Salesman’s idea for marketing tool earns profit
Clark Seeley, who sells ad space for NW Boomer & Senior News, used his event planning experience to develop a hobby show as a marketing tool for the monthly publication. The April 28 event is hosted by Center 50+, the City of Salem’s Senior Center, where visitors, many with grandchildren in tow, will find door prizes, food, vendors, presentations and, as the poster promises, “a whole lotta fun.” Salem-area Eagle employees and their children are invited to attend this free expo called “Hobbies—Punctuate your life!”
Clark says the newspaper and the host Center 50+ have had a good relationship—the Center’s newsletter is published as part of the Boomer & Senior News. Both are using their print, web and radio connections to advertise during the weeks preceding the hobby show.
Vendors have bought the available space to show off what they offer hobbyists and those seeking a hobby. Clark says he got a lot of good response from businesses he contacted. “Some who had scheduling conflicts want to know of other expos that may come up,” he says. Many vendors also bought space in a four-page glossy tab inserted in the April Boomer & Senior News, which brought additional work and revenue to Eagle Web Press, Salem.
The title and idea were Clark’s. Publisher David Thouvenel gave him the go-ahead and suggested the glossy tab. They saw it as a marketing tool to build more awareness of the paper and as a money-raising venture, with an added feature of moving the publication in the direction of appealing to the more active boomers. You may see the flyer here.
