitate and ConneX, which foster business-building relationships among ASI distributor and supplier members. ASI Shows, the flagship series, are large-scale, in-person convention center trade shows held in Orlando, Fort Worth and Chicago. fASIlitate is a hosted-buyer event that brings together the industry’s elite – top suppliers and million-dollar distributors – for three days of scheduled one-on-one meetings in select hotels across the country. ConneX is the largest hosted-buyer event in the promotional products industry. Visit asishow.com for more information on the full event portfolio.
