Chamber hosts marketing seminar for small business owners

Have you ever wondered what exactly marketing is and how it can help your business? The Maricopa Chamber of Commerce is sponsoring a “Marketing 101” seminar June 26 to address these and other related questions.

The event is open to the public and will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Global Water’s Ranch El Dorado office at 22590 N. Powers Parkway. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased online.

The session will be led by Scott Bartle, publisher of inmaricopa.com and 85239 The Magazine, Kathy L. Hall, editor of the Maricopa Monitor, and Renie Scibona, publisher of the Maricopa Connection. The purpose is to help Maricopa small business owners understand the basics of marketing and to identify cost-effective methods of helping them achieve their marketing, sales and public relations objectives. Topics include:

• Branding – what it is and how to achieve it
• Online marketing – what is it and why do I need it
• How to maximize the return on your advertising dollars
• The comparative advantages of print and online advertising
• How to recognize how your business is different than your competitor’s
• Guerilla marketing or “how to make them come to you”
• How to write a press release
• Free publicity – the ins and outs

There will also be time allocated to share ideas among attendees and Q&A with the presenters.

Scott Bartle began his career in sports marketing, producing and marketing Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Tour events in Indianapolis and Scottsdale. He served as marketing coordinator for the Super Bowl XXX Host Committee prior to joining the Maricopa County Sports Commission where he spent four years as its assistant executive director. Since 2000 Bartle has served as president of Outside the Box Marketing, Inc., a company specializing in corporate and educational marketing, athlete representation, event management and marketing, sponsorship services and public relations. Bartle also serves as publisher of inmaricopa.com and 85239 The Magazine.

Among the organizations with which Bartle is involved are the Knights of Columbus, IU Alumni Club of Phoenix, Maricopa Parks, Recreation and Libraries Advisory Committee, Project CENTRL, Sigma Chi Fraternity and Valley Leadership. A graduate of Indiana University, he is a native Hoosier and has lived in the Greater Phoenix area since 1977 and Maricopa since 2004.

Kathy L. Hall, editor of the Maricopa Monitor, began her newspaper career at the Apache Junction News and recently won an award through the Arizona Press Women. She’s been published in magazines and spent time as a screenwriter. As a corporate executive, she was involved in developing marketing strategies. And as a small business owner in Mesa, Hall successfully drew two television stations and the Arizona Republic to her shop for coverage of two separate events.

Hall served on the board of directors for the non-profit House of Refuge East in Mesa. A native of California, Hall has had a variety of adventures and careers, including homesteading in Alaska and cab driving in California.

Renie Scibona serves as publisher of the Maricopa Connection, Chandler Connection and Ahwatukee Foothills News. She has more than 25 years of newspaper experience in Arizona.

She currently serves on the boards of the Ahwatukee Foothills Chamber of Commerce, Ahwatukee YMCA, Ocotillo Women’s League and is vice president of the Phoenix Advertising Club, a division of the American Advertising Federation. Scibona has also served on other boards including the Boys and Girls Club, Arizona Helping Hands and North Phoenix Chamber of Commerce. She is a native of Arizona and a proud mother of two.