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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 4, 2012)
Page 4 The INDEPENDENT, January 4, 2012 Brand equity is a worthwhile investment in consumer trust by Lorne Ray The business dictionary de- fines brand equity as a brand’s power or value derived from the good will and name recog- nition that it has earned over time, which translates into higher sales volume and higher profit margins against compet- ing brands. I know that is a mouthful so in plain, simple English, it comes down to trust. People buy from brands they trust. Think about the pur- chases you make for instance. If you need to make a purchase are you going to buy from a brand you have never heard of, or are you going to lean to- wards one you have seen over and over again? Chances are pretty good you will go with the brand that you recognize. In a small market, brands have a huge competitive ad- vantage if they take advantage of the primary media that at- tracts the most mindshare of the consumers in the market area. Even if your business is on Main Street and everyone drives by and sees your sign on a daily basis, seeing your brand in the local media, like The Independent, is different. The reason for this is the im- plied third party validation of seeing your brand in print along with all of the other brands. Our minds have been literal- ly trained to trust a brand that we see in print, and the more we see it, the more trust or val- ue we give it. As a prospective advertiser ask yourself whether this theory is correct when you consider making purchases. Better yet, take the last five major purchases you made and think about these purchas- es in terms of how brand equi- ty played a part in your own de- cision. In small markets, brands (even new brands) should uti- lize the local newspaper to build brand equity for one sim- ple reason; it is the best brand equity buy in the world. If you calculate the cost of advertising in The Independent over a three year period, relative to the value of the trust you build in your brand, the return on in- vestment is astronomical. To get the same relative market share in terms of brand equity in major markets, brands have to spend literally millions of dol- lars. In advertising terms, brand equity impacts the mindshare that you begin to develop in the market. When a person is ready to make a purchase they think of you because your brand is al- ways in front of them in the pri- mary media they see on a reg- ular basis. Oftentimes we think of ad- vertising in terms of running an ad with the purpose of getting an immediate return on invest- ment. This is not how it always works since not everyone is al- ways going to need your serv- ices in this week’s paper. But…when they do…because you have been consistently there in front of them…you get the call because you were will- ing to invest in the consumer’s mind. You earned their trust. As the economy begins to rebound, the best move you can take is to start earning mind share now and there is no better way to accomplish this that to start getting your brand in front of the local market im- mediately. New minimum wage as of Jan. 1 by Chris Thomas, Oregon News Service The minimum wage in Ore- gon went up 30 cents an hour starting January 1, to $8.80. Oregon is one of only 10 states that ensures by law that its minimum wage keeps up with inflation, which was calculated this year at just over 3.5 per- cent. Whenever there’s a mini- mum wage hike, some employ- ers claim the extra cost will mean they hire fewer workers, or contend it will put them out of business altogether. Howev- er, an economist who studies wage trends says that hasn’t happened since the 1930s. John Schmitt, with the Center for Economic Policy Research, says “What the evidence seems to suggest is that, over long periods of time, the kinds See Wage on page 5 Community Calendar VERNONIA Alcoholics Anonymous Mondays 6:30 p.m., 410 North Street Alcoholics Anonymous Thursdays (Big Book Study) 7:00 p.m., 410 North Street American Legion Post #119 2nd Tuesday 7:00 p.m., 627 Adams Avenue Booster Club 2nd Wednesday 7:00 p.m., VHS Library Boy Scout Troop 201 Tuesdays 7:00 p.m., Scout Cabin Boy Scout Troop 860 Wednesdays 7:00 p.m., LDS Church Cemetery Beautification Comm. 2nd Thursday 6:30 p.m., Library CERT 4th Wednesday For Info Call 503-429-3018 Chamber of Commerce 2nd Wednesday For Info Call 503-429-6081 Community Coalition 2nd Monday 12:30 p.m. School District Ofc. Cub Scout Pack 201 Scout Cabin For Info Call 503-429-4250 Emerg. Preparedness Comm. 4th Wednesay 6:30 p.m., WOEC Friends of the Library 1st Tuesday 7:00 p.m., Vernonia Library Girl Scouts, Neighborhood 4-2 For Info Call 503-819-0143 Izaak Walton League 3rd Thursday For location call 503-429-7193 Kiwanis Club 2nd & 4th Tuesdays 6:30 p.m., New Hong Kong Lions Club 1st & 3rd Tuesdays 6:30 p.m., New Hong Kong Municipal Airport Committee 1t Wednesday 6:30 p.m., City Hall Pioneer Museum For Info Call 503-429-3713 Upr Nehalem Watershed Council For date call 429-0869 7:00 p.m.,Vernonia Grange Public Works Committee 4th Tuesday 7:00 p.m., City Hall Vernonia Cares Directors For Info call 503-429-1414 Vernonia City Council 1st & 3rd Mondays 7:00 p.m., City Hall Vernonia Community PTA 2nd Wednesday 7:00 p.m., WGS Library Vernonia Garden Club 2nd Tuesday 1:30 p.m., Vernonia Library Vernonia Grange 3rd Monday 7:00 p.m., Grange Hall Vernonia Health Center 3rd Thursday 6:30 p.m., 510 Bridge St. Vernonia Comm. Learning Center 1st Wednesday 5:00 p.m., VCLC Vernonia Parks Committee 3rd Wednesday 6:30 p.m., City Hall Vernonia Planning Comm. 1st & 3rd Thursdays 6:00 p.m., City Hall Vernonia Ridge Riders Last Thursday 7:00 p.m., Senior Center Vernonia RFPD Board 2nd Tuesday 7:00 p.m., Fire Station Vernonia School Board 2nd Thursday 6:00 p.m., District Office Vernonia Sr. Center Board 2nd Friday 10:00 a.m., Senior Center Vernonia Transfer Station 2nd & 4th Saturdays, 8 a.m.-2 p.m. Behind VHS Vern. Volunteer Ambulance Assoc. 1st Tuesday 7:00 p.m., Fire Station Vernonia Volunteer Firefighters 2nd Monday 7:00 p.m., Fire Station WOEC Directors 3rd Tuesday 7:00 p.m., WOEC MIST-BIRKENFELD M-BRFPD Board Business Mtg. 2nd Tuesday M-BRFPD Board Workshop 4th Tuesday M-B Ambulance Drill 1st & 2nd Thursdays M-B Fire Drill 1st & 2nd Wednesdays M-B Helping Circle 2nd Monday M-B SAR Drill 3rd Wednesday M-B Volunteer Assoc. 1st Tuesday Natal Grange 2nd Wednesday T.O.P.S. Mondays BANKS Alcoholics Anonymous Alcoholics Anonymous American Legion Post #90 Banks City Council Banks Fire District #13 Banks Library Commission Banks Planning Commission Banks School Board Banks Youth Group Chamber of Commerce CPO 14 Everybody’s Hometown Band Friends of the Library Lions Club Sunset Park Assoc. T.O.P.S. Friday Wednesday 2nd Tuesday 2nd Tuesday 2nd Wednesday 3rd Tuesday Last Tuesday 2nd Monday Sunday, Wednesday 1st Thursday 3rd Monday Tuesdays 2nd Tuesday 1st & 3rd Mondays 3rd Wednesday Wednesday 7:00 p.m., Main Fire Station 7:00 p.m., Main Fire Station 7:00 p.m., Main Fire Station 7:00 p.m., Main Fire Station 7:00 p.m., Main Fire Station 7:00 p.m., Main Fire Station 7:00 p.m., Main Fire Station 7:30 p.m., Natal Grange Hall 9:00 a.m., Main Fire Station 7:30 p.m., Methodist Church 7:30 p.m., Methodist Church 7:30 p.m., Main Street Post 7:30 p.m., City Hall 7:00 p.m., Station 13 7:00 p.m., City Library 7:00 p.m., City Hall 7:30 p.m., Jr. High Library 7:00 p.m., UMC Youth Bldg. 12:30 p.m., Fire District Office 7:00 p.m., City Library 7:00 p.m., BHS Music Room 7:00 p.m., City Library 7:00 p.m., Brown Derby 8:00 p.m., Gun Club 7:00 p.m., Administration Bldg. COLUMBIA COUNTY (All meet in St. Helens unless otherwise noted.) Board of Commissioners Wednesday 10:00 a.m., Courthouse Citizens for Senior Justice 2nd Tuesday 7:00 p.m., Sunset Park Church Columbia 9-1-1 Board 3rd Thursday 9:00 a.m., 9-1-1 meeting room Columbia Comm Mental Health 1st Tuesday 5”30 p.m., 58646 McNulty Way Columbia Soil & Water District 3rd Wednesday 7:30 p.m., NRCS , 2514 Sykes County Fair Board 2nd Monday 6:00 p.m., Fairgrounds 4-H Bldg. County Parks Commission 3rd Tuesday Times vary, 1054 Oregon St. Mental Health Advisory Comm. Quarterly For Info call 503-397-7211 Comm. on Children & Families 3rd Thursday 5:30 p.m. OSU Ext., 505 N. Hwy. 30 Local Alcohol & Drug Plann. Comm. Quarterly For Info call 503-397-7211 Organizations and meeting dates not listed may be included by calling 429-9410 or by mail to The INDEPENDENT, 725 Bridge Street, Vernonia, OR 97064.