Interesting Video

Last week I attended the Wizards on the Road conference about "Business Building Strategies". I have to admit that at first I was skeptical about what I would learn (and not looking forward to sitting in class for two days) but I really enjoyed it. I also realized that my brain hasn't been in learning mode in a long time!

The conference covered a ton of subjects including social media. This subject didn't actually get much attention because it would have required a lot of time to go into detail adequately. The big takeaway was this: social media isn't going away and you better adapt your communication with customers to incorporate it.

Check out this video from socialnomics.net with some interesting stats on the social media "phenomenon". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIFYPQjYhv8

Well we have decided on the next MBM Outing - Haunts of Richmond! We will take a Ghost Tour of Shockoe Bottom next week, which will be full of ghost stories about the haunted streets of downtown Richmond. It should be a fun filled evening for sure.

Baseball is back in Richmond, which means that MBM may have to take another Outing to the Diamond, come spring! We ventured to a Richmond Braves game in April 2008, but it won't be the same since the new team has yet to be named... Our office is so close to the stadium, it's almost silly NOT to go!

Tempus Fugit

Can it really be a Thursday evening, late September, in 2009? MBM is into its 11th year, and we just revisted our trade show booth panels from the past. Our very first one read "our core belief is that Return on Investment is the true and best measure of advertising success." Now we say "advertising ought to have an effect or it's not worth doing." The more time flies, the more some things stay the same at MBM. And that's a good thing.

Lessons

Today is one of those days where you keep having challenges thrown at you that require research and thinking. And it is a Monday - painful!

Acutally, those challenges have taught me some new interesting things. I discovered a more efficient way to share information through an online file sharing program. Then I learned how to submit new URLs to Open Directories to help with search engine optimization. I'm wrapping up the day with weird cat pics so maybe in the end it was a successful day.

Later this week I'll be continuing my quest for new knowledge as an attendee at the Wizard of Ads conference about Business Building Strategies (www.wizardsontheroad.com). Hopefully I don't leave looking like this cat. Look for an update on what I've learned next week!

Technology

I was thinking the other day that in 20 quick years, I've seen an amazing evolution of technology, yet I'm less satisfied than ever.

Riding the bus to middle school with my Sony walkman and huge Koss headphones seemed so easy and fun. One mix tape, about 25 songs, and a play/stop/fast-forward button trio was all I needed. Today I have a much thinner iPod with 4000 songs that I can sort, shuffle, and create custom playlists. And with all these 'enhanced' features, I find myself skipping through most songs as I drive, disappointed I can't find anything to listen to.

Setting the VCR to record was always easy enough. And with about 20 channels to choose from, there wasn't a whole lot you'd miss. This past weekend, I was frustrated with my DVR while 3 shows and a movie played simultaneously but overlapped the same time slots. As you may know, DVR only allows you to record 2 things at once. Out of 900 channels?! C'mon cable.

Who knows, maybe I just need to read more.

Conference Time

Maggi and I are heading to the Virginia Bankers Association conference for community bankers next week in Roanoke, as well as visiting with a Roanoke-based company for a new business discussion. It's nice to get over to Roanoke in the early fall - it's a smaller city, but there's a lot going on over there.



I'll let you know how the trip goes...!

A Seasonable Outing

I've been looking for some fun things to do for our next quarterly MBM Outing, and there's a lot of neat stuff going on in Richmond over the next few weeks. What's an MBM Outing, you say? Just another way to keep us a vibrant, cohesive team (like our story times). We at MBM, take some time during one day each quarter to do something fun, like go to the Richmond Metro Zoo, Movieland Cinema, Braves baseball game (last year), Kings Dominion... you get it. Oh, and spouses and significant others are invited as well. So it's always a decent sized group!

Anyways, since the weather is cooling down, there are some things to do outside now that it's not so hot. We've narrowed our list down to a Hollywood Cemetery walking tour, Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden butterfly exhibit, Capital Ale Oktoberfest and Haunts of Richmond ghost tour. Looks like we will be voting next week for the winner in our traffic meeting - there's only a few more weeks in the third quarter, so stay tuned!

Too bad there's only one MBM Outing each quarter, right?

Household Shopping get an Online Makeover

It's pretty crazy what you can do on the internet. You can track down everyone you've ever met on Facebook, order shoes/plane tickets/pizza, learn about news updated faster than any other media, watch movies, balance a checkbook, research anything...

Well, this week, I learned how easy shopping for supplies can be on the internet.

I'm all about online shopping - eBay, Craig's List, Amazon, Etsy, Zappos, Ticketmaster, whatever. But I never had explored buying household goods.

I'd heard of buying bulk dry goods and whatnot through Amazon, but it all seemed a little odd to me. I don't buy a lot of food in bulk (single gal, single gal sized apartment), plus I'd still need to go to the grocery store for perishable items.

Recently though, I started hearing a lot of good things about Alice.com, an online household good retailer, which bills itself like so:

"Tired of carrying that load of household goods out to the car? Alice helps eliminate the chore and avoid impulse store purchases to boot. Set up Alice and we deliver just what you need, when you need it. It’s time to take household shopping off your to-do list."

Basically, you sign up for a free acount and make a list of things you normally buy (Johnson & Johnson dental floss, Puff tissues, Pledge cleaning wipes, etc). Items are comparably price to the drugstores or grocery stores (at least compared to mine), and there are also various online coupons available that are automatically applied.

As you select items, Alice asks how often you go through an item in order to remind you to order more at a later date (I'll be reminded to order more Aquafresh in 6 weeks). Package up your order and it ships to you within 2-3 days (free shipping).



The idea is that by planning ahead and not being tempted by impulse buys, you can save both time and money. And if you're really into saving money, your free acount includes all sort of charts and graphs that break down your spending history. As far as time goes, I'll still be making trips to the grocery store, but I won't be loaded down with as many items (that single gal apartment's a walk-up with street parking).

Plus, as a bonus, the design and interface is amazing! The drag-and-drop products to shopping cart is just cool, but all the tabs and windows of info are useful, not busy.

I received my first shipment today and already even used my new dental floss. So far, so good.

Deadline Shmedline

Why is it that we always get our best motivation, and inspiration, right near deadline? I think it's partly the creative process: our subconscious is thinking and plotting and planning and won't let go the baked idea until the very last minute. I also think that some of us are just born procratinators and rarely finish anything prior to its due date. An old boss called this "practicing avoidance." Whatever it is, I need to get back to it.....

Banking Across the Pond

Since a handful of our clients are community banks, we keep an ear out for all things banking - news, new regulations, successful marketing tactics, and more. On a recent trip across the Atlantic to Greece, I noticed one Greek bank that was everywhere - ATEBank. I'd liken it to a Wachovia. Anyways, I liked their Greek iconic logo and checked them out online when I got back in town.

Pretty much your typical bank, but take a second and think about your current checking account. Do you know what the name of your account is? I happen to know that mine is "Crown Banking" - pretty boring. How would you feel if your account was the ATHENA Student Account or HERMES Monthly Interest Savings Account? Or the DEMETRA Premium Account or the ESTIA Current Account? Feeling Greek god empowered? What fun ATEBank!

Here's what you missed from the cliffs of Santorini :)

Fall Networking

So this is the first week of September, and to the delight of many in the area, there's been about a 15-20 degree drop in temperature, which is really making it feel like summer's ending and fall is here.

I don't have any kids and none of my friends are in school anymore, so "back to school" isn't on my radar at all. However, the massive uptick in networking events is certainly signaling the change of season.

As Programming Director for the Richmond AIGA, I know the conversation each group has had when it comes to planning: "Everyone's on vacation in the summer, kids are home from school, it's too crazy for events."

But once September's on the horizon, the tune changes: "Kids are back in school, students are back at VCU, everyone's in back to school mode which means they're ready for EVENTS - let's schedule something great to start the (school) year."

There are some interesting things on my radar, even if I can't attend everything:

> Ad Club's annual golf tourny, AddyShack

> AMA's September luncheon with Martin Agency's Walmart CD, Bruce Fougere

> Richmond AIGA's screening of Milton Glaser: To Inform & Delight (link coming)

> CS - The Creative Change Center - has kicked up multiple events over the next 6 weeks

> RAUG (RIC Adobe User Group) has a panel event as well

> The Greater Richmond Chamber's kicking off it's Extraordinary Women's Exchange series

And I keep hearing whispers and rumors about RIC's Social Media Club (SMCRVA) but had trouble finding their website. Even Richmond BizSense held a PR event last night at Planet Zero.

Sounds like a busy way to start fall!

Wishful Thinking

The great thing about this business is that it's often subjective, the challenging thing about this business is that it's often subjective. On Friday, Megan and I presented some great concepts, which we (along with creatives Ben & Jason) felt were strong and addressed what the client was trying to communicate. Somewhere along the line, we missed a key image that the client felt strongly represented their differentiation. Unfortunately, not even the client can agree on what that image should be. We're now locked in an epic internal struggle to try and interpret what they want to communicate. This is the great part of our work - pushing creativity and thinking to the limits, all the while making sure what we communicate is clear, direct, understandable and actionable. Wish us luck - and stay tuned!