bring it on

i leave for a worktrip tomorrow for a client's event honoring violence prevention leaders in the state. i am responsible for drafting all the media materials for it (press release, awardee bios, ad copy), then distributing the press release and managing the designer and ad buy. it's always gratifying when the event happens and i submit a final report to the client. concrete products were not a big part of my last job and i always felt so incomplete there.

ok, i feel like rambling.

i had a wonderfully dork-a-licious band weekend (sorry javy...i love the dorky!). i caught the usc band pep rally at the levi's plaza, in town for the stanford vs usc game. they were originally slated to play on union square, but with that ginormous christmas tree and most random ice skating rink atop, there simply wasn't room. i mean, this band required 8 buses and they indeed stopped traffic. tons of usc alumni showed up and it was interesting to witness their school spirit. we didn't really have that at my college because we lacked such things as a football team and a marching band. our basketball team was aight, but tossing blue tortillas onto the basketball court was about as school spirited as we got. sigh, gauchos...

it ain't christmas without george michael and that other guy

this song always reminds me of when i worked at the gap in high school...we played this darn song over and over during the holidays. and yet, i still love it. :)



and since i'm on an 80s kick, i gotta share this human league video (check out those sf shots!):

party your body with blog ads

one of the things i get to do at my job is place ads in a variety of political blogs in california, such as capital weekly, the california majority report, and flash report.

i place ads in newspapers (and their online versions) as well as blogs. it's very loosey-goosey with the bloggers. the vast majority of them don't require a formal insertion order. they have an attitude of "just send it and i'll put it up." it's refreshing but sometimes nerve-racking when deadlines are involved.

many of my clients prefer advertising on blogs as opposed to newspaper websites because blogs are way cheaper and more targeted. one downside is that bloggers oftentimes cannot provide the sort of statistics that newspaper websites can, like click-thru rates, but there are ways to get around that if you've got a programmer (my clients don't bother). also, blog ads tend to pile up and visitors are faced with all these flashing squares...not sure if that really compels visitors to click on any of them.

so blog ads may not be the best way to introduce a new product or service, but it is a good way to maintain your brand (an essential thing to do, as taught in the branding strategies class) with a specific target audience.

sharing stories, sharing the love

one of the many features that i love on facebook is the easy ability to post items and share news articles with friends. for some reason, this week was rife with local animal stories.

i had posted a story about the 150 year old tortoise in cupertino that went missing for 6 weeks but mysteriously returned home just before it was hibernation time. i first heard about the story on local tv news when the owners were desperately searching for their beloved tortoise. after i posted the item on facebook, i learned that my friend in kentucky had been following the story too!

my sister had posted an article on facebook this week about the cat in santa rosa that had been missing for 13 years. a flurry of her friends posted remarks, celebrating the homecoming.

so the moral of the stories? mind your pets. and, even though it seems so rare, there is such a thing as a happy ending.

all this talk of animals has reminded me of my favorite annual holiday event in union square - the sf spca will soon be decorating the windows at macy's on union square and showcasing adorable kittens and puppies! they're now looking for volunteers. i can't wait!

it's raining invites and adds

not sure how everyone else felt in class today, but as we were all creating/logging into facebook/linkedin/twitter/etc. accounts and finding people to add, i got a little dizzy. i completely lost track of how many people i'd contacted (thank goodness mr. internet can track that for me) and now i'm getting emails galore informing me that so-and-so accepted my request. phew. i'm spent.

i know i went a little loco with photos in my last post, but i have one more to add, in the "things that make you go hmm" category. this was taken at a recent trip to home depot:



i can just imagine the person who came up with the name and wrote the copy on this label had a helluva good time.

i would marry signs

i was perusing blogs to comment on the other day and checked out a photoblog posted on our class wiki that reminded me of my love of signs. as such, i'd like to share a few photos i've taken of signs that amused me greatly.

this recent photo was taken at a beach across the street from the uc santa barbara dorms.



message taken: don't panic. NOT.

this was taken back in 2007 during one of our stops on the romantic road tour in germany.



message taken: no to houses, no to cars, no to humans, no to soccer. no, no, no.

and finally, this is on the back of the seats of the "it's a small world" ride in disneyland.



message taken: no party people allowed.

kids these days...

one of the many reasons why i love my job is that i am paid to scan the media regularly for articles relevant to the various projects that i'm working on. and ever so often i find the total random gem.

case in point, i found an article about how law enforcement has reinvented mcgruff the crime dog by using social networking websites. indeed, mcgruff the crime dog has a myspace profile and he blogs! if you actually check out the profile, you'll see that mcgruff is a 28 year old male living in dc. whoever put together the profile obviously had fun filling it out (gotta love mcgruff's interests).



like many optimistic efforts to reach youth, you'll also note in the profile the number of friends (a measly 21) and that most are adults. perhaps mcgruff just isn't cool with the kids anymore. maybe a 28 year old male shouldn't be managing mcgruff's profile. [CORRECTION - mcgruff really is 28, according to his bio on wikipedia]

i mentioned in class that some of my clients are trying to use facebook and myspace in their outreach efforts, particularly towards youth. with one client leading a campaign against gun violence in illinois, we suggested that they hire youth interns to ensure that their facebook group page (ICPGV youth advocacy corp - i'm pretty sure you'll need a facebook account to see it) was authentic and that they pay the youth interns a small stipend to ensure accountability (a word much loved in the nonprofit sector). yes, this was our chance to experiment and fortunately our client went along for the ride.

so the client dutifully did all of the above. they made sure their 3 youth interns had extensive networks (one gal has 724 friends!). and the number of members for this youth-led facebook group as of today? 43. this after 3 months of coaching and support (from the adults) and promises of action (from the youth).

why hasn't this been an instant success? are the youth just lazy? do they dislike being told what to do by adults? or does it simply take time to build momentum and grow the network? we're still trying to figure this one out...