MZD Garners Heavy PR for Family-Centered Metal Recycler That Moved Into New Facility

 A fresh-coat of paint goes up on the new J. Solotken facility.

MZD Public Relations was recently able to garner several media placements for its new client: J. Solotken and Co.
 
J. Solotken and Co. – an Indianapolis company whose ‘family-centered’ business as a metal recycler spans more than nine decades – was recently featured in the pages of The Indianapolis Star and The Indianapolis Business Journal, as well as “Inside Indiana Business with Gerry Dick”, and some prominent trade publications, thanks to MZD.
 
MZD was able to get Indianapolis Star Reporter Bruce C. Smith wrote a great feature in The Star detailing J. Solotken’s recent move to a 140,000-square-foot facility on the city’s Eastside. Read the Indianapolis Star article.
 
J. Solotken’s new building houses 35 employees and state-of the industry equipment for recycling valuable scrap metals, at 6701 English Ave., in what was formerly a fabricating facility of the Frank E. Irish Co.
 
The company invested approximately $4.5 million to acquire and refit the building to sort and compact nonferrous metals, particularly copper, aluminum, nickel, brass, bronze, lead and zinc.
 
After 74 years in the same location at 101 S, Harding St., the company moved from its aging brick building near Downtown Indianapolis to its new location.
 
Joseph M. Alpert, the company’s president, told The Star that J. Solotken has prospered with “…hard work and good luck.”
 
Vice President Brian Nachlis, said the new facility includes energy-saving and environmentally-friendly features that wouldn’t have been possible at the old Harding Street site.

MZD Generates Some PR ‘Hits’

2010 Mizuno Hoosier volleyball tournament - More The Indianapolis Star Galleries

View this gallery at The Indianapolis Star: 2010 Mizuno Hoosier volleyball tournament

In what is fast becoming an annual tradition, a journalist covering the annual Mizuno Mid-East Qualifier, an MZD client, took a header from an errant ball that hit him during one of the matches.
 
A FOX news cameraman got hit filming the 2010 Mizuno Mid-East Qualifier in St. Louis. The ball hit him in the face, knocking off his glasses, but he took it in stride and proved to be alright.
 
Last year, WTHR reporter Cat Andersen was hit in the back of the head with a flying volleyball while she was off camera waiting for her next remote. She was also okay.
 
The good news is that, in both cities, MZD was able to get the news, sports and business media to take a strong interest in the tournament. In St. Louis, the local FOX channel covered the event and so did a sports reporter from The St. Louis Business Journal.
 
In Indy, MZD was able to garner a great deal of online coverage in the form of an Indystar.com “photo gallery” which featured 24 images from the tournament taken by a Star photographer. On TV, three stations – WISH-TV, FOX 59 and WTHR Channel 13 – featured the event on its newscasts. Channel 8 anchor/reporter David Barras said he was “blown away” by the scope of the event.
 
The tournament featured some 520 teams and 6,000 girls in Indianapolis. The tournament, according to organizers, was also expected to attract more than 250 college coaches, who were on hand to witness many of the country’s top volleyball players in action. Players from more than 40 states participated in the event.
 
The tournament, which was organized by Capital Sports Center Inc. of Plainfield, Ind., literally unfolded on 63 courts inside the Indiana Convention Center and 60 courts in St. Louis.  
 
“I couldn’t believe how huge this is,” Barras said. “I had no idea there were this many people here.”
 
Tournament director Lance Keating said the tournament provided an economic impact estimate of $18 million in Indy and between $14-15 million in St. Louis.
 
Hopefully, next year the PR hits will be limited to the action on the courts and not send any reporters to the sidelines.

MZD ADVERTISING TOPS 17 AGENCIES TO WIN HENDRICKS COUNTY TOURISM ACCOUNT

  Hendricks County Convention and Visitors Bureau staff, board members
and MZD staff posing with the "Fast Track to Fun" midget race car.

Tourism Officials Cite Agency’s “Enthusiasm” as Key Factor in Earning Business

INDIANAPOLIS – Citing its enthusiasm, innovation and creativity as key factors in its decision, the Hendricks County Convention and Visitors Bureau recently named MZD Advertising of Indianapolis as its new advertising agency of record.

The decision followed an intense competition in which 17 agencies submitted proposals in vying for the account, according to Ray Volpe, who spearheaded the agency’s effort to earn the tourism business.

“We were most impressed with the enthusiasm MZD showed throughout the selection process and the attention they provided to the task of investing their knowledge in the communities in Hendricks County and the destinations we want people to visit,” said Jaime Bohler Smith, associate director, Hendricks County CVB.

As part of its winning bid, the MZD account team embarked on a day-long road trip and visited every town and city in Hendricks County. From the road trip, it developed a series of post cards featuring a variety of destinations, including the Challenger Learning Center in Brownsburg and the Mayberry Café in Danville, among others. The post cards were presented to the client. 

In what could only be described as a tribute to the movie “National Lampoon’s Vacation”, the team presented its journey using a traditional 35mm slide show. “We thought it would be a great touch to go back in time a bit and present the visit as if the folks from Hendricks County were sitting in our living room, so to speak”, said Volpe, noting that the production of the slides required sending the images to a firm in Kansas, as it is one of the few places left nationally capable of making 35mm slides.

In earning the business, MZD – for its agency visit – displayed signs incorporating the Hendricks County CVB’s existing ‘Fast Track’ theme and used a genuine quarter-midget race car as part of a display in its lobby to ‘drive home’ its commitment and build on the messaging the tourism agency had in place.

“A key part of winning their business, I believe, had to do with the fact we embraced their ‘Fast Track’ theme and we gave it a new touch,” said MZD Chairman/CEO Allan Zukerman. “All of us – and everyone in the agency – enjoyed working hard to earn their business and we’re excited to help encourage more people to visit Hendricks County and all of its wonderful destinations and attractions”.

Respected Tobacco Control Expert, MZD Client Appears on “60 Minutes”

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Ever heard the question, “What do you do when “60 Minutes” is at the door?”

For Karla Sneegas, executive director of the Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation agency, it was no problem.

Sneegas, a nationally-respected tobacco control expert, appeared on the April 4th edition of “60 Minutes” in a segment about a tobacco product known as snus entitled “Will New Smokeless Tobacco Products Cut or Boost the Smoking Rate?”

Sneegas was interviewed last November in Indianapolis for the segment, in which she gave her opinions on snus with CBS Correspondent Lesley Stahl.

“At this point in time, I cannot say these products are safer,” Sneegas told Stahl. “I think these products are going to end up leading to dual use of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products and we have no idea whatsoever what is the outcome, what’s the health impact of someone not quitting and using both products.”

Sneegas added that she was also skeptical of “harm reduction” because tobacco company executives promote it, such as Susan Ivey of R.J. Reynolds, the company that makes Camel Snus.

Sneegas noted that R.J, Reynolds has pilot tested another smokeless product known as dissolvables in Central Indiana and believes it is being targeted for use by teenagers, something that the company denies.

During the “60 Minutes” segment, Stahl asked Sneegas, “You pulled together a group of high school students to discuss orbs. What did they tell you?”

Sneegas replied, “One it looks like candy. And who’s candy made for? Who’s attracted to candy? We are. Kids.”

Stahl reported that the students noted that Camel Orbs look a lot like Tic-Tacs and have the same minty taste. The orbs can also be used to circumvent tobacco free campus policies in schools and workplaces. Sneegas said it is frustrating because smoke free air laws have been successful in getting smokers to try to quit.

“More smokers do quit,” Sneegas said. “They cut back drastically. And you know cutting back is a great first step. Sometimes they go to the point of saying, ‘Well I can’t some at work anymore. It’s time to quit. I want to quit anyway. It’s time to quit.’”

In terms of the experience of appearing on the respected program, Sneegas said she was pleased to have the opportunity to deliver a positive message and educate tobacco users about the potential impact of these new products.

“Entire new lines of tobacco products are saturating the market in every flavor and form imaginable.  Many of these products are novel in their method of delivery – such as the dissolvable tobacco products – and that drastically increases their appeal to teenagers,” said Sneegas.