My 20 Tips For Twitter Success

Check out this article by Joanna Ciolek, published January 13, 2010. She talks about 20 different things that you can do, and avoid, to better your position in the Twitter market. Brush up on your skills today to achieve great success tomorrow!

Here is the article:

There is so much talk about what it takes to be successful on Twitter. Some seem to be better at it then others. We all agree, Twitter is one of the most cost-effective ways to grow and market your business. Let’s learn to use it to our advantage then.

My 20 Tips For Twitter Success

While I’m relatively new to Twitter (joined less then a year ago), I’ve learned quickly that Twitter is about engaging, interacting, sharing, giving, learning and growing. Here are my 20 tips for Twitter success.

1. First and foremost be authentic. Don’t be afraid to show your personality. To stand out, be yourself and do your best to add value to your community. Your followers will be drawn towards an authentic voice. Soon your business will grow in the process.
2. Avoid self-promotion, this will only scare people away. Instead concentrate on building relationships by actively engaging in natural conversations.
3. Be approachable, genuine and respectful. Treat others the way you’d want to be treated.
4. Engage with your followers. Take the time to get to know those who follow you, learn who they are and what interests them. Read the stream and respond to anything that you find interesting, re-tweet, answer questions, acknowledge their RTs. This will start to build a community around you and your brand.
5. Be personable. Provide a personal connection by creating a fun and inviting profile with a nice picture/background.
6. Reach out to those you follow as some of them may have not noticed you. Let them know you’re there; get noticed. This can be easily accomplished by re-tweeting their awesome content, adding them to one of your lists or tweeting them directly.
7. Stay upbeat and positive. No one likes drama, badmouthing or plain negativity. This doesn’t mean that you should be something you are not but with every tweet you have a choice. Be positive or stay away.
8. Respond to mentions and DMs. Don’t ignore.
9. Give and you shall receive. RT others as you’d expect them to RT your content. Offer help, provide useful information and guidance. Be there for your people and they will return the favor when you are in need.
10. Don’t be boring. Entertain, be funny, be snarky, be real.
11. Be multidimensional. Don’t just tweet about marketing only because you are a marketer. You are so many more things. Tweet about your hobbies, kids, that funny thing that happened to you this morning, anything that your followers might find interesting. One-dimensional tweets are boring.
12. Follow people and conversations relevant to your niche. This will help you grow your skills, expertise and your business network.
13. Grow your community by connecting people with one another. Make introductions, support and coach others.
14. Talk less, listen more.
15. Get to know your audience, their wants and needs, to understand where your business needs to grow. Only after you learn what is it that people are looking for, you can give it to them.
16. Numbers mean nothing. You are better off having 20 true friends that 2000 strangers who care nothing for you.
17. Always seek out new people to connect with.
18. Take those online relationships into offline friendships.
19. Never tweet anything you wouldn’t want your mother or your boss to see.

1. Don’t spam!

… And That’s a Wrap

My best advice for Twitter success is to be yourself, be real and invest in building relationships just as you would in the ‘real world’. In fact, interaction, response, and reciprocation are keys to building lasting relationships via any social media platform. The key here is remembering the social part. When you promote and support the community you are a part of, you contribute to its growth and prosperity and that will trickle down to your own business.

Happy Halloween from Asterisk Creative

In the spirit of Halloween I thought that I would blog about a subject dear to my heart, Tim Burton. You have probably heard of him or seen one of his many movies like Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Sleepy Hollow, Corpse Bride or the new Alice and Wonderland, just to name a few.

Tim Burton has reached a degree of greatness that every aspiring animator around the world would love to achieve. He has created a world where his creations can come to life.

With Halloween right around the corner any Tim Burton fan will tell you that The Nightmare Before Christmas is on their mind. This animated film was produced in 1993 and tells the story of a skeleton figure named Jack who is from Halloween Town. He unlocks a portal to Christmas Town in which he knows nothing about. The plot thickens when Jack becomes intrigued with Christmas Town and devises a plan to take over Christmas.

This movie is not just your average cinema flick. Tim Burton started his idea for the story with a poem he wrote in the 80's while working at Disney. After Disney thought the idea was too scary for kids, Tim turned to Touchstone Pictures to produce the film. He needed a lot of financial backing. To create this visual spectacle, Tim and his crew of magicians had to be innovative. After sketching what every character and scene would look like, they create everything by hand. The film was comprised of over 200 puppets. The main character Jack alone had over 400 heads for different expressions!

Tim recently had his work featured in MOMA (The Museum of Modern Art in NYC) which drew an enormous crowd that became the museums most visited exhibit to date. The collection consists of over 700 original pieces by Tim along with studio and collaborative work. The exhibit is now in Australia and will be going to the LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) in late May 2011 until October 31, 2011. If you haven't seen Tim Burton's website you should treat yourself for Halloween this year. Click Here

We at Asterisk Creative can appreciate the craftsmanship that goes into a project of this volume. To create a seamless story whether in video, web design, logo design or in a marketing plan it takes plenty of organization, sketching and thought. We carefully plan every move, like Tim, in order to make superior marketing and design decisions that tell a creative, compelling story.

Happy Halloween from all of us at Asterisk Creative!

Swiss Grid Inspiration

Graphic Design has evolved through the years like fashion has. Every historic moment in time has effected how people communicate their style. After the Art Deco period ended in the late 30's early 40's a new kind of graphic design emerged out of Switzerland. This movement began in the 1950's and adapted the name The International Typographic aka "The Swiss Style."

The graphic artists in this movement focused on clean lines, readability and the grid system. The use of empty space combined with text, images or both created the minimalist look. Josef Müller-Brockmann was one of these Swiss designers who has left an impact on designers around the world. He was born in Rapperswil, Switzerland in May 9, 1914 and has written many books on the grid system for Graphic Designers. Check out some of his poster designs that showcase the minimalist aesthetic with interesting ways of using the grid system to create clean lines.

How to make your Facebook content “Top News”

This is an article we wanted to share:

One of the main aims of companies using Facebook for business is generating awareness, as Jay Baer pointed out in his Facebook Success Summit session on Tuesday afternoon. The top way to do this, Baer says, is to win the News Feed. It seems simple: If you get someone to “like” your company’s Facebook page, then they receive the content you send out, right?
Not exactly, Baer said.
Your news feed is divided into two sections, “Top News” and “Most Recent News,” and people are automatically directed to their “Top News” feed when they log in. Facebook has even acknowledged that 95% of users only read their “Top News” version of the feed. Thus, to stay on your customer’s radar, your content must fall into the “Top News” category.
As Baer explained in his presentation, “Top News” is determined by the Edge Rank, an algorithm that reflects three components:

• Affinity Score: The amount you have historically engaged with content by a person/page increases your affinity to the content creator.
• Timing: The more recent the post, the higher it ranks.
• Weight: As posts are commented on, liked and shared by other Facebook users and their networks, their overall weight increases.

So, what should you do to continue to appear in the “Top News” section of the News Feed?

• Post content frequently. This increases your chances via the timing angle.
• Consider your post timing. Only 35% of Facebook users log in during the workday, research shows. That means “off hours” might work best for posting your content.
• Use calls to action in your posts. Encourage your fans to like, comment, or share your content to increase the weight.

How often are you posting content on Facebook? Did you understand direct the connection between frequency, weight, affinity and becoming “Top News”? 

By Emily Molitor
www.smartblogs.com
*This article was written by Emily Molitor for SmartBlogs

10 Marketers Who Transformed American Culture

Liodice Continues His Series by Looking at the People and Ideas That Changed Our Lives

by Bob Liodice
Published: September 06, 2010

http://adage.com/cmostrategy/article?article_id=145707 

Bob Liodice

Looking at American culture throughout history, iconic images come to mind. Some are turning points in history, forming our nation. Others are people who shaped our freedoms and laws. And some are brands that affected how we eat, shop and pass our time. Each was once an idea that has grown into a national -- and in many cases, global -- force to be reckoned with. Below are 10 examples of these people and their ideas that have grown far beyond expectations.


PT BARNUM
The showman created some of the most sensational promotional stunts of the 19th century. Barnum stole a place in the marketing hall of fame by staging outrageous hoaxes, through which he drove audiences to his American Museum and captured the imagination of the country. Barnum took a country still suspicious of spectacles and had it shed its conservatism; scholars credit him with spurring America to embrace spectacle.

R.H. MACY
In 1858, R.H. Macy launched a small, "fancy" dry-goods store. Its emblem was a memorable red star, sourced from the tattoo Macy got as a young sailor. With this store, Macy attempted new tactics. Instead of haggling, he presented customers with clearly marked prices and actively advertised them. These practices led to $36 million in sales by 1918. Six years later, Macy's Herald Square expanded to become the "World's Largest Store."

WALT DISNEY
Walt Disney created his first shorts in the 1920s. In 1928, he won over the public with Mickey Mouse in Steamboat Willie. When he introduced color and produced features in the 1930s, his studio skyrocketed into popularity. By World War II the federal government noticed the positive effect Disney's films had on American morale and contracted them to create cartoons for the war effort. In 1954, he was one of the first to introduce full-color programming to TV.

Steve Jobs

STEVE JOBS
In 1976, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak set up operations in the Jobs family garage for Apple, which soon began to sell some of the first personal computers. In 1985, Jobs left the company for a decade, creating his own computer company, NeXT, and forming Pixar. He returned in 1996 and soon became head of Apple once again. The company produced a successful line of sleek products that has changed the media, music and computer industries.

Martha Stewart

MARTHA STEWART
Within a decade, the catering business that Martha Stewart began in her farmhouse's basement in 1976 was billing celebrity clients and making more than $1 million, and she had published a series of bestselling lifestyle guides. In the late 1980s and early 1990s Stewart's personal fame continued to flourish with TV appearances, Kmart consulting and the Martha Stewart Living brand. Today it's an iconic image of female entrepreneurship.

Ray Kroc

RAY KROC
In 1954, Ray Kroc had the vision of creating the McDonald's we know today. He came across a restaurant run by brothers Dick and Mac McDonald, and inspired by the speed and efficiency with which they served burgers, fries and beverages, he sold his idea of taking the restaurant nationwide to them. McDonald's went on to become the largest fast-food chain in the world because of Kroc's solid supplier partnerships and franchise model.

ROBERT PITTMAN
The "MTV Generation" resulted from the programming efforts of Robert Pittman, who began shaping content for the Music Television cable network in 1981. With his unique blend of creative, business and research savvy, Pittman molded a brand that clicked with the youth of the day. MTV stood out from the traditional networks and became the most profitable cable network of the time. It has since expanded to MTV Networks, which operates in more than 160 countries.

SAM WALTON
In 1945, with a $10,000 loan from his father, Sam Walton bought a franchised variety store. He experimented with practices like longer hours, buying inventory in large quantities and offering a broad assortment of goods at budget prices. With the five-and-dime store Walton later opened, he put check-out counters near the exit, having consumers pay for everything at once. It was the foundation for his first Walmart in 1962.

Oprah Winfrey

OPRAH WINFREY
Oprah Winfrey had her first glimpse of fame as a talk-show host in Baltimore in 1976. She won national recognition over the next decade with her morning show, "A.M. Chicago," and her supporting role in "The Color Purple." The syndicated "Oprah Winfrey Show" launched in 1986 and became a near-instant hit. Oprah co-founded the Oxygen channel and will launch the Oprah Winfrey Network in 2011. Oprah also has had success in publishing and philanthropy.

HENRY FORD
After several years spent working with industrial jobs, Henry Ford built his first self-propelled carriage in 1896. Seven years later, he formed the Ford Motor Co. with just $28,000, and in 1908, the company produced the Model T. The car sold 15,500,000 in the U.S. alone over the next 19 years because of Ford's assembly-line approach to mass production and the low cost. He revolutionized America with the Model T.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Bob Liodice is the president-CEO of the ANA (Association of National Advertisers). This is the eighth in a series of 10 columns being published in celebration of the ANA's 100th anniversary.

Driving Traffic to a Blog - SEO Style

In today's world you can find a blog on just about anything. There are blogs about delicious foods from around the world, clothes that are straight off the runway and even blogs about other peoples pets! No matter what the topic is, all bloggers have one common goal. That goal is to have people read their blog!

A blog is an online diary that is created to share information with others. Most people usually use search engines like Google to find resources on topics that they are interested in.

Writing a successful blog is not as easy as you think. There are strategic actions that you can take to make your blog visible to as many people as possible.

Check out these tips from Samuel Axon on how to write an SEO friendly blog. Read his article HERE

Queen's Guitarist Creates a BANG!

Over the weekend, I went hiking in the beautiful hills of Virginia. On my way back, to my delight, I stumbled upon an interview between Terry Gross and Queen's guitarist Brian May on NPR.

I was ecstatic to hear a man that not only plays in one of my favorite bands but who is also interested in science and photography!

During their interview they talked about the band and the music but then they switched gears to talk about how May went back to school to get his doctorate in astrophysics at Imperial College in London.

He mentioned how he was fascinated with stereoscopic photographs and had been collecting them for years. The term stereoscopic represents any technique that enhances the illusion of depth or 3D imagery. This collection led up to his second book A Village Lost and Found. The book showcases imagery that he has collected over 25 years depicting a small village in London during the 1850's. As a designer, who manipulates imagery in a two-dimensional space, I found this 3D process to be very interesting.

Check out the full interview at NPR.org

Traveling Light

Graphic artist, Harmen Liemburg is a creative, one man act with his traveling "Show in a Box".

In 2008, Harmen cruised into America from his home in the Netherlands to showcase a body of work that had spanned over a 10 year period. His act was unique. He created a box with the dimensions L52 x W14 x H36 inches and it weighed exactly 243 lbs. The Content: Over 45 large screen prints with smaller printed objects. It also included 8 process books, plus visual instructions for (de)construction and shipping plus a DVD for video projection. The shipping crate doubled as a light table, display case and poster.

The idea was to send this box through the mail to different universities so that students could set up the exhibit themselves. To start off his traveling show, Harmen visited four universities including the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Harmen was with the students for two weeks. During that time he conducted a screen printing workshop where the students could explore Charlotte's history and in turn make iconic prints to represent those events. At the end of the two weeks, visitors were invited to attend the gallery show of not only Harmen's work but for the students final prints as well.

This is a show to see! Harmen's prints are not only vivid and captivating but they are a view inside a culture. If you would like to have Harmen's show come to life in your town go to his website and ask! He is taking orders! His exhibit was funded by The Netherlands Foundation for Visual Arts, Design and Architecture. To read more about Harmen's exhibit and to see photos click here

Whump! Pow! Wham! >> A Glimse Inside One Man's Imagination

"Imagination is more important than knowledge. For while knowledge defines all we currently know and understand, imagination points to all we might yet discover and create."

Albert Einstein

Imagination is the most important tool for creation. It is the start of the creative process. Artists alike pull from their imagination and inspirations to fuel ideas for themselves and their clients. There are many components to making your imagination a reality. Once an idea has materialized the creative process begins. Brainstorming, researching, sketching, comps, the throwing away of comps, mock-up designs, more sketching and models are all examples of what is created before the end result can be presented.

The artist, Roy Lichtenstein used his imagination to create a world of eye-popping, colorful paintings and sculptures. Before he could create his iconic pop art he first had to use the creative process. CLICK HERE to read an article and to see some photos of his process!

Clearly Carolina!

Clearly Carolina Water and Coffee Company opened its doors for business in 1992 with a single van, one employee and no customers. We are one of many divisions owned by Propst Brothers Distributors of Concord, NC, a company that has done business in the Charlotte, NC area for over 80 years. Originally, bottled water, coolers and cups were the only products we offered. Since that time we've added office coffee service with Community Coffee as our centerpiece. They also feature Point of Use Filtration services and Private Label bottled water packaging all with the same goal in mind: excellent customer service and a variety of offerings to satisfy our customers.
They now service customers over a six-county area surrounding Charlotte, NC, and our Private Label Division can ship anywhere in the United States.

Images of World Cup Poster Design

You may have noticed that the World Cup is currently underway. Before and after every commercial break you hear a quiet African chant and you see the animated soccer player kicking the ball in a circular motion. This little introduction is the branding for this year's World Cup.

Every four years FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association) hosts the World Cup for the world to see. It is important for them to have images and graphics that remind the world about what is going on and where the action is happening.

Make sure that you have memorable graphics for an event. That way people will want to be a part of it and will remember it for years to come! Check out the posters that have represented the World Cup since 1930! CLICK HERE

Typekit and Google Announce Open Source Collaboration

Have you ever wanted to see a more creative font used on your website? Have you ever been told that using other fonts other than "web" fonts is impossible? Well, today changes everything! Google has teamed up with Typekit to make it easier for website developers to use real fonts on the web. This is a long time in the making people. Check out the press announcement HERE!

The 8 Types of People That Belong on Twitter

Check out this neat article from Inc.com - The 8 Types of People that Belong on Twitter

So which one are you?  Customer Service Rep?  Brand Watchdog?  Conversationalist?

For questions on Twitter, social media or anything marketing, contact us.  We'd love to have a conversation.

Asterisk Creative about town

At Asterisk Creative, we're known to be avid networkers.  As in, when we are seen at networking events we usually get the response - "Man, you guys are everywhere!".  There's a method to the madness.  Networking is a great, and fun, way to keep your brand and business top-of-mind.  It's also an easy way to meet new clients and referral partners.

Here are just a few of the organizations whose events we regularly attend:
National Association of Women Business Owners - Charlotte Chapter
Northlake Network
Charlotte Business Professionals
CORE (Charlotte Organization for Referrals and Education)
Business Leaders of Charlotte
Business Marketing Association of the Carolinas
Business Sorority

I'm sure there are more, but this is a good start.  If you have questions about any of these strong organizations, contact us.  And try doing some networking yourself, you might like it!

Combining the Strengths of Social and E-Mail - eMarketer

Combining the Strengths of Social and E-Mail - eMarketer

Great article showing the benefits of a combination approach to email marketing.

The 11 Commandments of Corporate Tweeting

Should the company be tweeting?

11 Commandments of Corporate Tweeting

Famous Graphic Designer goes to the White House

Modern renaissance man aka American graphic designer, Milton Glaser, has earned his right to have a poster designed for him with his shiny, new medal.

Mr. Glaser was one of 12 individuals awarded the 2009 National Medal of Arts from President Barack at the White House on February 25th, 2010. He was awarded this prestigious award along side Bob Dylan and Clint Eastwood.

Milton Glaser is well known for his "I Love NY" logo and his poster of Bob Dylan for his 1967 Greatest Hit album.

Check out more about Mr. Milton winning his award here!

Leads for Less with Social Media - eMarketer

Leads for Less with Social Media - eMarketer

Want to spend less on lead generation? Use social media! Not only is it fun to use, but it's highly effective in generating leads and developing engagement with your customers. Check out the article to learn more...

YouTube to kill IE6 support on March 13

By Emil Protalinski | Last updated February 23, 2010 10:39 AM

Over six months ago, Google announced it would start phasing out support for Internet Explorer 6 on Orkut and YouTube, and started pushing its users to modern browsers. The search giant has now given a specific kill date for old browser support on the video website via a page on Google.com titled Solve a Problem: Upgrading your browser:

Support stops on March 13th. Stopped support essentially means that some future features on YouTube will be rolled out that won't work in older browsers.

As you can see in the screenshot above, YouTube will have an interstitial appear when users on older browser try to watch a video on YouTube. Google says the interstitial will show up indefinitely every two weeks until the user upgrades to the most recent version of their browser. Google deems anything below IE7, Firefox 3.0, Chrome 4.0, and Safari 3.0 as an "older browser." Users on these browsers will still be able to watch YouTube videos, but additional features that Google plans to roll out may not be supported in these older browsers.

Late last month, Google announced it will end old browser support for Google Docs and Google Sites on March 1, 2010 and earlier this month, the company announced it would start to phase out support for these browsers for Google Mail and Google Calendar by year end. Google is pushing both enterprise and consumer users towards newer browsers on all its Web properties.

Google's stance on IE6 varies from Microsoft's because the search giant does not need to support Windows XP, the operating system with which IE6 first shipped, as long as Redmond (which will support XP and IE6 until April 8, 2014). Microsoft, on the other hand, which has stated time and time again that it wants to see IE6 disappear as much as anyone else, refuses to force anyone to upgrade (though it's worth noting that the software giant's Office Web Apps won't support IE6 either, just like Google Docs) and says the decision is ultimately up to the user.

Microsoft is trying to push users to upgrade by touting IE8's many features over IE6, particularly in the area of security. So far, this has worked relatively well, as IE8 is the most popular browser, although IE6 is still used by about 20 percent of surfers worldwide, according to NetApplications.

Google Seeks To Make High-Speed Internet Much Speedier

By Frank James

The high-speed connections most Americans use to connect to the Internet aren't nearly fast enough as far as Google is concerned.

So it plans to use it dominant position as the world's largest Internet company to launch tests of much faster Internet connections, with speeds of as much as an astonishing 1 gigabit per second, about 100 times faster than what's now widely available to customers. Google's slogan for the project: Think big with a gig, building on IBM's "Think" and Apple's "Think Different."

As Google explains in its blog:

Imagine sitting in a rural health clinic, streaming three-dimensional medical imaging over the web and discussing a unique condition with a specialist in New York. Or downloading a high-definition, full-length feature film in less than five minutes. Or collaborating with classmates around the world while watching live 3-D video of a university lecture. Universal, ultra high-speed Internet access will make all this and more possible. We've urged the FCC to look at new and creative ways to get there in its National Broadband Plan -- and today we're announcing an experiment of our own.

We're planning to build and test ultra high-speed broadband networks in a small number of trial locations across the United States. We'll deliver Internet speeds more than 100 times faster than what most Americans have access to today with 1 gigabit per second, fiber-to-the-home connections. We plan to offer service at a competitive price to at least 50,000 and potentially up to 500,000 people.

Our goal is to experiment with new ways to help make Internet access better and faster for everyone. Here are some specific things that we have in mind:

-- Next generation apps: We want to see what developers and users can do with ultra high-speeds, whether it's creating new bandwidth-intensive "killer apps" and services, or other uses we can't yet imagine.

-- New deployment techniques: We'll test new ways to build fiber networks, and to help inform and support deployments elsewhere, we'll share key lessons learned with the world.

Openness and choice: We'll operate an "open access" network, giving users the choice of multiple service providers. And consistent with our past advocacy, we'll manage our network in an open, non-discriminatory and transparent way.

The Wall Street Journal had an interview with Minne Ingersoll, a Google product manager, who provided more information on Google's plans. An excerpt:

In an interview, Google product manager Minnie Ingersoll said consumers will be able to buy service directly from Google or from other providers, whom Google will allow to resell the service. She said Google will manage the deployment of the network but probably partner with contractors to help build it.

Google said it would offer service at a speed of 1 gigabit per second--or 100 times faster than what many U.S. consumers are used to--and would offer the service at "a competitive price."

Ms. Ingersoll declined to say how much Google planned to invest in the project, saying it would vary based on which cities participated. She said Google plans to "foot the bill" for the deployments itself, without government subsidies.

Google doesn't plan to roll the service out as a national network, Ms. Ingersoll said. Instead, Google's goal is to help demonstrate how faster access can lead to more innovative Internet services. In a blog post, Google described watching live 3D video lectures and streaming medical imagery as examples.

"We have been advocating that the FCC set up an experimental testbed and this is our way of putting our money where our mouth is," she said.

www.npr.com

The Internet Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

The Internet Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

Posted using ShareThis

Pepsi Invites the Public to Do Good

By STUART ELLIOTT

Published: January 31, 2010

DECADES ago, consumers were invited to “be sociable, have a Pepsi.” Now the brand wants to invite consumers to help Pepsi support social causes — and will use social media like Facebook and Twitter to help spread a message.

On Monday, PepsiCo will begin a campaign called the Pepsi Refresh Project, in which consumers will be asked to vote for causes they like.

Pepsi-Cola is formally introducing on Monday an ambitious campaign named the Pepsi Refresh Project, aimed at doing well by doing good. The brand is dedicating at least $20 million through the end of the year for donations to local organizations and causes proposed by the public in realms like health, arts and culture, the environment and education.

Ideas for Pepsi Refresh grants can be submitted each month to a Web site (refresheverything.com), where computer users can subsequently vote on the ideas suggested during the previous month. More details are to be disclosed on Monday as a media blitz begins with an appearance by Kevin Bacon and Demi Moore on the “Today” show on NBC, where they will seek votes for their pet causes. Mr. Bacon will promote SixDegrees.org, and Ms. Moore Girls Educational & Mentoring Services.

There will also be paid pitches for the project on “Today” and its Web site as part of an agreement with a marketing unit of NBC Universal named Women@NBCU, which also includes properties like Bravo, Oxygen and USA Network.

The goal is to reach female high school and college students, said Lauren Zalaznick, president at the women’s lifestyle and entertainment networks at NBC Universal in New York, along with women ages 18 to 54, among them the mothers “we call ‘P.T.A. trend-setters’ ” who influence their peers.

The other big media partners for the project are AOL, Facebook, Hulu, MTV Networks and Parade. There will also be ads on two other broadcast networks, ABC and CBS; on 30 cable channels; in 10 print publications; and on Web sites like Yahoo.

The project is meant to tap into a booming trend for what is called cause-related marketing or pro-social marketing, by which corporations seek to back up their talk about benefiting society.

“Our idea was that this year we’d try to shift the marketing and communications to something that’s truly walking the walk,” said Lee Clow, chief creative officer and global director for media arts at the Pepsi-Cola agency, TBWA Worldwide in Los Angeles, part of the Omnicom Group.

The project is an extension of a campaign his agency introduced last year for Pepsi, which carried the theme “Every generation refreshes the world. Now it’s your turn.” The goal is “to develop a mechanism for young people to create ideas to make things better,” he added, that “will ultimately become part of the global behavior of the brand.”

•

Pepsi initially discussed the project in December when it announced that for the first time in 23 years it would forgo buying commercial time during a Super Bowl.

“This is a fundamentally different program that required us to engage with our consumers in a different way,” said Seth Kaufman, director for media strategy at the PepsiCo North American Beverages unit of PepsiCo in Purchase, N.Y.

So although there will be commercials to promote the project, a considerable amount of the advertising will be digital as well as customized content created by the media partners.

For instance, Pepsi will sponsor a reality show, “If I Can Dream,” on hulu.com, which Hulu describes as its first original long-form series. There will be at least 26 weekly episodes, and perhaps 52.

“It amplifies an advertising campaign,” said Jean-Paul Colaco, senior vice president for advertising at Hulu in Los Angeles, “by making it something people talk about, more of a social conversation.”

Among the efforts at MTV Networks, part of Viacom, will be promoting the Pepsi project at awards shows presented by cable channels like Comedy Central, Spike and VH1.

Viewers of those channels will welcome such branded entertainment, said Judy McGrath, chairwoman and chief executive at MTV Networks in New York, because they “love fun and love doing good, and don’t see those as incongruous in any way.”

The other agencies working on the project are Edelman; Huge, part of the Interpublic Group of Companies; Mr. Youth; Undercurrent; and Weber Shandwick, also an Interpublic unit.

The emphasis the campaign places on social media demonstrates how “a big brand is letting what used to be called the audience take part in what can become a movement,” said Gene Liebel, partner for user experience at Huge in Brooklyn, which is handling tasks like the development and design of the refresheverything.com site.

Huge has also worked on the presence the project will have on Facebook, which will include buying the lead ad position on facebook.com on Super Bowl Sunday.

•

The principal Pepsi-Cola rival, Coca-Cola, which returned to the Super Bowl in 2007, plans to run two commercials during the game. Coke announced last week a social media component to its Super Bowl campaign to be centered on Facebook. Coca-Cola will donate a dollar to the Boys and Girls Clubs of America each time a visitor to the Coca-Cola fan page on Facebook (facebook.com/livepositively) shares a virtual Coke gift.

Even when it comes to philanthropy, the giant cola warriors cannot resist poking each other. (And not in the fun, Facebook way.) PepsiCo executives pointed out that Coke is capping its donations at $500,000, compared with the budget for the Pepsi Refresh Project of more than 40 times that.

Katie Bayne, chief marketing officer at Coca-Cola North America in Atlanta, responded that the “single-month contribution” represents only “a portion of the almost $60 million in cash and in-kind donations” that the company has made to the clubs “in just the last 14 years.”

Although PepsiCo North American Beverages declined to discuss the ad budget for the project, there are plans to spend more on ads for Pepsi-Cola this year than last — and to spend more on TV commercials, too, despite the absence from Super Bowl XLIV.

According to Kantar Media, a unit of WPP that tracks ad spending, PepsiCo spent $41.6 million to advertise Pepsi in the United States during the first nine months of 2009, down 41 percent from the $70.5 million spent in the same period of 2008. Ad spending for all of 2008 totaled $74.6 million, Kantar Media reported, down 13.4 percent from $86.2 million in 2007.

Source: www.nytimes.com

Google to end support for IE6

January 29, 2010, 09:10 PM — IDG News Service —

Google will phase out support for Microsoft's Internet Explorer 6 Web browser starting in March, the company said Friday.

"Many other companies have already stopped supporting older browsers like Internet Explorer 6.0 as well as browsers that are not supported by their own manufacturers. We're also going to begin phasing out our support, starting with Google Docs and Google Sites," Rajen Sheth, Google Apps senior product manager, wrote in a blog post Friday.

The announcement comes more than two weeks after Google reported that its servers had been the target of attacks originating in China. Those attacks targeted a vulnerability in IE 6, for which Microsoft has since issued a fix.

Support for IE6 in Google Docs and Google Sites will end March 1, Sheth said in the post. At that point, IE6 users who try to access Docs or Sites may find that "key functionality" won't work properly, he said.

Sheth suggested that customers upgrade to Internet Explorer 7, Mozilla Firefox 3.0, Google Chrome 4.0 or Safari 3.0, or more recent versions of those browsers.

According to StatCounter, IE6 has 18 percent market share among browsers.

Source: http://www.itworld.com/internet/94809/google-end-support-ie6

Winmock at Kinderton

The latest project on the horizon for the team at Sterling Events. Our companies collaborate on a new website design for this one of a kind space. Check out the new site at www.winmock.com

The WinMock at Kinderton is an amazing 1920's barn that will soon become the site of magnificent weddings, elegant social functions, and unique corporate events. Nestled near the banks of the Yadkin River, this stunning structure stands as an icon for surrounding counties and all of Piedmont North Carolina.

Puncture Seal.... Peace of Mind on the Road

Asterisk Creative video production for Radiator Specialty's product Puncture Seal. Our team worked closely with the Gunk family to create a video that clearly depicted the value offered by the Puncture Seal Family of Products.

Radiator Specialty Video Production!

Asterisk Creative teamed with Radiator Specialty to create a video to showcase Engine Shine which is part of the Engine Brite family of products.

www.gunk.com