Archive for September, 2009

The Daily Nonpareil newspaper of Council Bluffs picked up on the Media Release of Miller Marketing becoming Vamonos Marketing.   Council Bluffs is the hometown of Vamonos Marketing and President Dan Miller.
Reporter Chad Nation of the Nonpareil contacted Dan about doing a story on Bluffs-based Vamonos Marketing that utilizes both traditional media and new media in our ever mobile world.

It would seem questionable for an ice cream shop to kick off a text marketing campaign during September, let alone any ad program. Because in the Midwest, September is when hot days become warm, nights go from bearable to jacket weather and ice cream shops hunker down till the next spring. So when we met with Lon Nichols, regional manager with Cold Stone Creamery, about doing a future text coupon program with his three Omaha stores we were surprised when he wanted to start in September!

Lon was looking at the bigger picture. If he could begin now to slowly build up that customer data base over six months he would have a sizable bank of phone numbers to blast out text offers by next summer. And while the data base was growing, he could send out text discounts for buying Cold Stone Creamery ice cream cakes over the holiday season.

In our meeting with Lon, my text marketing partner Steve Morse recognized a great opportunity to jump start the sign-up process. On September 24th, all the Cold Stone Creamery stores nationwide were having their annual ice cream social for the Make-A-Wish Foundation. That evening, when you donate to Make-A-Wish at the store, you get a free dish of their homemade ice cream. In previous years the turn out has been huge—even in Omaha in September. Steve proposed that we print up business cards promoting the text marketing to hand out that evening, encouraging customers to opt-in now for future text specials. He and I would attend and personally invite as many as possible to receive Cold Stone Creamery coupons on their phones.

The evening of Thursday September 24th was beautiful and the people came. Steve and I each took a store and handed out a bunch of cards. We watched some people opt-in right on the spot to get their first text coupon. The text promotion signage was also up in the stores and Lon made it a point for his employees to opt-in themselves and be more familiarto persuade customers to sign up. The kick-off effort was good. By the end of the weekend over 75 people joined in to receive the initial text coupon on their phone! So for September, the text marketing campaign for Cold Stone Creamery in Omaha is off to an encouraging start.

Dan

R J Nelson Company–a heating and air contractor–desired to target and entice homeowners in their hometown of Council Bluffs to buy a new Tempstar air conditioning system. Combining special offers from the manufacturer with their own incentives, a direct mail post card was printed and sent to every homeowner in the community. Post cards can being very effective as they instantly deliver the message without needing someone to rip open an envelope. The mailing was sent in May to get as many new installation jobs booked before the hot weather arrived.
Unfortunately, the cards were dropped in one of the most unseasonably cool weeks of May on record and the response was less than stellar. The lesson learned was chilly weather can trump even the best of hot offers. Maybe that comes off as an excuse but one wonders how well this inducement would have succeeded in more A/C conducive warmth.

Even though Xtreme Wheels bicycle shop is in a neighboring state to Offutt Air Force Base, quite a few military personnel have made their way over to shop for Trek bikes. It’s actually easier to come up from the base in Bellevue, Nebraska to shop for Trek bikes in Council Bluffs, Iowa than it is to go to the Trek store in Omaha.
So Xtreme Wheels has used the Air Pulse weekly paper (now called Base 68113) to promote their store and Trek selection. To further attract customers from the base, Xtreme Wheels offers a military discount.

Being located near Offutt Air Force Base, a large prospective patient base for Bellevue Family Eyecare is military personal and their families. When opening this location, the eye doctors qualified to be accepted as providers on Tricare, the military’s health insurance plan. Of all the advertising investments made by the office, this ad placed in “Base 68113″–the official weekly paper of Offutt AFB–has produced the highest amount of new patients.
The ad is proof that simple can be effective. This was just a matter of getting out their name and Tricare acceptance in order to be on the airmen’s radar of eye care providers.

One of the key differences to Rockbrook Village in Omaha is that you’ll find no national chain stores. It’s an entire shopping center made of individual, local businesses. Over 65 of them! For the shopper, the benefit of local merchants means unique merchandise and a more personal shopping experience. Who doesn’t like that? The visuals and verbal message combine to tell this unique story. We had the benefit in producing the commercial of showing some owners right at work in their own businesses. That’s local!

Almost everyone who gets in a hot tub at a hotel or a friend’s says, “Wow, wouldn’t it be great to have one of these at home!” So if they all want a spa… why don’t they buy one? Aqua Palace addresses that very question in this short message. The goal is simply to get consumers intrigued enough to take their doubts, concerns and objections about buying a hot tub–and just come into Aqua Palace!

Here are a variety of different Radio commercials over the years produced and aired by Vamonos Marketing.

Introducing new expanded meat shop opening at Mexico Lindo, a Mexican grocery store with :60 message produced for Spanish speaking consumers titled “¡La Carnicería Está Abierta!”

Fast-paced, hard sell commercial for regional motorcycle rally. Has to be fast to get everything the promote wants squeezed in :60. Hang on tight for this one!