By Ellen Fruchtman, President

I read this great article a few months back about the advertising business. It had to do with the average age of an advertising creative person — which happens to be 28. The advertising business is an industry of young, energetic people (by and large). Compare that to the average age of the largest consumer spending group — which happens to be over the age of 50. Believe me, after doing this for over 28 years, I can understand why. The age old marketing question is this: Can this young age group craft messages for products to consumers double their age? Can they relate?

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You can catch Fruchtman Marketing at Centurion in Tucson, Arizona. Ellen Fruchtman will be presenting “Making the Internet Work for Your Business” on Sunday, January 31st. In addition, Ellen Fruchtman and Megan Meinerding will both be leading roundtable discussion groups on Monday and Tuesday, February 1st and 2nd on the Web and Social Media.

Megan will also be presenting Managing Social Media at the JCK Show in Las Vegas on June 4, 2010.

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By Megan Meinerding, VP Client Services

In part one of this three-part series on social networking you read “why” social networking is an important tool…now here’s the “how.”

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Sometimes it’s the little things that make all the difference.

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Last week, we asked:

Did you run any discount or promotional offers this holiday season?

75% of readers said  yes.

25% of readers said no.

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In an era where trust and consumer confidence are at historic lows, marketers are struggling to identify ways in which to move the communication and sales needle.

Enter your Band-Aid – social networking.

With so many businesses frozen, many marketers fall back to known tactics, even when the entire strategy behind those tactics is based on 1980s and 1990s thinking. Innovation seemingly stops.

While many of us see the promise in social marketing, others need convincing that new techniques, such as social media/networking, will deliver transactions.

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Everyone knows the jewelry industry is a business built on many friendships.  Everyone belongs to buying groups, business groups and organizations.  During these buying groups, business groups and organizational meetings, you will see jewelers in non-competitive markets sharing fabulous advertising ideas that have worked for their store.  Let’s face it.  If your marketing has been wildly successful, you’re pretty proud of it, right?

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By guest columnist Howard Hauben, Editor, The Centurion What Jewelers Really Think Newsletter and President of the Centurion Show.

Until you’ve stared into the face of devastating challenge and adversity and come through the experience ready and able to go forward, you haven’t received the true benefit of surviving and beating this amazing recession. The true gift of the downturn to business people in fine jewelry (and any business for that matter) is that “I’ll never forget that” feeling one gets when they realize that they truly are stronger and better for the experience.

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