11/08/2010 - Oh Donny Deutsch, I've Missed You... Cereality

One of my favorite programs ever on earth was
The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch. 
So for the last couple of years I've been wondering what ever happened to the show.  I never took the time to look it up, but it'd crossed my mind on several occasions.  The other day, I stumbled across a company called Cereality that I'd seen on The Big Idea several years ago ... I read about them for a while, but then my noggin just wouldn't let me forget how much I liked The Big Idea and how much I miss have Donny Deutsch included in my week!

Below ... ::Wiki "Facts":: on Donny Deutsch and
two fascinating videos about the concept of cereal as fast food.
Enjoy!

::Wiki "Facts" on Donny Deutsch::
*an American television personality and advertising executive. He is also the former host of the CNBC talk show The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch.

*Deutsch was born in Hollis Hills, a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Queens to a Jewish family. He attended P.S. 188, Martin Van Buren High School, and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.[citation needed]

*Deutsch is the chairman of Deutsch, Inc., an advertising agency company founded by his father that is owned by Interpublic Group of Companies (IPG). In 2000, Donny sold his agency to the Interpublic Group of Companies (IPG) for $265 million.

In 2005, Harper Collins published Deutsch's business motivation book, Often Wrong, Never in Doubt, written with co-author Peter Knobler.

Deutsch was the host of the CNBC's The Big Idea with Donny Deutsch

which was cancelled on December 4, 2008.

*On February 22, 2010, Deutsch created controversy by calling Florida's Cuban-American Senate candidate Marco Rubio the racially derogatory term "coconut"[1] on The Joy Behar Show.

On April 27, 2010, MSNBC suspended him from appearances on their programming for including MSNBC hosts Keith Olbermann and Ed Schultz in his Angry Americans special.[2] Deutsch began appearing on MSNBC programs again on June 4, 2010.[3]

Background on the hiatus of The Big Idea at the Huffington Post!
"Like" The Big Idea on Facebook!
"Like" Donny Deutsch on Facebook!

11/07/2010 - Seth Godin Explains Why You Need a Tribe -

- Seth Godin Explains Why You Need a Tribe -

-Seth's Blog Discussing the Tribe Theory-

More About Seth Godin @ his website!

11/06/2010 - How the Internet is Changing Advertising - Epipheo Studios

A Link to Epipheo ... (You're going to want to see it..) Absolute Geniuses as far as I'm concerned ... As I write this, it's actually Friday night (Friday the 5th, not Friday the 12 ... I'd really be pulling something off then!!)) ... Anywho, I've just discovered them as I was looking over some videos about online marketing that I'd bookmarked earlier in the week.

I expect that you'll thoroughly enjoy this video ... I suggest watching it twice.  It'll really get your thought process jumping!!  Enjoy!  

11/04/2010 - Shareability and Logistics of your product in 2040!?

You can read my post over at Journey to the Nucleus of my Noggin to get the in depth behind the scenes about the concept behind my photography blog. 

Suffice it to say, I think a great deal of success in business comes from out of the box thinking.  If you take the time to trek over to the Nucleus of my Noggin link above, you'll see that I'm making an effort to not only think about the shareability and logistics of the product now, but the shareability and logistics of it in 2040!! 

Let's say for example you don't want to trek over to another link ... even though it will pop up in a new window right in front of your face .... I'll paste an excerpt of the aforementioned blog below::

I've been able to determine a general time frame on an approximate 30 minute shoot,

but I've also possible stumbled upon something brilliant!!

-Mary Beth's First Day of Pre-school-


It occurred to me that this little keepsake of Mary Beth's First Day of Pre-School is online and available to her for as long as the "grand ole inter-web" exists ... which I think it's safe to say, is going to be a long time.


What's so neat about that, you may ask??  Well, as you may or may not have realized; we're on the cusp of another information age.  I was reading an article the other day that speculated that by 2020 we'll all carry a device that is much like the "Motorola Droid" is now.  It will be out "personal device" ... it may sound like "the Jetsons", but we're heading in that direction. 


Aaaaaaaaanywho, the point of my hypothesis is this ...

It will be very nice for Mary Beth ... in 2040 to be dropping her own little girl off at her first day of pre-school and have the convenience of putting the speaker of her "communication device" to her mouth and saying "Mary Beth's First Day of Pre-School" and in a matter of seconds not only be able to tell her little dahling of her very own fear on her first day of school; but show her ... right there on the personal communication device that she holds in her hand ... right before she jumps in her flying car and goes back to Venus.

Sound a little crazy?  Sure ....
Is it just a little bit memorable?  Yup ...
Does that kind of marketing work? 
We'll soon see ... the stats of all of my blogs have been steadily increasing over the last few days of my "kahoo-hoos to the wall" project ... and that pleases me greatly!!

What changes will your product or service undergo in the coming years as time progresses and technology changes the way we do things?   It's good to think about this now and begin to plan for it.  You can bet your sweet bippy those phone book salesmen are shrugging their shoulders in this, the year 2010!

Until next time...

Have a Grand and Groovy Day!!
If you liked it, share it!!

Please and Thanks!!

This Marketing blog o' mine gets left by the wayside a lot....

If I were to tell you how many thoughts, ideas or concepts I have relating to marketing in the average day, it would do two things ....

one, it would make you think I'm a complete and total dork ..... :)
two, it would boggle your mind.....!

I'm going to make a much stronger attempt at recording my thoughts on the nuances of marketing and I'm going to begin with some of the projects I'm working on for myself beginning this week.

I'll let you tag along as I implement the knowledge I already have of marketing AND take notes as I learn all of the new things that are becoming more and more necessary as internet and social media change our shopping behaviors.

If you'd like to subscribe, please see the "Networked Blogs" or "Google" links to the right hand side of the page!!

11/01/2010 - Seth Godin - The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread

Seth Godin discusses the slow beginnings of sliced bread, idea diffusion,

consumer behavior and remarkability.

Enjoy!

Dear Bill St. James ... and "Flashback"

Dear .. dear Bill St. James, 

You and I have now shared more Sunday mornings than I did with my former hubby. 

This morning I woke and came to my sun-filled kitchen, flipped the button on the java pot and went to turn my radio on.  My Sunday morning routine, Flashback, a pot of java and creative thinking time.  I thoroughly enjoy it!!

This morning however, I was perplexed because my favorite radio station in the world was playing static.

You would have to know the whole story behind that, Bill St. James ... I'll tell it in full another day, but in short ... that radio group is the place I really began learning about marketing and advertising in 2001, but sometimes I feel like they couldn't market their way out of a paper sack for themselves.

One of the fruits of this little problem (that I don't think they know they have) is that I can only occasionally pick up my favorite radio station in the world in my apartment.  I can't pick it up at ALL in my office, but I can pick it up perfectly in my car.  I've tried to arrange my media area in my kitchen to allow for the best reception of the station, but this morning ... there's NOTHING!

Anywho, Bill St. James ... I told you all of that, to tell you this ... your marketing REALLY could use some work.  I've only begun to investigate your situation ... but I can tell you with absolute certainty that I searched (off and on) for two hours to find a place to listen to your radio program online.  That's not groovy .... not groovy at all.


With all due respect .... let me give you a quick run down of what I would do if I were you, Bill St. James::

1. I would set up a FB page.  I found a Facebook Group that I think is associated with you... and I joined it, but it only has 7 members.  Well, 8 members now, ;^)  You're welcome!!
2. NEXT: I wouldn't just leave that FB page sitting there rotting in cyber-eternity ... I'd POST some things to it.  Now, I know that's a really outlandish and out of the box idea, Bill St. James ... but stick with me :)  I would have someone posting some of the songs and clips that you're playing ON Facebook, with the link to the "Listen Live" site. 
   
   I would post every day through the week ... do you realize that many of those in your demographic are sitting at their desk all week sharing links on Facebook?  They could be sharing YOUR links.
3. THEN: I'd tie all of your sites in with "Google" so that it's easy for people to share and sign up. (i.e., they can sign up through their google account, they don't have to set up a NEW user name and password)
4. Call me crazy, Bill St. James ... you wouldn't be the first ... but I'd even attach a WIDGET that had the capability to ADD Flashback with Bill St. James to one's Google or Outlook calendar, thus popping up a reminder on their computer or phone when the show is airing. 
   
   As you may well know, people have Internet on their phones now (in great numbers!!), therefore it wouldn't matter if they were "near a radio", they could just click the button and play your radio show right there on their phone.

These are just a few ideas for you.  I thoroughly enjoy your radio show ... it's absolute GOLD for anyone who's a fan of music and nostalgia!!  Keep up the groovy work!!

Yours Truly,
Kim Comer Jackson

For you fans of music and nostalgia reading along,
please check out Flashback with Bill St. James.

If you enjoy my thoughts on marketing,
please feel free to click on
one of the links at the right hand side of the page to subscribe.

I Have a Droid, But I Don't Have my Contacts ... Is There an App for THAT?

I realize of course that I can get in the car, go back to the Verizon store and wait in the "Armageddon line" ... but that takes up SUCH a chunk of my time....


In early May, my beloved Samsung Alias took a nose dive ... only to resurrect itself a week later. I’ve been carrying it for phone numbers on occasion, but I keep forgetting to power it down after, so it keeps keeling over and I keep losing the power cord.

I pulled my friend of 30 plus years from her busy schedule to set me up with a loaner. She's a big high up whoopdeedoo at Verizon, so aside from being one of the treasured people in my life who has been around the longest (which is priceless!!) she's extremely helpful when it comes to phone situations.

I began to acclimate to the phone she had loaned me and I liked it. It was a VG something or other? It was user friendly in most situations. I never bothered to set up my social networking on it because I didn't plan to have it very long.

One afternoon I wandered into my bathroom and the toilet was making a funny noise. I made a few adjustments and it returned to it's normal state. In my bubbling self-sufficient glee, I reached for "my" phone to text my Dad to tell him of my accomplishment.

"Hey Daddy-O!! I just fixed my own KAMODE!! Woo hoo!"

As I hit send, I realized that MY dad's number in my phone says "DaddyO". Bizarre, I know...but it works for me and it IS my phone. The thought process rattled through my head within a second.

I shouted, "Sweet Fancy Moses!!! That's not my dad, that's Mendywright's Dad!!!!" I hit end repeatedly as fast as I possibly could. Crisis averted. I did however at that moment realize that I MUST get my communications situation under control.

I was leaning toward the Droid. One of my workplace pals had gotten one and I’d poked around on it a bit … mostly trying to help him figure it out, but I’d decided I was really liking it.

My fear was overwhelming though. I love electronics and I’m a COMPLETE gadget geek … don’t get me wrong, but I’m also a rambling cluster of an accident waiting to happen. I wasn’t sure if I really wanted to be wandering around with this caliber of phone.

I arrived at the Verizon store completely prepared to walk right in and tell them to set me up with a Droid. I signed in at the desk and began to peruse over the phones. By the time my name was called, I had developed a pretty thorough list in my mind of what I wanted and didn’t want. We discussed a few phones and quickly narrowed it down to the Droid.

There were three different types of Droid on display. I have no idea the difference between them. One of the features I was searching for was a quality camera…the Droid I got has a 5 megapixel camera, I think. I can’t help but compare that to my first digital camera … a Kodak … 3.5 mega pixels if I remember correctly …. It was $250!!!! Ahhhh, the advance of technology.

I am becoming VERY fond of the Droid, whichever one it is…. (It does say Motorola). I have MUCH more to say on the subject of APPS and our undying loyalty to our electronics .... but that's all for now.

If you're one of the few folks in the world who have my phone number, please do send me a text so I can save your number......

Volume 1 - Real Estate

Volume 1
Real Estate

It amazes me that in this day and age, some business owners do not understand the importance of the changes we’ve witnessed in the transfer of communication and information over the last ten or so years. 

Admittedly, I have an over-wordy way of saying things.   The thing is, people are on the internet now. 

Many people spend the majority of their time on the internet at work, at home and on their phones.  No matter your demographic, it's becoming more and more likely that you're going to find them on the internet.

Last Sunday I was out house hunting with a trusted friend.  That may stop some of you dead in your tracks “Kim Jackson,” ...you might say …. “you can’t credit your way out of a paper sack….
Why would you look at houses?”

My answer to that is visualization and manifestation, my friends.  You either “get that” or you don’t …

if it’s latter, you really SHOULD have it explained to you, it’s some very enlightening stuff!

Anywho, I digress … my pal and I were driving around looking at houses. He advised me to look for houses that weren't necessarily for sale, but appeared to be a bit run down and without an occupant on streets that were nice otherwise.

We drove around and spied a tremendous find near the river .. in fact I would be able to see the river AND the Quincy bridge from my front lanai, should I find a way to own this house. This particular house did not appear to be for sale, only abandoned. The only signage we saw were the no trespassing signs,

which we promptly ignored to get a better view of the house.

The second little beauty WAS for sale. A tiny little doll-house looking place. It was very run down and had a very overgrown yard. I stood at the edge of the yard and imagined it after a good dosing of paint, whimsy and cozification. Seeing the name of the realty company printed clearly on the sign, I said to my friend, “Groovy … we’ll hit their website and know how much this place is within the hour!”

We rushed back to my apartment, went to Google, typed in “CASTLEMAN REAL ESTATE” and found pretty much nothing that was of any use whatsoever to advance my excitement about this property into a sale.  (yes I’m calling you by name… you should be ashamed of your lack of marketing and web presence)

After googling “Castleman Real Estate”, we found many business listings. Those gave the name and phone number … which wasn’t what I wanted. What I wanted was to be able to google and find a website for this realty company that contained well taken photographs of the interior of the home,

information about the year of construction and possibly a video. 

My friend needed to take off and so I bid him a good day … I then poured a fresh cup of java and began a 45 minute online investigation of this house. I can't put into words how perplexed I was that this company didn't have a website. 

Overwhelmed with other matters, I called my mother and told her about the house.  I asked her if she could look into it and find out the asking price.  This evening I learned that she called today and there was no answer at the real estate company.

_________________________________________

If I owned a real estate company, here's what I would do. 

• 
  
  I would first advise sellers that if they leave their precious velvet Elvis paintings on the wall, their make shift shelving tower piled full of mail and chachkies and don't bother to "present" their home in any way that the selling price will dramatically go down.
  
  ABC's 20/20 went to Bothell, WA and staged a home on camera
  with 32 talented ASP/ASPM Stagers.
• 
  
  http://www.stagedhomes.com/mediacenter/stagingstatistics.php

To be perfectly honest, it shouldn't really matter that a seller would make a better return.  They should be driven by the desire to make their house look as lovely as possible if they're trying to sell it, but that's just my outlandish opinion.

• 
  
  I would take advantage of social networking sites, blogging sites, video hosting sites and the like.  I can't imagine another purchase that's more driven on the emotion of the buyer than real estate.  It's critical to catch a prospect when they're as hot as possible and the place to do that is online, with a radio schedule flooding the website into the ears of unsuspecting listeners.
• 
  
  I would upload a minimum of two video tours per week.  Video tours don't have to be any sort of fancy camera work or cinematic artistry ... They need to be clear, thorough and somewhat steady. They need to provide an uncluttered view of the interior and exterior of the home so that the prospective buyer can imagine this place as their own home.
  
  These are just some thoughts from the nucleus of my noggin on the matter.  I see a lot of opportunity for the first realty company to jump on the 2010 bandwagon. I don't expect it to be the aforementioned realty company, but I'm certain there are realtors out there that possess
  drive and vision for their company.
  
  There you have it!