Ten for the ages
We've got about 100 years of journalism experience among our editorial staffers at Mainebiz. Some of us go back to the days when newspapers were put together on paste-up boards and our most accessible databases were the Federal Abstract at the local library and phone books. Others here never had the chance to work in news in the pre-Internet era.
So when each of us chuckled out loud at the series of ads for Verrill Dana that Portland agency Kemp Goldberg put together, we thought that bore some attention. How could a campaign make us all laugh when there's a 30-year gap in our ages?
We asked Don Fibich, creative director at Kemp Goldberg, if he would take us through the process the agency used to come up with the campaign. His commentary does just that. I'm betting it, too, will make you chuckle, regardless of your age.
The commentary is part of this issue's focus on sales and marketing. We also offer a great piece by Contributing Writer Bob Holtzman that pulls together the best advice for Internet marketing from four Maine experts. Titled “On message,” the story gives concise tips on what to do with your website, how to approach content marketing, how to master inbound marketing and the right mindset for blogging. It's good information that you can apply to any size business and you don't need a programming degree to understand it.
So, if we amuse and inform you in the focus section of this issue, let us inspire you with our Next List. For regular readers of Mainebiz, you know we annually select 10 people we think are shaping Maine's economy in a good way. These are people who go beyond making smart decisions that guide their companies, develop their employees and enhance their bottom lines. These are people whose initiatives hold great promise for Maine and our collective futures.
Some of them will seem somewhat familiar. Doug Fletcher, president of Maine Wood Concepts, a wood-turning mill in New Vineyard, spoke to the impact of overseas competition and how his company turned the tide in a story we did in July. Likewise, scientists Kevin Strange and Voot Yin of the Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory were subjects in a March cover story on the research the pair is leading on regenerative tissue. (But read their Next profiles because there's a lot of new news on each.)
Others, we think, will come as a surprise. Falmouth's Masey Kaplan of Close Buy Catalog is bringing locally sourced goods to school fundraisers near you. The Aroostook Medical Center's Sylvia Getman is driving the delivery of innovative health care in The County. In Bangor, Chris Kilgour is developing a growing cluster of aviation enterprises that already employs 130 and reports revenues of nearly $30 million.
Back in Portland, Internet marketing entrepreneur Tom Hall says he decided to put his money where his mouth was and helped start a technology hub and incubator space for other technology-oriented businesses. Nearby, valve manufacturer Allagash International is growing worldwide thanks to its work force under the direction of CEO Terry Ingram. (The company is waiting to hear on a $200 million bid for work in Colombia.) And across town, Gayle Brazeau, dean of the University of New England's College of Pharmacy, is shepherding the next generation of Maine pharmacists from the classroom to pharmacy counters and the pharmaceutical industry.
And finally, in my old stomping ground of Lewiston-Auburn, publisher and film festival founder Josh Shea is creating a new patina of culture for the former mill city.
They're an inspiring lot. Read this year's Next profiles and then pencil in Nov. 12 when we'll hold a reception at the Harraseeket Inn in Freeport to honor all our Nexters. (Details are at mainebiz.biz/next.) It will be a great event, I promise, for all ages.
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