Day two at PROMOTIONS EAST 2011, hosted by the Specialty Advertising Association of Greater New York (SAAGNY) and its five regional partners, closed today to rave reviews.
“The show was fantastic for us,” said Chad Majewski of Amsterdam, New York-based Noteworthy. “We’re very excited to be in Atlantic City. It’s the best show on the East coast.”
During a midday interview today, Mary Bostwick, of Duluth, Georgia-based Delta Apparel, said, “I’m impressed. We saw a lot of people yesterday. I had over 300 qualified leads so we’re happy about that. [PROMOTIONS EAST] seems to be one of the better shows of the summer so far.”
This year’s PROMOTIONS EAST Trade Show, held in Atlantic CIty, N.J., June 5-8, featured more booth space and exhibiting suppliers than last year’s show. In addition, 26 education sessions covering eight specialized tracks were offered.
“Distributors are in a good mindset, which is an indication that maybe things have turned around in the industry in terms of the economy and people purchasing more products,” said Mike McMillan, Norwood & BIC Graphic. “It’s been a good show, and we expect good things from it.”
As a new feature of the PROMOTIONS EAST, the show floor opened at 9 a.m. to members of SAAGNY and the five co-sponsoring regional associations. In addition to early access to the show, these VIP members were given an exclusive preview of the Top Selling Products Pavilion on Monday, June 8 and entry into a VIP Prize Package drawing.
Carthage Barry of Alpi International, Oakland, Calif., found positive results from the one-on-one time he was able clock with VIP distributors admitted to the show at 9 a.m. “It’s nice to have that individual time that during the full-blown show you don’t really have,” Barry said of the VIP access.
“We’re happy to be able to provide additional benefits to members of the regional promotional products industry associations,” said Jonathan Riegel, executive director for SAAGNY. “This program gave exhibiting suppliers extra time with high quality distributor prospects.”
Barry added, “I’ve been to PROMOTIONS EAST six years now and it’s always a good show. It’s the biggest show on the East coast, better than ASI New York and I never have a bad thought about this show. I’ll be returning next year.”
PROMOTIONS EAST 2012 is scheduled for June 3-6, 2012, with exhibits open June 5-6. Stay tuned for information on PROMOTIONS EAST 2012 at www.promotionseast.org.
