Textile Services: ‘A Great Source of Information’

TRSA’s AdStudy® survey of May’s Textile Services magazine confirms that readers value the publication and the information it offers on a range of issues, including tech trends, staffing issues and business developments.

It’s a “Great source of information and current trends,” wrote one respondent when asked to “Tell us how useful Textile Services is to you and how you use it in your job.” Another respondent noted that, “When we are looking for a product, we refer to Textile Services to get an idea of who to look for.”

The AdStudy survey, conducted by Signet Research Inc., Cliffside Park, NJ, drew responses from 134 operator subscribers. This group included a diverse array of company leaders. Specifically, 33% of the respondents identified themselves as “Plant Manager/Production Manager/Director of Operations”; 19% identified as “Owner/President/CEO/COO”; 14% identified as “Vice President/General Manager.” As for industry sectors, 33% said they work in healthcare laundering; 31% said their main business is in “F&B (Food and Beverage)/Linen. Another 28% of respondents reported that they’re in the industrial sector.

To maximize the value of the AdStudy, it’s important that the survey draw in the right decision-makers in terms of their role in purchasing equipment and systems from TRSA supplier partners. More than 91% of respondents indicated that they “are involved – personally or in a group – with recommending, approving or purchasing” a wide range of products from industry suppliers. Out of a list of 32 product categories, 58% of the respondents said they have purchasing responsibilities associated with buying carts. Other items that respondents said they have a role in purchasing included: mats at 55%; and laundry processing equipment at 51%. Forty-nine percent said they’re involved in purchases of linens/textiles.

When asked about the value of the display ads included in Textile Services as opposed to its articles, a large percentage of respondents indicated that advertising is important to them. In fact, 72% of respondents said that “advertising in Textile Services educates and is an important part of the publication.” A smaller number of respondents (54%) agreed with the statement that, “they read through Textile Services as much for the ads as the articles.” In addition, 85% of the respondents said they “took one or more actions” as a result of reading ads or articles in Textile Services. For example, 51% of respondents said they visited an advertiser’s website as a result of reading about it in the magazine. Another 28% said they recommended/specified products that they read about in Textile Services, while 27% said they bought products that were advertised.

The top-scoring ads in terms of their “AdStudy Score,” i.e., those having the largest number of respondents who said they remembered seeing and/or reading the ads used in the study, included:

• Tingue: 168
• Alliant Systems and Positek RFID: tied at 161
• Pellerin Milnor Corp.: 157
• ARCO/Murray: 150

Other AdStudy highlights include:

• Verbatim Comments: Each of the 21 display advertisers that appeared in May’s issue will receive 1-2 pages of comments. These remarks consider the quality of ad graphics and opinions about the company’s products and services. Most comments were either positive or they offered constructive criticism about the ad and/or its sponsor.
• Benchmarking Aid: Each advertiser also will receive an individualized report that includes AdStudy scores for competitors in their sector. For example, advertisers in areas such as “Chemical” or “Wash Aisle and Finishing Machinery,” get to see how they stack up against competitors in terms of the effectiveness of their ads.
• Incentive Winners: To encourage operators to participate in the survey, TRSA provided each respondent with a $10 online gift card redeemable at any Starbucks outlet. In addition, five respondent names were selected in a blind drawing conducted by Signet Research. Each of these respondents received $100 Amazon gift cards. Winners of the gift cards included:
  • Shari Fenster, Core Linen Services, Charlotte, NC
  • Elmer Daniel Geli, Core Linen Services, La Mirada, CA
  • Eddie Lefeaux, Westport Linen Services, Baton Rouge, LA
  • Jasminique Ortiz, Nixon Medical, East Hartford, CT
  • Korina Rangel, Superior Linen Service, Springdale, AR
• Next Survey: TRSA would like to thank everyone who completed the survey. We understand your time is valuable. However, the survey findings help TRSA staff – as well as our advertisers – serve you more effectively. If you missed May’s AdStudy Survey, you’ll get another chance to participate in January 2026. At that time, we’ll offer our Signet AdBrand™ survey of January’s issue. The AdBrand study will provide advertisers with feedback on how laundry operators view the brand name and corporate image of the supplier companies that advertise in January’s issue. If you have questions, contact your ad rep or Textile Services Senior Editor Jack Morgan at jmorgan@trsa.org.