Tariffs, Trends & Promo Product Growth at ASI Show Fort Worth 2025

FORT WORTH, Texas, April 2, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Advertising Specialty Institute^® (ASI) wrapped a dynamic ASI Show^® Fort Worth trade show on Monday, with thousands of enthusiastic distributors and suppliers exploring the latest promotional products, tackling industry challenges and forging key connections with a Texas twist.

The three-day event at Fort Worth Convention Center underscored a demand for face-to-face networking, despite economic uncertainties and Trump tariffs impacting an industry that imports about 90% of its hard goods from China.

"ASI Fort Worth was all about big opportunity – big business, big ideas and great big logoed cowboy hats," said Timothy M. Andrews, president and CEO of ASI, the leading global resource for the $26.6 billion promo products industry, serving 25,000 distributor, supplier and decorator members in 48 countries.

The event featured bustling trade show floors, education and networking opportunities. Tariffs panels featured insights from industry leaders like Dan Jellinek, The Magnet Group CRO, and iPROMOTEu CEO Lori Bauer, on navigating trade shifts.

Bauer urged proactive client communication to handle potential price increases, echoing Jellinek's advice on adapting to evolving market conditions.

"We've been through 9/11, the 2007-08 financial crisis, first-term tariffs, COVID, global shutdowns, ongoing war, and now shifting tariffs," said Jellinek. "But here we are together at ASI Fort Worth – bring it on." Added Bauer: "Preparing customers for likely price increases will secure your role as an advisor and help smooth conversations when and if price increases do occur."

Suppliers create, source and imprint products, while distributors sell them to clients for branding, marketing and recognition. Major brands rely on cost-effective, high-impact swag to promote businesses, events and employee or customer appreciation.

On the trade show floor, distributors from 12 countries, explored the latest products and trends, including live demos of the ESP+ e-commerce platform from ASI. The event also highlighted regional sales growth, with Texas alone contributing $3.8 billion to the industry's $26.6 billion market.

Exhibitor Sonia Staab of PATH Water praised the show's impact on her sales, while Fully Promoted distributors Jeff Slain and Garrick Jacobi valued meeting vendors and discovering new products and industry technology.

Competitive race car driver and quadriplegic Torsten Gross closed the event with an inspiring keynote on resilience, urging attendees to embrace challenges and transform setbacks into strengths.

For more information on ASI Show events and membership benefits, visit asishow.com.

SOURCE Advertising Specialty Institute