Place-Based Indoor Video Advertising
Promotional Products | Print
Screen Printing & Embroidery
Credit Card Services
In the Press
Newspaper Article on TullyTube in Jan 2010
View Article from Morrison County Record - click
A small idea grows to a thriving business
Tully Tube Network promotes shopping locally
The idea is not new. Help local businesses by shopping locally. People want to keep a community vibrant by frequenting local establishments. Tully Tube Network has taken it a step further.
Todd and Christine Tollefson and Christine's sister Carla Kuchinski began the business about two years ago. The advertising idea is to keep a business's name in front of people during their daily routine.
"The locations that host the ads are chosen for their high traffic count," said Todd. "We want people to see the ads when they eat lunch, go to the gym or the bowling alley, stop at a bar after work or have supper out."
The idea is simple. A business places a minimum 10-second ad with Tully Tube Network, created by Todd. He burns the ad, along with others, onto a DVD that loops every 20 minutes on a television which is strategically placed in the community.
"The host television locations are chosen by the advertiser," said Todd. "If a new business opens in Motley, they may want to start with targeting the Motley area, expanding in the future."
Todd said the locations that host the televisions are all about shopping locally.
"They want to sponsor local businesses and also draw the traveler to stop in town for their needs," he said. "As people head north, and stop for a meal in Little Falls, for example, they may see an ad that will entice them to see more about what the town has to offer. We are the face of the local marketplace."
The idea for the Tully Tube Network grew from an encounter in Kuchinski's kitchen when she was making DVDs of her day care children for their parents as a Christmas present.
"Todd thought I should add text to the DVD," she said. "We messed around with scanning business cards to see how it would work. The idea for Tully Tube Network grew from that."
At the time, each owned a business. Christine ran Custom Fitness, a gym in Motley. Todd still owns Asphalt Aces and Kuchinski has her day care, Kuch's Kare. Each wanted to enhance their business's visibility.
"I wanted to get Motley advertisers to get involved with the idea and I would have their ads run at the gym," said Christine. "We started with Mr. Ed's Restaurant and for the first run, we had about two dozen advertisers. We now have 30 host sites and 200 businesses participating. Fifty of those are in Little Falls."
"Different communities have different ads," said Todd. "And those ads may be changed monthly to reflect changes in the business."
"This is a network of local businesses working together to promote each other in their community," he said.
View Article from Morrison County Record - click
A small idea grows to a thriving business
Tully Tube Network promotes shopping locally
The idea is not new. Help local businesses by shopping locally. People want to keep a community vibrant by frequenting local establishments. Tully Tube Network has taken it a step further.
Todd and Christine Tollefson and Christine's sister Carla Kuchinski began the business about two years ago. The advertising idea is to keep a business's name in front of people during their daily routine.
"The locations that host the ads are chosen for their high traffic count," said Todd. "We want people to see the ads when they eat lunch, go to the gym or the bowling alley, stop at a bar after work or have supper out."
The idea is simple. A business places a minimum 10-second ad with Tully Tube Network, created by Todd. He burns the ad, along with others, onto a DVD that loops every 20 minutes on a television which is strategically placed in the community.
"The host television locations are chosen by the advertiser," said Todd. "If a new business opens in Motley, they may want to start with targeting the Motley area, expanding in the future."
Todd said the locations that host the televisions are all about shopping locally.
"They want to sponsor local businesses and also draw the traveler to stop in town for their needs," he said. "As people head north, and stop for a meal in Little Falls, for example, they may see an ad that will entice them to see more about what the town has to offer. We are the face of the local marketplace."
The idea for the Tully Tube Network grew from an encounter in Kuchinski's kitchen when she was making DVDs of her day care children for their parents as a Christmas present.
"Todd thought I should add text to the DVD," she said. "We messed around with scanning business cards to see how it would work. The idea for Tully Tube Network grew from that."
At the time, each owned a business. Christine ran Custom Fitness, a gym in Motley. Todd still owns Asphalt Aces and Kuchinski has her day care, Kuch's Kare. Each wanted to enhance their business's visibility.
"I wanted to get Motley advertisers to get involved with the idea and I would have their ads run at the gym," said Christine. "We started with Mr. Ed's Restaurant and for the first run, we had about two dozen advertisers. We now have 30 host sites and 200 businesses participating. Fifty of those are in Little Falls."
"Different communities have different ads," said Todd. "And those ads may be changed monthly to reflect changes in the business."
"This is a network of local businesses working together to promote each other in their community," he said.
Magazine Article on TullyTube in March 09'
Digital signs
By Dee Goerge
As Christine Tollefson watched DVD slideshows her sister Carla Kuchinski had made for her children, she recognized an advertising opportunity for businesses owned by Tollefson and her husband, Todd. Her idea was to create DVDs with photos and text for each business, then repeat the slideshow on flat screen monitors in busy locations.
Instead of using high-tech, digital technology, the Tollefsons decided to keep it simple with DVDs and to extend the idea to other businesses. After they merged software programs and created their own ads, the Tollefsons and Kuchinski took their idea to businesses in the Staples/Motley area a year ago.
“TullyTube is a joint venture with other businesses in our community to make it more affordable for everyone,” Christine Tollefson explains. Clients are charged a modest set-up fee and as little as $20/month for a 10-second ad. TullyTube established agreements with host locations willing to mount the monitors in highly visible locations and run the DVD during the business’s working hours.
“We look for the busiest places, or businesses with a captive audience,” Christine says. TullyTube screens are set up in grocery stores, fitness facilities, liquor stores and cafes, for example. She recalls that one newcomer to Randall, Minn., was eating at a café and hired a handyman because of an ad he saw on the TullyTube monitor. When organizers of the Leader Pig Races closed the season early due to cold weather, they called to ask that their ad be removed immediately. People were still coming because of the TullyTube ads.
“It’s top of mind advertising,” Tollefson says. “It reminds people in their busy daily life that these places are in town.”
Businesses who have signed up for TullyTube advertising run the gamut from selling insurance to realty, contracting and mechanic services to cafes and retailers.
“We really think it works for everybody,” Tollefson says. To meet customers’ needs, TullyTube services continually evolve, by offering longer ad times and action videos, for example. They also post all the ads on their website, www.tullytube.com, to give clients even more exposure.
With success in their local area, the TullyTube partners branched out into new zones. They visited businesses in Little Falls and created a DVD with them. More recently they set up a Wadena zone. They plan to continue spreading the business in each direction – especially north and west to the North Dakota border. They invite businesses in central and northern Minnesota to contact them for information on setting up a TullyTube zone in their community.
National trend
TullyTube is a good example of the direction businesses are heading with their marketing dollars, says Ryan Nead, sales director with Digital Signage, a Utah-based company that connects customers from all over the world with hardware and software companies.
With the price of flat screens going down, it’s become more affordable for businesses to create their own promotional marketing. With available software, the information can be updated remotely through the Internet.
“It’s not just advertising, it’s also about informing,” Nead says. “Screens are going up in doctors’ offices, airports and schools.”
For example, a dentist who wanted to do more porcelain veneers set up a flat screen in his waiting room with a video that talked about the dentist’s personal life, his business and his specialty. Because of the video, clients asked about veneers, and business boomed doing that procedure.
“People are connected more to digital,” Nead says, unlike the dentist’s brochures, which few people read.
Grocery stores and retail and box stores use them to promote in-house sales or to provide product information.
Seven of the eight Hugo’s grocery stores in western Minnesota and North Dakota have had digital signs for two years, but since they are at the cashiers’ stations, their main purpose is to promote the local business community, says Doug Driscoll, director of operations. They have proven to be a good PR tool, however.
“Customers find the advertising, weather and marketing reader board messages to be very easy to watch, and we have had many positive comments about the content,” he says.
It’s a no-cost item for the store. Monarch Solution, a national company, provides the equipment and sells advertising to local businesses, which cycles on the digital screen — along with a popular five-day weather forecast. Also, the digital signs automatically upload Amber Alerts.
Each store manager has the ability to scroll store specials on the bottom of the screen and the three-sided units provide space for store ads as well as flyers for community events.
Businesses don’t need to be large to use the digital signs for advertising. Even small Mom-and-Pop businesses see the benefits, Nead says. The scope of digital signage can be as small as an ad on a cashier’s screen to 72-in. or larger flat screens.
Digital signage is a 20-year-old industry that moved in from the East Coast and expanded West. It is extremely popular in Great Britain, Nead says, and the signs are becoming more prevalent throughout the U.S.
Digital signs
By Dee Goerge
As Christine Tollefson watched DVD slideshows her sister Carla Kuchinski had made for her children, she recognized an advertising opportunity for businesses owned by Tollefson and her husband, Todd. Her idea was to create DVDs with photos and text for each business, then repeat the slideshow on flat screen monitors in busy locations.
Instead of using high-tech, digital technology, the Tollefsons decided to keep it simple with DVDs and to extend the idea to other businesses. After they merged software programs and created their own ads, the Tollefsons and Kuchinski took their idea to businesses in the Staples/Motley area a year ago.
“TullyTube is a joint venture with other businesses in our community to make it more affordable for everyone,” Christine Tollefson explains. Clients are charged a modest set-up fee and as little as $20/month for a 10-second ad. TullyTube established agreements with host locations willing to mount the monitors in highly visible locations and run the DVD during the business’s working hours.
“We look for the busiest places, or businesses with a captive audience,” Christine says. TullyTube screens are set up in grocery stores, fitness facilities, liquor stores and cafes, for example. She recalls that one newcomer to Randall, Minn., was eating at a café and hired a handyman because of an ad he saw on the TullyTube monitor. When organizers of the Leader Pig Races closed the season early due to cold weather, they called to ask that their ad be removed immediately. People were still coming because of the TullyTube ads.
“It’s top of mind advertising,” Tollefson says. “It reminds people in their busy daily life that these places are in town.”
Businesses who have signed up for TullyTube advertising run the gamut from selling insurance to realty, contracting and mechanic services to cafes and retailers.
“We really think it works for everybody,” Tollefson says. To meet customers’ needs, TullyTube services continually evolve, by offering longer ad times and action videos, for example. They also post all the ads on their website, www.tullytube.com, to give clients even more exposure.
With success in their local area, the TullyTube partners branched out into new zones. They visited businesses in Little Falls and created a DVD with them. More recently they set up a Wadena zone. They plan to continue spreading the business in each direction – especially north and west to the North Dakota border. They invite businesses in central and northern Minnesota to contact them for information on setting up a TullyTube zone in their community.
National trend
TullyTube is a good example of the direction businesses are heading with their marketing dollars, says Ryan Nead, sales director with Digital Signage, a Utah-based company that connects customers from all over the world with hardware and software companies.
With the price of flat screens going down, it’s become more affordable for businesses to create their own promotional marketing. With available software, the information can be updated remotely through the Internet.
“It’s not just advertising, it’s also about informing,” Nead says. “Screens are going up in doctors’ offices, airports and schools.”
For example, a dentist who wanted to do more porcelain veneers set up a flat screen in his waiting room with a video that talked about the dentist’s personal life, his business and his specialty. Because of the video, clients asked about veneers, and business boomed doing that procedure.
“People are connected more to digital,” Nead says, unlike the dentist’s brochures, which few people read.
Grocery stores and retail and box stores use them to promote in-house sales or to provide product information.
Seven of the eight Hugo’s grocery stores in western Minnesota and North Dakota have had digital signs for two years, but since they are at the cashiers’ stations, their main purpose is to promote the local business community, says Doug Driscoll, director of operations. They have proven to be a good PR tool, however.
“Customers find the advertising, weather and marketing reader board messages to be very easy to watch, and we have had many positive comments about the content,” he says.
It’s a no-cost item for the store. Monarch Solution, a national company, provides the equipment and sells advertising to local businesses, which cycles on the digital screen — along with a popular five-day weather forecast. Also, the digital signs automatically upload Amber Alerts.
Each store manager has the ability to scroll store specials on the bottom of the screen and the three-sided units provide space for store ads as well as flyers for community events.
Businesses don’t need to be large to use the digital signs for advertising. Even small Mom-and-Pop businesses see the benefits, Nead says. The scope of digital signage can be as small as an ad on a cashier’s screen to 72-in. or larger flat screens.
Digital signage is a 20-year-old industry that moved in from the East Coast and expanded West. It is extremely popular in Great Britain, Nead says, and the signs are becoming more prevalent throughout the U.S.
Copyright . tullytube. All rights reserved.
Warning: fopen(plugins/hitcounter/hitcount_c4d3023c_fd7a_453e_8111_a5b6d418f786.txt): failed to open stream: Permission denied in /var/chroot/home/content/r/a/n/randallmotley/html/plugins/hitcounter/ss_qiSPjoW_R4nx9rjzkTvsnsjY1QM_1lMu59HhzAE.php on line 405
Warning: fopen(plugins/hitcounter/hitcount_c4d3023c_fd7a_453e_8111_a5b6d418f786.txt): failed to open stream: Permission denied in /var/chroot/home/content/r/a/n/randallmotley/html/plugins/hitcounter/ss_qiSPjoW_R4nx9rjzkTvsnsjY1QM_1lMu59HhzAE.php on line 405
Warning: fopen(plugins/hitcounter/hitcount_c4d3023c_fd7a_453e_8111_a5b6d418f786.txt): failed to open stream: Permission denied in /var/chroot/home/content/r/a/n/randallmotley/html/plugins/hitcounter/ss_qiSPjoW_R4nx9rjzkTvsnsjY1QM_1lMu59HhzAE.php on line 405
Warning: fopen(plugins/hitcounter/hitcount_c4d3023c_fd7a_453e_8111_a5b6d418f786.txt): failed to open stream: Permission denied in /var/chroot/home/content/r/a/n/randallmotley/html/plugins/hitcounter/ss_qiSPjoW_R4nx9rjzkTvsnsjY1QM_1lMu59HhzAE.php on line 405
Warning: fopen(plugins/hitcounter/hitcount_c4d3023c_fd7a_453e_8111_a5b6d418f786.txt): failed to open stream: Permission denied in /var/chroot/home/content/r/a/n/randallmotley/html/plugins/hitcounter/ss_qiSPjoW_R4nx9rjzkTvsnsjY1QM_1lMu59HhzAE.php on line 405
Warning: fopen(plugins/hitcounter/hitcount_c4d3023c_fd7a_453e_8111_a5b6d418f786.txt): failed to open stream: Permission denied in /var/chroot/home/content/r/a/n/randallmotley/html/plugins/hitcounter/ss_qiSPjoW_R4nx9rjzkTvsnsjY1QM_1lMu59HhzAE.php on line 405
Warning: fopen(plugins/hitcounter/hitcount_c4d3023c_fd7a_453e_8111_a5b6d418f786.txt): failed to open stream: Permission denied in /var/chroot/home/content/r/a/n/randallmotley/html/plugins/hitcounter/ss_qiSPjoW_R4nx9rjzkTvsnsjY1QM_1lMu59HhzAE.php on line 405
Warning: fopen(plugins/hitcounter/hitcount_c4d3023c_fd7a_453e_8111_a5b6d418f786.txt): failed to open stream: Permission denied in /var/chroot/home/content/r/a/n/randallmotley/html/plugins/hitcounter/ss_qiSPjoW_R4nx9rjzkTvsnsjY1QM_1lMu59HhzAE.php on line 405