>Chief Growth Strategist, Andy Birol

>On Wednesday, June 11th I had the unique opportunity to witness Andy speak at the all Portage County Chamber Luncheon. Speaking to all five chambers was a personal record for Andy, and I was more than impressed with his style, delivery and business motivation. He has re-created his position as “Chief Growth Strategist” targeting the business owner who is looking to Get There.

For more information on Andy, please visit his website.

>Derrie-Air?

>Ah, the power of advertising. Did it work? How do you measure it? Will it create buzz? These are all great questions. For those non-believers in advertising, check out this story about the Derrie-Air hoax played by The Philadelphia Inquirer.


Basically, Philly ran an ad for Derrie-Air, a new airline that charges passengers by the pound of YOU and your luggage, combined. Their tagline, “Pack Less. Weigh Less. Pay Less.” drove Philly readers straight to Derrie-Air’s website.

Of course this wasn’t real! The owners of The Philadelphia Inquirer did a great job in proving that advertising does work! This one-day campaign created so much buzz throughout the traditional media as well as the blogs. Stay tuned for a final count of how many visitors went to the the Derrie-Air website…

>We’ve moved!

>


It is time to say goodbye to Church Street. The Felber Team has had many memories here over the years, along with many Adventures in Marketing
.

Please update your new address as we make the journey down Aurora Road to our new home.

1869 E. Aurora Rd, STE 400
Twinsburg, OH 44087

* * *

A few pictures to remember our move…

9:15am – The moving truck is here!

Bruce – working, moving – quite the multi-tasker.

Security – check.
Rob’s office… sort of.

Michelle’s new office!

Bruce’s office… almost.

Me, enjoying lunch on my desk.

>The anti-water bottle

> It has begun, the new adventure into non-plastic water bottles – and they aren’t being shy about bragging. SIGG USA has developed an eco-friendly, reusable water bottles, ideal for those concerned with their health and their environment. This water bottle is much friendlier on the environment and our surroundings than the other alternatives on the mainstream market.

(Unfortunately, SIGG USA Online has received such high demands for their product they have decided to hault production until after the season is over to then reevaluate products and production time. You can still find their products at various locations throughout the US.)

You can find more information on SIGG USA and its products at www.mysigg.com.

>Then and now

>Granted, I don’t watch that much TV so I don’t see that many commercials. (Also, having TiVo helps eliminate any I would see.) Growing up in this new wave of technological advancements and new advertising, one can’t help but notice the drastic differences in advertising from 20 years ago.

Here is an example of advertising from 1988. It is safe to say advertising has changed *some* since then.

-Katy

>Which "to" is it?

>Everyone makes mistakes. Usually they are innocent, most of the time they are fixable – but what if they aren’t? Agencies take the time to ensure everything is grammar-proof and correct before going to print. This step is performed numerous times over to protect our client’s message and name.

Proper spelling and usage of words has always been a big part of my writing. It is very easy to misuse a word, so here are the proper ways for common word mix ups. (Some definitions are courtesy of dictionary.com)

TWO, TO, TOO
Two – the number (ex. There are two men and five children.)
To – expressing motion or direction toward a point (ex. For vacation this year, we are going to Alaska.)
Too – in addition; also; furthermore; moreover; in excess (ex. Way too many people are here!)

THEIR, THEY’RE, THERE
Their – a form of the possessive case of they used as an attributive adjective, before a noun (ex. Their new home was gorgeous.)
They’re – contraction of “they” and “are” (ex. They’re going to have a meeting right after lunch.)
There – in or at that place; or into or to that place; thither (Jim and Donna are leaving there in a few minutes.)

ARE, OUR
Are – to occupy a place or position (ex. We are in Las Vegas!)
Our – a form of the possessive case of we used as an attributive adjective (ex. Our brother, David, is having a dinner party at his house on Saturday evening.)

YOUR, YOU’RE
Your – a form of the possessive case of you used as an attributive adjective (ex. Your car smells brand new!)
You’re – contraction of “you” and “are” (ex. You’re never going to believe who I ran into last night.)

ITS, IT’S
Its – the possessive form of it, used as an attributive adjective (ex: Its beauty resembled perfection.)
It’s – contraction of “it” and “is” (ex. It’s any wonder how those two are still friends after what she did.)

In Marketing, the proper use of these words is standard. Any mix-up could cost you a job, or worse yet, an account. Again this begs the question, are you saying what you want to say?

-Katy

>Sorry fellas, this one is for the ladies.

>
Like many women, I went to see Sex and the City this weekend. Admittingly, I am a huge fan of the show but was sad to hear one of the characters mention in an interview that someone in the show dies in the movie. This was not something I was looking forward to!

Details of the movie aside, the show ended and… no one died. Why would someone (let alone of the actresses on the show) start this horrible rumor? Then I laughed to myself, the plot of the movie was kept so hush-hush that they could start this rumor and people would run out on opening weekend to see just who died. The movie’s director, Michael Patrick King, denied these rumors saying, “It’s a summer movie,” he said. “Why would I want to kill anyone?”

Fans still wanted to know. Not only did it finish in the number one spot this weekend but an astounding $55.7 million dollars, almost half of that (a cool $26 million) on Friday alone.

So, what happened? I won’t tell you what happened but I will tell you no one dies. I believe this “rumored-death-marketing-stunt” had some influence in people coming out to see the movie – I know I was one of them.

-Katy