MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

Explain briefly the 80 year history of VAS

Victor Advertising Service (VAS) was founded in 1928 by Victor Reemsnyder.  Victor and his son Harding ran the business until 1993. It was then that my father Jerry Margolis acquired the company.  My stint with VAS started in October of 2001.

Since 1993, VAS has grown from a $300,000 in yearly revenue to over$2,500,000 year to date.  VAS has continued the father/son tradition while maintaining a long standing history of service and quality.

Picture (right): Scott Margolis with his father, Jerry in the VAS showroom located in Middletown, CT

With clients in the for-profit and non-profit world and spanning across the country, how does Victor Advertising Service set itself apart from the rest of the competition?

When my father acquired VAS in 1993 there were two promotional product distributorships available – they both had about the same yearly revenue.  One had a client list of many medium sized companies and the other had most of its business tied up with just a couple of clients.  Fortuitously he chose the first option which has proven to be essential to the success of our business through down markets.

This is very important for our clients as our buying power has remained the same and we have been able to offer very competitive pricing as prices of raw materials continue to climb.  In 2009 there were over 22,000 promotional product distributors across the country.  Of the 22,000 distributors 857 of them had a sales volume over $2.5 million.  That puts us in a pretty special class in our industry.

I believe that a combination of our buying power and commitment to our clients is our biggest strength.  Given our growth over the years we have been able to maintain a high level of client satisfaction.

In an industry of a lot of “stuff”, how do you help your clients break through the clutter?

As a promotional product advisor, my goal is to get my clients the most “desk real estate” for their dollar.  I am a firm believer that pens and paper never go out of style even in this digital age and more importantly very rarely get thrown away.  Another item, which VAS started with in 1928, is the calendar.

On average a person will look at a calendar 12 times a day,
84 times a week, or over 4,300 times a year.

Quality is paramount – my clients expect this on every order.  Anything can be made to look good in a catalog – that is why our showroom in Middletown allows our clients to touch and feel the product they are about to order.  Our showroom helps our clients see the vast array of items available to them and may even move them into an entirely different direction.

One great case history came from an order I produced for a wallcovering company in the Midwest.  Their primary audience is interior designers.  They needed a product for a tradeshow that would appeal to this audience as well as show their product accurately.  I presented them with a lens cloth that could be produced with 4-color process imaging.  This would allow them to highlight a specific pattern on one side while having their corporate information close at hand on the other side.  The lens cloths were a huge hit for both my client and the end user.  The client was happy as this product was unique, got the message out, had longevity and fell within their budget.  The end-user was happy as they received a useful piece that had a retail feel.

Congratulations on recently being named to the Hartford Business Journal’s 40 under 40 list.  Share some business advice that you have followed throughout your company’s success.

Thank you for the well wishes.  I am honored to join such a distinguished group of business professionals. 

My advice is simple and nothing you haven’t heard before.  Honesty is the best policy.  When you build a business for the long-term, satisfied customers will keep you successful.  An open and transparent relationship is key to any business.

VAS is a great example of an “Active” Chamber member.  Explain the benefits of staying involved.

The greatest benefit of the Chamber is the opportunity it gives businesses to meet and stay in touch with each other.  The West Hartford Chamber is extremely active and hosts many events both big and small.  The Friday morning Connections meetings have provided me with an intimate setting to network with other entrepreneurs. 

Most recently we were a sponsor of the 24th Annual Golf Tournament.  It was a great day for the golfers as well as the sponsors and everyone walked away with a West Hartford Chamber cooler, produced by Victor Advertising Service!