Marketing Buzz 12/01 Proving your company's longevity, discounted magazine ads and inexpensive rich media e-mail marketing

Hangin' Tough

"We're still here. We're not going anywhere,"says Michael Beresford, founder of NetScope Inc., a Web developmentfirm in Irvine, California. It's a refrain he's repeatedoften in the wake of the dotcom bust. It seems a dark cloudcontinues to shadow Net-related businesses, and companies likeNetScope have been undeservedly tainted by association.

Proving that NetScope is still thriving is a major marketingchallenge for Beresford since the fallout. To solve the problem, heand his crew launched a streaming e-mail marketing campaignfeaturing animated versions of themselves. Using tongue-in-cheekhumor and Flash and HTML technology, NetScope draws attention tothe fact that the company has prospered despite the downturn andcontinues to succeed, thanks to good service and businesspractices. Says Beresford, 32, "It's a fun approach. Yes,the market crashed, and all these dotcoms [failed]. But peoplestill need to market their companies; the Internet's not goingaway."

NetScope plans to use follow-up phone calls to complete thecampaign-and win new clients. "The ultimate goal is to get infront of them so we can do our presentation," Beresford says.And, of course, show just how different NetScope is from all thosedefunct dotcoms.

Low-Ball Ads

Need to stretch your advertising budget? Be on the prowl for"remnant space" in major magazines-it comes availablewhen a company pulls an ad or misses a deadline. Instead of runningpublic service ads or self-promos, publications would prefer tosell the space at a discounted rate-from 30 to 70 percent off theregular rate.

Don Carlin, COO of media buying agency Pro Media Inc. in Natick,Massachusetts, offers these tips for funding these sweet deals:Negotiate remnant space as part of your overall media buy or as"added value" (that's free for good customers), andset aside bucks to take advantage of last-minute opportunities.

Rich e-Mail, Cheap!

We've all seen those groovy e-mails with cool characters andmultimedia graphics. Big corporations use 'em, but can growingcompanies get in on the action-without breaking the bank? We foundthat BeemaInc.-a Campbell, California, provider of rich media servicessuch as e-mail marketing-offers options at affordable prices.

Beema's online store has lots of e-mail templates you cancustomize with logos, graphics and fonts. Prices range from $300 to$3,500, with many templates hovering around the $1,700 mark. If youlack the desire or capability to send e-mails from your server,don't miss the MyBeema service-for a few cents per message,Beema will handle it for you.

Kimberly L. McCall is president of McCall's Media &Marketing, a business communications company in Freeport,Maine. Nichole L. Torres is a staff writer at BIZ Experiencesmagazine.

Contact Sources

• NetScope Inc.
  (949)450-1122, www.net-scope.com
• Pro Media Inc.
  (508) 903-9214, www.promedia-inc.com