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Taking the Holidays Down a Notch

When it comes to the holiday season, I have two personalities:

1. I love Christmas and the whole holiday season.  I can’t wait each year for Thanksgiving to be over so that I can put up all my holiday decorations without guilt. I still believe in (the spirit of) Santa Claus. I actually enjoy gift shopping and the feeling of giving. I love driving around with my family looking at how people have brilliantly lit up their homes. And, even at my age of 35 (ok, I lie) I still get butterflies in my stomach going to bed Christmas Eve.

2. I hate Christmas. I hate the traffic at the stores. I hate the pressure to find everyone, even your kid’s school bus driver, the perfect gift. I hate the pressures family members and friends put on you during the holidays. I hate how my schedule is always jammed packed with holiday get-togethers. I hate how Christmas decorations were put up in my neighborhood right after Halloween, prompting even my seven year old to call the workers hanging the wreaths “jerks.” It’s all just too much and makes me want to go and hide until January.

So this year I am embracing my bi-polar nature by allowing one to become prominent, while killing the other (kind of like Spider Man vs. his dark alter ego).  I have decided to LOVE Christmas . . .and do away with everything I hate about it. Technology is going a long way in helping me do that.
 
I will not hit a mall parking lot. I am doing all my shopping online this year  . . .every last little stocking stuffer. Thanks to amazing shopping sites like Amazon.com, Shop.com, Overstock.com, etc. it’s super easy.  Sure I pay shipping, but online coupons are easy to find and I’m not paying taxes on the items.  So for the few dollars extra I spend on shipping, my gas money, time and sanity are saved.
 
I am putting up a fake Christmas tree. That’s right, I said it. For years I have been a “real tree” snob – even trekking out into the woods to cut our own tree, demanding the smell of real pine in my living room. But that smell only lasts a few days anyway. This year I’m saving the trip to the forest, the vacuuming of dropping needles and the constant watering. I am putting up a plastic tree.  I don’t think Santa will notice.
 
I’m cutting down my Christmas card list.  Thanks to social media sites like Facebook, I am in touch regularly with so many people. It’s wonderful to have connected with so many new and old friends. Via social media applications we are able to share family stories, travel stories, work stories, pictures of our kids, etc. on a daily basis.  So why do they all need a card from me? Only a few family members who may not be online (Grandpa) will get cards this year.  And I can personalize those at www.ritzpix.com.  
 
I’m cutting down my gift list. Read my lips: No. More. Adult. Gifts. I mean, get serious. Does your Dad really need another DVD or dress shirt? Does your cousin really need that lotion from Bath&Body Works? The answer is no.  And any grown adult who “demands” gifts on Christmas doesn’t deserve them. So I am not going to stress over what to purchase them and save myself a trip to the post office for shipping. Instead, we have decided to pool our adult-gift money and put it to something more meaningful – donating to a charity of our choice. That’s much more in the holiday spirit, wouldn’t you agree? And if I see something that I really think a loved one will want, I’ll just get it for them “just because,” anytime of the year. That seems like a more meaningful gift to me anyway.
 
I’m saying “no.”  I do not have to attend every holiday cocktail party I’m invited to. I don’t. You can’t make me. It’s that simple. I will, if I so choose instead, stay home in my PJs and read a book by the light of my plastic tree. Guilt-free. I’m sure your party was wonderful, and it doesn’t mean I don’t love you . . . but a girl can only handle so much.
 
So I’m going to be jolly this Christmas, folks. I’m going to deck my halls and get excited about the holidays.  I will not let it stress me out. I will utilize my Blackberry, Kindle, and laptop for online shopping. I will download Christmas tunes on my Blackberry. I will enjoy the wonder and excitement in my children’s faces as we track Santa’s progress via NORAD’s website on Christmas Eve. I will spend more time enjoying life this holiday season and less time stressed out.  Sounds like a wonderful holiday gift to myself and to my family.
 
Oh, and as for Thanksgiving dinner . . .we have reservations at a restaurant for my entire family. No cooking. No dishes.  Bliss.  Oh, and I will not nor will I require any family member to eat green eggs and ham.  Hmmm.  

By Kira Perdue

Lights, Camera, Action! Using Pictures and Video to Enhance your Brand

Websites such as Flickr and YouTube have exploded in popularity for photo and video sharing.  Comscore, a marketing research company, revealed that the popular social network YouTube has reached 100 million viewers alone.

Using videos and photos are a fun and inexpensive way to showcase to potential customers the “feeling” or “personality” of your brand.  Giving them a visual can help solidify a decision to buy your product or to use your services.  In addition, pictures and video aren’t only fun, they show proven results.  According to Forrester Research, videos raise click-through rates up to 200%.

Videos are dynamic marketing and public relations tool.  They can be used in several ways to enhance your brand.

1.      Create Buzz.  Producing a video can be used to create buzz about an event you a participating in or a promotion you are launching.  For example, Shane Thompson, founder of Shane’s Rib Shack, used a video to create a buzz about Shane’s 100 Days of BBQ promotion, which gave 100 free racks of ribs to customers at every location around the country.  The video was easy to make and generated real buzz leading up to the promotion.

2.      Demonstrate. Videos are a great tool to use when you want to demonstrate a new product you are launching or when you are unveiling a new location or service.    Blendtec, a blender manufacturer, uses a video series “Will it Blend?” to demonstrate to potential customers the power of their blenders.  Blendtec’s fun videos have secured them interest all across the globe.

3.      Call to Action.  Videos can also be used to strike an emotional appeal with viewers.  The Salvation Army has a video series called “Hope Stories” which shares the stories of those who have benefited from the Salvation Army.  The videos call to action those who are watching to volunteer their time and money to contribute to the Salvation Army.

 The Bottom Line? Using videos and pictures is an inexpensive way to market your brand.  Using digital cameras, video cameras such as the Flip (which can be purchased at www.ritzcamera.com) and cellular devices with video and picture capabilities(such as the Verizon Wireless Blackberry Storm)  to create your videos and pictures allows you to connect your device to your computer for fast editing and uploading capabilities.  The key is to create an original video that appeals to your target audience.

For more information on how to upload your pictures and videos, visit Flickr and YouTube to get started.

By Kelly Ronna

 

A Holiday Resolution

Every year I make the same promise (to myself).  I will not become consumed with the commercialism of the holiday season.  Yet here I am again, November  – I didn’t even carve this year’s pumpkin – and I’m already making lists and budgets for holiday shopping, anxiously perusing store shelves for the latest and greatest Christmas décor that money can buy.  My calendar already runneth over with parties and shindigs that really just translate to more host/hostess presents and party outfits to purchase.
 
I continually do this to myself year after year, all the while knowing that the mad dashes through malls and taxing workout to my credit are not at all satisfying; not to my wallet, not to my loved ones and least of all to my spirit. Deep down, in theory, I do understand what the events that constitute “the holidays” are supposed to be about, but it all gets a bit more garbled in practice the older I get.
 
So this year I’m making a pledge to reclaim my holiday magic – the warm-fuzzies that once filled me with joy at the thought of three hours of quality time in the kitchen with Mom and Grams while the turkey cooks, pumpkin pie bakes, presents glisten under the tree and Pernil y arroz con gandules (traditional Puerto Rican holiday meal) awaits. Now the same list leaves me only anxious at all the preparations and work it takes and the spare time and cash I seem to always be short on.
 
My grand plan involves shifting my focus from egocentrism to altruism by starting some traditions of my very own:
 
Giving more of myself.  This is the time of year when we seem to become a bit more generous to charitable causes, but usually only by writing/ mailing a check we don’t think about again until it’s time to claim it as a write-off.
 
Don’t get me wrong, I’ll write the check this year too, but I also plan to spend some time appreciating all that I have to be thankful for by volunteering my time and efforts to do good for others in true need (i.e. soup kitchen, shelter, church pantry), not the petty gripes we’re all guilty of complaining about on a regular basis. I figure that if Rachael Ray has time to host a free Thanksgiving dinner for the entire Ohio city of Wilmington to help out an entire town without jobs, then I can find a bit of time to give to Meals on Wheels or a similar organization.
 
Focus on family – Immediate family usually gets the brunt of my selfish streaks, and at no other time of year is this truer than the holidays when the short trips home are jammed packed with last minute shopping, visiting childhood friends and their families, holiday preparations, and obligations of all kinds, most of which involve family. This year I promise to sit through and appreciate grandpa’s stories, even if I can already narrate them from memory.  I will willingly and smilingly trek with my mother to whatever relative she wants to visit; and I’ll even attempt to be nicer to my sister. This is the least I can do for the people that continually provide unconditional love and are the root of most of the things I’m grateful for in this world.
 
Finally, I will be more considerate of others’ needs and wants in an effort to share with them a bit of the same holiday magic I’d love to recapture.
 
After all, aren’t love, family, compassion and giving back what the holidays are supposed to be about?

By Brenda Becker

Spending Habits in 2010

As the New Year inches closer and we happily wave goodbye to 2009 one item that is weighing heavy on the shoulders of executives is budgets -- where will we allocate dollars? More specifically what will IT budgets look like? Questions range from what new investments will be made to whether security will be increased. However, glimpses of hope for a number of businesses have made headlines in the news recently. According to a recent survey by CIO Magazine, 43 percent of small companies with revenues less than $100 million anticipate spending increases in 2010 and 35 percent of mid-market companies with revenues between $100 million and $1 billion anticipate an increase. The survey also shows that IT capital spending is on the rise for 41 percent of the IT executives surveyed.

Results from another survey, conducted by Micro Focus (LSE.MCRO.L), a provider of enterprise application management, testing and modernization solutions, indicates a willingness from financial professionals to invest in existing IT systems, showing that investments are still willing to be made while organizations determine their financial stability.  The survey also shows that financial professionals view gains in efficiency and cost savings as the two most important measures of ROI for IT projects – areas that can be addressed by application modernization. According to the survey, 45 percent of respondents view IT as a “critical driver of value” or a function that “actively contributes value.”

In the PR industry we see companies every day struggle with the direction, priorities and budget limitations. However at the same time, we see new hires taking place. We see technology investments being made to better the company’s growth and security. We believe companies are on the road to recovery. But we also believe that it starts with thought-leaders identifying the problems at hand and brainstorming the most effective and efficient solutions and strategies to ensure a company’s future growth.

After a stressful 2009, companies need to determine what they are capable of in 2010 and should not lose sight of what keeps their business in working function. Much of this lies within the IT department. Don’t place security on the backburner. Don’t lose valuable team members who provide priceless knowledge base. Most important don’t let the fear of allocating dollars today limit your opportunity to get out in front of the competition so that when the recessionary dust does settle, you find yourself ahead of the pack vs running alongside it. 

By Carrie Crabill