03/11/2010

Ontario offers discounts to convention attendees
The membership card has been a tactic successfully employed by public radio and television stations to increase their fundraising efforts by offering subscribers discounts at local restaurants, spa and beauty businesses, specialty stores, bookstores and museums and art galleries.

Bang for the buck
Some Inland Empire officials believe explosions, fire and mayhem can go a long way to giving a boost to the local economy. At least, when it comes to attracting movie and television productions.

03/10/2010

Seeing green in 3D
Before the Na'vi in James Cameron's "Avatar" and Johnny Depp in Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland" took on another dimension -- and an extra few bucks for each ticket sold -- movie theater owners spent between $65,000 to $125,000 per auditorium to retrofit screens and projectors to show the reach-out-and-touch-air effects in 3-D films.

The glasses? Some cost theater owners from $20 to $40 each.

03/02/2010

Corona firm Lucas Oil furthers brand on TV
Frozen on a flat-screen television was a close-up image of a helmeted boat racer giving the camera a thumbs-up.

Inside Lucas Oil's Corona headquarters, a video editor flicked to a moment before, when the racer's high-speed boat caught a whiff of air and flipped end over end, splintering into pieces in the water.

Video: Inside Lucas Oil's televison studio in Corona

02/24/2010

Creative edge boosts local agency
When ad industry veterans Mike Schaff and Dea Goldsmith founded their boutique agency, Echo-Factory, they were looking to do things their way.

01/13/2010

Inland Web site development firm making mark
Rob Frye, founder of Web design firm Frye/Wiles, may be based in a small downtown Riverside office but it hasn't kept his company from being put on retainer by a social networking startup in Washington state started by former Microsoft employees.

Video: CEO Profile: Rob Frye

01/12/2010

Desmond McLeish adds California Employers Association to client roster
Desmond McLeish, Inc., a full-service public relations agency in Redlands, recently announced the addition of its newest client - California Employers Association.

11/06/2009

Hansen posts strong earnings
Hansen Natural Corp. on Thursday continued to display its ability to ride out rough economic times by posting solid third-quarter earnings, although they did fall slightly short of analysts' predictions.

11/03/2009

Outdoor Channel reports a quarterly profit
Outdoor Channel Holdings Inc., the Temecula-based television network, reported a profit of $1.4 million in the third quarter, equating to 5 cents per share, according to a statement released this afternoon.

10/29/2009

2,000 mix it up at IE networking event
About 2,000 people attended the IE World's Largest Mixer networking event on Oct. 22 at the Ontario Convention Center.

The Business Press aired a live webcast from the event, and selected interviews are available at www.thebizpress.com.

Here are excerpts from some of the interviews:

Bradley Anderson, KTIE radio

6 Steps to tell people about your fan page
Q. Now that I have a Facebook Fan Page, how do I promote it? How do I get people who are not already on my friend list to join? Darren S.

10/23/2009

Hansen settles trademark dispute with brewer
Hansen Natural Corp. has settled its trademark dispute with a small Vermont brewing company after stores in four Eastern states pulled Hansen's products off the shelves.

10/22/2009

Great customer service fits in your glove
I was playing golf with my 3-year-old granddaughter last week and she asked, “Why do you wear a glove?” I told her that the glove gives me a better grip on my golf clubs. She then asked, “Does it make you win?” and I said “No, it just helps me play better.”

10/16/2009

Corona chamber of commerce executive learned on the job
The typical chamber of commerce executive director these days went to a good college and came out with a degree, usually in something like marketing, management or business administration.

Video: CEO PROFILE: Bobby Spiegel

Tabletop advertising business has growth on menu
In the coming months, customers sitting down to eat at some Hemet area restaurants will increasingly see their tables adorned with more than the usual place settings and salt-and-pepper shakers.

Tom Stuart earlier this year started West Coast Tabletop Advertising, which supplies restaurants and bars with free tables carrying ads, which he generates from local businesses.

10/13/2009

Hansen wants a Vermont brewery to stop selling "The Vermonster"
The Vermonster is many things - a 10-scoop sundae from Ben & Jerry's, a mythical character of regional folklore and, apparently, a threat to the billion dollar Corona-based company that makes Monster energy drinks.

10/12/2009

MARKETING MATTERS: Strategic Foresight -- a system for thriving in tough times
Sept. 11, stimulus bailouts, crooked executives, fortunes lost, the global financial crisis -- all of these events have changed our lives permanently. Institutions are falling down around our ears.

As we look forward, the future seems murky, the path invisible. Where do you fit on this playing field? Isn't it time to re-invent yourself and your company?

ASK EYDIE: Twitter, text shortcuts have no business in e-mail
Q: I understand why people are using slang in Twitter status updates and in text messages, but lately I seem to be getting e-mails from business professionals using the same slang shortcuts. This annoys me! Is anyone else bothered by this corruption of the English language?

-- Gabe P.

10/05/2009

Traditional networking on upswing
The ebullient, if imprecise, ascension of social media as today's dominant professional networking medium seemed to cast a shadow over the old ways of doing business. And without any clear delineation about where emergent technologies will lead us, LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter continue to redefine the terms of engagement and stress the importance of creating a viable, visible public persona for business networking.

A group effort
Businesses are increasingly turning to Facebook as a powerful tool to target their customer bases, experts and business owners said.

Small-business owners, in particular, are using the social media Web site to screen out certain demographics and seek out clients in specific geographic areas.

ASK EYDIE: Affiliate marketing can boost your 'passive' revenue
Q: I hear a lot about affiliate marketing and how it can be a great source of passive income. Would you please tell us a little bit about how affiliate marketing works? -- Michelle K.

09/28/2009

Grow your business with fewer customers
There are three concepts that you need to commit to memory if you want to grow your business in the current economic climate. Ready?

Capacity

Market Saturation

Customer Lifetime Value

Why you need to keep spending money on marketing
One of the biggest strategic mistakes a business owner can make is to stop marketing. There is a foolish notion floating around the business community that an unwillingness to spend money on marketing is a wise and sage decision.

Nonprofits should continue to invest in relationships
Times like the present are a problem for many nonprofits as countervailing forces whipsaw them from opposite directions. On one hand, demand for their services rises. On the other, revenue sources dry up. It's a classic problem of having to do more with less.

Ning allows you to create your own social network
Q. Can you tell me about Ning and how it can be used? Stan B.

A. Ning is the most popular white label social networking host on the Internet. White label social networking? What's that you ask! According to Social.com, "It is a company that provides both the software and hosting for your social network - and allows you the ability to brand it all as your own."

09/18/2009

ASK EYDIE: 6 social media guidelines for business success