TREVOSE, PA – January 20, 2017 – The Advertising Specialty Institute^® (ASI) kicked off the 2017 trade show season with a three-day event in Orlando that featured a lively keynote by former Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino, who told a packed house of enthusiastic football fans that the key to success is passion.

“The best advice I can give you is have passion for something, that’s really the key to success,” Marino said. “Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do it.”

In a free-wheeling Q&A with ASI President and Chief Executive Officer Timothy M. Andrews, Marino wowed a crowd of entrepreneurs from throughout the $23 billion promotional products industry, tossing out life lessons, business advice, a few laughs and four autographed footballs to anyone correctly answering a trivia question about his life and career.

Discussing appearing in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective alongside Jim Carrey, Marino joked: “I take full credit for his career. If it weren’t for me, nobody would know who the hell he is.”

Drafted by Don Shula’s Dolphins, Marino went on to become one of the most prolific passers ever, winning the NFL’s MVP award in his second season and breaking scores of NFL records – 11 of which are still active. When asked about never winning a Super Bowl, Marino admitted, “It’s the one feeling – winning a championship – that I didn’t get. But I got to play 17 years, and a lot of guys only get to play two, so I wouldn’t trade that career.”

The Marino keynote, which attracted nearly 500 people, was a highlight of ASI Show^® Orlando (#asiorlando), held Wednesday, January 18 through Friday, January 20. The trade show drew close to 700 exhibitors and distributors from 47 states and 22 countries, along with 69 companies from Florida, 65 women-owned and 87 minority-owned companies.

Nineteen distributors chose Orlando to host sales meetings, including many Counselor Top 40 companies.

“The keynote was great, a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” said Steve Leachman, of Express Press Printing. “The fact that I got to ask a question was outstanding, but what I took away from him was about leadership – you just have to do your job better than anyone else. You have to be a high achiever every day, regardless of who is watching or what’s going on around you.”

“We’re excited about this week’s debut of several new features designed to enhance the overall show experience, deepen relationship-building opportunities and give attendees at our shows in Orlando, Dallas and Chicago a full, three-day event that hits the business touchpoints most important to today’s suppliers and distributors,” said Rita Ugianskis-Fishman, vice president and general manager of ASI Show.

In addition to a slew of networking events and parties, attendees enjoyed the ASI Show Bash at Universal Orlando™ – Islands of Adventure™, which closed to the public during the exclusive private party.

“We love ASI Show Orlando because it brings in a great quality customer,” said supplier Nicci Knouse, of S&S Activewear (asi/84358). “Everyone is here to learn and they want to know what’s fresh. It’s important to connect with people who have heard about us and make those final steps toward them becoming a customer, and building our relationship together.”

ASI Show unveiled new branding at the show along with a new theme, “Creating Connections. Inspiring Creativity.” In addition, the 2017 education offerings included all-new courses for every level of industry experience and interest and 90-minute workshops that anchored the end of the Business Management, Sales Success and Social Media and Marketing tracks.

“I’m thrilled to report that Orlando was a strong show that earned some of the best reviews we’ve ever gotten from our attendees,” said Andrews. “I’m thankful to the suppliers who told me they enjoyed the quality of distributors coming into their booth at a steady march and very happy distributors left the show fired up and ready to make 2017 their best year yet.”

Distributor Cindy Smith of Brown and Bigelow (asi/148500) said her company brought around 40 salespeople from its Southern region to the annual show. “It’s a great opportunity for our salespeople to meet with vendors early in the year and see new products and establish relationships with existing – and new – vendors,” said Smith. “It’s also a chance for them to build relationships with each other and connect with their management team while spending time in the break-out room provided by ASI Show.”

Thursday night, ASI’s Counselor^® magazine celebrated the winners of the Distributor Choice Awards, naming Showdown Displays (asi/87188), of Brooklyn Center, MN, the Supplier of the Year.

ASI also offered demos of its all-new ESP^® platform, which includes the new ESP CRM and Orders.

For complete editorial coverage of the show, including photos and videos, visit www.asicentral.com
and www.asishow.com.

Upcoming ASI Shows are in Dallas, Wednesday, February 1 through Friday, February 3 at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center and in Chicago, Tuesday, July 11 through Thursday, July 13 at McCormick Place.

To learn more about exhibiting or sponsorship opportunities for 2017, contact Beth Gordon, ASI sales director, at bgordon@asicentral.com.

About ASI Show
The ASI Show Family of Events – ASI Show, fASIlitate, ASI Roadshow, ASI Canada Seminars and Engage – fosters business-building relationships among ASI member distributors and suppliers, and includes options to meet the needs of the entire membership base. ASI Shows, the flagship series, are large-scale convention center trade shows held in Orlando, Dallas and Chicago. fASIlitate is a hosted buyer event that brings together the industry’s elite – top suppliers and million-dollar distributors – for three days of scheduled one-on-one meetings in resort venues across the country. The ASI Roadshow visits top cities across the U.S. and gives distributors an opportunity to escort their top clients. The ASI Canada Seminars serve our Canadian-based membership with intimate roundtable engagement in targeted regions of the country. Engage will continue to evolve, and serve as a hybrid event, combining the best of all event formats. Visit www.asishow.com for more information about our full event portfolio.