Marketing Organization Announces First New Publisher in Nearly Four Decades

In 2004, the Advertising Specialty Institute (ASI) welcomed Richard Fairfield as its Publisher. The appointment marked a significant milestone for the media organisation, serving the promotional products industry.

ASI, established in 1950, boasts a staff of 500 and a membership of 20,000 Distributors and Suppliers. The institute provides a range of resources that distributors use to locate Supplier products and promote their services to buyers of promotional products.

Under Fairfield's responsibility, three magazines — The Counselor, Advantage, and Imprint — will undergo expansion to strengthen their market position. These publications, along with ASI's catalogs, informational directories, newsletters, magazines, Web sites and databases, and various interactive business, marketing, and selling tools, are instrumental in serving the promotional products industry.

Fairfield brings a wealth of experience to his role. He holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Business School and a Bachelor of Arts in physics and music from Columbia College in New York. Prior to his tenure at ASI, Fairfield was Senior Vice President at American Express Publishing, where he launched all online products for several magazines, including Travel + Leisur, T & L Golf, Food & Wine, Departures, and SkyGuide.

At Time, Inc., Fairfield is credited with breathing new life into publications such as Money magazine and Life. Before joining ASI, he served as a business manager at Time, Inc.

Timothy M. Andrews, ASI President, expressed pleasure about Fairfield's appointment, stating that he is confident that Fairfield's leadership will drive the success of ASI's magazines and other resources.

Rich Fairfield succeeds Marvin Spike, who is now Publisher Emeritus and advisor at ASI. Spike's contributions to the institute have been invaluable, and his continued guidance will no doubt prove beneficial.

As Fairfield settles into his new role, he will focus on increasing circulation and integrating online and print products to provide the best possible service to ASI's members. The promotional products industry can look forward to a bright future under Fairfield's leadership.