OXFORD–A free entrepreneur workshop “Branding vs. Positioning, and Why You Need to Know the Difference,” will be held Tuesday, Dec. 6 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. in the Oxford Academy Primary School multipurpose room. Facilitators for the event include Tony Frontera, Entrepreneur-in-Residence at the Southern Tier Startup Alliance, and Francesca Baio, an internet blogger and style leader from Chenango County.
Baio will talk about her success story, which includes important insights about marketing and social media that enabled an unlikely fashion leader from New Berlin to appear on a national level.
Frontera will lead a work-session in which attendees will come up with a positioning statement for a business, and a name for a product, either real or hypothetical. 
The event will encourage thinking about concepts necessary for a strong business launch: What statement about the product or business am I putting forward? Where is the product in the customer’s mind?  “This exercise works well for existing businesses too because positioning doesn’t last forever,” Frontera said. “Business competition and culture can change.”
Francesca Baio has been blogging for more than two years about having style in a small town on www.smalltowncouture.com. She has been featured by American Eagle, Loft, and Jessica Simpson’s style blog. Ms. Baio did a campaign with TJ Maxx about “Maxx-ing Life” with their products. They came to her hometown of New Berlin, New York to do video and photo shoots capturing her lifestyle.  Through her blogging career she has built a following of nearly 14,000 Instagram followers and  3,000 Facebook fans. A graduate of Siena College, Francesca has been working in the social media industry for six years as the Director of Marketing and Corporate Relations at New Media Retailer in Norwich, New York.
Tony Frontera is a seasoned marketer and entrepreneur in the consumer electronics industry. Frontera has over thirty years of marketing strategy, business strategy, business development, and consumer communication experience at both his own retail business and mid-sized corporations. Frontera served in marketing management and business development capacities at McIntosh Laboratory where he was responsible for branding, distribution strategy, and customer and dealer communication within the luxury consumer electronics industry. Previous to this, Mr. Frontera held various positions as Manager of Business Development, Northeast Regional Training Manager, and Account Manager for companies in the Photographic and Printing industries. Frontera holds a Master of Business Administration degree in Marketing from Binghamton University where he is a Lecturer in Marketing and Entrepreneurship at the university’s School of Management. Mr. Frontera is an active board member of the Boy’s and Girl’s Clubs of Binghamton and currently serves as Vice-President.
This is another presentation in the two-year Innovation Series of free monthly events held locally for entrepreneurs and those thinking about entrepreneurship in greater Chenango County. This event complements earlier workshops, but previous attendance is not required. All are welcome, including both students and adults.
The Innovation Series is a product of IC2 partnerships: individuals from local business, public education, higher education, and municipalities who through the Innovative Community Collaborative of Greater Chenango County, support expanding connections and new venture development.
This event will also be livestreamed free at https://ensemble.dcmoboces.com/Watch/x6H3Zez4.
Event preregistration (online at http://dcmoventures.webs.com/ic2) is encouraged, but not required.
The next workshop will be held Jan. 3, 2017 and is called “13 Ways to Fund Your Business That Are Not Credit Cards.” For more information, call 607-843-2025, ext. 3301.

–Grady Thompson, Sun Staff Writer