Thier motto is simple, and delicious… “Kick your life up a notch through wine, friends, and fellowship.”

While Anne Conroy-Baiter and Eva Potter, proprietresses of S.W.I.L.L. (Several Wine Imbibers Liking Libations), have been busy kicking up Western New Yorkers’ social lives, Mellon & Co. has been busy kicking up S.W.I.L.L.’s e-commerce.

Developing an intuitive system, both on the user end and internally for S.W.I.L.L., was the goal. Mellon Cart was employed to allow S.W.I.L.L. to customize their online sales operations, manage inventory, and even manage content on their pre-existing Web site. Now S.W.I.L.L. customers are offered a wealth of new options for products and payment options, and S.W.I.L.L. gained many enhanced internal control and sales management tools. This project is sure make the ease and fun of wine tasting even greater for all S.W.I.L.Lers.

If you’re looking for something new and fun, and a little bit zany, definitely check out S.W.I.L.L. by visiting www.swillparty.com. There, you will be able to buy your own products to host your own wine party. S.W.I.L.L. also hosts local parties of its own every two months, on an e-mail invitation, first come first serve R.S.V.P. system. Getting on the list is the best way to go! Contact S.W.I.L.L. for more information.

Electric Beach is a multi-faceted company in the tanning industry. With locations throughout Western New York, Mellon & Co. was selected to create an integrated front for six locations.

The company consists of three major brands. Electric Beach and Advantage Tan are the tanning salon storefront locations. Open Sun is the retail division, specializing in state of the art tanning beds and equipment.

Mellon & Co. was hired to craft a campaign that can communicate the service end of the tanning business, but leave room to later integrate the sales division.

With a very clear vision of the image desired, Electric Beach had definitive involvement in the final look and feel of the site.  A very graphic interface, with flash integration, was the end result. The site may be viewed at www.oleantanning.com. The site also resides on location-specific domains: www.tonawandatanning.com, www.williamsvilletanning.com, www.ebtanningsalons.com, www.advantagetanning.com, www.amherstanning.com.

The Electric Beach corporate office in Olean, NY does a great job of promoting the different services offered throughout the company. With their existing advertising ventures, the new Web sites serve as a way to leverage media usage already in place.  Mellon & Co. is confident that success will continue to follow Electric Beach.

Mellon & Co. is always looking for opportunities to work with local and regional non-profit organizations and events. That said, Mellon & Co. has built a close relationship with the Cattaraugus County Arts Council, after working with Executive Director, Anne Conroy-Baiter on several projects. Additionally, Mellon & Co.’s Kate Wolcott is working closely with the Arts Council to build and promote its events and programs.

With this relationship, Mellon & Co. has facilitated the set up of Conroy-Baiter’s Web layout for the up and coming Routes to Art Open Studio Tour.

During the weekend of May 17-18 2008, 33 artists in Cattaraugus County and Northern Pennslyvania will open their studio doors for this self guided open studio. It is being managed by the Arts Council, and it is designed to showcase regional artistic talent from painters, photographers, sculptors, fiber artist, handcrafted jewelers, and potters. Visitors are welcomed to drive through the region to look at art, visit with the artists, and purchase art.

Mellon & Co. set up the artist database, search engine optimization, as well as content management solutions so that the Web site can be easily managed as a tool for Routes to Art year after year. The site may be viewed at www.routestoart.com.

Mellon & Co. will also be facilitating the Arts Council’s main Web site in the following months.

Sisson’s Chain Saws & Stoves, a company out of Bolivar, N.Y., hired Mellon & Co. to construct a Web plan and design for their business. The project started with an integrated marketing communications plan, linking their current advertising practices to a new Web site. Looking to leverage their Web presence to expand awareness about its proximity to surrounding areas, Mellon & Co. enacted a targeted search engine optimization campaign, while integrating a new design for enhanced visual branding.

The Web site may be viewed at www.sissonstore.com. It showcases the quality products and services, and positions Sisson’s to have more regional influence. Separating products and services into four main categories makes the brand’s attributes easy to recognize and navigate online. The “House of Fire” puts Sisson’s Lopi, Avalon, Hearth and other stoves and fireplaces at the forefront of the home page. Alongside their Husqvarna Super Center, Stihl Powerhouse, and other products, this is a great way for customers to learn about Sisson’s and their product lineup.

Mellon & Co. looks forward to a continual a relationship with Sisson’s, and working for long term success in their marketing ventures. To see the live project and to get more information about Sisson’s, visit www.sissonstore.com.

Ever wonder why your site isn’t showing up in Google? Lacking practices in search engine optimization (SEO) could be the answer. Many people are unaware of the power of SEO as a marketing tool. A Web site is one of your most valuable marketing tools, but if people can’t find it when the search the Internet, it’s value is limited.

Mellon & Co. offers intuitive and strategic consulting and implementation of SEO practices for the major search engines. We found a great article from Marketing Today explaining the importance of SEO for your business. It may be viewed here, and we’ve pulled out some of the main points below.

Search engines play a dominant role in B2B purchases.

When asked if they would use a search engine at some point in this task, 95.5 percent of participants indicated that they would.

When asked if they would use a search engine at some point in this task, 95.5 percent of participants indicated that they would.

Search engines are used in the early or mid research phase in the buying cycle.

Google is favored over other search engines.

Search engine research takes place at least one to two months before the buying decision.

Good balance between organic and paid search is necessary. Organic SEO gets over 70 percent of the clicks.

Position is a factor.

Most users decide which listing to click on in seconds upon scanning the page.

Source: Paul J. Breumer. Marketing Today, The Importance of SEO/Search Engine Marketing for B2B Marketers

Mellon & Co. is excited to announce the web launch showcasing the work of nationally celebrated mural artist, Meg Saligman.

Almost everyone living in this area has noticed the beautiful cherub mural on Olean’s West State Street. The mural is the work of Meg Saligman, an artist who grew up in Olean and is now nationally celebrated. Meg went from Olean to Washington University, School of Fine Arts, in St. Louis, MO, where she graudated with a B.F.A. with a major in painting.

Now a Philadelphia resident, Meg has spent her career solely focused in the arts, designing and executing magnificent public art work in the form of grand building-side murals. From meticulously planned building-side murals, to random street art, to pieces hung on gallery walls, Meg’s work hauntingly mystifies, by offering a subtle glimpse away from the “norm,” into reality beyond what appears to be. Viewers are sure to walk away feeling the impact of experiencing the art.

The creative team of Mellon & Co. spent time with Meg at her studio and out on the streets in Philadelphia to see her work. Meg has an expansive range of art that the team was invited to see. From gallery pieces to street art, they gathered preliminary information, and were given a glimpse into the world of Meg’s art. This, ultimately, led to the fulfillment of a complete Web site telling Meg’s story and displaying her works. The site may be viewed at www.MegSaligman.com. Future efforts to include original flash design by Meg, public relations, as well as even more information are underway.

Meg painted her first mural in 1989 with the Philadelphia Anti Graffiti Network. Her major works include Philadelphia’s landmark “Common Threads,” “Philadelphia Muses,” “Theatre of Life,” and the new “Passing Through” wall that can be seen looming over a major Philadelphia expressway. Her work can also be seen in the national and international arena of public art, from a fresco in Mexico City to the largest publicly funded mural project in the United States in Shreveport, Louisiana.

In 2006, Saligman was featured as one of ten muralists from throughout the country who has been influential in the past decade in the national publication, Public Art Review. She has numerous awards that include honors from The National Endowment of the Arts, The Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, The Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, and Philadelphia’s Leeway Foundation. And I’ve been featured in many national publications, including National Geographic and Art in America.

To learn more about Meg Saligman, visit www.MegSaligman.com.

March 7, 2008 – Ann McCauley, an emerging women’s literature author from Pennsylvania, will be speaking at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 11 at the Olean Public Library in celebration of the release of her new novel, Runaway Grandma, and Women’s History Month.
McCauley, a retired psychiatric nurse with a certificate in gerontology, will be reading excerpts from her book and speaking about the issues it addresses.

Runaway Grandma is the story of seventy-year-old Olivia Hampton, a widowed retired school teacher who meticulously plans a fake suicide. She believes her son is plotting to have her declared incompetent to gain control of her finances. She moves to a distant state with a new identity but life has a way of refusing to let her be.

McCauley believes that financial elder abuse is a definite problem in America today, explaining that it is not uncommon for adult children to want their inheritances while they are still young enough to enjoy it.

McCauley will also be sharing details of the writing contest “Runaway Giveaway” she is holding. Prizes for winning submissions include a $50 savings bond for children and signed copies of the book for adults.

The event will also include a large-screen debut of her new website, developed by Mellon & Co., and refreshments will be served. To learn more about McCauley, her books and the contest, visit her website at www.annmccauley.com.