February 15, 2019 will mark the start of my fourth year in my office in the Business Office Suites at Thornes Marketplace on Main Street in Northampton. Some call Thornes, “the center of town,” and for me these past three years, it certainly has been the center of my world. In 2016, my colleagues in Read more
“This is the best thing that’s happened in downtown Northampton in 10 years”
I and three other board members spoke about reviving the Northampton Jazz Festival at the April meeting of the Downtown Northampton Association (DNA). As president of the Festival, I was thrilled to have a chance to talk to merchants about our plans to liven up downtown. This was the reaction from Cathy Cross, owner of Read more
A Memorial Basketball Tournament that Slam Dunks
It’s uplifting when I experience positive, tangible results of my work. My creative partner, Janice Beetle and I have been working to support Kevin Vann’s personal fundraiser that benefits the Boys & Girls Club of Chicopee for about four years now. Kevin’s best friend, George Webb, died unexpectedly of cancer 14 years ago at the Read more
In the Community: Community Works
I have been back in Northampton, my hometown, from New York for about six years now, and the power of “in the community” has never resonated stronger in me than it does today. After working in New York City for 30 years, immediately I felt that community is alive and well in so many ways in Read more
Good Creative Is Not Dead
As marketers, we are surrounded by data: Google Analytics, numbers crunched via Facebook, digital campaign analysis. When I am building and managing a digital ad campaign for a client, it seems that with each passing day there is another new set of statistics that I have access to to track and analyze the campaign results. Read more
The Power of PR
There are so many choices when it comes to marketing channels these days that it can be difficult for small business owners to choose the best way forward. Tactics from targeted social media posts to event sponsorships can help make the phones ring, depending upon your business and marketing goals, but the one channel that is Read more
Illinois: Are you up for Amazing?
On a recent flight to Milwaukee, I flipped through the in-flight magazine and noticed a series of state and regional business and tourism destination ads. Louisiana: Pick your Passion. What can Missouri Make Grow Move for you? Made in Tennessee: The Soundtrack of America. Missouri: Enjoy the show. And my favorite: Illinois: Are you up Read more
Displacement. Restarting. Or is it Commencement?
Displacement. Restarting. Two words that kind of make me cringe. You know it’s going to be tough. Today, on June 3, I celebrate my fifth year anniversary of relocating from White Plains, New York, back to my hometown of Northampton, Massachusetts. A planned dislocation; an eager restarting. Yet only two days before my move into Read more
An RFP? What’s an RFP?
For those of you who are in the business of providing competitive services to organizations, you probably know what RFP stands for. But I find that most humans don’t have a clue. RFP is the acronym for “Request for Proposal.” A Request for Proposal is just that: an organization is requesting that various firms write Read more
What’s Out in 2016: “Build It and They Will Come”
It seems that everyone and their mother has a website these days. And a Facebook page. And a Pinterest, Google+, or Twitter account. Oh, and a blog. If you’re a business, let’s add in Facebook ads, a YouTube channel and a monthly enewsletter. You built it, so they will come, right? Wrong. Derek Allard is Read more
