ASI Launches New Education Program for Outstanding Companies

Companies with 10 or more employees can go for the gold
(and silver and bronze)

TREVOSE, PA – November 5, 2014 – The Advertising Specialty Institute® (ASI) today announced the launch of the Outstanding Certification Achievement (OCA) program to reward and encourage member companies that are committed to educating their employees. Any ASI member company with 10 or more employees can participate in the OCA program. The greater the percentage of employees who earn certification through the free ASI Education Certification Program, the higher the company’s designation of bronze, silver or gold. Through participation in the OCA program, member companies can show the industry they are committed to employee education and training by encouraging employees to get certified with a BASI™ (Bachelor of Advertising Specialty Information) and MASI™ (Master of Advertising Specialty Information). The OCA program features three levels based on the percentage of employees with a BASI/MASI certification: Bronze: 1%-33% of employees certified Silver: 34%-66% of employees certified Gold: 67%-100% of employees certified Top 40 distributor Proforma (asi/300094) is the first industry company to participate in the new program, and has already earned its bronze distinction. “Proforma is a huge believer in ongoing education for our 750-plus owners and employees,” said Dean Manzetti, Proforma’s director of business development/training. “Getting their BASI/MASI accreditation clearly separates owners from the competition when interacting with customers. End-buyers are impressed when they learn a Proforma owner is certified and view them as experts in the promotional products industry. We’ll continue to encourage all of our owners to become certified, and to be leaders in the industry’s professional development efforts.”

“We created this program to recognize distributor and supplier companies that are committed to the professional development of their employees, which elevates the professionalism and expertise of our entire industry,” said Nicole Rollender, ASI’s executive director of professional development.

To date, 1,274 industry professionals have been certified through the program, with more than 30,000 enrolled in ASI’s free Online Learning Center.

 

Participation is free as an ASI member benefit and is user-friendly, with all courses tracked via ASI’s proprietary digital campus. ASI’s extensive educational programs support the needs of everyone from newcomers to proven industry veterans.

ASI annually invests $1.3 million to educate its members. During the 2014 ASI Show^® season, a total of 5,406 attended classes, making ASI the largest educator in the industry.

“We created this program to recognize distributor and supplier companies that are committed to the professional development of their employees, which elevates the professionalism and expertise of our entire industry,” said Nicole Rollender, ASI’s executive director of professional development. “We’re proud of every individual and company dedicated to continuing industry education and better serving each other and our clients.”

With a full spectrum of education, information and research programs, ASI has everything it takes to help ad specialty professionals learn the business and remain competitive. ASI offers an unmatched portfolio of educational opportunities, incomparable publications and insightful research reports.

To learn more about the OCA program and ASI education, contact Nicole Rollender at (215) 953-3478 or [email protected].

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.