Summary: In this episode of the PromoKitchen Podcast, Chefs Mark Graham and Dale Denham speak with one of the most influential and dynamic people in our industry, Norman Cohn. Norman is the Chairman of the Advertising Specialty Institute, most commonly known as ASI. In June 2012, the Wall Street Journal described Norman as the “Sultan of Swag.” It was a breakthrough piece written by one of the country’s most prominent media outlets and it shone a bright light on our industry. However, Norman is much more than just the sultan of swag, some might say he’s the architect of the modern promotional products industry. Norman was born Iowa in 1933 and had his first encounter with promotional products in high school. Then in 1962, Norman convinced his family to sell off their supplier interests and acquire ASI, at the time, a small trade association. Over the next 6 decades, ASI grew into a powerhouse with media, technology, trade shows and education as part of its product mix. ASI now touches over 25,000 distributors and suppliers and wields enormous influence over how the industry operates today. How ASI grew to where it is today is an incredible story of perseverance and entrepreneurship and one that we are privileged to bring you. Click, listen, and comment. Without further ado - enjoy!
