Minnesota Municipal Beverage Association Newsletter

(November 8, 2015 - November 14, 2015)

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As I See It...

Imagine how differently the Star Wars trilogy would have ended if the Rebel Alliance had a "let's wait and see what happens" attitude.

What about Jonas Salk who developed the first polio vaccine?

Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak and Paul Allen who changed our world!

Marie Curie? Richard Nixon? Sorry bad example!

Our lives are continually changing due, in part, to individuals who see a need and take steps to provide it.

History isn't made by people who saw a need and said, "I'll do that tomorrow!"

Our market is changing and will continue to do so.

Success through complacency is no longer a business strategy.

Your option to just open the door to let them in left long ago.

Our strength has always been our ability to share information.

Attempts have been made to restrict our ability to do so.

They have not succeeded.

There are answers out there if you seek them.

There are people willing to assist you in your path to success.

Many of you have already felt the impact of the market shift in Greater Minnesota.

These changes will continue to occur regardless of your participation and attention.

Your ability to succeed may be negatively impacted at the State Legislature.

New programs are available to all of you willing to attempt a new business strategy.

Contact Paul or your favorite Director for more information.

The strength of our Association and our industry depends on our sense of unity and commonality!

The success and ultimate survival of your community's liquor enterprise fund rests on your ability to adapt and change as the market changes around you.

These important changes are not accomplished individually.

You aren't just a liquor facility anymore!

Establish a partnership with your community.

Prepare for the future; it's coming with our without your participation.

Gary Buysse
Rogers

Did You Know?

At the recent MMBA Regional Meetings, members requested a beer / wine and food pairing chart.

Here is a Beer Example

Here is Another Beer Example

Here is a Wine Example

Here is Another Wine Example

15 States Where Alcohol Is Linked to More Fatal Deaths

(Note: Wisconsin is #11 and North Dakota is #3)

By Christina Lavingia, Arizona Daily Star

Every year, drunk driving is responsible for too many preventable accidents and deaths.

In 2013 alone, 15,530 drivers lost their lives - and over a third of them had blood alcohol concentration (BAC) levels of over 0.08 (the legal driving limit).

Reporting varies at the state level.

According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI), BAC information is irregularly recorded.

Some states, like West Virginia, report BAC data for 95 percent of fatally injured passenger vehicle drivers; others, like Mississippi, do so for just 42 percent.

The team at Credio ranked the states with the highest incidences of driver deaths that involved driving over the legal limit.

Using IIHS and HLDI data from 2013 (the most recent year), the following states are where the most drivers with known BAC died driving above the legal limit.

Click Here to See List

Principles of Effective Advertising

By British Columbia Institute of Technology

The first step

An advertising strategy includes four elements:

1. Target Audience

2. Product / Service Concept

3. Communications Media

4. Advertising Message

Five elements of ads

Attention - the headline should act as a stimulus and cut through the clutter. It must be appropriate, relating to the product or service, the tone of the ad, and the needs or interests of the intended audience.
Interest - keeps the prospects involved as the information becomes more detailed.
Credibility - makes believable claims.
Desire - describes the benefits of the product or service.
Action - motivates people to do something, such as call or visit a website

Principles of design

Use simple layouts.
Headlines are short, powerful, and to the point, and the image tells the story quickly.
Does not use dense, lengthy blocks of ad copy.
Design ads with optimal flow - we read from top to bottom and left to right. Ads that make the reader fight this natural tendency lower comprehension.
Photos are generally most effective compared to illustration.
Whenever possible, show action or a product in use (rather than a static shot).

Writing effective copy

Get to the main point - fast.
Emphasize one major idea simply and clearly.
Be single-minded. Don't try to do too much. Position the product or service clearly.
Write short sentences. Use easy, familiar words and themes people understand.
Write from the reader's point of view. Avoid "we," "us," "our."
Use personal pronouns, such as "you" and "your."
Use vivid language. Stick to the present tense, active voice.
Use contractions.
Don't overpunctuate.
Never write negative copy - positive copy gets better results.
Humour is tricky and its effectiveness can wear out after two or three exposures. Humour generally does not work with business or professional audiences.
Use technical language sparingly, unless essential to reach your audience.
Use bold subheads and numbered/bulleted lists to break up the sea of type.
Vary sentence length. One-word sentences and sentence fragments are acceptable.
Avoid extremely long lines of type (65 characters per line or more).

Frequency

The higher the price, the higher the frequency needs. Research has shown that brands with longer purchase cycles are likely to benefit from higher frequencies of exposure.
An image ad, a new campaign or a complicated message requires more frequency.
Weak advertising will not work no matter what the frequency.
With any multi-media campaign, make sure the creative is synergistic (the same look and feel across all media).
Advertising is most effective when a person is in the market to buy.
Messages have the greatest effect when they are received close to purchase.

Size, colour and positioning

The more the size of an ad increases, the more people notice an ad.
Buying almost a page (70-90% of a page) does not appear as effective as buying a full page.
Ad noting increases with colour - using full colour increases ad noting by 34% (except in a publication where all the ads are colour).
Ads in a vertical format are noted somewhat more.
The larger the picture, the more an ad is noticed.
Overall, there is no difference between right and left pages.
Ads on the bottom of the page are noted slightly more than those on the top.
In most sections, banner ads on the front page of a section are read more than banner ads inside the section.

Remember, man does not live by bread alone.

Sometimes he needs a little buttering up.

Future Dates to Remember

2016 MMBA Annual Conference

April 16 - 19, 2016
Arrowwood Resort

Ask A Director

Gary Buysse

Rogers

763-428-0163

E-Mail Me

Cathy Pletta

Kasson

507-634-7618

E-Mail Me

Bill Ludwig

Paynesville

320-250-3325

E-Mail Me

Candice Woods

Hutchinson

320-587-2762

E-Mail Me

John Jacobi

Isanti

763-444-5063

E-Mail Me

Michael Friesen

Hawley

218-483-4747

E-Mail Me

Steve Grausam

Edina

952-903-5732

E-Mail Me

Tom Agnes

Brooklyn Center

763-549-3710

E-Mail Me

Brenda Visnovec

Lakeville

952-985-4901

E-Mail Me

Bridgitte Konrad

North Branch

651-674-8113

E-Mail Me

Karissa Kurth

Buffalo Lake

320-833-2321

E-Mail Me

Paul Kaspszak

MMBA

763-572-0222

1-866-938-3925

E-Mail Me

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Minnesota SMART

The SMART campaign: Supporting Minnesota's Alcohol Regulations and Traditions, is a renewed public education and grassroots advocacy effort in support of Minnesota's current alcohol regulations and three-tier system.

We believe Minnesota's current alcohol regulations are smart, balanced, and supported by many citizens and our local small businesses.

They work well for Minnesota!

The SMART campaign functions to help you engage in advocacy efforts with state legislators and others in support of Minnesota's current alcohol regulations, and to oppose issues-such as Sunday alcohol sales.

We want to make it easy and effective for you to engage.

Take action and send an email to your state legislators today through the new SMART campaign website.

We have sample letters and legislator contact information put together that is ready to go.

Click Here for the Website

Beverage Alcohol Training

Contact Bob Leslie at:

320-766-3871

E-Mail Bob

Contact Gary Buysse at:

763-428-0164

E-Mail Gary

A Breakthrough New Kind of Wireless Internet

What if we could use existing technologies to provide Internet access to the more than 4 billion people living in places where the infrastructure can't support it?

Using off-the-shelf LEDs and solar cells, Harald Haas and his team have pioneered a new technology that transmits data using light, and it may just be the key to bridging the digital divide.

Take a look at what the future of the Internet could look like.

Click Here

Find North America

TEACHER:

Maria, go to the map and find North America.

MARIA:

Here it is.

TEACHER:

Correct. Now class, who discovered America?

CLASS:

Maria.

Contact Ste. Michelle Wine Estates

Contact Shamrock Group

Contact the National Alcohol Beverage Control Association

Contact MillerCoors

Contact Beam Suntory

Contact Anheuser-Busch