THE ADVERTISING SPECIALTY INSTITUTE

Advertising Specialty Institute – or ASI – is the largest media, marketing and education organization serving the advertising specialty industry. But what is it, exactly, that ASI does? To understand that, as well as ASI's mission, you should know a little bit about promotional products and the major participants involved in the industry. Promotional products, or ad specialties, are useful items imprinted with an advertiser's logo or message. Think of all those freebies like mugs and T... -shirts you get at trade shows. These products are kept by recipients, offering great exposure for the advertiser's message. The two major players in the industry are suppliers (importers) and distributors (sellers). Suppliers use ASI print and electronic resources to market their products to distributor salespeople. Distributors use those same resources to locate and sell products to their clients, who are companies trying to promote themselves (known as end-buyers). ASI's mission is to bring together these participants by providing catalogs, information directories, newsletters, magazines, Websites and databases, and offering interactive e-commerce, marketing and selling tools.More