My Lucky Day at a Local Industry Tradeshow

Industry tradeshows are one of the most exciting parts of my job.  Not only do I get to meet with my suppliers face-to-face and not only do I get samples of the latest and greatest promotional items, I get to learn more about the promotional items my suppliers offer so I can provide a superior service to my clients. Last Monday, I had the honor of going to ASI’s (Advertising Specialties Industry’s) Advantages Roadshow.  A local pop-up type trade show that lasts for one fun-filled day and it comes completely stocked with advertising specialties and ad specialties information for people, like me, in the promotional product business.

I started the day off by going to an education session where I learned about a few resources that will help me make my company function better and more efficient.  Then, I was off to the tradeshow floor to see the newest products my suppliers have to offer.  I learned a lot about the different promotional items offered as well as the different decorating services offered and collected a bunch of cool and functional promotional items for a variety of different industries.  This is what I walked away with: 

Looks like I had a very successful (and lucky) day!  Out of these logoed bags, the following products were my top 3 favorite promotional products from the tradeshow:

1. Retractor Earbuds

I received two types of earbuds that day.  One of which came in a case where you wrap the cord around the inside of the case and pop the lid on to keep the cord in place, but, I like the retractor earbuds better.  This is because you do not have to do anything but pull the earbud cords out and then when you are finished tug on the cord a bit and the cord winds itself.  Voila!  No more tangled cords, no more clutter when you throw the loose cord on a table and no more worrying if the cord will get damaged when you throw it in a drawer.  These earbuds take care of the mess!

2. Portion Plate

This is a very unique item that helps teach portion control (which also makes it a very functional and useful item), reinforces balanced eating, a healthy diet and USDA nutrition guidelines for children.  It is a very durable plate made of food-grade polypropylene.  It has three compartments with factory stock art printed on the bottom of the plate to show the balance of each portion of food.  The large half is recommended for fruits and vegetables and two smaller quarters for grains/starches and meats/proteins.  This product is ideal for learning centers, wellness programs and school eating programs.

3. Gravity Pen

Finally, my most favorite product that I saw at the industry tradeshow was the new “Gravity Pen”.  This multi-function promotional item doubles as a pen and a stylus and it is equipped with a patterned grip for better handling.  The best part of this pen is the innovative gravity mechanism that enables the pen tip to extend out and lock into position when the stylus is on top.  When the stylus is in use the pen tip falls back into the pen, by itself, automatically!

There were many other products I learned about and other products I received samples of that were very unique and useful and I would talk about those products as well, but I figure I will wait until a future blog.  Stay tuned!