Marketing Buzz 12/01 Proving your company's longevity, discounted magazine ads and inexpensive rich media e-mail marketing

Hangin' Tough

"We're still here. We're not going anywhere,"says Michael Beresford, founder of NetScope Inc., a Web developmentfirm in Irvine, California. It's a refrain he's repeatedoften in the wake of the dotcom bust. It seems a dark cloudcontinues to shadow Net-related businesses, and companies likeNetScope have been undeservedly tainted by association.

Proving that NetScope is still thriving is a major marketingchallenge for Beresford since the fallout. To solve the problem, heand his crew launched a streaming e-mail marketing campaignfeaturing animated versions of themselves. Using tongue-in-cheekhumor and Flash and HTML technology, NetScope draws attention tothe fact that the company has prospered despite the downturn andcontinues to succeed, thanks to good service and businesspractices. Says Beresford, 32, "It's a fun approach. Yes,the market crashed, and all these dotcoms [failed]. But peoplestill need to market their companies; the Internet's not goingaway."