The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

I could have posted this blog a full month ago,

but here I am on October 19th, about to talk about Christmas!

Not Halloween which is less than 2 weeks away, but yes, Christmas.

It's everywhere!

The dollarstores already have an aisle of ornaments and decorations up, Smart Set has begun to receive their holiday collection, and crafters keep pinning winter craft ideas on Pinterest! A friend asked me earlier this week what I was planning to get everyone for Christmas. How am I supposed to know that when I can't even get my head wrapped around Halloween yet? And my youngest brother sits next to me starring at my laptop, just awaiting the day that I get a new one so that he can have mine. This day he is waiting for is none other than Christmas!

Marketing is most often used to promote places and events to attract people to them, or to sell products. Is Christmas going to be forgotten without all of the advanced warning of decorations in the stores? And does commercializing the day take away from it's meaning?

I understand that people like to decorate their houses for the season, of which some are much more extravagant than others. And many people will spend a lot of money on gifts for their friends and family. Christmas is the time of year that people spend the most money. I'm not surprised. There are decorations, big meals, gifts, outfits, parties, photo ops and so on. In the excitement of Christmas and planning and shopping, marketing that can easily go unnoticed are those for charities.

"Tis the season for giving"

Charities do not have a lot of money to put towards marketing, and competing with Christmas commercializing means that what they do have is not enough.

Taking the time to remember what the season is all about, reminding others about the opportunities to give to those in need, and providing the assistance that you can will make a difference. Do your best not to get caught up in the sparkle and glitter of the season, and remember the reason for it!



enjoy life and be happy

Blogs

I never really understood blogging until I started doing it myself

(and I'm still learning and perfecting it).

And I never knew that blogs were like a marketing tool!

A good blog, as my teacher says, includes pictures, hyperlinks, labels, and has a topic.  And most often, when blogging about a certain topic, the blogger will use or refer to other resources. If you're reading that blog, you may be apt to follow the links to other sites; Voila! Free marketing!

Shell Design Weddings has a blog. Although the blogs are about weddings or events, you can see that there are links to other professionals in the wedding planning business. Also there are links to the places she's gone, which are nice places to hold a wedding or wedding events, or even just general events. This provides free marketing for the people and places that they are linking as well as advertising their own business by creating a diverse and interactive blog.

Another type of blog that has recently peaked my interest through Pinterest are craft blogs! Not that I have started following any craft blogs in particular, one that I stumbled upon is named MADE. This blogger posts about crafts, the wedding she had just attended, as well as shows that she attends. She links the shows and places that she goes, and includes many pictures of each. Again, free marketing for others!

 Including links in a blog that are relevant aren't only free marketing, but proper blogging ettiquette. So if you've got something that people are buzzing about, creating a website can be a dual marketing technique if it gets into some blogs!

enjoy life and be happy

Marketing Plans

A new initiative, Be Part of the Discussion, that I had the privilege in helping to plan and develop over the summer had its first session on Wednesday.

I attended it, not only because it was the only session I would be able to attend this semester, but also to see how it went. I'll be honest, there were less people than planned for. In fact, there was only me, the facilitator, and 2 other people. Not quite the turn out that we had hoped for.

But, the marketing plan that had been developed was not fully followed through.

The marketing tools that were used included it's website and the posters around the school, and the LCD mini commercials.

However, because this was a new initiative, we had planned on having a Launch.

The Launch

To happen: September 15

Included: Showing 3 TED videos and handing out lollypops (which relate to the last video) with a reminder to attend the sessions

Didn't happen: because of the Support Staff Strike

Also, there were supposed to be "condor feet" as a marketing method.

Condor Feet

To happen: Day of the session

Included: Posting "condor feet" around the school with more details about the day's session, and leading students to the drop-in session

Didn't happen: because time ran out, and they couldn't be posted in time

Although these marketing techniques fell through for uncontrollable reasons, I believe that they would have made a difference in the turn out of the first session. Also, during the session, I realised that there should also be a "Welcome, Come In" sign at the door, which wasn't in the marketing plan, but will now be added.

The new initiative holds a session every other week. Although for this semester the Launch has been missed, the future sessions can still utilize the "condor feet" marketing method.

And the Launch can be done in the Winter semester!

I am interested to see what the outcomes will be when the marketing plan is followed. My belief is that the marketing will make a huge impact on whether or not people attend!

enjoy life and be happy

True or False

Marketing is great!
But it's really easy to make a bad impression if it's false marketing!

This is what I had for lunch earlier this week, from the cafeteria at the school.

Veggies, Pita bread and Hummus, Oh My!



Sarcasm aside, I was really excited about this lunch! But if you look at the label carefully, my excitement turned into disappointment quite fast.

The top right corner of the label reads:

under 3

and then if you squint your eyes and read underneath that, it says:

<$3 <300 calories



And then if you look in the middle, just under the title, you see a

BLACK BLOB

To the left of that you see

3 10

But if you squit and look really hard (maybe not in the picture, but in real life)

you see that under the black blob it originally says:

1.99

My first thought was "I should complain!"

But I was in a rush and in no mood to argue with the cashier, who I'm sure isn't the one that changed the price, so I let it be.

Before even knowing that this small package was available, I had thought of going to the pita station and asking for pita bread and hummus (which I was sure they wouldn't have a price for). And so I thought, well I could negotiate with them and I think $2.00 would be a fair price to pay.

Ironic enough, I was right! Originally that is.. before they increased their prices.

However, with all this said, I know that the school cafeteria is a rip-off. They claim to have "prices for a student budget", but we all know that's not true, unless you're a student who has won the lottery I guess.

But the kicker, what really got to me was the fact that they changed the price on a label that advertises under $3. If they're going to cross out the original price, then they should at least have the decency to cross out the promotion in the corner.

And now that I think of it, not that I count my calorie intake, but how can I even be sure that it is less than 300 calories!?

This encounter with false marketing has left a negative impression on me about the school cafeteria. And it also reminds me of the importance of marketing, and doing it right!

enjoy life and be happy!

Flash Mob

What: Waterloo Flash Mobs Occur
When: Monday October 3, 2011
Where: Bob's Valumart, Bridgeport Sobeys, Columbia Sobeys
Who: Conestoga College's Recreation and Leisure Services Students
Why: Kick-off Waterloo Region Food Bank's Fall Food Drive


Although the Recreation and Leisure Services students only had 2 weeks to prepare a Flash Mob, it was pulled off just as they wanted! Through their efforts, they were able to successfully promote the Food Bank of the Waterloo Region and the Fall Food Drive.


A lot of work went into creating a successful event. Planning, marketing, multi-media, research and of course choreography were all important aspects of creating the event. Yet with just more than 40 students, it is hard for everyone to feel that they make an equal contribution towards the event.


However, even the little things such as pressing play for the music or organizing the transportation from store to store are necessary pieces that contribute to a great event.


But perhaps an event that only has 2 weeks of planning is better off with a smaller group of people so that everyone is happy with their amount of contribution. Also, with such a small timeframe, less people in the planning process may be better because concrete decisions would be made easier. For a larger event that has more planning time, a larger amount of people planning would be beneficial because their would be many more tasks to delegate.


Regardless of how many people were in the planning stages, the event was a success, although there is always room for improvement. A brief How-To-Flash-Mob is below.


The ABC's of Flash Mobs
Awesome participants
Big ideas
Choreographers
Delegated tasks
Enthusiastic planners
Frequent choreography practice
Great cause (eg. Kick-off Food Drive)
Helping hands
Inconspicuous marketing
Journalists/interviews (for media releases afterwards)
Kids (so its more spontaneous!)
Locations that are happy to host your flash mob
Media Releases
Network of people
Organization
Photography
Quick-witted leaders
Research
Spontaneous
Teamwork
Upbeat music
Videography (professional and amateur)
Wandering standbys
X-treme passion
Youtube
Zany amounts of fun

enjoy life and be happy