The newest buzzword making its way around advertising circles is “texting”. Everyone wants to know the viability of this new trend as it relates to advertising and if its popularity overseas will translate to the United States. More importantly, will it catch on in the pizza industry?

Brad Beasley of CrossLink Media in San Antonio, Texas, says he has no doubt about the potential success of mobile advertising in the U.S. or in pizzerias. “More than 12 billion text messages are sent every month in the U.S.,” says Brad. “Plus, it’s not just teenagers texting as some previously thought, people aged 13-45 currently text each other, creating an ideal demographic for pizzerias.”

The biggest benefit of mobile messaging over traditional advertising is that you can drive traffic to your business whenever you want—before lunch, dinner, the big game—it’s all determined by when you send out your messages, not when someone reads your ad in the paper or hears an ad on the radio. And, all the results are measurable. Mobile advertising, however, shouldn’t be seen as a replacement to traditional advertising. “Mobile messaging bridges the gap between all other vertical media such as yellow page ads and radio ads,” says Brad. “We work to incorporate a mobile component into our clients’ existing marketing campaigns and include new mobile aspects as well. It ultimately gives them a greater return on their existing advertising and also reduces spending on traditional advertising because no external media is required to reach an opt-in consumer.”

CrossLink Media only conducts campaigns via an opt-in system and customers will only receive the messages that they want to receive. In addition, consumers can opt-out of campaigns at anytime if they no longer want to receive information from that company. All of CrossLink Media’s business databases are exclusive to the particular brand, meaning that consumers have total control over which special offers they want to receive.

With response rates in the 15-60% range (depending on the offer), business owners are finding it hard to resist trying out this new marketing tool. While packages and customization options vary, a small pizzeria owner can effectively get into mobile marketing and test it for around $250 per month with CrossLink Media’s proprietary system, MessageLink. “We work with our customers to find the package that will be most effective for them and will best fit into their budget,” says Brad. “The amount they spend can vary, but breaks down to pennies per message, helping it fit into any business owner’s budget.” 

For more information call Brad Beasley at 210-857-5802 or visit www.crosslinkmedia.com.

Operators are always looking for innovative and unique ways to increase their ticket numbers and Irene and Andrew Katrinecz of the Italian American Connection may have just the, well, ticket. Their company sells a wide array of novelty items and apparel, all with an Italian touch, to pizzerias across the country. For the last six years they have operated a warehouse and store in Largo, Florida. The warehouse keeps a healthy inventory (over 300 items) while promising three day delivery to most any location nationwide, or five day delivery from Florida to California. Irene says their concept came out of her 25 years in sales and restaurant marketing. She says her company’s niche developed after she noticed down time for customers once they placed their order, but before the food arrived.

“After people order their meal they are waiting for something to do,” Irene point outs. “Now they can shop.”

 “Everyone is Italian, or wants to be,” Irene laughs. “At least everybody knows someone who’s Italian. One of our biggest sellers is an apron with the initials, I.B.M , “Italian by Marriage.” The good thing about aprons is, one size fits all.”

Appealing to Italian heritage has provided Irene with an entire line of T-shirts with a variety of slogans such as “American Made with Italian Parts,” “Life’s Too Short Not to be Italian.” “Bada Bing Bada Boom.” There are also offer shirts that say “Jersey” with a map included, and the same with “Brooklyn.” She says the success of the television show, The Sopranos, is just one cultural tie-in that has helped her company.

We’ve been around long enough to have sold “Godfather” T-shirts and “Rocky” T-shirts,” Irene says. She says the movie, “Under the Tuscan Sun,” a film starring Diane Lane depicting romantic adventures in Italy, was a boost to her business.

“That movie was key because it presented such a wonderful ambience and made people want to visit Italy,” she says. “We carry on that theme, and the ambience and the joy of it all.”
Irene says the feedback she’s received from operators shows that displaying her merchandise is a sure-fire way to build tickets with minimum investment. The merchandise can be featured in a showcase next to the register to display T-shirts, hats or aprons. A grid fixture near the register can offer the same merchandise and even smaller items such as key chains. The Italian American Connection requires a minimum order of $350 and orders can also be placed online at the company’s extensive website which is updated every quarter.

“Italians are proud of their heritage,” Irene says. She points out Italians are also proud of their specific ancestry. To this end, IA stocks shirts that say “Italia” and also “Siclian.”
“That’s an important distinction,” Irene says. “We’re careful to stock both.” The stock isn’t just apparel. The Italian American Connection also offers flags, beads, license plates, license plate frames, magnets, calendars, even parking signs.

For more information visit, www.theitalianamericanconnection.com

It’s a tale as old as time. Business owners want to advertise and reel in customers by using fun signs and inflatables outside their stores; business owners who take part in these types of marketing programs will surely reap the rewards from them.

Above All Advertising, Inc., located in San Diego, California, has come up with an easy solution to all your in-store and outdoor advertising needs.

The Curbie™ is an inflatable innovation in outdoor billboard advertising. Its unique design easily overcomes signage regulations by allowing the Curbie™ to be mounted in the back of a truck or on any flat surface. The Curbie™ is a constant air-inflatable unit and comes equipped with an attachable 1/4 HP ADAT IV blower for quick and easy setup, inflating in less than 30 seconds.

Studies have shown that it can take a new business over three years to make itself known to 38% of the traffic passing by every day. Inflatable advertising can reduce that time to 90 days with large, colorful displays that attract immediate attention to your business. The eye-catching size of an inflatable creates visibility, brand awareness and name recognition.

The reason 95% businesses fail within their first five years is usually because they aren’t able to cost-effectively get new customers through the door. Most people don’t see a print ad and immediately hop in their car to go buy what’s being advertised. However, if they’re already in their car and see a giant sign that’s hard to miss, chances are, they’re going to stop, or at worst, remember you.

Made with commercial-grade Nylon materials, the Curbie™ offers long-lasting durability and has attachment points which are sewn into its vertical display area for easy attachment, banner changes and/or release of signage. This feature allows you the ability to easily change your banner message whenever you want, depending on which specials you’re running that week.

The Curbie™ measures 15’x4’ in the back of a truck and 11’x4’ on the ground, using a billboard display area of 92”x58”. It can be used at events, parking lots, trade shows, and music concerts, outside storefronts, metros, malls or anywhere with a flat surface. Attractive and versatile, The Curbie™ costs only $1,500, which is half the cost of the typical inflatable, and can be customized and ready for delivery in two to four weeks.

Why inflatable signage makes sense:
• You see immediate results, and locations with poor visibility can drastically increase their traffic
• It’s portable so you can move it to other store locations or events
• It’s easy to inflate and operate
• It costs less, in the long run, than most traditional advertising
• It’s yours to use over and over again
• It’s print can be exchanged for new messages as your needs change
• It makes a dramatic impact on passers-by

For more information call Above All Advertising, Inc. at 866-552-2683 or visit www.abovealladvertising.net.

The business world seems to be changing daily with new technology being introduced on a weekly basis. Today’s consumer often hurries through their business transactions and the savvy operator wants to stay on top of technology to more efficiently meet their customers’ needs. For example, research shows that by adding an ATM to your business, you can boost revenue and generate additional customer traffic and increase per ticket sales by as much as 20% or more. 

When a customer withdraws cash from ATM, the ATM owner receives the surcharge fee that the customer is charged to use the ATM.  Studies have shown that the customer generally spends 20% or more of the monies withdrawn in the store where the ATM is located. In the pizza business that may mean the difference between ordering a second pizza, a desert or another drink. Additionally, an ATM will help decrease credit card fees and bad check losses.

According to De Lone, Wilson, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Payment Alliance International ATM Services Group,  the nation’s third largest ATM deployer, in a high traffic area a business owner can easily generate $1000 or more a month thanks with their ATM. 

For instance if the surcharge fee is $2, and there are 500 withdrawals a month from the ATM, that amounts to $1000 a month in additional revenue. If the customers then spend another 20% of the monies withdrawn in the store that is another $200, so the store owner would receive $1200 that month, basically, for doing nothing.

Payment Alliance International ATM Services Group is a 12-year-old company (formerly known as NetBank Payment Systems) that offers small businesses this easy way to generate more come. Founded in Jackson, Mississippi in 1995, as Financial Technologies Inc. (FTI), the company quickly became the third largest ATM company in the nation.  In 1999 and again in 2001, the company was named by INC Magazine as one of the nation’s 500 fastest growing privately-held companies in the country. Then in 2006 and again this year, the company was selected as one of the nation’s top performing ATM companies by readers of Convenience Store Decisions.

In 2004, the company was sold to NetBank, Inc., the nation’s first successful internet bank and then in May of this year, Payment Alliance International,
Louisville, Kentucky, purchased the assets of NPS from NetBank and merged the NPS ATM operations with Payment Alliance International ATM Services Services Group.  The new company now has over 50 employees and has over 8,500 state-of-the-art ATMs in operation in all 50 states. 

“The growing competition among smaller businesses is forcing the small business owners to look for additional forms of revenue, by placing an ATM within their business, they are not only generating revenue from the ATM but also additional revenue from their customers,” De Lone says.  And, the beauty of the ATM is, it can generate revenue 24 hours a day with no additional overhead expenses, save the cost of the ATM.

Payment Alliance ATM Services Group offers a wide array of ATMs and  programs that will meet any business need or budget.  The ATM packages also include numerous freebies including, free signage, freight, on-site training, installation & set-up, 24 Hour Help Desk, and Network Access. Another plus is revenue starts with the very first withdrawal. Contact: 800.523.2104  ext 2176, or visit, www.pai-asg.com.

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