Archive for July, 2009
Did You Catch Elisa’s Mommy Blogger tips?
I’m really missing the BlogHer’s Summer Conference this year… all my pals are there, but I’m not. Bummer. BlogHer conferences always energize me in the same way that an art fair gets me going. All the ideas and passions that swirl about are both exhausting and enlightening. Even though I’m not attending, I’ve been pitched non stop on products leading up to it today’s conference opener. I’ve turned products down in the past as nicely as I can, but now it’s just getting annoying. I guess I’m not the only one who is annoyed, and yet we do want to…
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Cetaphil’s Comfortable in My Skin Contest Engages Women
By Guest Blogger, Donna DeClemente, Donna’s Promo Talk
Here’s a brand that is definitely marketing to women online and has done, what I think, a great job with this latest interactive promotion.
The Cetaphil brand is a line of skin care products that I’m sure most of us women are familiar with since the products have been around for quite some time. They claim to be the #1 dermatologist and pediatrician recommended brand of cleansers and moisturizers. They recently launched the the Comfortable in My Skin campaign that includes an interactive, online contest.
content (UGC) around the brand. However this one takes it another step further and then encourages them to share the content by providing easy ways to make it viral through their social
networks and websites.
First they ask entrants to explain where and what makes them feel the most comfortable in their skin by completing the sentence “I feel comfortable in my skin when I am…”.
Next participants are asked to select what paradise vacation spot they would choose as their getaway from a choice of Marriott & Renaissance Caribbean & Mexico Resort destinations. They then have to select a Kate Spade getaway bag and fill it with their favorite Cetaphil products and any other items that they’d like to take along with them. I’m already dreaming of where I would want to go just by writing about this!
The last step involves having them share their content via widgets,
blogs, IM, email and other options and then invites them to review and vote on other content that has been submitted.
So you probably get it now…the grand prize winner will receive a seven day, four person getaway to the paradise destination they choose along with a Kate Spade bag and $500 American Express® gift card to purchase the selected getaway items to but in the bag.
So here how it works:
The contest is judged in two rounds. In the first, prizes will be given to the top ten finalists (who then advance to round two), to the five most viral entries and to eight sweepstakes winners who will be picked at random. In Round 2 (which begins on Aug. 27 and ends on Oct. 8.) a panel of judges will select the grand prize winner from the ten finalists, as well as one runner-up, and four sign-up sweepstakes winners will randomly be chosen to receive additional prizes.
The contest started back on June 22, so its now been live for a full month and as of today there are over 500 entries, 10,000 reviews, 15,000 votes and 120,000 views.
I did have to create a Brickfish account first in order to submit my entry which was a bit annoying. However, they didn’t ask too many questions, so it was pretty simple. Now I have a username and password I can use for any future promotions that are powered by Brickfish.
I created my entry in which I choose St. Kitts as my destination from the choices it gave me. My husband and I went there together a year or so after we were married and experienced some of the best snorkeling I have ever done. So we’d love to return again. I then went through and added all the other things to my Kate Spade bag and I also was able to upload a photo that expresses when I feel comfortable in my skin. This did take some time, but it was fun and fairly user friendly.
Once submitted I then got to choose how I want to share my entry. First choice is to grab the code and embed the creation into a website, blog or forum. Here it is.
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Next I was given the option to post it on Facebook and Twitter, which I did, and also to email it to anyone I wish. There are also ways to post it on MySpace, MyYearbook, Xanga, Tagged, and others as well.
Now the Most Viral Winners will be awarded based on the entry that gets the most attention across the Internet. When on the entries page you can click on a specific one to view it and you will see a viral ranking to the right of the entry. You can decide if you want to vote on it or not. So you can help make mine viral by clicking on the view button in the above widget and then if you’re so inclined the share button as well. Don’t forget to vote for me however there are some really creative entries from those that I viewed that makes mine look pretty dull.
I have been saying now for the past two years that there is a tremendous opportunity for brands and marketers to connect with consumer by incorporating these interactive, chance to win promotions with social media. So now it seems everyday I’m reading about another brand who has a sweepstakes or giveaway promotion that is incorporating social media. The Wall Street Journal even ran this article earlier this week on how popular they’ve become on Twitter.
There are some promotions like this one that are truly engaging and fun for consumers and of course others that don’t make any sense at all. So I’ll be writing about many of them here on Lipsticking and on my blog as well. If you come across any that you think are engaging women in a positive way (or in a really negative way) please pass it along.
Major Catastrophe or Minor Inconvenience – Which is it?
Your daily life is one of two things: it’s either a major catatrophe or a minor inconvenience.
Think about that – think about your day and how it’s going, and very carefully consider the advice above: is what’s happening at this moment a major catastrophe or a minor inconvenience? How much of your life is filled with major catastrophes? Minor conveniences?
Most of my life is filled with minor inconveniences. The fact that I have two articles due and I can’t seem to get to them, is not a major catastrophe. It’s a minor inconvenience and it may just be a symptom of my time-management skills.
Last summer my Dad was in the hospital and had his gall bladder removed – just in time, the Dr. said. It was so badly infected, it could have killed him. We spent a lot of time with him in the hospital (he’s 82 and has Alzheimer’s) and we drove back and forth from Binghamton every weekend, for awhile. One might consider that a major catastrophe but…it was a minor inconvenience. My Dad recovered nicely, he is doing well now, and I would not trade the time we got to spend with him for anything in the world. The catastrophe was averted, and the rest was minor inconvenience.
Did you miss a phone call today? An important one – from a possible client, a real client, or your mother? How did that color your day? Did the world stop? I doubt it. Therefore, whatever it was…in the end, it was a minor inconvenience.
Is your launch of that new product lagging behind by a month or two? Have plans been waylaid by one thing or another? Are you wondering how your bank account will survive, if you don’t complete that new
What if none of those “important” things happen…when you want them to? What will you do?
My advice is to move on and recognize that these are minor inconveniences. If your health is not affected, if your family is still together and safe, if your house is in one piece, (we are having a new roof put on, and tho it was totally unexpected, I’m glad it happened NOW, before we list the house, rather than have a buyer hire an inspector and be told the roof is in shambles!), you have much to be thankful for. Hold on to that and be glad most of life really is minor inconvenience, not major catastrophe. So,don’t worry, be happy.
For the parts that are major catastrophe – gather family and friends and work through it. That’s when the togetherness of many arms, many voices, tears and hugs, are the only medicine that works.
Otherwise, get up, stop whining, do what needs doing, and create positive results out of all minor inconveniences. It’s what entrepreneurs do.
Social Media & Journalism: My Take
by Guest Blogger, Lena West, Chief of Social Media Strategy at xynoMedia
So, what has this got to do with marketing to women? After all, this is a blog about marketing to women.
Journalism is ultimately about media and if marketing isn’t about media, I don’t know what is. I’m also highly interested in the intersection between journalism, women, marketing and media – as I don’t think women – especially women of color – are accurately represented in quantity or quality. But, that’s another blog post for another day.
I thought you might want to “listen in” on some of the thoughts I shared about journalism and social media with this grad student – look for the parallels in your industry.
Q: Your specialty is the development of social media. Do you believe that social media, such as Twitter, Facebook, or the like will eventually take the place of newspapers?
A: I’m leery of so-called experts who speak in absolutes, so the word “replace” kind of digs at me here. I would say that social media tools (including social networks like Facebook, etc.) will play a much more complementary role in journalism and those who don’t think so are probably in denial.
For example, according to a story at Editorsweblog.org, the New York Times has suggested a potential solution to what’s plaguing the publishing industry is for newspapers to change their business models to become nonprofit entities funded by endowments.
Now that may not appear to have anything to do with social media but, it does. Thanks to a seriously competitive information market – that’s led largely by access to free information – (think Twitter)
Q: Do you think it should? Would it be better?
A: No, I don’t think anything about social media should replace any form of marketing or any form of communication. Again, not speaking in absolutes about social media’s impact. Social media is like makeup, it’s the ultimate enhancer.
Q: How is social media better than traditional journalism?
A: In some ways, it’s better. For example, immediacy, ease of sharing and conversation comes to mind. However, I do think that the low barrier to entry for social media tools has created a few “loose cannons” that otherwise would not be tolerated in traditional journalism – and that’s not necessarily a good thing. I believe in fact checking and journalism standards.
Q: Is there a growing need for social media? (trends of those WANTING it, for example, have they gone up?)
A: Oh, for sure. Nielson Online recently released social networking use stats (http://www.nielsen-online.com/pr/pr_090602.pdf) and the numbers are stunning – especially the Twitter metrics. I would say that these numbers all point to both a greater need AND want of social media content.
Q: Do you think journalists will become ‘social media specialists’ or do you think social media will get rid of traditional journalists and create their own niche employees?
A: Whoa, there’s that “get rid of” language again. No absolutes. I think that journalists will need to understand social media tools more and we see this happening, look at how CNN has totally embraced the use of Twitter. Social media will take excellent journalism and make it sparkle with interactivity and collective energy.
The 40 Year Old Virgin Entrepreneur
A new study from the Marion Kauffman
Foundation shows most more than 95% of entrepreneurs surveyed in the study had earned
bachelor’s degrees, and 47% had more advanced degrees. Besides being
well-educated, the median age of company founders in this sample when
they started their companies was 40 years old, while the majority were
married (69.9%) with at least one child (59.7%) as start-up founders.
Backgrounds of Entrepreneurs
The study found that 71.5% of respondents came from middle-class
backgrounds, while 21.8% said they came from upper-lower-class
families. Less than 1% have extremely rich or extremely poor
backgrounds.
Motivations of Business Owners
As for the primary motivation for starting their companies, the
entrepreneurs in the survey indicated overwhelmingly (74.8%) that they
desired to build wealth. Nearly as important to these
entrepreneurs with regards to starting up a business was “capitalizing
on a business idea,” as 68.1% of respondents selected this factor.
Other popular motivators include the appeal of a start-up culture; a
desire to own a company; and a lack of interest in working for someone
else.
Women and Men?
Interestingly, the study did not say the ratio of men and women entrepreneurs.
Please tell me what you think.
United Breaks Guitars: A Great Video from the Sons of Maxwell Group
And people ask me (with funny looks on their faces) why I hate to fly (no, it isn’t because I’m ‘afraid’ to fly): Here’s why…
(you gotta love this video, and think back to the last time an airline lost your luggage, or damaged it, or just plain didn’t care that they screwed up the timing on your itinerary and you ran like hell across the airport to make your connection…and failed, only to be greeted by, “Well, we’ll try to get you on the next flight out. Let me see…yes, that’s tomorrow morning at 5 a.m.” )
Puh-lease! If we can drive there, that’s what Tom and I do. Airlines are totally out of control and I do not want to give them any more of my business than I have to. (a shout out to Bruce Peters for sending the video along)
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Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince Film Embraces Emerging Media Marketing
By Guest Blogger, Donna DeClemente, Donna’s Promo Talk
My older daughter is currently away this week attending a summer drama camp, so I don’t know if she’s seen the movie yet. If not she probably will by tonight. Since she came home from her freshman year in college she’s been talking about this film and reread the first three books to get back into the story again. She even got her dad reading the books now. He just finished the second book and she’s thrilled that he’s reading them. My turn is next which I promised I would do when we go on our summer vacation this year.
Both of my daughters, who are just a little over a year apart in age, really grew up with Harry. It has been an really wonderful experience and they can’t thank J. K. Rowling enough for inventing these characters and the world that they live in. They constantly are throwing out character names and phrases that leave me bewildered. Even though I haven’t read the books, I have seen the movies, so I’m not completely ignorant about what they’re talking about. I wrote about Harry Potter before in this blog post back in July, 2007 which was Harry Potter Month since the 5th movie was released, Order of the Pheonix, followed 10 days later with the release of the last book, Deathly Hallows.
As Harry Potter has grown, so as the marketing for this latest film release and Warner Brothers has really embraced emerging media. Not only can fans visit a very interactive website, they can also engage on social media sites and become a fan on Facebook which currently is showing 400,577 fans and quickly rising as I write this post. On Twitter Harry Potter is the top trending topic today and has been on the top 10 list since last week. It’s fascinating to follow the tweets that are coming in from all over the world in different languages. The movie also has its official Twitter Page where you can follow the feed of tweets as well.
There are many blogs and social networks that have been created about Harry Potter which are not all officially associated with J.K. Rowling or Warner Brothers. One very popular site is The Leaky Cauldron which started back in 2000 as a one page news roll and has grown into a big destination for fans. They also host a community called My Leaky which is the largest Harry Potter Social Network on the web currently reporting 75,000 members.
And of course, there are many interactive promotions associated with the film. Warner Brothers is sponsoring a Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince Prop Sweepstakes which invites fans to register as a WB Studio Insider for a chance to win an original Harry Potter movie prop and other Harry Potter prizes. Also if fans upload a photo taken of themselves and their friends at the movie theater in front of a Harry Potter movie poster or in their Harry Potter “movie gear” they get 10 extra chances to win. It’s being promoted via 
Hot Topic is sponsoring the Harry Potter Golden Snitch Sweepstakes which starting today they are inviting “Seekers to Catch the Golden Snitch” which is hidden somewhere on HotTopic.com. $100 gift cards will be given out each hour and the grand prize will be awarded to one of the 24 hourly winners who will receive a $1000 gift card and a Harry Potter Merch prize package that includes a golden snitch signed by a cast member.
On YouTube fans could enter the Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince Advanced Potion-Making Experience Contest by creating and uploaded a video that shows and explains their unique potion concoction. The video needed to describe the ingredients, the name of the potion and what the potion’s results are. Six finalists were selected by the judges who then invited the public to vote for the final winner. The rules say that the winner will be announced today, but currently the site is still showing only the 6 finalists and not a grand prize winner yet. So stay tuned.
Well Harry Potter definitely has become a marketing power house. We’ll have to see what the majority of fans are saying about this 6th film. The response that I got from the teenage bodies in my living room this morning was not very positive. They all say the books are so much better than the films. So if you see the film or get input from your friends and family that see it, please pass it along here.
Blogher – Here I Come!
I am one of the speakers on a panel of great gals who will discuss publishing – in a world where writing a book may seem too far-fetched. I join self-publishing marketing expert, Penny Sansiervi (whom I have been dying to meet for … at least 3 years) and author, blogger Stefanie Wilder Taylor, who promises to have a lot of great information to share about blogging and publishing. Together, we will discuss that ever mysterious topic: writing, publishing, writing, blogging, writing, writing, writing – with intent to publish.
Will you be there? I would LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to meet you, if you are planning to attend. Let me just say that this is THE event of the year. It’s more than a conference, it’s a gathering – of women from all walks of life. Women with talents to inspire and educate, talents to teach and share, talents flowing from their fingertips through their keyboard, and onto their blogs and twitter pages.
You will see this conference well represented on Twitter and Facebook, so if you can’t make it – stay tuned to your computer. You will not be disappointed.
If you’re interested in learning more about the conference, you can visit this link at Blogher, or ask away in comments on this blog. I live to serve.
p.s. I’m a Blogher gal from waaayyy back! I knew Jory and Elisa and Lisa 
And, I hope I do them justice while I’m there. It just may be the launchpad of the NEW Lip-sticking. You all hang around, now…ya hear?
