Counselor® PromoGram®
Volume 708 / April 29, 2010
Click here to read this and past issues online.

CA County Bans Kids’ Meal Promo Items
Approving the first local ordinance of its kind, supervisors in Santa Clara County, CA, have banned restaurants from giving away toys and other promotional items with high-calorie children’s meals. Passed in a 3-2 vote this week, the limited ordinance targets any meal that contains more than 485 calories, 600 milligrams of sodium or certain percentages of fat or sugar. “This ordinance breaks the link between unhealthy food and prizes,” said Supervisor Ken Yeager, in a meeting on Tuesday.

Because the ordinance only applies to unincorporated neighborhoods like Stanford and Burbank, the majority of San Jose-area restaurants won’t be affected by the law. Hoping the fast-food industry will voluntarily begin offering more healthy kids’ meals, supervisors have decided to allow a 90-day grace period before the ordinance is enforced. Eventually, the ordinance calls for a $250 fine for the first violation, $500 for the second and then up to $1,000 for subsequent violations. “It’s just the way of government right now to try to protect us from ourselves,” said Tim Appleby, owner of Apple Advertising (asi/122990). “There are just too many regulations.”

Located in central California, Santa Clara County has a reputation for passing attention-grabbing ordinances. In 2008, the county’s board voted unanimously to require menu-labeling for fast-food restaurants, placing Santa Clara alongside San Francisco and New York City in efforts to curb obesity. But while the county’s latest health-related ordinance is making national news, it’s unlikely to have an immediate effect on many California distributors, especially since only about a dozen restaurants are located within the law’s target zone. “I don’t think it will affect our industry very much,” said Chris Savage, vice president of Burbank, CA-based The Corporate Gift Service (asi/168924). “From my career in merchandising, I can say that these are very large specialty orders and a lot of them are direct to China.”

Santa Clara County’s supervisors will again address the ordinance in a May 11th meeting. County leaders are urging other communities across the country to adopt similar toy bans.

ASI NEWS

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BDA Buys Evigna To Form Second-Largest Distributor
As first reported yesterday in a Breaking News Alert, Counselor Top 40 distributor Bensussen Deutsch & Associates (BDA) (asi/137616) has signed a definitive agreement to acquire fellow Counselor Top 40 distributor Evigna (asi/155460). Financial terms of the deal have not been released, but the companies expect the deal to close in May. Evigna’s senior executives will remain with the company in what will be known as BDA Detroit. “It started pretty innocently,” said Jay Deutsch, CEO of BDA, making reference to the deal. “We were introduced at ASI Chicago and realized we see eye-to-eye on what clients need and what’s happening in the industry. Serious talks started in late 2009.”

Per the agreement, BDA will now add the approximately 80 Evigna employees to its staff. With total revenues of nearly $250 million, the combined companies will become the second-largest distributor in the ad specialty market. Already, its list of clients includes Bank of America, Dell, GlaxoSmithKline, ExxonMobil, BlueCross Blue Shield, Ford and Jaguar. “For many years we have admired what BDA has built and we have worked hard to emulate their success,” said Marc Belanski, CEO of Evigna. “We’re proud to join the BDA family and are confident this acquisition will benefit Evigna’s distinguished clientele.”

Without offering specifics, Deutsch said the deal will be “obviously positive” in helping to increase BDA’s sales in 2010. Expressing optimism, Deutsch said BDA enjoyed a “significant” rise in sales during the first quarter of this year. “We are focused on doing the best things for great clients,” Deutsch said. “BDA will continue to look for opportunities to grow our business with the right companies that fit with our culture.”



Video Report: Industry News Of The Week
Every week, Counselor PromoGram offers a video news report that highlights the industry’s top stories. Called Industry Update, each episode details the most important trends and news items impacting the ad specialty market.

In this episode, we analyze a major distributor acquisition and reveal one Top 40 supplier’s quarterly financials. Plus, why is one California county acting out against promotional products? Click here to check out the trends and to watch Counselor PromoGram’s Industry Update.

If you have any news you’d like to see covered on Industry Update or in Counselor PromoGram, please send it to newsdesk@asicentral.com.



Survey: Executives Optimistic About Growth
Leading executives from several industries expect 2010 to be a year of job creation and business growth, according to a recent survey conducted by The National Association for Business Economics (NABE). About 70% of survey respondents believe real GDP will expand by more than 2% this year, while 24% are predicting real GDP will grow by more than 3% in 2010. The findings reinforce results of the latest Conference Board study, which suggest economic growth is likely to continue through the summer.

Helped by rising labor demand, 37% of respondents plan to increase employment over the next six months, up from 29% in January’s survey. The net employment outlook index, which accounts for job additions minus all cuts, jumped dramatically from 6 to 21 in the NABE survey. In March alone, employers nationwide added 162,000 jobs, the most in three years, according to U.S. government data. The financial, insurance, real estate and service industries continue to show the most positive employment scores.

With salaries also improving, 26% of respondents reported higher pay trends, while those showing a decline in wages dropped to just 6%. For the third consecutive quarter, profit margins increased as well, with just 11% of respondents reporting declines, compared with 16% in January. The survey additionally showed businesses are willing to invest in technology, especially computer and communications equipment.

The NABE survey, which includes executives from the private sector and trade associations, was conducted from March 25 through April 10.



Get On Counselor’s Hot List
Are you doing something unique, hip, fun or trendy in the industry right now? Do you know somebody who is? 

Counselor is looking for nominations of people for its third annual Hot List, which will be published in August – our Hot Issue. We're on the lookout for anyone in the industry who is taking an interesting approach to business, shaking up the status quo or simply networking like a maniac at all hours of the night. We're in search of those people who are making the industry a unique marketplace that's fun and energetic. 

Send an e-mail to Karen Akers at kakers@asicentral.com explaining in 50 words or less why your nomination should be recognized on Counselor's Hot List in August. And, please make sure to include a picture of the person you're nominating



Nominate Your Company For The Best Places To Work Contest
For the third year in a row, Counselor is setting out to identify the industry companies that employees simply love to work for. These are the distributors and suppliers that have a loyal work force and that provide a work environment which employees want to go to every morning.

Counselor will be unveiling its second-annual Best Places To Work issue in September, and it will undoubtedly include an elite list of industry companies. Do you want your company to be considered? Getting involved is easy – and it’s completely free to participate. The only necessary qualification is that a company has at least 10 employees. To nominate your company, or any others in the market that you think deserve to be recognized, simply click here. Also, there’s no risk to participating. Only the honorees – those companies with the best scores from the survey – will be published in Counselor.

So, don’t delay. Click here to register your company to be considered for one of the most exclusive lists in the ad specialty market: Counselor’s Best Places To Work.



Share Your Story With Counselor Mag & Earn $100
Have you recently lost a client because he's had his budget cut, moved on to another job or simply gone to a competitor? Share your story with Counselor magazine's reporters and we'll have a team of experts offer you valuable strategies you can use to regain that client's business. Plus, we'll feature you in an upcoming issue of Counselor AND give you a $100 American Express Gift Card for your efforts.

If you're interested, please send an e-mail to acohen@asicentral.com and tell us in 100 words or less how you lost a recent client (you needn't reveal the name or company of the client) and any efforts you've made to win him/her back.



In The News
BDA (asi/137616) has been named the preferred premium vendor for the NCAA, partnering to provide officially licensed co-branded merchandise, consumer promotions and other initiatives.

Boundless Network (asi/143717) has launched Boundless Network Europe with the addition of regional offices and local customer support in London, England and Cologne, Germany.

Custom Chocolate LLC (asi/47919) has introduced a new product called colorific chocolate bites, available in any combination of 13 colors.

Imprints Wholesale (asi/62486) has recently added three new styles to its Brightline collection, which features dye sublimated items with antibacterial wicking properties.

Promoshop (asi/300446) has announced that its subsidiary, ecopromos.com, has chosen three organizations to receive 2009 allotted donations. The recipients are: Heal the Bay, Cape Eleuthera Foundation and Winter Wildlands Alliance.



People On The Move
Polyconcept has promoted Michelle Armstrong to lead its product development group in both Europe and North America, the latter of which includes suppliers Bullet (asi/42424), Journalbooks (asi/91340) and Leed’s (asi/66887).



ASI SHOW

The following are the dates and locations for The ASI Show in 2010:
New York: May 4-6
Chicago: July 13-15
Plus, don't miss the ASI Advantages Roadshow, the industry's #1 traveling show. Visit www.advantagesroadshow.com for the complete schedule and go to www.asishow.com for information on all ASI Shows.


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