Fun at the Stroll for Epilepsy

Special thanks to 10TV Anchor Andrea Cambern. Andrea was great to work with and inspired all of us to Commit to be Fit. Strolling for epilepsy and making a difference was the icing on the cake!

Couldn't make the Stroll? You can still donate to Leeny's Team here.

Last Call For Stroll - Join Us Along With 10TV's Andrea Cambern as we Walk For Epilepsy

Tomorrow is the Stroll for Epilepsy inside the Polaris Fashion Place (that's right, the cold is no excuse).

Join columbus imPRessions, 10TV's Andrea Cambern and the Rainey's (this year's Stroll Ambassador family).  Get some exercise and help us raise awareness and funding for the Central Ohio Epilepsy Foundation.

When:  Saturday, January 31, 2009

Registration opens 8:30 a.m.

Walk begins 10:00 a.m.

Where:  Polaris Fashion Place - Indoors!!

Register on-line here.

Register to volunteer day of event here.

columbus imPRessions has a team - Leeny's Team.  Click here to make a donation or join our team!

Don't miss out on the fun!

Valentines Day... Everyone's favorite hallmark holiday is coming up!

So, maybe Valentine's Day is one of those manufactured holidays, but don't be a hater.  Bring on the sappiness, spoil your significant other and treat yourself too.  This year you can avoid the crowds of happy couples and v-day suckers and enjoy a chef prepared meal at home.  And if you are really feeling generous, pick up some flowers to add an elegant touch to your take home cuisine.  The Culinary Table has everything you need for the perfect night in.. Call and order yours now, you will be so glad you did when the Valentines panic sets in on February 13.  

Call  488.3714 to order dinner and roses to be picked up at The Culinary Table on February 14, 2009.
Valentines Menu

    * Parmesan Pesto Canapes    * Bleu Boat Salad, Romaine Wedge with Crispy Smoked Bacon, Toasted Walnuts, Crumbled Maytag Bleu Cheese and a Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette.    * Creste Di Gali, moon shaped pasta, with choice of Delicate Lump Crab Meat or Tuscan Grilled Chicken Breast tossed in a Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Blush Sauce    * Olive Oil & Sea Salt Roasted Asparagus    * Mozzarella Basil Foccacia Bread    * Decadent Chocolate Lava Cakes with Homemade Vanilla Bean Ice-Cream
Children's meals also available.  Orders required 24 hours in advance of Valentines Day. Dinners available to serve immediately or reheat with our simple instructions.  Please have credit card information or gift certificate ready at time of order)
Dinner is $45 / person.
9 rose arrangement $50.  Other floral gifts available, contact Natural Designs at 614.395.3466.  Please place order by February 5th.

It's Barbie's World We Just Live In It

Happy Birthday Barbie!

This year Barbie turns 50 and to celebrate the doll and her brand, Mattel will be rolling out the "pink" carpet.  Various year-long events will be used to refocus the Barbie brand.  They want to bring back the attributes that Barbie is a fashion doll reflecting the current trends,  an inspirational doll showing girls they can be anything they want to be, and a doll with cultural relevance.

One of the first events will be during Fashion Week in February.  There, 50 designers will show off their Barbie inspired designs on life-sized models at a runway show.  You don't need to be in NYC to see the designs because Barbie.com will stream the runway show February 14th.

March 9th will be the actual birthday.  Of course the venue will be decked out just like a Malibu Barbie Dream House.

A bunch of corporate partnerships are being made as well.  Sephora and Bloomingdale's are just a couple who will be celebrating with Barbie.  

We think they should consider a cause-marketing campaign.  If they are rolling out the pink carpet maybe some of the proceeds could go to a breast cancer organization.  Barbie would teach the girls the importance of philanthropy and giving back and help a worthy cause in the process.  

After all Barbie has gotten so much over the years, it would be nice to see her celebrate by giving a little back.

Email Marketing: Effective & Inexpensive (can be, anyway)

columbus imPRessions often brags about our effective "multi-media" approach to PR & Marketing, and there really is more to this than the fancy lingo.  It's a well-thought out outreach plan targeting different audiences through a combination of traditional media (newspapers, etc), blogs, social networking, marketing pieces, mailings, and e-mail.   We always seem to have success with email campaigns, but have found that there are several secrets to success.  They may seem like obvious guidelines, but they can honestly make or break an email campaign.  

Okay, some will no longer be "secrets" to success.... 

• Short and simple:  Do not include too much info in an e-newsletter.  People receive a lot of emails, so the key is to grab attention and supply readers with an easy call to action (without sounding too gimmicky).
• Not too often:  We recommend keeping it to 1 or 2 emails a month.  Otherwise you will end up blocked, and potential customers will be annoyed by you.  
• Keep collecting emails and segment them.  This will allow you to send targeted emails to corporations, teens, moms, brides, non-profits, etc.    

An email campaign is a great tool, but requires time and energy.  

Is Plinky A New Type of Twitter?

Did you notice our brief prompting posts this weekend?  Why so random?  We joined Plinky.  What is Plinky?  Plinky is an on-line service that creates daily prompted questions or challenges to inspire web content.  Like Twitter, you can also join Plinky's on-line community and follow or be followed by fellow Plinky members.  You can view our Plinky profile here.

Plinky's founder is an ex-Google employee and the creative team is filled with impressive resumes.  We like Plinky because they work hard and laugh a lot (their words).  Similar to the beliefs of columbus imPRessions - the vigor, fervor and humor that is part of our company make-up.

Occasionally, to add light-hearted content to our site we will post a random prompt from Plinky.  We hope you enjoy them.  Check out Plinky here.  If you decide to sign up, let us know and we will follow up.

My first job: food service

Perfected the swirl on the top of an ice cream cone.

Worked at a local DQ through high school. Little pay but all the ice cream you could eat. Too bad I got sick of it after a couple weeks.

When I get home, I kick my shoes off

Just started Plinky. What is Plinky? We are now sharing our Plinky answers on our blog so you can find the answer Monday on www.columbusimpressions.com.

Heels all day hurt! Oh the pain we endure to look fashionable!

Mud Volleyball - Our Newest Client Project

Just wanted to create a little awareness and share the good news.  Yesterday we were hired by The Epilepsy Foundation of Central Ohio to handle all PR and marketing for their Mud Volleyball tournament this July!  We are updating materials and are in the process of creating sponsorship proposals.  

If your company or a group of friends want to get involved in this extremely fun event you can find initial information here.  More details coming soon.  It's never too early to sign up a team!  

Look at these photos, how can you resist?!!!

Funny Friday post

Just thought I'd share one of my favorite sites today.   Please note that, depending on your taste, some content could be offensive.  But in my opinion, it is worth sifting through the inappropriate ecards to find one that applies to you and that certain improper friend of yours.  They basically put something on a card that you should never be on a card.  Check it out if you have a few minutes, need a smile, and want to share a laugh.   For example....

We're In. Are You, Starbuck's Wants To Know

Starbuck's is joining the national call for service by encouraging volunteering with their "I'm In" campaign.  If you pledge to volunteer just 5 hours of your time this year for your community, for a nonprofit, or for your nation between now and January 25th, Starbuck's will give you a FREE tall brewed coffee.

Not sure where to volunteer?  Visit the Starbucks Pledge5 website here for opportunities near you.

We're In.  This year columbus imPRessions is proudly volunteering our time donating our marketing and PR services to the JDRF Promise Gala this spring.

Just bring in this pledge card and tell your barista "You're In" and enjoy your free java.

It All Starts With a Playgound

I know it is freezing in the Midwest right now and most kids are sledding not swinging.  But spring is just around the corner and soon playgrounds near and far will be filled with children.

That brings me to KaBOOM!  I came across this really cool non-profit on Facebook.  Not a Facebook group, (although they do have one and we just became a fan), but in SuperPoke. Yes, SuperPoke. 

The Facebook SuperPoke application recently added a causes section and KaBOOM has a SuperPoke where you can build a playground with KaBOOM.  Very smart and fun viral marketing. Watch out Facebook friends, you will be receiving a KaBOOM SuperPoke! from columbus imPRessions sometime today!

KaBOOM is a national non-profit that empowers communities to build playgrounds.  They create playspaces through the participation and leadership of communities.  They believe that play is crucial to a child's well-being.  A belief that is very important to us and the work of some other non-profits we have helped, like Camp Fire Central Ohio Council.  Getting kids outside and away from TV and computer is so important for so many reasons.

Columbus, Ohio has four playground projects in the planning stages.  Check them out here. Want to get involved?  They have LOTS of volunteer opportunities, funding options and side projects.  Visit their informative web site here.  

Great organization, great mission and 89 cents of every dollar goes directly to the program. A four star rating (highest rating) on Charity Navigator. Not many non-profits can report numbers like those.

GOkickball New Site

We've done a number of posts about how important an online presence is, and the GOkickball site is no exception.  In fact, since individual and team registration is only done online, an easy-to-use and engaging site is crucial for this business.  The league's new site just recently went live - check it out and let us know your thoughts.  We like that players will be able to upload their own photos and videos using flicker and youtube.  Also, soon there will be a GOkickball Columbus facebook page... we will post the link and talk more about how we will use this application to create additional awareness and keep players engaged.

Brand Advertising on Tees

This week was my daughter's 14th birthday.  It was no surprise to me that some of the hot items on both her birthday and Christmas lists was apparel from some of her favorite stores. It's crazy to think how popular t-shirts labeled with store names are.  

I wondered how, what started out as an undergarment, became such a broadcasting fashion statement.  I did a little research on how and when t-shirt advertising started.  It appears t-shirt advertising started with rock n' roll.  In the 1960's and 1970's rock and roll bands realized they could make quite a bit of extra money selling t-shirts with their bands name on them while further promoting their band.  It wasn't until the 1980's that designers and stores started placing their brands on t-shirts as a status symbol.  

T-shirt status symbol is still important to teens.  More than half of my daughter's closet is filled with Pink, Abercrombie, Hollister, and American Eagle.  All the kids proudly display them daily.  Pretty smart idea, people are actually buying clothes from your store (for a pretty hefty price too) and then wearing it all over.  Teens are actually paying to advertise for their favorite stores.  What a good gig!

Any idea what store was the first to advertise on their t-shirts?  My guess is Gap but not sure. Feel free to comment any ideas.

Some of our favorite rock t-shirts.

Hey 30 Rock Fans

Love 30 Rock?  Like Jane Krakowski?  You can vote for which Nicole Miller dress Jane will unveil at the Women's Day Red Dress Awards February 11th.  Place you vote at the site here.

For every vote Campbell's will donate $1.00 to the American Heart Association Go Red For Women Campaign.  This is through the Campbell's adDress Your Heart cause marketing campaign. 

Blogging for selfish reasons today...

Does anyone know what can be done about TMJ?  After seeing doctors, dentists, chiropractors and a "TMJ Specialist"  (it turns out there are no actual recognized specialists in the field), I have hit a roadblock.  I have the typical popping noise and all kinds of pain in the joint as well as through my shoulder and back.  It's awesome.  And I have no idea what to do next.  The TMJ Association (www.tmj.org) seems to be the most trustworthy source (maybe I am biased toward the .orgs), but unfortunately explains that there is nothing really I can do but eat soft foods, ice my jaw and try not to yawn.  Just thought that I would see if anyone out there had any suggestions.   

The TMJ Association did a great job with their Search Engine Optimization, very high ranking when you google TMJ.  There, the post has some relevancy.  

Social Media, Is it the New Marketing?

The other day I had lunch with a friend who I haven't seen in quite some time.  It was great catching up and sharing stories about our families and busy lives.  Also, because we are both in marketing, we spent quite a bit of time talking about marketing and social media.

My friend is the marketing director for The Diamond Cellar.  Over the years The Diamond Cellar has relied heavily on traditional media, mostly radio to market their message.  While this has been successful, they are now beginning to look at non-traditional avenues, mostly social media.

The Diamond Cellar is experimenting in Facebook and just recently built a products page.  You can see it here.  While there, why not become a fan, we did.  They are linking their page with the Facebook pages of the product lines they carry in their jewelry store to maximize their exposure.  Smart move!

I told her about Twitter and the benefits it has brought columbus imPRessions.  By burning our feed through twitterfeed, we direct more visitors to our site, and create awareness to our media followers on stories we want to get in the news.  It's almost like having a PR coordinator on staff sending out press releases on our behalf.  I highly recommended it for the Diamond Cellar.

I also talked to her about having a blog.  We strongly feel blogs are important for business. Because of the economy, potential client's are becoming more cautious about signing a contract so quickly.  With this in mind, we always encourage potential clients to visit our blog.  This is where they learn more about us.  Not only professionally but personally as well.  On our blog we share our personality, our styles and our feelings.  Potential clients start to develop a personal relationship with us on-line which makes them more comfortable and confident to do business together.  

I think a blog would be a great opportunity for the Diamond Cellar too.  They could include personal stories from customers, introduce staff, highlight product lines and the designers, use polling to get customer feedback, advertise exclusive promotions, and provide special offers to blog followers.  This would develop deeper customer relationships, give customers an interactive experience and can also serve as great market research.

We both left the lunch charged and ready to tackle the social media world. So charged it prompted this post and the word of mouth marketing for The Diamond Cellar.  The opportunities are endless and we continually learn new things each day.  

Jen, if the Diamond Cellar needs some social media pointers, let me know.  Would love to help and learn of other social media opportunities with you along the way.

Kidslinked.com

Just wanted to share a website that may be of interest to some our readers (Ali!)...  www.kidslinked.com was started in central Ohio and has grown to include locations throughout Ohio and Indiana.  It's a great resource where parents can find local events, activities, discounts, childcare and much more.   The site is well-organized, visually appealing, and the info is always up to date (a topic recently discussed in the previous post!)

It was started in central Ohio by two busy parents and we wanted to congratulate them on their innovation and success.  

It seems that most of kidslinked awareness has come from word of mouth marketing, which can be impactful, especially when it is among the parent/ family niche.  We would love to help boost their online visibility and public awareness and (of course) have plenty of fresh ideas on how to market the site (even continuing on a grassroots level).  As fellow central Ohio entrepreneurs, we truly would hate to see their concept and brand dissolve as competitors join the market.  

Importance of a Clean, Concise Website

The Internet and social media have been driving forces in creating and building our business. We are learning everyday the importance of a strong on-line identity, which leads me to this story.

Over the holiday, a friend of mine got married.  A very small, intimate ceremony in her backyard in front of very close friends and family.  Planning this wedding was a little challenging because the bride was in North Korea for a year while her fiance' was away in the army.  Therefore, quite a bit of planning was done on-line.  Already knowing where the wedding would be, she needed to focus on finding the right minister.  The on-line search began.  After looking a what felt like hundreds of sites filled with cupids and hearts and messaging that was way too cheesy she finally found the one.  However, the minister lived over an hour from where the ceremony was going to be held and the bride never even heard of her before.

When the minister asked the bride, "why did you pick me?"  The bride said it was because she loved her web site.  It was clean and concise.  She loved the messaging and the feel of the site. And because of her website, she booked the minster clear on the other side of the world.

We are working on our web site.  For almost a year we have been using a blog as our web site. We love this approach and it definitely will continue.  However, we want to achieve greater search engine optimization, higher rankings and have a professional appeal as well.  Our site is in its beginning phases but we wanted to give you a sneak peek of a couple pages.  

We'd love to hear your feedback on what you think so far.  Feel free to comment.

Deweys Pizza is Almost Here...

...and they have already made me a fan.   Central Ohio's first Dewey's Pizza is opening next month in Grandview and they are certainly familiar with word of mouth marketing.   It's a good old fashioned  thing called making friends and opening doors.  Use us as an example... We met with the manager several months ago to chat about partnering with a local charity, their grassroots marketing efforts, and the Columbus community in general.  Then last week they invited us to come in and try check out the place.(What do you know, now we are blogging about it). Obviously, I was all over that, made and immediate reservation and will be looking forward to friendnetting© , trying the food (I have heard good things) and checking out the scene.  It will be  a lot of people's first impression of the overall Dewey's brand so welcoming the neighborhood is a genius start.  We are just curious what is next in the marketing plan, Dewey's?... Additional PR efforts could help to get more than Grandview and Upper Arlington in the door.  Let us know if you need help. 

Too Good Not To Share

All your favorites in one place.

No need to search when you have All in One Place.  Click here to see what I mean.  

Bet you'll bookmark it just like I did.

Now they need to make one just like this but for all the different nonprofit organizations categorized by genre.

Culinary Table hosting Wellness & Cancer Cooking Classes

Our client, The Culinary Table will be holding Wellness and Cancer Cooking Classes starting January 21st.  Classes will include cooking demonstrations by Brooke Kinsey, chef at The Culinary Table, as well as information on how to make delicious and healthy choices when it comes to feeding yourself and family given by Nancy Kuhel, RN.  

Classes are forming now.  If you'd like to sign up for a class call 614.488.3714 or email info@theculinarytable.com.  Reserve your seat at The Culinary Table today.

Below is an information piece we created with more details.

Wanna join Our Stroll Team (or make a donation)?

If you haven't noticed the numerous mentions, Michele and I have been  working with the Epilepsy Foundation of Central Ohio on promoting the Stroll For Epilepsy.  But today's post isn't about our marketing and PR efforts, it is an opportunity for our blog readers to help enhance the quality of life for those affected by epilepsy.  There has been a lot of talk about this disorder recently, and we are fortunate to have the chance to work closely with the local Foundation.  We have gotten to know a remarkable family, the Raineys, whose six-year-old daughter Amanda has suffered from seizures since she was six months old.   She is the honorary ambassador for the Stroll, taking place January 31st at Polaris Fashion Place.  Everyone is welcome!  And if you can't make it.... please take a moment to make a donation to our team.  Just click here to donate- any amount you can give is incredibly appreciated.  

Thank you!

Obama Brand Ideas

Came across this today following someone on Twitter.  Thought is was cool and wanted to share.  Sol Sender was the lead creative director for Obama's '08 campaign logo.  Below are all the brand ideas submitted for consideration.  

To see Sol's interview on the subject click here.