BCA FYI

BCA FYI

Entries from June 2009

GOOD WORKS

June 25th, 2009

50-buck-start3Heritage Oaks Bank will sponsor Fun Run 11 Sept. 27, in Paso Robles, with eight walking and running events for all ages. Races benefit the Paso Robles Public Library, Boys and Girls Club of North County, CASA and Area Agency on Aging … ITECH Solutions donated more than 85 hours to create a new Web site and continues to provide IT services for the Food Bank Coalition of SLO County.  The major upgrades helped the nonprofit handle a 50-percent increase in online donations during this year’s Hunger Awareness Day … Rewarding blood drive. Jiffy Lube and Toyota and Scion of Santa Maria have teamed up with United Blood Services for the Drive to Save Lives Giveaway. Give blood in SLO or Santa Maria and you might win a new Toyota Prius … More than 7,700 prescriptions have been filled with  free cards from FamilyWise and United Way SLO. They cover anyone without health insurance or prescription coverage and more, saving the county almost $200,000 … A donation from Dennis Moresco and Midland Pacific Homes has produced a new snack bar at Alvord Field, home of Atascadero Babe Ruth teams … Cannon contributed 3D laser scanning services toward restoration efforts at the Dana Adobe in Nipomo, creating a virtual walk-through recording of history that otherwise may be lost.

Categories — Celebrations, Charity

OUR READERS RESPOND

June 25th, 2009

E-mail comments from Doug Hoffman of San Luis Paper Co.

Subject: Our Take on Advertising, “You’re Boring. Someone Had to Say It,” BCAFYI 6/18/09.

Yes!  Today, people are mostly desensitized to the vast majority of ads in all media. “Big Sale” and ”Lowest Prices”  are useless for two reasons.  As you state, gross over-exposure and too many broken promises! Today’s average consumer is a lot more savvy than in the past. The Internet lets them really check prices on commodity items. The boasts and brags still dominating ads and repeated over and over by “pitch men” are easily shown to be clearly false. Shout untruths into their ears often enough and the consumer turns the ads off. How do you attack this “desensitization by repetition?”

A. Word of mouth and referrals by credible sources still are powerful tools. They work!

B. Replace trying to sell the obvious with stating the value: What will this product do to improve your situation and then prove it!  The gross investment in simply delivering recognizable value one time still generates so much repeat and referral business that the initial cost is recovered many times over.

Want to look over the edge? Get off the TV screen, back out of the radio and try to meet people where they live and work with identifiable and measurable value. Face-to-face, classically attractive printed materials and posters that are eye-catching as works of art in their own right, these are what I see getting people’s attention and being recalled and commented on long after the exposure.

Want to comment on the comment? E-mail info@barnettcox.com.
 

Categories — Marketing Tips

SEEN AND HEARD

June 18th, 2009

richard_yaco23Remember Chocolate Soup? If so, you’ll probably recognize the folks in the old pencil portraits by Richard Yaco now showing at the SLO County Historical Museum. Portrait at left is of Brian Lawler back in the day … All three Rotary Clubs in SLO have handed their gavels to women. The new club presidents, Charlene Rosales, Donna Lewis and Julie Aguilar, are headed to Birmingham, England this week for a Rotary International convention … Bob Dumouchel is retiring from the Softec Board of Directors after 13 years, leaving a  legacy for establishing the local CEO Roundtable and encouraging students to stay local for careers in technology.  Thanks for your service and best wishes, Bob … Speaking of Softec, the organization’s June 24 meeting will focus on social Web for business organizations. You know, LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. Tweet! … More techie news. El Dorado Broadcasters (KSTT, KVEC, KSLY, etc.) has joined Hip Cricket to launch a mobile marketing program linking businesses with cell phone users for special promotions they hear about on the radio. A perfect matchup of traditional marketing with new media … One dog day of summer. That would be June 26, the 10th annual Take Your Dog To Work Day, celebrating dogs as wonderful companions and encouraging adoptions from shelters. Notable dog-friendly companies include PetSmart, Google, Sur La Table and Amazon.com.

Categories — Business Expansions, Business Successes, Celebrations, New Locations

BRAGGING RIGHTS

June 18th, 2009

sierra-vista-awardsThe gold medals go to … Sierra Vista, recognized with two gold medal performance awards for heart health care from the American Heart Association. Pictured right, Sierra Vista CEO Candy Markwith, AHA rep Bonnie Sekenske and cardiac physician Dr. Ken Stevens …  U.S. News & World Report ranks San Luis Obispo as one of the 10 best places to live.  Attributes noted: the warm and gentle climate, beaches, vineyards and Cal Poly’s “intellectual energy.” And here’s a new perk for SLO – Plenty of “good deals” in the current housing market … RRM Design Group, based in SLO, is moving its Sausalito office to Oakland in response to growing Bay Area demand for architecture, engineering, environmental review and other services.

Categories — Awards, Business Expansions