marketing

Father’s Day Hoopla

June 14, 2013 By DanaJ 2 Comments

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

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:

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!

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:

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?

Filed Under: Marketing & Social Media Tagged With: father's day, gift giving, marketing, shopping

Chevy + The Color Run = Perfect Match

April 8, 2013 By DanaJ 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!

Filed Under: Marketing & Social Media Tagged With: chevy, chevy spark, marketing, millennials, the color run

Back to team Blackberry

April 3, 2013 By DanaJ 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: blackberry z10, fundraising, leukemia and lymphoma society, marketing, movie review, tyler perry's temptation: confessions of a marriage counselor

Election 2012: The Good, Annoying and Funny moments

November 6, 2012 By DanaJ 1 Comment

For months, the talk has been the 2012 election. From debates, to criticism to super Republicans who hate Obamacare, Clint Eastwood talking to a chair, and super Democrats who call Mitt Romney “Mittens” and even Jay Z incorporating Mitt Romney into his “99 Problems song“. Everyone has an opinion One major thing that both campaign used to help get the word out has to be marketing. Social media has been a huge part of both campaign strategies. Below are a few of my favorite and not so favorite marketing efforts from both campaigns and fun election chatter across the web:

- Mitt Romeny VP announcement via app:

I know that I blogged about this before, but I really liked the strategic way that Mitt Romney announced his VP. By announcing it first on his app he built excitement, acquired email addresses and started his movement from there. Thinking back on it, the app is how he acquired my email address in the first place.

{from MittRomney.com}

- Email Messaging from both campaigns

Both campaigns use email marketing to keep voters informed and ask for money. Ask is a loose definition of what they do. Sometimes the email messaging is rather annoying because both campaigns send multiple emails in a day. From the Romney campaign, I have received emails from Mitt Romney’s sons, Paul Ryan, staff workers, Michelle Obama, Ann Romney, Beyonce and Sarah Jessica Parker. Honestly, I got way more emails than I could read. I averaged about 1 a week for each campaign, if that. Great information, but borderline annoying to receive communication so frequently.

- Promoted Tweets

Both campaigns have used a series of promoted tweets. During the VP announcement on a Saturday Mitt Romney used it. Today, the Obama campaign utilizes a Promoted trend:

-Paul Ryan Gosling Twitter

Not sure who is behind the Paul Ryan Gosling Twitter account. The aRomney/Ryan campaign policies especially the policies surrounding women’s health. Occasionally there are some quirky/funny and not too offensive one-liners that come through on my timeline:

Hey girl, Jay-Z has 99 problems, but a doofus zealot in a backwards red hat ain't one.

November 6, 2012 2:24 am via Mobile Web ReplyRetweetFavorite

@PaulRyanGosling

Paul Ryan Gosling

- YouTube

While I didn’t find any of the campaign videos too exciting, there were some pretty funny campaign related videos like these:

Four year old is tired of hearing about politicians:

Epic rap battle: Mitt Romney vs. Barack Obama

SNL parody of the 1st debate featuring Jay Pharoah as Barack Obama (Jay Pharoah rocks. Period)

Big Bird on SNL

Happy Election Day everyone! I took advantage of early voting last week:

from Instagram

If you are in Georgia, stay dry

Filed Under: Marketing & Social Media Tagged With: apps, election 2012, marketing, promoted tweets, Social media, youtube

How to Lose a Race Before it Starts

October 19, 2012 By DanaJ 2 Comments

From Toothpaste For Dinner

Yesterday, I went to my local Publix. There’s a hair salon right beside the grocery store. As I finished putting my groceries away out of the blue a woman approaches me.

“Excuse me.”

Me – “Yes?”

“Let me just give you this.” – extends business card

Me – “No thank you.”

She was a hair stylist. Honestly though, it doesn’t matter what her profession was. This has happened to me more times than I can count. With hairstylists, DJs, musicians, insurance sales people, etc. I don’t know her and the first thing she tries to do is solicit my business. That was the first time I ever flat out said no. Usually, I take the business cards in order to avoid sparing their feelings. I felt bad for the woman, a little, because I wasn’t too nice when I said it. At the same time, I was incredibly proud of myself for not accepting her card for the following reasons:

- I have a hairstylist that I like and I’m not in search of another.

- My hairstylist has a lower price point, with extras included in the price (deep conditioning and masques), and allows cell phone and electronic use while I’m getting my services. This salon does not.

- I’m tired of accepting people’s card when knowingly, I will not be supporting their business and the card will linger somewhere in my purse, desk drawer or car

- She didn’t act like she even cared to know my name, or anything about my needs she just wanted my money

Then after I got home and unloaded my groceries I started thinking of cool marketing strategies that the woman could use to be successful. See, that’s the 2nd time that I have been approached by a stylist from that salon who just opened the door to offer me a business card. They are new, and I know they are trying to grow their business and they are the second salon to come into the plaza. The last one closed. I park there often and live almost walking distance from the salon. So in a few minutes I came up with a short list of cool stuff they could do:

- Greet and get to know women in Publix, everyone needs groceries and there are times, like yesterday when I went during the day, when people are not in a rush and can socialize more

- Start a referral system with the existing clients that you have. Offer them $5 or a free deep conditioning treatment with each first time referral. That doesn’t cost you too much.

- Have a greeter stand outside of the salon who smiles and greets everyone that walks buy and offers a flyer or discount special for services. On a Saturday, this could be a cute older child with her hair done.

- When you see potential customers, introduce yourself before offering them a card. I found my last stylist at a mall because she approached me and introduced herself. I was impressed that she cared about my hair goals and took the time to listen. I went to her for over a year. This strategy was effective to me and worth imitating.

In the end, the hairstylist lost me as a client because of her approach. Have you ever had something like this happen to you?

Filed Under: Marketing & Social Media Tagged With: business cards, marketing, networking, sales

Marketing the Olympics

July 30, 2012 By DanaJ Leave a Comment

Last night, I watched the Olympic opening ceremonies with billions of other people. Over the last few months, I’ve watched marketing campaigns featuring Olympians slowly rise. Here are a few of my favorites:

1. Shawn Johnson for Bounty

Paper towels and gymnastics don’t go together. I like how this commercial makes them go together while highlighting Shawn’s talent and incorporating her mother. Moms clean up messes and now, the two products make sense together. I know that Shawn Johnson retired and won’t be competing, but I still like this ad.

2. Lolo Jones on Oxygen Magazine

{via}

Of all the 2012 Olympians, I’ve heard and seen the most about Lolo Jones. With her statement on abstinence, she became a hot topic earlier this year. I am a big fan of Oxygen magazine and I have a subscription to their sister publication Clean Eating Magazine. I’d buy this issue simply because she’s on the cover and I trust the publication to have quality content.

3. Marlen Esparza for Cover Girl

Did you know that 2012 is the first year Women’s Boxing will be included in the Olympic games? Boxing is not glamourous. I like this tie in because regardless of what your doing, you want to feel and look good doing it. Marlen promotes the LashBlast Volume Mascara and Outlast All day lip color, two items that will stay put in the ring!

4. Women’s Gymnastics team on the cover of Sports Illustrated

The sport I’m looking forward to watching most during the Olympics is gymnastics. To be honest, it’s the sport I understand the most and it’s beautiful to watch them do their routines! I think this cover is beautiful! I learned last night that this is the first year the United States has had more female athletes than male. I guess that’s the reason this list has only included female athletes so far.

5. Tyson Guy for Gillette

Tyson Guy looks good. The music in this commercial sounds good. I don’t know too much about Gillette razors. But that doesn’t matter. Did I mention that Tyson looks good?

What are some of your favorite Olympic advertisements?

Sidenote: Last Sunday during Oprah’s episode of Next Chapter featuring former Olympic gold medalists, Oprah herself tweeted ME! How cool is that? I was so excited. My friends and I got a kick out of that one

.@TheGreatDanaJ gotta be raised to expect excellence, otherwise you fear and reject it. @CarlLewis legendary proof!

July 23, 2012 12:18 am via Twitter for iPad ReplyRetweetFavorite

@Oprah

Oprah Winfrey

The episode introduced me to Carl Lewis, Bart Conner and few other Olympians I had no clue about. Of course, I knew most of the gymnasts (Shawn Johnson, Mary Lou Retton) and long jumper Jackie Joyner-Kersee. I loved hearing Al Joyner talk about his wife Florence Joyner Griffith. She also incorporated a conversation with Bruce Jenner about his Olympic success. I like hearing Bruce talk about his Olympic success and I wish he did it more often. Each Olympian had unique challenges but one theme reigned supreme: sacrifice. I think OWN has great programming that we are ALL sleeping on. I realized that last Sunday. The shows are like soul food. Not the fattening fried kind, but the kind that enriches your life and grows stronger character. It’s motivational, informative and educational.

I won’t forget that token of advice Oprah gave me

If you want to catch that episode of Next Chapter, here’s a link to the OWN schedule.

Filed Under: Marketing & Social Media Tagged With: Bounty, Gillette, marketing, Olympics 2012, Oprah, Oxygen Magazine, Sports Illustrated, Twitter

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