Its Really Quite Simple

As I shared in my last post I am following my bliss… Fun right? Thus far it has led me to reading and listening to a lot of great authors, buying beautiful sunflowers at our local farmer’s market, signing up for a yoga class and meeting a few new people. Now the real development from all of these seemingly small joys is a more constant feeling of contentment in the past week or so.  It has allowed me to really start to remember what I like and what “lights my fire.”

As we mull through the obligations of life and get caught up in the rush, we seem to forget to experience the moment. We don’t see the beautiful day, the joy of our children or experience the feelings of gratitude we should for all our blessings.  It’s as if the possibility of wholeness is always lurking in the back of the mind, taunting us with this feeling of separation, pushing you to be more, achieve more, have more ect.

Separation is the mind’s lie. The truth is in us at all times; living there, ready to be utilized. It is your talents and God given gifts.  The separation is you taking on all the desires and promises of the outside world instead of taking on what you have been created to do.  As you grow and experience life you begin to adopt outside perceptions and expectations of yourself as your own, losing site of what you desire.  Stop and ask yourself how much of your life is driven by thoughts? Unnoticed, they have great power.

Try to follow your internal guide for a few days. My compass has always been the belief that if something is fluid and clear then I was on the on the right path, if I was struggling and felt like I didn’t know what to do then it was not the path I was meant to be on.  Now, I am not saying that the right path is the easy path. I have been in situations where all I wanted to do was quit. It was hard and was killing my spirit, but I had a clear intuition to stay. It took a long time but I made it to the other side, and looking back would have done it no other way.

When you are on the right path but experiencing hardship remember to seek the lesson in that moment. All experiences are preparing you for the next, shaping you into you highest form of self. 

A Prayer of Bravery

In my past post I pondered the question of what route I want to take in life and bounced around feelings of conflict. Though it’s good to contemplate your steps and plan them out well, I have found it makes it very hard to do what you feel called to do. I always mulled over the “what will they think”, “I will be silly” or “you can’t be successful doing that.” So with that, I have chosen to consciously follow my bliss, whatever it may be, laying down my fear, in hopes that this will bring about more richness and peace into my daily life.

I have always had an intense interest in spirituality and creativity but have never felt it was acceptable to fully explore this calling. I have quietly read my books and shared my motivational “you can do if you affirm it” with my closet girl friends, but I have not stood out in the open and shared with all or practiced my beliefs consistently.

Subsequently, I am not doing so badly with being in a positive space in life, as I have unconsciously arrived at these destinations. Though I had a brief period of living with intent 4 years ago, which thank God for that because who knows where I’d be without that time, I abandoned my faith that there was a plan of good for me.  When I reflect on the demise of my consciousness I realize that I had to experience a lot of unnecessary pain to make it back to the light or intention as some would call it.

I continue experiencing a nudging “hello I am here; I want you to live a life of peace, miracles and fabulousness.” I think…I hope this is something we all feel at times.  A calling to pursue what you were made to pursue without fear.  As Deepak Chopra said “Worrying is praying for what you don’t want”. So here’s to remembering that your life is a daily prayer, and your reality is a reflection of your prayer. What are you praying for?

Be Filled With Love

 If you know me at all you know that I am a strong believer that your reality is a reflection of your mental state, faith and self talk. Now, with that said, I would also be labeled by those same individuals, at times as a self pessimist. Though I can give one hell of a motivational speech to my friends and family, at times I have been the last one to believe anything good was coming my way.

I have in the past experienced a shift like no other, I made the choice for a solid 12 months that everything positive was coming and happening to me at the time. Though I had nothing around me change to start this process I chose to believe it. I would start my day with a prayer of thanksgiving, stating I am happy, healthy and thankful for the positivity that fills my life. Great things happened. In this time I met my now husband, established lifelong friendships and found my passion for PR among other things.  I would say I was my most authentic self I had ever been up to this point in my life. Everything came together in that year to present me with an opportunity I could have only dreamed of. As I prepared to take on this new life change, my negative self talk started to creep in, making me doubt my ability and worthiness for this opportunity to become my reality. Because of this thought pattern, I had the second most disappointing moment in my life take place. Bringing my old habits back with a vengeance, I lost the opportunity God had brought to me, leaving me with no plan and broken spirits.

I flipped into auto pilot and did what I had to do; the everyday school, work and life routine. This landed me working for my father’s business, something I never had a desire to do and to move in with Evan, a move I would have not predicted only a few weeks earlier.  For a year I thought about “what if” keeping myself in that negative moment.

As I threw myself into my studies and doing the best job I could at work, I started to not think so much about the past or the future. I was focused on the present and what I needed to take care of from day to day. In this time I started to regain my faith in God and his plan for my life. He showed me this everyday through Evan’s love and support of me, the passion I was developing for my work and the determination that grew inside of me while completing school.

As faith filled my heart once again I started to reflect on all that had happed.  4 years later, that missed opportunity is something I am grateful for. God placed me in that time of hardship so I could grow and learn to trust his plan.  I have had far greater opportunities and future possibilities in my life than I could have predicted for myself. I am also far more grateful for them, small or big, now than I would have been 4 years ago.  Though I do believe that we shape a lot of our reality with our thoughts I think it has more to do with our faith in whatever you believe; God, the Universe or the power you hold in yourself and its desire for you to be filled with love.  Know that everything you experience in life is meant to refine you to a better version of yourself, whether it is a disappointing moment or one filled with joy. You will continuously be shaped into someone who has more to offer the world.  Stay true to your authentic self and be present in these moments because that’s when life begins to unfold.

The Pull of Ambition

The pull of ambition is strong; it also makes one feel that they could go in a thousand different directions at once.

 As a third year employee I am once again at a crossroad.  I followed all the rules, like any “good Middle America girl would.” I graduated from undergrad in 4 years, went to work and completed my Masters all while following the social norms of love, marriage, and home ownership. But at what point did I, me, myself develop a clear direction for my life and visualize the outcome I expected to receive from all of my required accomplishments? 

 When I was posed a question last night by a higher-up for the company I will soon be employed by, I was left to question myself and the impression I left her with.  This executive asks me “What do you want to do” I responded with a quick “anything the company needs from me”.  After the moment had passed, I dwelled on my response.  With that response, I did nothing but short myself of offering my employer a clear idea of my potential, skill set and personal direction.

I have asked this of myself in passing over the years but it was always filled with a “What I NEED to do response” versus a “What I want to do”.  I mean, do we not all deserve to ask ourselves the “want” question and see our answer come to fruition? I think we would find a lot more fulfillment in our lives and a lot less complacency.

Well, my answer is, to be successful of course! But the word successful for a female can be such a broad term these days. A successful career woman, wife, friend, mother are some of the labels we take on everyday and have to do so with passion.

 I have come to the realization that “anything” is not only a poor response for my employer but an unacceptable response for me, and a call to action.  It’s now a requirement to have a better answer to the “What do you want to do” question. 

After fulfilling a long line of social pre-requisites it’s no longer impressive to just want a job, I am now required to know what job and where I want to go within that job. Can a girl catch a break?!?

In the age of viral communication with all the readily available resources at my finger tips, I am reading, watching and talking to individuals who have been able to answer this question for themselves. I am hoping that this will be the next step of many to develop a clear road map to the career success and personal fulfillment I feel myself needing and the universe pulling me towards.

What are your go to steps for defining your path and finding balance in the chaos that is life?  I try to shift my mind, teaching myself that it’s not about checking achievements and life milestones off the life list for me any longer.  It’s about living before them, during them and after them.  I hope you can do the same.

VW Video Magic

While doing a little web browsing today I came across a cause marketing campaign developed by VW back in 2009. It was based off of the Green initiative that majority of the world is now participating in. Volkswagen wanted to prove that marketing a brand doesn’t mean always promoting its products and performance; it can be standing for a cause and living a life that is a reflection of the cause. They also proved that a costly TV commercial is not always the best way to leave an impression. I have to give it to Volkswagen; we all know it’s harder to live “GREEN” than it is to talk about it. So what they do? Volkswagens marketing team transformed a stairway in a Sweden train station into an interactive keyboard beside an escalator in hopes more people would take the stairs. Volkswagen believes that the easiest way to change people’s behavior for the better is by making it fun to do. They called it ‘The Fun Theory’ needless to say it worked and 66% more people chose to take the stair over the escalator! So how do this relate to emerging media? Well it’s not real until is on the web! Volkswagen posted their Fun Theory’s on YouTube and they took off, in 4 day this one effort got 1.4 million views. At the end of the video a VW log came onto the screen making the brand placement low-key but impressionable. Even thought the videos did not show VW cars driving down the road it pushed the VW logo all around the web for tens of thousands of people to pass around. These efforts show that the company is up to date and in the know of how to leverage social media to their advantage. Also, paring their brand with a cause produces a positive association with the brand. Volkswagen hit a homerun in using emerging media to get their fresh marketing efforts out the world. I have provided a few of the videos let me know what you think!

World Wide

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is finding that being on top worldwide is not an easy task.  However, it is a goal he is striving to reach.  In a recent interview with Ad Age during the 57th annual Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival, Zuckerberg discussed how he needs to crack a major market in Asia to reach his goal of 1 billion global users.  Presently, the site holds 1 million users on average per nation with Russia in the lead, doubling their sign-ups about every six months.

 He admits that Facebook will not be reaching their goal in the next year but he is optimistic that Facebook will continue to be the social networking leader.  Zuckerberg also stated how competitors like Twitter and other social-media outlets put pressure on Facebook to keep improving.   He also noted that privacy is the biggest issue with the site presently.

  Zuckerberg briefly addressed the public concerns in the interview. “It’s a really important dialogue … people have very legitimate questions.”  He said, the biggest problem was that Facebook basically bombarded and confused users with too many privacy-control options.   “Facebook changed their setting all at once, which was the short fall in our attempts”, he pointed out to Ad Age. By going back and simplifying the controls Facebook hopes they have shown its users they are listening and taking their concerns to heart.

Online Engagement: Political Must

  Barack Obama has set a new bar for online engagement starting with his campaign and stretching to his current position as the U.S. President.

In two years Barack Obama’s campaign provided the best example of what a successful media effort looks like.  Advertising Age recently named him Marketer of the Year, outperforming brands such as Apple and Nike. Because of his well produced marketing efforts he was one of the greatest funded Presidential candidates in U.S. History.

“It was the end of the era of television presidency that started with JFK, and the beginning of the internet presidency.” – Mitch Wagner, Information Week

A few months shy of two years of service, he continues to define what it is to be an internet president. His viral and traditional media efforts did not stop after his campaign days were over as they have continued to date. All of the major topics he stands for are on the web available for all to see (in allotted time amounts) and at this point in his presidency, he has made more public speeches than any other president ever.

Obama strives to stay present in the minds of the American people and the world.  He has an active Facebook and twitter account featuring daily updates, news links, and 2.6 million friends. During his campaign Obama used social media as a blue print for the most successful aspect of his emerging media strategy.  MYBarackObama.com was his main platform for reaching the public in a viral medium. By fall, his campaign had over 1 million users has signed up on Obama’s network, providing proof of his impressive self-marketing efforts.

It must be noted that he is not the only one making profit or leaving an impression due to his efforts. Others have made a name for themselves using topics from Obama’s presidency to create blogs, websites and television shows.  Altogether his presidency has created a noteworthy buzz!

http://advance.ipglab.com/wp-content/images/Political_WP.pdf

World Cup Fever

As I watch my Facebook mini-feed update the latest public opinions and news, I see my screen filled with World Cup commentary. The World Cup Fever has spread from country to country and from one social media platform to another. This enormous amount of wired talk has even broken records, for instance it has set the new tweet record on twitter.
Thursday June 24th during the Japan vs. Denmark match, 3,282 Tweets flew across the stream every second, beating the previous record by almost 200.

Many companies are noticing the passion and excitement in the social media medium during the games and are becoming a part of it. During the earlier round of the World Cup, Coca Cola used twitter to promote trends. Coca Cola’s Global Interactive Marketing Vice President Carol Kruse shared his excitement:

“The amount of impressions in such a short period of time around our whole World Cup campaign, to me it was a phenomenal time. It made this emotional connection at the time, it was great!”

Brian Solis, points out in his blog that in the first 24 hours, Coca-Cola’s Promoted Trend earned 86 million impressions and an engagement rate of 6% compared to approximately 0.02% of people who click on regular online advertisements.

Budweiser and the New York Times also took advantage of the public’s World Cup buzz.
As the official sponsor of the FIFA World Cup, Budweiser took their approach to the next level. The company has utilized all emerging media mediums available, interacting with fans on a daily basis. They have created the website BudUnited.com which uses YouTube to air an original reality series. The channel already has already earned over 3.5 million views with an average engagement time of 11 minutes. And, it’s only going to continue to grow as the World Cup intensifies.

It is nothing new for brands to follow their audience to new mediums and adapt to their targets interest as they change over time. To maintain relevance in the consumer’s eyes, brands must become a part of the likes and dislike of their audience. Using the World Cup as a platform has shown positive results in relation to consumer response and interaction continuing to build brand/ consumer relationships.

http://www.youtube.com/budunited

Social Media Addiction

While taking some time to read a few blogs, I came across an interesting study from Retrevo.com. It was about social media addiction.  I had to laugh because I say all the time how I am addicted to the computer, checking e-mail, school, Facebook ECT… So to come across a study saying that this addiction is real was funny! The study asked 1,000 social media users questions such as when, where, and how much time they spend on sites and services like Facebook and Twitter. Half of the participants check their SMS when they wake up and right before they go to bed. 56% of social media users need to check Facebook at least once a day and an amazing 12% say they need to check it every couple of hours. These results show that lacking a presence on these sites could hurt your business. As a marketing professional I feel you must be where the people are and it is obvious that Facebook and sites like it, are the place to be. A brand must have interaction with their patron or they will become irrelevant. More and more brand are producing interactive campaigns for their consumers. Being loyal to a brand no longer means only buying their products it is about following their twitter feed, being a FAN of their Facebook page, and reading the company blog. This social media addiction is an addiction to interaction, marketer have an opportunity to really get connected.

Advergaming

Honda came out with the Advergame called Honda Fit it was created to introduce the fuel efficient 2010 Honda Fit. The gamer has to deliver the super bolt before Fit City is taken over. While playing the game, gamers are informed of the fuel efficiency, good handling and the safety system comprised of six air bags. The game has good design, quality sound and is easy to use. Getting the chance to “drive” the car is an enticing way to drive sales. With U.S. sales of video-game hardware and software rising 43% to hit $9.4 billion last year its not a surprise that Honda wanted to jump on board. Advergames are a new medium that are just beginning to be tapped into. As CEO of YaYa LLC Keith Ferrazzi said “Games are not just entertainment anymore.”

In 2002 Honda decided to offer a reward to visitors who register by entering them in a contest to win a 2002 Honda CR-V.  Their first attempt at Advergaming was a success. In the end, nearly 80% of registered users played the game — for an average of four and a half minutes. Based on registration data, Honda says that it was able to project buying trends and bolster internal market research. Visitor could not turn down their sleek graphics and 3-D replays!

The Honda Advergame was not only an entertainment advertising medium but also a marketing research tool in disguise. By asking and receiving the visitor’s age, name, location, occupation and hobbies, Honda received a large amount of information from a market they may have never touched.

The one Honda has successfully used twice was placed on the company website to attract web visitors and entice them to stay for longer periods of time.  This is called a product placement or in-game advertising. Keeping the visitors in place longer gives companies more time to repeat their message and when a viewer is receiving more impressions they are more likely to become a consumer.

Advergaming can be a controversial topic; some critics think it is advertising at the extreme, flirting with the line of enticing to influencing. These opinions are formed from games like the American Army. This advergame was created to increase recruitment; some think this may be setting an unrealistic expectation of war in the reality.

Taking the good and the bad into consideration, when the Advergaming medium is used right, it can be a huge success for the world of advertising and for companies who have products to sell just as Honda did.