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Summer 2009
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AHHH,
Summer
Time! |
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"There aren't enough days in the weekend."
~Rod Schmidt
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INDUSTRY
NEWS |
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OLD DOESN'T MEAN TUNED OUT |
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A recent article in YP Talk newsletter
states that "most of the Yellow Page naysayers will tell you that
the industry’s print products are only for little old gray haired
ladies as they don’t want or understand any of the new technology
now available. Well, that really isn’t true. Sure they
love their print products, but according to the
TNS Compete and the Consumer Electronics
Association joint study
- “Greying Gadgets: How Older Americans Shop for and Use Consumer
Electronics”, the age segments of 50-something, 60-something and 70+
actually use many technologies at or near comparable rates of the
younger age segments."
The key general conclusions from
the report writers indicate that Older Americans:
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Really are a lot like
younger Americans in their technology adoption behavior.
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Are active online, with over
60% of people over 50 using the Internet.
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Embrace technology and
technology products at a rapidly increasing pace.
We already know that “older”
people are also heavy users of print Yellow Pages. It
looks like they are just as interested in using the Internet
to find information online, but don’t
hesitate to reach for the book--a most trusted source for
them--to make local buying decisions.
Read Full Article
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REINCARNATION OF A PHONE BOOK
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“Going Green” seems to be the
politically correct thing to do these days with paper and any
materials that may be recycled, but what about going “creative”. At
Mountain Telephone, that’s just what one of our customers did.
Instead of stacking the book in a corner with all the others or
simply discarding it in the trash, Ms. A. L. Herr decided to get her
creative juices flowing. Ms. Herr, a Mountain Telephone customer
from 1987 - 2007, said she wanted to show Mountain Telephone her
appreciation for all the years of good service before moving back to
her home state of Pennsylvania. From this desire, she was somehow
inspired to handcraft a teapot & bowl set using nothing but her
phone book.
Ms. Herr said she used every single page of the book. Each page was
cut into 9 pieces and every page was folded exactly alike. The small
pieces were folded in tiny triangles and folded in a manner that
they could be hooked together for shape and strength. Ms. Herr even
kept uniform color patterns with diagonal stripes of white (name/
number listings), blue (informational pages) and, of course, yellow
(yellow pages). She said she worked on her project every chance she
had a free minute. Ms. Herr said it was always a topic of discussion
at the airport. Her creation is truly an amazing piece of ingenuity
for which we are exceptionally grateful. (Click on the
teapot for more pictures.)
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INTERNAL
INFORMATION
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NEW CLIENTS
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Welcome! We've
recently signed two new telephone directory publishing agreements.
We are
excited to be given these opportunities.
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Delcambre Telephone Company, Delcambre, LA, has signed an
agreement for us to publish their upcoming directory. This
directory publishes annually in January.
Gardonville Cooperative Telephone Association, Brandon, MN,
Lowry Telephone Company, Lowry, MN,
and
Runestone Telephone Association, Hoffman, MN,
have all signed an agreement for us to publish their upcoming
Vikingland, MN, directory. This directory publishes annually in
February.
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We publish 134 publications in 16
states.
If you would like a copy of our current client list, please
contact us.
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ANNOUNCING... |
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Today’s
telephone companies need not only compete with a host of new
entrants to their market areas, but also show that they can
constantly innovate and demonstrate technological superiority to any
other entrant within their marketplace. With online competitors such
as yellowbook.com, superpages.com, and yellowpages.com all looking
to capture advertising dollars from your advertisers in your
markets, you can’t afford to do without the best online platform.
Pinnacle Publishing has partnered with the technology company,
ImmersiFind, based out of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, to
develop localsolution.com; an outstanding SEO (search engine
optimized) platform that houses your local data and is revenue
generating!
Pinnacle
Publishing is dedicated to providing directory innovations that
promote usage and revenue growth.
As an extension to your print directory, our local search platform
provides the best of both worlds by providing the industry’s best
advertising options for you and your customers. Your users will
want to come back to localsolution.com time and time again and make
it their destination for comprehensive information.
Localsolution.com will be LIVE in August. Please watch your e-mails for further updates as well as for upcoming
informative webinars. For more information see our Featured Topic
below or
contact us!
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DIRECTORY CONTACTS MEETING
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The first ever directory contacts
meeting was held in Bemidji, MN, at the Hampton Inn this last
May. There were 33 people in attendance representing 18 Telephone
Companies in 7 States. Topics included our directory
procedures, print and online directory options, marketing your
directory, the printing process, and a special
presentation by guest speaker Mike McKinley entitled "Together We're
Even Better".
The Pin-Tel Awards for Best Directory Cover and Best Directory
Content went to Garden Valley Telephone in Erskine, MN, and the
Pin-Tel Award for Best Directory Marketing went to NU-Telecom in New
Ulm, MN. Congratulations!
Check out some photos!
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PINNACLE PUBLISHING GOLF DAY |
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For the first time ever, all of the proceeds of our golf day will go
towards the Minnesota Telecom Alliance (MTA) Foundation Scholarship
Fund. Please also note we will hold our event on a new course,
Territory Golf Club. Contact
Amy with questions. We look
forward to seeing you there!
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EARLY CHILDHOOD
CHAMPIONS |
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The Bemidji, Minnesota Early Childhood Initiative (ECI) has
presented Pinnacle Publishing with the Early Childhood Champion (ECC)
award for flexibility given to employees for school activities and
appointments. ECC is a continuing project that recognizes
local businesses that support young children and their families.
Pictured are
LeeAnn Shogren, Pinnacle Publishing Human
Resources Administrator (left) and Ginny Kurtzweg, ECI Co-Chair |
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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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FEATURED
TOPIC |
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WWW.LOCALSOLUTION.COM
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Local search
engines are fast becoming the yellow pages of the internet.
When searching for information on the web, end users are
looking for the most relevant results for business and
residential searches. Localsolution.com
can give the end user what they need.
Localsolution.com provides the most up-to-date local data
for both business and residential listings making it a
unique platform. End users can search your directory
coverage area listings or access a national database to find
what they’re looking for.
Localsolution.com has 5
attractive and competitively priced products that allow
advertiser’s to
showcase their products and
services. With video, photo, enhanced business profile
pages, and
more, there’s something for
everyone! Questions?
Contact us.
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STAFF
SPOTLIGHT |
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MARKETING |
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The
Marketing Department at Pinnacle Publishing is responsible
for many “behind-the-scenes” projects. From creating
this newsletter, directory flyers, and other materials
for Sales Executives to helping with the debut of the
Directory Contacts Meeting, we creatively administer it all.
We keep up to date on industry trends and educate employees.
Because of the rising popularity of local search, great attention is
given to the promotion and enhancement of our new online platform
www.localsolution.com.
We also develop examples for newspaper, radio and television
advertisements, along with newsletter articles for telephone company
use. |
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The
Marketing Department is located at the Bemidji Headquarters. |
Pictured
above are: Caralee Nowak, Graphic
Designer & Online
Directories Coordinator
& Rosie Berg, Supervisor |
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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.
MTA - Minnesota Telecom
Alliance Golf Day; Hutchinson, Minnesota:
July 13
OPASTCO -
Organization for the Promotion and Advancement of Small
Telephone Companies Annual Summer Convention &
Tradeshow; Colorado Springs, Colorado:
July 25-29
Pinnacle Publishing Golf Day; Territory Golf Club, St. Cloud,
Minnesota: August 10
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QUOTE
OF THE QUARTER |
“Sing
out loud in the car even, or especially, if it
embarrasses your children." ~Marilyn Penland
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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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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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