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Archive for the ‘Life’ Category
Can you Insure Me from Myself?
Monday, November 7th, 2011 by Jason StrattonSetup Picture – I am sitting at the Apple Genius Bar, ya I know they call it a “Bar” but not a drink in sight, working through my iPhone issues with the savvy, half shaven, twenty something, blue t-shirt wearing apple genius who is just about finished with my antenna issue. When to my surprise the next customer introduces himself to my genius with the problem of “Dude, my iPhone was only in the washer for just enough time for me to realize it wasn’t in my hands” – Yes, I am quoting his first sentence, I can’t make this up any better than reality. These folks really are geniuses of not only apple stuff but of multi-tasking, the proof is that my genius finished my issue while keeping a straight face and not laughing at the laundry dude. I have to admit that for the sake of all our Force 5 readers, I just had to stick around to hear the rest of the laundry story – You’re sitting on the edge of your office chairs, Right?
Laundry dude continued to explain how his iPhone was in his favorite jeans pocket and probably didn’t get that wet. He showed some smarts and called Apple before turning on his now sparkling clean iPhone. Apple instructed him to go to the nearest store and ask the genius to turn the phone on for him – Do Not Try This At Home should apply here. The genius listened and was very sympathetic to laundry dude. But, when the laundry dude finally confessed and said that this was his “THIRD” iPhone within the past year, the conversation was at a cross roads. In my opinion, the genius could have said “Sorry Charlie” and had every right to do so. But, to my surprise he offered laundry dude a new iPhone 4 at a greatly reduced rate of $199.00. Of course, laundry dude asked “Isn’t there any kind of insurance or care plan I can purchase that will cover me from stuff like this?”
Lesson of the story, we all have done some silly things in our lives and careers. So, what makes you different is the ability to ask yourself “Ok, that marketing effort was a flop and WHY?” If you can’t ask the question, you can’t learn the answers of tomorrow’s successes. Need someone outside of your organization to ask that tough question? Force 5 can help and we promise not to wash your cell phone.
A Force for Good Goes Prime Time!
Friday, July 29th, 2011 by Butch WhitmireA Force For Good makes it on WNDU News Center 16! Check out Force 5′s David Morgan on video here.
“A Force for Good” Non-Profit Awareness Contest
Wednesday, July 27th, 2011 by Butch Whitmire
Real Superheroes Don't Wear Capes
The greatest heroes don’t wear capes, can’t fly and aren’t from a distant planet. They are ordinary people doing extraordinary things every day. They lead, operate or volunteer at the many non-profit organizations (NPOs) in our community in an effort to make our world a better place. And like all heroes, when they are empowered, they become a Force for Good.
Our agency, Force 5, (South Bend) is committed to doing good work for people who do good works. So, we would like to help empower one NPO based in St. Joseph Country, IN, by offering them $5,000.00 in brand development and marketing communication services—enough to help them let the community know who they are, what they do and why their work matters. Because there are so many great organizations in our area, we need to select one that we can help empower in 2011. So, we’ve come up with a little contest called, A Force for Good. Our contest will allow anyone to nominate and vote for their favorite NPO.
Nominations will be open from Aug. 1st – Aug. 12th. Voting will begin on Aug. 12thand last for two weeks. Our selection committee will announce their selected organization on Sep. 6th.
Our “Force for Good” website and will have more details about our contest, selection process, and can be found at http://www.force4good.org. Make sure to tell all your friends to nominate and vote!
Attitude is everything
Monday, July 11th, 2011 by Deb DeFreeuwI have to share a blog I just ran across, “Are You Willing To Do This One Thing To Be Happier Each Day.” I honestly don’t even know how I found this blog, but I love it. In a nutshell, the article centers about that first thought you have during the day. Mondays are a prime example, if you start your day with a “Mondays suck” thought and then share that sentiment with the first person you see when you walk in the door, then sure enough, your Monday will suck. The unfortunate thing is that your attitude most likely has spread to the person you shared your thoughts with. So now you have this sort of “Monday’s suck” club and to be in it requires that you have a crappy day.
The whole idea is that your thoughts define your day. The author has suggested a challenge that I plan to take, share your first thoughts of the day with someone, the thought you have determined will define your day. It’s all about choice, you can choose to be happy, or motivated, or grateful – choose well!South Bend needs Rebranding
Monday, June 20th, 2011 by Deb DeFreeuwSo much has been said about South Bend since it showed up on the “List of Dying Cities.” A city much like ours in many ways, Grand Rapids, (also on the list…) put together an incredible video in response. I have lived in South Bend most of my life and I spent 4 years in Grand Rapids attending art school, so I know both cities well. Grand Rapids and South Bend are similar in many ways. They both have a river running through it, a downtown area that has struggled (they tried some things that worked, some that haven’t) the arts, beautiful and troubled neighborhoods, great restaurants, theaters, shopping, colleges, etc. Grand Rapids had a great response. They didn’t whine, they didn’t roll over, they didn’t agree. So they developed a rebuttal- a video from people who believe in where they live. It came down to attitude, that positive, “bloom where you are planted” mentality.
There are a lot of great things about South Bend and plenty to do, if you look for them. There is the Morris Performing Arts Center, DeBartolo Performing Arts Center, South Bend Regional Museum of Art, LangLab, football (high school and college), Silver Hawks, Notre Dame, the Farmers Market, the Potawatomi Zoo, Sunburst, the East Race, Meet Me On The Island, Greekfest, Leeper Park Art Fair, Art Beat, etc. etc. We also have amazing restaurants, from fancy to local favorites; LaSalle Grill, Carriage House, Barnaby’s, CJ’s, The Vine, Trio’s – the list goes on.
Do we have some things to work on? Sure, we could be so much more!
Are some of the problems significant? You bet.
So, South Bend needs rebranding! That’s the process of looking at yourself, finding what makes us unique, then look for the “brand gaps” and fill them. Rebranding isn’t about slapping a shiny new tagline on the city and expecting things to get better. It’s about promoting what’s good about the city to our own residents and fixing the problems that need fixing.
Is it really an innovative city with a thriving business environment? If not, then how do we get there? When we can prove it , we can say it! In brand development, we tell our clients that we can’t make statements that aren’t true. What we can do is take all the points of distinction and create the brand essence-the statement (with facts) about who we are, and what makes us unique a brand franchise-what we tell others, the “outward” facing statment and perhaps a positioning statement.
All this would be a great start. But we teach our clients that the really important – critical actually, element is brand enculturation. We need to communicate to our residents about our city, and allow them to believe in it as much as many of us do. Everyone needs to believe in the brand promise and become evangelists for the brand. Think Harley or Google—that’s what we mean by brand enculturation.
We need to change our attitude about where we live, I have heard so many people complain about living here. Let’s hear some solutions. What do you think is missing? What are the problems that are making the city undesirable? Granted there are certain things we can’t change, like the weather, but we have to look at the donut, not the hole.
These days when I take a random poll of people I come across in my daily ventures, I ask them “What do you think of South Bend?” I get answers like, “I can’t wait to leave it, there is nothing to do,” “The public schools are crap,” “It’s boring.” If I was from out of town and asked these questions, and got these kind of responses – what would I think?? These people live here and they aren’t proud of their city.
After the city, and it’s people, do the heaving lifting and fill the brand gaps, we turn our community around to a place people are proud to live -THEN we tell the world.
So, let’s quit bellyaching and make some positive changes. At Force 5 we’re all about brand and community, we live here and have our business here – we’re in it to win it, are you with us?
If everyone is moving forward together, then success takes care of itself.
Henry Ford.Tough Sell
Wednesday, June 1st, 2011 by Deb DeFreeuwI was at a convenience store this past weekend and saw the following sign.
So the question that immediately pops into my head is “how is it possible that “Unmatched Pleasure” and “tooth loss” appear in the same ad?”
I can’t imagine the marketing challenge involved in trying to sell this product. You have a product that clearly isn’t good for consumers and you need to include a warning, which in this case the “warning” type is almost half the size of the headline. The sell has to be pretty enticing in order for someone to think, “wow, using this product is worth the risk of losing my teeth.” I know there are other products with warning labels, cigarettes, hair dryers, my morning cup of coffee – I guess the risk has to be worth the potential reward.
A Fresh, New Look
Wednesday, May 25th, 2011 by Butch Whitmire
The Twykenham Bridge is located just a half a block away from our offices at Force 5. We’ve been watching this old bridge being renovated with great anticipation. (Details can be found here in the South Bend Tribune.) It’s amazing to see what a remodel can do. With it’s new look, the bridge again inspires confidence in those who transverse it and a sense of wonder in those who view it from a distance. It’s simply beautiful.
“In this economy, now just isn’t a good time to redo my … (fill in the marketing tactic)”
I disagree. Now is exactly the time.
How long has it been since you’ve looked at your business? At your brand support materials? Is it time for a web site renovation? A fresh coat of paint on that tired brochure? Does your customer service need reinforcement so that people feel confident when they rely on you?
Are you ready to polish up your business, your dream, and give it the fresh, new look it needs to weather today and tomorrow? If so, what will be the first thing you renovate?
Netflix takes over the Internet
Wednesday, May 18th, 2011 by Christian MattixAccording to a report by Sandvine, Netflix is now the largest source of internet traffic in North America during peak hours. Netflix streaming video service now accounts fro about 29% of peak traffic, overtaking P2P, Bittorrent, and Social Networking.
Almost half of internet traffic is Real-Time Entertainment
Netflix accounts for 29.7% of Downtream traffic (provided by Sandvine)
These numbers show a distinct shift in media consumer behavior. More and more of people’s entertainment is coming from OnDemand sources. Below is an interview with Netflix CEO given by TechCrunch talking about the future of his company. He says “Streaming is at the core of our business,” and it seems that he is very much correct.
Source: TechCrunch.comWhile this is great for consumers, where does it leave advertisers? The rise of on-demand media has made the time honored tradition of a “time slot” in advertising more and more obsolete.
What do you think? Is the internet going to fully replace our TVs? Is the generation that grew up with “on-demand” entertainment at their fingertips going to continue to consume media like the cable and networks provide? Where exactly do advertisers fit? We at Force 5 would love to speak with you about video opportunities, cutting edge marketing, or internet strategies to bring your brand to new customers. Just give us a call or fill out our Force 5 contact form and we will be happy to speak with you.
Now pass the popcorn. . . . lets see what is on the Internet.
Plymouth Indiana Riverside Intermediate School 6th Graders rank #1 in the nation on FBI contest
Friday, May 13th, 2011 by Christian Mattix
In a world where we often hear about “these kids these days” it is great to hear about those doing very well. This spring the 6th graders from Riverside Intermediate School in Plymouth, IN for scoring highest in the nation for April 2011 on the FBI-SOS Internet Safety Challenge. From the FBI-SOS Internet Safety Challenge website:
The mission of the FBI-SOS Internet Challenge is to promote cyber citizenship among students by engaging them in a fun, age-appropriate, competitive online program where they learn how to safely and responsibly use the internet.
Source: www.fbi-sos.orgAmy Gerard, the Computer Applications teacher at the school should be very proud of her accomplishments with her students.
“They had the highest score in the nation for the month of April,” said Gerard. “The FBI office in Indianapolis will be sending a representative later in the month to talk to the students about internet safety, about what it’s like to work at the FBI and present us with a trophy.”
“That technology offers all sorts of exciting opportunities but our kids need to be aware that it also has possible dangers. You see news stories all the time about bad things that can happen to kids who aren’t careful. It’s very important they be aware of possible dangers and make good decisions.”
Source: Plymouth Schools’ Alumni AssociationWith the commitment to security that we have at Force 5 it is great to see area schools instilling the same values into their students. What to all you readers think? Should computer security and and online safety be added to the core curriculum of our schools?
