ASI, Sourcing City and PSI Form New International Alliance

CHICAGO, IL – July 18, 2012 – The Advertising Specialty Institute^® (ASI), Sourcing City and PSI today announced the joint formation of PromoAlliance, a new international alliance to identify and introduce best practices and market development concepts benefiting the U.S., U.K. and European markets.

ASI, the largest media, marketing and education organization serving the $18.5 billion promotional products industry in North America, joined forces with Sourcing City, which serves the U.K. promotional merchandise industry, and PSI, the international network of the promotional product industry, which hosts the PSI Trade Show in Düsseldorf each January, with international attendance of upwards of 20,000.

The goals of the international alliance for the promotional products industry include introducing best practices, developing fresh market concepts, explaining new marketplaces and fostering education. All PromoAlliance founding members are committed to the efficient and effective distribution model of suppliers providing products and services to distributors and distributors serving as the sales channel to buyers of promotional products.

“We can see many benefits and opportunities for the trade from the new PromoAlliance,” said Alistair Mylchreest, CEO of Sourcing City. “Having three major players working in alliance, sharing ideas and exploring new concepts will create exciting opportunities for all of our customers. We are delighted to be a founding member of what is going to be a significant organization in the worldwide promotional merchandise marketplace.”

Timothy M. Andrews, president and chief executive officer of ASI, said PromoAlliance will leverage the strength of all three organizations while providing insights into new markets.

“We now work in a worldwide economy, so there is no better time to form a strategic alliance with respected global partners to improve and expand the promotional products marketplace,” said Andrews. “We are certain our distributors and suppliers will benefit greatly from increased communication, education and understanding and look forward to kicking off what promises to be an exhilarating new era in our industry.”

“PromoAlliance will offer major benefits to PSI members within our business network, including new ideas, inspiration and opportunities in the European market as well as within the transatlantic partnership,” said PSI Director Michael Freter. “PSI’s distributors and suppliers will gain new market perspectives and sources of information. Furthermore, the recognition of the PSI membership in the U.S. and U.K. proves the high quality standard of the PSI network.”

The announcement was made on the first day of the ASI Chicago trade show, with members of participating PromoAlliance organizations joining in the announcement via webinar. For more information and to hear the recorded webinar announcement, visit www.promoalliance.com.

Sourcing City, ASI and PSI are in active discussions with other potential PromoAlliance partners and will announce further information as PromoAlliance develops.

About Sourcing City
Sourcing City is the market leader in the provision of specialist online digital and mobile trade services and networking trade events to the promotional merchandise industry. Founded in November 2002, Sourcing City has continually created and launched unique online and mobile services and trade events which had never been seen before in the U.K. promotional merchandise industry. The company now has a portfolio of market-leading and established brands to support distributors and to promote supplier products.

About PSI
The international network of the promotional products industry has approximately 7,000 members. PSI offers extensive sales openings to manufacturers and suitable supplier sources to distributors. The PSI Trade Show in Düsseldorf each January overall attracts upwards of 20,000 international visitors. PSI also provides sourcing service solutions to its members. The Product Finder 2.0 has a database of approximately 100,000 articles, including all suitable supplier information. PSI’s newest service is the PSI Webshop provided to all distributors. It is linked to the Product Finder’s database and offers a wide range of articles that are constantly updated by PSI. With newsletters, member-restricted website content and a member journal, PSI offers members a broad range of information while constantly improving the promotional products industry in Europe.

About ASI
The Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI) is the largest media, marketing and education organization serving the promotional products industry, with a network of over 27,000 distributors and suppliers throughout North America. ASI leads the industry in technology solutions, providing cloud-based e-commerce, enterprise resource planning software (ERP) and customer relationship management software (CRM). ESP Web™ is the industry’s leading tool for sourcing hundreds of thousands of products. A family-owned business since 1962, ASI also provides online research, marketing, advertising opportunities, trade shows, education, award-winning magazines, newsletters, custom websites and catalogs to help members sell, market and promote their brands. Visit ASI at www.asicentral.com and on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and the CEO’s blog.

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