February 04, 2022
ASI Fort Worth 2022: Attendees, Exhibitors Thrilled to Be Together
The show in the Lone Star State, ASI’s second of the year, signaled a continued return to normality for promo professionals.
For the second time in 2022, ASI hosted a major in-person industry event after nearly two years of COVID restrictions. It was a welcome shift back to pre-pandemic times, said exhibitors and attendees.
ASI Fort Worth, which began on Monday, Jan. 31, with Education Day followed by two days of exhibits at the Fort Worth Convention Center in Texas, welcomed an estimated 2,300 suppliers, distributors and decorators.
“ASI is on a solid winning streak, coming off our success with ASI Orlando directly into ASI Fort Worth, which delivered on every promise we made to attendees,” said Tim Andrews, president and CEO of ASI. “Everyone is eager to get back to business and the best way to do that is through in-person shows and events, the very lifeblood of the promo industry.”
Education Day featured tracks on sales, social media, decoration and business-building (see sidebar), followed by two full days of an open show floor. “We’re impressed with how many people have been at our booth and interested in golf items,” said Kellie Matheson of TPK Golf (asi/90511) in Waconia, MN, as she was showing off products in her company’s booth. “We’re glad we’re down here in Fort Worth.”
Jay Jacobus, CEO of Scarborough Specialties (asi/319940) in Lubbock, TX, hosted his company’s sales meeting in conjunction with the event. “We thoroughly enjoyed the show,” said Jacobus. “I wasn’t expecting such a good turnout, but I was happily surprised with the number of great quality vendors who were in attendance. We used the meeting room [for the sales meeting] toward the end of the day so that we could discuss any innovative ideas we had come across on the floor and go back to get more information if we needed to. We also used the room for a couple vendor meetings for our team. It worked out great.”
Dawn Candy, marketing specialist at I Promote You (asi/229496) in The Woodlands, TX, said she was eager to get back to in-person interaction after nearly two years of almost all virtual selling and relationship-building. “In-person provides an energy that’s difficult to achieve in virtual settings,” she said. “I look forward to the show each year, but this year especially. Working solo in a home office and not being able to see customers helped me appreciate the face-to-face connections. It’s invaluable to see supplier reps in-person, get valuable information from them, and brainstorm projects and ways to present ideas to our clients.”
As ASI continues to host in-person events this year, there’s been a gradual and welcome return to normality, said Rich Corvalan, senior VP of sales at Zing Manufacturing (asi/99025) in Phoenix, who’s attended three major promo trade shows so far this year.
Connection Reception closing out first exhibit day, with live band, Texas beef, crab cakes, drinks and all-impt networking. #ASIfortworth pic.twitter.com/Bbobfpeh3n
— Timothy M. Andrews (@Tim_Andrews_ASI) February 1, 2022
“We’ve been trying to right an industry that took a major hit,” he said. “There were a lot of local distributors, but also people from Wisconsin, Florida, Michigan, Oklahoma, Arkansas and others. It was great to see people so engaged in bringing promo back to what it was. It’s a relationship business, it’s about eye contact and making connections in person. ASI has done a great job of bringing people back together in an industry that needs it.”
Suppliers also expressed enthusiasm for the constructive conversations on the show floor, which they’ve sorely missed these past couple years. Jay Ago, Midwest regional manager for AZX Sport USA (asi/30250) in Tonawanda, NY, said “there’s something special” about meeting in-person with clients and peers. “Overall, the discussions were positive and the optimism was at a really high level,” he said. “I can’t wait to see everyone in Chicago this summer.”
Valuable Education & New Products in Fort Worth
Attendees enjoyed four full tracks of professional development sessions on Education Day, as well as the Promo Showcase Live with Product Editor Joe Haley and an industry panel discussion on Day 2.
Panel Discussion: Navigating Inventory, Labor & Pricing Hurdles
Four promo industry leaders shared their optimism for 2022 during a panel discussion moderated by ASI Vice Chairman Matthew Cohn and gave their best advice for overcoming current challenges. They offered nuggets of wisdom to a rapt audience on how to make the most of the next 11 months.
Promo Showcase Live: The Industry’s Hottest Products & Promotional Ideas on Display
Product Editor Joe Haley gave a live presentation on 11 items from sponsors and exhibitors on the show floor.
Deliver Insight, Not Information
Speaker Jay Busselle urged attendees to cut through the noise of social media by delivering engaging content and cutting through an oversaturated space.
Building Connections With Promo Products
Speaker Carolyn Strauss explained how to use the principles of persuasion and make authentic connections to help clients buy.