ASI® Acquires TEAM Task Force

TREVOSE, PA – September 4, 2007 – Advertising Specialty Institute®, the largest media and marketing organization serving the advertising specialty industry, announced today that it acquired TEAM Task Force, based in Toronto, Canada.

TEAM Task Force is a successful promotional products organization that has been providing resources to grow sales for its members in Canada for over 20 years.  Founders Fred and Leslie Oesen will continue to work in Toronto and the new organization will become ASI Canada.

“I’m very excited to announce the launch of ASI Canada,” said Timothy M. Andrews, president and chief executive officer for ASI.  “Distributors, suppliers and decorators in Canada have been asking me for more ways to connect and do more business. I look forward to working closely with Fred and Leslie – respected industry partners – to provide more opportunities for our members there and in the United States to grow sales and increase profits.”

“We are pleased to become a part of ASI,” said Fred Oesen, co-founder of TEAM Task Force.  “ASI is synonymous with innovation and successful growth of our industry.  This alliance affords Leslie and I the opportunity to offer Canadian advertising specialty industry businesses with additional valuable products and services to take their business to the next level.”

Andrews said that there are untapped opportunities in Canada for U.S.-based suppliers and distributors and that both teams have worked hard to provide a new membership package for ASI Canada that will help companies discover those.

The ASI Canada membership package includes access to:  ESP Online – the leading product search and marketing database; LogoMall Websites; four tickets to one of the five ASI Shows! – including Orlando and Las Vegas; advertising opportunities in ASI’s award-winning magazines; spring and fall selling seminars across Canada; and up to 25% savings on UPS shipping and up to 65% off UPS freight.

Current members of TEAM Task Force will have immediate access to the benefits of a membership with ASI Canada, and membership is open to qualified distributors, suppliers and decorators across Canada.

Distributors, suppliers and decorators who are members of TEAM Task Force, and not ASI, will automatically become members of ASI Canada at no charge through the end of the year, at which time convenient options will be available for annual renewal.  Distributors, suppliers and decorators who are members of both TEAM Task Force and ASI will also automatically become members of ASI Canada and will have one annual membership fee at renewal time.

Additional details about ASI Canada and the new membership package will be mailed to members in coming days, and more information is available at www.asicentral.ca.

For more information about ASI acquiring TEAM Task Force or about the new ASI Canada membership package, contact Fred or Leslie Oesen, at 800-546-1232 or at [email protected].  You may also contact Larry Basinait, executive director of membership services for ASI, at [email protected] or at 800-546-1350.  Visit www.asicentral.ca.    

About ASI
Advertising Specialty Institute is the largest media and marketing organization serving the advertising specialty industry, with a membership of 24,000 distributor firms (sellers) and supplier firms (manufacturers) of advertising specialties.  Supplier firms use ASI print and electronic resources to market products to more than 20,000 ASI distributor firms.  Distributor firms use ASI print and electronic resources, which contain more than 750,000 ad specialties, to locate supplier firms and to market services to buyers.  ASI provides catalogs, informational directories, newsletters, magazines, websites and databases, and offers interactive e-commerce, marketing and selling tools.