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Sir,
So true. I've been in and out of a stock called ZTM. They make a fat replacement for food. In one year, the stock went from .03 to 9 bucks on the strength of a huge "company changing deal" with Kraft. The company could not deliver enough product, Kraft cancelled the deal and the stock tanked. Personally, I think they have a great product, but they couldn't deliver. VirTra has a great product and the much talked about "company changing deal" can still come about, in my opinion. The company needs to be ready when it does.
Franz
I'm voting yes. We can go back and forth forever on the proxy, # of shares, etc. To me, the bottom line is having the best product, the ability to sell the product and deliver the product. I think we are headed into a time where we can see significant sales. There has been a recent uptick in sales to the branches, plus Raytheon and the strategic partnership. We now have the General to seal deals. Somebody who knows the military and the people who will make the buying decisions. He is back from recent sales trips and the trade show is coming up. With the elections and Baker report around the corner, a shift in Iraq strategy could be forthcoming, along with a shift in military spending. We know from past statements by Kelly that a $23 million dollar order was discussed, but not signed, likely due to Iraq spending.
Bottom line, we know we have the best product, we know there has been significant interest in the product, we have the General with his military understanding and contacts, plus budget could soon be freed up to buy our products. I want the company to be ready to deal with a sizeable increase in orders. I say yes.
Kelly,
Thanks for the reply to my question about the recent sales. Much appreciated.
Franz
Kelly,
In the past month, we have seen quite a bit of sales news; Mexico, Navy, Marines, Raytheon and the Strategic Partnership with an initial 10 system order. I know these sales tend to have quite a long lead time and a lot of the foundation was built on your watch. To the best of your knowledge, were any and all of these sales in the pipeline when you left or are some new and attributable to the General?
Fool,
The per capita stuff and all the calculations are not really my interest here. Basically, Iraq has cost a ton of money. Some of which could have gone to VirTa. Is that why the $23 million deal fell through? Who knows. I'm sure it didn't help. We have built up a nice group of clients with the 4 branches and Raytheon. My point is, if things change regarding spending on the Iraq front, we could see a nice spike in sales.
Franz
Check out some of the costs of the Iraq war. With the elections looming and talk of new strategy, perhaps some money will be freed up for the likes of VirTra.
From a NY Times article:
Iraq and Your Wallet
For every additional second we stay in Iraq, we taxpayers will end up paying an additional $6,300.
Several careful studies have attempted to tote up various costs, and they suggest that the tab will be more than $1 trillion -- perhaps more than $2 trillion. The higher sum would amount to $6,600 per American man, woman and child.
There are other hidden costs not included in that per capita figure:
* $600,000 to $5 million over the lifetime of the 3,000 U.S. Iraq War veterans (so far) with severe head injuries
* Disability payments for the next 50 years for an unknown - but large - number of Iraq War veterans
* Re-enlistment bonuses, some as high as $150,000
* Replacing armor, aircraft, et cetera
* Interest costs of the war being paid for by borrowing from China, et al., estimated at $264 billion to $308 billion
* Higher oil costs, possibly a half-trillion-dollar drag on the economy
I think the book title should be "How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the I-Hub."
Hey Kelly. Glad to hear from you. I hope all is well.
CC ditched it's ad agency. Looks like Schoonover wants to run a tighter ship:
March 03, 2006
By Kate MacArthur and Alice Z. Cuneo
CHICAGO (AdAge.com) -- Circuit City has parted with independent Doner, Southfield, Mich., the agency for its $150 million account, and is joining the ranks of marketers parceling out work on a project basis.
Doner CEO Alan Kalter said the agency’s contract ended at the end of February and will not be renewed. “They believe they don’t need a full-service agency,” he said.
New CEO
He added that Circuit City’s new CEO, Phil Schoonover, originally came to the retailer from competitor Best Buy, which has a significant in-house advertising agency.
“Their model is Best Buy, which Phil Schoonover came from, which doesn’t have an agency,” said Mr. Kalter. “They want us to work on projects where work would be speculative and compensation would be based upon acceptance of the spec work, and we don’t have any interest in doing that.”
Circuit City declined to comment.
The marketer is already working with Euro RSCG for a project promoting its IQ Crew, a service for to help PC owners upgrade and repair computers both in the store and, in certain markets, at home. The service is service similar to Best Buy’s Geek Squad, executives familiar with the situation said.
Mr. Kalter wouldn’t say how much the agency made in creative fees on the account, which it won in June 2004. “Circuit City is a wonderful account and we loved the work we did, but from a financial basis, it was hardly our largest account,” he said.
Moving away from AOR
A number of marketers have recently moved from an agency-of-record approach to using a stable of shops for various parts of their accounts, most notably beer marketer Anheuser-Busch and retailer Target. Others drifting away from the AOR relationship include Motorola, Coca-Cola Co. and McDonald’s Corp. Even PepsiCo, long consolidated at Omnicom Group's BBDO Worldwide, has placed some of its work to other shops of late, most recently shifting its $30 million Doritos account to BBDO sibling Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco.
The loss was the latest for Doner, which last week pulled out of the Six Flags review. “We don’t agree with the creative direction” set by the theme park’s new management, Mr. Kalter said. Of the back-to-back partings, he said, “We have had an unfortunate rash of client replacements.” Remaining Doner accounts include Mazda, Electrolux’s Eureka brand and the Food Network.
During Circuit City’s third-quarter call with analysts Dec. 19, management said the chain improved its advertising program and added $16 million during the quarter to boost its "share of voice" during the holiday season. Analysts grilled Mr. Schoonover on relatively light same-store sales for the quarter despite the increased advertising.
Hi Xanadu. Good to be here. You know, something just dawned on me. I was wondering why the NYC circular would have a GZFX listing, considering it's not available in-store here. I just looked at the circular and there is nothing that differentiates this circular as specific for NYC. Looks generic to me. Got me wondering if perhaps they mass produced this and its in all the stores. If so, that would mean every store has the circular with a GZFX listing. Obviously wishful thinking, but it's posible.
Visited NYC CC today. New to the board and new to the stock. Heard about GZFX, bought some shares and have been lurking. I went to the CC on 86th street in Manhattan. Go down the escalator and its an absolute mob scene. The place is packed. Straight ahead is the stack of CC circulars(55 page booklet). On page 51, bottom left of DVD page, was the GZFX logo, along with this: "rent up to 3 at a time @ www.circuitcity.com/gameznflix 16.99 per month". Very exciting that they have this circular in NYC. I immediately went to the dvd/video game section of the store. No signage of any kind. I asked one of the employees. He had never heard of GZFX. He checked with the manager and still no dice. No clue when and if they will get it in-store. Still very cool that they have it listed here in the circular, especially since the place was jammed.
Franz69
I've been to two trade shows for my business recently. Not to exhibit, just attending and networking. I thought it was excellent. Made lots of good contacts and looks like biz will come of it, knock wood. Like Deep Throat said, "Follow the money." If the decision makers show up, you can't beat it.
OT-I know some of you guys have been in CXN. Big news out. Stock has doubled in the past week:
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/051201/nyth069.html?.v=26
My ignore list keeps growing and growing. I don't have much need to hear from the bashers who don't own any stock or the disgruntled shareholders who seek to save me from myself and Kelly.
Just look at the last 4 months. Sales, Installs, Exhibiting at major trade show, deal with Sanmina and acquisition of 3 companies.
Looks good to me.
Goodbye bashers and goodnight to my fellow longs.
Miramar website:
http://www.miramar.usmc.mil/default.htm
"Top Gun" if I remember correctly.
I want the company to get in on as many deals as they can, but we have to be realistic also. I had some stock in CXN. I think ssparsons and Rusty were in that one too. CXN went from .03 to 9 bucks in a year, based largely on a contract with Kraft. CXN could not deliver what was promised, Kraft backed out of the deal and now CXN trades for a buck.
Now that we are in with Sanmina, I would imagine we can get in on more bids. We shall see. In the meantime, I'm pleased with the latest sales and hopefully more will be forthcoming. But I would hate to see the company make a mistake that costs them credibility and future sales.
The stock moved up a few cents on news of the Army sale. Anybody have a share price prediction if and when the "company changing sale" comes through?
OT: Thanks Greg. Much appreciated.
OT: Sir Felix,
Wrong guess. I just heard of Fischer-Tropsch technology and SYNM today. Forget I asked.
OT: While we sit and wait, I was wondering if anybody knows of a company or companies that are working on Fischer-Tropsch technology. In a nutshell, this converts coal to fuel. Montana's governor is really pushing this since gas has gone through the roof and Montana is sitting on huge coal reserves. I've heard of one company, Syntroleum(SYNM), that's working on this. Any others? Thanks!
Franz
I certainly think that in the near future, the military simulators wil be the bread and butter. Down the road, as the company grows and the technology improves, I see gaming as a huge possibility for the company. We shall see.
I got to demo the Immersa-Dome today for the first time. Tom Milks was here in NYC for a few days to demo for potential clients. I arranged an appointment and had my chance this afternoon. The Dome was set up in a hotel conference room. Just seeing it gets your attention. You sit down and slide the dome down. You are immediately hit with video, booming sound, wind, vibration and smells. Its really cool. Especially when you see things and smell them as well. A guy smells an orange and you can smell the orange. A woman puts on suntan lotion and you can smell the lotion. You are on a rollercoster and the seat vibrates and the wind hits you in the face. All the bells and whistles are great, but to me the key is the video content and the client's commitment to creativity. I did the Buick demo and that was pretty much a commercial with loud music and vibration. The Pfizer demo was much better. More of an "experience". Great animation as you go through the human body. Kind of like an animated version of "Fantastic Voyage". I think there is major potential for gaming, which I guess does not come as a surprise to most of us. I've been pumped about the company for a while and experiencing the Dome firsthand has made me really happy about my investment and the future of the company. JMHO.
More Immersadomes please:
Army nearly doubles budget for upcoming recruitment campaign
Written by Beth Herskovits
Published on June 27 2005
WASHINGTON: The US Army has poured an additional $500 million into a recruitment campaign designed to build its ranks - raising the total value of the program to $1.3 billion.
The RFP was amended less than a week after the Pentagon announced that the Army had failed to reach its May recruitment goals.
In what has been an ongoing problem, the Army last month enlisted just 75% of its target number of recruits. In comparison, the Air Force, Navy, and Marines all met or exceeded their goals.
The Army is now turning to a full-service firm to help reverse the persistent shortfalls.
The Army's outstanding RFP calls for a single marketing communications agency to oversee all advertising, media relations, internet campaigns, event marketing, and other promotional activities. (PRWeek, June 6)
Publicis agencies Leo Burnett Worldwide and MS&L are the incumbents on the account.
Taxed by two all-volunteer campaigns in Afghanistan and Iraq, the Army's recruitment effort has been made more difficult by dwindling support from key influencers, like parents and teachers.
The campaign, which is slated to begin September 30, will target those influencers by appealing to their sense of patriotism.
June was the fourth consecutive month that the Army failed to reach its target. It is also struggling to meet fiscal-year goals.
The recruitment problem has raised questions about whether the Bush administration will be able to hold to its commitment not to reinstate the draft.
The account is for five years, with two base years and three renewal options.
I've had Paul, Bylo and CharlieBunny on ignore for months. This board is way better if you don't have to sift through all their garbage.
On to company business. Any guesses on how big the "large" order might be?
Hi guys. Definitely agree its Pfizer, but for different reasons. First, if you go to www.impactunlimited.com, you will see that Pfizer is a client. They have pictures of other Pfizer jobs on the site. Second, found this little nugget:
NEW YORK, December 31, 2004 -- Pfizer Inc said today that it has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to market LyricaTM (pregabalin capsules) for the management of neuropathic pain associated with diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN) and postherpetic neuralgia (PHN). Lyrica is the first FDA-approved treatment for both of these neuropathic pain states, which are distinctly different from arthritis or musculoskeletal pain.
Developed by Pfizer, Lyrica has a newly defined mechanism of action. Lyrica will be available to physicians and patients in the near future.
OT: My definition of a basher is a non-shareholder who repeatedly posts negative comments and predicts a drop in the share price. Does this sound like anybody you know? If so, I suggest you put them on "ignore".
OT: SirFelix,
I thought finger lickin' good was KFC's motto?
Anybody want to venture a guess on the pricetag for possible 139 single screen sale to the Marines?
Franz1969
SirFelix:
I don't post here too often. Actually, this is my second post to this board. But I'd like to discuss a few things, considering that pr and sales is how I pay my rent.
There is no question that part of the strategy in this release is to target those that are not current shareholders, whether its potential shareholders, potential clients, media outlets, etc. A company should try to communicate as often as possible in some form with the public, either by free means or inexpensive means. For a penny stock company, this is vital. Virta is not Microsoft or Apple. The media won't cover Virtra every time they blink. The "free" media Virtra received at I/ITSEC was great, but they still had to pay for the boot, travel, etc. Kelly or Virtra's publicist can't just pick up the phone and have the media come running. A lot of times, press releases are the quickest and cheapest ways to get your company noticed. Would I prefer that the PRs are always about multi-system, multi-million dollar orders? That would be nice.
As for releasing the news about General Dalby, put yourself in Kelly's shoes. Would you have kept this quiet? I can't imagine you would. I think it is pretty significant when a 2 star General backs your company. I think it would have been fluff if they put out a PR saying they were "in discussions" to have some big military people on the board. This isn't the case. The General is signed, sealed and delivered. I think that's pretty significant. He gets our foot in the door with the Army. Many people have complained that FATS gets contracts because of their connections, not because of a superior product. Now we are making the connections. That can't be bad. And look at it from Major Dalby's point of view. Certainly, now that he has retired from the military, he's looking to make some money. But would he want to tarnish what looks to be a pretty exemplary,37 year record by cashing in with a fly by night operation? Seems to me he would want to cash in with a company that is going places and can deliver.
There have been times where Kelly has gotten ahead of himself. Coming from sales and pr, I live by the simple motto, "Underpromise and overdeliver". I think Kelly should keep this in mind when communicating with the public. Overall, I'm pleased with the direction of the company and I certainly think that Major Dalby will open some doors for us. After that, it is up to management to deliver. Just my 2 cents.
Franz69
Could it have been my boardmark that put us over the top? What an honor. I'm starting a new organization. LMAD. Lurkers Making A Difference.
Hello all. Been lurking here and accumulating for the past few months. I'm really excited about the prospects for this company. Had the opportunity to e-mail with Kelly and speak with Tom Milks recently. Really great guys. Been stepping up my position in this stock since talking to them and seeing recent events unfold. I thanked them for all of their hard work and I want to thank all of you for all of your work supporting the company. Here's hoping for the best in 2005. Be good.
Franz1969