Andrews is making long-term investments into the trade show business.

In a time when CEOs are cutting back, Tim Andrews is increasing his investments. When groups began to feel the fiscal crunch in 2010 ASI came to a crossroads.

“We said we are in this industry for the long term and we really doubled down,” he says. “We spent more in 2011 for speakers than we’ve ever spent in the history of the company and also in things like attendance boosters, reimbursement for rooms—all the things one does to boost attendance of the show. We have absolutely spent more and invested more to get more people to our shows than ever before.”

He is seeing the payoff—the ASI Orlando show had an attendance of 6,100, which was up 37 percent from 2010 and up five percent from their prior record. The Dallas show, in 2010, saw an attendance of 3,600, which was up nine percent from the previous year.

Andrews says the success can be partially attributed to the certification programs ASI has designed—about $1.3 million is spent annually on ASI education programs for industry professionals.

Andrews says show attendees said they wanted “to have some sort of certification that shows the people I work with and my potential customers that I have achieved a certain level of professionalism.”

The certification courses are, according to Andrews, equivalent to a bachelor’s or master’s degree for that industry; 6,700 professionals have registered for these classes this year that can be taken either in person or online.

Andrews says among his greatest accomplishments this year has been attendees saying to him: “We really appreciate the fact that you are investing in me as a distributor or as a supplier—you’re investing in our education, you’re launching certifications, you’re showing me that you are my long-term partner and even in tough times you’re coming through for me. You’re helping me understand how to grow my business, how to make more sales, and thinking innovatively.”

Vital Stats: In 2010 4,600 distributors took more than 16,000 live education courses at ASI trade shows, making ASI the largest educator in the $17 billion ad specialty industry. The 2011 New York show, which was held during a snowstorm, attracted nearly 2,400 distributors from 16 countries, with 1,211 distributor firms represented, up about 2.9 percent from the 2010 New York show.

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