{"id":1877,"date":"2022-07-04T09:05:34","date_gmt":"2022-07-04T13:05:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/asi2.wpenginepowered.com\/uncategorized\/asi-chicago-wows-promo-industry\/"},"modified":"2025-06-26T14:30:03","modified_gmt":"2025-06-26T18:30:03","slug":"asi-chicago-wows-promo-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asicentral.com\/press-releases\/asi-chicago-wows-promo-industry\/","title":{"rendered":"ASI Chicago Wows Promo Industry"},"content":{"rendered":"

Exhibitors and distributors rave about the last large show of 2022; 4,300 attendees enjoy 72 hours of networking and dealmaking at biggest show in the Midwest<\/em><\/p>\n

CHICAGO, IL \u2013 July 21, 2022 \u2013 <\/strong>A strong thread of positivity and connectivity ran through a successful, three-day trade show hosted this week by the ASI Show<\/a>, helping suppliers and distributors in the $23.2 billion promotional products industry come together face-to-face to network, make deals, celebrate and plan for the second half of the 2022 selling season.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything about ASI Chicago \u2013 turnout, attitude, feedback, connections and events \u2013 can be summed up in one word: positive,\u201d said Timothy M. Andrews, ASI president and chief executive officer. \u201cWe hit the ground running as soon as the show opened Wednesday, with non-stop show floor action between high-powered, high-velocity distributors and hundreds of suppliers (82 new to Chicago!) offering innovation and in-stock inventory. We\u2019re heading into the all-important third and fourth quarters raring to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

ASI\u2019s 23rd Chicago show featured nearly 600 supplier booths lining jam-packed aisles. The show took place Tuesday, July 19, through Thursday, July 21, at McCormick Place Convention Center, the largest center in the U.S. with 2.6 million square feet of meeting and exhibit space. The show attracted a total of 4,300 supplier and distributor professionals, up 23% over the 2021 Chicago show, which was the industry\u2019s first after the COVID shutdown.<\/p>\n

Overall attendance included people from 45 states and 14 countries, and 413 from Illinois \u2013 as well as 94 Chicago-based companies, along with attendees from 314 women- and 139 minority-owned companies, up 29% and 85%, respectively. Of attendees, 276 joined ASI in the last year as new members.<\/p>\n

Suppliers told ASI they were thrilled with the show\u2019s attendance. \u201cToday was a really great day,\u201d said Jeremy Morillo of Next Level Apparel (asi\/73867). \u201cIt had surges just like a classic ASI Show day from a few years ago. Lots of good conversations and a lot of great questions from our visitors. It was great to get our boots on the ground and talk to those people that are part of the ASI network.\u201d<\/p>\n

For some exhibitors, it had been over two years between trade shows. \u201cIt\u2019s been awesome out here to see people, reconnecting with customers,\u201d said Chris Thies, of alphabroder (asi\/<\/a>34063), ranked number two on the 2022 Top 40 supplier list released Wednesday. \u201cAwesome traffic and lots of great conversations and ideas stemming from our new products. If you aren\u2019t here this year, make sure you get this show on your calendar for next year. ASI Show Chicago is where it\u2019s at.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

According to ASI\u2019s annual State & Regional Sales Report, total promo sales in the Midwest jumped 9% in 2021 over 2020, to $4.3 billion, as seven of the region\u2019s dozen states recorded double-digit gains. Illinois realized 3% growth, to $608 million.<\/p>\n

Results of a real-time flash poll ASI conducted with distributors who attended a standing-room-only Education Day wrap-up session Tuesday showed 100% of respondents reporting that revenue has so far increased year over year. On Education Day, more than 500 people, many of them brand-new to the industry, took sales and marketing classes, free to ASI members.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis show has been great!\u201d said distributor Bridget Jurcisek, of GBS Brandconnect (asi\/199850). \u201cI\u2019ve only been in the industry for about two years and I have learned so much between the education classes and the wealth of information suppliers have shared with me here at the show. I can\u2019t say enough about the suppliers \u2013 they are phenomenal.\u201d<\/p>\n

A panel of four promo products industry leaders hosted by ASI Vice Chairman Matthew Cohn on the state of the industry shared advice and positivity. Panelists agreed keeping margins up and adding services offered to clients, while keeping close track of profitability and cash flow, are key to success in the second half of 2022.<\/p>\n

All four panelists also reported that 2022 revenue was up compared to last year. Trevor Gnesin, a Power 50 member and owner\/CEO of Top 40 supplier Logomark (asi\/67866), said his California-based firm\u2019s revenue was up 38% over the same time frame.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, the Promo Party Cruise on Lake Superior attracted 500 people who celebrated with food and drink and enjoyed spectacular fireworks. The same night, ASI celebrated the 2022 Counselor Awards honorees at an elegant soiree at McCormick Place.<\/p>\n

During a panel Thursday, \u201cSOI Insights & New Products Revealed,\u201d Nate Kucsma, ASI\u2019s senior executive director of research, and Christopher Ruvo, ASI Media\u2019s news director, revealed hot-off-the-presses exclusive data from Counselor\u2019s State of the Industry issue, including which markets are primed for growth, sales strategies resonating with buyers and case histories to help you grow sales. Joe Haley, ASI Media\u2019s product editor, also showcased new products directly from the ASI Chicago show floor that tied in with the hottest merch and market trends.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe sessions were phenomenal,\u201d said Casie Wagoner of Creative Collaborative Group (asi\/170365). \u201cI know you can learn about the industry and understand trends through graphs and articles and statistics online, but to physically hear them presented with the opportunity to ask questions and discuss them with other attendees was very valuable to us.\u201d<\/p>\n

ASI Show is already planning to wow attendees at ASI\u2019s 2023 shows in Orlando (January 4-6), Fort Worth (January 23-25) and Chicago (July 25-27).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Exhibitors and distributors rave about the last large show of 2022; 4,300 attendees enjoy 72 hours of networking and dealmaking…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":1482,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1877","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-press-releases"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nASI Chicago Wows Promo Industry • ASI<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/asicentral.com\/press-releases\/asi-chicago-wows-promo-industry\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"ASI Chicago Wows Promo Industry\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Exhibitors and distributors rave about the last large show of 2022; 4,300 attendees enjoy 72 hours of networking and dealmaking...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/asicentral.com\/press-releases\/asi-chicago-wows-promo-industry\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"ASI\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/adspecialtyinstitute\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-07-04T13:05:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-06-26T18:30:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/asicentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/asi-logo-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1218\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"663\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jim Hollis\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@asicentral\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@asicentral\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jim Hollis\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/asicentral.com\\\/press-releases\\\/asi-chicago-wows-promo-industry\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/asicentral.com\\\/press-releases\\\/asi-chicago-wows-promo-industry\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Jim Hollis\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/asicentral.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d970b883ca6c4ee22d88412b72ca6281\"},\"headline\":\"ASI Chicago Wows Promo Industry\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-07-04T13:05:34+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-26T18:30:03+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/asicentral.com\\\/press-releases\\\/asi-chicago-wows-promo-industry\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":859,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/asicentral.com\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/asicentral.com\\\/press-releases\\\/asi-chicago-wows-promo-industry\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/asicentral.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/10\\\/asi-logo-1.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Press Releases\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/asicentral.com\\\/press-releases\\\/asi-chicago-wows-promo-industry\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/asicentral.com\\\/press-releases\\\/asi-chicago-wows-promo-industry\\\/\",\"name\":\"ASI Chicago Wows Promo Industry • ASI\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/asicentral.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/asicentral.com\\\/press-releases\\\/asi-chicago-wows-promo-industry\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/asicentral.com\\\/press-releases\\\/asi-chicago-wows-promo-industry\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/asicentral.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/10\\\/asi-logo-1.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-07-04T13:05:34+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-26T18:30:03+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/asicentral.com\\\/press-releases\\\/asi-chicago-wows-promo-industry\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/asicentral.com\\\/press-releases\\\/asi-chicago-wows-promo-industry\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/asicentral.com\\\/press-releases\\\/asi-chicago-wows-promo-industry\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/asicentral.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/10\\\/asi-logo-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/asicentral.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/10\\\/asi-logo-1.jpg\",\"width\":1218,\"height\":663,\"caption\":\"ASI logo\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/asicentral.com\\\/press-releases\\\/asi-chicago-wows-promo-industry\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/asicentral.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"ASI Chicago Wows Promo Industry\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/asicentral.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/asicentral.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"ASI\",\"description\":\"\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/asicentral.com\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/asicentral.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/asicentral.com\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"ASI\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/asicentral.com\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/asicentral.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/asicentral.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/09\\\/asi-logo.svg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/asicentral.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/09\\\/asi-logo.svg\",\"width\":1,\"height\":1,\"caption\":\"ASI\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/asicentral.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/adspecialtyinstitute\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/asicentral\",\"http:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/user\\\/asicentral\",\"http:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/asi\",\"http:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/asicentral\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/asicentral.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d970b883ca6c4ee22d88412b72ca6281\",\"name\":\"Jim Hollis\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/asicentral.com\\\/author\\\/jhollisasicentral-com\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"ASI Chicago Wows Promo Industry • ASI","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/asicentral.com\/press-releases\/asi-chicago-wows-promo-industry\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"ASI Chicago Wows Promo Industry","og_description":"Exhibitors and distributors rave about the last large show of 2022; 4,300 attendees enjoy 72 hours of networking and dealmaking...","og_url":"https:\/\/asicentral.com\/press-releases\/asi-chicago-wows-promo-industry\/","og_site_name":"ASI","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/adspecialtyinstitute","article_published_time":"2022-07-04T13:05:34+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-06-26T18:30:03+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1218,"height":663,"url":"https:\/\/asicentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/asi-logo-1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Jim Hollis","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@asicentral","twitter_site":"@asicentral","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jim Hollis","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/asicentral.com\/press-releases\/asi-chicago-wows-promo-industry\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/asicentral.com\/press-releases\/asi-chicago-wows-promo-industry\/"},"author":{"name":"Jim Hollis","@id":"https:\/\/asicentral.com\/#\/schema\/person\/d970b883ca6c4ee22d88412b72ca6281"},"headline":"ASI Chicago Wows Promo Industry","datePublished":"2022-07-04T13:05:34+00:00","dateModified":"2025-06-26T18:30:03+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/asicentral.com\/press-releases\/asi-chicago-wows-promo-industry\/"},"wordCount":859,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/asicentral.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/asicentral.com\/press-releases\/asi-chicago-wows-promo-industry\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/asicentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/asi-logo-1.jpg","articleSection":["Press Releases"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/asicentral.com\/press-releases\/asi-chicago-wows-promo-industry\/","url":"https:\/\/asicentral.com\/press-releases\/asi-chicago-wows-promo-industry\/","name":"ASI Chicago Wows Promo Industry • ASI","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/asicentral.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/asicentral.com\/press-releases\/asi-chicago-wows-promo-industry\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/asicentral.com\/press-releases\/asi-chicago-wows-promo-industry\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/asicentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/asi-logo-1.jpg","datePublished":"2022-07-04T13:05:34+00:00","dateModified":"2025-06-26T18:30:03+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/asicentral.com\/press-releases\/asi-chicago-wows-promo-industry\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/asicentral.com\/press-releases\/asi-chicago-wows-promo-industry\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/asicentral.com\/press-releases\/asi-chicago-wows-promo-industry\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/asicentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/asi-logo-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/asicentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/asi-logo-1.jpg","width":1218,"height":663,"caption":"ASI logo"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/asicentral.com\/press-releases\/asi-chicago-wows-promo-industry\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/asicentral.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"ASI Chicago Wows Promo Industry"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/asicentral.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/asicentral.com\/","name":"ASI","description":"","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/asicentral.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/asicentral.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/asicentral.com\/#organization","name":"ASI","url":"https:\/\/asicentral.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/asicentral.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/asicentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/asi-logo.svg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/asicentral.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/asi-logo.svg","width":1,"height":1,"caption":"ASI"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/asicentral.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/adspecialtyinstitute","https:\/\/x.com\/asicentral","http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/asicentral","http:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/asi","http:\/\/www.instagram.com\/asicentral"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/asicentral.com\/#\/schema\/person\/d970b883ca6c4ee22d88412b72ca6281","name":"Jim Hollis","url":"https:\/\/asicentral.com\/author\/jhollisasicentral-com\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/asicentral.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1877","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/asicentral.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/asicentral.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asicentral.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asicentral.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1877"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/asicentral.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1877\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asicentral.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1482"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/asicentral.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1877"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asicentral.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1877"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/asicentral.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1877"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}