Tony Miresse - Art's Cameras Plus - Greenfield, West Allis and Waukesha, WI - www.artscameras .com

Well, we finally opened our new store so I thought you might like to see a few shots. We're very proud of how it turned out and wish the photos could do it justice. Most are of the digital suite but you can get a glimpse of our merchandise displays from some of them.

The kid shots were from a Radio Disney event we did. We figured if we got the kids to come the parents would get a good look at the store. The kids did a craft, played games, and listened to music while the parents got a demo of the digital print suite, browsed for cameras.

Kids went out with a goodie bag and prizes, parents got a sample bag of Berres Brothers coffee and instructions to bring us the empty bag that had our logo and a coupon for $5 in free digital prints on it.

We also made a deal with the coffee roasters to sell us individual, 1 pot packages of coffee with our logo on them and an offer “return this package and receive $5 in FREE digital prints”. We bought $1,000 at $.79 each – less than the cost of a pen and it helps us make a point about our digital printing.

Unfortunately the weather was awful (40's and raining) but the kids had a blast and we introduced our self to a bunch of Jennifers in the process - many of whom I've seen in the store since.

Our Grand Opening started on Sunday with an 8-page newspaper insert.

We're having a multi-rep demo Friday and Saturday that should hopefully get the season off to a good start.

We’ve gone with a “Life Style” layout this time. Instead of arranging everything by manufacturer, we’re grouping like cameras together under a heading that pertains to the type of camera it is. I hope you like it. Still trying to get all the new content up on the site – pictures of the new store and updated pictures of the other two since we improved our digital print areas, listing the new cameras etc.

Editor's note -

From Bill McCurry

We apologize to all those who were unable to attend the special dealers' open house at Dan's Camera yesterday due to "sold out" conditions . . . Everyone who promptly responded to the MMIE got in . . . those who waited until last Friday were toast . . . those who waited until the last minute to get hotel reservations in the area were scrambling and paying lots of money.

Yes, we turned people away . . . Yes we had people from St Louis (864 miles), from Warsaw, IN (663 miles), Anderson, IN (606 miles), Dayton, OH (519 miles), Charleston, WV (447 miles), Belmont, MA (302 miles), Leetsdale, PA (299 miles), Altoona, PA (202 miles), Beltsville, MD (177 miles), Milford, CT (160 miles), Hagerstown, MD (154 miles), Waynesboro, PA (150 miles)

What's the point of this list? Partly to congratulate the Dan's Camera team for building such a great business that people will come from miles just to get an inside look, partly that he who hesitates is lost . . . We turned down lots of people because they waited until the week before to sign up . . . and last week we put on the website "closed due to space limitations" . . . Don't make the same mistake for the best sessions in Las Vegas or your desired hotel/air carrier for DIMA and PMA . . . (notice I'm adding DIMA - many people still don't understand they are different and on different days.) Lesson to be learned: sign up today! Ya gotta go, so go where/when you want, don't be told "not available" because you delayed.

If you didn't get your hard copy in the mail as yet, here's a chance to see the complete program for 2007's DIMA/PMA/PPFA/SPAA/ISPA convention and educational sessions in Las Vegas.

You might want to make hotel reservations soon, because once more NASCAR will be in town!

We suggest you right- click on this address and download the 5 MB PDF file to your computer. PMA has promised to keep the posting updated.

Have your sent in your contribution to the McCurry Marketing Idea Exchange? Remember four points:

• You promised, when you signed up for the exchange, to "pay your dues" by sharing a marketing idea at least annually.
• You're a lot smarter than those other dudes who have been sending in ideas.
• Behaviour that gets rewarded gets repeated, and we've been sending nice candy bars to every one who sends in a real idea.
• That promotion ends when we take our publishing break for the holidays!

The last issue of the McCurry Marketing Idea Exchange will be published Wednesday, November 22nd, so you can read it before the USA Thanksgiving holiday.

We will resume publication January 4, 2007.

You can still earn your sweet reward by sending us your idea before our hiatus, even if it doesn't get used until next year.