Ad specialty firm develops campaign

Advertising specialty firms sweat the small stuff imprinting company logos on pens, mugs and a million more little items from ChapSticks to chopsticks to keep a company's name top of mind.

But Blue Moon Advertising and Promotional Products in Reno is taking a step into the big league of advertising campaigns.

It's developed a 13-week turnkey direct mail and telemarketing campaign priced at a flat rate of $13,500.

Blue Moon owner Klaus Grimm says he initially designed the business builder program with the needs of his own company in mind.

But now he looks to work with companies to identify 1,000 prospects. Blue Moon will build a mailing list and send two direct-mail packages that might contain a company catalog, business cards, and most likely some imprinted advertising specialty items. Then a company contracted with Blue Moon will follow up with telemarketing calls.

The campaign's goal, Grimm says, is finding about 80 warm leads from the 1,000 initial prospects.

Should a client company feel it's headed down the wrong path, it can bail out after the first two mailers and 500 phone calls.

The challenge in designing the program, Grimm says, was creation of a program that required a minimal time commitment from the client.

He plans to roll out the program next month. The debut includes hosting a new business welcome reception staged by Economic Development

Association of Western Nevada.

Despite the loss of customers in construction, mortgage and real estate, Grimm says sales at Blue Moon are up more than 20 percent this year. He credits some of the increase to his use of the program he's now selling to other companies.