FAQs
ESP Updates
Awards
How do i edit pricing on ESP?
From the ESP® Updates homepage, choose the product you would like to edit, click on “Edit” and choose the “Pricing” tab to change your pricing. The Promotional Product Industry works on a system of coded pricing. There are few things you should know before calculating your price:
- List Price (MSRP): What a consumer would pay for your product
- Net Cost: What a distributor will pay you to purchase the product. This is the amount you will be collecting and it should be enough to cover your cost, plus any you expect to make a profit.
- Discount Code: A letter of the alphabet that corresponds to a specific amount. There are two standard industry discount systems:
- “A” through “X”
50% 45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 0%
A B C D E F G H I X - “P” through “Z”
50% 45% 40% 35% 30% 25% 20% 15% 10% 0%
P Q R S T U V W X Z
- “A” through “X”
How do i have my product come up at the top of search results in esp?
Three words: Pay for Placement! Pay for Placement is a unique marketing opportunity created exclusively for suppliers to target distributors while they search in ESP®. It gets your product there first and it gets you in front of distributors fast. PFP is easy to use and requires no design work:
- Secure one of only nine top spots in a product category.
- Reach an audience that is shopping specifically for your products.
- Target distributors by specific country, state or zip code.
- Buy it on a set CPM with no bidding.
how do i update my products in esp?
Logging in and updating your products in ESP® is easy as 1-2-3!
- Visit connect.asicentral.com
- Enter your asi/, username & password. Remember to click “Update Your Products” before hitting “Login”
- Review your products for final approval.
what does it mean to confirm a product?
Confirming a product means that you will honor all the data about that product through a certain month of a certain year. For example, if a product is confirmed through December of 2019, it means that you, as the supplier, will honor all the data through December 31st of 2019. To confirm a product:
- Locate the item
- Click on Edit button
- Click on the "Pricing tab". Check the "Prices Confirmed through" option and adjust the date using the calendar icon.
- Click on the "Save" button and then click on "Make Active" to make your changes.
Supplier Ratings
what Asi award OPPORTUNITIES are there for my brand?
We have many awards that are presented at our sponsored events as well as published in our magazines:
- Counselor Awards Banquet: Distributors and Suppliers gather every year at ASI Show® Chicago to honor the industry’s brightest leaders, innovators, influencers and change agents. The winners are also featured online and in an issue of Counselor magazine.
- Counselor Distributor Choice Awards: Ad-specialty industry distributors vote and the best suppliers in over fifty categories are honored at ASI Show Orlando as well as online and in Counselor’s February issue.
- Counselor Power 50: Counselor’s Power 50 Issue features the industry’s 50 most powerful distributor and supplier executives. This list is revealed at the ASI Power Summit and is also featured on Counselor’s website.
- Counselor’s Awards Issue: Features winners in Product Design, Fastest-Growing Distributor, Fastest-Growing Supplier and Fastest Growing Companies.
What are the distributor choice awards? how do i win?
The Distributor Choice Awards is an annual event at the ASI Show® Orlando. Distributors vote for the 58 top suppliers that consistently deliver in a timely manner, communicate effectively and understand the importance of end-buyer satisfaction.
- Suppliers are chosen as finalists for the product category awards based on their ratings in ESP®. To qualify for the 2020 awards, suppliers had to: have a rating of at least 4 stars overall in ESP, be one of the most-clicked companies in that category (meaning distributors clicked on their products in ESP), and have at least 20 distributors rating them in ESP. They can be chosen in up to eight of their top product categories (in terms of how many clicks their products receive in ESP).
- These finalists are then placed on an online ballot and distributors were invited to vote for top suppliers in each of the 58 different categories.
- The Supplier of the Year winner is chosen from among the finalists and is based on ratings in the various categories that are examined, including: Overall Rating, Customer Service Rating, Problem Resolution Rating and others.
when are the winners of the distributor choice awards posted?
After the awards are announced during a black-tie event at ASI Show® Orlando, the winners are listed at asicentral.com as well as in Counselor’s February issue.
I RECEIVED an award from the distributor choice awards. how do i share this?
Research
I have 5 stars, how can i promote this?
Congratulations! Download the 5-star logo here to add to your email signature, invoices, website, email marketing, social media accounts, blogs and press releases
what are asi ratings and what do i need to know?
The ASI® Supplier Performance Ratings allow distributors to share among the entire distributor network their opinions and comments about purchase transactions with suppliers. Distributors use a one-to-five scale to rate suppliers in six areas: Overall Satisfaction, Product Quality, Communication, Delivery, Imprinting/Personalization and Problem Resolution. Remember, better ratings = better sales! Download and share the Supplier Performance Rating PDF to your:
- Customer communications
- Company website
- Customer invoices
- Email signature
- Marketing promotions
- Order confirmation emails
how can i get more ratings?
Here are five ways to get more ratings:
- Send the Supplier Performance Rating PDF to distributors and attach it to:
- Customer communications
- Company website
- Customer invoices
- Email signature
- Marketing promotions
- Order confirmation emails
- Ask distributors after completing a sale
- Make a list of current distributor customers and reach out to them to ask for a rating
- Offer a contest to get ratings quickly without a huge expense
- Offer $200 or an iPad drawing at the end of the month. Each rating gives one entry into the contest.
- This can be promoted through EmailExpress™ and ASI® advertising
- Offer distributors an incentive or a discount on a their next order for a rating
Other
what industry research can you provide to me, the supplier?
We have a rich database of research available:
- Counselor® State of the Industry: Published in Counselor’s SOI Issue, SOI reveals the eight trends that are driving distributors' businesses forward and the opportunities and challenges they provide.
- Advantages Regional Markets: Published in Advantages’ July Big Markets Issue, Regional Markets lists the winners, losers, case studies, sales strategies, and success stories about the top suppliers, distributors, geographic regions, and individual states in America.
- Ad Impressions Study: Released at ASI’s Power Summit in November, the study give our members powerful data that proves what we already knew – that advertising specialties are one of the most high-impact, cost-effective advertising mediums around.
how do i get more pr on my company and products?
ASI® is always looking for content of what’s going on in the industry. Members can send their press releases to our editors:
- C.J. Mittica, Advantages® and Counselor® - [email protected]
- Michele Bell, Supplier Global Resource - [email protected]
how can i keep up with trends in the marketplacE?
ASI® has two magazines and six e-newsletters to keep you in-the-know:
- Magazines
- Counselor®: Delivers award winning content to executive-level distributor salespeople and owners responsible for the future of their businesses.
- Advantages®: Exposes distributor salespeople to new products, new ideas and sales strategies.
- e-Newsletters
- Advantages Product Focus: Great specials each week, along with the scoop on what’s new in the industry
- Counselor PromoGram: New products and industry updates
- Counselor PromoGram Canada: News, trends and products focused on the growing Canadian market
- Wearables: Updates on the hottest trends in the wearables market
- SGR e-Newsletter: Hot industry news and product sourcing trends to an audience of the industry’s best suppliers and manufacturers.
- ASICentral.com Week in Review: Delivered every Saturday morning, this newsletter provides a weekly snapshot of the industry’s top news, analysis and multimedia from ASI’s website.
what IS included in my membership?
Our membership benefits vary depending on the package that is purchased, ranging from a basic membership, to a platinum membership package. Our basic membership package includes the following:
- ASI Number
- Access to 125,000+ distributor salespeople
- Up to 250 products listed in ESP, the industry’s #1 sourcing tool with 2.7+ million product searches as month
- Products featured on ESP Websites, the websites of 15,000+ distributors
- Suite of print, digital and content advertising options all featured on this site
- Trade show exhibit opportunities in Orlando, Fort Worth and Chicago
- Free online education through ASI University
- Discounts on personal and business expenses like car rentals, office supplies and payroll from well-known vendors through our Business Savings Program
- Add a both at one ASI Show and/or a subscription to Connect at a one-time, low introductory rate
- Additional advertising options included in specific packages
what can you tell me about the distributors that want to do business with me?
The three big power players in the promotional products industry are:
- Distributor Leaders – Typically owners/principles of their company who influence buying decisions
- Distributor Sales Reps – Responsible for selling your product, they help explain and market your product in their conversations, sales calls, etc
- End-Buyers – The buying agents of your products are just as important as the distributors! They’re in demand for the goods and information you provide
how do i measure up to my competitors?
ASI® offers the MediaStats/ROI (Return on Investment) Report to measure how you stand in the competitive market. It’s a free, easy-to-read monthly report to keep you informed on how much traffic your products are getting, views, clicks, reader survey cards, top five searched products and comparisons to competitors. You can use this report to monitor the impact of your marketing dollars and maximize the results of your advertising. Accessing your MediaStats/ROI Report is easy:
- Visit connect.asicentral.com
- Enter your ASI/, username and password.
- Click “MediaStats” before hitting “Login”.
how can i reach the distributor's customers to explain my products?
ASI® offers the Successful Promotions e-newsletter, catalogs and ESP Website solutions that advertise directly to the end-buyer:
- Catalogs:
- Idea Showcase®: Annual go-to source for unique products in the #1 industry market
- Idea Showcase® Fall: Annual source for products in the 2nd largest industry market
- Spectrum™: The most versatile and sought-after catalog in the industry. It’s an easy marketing choice for suppliers who want their products displayed to a large audience year-round
- The Gift Book®: Contains an impressive collection of timeless gifts and incentives
- Magazines
- Counselor®: Delivers award winning content to executive-level distributor salespeople and owners responsible for the future of their businesses.
- Advantages®: Exposes distributor salespeople to new products, new ideas and sales strategies.
- EmailExpress™ – targeted email marketing effort that speaks to the distributors
- Basic – 35,000+ ASI members and non-members
- Platinum – Get additional email product exposure by getting included in a weekly EmailExpress product blast.
- Canada – Target 4,500 Canadian distributors.
- Custom List – Develop your own targeted EmailExpress list from our database.
- Supplier’s Global Resource – Target 10,000 suppliers from our database.
- Wearables – Target 40,000 distributors, decorator and screen-printing executives.