New Online Service Takes The Hassle Out Of Sending Out Press Releases

A unique new online news service takes the work out of targeting key members of the media with business or public relations faxes, according to Paul J. Krupin.

With just a few computer mouse clicks, says the president of Direct Contact Publishing, anyone can create their own customized media list from a vast selection of newspapers, magazines, news syndicates, and radio and TV shows nationwide. In all, says Krupin, users have access to a quarter million media contacts.

Such is the power of Imediafax, reachable online at http://www.imediafax.com. Once there, it takes only minutes to click on the industry and classification, key editor titles, states, market area and circulation size.

Then enter your news release and click to send, for 25 cents per faxed page. “That’s less than the cost of a postage stamp,” Krupin points out.

“This is an Internet first,” says Krupin. “It is custom push technology in the hands of users. It helps local businesses reach out to media locally or nationwide - quick as a click.”

Imediafax is the brainchild of Krupin, a former government scientist and attorney who also holds degrees in biology and geography. He also publishes the U.S. All Media E Mail Directory.

On this project, Direct Contact Publishing is teamed with One World Telecommunications, also of Kennewick, whose software engineers created the necessary “database tunneling” technology.

Imediafax news releases can contain graphics, letterheads, logos and pictures. The press releases are individually addressed to each editor by name, title and the name of the media in the body of each fax.

Do they work? This column segment is in response to an Imediafax which I received from Krupin.

GU grad returns as Boeing Fellow

Boeing senior engineer Peter Maricich, an alum of Gonzaga University’s School of Engineering, has returned to his alma mater as a member of the faculty following a quarter century in industry.

Maricich, a recognized top expert in orbital mechanics and rocket trajectories, will serve on the GU faculty for a year under a pilot program called the “Boeing Fellow on Campus.”

Through bringing real-life experience into the classroom, the program aims to foster positive changes in technical education, encourage more responsiveness on the part of academia to industry, and help Boeing better understand how universities function.

Hot new franchises include bird watching

What’s new and exciting in franchising?

The 1998 Franchise Annual Directory has just come out and editor Ted Dixon filled me in on the latest trends in an industry which now accounts for nearly half of all retail sales.

Dixon, who has overseen preparation of the so-called “Bible of the Franchise World” for 20 years, says this year’s “hot list” includes:

Assisted Living Facilities. Franchise opportunities are exploding with the rapid aging of America.

Bird Watching. Yes, bird watching has been franchised. This, too, is age-related. “Responding to the painful realities of worn cartilage and arthritic joints,” says Dixon, “a growing segment of older Baby Boomers is giving up jogging and going to the birds.”

Mobile Shoe Repair. The cobbler comes to your workplace or home to fix footwear.

Temporary Employment Services. Filling the gaps left by down-sizing and out-sourcing in technical and professional staffs is creating a growing demand, especially for these highly paid temps, says Dixon.

Longer-Stay Hotel Rooms. These establishments cater to specialized technical and professional staff members who are brought in from out of town to complete a project or contract. “Because they may be around two weeks or two months, says Dixon, “they require a different level of service than the average business traveler, who is here today and gone tomorrow.”

Healthy Mexican Food. “Actually, this may be a contradiction in terms,” concedes Dixon. “But there is an effort to skim off excess fat, which allows these restaurant to say their menu is healthy by comparison.”

Quick Service Restaurants With Take Home/Home Style Cooking. How is that possible? “It’s done by what are called special point-of-distribution units,” says Dixon. “These are food boutiques or elite caterers who may specialize in just one item, like a down-home soup bar or fresh-squeezed juices.

“In a market where people pay $3 for a cup of coffee,” Dixon says, “there’s a whole world of boutique ideas that are becoming more and more important.”

This year’s 29th annual directory has 3,975 listings, of which, the editor says, 462 are new. The directory (336 pages) is available for $39.95 from Info Franchise News Inc., 728 Center St., P.O. Box 550, Lewiston, N.Y., 14092.

, DataTimes MEMO: Associate Editor Frank Bartel writes a notes column each Wednesday. If you have business items of regional interest for future columns, call 459-5467 or fax 459-5482.

The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = Frank Bartel The Spokesman-Review