Lip-Sticking

Who, other than the Giants or Patriots, will come out winners from Super Bowl XLVI?

 By Guest Blogger, Donna DeClemente, Donna's Promo Talk

This Sunday I will be one of the millions watching Super Bowl XLV1 and hoping for a good game, which it should be. As I've stated in my posts over the past couple of weeks, I'm behind the New York Giants all the way and would love to see Eli Manning get another super bowl win, especially while in his brother Peyton's home stadium. I'm sure Peyton will be there also, just not on the field this year.

I'm also hoping to see some real social media integration with the advertising campaigns that we see. If the advertisers are paying an average of $3.5 million for a spot, you would think they would try and get the most bang for their bucks. Last year I called it the "Social Super Bowl" and was disappointed with the overall advertising experience. Other than posting ads on social media, the brands did very little to really engage people and integrate social media into their strategies.

Other than the Giants beating the Patriots, who else is going to come out a winner? Last year the Volkswagen Darth Vader ad scored the highest in the USA Ad Meter for best liked ad. (What was not to like?) Volkswagen utilized social media to post the ad on their blog, on YouTube and their Facebook page five days before the game and it had 13 million views before kickoff. Sine then the ad as gotten numerous awards and nearly 50 million views on YouTube.

This year Volkswagen has already launched The Bark Side, a teaser video featuring a chorus of dogs barking The Imperial March. If you haven't seen it yet, here it is. I love it and think it's brilliant (especially since I'm a sucker for doggies!). It currently has over 10 million views on YouTube. If you click through to YouTube you will also be given the opportunity to view their new game time ad called "The Dog Strikes Back".

Correct use of the word Awesome the Lilly Ledbetter Story

by Yvonne DiVita

This is for my daughters, my granddaughters, my friends, and everyone who has ever worked hard through discrimination.

It's the first anniversary of the Lilly Ledbetter Act where President Obama went to bat for women and equal pay. This video is of Lilly, herself, talking about her story, sharing what brought her to this purpose and showing us all that we need to continue standing up for women to make changes in how business and politics look at us, how they treat us, and how they view us as human beings.

As a woman who understands this issue - and too many of us do - I cannot stress the importance of getting behind this story and sharing with everyone you know. It's not a party issue. It's a people issue.

This isn't a story that is hard to watch or hard to hear. It's a story that is uplifting and encouraging. Despite the setbacks and the long enduring timeframe needed to make this happen, Lilly shows all of us that change is possible and that never giving up makes a difference. I hope you'll share the Lilly Ledbetter story with others and spread the word.

This link goes to President Obama and his words on the Fair Pay Act and Equal Pay For All Workers video. Another video worth watching and sharing.

 

Good News From GHNI

By Guest Blogger Mary Schmidt, Marketing Troubleshooter

Following on my post of last week, "Teach us," is the cry of the women  where we introduced the Adopt-A-Village project we're working on with Global Hope Network International (GHNI).

We all get so much bad news; it's great to read the good.  And, Global Hope Network International shares much good news.  No matter how dire the situation, things are improving here and there.  People can accomplish incredible things with just a little help.  

For example, a group of women have formed a sewing enterprise in Indonesia.  From the news report: 

These women are amazing! Their sewing enterprises have taken off, and they’re so proud of the progress they’re making in their TCD Income Generation program.

There are two sewing groups: the beginners group and the advanced group. The beginners group is using this month to practice sewing on old rags and pieces of clothes, and the advanced group has already begun to make beautiful aprons to sell. The money generated from the sales of these aprons will help the women pay back the investment for the new sewing machines. Once they have made a certain amount of aprons, they will own their own machine.

That's the "new" machine there. I think my grandmother had one just like it.  

And, here's Tiffany, one of GHNI's trainers with some of the women.  

Like I've said before. It doesn't take much to make a big difference.  

P.S. I'll find out where we can get some aprons. :)

Clarity Leads To Cash

Guest Post by Blog Manager Robbi Hess

I spent the weekend at an event called LEAP for Success and was surrounded by incredible business owners and dreamers who were making it happen. One part of the event I found originally off-putting was that the leader, Patricia Drain, made all participants move to a different table and interact with new business owners at each segment. It's a bit difficult to get out of your comfort zone and have to meet new people every three hours, but it was a great way to hear new ideas -- more than you'd hear if you stayed put at your original table spot. 

The days were full of inspiration, networking hints and tips and constant tabletop interaction and brainstorming with those around you. From working on ideas for passive income to making a decision on if you're truly following your passion in your business life, I walked away with a notebook full of ideas and a burning desire to implement all of them. 

A Woman's Power

As seen on Facebook from Mary Costanza:

Ladies everywhere...this is for you- when you're feeling down or lonely. This is for you when you're feeling lost or worried. This is for you when you wonder if you're on the right path or if you should take the fork in the road. This is for you if you want 2012 to be the best year ever. This is for you if you see a shadow lurking about and want to let the sun in. This is for you if you used to know it, but lost it, somehow. 

Share it with everyone you know. Tell us why it resonates with you. Tell us why it's important to know and share. Tell us how being a woman is an art in and of itself.

The Real Woman Creed
By Jan Phillips

I believe that within me lies an extraordinary radiance, and I commit to letting my light loose in the world.

Facebook for Places from Mari Smith

Professional Facebook expert, Mari Smith, shares insight into the way businesses can use Facebook Places. Do you use this tool? How is it working for you?

 

Chevy's got a Super Bowl App and a big Game Time Sweepstakes

By Guest Blogger, Donna DeClemente, Donna's Promo Talk

For anyone that is a true football fan, last Sunday was by far one of the most exciting NFL conference championship game days you can have. Yes, it will take a while for Raven fans to get over the missed chip-shot field goal and the 49er's to wonder what if they didn't turn over the ball in overtime. We're now moving on to Super Bowl XLVI with a big rematch between the Patriots and the Giants. As I said in my last post, I'm betting on Eli Manning and the New York Giants to be this year's champions.

The Super Bowl has now become the most active topic of the millions of us who write blogs posts and updates on Facebook, Twitter and now, Google+. In 2011, the only Facebook status update topic in the world, amongst 800 million users at the time that beat out the Packers winning Super Bowl 45 was the death of Osama bin Laden. Since many of these tweets and Facebook updates come via a mobile phone, this year General Motors and Chevrolet is adding mobile to their mix to capitalize off this.

When bigger gets in the way of better

by Yvonne DiVita

Time to go shopping. Time to get groceries or birthday gifts or home goods. I search the ads in the Sunday paper (yes, we still get the Sunday paper), I look at my email and check the incoming from my favorite stores and... I sigh.

Bigger is not always better. 

That's what I think. When ready to shop, I seldom - almost NEVER - go to Walmart. I call people who shop at Walmart 'walmartians'... and if you're one, I apologize but...seriously, do you know what you're doing? You're supporting big business when small business really needs your help. 

While Walmart is the favored place to shop, with Targee' (fancy spelling of Target) a close second, I think, it wasn't always so. Back in the day, when I was a kid, we shopped for groceries and some home goods at the A&P - the Great Atlantic & Pactific Tea Co. They gave out green stamps - not loyalty cards. You licked the stamps and put them in books and when you had enough, you could get free stuff. It was our job, we being the kids, to lick the stamps and put them in the books. You had to have LOTS to get anything. Much like the loyalty points on my bank account... I have about 10,000 but it gets me little or nothing. I need 100,000 to get anything that's worthwhile. 

“Teach us,” is the cry of the women

By Guest Blogger, Mary Schmidt Marketing Troubleshooter

This is a quote from the Global Hope Network International's web site about a village in Afghanistan the group is helping become self-sustaining.  

Qala e Nadar is a small village framed by rugged mountains on one side and less than fifteen kilometers from Kabul, the capital city of Afghanistan on the other.

Overlooked and forgotten, Qala e Nadar is small and too close to the city to merit help. Thirty years ago, the traditionally nomadic community settled on this dry, arid and barren plain. There is no accessible school, no local bazaar, no immediate health care, no electricity, no running water, and no literate adult. The community is sustained by some of the men and teenage boys who get periodic work in nearby brickworks...

“Teach us,” is the cry of the women of Qala e Nadar. A start has been made.

Of course, there are many women who need help - throughout the world.  So many, in fact, it's totally overwhelming.  And, in a google search there were about 191,000 results for "adopt a village."  What's so special about GHNI's program?  

How Much Do You Love To Write?

Guest post by Blog Manager Robbi Hess

As an entrepreneur you wake up every morning with an itch to get in front of your computer and start writing, right? You're looking forward to jumping into your social media updates, writing a blog post or two, putting together a proposal or even composing business correspondence. Raise your hand if you love it. Hhhmm I am not seeing too many hands. Do you find writing to be a chore? Just not something that you enjoy because you don't know what to write about, you stress about grammar and punctuation or is it simply the blank screen that makes you freeze?

Regardless of the reason, there are many of you out there who simply don't embrace the task of writing. Thankfully there are tools out there to help you with your writing tasks and there are writers that will work with you to compose daily correspondence, blog posts and even perform your social media for you.