Great news from VPI Client, Campus Special- Congratulations!
The Campus Special Named to the Inc. 5000 List of Fastest Growing Companies in America
8/24/10 – The Campus Special has been named to the Inc. 5000 List of Fastest Growing Companies in America. After 5 consecutive years of double digit growth, The Campus Special makes its debut on the list at #1390.
“We are honored to be included on the prestigious list as one of the Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Companies in America," says Chau Nguyen, Co-Founder of The Campus Special. “As a start-up, our original goal was to save college students money. We worked hard to provide students with a targeted coupon book with discounts on every day needs. When the recession hit, we saw it as an opportunity to leverage the economy and help our advertisers adapt their marketing strategy, while helping students survive tough times. Today The Campus Special publishes at 100 college campuses and is one of the most recognizable publications within the 18-24 year old demographic. I’d like to thank all of our employees, clients, and students for their continued support. We are committed to serving as a bridge between college students and local businesses.”
“Our goal in 2011 is to break into the Inc. 500 list and we have a few projects underway to get us there. This fall, The Campus Special launched an online Food Court which allows students to order food online from restaurants in their college towns. We’ve created a marketplace where local restaurant owners can market to students via the web and students can order from the convenience of their computer or mobile device. 2,000 restaurants have already signed up for the service and students have already started ordering as Fall semester kicks off.”
The Inc. 5000 is ranked according to percentage revenue growth from 2006 through 2009. To qualify, companies must have been founded and generating revenue by the first week of 2006, and therefore able to show four full calendar years of sales. Additionally, they have to be U.S.-based, privately held, for profit, and independent — not subsidiaries or divisions of other companies — as of December 31, 2009. Notable alumni include Intuit, Zappos, Under Armour, Microsoft, Jamba Juice, Timberland, Visa, Clif Bar, Patagonia, Oracle, and scores of other powerhouses.
The Campus Special is the nation's largest distributor of coupons on college campuses and a virtual Food Court where students can order food online. We work with 100 college campuses reaching 4 million students in 38 states and servicing over 7,000 clients. Our award winning internship program has helped over 1,500 college students gain hands on experience in marketing/sales. Visit us on the web at www.CampusSpecial.com
The Campus Special Contact: Chau Nguyen, Co-Founder 800-365-8520 x 858 Chau@CampusSpecial.com
Marino Therapy Centers
We were recently engaged to redesign the website for Marino Therapy Centers, Knoxville's largest physical therapy group. Site design is coming along really well, and we're excited to hopefully launch it fully in the next 3 weeks or so! Be sure to check back in!
European Auto Garage
We're starting a new website for European Auto Garage today. Expect something striking, as we're all car lovers here, and EAG works on all our cars! So we want to do a great job for them. Additionally, we've got photographer Connor Hinkle working with us, so the images on the site will be totally top-shelf! Stay tuned!
Orlando Eye & Oculoplastics – Website nearly done
We pressed hard through the weekend, hoping for a launch of the new Orlando Eye & Oculoplastics website this coming week. Here's a bit of a teaser for it now. It's very visually impacting, and even has an online appointment scheduling area. Here, patients can actually see the availability of appointment times and choose one RIGHT THERE! We'll be letting you know the URL when it's launched later this week.
OfficeWorks, LLC – The website is now LIVE!
OfficeWorks, LLC is essentially the place to go to if you've got a business or office in Knoxville and need a refreshing. You can navigate through their new website to see some amazing furniture. They engaged us to totally redesign their website, and silly us, we let them pay us! As we got more into the website creation, we realized that we should have traded out the site for some new furniture! They truly have the market cornered, as they are the exclusive dealer in the Knoxville area for nearly every desirable brand. Have a look-see! www.officeworksllc.com
Oak Ridge’s Heritage Center – The website is now LIVE!
The Community Reuse Organization of East Tennessee (CROET) engaged VPI to build a website for the Heritage Center. You can now see it at www.heritagectr.com. We also have launched the website for CROET at www.croet.com, with two more websites to be launched for them by the end of the month. Stay tuned!
Bohler Family Practice Website COMPLETE
We have now fully launched the Bohler Family Practice website, which you can see at www.bohlerfam.com as of now. This was a really fun project, and we want to thank Dr. Bohlke and Ms. Burrell for their business. If you're ever in the Statesboro, GA area and need some medical attention, be sure to check them out. They have a walk-in clinic!
Bohler Family Practice website
The website for Bohler Family Practice is moving along very well. Keep in mind that, unlike most other marketing groups, our focus isn't on the tools of the site only, but we first outline the needs and emotions involved with our clients' patrons. We then find differentiators within the market. Bohler is a caring practice with a wide array of convenient hours, even with two locations and a walk-in clinic. Though they've had their doors open for decades, they only now are investing in a website. That's good in many ways though, because no website is better than a mediocre or poor one. We'll be sure to confirm to them that it was worth the wait!
CROET website launched.
The Community Reuse Organization of East Tennessee is the group formed to help the Department of Energy transfer assets formerly held by the Federal Government in Oak Ridge, TN into the hands of the private sector in order to promote American science and technology. We have built their main website, as well as three others that will be rolling out in succession shortly. Please visit the site.
Surprise! Postage rates are going up AGAIN!!!!
On Tuesday, July 6, the USPS proposed a $0.02 increase on first class postage to take effect on January 1. Really, Post Office! Are you seriously trying to drive us all to e-mail and make your postage hole even deeper!!! And its not just the price of a stamp going to almost 50-cents, all other services will be increasing also.
What does this mean for companies that utilize direct mail for marketing their products and services? Is the answer to cut the volume of mail, cut staff or just “cut and run!” For most marketers, there are solutions to save production costs, better target your audience, strategies to increase response rates and technologies that can be leveraged to increase revenues. For example, new envelope designs have been created not only for self-mailing but with a “built-in” reply card to reduce production and postage. When was the last time you analyzed your mailing list; who is your audience, why are you mailing them and what are you offering them? Also, are you making it easy and efficient for your customers to respond to your call to action?
Integrated marketing campaigns are the fashionable answer most marketing consultants will offer. The perception by most business owners is “that sounds expensive.” New technologies like variable data printing and personalized URLs require new investment, but the return can be exponentially greater than with traditional direct mail methods. If you are grumbling about the cost of higher returns, can you also scoff at the new strategies for leveraging social media networks? 474,250,920 (as of 7/14/2010) Facebook users across the world beg to differ!
If you are you looking for new ways to address (sorry, pun intended) the future of your direct mail program, give VPI Print Services a call. We can analyze your needs from beginning to end to help you identify cost savings opportunities in printing and mailing as well as look for ways to increase revenues.
Mark Wilson
President, VPI Print Services