Raley's is still urging people to "celebrate food, celebrate life." Just not on TV.

The Sacramento-based grocery chain has eliminated its television commercials – at least for the near future – and is focusing instead on radio and print spots.

Spokeswoman Nicole Townsend says privately held Raley's doesn't discuss details of its internal business strategies.

But she says the company, with more than 130 stores, is re-evaluating how it connects with customers.

"We're not changing (our) message. It just may be done in a different way," she says.

The company's catchy TV spots, which aired on numerous local stations over the past year, were produced by Sacramento-based Mering Carson ad agency.

The ads played up the joys of eating, using such themes as: "Let's stay in for dinner" and "Let's make a Tuesday night feel like a Saturday night." All included the Raley's slogan – "Celebrate food. Celebrate life" – that adorns company trucks and is woven into other ads.

The company's longtime "voice," Frank McMinn, will still be heard on Raley's radio spots.

The reasons for the TV cutbacks?

One may be the cost of running the ads, which totals hundreds of thousands of dollars annually.

Another possible factor: When times get tough, companies tend to rely less on so-called image ads in favor of marketing that emphasizes specific products and prices.

Dog days: Call it a case of perfect timing.

Local PR exec Michele McCormick last year approached a Bay Area company about possibly merging with her 17-year-old firm.

"Little did I know," she says, "they had already made plans to expand in the Sacramento region."

The result: McCormick's MMC Communications last week was acquired by CirclePoint, a San Francisco firm with expertise in strategic communications and environmental services.

McCormick will head up the firm's local office at 455 Capitol Mall, with her eight employees joining three CirclePoint people already here.

"It's a great opportunity for me to get re-energized," she says of the deal.

Relieved of some of her old admin tasks, she intends to focus on her real joy: working with clients.

Did we say client work was her real joy? Those who know McCormick already know that her three, award-winning miniature schnauzers – Spur, Axel and Petra – are her true love.

So do her new business partners. When she and CirclePoint executives recently posed for new corporate photos, they insisted she include her pooches.

"It's nice to know," she says, "that I'm joining a team that understands me."

Not just child's play: The toy company that's built an empire brick by brick is opening its first Sacramento retail store.

Lego Group, maker of the ubiquitous toy sets loved by kids and a surprising number of adults, is opening a second-floor space at Arden Fair mall in October. (It joins two existing Northern California Lego outlets in San Mateo and Santa Clara.)

Why Sacramento as one of only 26 Lego-brand stores in the United States? "We have a large Lego population there," says company spokeswoman Julie Stern.

How does the Danish business measure its "Lego population?" One way is looking at subscribers to the company's Lego magazine, Stern says.

Another is tracking club memberships among tens of thousands of "AFOLs" – adult fans of Lego – who assemble the company's sets of plastic bricks – in part to relieve stress.

"Some people go to the gym," Stern says. "Others go home and build."

Reach Bob Shallit at (916) 321-1049. Back columns: www.sacbee.com/shallit.