Many of the shirts you see in the video were printed and sponsored by DTNtech. We’re glad to have been a part of this historic event.

To find out more: http://www.gioitre.org/

Video from VYC III: http://www.gioitre.org/vyc3/

Garden Grove High School ASB: Anvil Tank, SportTEK Baseball Shirt, American Apparel V-Neck Shirt

“At a time when Main Street is calling for the scalps of business titans from John Thain, the former chief executive officer of Merrill Lynch, to Ken Lewis, CEO of Bank of America, somehow Donald Trump remains unscathed. Not just unscathed but extremely popular….He has mastered the art of defining the core values of his brand and leveraging his brand equity to appeal to a wide customer base. In a time when consumers are seeking to stretch their shopping dollars further than ever before by buying brands they trust and know are of good value, companies absolutely need to define themselves and differentiate themselves. The winners will be those who carve out and cultivate their brand positions. They can take many cues from Trump.” -Excerpt from FORBES

Read more: http://www.forbes.com/2009/05/04/donald-trump-marketing-leadership-managing-image.html

As entrepreneurs and small business owners, it seems as if everything must be done individually. With fusion marketing however, collaborating is the key. Those who are the most likely to make alliances with you would be those who are termed “power partners”. Power partners are those who are in a similar market as you but do not necessarily compete with you. For example, a makeup artist and a photographer; a designer and a printer; an entrepreneur and an investor.

These collaborations can pave the way for a more successful business through joint coupons offered at the collaborating locations, incentives for purchases made for your product/your partner’s product, joint sales calls, joint advertisements – the possibilities are boundless.

Marketing requires a set of deliberate, planned-out steps with a persistent communication and execution. Though the probability to getting someone to act upon your offers is not immediate, the long run effect is increased revenue.

Seven steps to setting up your own fusion marketing arrangement:

Step 1: Define your power partners. Power partners are associates who are in a similar market but do not necessarily compete with you. They would be able to benefit from collaborating with you. (ie. Makeup artist and a photographer, massage therapist and a chiropractor)

Step 2: Figure out with your power partner what your offer will be. A graphic designer may give free small design while the printer offers 250 free business cards. A makeup artist can give a free trial and the photographer can give a discount on a minimum order of 10 portraits. Come up with a joint offer that works best.

Step 3: Write up a general letter of agreement. This document will state who does what and gets what so that there will be smoother communication. It does not have to be a major legal document.

Step 4: Package it up. Put together all the verbiage. Both businesses can write up separate documents (ie. sales letters, e-mail letters, marketing copies) and compare notes with one another.

Step 5: Combine mailing lists and communicate to both sets. It does not matter if you have more or less than your partner because ultimately when you combine both sets, everyone wins. You can do this through direct mail or e-mail.

Step 6: Be responsive to any responses. Fulfill offers and make it easy to sign up, buy, and keep track. Following up and giving attention to the prospects will convert them to regular clients.

Step 7: Follow up. Continue to market to the converted people as follow-up marketing.

- Guerrilla Marketing: Easy and Inexpensive Strategies for Making Big Profits from Your Small Business by Jay Conrad Levinson ($14.95 – Borders)

- Guerrilla Marketing In 30 Days by Jay Conrad Levinson ($19.95 – Borders)

- Startup Guide to Guerrilla Marketing: A Simple Battle Plan for First-Time Marketers by Jeannie Levinson ($21.95 – Borders)

As the beginning of June starts to roll around, so does the beginning of summer. The students are out of school and families flock towards fun filled festivals, concerts, and events. However for the business minded, the summer brings upon many opportunities for increased sales, image building, and a growing customer base.

Events are a great way for businesses to get their name out there. In order to maximize the greatest return from an event, it’s crucial that the business has an actual presence at the event, whether it is through a booth, sponsorship, or providing services. Booths are a great way for the public to get to know more about the business, a sort of information center for their products and/or services. However with so many booths rallying for attention, it is vital that your booth stands out from the rest.

This is where promotional items come into play. The key to picking successful promotional items lies in its purpose and appropriateness for the event. At a marathon for example, your business can pass out your own branded water bottles, visors, and towels. The water bottles, which are used immediately, would prompt conversation at the event itself. The visors and towels, items that are not so easily discarded, will serve to bring the brand home. The consistent appearance of your business’ name would prompt interest in the guests. Pens, brochures, and notebooks assembled in eco-friendly tote bags emblazoned with the business logo can be handed out easily to passerbys; to be looked over when they reach home.

This summer when you’re out there promoting your business at a local festival, remember to have fun while you’re at it. Not only does it make you more approachable, it serves as a representation of your company. Look at Best Buy for example, even though the prices may be more expensive than another competitor, what makes the consumer spend that extra $50 is the great customer service. Owning a business isn’t just about making money, it’s about loving what you do and making an impact on those around you.

My topic of study for the past week has been Sub-Saharan Africa. Though the region as a whole was an interesting topic, what captivated me the most was the country of Botswana. Botswana produces the 2^nd highest GDP growth in Sub-Saharan Africa, right after South Africa. What sets Botswana apart from South Africa is that Botswana does not have a mixed economy, but relies upon one main source of income: diamonds.

De Beers, a high-end luxury brand of jewelry known for engagement rings, originated from South Africa. The development of diamonds as a scarce resource was actually a pretty recent development. In the late 1800s when large diamond mines were being discovered by the ton, the British financiers who organized the mines came to the realization that their investments were in danger and that the high price of diamonds depended on their scarcity. In 1888, the major investors of the diamond mines merged together to form De Beers Consolidated Mines, Ltd., in South Africa. This single entity was powerful enough to control the production and create the illusion of the scarcity of diamonds.

 Now you’re reading this and you’re wondering, what does this have to do with marketing? I’ll tell you.

During the Depression when people were more worried about putting bread on the table than buying diamonds, the price of diamonds dropped. In order to bring the price up, De Beers had to come up with a strategy that would make people want to buy diamonds but not resell them. Their solution was the engagement ring and the motto “A diamond is forever”. Even though diamonds can be shattered, chipped, discolored, or incinerated into ash, the concept of eternity was branded.

De Beers branded the idea to the diamond through relentless marketing in the media, schools, and everyday social life. Three years after the launch of the campaign, it was reported that the sale of diamonds had increased 55% in the United States. De Beers will later on find extreme successes in other countries such as Japan, Germany, and Brazil. Through well-orchestrated advertising and public-relations campaigns, one company was able to change their market with the idea that the larger and finer the diamond, the greater the expression of love.

Now that is the power of marketing.

Marketing flourishes with reinvention and innovation. The competition is fierce for the sound bite length of a consumer’s attention…and that sound bite determines the success of failure of a campaign.

As a student of marketing, I make an effort to learn as much as I can from the marketing industry. Several of my peers and I went on a tour today at The Designory, an interactive marketing agency whose broad range of clients include Infiniti, Universal, and Fatburger. Located in downtown Long Beach, the drive there was a bit hectic due to crowd attracted to the Toyota Grand Prix. However, the tour of The Designory made up for all of it.

Within those four stories of marketing goodness, it’s difficult to tell the state of the outside economy. When I spoke with Eric, the “talent scout” of the agency, he made a point to emphasize that it was due to good communication and great customer service that sets Designory apart from their competitors. Furthermore, innovative techniques such as making pamphlets where potential clients and interactively explore a new car brings them ahead of the game. (ie. One of their campaigns for Nissan Cube included a CD that and perforated cards that allowed the consumer to interact with the vehicle in 3D)

So all in all, innovation and great customer service goes a long way. A company does not need to spend a lot of money in order to be creative. Do not view hard times and lack of finances as a barrier to creativity, but the foundation for creativity.

One of the members of our local community now needs your help. Matthew, who has given so much to the community through his work with Asians for Miracle Marrow Matches was ironically and unexpectedly diagnosed with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia in June 2007. Acute Myelogenous Leukemia is a cancer of the blood and bone marrow – the spongy tissue inside the bone where blood cells are made. Though he underwent chemotherapy for sixteen months, the treatment was unsuccessful. Within the short period of six months following his treatment, the cancer relapsed in February 2009.

Matthew now needs to find a bone marrow match in order to save his life. You can be the match that can give Matthew and others battling blood diseases a second chance to live.

Look within yourself and be that hero.

For more information:

www.marrow.org

www.teammatthew.org

www.asianmarrow.org

We want to start to SPOTlight a few of our clients!  If you are interested in being a SPOTlight, just email serena@dtntech.com and we can get you setup.  It’s a wonderful way to tell us about your organization and GET YOUR NAME OUT THERE!  We will put a link on here - FREE of charge - so others can find out more about your company!

(this was a suggestion from one of our clients!  YOU too can make a suggestion - we are open to new ideas so let us know!)

HAPPY MARKETING!