ASI Awards Three Industry Interns $1,000 College Scholarships

TREVOSE, PA – September 5, 2018 – The Advertising Specialty Institute^® (ASI) today announced it awarded $1,000 scholarships to three college students who wrote winning essays about participating in ASI’s industry-wide internship program: Rachel Ludwig of Creative Promotional Products (asi/170669), Blake Bellar of Ligon Marketing (asi/254233) and Grace Glessner of Glessner Promo (asi/470324).

“ASI is thrilled to once again reward three smart, hardworking interns with $1,000 scholarships,” said Timothy M. Andrews, president and chief executive officer of ASI. “As their essays prove, they learned a lot about our industry and I’m hopeful that once they graduate they’ll consider a career in the exciting, creative field of promotional products. We would definitely benefit from their enthusiasm and fresh take on marketing to a new generation.”

ASI started its internship program in 2016 to attract more young professionals to the industry and get them excited about the power of promotional products. ASI’s 2018 program attracted a record 308 interns who worked at 240 supplier and distributor companies over the summer. ASI supplied the interns with training webinars, free access to ESP^®, attendance to its Chicago trade show, a gift pack, a certificate of completion and the chance to compete for a scholarship by writing about what they learned through their internship.

Below are excerpts from the three winning essays. Click here to read the essays in full on ASI’s website.

• Rachel Ludwig: Like humans, promotional products have layers. On the outside, they may just look like a hard good with a logo on them. On the inside, they’re articles of merchandise that are branded with a logo in order to advertise, market, promote and raise awareness of a brand. Promotional products leave a lasting impression well after the sale.
• Grace Glessner: This industry is all about relationships – it’s about your relationship with your clients and your client’s relationship with their customers. This business is the business of helping others succeed, and it’s like a ripple effect: If I’m capable of doing my job well, then my clients will be able to do their job well. It’s about the return on investment for everyone involved.
• Blake Bellar: Everywhere I look lately, I can spot a promotional product. This internship increased my awareness and caused me to notice company logos on countless items, and I have come to realize just how diverse promotional products can be.

New for 2018, ASI increased the number of online webinars offered during training and, in response to student feedback, added more classes on sales, marketing, graphic design and more. Interns could view the industry-centric webinars anytime and at their own pace. The free training helps alleviate concerns suppliers and distributors may have over not having enough time to devote to training newcomers to their company and the industry.

ASI also expanded free ESP access until October 1 to accommodate West Coast interns who often return to college later than other students. In addition, ASI encouraged greater social media interaction between interns across three main platforms: Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat (#PromoInternASI).

The ASI Summer Internship Program is free to ASI members who hire one or more interns to work at their company for the summer.

For information on joining the 2019 ASI Internship Program, please contact ASI Marketing Manager Christine Shaw at cshaw@asicentral.com.

About ASIThe Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI^®) serves a network of 23,500 suppliers, distributors and decorators in the $23.6 billion promotional products industry. ASI’s flagship product, the technology platform ESP^®, manages the industry’s entire supply and marketing chain. ASI also produces award-winning digital and print content, live events and educational programs that enable companies in 55 countries to be more efficient, productive and profitable. ASI’s Counselor^® magazine provides the most authoritative business content in the industry, and the ASI Certification Program features 500+ live and online education courses for over 40,000 professionals. The company, family owned and operated since 1962, is proud to have been consistently ranked among the “Best Places to Work” in Philadelphia and Bucks County, PA. For more info: www.asicentral.com.