Not a big fan of Nescafe Coffee, BUT
This experiential marketing campaign is outstanding....

http://www.creativeguerrillamarketing.com/guerrilla-marketing/nescafe-uses-coffee-create-instant-connections/

Wouldn't the world be a better place if people could say "Hello" to strangers and be rewarded with a free cup of coffee? The people at Nescafe think so. It might be such
a pleasant experience, that hey, people might smile or say "Hello" even without the
free coffee....ahhhh. Thanks Nescafe, peace might be a dream, but who's to say a
warm cup of coffee and a friendly 'hello' couldn't get the ball rolling!

I love campaigns that remind us we are human and need a personal touch in our lives, like saying "Hi" and drinking coffee. This "instant connection" is much more satisfying to the soul than a text message!

SHOUT OUT TO ALL BUSINESSES-Windows 10 may be new but the hackers are already at work.

I recently downloaded Windows 10 and for the most part, I like it very much. Of course it is expensive if you can't download it for free but I find it to be a powerful, positive upgrade. Some users of Windows 8.1 will miss some features (I do not).
On the plus side, to name a few:

1. The start menu is functionally excellent

2. Action Center features are handy

3. Settings app is finally a Control Panel replacement

4. Universal apps are much higher in quality

Jury still out on: Voice search called Cortana. 

Nice feature but you have to be very specific in how you phrase your questions and it could take 2 or 3 voice tries to get at what you need, at which point I have already searched and found what was I looking for manually. Perhaps just a little more practice is needed on my part.

Now to the bad news. HACKERS.Of course this is probably no surprise to anyone, as even before new upgrades are released the hackers have already found a way in. Some serious and expensive damage can be done by their ability to breach security however. As is customary with hackers your email is the favored delivery system. They even use a microsoft.com address which looks totally legit. I recommend immediately visiting the following website to learn how this threat could impact your business.

https://cms.wapacklabs.com/?p=416

Some good advice on - Nine Common A/BTesting Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them

Review this report to see why 700 marketers ranked personalization as the number-one strategy for marketing success and discover the rest of the findings, including:

• 65% of companies use customer data to personalize the web experience
• Personalization drives a 14% average uplift in sales
• Integrated marketing technology enables personalization at scale

Take what you learned from this report and couple it with the information from the Adobe Econsultancy report, Why Marketing Should be Personal to learn how to seize personalization opportunities and increase conversion rates. 

How to navigate the social media glossary

Over 100 terms you may want to review- So it's no secret, I am not a fan of Acronyms to the viral disease level they seem to be constantly spreading. Being a sci-fi fan (not an A word just a 'Syllabification' from way back, (yes trekkie era would be appropriate; and predictably sad as 'trekkie' is now in the dictionary. People it was a TV show, not history, not a cultural phenomena). 

I can foresee the day when we will all speak in acronyms, as 'real' words take too long to say. That will be a sad, ugly day! Hopefully I will not have chosen to come back as a techie. There seems to be an underground business movement to take over the English language and reduce it to a new class of society that will exclude all those not knowing the meaning of their new language. Yes, we all thought it would end with FYI, and ASAP as nifty little time savers, but they were the trojan horses carrying the myriad of acronyms waiting to be activated. Ah yes, yet another way to divide and label we who were once connected, through language, as human beings.

There may be a science fiction story out there that uses this theory as the basis of their book. I haven't read any and my guess is it would be way too boring a subject, so no one has taken it on. But what happens if you don't embrace Acronyms? You may very well be able to perform the task the acronym implies but if you can't speak acronyms or know what they mean no one will listen to you and/or you will be seen as completely inadequate.

Here's how you turn this into a win-win situation: 
1. Learn the acronyms you need to know to 'impress' those that are necessary to impress with this stuff... BUT
2. Every time you use one spell it out, enclosed by parentheses marks. Thereby providing an education for weary non-technical people, and destroying the time saving reason you used the Acronym in the first place.
Brilliant!!!!
All that being said here's a great source to get to know our 'new friends, the acronyms'!

Revisiting a memorable ad (video) that speaks of simple and personal delivering the best product.

Chipotle: Back to the Start

This video was originally created to introduce Chipotle's loyalty program, but soon became a popular ad on YouTube and voted as one of the best by AdAge. It's hard to imagine an animation moving one this much but I think it does, and works wonderfully well.

AdAge Voted #14

Harvard Pilgrim Does It Time after Time

I don't own any stock in Harvard Pilgrim HealthCare Plan, honestly, I am just constantly amazed at their awesome ads. (maybe because this is how I think and visualize) At any rate check out all their charming, funny and effective recent ads. I particularly like the little girl and the train, the golden retriever who loves music, and the crazy backflipping cheerleader! Kudos continue for you Harvard Pilgrim! (and your ad people of course) See there's always "Something to AD"vertising
Click to see all Pilgrim ads on YouTube

The Oldest Company Logos in America

This article is well worth reading if you're in the business of branding and/or re-branding
http://xfinity.comcast.net/slideshow/news-oldestcompanylogos/?cid=hero_media

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