[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jv5StAv77Dg[/embed] We all know the phrase: “Honesty is the best policy.” As it turns out, fast food chain Arby’s has an agreement in place to feature Pepsi in two commercials each year. Unfortunately, the marketing folks at Arby’s forgot they had not fulfilled that contractual commitment during 2014 . . ....
Today I can confirm the reality of the old adage:
[caption id="attachment_15676" align="aligncenter" width="1160"]“It always takes longer than you think it will take.”
New furniture arrives at StealthCo offices.[/caption]
As many of you know, I started working with StealthCo back in August. By the end of September, we had identified the location for our first “official” headquarters, negotiated and signed the lease for the space, and demolition work had begun. Our goal: To move in within six weeks.
Now, we’re at 7-plus weeks, which still is super, super fast for a 7,000-square-foot mixed use space of office and warehouse that was totally trashed when we began.
And the space is coming along quite nicely — (“Thank you, very much”) — but it’s still taking longer than we had originally been told, so that’s a smidge frustrating. That’s in spite of the fact that I KNEW (logically) IT WOULD TAKE LONGER THAN WE WERE BEING TOLD.
I believe it was back in 1997 when I moved my Public Relations/Investor Relations/Marketing agency — Politis Communications — into brand new office space in Draper, Utah. We were on our way to passing $1 million in annual fee income, and it was a heady time for our shop as the crazy boom days of the exploding Internet were upon us.
[caption id="attachment_15664" align="aligncenter" width="1160"]
Installation of new “Window Wall” for StealthCo finished.[/caption]
To be honest, though, I had forgotten since then how much work goes into designing and implementing just the right “look & feel” for a new office. In reality, it can be exhausting. Then again, it’s also exhilarating to see your vision translated into reality.
Case in point, since our new StealthCo is a hardware company, we need to be able to support engineers and techs on-site at our new facilities — which means we need to operate within a mixed-use building. Fair enough.
Photo by oliver-roos-PCNdauVPbjA via Unsplash, downloaded 07 November 2023.[/caption]
Earlier this year, I learned that it would be time to take a new path professionally.
Though not my first choice, the reality is that I would be leaving Xi3 Corporation and looking for new opportunities after serving for over 3-1/2 years as Chief Marketing Officer of Xi3. And in truth, it was a great run, I learned a lot, made some awesome new friends, and had an awesome experience. And in reality, I wish Xi3 nothing but the best now and in the future.
Moving On
So . . . what do you do after 30+ years as a marketing/communications professional and you learn that it’s time to “find a new job?”
The good news is that I recognized that I had/have some core competencies/strengths to draw upon:
Sometimes, timing can be tricky — especially when it comes to sales and marketing efforts.
Case in point, this concept was drilled home once again approximately 10 days ago when I was notified I had been nominated for a RevGenUtah 2014 award. This new program (a brainchild of Dennis Wood, this time in his role at emerging growth venture capital firm, Mercato Partners) is designed to recognize what Mercato and Dennis describe as the Revenue Generators . . . those who are often seen as
That’s cool, I thought, as I read through the notification email.
And then I got into the details and I realized I might be out of luck, timing-wise, when it came to doing what would likely be necessary to nab one of the Top 10 Revenue Generator slots for 2014. Why?
Well, subsequent emails explained that each nominee will be evaluated through a two-step process of “Peer Selection” and “Social Engagement.” Nominees were then invited to
“. . . tap into your knowledge and social reach to demonstrate Interest, and to Educate and Connect with others.”
Additional helpful hints included
Sometimes one of the best ways to get your point across in an advertising campaign is by staying true to who or what you are, including how you do business.
IF you can do this at the same time you also poke fun at a cultural icon, you can potentially strike marketing gold, which is exactly what IKEA has done with its new commercial promoting its 2015 IKEA Catalog.
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOXQo7nURs0[/embed]With a simple straightforwardness that belies the wicked irony found in his monologue, IKEA’s spokesman deftly describes the beauties and benefits of the 2015 IKEA Catalog in language so similar to Apple’s copy for describing its iPad’s that it is almost farcical.
[caption id="attachment_15647" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Young para-athlete with a “Running Blade” running a race in a downpour.[/caption] I do not know the original source for this amazing photo as I only found it early this morning on the LinkedIn “feed” of David Louis Spagnuolo, serial entrepreneur, private...
[caption id="attachment_15644" align="aligncenter" width="419"] Everything we do (or do not do) has consequences.[/caption] After 30+ years working in the field of marketing, advertising, PR, etc., I have learned that even the smallest decision, the tiniest act, and the seemingly inconsequential choice can each lead to great...
[caption id="attachment_15641" align="aligncenter" width="397"] Great public relations counsel from former U.S. President, Thomas Jefferson.[/caption] As one of the Founding Fathers, a leading author of the Declaration of Independence, and the third President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson is known and revered for many things. He would...
A simple thought for today: [caption id="attachment_15638" align="aligncenter" width="327"] An inspirational thought from Ralph Waldo Emerson.[/caption] Hope you have a great day. # # # ...