betsy | trotzke

Tech-Savvy Marketing Chick

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The Red Cross has not seen its blood supply drop this dramatically at this time of year over the past ten years.

Why I Give ButtonWinter storms have caused a significant drop in available blood supply (details: http://rdcrss.org/bloodsupply). The Red Cross is urging everyone who is eligible to donate. Make an appointment by calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or by visiting www.redcrossblood.org.

I’m giving blood tomorrow. Will you?

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The Bloomington Chamber of Commerce is launching a new young professional program this month. Helping Young Professional Excel (hYPe) is holding its first networking event on Thursday, January 20 at KRC Catering. The event is open to anyone ages 21-40 who lives or works in Bloomington. I’ll be attending, care to join? More information here: http://ht.ly/3uLIg

The Bloomington Chamber of Commerce is launching a new young professional program this month. Helping Young Professional Excel (hYPe) is holding its first networking event on Thursday, January 20 at KRC Catering. The event is open to anyone ages 21-40 who lives or works in Bloomington. I’ll be attending, care to join? More information here: http://ht.ly/3uLIg


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When it comes to properly using language, “context, convention and circumstance” are all you need to consider! Absolutely love this visual approach to Stephen Fry’s thoughts on language. (video by Matt Rogers via Gizmodo)

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Love the trailer for this new children’s book, “It’s a Book,” which is a playful story about a jackass in a web-loving world discovering why books are awesome. My favorite part is that they produced a video for the web to promote the book. And if you go to the Amazon page, you get the the “Tell the Publisher: I’d like to read this on the Kindle” banner ad… Actually, I wouldn’t mind having this on my Kindle.

1 note &

You haven’t heard about The Combine yet?Have you been living under a rock?!! You do not want to miss this event! We’re bringing together movers and shakers in creativity, community, culture, capital and code from across the country. Learn, network and be inspired September 9–12th right in our own backyard—the midwestern tech culture hot spot of Bloomington, Indiana. Conferences like this are typically held on the coast, New York and San Francisco. We are so excited to bring some exceptional talent to the heart of the Midwest. If you’re not from Indiana, trust me, it’s worth the drive to get here! Check out the stellar line up (plus many others): Sloane Berrent: Founder, Answer With Action Micah Baldwin: CEO & Chief Community Caretaker, Graphic.ly Michael Ian Black: Comedian, Chief Content Officer at WitStream.com Ben Huh: CEO of Pet Holdings, Inc. (I Can Has Cheezburger?, FAIL Blog) Christian Lander: Author, Stuff White People Like Neil Patel: Guerrilla Marketer, Co-founder KISSMetrics & Crazy Egg Michael Showalter: Comedian, Host of CollegeHumor.com’s The Michael Showalter ShowalterChris Wanstrath: CEO & Co-founder, GitHub And let’s not forget about the price … We are so excited to be able to offer tickets to all conference events for only $199 (student tickets available for $99). For this price, your registration includes a badge for the main speaking event, lunch voucher redeemable at several dowtown Bloomington eateries, and complementary access codes to Tech Cocktail Bloomington and Ignite Bloomington 3. Tickets are going fast; get yours today! I am so thrilled to be a part of the volunteer committee organizing this event. Behind the scenes we have some incredible talent and are looking forward to a fantastic weekend. If you have any questions about The Combine, just let me know (betsy@trotzke.com)!

You haven’t heard about The Combine yet?
Have you been living under a rock?!!

You do not want to miss this event! We’re bringing together movers and shakers in creativity, community, culture, capital and code from across the country. Learn, network and be inspired September 9–12th right in our own backyard—the midwestern tech culture hot spot of Bloomington, Indiana.

Conferences like this are typically held on the coast, New York and San Francisco. We are so excited to bring some exceptional talent to the heart of the Midwest. If you’re not from Indiana, trust me, it’s worth the drive to get here! Check out the stellar line up (plus many others):

And let’s not forget about the price … We are so excited to be able to offer tickets to all conference events for only $199 (student tickets available for $99). For this price, your registration includes a badge for the main speaking event, lunch voucher redeemable at several dowtown Bloomington eateries, and complementary access codes to Tech Cocktail Bloomington and Ignite Bloomington 3. Tickets are going fast; get yours today!

I am so thrilled to be a part of the volunteer committee organizing this event. Behind the scenes we have some incredible talent and are looking forward to a fantastic weekend. If you have any questions about The Combine, just let me know (betsy@trotzke.com)!

Filed under combine bloomington

1 note &

Let's all rally around corporate hatred!

Listened to NPR’s Morning Edition this morning. There was an an interesting interview with Financial Times columnist Lucy Kellaway who recently wrote about the world’s collective hatred for BP. She illustrated that our collective hatred for corporations and their leaders is a relatively recent phenomenon that can be attributed to four factors:

  • Emotional hangover from the credit crunch;
  • The exorbitant salary of executive leaders;
  • “The internet and social media (“with its power to turn personal emotion into a global epidemic overnight”); and
  • The personification of business brands

The first three factors seemed pretty obvious. In fact, I wondered why NPR considered this worthy of an interview with Kellaway at all. Not exactly profound information being shared here. But, the last factor intrigued me.

In the past decade, companies have put a great deal of effort into creating brand images that are closely tied to personal values. I personally loathe branding exercises that start with, “If Volvo were a person, what would he be like?” And when we talk about aspirational brand development, we walk a fine line.

As Kellaway puts it, “the more successful they are in creating such a personality, the more there is to love - and hate.” It’s about time that we considered the consequences of brand development that is more tied to who we want to be, then who we actually are.

We fail as marketers if that is our focus. Branding begins with who we are and how others feel about us — today. We can influence perception with carefully crafted messaging, marketing and brand development. And, companies can and should make organizational, philosophical and tangible changes to the way they do business. In no other way is your brand more affected.

But, in a world of instant communication, it’s now more clear than ever that brands reflect who the actually are, not who they want to become at some undetermined point in the future. If that’s your focus, then you’ve already failed.

Listen to the NPR Interview with Lucy Kellaway. Read her Financial Times column (“BP has become the company we all love to hate”).

Filed under branding

1 note &

Just spent a great Memorial Day weekend camping with friends and family. After I got home, I spent hours researching online for new campfire recipes and shopping for more gear. Admittedly, I felt like I was betraying nature by giving up technology for a weekend only to return home and spend hours on the computer. But, then I saw a commercial for “Coleman -The Original Social Networking Site.” (Click for version with voice over by Sam Elliott.)

Appealing to my love of both camping and the Internet, how could I possibly resist? The campaign evokes timeless images of crackling campfires and meals under open skies with friends and families. Coleman also does a good job supporting the campaign’s theme through a campaign website, wallpapers, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube. Even better, the campaign includes iPhone apps. The Coleman Lantern app is a virtual lantern to use in the woods. There is also a Creepy Campfire Tales app complete with sound effects.

Kudos to Coleman for extending the “social networking” campaign effectively online. I hope to see them continue the campaign with other marketing tactics.