Father’s Day Hoopla

June 14, 2013 By 2 Comments

Father’s Day is coming up Sunday. Get excited!

dad.surprisedface.thegreatdanaj

My dad Christmas 2012 – I want him to react like this on Sunday opening his Father’s Day gift

All week on social media, I’ve noticed dad’s expressing their opinions about the lack of hoopla around Father’s Day. I have to admit, I noticed it too. Father’s Day marketing isn’t as aggressive and the attitude around Father’s Day isn’t really there. Maybe the marketing isn’t there because Mother’s Day is a big money making holiday I’m sure! But the attitude around father’s day is not fair to the dad’s of the world! I had a great dad, and I think Father’s Day shouldn’t be tarnished for people out there who did and for the dads out there who do raise their kids! I asked my dad what he wanted for Father’s Day and he said nothing. He’s getting something for sure. So far, here’s what I picked him up:

socks.thegreatdanaj

Not sure if he will be wowed, but I know he will use those for sure!

If your dad is anything like mine, he won’t be difficult to please. The best and most used gift I ever gave my dad? A Nike gym bag that he uses every week when he goes to workout! I like giving gifts that they need and ones I can see them using ;) In case you are still on the hunt for a Father’s Day gift, like me, here are two cool campaigns I’ve spotted across the net:

1. Coach – Coach has compiled a wonderful list of Dad gadgets from iPad cases, key chains, wallets, baseball bats and money clips. I noticed their list in a recent email campaign. I would never think to shop at Coach for my dad. This email gave some great ideas for items to buy for dads. I liked the belts and money clips. My dad didn’t ask for those so, I wouldn’t jump out on a limb to get him one!

coach.thegreatdanaj

From coach.com

2. Oscar Mayer – Say It With Bacon campaign allows you to purchase a case of bacon (12-20 strips), a multi function tool and a personalized card stock note. Very clever marketing campaign! I think this is the perfect gift for a dad who likes bacon and very well put together by the Oscar Mayer team. I think this would be a cool campaign for Christmas too! Bacon loving dads need a gift then as well. I like the 4 Cs of bacon part:

4Cs.thegreatdanaj

From sayitwithbacon.com

Well, looks like I will be spending some time this weekend adding an item or two to the socks that I purchased. Have you noticed the lack of hoopla surrounding Father’s Day? What do you think?

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Big Gas Savings from Kmart

June 11, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Have you seen the latest commercials from Kmart?

First, I saw the Ship My Pants and last week I had the chance to see their latest commercial: Big Gas Savings. If you read it really fast, it’s pretty funny :)

Before you watch the commercial, I have to explain that the savings reference a deal with select Kmart’s offering $.30 a gallon if you are a Shop Your Way member and spend $50 or more at Kmart. With the high gas prices right now, that’s incentive to try out the discount. I am a Shop Your Way member and I get texts and emails from Kmart occasionally.

I think this commercial is a funny and memorable follow up to Ship my pants. After doing a little bit of research, I’m trying to figure out what necessities (and fun items) I need from Kmart in order to spend $50 for that gas discount. I wonder what’s next for Kmart’s clever campaign.

Random ideas I came up with for future commercials (lol):

- Funk my life

- Kick my trash

- What the trunk

- Tricks please

- Dunk that

 

Here’s the commercial:

 

What do you think about Kmart’s latest commercials?

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Monthly Goodies

May 16, 2013 By 1 Comment

Over the last few months, subscription “boxes” have become a huge thing. I’ve been receiving a Birchbox since last fall. I think it’s a great way to try new products and I appreciate being surprised by the contents of the box. While reading an article, I found out about a new box launching in Beta and decided to sign up. Wal-Mart launched the site goodies.co.

For $7 a month, I receive 5-8 healthy eats to try. Since I recently left the start-up life and started going back to an office, the snacks have been great to keep in my desk drawer. Having a snack drawer also helps with socializing and meeting new office mates :)

 

These are goodies from my March box. My favorite item from this box? The falafal chips! They were spicy and tasty. Usually, I can eat half of a snack and save the rest for the next day or the day after. What I’m not interested in eating or trying, I can share with other people! The box of chocolate chip cookies above have been with me for a few weeks and I have a co-worker who loves them (I haven’t tried them, I’m not a fan of chocolate chip and mint, but maybe I will to see what they are like). When I get my May box later this month I will do a detailed share of my items.

If you are interested in goodies, sign up for an invitation here.

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Forward Thinking at Digital Undivided

April 16, 2013 By Leave a Comment

This past Saturday, I was fortunate enough to attend Start Atlanta presented by digitalundivided (DID) at Spelman College. I went into the event not sure of what to expect at all. I found out about the conference from an email invitation. Honestly, I learned so many great things and met many great driven individuals. To break it down:

digitalundivided (DID) is a social enterprise that builds forward thinking initiatives that fundamentally change the digital space by increasing the number of urban women digital entrepreneurs. 

After my personal experience working at two different technology start-ups and doing social media for technology firms it’s hard not to notice that women and especially urban women are few and far between in these groups. It frequently gets lonely and it’s hard to ask questions sometimes. I remember standing at Venture Atlanta in 2011 wondering where is the diversity? 

Throughout the day at DID we heard from men and women who are in the process of building businesses from the ground up. We also heard from venture capitalists and angel investors on how to create a pitch and get funding and taking out loans for your business.

Managing Director, Kathryn Finney opened the day by introducing us to her passion for technology and background as a blogger (The Budget Fashionista) who got started at the very beginning. She also gave tips on how to start your business now:

1. Start it – Kathryn recommended just doing something. Regardless of how fantastic the idea or concept seems right now. Get started. It doesn’t have to be perfect just begin.

2. Draw out your ideas – Seriously, draw out what the idea should look like on the web. Use paper and pencil, Powerpoint, Word, whatever floats your boat just do it.

3. Build a landing page – Build a landing page and test out keywords using Google Adwords to see what people are searching for in relation to what you want to create.

4. Build it yourself – Learn some basics and build what you can yourself before spending a large amount of money.

5. Share your idea – This one is hard. Regaradless of the stage your idea is in, you must share it. Period. don’t keep it a secret, don’t try to make everyone you talk to sign an NDA, just tell them. Your idea should be solid enough to share and you need feedback from potential consumers.

You don’t have to have a complete idea or concept. Just take action. Take it today and make it happen. Nothing ends up how it started. Does anyone out there remember the original Facebook with the line of text for a wall? Yeah, look where we are now…who could have imagined that? For me personally, all of those steps are hard. Especially sharing the idea. Start Atlanta was worth spending a beautiful Saturday seeking knowledge as opposed to relaxing. I left there motivated and ready to share information with my friends who are sitting on great ideas.

Do you have an idea you’ve been sitting on? Get it out of your head and start creating!

Filed Under: Marketing & Social Media

Chevy + The Color Run = Perfect Match

April 8, 2013 By Leave a Comment

The Color Run took place at Atlanta Motor Speedway over the weekend. I missed out this year :( , but last year at Piedmont Park. I had a so much fun. This year, the race had over 24,000 people.

A few weeks ago, I received an invitation to attend dinner with the team from Chevy and The Color Run. Chevy is a sponsor of the race for the second year. The partnership is perfect for Chevy’s fun new lineup of cars: The Spark, Sonic and Cruze!

 

The Color Run pace car, a Chevy Spark

Over the five course meal, we heard from Chevy executives about how The Color Run and Chevy’s small cars are a perfect fit. The campaign for the Spark, Sonic and Cruze has been more of a viral campaign targeting a younger demographic: millennials. When I think of the Chevy brand, I think of:

1. My grandfather’s old big red Chevy truck. He used to let me ride with him on trips to Alabama to buy Jack Daniels. I had to wait in the truck and I loved that truck!

2. The Chevy Camaro Bumble Bee from Transformer’s (The first movie from 2007, which was the best one in my opinion. Though Bumble Bee looked good in every movie. :) )

3. The Super Bowl commercial featuring the Chevy Sonic and the song “We Are Young” from 2012. It was pretty epic. In fact, I named it as one of my favorites ads that year.

4. Cool family SUVs like the Tahoe, Suburban and Equinox

The small Chevy car is a new idea to me. I like the cars and the colors which have cool names like Jalepeno, Techno Pink and Salsa. Makes sense for cars with colors like that to be a great match for The Color Run! A Techno Pink car sounds too cute! We enjoyed our dinner right outside next to the cars. Thankfully, the temperamental Atlanta weather cooperated that night. There was a slight chill, but we had heaters all around.

Our fun color themed menu at Rathbun’s:

Color themed cocktails! My favorite was the yellow Moscow Mule.

More color cocktails, the green was a margarita.

First course: Pan Roasted Salmon, Peppadew Salsa Verde

Second course: Local Mixed Greens, Strawberries, Feta Cheese and Basil Balsamic Vinaigrette

Third Course: Cauliflower Soup with Yellow Curry Shrimp – The curry flavor made this soup taste so soothing. After the soup, I was pretty stuffed.

Fourth course: NY Strip, Blue Whipped Potatoes, Purple Peruvian Haystack. I thought the touch of blue in the potatoes went great with the color theme. They tasted pretty good too :)

Pink Lemonade Chessecake – had a tart and sweet taste all at once. Such a great combination of flavors.

The Color Run will be back in Atlanta this fall, hopefully, I will be able to do it again! The Color Run truly is the happiest 5k on Earth! I think that Rathbun’s, Chevy and The Color Run did a great job on the “color theme”. We even made a color themed playlist. I picked “Little Red Corvette” as my song of choice. I came home inspired to make my own color themed playlist on Spotify. It has everything from Miles Davis to Aerosmith and LeAnn Rhimes. Happy listening.

Did you do The Color Run this past weekend or last year? How did it go?

Have a wonderful Monday!

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Back to team Blackberry

April 3, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Over the last few days I’ve been playing with the new Blackberry Z10 courtesy of Verizon Wireless! Before I had my iPhone, I was on Team Blackberry. I used the Blackberry Storm for two years. It’s good to be back on Team Blackberry. I will review some of the features soon. For now, I finally have the “swiping” down :)

(Instagram)

I went on a solo date to see the latest Tyler Perry movie Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor:

(from)

For me, I thought the film was great. Tyler Perry had a different, younger target market than some of his other films. I didn’t like how the marketing campaigns focused on Kim Kardashian. I understand why media outlets did that. Kim Kardashian has a large loyal following and to mainstream media she was the selling point of this film. She basically played herself, which if you aren’t an actor by trade is the best role to play. If you go see Temptation just because she is in it, you will be disappointed. She does not have a big role. Jurnee Smollett-Bell was wonderful in the lead role of this film. Robbie Jones, the antagonist billionaire playboy, had some pretty corny lines. Lance Gross was great in his role, funny when he needed to be and he reminded me a little of Clark Kent. Not Superman, but Clark Kent with the glasses and patterned shirts. I’m glad that Brandy is acting again, but her part wasn’t a big deal in this movie. I like his films best when Madea is not involved. I also liked how these characters were closer to my age. Jurnee plays Judith, a driven, ambitious, physically active young professional.  I liked that part. She also has weaknesses, like every other person in this world. I also noticed how Tyler Perry made sure to get the guys with their shirts off a few times ;) . I heard Temptation ads about 20 times last week via Pandora but I didn’t see many commercials. I saw one billboard off of 285 in Atlanta. I also noticed that Temptation was a sponsored trend too and heavy social media activity on Facebook including special promos for Yahoo Movie fans. Online has to be one of the best ways to reach a younger audience. The movie made over $20 million this weekend which means the promotions paid off. Did you go see Temptation? I recommend it! Here’s a great video review by actor Terrence Colby for those who did see it. There are spoilers so don’t watch if you plan to see it soon.

Over the weekend I went to Zaxby’s where I did my LLS fundraiser a few weeks ago.

We raised $500!! That will help me get closer to my goal. If you live, work or play in the Marietta area make sure to stop by Zaxby’s on Lower Roswell Road. The whole fundraising process has been interesting! Fun, challenging and interesting. My race is next month and I’m excited. I dropped that check and a few others I’ve collected so far and put them in the mail to my race coordinator. If you would like to give and help me get closer to my goal: Click here. I appreciate your support :)

Have a great Wednesday!

Filed Under: Marketing & Social Media, Reviews Tagged With: , , , , ,

Do Not Erase

March 26, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Back on Black Friday last November I got sucked into several deals. Fortunately, everything I purchased has been used including my subscription to Advertising Age. I considered it a professional investment at the time, and truly it has been. I like knowing what’s going on in the advertising, design, social media and marketing world. If you work in any of these industries, I highly recommend it. Anyway, this week while reading Advertising Age an ad from Kleenex® caught my eye:

Close up on the text:

Funny how Kleenex® is the term we use when talking about blowing our noses. I’m an allergy sufferer in the spring and “Please pass me a tissue,” used to be in my daily vocabulary. Does anyone ever stop to think: Kleenex® is a brand name for a tissue. I never hear anyone call another tissue brand by name. I rarely hear “Please pass me a square of Quilted Northern.” Yeah, no. It’s great that Kleenex® is a generic term now. Kind of like Q-tip® or Spanx®. But Q-tip®s are cotton swabs and Spanx® are constrictive hosiery (I guess?) wait no, that’s just what they feel like :) . However, I understand how they want to protect the brand by asking that people use the ® for registered trademark. Sometimes you have to remind people of who you are. I like this ad. Simple and straight to the point. Kleenex® is a brand. If you are talking about tissue, you have to say Kleenex® Brand Tissue. Must protect your brand. Right? Always!

Late last week, I received word that the Pandora Music app was available for download on the Windows 8 phone.

Pandora pinned to the start menu on the Windows phone

So all day Friday while doing my work, I tested out the app with headphones at my desk. I must say, compared to my computer there’s a noticeable difference in the sound quality due to the Beats by Dre on the phone! Pandora on the Windows phone is ad free until 2014. Yes, you read right. Ad free Pandora on the Windows phone. That alone makes me want to listen more by phone as opposed to on the desktop. Last week, I heard about 20 ads overall for the new Tyler Perry movie Temptation. I even tested a new radio station thanks to a recommendation on Twitter (from Tyrrell). He tweeted about Daley last week and I listened to him. His voice is soulful and his music is wonderful. Here’s a link to his VEVO song and video “Alone with You” featuring Marsha Ambrosius. The lyrics are beautiful. Enjoy!

Filed Under: Branding, Technology Tagged With: , , ,

The Manager Who Cried Wolf on Yelp

March 21, 2013 By Leave a Comment

I like reviewing businesses on Yelp. I also like to read reviews before I go to new places. Recently, I reviewed a restaurant on Yelp as honestly as possible. I was disappointed with the entire experience and the food and I made that clear. Soon after the review went up, I received a private message from a man stating that he was the restaurant manager and he wanted me to come in and try the restaurant again on the house, meet the management, introduce me to their style of cooking and change my negative perspective.

I thought, wow what a great example of customer service. A restaurant taking full responsibility for changing the customer perspective as opposed to a business hell bent on staying the same and arguing that their product is the best. Wouldn’t it be cool if more organizations did things this way? I even told friends about how I really appreciated the attentive customer service. So we chatted in messages on Yelp, then all of a sudden I logged in to check the status of what was happening and the person disappeared altogether. The account was closed. So I wondered, was this person really even affiliated with the restaurant? Was the opportunity even for real? What in the heck happened? I Googled his name and everything and he IS listed as one of the owners. Possibly, someone else was posing as him? All strange.

I thought about calling the restaurant and letting them know about it. Then I decided that I wouldn’t do anything. The main reason I wanted to go back to the restaurant was because I thought this was a great example of using social media to improve the customer experience that I could share with readers on my blog and in my career as an example of a social media triumph.

What would you do?

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Thursday Already?

March 14, 2013 By Leave a Comment

I sat down with my mind set on calling this post Wow Wednesday. Today is Thursday and I can’t believe how fast the week has gone by. Over the weekend, I saw Oz The Great and Powerful:

from Instagram

I have noticed that there are mixed reviews about the movie. Personally, I really enjoyed it. I thought the movie was appropriate for adult and (older) kids alike to see. I appreciate the munchkin diversity.  I also really enjoyed Michelle Williams. Honestly, she’s such a great actress. I loved her in My Week with Marilyn and Blue Valentine. And of course, Dawson’s Creek is a classic. I enjoyed watching the marketing campaign for Disney Oz. From the Urban Decay special edition palettes, to OPI Oz nail polish.

Tuesday night I tried Del Frisco for my cousin’s birthday. I’d never been there before, but it seems like a hot spot for young urban professionals after work. I will definitely go back.

I also have something to share! I have been using a product called NuShape to help with my health and fitness goals.

Here are a few great things about NuShape so far:

1. Easy to swallow – I appreciate how NuShape tablets aren’t long and go down smoothly.

2. No side effects – I don’t feel jittery or over caffeinated after taking them. Initially, I was very concerned about this before trying!

3.  Very clear and simple directions – take 2 in the morning and 2 more at lunch and 15 minutes a day of exercise

I have more to share about NuShape, but if your curious…here’s the website for more information: Try NuShape

I’m glad that it’s not Wednesday :) and I’m ready for a wonderful Thursday! I’m doing a fundraiser this weekend to help raise money for Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I will share all the details tomorrow.

Have a great day!

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Who Really Won Last Night?

February 4, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Well, football season is over and done. Did your favorite team win last night?

One of my favorite moments: The Jacoby Jones victory dance

What dance is he doing exactly? An original? The robot? I couldn’t tell, but it was pretty fantastic.

I wish I had a gif for Arthur Jones post sack dance. I couldn’t find one though :(  The Ravens played a great game in my opinion. I thought about doing a recap of my favorite commercials like one I did in the past here. It’s at the bottom of the post. Honestly, I thought the best commercial of all last night was for Beyonce.

Image from Pop Sugar

Over the last few months, the buzz has been all about Queen B. I think her team has done an excellent job of getting people excited about her upcoming world tour! I have all 4 of Beyonce’s solo albums. Her 1st and last albums (Dangerously in Love and 4) are my favorites!

My Top Super Bowl Commercials (not really in order ;) ). Watch them here:

1. Amy Poehler for Best Buy

2. M&Ms Love Ballad

3. Taco Bell Live Mas

4. Doritos Fashionista Dad

5. Calvin Klein Underwear

6. Century 21: The Wedding

7. Toyota Rav4 Genie

8. Budweiser Clydesdale

9. Skechers Designed for Speed

10. Doritos Goat

One of the coolest things that happened last night occurred on Twitter. Oreo jumped on the fact that the lights went out with a clever tweet and photo that generated lots of buzz. At this time, the post has over 15k retweets.

Oreo and Beyonce both win the Super Bowl :) What was your favorite commercial from last night?

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