Testimonials

"I received over $1.8 million worth of new business from speaking and networking at the ASI Power Summit. This is business I would not have had if I did not attend.

I want to commend ASI for a job well done. The ASI Power Summit was the most impressive and rewarding networking and educational summit I have ever experienced. A large number of top suppliers and distributors played an active role, and I enjoyed networking and getting to know these influential colleagues much better." Read More

Bonni Shevin-Sandy
President of Dard Design and Executive Vice President,
Tagmaster/Dard Products, Inc. (asi/48500)

Pady Regnier, St. Croix Promotions & Retail (asi/316309)

Everyday I can take 10 – 15 things home with me to make them actionable in my organization.

Gary Schultz, Edwards Garment Co. (asi/51752)

The biggest thing I have gotten out of it is just listening to other people who are wrestling with some of the same issues and concerns that I am and getting some of those different perspectives.

Marc Simon, Halo/Lee Wayne (asi/356000)

The best benefit was all the people and the ability to network with everybody here.

Jeff Lederer, Prime Line (asi/79530)

The number one thing I learned and benefit at the Power Summit was meeting and working with the different suppliers and distributors and networking with everyone.

Marc Richman, Imagemark (asi/320137)

I had a great opportunity to meet with key suppliers and network with them, setting up good, strategic relations going forward.

About The Power Summit

The Power Summit is the premier event dedicated to bringing together the industry’s most knowledgeable, most influential and most thoughtful people to delve into many important topics, issues, and trends that are impacting the advertising specialty marketplace. The event is open to all ASI members.

This year, we’ll be discussing new opportunities, learning what successful companies are doing right and talking about how to better market ourselves.

Here are some highlights:

New Line Cinema marketing genius Gordon Paddison, who made Sex and the City and Lord of the Rings household names, will be our guest speaker on November 1.
Counselor Power 50 members will talk about tackling issues affecting all of us.
Executives on Counselor magazine’s “Best Places to Work” list will reveal HR secrets.
Sessions will be hosted on the green movement and what’s ahead for 2010.
A new “speed dating” event will be held to let you meet as many industry leaders as possible.

ASI Power Summit registration fees include:

Meeting discussions, presentations, events and panels held November 1 – 3.
Welcome reception and dinner on Sunday, November 1.
Breakfast, lunch and dinner on Monday, November 2.
Breakfast on Tuesday, November 3.

CEUs

Attendees will receive .95 CEUs for attending all three days of the ASI Power Summit.

Sunday, November 1	.15 CEU
Monday, November 2	.40 CEU
Tuesday, November 3	.40 CEU
Total	.95 CEU

Your ASI Education Certificates may be submitted to any other organization as proof of your participation in IACET (International Association on Continuing Education and Training) approved programs.

Watch a brief video on the LA Costa Resort and Spa.

Register now for the ASI Power Summit 2009!

Hotel/Travel

Panelists

Lon McGowan, iClick

Lon McGowan is the CEO of iClick, the industry’s leading supplier of USB flash drives. iClick, based in Seattle, was recognized by ASI’s Counselor magazine as the number one Best Place To Work in the ad specialty industry. The company employs over forty Clickers (employees) and has been in the industry since 2002.

Jay Deutsch, BDA

Jay Deutsch is the CEO of Bensussen Deutsch & Associates, Inc. (BDA), a company he co-founded 25 years ago with his best friend, Eric Bensussen. Since their first job order with the Seattle Seahawks, it has been Jay’s and Eric’s mission to help companies and sports leagues successfully engage consumers and fans through the medium of branded merchandise. BDA’s client list now includes many companies in the Fortune 500, as well as Major League Baseball and American Idol, to name just two. In the years since starting BDA, Jay has become an active member of the Young President’s Organization and was recognized in 2004 with the prestigious Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award. Jay has pioneered the concept of Merchandise Agency, making BDA a global organization dedicated to bringing together world-class creativity, brand expertise, supply chain logistic and fanatical commitment to client services all under one roof.

Tina Montgomery, L. W. Barrett Co. Inc.

Tina Montgomery is co-owner and president/CEO of distributor L. W. Barrett Co. Inc. She currently serves as treasurer on the RMRPPA Board. Tina has been in the promotional products industry since 1978, and in 2008, her Denver, CO, company was named as one of Counselor magazine’s 50 Best Places To Work in the promotional products industry.

Eric Johnson, Halls & Company

Eric Johnson, MAS, is vice president of sales and development at Halls & Company, where he has spent over 15 years growing the company into the largest supplier of name badges and other promotional items. Johnson is equally involved in the industry and in his local community in Minnesota. His involvement with the UMAPP Association on the local level lead him to heading the organization as its president. He has served on his city’s Planning Commission for four years, and in 2006 was elected to serve on City Council for a four-year term.

Robert L. Hechler, Windbrella Products

Robert L. Hechler is the president of Windbrella Products (asi/97247). For over 30 years Hechler served in various positions in the consumer paint industry throughout the U.S., Europe and Australia. Following the sale of his most recent company, he elected to enter the promotional products marketplace just over four years ago. His marketing and management skills are helping to position Windbrella as the premier umbrella supplier to the promotional products industry. He serves on the ASI Show Advisory Board, the ASI Education Advisory Board and is the vice president of the Gold Coast Promotional Products Association Board. .

Todd Singleton, The Singleton Company

Todd Singleton is the president and CEO of The Singleton Company (asi/328000), a Los Angeles-based distributor company founded in 1926, which is recognized as one of the largest privately held companies in the promotional products industry. He is the winner of two ASI Spirit Awards: 2007 Family Business of the Year and 2008 Best Distributor Self-Promotion (the recent mailing achieved a 42% response rate in 24 hours). Todd is also the published author of numerous articles including "Best Practices in Promotio" and "Future Trends in Marketing."

Eric Levin, Jetline

Eric Levin is the founder, president and CEO of Jetline (asi/63344). He has been in the industry for over 17 years, starting his career at his father’s company, Lebro Line, in 1992. In 1998, he started Jetline, out of his Manhattan apartment, as an industry supplier primarily focused on toys and novelties. Jetline rapidly established itself as an aggressive player in the industry and has enjoyed double-digit growth every year since its inception. Jetline’s estimated 2009 sales are $23 million.

Rob Watson, MediaTree

Rob Watson is an 11-year marketing communications veteran and the president of MediaTree (asi/70303) – a leading digital promotions agency for the industry. Before joining MediaTree, Rob worked with a nationally-recognized advertising agency and produced branding and advertising campaigns for companies like the Miss America Organization, GEICO and Royal Caribbean International. MediaTree has been a nationally recognized ASI 5-Star Industry Supplier for four consecutive years, receiving the ASI Spirit Award for Fastest Growing Supplier in both 2006 and 2008. MediaTree’s products have been winners of Counselor’s Best Product Design honor, and the company has captured numerous awards for its digital advertising content on ESP Online.

Memo Kahan, PromoShop

Memo Kahan is the founder, president and CEO of PromoShop. He started PromoShop in 1998 and focused on developing a team able to grow the business into one of the premier promotional agencies in the U.S. Since then, PromoShop has been recognized repeatedly as a Counselor Top 10 Fastest-Growing Distributor, and Memo was honored as Counselor’s Entrepreneur of the Year in 2006. In 2007 he was named one of the Counselor Power 50. PromoShop, which is 100% minority owned and certified with the National Supplier Diversity Business council, has received recognition for its business practices from Diversity Business and Hispanic Business magazines and the Los Angeles Business Journal.

Jim Hagan , Sweda Company, LLC

Jim Hagan is the president and CEO of Sweda Company, LLC, a Counselor Top 40 supplier. Jim joined Sweda in 2001, holding a variety of positions, including vice president of sales, before being promoted to his current position in January, 2007. Jim's leadership abilities and creative management skills were the subject of a recent Counselor profile entitled "The Fall & Rise of Sweda," which detailed how, under his guidance, the company rebounded after some technical difficulties in 2007.

Marty Lott, SanMar Corporation

Marty Lott is the president of SanMar Corporation. An award-winning imprinted apparel supplier, SanMar offers 17 retail and private label brands from six national locations. This year, after completing construction on two warehouses in Jacksonville, FL, and Dallas, TX, SanMar offers more on-hand inventory than any other wearables supplier with over 3 million square feet of space. Most recently, SanMar received four 2009 Counselor Distributor Choice Awards, and Marty was ranked number one in Counselor’s 2008 Power 50.

Chris Mycek, imc²

Chris Mycek is senior vice president/managing director of imc2, a leading brand engagement agency. Chris has been a marketer for almost two decades, with a blend of both client and agency experience. He began his career at Johnson & Johnson, and spent over 10 years in various sales and marketing management positions on prescription, OTC, and CPG brands. His passion for emerging channels, media and technology has continually pushed him to new frontiers of marketing. Chris joined imc² in 2007 as vice president, health and wellness, and has since become managing director of the agency's Philadelphia and New York City offices, building client relationships and providing targeted leadership. He also serves on imc2’s Senior Leadership Team, which is responsible for corporate strategy and governance.

Vera Muzzillo, Proforma

Vera Muzzillo is the co-CEO of Proforma. She joined the company in 2001 and is focused on maximizing strategic development opportunities and providing comprehensive oversight to the banking, cash management, credit, financial, operations and technology aspects of the company. Previously with Comerica Bank and as an independent business consultant, Vera brings over 15 years of commercial and investment banking experience, as well as business consulting, lending and credit expertise, to Proforma.

Michael Freter, PSI

Michael Freter is the director of PSI, a subsidiary of Reed Exhibitions. The PSI Düsseldorf Show – held every January – is the world’s largest ad specialty trade show. With Michael at the helm of this year's PSI Show, it had its second-highest number of attendees and a 5% increase in exhibitors. Prior to this recent appointment, he was managing director for marketing and sales with LexisNexis Germany.

Mel Ellis, HumphreyLine Inc.

Mel Ellis has been the president and owner of HumphreyLine Inc. for more than 17 years. All HumphreyLine products are compliant with Prop 65 and CPSIA, as well as relevant FDA regulations. In addition, the company has shipped over 99% of its orders complete and on time for the past 15 years in a row. Mel has an MBA from Harvard Business School, and prior to founding HumphreyLine he spent 15 years in the financial industry; his most recent position was founder and director of Salomon Brothers Venture Capital.

Fred Albrecht, Proforma Albrecht & Co.

Fred Albrecht is the founder and co-owner of Proforma Albrecht & Co., a multi-million dollar distributorship. Fred has more than 30 years of industry experience mentoring sales representatives and employees. Proforma Albrecht & Co. was named the number one distributor in Counselor’s "Best Places to Work" competition in 2008. Routinely ranked in the top 75 distributors in the industry, Proforma Albrecht & Co. is largest distributor of the Proforma Family. Proforma is consistently ranked in the top three businesses in the industry.

Ross Siverstein, iPROMOTEu

Ross Silverstein is the founder, president and CEO of iPROMOTEu, a Counselor Top 40 distributor and "Best Place to Work" in the industry. A member of Counselor's Power 50, Ross was also honored as Counselor’s Distributor Entrepreneur of the Year in 2005, and iPROMOTEu has been named as a Counselor Top 10 Fastest-Growing Distributor for the past two years.

Randy Chen, Impex International

Randy Chen has been the president of Impex International for 13 years; Impex provides services to over 50 industry suppliers and has offices in the U.S., China and Taiwan. Randy has 17 years of experience in the international promotional products industry.

Mark Ziskind, Legacy Buying Group

Mark Ziskind is the COO of CSE, a Counselor Top 40 Distributor and founding member of the Legacy Buying Group. Since joining CSE in 1998, Mark has focused on building an infrastructure, supplier network and culture aimed at generating “customer enthusiasm.” He has helped CSE evolve into an industry-leading distributor, offering an integrated solution that includes promotional merchandise, uniforms, name badges, kitting/fulfillment and lithograph printing. Prior to CSE, Mark was a marketing director at the Miller Brewing Company.

Jo-An Lantz, Geiger

Jo-An Lantz is the executive vice president and a member of the Board of Directors for Geiger. She has been honored as the 2004 Counselor International Person of the Year and as number three on the 2006 Counselor Power 50 list. Jo-An represents Geiger as the sole U.S. member of the international group WAGE (World Advertising Gift Exchange), a 50-year-old organization with 26 members from 25 different countries. She also serves on the WAGE Presidium as vice president.

David Nicholson, Polyconcept North America

David joined Leed's in 1993 as manager of the company's overseas operations. He became president in 2003, taking on responsibility for all aspects of the company's sales and operating departments. He was recently named the president of Counselor Top 40 supplier Polyconcept North America, the parent company of Leed's, Bullet Line and JournalBooks.

Roger Farmer, Professor and Chair of the Economics Department at UCLA

Roger is a professor and the chair of the Economics Department at UCLA. He has previously held positions at the University of Pennsylvania, the European University Institute and the University of Toronto. He is a specialist on macroeconomic theory and the author of six books and numerous scholarly articles. He is internationally known for his book Macroeconomics of Self-Fulfilling Prophecies, which explains how changes in market psychology can cause depressions. His latest two books on the current economic crisis, forthcoming with Oxford University Press, are the culmination of 25 years of research on the role of self-fulfilling prophecies in macroeconomics.

Derek Block, Touchstone

Derek Block is the founder, president and CEO of Touchstone. He started the distributorship in 1995 under the name The Aztec Group. Touchstone is extremely focused on its five-year plan for growth, and was named the 2009 ASI Spirit Awards Fastest-Growing Distributor. In 2008 Derek was honored as one of Cincinnati’s Top 40 Under 40 business leaders.

Gary Schlatter, OraLabs

Gary Schlatter is the founder, president and CEO of OraLabs, Inc. Founded in 1990, the company has achieved tremendous growth through internal product development, licensing and acquisition. OraLabs began as a consumer products company, selling its products to mass retail customers including convenience, drug and food stores. Since a substantial portion of OraLabs business was in private label brands, transitioning into the promotional business was a natural for the company. OraLabs’ business philosophy is to provide superior-quality products at value price points while always listening to customers.

Marc Simon, HALO/Lee Wayne

Marc Simon is the CEO and a director of HALO/Lee Wayne. Under Marc’s leadership, HALO/Lee Wayne has grown significantly, with ten acquisitions and more than 100 new recruits. He views his mission as helping industry salespeople grow their businesses and meet the challenges of a changing economic environment. Prior to joining HALO/Lee Wayne, Marc spent 22 years in private law practice with a focus on business planning and mergers and acquisitions. He was honored in 2006 as the Counselor Person of the Year.

Gordon Paddison, Founder and Principal of Stradella Road

As founder and principal of Stradella Road, Paddison leverages his experience marketing more than two hundred movie titles, including The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, the Austin Powers franchise, Wedding Crashers and Sex and the City. Awarded Variety’s “Integrated Marketer of the Year Award,” as head of New Media and Integrated Marketing across New Line Cinema’s six business divisions, Paddison has served on the Time Warner Research Council, as a member of the Board of Governors at the PGA New Media Council and the interactive peer group of The American Television Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Agenda

Sunday, November 1

1 p.m.
Registration

3 p.m.
Group Photo
Please be prompt for this commemorative photo which will appear in Counselor magazine.

4:30 p.m.-6:00 p.m.
Speed Dating/Cocktails/Networking
Meet dozens of new contacts and toast to new friendships during this interactive session.

6:00 p.m.
Dinner/Keynote Presentation—Digital Marketing Secrets from the Silver Screen
Marketers across all industries are asking themselves the same question, “How can I capitalize on social media and actually integrate digital touch-points into my work?” Gordon Paddison, marketing expert behind such successes as Sex and the City and Lord of the Rings is here to show you how it’s done. This will be an engaging, relevant and unpredictable keynote setting you up to tackle digital media.
Key insights will include:

The process to integrate digital touchpoints into promotional offerings
Examples of successful promotional social networking execution with a checklist of to-dos
Explanation of the concept behind viral (content that gets ‘passed-along’)
Key digital opportunities to think about for promotional concept offerings

BIO
As founder and principal of Stradella Road, Paddison leverages his experience marketing more than two hundred movie titles, including The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, the Austin Powers franchise, Wedding Crashers and Sex and the City. Awarded Variety’s “Integrated Marketer of the Year Award,” as head of New Media and Integrated Marketing across New Line Cinema’s six business divisions, Paddison has served on the Time Warner Research Council, as a member of the Board of Governors at the PGA New Media Council and the interactive peer group of The American Television Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Monday, November 2

7:45 a.m.- 12:30 p.m.

Economic Forecast: The Changing Business Landscape
Bring your toughest business questions to this dynamic opening session in which ASI President and CEO Tim Andrews interviews Roger Farmer, UCLA economics department chair about the state of the economy--and what business leaders can expect in the coming months.

“What I’m Doing Right”
Yes, the industry was negatively impacted by the economy in 2009, but some companies bucked the trend and found ways to grow. In this session, you'll meet the heads of these companies and find out how they did it. We'll explore their sales, marketing, customer service and operations strategies that lead them to beat the market in 2009. We'll also find out what they're doing to prepare their businesses for 2010 and how they plan to build on their success next year.

Point/Counterpoint: “Made in the U.S. vs. Globally Sourced?”
While it's a noble sentiment to support domestically-produced ad specialties, most items can be bought cheaper in Asia. Do clients really care if the items they're buying are “Made in the USA”?

2010 Business Planning Session
In this breakout session, distributors and suppliers will work with peers from like-sized companies to gauge the outlook for their businesses in 2010.

Distributor/Supplier Roundtable: New Challenges and Opportunities
Industry leaders faced some formidable challenges this year. The panel will address some of the most pressing concerns,including new legal issues, escalating product safety concerns and new ways distributors and suppliers can work together.

Afternoon Activities
Enjoy the remainder of the day with the following activities:

12:15 p.m.
Golf outing, including lunch

12:15 p.m.-1:30 p.m.
Lunch for non-golfers

2:00 p.m.
Tennis, The Spa at La Costa (discount available), or Dr. Deepak Chopra Center for Well-Being at La Costa (discount available)

6:30 p.m.
Cocktails

7:30 p.m.
Dinner

Tuesday, November 3

7:45 a.m.- 12:30 p.m.
Marketing That Works: Case Studies in Action
How can an industry supplier or distributor still attract buzz with a slimmer budget? How can marketers leverage new media tactics to get some real ROI? What’s the best way to allocate marketing dollars to receive the most bang for your buck? Our panel of expert marketers will debate these topics and more, and provide case studies of recent efforts which elicited off-the-charts response rates.

Best Places to Work: Secrets from Counselor Magazine's Elite List
Repeated studies show that employees who are well cared for by their employers perform better, show more initiative and loyalty to the company and work harder to make the business a successful one. Learn from those at the helm of this year's Counselor “Best Places to Work” companies about the ways they motivate and show appreciation for their employees, and how those strategies have a direct effect on their bottom line.

Legislative Update
In this highly informative session, attorney George Delta, executive director of The Incentive Federation, will give an update on current and pending legislation that will impact the industry, including the Physician Payments Sunshine Act, the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act and other legislation on both the state and federal levels.

Distributor Top Challenges Solved
Enjoy light refreshments and networking before diving in to solve the industry’s biggest challenges. In this breakout session, distributors and suppliers will work together to brainstorm ideas for business-building strategies as we head toward 2010.

Follow the Leader: Meet the Counselor Power 50
Join members of the Counselor Power 50 as they discuss what challenges and opportunities lie ahead for industry members – and provide a solid game plan for doing business in 2010 and beyond.

Closing Notes