Home » Media & Marketing

Media & Marketing

Articles

MICKEY MAURER Commentary: Take off blinders to teen drinking

Robocop was sighted in Boone County a couple of weeks ago. It was the occasion of a sleepover graduation party at the home of Jack Trudeau, former quarterback for the Indianapolis Colts. To create a safe environment for his daughter and her Park Tudor School classmates at the party, Trudeau reportedly told police, he recorded the name of every guest and confiscated all car keys. Although he said he did not supply liquor, he was no doubt aware that some…

Read More

RETURN ON TECHNOLOGY: Want to launch a rocket from your USB port?

I’m as much of a capitalist as anybody, but even I’m amazed sometimes at what a free market can come up with. Thanks to one little tiny addition to modern computers, a whole industry has opened up. That addition is the USB port, a little slot on the case of almost all present-day computers. Most now have two or more, in fact. “USB” stands for “universal serial bus,” and it’s replaced the older D-shaped serial ports, round PS2 mouse and…

Read More

ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Focusing on factory jobs misses the big picture

There’s been something peculiar going on in the business media in Indiana over the last few weeks. We’ve been beating ourselves up because the state is losing manufacturing jobs. Headlines about the decline are popping up, and state and local development officials are facing the bright light of media scrutiny. The chatter on Internet “talk-back” forums serves up plenty of people to blame-the governor, the unions, the Chinese and even our neighbors who buy imported goods. But if I could…

Read More

PROFILE: Iasta.com Inc.: From chemicals to coatings E-sourcing software streamlines purchasing cycle

Iasta.comInc. From chemicals to coatings E-sourcing software streamlines purchasing cycle Companies wanting to gain a strategic foothold in today’s fast-paced Internet-based supply chain marketplace are turning to companies like Indianapolisbased Iasta, an e-sourcing software and services company. Co-founder David Bush, senior vice president for business development, said Iasta’s software product allows companies to be more competitive in tracking work flow and to conduct reverse auctions where suppliers can bid for their business. An Indiana University environmental science graduate, Bush started…

Read More

In face of competition, local BBB turns to marketing: Thirty billboards proclaim agency’s trustworthy nature

The Better Business Bureau of Central Indiana this year launched an aggressive billboard advertising campaign to fortify its brand and boost membership, which BBB officials said already is on the rise. In late March, 30 billboards popped up around the city proclaiming “BBB = Trust.” The local Web site, www.indybbb.org, also is featured on the billboards. The campaign cost about $16,000 and will stretch through the summer. Officials already are crediting the effort with a strong uptick in calls to…

Read More

INVESTING: Modern portfolio theory may spawn mediocre returns

A tenet of modern portfolio theory is the call to diversify. Over the long haul, equities have gone up twothirds of the time. That means losses have occurred onethird of the time-and they’ve sometimes been severe. Hypothetically, a greater mix of asset classes should protect against the downside and perhaps even provide a portfolio with gains even when equities are down. But diversify into what? Thirty years ago, when modern portfolio theory was just gaining ground, investors had few choices….

Read More

Yurt biz owners think it’s hip to be round: McCordsville firm counts on growing popularity for circular buildings with odd name

It was a terrible storm. Emerging from his tattered tent at a Renaissance re-enactment camp more than 20 years ago, Ken Lawrence surveyed the decimated landscape, with only three oddlooking round structures surviving the 60-plus-mile-per-hour winds. Intrigued by what kind of structure withstood such a violent blow through this tent town, Lawrence poked his head inside the Mongolian-style yurt, a round tent-like structure with a uniquely engineered roof. “I was amazed they were still standing,” Lawrence said. “Utterly amazed.” Immediately,…

Read More

South-side company bets big on Bargersville: Welbourne Cos. plans major project near Clarian site

The recent purchase by Clarian Health Partners of 158 acres at the southwest corner of State Road 135 and Whiteland Road lends instant credibility to a Greenwood company’s plan to develop the most ambitious commercial project to date in Bargersville. Welbourne Cos., which sold the land to Clarian, still controls about 260 acres of farmland surrounding the intersection. The company plans to build a mixed-use development on the property. Initial phases call for 46,000 square feet of retail space, 42,000…

Read More

INVESTING: REITs lose sheen as other sectors of market shine

If you avoided getting hit by the falling brick that has been the residential homebuilding sector, you may want to get ready to do another sidestep. It looks as if weakness in homebuilders is spreading to real estate investment trusts, and it is early enough to take defensive action. Before getting into it, let me say that I believe the overall stock market has plenty of upside, despite the recent heady gains. My reason for avoiding REITs now is that…

Read More

Commentary: Do we want ex-cons to strike again?

I want you to meet my friend Shawn Hendricks. We are different-like Stevie Wonder says, “Ebony and Ivory.” But it’s more than that. Our life experiences and challenges have been extraordinarily disparate. Our story begins with a remarkable man, Tom Binford, whom I was privileged to know well and whom I admired not only for his business acumen but also for his strong sense of community. I called him Mr. Indianapolis. He called me boss. For seven years, he wrote…

Read More

Service drives education software maker: Angel Learning quickly weathers PR setback

When The Indianapolis Star reported on its front page in mid-May that Indianapolis Public Schools had accidentally exposed thousands of private student records online, it was a potentially enormous public relations setback for locally based education software maker Angel Learning. Angel Learning had provided the software, and CEO Christopher Clapp said he immediately asked staffers to send explanation emails to all 300 of his customers. They then followed up with phone calls. He wanted to assuage clients’ worries right away….

Read More

Tiptoe through the toxins becomes walk in the park: $600,000 in federal, state grants fund initiative to turn former industrial sites into recreation areas

Take a deep breath of that air, wafting with the fragrance of methylnaphthalene. And those violets-must be the lead and arsenic in the soil that give them such a lovely glow. Nothing quite refreshes like a stroll through a hazardous waste site. Or, in the eyes of state planners, make that a former hazardous waste site. The Indiana Brownfields Program will create the Indiana Brownfields Trails & Park Initiative. It will assess abandoned industrial and commercial properties with real or…

Read More

Media trainer becomes driving force at Speedway: Firm teaches athletes how to behave on camera

While most eyes were on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s 2-1/2-mile oval this month, Kevin Long was more interested in what happened in the media room. Long is not a news reporter, but he’s been focused on every word spoken to the media this month by drivers, team managers and owners. It’s Long’s job to make sure those speaking into the mike maximize the benefit for themselves, their teams and sponsors. He owns and operates MVP Sports Media Training LLC, a…

Read More

BULLS & BEARS: Market history suggests election lead-up will rock

Two weeks ago, I mentioned that there could be a way to profit from now until the big election late next year. The election is still more than 500 days away, and I already am tired of the sound bites. But if there is a way to make a nickel from the candidates’ hot air, the race might be tolerable. On a recent television appearance, Rich Karlgaard of Forbes said he thought the Dow Jones industrial average could hit 18,000…

Read More

INVESTING: Outlook bright long term, but look out for potholes

Bull markets can take many forms, depending on the investor’s perspective. Terms like secular and cyclical get thrown around, along with more obscure references to Kondratief Waves and Fibonacci sequences. I know day traders who think a bull market lasts only two hours. Then there’s Warren Buffett, who still has a few positions he bought in 1974. I remember cruising around Indianapolis eight years ago looking for a home so my family could move from Florida and seeing gas at…

Read More

Is title sponsor in 500’s future?: Indy Racing League throttles up sales efforts, considers aggressive new marketing deals

The Indy Racing League is overhauling its sales effort, an initiative industry observers said could lead to an eight-figure annual title sponsorship and exponential growth for the league and its teams. Officials for the company tabbed to lead the revolution said there isn’t any sponsorship deal that won’t be considered by Speedway brass, including a title sponsorship for the Indianapolis 500, a sacred property once thought untouchable. Race fans have been focused on the Brickyard’s 2-1/2-mile oval this month. But…

Read More

Few hearing talk on FM: Station’s ratings plunge after format change

Indianapolis radio listeners are turning a deaf ear to the market’s newest talk-radio offering. According to recently released Arbitron Inc. radio station ratings, the newly formatted WWFT-FM 93.9 is fighting for its life as central Indiana’s fourth news-talk frequency. The station that dropped its contemporary Christian format and old WISG call letters the day after Christmas registered a paltry 0.8 rating in the first quarter, according to New York-based Arbitron’s most recent tally. Meanwhile, its commercial newstalk competitors, WIBC-AM 1070…

Read More

MICKEY MAURER Commentary: We need teachers to fight intolerance

MICKEY MAURER Commentary We need teachers to fight intolerance MEMORANDUM TO: Eugene White, superintendent, Indianapolis Public Schools FROM: Michael S. Maurer DATE: May 19, 2007 RE: Amy Sorrell-an opportunity Gene, have you been following the travails of Amy Sorrell? Please consider recruiting her to teach and mentor our children. Amy Sorrell was an English and journalism teacher at Woodlan Junior-Senior High School in Allen County near Fort Wayne. One of the courses she taught was “Student Publications” and in that…

Read More

Contamination reconsidered: Developers show more acceptance toward environmental trouble spots When property is scarce, mitigation becomes viable

When property is scarce, mitigation becomes viable The plan to close Citizens Gas & Coke Utility’s coke manufacturing plant this year has already brought a few inquires about its reuse potential. But perhaps the biggest impact of the foundry fuel-maker’s demise will be stoking discussions over whether other environmentally scarred properties are ripe for redevelopment. Until recent years, many developers regarded any property with even a tinge of environmental contamination as if a parcel in Chernobyl. The coke plant “illustrates…

Read More

EYE ON THE PIE: Indiana: the land of convenience

What advantage does Indiana have over other places? Living here gives you more time for living. Put differently, Hoosiers drive fewer minutes each way each day to and from work compared to many people living in other parts of the nation. The May 7 issue of U.S. News and World Report lamented the stress placed on Americans by gridlock. It discussed the “war on traffic” and suffocating congestion. With hope, the authors pointed to new transit systems and trafficmanagement techniques…

Read More