Ad firm celebrates 30 years with national campaign
Written by Duane Ramsey | | news@toledofreepress.comFruchtman Marketing of Toledo is celebrating 30 years in business in 2011 — and the launch of a national consumer advertising campaign for a major client.
Ellen Fruchtman started the business out of her home in 1981 while raising two children. Fruchtman, who has a background in television production, said she saw an opportunity to make some income through her own business.
“I thought local TV ads were terrible and thought I could do better,” Ellen Fruchtman said.
She established Ad-In Concepts and produced TV commercials for a former retail client in Toledo, using a freelance designer and media buyer for the campaign.
Fruchtman began producing advertising for Harold Jaffe Jewelers in 1994. The firm has also created advertising and marketing for two long-time local clients, Gross Electric and Tom’s Tire & Auto.
Ellen’s husband Michael joined the firm as a partner in 1997 to focus on the business side. He previously served in executive roles for his family’s businesses and has 30 years of marketing and financial management experience.
Today, Fruchtman Marketing is a full-service marketing firm specializing in the jewelry industry, which comprises about 90 percent of its business. She said they represent some of the finest jewelry manufacturers, retailers and industry organizations such as the American Gem Society and Palladium Alliance International (PAI). The PAI promotes the attributes and use of palladium, the third most expensive metal behind platinum and gold, in jewelry.
Palladium reportedly has all the attributes of platinum but is lighter and less expensive.
Fruchtman Marketing launched an $8 million national consumer advertising campaign for palladium that debuted in the September issues of fashion magazines with a digital premiere on Facebook and other social media.
“It’s the big time for a small agency from Toledo, Ohio,” Ellen said. “We wanted to do something totally different to educate people about palladium jewelry.”
They created a campaign that features three well-known celebrities, including actresses Pamela Anderson (“Baywatch”), Rose McGowan (“Charmed”) and Kelly Osbourne (E! series “Fashion Police”), daughter of Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne.
The full-page print ads feature one of the celebrities wearing palladium jewelry with the headline, “I’m so over heavy metal.” The ads appear in Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Harper’s BAZAAR, In Style, Marie Claire, People, People Style Watch and W.
“The celebrities we selected are very recognizable. We went to LA to work with a world-renowned fashion photographer and had a fabulous experience shooting all three celebrities in one day,” Ellen said.
The local agency also produced a separate trade campaign for the jewelry industry sponsored by the PAI and Stillwater Mining Company, a large palladium miner in the U.S.
The firm was hired most recently by a large foreign jewelry manufacturer that sought them out for their worldwide reputation in the jewelry business, Michael said.
With other new accounts in addition to PAI, the agency recently added several positions and promoted some staffers to cover the new business.
“Like many of our clients, we are growing despite the economy. The growth is a positive trend for the Toledo area,” Michael said.
“Where we come from has never been an obstacle to our business,” Ellen said. “The majority of our clients are not in Toledo but we chose to stay in Toledo because we believe in it and our people are here.”
“Our best ideas come from the people who work here. We really have a sense of family, respect people and their families, and don’t succeed at the expense of family,” Michael said.
“We empower people who work here to be the best they can possibly be professionally and personally with no ceiling or limitations. We built our business by treating our employees, vendors and suppliers as friends and partners in our business,” Ellen said.
Michael said their success has given them “great opportunity to give back to the community.”
The firm supports its employees who do charitable work in the community.
Angela Ash started as an intern in design and is now a senior account executive. She currently serves as president of the board for Susan G. Komen For the Cure.
The company also supports local charities such as the American Red Cross of Toledo and the Northwest Ohio Chapter of the Multiple Sclerosis Society.
In celebration of its 30th anniversary, the firm established a scholarship at the Gemological Institute of America, where individuals receive training to become professional jewelers.
The Fruchtmans pointed out the difference between advertising and marketing. The latter is how you sell yourself to your customers and is a package of advertising, media planning, interactive media, public relations, promotions, research and so much more, according to the couple.
“Think about your marketing as a holistic approach to your business — a unified approach with creativity,” they stated on the firm’s website at www.fruchtman.com.
Tags: American Gem Society, Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Ellen Fruchtman, Fruchtman Marketing, Gross Electric, Harold Jaffe Jewelers, Harper’s BAZAAR, In Style, Kelly Osbourne, Marie Claire, Michael Fruchtman, palladium, Palladium Alliance International, Pamela Anderson, People, People Style Watch, Rose McGowan, Tom's Tire & Auto, W
