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McCurry Associates Marketing Idea Exchange ArchivesVolume 63 - October 17, 2003
Idea #1 – Head’s Up For Planning DIMA/PMA – Bill McCurry With all you have going on, it’s hard to think about registering for PMA 04 already – just consider these things as you ponder your PMA plans . . . > Understand PMA’s Language – (this is not necessarily the opinion of PMA!) The DIMA sessions are two days before PMA and are different from PMA. Therefore aren’t shown on the official PMA schedule . . . Confusing to many. What you need to know is that if making money from digital is important to you then you need to arrive in Las Vegas for the sessions that start Tuesday, Feb 10. DIMA is when you learn in a more structured setting how to capitalize on digital rather than just buy stuff which starts on Thursday with the opening of PMA 04 and the trade show. Buying the equipment is important. . . but making money is most important so plan to come to DIMA with your ears and mind wide open. > Marketing Idea Exchange will be Wednesday, February 11 at 1:00 – "Mandatory" attendance for all subscribers. Be there! More importantly please send in ads, commercials, POP, brochures, everything and anything you use to promote your business so we can share it. Yes, your submissions will count as your annual subscription "payment" for this weekly email. Email to wmccurry@McCurryAssoc.com or send to Bill McCurry - 301 North Harrison Street – Suite 301 – Princeton, NJ 08540 > Attend all the divisional receptions and evening receptions you can –get out of your comfort zone - meet new people – listen more than you talk. Don’t party late so you can get up and attend every early morning session you can. . . That’s where you find the brightest people in our industry . . . up at that ungodly hour ready to take notes and improve their business. Be there! Be early so you can meet new people and listen to what makes them successful. > Have your staff join you on Saturday/Sunday. Use PMA to build your team. Bring them in for the weekend to attend the educational sessions and to walk the trade show. Get them excited about this great industry we’re in. > Mark Sunday morning’s breakfast as a "must attend" – Harold Lloyd will share "Am I The Leader I Need To Be?" Trust me on this one; he’ll be the most long term profitable speaker you’ll ever hear! Even if you have to come to DIMA for two days, go home for two days and come back on Saturday/Sunday, Harold’s insights will be worth it for you! > Do you have ideas on PMA to share? We’ll be running a bunch of them in January so send them in. Idea #2 – Digital Classes Drive Business Pat Miller-Ott – Miller’s Camera – Wenatchee, WA – www.millerscamera.com The most current idea we have had is an "Introduction to Digital Photography" class. The first 2 classes we had were at our city museum. We asked if we could use the museum for the space/auditorium set up and offered to donate all proceeds to the museum as a fund raiser. We were put in their newsletter, advertised in our store, and sent in PSA’s (Public Service Announcements) to several radio stations. It was very well received both by the public and the museum. Great for PR. The class was put together by Bill (co-owner, husband). He used a power point presentation with an LCD projector and provided a syllabus for everyone for future reference. We had a second person (employee) circulate through the audience to provide one on one help during the class. It was a great opportunity to forge new relationships, cultivate current ones and promote Miller's Camera. We also get to talk about our digital lab and how easy it is to have digital images printed on photographic paper. Idea #3 – Windows – Keep Them Current To Sell Marcia Paxton – Paxton’s Camera Video & Digital – New South Wales, Australia – www.paxtons.com Change the front window display/theme often, if you have a multiple store chain, you can give prizes for the best dressed window this works well and creates competition between stores whilst helping staff to focus in on a particular product of the month and get behind it. Idea #4 – Kid’s Tours Give Opportunity For One On One Live Infomercial Frank Johnston- -New Hope Photo - New Hope PA - newhopephotolab@aol.com One idea Ted and I have used is to host Cub Scout dens, Girl Scouts and Brownies for a look inside a photo lab. We make arrangements with a leader a couple of weeks in advance, so we can schedule our work load. If possible we try for after store closing and we try to keep the group at about 6 to 8 children, although we have handled 12 before. We give the leader a single use camera ahead of time, and ask them to use it various functions before their trip to the store. If the leader has a digital camera, we also encourage them to bring the card with them. We start by showing everyone how to unload the single use camera, card the film and process it. While it is processing we spend some time talking about the different film, speeds, etc. Once the film is processed, we put it through the 2711 and then let each of the children correct or adjust a print. After the prints are out, we show how to crop, remove red eye, create calendars and greeting cards. We also explain how we look at every image and make corrections. If there is a digital card in the group, we show how our new Kodak G3 digital input station works. The kids grasp on to all of this right away, but the real plus is that there are usually 2 or 3 adult leaders or assistants, usually moms. It is their reactions that are the greatest. We have converted several of these to regular customers, all because they realize, that we care about their pictures and we take the time to make them look the best we can. In addition, they tell other leaders in the troop about their trip, which leads to additional demonstrations. We usually do 3 - 5 of these per year. Upcoming Imaging Industry Speaking Events with Bill McCurry – >>> Information/registration for Agfa seminars at www.AgfaSuccessSeminar.com + Tuesday, November 4 – Agfa Success Seminar – Minneapolis, MN + Wednesday, November 12 – Agfa Success Seminar – Houston, TX + Thursday, November 27 – Fujifilm Professional Workshop – Tomar, Portugal – by invitation only contact wmccurry@mccurryassoc.com + Digital Image Marketing Association (DIMA) – Las Vegas - February 10-11, 2004 – Bill speaks Wednesday morning and the Marketing Idea Exchange will be Wednesday afternoon. + PMA 2004 – Las Vegas, February 12 – 15 – Bill has Night School on Friday night from 7pm to 9:50 – "Marketing That Makes You Money"
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