Excellent and Master’s Level

POSTED BY: Arleen, FILED AS: Business Planning, ON: Tuesday, January 28th, 2014

Who Knew??  The prestigious Westminster Kennel Club dog show is not only allowing mixed breed competitors but it also allowing the sport I practice with my dog, agility. Only 225 dogs can participate so you can image many of us didn’t get in. Like a lottery, the dogs were selected at random. To qualify, you have to be at the “Excellent and Master’s Level”. We were there but sadly didn’t get in.

westminster-nyc

The first widely documented appearance of dog agility was at the Crufts Dog Show in England in 1978. It was originally designed as an entertainment segment between the conformation and obedience rounds. It was enthusiastically embraced by the spectators. Agility intrigued dog owners with its demonstration of speed, agility, and the enthusiasm of the competitors. It is open to a of a variety of breeds and it had quickly grown into an international and local sport with standardized equipment.

crufts-dog-show

How Agility Training is Making a Difference at Westminster

This year will be the 138th Annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. Westminster Dog Show is the one of the longest-running shows of its kind, starting back in 1877. This prestigious dog show judges canines in categories, such as Best in Group, Best of Breed and Best in Show.

The New York the Championship course will be a hybrid of the qualifying rounds and will be televised. It will be run as a ‘time to beat’ course. The first dog will set the baseline time for the subsequent competitors. Agility has become an exciting canine sport for spectators and it has become the fastest growing dog sport in the country. I am not going to bore with my experiences running my dachshund. I have already done that and if you want to look at my experiences please read: How Agility Training Has Helped Me Overcome Business Obstacles.
Why is this a big deal? For 138 years NO mixed breed dogs have appeared in Westminster and agility wasn’t even thought of.

How can you relate this huge change made by the Westminster Dog Show to your Business Plan?

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Super Bowl Advertising: You Don’t Need a Commercial Just Some Creativity

POSTED BY: Arleen, FILED AS: Advertising Ideas, ON: Tuesday, January 7th, 2014

Young adults watching football
We did it. We braved the holidays and sailed into the New Year. Now our reward is just around the corner. What reward you ask? Well none other than the Super bowl of course. I wait all year to see the best commercials advertisers have to offer. Of course I watch the game, but as a marketer I look forward to the commercials too. With an estimated 111 million viewers watching the game, The Super Bowl is an event for football fans but for business alike. This is the only time of year where businesses obtain this extensive amount of viewership. Do not underestimate the power of Super Bowl Sunday! With Super Bowl Sunday comes the power to draw in viewers, capture their undivided attention and make consumers actually sit up just to watch commercials. I have been at Super Bowl parties where the room is just as quiet for commercials as it is when the game is on.

The Super Bowl can be summed up into three categories, the game, the half-time show and the commercials. It is from the game that this day gets its origins, let’s face it, we all want to know who is going to Disney World, but we also want to see what Doritos or Coke and Pepsi will come up with this year. The first Super Bowl was in 1967 but there were no note worthy commercials until the 1970’s. In 1967 a 30 second commercial spot cost $42,000 this year a commercial spot cost 3.7 to 3.8 million dollars but with the opportunity to sell your product to the largest television audience of the year companies see this day as a marketer’s dream.

So now the question becomes, how your business can capitalize on Super Bowl Advertising. The cost for one commercial slot might be over budget for your company, however, here are a few ideas to put your business in the game too. Continue reading →

Ideas on How to Increase Customer Loyalty

POSTED BY: Arleen, FILED AS: Client Relationships, ON: Tuesday, December 10th, 2013

I was cleaning out my handbag and wallet the other day and I was overwhelmed by the amount of reward cards I have. But they are all valuable to me. The pet store gives me $10 off for every $100 I spend. The grocery store gives me discounts on gas. The convenience store gives me “reward dollars” plus a ton of coupons. For these reasons, I keep going back.

Customer loyalty is important for my business and I’m sure it is for yours. From small businesses to large corporations, without demand there would be no one to supply. Attracting the correct consumer, making them a repeat customer and getting your customer to bring new clientele is how a business thrives.

So, I thought about what we do at Garrett Specialties to retain our current customers and attract new ones. We’ve talked about customer service before, it is extremely important to keep your customers happy. And now I have come up with five ways that will help you achieve customer loyalty.

Just for fun, I have included a video for each tip. Each video shows a funny commercial with a unique perspective on customer loyalty. Continue reading →

Rejuvenate Your Mind and Body to Get Back to Business

POSTED BY: Arleen, FILED AS: Promotional Products, ON: Tuesday, December 3rd, 2013

Lazy Fat Cat

For those of you living in the US, being with loved ones on Thanksgiving may be something you were looking forward to all year. For those outside of the US, I’m sure you can relate this to any festive gathering. Anyway, now it is over and you are left with the fallout. A couple of weeks ago I wrote a blog on healthy habits during the holidays and I don’t know about you but I over indulged. Instead of beating myself up for it, I decided to do something about it and write this post in continuation on how to stay healthy during the holidays. It’s time to get off the couch like the lazy cat in the photo above and get back to business!

Here are 10 ways to put you rejuvenate your mind and body to get back to business after a big holiday.

1. Be Thankful

Ok, you over indulged, so did I, forgive yourself. Don’t feel guilty about it. Instead be thankful for the time you were able to spend enjoying yourself, family and friends. This is a great opportunity to show others how thankful you are too. In business and in your social life, a personal gift is a memorable way to say “thank you”.

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Lessons from Successful Branding Entrepreneurs

POSTED BY: Arleen, FILED AS: Promotional Products, ON: Wednesday, October 23rd, 2013

This post was inspired by several articles that I have read about being successful. I’m always fascinated by well know successful people and how they have acquired their success. There are more millionaires and billionaires now than ever before in the history of America. The creation of the internet plays a big role in this. The internet has opened a market for almost everything. For the first time ever a consumer can see an advertisement, make a purchase and have it delivered to their house without ever speaking to anyone or leaving the comfort of their own home. While many people on Forbes 400 2013 list of Billionaires have made most of their money in conjunction with the internet there are many business men and women who have used the internet simply as a tool to further their already thriving businesses. Recently I came across some very impressive people whose names we know well and are still relevant in the world of business. They are all Successful Branding Entrepreneurs.

mark-zuckerberg-facebook

Believe.
Trust in your gut feeling. There is a voice in all of us that propels us to work hard, focus and to finish but not just finish, succeed. It is this voice that drives the entrepreneur in all of us. One well known entrepreneur and innovator is Mark Zuckerberg. Mark is the founder and creator of Facebook, a social media company that has almost 1 billion users worldwide.

It was in a college dorm room at Harvard where he and some friends created a social media page for his college which would later became the template for Facebook. Many people told him it would never work and now he is one of the youngest billionaires in the world. It took Mark’s belief in his self along with the belief in his idea to encourage him to forge ahead with his creation. So innovative that there is almost no one in the world who doesn’t know what Facebook is, it would not be in existence if it wasn’t for imagination, perseverance and belief in his own capabilities.

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KFC Attracts Customers on the Go with Promotional Cups

POSTED BY: Arleen, FILED AS: Brand Awareness, Travel Marketing, ON: Wednesday, October 16th, 2013

Consumers like convenience and never before has fast food been so popular. There are drive-thrus so that you don’t even have to leave your car and not just for fast food. I have seen drive-thrus at pharmacies, dry cleaners and even supermarkets. Most Americans usually are on a tight schedule and want convenience where ever they can get it. But convenience is not all they are looking for. It is no surprise to most of us that many Americans are hard pressed to find time for home cooked meals around the dinner table and often turn to fast food as an alternative.

KFC Go Cups

Photo from kfc.com

Although American’s are purchasing fast food in record numbers, more and more they are looking for healthier options. KFC recognized this and made an effort to bridge the gap between fast food and healthy options by introducing their new Go Cups. Designed to fit into just about any car cup holder, the Go Cup holds smaller portions often referred to as “snack-sized” and comes with five different food options. The Go Cup doesn’t only just fit into your car cup holder, it separates the food you ordered; chicken from fries for example. The most interesting fact is that KFC has not only found a way to make their customer’s meal more convenient while they are driving but it also passes on savings to the consumer because the Go Cup meal options cost almost half the price of the least expensive full meal on KFC’s menu. I know, it may sound like I am writing this piece to advertise KFC’s new Go Cup but that is not the case. Reading about the new addition to KFC’s menu caused me think about how often businesses are looking for a way to keep their brand relevant and often the answer is innovation and risk taking, KFC has done both.

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A Look at Bike Share Programs and What We Can Learn from Them

POSTED BY: Arleen, FILED AS: Brand Awareness, ON: Wednesday, October 9th, 2013

Who would have thought that going green, you know, being more environmentally considerate, could be good for your business in the short term? Well that is exactly what you could get with advertisements on none other than a bike. If not there yet, than sure to come to a city near you is a bike share program that is quickly popping up in most large US cities. Coast to coast and north to south, many cities are adopting bike share programs to not only help keep down fuel emissions and gas cost but also to promote good health. While all of these reasons are great on a personal level, we can learn a lot from this program on a business level also.

Bay Area Bike Share launch in San Jose CA

Bay Area Bike Share launch in San Jose CA – Flickr: Richard Masoner / Cyclelicious

First started in The Netherlands (Amsterdam) in 1965 the project that had nothing but good intentions soon failed do to vandalism and stolen bikes. Like most things, as technology evolved so did bike sharing programs internationally. As a solution to the vandalism/theft problem, Portsmouth, UK, installed electronic bike racks in the 1990’s. In addition to the electronic racks were smart cards which for a small fee allowed a renter to access the bicycles without anonymity. If the bike came back damaged in any way or didn’t come back at all than the renter was charged a fee for the damaged property. The other component to the program that aided in its success was the installation of cameras that monitored the bike racks 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. Once the program was proven to be a success with some minor changes, it was slowly but surely adopted all over the world. China, Australia and the US now have bike shares programs. In preparation for the 2012 DNC (Democratic National Convention) the city of Charlotte installed bike share racks all around downtown Charlotte, NC so that the millions of people that swarmed the city would have transportation options. So what can we learn from this program in terms of business? Continue reading →

Do Something Nice Day?

POSTED BY: Arleen, FILED AS: Advertising Ideas, Client Relationships, ON: Wednesday, October 2nd, 2013

Remember when there were only federal holidays? Now it seems like we have designated a day to celebrate everything. While I think some of these days we can do without I came across one that is not only fun, but can definitely help the moral in the office. October 5 is Do Something Nice Day. This is an awesome, selfless thought. How often has an act of kindness brightened your day? Whether you are on the receiving end or you are the person enacting the kindness, I think we all can agree that a little bit goes a long way.

Not so long ago I was approached by a man in the street who told me he was hungry and we just happened to be standing in front of a restaurant. I had not intended on purchasing lunch for a stranger that morning when I was getting ready to go out but my motto is expect the unexpected. So I offered to buy this man lunch. Just the smile that lit his face was enough to make my week. It was in that moment that I realized there was no limit on the value of kindness.

Often we forget that we are all connected and this is never more evident than when I think about the selfless acts of heroism performed by our service men every day. Pay it Forward is something most of us are told we should do but an anonymous veteran did just that. With a simple note of thanks that read “I noticed the sticker on the back of your car; take your hero out to dinner when he comes home. Thank you both for serving. Him deployed and you for waiting” along with the note was $40 in an envelope. Samantha Ford’s belief in kindness was renewed and she took a picture and posted it on Facebook. By Tuesday morning, the post had a million and a half “likes” and more than 43,000 comments. In addition it had been shared nearly 200,000 times and got national recognition when it was reported by ABC news. The Ford family made a sacrifice to serve their county and they encouraged others to take the time to thank a veteran and their families for their service. Continue reading →

Business Innovation is Our Forte

POSTED BY: Arleen, FILED AS: Business Planning, ON: Wednesday, September 25th, 2013

Just weeks before their America’s Got Talent audition Josh Page of New York, Hana Ryu of South Korea and Fernando Varela of Puerto Rico met on the internet. Never before performing in front of an audience, these three strangers got on stage to perform on national television. Mel B asked them how they met, how long they had been together and where they had sang together before. Their answers led to skepticism from the judges as well as myself because they had met on the internet, practiced via Skype and had never sung for anyone as a group before their audition. I remember thinking, “this is going to be a joke”. Well it was a joke and the joke was on me because their voices brought me to tears. I watched the video 3 times in a row and could not understand how three strangers could sound so harmonious. They honestly sounded better than groups that have been together for decades. The group is called Forte and although they have since replaced an original member, they are gaining notoriety. This is all because they were willing to take a risk and try something new. They had a plan and because they didn’t worry about how unconventional their plan may have been they are now a singing group that has the attention of the world. Continue reading →

How Taking a Break Can Help You Be More Productive

POSTED BY: Arleen, FILED AS: Promotional Products, ON: Tuesday, September 17th, 2013

Lunch Break - How to Be Productive

Do you find yourself doing everything but eating at lunchtime? Do you even take a lunch break? Are you one of those people that thinks working through lunch makes you more productive? Do you eat at all during your break? Be more productive by taking a break!

The whole point of a lunch break is to do just that, break. Although we may not always think of our break time as a part of our productivity in business, it is. There are many reasons why employers are required to give a lunch break. Too many lunch breaks are taken at ones desk with a sandwich in one hand while typing with the other. It seems as though our society doesn’t believe in breaks anymore. We have become work obsessed and many of us have forgotten the benefits that come with downtime. Our brains are always working. Just as important as refilling your car with gas to get to work we must refuel our brains to continue to work effectively.

Lately, I have found that I haven’t left my desk much. I’ve been so busy that sometimes I skip lunch. I know many of you are just like me even if you work from home. So I took some time to do some internet reasearch and here are some ideas that I have come up with. These are ideas that I’ve found that I will apply to my day to make it less stressful and more productive. Continue reading →