Or, Why I Love My Job So Much.
Over my 30-year career, I am pleased to admit, out loud, that I’ve learned quite a bit from my clients. Not necessarily just the normal stuff about their business or about doing business (that goes without saying!), but personal stuff that has surely enriched my life. I learned about sports I’d never heard of, places I’d never been to, and pastimes that became something I embraced.
Honestly, you would think that it was time to pack a bag and leave the Coachella Valley just because it’s getting a little toasty outside. Many businesses are starting their hibernation dance… canceling media, changing business hours, and acting like there is NO business to be found for four, long, months.
But I will be relaxing and riding my horses all weekend! Although with all the snake sightings I may be restricted to short rides… bummer. But I digress.
Or, “How Social Media Is More Interesting Than I Thought.”
I innocently joined a hobby group on Facebook called “As Seen Through Horses’ Ears,” (https://www.facebook.com/groups/ASTHE/) because a fellow riding buddy kept sharing these amazing photos of trail riding around the world. Through horses ears. What’s not compelling about that??? So I clicked, asked to join, and posted my own “as seen through” photo, from a trail ride here in Palm Springs with the dogs on a gorgeous spring day.
By: Judi Salkin, PR Manager
For heaven’s sake – listen!
I’m sitting here thinking about lunch and hoping that today’s midday meal will be a whole lot better than one I had recently.
It all happened at a sandwich shop that specializes in 6-inchers (you know the place). It was nothing to write home about, but when I get it my way, it’s fairly satisfying.
Yep, it’s true. Over the last few months, I’ve found a new passion for integrating Twitter into my social media life. Initially, Facebook satisfied all of my desires to chat with my selected universe, share photos, connect with past school chums, and meet new people with like-minded hobbies and beliefs.
FOR THEIR GENEROUS SUPPORT, AGAIN, OF THE ADFED OF THE DESERT ADVERTISING AUCTION.
Where does the time go?? It seems like we just finished up the last runway show a few months ago at the 8th Annual Fashion Week yet here we are, choosing our outfits and making plans for the 9th Annual Fashion Week El Paseo. What WILL we wear, since there are over 15 events??
As an homage to Pete Seeger, who passed away only a few weeks ago, I have to paraphrase from his haunting folksong and ask… Where HAVE all the manners gone?
Ok, you feel it too, unless you’re that person who doesn’t return business phone calls or emails or texts. When did it become OK to ignore social conventions and niceties that helped business along, established relationships and in the end, produced revenues for all?
Time and time again, we meet with our clients to review a Public Relations Strategy, and they are disappointed or questioning the steps because they want to control the media message beyond what is actually doable! The point of good PR is to work with the media and present the idea in a way that is newsworthy or of interest to that particular on-air person, news director or the mission of the media outlet.
One aspect of having a marketing firm in the Greater Palm Springs area, or the Coachella Valley, is helping out the various charitable non-profit organizations. And there are MANY! All are active, engaged and seem to fill the niches that serve a surprising number of needs. From the large, national groups like the United Way, American Heart Association and others, to the truly local ones such as Women Leaders Forum, Christopher’s Clubhouse and Loving All Animals, these groups truly dedicate an amazing amount of energy and resources to those in need.
… Or Static! Just when we think that our jobs can be the same old thing, a client calls and asks for assistance in promoting something. Last week was no exception, well, except the “thing” we are promoting is an an outrageous 42-foot sculptural project by California artist Steve Maloney, impossible to miss – at the Palm Springs Fine Art Fair 2014. A human lady-pilot named “Shivers” will perform live during opening night reception. One of our longest-standing clients, Heather James Fine Art (www.heatherjames.com) has the fun job of premiering this piece on the opening night of the Palm Springs Art Fair 2014, set for this Thursday, Feb 13, at 6 pm. So we get to help build the buzz and hopefully find a forever home for this frankly amazing sculpture. The sculpture draws on Maloney’s fascinations with the Wild West, Pop Art and 21st-century luxury as well as his passion for creating art from found and repurposed objects. The artist detailed the bones of a decommissioned Bell Jet Ranger Helicopter with vinyl cowhide wrap, gold-painted accented skids and rotor blade, hand-painted front fender Indian motorcycle lights, thousands of colored acrylic gemstones, an authentic steer skull and horns, and a vintage western leather saddle previously ridden by his father. The interior is similarly lush, with a custom fabricated polished aluminum bar inspired by a vintage airstream trailer, Swarovski crystal chandelier, antique cowhide seats, yards of L.E.D. lighting, fringed cowhide instrument panel, custom cargo compartment, iPad loaded with Flight Simulator and “Shivers” iTunes playlist, cow “MOO” horn, burgundy crocodile-pattern mohair door panels, gold lizard skin upholstery, white silk fringe headliner, and ever-so-shag green carpet.
“SHIVERS,” a human lady-pilot: The icing on Ride-em-Copter is “Shivers,” a well-endowed lady-pilot whose persona “bounded” out of Maloney’s imagination. For the art fair preview on February 13 from 7:00-9:00PM, Steve Maloney has hired an actor to bring Shivers to life. The human Shivers will be dressed in an Escada pink leather jacket and a Hi Tek Alexander knit hat. Look for her Agent Provocateur lingerie and stockings hung out to dry on a clothesline in the baggage compartment. Imagine her landing on the open range to make a wardrobe change at sunset, shaking a Pisco Sour without spilling a drop, and waiting for her Cowboy du jour. Fly-em…Stride-em…Ride-em-Copter. Ya-hooo!We cannot wait to see this up close… and then I guess it’s on to the next project. Will it be bigger than a bread box, or a Bell Ranger helicopter?
WRide ‘Em Copter Premieres at Palm Springs Art Fair Thursday, Feb 13
I, like many others, tuned into Thursday night’s Sochi Olympic show on TV. I don’t know about you, but I fully expected it to be the Opening Ceremonies, since all the lead up teasers sort of indicated this. Instead, we saw a bespectacled Bob Costas (sadly almost side-lined by an eye inflammation), who introduced us to the Olympics with a political rant about all the drama surrounding the Games this year… security threats, Russia’s stance on homosexuals, and the killing of stray dogs. Hmmmmm.
The new electronic world has certainly brought many changes to holiday shopping and holiday shopper behavior. And I’m still pondering if I think these changes are good, bad or just silly.
I worked in retail, first as a teenager at Hollywood Sports Plaza in South Coast Plaza, where I sold cool sporting goods to a really loyal and fun group of regular customers. Even the holiday season was fun back then… South Coast Plaza had a Sears and a JC Penney. And about 100 stores in between. There was the Carousel Court, a great Santa for Christmas, and a true camaraderie amongst the various store employees. I must have had 15 layaways accounts all over the mall, and knew almost everyone who worked in my favorite stores. We had Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter off, and we were grateful.
It hit me today… as I was reaching out to colleagues that I worked with at a previous agency, that we were all trained by the same dynamo, who made it clear that all phone calls had to be returned quickly, all emails answered, and all meetings taken and started on time. It is so ingrained in me to respond quickly to all communications, that I am constantly amazed that so many people are so very bad at responding.
So today would have been my mother’s 80th birthday. She was born during the Great Depression to a German-immigrant family in Eastern Pennsylvania, very close to the great battlefield of Gettysburg. She used to tell me that she didn’t know they were poor… her Grandfather was a butcher so they always had food, she had 8 aunts & uncles who spoiled her, and her clothes were always store-bought. She was a very pretty, shy child that excelled in school and was even a lifeguard and diving champ, but never the Prom Queen.
As marketing turns more and more to the web, and strategies become more and more diverse yet interlinked, it seems even more and more important to make sure that if you are in business, then you personally need to be searchable.
When the temperatures climb in the Coachella Valley, the ad budgets seem to drop. Is this a smart strategy, or just a reflection of exhaustion from a busy 8-month season and a dwindling budget? Is it better to spend all your money when the Valley is bursting at the seams, or save a little to attract the over 500,000 permanent residents who stick around all summer? And what about those brave tourists from Europe (they LOVE the heat of the desert), and our drive-in friends from the gloomy coast to our West? Thousands of summer visitors love coming here, basking in the heat, and heading out for dinner, shopping and adventures at all hours! How will they know you exist if you hide?
Well, YES, every company should, and we’re glad you asked! This is a process we go through with all new clients here at FG Creative… and it is time well spent. We gather all of the key players from the client’s company, and our team members and meet for a few hours to immerse ourselves in the culture, the mission, the beliefs and the needs. Sometimes, we lock the door, order some snacks, and no one leaves until we reach a consensus… sound fun? OH, we’ve also included a recent interview with CEO Stephanie Greene, on Money Radio 1200AM, talking about this very topic… take a listen!
It’s time, FGC is now at your fingertips! With great updates, tips and news to help your business marketing go sky high.
