April 4, 2008

Mellon & Co. has launched a new service at IllustrateYourStory.com tailored to small businesses and others looking to get started on the Web with an affordable solution.

IllustrateYourStory.com offers business builder Web sites that come with three to five prebuilt pages in one of several design themes. Essential Web design elements are placed in fixed locations to keep the sites affordable, but each is fully customized to the brand of the business or organization they promote with a custom-designed top banner.

“We realize that not every business needs an elaborate, flashy Web site,” said Heidi Ofinowicz, director of marketing at Mellon & Co. “IllustrateYourStory.com is a service that allows even the smallest organization or business to take advantage of the unlimited marketing potential of the internet with a professional website that can grow with them.”

Each Illustrate Your Story Web site, developed with the end-user in mind, is built with the Mellon EditPro Content Management System (CMS). A CMS is a tool designed to allow for the creation, modification, organization and removal of information from a Web site.

The Mellon EditPro CMS was custom developed by Mellon & Co. to allow clients to easily make changes and edits to their websites. Changing around text and images is as easy as a click of the mouse. A browser-based application, Mellon EditPro allows Web site owners to make changes from any computer with an internet connection. No software downloads or purchases are required.

“We use the Mellon EditPro as the foundation of our websites,” said Jeff Mellon, owner of Mellon & Co. “It not only allows our clients to easily maintain their own Web sites, but also allows for future growth. Creating new pages, adding features such as photo galleries and flash animation, even e-commerce, are all possible on a site built with our CMS.”

IllustrateYourStory.com Web sites come with a number of available upgrades, including email contact forms, two varieties of photo galleries, Google directions and a catalog option.

They also come with basic search engine optimization (SEO), which is one of the most important elements of web marketing, according to Mellon & Co. SEO involves a number of different tactics with the main goal of increasing ranking on search engines such as Google and Yahoo!.

“SEO is a vital element in web marketing success. Every web site we develop has a marketing focus. We don’t develop a site without at least basic SEO, and the IllustrateYourStory.com Web sites are no exception,” said Ofinowicz.

To learn more or purchase an Illustrate Your Story web site, visit IllustrateYourStory.com.

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.

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.

After completing a strategic marketing plan, Mellon & Co. has launched a new Web site for Total Piping Solutions, Inc. (TPS), viewable at www.tps.us.

TPS is a substantial manufacturer and distributer of innovative pipe joining and repair products throughout North America, with a mission of delivering high quality, innovative, time saving and inventory reducing products for the water, wastewater, and industrial markets, whicle providing unparalleled customer service and product support.

Mellon & Co. has worked on several smaller manufacturing projects, but TPS hails as the largest manufacturer on its client roster.

“We worked to create a solid corporate image for TPS,” said Kate Wolcott, director of creative services at Mellon & Co. “It’s always a different set of rules when marketing and designing for the manufacturing world. We tried to keep in mind, through marketing plans and design strategies, that this is a widely viewed site with lengthy information that needs to maintain a corporate look and feel. The clean edges and corporate color scheme, along with user-friendly structure, really spruced up the visual branding for TPS.”

For information about TPS, visit the new site.

Mellon & Co. is pleased to announce that they have launced a new Web site for M&M Enterprises of Salamanca, N.Y. (www.brookhaventownhomes.com), for its newest townhome development, Brookhaven, this week.

The new Web site offers information for prospective buyers, including floorplans, directions, area information, photos, an online application, and more.

Brookhaven is a brand new townhouse complex near the Seneca Allegany Casino. They offer 2 & 3 bedroom units that are spacious and well equipped. The properties come standard with lawn care, from the grass to tending to the flowers, and raking leaves and plowing snow.

The complex is a great addition to our area. For more information, visit the site, or call Brookhaven at 716-945-6605.

Mellon & Co. is pleased to announce that it is extending its hours of operation for its tech services division.

Starting on Monday, March 25, Mellon & Co.’s new office will be open for customers to drop off and pick up computers in the evening and on weekends. The new hours will be Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Contact Mellon & Co. at 716-372-5996 if you have any questions.

February 13, 2008 – Mellon & Co., a marketing, web development and computer services and sales company, announced today that it has moved its office from West State Street to 2438 Constitution Ave. in Olean.

The new office is located next door to D&D Distributing. According to Jeff Mellon, owner of Mellon & Co, the move makes more room for the company’s expanding technology and marketing services.

Mellon & Co. provides a range of technology services, including computer repair and support for all brands of PC’s and Macs, as well as server and network support. They provide services to both residential and commercial customers.

Mellon & Co. also sells computers as authorized retailers of Dell and just recently became a Lenovo Solution partner.

“As a Lenovo partner, we will now provide solutions from two world leaders in PC and Server products,” said Toby Lindberg, director of Tech Services at Mellon & Co. “The nice part of being authorized retailers with Lenovo is that we will never be required to sell customers more than what they need, and we’ll be able to provide a customized system at a fair price, whether it is a new PC for the home, small office, or corporate server.”

Lenovo, the third largest technology provider in the world, designs, manufactures and markets some of the most innovative and award-winning PC products available. Systems are backed by IBM service and support.

Mellon & Co. also has an office at 1 Washington St. in the 1887 Building in Ellicottville and offers a full range of marketing services, specializing in website development and web marketing.

To learn more about Mellon & Co. visit www.mellonco.com, stop by their new office or call (716) 372-5996.