Face-toface relationships are the way to go

Face-toface relationships are the way to go

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Coffee café capitalizes on Biden visit

Coffee café capitalizes on Biden visit

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The Tonight Show's Jay Leno test-drives Michigan-made Deronda Type G racecar

For Immediate Release





Contact:

Karin Risko, Crystal Bay Communications


The Tonight Show’s Jay Leno test-drives Michigan-made Deronda Type G racecar

Trenton, Michigan automotive manufacturer gets surprise phone call from late night television host and car enthusiast


Trenton, MI--February 17, 2009--Fielding phone calls from celebrities isn’t how David Moxlow, president of Trenton Forging and Deronda USA, typically spends his workdays. A recent Thursday was an exception, however, when Jay Leno phoned him to talk cars.

The popular host of The Tonight Show, a well-known auto aficionado, wanted information on the Deronda Type G, a street-legal, track-day racecar that Moxlow manufactures at his Trenton, Michigan facility in conjunction with Illinois-based Sirius Motorsports.

“We talked about the car, its performance, how our company got started, etc.,” said Moxlow.

Moxlow mentioned to Leno that he had tried to contact him last New Year’s Eve when the comedian had a scheduled appearance in nearby Windsor, Ontario. Moxlow wanted to invite Leno over to test-drive the car.

Although they didn’t connect then, Leno expressed interest in driving the Deronda during the phone call so Moxlow arranged for his shop foreman to transport the car from Michigan to Burbank, California. Burbank is home to Leno’s famous “Big Dog Garage,” a 17,000 square foot facility that houses his vast collection of cars spanning a 100 years of automotive history.

An experienced auto mechanic and driver, Leno got behind the wheel of the Deronda and tested the racecar’s performance on the streets of Burbank. He took full advantage of the car’s swift zero to 60 in under four seconds acceleration and demonstrated its agility and strength on turns.

He liked the car said Chris Trapp, Deronda USA shop foreman, who rode shotgun with Leno. “He said the car handled well, had plenty of power and the ride was really smooth.”

Leno will share more details on the Deronda in a forthcoming video that will appear shortly on his website: www.jaylenosgarage.com

For Trapp, it was a memorable experience to drive around southern California with an icon like Leno. While Trapp remains mum about details concerning speed, he shared a few anecdotes that further exemplify Jay Leno’s renowned reputation as an “ordinary guy.”

“We drove to a local gas station and everyone that worked there knew him.”

While Leno fueled up the car and showed it off to the staff, Trapp noticed the other people at the pumps “drooling” over the car.

Moxlow and the entire Deronda USA crew are excited by the opportunity to bring a little Hollywood to Trenton, Michigan and talk shop with Jay Leno. They welcome the high-profile exposure his interest brings to their car.

“He is a great "car guy" and really down to earth,” said Moxlow. “ I’ll be going to Burbank to meet Jay myself and pick the car up in the next few weeks.”

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The Candidates Are Asking, You Should Be Too!

By Karin Risko

With eight days until the election, none of the candidates are mincing any words. At every stump speech, they're being direct and telling audience members that they need and want their votes. This directness of message, also known as closing the deal, is effective not only in politics but business as well. It reminds me of an article I wrote on the topic some time ago.

Don’t Forget to Ask?

What is it you want recipients of your message to do? Call you? Vote for you? Sign up for your services? Make an appointment? Buy your product right now? Whatever you want them to do, make sure you ask them to do it in a clear, concise manner!

Recently, I was asked to edit a letter from a mayoral candidate. In the original draft, the candidate spelled out her reasons for running and listed her qualifications. She ended the letter with:

“On September 13, 2005, we will have a Primary Election to determine who will be on the Ballot for the General Election on November 8, 2005. I need your support!”

What exactly does this candidate want her constituents to do? What does “support” really mean – financial, emotional? Does she want constituents to contribute money? Collect signatures? Campaign for her? Vote for her?

All of these scenarios are valid answers, especially since the letter went out the first week of August. The candidate probably would appreciate all the responses listed above, however, she had a specific objective in mind with this letter. That’s
why “I need your support” was far too vague. I rewrote the letter and changed the ending. “On September 13, 2005 a Primary Election will be held to determine which candidates will be on the November 8th General Election ballot. I’d like to be
on that ballot! Will you please show your support by voting for me?”

Any question now as to what the candidate wants readers to do?

Don’t be vague in your communications! Don’t hedge; be straightforward with your audience. Ask for the donation, the job, the contract, the sale! Be specific! You may be surprised to see more positive responses when your requests are clear. When people know what to do, and see the benefits of the request, they will respond. When they don’t know what’s being asked of them, they’ll also respond accordingly – by doing nothing!

Trade Show Tips 'n Tactics: Getting The Most Out Of Your Trade Show Experience

By Karin Risko

These tips may be simple, but they're often overlooked. Don't put a table between you and trade show attendees. Make them come into your booth. In addition to promotional literature, have something in your booth that's innovative, memorable or fun and draws guests to your booth. It doesn't necessarily have to relate to your business. For example, turn instant photos into buttons or magazine covers in a frame (with your company info. imprinted on it of course). Or it can relate. If you're promoting a commercial pilot service, a flight simulator could be a fun and a sought after addition to your booth.

Give away really good premiums. However, don't just leave them on the table for anyone to grab. A successful financial planner I know hands them out only after carrying on a conversation with individual attendees and after getting their business cards. If they're very good premiums, people will seek you out and willingly hand over their cards.

Make sure someone is always at your booth. Don't ever leave it unattended. People don't like that. I think trade show exhibits work best with 2 or 3 people in the booth at a time. One person can get tired easily and lose his/her enthusiasm. With two or three people, the enthusiasm level remains higher much longer.

Make Please and Thank You part of your public relations vocabulary

Some of you may remember the magic words from your youth: please and thank you. Well, those words are still relevant today in the world of marketing and public relations. Not only is it still appropriate to say "please" and "thanks" to those who've helped promote your business, it makes good business sense.

Whenever you send out press releases or story ideas announcing a new development in your business that garners ink or air time, it's always proper to send a personal thank you note to those responsible. This is called relationship building. If you're nice, polite and grateful, chances are they'll remember you next time around and give your new press release a look.

I have seen people quickly shoot off letters to reporters and editors complaining about mistakes such as misspelled names made in news articles. These same people, however, say nothing when a story runs without errors. They take it for granted that they got press when that spot could have gone to many other worthy businesses or organizations.

Remember, reporters or radio / television hosts don't have to write or talk about your business. By doing so, they're giving you free PR, so be cordial and appreciative of their efforts. If a reporter has made an error, start off first by thanking them and acknowledging the positives. Then bring up the error.

When launching a new business or initiating a marketing campaign, I recommend that supplies include a nice big box of thank you cards! While gifts can be construed as payola and are not allowed by most organizations, a sincere thank you is always in style and appreciated.

Does Traditional Media Still Work? Part 3

Does traditional media still work?

More experts weigh in on this topic. Read their interesting and informative take on my question in three Marketing Moxie blog posts.

For years we've been told that traditional media such as network television, newspapers, radio, and yellow pages are not very relevant in reaching people anymore. The marketing community is abuzz about trends it finds sexier such as social networking, click on ads, viral marketing, experiential marketing, etc.

Yet presidential candidate Barack Obama, who is known for using the Internet to build his campaign, is spending several million dollars for a half hour slot on prime time, network television. From a marketing, PR and advertising perspective, what do you think of that?

Gary Selvaggio, Award Winning Creative Director & Writer: CGI & Live Action said:
Unlike Mazda or General Mills or UltraSlim, Obama's got to reach a much broader demographic. He has tailored some ads in the past, to reach daytime TV audiences or sports viewers but the half hour buy serves to speak to a wider audience.


Mary Fletcher Jones, Creative Marketing, Advertising, and Public Relations said:
I'm not a political supporter of either candidate, but I believe Obama made a wise marketing decision in using both television and social media campaigns.
I think traditional and social media often work well together. For example, you can use a print ad campaign in magazines and newspapers to drive traffic to a website. Social media usually needs a push from traditional media to get started. In terms of traditional media, the impact of cable and network television should not to be dismissed, and while radio ad revenues are declining, there is still value in the reach of radio advertising. I agree that you shouldn't waste money on the yellow pages.
The one thing you did not mention is email marketing, which has the highest ROI of all.


Jacqueline Wolven, Small Business Marketing & PR said:
As an Arkansas resident who actually watches Swing State TV from Missouri I will tell you that he has purchased prime spots to reach middle class voters. He needs a demographic that still gets their news from traditional media. In fact, he is approaching his campaign in several ways by targeting different generations.
It is valuable to point out that his brilliance is that he is a community organizer - he understands that it is person to person that changes get made. It is our personal stories and what we share with our friends and neighbors. By purchasing media spots to target a demographic that gets their stories in that manner he is further giving proof to that idea - he is giving them the tools to share his story. Brilliant.

Richard Kelleher, World’s first (used to be only) marketing sociologist said:
Does traditional media still work? You betcha. Where'd you learn about Sarah Palin, 9-11? If you depended upon Web 2.0, you'd have no knowledge of these.
Newspapers appear to be dead, but television, radio and Web news sites (Wall Street Journal, radio stations and newspapers online, etc.). You won't be making life decisions off what you learn on Twitter, MySpace or Face book. You're going to use traditional media. That's where you learned about government bailout.

Sharon Kraun, Public Relations and Marketing Consultant said:
When television first appeared, many said newspapers would die. What happened was a shift and adaption. While the medium is different, the effects it has will be the same. The media all have an audience. To make them effective marketing tools, we need to understand their strongpoints and utilize their strengths. Our marketplace is more fractured - there's not a handful of radio stations, but thousands with satellite radio: not a handful of television options, but hundreds with cable and satellite: not just a few local websites, but millions of sites, blogs, and social networks. What works? Who is your audience? What is your message? How / what is the best way to reach that audience in a way that is meaningful and will be receptive to that target audience. Each of these media does and will continue to work. Perhaps not in the same way as 5 years, 10 years or even 20 years ago. But each has a place. Barack Obama's team found a unique and impactful way to spark debate and create a dialog between the candidate and consumer. But that audiece is only one of a series of demographics with the potential to vote. Adding in a television mix doesn't mean social media didn't work. It's simply an extension of a marketing mix - a smart move if you ask me. And those who want to reach an older demographic may look to print to continue the outreach.
The cool thing is that we have so many different options. The challenge is creating the right mix for our clients. One size - one medium - doesn't fit all.

Karin's note: A special thank you to all who responded. Remember, your comments are always welcome!