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Winter 2009
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A Time
of New
Beginnings... |
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"Remember the efforts you have made and the goals you have
reached. As you reflect on the past year, also be thinking of
the new one to come. It's a time of new beginnings."
- Taylor Addison |
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INDUSTRY
NEWS |
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THE DIGITAL EXPERIENCE
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The following survey results are according to a recent study from
Parks Associates, a market research and consulting company
specializing in emerging consumer technology products and services:
This industry is
excited about being in position to be the true
multi-media consultants to small business everywhere
as the full range of digital media and mobile
services become available. It’s exciting, it’s
fresh, it’s the new thing, it’s the promise of the
future.
INTERNET
This annual phone survey of U.S. households found
that in this wired, digital, always-on world we live
in, some 20 million households are still without
Internet access. That makes up approximately 18% of
all U.S. households.
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30% of
heads of households have never used a computer
to create documents.
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21% of heads of households have never looked up
a website on the Internet.
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21% of heads of households have never sent or
received e-mails.
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21% of heads of households have never searched
for information on the Internet.
One would certainly expect that those “unwired”
homes would plan to subscribe sometime in the next
12 months, right? Just 7% of those 20 million "disconnected"
homes plan to subscribe to an Internet service
within the next 12 months, most citing low perceived
value of the Internet.
Age and education are major factors in
this divide as half of those who have never used
e-mail are over 65, and 56% of the total have no
schooling beyond high school. Many of these
people just don't see a compelling reason to use
computers and most do not associate technology with
the needs or demands of their daily lives.
LAND-LINE VS.
CELLULAR PHONES
While the perception is that
the traditional land-line telephone has been replaced
by mobile phones, data from
Harris Interactive suggests that while
phone use continues to change, it’s still heavily
slanted towards the land-line phones.
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79% of households have a land-line phone
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89% of households have a
cell phone(s)
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14% of U.S. households have no land-line
phones but have at least one wireless phone
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15% of households use Voice-over Internet
Protocol.
As with Internet access, those who use a cell
phone as their only telephone service do tend to be
younger than the general population--49% are between
the ages of 18 and 29.
Digital media does provide a bright new future
for the industry. However, it shouldn’t be an
advertiser’s only marketing solution, especially in
the near term.
Read Full Article
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ARTICLE SUBMISSION
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Do you have
information that you would like us to publish in our newsletter;
such as, an update on a company project, volunteer stories, contributions
made, industry information, fun article, employee promotions, etc.?
If so, please submit it to
news@pinnaclepub.com.
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INTERNAL
INFORMATION
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YEAR END 2008
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Throughout the 2008 year, we published
126 telephone directories,
3 university student/staff directories, 2 state association membership directories
and 1 area visitor guide. We had
6 new publications in 2008.
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HARD WORK PAYS OFF
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One of the promises we make to each client is that
their directory will be published on time. In order to achieve
this, Pinnacle employees join together and work diligently
throughout the year on each directory.
We are pleased to announce that again in 2008 we shipped every
directory to the printer on time.
Our employees are proud of the work they do and will do what it
takes to get the job done - and done right.
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REACHING OUT |
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We
take great pride in giving back to the community. With many
opportunities available to raise money for local organizations,
approximately 65 office employees were able to raise over $6,000 in
2008. With events such as bake sales, casual day stickers, and silent
auctions, we were able to help out the Bemidji Area United Way, United Way of Central Minnesota, Beltrami Humane Society,
Tri-County Humane Society, Radio-thon to End Child Abuse,
March of Dimes, Salvation Army, St. Jude Children's Research
Hospital, Kidney Foundation and
American
Cancer Society.
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DIRECTORY
CONTACTS MEETING
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The first ever directory contacts
meeting will be held in Bemidji, MN, at the Hampton Inn this coming
May. Please join us the evening of Monday, May 4th, through
Wednesday noon, May 6th.
How do you know if you should
attend? If you are involved in any aspect of the directory
process, then this meeting is for you! Our intention is to
provide you with
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Information on our directory procedures
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An understanding of sales scheduling
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More ways to promote your directory
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An opportunity to learn what’s new in the directory publishing industry
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Time to network with
colleagues
in the Telecom industry
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A chance to simply brush up on current knowledge of the directory process
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And much more!
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Further details on the agenda, speakers, registration and hotel
information will come soon. REGISTRATION IS FREE!
For more information, please contact
Rosie Berg; 218.444.1808.
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O
SPIRAL CHRISTMAS TREE
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 A couple of employees in our White Page
department brought in this Christmas tree they creatively constructed out of
spiral bindings from old telephone directories. The tree
stands about 3 feet high and brought laughter and joy to all of us.
We want to share it with you as well.
Click on the picture to see a larger version.
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TELECOM INDUSTRY APPRECIATION GOLF DAY
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The Telecom
Industry Appreciation Golf Day is brought to you by Pinnacle
Publishing. Please join us on August 10, 2009 at Wapicada Golf Club in St.
Cloud, MN.
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PINNACLE CONTACTS |
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Please
CLICK HERE for our
company contact list which will assist you in reaching Pinnacle
Publishing employees.
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We publish 133 publications in 16
states
for over 160 companies.
If you would like a
copy of our current client list, please
contact us.
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FEATURED
TOPIC |
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“Must
Determine” lists consist of new businesses and first-time
advertisers that need to be contacted in regards to their
advertising. During each sales canvass, the Inside Sales
Department makes an active effort to make sure each "Must
Determine" business is placed under the appropriate heading(s)
in the Yellow Pages.
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STAFF
SPOTLIGHT |
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INSIDE SALES DEPARTMENT |
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Back
L-R: Supervisor: Kelly Gordon, Karen Rengel, Gena Hasson, Randy
Kircher
Front L-R: Laura Tenney, Penny Cobb, Cindy Cowan
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In
conjunction with a proficient premise sales force, we
currently employ seven experienced Inside Sales Executives.
Along with an assurance to incorporate as much of the market
as possible in your directory, it is our philosophy that the
same executives are assigned to the same directory each year
whenever possible. This allows them the ability to get to
know the market area and the customer base.
The
Inside Sales Department is located in the Bemidji
Headquarters.
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INDUSTRY
EVENTS |
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Representatives from Pinnacle Publishing
will be attending these
industry events this quarter. We hope to see you there.
WSTA - Wisconsin
State Telecommunications Association PR/Marketing
Seminar; Wisconsin Dells, WI: February 4-6
NTCA - National
Telecommunications Cooperative Association Convention;
Long Beach, CA: February
8-11
MTA - Minnesota Telecom
Alliance Annual Convention & Trade Show; Minneapolis,
MN:
March 2-5
RIITA - Rural Iowa Independent
Telephone Association
Conference & Expo;
Des Moines, IA: March
4-6
MTA - Minnesota Telecom
Alliance Customer Service Group Meeting; St. Cloud, MN:
March 11-12
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QUOTES
OF THE QUARTER |
Memorable Movie Quotes...
National Lampoons Christmas Vacation (1989)
Christmas Vacation's story
centers on Clark Griswold's attempt to give his family
the best Christmas ever-- with little success.
Clark: (After putting up
the Christmas tree) Little full,
lot of sap.
Bethany: Is your house on
fire, Clark?
Clark: No, Aunt Bethany,
those are the Christmas lights.
A Christmas
Story (1983)
This classic
covers every
nuance of
the holiday
season from
an evil mall
Santa to
school
bullies.
Santa
Claus:
How about a
nice
football?
Ralphie
as Adult:
[narrating]
Football?
Football?
What’s a
football?
With
unconscious
will my
voice
squeaked out
‘football’.
Santa
Claus:
Okay, get
him out of
here.
Ralphie
as Adult:
[narrating]
A football?
Oh no, what
was I doing?
Wake up,
Stupid! Wake
up!
Ralphie:
[Ralphie
is shoved
down the
slide, but
he stops
himself and
climbs back
up] No! No!
I want an
Official Red
Ryder
Carbine-Action,
Two Hundred-Shot
Range Model
Air Rifle!
Santa
Claus:
You’ll shoot
your eye
out, kid.
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The goal of this newsletter is to inform our
telephone company clients about the “happenings” at Pinnacle
Publishing. We would appreciate any feedback you may
have about this newsletter
and invite your suggestions on the content. If
you wish to subscribe or unsubscribe, please reply to this e-mail
message stating either “Subscribe” or “Remove” in the subject field.
news@pinnaclepub.com
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