October 5, 2010
Peace and Quiet
Whenever the weather would turn stormy the skies above my childhood house got noisy with low flying aircraft. We couldn’t … Read More “Peace and Quiet”
September 7, 2010
Time to run again!
Ok, I admit, before January 31st of this year, I didn’t think a lot about exercise. On that day I put one foot in front of the other and started running. Two miles became eight, then 12 then 15 and finally 26.2 as I finished the San Diego Rock and Roll Marathon in June. The coaches and mentors with the Leukemia Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training program provided the preparation and encouragement needed to complete this objective.
July 12, 2010
What we can learn from Jimmy and LeBron
Jimmy Buffet and LeBron James are an unlikely pair. However, over the span of the past several days both have done their part to niche their place in modern culture and they both based it on their performance.
The now tiresome special and focus on Mr. James’ decision to leave his home of Cleveland in pursuit of a championship title (which he didn’t get in college because he went right to the NBA from an Ohio high school) has been bantered about by greater and wittier minds than mine. But the announcement was a shunning of his home state and a promise of performance in the form of a championship ring.
Contrast that with singer songwriter Jimmy Buffet, who embraces his gulf coast heritage, has only received two Grammy nominations. But his following will be stronger than any NBA or other professional sporting figure, evidenced by his 40+ records that have gone either gold or platinum, sold out tour dates, and collaborations with the greatest voices in the music industry.
Jimmy Buffet, tonight, is hosting a benefit concert in Gulf Shores Alabama as a benefit to help the region plagued by oil and negative publicity from the gulf spill. A long track record of doing things for the community that supported him for so long is why Jimmy Buffet reached icon status a long time ago. Versus LeBron James, who like a prodigal son left home … yes, I think Ohio is bigger than LeBron to accept him back when he returns to the community with humility in his heart.
June 16, 2010
Recession Communication Keys: Be Transparent and Use the right tools
How can you effectively communicate during difficult economic times? The same way you communicate during the boom periods. Your communication should be relevant, genuine and transparent. What does this mean? This is the second of two installments (as seen in the Associated General Contractors New Mexico Building Branch Quarterly Newsletter http://www.agc-nm.org/):
June 15, 2010
Recessionary Communication Keys: Be Genuine & Relevant
The bottom line has a new meaning in the midst of this recession. For some organizations, when times are tight the first thing owners do is pull back on marketing communication efforts. If you think about it, scaling back on awareness is akin to a NASCAR team opting for cheaper tires… short term benefit, long term loss.
April 14, 2010
Cheddar Explosion
An eleven year old got to trigger the implosion, the winner of an essay contest sponsored by Kraft. What does Kraft have to do with Texas Stadium? The corporation sponsored the implosion to introduce its “Cheddar Explosion” macaroni and cheese. How much did the “naming” rights cost? $75K to the City of Irving and $75K worth of donated product to local charities.
March 3, 2010
Garduno Effort Falters
Garduno’s has had it share of problems lately. The Albuquerque Mexican restaurant has had issues with tax payments to the State of New Mexico, lost its lease on a location at Balloon Fiesta Park and has had very public issues with an alleged embezzlement by a former employee.
On Sunday, the news stories started that the eatery was going to restructure. On Monday, they announced three of their five stores would close and that the company was going to seek protection from creditors by declaring bankruptcy. In the wake of the announcement, 100 jobs, uninformed employees and bewildered customers.
This was a text book case of how not to make this kind of announcement
February 23, 2010
Toyota, Tiger and Tylenol
Toyota, Tiger and Tylenol… I can’t get these images out of my head. They sit there like a Mount Rushmore of triumph and tragedy.
The triumph, they were the best at their respective crafts, had the best reputations. The tragedy, all crashed with such velocity that they make the Exxon Valdez public relations fiasco appear to be a communications masterpiece (which it was not).