Advertising

Food producers that sell their wares at local farmers markets in Ohio will now be able to advertise to and do business with a greater number of people. The Toledo Blade reports that the U.S. Department of Agriculture is distributing $4 million across the country in order to increase the number of marketplaces that accept food stamps as payment from approximately 1,500 to roughly 5,500.

More than $161,300 is earmarked for Ohio, which will help offset the costs of accepting stamps from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). At the moment, more than 50 locations take SNAP, the newspaper reports, and at the Toledo Farmers Market alone, beneficiaries have increased their spending from 2007's rate of $1,500 to hit $50,000 last year.

That market was the first in Ohio to grant low-income shoppers the chance to buy locally grown, fresh produce with their SNAP benefits. A marketing program designed to pull in more SNAP customers "doubles shoppers' purchasing power up to $20 per market visit," the news outlet explains. The "double-up bucks" initiative succeeded in adding 1,000 more customers in 2011.

The state also runs a program to help farmers and WIC participants. The WIC Farmers' Market Nutrition Program gives recipients $15 worth of coupons to spend at farmers markets on select times.

Sears is rolling out a pilot project in Ohio and several other states that aims to give its ecommerce marketing and consumer offers more of a local feel. BrandChannel.com notes that shoppers in South Dakota, Arizona, New York, San Francisco and Indiana are just a few of the locations included in the test run.

In a statement issued by the company, Imran Jooma (senior vice president and president of online, marketing, financial services and pricing business units) commented that the program would put more power in the hands of customers and give them increased access to local deals.

"Giving our customers new services and conveniences like a real-time window into the selection and savings specific to their nearby store is a great example of how the future of integrated shopping is here today at Sears," Jooma noted.

Those who use the website, SearsLocalAd.com, will be able to search the deals offered at the nearest Sears location and set their own filters to find better prices. Users will be able to read product comparisons, view ratings and reviews and also compile shopping lists that they can send to their mobile devices and share with their social networks and email contacts.

An Ohio entertainment hotspot will get even hotter this year, as Warren County gets its summer advertising program underway. The Warren County Convention & Visitors Bureau announced that "Ohio's Largest Playground" was about to get bigger, as amusement and water park Kings Island has added a wave pool and other amenities to its new Soak City Waterpark.

The state will be able to draw more tourists and accommodate them for the Western and Southern Open this year, with a new retail space and food court.

"The event is the oldest professional tennis tournament in the nation still played in its original city and is one of only five events in the world (aside from Grand Slams) where fans can simultaneously see a Masters 1000 event on the men’s ATP World Tour and a Premier level event for the Women’s WTA Tour," the bureau noted.

To market the event and make it more accessible to fans, the Open will offer day pass tickets starting at $10 each.

Building on the popularity of Ohio vineyards, the estate winery Valley Vineyards will be opening up a beer brewery on its property. As the Dayton Daily News reports, the company is also planning to open a distillery later on to make grappa, whiskey and vodka.

A Kentucky bourbon brand whose earliest marketing campaigns involved yelling to neighbors whenever a new batch was completed is making its television debut. Campari America, the owner of Wild Turkey Distillery in Lawrenceburg, recently announced that it would air its very first television commercial with the slogan: "Give 'Em the Bird."

The company said in its statement about the television spot that it would be working to advance a digital, print and social media marketing campaign that was launched last year with the same message. Campari said it would pull in 150 million impressions by showing the spot on TBS, TNT, Spike, ESPN and Comedy Central.

Jimmy Russell, master distiller at Wild Turkey Bourbon and 58-year distilling veteran, said in the statement that the commercial was another marker in Wild Turkey's 157-year history.

"When Bourbon was first distilled on Wild Turkey Hill here in Kentucky, the most popular form of communication was shouting down the road," Russell commented. "Now, after all those years, our brand can reach millions through its first television advertising. I guess some would call that progress."

According to the Wild Turkey website, Russell comes from a long line of distillers and also serves as a director for the Kentucky Distillers Association.

One of the jockeys riding in the Kentucky Derby will be promoting a company that shares its name with his horse, Gemologist. As part of a marketing campaign from North Kansas City-based Helzberg Diamonds, jockey Javier Castellano will carry the diamond jewelry store's name on his uniform during the annual event, the Kansas City Business Journal reports.

The source notes that Castellano and Gemologist have won their last four races and plan to build up enthusiasm for the brand in the days before the Derby.

"Our customers consider us their gemologist, so it was a natural fit since Javier is riding Gemologist in the 2012 Kentucky Derby," stated Beryl Raff, chairman and CEO of Helzberg Diamonds, as quoted by the news outlet. "We are thrilled to partner with Javier, who is an incredible athlete and a true success story."

But jewelers are not the only ones who have realized the marketing value of one of the most famous horse races. BusinessJournalism.org reports that the Churchill Downs company TwinSpires.com has developed a mobile application to allow race fans to watch and wager on races held in the U.K. and U.S.

MAR Systems is a Solon, Ohio-based company that develops technologies to remove impurities such as arsenic and mercury from industrial wastewater, and recently won accolades for creating a system to remove even trace elements of harmful contaminants.

It earned the Most Promising Innovation Award at the annual Cleantech Forum, an international event that focuses on business formation, industry mergers and acquisitions, private equity investment and venture capital.

"MAR Systems has created an innovative technology," stated Anthony Lammers, the CEO of MAR Systems. "We are honored to have been recognized by the attendees of Cleantech and look forward to further developing and marketing our proprietary technology for clean water."

Lammers noted that earning recognition from bodies such as Cleantech would help the company in advertising and promoting awareness of its services, as well as "in addressing compliance concerns and legacy issues."

While MAR seems to be doing well on its own, some industry analysts are calling for greater collaboration in the clean technology sector. Lisa Jaccoma, a clean-tech marketing consultant, writes for the Poughkeepsie Journal that companies involved in the field need to work together on their marketing programs in order to retain the public's faith.

While Indiana may be better known for sprawling fields and agriculture, it's also home to vineyards and wine trails, and is hoping more advertising and tasting events will attract a greater number of wine enthusiasts.

The Indianapolis Star notes that three wine trails winding across the state (stretching a total of 421 miles) offer many surprises and entertainment opportunities. Jim Butler, founder of Bloomington-based Butler Winery & Vineyards, said in an interview with the news outlet that Prohibition set back a burgeoning wine industry in the Ohio Valley in the early 20th century. However, thanks to the growing demand for locally sourced food, the Indiana wine industry has seen a resurgence, Butler said.

As the newspaper explains, there are several promotional events at the local wineries and around the state. The Story Inn located in Story, Indiana, will play host to the 10th annual state wine fair, while the 13th Vintage Indiana Wine and Food Festival is slated for June 2 in Indianapolis.

However, the local wine industry may also need to do more to prove the value of their wines, as RTV6 reports that a warm March puts Indiana vines at risk for frostbite this month.

The Columbus advertising firm Ologie got its start when a recent graduate of the Columbus of Art & Design, Bev Bethge, founded the company in a rented space and did work for local nonprofits. Twenty-five years later, the agency will be expanding its location on E. Main Street for the third time to make room for its 70 staff members, The Columbus Dispatch reports.

"My job is to create an environment where people can do great work," Bethge told the newspaper. "A culture, a space, an environment where you walk in and take a deep breath and get energy from it."

Over the years, the company has added multimedia employees who are capable of generating animated graphics, web design, shooting videos and photography. The strategy for this, according to the Dispatch, is so staff members can collaborate more easily by walking to someone's desk, not tracking down a person working at another company.

According the firm's website, Ologie has stayed in touch with its nonprofit roots, serving organizations such as The Women's Fund of Central Ohio and the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. In addition, the agency works with banks, retailers, a host of colleges and universities as well as healthcare facilities.

A securing and hardware product manufacturer and distributor based in Northeast Ohio recently earned accolades for its marketing efforts.

MFS Supply took home the U.S. Commerce Association's Best of Cleveland Award in the security hardware category for the fifth year in a row. The USCA's award initiative aims to give a nod to local businesses that are doing their part to "enhance the positive image of small business" by taking action to improve their community and their service to customers.

The achievement is also notable because it is the first time that a company has won an award five times.

Mike Hajec, director of operations and development for MFS Supply, said in the announcement that the company does everything possible to be a "one-stop shop" for customers.

"Anything that the customer asks us for, we pretty much look into carrying. That's been a big part of our growth, going from five to 10 products five years ago to 550 products today," he added.

Earlier this year, a branch of American Electric Power, AEP Ohio, earned the Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance's Inspiring Efficiency Marketing Award. It was recognized for its educational campaign, which taught more than 100,000 commercial customers how they could make light bulb upgrades and behavioral changes to conserve energy.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control recently launched an anti-smoking campaign that focused on former smokers offering advice for how to live with smoking-related diseases. The national marketing push is having an effect locally too, WOUB reports, with more Ohio residents calling in to tobacco quit hotlines.

According to the news source, the Ohio Quit Line limited the people who could call in to those who are pregnant, uninsured, Medicaid beneficiaries or under an insurance or company plan that include the Ohio Tobacco Collaborative beginning in July 2011.

Even with the restrictions on who it can help, the Ohio Line experienced a major uptick in calls, jumping from an average 34 calls per day to 136 calls the day that the CDC kicked off its campaign.

The state's anti-tobacco funding has been disappointing in recent years. Ohio was given a failing grade from the American Lung Association's State of Tobacco Control report in January, The Plain Dealer reported at the time, the third consecutive year that it had not passed the test.

Indeed, the climbing rate of smokers in Ohio correlates to the lack of education, advertising and cessation funding the state has budgeted, Terry Allan, head of the Cuyahoga County health department, told the newspaper.