BARRIE, ON, Sep 30, 2008 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX) -- Winning Brands Corporation
(PINKSHEETS: WNBD) (FRANKFURT: WMU) (www.WinningBrands.ca) reports that the
first of its European product Ambassadors is arriving in Venice today.
Consistent with the Winning Brands long-term view that shareholders should not
be dependent exclusively upon U.S. consumer market conditions for growth,
Winning Brands is implementing a new form of engagement with European business
prospects referred to as its "Ambassadors Program." The first of these
Ambassadors, Lisa Smith of Barrie, Ontario will move to, and be based in,
Northern Italy, within driving distance of Germany, Switzerland, Austria and
France while still servicing Italy, the primary launch point for her
Ambassador's assignment. The combined population within a 500-mile radius from
this position is over 200 million people.
Ms. Smith will be stationed near the city of Trento for an initial assignment of
one year. Her mission will be to provide Europeans with first-hand experience
with Winning Colours Stain Remover, the company's popular new eco-responsible
clean-up liquid. The target applications for Winning Colours business
development in Europe will be paint messes, grease and grime; applications for
which Winning Colours Stain Remover is gaining fans in North America due to its
gentleness on skin, ease of use and versatility. Market tests and the
development of consumer feedback from initial retail evaluation sites will be at
the heart of Winning Brands Ambassador experience.
The Ambassador Program is designed to develop suitable arrangements with
prospective business partners in a distant market by way of a grounded presence
in that market first. This better acquaints those prospective business partners
and the company with the full scope of possibilities for their relationship.
Winning Brands feels that this "market aware" approach will result in better
matched and more effective relationships than ordinarily sales junkets that
stress "first opportunity" deals with distributors and agents. Winning Brands
CEO Eric Lehner describes the innovation of the Ambassadors Program -- "In the
old days prior to the internet, personal visits needed to accomplish the dual
tasks of conveying information and recruiting suitable relationships. That leads
to a shallow, less informed approach because of the emphasis on 'first
opportunities.' In the internet age however, we can get audio/visual and
printable information to prospective markets easily. This allows us to now focus
purely on the development of the relationships, which is still a human activity,
and more valuable. Winning Brands Ambassadors have a lot in common with the
diplomatic corps -- they help identify common ground between people and
facilitate constructive arrangements. The best Ambassadors also recommend from
the field, rather than only implementing ideas that originate from home. In this
way, an authentic international character is introduced to operations.
Diversification of cultural input leads to a stronger organization with better
ideas. 95% of humanity lives outside of North America. A company that
internalizes this understanding is much better equipped to survive events in any
one market and prosper broadly," Lehner concludes.
Ms. Smith, who speaks and writes Italian fluently, is an artist by training. She
has worked with physically creative processes extensively and is very familiar
with the many drips, drops and disasters that occur constantly in the physical
arts, home decoration and in industry. Earlier in her career, while working at
Industrial Light & Magic, the now famous motion picture special effects company
founded by George Lucas, Ms. Smith honed her skills in model making, paint
effects and sculpture, working on props for films such as "Men in Black," "Mars
Attacks," "Star Trek" sequel, "Star Wars" special edition and others. Her work
with paints (and their messes) is extensive. Smith says, "As an artist, I
discovered Winning Colours Stain Remover fantastic for cleaning all sorts of
things in the field that are ordinarily challenging. I can also have Winning
Colours Stain Remover on my hands for a long time without it bothering me --
it's so gentle on skin. Being thrilled by the qualities of this product I took
it upon myself to apply for this opportunity to represent the brand's interests
in Italy and the surrounding area according to the Ambassador Program." Ms.
Smith, for whom music is a hobby and avocation, will also be teaching at art
institutes in Trento and elsewhere to remain involved with the community on
various levels. Her e-mail address is AmbassadorSmith@WinningBrands.ca
Winning Brands intends to eventually expand its Ambassadors Program to other
markets by applying the most successful aspects of the program's early operation
to subsequent appointments. Winning Brands manufacturers Winning Colours Stain
Remover and other advanced cleaning solutions including KIND(TM) brand laundry
detergent and CLEAN1(TM) brand outdoor cleaner. The consumer products are
gradually making their way to retail stores across North America, luxury cruise
ships and some test markets internationally.
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