Our New Home September 17, 2009
Posted by Amanda in New Squeaks.add a comment
Thanks to everyone who has read The Nature of Greatness! We are officially moving to our new home on our own domain. All future posts will be located at:
http://aheismann.com/blog
See you there! 
Ad Age: Depth and Authenticity September 8, 2008
Posted by Amanda in Clear Tracks.Tags: Ad Age, authenticity, depth, operations, point of sale
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A unique store in SoHo NY
One of my favorite parts of Ad Age is their three minute video news briefs. For example, this past friday they talked with a high-end fashion store in NY that has differentiated itself by providing the history behind a piece of clothing. All of the clothing at Operations has a history behind: Fireman’s Jackets, Railroad worker pants, watchmaker shirts. The owner explains that what sells their product isn’t the style of clothing. A type of clothing can be duplicated easily. What sells the product is the history and the authenticity it adds to every piece of clothing.
Beating Call Reluctance August 28, 2008
Posted by Amanda in Business Tails.Tags: call reluctance, cold calling, sales
3 comments
I recently ran across Portland’s Finest Advertising Blog. Phil is a very friendly guy with lots of tidbits to share, but one in particular hit home. As some of you may know, I have started doing a small amount of freelance marketing work on the side and I’ve found it hard to ask for business. I’m very much a people-pleaser and I often feel like I’m imposing on someone by making my sales pitch.
The more people you call who say no… the harder it seems to pick up that phone the next. When you call, you may not even get through the first lines of your pitch before that dial tone is wringing in your ears. So how can you push through it?
One strategy I use it to set a particular time. So I make a call exactly at 2:00pm. after that call ends (unless it is hugely successful which requires additional dancing around the room time) I set a timer to make another call at 2:05pm. In the mean time, I answer emails or file away blog articles for future writing material. It keeps me moving foward but not bogged down with the cold calling.
But the post over on Phil’s blog had great advice about another strategy to beat the reluctance:
See how many no’s you can get…
Maybe I’ll set up a board and add a gold star for every no I get.
Product Placement August 27, 2008
Posted by Amanda in Business Tails.Tags: Advertising, FCC, product placement, television
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Product placement has become a major strategy for television advertising. The invention of Tivo’s and DVRs and other similar techonologies has placed the power into the hands of the viewer. Don’t want to watch a commercial? Just fast forward! So brands have moved to putting their products in the show itself. This is one marketing strategy that I applaud. It makes the show more realistic if done correctly. Notice the disclaimer. Some shows do let it affect the quality of the show itself. There are also a few ethical issues with product placement. The viewer may not always realise that it is a paid advertisement, especially if the show is targeted to a younger demographic.
Haleykish over at Everybody goes to Haleywood highlighted a move by the FCC that could greatly affect product placements in the future.
Possibly coming to televisions across the nation: stronger warnings that the Cokes, Oreos and Sidekicks flaunted by actors have bought their way onto your favorite show.
That’s what the Federal Communications Commission signaled yesterday when it said it would review new rules on how television programmers let viewers know when those “props” are really paid pitches.
FCC Chairman Kevin J. Martin said product placements and integration into story lines have increased as television viewers increasingly use recording devices like TiVo and DVRs to fast forward through commercials. Currently, agency’s rules require television programmers to disclose sponsors who have embedded products into shows. Those disclosures typically are done during the credits at the end of the show, which fly by viewers in small script.
“We want to make sure consumers understand and are aware that they are being advertised to,” said Martin, who first pushed to clarify disclosure rules last fall. “We ask how we should update our rules to reflect current trends in the industry.”
I will definitely be watching to see what moves the FCC makes.
Product Placement « “Everybody goes to Haleywood”.
This article also crossposted at http://ad-mouse.blogspot.com
Inspiration, anyone? July 2, 2008
Posted by Amanda in Clear Tracks, Mouse Clicks, New Squeaks.Tags: Advertising, Brandopia, Fellow Mouseketeers, Link
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I stumbled across a great blog a while ago called Brandopia. I quietly added it to my blogroll and I stop by to read up on the lastest. Today I would like to highlight some of their work as they are definitely worthy of mention. I love their sense humor as illustrated below!
Visit Brandopia for more!
Book Review: Wisdom of the Flying Pig July 1, 2008
Posted by Amanda in A Better Mouse Trap, Business Tails.Tags: Business Books, Flying Pigs, Jack Hayhow, Six-Figure Learnings, Wisdom of the Flying Pig
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The Wisdom of the Flying Pig
The Wisdom of the Flying Pig was written by Jack Hayhow, a man I have had the pleasure of meeting in person, and a successful entrepreneur in his own right.
I was probably 19 years old when I first read this book, and I enjoyed it as much then as I do now. It is full of handpicked quotes and entertaining stories chosen to teach lessons about leadership and management. The illustrations are wonderful and Jack has a sense of storytelling that few people can match. It’s a great book to just read a chapter a day in. When you reach the end of the book, simply start over!
I’m not the only one who thinks this book is great. Check over at Six-Figure Learnings for Dave Opton’s review of the same book. Or just google Jack Hayhow to see many others.
Available at Amazon for $17.95, or as a pdf eBook at Opus for $9.95
Rating: 
Office Memo… June 30, 2008
Posted by Amanda in New Squeaks.Tags: chain letter, joke, office memo, office philosophy
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I can only attribute this to an unknown author, as it was set to me via email:
MEMO |
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To: All Employees Dear Staff, We would like to take a few moments to address some issues that have recently arisen. Dress Code: Personal Days: Lunch Breaks: Sick Days: Restroom Use: Surgery: Thank you for your loyalty to our company. We are here to provide a positive employment experience. Therefore, all questions, comments, concerns, complaints, frustrations, irritations, aggravations, insinuations, allegations, accusations, contemplation, and input should be directed elsewhere. Have a nice week. |
What’s in a Name? June 25, 2008
Posted by Amanda in Mouse Clicks.Tags: Adobe, Amazon, Coca-Cola, Company names, Diva Marketing, Häagen-Dazs, Kodak, Nestlé, Toby Bloomburg
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A lot goes into deciding on a company name… most of the time. Toby over at Diva Marketing recently highlighted some interesting trivia about well known company names.
Did you know Google was a misspelling, HP was named by a coin toss and Yahoo! was from a classic novel? A look at how some of the most successful technology firms – from Apple to Yahoo! – got their groove er .. name!
Here’s a few additions to the list, courtesy of Wikipedia:
Adobe Systems was named for the Adobe Creek that ran behind the house of co-founder John Warnock.
Amazon.com was also named after a river. Founder Jeff Bezos renamed the company Amazon (from the earlier name of Cadabra.com) after the world’s most voluminous river. He saw the potential for a larger volume of sales in an online (as opposed to a bricks and mortar) bookstore.
Coca-Cola was derived from the coca leaves and kola nuts used as flavoring. Coca-Cola creator John S. Pemberton changed the ‘K’ of kola to ‘C’ to make the name look better.
Häagen-Dazs is a name that was invented in 1961 by ice-cream makers Reuben and Rose Mattus of the Bronx “to convey an aura of the old-world traditions and craftsmanship”. The name has no meaning!
Both the Kodak camera and the name were the invention of founder George Eastman. The letter “K” was a favorite with Eastman; he felt it a strong and incisive letter. He tried out various combinations of words starting and ending with “K”. He saw three advantages in the name. It had the merits of a trademark word, would not be mis-pronounced and the name did not resemble anything in the art. There is a misconception that the name was chosen because of its similarity to the sound produced by the shutter of the camera.
Nestlé is named after its founder, Henri Nestlé, who was born in Germany under the name “Nestle”, which is German (actually, Swabian diminutive) for “bird’s nest”. That is why the company logo is a bird’s nest with a mother bird and two chicks.
See Toby’s article, with more unique company names, here.
Book Review: The World Is Flat June 24, 2008
Posted by Amanda in Business Tails.Tags: book review, E-commerce, Economics, The World is Flat, Thomas Friedman
2 comments
The World is Flat
The World is Flat, written by Thomas L. Friedman, is one of the books on my shelf not by choice of my own. It was assigned reading during one of my undergraduate classes at the University of Missouri – Columbia. Although I loved the class and enjoyed debating about E-Commerce with my professor, this assigned reading was the least enjoyable part of the class (despite its best-seller status).
In this book, I feel Friedman oversimplifies the changes that have occured in the 21st Century. By his reckoning the world has become a level playing field for commerce. While, yes, the advancements in communication and outsourcing have blurred the lines, I would not describe commerce as completely flat. The likes of Walmart and Amazon see to that.
Overall I found this book extremely boring and would NOT recommend it, unless you need a bit of nighttime reading that will really put you to sleep.
Available at Macmillan for 16.00.
