Online Ad Spending Increases In 2010
U.S. online advertising spending will reach $25.1 billion in 2010, a year-over-year increase of 10.8%, according to digital researcher eMarketer. Research shows the increase will largely be the result of an improving economy coupled with a shift in marketing strategies, as companies forgo traditional marketing venues. "Spending growth online is partially attributable to economic instability," said David Hallerman, eMarketer senior analyst. "The anxiety attached to the still-healing economy encourages marketers to bet more on sure things, and the ability to measure Internet ads, especially search, makes them more sure than most traditional ad spending."

According to Hallerman, Internet advertising will steadily increase over the next five years. His research estimates the Internet’s share of total media ad spending will jump from 15% this year to over 20% by 2014. If the estimates are proven correct, online ad spending will soon surpass print-based ad spending. "As marketers look to engage their audience with relevant, trustworthy messages, that means smaller shares of marketing budgets going to traditional forms of advertising," said Hallerman.

While online ad spending increases, its forums still remain fairly few. According to eMarketer, Google, Yahoo, Microsoft and AOL will garner 59% of U.S. online ad spending in 2010. Among these outlets, Google is the most dominant, as 49% of all online dollars are allocated to search advertising.

In a separate report, released this week by PricewaterhouseCoopers, researchers predict global ad revenue will climb to $498 billion in 2014, a five-year increase of nearly $100 billion. By 2014, the report predicts, only television will draw more ad dollars than the Internet.

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 explain why a new heavy metal is in the crosshairs of government and product safety watchdogs and we discuss why online advertising is a growing focus for marketers. Plus, why are distributors so bullish about 2010 – and which geographic markets are the most optimistic? Watch this State of the Industry sneak preview to find out.

Click here to see the trends and to watch Counselor PromoGram’s Industry Update.

Vacations On Summer To-Do Lists
Vacations are making a comeback. According to a recent report in The Washington Post, many small business owners who had taken on a greater amount of work over the past two years are finding enough breathing room these days to take some time off. And a new survey from American Express OPEN found that 67% of business owners said they plan to take a vacation of at least three days this summer, an increase from 42% last year. Distributors expressed this sentiment as well. Through a combination of an improving business environment, and changes some have made in how they run their company, it is possible for them to bring back breaks.

For Leta Roberts, president of Sales & Marketing Strategies (asi/317105), vacations were one of the first things to go when the economy began to struggle in 2008. "I doubled my workload," she says. "I bore down at this time to be able to come back strong and take up things that I thought might offer new opportunities." Now, though, Roberts says she’ll definitely be planning a vacation this year.

Congress To Investigate Cadmium
In the wake of McDonald’s recent recall of 12 million "Shrek" promotional glasses, Congressional leaders have announced they will be launching an investigation into the effects of cadmium. The heavy metal, a known carcinogen if absorbed in high doses, was found in the enamel on the outside of the glasses, which were sold in McDonald’s stores beginning on May 21, prompting a federal review of cadmium guidelines. "In the last 60 days both Minnesota and Connecticut have regulated cadmium," said D. E. Fenton, executive director of the Quality Certification Alliance, an industry safety accrediting organization. "That’s a clear indication of where this is going."

In a letter sent to executives at McDonald’s, ranking members of Congressional oversight committees have requested the company provide documentation related to testing, lists of manufacturing and distribution companies and steps it plans to take to ensure supply chain safety. The manufacturer of the promotional glasses, a non-ASI-listed French company called Arc International, has been supplying products to McDonald’s for the last 15 years. The company has maintained that the glasses, which were produced at Arc’s Millville, NJ, facility, are safe and were properly tested. In a statement defending its procedures, Arc executives wrote: "McDonald's has confirmed that these products had been evaluated by an independent third-party laboratory, accredited by the CPSC and determined to be in compliance with all applicable federal and state requirements."  

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), which has repeatedly warned manufacturers about the use of heavy metals, has not released the specific results of testing that led to the recall of the glasses. Currently, CPSC limits cadmium in children's products to 75 parts per million, but the regulating agency has strongly hinted that stricter and more encompassing guidelines are likely to come in the near future.

Podcast: How To Open Prospect Doors
On Tuesday’s ASI Internet Radio Show, the hosts took questions from callers looking for advice on how they can get a foot in the door with new customers. Wondering how to get in to speak to your best prospects? Listen now to this clip from the show. 

Click here to listen to the selling advice segment from Tuesday’s show.

If you’d like to check out a recording of the whole online radio show, go to www.asicentral.com/radio. And, don’t forget to join us next Tuesday, June 22, for our next broadcast. Log on to www.asicentral.com/radio at 10:30 am eastern time and give us a call at 215-953-4979 or e-mail us at radio@asicentral.com to participate on the show. We want to hear from you.

ASICentral: Top 100 Markets For Ad Specialty Sales
A recent exclusive Counselor study unveiled the best cities for ad specialty distributors to do business in right now. For the interactive online version, we decided to extend the list to the largest 100 markets and give them not only a rank, but a grade too.

Want to know where the best – and worst – cities are for ad specialty sales? Click here.

Got questions, comments or any type of feedback regarding anything ASICentral, don't hesitate to contact us at feedback@asicentral.com. Also, follow ASICentral at: .

ASI Online Learning Center  

Did you know you can take self-paced, on-demand courses at ASI Education's Online Learning Center? This is the newest and most convenient way for distributors, decorators and suppliers to get educated. In our newest course for distributors, "Cold-Calling Clinic: Get More Appointments Now," we'll teach you how to use cold calling as an important tool that can take your selling skills to the next level, including five ways to reduce rejection and key tips for connecting with your prospect. Click here to take the course.

Coming next month: Break Into Five Hot Apparel Markets

In the News
Gifted Expressions (asi/56777) added the following representatives to cover their line of food and spa products: Cochran and Company represented by Charlie Cochran (Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia); Marc Sabin and Assoc. represented by Marc Sabin and Heidi Forsythe (Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming), Team Donlin represented by Steve Donlin and Cris Bumby (Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin) and TR Spoltman represented by Tom Spoltman and Doug Yount (Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, West Virginia).

Prime Line (asi/79530) announced that it is now offering live product updates on ESP Online and ESP Web.

SanMar (asi/84863) announced that it will debut its 2011 Apparel, Bags & Caps catalog in early August.

Thermographics (asi/91100) announced the release of the First Household Battery Tester that measures battery performance and displays the information on one plastic strip.

People on the Move
Ash City USA (asi/37127) hired Cathy Hicks as an independent sales representatives for its Florida and Puerto Rico territory.

World Emblem’s (asi/98264) Eurpoean partner J&A International Inc. has named Martin Kemp to be the new president of Imatel, its French distributor division.

Sweda Company (asi/90305) hired Judy Warren as an independent regional sales representative for North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia.