socks for the homeless

Robert and I had the pleasure of volunteering our media services to support a worthy cause today-  “Socks For the Homeless”, a community outreach sponsored by the Rotary Club of Fort Lauderdale North.

According to Pery Canan, President of Creative Services Group:

As of today 4355 pairs of socks have been collected and $966 in donations have been received.  Three pairs of socks may be purchased for $1.  That would make the total to date 7000 pairs of socks.  There are 4000 to 5000 homeless in Broward, 20% are children under 18.  In addition we have the silent homeless – families with kids in shelters.  That’s why this sock drive was begun and the members are thrilled to see it reach new dimensions.

It’s always great to work alongside Pery and Maria Soldani of the Soldani Group, and this opportunity was no different.   We provided editing, DVD authoring and audio/visual services for today’s Rotary Club luncheon announcing the success of the campaign.

Pery Canan, IDM's Robert Mayer & Maria Soldani

This outreach will close with the “We Socked It” rally tomorrow at Cardinal Gibbons High School, 2900 NE 47th St., Fort Lauderdale.  The rally begins at 3:30pm and ends at 5pm and will include cheerleaders and ice cream so c’mon out and join the festivities…and bring some clean, new white socks!

If you can’t make the rally, you can drop off your sock donation at American National Bank, 4301 N. Federal Highway, Fort Lauderdale anytime tomorrow.

the power of social media

Are you on Facebook?   MySpace?   Do you tweet on Twitter?  Are you blogging?   If not, you are missing a tremendous marketing opportunity.  Social media is a revolution in the way we communicate.   Watch this video and see if it doesn’t make you re-evaluate your marketing strategies.

Holy Cross “House Calls”

For over two years, Robert and I produced a weekly show “House Calls”.  House Calls was a community educational program presented by the physicians and staff of Holy Cross Hospital in Fort Lauderdale and served as a great tool to increase awareness of the Holy Cross brand throughout Broward County.

South Florida Focus

I have been in touch with media professionals including motivational speaker and public relations specialist Maria Soldani of the the Soldani Group & Pery Canan, owner of Creative Services Group in Fort Lauderdale, as well as several Independent Business Owners (IBOs) in the area who are all willing to sit down with me to discuss the challenges IBOs face in today’s market and how they recommend overcoming those challenges.

What has surprised me is how open everyone is to sitting down with me and sharing their knowledge and experience.   This  positive response speaks volumes to the character of these men and women.    They all want to help you grow your business.

As I continue to reach out to IBOs to set up featured interviews about their marketing ideas and how they use today’s media technology to get their message out, I see that most of my network is located in South Florida- and primarily Broward County.   But I think you’ll find that as Notes From Your Media Department shares more stories and features more IBOs, their ideas and concepts will transcend geography, making this a more global blog.   So stick with us as we grow and if you come across a marketing concept that you think would benefit other IBOs, email the contact information to the company to digimediaman@comcast.net and we’ll get in touch with them to set up an interview.    And thanks for taking this journey with us.

Duuuuude…what a great commerical

Sometimes, it’s just plain fun being in the marketing and media business.   This is one of those times.    Not since Bud Light’s “dude” commercial has the declarative use of “dude” been so dang funny.

Twisted?  Perhaps.  But definitely memorable.   And that’s what makes a good marketing campaign.

the greatest billboard campaign ever?

In 1998, the seed to a phenomenon known as the GodSpeaks Billboards was planted in Fort Lauderdale.   Funded by one man and targeted locally, the Outdoor Advertising Association of America picked up the concept and ran with it as their 1999 National Public Service campaign.   Within three months the campaign went from 9 to 10,000 billboards!

To date, many consider this the most successful outdoor advertising campaign ever.  What was it about this campaign that made it so popular?    Was it the elegant  simplicity of the artwork?  Black background.  Bold white font.    Was it the spiritual nature of the message?   Was it the messages themselves?

What do you think?  What can we, as independent business owners, learn from the success of this campaign?

Is It A Good Time To Start A Small Business?

There are two schools of thought about small business these days.  The first- it’s never a good idea to start a company during a recession.  The other is that a recession opens up new business opportunities for the entrepreneur.  I fall into the latter category of believers.

The problem is that there is little capital available these days.  That is why we created this blog.   My hope is to create an environment where entrepreneurs can come together and share their marketing and media development experiences to the benefit of others.

We all know that the best way to learn is by doing.   But it’s also good to see how other successful people are doing it…and then apply their strategies to your business.  We will talk to our colleagues in the marketing and media field and ask them about their current business strategies.   What’s working?  What’s not?  What are the trends in technology?   What practices are old and tired and what ones remain tried and true?

But this blog isn’t just for techies.  It’s for all small business owners who are looking for creative marketing ideas to get the word out about their product or services.    It’s a place for you to ask questions.   To toss out ideas and get feedback.    Here you will discover creative new ways to improve your brand or product recognition and increase your bottom line.

Now, I’m not saying  we might not get sidetracked with the occasional social commentary.  I mean, really, there is a lot of stuff going on in this country these days, much of which directly effects the small business owners.   Some of this stuff , like this health care reform bill, NEEDS to be discussed from a small business perspective because it directly effects us.  But, for the most part, we’re looking at focusing our attention on how to help you make more money without losing your soul.

And that’s today’s notes from your media department.