Cashing In on Revolution
The observation of the 200th anniversary of the French Revolution has become tres chic around the world. That, of course, includes California. The topic is all over television and the public prints. It even prompted a major celebration on the UCLA campus.
At this juncture comes media maven Paul Kagan with the latest wrinkle in the rush to pay homage to la belle France . Carmel, Calif.-based Paul Kagan Associates Inc. has announced that it has published the first of two newsletters--” en Francais .” It is “ Bulletin de la TV Payante “ (The Pay TV Newsletter).
In truth, Kagan didn’t specifically invoke the Revolution in beating the drums for this one. These publications, Kagan said, are in response to “repeated requests from the French market,” where they are expected to be “essential to the French media professional” interested in American television affairs.
Calling All Couch Potatoes
How about a brand-new sofa--for free?
Well, Krause’s Sofa Factory in Fremont, Calif., will build you one. But first, you have to help them find theirs--a 31-foot-long, 500-pound forced-air sofa balloon that was spirited away during the Independence Day weekend from the rooftop of their store.
“It takes five or six strong guys to move that sofa,” said Nadar Almasi, Krause’s store manager in Fremont. “How did they do it?” The missing sofa, which has been named “Maxine,” is valued at $12,000. When Almasi reported the theft of the navy blue sofa to Fremont police, he said, “They laughed.”
“It’s as if ‘Maxine’ has been beamed up by a UFO,” said Doug Vunder, Krause’s vice president of retail sales. “I’m heartbroken.”
A Reverse Brain Drain
The brain drain that has affected Europe for decades, as qualified workers left for better paying jobs in the United States, is showing signs of reversing.
Butler Services Group, a job shop, will arrive in Los Angeles this month to recruit about 35 aerospace engineers for jobs in England. The company is prepared to offer top engineers up to $112,000 per year for a 50-hour work week, according to Peter Sainsbury, Butler’s operations director in Surrey, England. And they will throw in temporary accommodations and car rentals while you learn the difference between a spanner and the Big Spin. “We have exhausted the supply of software and flight systems engineers in Europe,” Sainsbury said.
In one respect, it is American business ingenuity that is helping to drain the nation’s brain: Butler is a unit of North American Ventures Inc., based in Montvale, N.J.
Fitting Logo for Firm
Some people might think that the new logo at one Los Angeles ad agency was purchased right off the supermarket shelf.
That’s because the logo comes complete with a bar code--identical to those square patches of thick and thin black lines found on such grocery store items as soda crackers and soda pop.
But the Universal Product Code for ad agency Davis, Ball & Colombatto doesn’t spell out a price. Rather, it translates into the agency’s phone number. The logo--and code--will appear on all of the agency’s stationery and brochures.
“We wanted something that illustrated what the agency stands for,” said Brad Ball, president of the firm. After all, the agency creates ads for one of the biggest supermarket chains in town--Ralphs Grocery Co.
