QR Codes - Already a Thing of the Past?

In an April 2012 issue of Exhibitor Magazine, a news brief says that NFC technology is expected to outlast QR (quick response) codes. "Researches called QR codes little more than a place holder in wireless communication, as NFC is considered by many to be a superior technology." Don't drop QR codes from your marketing campaigns just yet - researchers don't think it will be mainstream until 2016.

Not sure what NFC technology is? Have you seen the funny Samsung SIII phone commercial? The transfer of data between two phones is an example of NFC technology.

Some countries are already using NFC technology for public transit, but there are some security issues that need to be ironed out first. A data transfer can apparently be eavesdropped on from up to 10 meters away. As with any up-and-coming technology, make sure to do your research on whether it's right for implementation with your activities. Also, future predictions are what they are: predictions. In elementary school I was told that we'd have flying cars by 2006 and I'm still driving around on land just like everybody else.

New Year's Resolution: Get Involved!

It's almost here - the New Year and New Year's Resolution! This year resolve to get more involved in an industry or community organization. I'm not just talking about signing up to be a member, but really getting involved. Many organizations have committees you can sign-up to join or you could get more involved with a position like Secretary or President.

In addition to feeling good about volunteering, you will also gain valuable networking time with people in your industry or your community. Don't have an organization in mind? Simply Google a topic that interests you, for instance "engineer organizations."

Before you dive into volunteering, a word of caution. It can be fulfilling to sign-up for a lot of tasks to help out. Before you take on anything, think about how much time you have to dedicate to volunteering each month and be up front with the organization or volunteer organizers about how much time you have to dedicate. Many will just be happy to have an extra set of hands to help progress the organization's priorities along.

Lastly, don't forget to add your involvement in any organization on your LinkedIn profile. Your online profile is a great way to categorize and display all of your activities (not just your volunteering activities).

Have and happy, prosperous and fulfilling 2013!!

Book Review: The Fun Minute Manager

At a seminar during EXHIBITOR 2012, I won the book titled "The Fun Minute Manager" by Bob Pike, Robert Ford and John Newstrom. Six months later, I finally had a chance to read it! This book was a very quick read and described ways to be a "Fun Minute Manager" through an actual story. The main character Bob is not having fun at work and this book goes through his journey (by talking to a mentor and some converted "fun" managers).

Going through the steps of making work more fun, while still placing work responsibilities at the forefront, can be done. The book goes through ideas of what to do in various types of work places (places where clients come into the office vs. places where clients don't come into the office often); it goes through how to talk to your manager about implementing ideas; and working with hesitant co-workers.

The main things that this book can teach you right off the bat is that consistency with whatever you implement is really important. Read this book if you're looking for ideas to implement to make your workplace a more fun and enjoyable place to be. If you go to work enjoy being there everyday, then it's not work!

Last Minute Business Holiday Gift Idea

Hanukkah has begun and Christmas is just around the corner - have you sent out holiday gifts to your business contacts this year? If you haven't, worry not. A quick and easy, yet thoughtful, gift is donating to the Red Cross or another worthy charity. This is an especially timely gift with Hurricane Sandy relief efforts and rebuilding still underway. You can donate "In Honor" of your business contact and the Red Cross will send them an email or a snail mail card indicating that you've donated in their name.

With the GSA scandal this year, companies that you interact with may be cracking down on being able to receive gifts of a certain value, so donating "In Honor" of someone can prevent you from breaking any self-imposed rules. Also, donations to qualified charities can be tax deductible.

Help your favorite charity and include your business contacts to by donating in their name. Happy Holidays!

Top Chef - Brilliant Marketing Geniuses

I am a reality tv junkie and love watching Bravo TV's Top Chef and its cheftestants. These cheftestants are up and coming chefs that most of the viewers haven't heard of. But in watching these people throughout a season, viewers come to know their talents and personalities and make opinions about them. Whether bad or good, these cheftestants are now cheflebrities. Some of the cheflebrities are capitalizing on their fame and culinary skills, for instance Carla Hall is now a co-host on ABC's The Chew.

This upcoming season of Top Chef marks its 10th season, but the show isn't the only place you see the Top Chef brand. They've added spin off shows including Top Chef Masters and Life After Top Chef. They have also taken the brand and created experiences that allow viewers opportunities to interact with the cheftestants as well as the hosts.

Top Chef Kitchen, located in NYC, will host various cheftestants that are preparing a tasting menu for the general public to enjoy. This limited time engagement runs through November 18, 2012 and takes reservations through OpenTable. Service runs from Tuesday through Sunday and two new cheftestants run the kitchen each week. A four course prix fixe menu will set you back $95 ($125 with wine pairings), but you're able to experience cuisine you may not even heard of. This week at Top Chef Kitchen Tiffany Derry (season seven, Top Chef: DC) is preparing mascarpone ravioli, crispy ruby red trout, pork belly and southern banana pudding. The second chef this week is Paul Qui (winner of season nine's Top Chef: Texas) who is preparing onion (yes, that's the name of his first course), poached chicken wings, roasted chicken and buttermilk sorbet. These chefs are able to demonstrate their skills to the public, but really, this gives an even larger push to the Top Chef brand. Making it a limited time engagement makes it that more exciting and forces the public to act now. Here's what one reviewer had to say, "The staff was fantastic, friendly and attentive. Everyone from Bravo was great! Watching the show from the start, it was great to try the chef's food and actually taste what they were judged on." If only I lived in NYC.

The next marketing event that the marketing geniuses from Bravo TV and Top Chef cooked up is a cruise from April 11-15, 2013. Again it's a limited time engagement, but a captive audience, only limited by the number of spots available on the ship. Top Chef: The Cruise is hosted by two of the Top Chef judges, Gail Simmons and Tom Colicchio. In addition interactive events, demonstrations and the ability to taste food from the top judges there's a Q&A with the hosts, the two Top Chef Masters and the 12 cheftestants. You can enjoy this cruise on the Celebrity Constellation ship for a bargain price of $799 (based on double occupancy), but don't forget to add in the $299 for taxes, fees and booking charges. And if you want to drink, you should probably add the beverage package at $255. So all in all, you're looking at almost $1,400 for an interior room, but you're able to be part of an experience and special event. Many of the rooms are already sold out.

For someone that is enthralled with the Top Chef series (and even gets excited to watch reruns), this is an event that gives viewers and the public an opportunity that they wouldn't have otherwise to interact with the people they see on tv. These events are beneficial to the brand because it generates more interest and more of a loyal following to the shows from the people that are able to participate. It's also great from a marketing perspective because it's a time limited engagement, but the impact is huge. Bravo TV and Top Chef are also doing a good job of promoting these events and their shows through social media. It's obvious they have a comprehensive marketing and communications plan that is geared towards building their brand and their tv viewer base.

Webpage Not Found

I'm finally getting around to reading the September issue of Entrepreneur and I see an article titled, "To Pin or Not to Pin" that discusses Pinterest. If you still haven't heard about Pinterest yet, it's the fastest growing social media site and membership continues to grow at ridiculous rates. You "pin" something that you see from the Internet and people can "repin" that pin to their "boards" and "like" your pin as well.

Some businesses have already seen the potential marketing value in using this free website and have created corporate accounts for their brands. Using Pinterest from a corporate perspective is all fine and dandy, but as with everything, you need to be able to track a ROI.

Enter MarketMeSuite, a company (according to the Entrepreneur article I read) allows companies to "enter their company's URL and instantly see how many pinners are promoting that company on Pinterest." Overcome with excitement at the potential of this new tracking tool, I opened my laptop to access the link printed in the magazine. To my disappointment, I received a "404 URL Not Found" error.

WHAT???

If MarketMeSuite promised in a magazine article (circulation of more than 600,000 by the way) they should be able to handle the response from the press. Public relations 101 really.

Let's say a company (we're talking in generic terms now) decided after an article was published on their product or service, that it just wasn't going to work out and they were going to use their resources on a different product or service. Fine and dandy, but have a backup plan. Post information on the URL that was published in that article to explain what happened with the product. Simple as that.

If you've decided to change the URL because it aligns better with getting organic users to your website, keep the URL that was originally published and have it redirect to the new URL. That way you keep the article readership continued on the path to use your product and service and you can still promote your new URL for marketing purposes.

Have Your Meeting in the Great Outdoors

Have you ever held a meeting on the golf course? It's a unique venue that you may not have thought about utilizing for your upcoming business meeting. Even just playing in a foursome, as opposed to a full tournament, offers benefits to you.

First, you're in a different atmosphere. People tend to be more open and forthright with information in a more relaxed atmosphere than they are in the office or in a more formal meeting setting. It's also important to note that most people think golf is fun, not work, which also factors into the more relaxed atmosphere.

Second, you'll be on the course for at least four hours (if you're playing 18), which gives you a longer amount of time to spend with the person you're meeting with. If you were planning a regular meeting in a office setting for four hours, forget anyone being interested in that! With golf, there's an expected and acceptable timeframe of at least four hours. In that timeframe you can get a lot accomplished, depending on your goals for the meeting. You can learn a lot about your golfing partner on a personal and professional level.

Third, spending that much time with someone (and learning more about them personally and professionally) can help you build a rapport with them. Now you have something to talk about the next time you call them up, "Hey, how are those new clubs treating you" or "Hey, remember that amazing shot you had out of the sand? Well, I was wishing I had your skills this past weekend - ended up double bogey."

Lastly, anytime you're looking for a gift for that person, you're pretty safe giving them golf balls or other accessories. You could even schedule a quarterly golf outing and take them out, which is pretty cheap, considering you have them as an audience for at least four hours.