Winter Wonderland

We've had quite some interesting weather here lately. Here's a picture of the ice that accumulated on the trees in my backyard over the past few hours.

Hope everyone is being safe!

The Truman Show

This weekend I caught the tail end of one of my favorite movies on TV: The Truman Show.

At the very end Truman (Jim Carey) makes a final life altering decision- that entering into the ‘real world’ and all its unknown variables would ultimately be less frightening than living in a fictional universe under a microscope. Fair enough.

But this got me to thinking, what would await Truman after he passes through the threshold of his encapsulated world to face reality?

It’s not so much adjusting to the senseless and often frustrating quirks of the ‘real world’ that I’m referring to, but rather the media frenzy that would have surely ensued.

In the movie, Truman’s onetime love who had attempted to warn him that his life was a staged TV show rushed out the door to meet him as he bid adieu to his millions of viewers with his trademark, “Good afternoon Good Evening and Good night.”

Provided she knew where to find him, would she even be able to navigate her way through the hundreds of cameras and reporters that were surely waiting to pounce on him upon his grand exit? What would he have to say to them? There’s no such thing as media training for unwitting reality television stars.

What then? He’d need money of course. What comes easier than celebrity, product endorsements and publicity for someone who already has brand equity?

It seems Truman would be doomed to face a life of celebrity either way he would have chosen.

The World’s Worst Marketing Strategy

Strip away all the fluff and hype, and let’s examine the essence of marketing. Really, it should boil down to three things:

-Brand awareness
-Lead Generation
-Sales

I’m forced to admit that it absolutely blows my mind when I encounter people who think that refusing to implement any marketing strategy at all is the best course of action.

Yes, marketing can be expensive. But, do you know what is more expensive than that? The money you will be hemorrhaging on overhead and payroll when you have no clients.

We’ve all heard it—a slow economy is the best time to gain market share..and they’re right! While your competitors are stupidly pruning their marketing budgets and thus not bringing in new businesses, their loss can become your gain.

And no, I’m not talking about a one-off coupon (that’s a whole other rant which I will save for another day), or a flier or a single ad. I’m talking cohesive, integrated and comprehensive marketing strategy with a brand to match.

There, I’ve said it. Now go and do.

It's Electric

...well, the talk will be anyway.

I've neglected my blogging in order to plan for the 2009 Greater Cincinnati Energy Summit, sponsored by Northern Kentucky Electric Service.

The event will discuss ways area businesses can save money on energy bills through energy efficient upgrades and rebate/incentive programs, and best practice advice for making the switch without sacrificing productivity.

This event is open to the public, and encouraged for all area business owners and facility managers.

Experts will be on hand from Today's Facility Manager magazine, Northern Kentucky Electric, Duke Energy, Leesman Lighting and Kentner Sellers to discuss 2009 issues in-depth.

RSVP today at: www.nkyelectric.com/energysummit

One last game...

...Well certainly not the last game EVER, but it certainly will seem like an eternity until the Ohio State Buckeyes will play football again.




Here's a picture for all the other Buckeye fans out there...and for more of the O-H-I-O cheer in interesting places, check out: http://www.osu.edu/O-H-I-O/

Let's go Bucks!!!