Newseum

So I might have mentioned it a time or two, but last week I was in Washington, D.C.  During the trip I saw many incredible things and visited many wonderful places.  

One place that stood out from the rest for me was the Newseum.  I'm sure it has something to do with my chosen profession.

This fairly new museum has everything to do with our first amendment right to freedom of religion, speech, press and the right of the people to peaceably petition the government.

This interactive museum holds up to five centuries of news history, 15 theaters and 14 major galleries.  The kids in my group had a blast at the Interactive Newsroom where they played correspondents at the White House, as well as weathermen and women.  A definite must see when visiting our nation's capital!  We spent two hours there but could have easily spent another two to three more.

A big standout for me was the 9/11 Gallery. A piece of the metal structure sits in the center of the room where front page headlines of the day cover an entire wall.  It almost stops you in your tracks. Once you enter the area you see a piece of the Pentagon and Jet that crashed in Pennsylvania.

 

Moving around the room you then notice a tribute to a photographer who ran to the towers to catch the unfolding tragedy only to perish. His camera, glasses, film, notepad and credentials are encased in a glass display. Very moving and it brought back all those feelings I felt almost eight years ago.

On a lighter note, being a dog lover, one of my other favorites was the First Dogs exhibit where photos of presidents and the pooches align the wall.  I loved that President Johnson named his dogs Him and Her.  What a dry sense of humor he must of had, at least I hope that's what he was going for. 

Benefits of Owning Your Own Business

Yes, one of the greatest benefits of owning your own business is that you can close it down for a week if you wish.

This week, I will be doing just that because I am off to Washington D.C.   Instead of wearing my entrepreneur hat, I'm going to be wearing my chaperone hat and help with the 8th grade trip. I'm sure I'll be tired by the end of the week, but I know I'll have a blast.  

It's been quite some time since my last trip to D.C.  I'm looking forward to seeing the Holocaust Museum, the Newseum, the Monuments, the Smithsonian, and Mt. Vernon.  I'll be taking Twitpics along the way so be sure to follow me @cbusimpressions to see my photo journal.

Have a great week and I'll catch you back here next week!

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.

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.

Bark Obama

Now that the election is over the Obama family will being preparing for their move into the White House.  With a promise by their father, the girls should enter the White House with a new dog in tow.

Speculations of what breed to choose and all types of advice are circulating the news.  We'd like to weigh in giving our advice.  Not with the type of breed but instead how to get the breed.

Iams created a cause marketing campaign that we love - Home 4 the Holidays.  'Tis the season for giving, why not give a dog through pet adoption.  Together with actress Felicity Huffman, Iams wants to save the lives of 1 million pets this holiday season.

So President-elect Obama, if you or your people see this post, consider giving your girls a dog through this worthwhile cause.  You'll enter the White House appealing to even more people, possibly winning the hearts of those that didn't vote for you.

Quick Note from TeenColleen..

Obviously, the 2008 election was an incredibly important one, I get it.   But OMG, I am so over it.  Sorry for sounding so childish, but the constant news coverage and publicity,  including election tie-ins with Starbucks, Myspace, Chick-Fil-A, and Facebook has just made the words "vote" and "election" practically meaningless after a while.  Don't get me wrong, I am all for encouraging the youngsters and voting virgins (like myself) to vote, but it just got to be exhausting the last few weeks, actually months, before the election.  It is great to have so much information accessible but did it have to be in my face 24/7?!  

On the other hand, I did vote for the first time ever and I did get the free Starbucks.  I am a sucker.   

Any thoughts from the annoyed/ teenage/ eye-rolling side of your brain?  Just curious about our visitors opinions....

Go Vote Then Get Your Free Donut

Today is Election Day.  Go vote and feel proud to exercise that right!  After you've placed your vote for president, stop by a Krispy Kreme Donut Shop.  Krispy Kreme wants to celebrate this "oh so sweet" constitutional right.

If you are wearing your I voted sticker you will receive one star-shaped donut with red, white and blue sprinkles.  Yum!

Stand Tall with Starbucks

Watching SNL the other night I saw a Starbucks commercial.  The commercial didn't have a voice over, or actors, just green words on what looks like a coffee sleeve and subtle music.  This simple commercial makes a BIG impact. Starbucks wants us all to care enough to vote.  Care when it's convenient and inconvenient to make our community and our country a better place.  

Starbucks wants to show they care by giving everyone who voted a free tall coffee on Election Day.  A great way to persuade people to get out and vote and to also think about making this world a better place.

You can view the commercial on their web site home page here.

Next to the commercial you will see a red plus sign.  This opens the page to the new "Do Something Good Everyday".  Currently that page displays a counter counting backwards the seconds, minutes, hours and days until November 27th when they launch Starbucks Red. Starbucks red is a campaign to help the Global Fund in Africa.

Starbucks is giving back to countries where they do business.  All a part of their Shared Planet. 

We like the direction Starbucks is taking.  They are making their philanthropic footprint.  We are proud and excited to support companies who make their philanthropic footprint and Starbucks is making a big one!

Can't wait to vote and get our free tall coffee.  Thanks Starbucks for the java and for your power of persuasion! 

Creators of 30 Minute Infomercial

It's all over the news and everyone is talking about Obama's 30 Minute Infomercial that ran the other night.  We overhead people talking about it in Panera over coffee yesterday.

We aren't posting to show our support for one candidate over the other.  Being marketing professionals, we were very interested in finding out who the creators of the slick, strategically marketed infomercial were. 

Research found that three key players hand their hand in the creation:

1. Jim Margolis from GMMB
   
2. Mark Putnam from Murphy Putnam Media
   
3. Davis Guggenheim from Hollywood - Director and Executive Producer
   

The two agencies put the ad format together and Guggenheim produced the human interest stories.

Both agencies are leaders in the political arena creating campaigns for many political figures, mostly democrat.  Murphy Putman has a strong political history.  GMMB has a strong political backstory as well coupled with an influential non-profit background, assisting foundations such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.  The combination and strength of the two agencies resulted in a polished, humane 30 minutes. 

Regardless of your political preference, you have to admit the ad was a well-oiled machine. Maybe too oiled and polished?  We'll let you be the judge of that.

Thank you Columbus Alive

After what seems like years of attacks, emails, commercials, SNL impressions, debates, boing newspaper articles,and hearing "I approve this message,"  it was refreshing to find a simple, unbiased breakdown of Barack Obama, John McCain, the minority party candidates, other offices on the ballot,  and statewide issues, in Columbus Alive's Voter Guide.  Personally, I have felt overwhelmed by such information overload, and find it hard to know what to listen to.  So, thank you Columbus Alive for weeding out the BS and summing up the facts.  (They also refer readers to check out the sample ballots).  

Changing Face of a Logo

After five months and around $1 million, Pepsi revealed its new look that officially launches in 2009.  The look moves from classic to adventurous, young and full of personality. Below are some of the evolving looks of the Pepsi brand. Pepsi has actually had 11 looks in its 110 year history, five of those over the last 21 years.  The last time Pepsi was changed was 2002.

The white band in the new Pepsi logo is supposed to represent a smile.  Pepsi will have a full smile, Diet Pepsi will have a grin, and Pepsi Max will have a laugh.

What do you think?  Do you like it?  Maybe too trendy?  We think it also resembles a certain political candidate's logo.

The Power of a Tweet

Last night during the presidential debate I had my MacBook open to Twitter.  It was so amusing as I watched the tweets fly.  Comments on the candidates were made about everything from body language, policy positions, demeanor, and even Joe the plumber.  Watching all of this, it made me wonderful if either camp had monitors scanning all the comments to see if they could get a read on who won the debate, or if one candidate had more Twitter fans than the other.

It most likely did happen.  A growing number of companies are paying close attention to Twitter using a scanning tool, Tweetscan, to see what people are saying. Brands are paying close attention to this micro-social networking site.  If companies are doing it, I'm sure political parties are too. You only have 140 characters to speak your mind, but those characters can sway other tweeters - positively or negatively.  

Quite a few positive, negative, and hilarious comments were made last night about both candidates.  I guess we'll find out how everyone is really feeling on election day.  

SNL's Influence

Speaking of Mavericks . . .
Everyone knows that Tina Fey and Sarah Palin are twins separated at birth.  We love Tina Fey and think she is brilliant.

But is the funny twin on Saturday Night Live hurting the brand image of the Vice President contender?

For the last few weeks SNL has done a pretty good job imitating the Vice Presidential candidate. The outfits, hairdos, accent and mannerisms are pretty right on the money.  So, is the tongue and cheek humor making the public think Palin is not quite ready for the job hurting her image?  

We're not sure if SNL has that much influence.  The skits are, however, getting quite a bit of attention.  In fact, yesterday while we were meeting at Panera and talking about the funny SNL skit last weekend (love the beer drinking Maverick reference - hilarious) a woman (typically not fitting the SNL demographic) overhead us and joined in the conversation adding she thought the skit was very funny. 

Maybe SNL won't sway voters, but they sure are creating a buzz and creating some sort of influence.

VP Debate

In about a half an hour the big debate will be on and all eyes will be glued to the set.  We will be watching too.  We want to hear the opinions of both sides, but we will also be looking at the marketing magic behind it all.

For starters there is a slick logo for the event.  Let's hope the candidates are as slick tonight.  We'll be watching and seeing what other unique finds we can mention tomorrow.

Brands Jumping on the Election Opportunity

Obviously the election is the hottest news story and attention grabber out there.  That's why some brands are using non-traditional marketing techniques to jump on this opportunity.

Burger King is using their "have it your way" tag line broadened supporting your right to vote - either at the polls or through customized ordering.

With an XBox live membership, subscribers can register to vote for free using their gaming system.

But our favorite is Qdoba with their Taste Bud Politics campaign.  They built a site analyzing the food preferences and personalities (or Qdentity) of each candidate.    You can also find out your Qdentity (I'm a Quesadilla), cast your vote for your candidate of choice in the presidential election, and see instant poll results.  Qdoba has also created Taste Bud Politics pages on various social networking sites.  

Very clever.