Media Picking up Todays ITA Campaign Launch

[Brian Oshman]

Originally Posted by Robbie S

$30,000 just counts more

(thanks Brian)

You're welcome.

[eileen]

if the 30k paid for the trip to get them there then it was utilized in a good way

it was one of the best performances i've seen to get a crowd excited and motivated to move forward.

[eileen]

i personally didn't need the motivation, i admire robbie because he took the time to learn about the benefits of tanning and fights to get the word in the general publics eye with his strong presence in the business. the benefits of tanning is what got me into the business. i have spent endless hours reviewing research and posting about it trying to educate other salon owners who had no clue. berman isn't telling me anything i didn't know but i fully support them and their cause.

don smith has done more to educate us on the topic and never looks for attention over it... i admire him and his partners efforts. i can't begin to put a price on how much they've helped this industry.

working together should be the goal...not bashing someone for donating money.

[Robbie S]

Eileen is right.

But we can still bash Belvy because he didn't give a penny

Brian...don't give up so easily...what do you expect for the first year out. There was an enormous amount of press following this campaign....more than we could have ever afforded to purchase.

This thing won't turn around in a year, or even 5 years. What we will see is a slow chipping away at the idea that the sun only causes cancer, and a slow, and sometimes punctuated migration to the value of tanning and vitamin D.

It’s working!

[Frankie]

We are always going to have those that bash whatever is done. Don Smith has been bashed for years yet he has not given up. Kudos for all his hard work.

This has not happened over night and it will not be fixed over night. It is going to take time. Everyday we need to keep looking for ways to educate our customers. We need to look for better ways to bring money into our salons. The problem has been everyone wants to talk bad about anything that is done. Get involved and think postive. For sure all salon owners need to be members of the ITA.

Everyone doesn`t have 30K to donate to the Berman & Company Fund but you can help. Hang posters in your salons about Vit D. Hang them up in the restrooms. Hang them in your tanning rooms. Give your employees all the material you can find and let them read it. Have them talking to your customers. WE can all play a part in this.

Just my pennies.

[Brian Oshman]

Robbie,

I agree with you on those points. There has been alot of info that has hit the media lately, I just wonder why it took so many years to actually do something about it. The ITA has been in force since the year 2000, and it took them eight years to finally hear the pleas of the salon owners to help do something in the public eye. Imagine if they had made a move earlier and introduced a campaign, where would we be now?

It would have been better if these issues had been addressed sooner instead of letting them snowball into what it is today. Well we don't have that choice of turning back the clock now but hopefully this will continue to get the job done and will eventually make a difference. It will be alot harder and take longer and cost more now to correct the damage then it would have eight to ten years ago.

[mr belvedere]

Let me start off by saying I love Brian's posts, even when they they only say "boat anchor!"! hehe Why did it take so long? Simple, because the people responsible for launching this didn't feel the pain until recently. Even though the largest unsolicited donator says that "negative press" doesn't hurt us, it hurts those that depend on "us", including you, Brian.

Is it "too late" to make a difference? It's never "too late" to stand up for yourself, if you can. But the "you" in this instance has no organized body to represent "you". The ITA exists for the "back-store" segment of this industry, and themselves. I give them credit for tapping Berman & Co. for taking on this monumental fight; but I truly believe it was for their own preservation, and nobody elses'. Call me critical, okay, I'm guilty. Who is pure anymore? But I digress.

Listen, it's going to take a **** of a lot more money than the ITA has, and all of the donations thusfar from individuals, to mount the type of media campaign that is required to fight this war. It's going to require a **** of a lot more resources than the ITA or the mfrs and distys they've enlisted have to win it! It's going to require a "concerted effort" from all the elements of the industry - including the consumers, to WIN it!!!

Yes, it will take time. More time to win than it will take for the industry to finally die. The "quick win" is to take the route of the chiropractors and "holistic healers", that is by "paying" our way for our "seat at the table" - more taxes, more regulation, and more "special licensing".

OR, we finally get some of the more credible science, historical fact, international data, and COMMON SENSE into the mainstream media so that the American populace can see the truth and make their own purchasing decisions regarding our industry!!!!

[Brian Oshman]

I have said it from the beginning that this is way under funded and possibly too late. I have a 300+ post thread next door on this very topic titled, Berman and Co. Any Word Yet? as I have been skeptical from the onset of the endeavor and I haven't noticed it make any difference.

I go into salons in the peak of April and it is like a ghost town anymore. Salon owners are panicking. The sunscare is not the primary problem though but it is a big one.

[Matthew24]

Originally Posted by Brian Oshman

Robbie,

I just wonder why it took so many years to actually do something about it.

We all know the answer.
Vanity would never fade...or so was the plan.

[Robbie S]

Why did it take this long to fight?

Brian….why does it matter?

Any answer you give won’t alter a thing.

The fight is on now and despite the parasitic leeches like Belvedere, who run their ignorant non-donational mouths, many are getting involved.

My enthusiasm came only recently with the framing of Vitamin D and tanning. The momentum of this research is empowering many more to get involved.

Belvedere gives us another glimpse into his grotesque soul-

“I give them credit for tapping Berman & Co. for taking on this monumental fight; but I truly believe it was for their own preservation, and nobody elses'. Call me critical, okay, I'm guilty. Who is pure anymore?”

The suggestion is that this fight should be a selfless one, fought by those who don’t care for their own self preservation. That selfless sacrifice denotes purity.

What an ugly and small man this Belvedere character must be.

A rationally self-interested person will fight for his values—that’s what it means to have integrity.

Belvedere, like Immanuel Kant, believes that to do something that results in personal gain is morally impure, as a pure morality is one that acts against its values, sacrificially.

Pardon me if I’m critical of this douche bag, but he’s the last person anyone should listen to regarding this issue, and someone who I suggest you distance yourself from on the battlefield.

This battle has only just begun. Dispel the idea that victory means everybody in America must understand what we do.

This battle is won customer by customer, market by market. I have acheived enormous success in this regard. In a survey of over 30,000 of our customers, 87% reported that they thought tanning was healthy.

Everyone I meet and talk to easily understands this issue. Things are changing and will continue to do so, perhaps not as quickly as we might like, but we are changing the attitudes of everone we come into contact with.

Its up to all of you to do the same.