Perry & Banks Marketing, Public Relations, Web, Inbound, Outbound, Online, Offline

This week Perry & Banks launched an extensive new website for Gardiner Main Street, the downtown revitalization organization that has been an active force in the City of Gardiner for the past decade.

Created on the WordPress CMS publishing platform for easy editing and maintenance by Gardiner Main Street personnel, the site provides both residents and visitors with rich multimedia content that serves as a guide to the city's many Heritage Tourism and waterfront attractions; a portal to Gardiner's economic development and business opportunities; and a fundraising tool for the volunteer organization behind the ongoing revitalization efforts.

Visitors can access an up-to-date Calendar of Events, a downtown business directory, and a listing of available properties in the historic downtown district for new businesses. The site also links to Gardiner's social media presence on Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Flickr and Twitter, as well as a new Gardiner Main Street blog that is about to get underway.

The site was developed in WordPress because of its open source (non-proprietary) technology and simple browser-based editing tools that require no special software and minimal technical ability to upload and modify content. The Perry & Banks team had a blast putting it together, and we're proud to add it to our portfolio of successful web projects.

We’ve always been proud of our capabilities as a group of technology forward marketing experts, with super project management skills and a “can do attitude” that gets the job done for our clients and meets even the most ridiculous deadlines.

So for all of our talk about going virtual – and nodding our heads up and down as we discussed this kind of technology with our clients – last week we went “virtual” while our new offices were under construction.

First, we needed a new phone system that would link us together just as seamlessly as if we were in our offices. We had to be able to dial each others extensions, glue conference calls together, both inside and outside of our communications network and collaborate on all manner of projects.

Second, we wanted a more scalable telecom infrastructure that was more flexible and could take advantage of the cost savings associated with VoIP technology. Getting rid of traditional, long term contract T1 lines and replace them with Ethernet based SIP trunks.

And third, our phone, email, creative and business systems had to be virtual as well. This meant establishing a secure colocation facility that could be accessed from anywhere, and at any time.

Lastly we needed a partner that would work with us to pull all of this together in one week. Yup. One week. But that’s another story! So we also want to extend our personal and professional thanks to Bob Marsh and the team at Omnia Technologies for working very hard to make our first real foray into the virtual office a resounding success!

And yesterday we had our first virtual meeting - but old habits die hard. And so we all met at the icon of the Portland Maine breakfast waterfront scene – Becky’s Diner – at 8:30AM for our regular production meeting! More on virtual staff later on…

[caption id="attachment_851" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Perry & Banks New Home - 10 Danforth Street Portland, Maine"][/caption]

Final update from Rob -- we agree, you did good!

On Jun 20, 2010, at 1:27 PM, Rob Coburn wrote:

Much to share. Miss you guys. We finished this am. Raced hard in back and back sprint to beat a team by three minutes. 90 miles of really intense bike racing. I did good.

[caption id="attachment_836" align="alignleft" width="453" caption="Rob Coburn with Team Type 2 at the finish line of RAMM"][/caption]

Falling asleep now at 1:20 pm. Just had first real shower (except for the one at a motel near Walmart where a guy checking out let me use his shower as they packed up to check out). Can't wait to be home.

Rob Coburn

On June 12th at 2 pm PDT, Race Across America (RAAM) began its 3,000-mile journey east from Oceanside, California to Annapolis, Maryland. And among the participants is our own Rob Coburn, Group Strategy Director/Public Relations Strategist at Perry & Banks, pedaling for Team Type 2 in this epic cross-country race.

The following is an update from Rob on the VSP Vision Care blog (sponsor of the team).

Over a quarter of the race down, and I’m somewhere in Colorado. The Milky Way is an incredible sight at night, and the Monument Valley just after sun up is truly breathtaking.

It’s 4 p.m. mountain time and I’m off to “bed”. We’re on the road for the next 3-plus hours in an RV to meet the squad that’s riding now. Sleep is hard to come by in shifts of approximately three hours in the RV. I’ll be back on the bike around 1:00 am, and there will be more climbing tonight.

We’ve logged 321 miles from Flagstaff, Arizona to Durango, Colorado in the past 24 hours at an average speed of 17.5 miles per hour. This puts a total of 857 miles behind Team Type 2, and we have 2,147 miles still to complete. Fortunately, the climbs and elevation of the Rocky Mountains will be complete soon, which will bring us to the rolling hills of Kansas and Missouri.



The team is really making good use of our Nike sunglasses which have replaceable lenses. I looked up as I was swapping out the dark lenses to the clear lenses for night riding and saw that two of my teammates were doing the same thing.

If you’re anywhere near our route, come out and cheer us on. We’d love to see you!

We're all wishing Rob the best of luck in this amazing endeavor, and are looking forward to more updates in the coming days!

For more infomation:
Team Type 2 website
Team Type 2 on Twitter

After 5 action-packed years on Market Street, Perry & Banks is moving to new headquarters a few blocks west. We'll still be in the Old Port, still near the waterfront (nearer, actually), still part of bustling downtown Portland. Just possibly eating more sushi (Yosaku is a next-door neighbor) or drinking more Guinness (Brian Boru is a block away). The move is set to happen in the next couple of weeks, so stay tuned for more developments!

This is where we'll be:

Perry & Banks is in the midst of developing a comprehensive economic development program for the city of Gardiner, Maine – including marketing of the city's Libby Hill Business Park, branding its economic and cultural uniqueness, and a colorful makeover of its Gardiner Main Street website. The new site will include streaming video on several pages exploring downtown Gardiner's historic character, waterfront revitalization project, upbeat business climate and vibrant arts scene.

(l-r) Michael, Laurie, and Gardiner High School Students Tyler and Justin prepare to shoot at Gardiner's famous A-1 Diner (photo by Mike Giberson)

Taking advantage of the warm early spring weather, Laurie Banks and Michael Townsend spent a day in Gardiner shooting brief interviews with business, community and civic leaders, to be edited into the web videos. To get the community involved in the process, our crew was comprised of talented Gardiner High School video production students, who handled the camerawork and audio recording with a good amount of expertise and enthusiasm.

In the April 2010 issue of Maine magazine, the "Workspace" feature on the back page shows the office of the guy who coined the slogan "Maine. The Way Life Should Be." My office.

My thanks to writer Peter Smith for getting the facts right, but his caption/interview is basically about what's on that cluttered desk and bulletin board you see, certainly not the story of how the line was created (or how it's lasted some 22 years now). It's something I'm naturally proud of, and now that my claim to fame has been officially recognized by the media, I thought this was the right moment to share the tale of its origins.

I was a copywriter at AC&R in New York, working on major brands like Seiko, Estee Lauder and Maxell. Living in Dover, NJ and commuting by train. In 1984, one of my best friends bought some property in Lubec, Maine and miraculously escaped the Jersey lifestyle. That summer, and the next summer too, we made the 11-hour drive to spend a week at his tiny camp on the edge of a cliff overlooking Johnson Bay. Hilliary and I felt like we could breathe (and really sleep) for the first time in our lives!

One afternoon, we were having a beer on Steve's rickety deck when he pointed out a lobsterman a few hundred yards out on the bay pulling up his traps. Next thing I knew, we were in his little skiff, rowing out to the lobsterman and buying four of his just-harvested catch for a few bucks apiece. Then we rowed back to the house, boiled up some water, and soon were back on the deck with another beer, making a mess with lobster juice and melted butter, tossing the shells over the railing and down to the pebbly beach below, where they were quickly snatched up by an alert gull.

Pausing between claws, I sat back in my chair, took a deep breath, flashed on my 90-minute commute and the other somewhat ugly aspects of the way life was for me back in NJ, and well, you can guess what I felt: "Now THIS is the way life SHOULD be."

Michael and daughter Lily (age 10), in 1998 on I-95 in Kittery

Before we left his place, Steve suggested, "if you want to do what you do but in Maine, you should check out Portland." So we pulled in to the Old Port on a quiet August Sunday in 1985 on our way back. Had a pint at 3 Dollar Dewey's. Walked down Commercial St. Hill bought a t-shirt that said "Life in the slow lane." Two months later, I was back in town with my portfolio, calling every ad agency in the Portland yellow pages and saying "I'm a copywriter from New York, want to see my book?" Nearly every one of them said yes, and one ended up hiring me.

Fast forward another two years. Our agency had the Maine Tourism account, which was up for review. Thanks to a new Governor who had just taken office that year, the stakes were raised to about six times what the budget had been previously, and just about every marketing company in the state was after it. We still had one campaign left on our existing contract, and knew if we could come up with a killer line, have it already in place and running on tv for that last campaign, it would be the creative centerpiece of our pitch and would assure a win.

After a few weeks of contentious brainstorming and private brain wracking, my mind drifted back to that feeling on Steve's deck in Lubec. This is Maine. The way life should be.

Not only did the line win us the new contract, but it quickly started taking on a life of its own, showing up on t-shirts, bumper stickers, sugar packets, and most notably, the highway signs as you crossed the border into Maine from New Hampshire, New Brunswick and Quebec.

The slogan disappeared from Maine tourism ads after a year or two, but thanks to those highway signs, it had already become ingrained into the consciousness of both residents and visitors. I had moved on to other opportunities by then, but the story was far from over. To be continued in Part Two...

Now here's a trend I really love: when you look beyond the hard-to-reach 18- to 34-year-old demographic, you'll find a surprising customer segment that is proving to be even more lucrative -- and will continue to grow even more powerful over the next 20 years.

It's called "PrimeTime Women," a term coined by Marti Barletta, creator of the influential TrendSight marketing-to-women blog, This segment is 50 to 70 years old, educated and affluent, active and healthy… at her peak in every sense of the word.

She's the decision-maker for more than 80 percent of all household spending -- and once the college bills are out of the way and the nest is empty, her discretionary spending power can be up to 2.5 times that of the average person.

She is a key component of the workforce, and for the first time in history, earns 53 percent of all household income. Personally and professionally at the top of her game, she is more involved in community, family, work and politics than younger women.

But how do you engage with a Prime Time Woman customer? Truth is, women make buying decisions differently than men, and their expectations for customer service and information are very high. Here are the five essential secrets to her buying behavior:



1. Trusted sources.
According to Ketchum Research, before women go shopping, they go CROPing; they seek out Credible Opinions from people in their social and business network for advice. Friends and family form the top tier of trustworthy sources, but today, blogs and social media are playing an increasingly important role.

2. Buying with others in mind.
Women think people are the most important and interesting element in life, and their buying decisions take into account how those people will use and benefit from her purchase.

3. Details count.
Every point of contact must satisfy this customer: super-clean restrooms and dressing rooms; easy-to-follow instructions for all products and services; friendly and helpful customer service; perhaps an occasional follow-up to let her know you appreciate her business.

4. Credibility is key.
Your marketing message needs to be realistic and believable. You are marketing to some of the world's greatest detectives.

5. Be ready to listen. When a woman inquires about your product, she probably has spent a lot of time researching what she wants. If you really listen and respond to her criteria, you will establish a long-term bond.

PrimeTime Women have been called the "silver bullets" of marketing. They might take a little more work, but you will be rewarded with "evangelistic" customers who will bring in not only repeat business, but many more customers like them.

That’s right; 50% -60% of material handling industry salespeople aren’t listening to their customers! And if you aren’t listening to your customers . . . you’re probably not meeting their needs, or earning their business. But if you think that it’s just a material handling segment problem….guess again!

As a result of a recent strategic engagement in the material handling industry, we had the opportunity to speak with a group of around 30 C-level executives. These were folks that were responsible for sophisticated operations at the nation’s largest retailers, multi-channel merchants and 3PL logistics firms.

Now our qualitative research methodologies are pretty good. I’ve personally done a number of these interviews, and they often result in “ah hah” insights for our clients.  In fact I’ve never completed this type of qualitative research that didn’t expose real problems and real opportunities that were heretofore not on the radar.

Our process is flexible enough that we’re often able to probe deeply into the thoughts, preferences and experiences of these key decision makers. And we’re often treated to some pretty funny examples. At a high level we always seem to have an open and often brutally honest conversation with our interviewees about:

• Industry needs and trends


• Challenges and opportunities


• Specific feedback about various brands and competition


• Supplier and competitor value propositions


• Features that are an “ante” (must have) versus a “driver” (differentiating).


• Product and service quality


• Do suppliers “do what they say they are going to do”?


• Perspectives about industry and supplier loyalty and drivers of satisfaction


• Supplier strategies and messaging – and whether their actions are aligned with their messaging and  mission, vision and values

But one of OUR "ah hah" moments came in one of my first interviews of that recent material handling industry engagement. A large merchant, responsible for buying millions in new supply chain automation products and services, said to me, "our first criteria in evaluating a new partner is whether we can work with them. Do they walk through the door and pitch themselves, their products and services, or do they listen to our needs?  And if they don’t listen to our needs, they won’t be a good partner."

So I asked the next logical question: “What percentage of supplier salespeople don’t listen?" I was floored. He went on to explain that at least 50% did not listen, and the rant continued until he was closer to 60%.

Now I know what you are going to say: “That’s only one point of reference,” or “Well it’s qualitative research, and that’s only one perspective," and perhaps “Maybe it’s just the material handling industry where many of the sales are complicated, highly technical and involve cross-functional buying teams."

But it started our research team asking the question across the board.  Sure it began with material handling. But then we were retained to do a logistics study.  We did several more in the direct response industry. And it tracked with other segments. Across the board, there is a consistent thread.

So how do you identify and resolve the problem? And do you have the same problem in other areas of your company? More on that on my next post!

Hobnobbing with the DR superstars in The Big Easy

From Feb 1 to the 4th, I am in New Orleans for the ERA Great Ideas Summit 2010 . We expect to be sharing lots of great ideas with many of our Direct Response clients (the best of the best in each of their categories), as well as meeting with other leaders of the Direct-to-Consumer industry.

It's an industry that's evolving very rapidly. I love to be around these people because they're always coming up with exciting new sales strategies and techniques. It's positively energizing! I'll post more as we learn.