11 replies to this topic

[Chris Miller]

Yesterday, in a letter to its membership from PPAI Chairman Of The Board Danny Sirmon, MAS, Promotional Products Association International (UPIC: PPAI) announced it has canceled its participation in ASIâ??s Las Vegas show as a statement of support for SAAGNY and the five regional associations that host the PROMOTIONS EAST tradeshow, scheduled June 5-8 in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

The decision was made as a result of ASIâ??s announcement last week to launch a new, fifth tradeshow in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in May, two weeks prior to the annual PROMOTIONS EAST tradeshow held 55 miles south in Atlantic City, New Jersey. ASIâ??s decision comes two weeks after both groups announced that ASI and SAAGNY had been in protracted but failed negotiations for the sale of PROMOTIONS EAST.

â??We just donâ??t believe we should support or reinforce the ASI show with your money or our presence,â? says Sirmon in the letter to PPAI members. â??Instead, the staffing and financial resources earmarked for the ASI event will be put toward helping SAAGNY and its regional partners serve [PPAIâ??s members]. We will utilize our increased presence at PROMOTIONS EAST to emphasize the benefits of membership in the national and regional associations, those member-owned nonprofit organizations whose revenue is reinvested in programs and services that work for the good of the industry as a whole.â?

[maxrscharf]

I have always felt that when competition is in place that the membership wins as a whole. It is too early to tell the impact of PPAI's decision to withdraw from the ASI Las Vegas show (I'm not sure that I agree with that decision) but the new ASI Phili show will benefit distributors as will the SAAGNY North East Atlantic City show.

[D Kellogg]

it will be interesting to see how it shakes out; I do not attend any ASI shows; there is enough with the regional and if I wish to LV in Jan at PPAI's -- but that is too big --
keep us informed; like to hear the responses!
DK

[conunlim]

"...but the new ASI Phili show will benefit distributors as will the SAAGNY North East Atlantic City show."

I'd love to know how you think an ASI show held two weeks before and located 50 miles away will benefit the long established Promotions East show? If ASI thought it would benefit Promotions East, they would not have offered their competing show.

ASI's goal is not to strengthen Promotions East - it is to KILL Promotions East. If they wanted to strengthen Promotions East, they would not be offering free hotel rooms, a Bill Cosby performance, Donald Trump as a speaker, free booth space to suppliers not only for 2005 but for 2006 as well, and they would not be hosting a show two weeks before a show critical to the lifeblood of six regional associations.

If ASI wanted to strengthen Promotions East, they would SUPPORT THE SHOW, not compete with it.

[maxrscharf]

Here are my thoughts on benefits...

Some distributors who will not be attending SAAGNY will have an opportunity to visit with suppliers at ASI Phili Show. WHO WINS?...THE DISTRIBUTORS!.

SAAGNY Show is run by smart people, and good suppliers & good distributors attend. They are the powerhouse of the east coast. They run a strong show and now that PPAI is stepping in on a bigger scale to help support them we can look forward to even greater shows in the coming years. WHO WINS?... THE DISTRIBUTORS!.

In reference to your comment that ASI's goal is to kill Promotions East, I don't believe that is so. They are a for profit organization exploring, what they perceive, as their next growth opportunity. That is their right under our free enterprise system. What I believe will happen is that the SAAGNY Promotions East Show will become a MEGA Show over the coming years with strong support from PPAI.
WHO WINS?...THE DISTRIBUTORS!.

What we really need to do is get ASI & PPAI marketing teams together to fight the poor image our industry has. A perfect example is a TV commercial I saw last night by a financial services company with degrading references about our products. If we could get ASI & PPAI marketing teams together we could develop great PR about our industry.
WHO WINS?...WE ALL DO!.
MAX

[LaunchPad]

maxrscharf said:

What we really need to do is get ASI & PPAI marketing teams together to fight the poor image our industry has. A perfect example is a TV commercial I saw last night by a financial services company with degrading references about our products. If we could get ASI & PPAI marketing teams together we could develop great PR about our industry.
WHO WINS?...WE ALL DO!.
MAX

I know the commercial you mean and I couldn't agree more.

[bdadco]

Well Spoken Conunlim, glad you pointed all this out for all to see!

[dusty]

Max:

How do suppliers benefit?

[gil levitch]

Hi, Max -
When did you become a distributor?

[maxrscharf]

dusty2 said:

Max:

How do suppliers benefit?

Dusty,

1) I believe that ASI's distributor base is substantly different from PPAI's and suppliers will see different distributors at both of their shows.

2) As we educate users on the benefits of promotional products both distributors & suppliers dollar volume will grow.

Hope this answers your question.

Regards, Max

[maxrscharf]

Gil Levitch said:

Hi, Max -
When did you become a distributor?

Hi Gil,

What goes around comes around...

1958-1963 Art Director & Sales Promotion Manager, Vi-tronic, Inc.
1963-1975 Distributor
1969-1989 Supplier (started K-Studio in 1969-sold distributorship in 1975).
1989-present Marketing & Management Consultant (sold K-Studio to Penn Corp).
1992-present Supplier- Scharf & Associates (offering my fine art prints,posters & originals).
2004-present Distributor- The Sales Promotion Agency (I am not pursuing it full blast, I just can't retire, "to dull". Will be 72 Setember 1st.).

Warmest regards, Max

[gil levitch]

maxrscharf said:

Hi Gil,

What goes around comes around...

1958-1963 Art Director & Sales Promotion Manager, Vi-tronic, Inc.
1963-1975 Distributor
1969-1989 Supplier (started K-Studio in 1969-sold distributorship in 1975).
1989-present Marketing & Management Consultant (sold K-Studio to Penn Corp).
1992-present Supplier- Scharf & Associates (offering my fine art prints,posters & originals).
2004-present Distributor- The Sales Promotion Agency (I am not pursuing it full blast, I just can't retire, "to dull". Will be 72 Setember 1st.).

Warmest regards, Max

Know about dull. I'll be 73 next week (6/29) and am still working full time. At least 7 hours a day, but not too vigorously. I still love to sell and as long as I get some business and it still feels great to do this I will stay with it. My health is not the greatest but as Frank Sinatra said, I don't see my name in the Obits every morning so I made it another day.
Say hello to your bride.