Counselor® PromoGram®
Volume 871 / November 29, 2011
Click here to read this and past issues online.


ADG
Acquires The Deerfield Collection
Counselor Top 40 supplier ADG Promotional Products (asi/97270) has acquired the Deerfield Collection (asi/48965), the companies have announced. Financial terms of the deal, which will go into effect on January 1, 2012, were not disclosed. "This is a good fit for us and an opportunity to add some brand recognition to our already good line of products," said Bill Mahre, president of ADG, in an interview yesterday with Counselor. "There's no duplication of products and we'll be able to do some cross promotion."

Per the terms of the transaction, ADG will market, sell and provide customer service for Deerfield items, essentially making the deal a brand acquisition. All Deerfield products, including wall calendars and greeting cards, will continue to be manufactured by Thayer Publishing in Mankato, MN. ADG will feature Deerfield products in its 2012 catalogs, which are scheduled to ship during the final weeks of December. "We'll be doing some marketing and you'll see us with the Deerfield products at tradeshows next year and on our website," said Mahre. "We see substantial upside and potential in this deal."

While not commenting on specifics, Mahre said ADG increased its sales this year. "We're on track to hit our budgets for revenues and profitability in 2011," he said. "We had a solid year." The company, known for providing Saratoga pens and Windmill planners, employs 240 people during peak periods of manufacturing. Counselor estimates ADG's 2010 North American ad specialty sales were $46.6 million, ranking it as the 30th largest supplier in the industry.

ASI NEWS
Wellness Market Is Healthy
Incentives used in wellness programs are key to encouraging employee participation and saving companies money on health care costs, which makes this a growing market to explore.
Find out more.

Power Summit Recap
Check out two more videos from the 2011 ASI Power Summit, which include tips on boosting your business.
Find out more.

ASI welcomes the following Suppliers to the LogoMall Network.
Find out more.
Find, review, and purchase the latest exclusive ASI products...
Find out more.

Kaeser & Blair Adds The Singleton Company
As first reported in a Breaking News Alert last week, Counselor Top 40 distributor Kaeser & Blair (asi/238600) announced that Los Angeles, CA-based The Singleton Company (asi/328000) has associated with it. While no financial information was revealed, all 17 of The Singleton Company's sales reps will be joining the Kaeser organization as part of the deal and Kaeser will be opening an office in California.

The Singleton Company is a third-generation family business now headed by Todd Singleton. "I spent months researching the best possible fit for my reps and found Kaeser & Blair provided the fit I needed," said Todd Singleton in a statement. "I am pleased and excited with the opportunities this partnership offers me and my sales group."

For Kaeser & Blair, this gives the Batavia, OH-based distributorship a presence in California that it didn't previously have. "We are very happy to welcome Todd and his whole team to K&B," said Kurt Kaeser, CEO of Kaeser & Blair. "Having the talented sales professionals of The Singleton Company join the K&B Dealer Group is an exciting event for both companies."

Kaeser & Blair ranks as the 17th-largest distributor in the industry, with $79.2 million in 2010 North American ad specialty revenues. The company received Counselor's Distributor Family Business of the Year award earlier this year. The Singleton Company, which reports annual sales of about $7 million, received the same honor in 2006.



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Strong Start For Holiday Sales
Retailers were smiling after shoppers flocked to stores and e-commerce websites over the weekend to power a record-breaking start to the holiday shopping season. ShopperTrak, a retail research and consulting firm, reported that Black Friday sales increased 6.6% over last year. Meanwhile, the National Retail Federation said sales for the four days starting with Thanksgiving shot up 16.4% from 2010's totals. Additionally, consumers spent an average of $398.62 on Black Friday weekend, up 9.1% from last year.

In a further indication that commerce is increasingly occurring online, Internet spending on Black Friday soared 26% over the previous year. ChannelAdvisor, which assists retailers in selling online, reported that sales from Amazon.com's third-party marketplace rose 50% on Black Friday.

The Wall Street Journal said the overall upsurge in sales was driven by a mix of discounts, early openings and website investment. "In general, the weekend numbers raised that retailers will be able to overcome the drag of high unemployment and the sluggish economy to surpass what had been expectations for a mediocre Christmas," the Dow Jones paper reported.



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The Joe Show: Wealth Of Hot Products
In this episode of The Joe Show, Managing Editor Joe Haley shows off some new products ideal for a variety of upcoming promotions. Want a product idea perfect for both the winter season and the expansion of mobile media? Need something to suggest to clients as a last-minute holiday gift promotion? Check out the video.    

Click here to watch this new-products episode of The Joe Show.

Want more videos? Subscribe now to our YouTube videos.



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Study: Marketers Increase Spending In Third Quarter
While a majority of marketers increased spending and expanded customer acquisition efforts in the third quarter, about 15% admit to cutting spending in the period. That's the key finding of the Direct Marketing Association's "Quarterly Business Review" of the American marketing landscape, which was released last week. "As much as we want to put the economic problems of the past couple years behind us, we're not yet in a strong recovery," says Yory Wurmser, DMA's director of marketing and media insights. "With the troubles in Europe getting deeper by the week, we expect to see marketers face continued obstacles to growth in the coming months."

Nonetheless, there are bright spots. Marketers reported net gains for key indicators like sales, revenue spending on direct and digital market efforts, profitability and staffing. Plus, customer acquisition efforts accounted for 59% of marketing budgets, the highest proportion over the past year, indicating that marketers are optimistic. Consider, too, that total direct/digital marketing spending grew or remained constant for nearly 90% of respondents compared to spending last quarter. Compared to the third quarter 2010, spending was flat or up for 82.2% of marketers.

Still, 14.7% of marketers indicated that they slashed spending in the third quarter; only 7% did so in the second quarter. Additionally, 14.7% of marketers reported that they would slash spending in the fourth quarter. Despite that pronounced increase in the percentage of marketers who expect spending will decline next quarter, a much greater proportion — 44% — anticipate their spending will grow during Q4.

DMA's quarterly study also found that digital channels delivered the highest return on investment of all direct and digital marketing channels, with search, social and mobile tallying the most substantial reported ROI improvements since last quarter (Q2 2011). Accordingly, marketers say they plan to increase spending on these channels most (as well as e-mail and place-based media) over the next 12 months.



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ASI Radio: Creating a 2012 Business Plan
On this morning's Tuesday Morning Show, the hosts took questions from callers looking for advice for how they should prepare for 2012 and plan out their strategies for the new year. Plus, we shared our Favorite Things, provided the top advertising trends for 2012, and debated the factors that keep too many people from business success.    

If you missed the show, a recording is now available at www.asicentral.com/radio. And, don't forget to join us for our next broadcast – Tuesday, December 6. Log on at 10:30 a.m. ET to listen to the show – and give us a call at (215) 953-4979 to hear your voice on the air.



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Podcast: Impact Of Federal Promo Cuts
On a recent ASI Internet Radio Show, the hosts took questions from callers who weighed in on President Obama's recent inclusion of promotional products among areas that he mandated be cut by a total of 20% from federal agency budgets. In this podcast, listen to how the impact of the mandate could be less than originally thought, and hear the hosts' viewpoints that the news is actually a good opportunity for distributors to talk to clients about the positive impact and ROI of promotional products.

Click here to listen to the call-in segment from last week's show.



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Calling All Superstars!
Advantages is looking for its next Sales Rep of the Year and Sales Support Person of the Year to be spotlighted in the January 2012 issue of the magazine. Nominate yourself or someone else who has come up with an incredibly creative campaign; blown the sales quota out of the water; gone above and beyond for a client or a sales rep or stood out in some other way.

Send a 150-word-or-less e-mail explaining your nomination ASAP to Editor Kathy Huston: khuston@asicentral.com. Winners receive cold-hard cash ($500!) and cold-hard bragging rights.



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In The News
EMT (asi/52263) has announced the release of its laser engraved Crystal Captures blocks as part of their EMT Plus product category.

Nationwide Promotions (asi/73464) announced that it has launched a new corkscrew with safety tube that comes in six colors.

Proforma (asi/300094) was recently named the number-two Top Distributor in Print Professional magazine's annual listing of the Top 100 Distributors.

Quality Logo Products (asi/302967) has partnered with TAILS Humane Society, based in DeKalb, IL, on a new promotion: QLP will donate 100% of net proceeds to TAILS from the sales of its Puppies & Kittens Calendar, and will also donate $1 for every other completed calendar order they receive through the end of 2011.

R.S. Owens (asi/75530) has announced that Modesto Duarte has been named the R.S. Owens Employee of the Quarter.

Shumsky (asi/326300) has announced that Boost Rewards, a women-owned division of the company, was named Minority Business of the Year by the Dayton Business Journal based in Ohio.



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People On The Move
Captain Foods Inc. (asi/43805) has announced that Tammy Bowen is moving to the company's Private Label Restaurant Division. Douglas Feindt, president, will be taking over the company's promotional division.

HALO Branded Solutions (asi/356000) has announced that Tomas Cohan has been named regional vice president of sales for the company's newly formed Mountain States Region.

Polyconcept North America has announced the hiring of three new employees: Alina Rubinshteyn has been hired as a field sales manager to serve distributors in Nebraska, Kansas, Missouri, Southern Illinois and Western Tennessee. Christian Brandt has also been named a field sales manager, for Northern New Jersey and the New York Metropolitan area, while Jen Carver has been named a field sales manager for the Eastern Ontario, Canada area.



ASI SHOW

COMING IN 2012 – FOUR ASI VIRTUAL TRADE SHOWS
Save the date!  The 2012 ASI Virtual Trade Shows are taking place February 15, April 18, June 13 and September 12. Registration will be open soon. Mark your calendar. There is no better way to stay on the cutting edge than by attending an ASI Virtual Trade Show right from your desk!

You’ll enjoy all this and more:

  • Top suppliers: Peruse the booths of leading suppliers for catalogs and samples
  • New products: Chat online with suppliers about their newest items
  • ASI Education: Earn credit toward your ASI Certification
  • Networking: Stop in the Lounge and connect with other sales professionals

Visit www.asivirtualtradeshow.com for more information. All distributors can attend the ASI Virtual Trade Show for FREE. Trade Show hours are from 10 a.m.-3 p.m.

Follow The ASI Show on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook today!

The following are the dates and locations for The ASI Show in 2012:
Orlando, January 16-18, 2012
Dallas, February 1-3, 2012
San Diego, April 2-4, 2012
New York, May 8-10, 2012
Chicago, July 17-19, 2012

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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