By Z

With our new BFF, Emerge Sales, moving into a corner office here at New Media, this seems a good time to review the importance of strategic alliances — not only during times of economic crisis, like the Great Recession that rocked our national economy for the better part of two years, but also in times like these, when recovery is a reality and the business savvy are gearing up for better days.

See those logos up there? Each of those companies — Emerge Sales, Trade Show Solution Center, Software Reproduction Technologies and Naz Creative — is a New Media professional ally. And each brings something unique and critically important to the party. While New Media provides these partners with services such as website development, corporate rebranding and Relationship Marketing, the partners provide New Media with access to their valuable skills. The result is a solid team — a corporate bloc, if you will — capable of addressing an expanded range of professional needs.

If our good friend Laura McLeod at Trade Show Solutions Center has customers interested in developing a Social Media network, she refers them to us; if we have clients who need a killer presentation for the big convention, we know whom to call. And so on.

“This is where the future is,” says Michael Kitakis, New Media’s CEO and architect of many of his agency’s strategic alliances. “In today’s economic reality, companies like ours should embrace our ‘vendors’ and turn them into ‘partners.’ It’s just good sense.”

The benefits go far beyond the services allies provide each other; it’s not only about New Media’s advanced talent for web design or Emerge’s unparalleled telemarketing knowledge or Naz Creative’s SEO expertise. As with any sound business practice, these alliances don’t just benefit current clients — they help the member companies drum up new business.

“All of these companies share their databases,” Michael notes. “The idea is to provide existing clients, as well as potential ones, the kind of nourishment that shows them — rather than tells them — the benefits each company can provide.

“If I’m a business owner and I see someone is producing a webinar with an hour’s worth of vital content about trade shows, or search-engine optimization, or the kind of transferable-media services SRT provides, why wouldn’t I listen to that?” Michael adds. “This is all beneficial stuff, and if one webinar doesn’t exactly apply to your particular business, the next one will.”

The corporate quintet is already spinning some intricate webinars. This week, Emerge cofounder and CEO Michael Sperduti web-casted two live webinars for salespersons working the health-care trades from a New Media conference room. And production has already begun on a series of webinars, slated to web-cast live before the end of this year, featuring all five allies discussing the best bets for 21st century marketing and communications.

New Media and its professional pals, meanwhile, are always looking for new allies, with digital signage pros and networking aces being strongly considered. The more, the merrier, according to Michael K.

“As long as a business can provide a new or better service that applies to our world, we’ll consider bringing them in,” New Media’s head honcho says. “This is all about providing the best services for our customers, and for our partners’ customers, and for all the customers out there waiting to be discovered.”

(From left) Emerge Sales partners Bill Klein and Michael Sperduti catch up on their rebranding effort with New Media COO Chris Graziose.

By Z

We’ve mentioned once or twice our new and very exclusive arrangement with Emerge Sales, the Long Island-based marketing, training and telecommunications company founded and operated by Michael Sperduti and Bill Klein.

The skinny: Emerge, which operates offices in Albany and Houston and continuously rewrites the book on successful sales, lends its cutting-edge consulting, sales-force training, lead-generation, motivational-speaking and telemarketing talents to New Media and its clients; New Media rebrands this successful sales stalwart from the top down - new logo, website, print materials, the works. It’s a great deal for us, for them and for clients tapping our powerhouse combination.

Well, great just got easier. This week, we merge - literally - with Emerge, as our new friends take up some office space here at the New Media mothership. Bill, costar of the TLC program “The Little Couple,” lives full-time in Houston with his wife, Dr. Jen Arnold, but we expect plenty of visits; Michael, meanwhile, is based here on the Island, and we foresee constant interaction with our very successful ally.    

“We are really in sync with Emerge and their services, which so perfectly compliment our own unique business centers,” says that other Michael, Mr. Kitakis, New Media’s president. “We already have several clients benefitting from this teamwork and we’re envisioning all kinds of packages and services we can provide together.

“There is tremendous upside here for everyone,” Mike adds. “With Emerge’s new website ready to launch and their whole new corporate brand taking shape, it just makes terrific sense to do this now, and for them to be physically closer to us.”

“This is a unique opportunity to really come together and build something special,” says Michael S., who along with Bill is molding Emerge into a sales leader - on Long Island and beyond - via targeted webinars, popular motivational lectures and a plethora of time-tested and modernized telemarketing techniques.

“New Media did a terrific job honing our new message, because we were on the same page every step of the way,” he adds. “We’re just starting to appreciate what we can accomplish together.”   

Watch for the debut of the new Emerge website this month. And keep up with the Power of New Media blog for updates on new and innovative ways New Media and Emerge are keeping the Island’s business elite one step ahead.

By Z

So this week New Media welcomed its nifty neighbors from the north, Alliance Designer Products, the Montreal-based maker of the planet’s finest hardscaping materials. President Jack Tutino was in town to catch up and look ahead, as New Media continues a wall-to-wall relationship-marketing effort.

Jack launched Alliance in 2003 with a single goal: conquer the hardscaping world with an unprecedented selection of paving sands and dusts and concrete adhesives, as well as top-shelf paving edges, nails and other support products. So far so good: In short order, Alliance has developed a dedicated multinational following, including busy distribution points in Virginia, Arizona, California and Oregon.

Already a success story etched in stone (or between stones), Alliance (like Jack himself) is quite aggressive. Not resting on its laurels, the company hired New Media to produce a state-of-the-art website, launch a blog and craft numerous print materials, from product sheets to ads – including that one up top, a preview of Alliance’s new contractor-support program.

Contractor support is a big part of Alliance’s success. It’s a business model that’s really caught on in this tight economy – manufacturers befriend distributors who refer venders to manufacturers, who boast advanced products that meet modern demands. Everyone finds more business, and the industry as a whole is strengthened. You see it everywhere, from green construction to auto repair, and in the hardscaping world, Alliance is its master.

“Jack really gets the concept,” says Mike Kitakis, chief dude here at New Media. “Everyone wins with contractor support: Jack educates contractors on his great products, contractors meet demand for new and better services, distributors increase sales and customers get exactly what they want.”

For a relatively young and highly innovative company, it’s a key strategy. And Alliance is always developing the next great thing, whether it’s a breakthrough formula for polymeric sand or a cutting-edge packaging system that increases product efficacy and storage life.

So the manufacturer needs a vehicle to keep the hardscaping world informed, and to disseminate and share these fast-paced advances, Alliance has found a strong ally in New Media.

Alliance President Jack Tutino (second from left) visits with New Media partners (from left) Graz, Mikey K. and Joe Lap.

“New Media understands my type of business very well,” Jack says. “You take the time to understand what my company does and work hard to position my company where we want it to be. New Media has done a fantastic job taking my ideas and visions to the masses.”

That will continue in the coming weeks with the launch of the new Alliance website. Meanwhile, learn about their trend-setting products here. And keep an eye out in January for Alliance’s comprehensive, all-new contractor-support effort. We’re sworn to secrecy now, but rest assured, the “Gator family of products” will take new meaning for anyone working the hardscaping trades – or anyone with a patio, driveway or sidewalk to improve anytime in the next decade.

RELI Executive Director Gordian Raacke (orange tie) and several friends from Wales-Darby Inc. demonstrate Veissmann solar-tube collectors during the Long Island leg of Saturday's National Solar Tour.

By Z

Clouds, wind and rain couldn’t muddle moods, erode enthusiasm or dampen dispositions during Saturday’s National Solar Tour.

Sponsored by the American Solar Energy Society, the annual tour invites visitors to explore homes and businesses taking environmental stewardship to the next level via the latest efficiency technologies and concepts. Several New Media clients had a hand in the tour’s local leg, including Renewable Energy Long Island – which sponsored the tour on LI – and Wales-Darby Inc., which highlighted its ecologically sound plumbing, heating and HVAC wares at National Grid’s Melville hub.

Hundreds of visitors braved Saturday’s soggy weather to check out the tour’s 75 Long Island stops – comprised mostly of residences, with a few businesses and extremely impressive municipal facilities sprinkled in. Despite the rain, “the message of solar energy was delivered loud and clear,” according to RELI Program Director Kathy Cunningham.

“Spirits were high,” Kathy said Tuesday. “The tour visitors were all very enthusiastic and all of our solar ambassadors were just wonderful.”

In fact, the inclement weather might have aided the tour’s ultimate purpose, according to RELI Executive Director Gordian Raacke. “The rainy Solar Tour was a perfect demonstration of the fact that renewable-energy systems can lower your utility bills even when it rains,” Gordian noted. “I’m sure our solar ambassadors were asked many times ‘does it work when it rains?’ And of course, the answer is ‘yes.”

Among the popular nonresidential stops: the 10-kilowatt solar array and “shellfish aquaculture facility” at the Town of Hempstead’s Department of Conservation and Waterways facility and National Grid’s Melville center, where Islandia-based Wales-Darby was among the progressive businesses showcasing cutting-edge efficiency products.

Wales-Darby – a longtime distribution linchpin for LI plumbing, heating and HVAC contractors – has pushed renewability to the forefront by championing energy-efficient systems and educating contractors about the company’s many environmentally friendly options.

“The Solar Tour was the perfect place for Wales-Darby to share the latest plumbing and climate-control technologies with an audience interested in learning about them,” said Wales-Darby President Brian Darby. “There are so many wonderful products out there now to heat our homes and conserve our water and keep us comfortable without sacrificing the environment, products that even save us money in the long run. We were thrilled to share that.”

While still basking in the afterglow of Saturday’s tour, RELI – like any good forward-thinking enterprise – is already looking ahead. The group is busily weighing ideas for a possible “Solar Soiree” later this year, and according to Kathy has already developed some interesting ideas for the 2010 National Solar Tour.

“There are a lot of wind-powered options out there now, through LIPA programs and otherwise,” Kathy said. “We’re anticipating having more residential wind-power installs on next year’s tour.”

By Z

New Media may not be the largest marketing and communications firm on Long Island – yet – but we’re certainly the greenest.

Over the summer, we told you about the inaugural meeting of the Green Island Coalition, a grassroots group determined to engage Island lawmakers, labor representatives and industrial leaders in meaningful environmental dialogues. Lending weight to that first meeting, held at Wales Darby’s Islandia headquarters, were representatives of the Green Mechanical Council, a Washington, D.C. nonprofit dedicated to educating business principals about environmentally healthy residential and commercial mechanical systems.

We also told you that GreenMech had recognized Wales Darby – a veteran and uber-successful distributor of plumbing, heating and HVAC products – as a greening leader. Hosting the coalition kickoff wasn’t the half of it; from its commitment to the New York Department of Transportation’s Clear Air New York campaign to the multipurpose, multidimensional Energy Learning Center inside its headquarters building, Wales Darby has taken a leading role on several environmental causes – and GreenMech proudly welcomed the Islandia firm as a member organization in July.

While working closely with Wales Darby, rubbing elbows with the Stony Brook-based nonprofit LI Green, producing Renewable Energy Long Island’s biannual Green Guide and involving ourselves in a half-dozen other worthy ecological efforts, New Media has learned a few things about the environment. We get greening, and why it’s critically important.

Now, we’re pleased to announce that New Media Marketing and Communications is the first-ever marketing or advertising firm to become a member of the Green Mechanical Council.

Jo Keirns, GreenMech’s executive director, welcomed New Media with open arms this week. Jo gets around; I finally tracked her down in San Diego, where she was checking out a green-to-the-recycled-rafters house built with materials provided by EcoTech Builders Inc., a Mandalay Beach, Calif.-based GreenMech member.

Having New Media on the GreenMech team, Jo noted, provides a serious boost for council members.

“It’s so important to have a marketing department or a marketing firm that can assist our members in putting their companies out there,” she said. “Right now, consumers are reaching out for green. If you’re trying to put your company out front, to give it an edge, you really need to have a media source that totally understands how to do that.”

Exactly the advantage New Media provides, according to the executive director. “Being able to utilize New Media really gives our members a competitive edge,” Jo noted. “We’re very happy to welcome New Media.”

Thanks, Jo! We’re proud to be with you.

Rich Ciota spent his weekend pitching Division 7's state-of-the-art solar-energy services.

By Z

Homeowners in all stages of remodeling, and those just dreaming the dream, came in droves this weekend to Suffolk County Community College’s Brentwood campus for the Long Island Fall Home Show.

Presented by American Consumer Shows (America’s No. 1 home-show producer) and Findapro.com (ACS’s online division), the three-day extravaganza featured hundreds of Long Island’s top remodeling, landscaping and decorating firms in a massive home-improvement smorgasbord. This was the scene for anyone considering any level of home renovation; everyone from Alure Home Improvements to the Long Island Builders Institute was there, and right in the middle was Uncle Richie.

Well, he’s Uncle Richie to our man Graz. To everyone else, he’s Managing Partner Rich Ciota of Division 7, a Stony Brook-based provider of roofing and solar energy solutions. A registered Woman-Owned Business (Aunt Kerry, Kerry Ciota to you, is the boss), Division 7 is re-tasking over 40 years of roofing expertise and emerging as the Island’s new solar authority – and the Ciotas were thrilled to spend their weekend in Brentwood showcasing their cutting-edge wares and services.

Uncle Richie (left) shares his solar knowledge with customers at the Long Island Fall Home Show.

“We have so much wonderful solar-energy and efficiency knowledge to share with customers,” Rich said during the show. “We’re still the Island’s best source for residential and commercial roofing, single-ply roofing, built-up and modified bitumen roofing, all of that. But now our expertise includes solar thermal and solar PV solutions, and the Home Show was the perfect place to share that with thousands of homeowners.”

Now, lest you think the Power of New Media blog has eschewed all professional standards and devolved into a nepotistic love-in, please note Division 7 is also one of New Media’s hottest new clients (our blatant favoritism remains reserved for customers, thank you). This summer we designed their new logo and smart new business cards; we’ve helped hone their new message, assisting Rich and Kerry in their transition to major solar players; we even produced their display booth for the Home Show. Next, we’re developing Division 7’s website, which is good now and begging to be great.

The fact that Graz spends half his weekends wolfing down Uncle Richie’s world-class barbecue will have absolutely no bearing on the negotiations.

The WKJY can is cool, but not the coolest vehicle at Thursday's Subaru Love at First Sight event at Hassett of Wantagh.

By Z

Deals, giveaways and a special appearance by a popular Long Island DJ set a festive atmosphere Thursday night, when Hassett of Wantagh hosted its 2010 Subaru Love at First Sight Preview Event.

Hassett, one of the first U.S. dealerships to take delivery of Subaru’s shiny new Legacy and Outback models, pulled out all the stops for the one-night-only showcase. DJ Jim Douglas and the staff of WKJY radio broadcasted live from the event, where enthusiastic customers munched on snacks and enjoyed free beverages and took advantage of special deals and door prizes (the free iPods disappeared as fast as the new models).

Hassett Subaru Manager John Fanuzzi made some new friends Thursday night.

“The Love at First Sight Preview Event was met with a lot of enthusiasm,” said John Fanuzzi, who was milling around the showroom answering questions and assisting the sales staff as numerous buyers took advantage of special prices, exclusive warranties and other Preview Event bonuses. “We’re very happy with the way it turned out.”

The confident and dynamic 2010 Legacy and the rugged and adventurous 2010 Outback were the real stars of the show, but making these attractive vehicles even more desirable was Subaru’s Guaranteed Trade-In Program (ensuring the highest possible trade-in price for older Subarus, plus an additional $500 in Subaru Rewards) and the complimentary two-year maintenance program for all new vehicles purchased during the Love at First Sight event.

Similar deals will be flying Oct. 15, when Hassett of Wantagh hosts its next big premier event – this time spotlighting the 2010 Lincoln MKT. For more on that event and all the great deals at Hassett of Wantagh, check out Hassett’s main website and the exclusive Hassett Highlights blog!

Gene Stern (left) of the Green Peak Group and friends at Wednesday's Going Green Symposium & Business Expo.

By Z

For ’tis green, green, green, where the ruined towers are gray,
and it’s green, green, green, all the happy night and day…

This probably wasn’t what the late poet Mary Elizabeth Blake, a nice Italian girl from Dungarvan in County Waterford, meant. But some serious greenin’ went on Wednesday, when builders, plumbers, electricians, architects and the cream of Long Island’s business crop united for the Huntington Township Chamber of Commerce’s Going Green Business Symposium & Expo.

The third-annual event – a smorgasbord of construction-related discussions and networking with an environmental edge – was split into successive sessions at Huntington’s Long Island Hilton and Melville’s Leviton Manufacturing Company. And it was bigger and better than its predecessors, according to Ronald DiGiacomo of the Huntington Chamber’s Board of Directors.

Ron, who chairs the chamber’s Environmental Committee, played an active role in organizing the symposium, which attracted “greater participation and more sponsors this year.” Among the luminaries was former National Grid CEO Bob Catell, chairman of Stony Brook University’s Advanced Energy Research & Technology Center, who delivered the keynote address.

Big-name sponsors included LIPA, National Grid, Verizon, The Home Depot, Newsday and Long Island Business News, a well as several of Long Island’s most influential construction and financial institutions. Also cracking the sponsor list was Green Peak Group, a Hauppauge-based enterprise that “integrates all facets of green construction and renovation, from conception to completion,” according to Ron, who’s also Green Peak’s chief operating officer.

New Media has enjoyed a close relationship with Green Peak since the environmental concern launched in December. We’ve honed their brand and their image, developing everything from their logo to their unique message; we’ve provided digital content and print ads; we even produced their booth for Wednesday’s expo, where Green Peak was more than a simple cosponsor.

Green Peak people, in fact, were all over the place. Charlie Hall, who manages Green Peak’s energy services, was part of the “Finding the Green to Go Green” panel discussion during the morning session. Joining Charlie was Jacob Goldman, a professional member of both Green Peak Group and Energy Tax Savers, an amalgam of CPAs, engineers and legal eagles consulting clients on federal greening incentives.

Dr. Ron Vitori, another professional Green Peak member and vice president of the construction-management firm Axis Group, moderated the “Training the Trades” discussion during the afternoon session at Levinton.

Carrying a heavy load at the symposium was ideal for Green Peak, and not only because its COO organized the chamber event. “As a consultant, a big part of what we do is finding the green to go green,” Ron told me. “Since we’re into construction as well, we’re also very interested in seeing the trades stay up-to-date on green building techniques.

“It’s all about making these buildings efficient and more sustainable,” he added. “Making them better places to live and work.”

For more on Green Peak Group’s comprehensive approach to environmentally friendly construction, check out their website (yeah, that’s one of ours!) at www.greenpeakgroup.com.

That's a wrap!

By Z

Holy guacamole, whatta week!

Two weeks, really, ticking down to deadline on Renewable Energy Long Island’s biannual Green Guide. I have friends in the newspaper business who will understand this immediately, but if you’ve never labored over a printed work – in this case, 64 glorious, full-color glossies highlighting humanity’s best environmental practices – under the frenetic lash of punctual printers and anxious clients, well, I’m not sure I can describe it.

Busy, certainly. Tense, yes. Hours of steady work punctuated by moments of deep despair and total triumph. As is often the case, however, the tougher labor produces the sweeter fruits – and so, New Media is very, very proud to present the latest edition of RELI’s uber-informative magazine, coming next week to a National Solar Tour stop near you.

We worked very closely with RELI on this book, conferring constantly with Executive Director Gordian Raacke and his top lieutenants on content, layout, art, even grammar. They were very exacting, and you know what? They should be. The Green Guide is their baby, their face, the No. 1 means of spreading their very important word. It should say what they want, how they want. This was a challenge, but in the end, we nailed it.

“When we saw the first printed copy, we were oohing and aahing over here,” Gordian told me.

From the exclusive one-on-one with superstar model, forthright activist and concerned Long Island mom Christie Brinkley to the eye-opening articles to dozens of everyday energy-efficiency tips, the Green Guide is exactly what was intended: the Island’s ultimate environmental resource and the blueprint for every Island-based greening brochure that follows. The photos and graphics are sharp (kudos to those punctual pros over at Spectragraphic), the information is up-to-date (and mind-blowing, in spots), even the ads are a wealth of practical ecological opportunities.

The green-minded (and everyone else) can find their copy and other important renewability materials all along the Island leg of the National Solar Tour. Sponsored locally by RELI, the American Solar Energy Society event is scheduled for 10 am-4 pm Saturday, Oct. 3, and stacks of the Green Guide will be available at many of the 90 LI stops. They’ll definitely be at 16 “hub” locations, according to Gordian, including the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, the Department of Conservation and Waterways in Hempstead, Tanner Park in Copiague (Town of Babylon), NYIT’s Central Islip campus and the Mount Sinai Heritage Trust facility (Town of Brookhaven).

For more information on the tour and its stops, see the RELI homepage (www.renewableenergylongisland.org). The tour is free, but participants are asked to preregister on the RELI site.

The Green Guide is also free. Considering what it can do for the environment and the homeowner’s bottom line, it’s priceless, too.

By Z

Nicolock Paving Stones and Retaining Walls came to us at the beginning of 2009 with a relatively simple request: Help us increase sales.

We jumped right in. Nicolock’s a strong Island-based company with a long tradition of excellent craftsmanship and fair dealings – exactly the client you want in your rolodex.

In the spring we produced Nicolock’s 2009 Product Catalog (below), and since a traditional book would never do for such a multidimensional company, Graz went all nutty with his Mac Pro and concocted a 3D catalog – complete with glasses – that brought the stones and walls to life.

We also helped Nicolock plan, promote and polish its 2009 Contractor Convention, a networking and training extravaganza at the Long Island Sheraton in Hauppauge. The event was packed with “Best Practice” instruction, business-building seminars, giveaways and more, and our aggressive advertising campaign helped Nicolock pack the house.

We followed up with Nicolock’s first-ever direct-response television ad, a 60-second spot that ran this summer and generated a “significant response,” according to Mark Fuss, Nicolock’s sales VP. Highlighting the firm’s patented Paver-Shield technology, the ad offered free home-ideas catalogs and design software, Nicolock’s guide to easy financing and a list of qualified Nicolock installers. It also invited viewers to learn more about Nicolock’s lifetime warranty and special installation rebates.

But our Nicolock efforts have hinged mostly on Hardscape Pro, an expansive contractor support program. In lieu of conventional advertising, this program speaks directly to the source – contractors and installers, front-lines types who can really push Nicolock’s wonderful products.

They can be Nicolock’s mini-sales force, the theory goes, the perfect middleman (and woman) between the company and all those customers itching to beautify their homes. Arming them with tons of Nico-knowledge, while supporting their entire business effort, is a win-win: The benefits to Nicolock are obvious, while small, independent contractors thrill at the prospect of larger marketing and support mechanisms.

The contractors don’t only learn how to sell Nicolock products, they learn how to sell themselves – no small thing in a troubled economy. Professional, informative, easy-to-use catalogs. Job-site signs that catch the eye and spread the word. Attractive direct-mail postcards, personalized for local campaigns. Referral programs, credit card processing services and, of course, extensive education on the latest technological advancements and techniques – the list goes on.

Members become part of something bigger, enjoying increased sales potential, enhanced marketability, extended advertising reach and an expanded scope of professional capabilities. And Nicolock is etched as a paving industry cornerstone.

One-hundred-fifty Hardscape Pros (and growing) will tell you it’s working beautifully, a testament to Relationship Marketing done right. And with the support program steaming along, New Media can refocus on more traditional services, developing new web and television campaigns for our Nicolock friends.

To learn more about Nicolock’s products or for information on becoming a Hardscape Pro, check out their site. To learn more about Relationship Marketing … look no further, baby.