It's everywhere.

As I’ve mentioned, a new initiative at work involves the marketers writing [insightful] blogs about the state of the market, industry, etc. Now, because I know my SEO (that’s search-engine optimization, yo), I would never duplicate content online, and jeopardize the search rankings of my company’s website. But because it hasn’t been published yet, I thought I’d share here for now.

Mixing it up, marketing-style

Finding creative ways to reach consumers isn’t new. From sponsoring radio shows, to the ever-present green screen ads behind home plate, advertisers have always been looking for the newt, creative way to get in front of their ideal audience. The past has brought us such advertising gems as:

• Billboards inside bathroom stalls: The best one I’ve ever seen of these was for some kind of liquor – it listed random trivia facts, for no other reason than to occupy your time (Did you know that Donald Duck is banned in Finland because he doesn’t wear pants?) The worst? An ad for the boxed DVD set of “Sex and the City” that started playing the theme song as soon as you entered the stall. I couldn’t get out of there quickly enough.
• Commercials before movies: Remember when these appeared out of nowhere and everyone was in an uproar? Now, we’re used to the complete branded experience that theaters offer – sneak peeks at a television show that you can chat about with your date, while seeing a car ad while texting the cinema radio station to tell them what song you’d like to hear next.
• Text ads that populate based on what you’re writing an email about: The talk of the town when Google introduced these, they allow advertisers to contextualize their product. Writing an email about a new CD you bought? Go see that band in concert! Creepy, or helpful?

The newest trend is what Forrester research has deemed “ubiquitous marketing,” a varietal of marketing that acknowledges that today’s consumer environment is all about interactivity. We text message to vote for pop stars, choose interactive kiosks over human interaction, read magazines online so we can share our comments, and check review websites for everything from doctors to bars.

To reach consumers in such an environment, it can’t just be about broadcasting more ads out into the world, and it’s certainly more hopping on the Web 2.0 buzz train – effective marketing must be about providing targeted information to your audience and knowing how that audience expects to receive information. Let’s not rehash how the internet has changed the way the world works. Beyond the changing face of online advertising, there’s a world of interactivity options out there for your marketing message – and a slew of compelling reasons that your brand should consider them:

MOBILE. While Japan and Europe are already aboard the mobile train, American brands are running a little late. Mobile marketing doesn’t have to mean a promotional text message that most consumers would align with SPAM. Rather, start to think of phones and BlackBerrys (how are those for ubiquitous?) as a way for consumers to interact with the rest of your marketing mix. In field marketing, use a bar code or SMS to provide your audience with an additional branded experience – or to gather more information from them. Mobile couponing – already widespread in South Korea and Japan – truly shortens the distance between your audience and point of purchase by allowing the consumer to carry your promotion around with them.

OUTDOOR. A time to interact with your audience that was once lost can now be filled with out-of-home advertising. Is your message particularly relevant to a certain audience or environment? Align it with content offered via videos or interactive kiosks in sports clubs, bars, restaurants, elevators, amusement parks, taxis, trains, at gas pumps, etc. Your customer is already engaged, this type of interactivity enables a natural call to action. Digital outdoor displays kicks the billboard business up a notch (or 50) by delivering content in real time, to truly relate to its viewers in an and actionable way: In Times Square during lunch time? Stop in at Friday’s.

Effective marketing shortens the sales cycle and/or narrows the space between point of purchase and consumer. For your message to reach the right consumer and elicit the right reaction today, your marketing must be service-oriented and truly facilitate the consumer experience. Ubiquitous marketing allows you to do this by relying on digital technology that is inherently easier to track, evaluate and update.

Most new media channels have measurement built in – gone are the days where a media plan that was crafted 18 months in advance can see your fiscal year through. The successful brand must be nimble – able and willing to react to data as it comes in. Imagine the possibilities of performance-driven advertising: No longer do you have to cast a wide net or be satisfied with brand awareness. You can follow your consumer through the marketing funnel and fine-tune your message – and investment – to maximize sales.

Does your brand have an identifiable audience, and a goal beyond building awareness? As consumers flock to DVR capabilities, upgrade to the latest phone with the gamut of interactivity offers, and become more and more immune to the One-Size-Fits-All mentality of traditional advertising, not supplementing your media mix with some cutting-edge capabilities becomes dangerous. Ubiquitous marketing is a challenge, but an exciting one that promises a more practical return on your investment, as well as productive data that you can use to establish workable campaigns, procure more budget, or justify an unusual spend.

Just breathe.

I just had a 90-day "mini-review." It’s a good idea – after 90 days in a new job, both parties should have an idea of how things are going, what should come next, and any looming issues that could be nipped in the bud (Hey, not unlike in a relationship).

Things are going well – my boss thinks that I am organized and efficient and have a solid grasp of the business and processes. And we’re finally going to start splitting up responsibilities, so the other manager and I aren’t constantly overlapping efforts. Here’s the problem. The two initiatives that I am supposed to work on are:

• "Getting out there": At least a few times a day, walk to someone’s office and have a conversation instead of emailing.
• Breathing: Talk more slowly.

He could have told me that I needed to double company revenue and I probably would be equally concerned. I mean, he really summarized my workplace shortcomings, right?

Yes, I prefer email as a way to communicate and, yes, I may have heard once or twice that I need to slow down when speaking (Let’s not let this little ironic tidbit pass without comment: Because I talk too fast, email really is the most effective way for me to communicate.). This office is relatively small – 70ish people – and people are always gathering in the hall, eating lunch in the kitchen together, etc. I know that not strictly work-related conversations can actually be productive. So, it’s not that I couldn’t see this coming.

But here’s the thing – I’m not exactly a “visitor.” Email was invented for someone like me – I feel like I am interrupting people or being a micro-manager if I pop into someone’s office. I mean, we’ve had a kick-off meeting and then an email outlining next steps, how is it not overbearing for me to check in with you? But, according to my boss, that’s how things get done around here and people will appreciate me making the effort. It will help me become a fully-engrained part of this team. Really, it’s not about getting more done professionally, it’s about being more involved personally. And that’s making my heart beat really fast.

But, this is a new job, and my boss is right – even getting here was a huge leap outside my comfort zone. So, if I’m going to be good at this, which I think I could be (whether or not I want to be, well, that’s a story for a different day), then I need to play by these rules. Um, wish me luck.

Happy Ben Folds Day!

Today marks the release of ‘Way to Normal’, Ben Folds first album since 2005. Hello Ben, 2005?? I know you were busy getting all divorced and remarried and traumatizing me with the not-romantic information that this is Marriage #4, but come on, no time for an album release in between all that?

Ben Folds has brought a lot of good to my life – He led me to Ben Lee, once opened a concert to the ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ overture and provided the perfect Father/Daughter dance song, so I would like to overlook his whole ‘personal life’ thing and celebrate today with a little breakdown of the Best of BF/BFF.

Magic. I listened to this song a lot when Donovan was sick. It helped.



The Luckiest. Apparently, Ben feels like every other woman he meets makes him The Luckiest, but for those of us with only one One-and-Only, this song is still pretty sweet.

Late. This is one of the songs that I occasionally find myself thinking about and that I MUST hear right away. He wrote it for Elliott Smith, someone he didn’t know too well, but whose death he was effected by. Who can’t relate to that?

Song for the Dumped. This song is hilarious. Give me back that black t-shirt indeed.

‘Regrets’ and ‘Don’t Change Your Plans for Me’ should be on the ultimate mixed tape for a recent college grad. Not that this (from ‘Regrets”) has ever been me:

I thought about the hours wasted
Watching TV, drinking beer
I thought about the things I thought about
Until immobilized with fear
And all the great ideas I had
And how we just made fun
Of those who had the guts to try and fail

Nope, never done that.

I can’t even highlight a single poignant lyric from ‘Don’t Change Your Plans’ because each one could hit you in a different place.

I could [try to] wax poetic about each and every song Ben Folds and Ben Folds Five has ever released and that’s because over the years I’ve been obsessed with all of them. Lyrically, I don’t know of anyone who marries (ha!) the poignant and the hilarious quite so well (Think: ‘Song for the Dumped’ followed by ‘Philosophy’ – you can read a lot into the juxtaposition just from the song titles.), and so many of his songs start out with just the right bang (Is there a better opening lyric than “I feel like a quote out of context”?).

Specific, touching, searing and insightful – I have high demands/hopes for ‘Way to Normal,’ and am confident I won’t be disappointed. Unless he gets divorced again.

Concert Review: The Swell Season

Last Friday, Jessica & I celebrated our 8-year friend-iversary with a pizza/beer/concert date. We met for dinner at Sicilia’s, which is the site of our first real bonding session, following our first ever college party – if college parties involve many foreign exchange students and martinis. (This is a party we now refer to as the “Russian Party” – it probably would have been cleverer to call it the Romanov Party.) Never again in college did we attend such a bizarre party, so it’s perfect that that one was our first. And it marked the first of many bonding sessions involving food and booze.

Okay, so the concert! Was amazing!

The acoustics were kind of terrible – occasionally it sounded like there was a screeching microphone going crazy behind the stage. Also, it was freezing. I honestly don’t know if that had anything to do with the hockey ice beneath the floor, but I kind of wanted to die. So, in general – hockey arenas = non-ideal settings for concerts. But they really overcame all those handicaps and put on a heartwarming show.

The opening acts were both enjoyable, even though neither introduced themselves. Having completed some research, I realize that perhaps I should have known who Patty Griffin was. But I’m going to need you to at least tell us your name when you come out – I’m probably more musically informed than 50% of the crowd of double-dating couples over the age of 60 there and I didn’t recognize any of your songs that have not previously been performed by the Dixie Chicks.

Once the Swell Season came on, things really got rocking. Marketa is totally tiny, and she spoke very little – Glen Hansard is definitely the face and mouth of this band (hopefully not that relationship too?). They performed most of the songs from 'Once,' a few old Frames songs and two new songs that sounded amazing. At one point, they brought up a busker who they (and we!) had passed on the street on the way in, and had him play a song, after which, Glen said “He was really fu**in’ good, eh?” It was pretty adorable.

The best part of the show is that it was obvious throughout the full hour+ how happy they were to be there. How fortunate and overwhelmed they have been with their success. They said thank you (actually, “tanks”) after every song, and never once did it seem insincere. I felt warm and fuzzy, especially when Marketa came out for the encore and sang 2 songs by herself. I am not sure a more quietly beautiful song than “The Hill’ exists.

In conclusion, 10 Twix bars! I hope The Swell Season stops touring soon so they can work on a new full album. In the meantime, I’ll work on expanding into a The Frames fan.

A new leaf.

A co-worker of mine recently returned from his honeymoon, and as I crossed paths with him this morning, I found myself saying “How’s married life?” (I don’t know where it came from – it’s one of those small talk phrases that just pops out, like – ugh – “Happy Friday”.) and he responded “Awesome!”

I was seriously moved by that.

When people asked me that, I would say something like “Oh, it’s just soooo different” and quickly move on, because I was sure that no one actually wanted to know how married life was, they just needed to say something, and it’s better to be slightly sarcastic than to over-share, right? But why do I have to be like that? Negativity isn't helping anyone. And you know what – married life IS awesome.

I have a bone to pick.

I have largely moved beyond my Disney Channel phase - though, to be honest, I will never fully move on from this:



But beyond that (and my tiny fascination with 'High School Musical'), I really have no clue about anything going on there lately, and that includes 'Hannah Montana', besides the obvious fact that Miley Cyrus is on it. I didn't even know that my mom's early-90s boyfriend Billy Ray Cyrus was also on it until some Wikipedia research for this very blog post (Pst, Billy Ray, please stop highlighting your hair - it is the opposite of hot country heartthrob. Please refer to Brad Paisley for better guidance.)

So, I was pretty aghast today to learn that a main character on 'Hannah Montana' is named Jake Ryan. Jake. Ryan. Also known as The Boy Molly Ringwald Loves in 'Sixteen Candles.' As if I need to tell you that.

I have a hard time buying that this is a coincidence (I mean, it's like: Ferris Bueller, Marty McFly, Maverick, Jake Ryan, right?), So, is it a tribute? Or is this some kind of conspiracy? I was so traumatized when I Googled "Jake Ryan" to see these results juxtaposed:


It's as if they are trying to create a second generation of girls obsessed with a character named Jake Ryan and somehow usurp the power of the 80s by making them swoon over the wrong one! Go ahead, tell me I'm wrong.

Movie review: Towelhead

Trevor & I are making a conscious effort to see more independent movies. Over the last 6 months especially, I’ve really fallen off the Smart Film wagon.

My main excuse for this is the time and effort required to see these types of movies. The amount of time it takes to get to a further away theatre, as well as the lack of show time options and therefore inconvenience of being an indie filmgoer is easy enough to understand. But the bigger issue is the feeling that I will be so drained after seeing a “deep” movie that I just can’t get up the emotional energy for it. I can’t tell you how many Netflix movies have sat on the coffee table for months because, no matter how much I want to see the film, I’m just not willing to commit myself to it that day. It’s so much easier to see an un-challenging movie.

I’ve been especially guilty of this lately, constantly opting for the easy, enjoyable movie escape – you know, one that’s perfect for a snuck-in bottle of wine, and very little post-viewing analysis. Before this weekend, the last 5 movies I’d seen were: ‘House Bunny, ‘Mamma Mia,’ ‘Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants,’ ‘Dark Knight’ and ‘Wall-E.’ It was hard to even get me to ‘Dark Knight,’ because I was dreading the emotional rollercoaster of watching Heath Ledger playing a disturbed, doomed depressive.

Now, obviously not all independent movies are heavy and intense. And I would argue that the movies that make you think and feel heavy things are more worthwhile to the viewer (and society) by providing insight into an aspect of the human condition you likely have no idea about. Essentially, if I want to continue calling myself a movie person, I have to put my money where my mouth is, support independent movies, and join in the conversation.

Are you wondering where the movie review portion of this blog entry is? Okay, here we go.

‘Towelhead’ was written and directed by Alan Ball, the creator of ‘Six Feet Under’ and the writer of ‘American Beauty.’ It tells the story of about 6 months in the life of a 13-year old Lebanese-American girl, who, in the early 90s, goes to live with her father in Houston after an inappropriate almost sexual interaction with her mother’s boyfriend. She’s a girl coming to terms with her sexuality, and confused about what she’s supposed to feel (and for whom) and how she should act. She’s naively flirtatious, and completely isolated in her confusion (When her mother sends her away in tears, she says “This is your fault.” Her father forbids her to wear makeup, use tampons or date a black boy.). She becomes the babysitter of a boy who lives next door, whose father (Aaron Eckhart) is an Army reservist with a stash of dirty magazines.

I wasn’t a big fan of the man playing Jasira’s father – I thought he took the obvious road a few too many times, but everyone else inhabited their characters fully and realistically. Towards the end of the movie, there’s a scene where Toni Collette’s pregnant character lies on the couch while major action takes place around her – it’s a testament to the lines she was given and her ability to fully inhabit her character that she didn’t have to move once to command the screen.

It’s a quiet and deliberate movie, with glances pushing the plot forward. It’s the kind of film that’s hard to recommend because of its intense story – children and sex abuse aren’t exactly date movie material – but it’s a film that’s certainly worth seeing for its commentary on sexual politics, family dynamics, race, and even the first Gulf War.

As you watch this girl tiptoe towards The Line, and then get shoved over it, you almost lose all hope, thinking that she's lost forever. Ball, like he did in ‘American Beauty’ before this and throughout ‘Six Feet Under’ gives the audience just one tiny sliver of light in an otherwise bleak landscape: With only her eyes visible, the sun shines on her face in a hospital room, a new life comes into the world, and you are rewarded for your hope – this girl is not broken.

7 Twix bars.

Rich man, poor man.

I’ve been watching a lot of TV recently. What with season premieres and all sorts of free downloads on iTunes, there’s a lot to catch up on. But everywhere I look, I see something I’ve seen before (and I’m not just talking about recycled plotlines) – I’m talking about new actors/actresses who are like the Poor Man versions of some more famous faces.

From 'Fringe':

This is not just an excuse for more Joshua Jackson. Poor Man’s Cate Blanchett, no?

From '90210':

A Very Poor Man’s Elizabeth Berkeley. Except with less acting chops.

From 'Lipstick Jungle':

A Poor Man’s Scott Speedman

*Actually, Scott Speedman – recently seen in such critical delights as 'Underworld' – might be the Poor Man version of himself. Because this guy is kind of hot.

** I was going to put the Andrew McCarthy doppelganger next, but upon further review – the guy isn’t just someone who looks like an Andrew McCarthy who aged really badly and got a totally different voice – its actually him.

Blane, what happened?

It hurts.

I did this exercise yesterday @ the gym, and I might never recover.


I realize that it looks harmless enough, but I challenge you to try it out. If your arms do not immediately stop working, you are my hero.

Movie Review: Paris Je T’aime

The way that ‘Amelie’ tells a grounded, meaningful story while lightly floating across your screen, this quilt of vignettes devoted to different neighborhoods and relationships throughout Paris pieces together to become something truly moving.



A number of different directors and actors demonstrate love in all forms and stages. My favorite vignettes were the one about the African man who had been stabbed, the man re-falling in love with his wife as she dies of cancer, and the mom who has to leave her baby in childcare so she can ride far far across town to care for someone else’s.

The directors succeed in telling one coherent story about the presence and significance of Love – both the Big love of your life, and the Everyday love you take for granted – and they do it without becoming gooey. The New York version is coming out next year – if it comes close to matching the depth and emotion of this one, I’ll be the first in line.