Attention musicians... it's your time to Shine

Hello all,

Our first post since the long holiday weekend...hope all went well for everyone. We just wanted to mention a place in Columbiana called Shine, a health and beauty spa geared towards mental and physical relaxation and well-being. It's a great concept and we are happy to be helping them with their current advertising campaign. Soon, we will have a commercial, a website, and an ad for you to view. Until then, please check out Shine's Myspace page. We want to get the word out about so please add them as a friend; your mind and body will thank you!

Also, we're looking for local musicians. We'd like to get more involved with the local music scene because there is a lot of talent in the Youngstown area. We want to help promote new up and coming bands like Lakeview Drive, and bands that have made their mark on the area, like The Zou and The Kellys. There is no shortage of great bands in the area, and we're sure that there are still some hiding in the woodworks. Any suggestions? We're all ears! Some ideas are in the mix, we'll keep you posted!

Have a good Weekend.

Turkey Turkey Turkey

We just wanted to wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving from all of us here at Accent Media. Now, go eat some turkey and yams and watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. See you next week!

The 411 on our city and our favorite snack

Oreos, we love them here at Accent Media. As many of you may know from one of our previous posts, we were a sponsor for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure event in Pittsburgh recently. Visit our website to see our video contribution to the event, and get the highlights. The event, creatively titled Stacking the Odds, was fun way to raise money for the organization and to raise awareness about breast cancer, all while stackingOreos (the ones that didn't get eaten, of course). A special thanks goes out to all who participated.



Next, lets bring our attention back to the local area. We came across a picture of the way things were in the downtown area, about 60 years ago or so. It showed a festive downtown with windows decorated to recognize the holiday season. This got us thinking, what happened to these holiday traditions in our city? A good point was made by our friends at Shout Youngstown, the downtown appeal is fading over time and lacking character. I offer you a challenge Youngstown, lets bring life back to this area and share in the Holiday spirit. Lets move away from a bland uniformity and take a step towards personality.



Finally, on a completely different note, a tip for business that can really be a life saver. I recently read an article about the influence Google has in our world today, and really, is that a bad thing considering the level of convenience that they offer? One of their newest offerings is called GOOG 411, a free telephone information service that allows you to have a phonebook with you wherever you go. Just dial 1-800-GOOG-411, tell the automated service the city and state of your desired listing, and then the name of the place you want to reach and they will connect your for free. It's really that easy, check it out.

It's that Time of the Year Again

Snow, snow, snow...it's about that time when we can give up on warm days, even though this IS Ohio and there are never any guarantees. It's time to start thinking about Christmas too, but first, we can't forget about Thanksgiving...wow, is that next week already? One great thing about the Holidays...is the food. Sure, there are family and gifts among other things...but hey, you've got to eat and this is the time to eat well!
Speaking of good food, we've had the pleasure of working with a woman named Gordy who runs the local Super Suppers in Boardman. This is a great concept for people on the go, students, people who need a break for the kitchen, well, it's great for just about anyone who likes to eat. All you have to do is go in when you have time and either grab a meal that is already prepared or you fix your own meal and save it for when life gets hectic. We just finished a commercial for Gordy...hope you like it.



While you're thinking about it, stop by the Super Suppers website or visit them at the Creekside Plaza in Boardman.

Last but not least, we want you to know that just because the holidays are around the corner, it doesn't mean it's too late to promote your business...actually it is the perfect time. Don't hesitate to contact us and we can give you information on how we can help you put together an affordable, economical, and quality commercial for this holiday season. Well, I guess it's back to work and back to fighting the cold. Have a good weekend.

Dave

New Blood and New Horizons

It's time for new blood at Accent Media, as Scott mentioned in another blog, my name is Dave Laird and I'm joining the team as an intern from YSU. I'll be taking over the blog for the next couple of months or so and I will be keeping you up to date with what is happening here at the company. I'm really glad to have the opportunity to watch the staff here work on some projects while I'm here, it should be a great learning experience.

One thing I've noticed from a outside perspective is that the staff here is into making their projects cutting edge and exciting, which is right up my alley. Don't be mistaken; they can work in any direction that a client might want. They're giving me a chance to help them out with these things that interest so much, more specifically we're going to try to work with the local music scene and create a buzz for these really talented bands.

This brings me on to my next point. We have a concept here in the making to have a half hour television spot to promote local music, extreme sports, and entertainment. It's time to highlight these things and give them the attention they deserve. If you, your band, your club, restaurant, or your "anything entertainment" is interested in being featured in this project, get in touch and we will be happy to have you on board.
Until next time...so long.

Dave

Random Thoughts

So I left off Friday promising some of my thoughts on the Chevrolet Centre and random other Ytown happenings. I for one, am a huge supporter of the Chevy Centre. Do I think it should have been built? Well, that part is debateable, but I agree with the intentions for building it, and since it IS already built, there is no point hoping it will fail. I have attended events there, and it really is hard to find a bad seat in the house. The events I have seen were professional, and the crowds were there for a good time, and not for any trouble that I could see.


My concern has always been, that although this was a Youngstown arena, there was never any real Youngstown involvement in the operations. I understand the city is not in the Arena Operating Business, and should find someone qualified to do such, but can't the City see that it needs someone with local vision with a feel of what works here in Youngstown. Could an Arizona company really know what would fly here in the Mahoning Valley, just because they have run similar 'size' arenas in other cities?Could outside general managers who may understand how to book acts, really know what acts he should be booking here? Was there an investment in getting to know the Mahoning Valley community first? Could the salary spent to hire a company from outside, be better spent hiring a local promoter and giving them a budget the size of the management company's to staff his people? I think these are all valid questions that should have been answered or at least addressed. I am both very happy that the City has asked local promoter Eric Ryan to be the Executive Director, but at the same time, sad that the position will only be temporary. We need a local promoter, such as Ryan, who understands the area, and is willing to take on the task and get it done. I am hoping that Ryan's production company is putting their hat in the ring for the permanent position.





There was a press conference in our building today about one of the newest additions to Youngstown, "Art Youngstown, Inc.", that will be located right across the street at 25 Federal Plaza West, here in downtown Youngstown. The goal is to create gallery space for the local art scene, and the first exhibit, appropriately titled, "The Inaugural Exhibition, will have a first look on Friday, November 23rd, from 7:30 'til 10pm. Doors will open at 7pm. The Inaugarul Exhibit is being held with the help of Denise Powell of James and Weaver Co. I think it is very exciting to have this latest cultural venue downtown, and cant wait to attend.





I also want to point you to an open letter to the editor that was crafted by Defend Youngstown's founder and organizer, Phill Kidd. The letter talks about the real assets to a community, not the attractions that are there to be used, but the people that are there and need to use the attractions. If we want people to step up and get involved in the City of Youngstown, it will take cooperation with the City on following thru with promises, or at least keeping the public aware of events going on that affect city life, like the housing that Phil talks about on his blog. There are a lot of great, positive things happening in the City, now we need to promote them and more importantly, get the cities communities and the outlying areas to attend.





Accent Media is having another busy week, and I will update you all on that by Friday. Take care friends..........Scott

A Little Catch-Up....More To Come Next Week

WOW! Has it really been two weeks since our last post? I guess it's time to catch you up on the moving and grooving here at Accent Media, and our thoughts on the world right now. We last let you know about our participation in a Business Expo, thrown by COSE at the IX Center in Cleveland. It was a resounding success and helped us stick our big toe into the waters and wonderful world of production needs in the Cleveland area. Yesterday was our first meeting that came out of the Expo, and we have our second this afternoon. I really feel it's going to bring us some new business from the 6 county area around Cleveland, and we are excited about all of this new work. It seems the name of the game at the Expo, was "Website Content". There is a serious need for website content in the Cleveland area, and for that matter, the world wide web itself.


As society gets more 'net saavy', plain and static simple web pages are not enough anymore. Attention grabbing video shorts or links are necessary on your webpages to give your content meeting. If your company is selling widgets and doo-dads, you should have a video on your site, showing those items in action. If your company provides a service, you should have some video testimonials from satisfied clients on your site. If YOU are your product or service, you can put yourself front and center and show a video talking about what you do, and why you do it best. Just as real estate needs location, location, location, so does your website need content, content, content!!


We also touched on the YSU Shadow Day, that we participated in a few weeks back. It's a program sponsored by the Regional Chamber of Commerce, for Youngstown State University students to have the opportunity to shadow a sales/marketing or public relations professional around their business to get a taste of the real world. As you read, I was lucky enough to get two very smart and capable young men, who are studying not only sales and marketing, but emphasize music, graphics and production as well. We had a great day here at the office, giving them some hands on experience with how we go about making our sales and marketing decisions here at Accent Media, and how that results in the final product that we produce and create. I was also able to bring them on 2 sales calls I had with Clients on that day, and they had some great questions and were a big help. I am happy to say that one of them, David Laird, applied to be part of our Intern program here, and I have accepted him, so he will start in about a week. Look forward to getting to know him, as I turn over some of these blogging duties to him in the weeks to come.


I will make this entry short and sweet and just catch you up today, but i will soon post on my thoughts about the Chevrolet Centre, and the interim management brought on as the search is underway for a new management company. I also want to talk about some local happenings and events in Youngstown that are noteworthy and positive. Have a great weekend everyone and remember, Media Matters!.........Scott