Baskin-Robbins store's new look aims for more interactive ice cream experience
Jensen Wang has been selling ice cream for 22 years. But don't be fooled into thinking he's in the ice cream business.
"I tell my employees, 'We're not in the ice cream business. We're in the happiness business,'" said Wang, owner of the Baskin-Robbins franchise on Gordons Corner Road in Manalapan.
That's the theory behind the $70,000 to $80,000 Wang and his wife, Ronda, recently spent giving their store a face lift, making it the first Baskin-Robbins in the state to sport a new look that focuses on making the ice-cream parlor a more interactive experience for customers. For example, Wang has tried to turn sundae-making into a spectator event and added a foot rail at the base of the counter so children can more easily step up and peer into the tubs of ice cream within.
"The big change for us is becoming more interactive with the consumer," said Lou Beccarelli, director of franchise services for Canton, Mass.-based Baskin-Robbins, which is part of Dunkin' Brands Inc., the company that also owns Dunkin' Donuts.
"I think they were probably prompted by Cold Stone Creamery and MaggieMoo's over the years," said Lynda Utterback, executive director of the National Ice Cream Retailers Association, a trade group. [ read full article ]
Gilat to support Russian distance-learning system - Teleport-Services will use the SkyEdge network to expand an interactive distance-learning network for the Modern University for the Humanities
Gilat Satellite Networks Ltd. (Nasdaq: GILT; TASE: GILT) is to supply its SkyEdge hub to Russian satellite services operator Teleport-Services. The deal is believed to be worth just under $1 million.
Teleport-Services will use the SkyEdge network to expand an interactive distance-learning network for the Modern University for the Humanities (MUH), an institution with which it is affiliated. In addition to serving 300 sites for MUH, Teleport-Services will use the VSAT network to serve businesses and government agencies in remote regions of eastern Russia, where terrestrial connectivity options are either unavailable or unreliable. Teleport-Services' clients will use the VSAT connectivity for Internet access, distance learning, video conferencing and other interactive data applications.
Gilat Regional VP Sales Euro-Asia Arie Rozichner said, "We are grateful for the opportunity to help Teleport-Services provide dependable communications services to businesses and institutions in some of Russia's most remote areas; and also contribute to improving the quality of life of the country's citizens. We expect this new contract award will be the beginning of a long and successful business relationship." [ read full article ]
Janzen finds its niche in interactive strategies - Marketing group finds success reaching certain audiences
There has been lots of discussion lately of "boomerangs" -- young people who leave the area and then return to start a business or otherwise contribute their energy to the betterment of the central San Joaquin Valley.
Alex Kronbetter is a boomerang. He graduated from Bullard High School in 1993, left to attend college and then started a career in technology -- he helped produce the Banana Republic Web site for Gap Inc., and was a consultant for other companies -- before returning to Fresno.
"I saw the huge potential for interactive growth [in the Valley]," said Kronbetter, 31, the new vice president of interactive strategy at Janzen IdeaCorp, a public relations and marketing company in downtown Fresno. "I saw Fresno developing physically, but it was not nearly up to speed growing interactive sites."
Kronbetter thinks Janzen can be a leader in the development of interactive marketing strategies.
"We've been crazy busy," he said. "We will build Web sites and do e-commerce sites. We do a full service of marketing e-mail campaigns, newsletters, surveys, banner ads, search link advertising. We can really target geographically and target consumers or age demographic."
Janzen's not the only marketing company adding Web-based strategies. "Over the past few years, we have noticed a diminishing return on traditional media," said Mark Astone, chief executive of ASTONE in Fresno. [ read full article ]