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MARKETING MATERIALS AVAILABLE ON LINE: Click the links below...
TO ORDER BAW 2008 MARKETING MATERIALS, CLICK HERE OFFICIAL BUSINESS APPRECIATION WEEK 2008 LOGO POSTERS Hang the Business Appreciation Week posters in your reception area or around your government office building, downtown, or local mall. When framed, the posters make excellent gifts to businesses of your choice. You may order additional posters by completing and faxing the Order Form to (804) 371-8111. "11X14" and "18X24" posters are available for order. VDBA also has a limited supply of BAW 2008 table tents (a smaller version of the poster) that can be used as table décor at events, in your reception area, or bring them around to local businesses for their display. Table tents can also be ordered by completing and faxing the Order Form to (804) 371-8111. EVENT SURVEY Please inform VDBA of your planned event by completing the Event Survey and fax to (804) 371-8111. CERTIFICATE OF RECOGNITION Frame Governor Kaine's Business Appreciation Week Certificate of Recognition and hang it in a prominent location, such as your reception area. The Governor's Certificate of Recognition can be ordered by completing and faxing the order form to 804.371.8111. CERTIFICATE OF APPRECIATION Use this Sample Certificate of Appreciation to produce your own certificates to frame and/or distribute to businesses of your choice. You can easily tailor the certificate by adding your organization's logo, your local official's signature, and the name of the company to which you are sending the certificate. NEWS RELEASE Business editors (print) and news directors (radio and TV) are always looking for story ideas, especially ones with a local angle. Your goal is to provide them information about your events that their readers/listeners might find interesting and tell them who they can talk with locally for more details and quotes (prearranged with that individual). A Sample News Release is provided which should appear on your letterhead and be customized as indicated in the sample. Send copies of the news release to all the newspapers, radio stations and television stations that serve your area. Call their respective business reporters or news directors to be sure they have received it and answer any questions they might have. Give them several contact names and phone numbers to make it as easy as possible for them to cover all the important details of the events locally. Encourage them to notify their readers of the upcoming events AND to come to the events to cover them for their readers. If there will be interesting photo opportunities (TV stations and print media are looking for the visual angle), let them know what you envision and encourage them to send a photographer. Provide tickets to the event, if appropriate. It is important to send out your news releases at least two weeks ahead of your event for newspapers, radio and TV stations. It's also a good idea to give follow-up phone calls to your contacts at the various outlets the day before your event to see if additional information is needed. Submit your news release and the logo to other business organizations for use in their publications, such as chamber newsletters, company employee newsletters, and professional association newsletters. PRINT ADVERTISING Insert the provided logo in the section of your local newspaper most widely read by the business community. You may also add your organization's thank you above or beneath the ad provided with a personal thank you. If the cost of advertising is a deterrent, approach other local organizations such as the chamber of commerce or your regional economic development organization, about pooling advertising resources. If you are a non-profit organization, you may find that your local newspaper will be willing to provide some complimentary advertising or a reduced rate for advertising, especially if they can be recognized as a sponsor. They benefit every day from businesses that advertise with them, and might appreciate the opportunity to say thank you as well. In fact, Business Appreciation Week lends itself well to seeking underwriters who can sponsor your advertising and benefit from a pro-business approach. While the week is an effort to thank all businesses, companies such as banks, utility companies, temporary employment agencies, other business-to-business providers are likely to welcome the opportunity to associate themselves with such an event to thank their clients as well. Be sure to show potential sponsors some of the collateral materials such as the logo and explain how you can tie in the name of their organization with your local advertising, press releases, etc. The more information you can give, and the more impressive the materials you show, the more likely you are to get a positive response. RADIO ADVERTISING If you are interested in purchasing a radio spot or pursuing a Public Service Announcement (PSA), call your local radio stations and ask to speak with the person in charge of community programming or public service announcements. They can tell you what format (reel or cassette) they require and whether they might use the PSA you provide. The sooner you contact them and arrange to deliver the recorded announcement, the more likely they will work your PSA into their schedule. The Federal Communications Commission requires stations to provide a certain amount of free airtime to non-profit organizations, so you might be able to get free promotions for your events. The station already may have filled their quota, however, or may decide that this event is not appropriate for their audience. Even if they do use the PSA you provide, they dictate when they will run it according to when they have openings. Radio stations can benefit from being a sponsor, just as publications do. They usually are heavily subsidized by business advertising and might run your PSA more often if they receive sponsor recognition. Pre-recorded public service announcements can be customized with an announcer tag that identifies your organization and all of its sponsors, as well as mentioning the local events. Radio stations will generally provide an announcer and record this tag information free of charge or use it live. To increase the chances of them using your PSA, submit both the PSA commercial and the PSA scripts, which include a 10-second, 15-second and 20-second read. This gives them a choice to use the recorded PSA or to read a PSA, whichever they prefer at the moment. Best of luck with your promotions, and please let us know if we can be of any assistance. Email us at will.vehrs@vdba.virginia.gov for more information on planning and promoting your celebration. About the VDBA | Virginia Business Information Center | Small Business Development |
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