Marani Brands Inc. (MRIB)

[Matthew Berg]

Here's my question:

Why would Marani pay all that money to get on screens in Times Square, with no intention of fulfilling the demand potentially generated by those commercials?

Think about it like this. Say this was a scam: Why would they spend money from the scam on something they will get zero return on?

Did Bernie Madoff donate all of his scam money to the Red Cross or Unicef, or did he just keep it in his pocket?

People keep screaming scam, I don't see it. If it were a scam, why the frivolous spending on things that most likely won't produce more investors? Do investors really walk by those screens and say, "man, there's something I should invest in," or do they walk by and say, "where can I buy that vodka?"

Do we think Dunkin Donuts is gaining investors from their perma-screen in Times Square?

D, you answered your own question. The Time Square deal costs nothing. It's a ruse. That's why they did it! They made it sound like they bought a Super Bowl slot. They got a HUGE return on the PR they got. It had nothing to do with selling vodka it had to do with getting investors to sing New York, New York for as little money as possible. There has been no frivolous spending other than salaries and perks. Most of their events are paid for in product. No cash. The only cash they spent was on Money TV which has no bearing on selling vodka, just stock. Go back and look at the investor reply to the Times Square deal. That tells the story. Whatever they can hype the most for the least relative amount of money is of he greatest value to elevate the scam.

And Dunkin Donuts is branding, something Marani has no interest in spending money on. And just so you know the perma-screen costs hundreds of thousands of dollars a month versus the Marani ads which run less than $100. It's all perception for MRIB. But hey, the fooled you and a lot of other people so there's something to be said about their approach.