In an article in Tuesday’s Wall Street Journal - “Services Combine Social Media, Marketing” some interesting points are made (especially about Foursquare - which is marketing using social media and location).
Mobile phone users download app’s from their favorite merchants on the the FourSquare website. Using GPS technology, FourSquare gives the user the opportunity to gain special coupons sent to their mobile phone while in Read more…
Pegasus Residential was selected as the winner of a contest hosted by Discover True North(a full-service agency) and a team of well-respected alliance partners. The contest that opened on 5/8/09 and ran through 12/1/09 was created to recognize and reward companies within the multifamily industry that had created or sustained a positive work culture in tough economic times. An advisory committee made up of twenty industry experts had the opportunity to cast his or her vote on for a trio of semi-finalists, with Pegasus emerging as the winner. Read more…
Ad Age provides a guide to more magazines that have gone the way of the Dodo bird. On a consumer level, reviewing the list made me kind of sad - as I subscribed to many of Conde Nast publications over the years. As a professional though - I understand that if a product isn’t generating revenue it either needs to be repositioned or pulled. I wonder if some of these publications had done a better job of building their presence on the web (such as Oprah’s magazine, Better Homes and Gardens, Real Simple, etc. has done) if they could have sustained the essence of the product reformulated to “web only” even as their print publication went away?
For those who rely on printed brochures and have written this line-item expense into their 2010 budgets - perhaps you should reconsider. Why not phase-out the printed materials to the degree that it is reasonable and create virtual/digital brochures? In what ways could you save trees, money and enhance your brand by building your presence virtually and without print?
Nominations Open to Honor Most Admirable Multifamily Company in America with Internal & External Makeover
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - May 8, 2009 -The team at Discover True North (a full-service agency), and a host of their Alliance Partners have created an opportunity to recognize and reward companies that continue to demonstrate strong values in these tough economic times, through keeping customer service at the forefront of business, developing work cultures that align performance with corporate values and professionals, who, while cutting back on expenses, have not sacrificed excellence.
Deb Bronson-McGrath, CEO of Discover True North (DTN) shares, “Our carefully selected Alliance Partners and the team at DTN are consistently seeking ways to create relational bridges founded on our core values. We believe passionately that good citizenship is good business and we are committed not only to giving back to society, but to helping businesses achieve increased NOI and improved performance”.
“To tangibly demonstrate good citizenship”, says Veronica Dickerson, COO of DTN, “we created a $100K Extreme Corporate Makeover, in which the most deserving multifamily firm will receive a corporate makeover - refreshing both their internal and external brand”.
The winner will receive a host of branding/marketing tools (logo, website, pr plan, social media consultation, a design makeover, etc.), strategic planning services (eco-audit, customer satisfaction benchmarking, recruitment services, a leadership retreat, etc.) and performance services (online training courses, mentoring, shop services, etc.). A complete list of prizes is available at 100KRefresh.com.
Nomination forms are being accepted for the $100K Extreme Corporate Makeover now through midnight on July 13, 2009. To enter simply fill out the online form and submit the reasons why your firm deserves to win. Videos uploaded on YouTube.com can supplement entries. Semifinalists and the winner will be announced in August by an Advisory Board made up of industry experts and executives. Categories that will be evaluated are: Cutting Back on Expenses without Cutting Back on Excellence, Sustaining an Outstanding Motivational Culture for Employees, and Social Responsibility.
“An especially dynamic contribution is being offered by Multifamilypro,” says Giovanni Cruz, Senior VP of Creative Services at DTN. “They have developed a best-of-breed mentoring program that taps the expertise of seasoned mentors and pairs them with mentees industry-wide. You can learn more about this generous “give-back” program at either 100KRefresh.com or at .howitzdunnmanagement.com.
Discover True North Announces Launch of “100K Extreme Corporate Makeover”
Most Deserving Multifamily Firm Will Win a Corporate Makeover
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - March 31, 2009 - Discover True North, in association with its Alliance Partners, some of the finest service companies in America, will be launching the 100K Extreme Corporate Makeover, in which the most deserving multifamily firm will receive a corporate makeover including creative, training, consulting and performance improvement services valued at $100,000 from DTN and its alliance partners. Some of DTN’s Alliance Partners include Brook Furniture Rental, Inc., Ellis Partners in Mystery Shopping, Multifamily Insiders, MultifamilyPro, SatisFacts Research, and Vendout.com.
“We have been moved by inspiring stories from various business professionals across the nation,” says Deb Bronson-McGrath, CEO of Discover True North. “We’ve heard impressive accounts of companies that continue to demonstrate strong values in these tough economic times, whether its keeping customer service at the forefront of business, developing work cultures that align performance with their corporate values and professionals, who, while cutting back on expenses, have not sacrificed excellence.”
“We hope to inspire people and showcase worthwhile endeavors from company teams that have been feeling low as a result of the economy. It will hopefully be fun and produce refreshing boosts in morale,” says Giovanni Cruz, Senior VP of Creative Services.
“The winning company will receive an entire refreshment of their brand,” says Sam Cabebe, Director of New Media. “This includes a new or refined logo, new website, key brand messages, customer loyalty program, an interactive training class, leadership retreat, customer service benchmarking, public relations, employee performance benchmarking, and a design makeover of the corporate office greeting area and much, much more!”
A variety of other personal, community, and corporate improvement opportunities will be incorporated into the program; one of the most outstanding initiatives is led by Multifamilypro. They have recently launched a best-of-breed mentoring program that taps the expertise of seasoned mentors and pairs them with mentees industry-wide. Details of this exciting “give-back” program are available at www.howitzdunnmanagement.com.
Veronica Dickerson, COO shares additional details, “The 100K Extreme Corporate Makeover event will commence on April 30, 2009, at which time DTN will begin accepting nominations, and will close at midnight on July 7, 2009. Semifinalists and the winner will be announced in August by an Advisory Board made up of multifamily experts and executives. Categories that will be evaluated include: Cutting Back on Expenses without Cutting Back on Excellence, Sustaining an Outstanding Motivational Culture for Their Employees and Social Responsibility.”
Since the early days of the interwebs, Flash and SEO have always had a tenious relationship to say the least. Flash was just as invisible to search engines as Wonder Woman’s plane. Search engines have continued to work to try to get Flash pages better indexed and perform better in search results. A big step towards that goal was reached last Summer when Adobe provided it Flash technology to Google & Yahoo so their respective team of evil geniuses can figure out a better indexed search results for Flash websites.
Loved this concept, noted in the March 9 edition of Springwise (a savvy group of trendspotters):
Akoha is a new, reality-based game that uses mobile, web and real-world challenges to ask the question, “What if playing a game could make the world a better place?”
“Launched into public beta in December, Akoha challenges players to carry out missions that involve performing small acts of kindness for others. Each player gets equipped with a deck of 24 mission cards—priced at $5. Each card describes a challenge to be carried out.
Need another reason to work for LEGO? – well this maybe it:
Apparently if you work at LEGO, you get a miniaturized LEGO person of yourself with your contact info on the back. Then when someone asks for your business card, you hand them the figure. Read more…
Mobile phone users download app’s from their favorite merchants on the the FourSquare website. Using GPS technology, FourSquare gives the user the opportunity to gain special coupons sent to their mobile phone while in Read more… 
