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Janzen finds its niche in interactive
strategies - Marketing group finds success reaching certain audiences
There has been lots of discussion lately of "boomerangs" -- young people who leave the area and then return to start a business or otherwise contribute their energy to the betterment of the central San Joaquin Valley. Alex Kronbetter is a boomerang. He graduated from Bullard High School in 1993, left to attend college and then started a career in technology -- he helped produce the Banana Republic Web site for Gap Inc., and was a consultant for other companies -- before returning to Fresno. "I saw the huge potential for interactive growth [in the Valley]," said Kronbetter, 31, the new vice president of interactive strategy at Janzen IdeaCorp, a public relations and marketing company in downtown Fresno. "I saw Fresno developing physically, but it was not nearly up to speed growing interactive sites." Kronbetter thinks Janzen can be a leader in the development of interactive marketing strategies. "We've been crazy busy," he said. "We will build Web sites and do e-commerce sites. We do a full service of marketing e-mail campaigns, newsletters, surveys, banner ads, search link advertising. We can really target geographically and target consumers or age demographic." Janzen's not the only marketing company adding Web-based strategies. "Over the past few years, we have noticed a diminishing return on traditional media," said Mark Astone, chief executive of ASTONE in Fresno. MySpace, blogs and podcasts are effective ways of reaching certain audiences, ASTONE execs said. But marketing professionals said traditional media continue to play a strong role -- and should be part of any strategy. Some businesses, they said, just don't lend themselves to a strong Internet presence. "We have nearly 100 clients that we do work for. Some have bigger Internet strategies than others, and some have virtually none," said John Ostlund of Jeffrey-Scott Advertising. "You have to tailor the message," said Cary Catalano of Catalano Fenske and Associates. "It depends upon the niche." A blooming business The Vintage Rose opened in Clovis three weeks ago, but its history goes back nine years. Angie Cantrell's shop on Pollasky Avenue in Old Town Clovis sells new furniture, home decor and gift items, including teapots, photo frames and baby and gardening items. "It's a little vintage, a little Victorian and a little shabby chic all combined," she said. Cantrell started making dried flower arrangements and handcrafted shadow boxes with antique photos and lace in her home and sold them at craft fairs. That business was so successful it became overwhelming, and she began selling merchandise out of a 10-by-12-foot space in the New Found Gold gift shop on Pollasky Avenue. She knew she needed more space about two years ago but waited until the current location, two doors down, opened up. That ground-up growth is a common way that new businesses start, said Craig Scharton, CEO of the Central Valley Business Incubator. "It's actually a very good way to start because you can grow into your business," he said. Such business owners, especiallythose who use the Internet, can learn what sells well and what sells poorly without having to pay overhead costs, he said. Cantrell said she quickly learned what sold well: The shabby chic style made famous by designer Rachel Ashwell that featured vintage or distressed flea market finds. "The people who are coming in just say, 'Oh my gosh, there's nothing like this anywhere,' " she said. Artistic growth Hazel Olsen knew the market for art was improving in Fresno when someone walked into her downtown gallery and bought a $1,600 iron bench made in the shape of a butterfly. "And the woman who bought it had never been in the store before," said Olsen, owner of Potters Studio on R Street, near Tulare Street. Olsen, a longtime clay artist, is trying to keep the momentum going with the opening of the Olsen Gallery of Fine Crafts. She has converted about half of the 1,500 square feet in her Potters Studio retail space for the new gallery. The remaining retail space will continue to carry Olsen's line of handcrafted whimsical chimes and clay art. "I should have done this a long time ago," Olsen said. "We get people coming from the train depot all the time, asking if they can come in." Olsen has been operating her studio and store for a decade but admitted the name, Potters Studio, makes some people wonder whether she also sells her work. The new gallery contains work from artists with the San Joaquin Clay & Glass Association and made its debut during Art Hop last week. "I think Fresno is really changing," Olsen said. "We haven't really had a space like this, where people, who are looking for fine crafts that are individually made, can find what they are looking for." |
