Campbell, Harrington & Brear

August 23rd, 2011
Posted By: Allan Pettit

Hey, this isn’t California. This the East Coast, baby, where earthquakes and Halley’s Comet keep similarly low profiles.  Until today, that is, when a 5.9 quake centered over Louisa County, VA, spread rumbles as far north as Martha’s Vinyard. So just in case you forgot what to do when the walls start swaying and the earth starts shaking, here’s an earthquake refresher, courtesy of our friends at FEMA.

If indoors…

1. Drop to the ground. Take cover by getting under a sturdy table or other piece of furniture and hold on until the shaking stops. If there isn’t a table or desk near you, cover your face and head with your arms and crouch in an inside corner of the building.
2. Stay away from glass, windows, outside doors and walls, and anything that could fall, such as lighting fixtures or furniture.
3. Stay in bed if you are there when the earthquake strikes. Hold on and protect your head with a pillow, unless you are under a heavy light fixture that could fall. In that case, move to the nearest safe place.
4. Use a doorway for shelter only if it is in close proximity to you and if you know it is a strongly supported, loadbearing doorway.
5. Stay inside until the shaking stops and it is safe to go outside. Research has shown that most injuries occur when people inside buildings attempt to move to a different location inside the building or try to leave.
6. Be aware that the electricity may go out or the sprinkler systems or fire alarms may turn on.
7. DO NOT use the elevators.

If outdoors…

1. Stay there
2. Move away from buildings, streetlights, and utility wires.
3. Once in the open, stay there until the shaking stops. The greatest danger exists directly outside buildings, at exits and alongside exterior walls. Many of the 120 fatalities from the 1933 Long Beach earthquake occurred when people ran outside of buildings only to be killed by falling debris from collapsing walls. Ground movement during an earthquake is seldom the direct cause of death or injury. Most earthquake-related casualties result from collapsing walls, flying glass, and falling objects.

If in a moving vehicle…

1. Stop as quickly as safety permits and stay in the vehicle. Avoid stopping near or under buildings, trees, overpasses, or utility wires.
2. Proceed cautiously once the earthquake has stopped. Avoid roads, bridges, or ramps that might have been damaged by the earthquake.

If trapped under debris…

1. Do not light a match.
2. Do not move about or kick up dust.
3. Cover your mouth with a handkerchief or clothing.
4. Tap on a pipe or wall so rescuers can locate you. Use a whistle if one is available. Shout only as a last resort. Shouting can cause you to inhale dangerous amounts of dust.

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August 9th, 2011
Posted By: Mel Campbell, Jr.

Now we are down to the final chapter … if “advertising” in the phone directories is not the way to go what should you do?

Here are the steps to a better advertising approach while spending your companies money more effectively and efficiently.

1. Drop all of your phonebook directory advertising.  All of it.
2. Do not enter into the phone directory company’s new on-line services.
3. Take your existing directory commitment budget and put it all on red in Vegas.  Just kidding.
4. Take your existing directory commitment budget and develop a strategic new media plan of your own that includes a well thought out website, a social media component, e-blast marketing, and support it with a strong SEO program and possibly an SEM program.
5. It must start with a strategic plan first.
6. It must be supported by a strong SEO commitment.
7. Everything must be executed by well qualified, new media experts with at least five solid years of experience.  Find a good company, they are out there.  Try 717-846-2947.
8. If you can’t do it all in one year, build it over a number of years.  Website with SEO first.
9. Embrace your program and commit time to it.  It will pay off with business results much better than your yellow page advertising ever did.

The good news is by reassigning your phone directory dollars you can move into the new interactive media world without additional expense.

THE END.

AUTHOR’S NOTE: For the record.  Over the past thirty-four years or so, none of the companies who followed our recommendation to drop yellow page advertising ever went out of business.  Nor did they lose business.  They all survived and in many cases flourished because they put those phone directory promotional dollars into alternate media that really did advance their business.

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August 1st, 2011
Posted By: Allan Pettit

The York Builders Insurance Trust needed some marketing jiu-jitsu.

The Trust has been serving the insurance needs of York Builders Association members for nearly half a century. It seemed as if their marketing plan had been around about that long, too.

“Association members had been seeing and hearing the same message over several years,” says CH&B’s Director New Business Development Angela Wenner, herself an active member of the York Builders Association. “Members were either becoming bored with it or ignoring it altogether. We thought it was time they updated their look and message and joined the electronic age.”

At the center of our recommendation was our plan to rebuild an existing website on a new content-managed, SEO-friendly platform, allowing better search engine visibility. The content was also revised to more effectively sell the Trust and provide SEO advantages.

To drive traffic to the site, we crafted a 12-month advertising schedule around three fresh print ads and three new digital ads that are rotating throughout the year in various York Builders Association vehicles.

We also provided an email marketing package that includes a custom email sending tool, as well as an email template design that carries the new brand look. Combined with a user friendly list management component, the Trust can now create and send regular targeted messages that inform existing customers and/or prospects.

“What we have done for them is create discipline and consistency within an easy-to-use platform that allows them to manage their own marketing on a very small budget,” says Angela. “And they’ve embraced it whole-heartedly.”

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