It's Moustache Time

Since 2004, the Movember Foundation 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.

How do you get involved? Register online at Movember.com, 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 Prostate Cancer Canada. Last year there was a 273% increase of registrations here in Canada, so it's clear that this phenomenon is gaining momentum.

Keep in touch with your fellow Mo Bros here in Ottawa by checking out the Movember Ottawa Facebook page.

Did You Learn Anything, Tiger?

Wow. Nike's first Tiger Woods-centric commercial since everyone's opinion of the golf great drastically changed last fall has surfaced. They aren't brushing scandal under the rug. They have Tiger staring the audience in the eye, while the voice of his late father asks him if he's learned anything. I'm absolutely fascinated by this approach. I find it really powerful. Surprisingly, I don't view it from my regular cynical standpoint. I have lost a lot of respect for Tiger Woods in the last few months, even though I must admit that his personal life is really none of my business. Even so, I really do appreciate the message of facing your demons and learning from your mistakes that this commercial conveys. Nike's standing by their man, espousing responsibility for one's actions. Somehow it almost makes me want to cheer for Tiger's triumphant return. I never would have guessed that a Nike commercial would make me feel this way.

FAIL: Nestle's Social Media PR Blunder

One of the foremost reasons why engaging with social media can be advantageous to businesses is that they can catch customers' concerns about their company that they are sharing with their neighbours in cyberspace and address them directly before too much damage is done. Earlier this month, the people over at Nestle found themselves in some hot water (or shall I say, hot chocolate?) on YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and numerous blogs.

The kerfuffle stemmed from a campaign that has been initiated by Greenpeace, accusing Nestle of "threatening the livelihoods of local people and pushing orang-utans towards extinction" due to their use of "palm oil from companies that are trashing Indonesian rainforests". Part of this campaign was a gruesome online video, which Nestle lobbied to have removed from YouTube citing copyright infringement. This probably wasn't the greatest PR move, since this stirred up even more controversy and conflict.

Round two of the battle between Greenpeace supporters and Nestle took place over on Facebook. Unfortunately for Nestle, their representative on Facebook did not keep things professional and later had to backpedal and apologize "for being rude" in his/her comments. Bridget Carey of the Miami Herald sums up the lesson of all of this pretty well:

"If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all... Companies can learn something from this moment... Companies use social media to present a voice. When people are screaming at you, it's best not to scream back."

It's a Sad Day for Centretown

A few years ago, I lived in Centretown in Ottawa. One of my favourite memories from that era was going to Hartman's Your Independent Grocer and perusing the fruits and vegetables section while appreciating (or not) the musical stylings of whatever piano player happened to be playing there that day. One particular musician had a penchant for playing 80's and 90's pop hits by the likes of Billy Idol and Ace of Bass. It was awesome.

That's right - you read correctly. If you're unfamiliar with Hartman's, you may find it quite odd to hear of a downtown grocery store with a piano available for use by members of the community. It is odd in this day and age. It doesn't fit with the glossy, cookie-cutter image of grocery stores that we are used to visiting. The closest thing you get to music at most grocery stores is muzak or, at best, inoffensive adult contemporary over the PA system. Hartman's was different. The old wooden piano and the few comfy chairs set nearby added definite character to the store.

Today, I came across a blog post on Ottawa blog Apartment613 that delivered some terrible news: the piano is gone! Apparently, Hartman's needed to make room for a new flower section. Facebook to the rescue (I hope)! There is a Facebook group devoted to the cause called "Bring Back the Hartman's Piano!!!" According to the group's wall, this issue is going to start getting some media attention, so it will be interesting to see how it plays out (no pun intended). I hope that due to the outrage of its patrons, Hartman's will find a way to reinstate the piano. I believe it's in their best interest as the piano was a special touch that differentiated it from its competitors and promoted a sense of community.

Marketing Breakthroughs helps kick off Army Week

The Canada Retirement Information Centre (CRIC) could not have picked a more ideal day to celebrate military families, and Marketing Breakthroughs was there help lend its support.

With both the War Memorial and Peace Tower looking on from across the Rideau Canal on a beautiful sunny day, about a thousand people gathered inside Ottawa’s historic Government Conference Centre to kick off Army Week and thank families from CFB Petawawa.

“We think an afternoon of worry-free fun is the best way to show the military just how much they mean to us,” said CRIC President Franco Frangione.

The event featured speeches by local Mauril Bélanger and John Baird, local Members of Parliament, as well as Lieutenant-Colonel Keith Rudderham, Base Commander at CFB Petawawa. There was a ‘best dressed in red’ contest, where attendees showed off their “Support Our Troops” outfits, and free boat tours courtesy of Paul’s Boat Lines. All this in addition to a delicious free Barbecue.

The entertainment kept up throughout the afternoon, as stilt-walkers, jugglers, magicians, and a live band performed for the attendees, most of whom were dressed in their favourite red shirt.

The event went off without a hitch, thanks to the help of the CRIC, Paul’s Boat Lines, and members of the Marketing Breakthroughs team, who donated their time to organize the event and even paint some faces.

"Events such as this allows soldiers’ families a venue to celebrate,” said Lieutenant-Colonel Rudderham. “It makes them feel extra special about the fact that their mother or father, brother or sister is in the military."

The Secret's Out!

This past Friday, Vito Pilieci of the Ottawa Citizen broke the news that "Apple Inc. is secretly building a new Apple Store at the Rideau Centre." The word on the street is that it will be opening next month. Pilieci reports that "Apple has refused to comment on the opening of the store, despite having numerous postings on its website giving away the shop's location and tentative opening date." Apple has allegedly "forced the Rideau Centre to sign restrictive non-disclosure agreements forbidding officials from talking about the new retail outlet."

At first, I thought "what's the big deal, Apple?" But then I did a bit of Googling and found that these openings ARE a big deal for some people. Apparently, hardcore Apple fans have been known to fly across the world to attend Apple store openings.

I will definitely be keeping an eye out for any promotion for this new Ottawa store over the next few weeks, if/once Apple decides to start putting the word out. It should be interesting to see what strategies and technology they employ!

The Oprah Effect

A documentary entitled The Oprah Effect premiered last Thursday on CNBC. The show chronicles "Oprah's unprecedented impact on business that's worth billions and goes inside businesses to find their secrets to getting on the show and how just a brief mention by the queen of influence can turn entrepreneurs into millionaires." Ever seen an "Oprah's Favorite Things" episode? [Insert screaming here.] Enough said. People go crazy for free stuff, especially free stuff that is acclaimed by THE opinion leader out there.

Oprah is not the only one out there touting certain brands and products. A similar new-ish phenomenon is the rise of "mommy bloggers." Mom-friendly brands have discovered this new marketing space - they have come to "battle for their attention, hoping for reviews from "real moms" and access to the valuable power of word of mouth." In return, influential mommy bloggers can get free stuff from companies, big media buys, and luxurious trips! Not too shabby. Statistics show that women are "responsible for $2.1 trillion of U.S. consumer spending, controlling about 80 percent of household expenditures." These mommy bloggers are now taking advantage of a system that has long targeted them with marketing messages to buy, buy, buy.

Mommy blogging has even picked up here in Ottawa: New Ottawa Mom, Postcards from the Mothership, and A Crafty Mom, to name a few. I wonder if they have had any companies (from here in Ottawa or elsewhere) contact them for promotional opportunities!

Hockey 2.0

My boyfriend, like many hockey fans, is very excited about this whole possible-relocation-of-the-Phoenix-Coyotes-to-Southern-Ontario thing. As he was telling me the whole story over dinner last night, my interest was piqued by his mention of makeitseven.ca. Jim Balsillie (pictured here wearing a silly hat), the man behind the scheme to purchase and move the team, initiated this website, designed to be an "online community to help promote bringing Canada its seventh franchise". If you check it out, you'll see that right now there is just a splash page with messaging and the option to sign up for updates. What's interesting to me is that Balsillie has taken this web 2.0 approach, reaching out to hockey fans for support. I think it's a really smart move, considering he has a big battle with NHL bigwigs ahead of him.

Today, Balsillie issued a statement to the press, thanking the 100,000 + people that signed up to support his bid. 100,000 people... that's a lot. How can you argue with 100,000 fans??? Now, not only is the NHL battling it out with Balsillie, but also 100,000 other people on his side!

Do you think it will make a difference? I'm pretty sure that social media helped Obama in a pretty important battle last year, so maybe it will help Balsillie, too!