Forget March Madness. For "Lost" t.v. fans, there's a new madness (as if the show isn't maddening enough already!). Get your (virtual) pencils out and write in your favorite Lost characters. Watch the bracket evolve and eventually narrow down to your favorite two Losties. Really, what could be more fun on a Friday?
I'm not quite a Boomer. Not really Gen X, either. (Born in 1965 makes me either the last year of the boom or the first year of Gen X.) But I do know a great marketing idea when I see one. In case you've been under a rock for the last 40 years, the boomer generation is starting to retire and these retirees are redefining what it means to retire. To wit: my good friend, Liz Dahl, who has started a travel site for boomers focused on fun, unique experiences. But don't take my word for it. Check it out for yourself. She's getting tons of press and deservedly so! Read more here: New travel site for boomers: Boomeropia - Yahoo! News
Historically, ad budgets are one of the first things to get cut during a recession. These folks predict that traditional advertising will get cut (t.v., print, radio), but online advertising --particularly social media -- will weather the storm.
Then I read this article on how web advertising was up 27% in 2007. The analysts at IDC are expecting online advertising to weather any economic downturns as well:
IDC analyst Karsten Weide said businesses affected by the slowing U.S. economy will slash other advertising budgets before paring their online campaigns. "We think there will be some effect on ad spending overall, but we think online ad spending will almost be unaffected even if there's a depression," he said.
CBS Offering Free, Live, Online Coverage of Entire NCAA Tournament
I grew up in Kentucky. Went to Indiana University. Following college basketball was not optional in those parts. Now I can watch all the games online for free. (I'll still watch at home on the flat screen but if I'm at the office during some of those early round games . . .) I'm rooting for University of Louisville this year. And Purdue, for my hubby.
You may have heard about companies researching prospective employees online and finding out all sorts of unflattering things via the wanna be employee's MySpace page or Facebook profile. What you might not know is that it isn't always easy to remove your profile altogether. Facebook, it seems, keeps an archived version of your profile and there are still invisible trails that reach back to you. There are technological reasons why they do this, but it's not good from a PR standpoint. Read more here: How Sticky Is Membership on Facebook? Just Try Breaking Free - New York Times
Who's Buying What in Super Bowl XLII - Advertising Age - News
It's the only reason I watch the game: for the ads. Here's a line-up of who's forking out the $2.7-$3 million for :30 of advertising time. (There had been rumors that some of the presidential candidates might consider it, as the Super Bowl is just two days before Super Tuesday, but it was apparently not cost-effective for them. And that's probably true.) You'll see the usual suspects: Budweiser, movie trailers, car commercials (cuz really, what's a football game without car and beer sponsors?), soft drinks, and GoDaddy's recent tradition of airing a sexist/tongue-in-cheek (depends who you ask) spot. Read more here.
My sister teaches 2nd grade (and is a damn good teacher, I might add). I've watched her decorate her classroom and pay out of her own pocket (all teachers do) to purchase much-needed supplies and resources. Many years ago, I told her we should start something where businesses could adopt a school or classroom and donate some of our extra office supplies. Well, while I talked about it, some other folks actually did something about it. Teachers can go on this site and post details of a project they'd like to do with their class (but don't have the funds for) and donors like you and me can fund it. I think it's a kick-ass idea and another example of how the Internet enables folks to pool their resources and create more purchasing power.
A warm welcome to all the folks who braved the cold weather to hear me speak at today's Dekalb County Brown Bag Luncheon. I met many entrepreneurs -- from start-ups to seasoned pros -- and was impressed with the talent and commitment they exhibited. Best of luck to all of you with your business ventures. We hope to see you back here on the blog from time to time. As promised, here is a listing of the web sites we discussed today:
Imagine a shopping cart that tells you where to find the peanut butter -- or better yet -- that one, rare ingredient in that new recipe that you've never heard of before. A shopping cart that lets you digitally pre-load your shopping list and guides you around the store. Of course, this cart is going to show you ads (and maybe even give you coupons) based on your shopping preferences. All in all, not a bad way to get useful information and hey, I'll take those relevant coupons anytime.
The one thing I don't get? How Microsoft got into this game. Does this mean my shopping cart will "crash"? Let's hope not!
I am a sucker for good marketing. About a year ago, I purchased a customized story book for my niece from http://www.iseeme.com/. The book spells out my niece's name, one letter per page, and each page features a garden fairy whose name begins with that page's letter. Absolutely adorable. (They have a version for boys -- or girls -- that uses animals instead of fairies.) At the end of the book is a glossary with all the fairies, A to Z.
From time to time, the company emails me discounts and promotions, but a few weeks ago, they emailed me something that really got my attention. The subject line read: "Celebrate Heather Allen's name with every meal." I opened the email and there was an image of a plate with fairies all around the border and Heather's name and birthday in the middle. (That's not really my niece's name but I didn't want to broadcast her name and birthday for the world to see.)
I thought it was a perfect addition to the book we bought her so I promptly ordered it. And yes, when all was said and done, it cost about $40. Forty bucks for a plate that will cradle mac and cheese. But TOTALLY worth it.
Comcast takes its whacks on service - USATODAY.com
Comcast has a reputation. Probably not the one they were hoping for, either. Among other social organizing functions that the web serves, the Internet allows consumers to pool their voices. One person shouting? Maybe Comcast can ignore that. Try thousands shouting all at once, loudly enough to get the attention of the press.
One blogger took the matter of Comcast's poor service into his own hands and gave people an outlet to publish their own stories. I shared this article with my husband; to say that we have had issues with Comcast is a gross, gross, gross understatement. I lost count of service calls around Trip # 15. (The folks on the phone are very pleasant and as helpful as they can be but Comcast's system does not allow them to do much.)
Good customer service has always mattered. Bad service can spread like a wildfire with today's technology. Read more:
We often recommend RedEnvelope.com for last-minute client gifts. If you're looking for great holiday or end-of-year gifts, we just found a code for 15% off at Red Envelope. Just type in this code at check-out: BDEAL15. It expires 12/31/07. Happy Shopping!
I'm speaking at the Atlanta Business League's annual "Super Tuesday" event 9/25. I've promised to post a list of the web sites I referenced during my talk. The topic is technology to grow and manage your business. I've broken the links into tools we use on the marketing side and tools we use on the operations side. Hope you all find this helpful. Regular readers of our blog will recognize some of these as we've blogged on their usefulness before!
Marketing Tools
•E-mail management and marketing: –www.ConstantContact.com •Polls/customer surveys: –www.SurveyMonkey.com •Cheap photos for marketing pieces (coupla’ bucks a piece): –www.iStockPhoto.com •Full-color printing: –www.PrintingForLess.com (ask for the Red Team) •Quick, cheap printing (quality not great): –www.OvernightPrints.com •Fun, quirky printing: –www.Moo.com •Shirts, tote bags with your logo (small quantity): –http://ocs.landsend.com/corpsales •Edible greeting cards: –www.ediblesinc.com •Custom cookies: –www.LadyFortunes.com •Chocolate business cards: –http://schottchocolateimages.com/ •Last-minute gift ideas: –www.RedEnvelope.com •Business networking: –www.LinkedIn.com •Social networking (find relevant groups): –www.Facebook.com –www.Ning.com –http://www.meetup.com/cities/us/ga/atlanta/ (MeetUp Atlanta)
This site won't win any design awards, but if you're looking for serious insider help getting the best hotel rates, you won't care what the site looks like. My hubby and I are planning a trip to NYC for our anniversary and I was coming up short with my usual research; the room rates in NY right now are sky high. Googling away, I found this site called BetterBidding.com. If you like to use Hotwire (and I do), they have all kinds of cheat sheets to help you figure out which hotels match up with your Hotwire search results. You can then go check those hotels out on TripAdvisor or another review engine and see if it's a decent place. And if you still can't figure it out, post a request for help on the boards and you'll get very useful tips, rates, and links. It's like having a travel agent who really knows how to "game the system." Be sure and use the links they provide you; this guy makes his money through the referrals.
