Scala Extends its Global Footprint to the Germanic Digital Signage Market
Scala's new Germany office has been established in the prestigious Prinzenpark in Düsseldorf, Germany, dedicated to servicing the Germanic region (Germany, Austria & Switzerland), widely recognized as one of the strongest growth markets for digital signage in Europe. (PRWeb Jan 6, 2009)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2009/01/prweb1826664.htm

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Frontier Natural Products Co-op™ Names Bart Becherer to Lead Private-Label Business Unit
Increased Consumer Demand Drives Opportunity (PRWeb Jan 6, 2009)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/Frontier_Natural_Products/Bart_Becherer/prweb1827834.htm

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Perdue Publishes Environmental Stewardship Information
Environmental Steering Committee, Vice President of Environmental Sustainability position and first Environmental Stewardship brochure among key environmental activities. (PRWeb Jan 6, 2009)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/Perdue/EnvironmentalStewardship/prweb1831064.htm

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Save Money and Get Healthy Just in Time for the New Year
Harris Teeter introduces its free yourwellness for families program, designed to help shoppers get healthy, stay healthy and feel great. (PRWeb Jan 5, 2009)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/Family_Health/Wellness_Well-Being/prweb1826034.htm

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Scala Kicks Off the New Year with a New Look
Great news for 2009, the launch of its new market-centric website (www.scala.com) featuring Scala's new look and feel. (PRWeb Jan 5, 2009)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2009/01/prweb1808644.htm

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Scott Knaul Joins Workforce Insight's Retail Workforce Management Leadership Team
Workforce Insight, a leader in workforce management consulting and implementation, appoints Scott Knaul to guide retail workforce management initiatives in response to heightened demand. (PRWeb Jan 5, 2009)

Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/retail-solutions/workforce-management/prweb1829034.htm

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Darren Stevens was the character played by Dick Sargent in the early 70's sitcom, "Bewitched" Darren and his boss Larry Tate were the prototypical gray flannel suited advertising executives of the time. There are still many just like them - their tried and true tactics still work. However, it's being able to see beyond what has worked in the past that make David successful and his ability to bring along their clients into the new world of strategic brand planning in a universe defined by short attention spans, massive media proliferation and where the consumer is increasingly in control.

Drew, using the Barbara Walter interview style, sat down with David "to discuss the new media landscape, the continued power of the television commercial as well as the new opportunities and threats that are emerging thanks, in part, to new digital technologies, platforms and creative tools."

David's comments were reveling. Instead of taking the advice of his friends, to move to LA and start his own interactive boutique agency he decided to join BBDO in NYC - providing us our first ah ha - that it's not about the medium. It's about the message and delivering it in the most logical way.

At BBDO he would be able to work with clients to develop their big idea and with creative people with experience in every medium to work out the most logical way to get that message to their target audience. For him it's not about the technology or medium it's about the message. The medium is just the vehicle.

I his words, "Does it matter whether you use email marketing, forums, bulletin boards, blogs, focus groups, TV ads, online videos, etc.? No. Which method(s) depends on your audience and how you can reach them the easiest."

What impressed me, representing Main Street, was that he was not a zealot for a certain solution, especially requiring a huge budget. His comments focused rather on the importance of having a big idea.

Those of us who are not particularly creative must rely on those who are for help with the insights that flesh out the importance of the big idea and then craft the solution that will, hopefully, make it a household name.

But we're skeptics - since most of these experts see theirs as the solution of choice, and are willing to massage our big picture until it becomes a big picture that their service is uniquely suited to provide. (I'll be telling you about my experiences along this line, when I spent two days in the exhibit hall. But that's another story)

According to David, "When you have the big idea and an open minded team to consider how to make that idea relevant, the method you use to get that message to the right people will just feel logical."

Once example of the big idea being promoted in the right way was so obvious I almost laughed out loud. You see I had witnessed it first hand - like so many others, but because it seemed so natural I dismissed the creativity associated with it.

Last weekend we had friends visiting us from Arizona. We met them at their Times Square hotel and took them to dinner at one of our favorite Italian restaurants, Mezzogiorno, at the corner of Spring and Sullivan Streets in SOHO, one of the cool neighborhoods in NYC everyone has heard about.

The streets are narrow and always bumper to bumper as the cars creep between Broadway and 6th. Ave. The occasional doubledecker bus makes the journey as well, just barely fitting between the cars parked on both sides of the streets.

And there are always lots of people strolling along the sidewalks. It's a combination thriving little mini neighborhood, landmarked historic district, and tourist destination all rolled into one.

One merchant, it's pretty expensive to have your store there, came up with a novel idea for promoting their business during the 12-14 hours a day they are not open - but when people are still going by their front door.

So when David mentioned this advertising strategy as an example of the big idea (for that merchant), one that did not require a Fortune 500 budget, being delivered in a way that just made sense - ah ha. I had just witnessed it. An idea was so simple, so cheap and yet so effective.

You see in most if not all neighborhoods in the City when the stores and restaurants close the last person out pulls down these horribly ugly gray metal grates over the entire front of the place.

Over time people tape pieces of paper with their message on them, about a lost cat or an opportunity to lose weight, or attend an event of some sort - which, when removed, leave the corners of the papers under the tape, or someone with a magic marker or can of spray paint will leave their mark. The owners will typically do nothing, unless it is an objectionable message, assuming that this is the natural order of things.

What we saw as we strolled through the neighborhood with our out of town friends was a merchant who, instead of accepting the way things have always been, used the grate to create an effective "billboard" that cleverly introduces their store to everyone who passes by.

Instead of an unbroken string of gray metal grates that make every store, dry cleaner, restaurant, and shoe repair shop look alike - now in the middle of the block one stands out. As we walked along we saw people look and point to it, one tourist took a digital photo for the folks back home. The point, everyone noticed and some will remember it.

David's message that it's about the idea - the delivery method will emerge based on that - not the other way round - was perfectly illustrated.

Whether you work for a company with seemingly unlimited resources or are like the rest of us, it's about performance - ROI. It's not about a particular branded solution.

It's about delivering the right message in the right way to the right audience at the right time. A message that makes people want to go out right now and get one for themselves!

David's responses to Drew's well crafted questions - that seemed to have the wide range of the audience in mind, set the stage for the entire event. The question was, would each subsequent session build on that keynote or not? Yep, the keynote was the tipping point for the event.

There were over two dozen break-out sessions during the next 21/2 days and we did our best to cover them. The panels in each session were made up of marque companies like CNN, AOL, and Frito Lay as well as one person entrepreneurs and everything in between. As always there were actionable strategies from every quarter.

We'll be offering observations from those break out sessions we were able to sit in on over the next week or so. Be sure to join the discussion. We'd love insights and observations from you. The RSS feed link is in the Meta area of the nav bar.

In addition we're going to do something we've never attempted before.We're going to contact a select number of exhibitors whose products and services seem to have relevant applications to regular companies, companies spending their own money and not shareholders money, when they develop marketing and advertising strategies.

It will be interesting to see who responds who doesn't - whose services are for people like us and who are interested in telling us about them in a semi non-commercial sort of way.

Wayne Messick reports on how Main St. businesses can integrate technology to succeed in the 21st Century on http://www.FamilyBusinessStrategies.com/and his commentary for business coaches and advisors at http://www.wdm.net/blog

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