Press Release May 1, 2002
(Scottsdale, AZ)

MOBILE MEDIA AT WORK

Sometimes, tradesmen and business owners become so involved in their businesses that they develop "tunnel vision" about their products or services. We all have the tendency to portray and project, promote and profess nit-picking specifics about what we are so passionate about, so well-versed in or so committed to...... never realizing that the general public or potential customers see our products or services "in a different light" than we do.

After all, it"s every business owners excitement, enthusiasm and acquired experience in their field that makes them want to "tout" their worth and ramble on about the internal workings or value of "what it is" that they are so involved in. For the layman or customer, "all that internal stuff" (and excitement) doesn't matter as much. They don't care that the "whosy-whatsit" is the best "thing-a-ma-gig" because it comes in lavender with platinum safety wired "whatcha-ma-call-its". They just want it to do "whatever", cheaply and simply.... forget all those other details.... "I just want a "whosy-whatsit".

After years of selling ads on vehicles and professing all kinds of attributes of my wares to clients, I had a fortunate experience that changed my entire insight about the value (the actuality) of my products "worth". The experience made me realize that all the explanation I dwelled on in sales pitches didn't matter a hoot.... it was the result that mattered, not the mechanics.

We had just outfitted a Peter Pan bus in the New England area with Rain-X graphics. I was driving on the Mass. Pike from Worcester, MA to Springfield, MA on a sales call in my van, tuned into channel 19 listening to two truckers ahead of me chatting on my CB radio. The Rain-X bus went by us in the other direction and one of the truckers exclaimed "Wow, look at that bus ! What the heck is Rain-X ?". The other trucker came back with a comment "That"s great stuff ! You just wipe some Rain-X on your windshield with a rag and the rain blows off your windshield so you can see like it wasn't even raining.... you don't even need windshield wipers". The first trucker asked "Where do you get it ?" The second trucker replied "Walmart, K-Mart, most retail stores and all the truck stops carry it. You really ought to get some and try it out".

The two of them rambled on about Rain-X for another couple of miles down the road.... and I just grinned from ear to ear wishing my client (Rain-X) had been sitting in my van listening to what just transpired. That whole conversation just made me realize that wherever that Rain-X bus went, people would be effected by it in similar ways.... and my client was getting just what he paid for. All of my efforts to explain the details of wrap-around graphics on a bus to my client weren't as relevant as the end result I had just experienced. Suddenly, I realized; The value of my product wasn't client ego.... it was bottom line sales (impacting viewers in the universe of that bus to become aware of the product and stimulated to purchase it).

These days I change my tune (my sales pitch), all because of that experience I had on the Mass Pike. I don't need to "compete" with the values of other forms of media. If my media niche achieves "consumer impact and exposure".... I realize better now how the rest falls into place.