Banking on an advertising blitz

Love you? We hardly know you. Last month Union First Market Bank launched a marketing blitz to increase awareness and curiosity by asking, “Is it so wrong to love a bank?” Ads for the new entity (called “Union” for short) include at least two billboards along interstates 64 and 95, as well as two TV spots and a sideline ad at the Richmond Coliseum during the Colonial Athletic Association’s men’s basketball tournament over the weekend. [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k1slKnTzYmc[/youtube] [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pd2cpbUSrvE[/youtube] “Nowadays, banks are not seen very well in the eyes of the public. We want to let people know we are not one of those big Wall Street banks,” explained Olen Thomas, a vice president and chief marketing officer at the bank. Thomas said the bank, which is spending more than $500,000 on the campaign, would start airing more ads on TV and in print March 22, when ...

March Madness for man parts

Here’s a marketing challenge: Get men to let a surgeon approach their privates with a scalpel. Will a free pizza from Papa John’s do the trick? Virginia Urology is pitching a sort of March Madness, urging men to get vasectomies in March so that they can watch the games without having to do chores or go to work. As if required rest weren’t enough of an incentive, Papa John’s is donating a free pizza to anybody who books an appointment through March. And the campaign is working. Terry Coffey, CEO of Virginia Urology, which has nine clinics in the metro area, said his practice has been running the ads on radio and TV for about 10 days and has seen a response. “We have gotten a little bit of a peak in inquiries and consulting appointments,” said Coffey. “Even if they are not in the market for a vasectomy at the moment, hopefully they will remember us in the future.” [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84ynNfzYVO0&feature=player_embedded[/youtube] Coffey said that the procedure costs about $700 and that coverage is available from most insurance plans. The practice has 300 employees, 30 of which are urologists, said Coffey. Urology clinics across the country are running similar promotions. The first practice to run the promotion was in Oregon in 2008. That practice shared the idea at a urology conference, and the concept has spread.

Small-screen appearances mean big business

Having nosy cameramen filming your every move makes it harder to get work done. But it can be well worth the nuisance to appear on TV. Four Richmond businesses have used the national spotlight to sell their brands and their personalities, boosting their exposure beyond Richmond. “I watched it air with my wife and a few friends, and halfway through my BlackBerry started going nuts with emails from people wanting franchise information,” said Michael Barnett, CEO of Romp n’ Roll, who went on ABC’s “Shark Tank” with his wife/co-founder. “In just a few weeks, over 400 people have contacted us about a franchise. That’s about how many inquiries most companies get in about a year.”

Um, did I just see you on a billboard?

Debra Ruh is no stranger to the spotlight, but billboards – that’s kicking it up a notch.

Ruh has been on the cover of Virginia Business magazine, and she’s been written up in Fortune.

But now Ruh’s face is on the side of San Francisco’s Bay Bridge. The founder and CEO of TecAccess, a Rockville-based firm that helps companies make sure their websites are accessible for people with disabilities, is receiving a wave of global attention from her involvement in Dell’s Take Your Own Path advertising campaign.

Countertop couture

Granite will never replace leather in the handbag market, but Goochland-based stone retailer Charles Luck has just published “Perspectives,” an “architectural and design forecast” influenced as much by the runways of New York as the Earth’s quarries.

Luck Stone brand manager Heidi LaSalata has spent the past year observing trends in stone and compiled her findings in “Perspectives,” a design forecast publication and an industry first, according to LaSalata.

“When we launched Charles Luck Stone Center, we thought it would be neat to look at what the fashion industry does and promote our products seasonally,” she said.

(You can see a BizSense video tour of Luck Stone's HQ here. )

Writing the book on thought leadership

A veteran of the advertising business is launching a new venture along with a well known local writer/consultant. Stephen Martin, co-founder of the Martin Agency, and Jim Bacon, a business journalist/editor who helped start Virginia Business magazine, have launched Thought Leader Marketing. The firm is part marketing, part public relations and part literary agent and writing coach.

Monday Q&A: Can you really sell Twitter services?

The way people communicate might change, but people have always gossiped – whether it’s through two tin cans connected by twine or text messages and Facebook postings.

But now companies can listen to the chatter, and there might be valuable information in it, according to Dean Browell, co-founder of Feedback. The new firm specializes in social media campaigns and research work outsourced from PR and ad agencies.  In June BizSense ran a series on how local companies are (or are not) using social media.

Browell and co-founder Jeff Thompson started up last week and are doing work for several national and regional clients through Neathawk, Dubuque and Packett, the same ad agency where two most recently worked together. They are also doing work for a few other firms as well.

Country crooner launches ad startup

A 26-year-old former Air Force musician has launched his own company in Richmond, an advertising startup called Valupump.

“We’re still pounding the pavement, trying to figure out who the ideal candidates are,” said Michael Mason, the sole employee of the firm.

The idea is to pay gas station owners to let Valupump install coupon dispensers above their pumps, for which Valupump receives money from companies to place their coupons. The coupons or ads are printed on sticky note type pages, which use an adhesive that loses its stickiness when it is removed. The pads are placed inside of a clear plastic dispenser above the pump.

Ad Report Card: Isn’t she a little young?

Maybe you’ve seen the billboard, too, and likely done a double-take.

The copy leaps from the background: “Isn’t she a little young?” In smaller, blockier (more authoritarian, perhaps) type: “Sex with a minor, don’t go there.”

Go ahead, enjoy a quick snicker.

The Virginia Department of Health has been running the anti-statutory rape campaign for five years, and the billboards still pop up on occasion thanks to ongoing federal welfare funding.

Local TV news for the working stiff

CBS 6 has added a 7 p.m. newscast to its lineup.

That means across the networks in Richmond, you can get local news from 4:30 p.m. through 7:30 p.m.

“People who work late or are at the gym or grocery store at 5 or 6 o’clock may not be able to watch an evening newscast,” said Bill Anderson, the station news director.

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