PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A free workshop is being offered to local businesses trying to understand how to use Facebook to promote their products and services.

Facebook's "Small Business Boost" program will offer more than 100 small-business owners lessons in how to optimize their presence on the world's largest social network. U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal will kick off the event and meet attendees.

The event will be held from 9 to 10:30 a.m. on Friday, March 28, at the Crowne Plaza; registration begins at 8:30.

"I am very pleased to be a part of this exciting event with Facebook in Pittsfield that will be a great benefit to many small businesses in Berkshire County and beyond," Neal said in a statement. "Our regional entrepreneurs should take this unique opportunity to learn how to maximize their social media skills from Facebook experts. With the Berkshire Chamber of Commerce as our co-host, I am confident that this seminar will help promote local business development, and prove to be at great success."

Attendees will also hear firsthand from local businesses and nonprofits that have found success through Facebook.

There are more than 2 billion connections between local businesses and people who use Facebook and more than 25 million small businesses using Facebook to connect with customers, according to the social network. In an average week, there are more than 645 million views of, and 13 million comments on, local business Facebook Pages.

"At the Berkshire Chamber, one of our top priorities is supporting small businesses, so we are thrilled to be sponsoring this event. Attendees will hear from Facebook's small-business team and learn best practices and strategies for utilizing Facebook, in addition to hearing some fantastic success stories," said June Roy-Martin, interim president & CEO of the Berkshire Chamber. "Not only does social media help local businesses advertise their goods and services, but it is also important to engaging with their consumers. I thank Facebook for bringing their team to the Berkshires and for involving the Berkshire Chamber of Commerce in the planning process."

Examples of successful use of Facebook as business tool can be found here.
 

LENOX, Mass. – Recording the most wins of any single agency of the evening, Winstanley Partners garnered four gold and 10 silver ADDY awards this month at the annual competition sponsored by the American Advertising Federation and hosted by the Albany AdClub in New York.

The ADDY awards honor creative work in the fields of marketing and advertising in several forms, ranging from print design to television, web, and radio production to elements of advertising, such as logo design and photography.

Winstanley Partners, based in the Berkshires, earned its awards for work completed in 2013 for a wide range of clients, both national and local. The agency competed against other agencies in the greater Albany area, which is part of the American Advertising Federation's District 2.

Its four gold awards move automatically to the next level of competition, to be judged against work created in six Northeast and mid-Atlantic regions: New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware and the District of Columbia. Winning submissions from that level of competition move further to the national level.

Three of the agency's Gold ADDYs were awarded for work completed for Balderdash Cellars of Pittsfield, which teamed with Winstanley Partners to create bottle labels, promotional materials, and more for a wide array of wines launched publicly in 2013. The winery's Fruit of the Boot rosé will be well represented at the next level of competition, with an original illustration, poster design and packaging design each moving on.

A fourth gold ADDY went to a national television spot created for Spalding, in honor of its 30th anniversary as the official NBA game ball.

In addition, Winstanley Partners took home 10 silver awards:

• Balderdash Cellars packaging campaign, Truth Serum wines
• Balderdash Cellars packaging design, Bao Bao Sauvignon Blanc
• Spalding integrated campaign, 30th Anniversary Program
• Pelican ProGear Cooler Brochure
• Pelican ProGear Cooler ‘Yeti’ Internet commercial
• Pelican ProGear Cooler ‘Desert’ National television spot
• Nejaime's Wine Cellars logo design
• Mestek special event invitation
• Quatic Apparel consumer products website
• Winstanley Partners Boxing Day ornament

The agency will compete at the local level again as part of District 1, through awards hosted by the AdClub of Western Mass. For more information, visit Winstanley.com.