Connectivity News

Link Love 5-2-2011

2011-05-02T07:19:00.000-07:00

Internet Round-up

Say it with Llamas - http://llamafont.com/

Benches made for Tweeting - http://www.yankodesign.com/2011/04/25/bench-tweets/

Sometimes we need to give a “wee nudge” - http://weenudge.com/

“Make it better” <http://vimeo.com/18669276> by Sebastian Bap

Playful pet portraits “Cat dreams” - http://content.photojojo.com/photo-projects/best-pet-portraits-diy-backdrops/

Link Love 4-15-11

2011-04-18T12:49:00.001-07:00

Here are some of our favorites from around the internet:

Many cities are full of vacant storefronts and people who need things. These stickers are an easy tool to voice what you want, where you want it. Just fill them out and put them on abandoned buildings and beyond. The stickers are custom vinyl and they can be easily removed without damaging property. It's a fun, low-barrier tool to provide civic input on-site, and the responses reflect the hopes, dreams, and colorful imaginations of different neighborhoods. http://iwishthiswas.com/

Nat'l Geographic creates an "UP" inspired balloon-flying house that really flies http://gizmo.do/fdYFN4

Would you make your house into a billboard? http://www.adzookie.com/paintmyhouse.php

Interfacing with information via 3D objects http://infosthetics.com/archives/2011/04/displaycabinet_augmenting_physical_objects_with_projected_information.html

Are you following a bot? http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2011/05/are-you-following-a-bot/8448/

How being the Verizon “Can you hear me now?” guy impacted his life and gets his life back. http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2011/05/hear-me-now/8449/

Ever imaging what the back of a web page would look like? - http://backofawebpage.tumblr.com/

Enjoy!

Chasing Your Tail

2011-04-06T13:50:00.000-07:00

We're big pet lovers here at Wildfire and are excited to support a local pet rescue organization, AARF, in getting the word out about adopting rescued animals.

We even created a fun campaign (using some of our own folks) to help promote the message: Adopt a Pet. Rescue Yourself.

And this Saturday April 9th, AARF is having their annual EASTER EGG HUNT for dogs.

The event starts at 10am and thousands of treat-filled eggs will hidden around Washington Dog Park in Winston-Salem plus tons of prizes too. Entry is $10 and proceeds will be supporting the work of the organization.

Come out, bring your pups and have fun!

Link Love 2-4-2011

2011-02-04T14:02:00.001-08:00

Today is busy, busy, busy but I wanted to share some “Link Love” from around the Internet. Enjoy!

· - Free movies, books and more online - http://www.openculture.com/

· - Invisible pop-up stores – taking mobile technology, Geo-targeting and eCommerce to a whole new level - http://goldrun.tumblr.com/post/2796149928/back-in-november-airwalk-y-r-and-goldrun-teamed

· - Google takes Street View into the MoMa. Go on, get some culture (you can really really zoom in too!) : http://t.co/DpfnaG0

· - Then new “must-have” product – the Wrap-A-Nap (will this be the new Snuggie?) - http://www.wrapanap.com/

· - Sealy is getting a bit cheeky with their Superbowl spot - http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=192747634087097

Shared Article - 15 Tips to Increase Your Twitter Followers for Local Businesses

2011-02-04T14:00:00.000-08:00

When it comes to increasing followers on Twitter, there is a big debate in the social media space about quality versus quantity. But it is a near universal goal for businesses to increase their fan and follower count on social media. So, how can you balance the need to increase followers while making sure you’re connecting with real, authentic, and targeted consumers? Try these 15 tips for increasing your number of quality followers.

Be Worth Following
On Twitter, in addition to people who share interesting, insightful information, there are many spammers and aggressive marketers that the typical consumer avoids following. To be a figure worth following, you don’t want get labeled as a spammer. So the first step in increasing your followers on the site is to make sure your account is worth following! Here’s how to do it:

1) Make sure your Twitter profile is optimized with an original picture, bio, and links. Don’t make these newbie mistakes that keep people from following you.

2) Post interesting content often. Balance unique content (authored by you) and shared content (authored by others). Many experts say for each self-promotional tweet, you should share 5-10 tweets about something else.

3) Time your tweets so people see content during peak hours: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. You can use an automatic scheduling tool like su.pr, Hootsuite, or ReachCast to time your tweets throughout the day.

4) When someone follows you, follow them back. You can do this manually or use a service like Social Oomph to automate it. Since Twitter won’t let you follow an unlimited number of users, keep your following/follower ratio in check by using a tool like ManageFlitter.com to unfollow users who don’t follow you back.

5) Be social. Use the site as a way to connect with others, not just to promote yourself. Unmarketing author Scott Stratten, who has built a successful blog and business from growing a large, dedicated Twitter following, says that over 75% of his tweets are @replies to other users.

Find and Follow Interesting Users
The next step to increasing followers is to find and follow people yourself. How will people know if you’re out there to follow unless you tell them?

6) Connect with connections first. Put your Twitter URL on business cards and in-store signage to encourage consumers to follow you online. See if people you’re already connected to are on by looking up contacts from Gmail, Yahoo, and AOL email accounts and linking your account to your LinkedIn profile under the “Find Friends” section of the “Find People” function on your account. Connect with those you’re already connected to first, because those are the people most likely to follow you online.

7) Connect with local consumers. You can find local tweeps to follow on Localtweeps.com and Trendsmap.com, or use Twitaholic.com or TwitterGrader.com to grade your Twitter profile and find local users with top scores in your market.

8) Follow people in your industry, niche, and topic area. Who you follow may influence the content you will retweet and @reply to. Find topical users to follow on Wefollow.com, listorious.com, and twellow.com.

9) Follow From Users’ Twitter Lists and “Following” Links. Find people or organizations on Twitter with similar interests, and click the link labeled “following” from their profile page to see who they find worth following. Better yet, look at Twitter lists they may have created on certain topics to find hand-cultivated lists of people worth following. Just make sure to follow the individual users on a list and not just the list itself!

10) Tap into influential local circles. Who is influential in your market? Aside from grades on Twitter tools, which may or may not reflect true influence, it may be difficult to determine this at first. One tip is to find and follow local media outlets, businesses, and organizations. Then, look at lists they have created to find more important local figures to follow.

Invest in the Twitter Community
Twitter is more than a marketing tool. It’s a community you cultivate for yourself. So, give back and invest in the community to build follow karma and increase not only the number of followers you have, but the number of lists you are mentioned in as well.

11) Particiapte in #FollowFriday. Promote other people worth following by recommending followers on the popular #FollowFriday hashtag meme. Every Friday, just select someone you follow, write a short explanation of why, and tag it with #FollowFriday or the succinct #FF.

12) Create Twitter lists of interesting users, such as local and topical users and those you’ve met in different social circles. Adding users to lists not only allows you to watch a cultivated, topical stream of their tweets, it’s also a form of virtual endorsement, which may encourage the users on your lists to follow you back.

13) Participate in Twitter chats. There are numerous special interest chats that anyone can chime in to to network, learn, and share. This is one of the best places to find like-minded Twitter users. So, find a chat for your industry, niche, or market, and join in! Use a tool like TweetGrid or TweetChat to help you keep up with the conversation on the chat’s hashtag, and follow users you meet there.

14) Answer questions and offer advice. In addition to sharing links to interesting content, you can use Twitter as a place to answer questions or offer advice in 140 characters, building your industry expertise and cultivating trust with consumers. You can find hashtags on topics of interesting using wthashtag.com and use that as a way to find questions and tag answers you provide to extend your expertise outside your existing Twitter social circle.

15) Take time to respond an engage with fans and followers through @replies and retweets. Make sure that you’re using Twitter as the powerful, two-way communication tool it is, and engage to increase your fan and follower base.

Do you have favorite tips, tools, or ideas for increasing your fanbase on Twitter? Share them in the comments!

Article via Social Media Today

About the Author
Tiffany Monhollon writes about social media, marketing, and small business success as the lead blogger for ReachCast, a service that helps local business owners develop their web presence.

New Year, New Experiences

2011-01-26T11:05:00.000-08:00

It's a whole new year with new experiences and adventures awaiting us. The agency is buzzing with all the energy that comes when we turn over the calendar and we're watching a fresh snowfall out the windows.

Keep warm!

Holiday Magic at Wildfire

2010-12-13T13:36:00.000-08:00

We're in the spirit here at Wildfire. Holiday parties, delicious goodies and magic are everywhere!

We hope you have a wonderful holiday season filled with family, friends and warm memories.

For more pictures - check out our Flickr page!

Fashion Forward

2010-11-15T13:51:00.000-08:00

There have been some amazing innovations done with 3-dimensional digital showcasing in the fashion arena. These major brands, from Target to Ralph Lauren, are embracing new ways to reach out to their consumers, showcase their out-of-the-box thinking and really create a splash.

Check them out!

Kaleidoscopic Fashion Spectacular from Standard Hotels on Vimeo.

Ralph Lauren - 4D

Happy Halloween from Wildfire

2010-10-28T13:56:00.000-07:00

Link Love: Week of August 20, 2010

2010-08-17T05:49:00.000-07:00

I love these posters, especially the Star Wars and Superman ones!
Very cool guerrilla projection mapping - Couldn’t we have some fun with this!
Buy clothes and furniture etc. from the set of Mad Men
I think we need a moss mural outside
Or we could paint/chalk different slogans outside the door each week… or day!

Enjoy!

[Employee Connection] Laura Beth

2010-08-06T06:56:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, we took a trip to Tiger World in Rockwell, NC. It’s a pretty cool place that houses lions, tigers, and bears. Oh my. Not to mention wolves, monkeys, exotic birds, and even some anacondas. My boyfriend and I were excited to go. We were even more excited to take two kids with us. No, we don’t have children. But I, and sometimes Charlie by default, do have a “Little Sister” through Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Forsyth Co.

After checking out Tiger World through their Facebook page, I thought it would be a great adventure for Mila* and her brother, Casey*, (both under 10)! My suspicions were confirmed when after explaining to Mila what Tiger World was, her very serious response was “Oh. Okay. We HAVE to go there.”

When we arrived to pick them up, Mila played it cool while climbing in the backseat. Casey was a different story. He was super excited and jumped in almost before I got the SUV stopped. He told us this was his first BBBS trip and he couldn’t wait. I think he was more excited by finally being able to have an unofficial “Big for a Day” than he was about Tiger World!

We arrived at Tiger World and spent the next few hours amazed by the animals. We paid our admission and were asked if we wanted to buy snacks for the animals. Before I could respond, three voices chimed in, “YES!” We bought two bags which contained nuts and crackers and instructions to feed only the bears, monkeys, and birds.

We walked into the courtyard and were greeted by peacocks and ducks; all of whom knew the cracker deal and came up to us immediately. We then went to the Macaws. Charlie lifted Casey to feed the very talkative, and beautiful, parrots. After the birds we went to see the monkeys. They were hysterical and greedy. The larger monkey kept taking all of the treats and not letting the baby get them. Until I told him no. Turns out the same “No” you tell your kids and pets works on monkeys too. He got mad at me and tried to “earn” his crackers with tricks. But he listened!

Next we wandered to the tigers. There were carved signs pointing the way to the tigers. We came to an open door that led into a gated tennis court. The sign said “Tigers à” but some of us were a bit hesitant. I thought, “This is a little crazy. We are voluntarily walking INTO a cage to get to tigers. Seems like this should be in a movie.” Turns out it was just part of the path and we continued to meander out of the tennis court and into a mini-forest which provided some much needed shade. And then we saw them.

There were 5-6 white tigers and they were beautiful. Most were stretched out napping; in the same poses as some of our house cats! One was moving restlessly around. A few times they deigned to look over and acknowledge our presence. But for the most part, they were content where they were and had no interest in us. Mila took so many pictures while we tried to get the tigers to respond for her camera.

After the tigers, we journeyed to the wolves. There was a black one and a white one. Then on to other tigers, lions, and even two bears. We ended our trip with the Macaque monkeys – one of whom took a shine to Mila. There were ostriches and other birds. And of course some snakes, including a Yellow Anaconda.

The kids loved every minute. And Charlie and I had a wonderful time too. I think we would have had a good time with just the two of us – but taking the kids along made it even better. We saw things through their eyes and picked up on things we might not have otherwise. That’s one of the things I enjoy about having a LS. Things are new and different when you’re with a kid experiencing it for the first time. It’s definitely nice to have time to slow down and do things you wouldn’t normally do – like going to library storybook hour, flying a kite, doing ceramics, or feeding bears! And to be honest, having a little sister gives me the excuse to do things I haven’t done since I was a kid! Actually, it gives me an excuse to do a lot of things, ice cream treats & sidewalk drawing included.

Tiger World was an awesome experience. It’s a non-profit (and receives no tax support) organization. Its mission is to educate, conserve, and protect the endangered and threatened species of the world. Did you know that there were once 8 species of tigers on the planet? During the 20th century, three of those eight became extinct. The remaining five? Endangered. In fact, it’s estimated that there are less than 10,000 Bengal tigers left – including zoos and in the wild. Some estimates place the number as low as 2,500. In the world.

Participating in Big Brothers, Big Sisters is one of the coolest things I get to do. I love hanging out with my little and hearing about what’s going on in her life. I feel like I get more out of it than she does. But according to BBBS, she gets a lot out of it as well. According to BBBS, Little Brothers and Little Sisters are:

46% less likely to begin using illegal drugs
27% less likely to begin using alcohol
52% less likely to skip school
More confident in their school work performance
Get along better with their families

BBBS was rated one of the Top 10 charities at Forbes Magazine, if you’re interested in making a monetary donation. Even better – donate your time. It doesn’t take a lot – an hour or so a week – to make a difference. To the guys especially – there are many more boys than girls on the wait list (including Casey), so they need you.

*Names Changed

Interesting Links:
http://bbbsnc.org/
http://www.tigerworld.us/
http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/bengal-tiger.html

[Employee Connection] Katie's Daughter

2010-07-02T11:50:00.000-07:00

We have exciting news in our household this week . . . . Our youngest, Hilary, is leaving for her first trip abroad after just graduating from High School. She leaves this Tuesday on a 17-day trip to New Zealand, Australia and Hawaii. We are so thrilled she can have this experience at such a young age and so happy she will be in a small (safe) group of 14 kids from her school with 2 of the senior teachers as tour leaders. Here is her itinerary so you can live vicariously through her.

Days 1 – 2: Fly to New Zealand
Cross the International Date Line

Day 3: Auckland * Rotorua
Arrive in Auckland
Visit the Waitomo Caves
Continue on to Rotorua
Enjoy a Hangi feast

Day 4 – Rotorua
Take a guided tour of Rotorua
Visit Whaka geothermal area
Visit the Maori Cultural Center
Ride the Skyline Gondola
Stop at a jade factory

Day 5 Rotorua * Auckland
Visit the Agrodome
Return to Auckland
Take a tour of Auckland and Mount Eden

Day 6 – Brisbane * Sunshine Coast
Fly from Auckland to Brisbane
Travel to the Sunshine Coast

Days 7-8 – Fraser Island
Travel via Glasshouse Mountains and Noosa National Park
Take a catamaran ferry to Fraser Island
Four-wheel drive tour of Fraser Island

Days 9-10 – Surfers Paradise
Return to the mainland by catamaran
Visit Underwater World Oceanarium
Continue on to Surfers Paradise
Rainforest Tour

Days 11-12 : Coffs Harbor * Sydney
Travel via Cape Byron to Coffs Harbor
Continue on to Sydney and take guided tour
Take a harbor cruise
Visit Sydney Wildlife World
Stop at an opal factory Take a walking tour of the ROCKS

Day 14: Sydney
Enjoy a free day in Sydney
Visit and climb the panoramic skyline bridge

Day 15: Honolulu
Fly from Sydney to Honolulu

Days 16-17 – Honolulu
Take a guided tour of Honolulu
Visit the USS Arizona Memorial
Enjoy a real Hawaiian Luau

One of the most memorable parts of the trip is that she will turn 18 while she is in Hawaii. I’m sure that will be something she will never forget! I’ll be sure to post pictures from her trip and am encouraging her to keep a blog of experiences while away. We’ll see if the latter actually happens . . . . .Oh to be young again!

Intern Connection: Whitney

2010-06-07T07:48:00.001-07:00

After over a month of unsuccessful attempts to stop the spillage from their underwater well things continue to look worse and worse for BP. The company has actually come out with a campaign of print ads geared to respond to the incident with the tagline “We will get it done. We will make it right.” It seems not everybody is convinced…

On May 19, a new Twitter account opened under the name @BPGlobalPR, and it became quickly clear that this was not an effort made by anyone over at BP. The account continually parodies the situation and BP’s attempts to save face. There are currently 111,670 people following these tweets containing messages like, “If we're being accused of being criminals, we want to be tried by a jury of our peers- wealthy execs who don't give a damn.” Ouch. You can also find links to pictures of SpongeBob covered in oil (http://bit.ly/azVpWD). It seems they are also using this outlet for some good as they sell their own t-shirts for $25 at http://www.streetgiant.bigcartel.com/ and have raised over $10,000 for the Gulf Restoration Network.

The most recent tweet included a link to a ‘press release’ (http://bit.ly/dmDP7u) from BPGlobalPR identifying its author as Leroy Stick— a pseudo name derived from a childhood story. “The point of this story is that if someone is terrorizing your neighborhood, sometimes it’s alright to grab a stick and take a swing. Social media, and in this particular case Twitter, has given average people like me the ability to use and invent all sorts of brand new sticks.”

Companies have been wary of social media for this exact reason. While it can open a brand up to consumer interaction and positive feedback, in the end companies have no control over what can be said. I would say that this is an extreme case due to the scale and impact of this disaster and that not all online marketing efforts take such a turn for the worse. Here Twitter has become an outlet for the public’s frustration, but Leroy has also turned into a message about the power of public opinion. He pleads with his readers to remember that a brand is only as good as the people who are loyal to it. His message to BP seems to read (at least in my opinion): we will decide if and when we are ready to forgive and forget.

2010-05-19T05:50:00.001-07:00

Heineken Social Media/Stunt - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEqJV1acgN4 - Here’s a fairly brilliant idea for a viral ad campaign that could have gone terribly, terribly wrong. But this particular gamble taken by JWT Italy for Heineken turned out to have a bit of marketing magic behind it—plus, it’s incredibly entertaining to watch. In Italy, where soccer is somewhat more of a religion than a sport, the UEFA Champions League game that took place last October between Real Madrid and AC Milan was an extremely important must-see event. But—using girlfriends, employers and journalists as accomplices—more than 1,000 soccer fans were convinced (or, to be fair, forced) to attend a classical music concert taking place at the same time as the big match. We won’t spoil the fun of what happens next, but we do recommend you check out the video—which was watched by more than a million people live on broadcast TV. Heineken’s ad slogan? “Made to entertain.”

- Augmented Reality 3-D Interactive T-shirt - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIof7yEsOn8 - Take a look at T-Post’s 51st t-shirt issue with Augmented Reality. The t-shirt projects a 3-D interactive game of Rock, Paper, and Scissors via your web camera using Augmented Reality.

- “Green” Graffiti - http://www.twigandthistle.com/blog/2010/04/green-graffiti-by-edina-tokodi/

- Free web designer icons - http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2010/04/15/the-ultimate-free-web-designer-s-icon-set-750-icons-incl-psd-sources/

- A misbehaving shadow - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blOrY-nEGaE&feature=player_embedded April Fools!

- DreamWorks, who allowed their characters to be used by the publication, is not to happy with the results. - http://www.vman.com/fashion/shrek-of-a-guy/ (What DreamWorks had to

CASTING CALL for REAL WOMEN!

2010-05-06T07:45:00.000-07:00

Are you up for adventure? Grab your best friend and apply. Seeking two 2-person teams to execute a national road tour for an intimate apparel brand. MUST be available for casting call session, training June 23 and June 24, 2010 and tour duration requiring consecutive travel July 1 - Aug 30, 2010. Teams will make select stops at designated department stores along the route for in-store promotional activities.

Required qualifications:

• Female models – REAL women, all ethnic backgrounds
• Ages 25-35
• Customer services or event marketing a plus
• Extensive travel required throughout tour duration
• Tech savvy – must be able to use a blackberry, laptop with standard programs, digital camera (including upload of pictures), and update Facebook daily with photos and comments
• Valid driver’s license / Ability to rent a car is required
• Ideal candidate is physically fit and can perform essential physical functions that include the ability to lift 25 lbs. and stand for 8-10 hours a day
• Excellent communication skills – both written and oral.
• Comfortable discussing intimate apparel with other women.
• Ability to think on your feet
• Personality traits – friendly, outgoing, good with public
• Must pass a drug test and background check
• Must wear bra size 34 B or C, 36 B or C, 38 B or C
• EEOC / AA employer
• Headshot preferred

Application process: Submit resume, headshot and include short essay on why you feel you would be a good fit as a brand ambassador. IF you and a friend are applying as a team, be sure to submit all information simultaneously.

Email : tarra.lambeth@keystonemarketing.net
Mail: BTSG Job Post
Attn: Tarra Lambeth
709 N Main Street
Winston Salem NC 27101

[Employee Connection] Erin Wilson "Flying the Coop"

2010-04-07T12:55:00.000-07:00

Two years ago I graduated college with lots of expectations and high hopes for my future. Lots of things fell into place, new car and new job. But what about my living situation? I had been on my own for 4 years- how could I possibly move back home? As a young graduate, adult life becomes real- real quick. Student loan bills, a horse to board and a car payment were the main influences for me to move back home and save money.Two years later I’m ready to fly the coop, bills paid off in full and savings replenished. I knew I wanted to be close to work, friends and a farm for Houston. I searched and spent lots of time budgeting before making the decision to pursue a permanent place. Fear of sinking and making a wrong decision helped me analyze all my options and not make any hasty decisions.

After lots of searching the perfect place fell into my lap. I have to remind myself that on the other side of my extreme excitement I need to focus on the realty of having major bills, besides Houston, each month and being completely self-sufficient. I’m ready!

Grocery shopping, meal planning and being more disciplined with my spending will all be challenging but well worth the satisfaction that knowing my preparation to be a responsible adult will be well worth the effort.

Link Love: Week of March 226, 2010

2010-03-26T07:09:00.000-07:00

Sociological Images - Exercise and develop you sociological imagination - http://contexts.org/socimages/

Cool clock - http://www.artlebedev.com/everything/segmentus/

Twitter and TV – How Social Media is helping Old Media - http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1971444,00.html

Everyday Creativity - http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1971444,00.html

The importance of being social – Fashion Brands online - http://style.bitchbuzz.com/the-importance-of-being-social-fashion-brands.html

How magazines could evolve into a digital format, taking advantage of the iPad format - Cover - http://vimeo.com/10253564 and Content http://vimeo.com/10207926

Link Love

2010-03-19T09:02:00.000-07:00

Lots of fun, cute and interesting stuff this week:

- Typography on the web just got much better. Font-Face Generator gives you no excuses. http://bit.ly/TAOCo

- Twitter is testing, and soon to roll out, Geo-targeting of Tweets - http://techcrunch.com/2010/03/09/twitter-location-website/

- Fruits (& Veggies) in hats - http://www.designsbuzz.com/index.php/inspiration/23-creative-ads-with-fruits-vegetables/239

- Thinking Different – filling in city holes with legos - http://gothamist.com/2010/03/08/lego.php?gallery0Pic=6#gallery

- Photoshop Baking - http://www.geekologie.com/2010/02/if_it_were_only_that_easy_phot.php

- What to do with those books you aren’t reading yet - http://www.pauloctavious.com/bookcollection/

- Gap turning shopping upside down - http://jezebel.com/5489315/gap-store-completely-turned-upside+down

[employee connection] First Impressions

2010-03-15T14:58:00.000-07:00

Lots of people will make excuses for trying an online dating site, claiming they don’t have time for “real” dating, they were merely bored, or their cat stepped on the keyboard and inadvertently signed them up for a six-month trial.

In this age of modern consumerism, I make meticulously researched online purchasing decisions for everything from apartments to movies to groceries to cars. Why wouldn’t I value similar vetting tools in my selection of a potential mate? I like to have options, and the more the better.

Particular sites aside, the concept is the same. You create a profile, wade through a sea of sameness, and try to find a hidden gem.

Some might argue there is little that can be determined about a person from “a picture and a paragraph” (as the commercial goes), but I’d disagree. A personal ad is like any other ad and as such it is prone to exaggeration, but all it takes to be a smart shopper is some reading between the lines.

It may come off a bit judgmental, but a red flag is a red flag:

“My friends say I’m good-looking.” That must be why you don’t have a picture posted; I wouldn’t be able to handle it.

“I like long walks on the beach.” You should hook up with every other person on this site, because they’ve said that exact thing!

“I like to have fun.” So do I; that’s why it’s called “fun.” But I know what you mean, and ew.

“I TYPE IN ALL CAPS.” You’re an idiot.

The point being: there is a lot of clutter in the marketplace. And I won’t even touch on safety precautions, as those go without saying.

But with enough research (and almost necessarily the willingness to shop beyond your zip code), you just might find a cute nerdy boy with glasses who rides a scooter and makes robots. You know, if that’s what you’re into.

Link Love

2010-03-09T10:13:00.001-08:00

Always interesting stuff on the interwebs… here’s some of the latest to click through (Courtesy of Tony):

2010 Design Trend Prediction http://www.webdesignerwall.com/trends/design-trends-predictions-in-2010/

Fun bus stop creative - http://www.designswan.com/archives/19-creative-and-unusual-bus-stop-advertisements.html

Things people try to log into - http://venomousporridge.com/post/385639736/things-people-try-to-log-into-part-2

Introduction to HTML 5 - http://vimeo.com/6691519

Brief history of Photoshop - http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2010/02/20-years-of-adobe-photoshop/

A bad Social Media attempt. Beware the backlash! - http://venomousporridge.com/post/283783204/ready-able-i-installed-droplr-to-try-it-out

To Sketch or Not to Sketch - http://designinformer.com/sketch-question/

An example of a big brand not watching their name… and what can go wrong - http://yuliziv.com/2010/02/22/lessons-in-social-media-vogue-discovers-new-monetization-channel-advertises-tuna-for-50/

Twitter and Journalism – a great list of resources - http://stevebuttry.wordpress.com/2010/03/03/resources-for-journalists-using-twitter/

[Employee Connection] Brandi Thacker aka “Coupon Queen”

2010-02-26T09:11:00.000-08:00

Pinch a penny! Given the economic hardships that surround us daily, my growing “connection” is with coupons. I am all about saving a dime or dollar whenever and wherever possible. I think most individuals want to save money but aren’t always sure where to get started with the coupon cutting. So, below are a few helpful hints, free of charge!

Tip #1 – Buy a Sunday paper, it’s worth it. Sunday papers run about a $1.25 each and are filled with coupons. You can find coupons to restaurants and for any staple items you need around the house. Also, if you despise shopping at Wally World and prefer grocery stores, clipping coupons is crucial. Most grocery stores will now double and even triple coupons up to a certain value.

Tip # 2 – Surf the web. The Internet is filled with sources for coupons; some good and some bad. Best thing to do if you are looking for a specific coupon is to hit up Google. If you are looking to save a few bucks at Barnes & Noble, just Google “Barnes and Noble printable coupon” and several options will pop up. You may have to search through a few sites, but be patient and you can find some great deals. If you are looking to order something online, just Google “Barnes and Noble coupon code” and you can find deals such as free shipping.

A few reliable websites I visit are listed below.

www.wow-coupons.com
This site has retail, grocery, restaurant and travel coupons and is updated fairly regularly. It is well organized with everything listed alphabetically and it offers expiration dates too which is helpful. Keep in mind some retailers (i.e. Walmart) do not accept printed coupons but you can always try.

www.restaurant.com
Looking to save a few bucks for dinner? Get discounted gift certificates to local restaurants at this website. You can get a $25 gift certificate for only $10. Make sure you read all the fine print as there can be restrictions on the minimum purchase or you might not be able to use them on the weekends. Another money saving tip, Google “restaurant.com coupons” and you can really hit the jackpot. Over the Christmas holiday, I was able to find a coupon for restaurant.com so I ordered a gift certificate valued at $25 but only paid $4 dollars for it! Even better, the coupon is ready to print as soon you place the order.

A few other couponing tips:
- Stay organized and keep the coupons close. Once you get all your coupons cut, I recommend keeping them in a coupon organizer or even a plastic sandwich bag and take them with you everywhere. It’s a bad feeling to go to the store and then realize you don’t have your coupons; but don’t put it past me to drive home and get them!

- Don’t throw away your expired Bed, Bath & Beyond coupons. Bed, Bath & Beyond will always accept their coupons no matter the expiration date that is listed.

- Check with stores about accepting competitor coupons. Michael’s accepts AC Moore coupons and vice versa. Lowes Foods has even started accepting competitor coupons as well.

- Look for BOGO (Buy One, Get One Free) but don’t feel obligated to go for it. Some retailers will let you buy one and get it half off instead of getting two for the price of one.

Hope these tips help save you some dough!

Cheers,
Brandi Thacker aka “Coupon Queen”

[Employee Connection] Betty's First Blog

2010-02-02T07:29:00.000-08:00

Having never “blogged” before, I wanted to know the definition of “blog” and once I found the meaning, just how would I apply it to my assignment to be the “blogger” of the week. Well, here goes; I found one definition, and I’m sure there are others depending on who you’re asking a blog is “A frequent, chronological publication of personal thoughts and Web links.” It is often a mixture of what is happening in a person’s life and what is happening on the Web. OK, armed with this hybrid of information I who find it hard to scribble a few lines on a post card, am ready to venture into the world of “blogging”. Let’s see, what’s happening in my life that you might be interested in....hummmmm....

Oh yes, I am very proud of my granddaughter, Rachael! She is in her third year of college at UNC Wilmington and majoring in Creative Writing. I’m sure she is a good blogger (unlike her grandmother)! She had the opportunity to attend Swansea University in Wales, UK and flew to England on January 7^th. After a 7 hour, yes, SEVEN hour flight delay, another hour in the plane while they de-iced the wings, an eight hour plane ride into London where she bought a bus ticket and rode 4 (agonizing) hours to Swansea she’s finally reached her destination. The university campus is located next to the coast at the north of Swansea Bay, east of the Gower Peninsula, in the grounds of Singleton Park, just outside Swansea city centre. Her first impressions of the UK....They drive on the wrong side of the road, I’m so sleepy I can’t keep my eyes open and its FREEZING here!

Speaking of freezing, we had some really cold weather here over the weekend. The meteorologists’ prediction was right on target this time. Cold, snow and freezing rain; eight inches of the stuff! What do you do when you’re under house arrest due to the weather? I decided to be a Good Samaritan and open up a soup kitchen. I live in a small condominium complex and have a few elderly neighbors. So I found my biggest pot and made a vat of vegetable beef soup to share with the neighbors. I also made some banana bread since I had a few bananas that I didn’t think would survive the night. The soup has simmered for a couple of hours and smells delicious, the banana bread has cooled and I’m feeling really proud of myself when the thought occurs to me...”How am I going to deliver this to my neighbors when the parking lot is covered with ice and snow?” Not to worry! I was saved by Mike, our landscaper, who had just pulled up on his tractor to scrape the parking lot! I must say he was really the Good Samaritan because he was kind enough to deliver the food to my neighbors.

After spending several hours cooking and baking I decided it was time for an afternoon nap. That’s another thing you can do when you’re snowed in! So I head for the sofa, turn on the TV, I always nap with the TV on, lay down and I am immediately met with a “blanket” of CATS! One on the chest, one on the tummy and one on the knees. Ahhhh, complete contentment! Who cares if they’re snowed in, it’s been a wonderful day!

Betty Marion

“Mother” to 4 cats

Timber, Suzie and Scooter

Max

How Wildfire will Transform Advertising

2010-01-11T14:01:00.000-08:00

While doing one of the many, regular internal brainstorms at Wildfire, we came up with the following ideas for the AAAA's Transformers Program:

~~• Flat Fee, agencies aren’t spending time doing time sheets~~ (nice idea, maybe one day!)
~~• Mobile mini agency~~ (nah)
~~• Value based compensation~~ (got potential)
~~• Advertising Advocates~~ (aren't we already?)
~~• Fully sponsored life~~ (already exists)
~~• Artificial intelligence –shopping list appears~~ (I think there's an App for that)
~~• Smarter phones~~ (Apple will do this for us)
~~• eConscience~~ (smart but not quite the Transformer idea)
~~• 24 hour agency~~ (no thanks!)
~~• Computer does time sheets for you~~ (we really aren't letting this idea go)
• Contract between a person and a brand to exclusively purchase a brand in that category in exchange for whatever the person defines as value (AHA! Now THAT'S worthy of a free trip to San Fran!)

Not only does this idea guarantee sales for brands, it creates brand loyalty, and sales predictability which in turn increases manufacturing and operational efficiencies while helping to determine geographic gap analysis.

How do agencies benefit? We do all the research to determine who to target messages to and create the awareness about these programs. Agencies become facilitators of connections instead of broadcasting messages. GENIUS! Right?

Still confused as to how it works? Let us explain (via an example):

Exhibit A: Michelle, is a HUGE fan of Chocolate. She eats it regularly, shares it as gifts for every holiday and in fact, can't work or function without at least one serving a day. No chocolate, no happy Michelle!

Wildfire to the rescue! Wildfire helps recognize this chocoholic (and potential brand advocate) to REESE'S ® (a Hershey brand) who then sends Michelle a targeted message with details about the chocolate Connection Contract™.

Hershey wants to have a years worth of purchases from Michelle but what does Michelle get out of it besides a ton of calories? How would Hershey convince her to sign a "contract" with REESE'S ® guaranteeing that she would buy their products each month?

ENTER: a Connection Contract™, a list of several options (based on partnerships with other companies) that Michelle can choose from in exchange for only purchasing REESE'S ® as her chocolate of choice for X period of time:

a) 20% off each Hershey product
b) Free gym membership (courtesy of Curves who partners with Hershey)
c) Delivery of product to her house or business each month
d) ???

Each brand's offers are customized and each consumer selects their offer based on what they value: discounts, incentives, etc.

In Michelle's case, she really loves chocolate and all, but really hates that she is eating all this chocolate and not doing anything about it! So she opts for the free gym membership. She's always wanted to join a gym but never really had the extra push to get her to sign up. Voila!

As a result, both parties are satisfied. Michelle gets her chocolate (and gym membership) and Hershey gets their guaranteed sales each month and analysis to help better determine sales and fulfillment.

I know you're probably thinking, what's the punishment for breaking the terms of the contract? Where's the lawyer? How do you enforce? Well, we thought of all those things too, but we'll leave those pesky details up to you to figure out --OR-- pick our idea as the WINNING TRANSFORMING IDEA and we'll figure it out for you! (hint hint)

[Employee Connection] Ashley's Inner Hoarder

2010-01-11T11:15:00.000-08:00

This past week I came across the A&E show Hoarders, which quickly prompted me to sort through my own belongings. I watched, so in awe at the mountains of stuff these people collected, that I began going through my dresser, closets, shoes and armoire to see what I could get rid of that I didn’t use, want or need. A few conclusions I came up with:

While I do not have knick-knacks in my house, I seem to have trouble letting go of some other items such as 72.8 color coordinated t-shirts that I have been collecting since high school. A third of these I acquired from my last job at Parks & Rec, and none of these include the number of shirts I had made into a t-shirt quilt, which leads into my next hoarded object. Blankets. As a hot natured person, I probably have too many blankets. From my high school alma mater blanket, to my parents ASU blanket, 2 baby quilts, 3 additional quilts from my mom and aunt, a fleece blanket from my sister, and a fantastic new blanket I just got for Christmas, I should be greatly prepared if my heat ever goes out. My cats most likely get more use out of my blankets than I do. Finally there are baseball hats. I have a different hat for each day of the week, but don’t think I have worn a hat since having early morning classes in college.

What makes people hang on to material things? The memories? I could tell some sort of story for each t-shirt, blanket and baseball hat that I own. Guilt over getting rid of gifts? I feel kinda bad, but who hasn’t re-gifted? Keep in mind, it’s the thought that counts! The thought that someday soon I will fit back into those pair of jeans? That’s a whole other blog! Comfort? While it is hard to let go of comfort, you need to realize that getting rid of things doesn’t mean getting rid of the memory.

While I did let go a of a good amount of stuff that I will take to Goodwill (hopefully this week before I have second thoughts on a few items), none of those included t-shirts, blankets, or hats, but at least now they are all extremely organized and put in their own place! Now I just hope I don’t come across a show on OCD…

Bridging the Virtual Gap

2009-10-21T12:30:00.000-07:00

This past week I attended for the first time the BlogWorld New Media Expo at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Per their site:

This is first and only industry-wide tradeshow, conference, and media event dedicated to promoting the dynamic industry of new media including: Blogging, Podcasting, Social Media, Online Video, Music, TV, Radio, Gaming, Entertainment and Communities. In addition to the only industry-wide new media industry exhibition, BlogWorld & New Media Expo features the largest new media conference in the world including more than 50 seminars, panel discussions and keynotes from iconic personalities on the leading-edge of online technology and Internet-savvy business.

The seminar had a number of different tracks to appeal to the quickly growing and diverse blogging and niche online communities who continue to take advantage of social media outlets to connect, grow existing businesses and support new ventures. Business and independents from sectors as diverse as mom bloggers to military came to the Expo to learn about best practices and generate new was to utilize new media which includes Twitter, podcasting, Facebook and video-casting

But even at a high-tech “let’s Tweet every interaction” conference, the best connections really came down to meeting people in person. Bonding over funny stories from the previous evening events, asking for advice about a piece of technology, sharing a particularly insightful comment in another session, meeting like-minded people and learning more about them was the most valuable part of the conference.

Sure we were getting our money’s worth with exposure to best practices, analytics and case studies but we also made personal and professional contacts that can enhance our lives… and we can bring that excitement and enthusiasm back home with us.

If you went, let me know what you thought… and I hope to see you there next year!

Images via Flickr from BuzzShift - (cc) Cameron Gawley - www.buzzshift.com - and KevinBlalock

Boot Camp Offered to Help Piedmont Area Businesses Conquer the Digital Marketing Space

2009-10-15T12:02:00.000-07:00

Industry leaders at Wildfire will collaborate with North Carolina A&T State University’s Continuing Education Program to implement a program titled, Digital Marketing Boot Camp. The Digital Marketing Boot Camp is intended for interested CEO’s, managers and those involved with marketing processes to participate in an in-depth crash course on marketing, across the digital landscape. The program is offered to the public in efforts to help professionals in the region utilize digital media to build better businesses. “The need to upgrade and continuously improve interactive digital skills is essential to compete in today’s economy,” according to Will Spivey Managing Partner, Trone.

Two options will be offered: a Boot Camp Jumpstart crash course and a more in depth Boot Camp Plus. The Boot Camp Jumpstart will provide an overview covering the basics in a one half-day session on Saturday, October 24, 2009, 9 am – 12 pm. Boot Camp Plus will provide an in depth examination of marketing across the digital landscape and the role of a website vs. social networking vs. search marketing. It will also cover everything from basic terminology to more comprehensive applications in the digital marketing space and much more. Boot Camp Plus will consist of seven three hour sessions beginning with the Jumpstart on Saturday, October 24, followed by six classes on Wednesdays, October 28 – December 9, 2009, 6-9 pm. All classes will be held on the campus of NC A&T State University. Tuition for Boot Camp Plus is $299. The fee for the Boot Camp Jumpstart is $99 (the Jumpstart fee is included in the Boot Camp Plus tuition).

Instructors for the Boot Camp Jumpstart and Boot Camp Plus include industry leaders Brad Bennett and Bruce Carlisle. Bennett has spent the past 20 years in advertising and marketing and co-founded Wildfire in 2002 where he is currently Chief Firestarter. Over the past 2 years Bennett has focused on becoming an expert in the digital marketing space and has crafted his knowledge in such a manner to help clients and marketing practitioners understand the tools in the marketing tool box. “We anticipate that participants of the Boot Camp will walk away with the digital tools needed and the knowledge of how to use them to create a powerful marketing program for their business,” says Bennett. “From basic terminology to more comprehensive applications in the digital marketing space, the web offers fertile ground for spreading a message or striking up a conversation and can provide deep understanding of consumer behaviors.”

Carlisle has 30 years of experience in advertising, PR, promotions, direct response and digital marketing. In 1996 Bruce co-founded award winning SF Interactive – at the time one of the nation's first full-service interactive marketing agencies where he was President and CEO. Since then, he launched Digital Axle, a metrics-driven digital strategy and media services consultancy. He has been published in Fortune, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, and Advertising Age and is a frequent speaker at the American Association of Advertising Agencies. He is also currently CEO of ConferenceHound.com.

By convening the Creative Enterprises and the Arts roundtable, Piedmont Triad Partnership and regional creative industry leaders have determined that a professional development program focused on interactive digital marketing was essential to offer in the region. They sought out key industry leaders through an RFP process who could develop and deliver a curriculum with leading edge tools that enhance business competitiveness. Wildfire and NCA&T State University were selected.

Funding for the Digital Marketing Boot Camp is made possible by the Piedmont Triad Partnership’s U.S. Department of Labor Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) grant. Interested business professionals may register at www.digitalmarketingbootcamp.com or by contacting the Office of Continuing Studies at NC A&T State University, 336-334-7607. Registration is required.

[Employee Connection] Michelle Connects with her love of Dogs

2009-08-26T07:08:00.000-07:00

Here I am at 2:31 am wide awake. Why you may ask? Not because of work-related stress, digestive issues and certainly not because I had a dying need to write this blog post. I am awake because of my deep love for a dog - the dog I have had since I graduated from college who has been with me every step of the way for the past 13 years.

Domino is a 13.5 year old Dalmatian and as the vet says, he is finally starting to show his age. He has always been healthy and active, hiking and playing every day of his life until about two months ago when things started changing. His arthritis got to a point where he could not walk very well anymore and he was obviously in more pain than he had been in the past. He started wiping out more when playing in the yard with Storm (our younger pup) and when rounding corners in the house. Then, about three weeks ago, our normally ravenous dog did not eat for an entire weekend and stopped exhibiting any energy. The reality of his age and health hit me like a Mack truck as I was forced to face the pending loss of my pet and best friend. Today, Domino is still with us and going as strong as he can thanks to the help of our great vet and dear friend, Dr. Jacob Mireles.

All of this has me facing a lot of very real emotions about love, mortality and the connections we build with others throughout our lives. When I adopted Domino, my first dog, 13 years ago, I had no idea the connection I would build with him. I had grown up with dogs my whole life but they were not the life companion that Domino would become. We lived in 5 states, drove cross country together 4 times and had countless experiences along the way. Dogs truly do give unconditional love and, unlike others in my life, Domino has never once given up on me! He has kept me going through the hardest days and made me smile every day of my life. This deep connection is not one I had planned to build, it just simply happened.

The most interesting thing about the connection between a dog and its owner is that we make this choice to share our lives with a creature whom we know, at the offset, will live a much shorter life than us. On average, dogs live to be about 11-14 years old, which means that we make the decision - consciously or not - to experience their entire life cycle within a short period of ours. Sometimes, especially lately, I ask myself why do we knowingly put ourselves through this for such a relatively short-lived connection with our pets and the answer I always come back to comes from the wise words of a child which I once read:

When faced with the death of his 10-year old cancer-stricken dog, a young boy said, "People are born so that they can learn how to live a good life like loving everybody all the time and being nice, right? Well, dogs already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long."

So often I have thought of this story in recent months and it always touches my heart and rings so true. Dogs understand what true love and meaningful connection are from the start and they never forget for a minute. Domino has lived his entire life this way and, as a result, has created one of the most loving relationships that I will ever experience - a connection that will live on well beyond his years on this earth.

-Michelle

(Ed Note: Michelle also has her own custom dog collar business called Fashion Hound. Be sure to check it out at: www.fashion-hound.com)

[Employee Connection] Erin's Connection to Revived Trends

2009-08-20T10:02:00.000-07:00

We all hear about trends. What's new, what's old and what's just not working. There are 6 trends that are taking over the market and will only continue to grow in the upcoming year. The economy has had the largest impact on trends this year and not only are consumers more conscious about what they buy- but they want to know where it comes from, what it's made of and WHO made it.

The Top 6 Trends to watch:
1. Simplify My Shopping Experience- consumers want to find what they need with ease and efficiency and are more likely to pick up more items if it's easy for them to find and locate.
2. Authenticity/Trust for the Company & the Product- buying products you can trust from companies that are trustworthy is a MUST for consumers as they tighten their belts. Consumers need to know the products they spend their money on will last and that your company recognizes this need.
3. Changing Households- this has been a changing trend for a while but is still changing yearly! You may have households with multiple generations mixed in. The family with two parents and 2.5 children is no longer the normal.
4. Pursuit of Happiness- people are simplifying their lives more and more these days and the pursuit of happiness plays into the simplicity. Products and merchandise need not only be a good value, but please the consumer and make their lives more enjoyable simultaneously.
5. Well Being- De-stressing- this trend can range from the textured materials people purchase because they make them feel comfortable to touch, all the way to the Artisan products that connect them to the maker. Products not only change your mood by color and touch but knowing where they came from and who made it brings the human aspect back to purchasing.
6. Consumers in Control- as if consumers were not dictating enough- they also hold the funds and control where they spend it! They may have less money but they control where they spend it- so it's important to tailor to them and make them want to spend their money with you.

As marketers it's our job to embrace these trends while entering the minds of our consumers and give them as many of their wants/needs that we can! Which of the trends do you fall into as a consumer?

[Employee Connection] Sarah's Connections Catch 22

2009-08-12T09:24:00.000-07:00

Prompted to blog about “connections”, I am truly stumped. A writer nearly lost for words. So, please bear with me, as I’m merely dipping a virtual toe into the proverbial blogging pond. Consider the following idle observations, musings of an outsider to the blogosphere. I don’t blog, tweet, skype or anything else. I have a facebook page I seldom check. I’m not tech savvy. I’m not even all that computer literate, generally speaking.

I know, I know. It’s the way of future. You can’t stop time or hold back invention. Nor do I want to. Though now and again, I do find myself reminiscing about days gone by. And by that, I mean just like 15 years ago. When pay phones dotted the streets and you knew exactly where to find one, too. Because when your car ran out of gas and you didn’t have any cash (and I mean cash, not your debit card of the future) you had to use the aforementioned payphones, on account of not having a cell phone. Gasp. It was character building stuff I tell you. And dare I say, romantic.

Now I know this is not a new concept. But when tasked with creating a blog entry about “connections”, all that comes to mind is the irony of it all. Sure, we’ve gained countless instant, continuous ways to communicate. (Intrusively many if you ask me) But it’s a bunch of talk. Talk about talk. I just fear we’ve somewhat lost sight of meaningful connections, as we once knew them.

Enough virtual talking and reviewing new music and bands to death on a website. Or becoming “fans” of them online. Let’s go see one.

All I’m saying is, my idea of having a cocktail with a friend isn’t IMing them while sending them clip art of a Bloody Mary on Facebook.

Let’s leave the keyboards behind, go sit out in the sunshine, face to face, with some real-live, real-thirst-quenching-beverages and partake in some real-live conversations. Waddaya say?

-Sarah

[Event Connection] Skirt! After Hours Charity Chicks Event

2009-08-11T08:05:00.000-07:00

September 16, 2009 5:30-7:30pm Noble’s Grille 380 Knollwood Street Winston-Salem, NC 27103

Skirt! Magazine has partnered with Charity Chicks and Noble’s Grille to host a special after hours event benefiting the Community Care Center. Attendees are asked to bring toothbrushes, toothpaste, floss, and other items of need as a donation to the Community Care Center in exchange for a raffle ticket for a variety of door prizes given away throughout the evening. Noble’s Grille will be providing complimentary bar bites, “2 buck cluck” a $5 “Skirtini” in the bar area and on the patio. First 100 people will receive a goodie bag. Chicks are encouraged to come out and find out more about Charity Chicks and have an enjoyable time with friends. Roosters also welcome.

Please visit: http://www.linkth.at/0p for more info about the event and to RSVP.

[Employee Connection] Tory thinks Forging a Real Connection Requires Conversation (Unless You Have ESP)

2009-08-05T12:26:00.000-07:00

Reading last night before calling the day quits, I encountered an interesting passage that made me think about human connections and intimacy in a new light. It’s from Out Stealing Horses, by Per Petterson, a Norwegian author who looks curiously like Mark Wahlberg in his bio photo.

Fingers crossed that this isn’t a long enough excerpt to qualify for copyright infringement:

“People like it when you tell them things, in suitable portions, in a modest, intimate tone, and they think they know you, but they do not, they know about you, for what they are let in on are facts, not feelings, not what your opinion is about anything at all, not how what has happened to you and how all the decisions you have made have turned you into who you are. What they do is fill in with their own feelings and opinions and assumptions, and they compose a new life which has precious little to do with yours, and that lets you off the hook. No-one can touch you unless you want them to.”

This strikes me as unfortunate, but true. Even family members and your dearest friends—those who have been right by your side experiencing events throughout your life—don’t have immediate access to the inner workings of your mind. They may know what you’ve been up to recently or the details of an embarrassing incident from your childhood. But even they don’t know how you felt or the impact it may have had on your psyche. That is unless you share this with them verbally.

In correlation to the world of marketing and advertising, this is like knowing the demographics of your target audience, but nothing more. Not taking the time to know your consumers as individuals, especially as our world gets smaller and more accessible through technological advances, is equally as tragic as the personal scenario. Yet 85% of all women still don’t feel that brands “get” them.

These days there are infinite ways to learn what consumers think and feel. And they are more than willing to tell you what they think about your brand—good, bad and ugly. You don’t need to fill in the blanks with your own opinions and assumptions, as Mr. Petterson suggests happens naturally in personal relationships. In fact, if you aren’t listening, they are more than likely talking to someone else who will. And in that scenario you have no voice.

Wouldn’t you rather be involved in the conversation?

-Tory

[Employee Connection] Pam's Connection to her Animals & Farm

2009-07-31T12:50:00.000-07:00

Lately, I’ve been feeling what a lot of people are probably feeling.....time-sucked! We lead such busy lives with our careers, house chores, yard work, exercise, errands, social commitments, kids, aging parents...the list goes on. Me, I live on a small farm. 7 acres, horses, dogs, cats, chickens, and a house way too big for one person. Although when I add in the furbabies, perhaps it isn’t too big. This past year has brought a lot of change to my life and I have been quite overwhelmed. I’m ashamed to say I even started thinking that I have too much on my plate and should consider a lifestyle change. It hurts for me to say this, but by “lifestyle change”, I was thinking that I needed to sell the farm, find homes for some of the animals and move to a small townhouse with a tiny yard within 12 minutes from my job. Then my beloved dog, Casey, came down with a life threatening disease, autoimmune hymelytic anemia. This is a very serious situation where her white blood cells attack and kill her red blood cells. She has a 60% chance of survival. This has made me realize what is really important and that my farm and animals are a part of me. Just need to make some adjustments to my schedule. It’s easy to get bogged down in “I have to do this, I have to do that” and lose sight of your true place in life. As a young girl I would tell my parents, “When I grow up I want a big white farm house and all the animals I can stand.” And, that’s exactly what I have. And that is where I belong. -Pam

[Event Connection] Bubblebration Part II

2009-07-23T12:30:00.000-07:00

Bubblebration is returning again this Summer to Corpening Plaza, tomorrow, Friday, July 24, 2009 starting at 12:30 p.m. until 1:30 p.m. hosted by yours truly. Take a break from your day, head down to First and Liberty Street below the BB&T Financial Center and blow bubbles with others in the community for some good old fashion fun on a Friday lunch hour. Bring your friends, co-workers, colleagues, family, signifcant others, kids, or come and meet some new people! Everyone is welcome to join in the fun. See you there!

Below is Wildfire's designer Ross blowing bubbles from the 2008 Bubblebration:

[Client Connection] Noble's Grille Announces Addition of New Executive Chef to Winston-Salem

2009-07-23T12:22:00.000-07:00

Our newest client, Noble's Grille is pleased to announce the addition of Executive Chef Phil Barnes to their Noble’s Grille restaurant at 380 Knollwood Street in Winston-Salem. Barnes, who will be joining Noble’s Grille from their Charlotte location, has been with the family business since late 2006. He will continue to serve under Chef Jim Noble as Executive Chef and will continue to carry out Noble’s mission of operating in a spirit of excellence, committed to being among the best in the world. While excellence is important to both the operating approach Noble’s also prides itself on its friendly, relaxed, comfortable atmosphere with great, reasonably priced cuisine using the finest, local ingredients.

Barnes, born in Ontario, Canada, moved to Charlotte when he was 14 with his family. He first began his kitchen career as a dishwasher at a small local café when he was 15 where he discovered his passion and interest in food. Inspired by his mother, Barnes enjoyed cooking and baking at home and quickly moved up through the various positions as a chef. Barnes achieved the role of sous chef at The Lamplighter Restaurant and later became the Executive Chef of Patou French Bistro for four years.

“I enjoy the passion, work ethic and commitment to excellence that Chef Jim Noble and his entire staff has at Noble’s,” says Barnes. “Each day represents new challenges and learning opportunities and I feel privileged to be a part of this environment and look forward to being a part of the Winston-Salem community.” Outside of cooking, enjoys spending time with his son Max, reading and watching movies.

Starting tonight, Happy Hour has been renamed Noble Hour! Every Thursday night from 5:30-7:30pm, Noble’s Bar will offer a drink special, $2 buck cluck wines, and complimentary bar bites. Bring your friends and maybe meet some new ones. Some Wildfire employees will be there tonight to check it out so come on by.

Have a special group, club or friends that like to socialize and enjoy free food and affordable drinks? Noble’s Grille Group Happy Hour Events are a great way to network, hang out and have fun in a chic and trendy new environment! Your Group Happy Hour can be scheduled any Tuesday or Wednesday from 5:30-7:30 in the bar area or on the patio (date/time are flexible if you have special needs). Buy your own drinks, including Two Buck Cluck Wines, and Noble’s Grille offers a round of delicious appetizers. Minimum group size: 15 or 2 groups of 10. Contact scaplan@wildfireideas.com to set up.

Follow Noble's Grille on Twitter and on Facebook.

[Event Connection] First Annual "A Taste of the Blues" Event to Take Place August 6th

2009-07-23T11:42:00.000-07:00

Wildfire is helping out with yet another good cause. More info below, featuring another Wildfire client, Dewey's Bakery.

Live Blues Music, Southern Cuisine, NC Wine and Beer Tastings and Tony Award Winning Play Featured at First Annual Event to Benefit Authoring Action Organization and North Carolina Black Repertory Company

Tickets are now on sale for an exciting new event that brings together the very best of local music, cuisine, wine and beer – not to mention a presentation by the National Black Theatre Festival of the Tony Award Winning play “It Ain’t Nothin’ But the Blues - together for “A Taste of the Blues.” This special event will kick off at downtown Winston Salem’s Millennium Center, located at 101 W Fifth Street, on Thursday, August 6th from 5:30 until 7:30pm during the National Black Theatre Festival.

This two-hour event is followed directly by the National Black Theatre Festival’s “It Ain’t Nothing But the Blues,” a Tony Award-winning play taking place at 8:00 pm that evening in Reynolds Auditorium (301 N Hawthorne Road).

Tickets including both events are $75 per person and are currently on sale at Dewey’s Bakery in Thruway Shopping Center (262 S Stratford Road), as well as Foothills Brewing (638 W Fourth Street). Tickets will also be sold at the door on the evening of the event. A $50 ticket is available at the door for the Millennium Center event for those who cannot attend the play.

Proceeds from “A Taste of the Blues” will benefit The North Carolina Black Repertory Company and Authoring Action, formerly the Winston-Salem Youth Arts Institute, a non-profit organization founded to develop young authors as impact communications specialists, develop their writing through exposure to professional mentors, training, performance and empowerment.

A sampling of some of the city’s best Southern cuisine will be provided by 6th & Vine, Dewey’s Bakery, Finnigan’s Wake, Foothills Brewing, Mozelle’s and NOMA. A selection of local wines and beers will be poured by winemakers from Biltmore Winery, Cellar 4201 Vineyard, Childress Vineyards, McRitchie Winery and Foothills Brewing.

Live Entertainment will feature blues and jazz artists Tad Walters, Charles Burns, Keith Byrd and friends. The event will also include a silent auction featuring an array of spa packages, restaurant dinners, gift baskets, a private wine tasting for eight by Camel City Café, a hand-painted desk by Sam McMIllan, and much more.

Additional partners include the Millennium Center, Piedmont Printing, Southern Community Bank and Trust, Skirt! Magazine, Wildfire and WSJS Radio. Honorary Chairs for the event include the Honorable Mayor Allen and Peggy Joines, Nigel and Sarah Alston and Debora Freeman.

About Authoring Action
Authoring Action, formerly the Winston-Salem Youth Arts Institute, was founded to develop authors. The organization works to create apprentice artists who author original written works in poetry, monologues, rap and lyrics from their life stories and circumstances. Authoring Action develops their works for stage, film and visual art forums in collaboration with professional and renowned artists, who with the organization, will study: performance art writing, live stage, spoken word and film forums, design and production, and music.

For more information about Authoring Action or to get involved, please visit https://www.authoringaction.org or call (336) 831.1905.

[Employee Connection] Phillip's Friendly Connection

2009-07-21T10:20:00.000-07:00

The Connectivity Blog will begin a weekly column submitted by various employees at Wildfire. The inaugural post comes from Philip, a Senior Designer here with us at Wildfire.

Just wanted to share an e-mail Kristi and I received from our realtor that sold our house in Greensboro. In the eight months that we worked with him we had the opportunity to get to know each other better and truly form a friendship. Periodically he’ll send us a friendly hello how are you and then there are times he’ll send a thought or a phrase that makes you stop and think. This is one of those.

Hello!

I wanted to share a thought or two that I thought might be important. I am sending this out to all that are in my database. I encourage dialog and an exchange of ideas- by doing so- we all become stronger, better people!

In order to have more one must BE more. In order to experience more in your life one must BECOME more.

There are always two creations- one is the inner creation that happens in your mind and heart- your beliefs and your mindset.. the other is the one that follows your belief and is the manifestation of your inner world.

To be successful or to obtain those things or experiences you desire you must be more than you are now..you must grow, stretch and redefine yourself.

It is vitally important that we step back and look at ourselves and what we have created and experienced in our life. Are we happy with the results? Why and why not?

So much of what we experience and how we process experiences in our lives is conditioned by what we believe about ourselves, others, our situations and life in general. Its important to observe our thoughts and emotions as they help to inform us as to our deeply held beliefs. These beliefs may be both positive and negative ( fears). The positive beliefs will allow us to see the good in each situation or at least maintain the hope that eventually we will see the good. Positive beliefs will aid us in maintaining a healthy spirit, mind and body.

Negative beliefs and fears are the most destructive. Fear will cripple and paralyze us. If we operate our lives from a fearful perspective, we will feel threatened and victimized. Fear will cause us to become angry and carry that anger around with us always. Negative mindsets will inhibit a solution minded focus- which is the only way we can solve the problems we encounter.

If we have found ourselves in challenging situations- then we must stretch our thinking to view the issue as objectively as possible. It is by becoming aware of our thoughts and emotions and how they affect our behavior and attitudes that we gain more control of ourselves and our life. By allowing ourselves to be redefined in our own thinking, we create options and opportunities.

In todays economic climate- many have found themselves in very challenging situations. Foreclosures abound, jobs are lost and are difficult to replace. Credit is tight, stocks ad investments are down and savings for any, are dwindling. Relationships suffer in times like these for many.

It is important that we maintain a solution focused mindset- one that looks for options and opportunities for ourselves and for others. We will get through these times- but it is important to remember that it is the individual who controls how they think and feel! We will determine the opportunities by our mindset!

Be solution focused! Read books, listen to tapes and cd's. Listen to inspirational speakers. Seek out and surround yourself with people who are positive!

Please remember to have fun in life...tough times come and go....our life is what we make of it, especially in the day to day activities. It is in these day to day actions and habits that we set the course of our life in general.

Have a great day!

Jeff

The Bug Connection

2009-07-13T08:13:00.001-07:00

I recently read an article entitled ‘the 10 grossest things in the house.’ (10 Grossest Things Article )

In the article I discovered that as well as being where the family connects, I am also connecting with a great deal of gross bugs, germs and bacteria every time I step inside my house. Apparently, germs and bacteria are not only lurking in fairly obvious places such as the trash and toilet, just waiting to jump out and get me, but they are also hiding in my sheets and in the books I read. This is fairly scary stuff except that when I stop to think that we are probably all leading cleaner lives than any of our ancestors ever did before us, and most of them survived (note I didn’t say ‘all’). In fact, I have also heard that being exposed to a fairly good dose of germs on a regular basis can be a good thing because it builds up our immune systems. So on reflection, it seems like I have a few choices. I can either just keep my house in a state of ‘clean enough’ and feel good that my immune system is getting a pretty good work out. Alternatively, I can spend my entire life boiling and bleaching everything that I can get my hands on, including my skin. Or finally, I can live in a bubble. I choose the first option, so if I fail to come to work one day you will know that those germs finally got me.

Create Your Own Social Media

2009-07-02T10:57:00.001-07:00

Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, LinkedIn and numerous others are becoming more prevalent in our media. So what's next? Ning for starters! Ning is a website that not only lets you create and join new social networking sites, but its personalized and allows you to only interact with those who have common interests. You start with naming your social network and creating a web address- it's that simple. The hard work comes with gathering a following large enough to provide good feedback in the forums, people posting images, videos and the blog hosted on the home page.

Think social media isn't for you? With Facebook supporting over 200 million members and Twitter growing at an alarming rate of 40% each month- social media is here to stay and should be embarrassed.
Ready to jump in and start your own network using Ning? Steer clear of these top mistakes people make when using social media:
1. Social Media as the sole business model- make sure you have other marketing efforts in place that maintain the image you are portraying on the social networks to create brand equity and structure.
2. Lack of plan- plan out your use of social media and the avenues you want to use! Link them together and drive traffic to all areas to build a brand presence.
3. Using wrong tools for the wrong purpose- creating a social network is not a place to post everything your business is doing! While those posts and human interest stories are important, make sure to post articles and your opinion about pertinent topics in the areas that your consumers can relate to and see you as the expert on.
4. Overuse- this particularly applies to Twitter- don't tweet 10 times daily. Meaty tweets are better than tweeting for the sole purpose of tweeting- you only have 160 characters so make it count!

Now that your prepped and ready with the newest thing in social media and the mistakes to avoid, head off to Ning and be ahead of the curve!

Music connects us all

2009-04-22T09:59:00.000-07:00

Music…it is amazing and we all have different tastes. But, there is a common thread to all music…it connects the mind, the body, the soul and the spirit. It is inspirational.

Music changes lives.

Consider the 47 year old Scottish hidden talent waiting to be discovered. You Tube phenom Susan Boyle with over 75,000,000 views on her Britain's Got Talent performance and world wide news coverage. She has inspired the world and been fodder for many a conversation about not judging a book by its cover. Her life will never be the same and maybe, just maybe, she's given someone else the guts to open up.

Consider Shaheen Jafargholi the 12 year old who was performing and Simon silenced a cheering audience to make him sing a different song , which moved the audience to louder cheers, some to tears and a judge to goose bumps. He has two and a half million You Tube views and his own news tour. Is a record contract in the making? Is there another tween out there ready to take a chance?

Consider American Idol. This year in its 8th season and never a better field of candidates. I believe a quote from Adam's performance last night was "that was immaculate".

And then there's the home grown inspiration. My daughter and her friends performing their version of High School Musical (one, two or three, take your pick) "on stage" in our living room and having the time of their life.

Music brings people together and gets them talking. It is for all walks of life and all ages. It can be driving, soft, poppy or thumping. Whatever it is, to the listener it is a form of expression and for you it should be a way to learn and experience cultures beyond your normal circle of influence.

The GMOOT Syndrome

2009-02-11T10:30:00.001-08:00

I was in a discussion about digital connectivity yesterday about what we were seeing in the marketplace in form of digital service offerings from agencies. During the conversation one of the participants unveiled this term, GMOOT (pronounced Ga-Moot). I had never heard it, but it made perfect sense when he defined it.

GMOOT v. - used by CEOs, CMOs or VPs of Marketing meaning "Get me one of those" when referring to the latest web 2.0 technology or marketing tactic.

It got me thinking. GMOOT is a serious syndrome. We as agencies get excited about new technologies. We share articles and new digital service offerings with clients about the latest in Web 2.0. Social networking is the hottest topic at the moment e.g. Facebook and Twitter. Then we find ourselves saying "We have to get the client up on Facebook". We pitch the idea and make it seem sexy and high ROI and show examples where clients have raced to hundreds of thousands of Facebook fans in just 6 months. We get the client to say "GMOOT!!!!!!" We race off and develop a Facebook profile and post it and then we wait. 6 months go by and we have 43 fans. What happened? Why isn't anyone coming to hear about Widget Y's fantastic story of creation and wonderful product benefits? Why?

Answer: No one cares.

The GMOOT syndrome is pervasive. Agency people have it...our clients have it. We rush to post something on You Tube only to get less views than the neighbors dog getting pushed into the corner by the neighborhood cat bully. Why? We forget to stop and think about the strategy. GMOOT syndrome only yields positive results if we stop and ask DWNOOT (pronounced Dwa-Noot), "Do we need one of those?"

We have to define why a consumer cares. Why would they come visit us? What connection are we making with them that enhances their online experience whether it be for entertainment or education? Are we connecting the dots for them so that once we've established the connection, we make it easy for them to experience our product or service by connecting them from Facebook to our site for example.

The point is, we need a strategy. A business strategy. A communication strategy. A design strategy. And a drive to site strategy. We can't just post and hope. This is basic marketing 101. You would never develop a TV commercial without a strategy. You would never buy media without a strategy. Why would you put up a Facebook page without a strategy.

I am not picking on Facebook. In fact, very recently for one of our clients, we defined a Facebook strategy and it is yielding dividends. But, it's yielding dividends because we got a GMOOT directive and we stopped and asked DWNOOT and created a strategy.

This is even more true today than yesterday. The Center for Media Research had an article this morning about surveys through 2008 by the Pew Internet and American Life Project. There's lots of great information in it, but the topline is Gen Y (Millennials) still make up the largest percentage of the internet user population at 30%, but they are using it for different things than their older brethren. And, the fact is that over time, we will see the playing field level out as Americans age. Gen X makes up 23% of the internet user population and young Boomers 22%. As these groups age, their having been raised in the digital age will level this playing field even further.

So, when you get a GMOOT and you stop and ask DWNOOT, understand that no matter the age of your consumer, connecting to them digitally is a good strategy, but one that requires science. You must dig in and understand how your target uses this medium and what they want to hear. When done right, the consumer becomes a connections vehicle for you passing along the information you provide them to their connections network.

The digital landscape is the wild west. So, don't get shot in the saloon by just charging forth from a GMOOT. Stop and ask DWNOOT and apply some good 'ole marketing strategy best practices. Why do you need one of those? Why will our target care? How will we let people know we are there to which to connect? Once we connect, how will we transform the connection from a thin thread to a robust tether?

Now, go think hard about your digital connections and avoid The GMOOT Syndrome

You can find the article on the Pew Report here:

http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=99950

At the bottom, you can navigate to a PDF of the full report.

The Loyalty Connection

2009-02-09T08:40:00.001-08:00

There has been a lot written over the past few years about how company loyalty is a thing of the past. What is interesting though, is that there is far less written about what companies could do - if they wanted - to really connect with their employees and create lasting loyalty.

My experience is that fair compensation and regular promotions and raises are just the beginning. In fact, I would hypothesize that while these things create superficial, short term loyalty, they aren't the key ingredients to longer term loyalty. If an employee is exclusively driven by pay, they will probably eventually leave anyway.

So what is the secret ingredient to loyalty - something that all great leaders seem to instinctively know? The latest of our high profile leaders who seem to know the secret ingredients is Obama. How has he managed to foster so much loyalty in such a short period of time? In reality, long before he was even elected?

I would say that there are two key ingredients; trust and caring.

Obvious and a tad cliche? Perhaps. However, something that company leadership often seems to completely ignore.

Let me give you a recent example of something that touched me personally.

I guess that it would be hard to get to the top in any business without ruffling a few feathers along the way. I have personally tried to do the right thing and be considerate of other people along the way, but perhaps I haven't succeeded 100% of the time. I had to face up to this fact very recently, when someone who I unfortunately had to let go from a job about three years ago, decided to publicly humiliate me. She made it public by sending an email to about 40 people who I live, work and play with. I was shocked and deeply embarrassed. My first thought was 'what will everyone think of me?'.

Much to my surprise, my company's CEO not only was hugely supportive, but actually wrote an email back to the person in question putting her firmly in her place.

On thinking about it afterwards, I realized that this was the 'caring' element of loyalty. People who own and run companies not just compensating their employees and being polite to them, but actually demonstrating a willingness to go out on a limb to help them in difficult situations.

This to my mind is true corporate connectivity and if more companies had it they wouldn't loose so many good people along the way!

Superbowl Connections

2009-02-09T08:33:00.001-08:00

As I sat on my couch Sunday night and watched the Super Bowl with a group of friends, I was amazed at how the commercial event of the evening was more than entertainment. It was a relationship builder.

Our group was a 50/50 mix of males and females. All were equally watching the game and the commercials. As the din of conversation rose while the game wore on (at least until the 4th quarter, which was amazing and thankfully my kids weren’t asleep yet or they would have been woken from all the screaming around the amazing plays) when a commercial break occurred, there was silence and rapt attention to the screen.

What occurred next was laughter (Doritos Crystal Ball, Teleflora and E:Trade Talking Babies); a collective sigh – some out of like and some while trying not to throw up a little (Budweiser Horse Girlfriend Rescue); a warm smile (Coke Avatar and Heist); or WTF (Pepsuber or Overstock.com Bling & Boozer); and a couple of high fives (Cheetos: Chester the Cheetah…we know that girl on the phone and she’s annoying).

But, the most interesting thing that occurred is that the commercials created a community. A community built on memories and things that reminded us each of places and times before. I heard lots of connection comments with one person saying to another “remember when…” which was sparked by something or another that the commercial reminded them of. But their was one connection that stuck with me. It started right after the Pepsi Max: I’m Good spot. One guy turned to another and recounted a similar golfing incident which led to his wife calling him out for having told her a different version of the story which amounted to “the big one got away” which led to the wife’s best friend chiming in on the fact that said husband liked to embellish and off to the races went the crowd recounting numerous fun incidents of the past year most of which were at someone’s humiliating expense. The result: tear causing laughter and a thriving laughter community connecting through memories.

So what’s the point? It’s not that a commercial sparked a story. That happens. The point is that connections come in many ways in many forms. In this case, laughter was the connection…humorous stories that brought a group together and left them happier than they were before they arrived. The group saw laughter connect one to another and then those two to two more and so on, like the old shampoo commercial. Soon, laughter had connected the whole group and reminded them why they spend time together and vowing to do it more often because it leaves you more fulfilled especially in this time.

So, how are you starting the connection chain in your worl

Wildfire Connects with the American Heart Association in time for Valentines Day

2009-02-06T13:32:00.000-08:00

One way to stay connected in the community is through philanthropy and community involement.

Chief Firestarter, Brad Bennett will chair the C3 – Creative Community Challenge team for the 2009 Start! Tanglewood Heart & Stroke Walk to be held October 17, 2009. Start! Heart Walk is a 3 mile walk through Tanglewood Park to raise funds for the American Heart Association (AHA) to fight the nation’s No. 1 and No. 3 killers, heart disease and stroke. Bennett’s involvement with AHA dates back to 1990 when he served as Regional Director and later Divisional Director of the organization where he furthered the AHA mission to fight heart disease and stroke by managing a volunteer work force and board of directors. In recognition of his local, state and national professional contribution, Bennett was awarded the National Rhome Betts Award of Excellence in 1993 – the organizations highest employee honor.

In honor of Bennett’s 19 year involvement with AHA, two Wildfire employees Ashley Parlier & Brenda Swain have planned an activity each month to promote good heart health within the company. “We believe it is critical to not only raise awareness about the American Heart Association but also to foster an environment that is preventative to heart disease and stroke” Bennett says. “We hope that through participation in the Start! Heart Walk and the internal health programs we can encourage and inspire ourselves and others to improve their lifestyle and ultimately reduce the number of heart-related illnesses.” Wildfire will also start off the New Year with a new addition to their downtown digs; a Nintendo wii gaming station which helps keep employees active throughout the workday. On Friday, February 6 Wildfire employees wore red in honor of “National Wear Red Day.”

Heart Disease in Winston-Salem

Heart disease is the #1 killer of both men and women in the US, accounting for nearly one third of all deaths in the nation. Between 2002-2006, we lost nearly 3,000 residents in Forsyth County due to cardiovascular disease and, according to 2006 data, Forsyth County is the 4^th worst county in NC for heart disease deaths and the 3^rd worst for stroke-related deaths. One in every 3 women is affected by cardiovascular disease. To find out more info or to participate in Start please visit http://www.starttanglewoodnc.org/.

The Humor That Connects Us!

2009-02-04T10:13:00.001-08:00

This year, the Superbowl had some very funny ads. The eTrade commercial with the two babies talking, somehow clicked. It isn't like we haven't seen this technique before, but somehow it was cleverer. Having the African American baby constantly breaking into song somehow just 'worked' - it made a connection with me.

This made me start to think about why humor - when done well - works so well in advertising. Beyond the obvious reasons around the fact that we all like to laugh and are more likely to remember a commercial that makes us do so, I also realized that humor provokes Word of Mouth. Whenever I see something that is really funny, the first thing that I want to do is to find someone to share it with. I frantically pass it on to others so that they can laugh too - either through email, in person or even via phone. Sometimes I will also post the funny commercial, video or joke on my Facebook page, so that the most people can enjoy it all at the same time.

So basically, I realized that humor is a great way to connect with other people.

What better way could there be to introduce everyone to Connectivity News - the Wildfire blog that focuses on our core philosophy around 'connectivity'. We believe that connectivity is the glue that holds us all together - people, brands, places, things - its the moments we share and the brands we love.

So welcome, and I hope you will share some of the Superbowl Ads that made the best connection with you.