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.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Berkshire Chamber of Commerce will offer a workshop designed to help area business owners utilize cutting-edge marketing techniques to generate leads, sales, and overall interest in their business.

"Mobile Marketing 101: Decoding the QR Code" will be held from 8:30 to 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 30, at the Beacon Cinema on North Street.

Julie Fruscio, business development and marketing coordinator at Excelsior Printing Co., and Ashley Sulock, director or marketing and communications at the Berkshire Chamber of Commerce, will lead the presentation.

The presenters will discuss QR Codes and help attendees understand how to best leverage these tools to bridge the gap between print and electronic marketing. Attendees are encouraged to bring their cell or or smart phones, although these devices are not required for participants to attend or benefit from the program.

The workshop is free to Berkshire Chamber members and $10 for nonmembers. To register: www.berkshirechamber.com, choyt@berkshirechamber.com, or call 413-499-4000, Ext. 10.

Cranwell Resort, Spa and Golf Club has launched a nifty app for iPhone and Android. The Cranwell app offers a guide to the hotel's amenities, recommendations and special offers. Plus it features a map of activities in the Berkshires.

"The way that our customers search for and book their vacation experience is shifting," said Norma Probst, director of marketing for the resort. "This new feature will enable us to connect with our guests and prospective visitors before, during and after their stays."

The app, one of 20 hotel and resort apps developed by DeCare Systems Ireland Ltd., offers quick access to real-time reservations and Cranwell phone and email contacts and images of the historic resort. App users can explore all the facilities of the resort in a few easy taps — from information on wining and dining at the hotel's restaurants and bar, to room and suite accommodations.

Users can access sections on the Spa at Cranwell, golfing or skiing, as well as a profile of their conference and wedding facilities. Then they can shoot off an e-mail to tell their friends all about it.
 
The app also offers an area guide (notably clustered mostly in South County along Route 7) for taverns, dining, shopping, outdoor and cultural activities, hospitals and transportation, along with a Google map to show you how to get there. We're not sure where they're drawing the information, but the North County section is pretty skimpy. The locations do, however, get you not only a location but access to contacts and Web pages.

The "news" section is also sparse, consisting of mainly tweets and retweets from Cranwell. But then it is designed to promote Cranwell and areas of interest to its patrons, not the local or national media.

Cranwell Resort says it partnered with O'Rourke Hospitality's Smart Stay App to provide "a highly specialized service solution for mobile travelers to the Berkshires."

We downloaded the app to try it out and found it very easy to use. If you're coming to the Berkshires and don't know your way around, this is a nice littlemobile concierge. The free app can be downloaded for iPhone, iPad and Android systems.

Looks like Cranwell is out front with offering the area's first mobile application — at least we can't find anyone else who's doing it.