tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78733193747286820872024-02-06T23:15:49.083-05:00The Daily BreakthroughOttawa's Marketing Blog - Ottawa News, opinions, and tips from the world of traditional and web marketing, Ottawa marketing, Ottawa advertising, branding, event planning, Web 2.0, SEO, and viral marketing.Dave Delagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11120834456588612689noreply@blogger.comBlogger305125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7873319374728682087.post-87901427963402976712012-12-21T09:56:00.002-05:002012-12-21T09:56:34.467-05:00We've moved!Be sure to check out our new blog at:<br />
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http://www.OttawaMarketingBlog.caDave Delagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11120834456588612689noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7873319374728682087.post-5849072096322876382011-12-15T10:41:00.020-05:002012-01-11T10:13:10.160-05:00Trending: Top 5 Must-Do's for Launching eCommerce<i>This is the second of a two-part series on non-traditional retail systems in Canada (Part I is <a href="http://dailybreakthrough.blogspot.com/2011/12/trending-top-5-must-dos-for-launching.html">available here</a>).</i><br />
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eCommerce really isn't anything new by now in Canada- it's been around for over a decade, though in recent years has started to show explosive growth. This is in line with an upward trend for internet use and digital convergence: according to StatsCan, 81% of Ontarions used the internet regularly in 2010 and 51% of all Canadians placed orders for goods and services via eCommerce systems (114 million orders total, valued at around $15.3B). Most major national and global brands operating in the CPG and FMCG spaces have an eCommerce presence in one form or another. What we're now seeing is a series of disruptive technologies and platforms which are making eCommerce affordable for SMEs and owner-managed businesses.</div>
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As a Canadian business owner, one of your key questions about eCommerce systems should be this: how can I leverage eCommerce technologies to enhance my sales model and increase the health of my bottom line? Believe it or not, it's a big question that is sometimes forgotten about during the race to keep pace with the next big thing and be where the customers are.</div>
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<i>eCommerce: Defined</i></div>
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The bread and butter of eCommerce in Canada is, of course, online shopping. Now-global brands like Amazon and eBay have established the perception that this is where there's serious money to be made for business. Which is true, but eCommerce isn't just confined to B2C companies. At its core, eCommerce is really just the transaction of payment across an electronic network in exchange for goods or services (most commonly the internet, through a closed transactional system on intranet or LAN would also meet this definition). Thinking back to our article on mCommerce- this type of commerce is also an eCommerce system, strictly speaking (though we differentiate the two, because there are important conceptual and technological differences between them).</div>
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Should you rush out and hire someone to develop an eCommerce system for your business right away?</div>
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That depends. What type of business are you in? If you offer CPG retail or high-margin recurring/subscription services in the B2C space, you should definitely take a hard look at the available technologies and put some thought into how they can benefit your growth and/or service essentials. You should also talk to a professional services firm with expertise in the eCommerce space. Hint: overhead costs for eCommerce systems are almost always significantly lower than for brick-and-mortar retail. An expansion into eCommerce would likely be far less expensive than an expansion of your physical location, and could very well yield the same (or better) revenue growth if properly implemented. Some Canadian businesses are also successfully adding eCommerce features to enhance their in-store operations. For example, Staples allows customers to order customizable print products online which can then be picked up in-store.</div>
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<i><b>We can't stress this enough</b>: unless you have an in-house marketing team which is highly experienced in eMarketing and eCommerce deployment for Canadian SMEs, have a conversation with an agency that has demonstrable expertise in this space </i><b>before</b><i> you move forward!</i></div>
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<i>Top 5 Considerations for Bringing eCommerce to Your Business</i></div>
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1. <b>Be a Savvy Planner</b> - where does eCommerce fit in your sales model? What are your goals? How will you measure success? Will eCommerce support your existing model, or eventually replace it?</div>
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2. <b>Be Design Conscious</b> - the days of slapping together a functional (but boring) eCommerce site are over. The big players have invested significantly in design, and if their site looks better than yours, you may be seen as less credible. Think of it this way: if you walk into a grocery store you've never been to, will you be more or less likely to return if the floors are cruddy and the lighting dim when the grocery store across the street is clean and well lit?</div>
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3. <b>Be Data Driven</b> - ensure that a robust analytics platform is built into your eCommerce system, so that you can enhance your USP as time goes on and capture customer data to refine your online selling process</div>
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4. <b>Be Security Conscious</b> - consumers want to know you're doing everything within reason to protect their personal information, <i>especially</i> credit card numbers and home addresses. Thankfully, most payment gateways have invested significantly in securing this data- and you'll get that benefit (and brand equity) when you partner with a good one.</div>
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5. <b>Be Innovative</b> - if you're not offering consumers a serious added-value with eCommerce, what's the point? Remember: the purpose of technology is to make our lives easier. eCommerce is experiencing rapid growth because it eliminates time-wasting trips to physically go out and shop, allowing consumers to use that time for other tasks.</div>
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Sources:</div>
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Statistics Canada. <i>The Daily: October 12, 2011</i>. <a href="http://www.statcan.gc.ca/daily-quotidien/111012/dq111012a-eng.htm">"Individual Internet Use and E-commerce"</a>.</div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7873319374728682087.post-23728402022314954692011-12-13T10:52:00.017-05:002012-01-11T10:39:14.375-05:00Trending: Top 5 Must-Do's for Launching mCommerce<div>
<i>This is the first of a two-part series on non-traditional retail systems in Canada (Part II is <a href="http://dailybreakthrough.blogspot.com/2011/12/trending-top-5-must-dos-for-launching_15.html">available here</a>).</i></div>
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Okay, I've heard of eCommerce... but what the heck is mCommerce??!</div>
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If you just asked yourself that, don't worry- you're not alone. Just like eCommerce was on the bleeding edge of retail technology at the turn of the century, we're now seeing the emergence of some extremely innovative commerce and retail applications for mobile platforms. As with the development of most new technologies, we're currently experiencing an explosion of competing products and services that directly precedes the eventual consolidation and standardization across an industry.</div>
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As a small business owner in Canada, one of your key questions about mCommerce systems should be this: are people actually using this technology to make purchases?</div>
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<i>mCommerce: Defined</i></div>
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mCommerce is any retail technology that acts as a consumer purchasing system which replaces or complements the traditional Canadian in-store Point-of-Sale. This differs from eCommerce in one key way: eCommerce systems are designed to completely replace the traditional brick-and-mortar retail model. Simply put, there's no physical store front, and all of the traditional retailing functions (on the consumer side) are replaced by an online store.</div>
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Canadian mCommerce can mimic this approach by offering a digital storefront which is custom-designed for mobile platforms (usually in the form of a mobile-friendly website and secure shopping cart/payment systems). But, and this is a really fascinating but, mCommerce is also being used to enhance the traditional in-store and retailing experience (particularly in hospitality services). For instance, Starbucks offers a payment system for mobile devices which allows its customers to purchase in-store goods via the generation of a QR Code through the Starbucks Mobile App (this incorporates process elements of the mobile wallet concept; a subject for another day).</div>
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So, are people actually making purchases through mCommerce systems?</div>
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Short answer: Yes. Longer answer: Not as frequently as eCommerce or traditional store visits. However, the adoption rate of mCommerce by consumers in Canada is rather astonishing. KPMG's annual Consumers and Convergence Survey revealed that the number of people who used a wireless mobile device to make a purchase in 2010 doubled over the 2009 number </div>
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(which was up 30% or so from the previous survey). The Canadian Payments Association is fully onboard with this trend- one of their key priorities in developing the Vision2020 Strategy is to establish industry standards and a framework for mobile device payments.</div>
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Should you rush out to put together an mCommerce system to support</div>
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your existing operations <i>right now</i>? Probably not, unless you're a small business owner in the Canadian consumer packaged goods or hospitality/retail food services and cater to an affluent, technologically-savvy crowd (here's a good measure: how often do you see your customers whip out the latest BlackBerry, iPhone, or Android device?). Keeping an eye on the development of mCommerce systems and including a medium to long term goal of developing the infrastructure necessary to support mCommerce in the future is absolutely essential for the majority of B2C businesses, however. One day, you <i>will</i> have to go there to keep up; and spending a couple of thousand dollars now to prepare makes more sense than having to do a complete overhaul at the 11th hour (which will cost a <i><b>lot</b></i> more).</div>
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<i>Top 5 Considerations for Bringing mCommerce to Your Business</i></div>
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1. <b>Be a Savvy Planner</b> - where does mCommerce fit in your sales model? What are your goals? How will you measure success?</div>
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2. <b>Be Design Conscious</b> - consumers using mCommerce are tech savvy: if the application is poorly designed, it will hurt your brand equity and kill the sale</div>
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3. <b>Be Data Driven</b> - ensure a robust analytics platform is built into your mCommerce system, so you can enhance your USP as time goes on</div>
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4. <b>Be Security Conscious</b> - consumers want to know that you're doing everything within reason to protect their personal information</div>
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5. <b>Be Innovative</b> - if you're not offering consumers a serious value-added with mCommerce, what's the point? Remember: the purpose of technology is to make our lives easier.</div>
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<i>Your Mobile-Ready Implementation Plan</i></div>
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If you don't have a strong in-house web team, talk to an expert. Trust us, you'll save a lot of time and bypass the lion's share of the growing pains by getting expert advice and help in execution right from the beginning.</div>
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<b>1. Invest in a mobile assessment</b> - is your website mobile friendly across all three major smartphone platforms? Is your content mobile optimized? Does your content management system include mobile content options and tracking features specific to mobile? If your website IS mobile friendly, does the deployment include a browser sniffer? Mobile users won't punch in the URL for your mobile website, they'll punch in the URL for your regular website -- your website needs a mechanism to detect a mobile device and automatically serve up the optimized content.</div>
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<b>2. Plan for digital</b> - it's not impossible, really. Your existing promotions (contests, sweepstakes, coupons) port over to web and mobile technologies <i>very</i> easily. After all- most web and mobile applications were designed to make the real world easier and more fun.</div>
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<b>3. Once you cross the threshold, don't look back</b> - you've prepared, you've planned, you're ready to execute... so go do it. That's how you built your business in the first place, right?</div>
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<i>Q&A: How does it go mobile?</i></div>
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Q: I already have a web video promoting my store online, and it's hosted on YouTube. How do I get this on mobile?</div>
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A: QR Codes! Use a QR Code on an advertisement, exterior signage (think roadside or store exterior in a mall/managed property). To fuel user engagement even more, you could use these QR Codes in an 'easter-egg hunt' style promotion (we've done it before, and people love them!).</div>
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Q: I run a monthly sweepstake through my website to build my marketing list and enhance CRM. How can I use mobile to fuel this growth?</div>
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A: Location-based check-ins! Add an element to your sweepstake encouraging users to check in with foursquare and offer nifty, innovative prizes to drive engagement. These customers will actually advertise <i>for</i> your business for free every single time they visit you in the future and check in. Turning customers into brand ambassadors is a great way to drive traffic... and it doesn't cost much (you'll spend more on <i>one</i> media buy for a newspaper ad).</div>
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Q: I'm trying to build out an exceptional customer-service team. Can I make this more efficient or user-friendly by adopting mobile technologies?</div>
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A: Absolutely! Services like live chatting can be migrated to mobile by integrating a 'live chat' function into your website, and ensuring that its design is mobile-friendly. Even a year ago, this would have been prohibitively expensive for many small business owners in Canada, but advances in coding via the html5 covenant are making many processes which previously had to be custom-developed a standard part of the web's native language.</div>
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Footnotes:</div>
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"QR Code" is a trademark of Denso-Wave Inc., used with implicit permission.</div>
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Sources:</div>
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CPA Payments Strategy, Vision2020</div>
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KPMG International, 4th Annual Consumers and Convergence Survey (2010)</div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7873319374728682087.post-17970245308752738832011-10-12T15:42:00.000-04:002011-10-17T13:18:24.126-04:00MB Sweet 16 raises $6000!<style>
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On September 29, 2011, <a href="http://www.marketingbreakthroughs.com/">Marketing Breakthroughs</a>, Ottawa’s
best Marketing Firm, hosted one of Ottawa’s finest events: the MB Sweet 16 {Mad
Men Style}.</div>
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One of the great things about celebrating our birthday is
the opportunity to thank people and give back.
Instead of presents to ourselves, we decided to give something back to two of our favorite charities: <a href="http://www.caringandsharing.ca/index.php/en/home.html">The Caring & Sharing Exchange</a> and <a href="http://www.ottawaheart.ca/">the University of Ottawa Heart Institute</a>.</div>
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We invited celebrity auctioneer, Stuntman Stu, to lead a
benefit auction. The crowd was highly
entertained by Stu and we raised over $6000 in just under 15 minutes!</div>
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Thanks to the generosity of <a href="http://paramountapts.com/">Paramount Properties</a> (Stuart
Ages), <a href="http://www.districtrealty.com/">District Realty</a> (Steve Ramphos), <a href="http://www.valbergimaging.com/">Valberg Imaging</a> (Michelle Valberg) and
<a href="http://www.highlighttravel.ca/">Highlight Travel</a> (Leslie Coates). We
would also like to thank our friend Stuntman Stu for his generosity in
conducting the auction.</div>
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Check out these photos from the event!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWIIMYukYVr1TF62s98DRP24fq6uzp7-Pjfa6mtAArD8njATgPeiguNXiqN1I6w4D5YpRbxwXEeVQa-XF0mXTbEK7PqKioM7Am_JPiPhaVWakBlkd7ucmzaPhuQNCIjnSUJUiTnT0sNW8/s1600/small_D3S4832.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWIIMYukYVr1TF62s98DRP24fq6uzp7-Pjfa6mtAArD8njATgPeiguNXiqN1I6w4D5YpRbxwXEeVQa-XF0mXTbEK7PqKioM7Am_JPiPhaVWakBlkd7ucmzaPhuQNCIjnSUJUiTnT0sNW8/s640/small_D3S4832.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<i>Stuntman Stu and members of the MB crew auctioning off an autographed Dan Marino Miami Dolphins jersey and football</i>. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgDj1Ui4qbxv0efQsmBUx1Bht6cVh9CwjEHwIaawKu3sYFfy8RpyRlsI0wDyxWUoSzZn1zgrvstx52gVCJN77qt8I6anJroHtrPaUhclDyajStGqNEBfrMF2xQl3eOKhvNycyMzsYhVAk/s1600/small_D3S4839.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgDj1Ui4qbxv0efQsmBUx1Bht6cVh9CwjEHwIaawKu3sYFfy8RpyRlsI0wDyxWUoSzZn1zgrvstx52gVCJN77qt8I6anJroHtrPaUhclDyajStGqNEBfrMF2xQl3eOKhvNycyMzsYhVAk/s640/small_D3S4839.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<i>Michelle Valberg (R) and Valerie Keeler (L) enjoying the evening (of Valberg Imaging)</i> </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBX9v2rA7L6IYlx588Gu28Vu0SQb8P1oD6K7FC1VkdFYiFOgkaciOaScaFrqLwFAmj9fnAZB82rcTArDZzPaF2skNWdVorH6PP3Ie1bsWPD6n5mPkjbazy5Ue-zJLTA4aXJN7PD9rU20Y/s1600/small_D3S4842.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBX9v2rA7L6IYlx588Gu28Vu0SQb8P1oD6K7FC1VkdFYiFOgkaciOaScaFrqLwFAmj9fnAZB82rcTArDZzPaF2skNWdVorH6PP3Ie1bsWPD6n5mPkjbazy5Ue-zJLTA4aXJN7PD9rU20Y/s640/small_D3S4842.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<i>Stuntman Stu and an MB crew member auctioning off a work of art by Michelle Valberg</i>. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg9pjzqfa75BXpTSNYw6XaOCNiBO_vpLKwgjXAn5QKQukGP-boLQCeoQJRpoMObO-de_fgIx0oa_Xv6QZV0FVYwoKyOgLu_5KJ1Q5Zu4RYB_yH7yOQNO9HEL7xA5V38jCVESCxCeHaB8Y/s1600/slideshow28.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="321" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg9pjzqfa75BXpTSNYw6XaOCNiBO_vpLKwgjXAn5QKQukGP-boLQCeoQJRpoMObO-de_fgIx0oa_Xv6QZV0FVYwoKyOgLu_5KJ1Q5Zu4RYB_yH7yOQNO9HEL7xA5V38jCVESCxCeHaB8Y/s640/slideshow28.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<i>Stuntman Stu enjoying a "Manhattan Breakthrough" after the auction</i> </div>
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Additional photos can be found at
<a href="http://facebook.com/MarketingBreakthroughs">Facebook.com/MarketingBreakthroughs</a>.</div>
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For more information on the University of Ottawa Heart
Institute, click <a href="http://www.ottawaheart.ca/"><i>here</i></a>. To learn more about The Caring and Sharing
Exchange, please visit their <a href="http://www.caringandsharing.ca/"><i>site</i></a>.</div>
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Thank you to all of our guests and auction participants, and
we hope you enjoy your winnings!</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7873319374728682087.post-11230821755101208242011-10-05T16:03:00.000-04:002011-10-06T09:48:00.467-04:00An Amazing Event - MB Celebrates 16 Years<style>
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September 29<sup>th</sup> came and
went! The <a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/search/%23MBSweet16">#MBSweet16</a> was a celebration for the ages!</div>
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We were overjoyed to celebrate with
our friends, partners, and clients. Everybody wined, dined, and swayed to the
music in our 60s lounge! </div>
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We want to thank each and every one
of our guests for 16 successful and memorable years. We’d also like to thank our wonderful sponsors for helping
make this event such a success!
From food, to décor and all in between, our guests celebrated with us as
some of <a href="http://www.marketingbreakthroughs.com/event-design-plus-production.aspx">Ottawa’s premiere event producers</a>. MB Staff had a great time dressing
like they worked at Sterling Cooper Draper Price, the fictional Manhattan ad agency
featured on <i>Mad Men</i>. The 1960s may
have been the golden age of advertising, but last week, we rang in a new era,
the golden age of Marketing Breakthroughs.</div>
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Missed out on the event?</div>
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Below are some photographs shot by
Lindsey Gibeau of <a href="http://valbergimaging.com/">Valberg Imaging</a>. For more photos from the event, visit our
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/marketingbreakthroughs">Facebook Page</a>.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg69yJwB8fBD3GJTGG_h0V8WMxc_pthXwomMdAjG1ZvBCyg8M0OO58Xknz9L4U-oYyNzGI2viNveQ2ojnc8hYkPzL-pQ7qYtSBbJNlxlxTR37QgKOUflEKViWs_HdsVBEmvxgmehm8Qjf8/s1600/Screen+shot+2011-10-05+at+3.39.14+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="425" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg69yJwB8fBD3GJTGG_h0V8WMxc_pthXwomMdAjG1ZvBCyg8M0OO58Xknz9L4U-oYyNzGI2viNveQ2ojnc8hYkPzL-pQ7qYtSBbJNlxlxTR37QgKOUflEKViWs_HdsVBEmvxgmehm8Qjf8/s640/Screen+shot+2011-10-05+at+3.39.14+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVYqm71HbGDw74FlHvzEp6JmfpjQdfFBmfxu51IhlL3C1wCVSeIOqIJDbj15VKl1vNM0ETzSWgTnFoNBQzbsQG97bf3ZOiOiG99i0ZiSY3MztXQ3GWuQ5Eytp1zA1ry__iUCgy-5jTUGs/s1600/Screen+shot+2011-10-05+at+3.38.45+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVYqm71HbGDw74FlHvzEp6JmfpjQdfFBmfxu51IhlL3C1wCVSeIOqIJDbj15VKl1vNM0ETzSWgTnFoNBQzbsQG97bf3ZOiOiG99i0ZiSY3MztXQ3GWuQ5Eytp1zA1ry__iUCgy-5jTUGs/s640/Screen+shot+2011-10-05+at+3.38.45+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUQO4bkigF6MTTuFiUkUpn5kn2eAWTDzU8HxG5Db7bUwcAVIIFVoyfgd0rJi7oqlJNHRKK5DUyyt2j1rPVwFNu3OUv9SVOkZXrGYxnUS0pyEWUjhG8A4m564z1mts2LxE1GvNNHKyXAWk/s1600/Screen+shot+2011-10-05+at+3.38.29+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUQO4bkigF6MTTuFiUkUpn5kn2eAWTDzU8HxG5Db7bUwcAVIIFVoyfgd0rJi7oqlJNHRKK5DUyyt2j1rPVwFNu3OUv9SVOkZXrGYxnUS0pyEWUjhG8A4m564z1mts2LxE1GvNNHKyXAWk/s640/Screen+shot+2011-10-05+at+3.38.29+PM.png" width="640" /></a></div>
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Thanks so much for the amazing
photos Lindsey! For more, visit our <a href="http://www.facebook.com/marketingbreakthroughs">Facebook Page</a>. </div>
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Want to learn more about how to
become a part of the golden age of <a href="http://www.marketingbreakthroughs.com/">Marketing Breakthroughs</a>? <a href="http://www.marketingbreakthroughs.com/about-us/contact-us.aspx">Contact us today</a>! Better yet, join our <a href="http://www.facebook.com/marketingbreakthroughs">Facebook Page</a> or follow
our <a href="http://www.twitter.com/marketingottawa">Twitter</a> feed to stay on top of upcoming Ottawa events and the latest in marketing
trends.</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7873319374728682087.post-21733221343867603652011-10-04T10:13:00.001-04:002011-10-05T15:56:58.428-04:00MB Celebrates its “Sweet 16” with Mad Men Theme<style>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times;">100 Guests to Gather for Tribute to the Golden Age of
Advertising and </span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times;">“Can’t-Miss” Celebration of the Year</span></b></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Times;">Ottawa, Thursday,
September 29, 2011 - </span></b><span style="font-family: Times;">Marketing
Breakthroughs, Ottawa’s top marketing firm, celebrated 16 years in business by
throwing an exclusive invite-only bash for Ottawa’s business community and
selected VIP guests.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times;">This exclusive event was held at SOMA, a downtown
fitness studio and spa. SOMA was be transformed into a 1960s-inspired lounge,
reminiscent of a Manhattan club from the era. With 1960s-inspired food and drink
and full <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mad Men</i>-themed costumes and
décor, guests felt like they are rubbing elbows with Don Draper and Roger
Sterling.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times;">Alongside the 1960s theme was a cutting-edge
multi-media and social media showcase. Guests tweeted
throughout the event using the hashtag <a href="http://twitter.com/search/MBSweet16">#MBSweet16</a>. All Tweets using this
hashtag were displayed live on giant plasma displays – much like the
interactive billboards at the Cisco Ottawa Bluesfest. By participating in this
social media element, guests felt like they are truly a part of the event.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times;">With walls lined with 1960s decorations and poster-sized
advertisements from the era alongside MB’s plasma displays, this event will surely
be the most talked-about business social gathering of the year. As <a href="http://www.marketingbreakthroughs.com/event-design-plus-production.aspx">Ottawa Event Producers</a>, MB was thrilled
to host this exciting event. “We’re proud to have successfully grown our
business in Ottawa and to have fun while we recognize our achievements,” said
CEO, Steve Klein.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times;">In addition to a birthday celebration, this event also had a live charity auction (with celebrity-auctioneer “Stuntman
Stu”) benefitting the University of Ottawa Heart Institute and The Caring and
Sharing Exchange (home of The Christmas Exchange). Over $6,000 was raised for these worthy charities.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times;">Steve Klein founded Ottawa's <a href="http://www.marketingbreakthroughs.com/">Marketing Breakthroughs</a> in 1995. Since then, MB has helped
some of Ottawa’s best known brands grow. This includes <a href="http://www.prestonhardware.com/">Preston Hardware</a>, <a href="http://www.holmesheating.com/">HolmesHeating</a>, <a href="http://www.districtrealty.com/">District Realty</a>, <a href="http://www.paramountapts.com/">Paramount Properties</a> and <a href="http://www.macewen.ca/">MacEwen Petroleum</a>. As the
winner of the Ottawa Chamber of Commerce’s 2009 Professional Services firm of
the year, MB specializes in <a href="http://www.marketingbreakthroughs.com/web-marketing,-seo-plus-social-media.aspx">web marketing</a>, <a href="http://www.marketingbreakthroughs.com/classic-marketing-plus-advertising.aspx">traditional marketing</a>, and offers
Canada’s only “<a href="http://www.marketingbreakthroughs.com/home.aspx">VP Marketing</a>” service for companies that have neither the time
nor the resources to have their own internal marketing department.</span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7873319374728682087.post-29971641605650689682011-09-21T15:03:00.001-04:002011-09-29T14:58:28.038-04:00Here's your Mad Men Style Guide!In preparation for next week’s MB Sweet 16 {Mad Men Style}, we thought we’d take a minute to talk about Mad Men <i>Style</i>. Everyone at the office took the <a href="http://www.amctv.com/shows/mad-men/which-mad-men-are-you"><i>Which Mad Man Character are you?</i></a> quiz in order to familiarize ourselves with the evening ‘dress code’ (optional for guests, but highly recommended!). The results? Surprising! Take it for yourself <a href="http://www.amctv.com/shows/mad-men/which-mad-men-are-you"><i>here</i></a>. <br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Betty</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/hbx-mad-men-betty-mirror-de-75528703.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="http://www.housebeautiful.com/cm/housebeautiful/images/hbx-mad-men-betty-mirror-de-75528703.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQkPvQ129MPbDe1kvrSHC9Q3B4eCZCzMHbryrT8DDvVjl8M2i_gTu-eea2XT5ffLT-rSBNuAV0E_5Ukwuydgt3ZnNldUtdB08IgOjGTqnmEEEVJMxb9OWzRY2BxGQUXYMVq92b4JKN7_0/s1600/mad+men+10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a></div><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><style>@font-face { font-family: "MS 明朝";}@font-face { font-family: "Cambria Math";}@font-face { font-family: "Cambria";}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Cambria; }.MsoChpDefault { font-family: Cambria; }.MsoPapDefault { margin-bottom: 10pt; }div.WordSection1 { page: WordSection1; }</style><br /><div class="MsoNormal">The most lady-like of the bunch, she is rarely seen inanything but a full skirt, and a great piece of costume jewelry around herneck. The length hits her just below theknee (did we mention she’s a full fledged lady?) and the print is usually asophisticated floral. Want to try thislook for yourself? Betty Draper’sevening style is diamonds, silk and full organza skirts! Who’s the Betty at MB? You’ll have to RSVP tosee!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>Joan</b> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmtk5ProAnaz4IZ9WhpXROrvU2-KebYeCqI_iNpZL0mBdg59m1YsokJH8mqdCHsDZqYxskW3wmql6MjtBq0iUMq0FeSnmPxWy5dyqwmPHL6MzTXMlNNwTqyHZTF_I5y4TN9Ib4BY98thE/s1600/5412921826_be0d437b3d_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmtk5ProAnaz4IZ9WhpXROrvU2-KebYeCqI_iNpZL0mBdg59m1YsokJH8mqdCHsDZqYxskW3wmql6MjtBq0iUMq0FeSnmPxWy5dyqwmPHL6MzTXMlNNwTqyHZTF_I5y4TN9Ib4BY98thE/s640/5412921826_be0d437b3d_b.jpg" border="0" height="640" width="480" /></a></div><br /><style>@font-face { font-family: "MS 明朝";}@font-face { font-family: "Cambria Math";}@font-face { font-family: "Cambria";}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Cambria; }.MsoChpDefault { font-family: Cambria; }.MsoPapDefault { margin-bottom: 10pt; }div.WordSection1 { page: WordSection1; }</style><br /><div class="MsoNormal">This feisty character isn’t shy about her assets. Trying the “Joan” look is as easy as findinga curve accentuating sheath dress, adding a brooch and a belt to cinch thewaist. The polar opposite of Betty, Joanis drawn to solid colours and figure flattering silhouettes. You’ll never guess which one of us is theoffice Joan!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>Don</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgouh87c8RpidJekoM2wSGhWTKnnrHU4B-icPGEd72wadcVOCfVIeH0X4SS02lhMA08xxmoll1nj_uvwpTtyRiH2PBKOf9DVa1aY-4v7qWH51EdQNhQiUwKbvO2_Gb4X-2zYRTVVtQfKvo/s1600/don_draper.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgouh87c8RpidJekoM2wSGhWTKnnrHU4B-icPGEd72wadcVOCfVIeH0X4SS02lhMA08xxmoll1nj_uvwpTtyRiH2PBKOf9DVa1aY-4v7qWH51EdQNhQiUwKbvO2_Gb4X-2zYRTVVtQfKvo/s400/don_draper.jpg" border="0" height="300" width="400" /> </a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><style>@font-face { font-family: "MS 明朝";}@font-face { font-family: "Cambria Math";}@font-face { font-family: "Cambria";}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Cambria; }.MsoChpDefault { font-family: Cambria; }.MsoPapDefault { margin-bottom: 10pt; }div.WordSection1 { page: WordSection1; }</style></div><div class="MsoNormal">Don is the modern classic, his suits are fitted but notovertly tight. His colours are muted butcertainly not boring, his ties are powerful but not overpowering. If you’re the “Don” type, all you need is agrey suit, a pocket square, and a {thin} charcoal tie. Don’t forget the slicked back hair with theside part.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><b>Pete</b></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiE6bTt0xxN2Yn3dUT_bUA9XJxRD9Bx_58h0IkoDJG9j7gM1lWCZmOlIrY_lWCzkGJtHbAq317oqf92xpjLSsQkHXDMU83VRUE8YtgTt8d-JQEc5DvvyKcRm7oOibTe6NuMb4jJVEhoE0/s1600/qqTiwnAjzc903lj1h9HMKhjH_400.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiE6bTt0xxN2Yn3dUT_bUA9XJxRD9Bx_58h0IkoDJG9j7gM1lWCZmOlIrY_lWCzkGJtHbAq317oqf92xpjLSsQkHXDMU83VRUE8YtgTt8d-JQEc5DvvyKcRm7oOibTe6NuMb4jJVEhoE0/s400/qqTiwnAjzc903lj1h9HMKhjH_400.jpg" border="0" height="281" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b> </b> <style>@font-face { font-family: "MS 明朝";}@font-face { font-family: "Cambria Math";}@font-face { font-family: "Cambria";}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Cambria; }.MsoChpDefault { font-family: Cambria; }.MsoPapDefault { margin-bottom: 10pt; }div.WordSection1 { page: WordSection1; }</style></div><div class="MsoNormal">Pete: The young go-getter at Sterling Cooper. His suits match his voracity and drive. They’re modern, slim cut and he usually addsa youthful twist via colour. Even thoughhis look is monochromatic, Pete manages to stand out. He matches his tie colour to his suit,usually a shade or two off and pulls off a certain youthful refinement. Ifyou’re used to gray, try a peacock blue - you’d be surprised at how classicthis look can be! To finish off the slimtailoring, add a tie clip, fedora and you’re in business.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b>Paul & Harry</b></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiodtL2gB2f3fNhjnUhiiQ1Dz8BS-P6RTdTh0kB3lcO9wP4iWWWtlJ6XP1A6FpnWhutFVVVxmpoQ1nVZTzA3zM7GeG_Gt_-gcmdfieKbecDmzdwP6cvlfXt1k5Au9-2j6CEQMxlTmwn38E/s1600/tv-shows-19-tmb2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiodtL2gB2f3fNhjnUhiiQ1Dz8BS-P6RTdTh0kB3lcO9wP4iWWWtlJ6XP1A6FpnWhutFVVVxmpoQ1nVZTzA3zM7GeG_Gt_-gcmdfieKbecDmzdwP6cvlfXt1k5Au9-2j6CEQMxlTmwn38E/s640/tv-shows-19-tmb2.jpg" border="0" height="640" width="425" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><b> </b> </div><div class="MsoNormal"><style>@font-face { font-family: "MS 明朝";}@font-face { font-family: "Cambria Math";}@font-face { font-family: "Cambria";}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Cambria; }.MsoChpDefault { font-family: Cambria; }.MsoPapDefault { margin-bottom: 10pt; }div.WordSection1 { page: WordSection1; }</style><span style=" ;font-family:Cambria;font-size:12pt;" >Paul and Harry are the fashion curve-balls in theoffice. Often seen with bow ties,cardigans and a mixture of tweeds as opposed to the traditional suit, these twowere classic and retro even in the 1960s. Paul is often seen in separates: cardigans mixed with brown slacks ortweed sports coats paired with khakis, while Harry swears by pocket squares andbow ties.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style=" ;font-family:Cambria;font-size:12pt;" ><b>Roger</b> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeR0jaORckMJrds0Fv2JTybHbOsZuc3GOFnyXaVjvJXVhOHV4QkirlO9d-q9y-cDv7zi57EOsdYoXvjhS2P2c3eSDdXUAtLmBVm5I-7WRV2UIzC9x6B-NJmTPlKyalf1kQJm2_083vcLU/s1600/roger-sterling-vest-lg-79335198.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeR0jaORckMJrds0Fv2JTybHbOsZuc3GOFnyXaVjvJXVhOHV4QkirlO9d-q9y-cDv7zi57EOsdYoXvjhS2P2c3eSDdXUAtLmBVm5I-7WRV2UIzC9x6B-NJmTPlKyalf1kQJm2_083vcLU/s640/roger-sterling-vest-lg-79335198.jpg" border="0" height="640" width="480" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><style>@font-face { font-family: "MS 明朝";}@font-face { font-family: "MS 明朝";}@font-face { font-family: "Cambria";}p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Cambria; }.MsoChpDefault { font-family: Cambria; }.MsoPapDefault { margin-bottom: 10pt; }div.WordSection1 { page: WordSection1; }</style></div><div class="MsoNormal">And then we have Roger: the man {in our opinions} of thehour. He oozes power, charm and eleganceand there isn’t a single soul that would say ‘no’ to him {except of course, Ms.Joan Holloway}. Roger keeps hiscolouring bright and light. He is oftenseen in a 3 piece suit with a vest and a tie that is most likely Hermes andeven manages to look incredibly masculine with that pinky ring - no easyfeat! If you’re like Roger, qualityisn’t something you’d be skimping on. Totry this look out, go for a classic gray slim cut suit with a vest, and try atie in a complementary tone, like a buttery yellow with a paisley pattern. The key to this look? Upper-crust eleganceand nonchalant confidence.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrO2k7NnOjPkY3OOZq7mMk-YNpf6GYqMaAiSv-t2dzBfdDbzF-LtQWfaEVa1pg0cftuLTyGX1QSOF-wTAdNkK-OsJAed5-hrK36rOev_f1KvpM6oxfIgSbG2cpdYGmb3tZNd3gkKkykTo/s1600/Women+of+Mad+Men.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrO2k7NnOjPkY3OOZq7mMk-YNpf6GYqMaAiSv-t2dzBfdDbzF-LtQWfaEVa1pg0cftuLTyGX1QSOF-wTAdNkK-OsJAed5-hrK36rOev_f1KvpM6oxfIgSbG2cpdYGmb3tZNd3gkKkykTo/s320/Women+of+Mad+Men.jpg" border="0" height="320" width="235" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRjwyX5l_T-yjEf51mMAfo2aCToZ0kvrg-7fOwXaMTEUG9v_0j3Jm6KE3iTVVkW0BieSk3h2_KGsevAbKmmcpFuzWdoNyE1xCYfEnbK7LLpz7L_nuKGvYD9QFo88PGWVZwUMJcKHxVD8I/s1600/sterling-cooper-execs-560.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRjwyX5l_T-yjEf51mMAfo2aCToZ0kvrg-7fOwXaMTEUG9v_0j3Jm6KE3iTVVkW0BieSk3h2_KGsevAbKmmcpFuzWdoNyE1xCYfEnbK7LLpz7L_nuKGvYD9QFo88PGWVZwUMJcKHxVD8I/s320/sterling-cooper-execs-560.jpg" border="0" height="187" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">We're beyond excited to try out these looks at the office. If full fledged costume isn't your cup of tea, a simple fedora for the gentlemen in the crowd or a string of pearls for the ladies will suffice! Our Sweet 16 is going to a celebration in true Mad Men style {and rest assured, Manhattans will be served!}<br /><br />{To find these looks locally, check out Ragtime Vintage on Bank & Flora or Banana Republic - currently promoting a <i>Mad Men</i> inspired collection. Your local Value Village will have tons of 60s accessories, such as ties, pearls and costume jewels for you to choose!} </div><span style=" ;font-family:Cambria;font-size:12pt;" > </span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7873319374728682087.post-47031863585427163342011-09-16T09:41:00.010-04:002011-09-29T14:59:15.039-04:00Mad Men vs. MB...Which Character Are You?As we started planning our birthday party, we could think of no better theme than Mad Men.<span style=""> </span><span style=""></span><span style=""> </span>Times certainly have changed, but like the crew on Mad Men, you won’t find a more passionate group of marketing professionals than our team at MB!<span style=""> </span>The party is in 2 weeks and the countdown is on. Sterling Cooper Draper Price (creative ad. agency depicted on Mad Men) and MB share few similarities. While you won’t see us smoking at our desks or sipping scotch between meetings (luckily, these are taboos of the past), we can certainly pat ourselves on the back for the campaigns we’ve created. S.C.D.P. sells lifestyles, their approach is to convince you to purchase a product and convert you into a customer. Our approach at MB is a little different. We want to showcase and highlight the features and benefits of a product and/or service and we specialize in dealing with family owned, mid sized, owner managed companies. But we do share their enthusiasm for all things marketing and advertising!<br /><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%; text-align: center;"><span style=""><span style="font-style: italic;">Below the cast of Mad Men and the team at <a href="http://www.marketingbreakthroughs.com/">MB</a></span><br /></span></p><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGI9LW9_XOBbRdalRsbLhSJMNXz3VcYKlx8Pl_eu3uAoAv0hUnwxcpwIbqGFmMZTEtY-nVDEYzwiXmEawVhah7rbuOdqWUbmiaGg60EZokfz8XV7Wc0H4IsB8pALdG80TrMaS-eGw0w1w/s1600/blogpic1.png"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGI9LW9_XOBbRdalRsbLhSJMNXz3VcYKlx8Pl_eu3uAoAv0hUnwxcpwIbqGFmMZTEtY-nVDEYzwiXmEawVhah7rbuOdqWUbmiaGg60EZokfz8XV7Wc0H4IsB8pALdG80TrMaS-eGw0w1w/s400/blogpic1.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652958226977376274" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQVhe2EdlofC-M4-vZDzkDQzPY8Ql2SjvbaeoN5C9yRvLlIubzTgTrW9R2cc_FNVyexZoAab6_RZUkylu_owMgoRr2Wldz2aiKzKDrvzpjYzyGm1XShy19aw_znFj-CPjhjZudD4IDhs0/s1600/blogpic2.png"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 501px; height: 209px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQVhe2EdlofC-M4-vZDzkDQzPY8Ql2SjvbaeoN5C9yRvLlIubzTgTrW9R2cc_FNVyexZoAab6_RZUkylu_owMgoRr2Wldz2aiKzKDrvzpjYzyGm1XShy19aw_znFj-CPjhjZudD4IDhs0/s400/blogpic2.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652958534948460626" border="0" /></a><br /> <style>@font-face { font-family: "MS 明朝"; }@font-face { font-family: "Cambria Math"; }@font-face { font-family: "Cambria"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Cambria; }a:link, span.MsoHyperlink { color: blue; text-decoration: underline; }a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed { color: purple; text-decoration: underline; }.MsoChpDefault { font-family: Cambria; }.MsoPapDefault { margin-bottom: 10pt; }div.WordSection1 { page: WordSection1; }</style> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">What can you expect?<span style=""> </span>Our guests can enjoy dressing up in a 60s style while being serenaded by contemporary jazz and stunning hors d’oevres are served up.<span style=""> </span>If you aren’t familiar with the show or style, stay tuned for upcoming blog posts and style tutorials.<span style=""> </span>We were looking for an excuse to wear fedoras to work, what will you wear to celebrate our birthday?<span style=""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 150%;">Would you like more information on our Sweet 16 extravaganza? Contact our Marketing Assistant, Justyna at <a href="mailto:Justyna@marketingbreakthroughs.com">Justyna@marketingbreakthroughs.com</a></p><br /> <style>@font-face { font-family: "MS 明朝"; }@font-face { font-family: "MS 明朝"; }@font-face { font-family: "Cambria"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Cambria; }.MsoChpDefault { font-family: Cambria; }.MsoPapDefault { margin-bottom: 10pt; }div.WordSection1 { page: WordSection1; }</style>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7873319374728682087.post-17488379626854405752011-09-06T15:17:00.001-04:002011-09-29T14:59:36.790-04:00Time to Celebrate as MB Turns 16!Have you heard? MB is turning 16! Its time to put on our party hats, loosen our ties and celebrate 16 wonderful years in business. We’re throwing ourselves an exclusive, invite-only “Mad Men” themed party at the end of September to ring in a new chapter in the history of MB. Are you on the guest list? (For media inquiries, please email Justyna Baraniecki: <a href="mailto:justyna@marketingbreakthroughs.com">justyna@marketingbreakthroughs.com</a>)<br /><br />Over the course of these last 16 years, we’ve had the privilege to work with so many incredible clients, create unforgettable full-service, integrated ad campaigns, and produce 6-star events. We’ve seen the Ottawa landscape of advertising and marketing change and have been honored with awards from our peers and contemporaries. This is really our chance to thank our supporters, clients and partners for believing in the spirit and culture at MB that we value so highly as we take our business to the next level.<br /><br />What can you expect? Live entertainment, 60s themed cocktails, media showcase, delicious hors d’oevres, all in a Mad Men/MB setting. Expect to be wowed, dazzled and captivated! We look forward to celebrating with you and stay tuned for more exciting updates!<br /><br />If you’re new to our blog, check out our highlight reel and visit us at <a href="http://www.marketingbreakthroughs.com/">http://www.marketingbreakthroughs.com</a>.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" src="http://0.gvt0.com/vi/xbUFEOF5rmg/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/xbUFEOF5rmg&fs=1&source=uds"><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/xbUFEOF5rmg&fs=1&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" height="266" width="320"></embed></object></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7873319374728682087.post-46500314766041480022011-09-02T16:58:00.002-04:002011-09-02T16:58:25.530-04:00Oh How Times Have Changed... A Look Back To the Early Days of the InternetOh how times have changed! In the MB lunchroom today we were sharing stores about which smart phone was the best bang for your buck - the Blackberry users pitted against the iPhone users and the small but proud folks from team Android voiced their opinions.<br />
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How lucky we are to live in Canada in 2011 where we can have arguments about which smart phone is better. Which one has better email and internet functionality in the palms of our hands.<br />
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Think back to 1994 and 1995 when "the Internet" generated excitement. This clip from MTV in 1995 sums up some of the excitement and uncertainty surrounding this new technology:<br />
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Wow.<br />
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Just. Wow.<br />
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Some of the statistics in this video are staggaring: "10 million active users in 1995" and "30 million users" overall. Our favorite two segments are Coolio saying "if you're not on the information superhighway then where are you?" and Dave Matthews talking about bootleg tapes and music distribution as good publicity.<br />
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Compare that to a few major news events in the future like Napster (getting sued by Metallica and Dr Dre in 2000 and various others in subsequent years) and Google+ seeing exponential growth (30 million active users in one month). There's also Facebook which recently hit <a href="https://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics">750 million active users</a>.<br />
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Speaking of the "Home Computer Movies" that the reporter scoffs at in this MTV video, "<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OBlgSz8sSM">Charlie Bit My Finger</a>" has over 384 million views on YouTube.<br />
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So a lot of what we speculated in 1995 (modems??) were removed from the internet landscape and much of what we expected to happen didn't happen as anticipated. Despite this, many of the predictions are correct. Virtual reality (the Sims, Farmville) and the need to connect (social media, Twitter, Facebook) have remained true.<br />
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Sure, your favorite artist may not do a "Simulcast" anymore and it's not breaking news when David Bowie decides to try sending an e-mail for the first time, but there is still excitement when celebrities do things online (most notably when they say something ridiculous - <a href="http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/218751/how_not_to_use_twitter_learn_from_kenneth_cole.html">Kenneth Cole, I'm looking at you</a>) and every time a new social network is released (Google+) there is some buzz and excitement from the online community.<br />
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One of the greatest parts of the Internet (and technology) it its ability to constantly evolve and change. What does the future have in store? What can we expect? It's hard to speculate but it will undoubtedly be as exciting as when the "Information Superhighway" first started taking on passengers.<br />
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Comment below and let us know what you think!<br />
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For one more clip of how easily the Internet baffled folks in the early 90s, check out this clip:<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7873319374728682087.post-47044729115904370782011-06-24T09:57:00.007-04:002011-06-27T17:16:16.616-04:00MB Helps Holmes Heating Launch New Trend Setting Website<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9HYkPofZ31A/TgSdMIVu-uI/AAAAAAAAAB0/aBgUXs5Q8JQ/s1600/holmeswebsitescreen.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 125px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9HYkPofZ31A/TgSdMIVu-uI/AAAAAAAAAB0/aBgUXs5Q8JQ/s200/holmeswebsitescreen.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5621791066587855586" border="0" /></a><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Frutiger; min-height: 13.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">In earl</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:verdana;" >y June 2011, Holmes Heating launched their revitalized website, giving the company a bold and dynamic online presence like never before.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Frutiger; min-height: 13.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Frutiger"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">This clean and crisp design not only thrilled the owners and staff of this 50-year-old Ottawa business, but both new and old customers were remarkably impressed with Holmes Heating’s new web face. </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Frutiger; min-height: 13.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Frutiger"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">The team at Marketing Breakthroughs couldn’t be more proud.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Frutiger; min-height: 13.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Frutiger"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">Working alongside our friends at Envision Online, MB helped design, structure, and produce content for the new website ensuring it was effectively search engine optimized, yet clear and simple to navigate for customers.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Frutiger; min-height: 13.0px"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"> </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Frutiger"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">The results speak for themselves.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Frutiger; min-height: 13.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Frutiger"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">Thanks to MB’s comprehensive SEO strategy, Holmes Heating consistently leads the way in Ottawa furnace and air conditioner searches, </span><b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">bringing more traffic and </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">more leads</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"> to the company.</span></b></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Frutiger; min-height: 13.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Frutiger"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">For new customers, the website is as easy to use as it is effective. The site is broken into five simple sections to quickly provide users with the information they need: </span><a href="http://www.holmesheating.com/furnaces-heating.aspx"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">furnaces & heating</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">, </span><a href="http://www.holmesheating.com/air-conditioning.aspx"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">air conditioning</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">, </span><a href="http://www.holmesheating.com/water-heaters.aspx"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">water heaters</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">, </span><a href="http://www.holmesheating.com/air-quality-duct-cleaning.aspx"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">air quality & duct cleaning</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">, and </span><a href="http://www.holmesheating.com/maintenance-protection.aspx"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">maintenance & protection</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Frutiger; min-height: 13.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Frutiger"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">To heighten the web experience, the site offers quick links to Holmes social media platforms. Users can easily engage with the company over </span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/holmesheating"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">Facebook</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"> and </span><a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/holmesheating"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">Twitter</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">, view photos through </span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/holmesheating/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">Flickr</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">, or visit their </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/HolmesHeatingOttawa"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">YouTube</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"> channel. </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Frutiger; min-height: 13.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Frutiger"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">MB would like to congratulate our long-time client Holmes Heating on launching their new website. After many of hours of extensive research and development, we are confident you are entering a new phase of success.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Frutiger; min-height: 13.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Frutiger"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">Visit the new Holmes Heating website at </span><a href="http://www.holmesheating.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">www.holmesheating.ca</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Frutiger; min-height: 13.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Frutiger"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">Marketing Breakthroughs is </span><a href="http://marketingbreakthroughs.com/web-marketing,-seo-plus-social-media.aspx"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">Ottawa’s leading web marketing provider</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">. We offer a variety of services including </span><a href="http://marketingbreakthroughs.com/web-marketing,-seo-plus-social-media/web-marketing.aspx"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">web marketing</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">, </span><a href="http://marketingbreakthroughs.com/web-marketing,-seo-plus-social-media/website-development.aspx"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">website development</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">, </span><a href="http://marketingbreakthroughs.com/web-marketing,-seo-plus-social-media/seo-search-engine-optimization.aspx"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">search engine optimization</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">, </span><a href="http://marketingbreakthroughs.com/web-marketing,-seo-plus-social-media/social-media-campaigns.aspx"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">social media campaigns</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">, </span><a href="http://marketingbreakthroughs.com/web-marketing,-seo-plus-social-media/online-advertising.aspx"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">online advertising</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">, and</span><a href="http://marketingbreakthroughs.com/web-marketing,-seo-plus-social-media/website-metrics--google-analytics-reports.aspx"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"> website metrics and Goolgle Analytics Reporting</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Frutiger; min-height: 13.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px"></span><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Frutiger"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.2px"><a href="http://marketingbreakthroughs.com/about-us/book-a-no-charge-meeting.aspx"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">Contact us today</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"> to learn more about what we can do for you!</span></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7873319374728682087.post-4917746424635682862011-06-21T09:49:00.010-04:002011-07-12T13:34:35.843-04:00MB Produces Another Successful Ottawa EventAfter months of careful and dedicated planning, <a href="http://www.marketingbreakthroughs.com/">Marketing Breakthroughs</a> produced the 26th Annual <a href="http://www.goldplatedinner.ca/">Gold Plate Dinner</a> on Tuesday June 14, 2011.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrfjlefGxo1xvvod5Edyg2l3N40_dGLL9uHFWtmh3P3CmcjvVurDysFIXlySDJ8Iqvngh0UM7SC-v25yO-PE42r4a_kJXRE5pEUNOTwKzp3itPEesHbQHaOOsfvpfbaEyBOmuJfDNcQX0/s1600/gpd1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrfjlefGxo1xvvod5Edyg2l3N40_dGLL9uHFWtmh3P3CmcjvVurDysFIXlySDJ8Iqvngh0UM7SC-v25yO-PE42r4a_kJXRE5pEUNOTwKzp3itPEesHbQHaOOsfvpfbaEyBOmuJfDNcQX0/s320/gpd1.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5620673305052836194" border="0" /></a><br />Marketing Breakthroughs' Steve Klein has been the volunteer Executive Producer of this unique Ottawa event since 2008, providing event production and design expertise. This year proved to be one of the most successful years ever with nearly 600 attendees.<br /><br />Now in its 26th year, the Gold Plate Dinner is a gala fundraiser with proceeds going to the Hellenic Community of Ottawa and the University of Ottawa Heart Institute. The Gold Plate Dinner is a unique and exciting gala on Ottawa's fundraising dinner landscape, due in part to the traditionally unconventional "elimination draw" where, one-by-one, every attendee is taken out of the running to win a brand new 2011 Mercedes-Benz C250, valued at over $40,000 from <a href="http://www.starmotors.mercedes-benz.ca/">Star Motors of Ottawa</a>. In addition to this phenomenal prize, there were live auction items and additional prizes.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCsHj9M-GsFYQqbo3fvAqjjKRNmh_d-q69SXIdzhV_h2bPe1nK4kdBCNZbrqyII8zkTI2vTAErIeSAYKisFC2mluKMUhjoCoLQ_b4P-CchE7aW1jITxA8xt91a9olMzFmIiNZwcQYrzyA/s1600/GPD14.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCsHj9M-GsFYQqbo3fvAqjjKRNmh_d-q69SXIdzhV_h2bPe1nK4kdBCNZbrqyII8zkTI2vTAErIeSAYKisFC2mluKMUhjoCoLQ_b4P-CchE7aW1jITxA8xt91a9olMzFmIiNZwcQYrzyA/s320/GPD14.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5620674091063489634" border="0" /></a><br />Marketing Breakthroughs managed all aspects of this event, including graphic design of menus and table cards, video production, live auction coordination, website copywriting and design, staging, audio/visual production, decor, food and beverage planning, production of the day itself, and countless hours of meetings and planning to ensure that the event ran very smoothly.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNdeGXEiBmvH07_IqJEH3CyeN8q4ZiZW5yEF3OxIImBbaAb5tVQc0gRlf-NOuEfcysMb4wq5tYr2LAqHp5vHunJT8VrIRLnH2K4CozgC64PIRZ2nnNT1sandZaVyYiEC3E_Wu6FGQi20E/s1600/steveandstu.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 199px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNdeGXEiBmvH07_IqJEH3CyeN8q4ZiZW5yEF3OxIImBbaAb5tVQc0gRlf-NOuEfcysMb4wq5tYr2LAqHp5vHunJT8VrIRLnH2K4CozgC64PIRZ2nnNT1sandZaVyYiEC3E_Wu6FGQi20E/s320/steveandstu.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5620673693160581282" border="0" /></a><br />Before the wonderful dinner, guests feasted on hors d'oeuvres under the big top - a 5,900 square foot tent erected at the front door of the Hellenic Meeting and Reception Centre. After guests took their seats, they enjoyed a presentation of the making of the Gold Plate Dinner and feasted on succulent duck salad, anti pasto, orange sorbet, a Frenched 14 oz rib steak with pearl onion au jus, sweet salty roasted potato, micro carrots, asparagus, and sweet pepper bundles accompanied with a butter crusted lobster tail. And for desert? A delicious trio of savory delights: deep fried cheesecake, tapioca pudding in a chocolate cup, and a delicious fruit tart.<br /><br />Hosted by celebrity Emcee, Majic 100's Stuntman Stu, the dinner and live auction raised more than $130,000 for the Hellenic Community and the University of Ottawa Heart Institute. Attendees ate fantastic food, bid on trips to Europe and the Napa Valley, and had a wonderful evening.<br /><br />After this year's event, Erin Giakoumelos said the following about Marketing Breakthroughs' successful event production.<br /><br /><blockquote>Thank you for taking care of the endless details of this event. It is a great comfort to have such a caring team to work with, and I am so grateful for your interest, dedication and professionalism that contributed to the success of the Gold Plate Event.<br /><br />Erin Giakoumelos, General Manager, Hellenic Community of Ottawa<br /></blockquote>MB would like to issue a special thanks to the Gold Plate Dinner organizing committee and partners: Dean Karakasis, Erin Giakoumelos, the <a href="http://hellenicottawa.ca/">Hellenic Meeting and Reception Centre</a>, Gold Plate Chair, <a href="http://www.districtrealty.com/">District Realty</a>'s Steve Ramphos, Doris Ramphos, <a href="http://www.duocom.ca/">Duocom</a>, <a href="http://www.eventdesign.ca/">Event Design</a>, and <a href="http://www.millermcconnell.com/">Miller McConnell signs.<br /></a><br />For more on our <a href="http://www.marketingbreakthroughs.com/event-design-plus-production.aspx">Ottawa Event Design and Event Production</a>, be sure to contact <a href="http://www.marketingbreakthroughs.com/">Marketing Breakthroughs.<br /></a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7873319374728682087.post-26491094617172244062011-05-13T16:07:00.013-04:002011-05-23T17:34:24.198-04:00MB Wins Summit Branding Award<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXZMNNqadXHi4Pu97Q3pzUx7g6DjsGSwj06etfrVPagmay3uTl0rCl9kf0R8y2Q6r1GDlX-_AJynG5aHMHVQ9uPGpbj6ERdoz-V8ul4ktUrjWxz2712WFjvoxSu12LPb2BrOxpm1dZl4w/s1600/SUMMIT+BRONZE.png"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 122px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXZMNNqadXHi4Pu97Q3pzUx7g6DjsGSwj06etfrVPagmay3uTl0rCl9kf0R8y2Q6r1GDlX-_AJynG5aHMHVQ9uPGpbj6ERdoz-V8ul4ktUrjWxz2712WFjvoxSu12LPb2BrOxpm1dZl4w/s200/SUMMIT+BRONZE.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5606295321278534882" border="0" /></a><br /> <style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:3 0 0 0 1 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:72.0pt 90.0pt 72.0pt 90.0pt; mso-header-margin:35.4pt; mso-footer-margin:35.4pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;">May 13, 2011 – For Immediate Release</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Ottawa Marketing Company <a href="http://www.marketingbreakthroughs.com/">Marketing Breakthroughs</a> is delighted to announce that <a href="http://summitawards.com/winners/summit-creative-award/industry-self-promo/marketing-breakthroughs.html">we have won Bronze</a> at the <a href="http://summitawards.com/">Summit International Awards (SIA)</a> in the category of Self-Promotion Stationary/Identity.</span></p><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;">The SIA has established itself as one of the premier arbiters of creative excellence over the past 17 years.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">Our submission was one of the best among thousands from 22 countries around the globe and impressed a distinguished panel of international judges.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span></p><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">Long-time clients of Ottawa's Marketing Breakthroughs will know that, like our company, our brand has evolved.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">The early colour scheme of fluorescent purple and green was completely changed to our circular MB and most recently to our power 2011 brand redesigned by our senior designer, <a href="http://www.marketingbreakthroughs.com/about-us/our-team/kaspar-tingley.aspx">Kaspar Tingley</a>.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">It is this 2011 edition of our brand that won Bronze at the SIA.</span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span></p><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p face="georgia" style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">When <a href="http://www.marketingbreakthroughs.com/about-us/our-team/steve-klein.aspx">Steve Klein</a> founded Marketing Breakthroughs in 1995, he had dreams of growth and evolution both with our brand and our company.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">As you can see, the early branding for Marketing Breakthroughs differs greatly from the design that won Bronze at the SIA.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;font-size:85%;" > </span></p> <p face="georgia" style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"> </p> <p face="georgia" style="font-family: georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-1W2HXsfh_AWIvT-tDYuC0eChSH31vYcopfUPOj1xr1szlMm80zFOdWOfxY64lU5J0exTAKtTgQLTwPInn7it_AxoZl-_mjyQxf-7KUJyrPmY4UrsDkKMLhBgiPTb21snllN15NwhSLw/s1600/RETRO+MB_logo.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 165px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-1W2HXsfh_AWIvT-tDYuC0eChSH31vYcopfUPOj1xr1szlMm80zFOdWOfxY64lU5J0exTAKtTgQLTwPInn7it_AxoZl-_mjyQxf-7KUJyrPmY4UrsDkKMLhBgiPTb21snllN15NwhSLw/s320/RETRO+MB_logo.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5606295544029895938" border="0" /></a></span></p><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:georgia;"> </span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" face="georgia"><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span></p><p style="font-family: georgia;font-family:georgia;" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;">After many years, we revised our branding to incorporate our nick-name, “MB”.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">The circular MB graphic you see here was the next step in our evolution.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" face="georgia"> </p><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:georgia;"> </span><span style="font-family:georgia;"> </span></span><p class="MsoNormal" face="georgia"><span style="font-size:85%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcNi-kk1KLC5qL7RUYWb7np6UEOVCMzsLBn_RnU6Ly8qUHBeFLswAtPtOdbpXX1aeqTUgr8De2h7EjvjA3gJlAGSgbcWax8v-1KZqF8uQb4HY4Y1AeICiWIk60KiPFL-BKI92ROHSWdvw/s1600/MB_logo_RGB_2006.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 56px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcNi-kk1KLC5qL7RUYWb7np6UEOVCMzsLBn_RnU6Ly8qUHBeFLswAtPtOdbpXX1aeqTUgr8De2h7EjvjA3gJlAGSgbcWax8v-1KZqF8uQb4HY4Y1AeICiWIk60KiPFL-BKI92ROHSWdvw/s320/MB_logo_RGB_2006.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5606295735661118898" border="0" /></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" face="georgia"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" face="georgia"><span style="font-size:85%;">As 2011 approached, we continued to grow and expand, occupying two suites at 1150 Morrison Drive.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">This rapid growth gave way for a refreshed graphic element and to the current MB branding.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMW0Tb7qw3Lw9eUBFUCrAFfVaz0WUOU1qJWbMCH4lpZ6ednsgPDnKrGAQ6KETlDgUtlZc4aet5DgqIvooyATpGYMuTE8N5p8shJ-5UH_q74hzsDi_Q8Gkgj6lkBZi34AsNJZlV1g7HVKM/s1600/MB_Logo_Name%252BTagline_v.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 206px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMW0Tb7qw3Lw9eUBFUCrAFfVaz0WUOU1qJWbMCH4lpZ6ednsgPDnKrGAQ6KETlDgUtlZc4aet5DgqIvooyATpGYMuTE8N5p8shJ-5UH_q74hzsDi_Q8Gkgj6lkBZi34AsNJZlV1g7HVKM/s320/MB_Logo_Name%252BTagline_v.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5606295896438774770" border="0" /></a></span></p><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:georgia;"> </span></span><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight:normal"><br /></b></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"> </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;">In design, prestige, client base, staff, and services offered, <a href="http://www.marketingbreakthroughs.com/">Marketing Breakthroughs</a> continues to grow and evolve.</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;font-size:85%;" > </span><span style="font-size:85%;">As we prepare to celebrate our “Sweet 16” this August, we will raise our glasses and toast the next 16 years of the growth and evolution of both Marketing Breakthroughs and our clients.</span></p><p face="georgia" class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:85%;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBgMzHOkdomJZ1vIAqvtj5WQdc2SJyKK0AIOZxKlVkoMbXCsMiROTfGfEWHExzBw1bAoeloWnFJNuU5xAqvBN-Cuf3Yg9SWejeCb89plOxUX2v2yO8Tgxjflo2AvxGMY_d2Jm9EV7B8jQ/s1600/AWARD+WINNING+BRANDING.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 288px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBgMzHOkdomJZ1vIAqvtj5WQdc2SJyKK0AIOZxKlVkoMbXCsMiROTfGfEWHExzBw1bAoeloWnFJNuU5xAqvBN-Cuf3Yg9SWejeCb89plOxUX2v2yO8Tgxjflo2AvxGMY_d2Jm9EV7B8jQ/s320/AWARD+WINNING+BRANDING.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5606297288264757602" border="0" /></a></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family:georgia;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:georgia;">To have your brand refreshed by our award winning </span><a style="font-family: georgia;" href="http://www.marketingbreakthroughs.com/classic-marketing-plus-advertising/graphic-design.aspx">Ottawa graphic design</a><span style="font-family:georgia;"> studio, be sure to </span><a style="font-family: georgia;" href="http://www.marketingbreakthroughs.com/about-us/contact-us.aspx">contact us</a><span style="font-family:georgia;"> today.</span></span><br /></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7873319374728682087.post-90709046046210862872011-05-09T15:28:00.003-04:002011-05-09T15:37:29.196-04:00The Growing Impact of Video Marketing in CanadaIt’s no surprise that online videos are playing a large role, not only in marketing and branding, but also in society as a whole. Want to listen to a new hit song? Watch the video. Missed your favourite CTV show? Turn to YouTube. Trying to learn how to <a href="http://www.prestonhardware.com/video-showcase.asp?id=11">“Grill the Perfect Steak”</a> search it on Google…and watch the video.<br /><br />According to <a href="http://www.comscore.com/layout/set/popup/Press_Events/Presentations_Whitepapers/2011/The_Online_Video_Nation_in_Canada">comScore</a>, Canadians viewed more than 5.1 billion videos in February 2011 alone, with the average viewer watching 232 videos. So what is it about Canada that makes video such an important aspect of our daily lives?<br /><br />It may not be science, but here are my insights;<br /><ol><li>Wealthy developed nation with a high level of education. This one may seem like a no brainer, but as a wealthier developed nation more of our citizens have access to the technology and resources in order to watch online videos. Also, our high level of education means there are more of us seeking additional valuable information and, more importantly, in as fast a mode as possible. That’s not to say that non-educational videos don’t attract some views, such as this personal favourite of mine… <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxOTtVkFk2E">"Muppets - Old Spice Spoof"</a></li><li>Limited access to some American broadcasts. While it may seem far stretched, this point has some real validity. Take, for example, the Super Bowl, where advertising has become almost as important as the game itself. With Canadian broadcasting not showing the highly promoted and astronomically expensive American ads, viewers turn to the web to catch up on what they’ve missed, and advertisers seem happy to oblige.</li><li>Cold winters and four seasons. While our weather is one of things that defines us as truly Canadian, the cold winters can leave us cooped up for extended periods. This just adds another opportunity to explore the web and view hundreds of videos.<br /></li></ol>While you can’t ignore the many other marketing mediums, <a href="http://www.marketingbreakthroughs.com/promotional-videos.aspx">promotional online videos</a> are on the rise. If you haven’t created one yet, it’s time to start. Developing professional videos can be quite cost-effective even for small to medium-sized business and can have a large impact on your online presence.<br /><br /><a href="http://atlascare.ca">AtlasCare</a>, a <a href="http://atlascare.ca/air-conditioners.aspx">Toronto Air Conditioner</a> client, based in Oakville, recently launched a new video on the benefits of a <a href="http://atlascare.ca/about-us/our-videos.aspx">SpacePak air conditioning system</a>. To our delight, the video ranks on the first page of Google for “Toronto SpacePak,” and is being featured on the supplier website, <a href="http://www.spacepak.com">www.spacepak.com</a>. Other video success stories arise constantly, and, as a bare minimum, they are a great way of showcasing your products and services to potential customers in a medium that is becoming increasingly important.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7873319374728682087.post-24384876676988848252011-03-29T09:48:00.005-04:002011-03-29T10:13:56.888-04:00MB Becomes an Adwords Certified Partner…Now What?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.marketingbreakthroughs.com/media/130577/adwords_certified_partner_web_en_167x167.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 167px; height: 167px;" src="http://www.marketingbreakthroughs.com/media/130577/adwords_certified_partner_web_en_167x167.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Last month MB became Ottawa’s second officially <a href="http://www.marketingbreakthroughs.com/about-us/marketing-certifications-and-memberships.aspx">Certified Google Adwords Partner.</a> Internally this news was fantastic. Word was filtered through the watercooler, emails and texts, with staff feeling very proud and excited about this achievement.<br />Soon after, word started spreading to our clients, garnering a different response.<br /><br />“Congratulations. What is a Certified Partner?” or “Good for you. Will my bill be going up?”<br /><br />To begin, no, bills are not going up, but these interactions raised out very good points related to our relationships with clients as online marketers. Most importantly, it exemplifies that <span style="font-weight: bold;">the most important part of any <a href="http://www.marketingbreakthroughs.com/web-marketing,-seo-plus-social-media/online-advertising/google-adwords-campaigns.aspx">Adwords campaign</a> is trust.</span><br /><br />Like many other Ottawa marketing firms, Marketing Breakthroughs manages thousands of online marketing dollars for clients every day. Our clients know how much we spend, and they know how many leads these tactics generate, but the strategy that turns money into leads is primarily trusted in our hands.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Often they will ask:</span><br /><ul><li>How many leads did we get this week?</li></ul><span style="font-weight: bold;">Occasionally they will ask:</span><br /><ul><li>Are we targeting “example keyword”?</li><li>Do we have ads that say “product benefit”?</li><li>What is our cost per click?</li></ul><span style="font-weight: bold;">Rarely do they ask:</span><br /><ul><li>Are we bidding on ten keywords or ten thousand? </li><li>What is the Adwords allocation between search, display, video and mobile ads into the Ottawa market? </li><li>How have we structured the landing pages and what is our Google Adwords quality score?</li></ul><span style="font-weight: bold;">And never do they ask:</span><br /><ul><li>Are we running false advertising that will lead to our Adwords account being banned like the <a href="http://tech2.in.com/news/web-services/google-to-sweep-off-fake-advertisers/207712">50,000 Adwords accounts Google banned in 2010</a>?</li><li>Are you one of the companies that <a href="http://www.webpronews.com/google-cash-scammers-ordered-to-pay-1-6-million-2011-03">Google recently sued for $1.6 million for promoting fake Adwords services</a>?</li></ul>If I was a client I would be asking all of the above, but I am not. Our clients have their own expertise, in their own fields, and they are extremely good at what they do. Instead, they place an<span style="font-weight: bold;"> enormous amount of trust that MB is extremely qualified</span> in what we do.<br /><br />So do I expect that clients will begin asking about MB being Ottawa’s second <a href="http://www.marketingbreakthroughs.com/about-us/marketing-certifications-and-memberships.aspx">Google Adwords Certified Partner</a>? No. They trust that MB will handle their Google Adwords Campaign effectively and within the Google guidelines at all times.<br /><br />Is it because we are certified? No. We underwent the training to become a Certified Google Adwords Partner because we want to be the best <a href="http://www.marketingbreakthroughs.com/">Adwords provider in Ottawa</a>.<br /><br /><br /><span>So why do our clients bring their Adwords business to MB?</span><br /><br /><span>For results? Well, yes...but more importantly,</span><span style="font-weight: bold;"> because we have built their trust.<br /></span>Dave Delagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11120834456588612689noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7873319374728682087.post-40573305649056832232011-01-19T09:57:00.003-05:002011-01-19T10:05:53.436-05:00Ottawa's Folk Fest Gets a new Artistic Director, but is it too late?Ottawa, Ontario, city of festivals. From Winterlude to the Tulip Festival, there’s a festival for everyone in Ottawa. And one of the city’s favorites just got another helping hand from Bluesfest. After years of growing debt climaxing with the bailout from Bluesfest in 2010, Folk Fest is once again on shaky ground. Just before the holidays, Artistic Director Dylan Griffith stepped down after just one year on the job. Enter Bluesfest Artistic Director, Mark Monahan. Monahan is now doing double duty as the Artistic Director for both Bluesfest and Folk Fest.<br /><br />But is it too late? Can Monahan revive Folk Fest and make it as profitable, notable and successful as Bluesfest? Let’s face it, when the lineup for Bluesfest is announced, the entire population of Ottawa is struck with the juxtaposition of “that’s not blues” and “oh wow, KISS!” Despite acts like KISS and Ozomatli, Bluesfest still throws in a number of <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8NjGzO-s3JlI-c1hMT9WTq3xGVxQJb2bF7hN-SNxoZAgUX3ziNPdli35tOY4WzEx1LKCO7hm1vgOH4JJwb6JwcszRSgnzgUajgoLv3MZoW92yIIQVufjjGssOPAGFF3BPdjS17OprBOk/s1600/stockvault-memories104470.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 134px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8NjGzO-s3JlI-c1hMT9WTq3xGVxQJb2bF7hN-SNxoZAgUX3ziNPdli35tOY4WzEx1LKCO7hm1vgOH4JJwb6JwcszRSgnzgUajgoLv3MZoW92yIIQVufjjGssOPAGFF3BPdjS17OprBOk/s200/stockvault-memories104470.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5563912678310497634" border="0" /></a>the world’s greatest blues acts. It’s an exciting and eclectic blend of artists known and unknown in a series of beautiful outdoor spots in Ottawa.<br /><br />From a marketing perspective, Folk Fest needs to do the same. If you take a look at the <a href="http://www.ottawafolk.org/?artists">2010 Folk Fest lineup</a>, it’s all Folk; yes, that’s the point of a folk festival, but it is not bringing the fans to the seats (notable exception: Arrested Development, but most fans were wondering where Jason Bateman and Michael Cera were). Even bigger names like Ani DiFranco and Rufus Wainwright are missing from the list – those names are at least well known. It’s all about content marketing and with a music festival, your lineup is your content.<br /><br />Mr. Monahan, please do the city a favour, do Folk Fest a favour, and sell out just a little bit. Get some bigger names into Folk Fest. While you may create an underground nickname of “Folkish Fest,” that’s ok. At least they’re talking. At least they’re buying tickets. At least you’re out of the red.<br /><br />Tell us what you think by commenting below. What does Folk Fest need to do to get back on track? Is Monahan the right pick? Did Bluesfest sell out too much over the years? We want to know.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.ottawacitizen.com/entertainment/Bluesfest+boss+takes+over+folkfest+lineup/4129769/story.html">Click here for the source article</a> from the Ottawa Citizen.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7873319374728682087.post-28381360870419487962011-01-07T14:32:00.016-05:002011-01-07T15:11:33.081-05:00MB Team Launches 2011 in Style at Le Moulin Wakefield<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh15JlUn5b1NSkTN1tx3pZyfff12C1tHyw9QeQby-uIyr5mhs5OnUAhlYdh4Vnrdceyfn39Y4E4wLQw0hxda9dT6RCNI1p9geLz84yFUzhhkq2_tFU3AqM591HebzGCzxttIJIYgv7_DrQ/s1600/Canopes+Winner"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 215px; height: 167px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh15JlUn5b1NSkTN1tx3pZyfff12C1tHyw9QeQby-uIyr5mhs5OnUAhlYdh4Vnrdceyfn39Y4E4wLQw0hxda9dT6RCNI1p9geLz84yFUzhhkq2_tFU3AqM591HebzGCzxttIJIYgv7_DrQ/s320/Canopes+Winner" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5559531248821406866" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;">On January 3, 2011, eleven MB staff pulled into the parking lot of Wakefield, Quebec’s Le Moulin Inn and Spa, in the heart of breath taking Gatineau Park. They were invited by CEO Steve Klein for a “Launch Party and Retreat”, a full day and night of team building and goal setting for the new year. After a review of 2010, the client and staff experiences with MB and the objectives for the upcoming year, they were ushered into Chef Remy’s gourmet kitchen for a competitive canapé-making contest! </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Three teams squared off to see who could make the best crème brulée, fresh spring roll, and bison tartar. Chef Remy avoided making even the smallest suggestion and awarded points for presentation, creativity, and not making his eyes water. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">After the winning Ottawa Senators tickets were handed out, the staff handed the reigns over to Le Moulin’s culinary experts who wowed with a selection of sweet and savoury tapas and mouth-watering entrees. Everything from blackened cod to elegant duck confit was devoured against a stunning natural backdrop in Le Moulin’s new Heron Room. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">After dinner, feeling warm and ready for some merriment, the team participated in “Minute to Win It” games inspired by the NBC television show. Lead by Melinda Hudson and Peter McGregor, seemingly impossible tasks were assigned and completed (or not completed) in 60 seconds or less. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">After fast-paced meetings, energizing team-building exercises and fun-filled camaraderie, the staff at Marketing Breakthroughs returned to the office ready to take on the New Year with a renewed sense of vision and cohesion. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Staff retreats are a great way to enhance your team’s effectiveness outside of the office. Has your company gone on a similar retreat? What are your favourite do’s and don’ts of a staff getaway? Comment below, we would love your input. </span></span><style>@font-face { font-family: "Cambria Math"; }@font-face { font-family: "Cambria"; }@font-face { font-family: "Frutiger 45 Light"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: Cambria; }a:link, span.MsoHyperlink { font-family: "Frutiger 45 Light"; color: black; }a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed { color: purple; text-decoration: underline; }.MsoChpDefault { font-size: 10pt; font-family: Cambria; }div.WordSection1 { page: WordSection1; }</style>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7873319374728682087.post-82229135591958115252010-12-02T15:32:00.006-05:002010-12-03T10:49:10.875-05:00Protect Your Reputation in the Online Jungle<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1XKNw1tz5zw/TPkRR1ZrlgI/AAAAAAAAAAs/KhrD_Cueg9g/s1600/angry-mob-simpsons.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 170px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_1XKNw1tz5zw/TPkRR1ZrlgI/AAAAAAAAAAs/KhrD_Cueg9g/s200/angry-mob-simpsons.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5546483414173718018" /></a><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">The new world of social media offers many an opportunity to reach out, to engage. For a local Ottawa business, it can allow you to turn your customers into “friends” and “followers” and provide you with a chance to speak to potential leads on a more personal level.</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">There are some amazing success stories of little shops who dramatically increased their client base through effective word-of-mouth advertising 2.0. Indeed, at Marketing Breakthroughs have seen mid-sized Ottawa businesses become big businesses based on a clever online campaign.</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Naturally, one of the tenants of social media is that it is indeed social. This means actually building relationships with people and not just being an anonymous presence. As in any interaction, we try to present ourselves in the best light possible – highlighting certain traits over others and “putting your best foot forward” to use a cliché.</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">But what happens when we trip?</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Social media can be a very friendly place, until the rules are broken. Any hint of fraud can send the self-affirmed super Internet sleuths on the hunt for evidence and the bigger the trail, the bigger “the scandal”.</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Breaking the values of the Internet jungle can quickly escalate out of control. Think of the ravenous mobs that occasionally erupt on The Simpsons – one slight trigger, and the town is rioting with fire and pitchforks, not for any particular reason, but for the fun of the riot itself.</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">A recent example of this would be <a href="http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/300451">Cooks Source magazine and the ugly 15-minutes of fame</a> this tiny publication got after a dispute with a former writer. Once the story broke, angry bloggers began attacking their Facebook page with a vengeance. Ouch.</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Of course, you are not involved in any sort of duplicity, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t constantly safeguard your online image. <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/managing/on-the-job/lessons-from-the-queens-facebook-launch/article1797235/">Even the Queen ran into this sort of trouble</a> when she set up her Facebook page.</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">What are your customers saying about you?</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">What are your competitors saying about you?</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Helvetica"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">It is important to consider these questions as we expand our social circles.</span></span></p>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7873319374728682087.post-26720561287968140592010-11-23T13:21:00.007-05:002010-11-26T15:20:26.395-05:00Tell me a story...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1XKNw1tz5zw/TPAWGCx9ndI/AAAAAAAAAAk/lG5pmdSCtZE/s1600/Demonbusters_Storybook_Cover_by_JenZee.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 190px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_1XKNw1tz5zw/TPAWGCx9ndI/AAAAAAAAAAk/lG5pmdSCtZE/s200/Demonbusters_Storybook_Cover_by_JenZee.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5543955434374536658" /></a><br /><div><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Cambria"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:verdana;font-size:small;">When was the last time you heard a good story? A great anecdote even? The type of story that you just couldn’t wait to tell your friends?</span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Cambria"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-family:verdana;font-size:small;"><br /></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Cambria"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">On my drive to work one morning last week, I heard a promo on CBC Radio from a woman with the <a href="http://www.ottawastorytellers.ca/">Ottawa Storytellers</a>. She was encouraging listeners to come to their upcoming storytellers' festival and she told a great, yet simple story about her experience as a child in a elementary school play.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Cambria"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Cambria"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">I won't steal her thunder, but I will say it was captivating. </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Cambria"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Cambria"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">Likewise was the case at the Rideau Street Chapter’s bookstore in Ottawa last night. Author <a href="http://www.davidsedarisbooks.com/">David Sedaris</a> read from his book of wickedly funny short stories called <i>Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk</i> drawing a tremendous response from the crowd.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Cambria"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Cambria"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">There is a considerable body of research in the social sciences done on narratives and stories and what they mean. It basically falls under the idea that the narratives we tell also say a lot about who we are. Such stories define our personalities, our character, our beliefs, and our values. A story about our past also tells where we intend to go in the future. The details included (or excluded) characterize what we deem to be important and can say a lot about the storyteller. After all, who doesn’t love someone that can tell a good story?</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Cambria"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Cambria"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">What does this mean for the Ottawa marketer? Narratives matter. </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Cambria"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Cambria"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">This is a concept not lost on politicians. The narrative portrayal of the party leader is constantly discussed amongst journalists and politicos. Here the primary question centres on how that individual is perceived. </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Cambria"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Cambria"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">At the same time, in business, a great narrative is basically a great brand. As a business owner, the story you tell about your past says a great deal about where you wish to go. It encompasses your values and your desires. Treat your customers following the values you wish to convey in your narrative and you have successfully defined your own reputation. A happy ending indeed.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px Cambria; min-height: 14.0px"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:Georgia, serif;font-size:130%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:16px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></span></span></p></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7873319374728682087.post-72491885383160555542010-11-17T11:22:00.007-05:002010-11-17T13:28:49.493-05:00Looking for a good movie this weekend?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1XKNw1tz5zw/TOQX3vlsJHI/AAAAAAAAAAM/p5q2ctj1ti8/s1600/popcorn.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_1XKNw1tz5zw/TOQX3vlsJHI/AAAAAAAAAAM/p5q2ctj1ti8/s320/popcorn.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5540579688007345266" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">It's getting to be that time of year again in Ottawa. Cold November rain creeps over the nation's capital mixed with wet snow. A bleak month before the Yuletide feeling begins to swell.</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">Nevertheless, it is an optimistic time for any film buff. Hollywood is eager to get its best material in the minds of Oscar judges and some quality flicks will soon hit theatres. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">What better excuse to get out of the Ottawa rain? </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">Ottawa certainly has a dearth of options for the moviegoer. There's the big name chains across the city for the latest blockbusters or specialty theatres such as the </span></span><a href="http://mayfairtheatre.ca/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">Mayfair</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"> and </span></span><a href="http://www.bytowne.ca/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">Bytowne</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"> for more artsy fare. </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">But how do you decide what film to see?</span></span></div></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">Such a simple question keeps Hollywood producers up at night. That's why before a movie is released, we are bombarded with movie previews, stars chatting with our favourite late-night hosts, and various profiles of actors/actresses/directors. All of this is intended to create a "buzz" to get us excited about the "Upcoming Movie Event of the Decade!"</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">However, according to author </span></span><a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703440004575548143412550642.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">Jonah Lehrer in an article in the </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">Wall Stree Journal</span></span></i></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">, it is difficult to gage how effective all of this supposed "pre-release buzz" actually is. He cites work by </span></span><a href="http://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/faculty/uzzi/ftp/buwww.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">Brian Uzzi</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">, a sociologist from Northwestern University, who specializes in buzz:</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span></span></div><div><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 13.0px Arial"><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">The question, of course, is what generates buzz in the first place. Mr. Uzzi's answer should strike fear into studio executives' hearts: He found virtually no relationship between levels of pre-release buzz and the ad budget of the movie or the presence of highly paid actors, even if millions of dollars were spent. The data suggest that pre-release buzz is mostly unpredictable, driven by intangible factors like the originality of the premise, the title of the film, or even a throwaway line in the trailer.</span></span></i></p></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">In other words, effective movie marketing - like other marketing - requires getting people talking. Our movie decisions are based on word of mouth and we trust the advice of our friend's judgement over what makes a good movie. Social media networks such as Twitter and Facebook expand this discussion to a larger audience in real-time and we learn quickly what could be </span></span><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1285016/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">a good movie</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"> versus what is a </span></span><a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1261945/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">very, very bad movie</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">Like any other product, finding out how to start a positive conversation about a movie is key to effective marketing. Get enough people talking and you surpass </span></span><a href="http://www.gladwell.com/tippingpoint/index.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">the tipping point</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">, making a good movie a box-office smash hit.</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">______________</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Addendum</span></span></i></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Jonah Lehrer spoke with Terry O'Reilly from CBC Radio's advertising/marketing program The Age of Persuasion who was sitting in as guest host on Q with Jian Ghomeshi. To find the interview, </span></span><a href="http://www.cbc.ca/q/episodes/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">click here</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> and scroll down to the episode on October 26, 2010. </span></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7873319374728682087.post-34191228701271887172010-11-12T13:42:00.007-05:002010-11-12T15:29:26.221-05:00A priceless wedding experiment<!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"></span></p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">So you splurged on the diamond, got down on one knee, and now let the wedding planning begin!</span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"></span></span><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">For many couples, gearing up for the big day can be a costly endeavour: renting a venue, arranging a caterer, flowers, music, limo, The Dress, tuxes… it all can send one’s head for a spin. Indeed, having just planned such an event myself, this author writes from experience.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">However, one Ottawa couple is looking to take a different route to prepare for the big day. Their goal: to plan a wedding that is entirely free of charge.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Brian Bass and Jordan Kent of Westboro have launched what they call Project: Priceless, an online experiment where they ask for donations towards their wedding using their </span></span><a href="http://projectpriceless.blogspot.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">blog</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> and social media tools like Facebook and </span></span><a href="http://twitter.com/prjectpriceless"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Twitter</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">. States the couple on their blog,</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">“This is an experiment in social media, in community kindness, and in product placement. </span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">“…Ideally, everything from dress to wedding favours will be begged, borrowed, or donated. We are also allowed to utilize trade, whether we trade something we have for something you have, or if we can offer a good or service of our own to trade with yours.”</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">In return, the couple says they will provide donors with a shout out on their blog, a listing in their wedding program, and promotion “via word-of-mouth” and social media. More importantly, they say they offer donors the satisfaction of giving to such “an adorable couple”.</span></span></p> <p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Only a few weeks since their engagement in mid-October, Brian and Jordan have garnered media attention in local community papers, the </span></span><a href="http://www.ottawasun.com/news/ottawa/2010/11/10/16074076.html#/news/ottawa/2010/11/10/pf-16074076.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Ottawa Sun</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, and the </span></span><a href="http://www.ottawacitizen.com/entertainment/truly+priceless+wedding/3786705/story.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Ottawa Citizen</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, along with more than 1,000 visits to their blog. </span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></p><p style="margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">To follow their progress, you can visit their website at </span></span><a href="http://projectpriceless.blogspot.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">http://projectpriceless.blogspot.com/</span></span></a></p><div><br /></div></span><p></p> <!--EndFragment-->Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7873319374728682087.post-63952341976872916662010-11-11T13:25:00.005-05:002010-11-11T13:42:43.738-05:00Social media lessons from “shellacking” in U.S. election<!--StartFragment--> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">A week after U.S. voters gave Barack Obama a </span><a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20021691-503544.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">“shellacking”</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"> at the polls, the post-game analysis is in full swing.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">From discussions of strategy, the president’s vulnerability, and the popularity of tea, the political brain trust to the south is easily filling column inches and airtime on the cable news networks. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">Certainly there are lessons to be learned for Republicans and Democrats alike, but what about communicators in Canada? </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/americas/social-media-teaches-grand-ole-party-new-campaign-tricks/article1785067/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">One article that caught my eye</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"> was a piece in the </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">Globe and Mail</span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"> that looked at the Republicans’ successful use of social media in the campaign. In comparing the two sides, the article noted that the Grand Ole Party had a huge advantage in its presence on Facebook and Twitter. The GOP had an average of 38,718 Facebook fans per candidate, while the Democrats were only able to garner 8,260. A similar pattern emerged on Twitter, with the Republicans having an average of 14,009 followers per candidate versus 2,591 for the Democrats.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">Is this becoming “a deciding factor in politics” as the article claims? Hard to say. But it is safe to assume that candidates who are able to attract more followers will be able to get their message out to a larger audience, especially when said followers summon the power of the “re-tweet”. Whether this is enough to drive people to the polls is yet to be determined.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">With that said, you better believe that in Ottawa political marketers are studying these numbers right now to understand how or if they actually translated into votes. As our minority government teeters on the verge of an election, prospective candidates will be increasingly revving up their Facebook engines and driving out tweets.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;">At the same time, commercial marketers would be wise to develop a little research in this as well. As more businesses head to social media to reach new customers, it is important to understand what successful strategies turns a “follower” or “friend” into a customer, or in political-speak, what transforms a follower into an actual voter.</span></p> <!--EndFragment-->Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7873319374728682087.post-2803572991769860122010-10-31T10:11:00.005-04:002010-10-31T10:32:18.339-04:00It's Moustache Time<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv_NFUxZQsbX8gwFRqGozzZYorwHZ-U061nz0mLuQbIUV2sf6xBHeasiyyHY2fBgcBXDa98al5iksRPYCipoIuEPEgc86o0wD-lLtQiIJTUfURjKsEr613KmLa0bB7HbYtl7bNFbeTtw4/s1600/Picture+1.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 156px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv_NFUxZQsbX8gwFRqGozzZYorwHZ-U061nz0mLuQbIUV2sf6xBHeasiyyHY2fBgcBXDa98al5iksRPYCipoIuEPEgc86o0wD-lLtQiIJTUfURjKsEr613KmLa0bB7HbYtl7bNFbeTtw4/s400/Picture+1.png" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534216524198559170" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Since 2004, the </span></span><a href="http://ca.movemberfoundation.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Movember Foundation</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> has organized the global men's health initiative called Movember. The idea was born in Australia, where men grew their "mo's" to raise awareness and funds for men's health, specifically prostate cancer. The great thing about this initiative is that male participants of Movember "become walking, talking billboards for the cause, raising awareness by prompting private and public conversations around the often ignored issue of men's health." It's a fun, interactive, "on your face" (as opposed to "in your face," ha ha) charitable approach. </span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">How do you get involved? Register online at </span></span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.movember.com"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Movember.com</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, grow a moustache for the month of November, and raise some money along the way. Last year, 255,722 people participated around the world and raised $42 million. All funds raised here in Canada will support </span></span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.prostatecancer.ca"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Prostate Cancer Canada</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">. Last year there was a 273% increase of registrations here in Canada, so it's clear that this phenomenon is gaining momentum. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Keep in touch with your fellow Mo Bros here in Ottawa by checking out the Movember Ottawa </span></span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/MOvember-Ottawa/140104909347379"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Facebook page</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">.</span></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7873319374728682087.post-18460381400061624372010-10-21T09:34:00.004-04:002010-10-21T10:00:56.303-04:00Bleepin' Rhetoric<div style="text-align: left;"><a href="http://www.spring.org.uk/2010/10/the-persuasive-power-of-swearing.php"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">PsyBlog</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> reported this week that a bit of "light swearing" can go a long way when making a persuasive speech. Apparently, according to a recent study, throwing in the word "damn" or the phrase "damn it" should make your speech more influential than the same speech would be without the mild obscenity. In addition, this approach should increase your audience's perception of your intensity while not affecting their perception of your credibility: "When you show some feeling, the audience notices, credits you with sincerity and takes your message to heart."</span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 396px; height: 264px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy_-Zx_Vct2FIUrNFCd3OsRZyUn-_9q2oLuRpcF_hOz5xlMkAhCVdNkx8_QJh5u_qDbae6JwCxOkl-zXuLBIEqnmVV75ZTqlxwfln2NHodIxwXWBjZcGeGKZsA8n0ZjMP7uHD4wPGPUbI/s400/MAasdfghYOR.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5530498927274540450" /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">A very </span></span><a href="http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/05102010/71/central-larry-o-brien-s-mea-culpa-lousy-mayor-anymore.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">interesting speech</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> was made recently here in Ottawa by </span></span><a href="http://www.ottawa.ca/city_hall/mayor_council/mayor/index_en.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Mayor Larry O'Brien</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">. In early October, he told the Ottawa Citizen's editorial board that while he can't say he is the worst mayor ever - because he doesn't know all of them and their records, he said - he was "pretty bad" in his first two years. He said, "I probably made every single major political mistake that was possible. I think I even made quite a few mistakes that, quite frankly, were impossible to replicate." And yet, he is running for Mayor again. Apparently, he believes that he would make a good mayor if Ottawa residents renew their faith in him. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Is this a move made out of sheer desperation as he trails Jim Watson in the polls? Or has he employed a rhetorical approach called inoculation (see Roland Barthes' </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Mythologies</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">), "inoculat[ing] the public with a contingent evil to prevent or cure an essential one... A little 'confessed' evil saves one from admitting a lot of hidden evil." O'Brien essentially admitted that he had done everything wrong, so what more could he be hiding? Perhaps he should have just gone with a little bit of swearing instead. </span></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7873319374728682087.post-75995568352356286972010-10-13T14:33:00.004-04:002010-10-13T14:51:09.336-04:00"The Internet's Logo Snobs" Have Spoken<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg67mgkah5kj6yLvC7yJNYCxt4bKRGzjTM6G8__RU-MQtrqMTr4VIixljgiCcrnV5m9jBJcr62TM_I150rqa36F6IOc2FAcSR6gLgbKXmvV-mDjf_C1YTzViTczqt21tYboCNEYkRfaYns/s1600/gap-logo_320.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg67mgkah5kj6yLvC7yJNYCxt4bKRGzjTM6G8__RU-MQtrqMTr4VIixljgiCcrnV5m9jBJcr62TM_I150rqa36F6IOc2FAcSR6gLgbKXmvV-mDjf_C1YTzViTczqt21tYboCNEYkRfaYns/s400/gap-logo_320.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527602967480335714" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br />In business news this week, GAP Inc. introduced a new </span></span><a href="http://www.marketingbreakthroughs.com/classic-marketing-plus-advertising/branding/corporate-branding.aspx"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">logo</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> for the clothing company online and, due to vehement criticism from their fans and followers on Facebook and Twitter, quickly returned to their original </span></span><a href="http://www.marketingbreakthroughs.com/classic-marketing-plus-advertising/branding/corporate-branding.aspx"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">logo</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">. According to CNN's </span></span><a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2010/TECH/social.media/10/12/gap.logo.social.media/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">John D. Sutter</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">, "the internet's logo snobs won this one." Interestingly, Gap had stated that they would "crowdsource" their new brand design, taking alternate suggestions from fans and implementing them if they were appropriate. Apparently, they have retracted this approach as well. A </span></span><a href="http://www.gapinc.com/public/Media/Press_Releases/med_pr_GapLogoStatement10112010.shtml"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">press release</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> from the company states the following explanation: "We've learned a lot in this process. And we are clear that we did not go about this in the right way. We recognize that we missed the opportunity to engage with the online community. This wasn't the right project at the right time for crowd sourcing."</span></span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">My favourite piece of commentary on this story comes from </span></span><a href="http://popwatch.ew.com/2010/10/12/the-internets-latest-victory-killing-the-new-gap-logo/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Margaret Lyons</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> of Entertainment Weekly: "I get it. People hated the new logo. The little blue box just looked like dozens of other logos, we're all sans-serifed out, etc. But where is the Internet outcry about stirrup leggings? Or the lack of pockets on a jacket that should clearly have pockets? When will someone speak up about the terrifying reemergence of clogs?! Get your priorities in order, Internet. Those clogs are easily 900 times worse than that logo." </span></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com