Word on the street (or Pennsylvania Avenue) is that the White House staff wants to update more than the Oval Office decor. The Obama staff is well know to be Mac officiandos and they want to bring their Macs into what has long been a PC stronghold. Obama himself uses a Mac. I know I couldn’t give up my Mac, even if the Secret Service, FBI and CIA told me to.
Our tagline at Talk is “Find Your Voice.” It’s what we do. We help businesses find their voice by first defining their brand via name development, mission, core values, positioning statement, logo design, key messages, etc. We then work with our clients to develop a unique brand language for the company. How do we speak about the company? How do we want customers and opinion leaders to talk about the company? What is our company story? How do we tell it? Once the brand language is determined, we get out there and start telling their story to all of their key audiences via publicity, social media, advertising, etc. The key to success is that the brand language, or “voice” needs to be authentic. Not contrived. It was gratifying to see a post by Chris Brogan, a thought leader in our industry, about the importance of finding an authentic voice. Check it out.
Debbie loves Stumble Upon – It’s yet another social media site that enables you to stumble upon web sites that match your interests. Fill in your profile, upload Stumble into your toolbar, and voila! You can stumble around the Internet from site to site and discover sites you may have never come upon otherwise. Like the site featuring photos of a baby kangaroo or an article on identifying key phrases for your web site SEO that I can actually understand!
Holly loves Jon and Kate Plus 8 – The cute and unusually large family includes a set of twins and sextuplets that never fail to put on a show. As parents of these rambunctious toddlers, Jon and Kate have learned to maximize their marketability in order to score cool stuff for their family. The show features the Gosselin kids sporting Crocs sandals, staying at enormous ski lodges and reading the Tale of Despereaux, all free of charge. By allowing sponsored items to appear in their home and on their show, marketers are getting the attention of millions of viewers and the Gosselins are getting way more than the average family of 10!
Kelly loves Clark Sorenson’s vintage flower urinals – For those obsessed with flowers, gardening and bathroom fixtures, for just $6,000 to $10,000, now you can have all three in a fantastic and realistic porcelain wall urinal. Imagine your guests delight-and surprise-upon entering your bathroom! While I wouldn’t have one in my own house, I personally think they are far too pretty to actually use!
Kirsty loves CNN.com Live with Facebook for the Inauguration – This historical event was made even more historical with the use of social media to connect Americans, from coast to coast. This event really showcased TV networks and newspapers’ ability to build interactive platforms to engage their audience.
Shawn loves Al Roker scoring the very first Presidential interview – Watching the Inauguration events unfold was a great way to spend my mini snow day. I laughed, I cheered and even cried a few times. But my favorite moment by far was weatherman Al Roker’s tongue in cheek “interview” with our new President.
Susan loves Doritos’ Crash The Super Bowl contest – The cheddar-cheese-chip-maker seems to have struck gold with fan-made commercials. For the third Super Bowl in a row, Doritos will run a commercial concepted, created and produced by fans. And from the few I’ve watched online, the entries this year appear to be agency-worthy. I cannot wait to see which spot wins the coveted spot in the big game!
EPIGRAM: (noun) a pithy saying or remark expressing an idea in a clever and amusing way; a short poem, especialy a satircal one, having a witty or ingenious ending.
SOURCE: The Sea-Wolf, a novel by Jack London “Brutality I had experienced, but it was the brutality of the intellect - the cutting sarcasm of Charley Furuseth, the cruel epigrams and occasional harsh witticisms of the fellows at the Bibelot, and the nasty remarks of some of the professors during my undergraduate days.”
USE IN A SENTENCE: Shawn was well known for his use of memorable epigrams in both his conversation and his copywriting.
My mother will be thrilled. Mashable tells me that Pope Benedict has just announced a new channel on You Tube. Who says the church isn’t keeping up with the times?
The New York Times ran an intriguing article on how marketers are jumping on the Obama bandwagon with lots of creative ways to celebrate the inauguration and capture the attention of millions who will be tuning into the big event. Perhaps one of the most creative is PepsiCo’s Oatmeal Parties in which women will be hosting parties within their homes to eat oatmeal and watch the inauguration on TV. Lest cynics think Quaker Oats is trying to capitalize on the festivities, each event will raise money for Share Our Strength. Clever idea. I love oatmeal. Where’s my invitation?
Wow! What a cool new product from our very savvy neighbors to the north in Ottawa. Introducing the Toletta, a new, better toilet seat cover available in 5-packs for the woman on the go who needs to go.
Talk helps businesses in the Carolinas attract new customers, mitigate issues and increase profits.
| My Love Affair with Facebook is Over |
| Why You Should Pay More Attention to Issues than Crises |
| Why Some Users are Shunning Facebook |
| June | Use Blogs to Grow Your Business |
| May | Avoid A Crisis by Planning for One |
| April | Get Online or Get Left Behind |
| Sept 24 | Local SEO |
| Oct 22 | Crisis Management |
| November 19 | Facebook 101 |
| Dec 17 | Twitter 101 |
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