Cinco de Who Cares?

Call me “el Grincha” but I couldn’t care less about celebrating Cinco de Mayo.

Don’t get me wrong – I enjoy the occasional margarita. But why exactly should I care about Mexicans defeating the French in the battle of Puebla?

Contrary to what many ignorant Corona drinkers may believe, Cinco de Mayo is not the Mexican Independence day. That’s celebrated on September 16. Not that I’ll be celebrating that either. In fact, Mexico was a sovereign state for 52 years before the battle of Puebla on May 5.

I’ve never even been to Mexico. And from what I understand, most people in Mexico don’t even celebrate Cinco de Mayo unless you’re from Puebla. But hey, who doesn’t like an excuse to sit on a patio and make fun of drunk people dancing the Macarena?

Whew. I feel so much better now that I’ve gotten that off my chest.

Now, where did I put my sombrero?

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Filed under Commentary, Pop Culture, Random but Fun, Rants

Seeking sponsors for 2010 United Way Chocolate, Wine and All That Jazz

If you’ve been reading the blog since last summer, you’ll know that I am a chairperson for the United Way of Greater St. Louis’ Chocolate, Wine & All That Jazz. We are in full swing (pun intended) and getting ready for this year’s event.

Guests enjoy themselves at Chocolate, Wine & All That Jazz.

Photo courtesy of James R. Compton Jr.

Chocolate, Wine & All That Jazz is exactly what you would think it is – yummy dessert, tasty wines and jazz music – all wrapped up into one fun night.

This year’s Chocolate, Wine & All That Jazz is Saturday, September 11 at the Foundry Art Centre in St. Charles. The evening will include a performance by the internationally-renowned jazz singer Denise Thimes and libations from local chocolatiers and wineries.

Last year, more than 200 guests enjoyed chocolate, wine and jazz under the stars, while raising over $10,000 for the United Way. 100% of the money we raised went back to the community the form of programs like job training and food for families and crisis.

I am seeking personal and corporate sponsorships to subsidize the event costs so that all of the money we raise can go directly back to the United Way.

7 Ways to Support Chocolate, Wine & All That Jazz

Big Band Sponsor – $5,000 +

  • Complimentary tickets and reserved seating for 10 guests
  • Sponsorship listing on event tickets, decorations and promotional materials
  • Verbal recognition at the event and annual volunteer luncheon

Smooth Jazz Sponsor – $3,500 +

  • Complimentary tickets and reserved seating for 6 guests
  • Sponsorship listing on event tickets, decorations and promotional materials
  • Verbal recognition at the event and annual volunteer luncheon

Blue Note Sponsor – $2,500 +

  • Complimentary tickets and reserved seating for 4 guests
  • Sponsorship listing on event tickets, decorations and promotional materials
  • Verbal recognition at the event and annual volunteer luncheon

Swingin’ Sponsor – $1,500 +

  • Complimentary tickets for 2 guests
  • Sponsorship listing on event decorations
  • Verbal recognition at the event and annual volunteer luncheon

Legato Sponsor – $750 +

  • Sponsorship listing on event decorations
  • Verbal recognition at the event and annual volunteer luncheon

Kool Kat – $100 +

  • Patron recognition on event signage

In-Kind Sponsor

In-kind donations are being accepted for printing services, apparel, gift baskets, equipment rental, etc. If you are interested in making an in-kind donation, please let me know.

Download Sponsor Packet for 2010 Chocolate Wine and Jazz

See more pictures from last year’s Chocolate, Wine And All That Jazz

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You get what you pay for

In a down market like the one that we have been experiencing for the last year and a half, it’s easy to understand why businesses are watching every penny.  I do it when I go shopping – why wouldn’t a marketing manager or CEO?

But lately I have been surprised by the number of business people I have come across that do not understand the cost (or, more importantly, VALUE) associated with interactive marketing and making digital efforts congruent with other marketing activities.

Grace Smith does a great job providing a basic explanation regarding the process behind quality strategy development and interactive marketing execution in her blog post, “Why Web Design Doesn’t Cost £40.”

There are certainly opportunities to scale pricing, design, technology and even the skill-level of people doing work to cater to clients’ budgets and there are certainly resources that can provide “a” solution for whatever budget a client determines.

But for me the biggest hurdle to any quality project is client education. Having to opt out of negotiations because the client and the agency are not on the same page regarding project scope or objectives is the absolute worst. Having a project end sour because of poor communication regarding expectations and deliverables sucks. Every decision-maker cannot take the time out of their full-time responsibilities to learn all there is to know about the web. Not everyone is willing to trust an agency to guide strategy. It’s my goal on my projects to make the process a little less painless and to develop trust with my potential clients.

A few things I have been working on to ease the pain of these scenarios include:

  1. Upfront communication about process, deliverables, timeline and budget
  2. Set measurable objectives at onset of the project to evaluate success of initiatives
  3. Document, document, document everything
  4. Keep up to date on latest solutions
  5. Really understand my clients’ businesses, challenges and motivations

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Filed under Career, Commentary, interactive marketing, Rants

When life hands you lemons…

Make Lemonade.

Do yourself a favor and take 35 minutes to watch this documentary called Lemonade that chronicles the big things that former ad agency employees were able to do once they were given the gift of losing their job.

During this recession, I have watched fellow colleagues get the pink slip. I have watched friends struggle to find jobs and go on countless interviews. Question their worthiness. Despair over their future. I’ve feared for my own future.

But as these strangers stories will attest, there truly is something to the phrase, “a blessing in disguise.”

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Books IN Cameroon

In October, I wrote a post about Books for Cameroon.

My college friend, Wendy, was putting together a monumental Peace Corps project to bring 22,000 books to more than 28 libraries across the West African country of Cameroon. She was just a few thousand dollars short of the funds needed to pay for a shipping container to transport the books from the US into Cameroon. In the days leading up to the deadline, enough funds trickled in to fund the project.

For the last couple weeks, Wendy has been dealing with a lot of bureaucracy trying to get the books into the country. It took trips to the big city to talk with politicians, ambassadors and Peace Corps leaders… and now I am happy to report the  GREAT NEWS!

On Saturday, a 40-ft container of 23,000 books arrived in Bafoussam, Cameroon.  Since then, the team of volunteers has been working to sort through 617 boxes of books.

So thank you for sending moolah or happy thoughts their way. You made a difference!

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Who is JD Power?

I keep seeing all of these commercials for products advertising that they have X number of awards from JD Power & Associates.

Who is this JD Power and why should I trust his associates?

I went to JDPower.com to try and figure that out. Turns out it is a marketing information company that does research, tracking, forecasting and consulting. They specialize in auto companies but have also expanded into other markets.

What weight does one of these awards have? It seems to me that this may be a rating that is lauded by the company but not valued by the typical consumer. Like many industry awards, most consumers don’t know what these awards mean, how a company goes about winning such an award, or what value is brought to a transaction when you work with an awarded company.

Am I right? I’d love to hear your thoughts on JD Power and other industry awards and their relevance to a purchase decision.

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Filed under advertising, Commentary, Commercials, Market Research

OK Go, you make me smile

It seems that every time a new OK Go music video comes out, I fall in love all over again.

It reminds me of that Mouse Trap board game. Except way cooler.

I love that OK, Go em braces not only having a good time with their music videos, but also the power of viral marketing and online distribution. Yay!

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Filed under Commentary, Interactive, interactive marketing, Pop Culture, Random but Fun, Raves