The Green Seats

You’ve seen them behind home plate at both Busch Stadiums. Maybe you’ve been lucky enough to sit in them and experience the rock star parking, the all-you-can-eat-and-drink fancy restaurant and the waiter/waitress service in the seats with another all-you-can-eat menu and of course the umpire-like view of the game.

The seats were added for the 1996 season and I was lucky enough to be involved on the project. Once the dome was built for the new St. Louis Rams, we knew Busch Stadium would no longer be hosting any major football games so the movable field box seats could be made permanent. It was decided to remove the turf and add grass and look at the new high-end seats the other teams were adding.

One day my boss sent me home early to pack…I had to go on the trip with the other executives to see the stadiums with the high-end seats the next day. This is when the team was still owned by Anheuser Busch. This was also my first time to ride in a private jet.

We flew from St. Louis to Houston to see the Astrodome, flew to San Diego to see Joe Robbie Stadium then to Los Angeles overnight. We looked at Dodger Stadium in the morning, then flew to San Francisco to see Candlestick park, then home. We were supposed to stop in Denver to visit the Rockies but they had a game. (No, I'm not kidding and Yes it was awesome!)

When we returned we debated the various amenities offered, ran the numbers and evaluated the space in old Busch Stadium on where we might build the restaurant, kitchen etc. Once these decisions were made, the prices set, the question came to me and my boss…”Can you sell these seats?” Of course we said “Yes!”

Remember this was pre-PSL. You could not buy your way in to the good seats. We had a seniority system for upgrading season ticket holders. In the off-season, during season ticket renewals, if someone gave up their seats these were used to upgrade other ticket holders. A few rows lower, a section closer etc. Pre-PSL you couldn’t just sell your tickets to someone else….no matter how much money they offered!

We knew there were many companies and individuals who had the means to buy these high-end seats. The Club Seats were originally sold for $100 per seat or $8,100 per season ticket. We sold them on speculation while they were under construction. Clearly the benefits and the view combined were amazing and we sold out.

Luckily we were on commission for the sale of all season tickets including the new Club Seats. I paid off one of my student loans that year! Go Cardinals!

Random Cardinals Memories

I started working for the Cardinals in 1986 as a switchboard operator and customer service rep. I worked full-time+ during the season and part-time in the off season. Watching the Cards this post-season has brought up a lot of fun memories from those days at the old Busch Stadium. Here’s a random collection of memories from those early years:

First Day: my friend Kevin got me the job which was awesome! He failed to tell me that the day I started was Country Western Day… a promotion for fans who came to the game in country western attire they received a discount on their ticket and a free concert after the game. For the employees, this meant they could wear jeans and CW attire. The ticket office showed up in a horse-drawn hay wagon. I showed up in my nerdy, white linen suit. Nice dorky, first impression!

Bullet-proof glass and cigarettes: All calls to the Cardinal offices, other than Charge line orders, went through the phone number 314-421-3060 answered by three of us. On a slow day we took 3-4K calls; medium busy 4-6K, and a really busy cay would be 7-8K calls! We sat in a 10 x 10 room off the lobby at 250 Stadium Plaza. We were behind bullet-proof glass and had a drawer for deliveries like you see at a Walgreens drive-thru (very customer friendly huh?). The other two ladies smoked from 8-5, non-stop. No, I’m not kidding. Sort of MadMen-esque!

Tony Pena and Willie McGee: the players parked in the West garage and came through our lobby to enter the stadium. We had to buzz them in. Lots of the players would just nod or smile and walk by, some would chit chat. Tony was a talker! He would hang out and shoot the breeze with us, he was really friendly. He had this crazy gold ring that spelled the letters T-O-N-Y in diamonds. I think he wore it on his middle or ring finger but the four letters stretched across all four fingers. He let me try it on once! Now Willie McGee was very humble and shy. He’d walk through, head down and he’d simply wave with his right hand. One time when he came through, I put my head down and mimicked his wave…he actually paused, smiled and laughed. That was a big reaction from Willie!

Jack Buck and Mike Shannon: in 1987, I worked in the promotions department. We handled all the give-aways at the games like cooler bag day, pennant day etc. One of my jobs was to write the radio copy for the ‘drop-ins’ Jack and Mike would read through-out the game. I have to say, it’s pretty cool to be driving home at night and hear Jack Buck and Mike Shannon reading verbatim the words you wrote!

Tito Landrum: there were five us that shared an office in the promotions department, including the guy who played Fred Bird. It was like a hilarious, quasi-grown-up kindergarten! Tito was good friends with John Kendall (Fred Bird) so he would come and hang out in our office. He got a kick out of answering our phone. He wouldn’t tell the caller they were talking to Tito Landrum but it sure entertained us! So if you ever called the promotions department looking for a donation for your group in 1987, you may have spoken to Tito Landrum! He also gave Monica, the other girl in the office, and I special attention since we were the only women in this crazy, testosterone-filled office. He brought us lunch one day and we had a picnic on the field. Pretty cool!

Deidre Hall and Tommy Lasorda: All calls to the club-house had to be announced. We were not allowed to simply transfer the calls. One day a woman called for Tommy Lasorda. I asked her name and she said Deidre Hall! I gasped…then said ‘one moment please’ and called Tommy. He took the call. OMG I was a HUGE ‘Days’ fan! That was a big moment for me!

Tommy Lasorda and Chaka Khan: From 1988-90 I worked in the sales department. My female bosses were only 10 years older than me, so we got along really well and socialized quite often. After five and before the game would start, we often grabbed a few margaritas at LaSala’s downtown. One night when the Dodgers were in town, we were having margaritas with some fella’s that were also friends with Tommy. After the game we all went to Charlie Gittos for dinner, and of course Tommy walks in with his SlimFast cooler bag! There were probably 10+ people in the group. The cocktails continued after dinner we hit AJ’s at the Adams Mark. We are all standing there, including Tommy Lasorda. The DJ plays Chaka Khan “I Feel for You.” This is my all-time favorite song so I had to dance. I asked every guy in our group to dance and they all said NO! I had no choice but to ask Tommy if he would dance with me…and he said YES! Hilarious! Afterwards, my boss, SueAnn, said everyone in the place was staring at us and wondering who Tommy was dancing with!

Stadium Diagram Photo Above: Every year we produced these large seating diagrams to help us sell season tickets, group tickets and party rooms. Every year AB put several million dollars into the stadium in capital investments to add new seats, party room etc. So the diagram changed every year. The one in the photo is from 1992, the Cardinals 100th Anniversary year. Instead of just throwing them out, my friend and I decided to take them home. I imagine this is one-of-a-kind. Pretty cool memento from my days at Busch Stadium.

How rally towels were invented...

I was lucky enough to work for the St. Louis Cardinals in college from 1986-1990 and then again from 1993-1997. I started out as a switchboard operator and customer service rep answering general Cardinal information, working as the front office receptionist and filling in for secretaries around the office. When they figured out I was smart and had more to offer, I moved to the promotions department.

In 1987 during the World Series, Bud Light sponsored an adult t-shirt giveway. That October night was windy and cold so everyone came to the game wearing winter coats. So instead of possibly putting on their new, cool, give away shirt, they just carried them to their seats.

Later I was watching the game from the offices and the coolest thing happened. All the fans started waving their shirts in the air. Instead of the usual sea of red, it was a sea of white waving spirit shirts! AWESOME!

We quickly went to work on producing actual rally flags for the next games. I’m sure one of the AB brands was the sponsor (one of the benefits of being an Anheuser-Busch subsidiary). And when the series moved to Minnesota, they totally stole the idea and and gave away rally flags!

At least, that’s my memory of how rally flags were invented. Pretty cool!

Updating product labels...20 years later

It’s been a very exciting year for the marketing department at Reliv with our rebranding efforts. So once we successfully launched the brand standards and the new logo, our next big project was to tackle our core product labels.

In the 20+ years of my marketing career, I’ve never worked for a company with a tangible consumer product. The St. Louis Cardinals was more of an experience; Charter Communications (cable TV and high-speed Internet) was more of a service evolving into a utility; at AVALA Marketing Sea Ray Boats was my major client but that’s not really a consumer packaged good; Maritz was b-2-b sales and marketing service model. So the label redesign was a very exciting opportunity for me.

Before the designers began concept one, we started with team discussion around a general label strategy. This really was a luxury to be able to redesign everything at once instead of one at a time. We could create a true line of products where they all look like they are from the same family, but each child has his own personality.

The labels had not changed since the launch of each product in the late 80’s through 2008. We launched a very cool, new, exciting product in February of 2011 called 24K. It was our first ready-to-drink product and featured a very modern and exciting label and was the first to feature our new label and color palette. The label redesign was an opportunity to build off 24K and create a balance across the line.

We wanted all the labels to appeal to a younger demographic and to people leading healthy active live but not alienate our core group of Distributors who skew over 50 and many of which are ‘sick and getting better.’

We wanted the labels to support cross-selling opportunities via common design elements.

Trust is one of our core values. We decided to create ‘trust’ icons for our 30-Day Money Back Guarantee, gluten-free and for the number of grams of soy protein.

We created a patent icon that would be consistent in design and placement across all patented products

We wanted consistent placement of the Reliv logo on all products so that at a glance your eye could scan and see the bold, circle logo on every can.

Considerations also needed to be made regarding the limitations of flexography printing. Because of budget and time resources we were not in an environment to research other label styles that would require changes to our internal manufacturing equipment.

Our next step was to create a mini-brief or personality profile for each product. We discussed the target audience, value prop and descriptors for each product. We put into words what we wanted the designs to deliver. E.g. ProVantage is our performance nutrition protein product. We wanted the label to ‘flex its muscles.’

We reviewed these strategy documents with everyone who would be involved in approving the concepts. This put the entire team on the same literal page of expectations.

We staggered the timeline for the new designs into batches based on manufacturing timelines. I factored in the travel schedules for all stakeholders to be sure that approvals would not be delayed. I also scheduled the first round of concept reviews for each batch weeks and months in advance to be sure we wouldn’t miss any dates.

I couldn’t have asked for the process to run more smoothly. The art department ‘knocked it out of the park!’ We flew through the approval process. Most of the first rounds of designs were approved with minor tweaks. The team pushed-back on a couple of designs (and rightly so) and the art department dug deep and gave us better designs. I am so proud of these designs. They are thoughtful, restrained and complex. We achieved everything in the strategic briefs and now they are getting rave reviews from the field. What a fun and satisfying accomplishment for me and my team.

Updating a Brand...20 years later

For most of my marketing career, I’ve worked for companies that had a well-defined brand strategy and I simply executed against or worked to refine the strategy. I was very surprised when I started at Reliv to find they had no formal, written brand guidelines and no logo standards. With an internal art department this provided a level of unguided freedom but there was nothing to anchor all of the creative so that you knew it was all from the same company. As a result, marketing collateral and product labels lacked consistency and cohesiveness.

Our management committee established a strategic initiative to “refresh, renew and reinvigorate” the brand. Looking back, I think their expectations were focused on our core product labels. Were they in for a ride!

As the new Director of Marketing, I needed to understand what I was trying to refresh! I improvised using a process I learned from the Market Intelligence group at Maritz. Normally this would involve conducting primary research to better understand the buyers, their perception of our brand and what aspects of our value proposition they see as table stakes or as valued and different. I knew we had zero budget for outside research so I simulated that process with our executives.

I began a brand audit with a core team of sales and marketing colleagues. We met to brainstorm and collaborate on initial thoughts about the Reliv brand. We created a laundry list of honest attributes, both positive and negative, that could be considered as our core values, brand personality and voice. Everyone contributed their own thoughts and brought in feedback from past conversations with the field. The output of these meetings was used as stimulus material for 1:1 executive interviews. This process was fascinating. Even without any formal brand guidelines, there was a tremendous amount of consistency in everyone’s perception of the brand. Integrity, quality and trust were mentioned by almost everyone as core values. It made me appreciate the legacy of what this company has accomplished.

The core team also reviewed secondary research from GfK Roper Consulting on global consumer trends. As a member of the AMA (American Marketing Association) I had been invited to attend a virtual conference on Marketing Research. I was thrilled as the team from GfK was presenting their slides and so many of their trends were perfectly aligned with Reliv. A few examples:

Consumers are becoming increasingly self-directed

Consumers crave security and trust

Higher level of concern with health and safety

Recession has been a ‘green’ stimulus

People are reaching out to others

Wellness, charity and green are intertwined values

After considering all data points, the core team decided upon Reliv’s mission statement, value proposition, core values, brand personality and brand voice. These were comprised of a combination of attributes that were presently true and a few that were aspirations and would guide new messaging.

With brand standards established, marketing evaluated these new descriptors against current marketing efforts and established a new color palette, approved fonts, photo style and general design and copy guidelines.

During my 1:1 executive interview with the President and CEO, he had given me the history of the logo and specifically advised me not to touch the logo during this process! My art director took it upon herself to modify the current logo. She raised the issue: our newly defined brand personality and voice no longer fit our current logo. We either had to change the brand or change the logo. We quietly socialized the new logo concept among the core team and everyone was in agreement.

Months of work culminated in a formal presentation to the management committee with the core team’s recommendation on our core values, brand personality and voice. And with the President sitting next to me, I proposed that we change the very logo that he specifically requested that we never change!

Professionally and personally this was a big moment for me. I had only been with the company for a year and I was proposing a change to their sacred teal logo…a logo that had never changed. But from a strategic perspective it was clear: change the logo or change the personality and voice.

This wasn’t about me and what I wanted or thought was right. I think we had the right people involved in the process. We took the time to review the research and thoughtfully debate the various attributes. The process guided the team to a collective agreement.

I am happy to say that when we launched the new logo and the brand standards to the field at our national conference it was all met with rave reviews. Our Distributors live and breathe our brand so they ate it up! The changes to the logo, while subtle to the naked eye, have made a vast impact on our design. The new standards have put everyone literally ‘on the same page!’ Now everyone talks about core values and being the brand…not just the marketing department!

Remembering 9/11

Watching the footage this morning I had a hard time to stop crying. Personally, I didn’t know anyone who died that day in any of the attack sites. Like everyone else on Twitter, Facebook and TV I thought about where I was and how I heard.

I had arrived at work sometime between 7:30 and 8am. I remember checking Yahoo and there was a single sentence as the lead news story. Something simple like “Plane hits World Trade Center.” The site was getting too much traffic and wouldn’t completely load. I imagined a small four-seater plane accidentally hitting a corner of one of the buildings. At that point, there was no way to imagine or comprehend what really happened.

We piped in a news radio station to our speaker phones so we could listen to the news. Even when the first tower collapsed there was still feeling of denial. There’s no way a building over 100 stories could have collapsed. I just couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I had been to the viewing deck on a really special trip to New York. There’s just no way.

It’s odd, in my previous two jobs with the Cardinals and Charter, I was used to everyone having a TV in their office. My boss ran home to get a small portable TV so we could see the news coverage. I didn’t see any footage of the towers falling until probably 10 or 10:30 St. Louis time. I still didn’t believe what I was seeing.

Experiencing this devastating event with co-workers was interesting. My title at that time was project manager and I shared an office with another pm. I remember us talking about how crazy it was that Bin Laden could ‘project manage’ this incredibly complex and senseless attack on four different sites from a cave in Afghanistan. The coordination of all the people, their specific assignments, their training, booking all the flights, getting the exact seat, getting through security etc. Imagine if he had put all those resources together for some good.

I have to say, after watching a lot of the footage and memorial shows today, State Farm nailed it with their commercial with the kids singing the Alicia Keyes song “Streets of New York” to a group of fire-fighters.

Facebook saved this kitty

This beautiful baby wandered into my yard one Saturday night during a party. She was super sweet and friendly and did not seem like a stray. I put food and water out for her. She came back Sunday and then disappeared Monday. My fellow cat owner friends thought she might be an indoor-outdoor kitty (a concept I don’t understand at all!) But then she returned on Tuesday.

It’s so easy to change the channel when the commercial comes on playing Sara McLachlan’s Angel and show’s all the homeless animals. It’s not so easy to ignore the sweetest kitty camping out on your back porch. I put out a kennel so she had a place to sleep, kept her in fresh food and water and spent time petting her each day.

I posted this picture on Facebook on multiple friends’ and neighborhood group sites. A girl in my neighborhood offered to foster her. She took her to a local vet and found out she was not micro-chipped, she fostered her for a few days and a friend ended up taking her. Facebook saved this kitty. How cool is that?

Networking Tips from an 11 Year Old

My nephew Eric clearly inherited my mom’s ‘talking’ gene. He talks non-stop. He can carry on a conversation with adults just as easily as his friends. The last few times we’ve hung out I’ve noticed his ‘ice-breaker’ question leads with “What’s your favorite…?”

After I took him to the final Harry Potter movie…”Aunt Chris, what was your favorite part?” Mine was when you find out Snape was a good guy the whole time and made the ultimate sacrifice to go undercover as a bad guy to watch over Harry because he had been in love with Harry’s mom, Lily, since they were kids. His was the part when the fire was blazing through the room where everything is hidden and it turned into a snake and dogs.

“What’s your favorite thing at Taco Bell?” He’s just a basic crunchy taco with cheese nacho kinda guy. I like the very decadent Crunch-wrap Supreme.

We were watching “The A-Team” movie…”Aunt Chris, who’s your favorite character?” Mine was Bradley Cooper. Eric likes the crazy guy, Murdoch.

Eric is the cutest kid, he’s never met a stranger. It’s so amazing watching him grow up and have this funny, charming confidence. I took him to Chicago for his 10th birthday. We were at a Cubs game and he was dressed head to toe in his Cardinals gear. A Chicago policeman sat next to me and he and Eric hazed and heckled each other the entire game. I love that Eric inherited my mom’s talking gene and that he can talk to anyone (kinda like his aunt Chris). And the next time I’m at a networking event, I’m totally stealing his “what’s your favorite…” as an ice-breaker.

and PS, this photo is from our Chicago trip, pre-Cubs game, he asked if he could order a cappuccino. Of course Aunt Chris said yes. After he added three sugar packets, he took a tiny sip and hated it, so of course, Aunt Chris drank the cappuccino.

Circle of Life...all in one day

Friday, July 15, I attended a funeral, a wedding and a baby shower. I experienced a full range of emotions and a deeper level of introspection…much more than a typical Friday.

Baby Shower
The morning started with a ‘food day’ celebrating the pending arrival of baby Levi. Everything from cheesey-bacon-tator tots, a breakfast casserole, monkey bread, the token healthy fruit tray and of course, cupcakes with the plastic safety pin topper. I had a really interesting conversation with Amy, the expectant mother, about what a true miracle it is that a woman’s body can conceive and grow a baby to term…everything from eye lashes to fingernails and the ability to laugh and cry. While I will never have this life experience, I can certainly appreciate the magnitude.

It makes me think…a newborn baby represents the possibilities that life offers. Maybe little Levi will be the next president of the United States or beat Michael Phelps’ Olympic gold medal record in swimming or invent the next generation’s iPod or simply be a good man who loves his family, is happy and enjoys life to the fullest.

Babies start with a clean slate. Babies aren’t born with racism or homophobia. They don’t know how to bully or gossip. Their laughter is pure joy. They are more curious about the cardboard box than the expensive designer toy. As they grow older their imagination has the ability to turn a blanket into a secret castle. When you ask them what they want to be when they grow up they say “a baseball player, a fireman AND a doctor”…no limits, everything is possible.

Funeral
Mid-morning I left the office to attend my first Jewish funeral service. The funeral was for my friend Sandy’s father who had passed away at the age of 95. I was raised Catholic so I’m most familiar with a full funeral mass. (I know this is dorky but I Googled “jewish funeral service” to see what to expect.) The temple was a simple room compared to many Catholic Churches with their mosaics, stained glass windows and statues. But the acoustics were perfect to hear Rabbi Amy Feder officiate the service.

The minimal service had a comforting flow of poignant readings, quotes, commentary and songs. The Rabbi’s voice was simply beautiful unaccompanied by an organ or piano as I’m used to. The verses she sang had this ancient rhythm that drew me into their rituals and traditions. And when the Rabbi spoke, she displayed emotion and passion unlike Catholic priests and lectors who tend to read in a robotic monotone. As sad as funerals can be, I appreciate the gift it is to share this experience with a close friend.

Sandy’s brother spoke and the rabbi read letters from Sandy and her sister to their father. It’s inspiring to hear the love and admiration for a man who deeply touched many lives. Sometimes people discount your grief of someone who dies at an advanced age…”oh he lived a long life” or “it was time.” I think this makes the grief more profound because you have more years of memories and experiences with the person who is now gone.

It makes me think…have I lived my life creating the memories and experiences that I will be satisfied with at the end? Have I taken advantage of all those possibilities that lie before me when I was born?

Wedding
I hurriedly left the office to commute through rush-hour traffic to get to the 5:30 wedding ceremony of my cousin Jared. I think weddings are the ultimate act of optimism. More marriages end in divorces than last ‘till death do us part’…so anyone who is willing to stand up in front of their closest friends and families and make this commitment knowing the odds are against them has to be filled with optimism that their relationship is different.

It makes me think...when you’re sitting in church you can’t help but reflect on your own life, your own hopes and your own relationships. Watching two people who are truly in love is inspiring. I like that feeling of optimism.

Final Thoughts

At the end of the funeral service they brought the casket over to the family for a final moment before the procession out of the temple. My heart broke as Sandy’s mom sobbed, calling out to her husband with such pain her voice. Her grief was palpable in the room. They had been together 68 years, what a gift. Life and all of its experiences, good and bad, is a gift. And it’s days like this that remind you to appreciate it.

and PS: wow what a crazy thought filled Friday!

What's below the surface?

I recently had dinner in south St. Louis city at Crusoe’s (deeeelicious Mayfair dressing btw) and as I was walking to my car I noticed the old cobblestones showing through the asphalt on a side street. It made me wonder about the story beneath the surface. What historical figures may have ridden down that same road in a horse drawn carriage? Or who were the men charged with the back-breaking labor of laying those bricks by hand years and years ago.

My next door neighbor has lived there for 25+ years. He told me that at different times in its history my house was a crack house and a whore house! So now visions of Dolly Parton and Burt Reynolds singing and dancing come to mind…but it’s one of the reasons I love my house…there’s over 100 years of stories to be told.

I’ve been observing people through different eyes lately…trying to see what’s below the surface. The woman who won’t leave the house without her Coach purse with giant C’s all over that screams to everyone that she spent $400; the loud-talker who has nothing substantial to report in a meeting but talks louder than everyone to make you think what he says is important; the handsome pathological liar guy who makes up outlandish stories to impress you; the quiet friend with the big blue eyes who is never the center of attention but is always observing everyone and everything…what are they hiding? What do they know? Who hurt them in their past? What are they afraid of?

I may work with some of these people…they may be my friends...and as I navigate the relationships it makes life a lot more interesting trying to connect with what’s below the surface.

Life in the city

I really do love living in an urban area. I love my 100+year old historical home. It’s geographically desirable in relation to my social life. My neighborhood is a melting pot of humanity. Cherokee street has become a Little Mexico. I’m very close to the South Grand neighborhood which has a heavy influence from Asian Americans. And of course African American and Caucasian.

I inherited my mother’s talking gene which means I tend to strike up a conversation with anyone, anywhere. So here are a few stories from my life in the city.

“I’m on the disability”
I was pumping gas at the local Conoco. A young African American man was at the opposite pump. He was driving an SUV with the fancy, shiny rims. I struck up a conversation with him by complimenting his fun plaid shorts. His friend limps up to the pump…an older man walking with a cane. He joins the conversation.

Man: “Hey baby, how you doing?”
Me: “Good thanks, how’re you?”
Man: “Good baby, do you have a boyfriend?”
Me: “Yes, thanks, I’m dating someone.”
Man: “Aw come on baby, I’m on the disability. Do you know what you get on the disability? Baby, I could take care of you.”….

“Blackbox”
I finished my grocery shopping at Save-A-Lot and went to rent a movie at the Redbox. There were two African American fellas hanging out on the sidewalk. They were rapping and beat boxing as I walked up. The same guy from the first story is one of the men but he doesn’t recognize me. And he’s lost the limp and the cane. He initiates the conversation.

Man 1: “Hey baby, you want to buy a DVD?”
Me: “No thanks, I just want to rent.”
Man 1: “Come on baby, we’re just trying to make buck” (or something like that)
Man 2: “Forget the Redbox, baby I’m the Black Box”

Are you kidding me? That is hilarious and brilliant! As a marketer I could not ignore a tag line that clever!

Me: “Blackbox!? That is awesome. Ok what do you have?”
Man 2: “Resident Evil Trilogy, Saw IV, My Bloody Valentine”…then they both pause, look up, look at me and kind of laugh and say something like “she’s not into that …what else do we have?”

I end up buying “Grown Ups” from my local Blackbox. Love this neighborhood!

“Stamps”
This happened this week. I ran into Save-A-Lot after my workout. A woman stopped me in the parking lot.

Woman: “Hey baby, can I ask you a question?”
Me: “Sure”
Woman: “Would you like to buy some stamps? I can sell you X# of books for $X.”
I can’t remember the exact amount or dollars. I just said “no thank you, I don’t need any stamps.”

As I walked away she said “no... Food Stamps!”

My friend Fern, who happens to be African American, calls me the “whitest girl on earth.” I think this last story confirms that.

Life is really just one big, unpredictable hike

For the second major hike of my life, I chose a 4-8pm timeslot so I could experience the red rock as the sun was setting. Of course I hired Tom Reich and his dog Summit again since I had such an exhilarating first hike with them.

We drove to the Bell Rock access point. I saw several families with small children coming out so I was reassured this hike would be within my skill level. Several women were even wearing flip flops…are you kidding me?!

Immediately the incline felt very steep, I could feel my heart rate race and I was breathing heavily. The hike was very different from my first trail that wound through the trees and up the mountain on a clearly marked trail. This one was more wide open slide rock and felt more like rock climbing than hiking (at least in my beginner hiking mind). We got to a stopping point so I could get a drink of water and I was shocked at how far we had come in such a short time in both horizontal and vertical distance. Breathtaking view once again.

At this point the ‘hike’ looked like a giant vertical rock and I was petrified! With nothing to hold onto how the hell was I getting my 45 year old @$$ up there! I stopped and told Jim I couldn’t do it. There was a couple right behind us so I let them go ahead. Once I saw them navigate the rock I was mildly reassured that I could do it. It just felt nearly impossible at that point. I’ve never encountered anything like that. No place for your hands to grab onto to help pull you up or simply for balance. No ropes, caribeners, no safety net. And in my mind, it seemed too easy to lose your balance and fall backwards and tumble down hundreds of feet over the rocky terrain!

Jim could feel my anxiety and he offered to hold my hand going up this route, offered a different, less vertical climb or we could turn around and go back down. I opted to push myself to try the vertical climb. Of course my heart was racing and I was probably cursing the craziness in my mind but we proceeded up the rock. We went a couple more levels and then I had to stop. Because now I’m thinking about how are we going to get down!

I felt good about pushing myself that far but I didn’t need to add to the extreme hiking adventure I was experiencing! Jim was terrific coming back down. At several points we sat down to scoot down the rock at steeper drops. Bell Rock had humbled me and I owned my nerdiness and scooted down with pride!

At one point, Jim took off his hiking sandals so his bare feet could absorb the vortex energy. Really? If he can hike down in bare feet, I can certainly hike down without crying like a little baby.

In retrospect, my view of easy/beginner hiking at the beginning of this trip envisioned simple, clearly marked, zig-zagging trails up and down mountains. I did not imagine slide rocks or the big river rocks. I did not plan to cross a creek barefoot. I did not envision vertical climbs. I did not envision the near paralyzing fear and crazy racing heart pounding in my chest. There’s a metaphor to life in here somewhere. Jim’s definition of easy might be a little warped because of his experience. Life can’t be all easy hikes with clearly marked trails. You have to get your heart and blood racing every once-in-awhile…makes you feel like you’re really alive. And yes there will be situations that seem to paralyze you with fear. But when you conquer the creek, the big river rocks or the vertical climb… you feel satisfied and proud. And you feel the possibility...



and PS...the photo is looking down the vertical. It's MUCH steeper in real life!

Best Sedona Hiking Guide

Jim Reich is your man! I first found him on Trip Advisor where he received rave reviews. As I continued my online research, his site sedonahikingadventures.com kept coming up. His hikes are not ‘cookie cutter’ hikes for large groups of tourists, they are customized to your skill level, taste and interest.

I emailed him the week before I arrived to see what his availability might be. We spoke on the phone and based on our rapport, I booked two hikes with him. I explained that I was in decent shape but wanted an ‘easy’ hike and wanted his dog, Summit to join us.

Jim picked me up at my hotel and he gave me a brief driving tour of several hikes near my condo that I could conquer on my own later in the week. We stopped at Euro Deli (Omg delicious sandwiches!) to get our lunch to eat on the trail.

We began our hike around 10:30. We started up the Wilson trail, a nice, comfortable but challenging incline. My new Merrell hiking shoes handled the trail and the red rocks nicely….no blisters! All along the way Jim narrated what peaks we could see, the history of the name, how to hike to the top etc. He was patient when I needed to stop for a drink of water and to catch my breath. My eyes were so focused on the trail, looking down to make sure I didn’t miss step, I had to purposely choose to stop, to breathe, take in the view and to appreciate the beauty. Parts of the trail were narrow and on the edge of a steep drop if I slipped or lost my concentration. Jim carried his own camera so he could help document my hike. I should have counted how many times I said “WOW”! Breathtaking, stunning, amazing, awesome are some of the words that come to mind that still don’t do the red rocks justice!

We ended the first trail back at the parking lot and continued down towards a creek for lunch and swimming. At this point I was already fatigued and hungry…and anyone who knows me, knows that I only get crabby when I’m tired or hungry and now I’m both!

We took a simple trail down to the creek area then Jim explained we needed to hike a little further up the flood plan over these big river rocks to get to our secluded spot he had named “Dave’s Rock”. As we are walking, climbing and jumping from rock to rock, I wonder out loud, “Jim do you consider this an easy hike?!” It was a fantastic work-out and challenge to my balance skills but I was fatigued and hungry for lunch! And secretly in my head I was thinking “are you effing kidding me? I’m paying this guy to effing torture me!”

Then we get to a point where we have to cross the creek to get to Dave’s rock. I was not prepared with water shoes so Jim carried my shoes and backpack. I was close to losing it at this point. I joke that I am a delicate flower. I’m not an out-doorsy girl who hikes all the time. I had a spa pedicure a few days before the trip. And now I’m crossing a creek barefoot with my OPI Pink Flamenco toes! Are you kidding me?!

Jim was extremely patient and supportive the whole way. He kept reassuring me I was going great and it was going to be worth it. I’m sure I cursed outloud the whole way but I arrived safely across the creek and climbed up on Dave’s rock for lunch.

And yes, Jim was right, it was totally worth it! The view again was stunning. It was only 70 degrees and very windy, so sitting on this giant sandstone red rock in the middle of the creek was perfect! (photo above shows the creek I crossed and the height we hiked down to get to the creek) My ‘italiano’ sandwich from Euro Deli was satisfying and delicious…hard baguette, salami, prosciutto, provolone, mozzarella, roasted red peppers…mmm mmmmm! Jim also brought Cactus Juice to drink, a unique blend of cactus, apple and lime juice.

After we ate, Jim moved to another rock and took his meditation pose. I simply laid back flat on the rock to stretch my back, relax and meditate. The sound of the water, birds chirping, ducks quacking, the warmth of the sun on my face and the strength and heat of the rock supporting me made for a relaxing mediation. I shut my eyes and tried to clear my mind. I lay there for what I thought was maybe 10 or 15 minutes. I opened my eyes and checked the time…it had been 40 minutes! I don’t think I fell asleep. I do feel the energy took me to a relaxing, meditative state. So perfect for my first hike in Sedona!

Vacation Planning Technology

So here I am in a Sedona coffee shop filled with locals, Java Love Café, I highly recommend. I booked this trip about a month and a half ago on an impulse. Now Sedona has been on my list for a long time but the actual decision was made one day in a half hour at lunch in my office.

As a time share owner, I have access to other properties at random times called “Getaways.” So every-once-in-awhile I search availability just for fun, to day dream and possibly plan a trip. Well, April 11, 2011, Sedona finally showed up with availability! And not just an odd date in a week’s time, Memorial Day week! (9 day vacation for only 4 vacation days :))I quickly checked flights on Southwest, they were still affordable so I booked the trip. And the research began…

I read reviews of the Sedona Summit on Trip Advisor. As I said, I’m a time share owner so I’m used to the hard sell when you check in. This place got hammered with bad reviews because of the aggressive sales people. It also had super positive reviews for the rooms, amenities and location. The picture above is one of the breath-taking views from the property. Perfect!

I love the pre-vacation anticipation and exploring the activities the destination has to offer. And as a marketer, Wow! I love SEO for this! Found this coffee shop where I’ve met the most interesting local fellas! Found the Cowboy Club restaurant where I ate snake, buffalo and cactus for the first time ever. (Touristy and crowded but fun to try the funky, weird food) Found my private hiking guide Jim from sedonahikingadventures.com online. He’s become my own personal Sedona concierge and you’ll hear more about him in my next entry. I also booked a body wrap and sunrise balloon ride thanks to the handy, dandy SEO.

And my brother-in-law’s very polite GPS lady guided me to Sedona with zero wrong turns and no stress.

Now that I’m here, I’m not completely detaching from technology. Got a phone call and a few texts on my Blackberry during my hike yesterday! So weird that I got service way out there but not in my room! That’s fine, I need time to quiet my mind, breathe deeply, feel the energy and shut this laptop down!

24K: Behind the name

24K, Reliv’s healthy energy shot, was officially launched 2.3.11 to rave reviews from the field. Sponsoring and sales are up. We can feel the momentum building. In my 20 year marketing career, I have never worked for a company with a tangible, consumer packaged good so this was a very exciting project for me personally. Name, label, pre-launch teaser campaign, launch and post-launch campaign etc. Pretty Cool!

The process began for marketing back in July of 2010 with writing a document that described the overall strategy for the product so we could begin trying to choose a name. The document detailed the target audiences, the key benefits, why our product would be different and better, and the general ‘personality’ of the product.

We began a series of brainstorming sessions around the key benefits of energy and mental clarity/focus. We cranked out hundreds of ideas. We looked at Greek mythology, we translated the words energy or focus into other languages, created acronyms, tried single letters to the nth degree and made up new words. Every time we narrowed it down to our favorites and these were submitted to legal, they were all taken. This happened over and over. Any obvious word or phrase was trademarked.

Carpe Drink’em was a team favorite that never made it to legal. It is now our trademarked name for our happy hour events!

I searched websites on Harry Potter charms, spells, characters etc for nonsense words for inspiration. I found online name generating tools that combined prefixes and random groups of letters to form nonsense words. I even found an English to Klingon translator tool. Did you know that hoSDo means ‘energy beings’ in Klingon?

Finally in October we had real samples of the product in near final formulation! We could taste it and see it. Our SVP of sales started thinking about the color of the product and thought to himself that this stuff is pure gold! This turned into 24K. Then he asked his dad (aka our Chief Science Officer who also formulated the product) how many active ingredients were in the product…thank you Dr. Carl! 24 active ingredients and four months later we had a name!

Survivor Tweets Rock!

I recently posted about how I rarely watch live TV. I love my DVR for the freedom it’s given me!

Well, the last few weeks Survivor episodes have had the host, Jeff Probst, live tweeting during the show. This is the coolest! To have this kind of access to the host, the guy who’s been there since the beginning, to have his commentary, jokes and insights is a huge value-add to sitting alone on my couch yelling at the TV!

And this resurrects ‘appointment viewing’ for TV. For the last two weeks I’ve been on the couch promptly at 7 with my Blackberry in hand to watch Survivor and follow Jeff’s tweets. I’m watching live so I can’t fast forward through the commercials. This has to make the advertisers happy. It has improved my viewing experience, deepened my loyalty and now I’m telling people about it!

On the flip side, yesterday a group of managers met in our conference room to watch a webinar on coaching. The hosts gave us the hashtag to use so we could comment and submit questions. They failed to manage their time properly and due to all of their extraneous bantering, they ran out of time and couldn’t take advantage of the feedback received via Twitter. Bummer for them!

Fage Greek Yogurt: Stunning Art Direction

Thanks to my DVR I only watch commercials by choice. I rarely watch live TV so I always ff through. So, recently I’m ff-ing through Top Chef and a commercial actually catches my attention. I rewind and watch this commercial twice. It’s stunning. This photo was taken on my Blackberry of the TV.

It’s so refreshing to see a company invest in something high-end and truly artistic. The flowing images of the milky white liquid, the streams of color that morph into a person, the drops of color that evolve into a ballerina and eventually the flavor of the yogurt…stunning.

Marketers talk about “breaking through the clutter.” Fage has done this by taking the high road and appealing to the viewer’s aesthetic. The quality of this commercial is that of comtemporary art you might see in a gallery. I’m going to assume the quality of the product, the taste and texture of this “total authentic Greek yogurt” is going to be much more appealing than those I’ve tried and discarded without finishing in the past.

I will be buying my first samples of Fage Greek Yogurt this weekend.

Do you bleed red?

I just returned from my first trip to Spring Training to see the St. Louis Cardinals…something every Cardinals fan should be lucky enough to experience. Combine the gorgeous weather of Florida (while St. Louis is experiencing another round of ‘wintery mix’) with the intimacy of a small stadium, palm trees in the background, accessible practice fields and a casual environment where the players sign lots of autographs and you have the ingredients for an amazing fan experience.

I saw two Cardinals games and one Marlins games. Both Cards games were sold out and it was a sea of red. The Marlins game was maybe 1/3 full and a sea of random colors. The gift shop inventory was probably 2/3 - 1/3 Cards-Marlins. Personally I bought three new Cardinals shirts for the trip and I am not the biggest fan out there! Everyone at the Cardinals game was wearing red or the logo. Women bedazzled flip flops and hats with Cards gems. Cardinals’ fans travel hundreds of miles…Marlins fans could drive.

Sports fans can be the most uber-loyal brand ambassadors. You see people paint their faces and bodies, shave the team logo in their back hair (ewww, I know, I saw this at a Rams game) or create their own costume and persona like the Towel Guy at Blues games. And how do some teams inspire infatuation and others barely fill the lower bowl of seats? And how can this translate to a regular consumer brand and inspire that kind of passion and enthusiasm in its customers?

5 Tips for Cold Calling

5 Tips for Cold Calling

I receive at least one daily cold call voice mail message. As the Director of Marketing I receive cold calls from people selling everything: printing, creative and design, trade show displays, logo’d premium items, meeting and event services, sales incentive and employee recognition, web/SEO/social media, marketing technology, and services unique to the direct selling industry.

Wow! Are people wasting their time! These voice mail messages can be so annoying. I hate voice mail. It slows me down, is cumbersome and a pain. So here are my 5 tips for cold calling...thoughts on how to improve your efforts, get me to call you back and even schedule a meeting.

1. Get my name and title correct. You can call my company’s main number and our receptionist will not only give you the correct spelling of my name and title, but she will transfer the call to me. But don’t move too fast, don’t waste this first shot to dazzle me.

2. Warm me up. My preference is to receive a compelling mail piece that I can quickly scan, get an idea of how you can help me be more successful and tee up the idea that you will be calling me in the coming days. It can be a simple postcard, an envelope with brochure, letter, white paper etc. Or a clever dimensional item that links your creativity to my presumed strategic need. If you are local and drop off candy or a tin of popcorn…you’ve got my attention. I know that’s dorky and maybe shallow, but I will at least give you a few minutes on the phone to thank you for the snacks.

If you address the piece to Marketing Director, it goes directly into the recycle bin. I’m the Director of Marketing. If you can’t get that detail correct, what makes you think I can trust you to execute a campaign without mistakes? The picture above is a piece I just received...Two qualities marketing communications must have? ...accuracy in personalization is a start.

If you address the piece to Mr. Chris Scherting, it goes directly into the recycle bin. Come on!

3. Have a story. Think this through. Your story begins with your warm up and continues with your voice mail message. Script it out. Link the mailing and the vm message. Practice and leave yourself the message you plan to leave me and see how annoying it is.

Remember, I get at least one cold call vm a day. How am I supposed to remember you and your company and why you are different or better? It might be a creative theme; it might be a specific value prop statement or tag line; something to link the warm up to your message. If you follow up with an e-mail, continue the ‘story’ in the subject line. Otherwise it will be quickly and easily deleted.

If your plan is to leave me a sequence of two or three voicemail messages over a period of time, weave the story through all three messages. Script all of them. Give me some value-added tip, intrigue me, be patient, polite and friendly.

4. Give me your name and number up front. I am ready to take transcription at this point. I pick up voice mail once a day and have a pen and paper handy. My preference is to get the name and number up front, listen to the blabbity blah blah, and then repeat the name and number at the end so I can double check my hearing.

5. Speak slowly. Again, I may be taking notes on your message so I know why I am calling you back. I hate-hate-hate it when people speed-talk and I have no idea what there name or company is and they ramble for several long, torturous minutes and then zip through their number so fast I can’t write quickly enough. At that point I hit delete. You just wasted my time. And yours.

In the past several months, I’ve met with several potential vendors who cold called me. One company outsourced the appointment setting. She was great, I thoroughly enjoyed her approach.

One time I actually picked up the phone even though I did not recognize the number and knew it was going to be a cold call. This guy did his homework. He knew my name. He immediately built a rapport based on details in my Linked-In profile. So simple.

I’m always reading business books, white papers, marketing newsletters etc. to stay up on new technology and strategies. You may offer valuable services that can help my company grow. Somehow you’ve got to stand out from all the other blabbity blah blah in my voicemail box and get my attention.

Idina Menzel Rocks Powell Hall!

So this past weekend I was lucky enough to have tickets to a sold out concert at Powell Hall featuring the amazing and stunning Idina Menzel performing with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. I’m sorry for everyone who missed this while watching the Bears and Packers.

She has a remarkable voice with unmatched power and range. She sings with every cell in her body. Plus she’s spunky, charming, funny and gorgeous.

You may have seen her in Glee, playing Rachel’s egg donor mom. She won the Tony Award for playing the green witch in Wicked. In her first big gig she originated the part of Maureen on Broadway in Rent. She was nominated for a Tony and then years later returned in the movie version. She also performed with Josh Groban in “Chess The Concert” in London. (I recommend all of these be added to your iTunes!)

She literally brought me to tears with “No Day but Today” from Rent and “Defying Gravity” from Wicked. The show stopper caused a standing ovation that easily lasted a minute. She told the audience how grateful she was for buying the tickets, selling out the show, all of us coming out in a snowstorm on football Sunday so she could live her dream of singing for a living. Then proceeded to sing “For Good” from Wicked with the line “But because I knew you, I have been changed for good.” Bawled again.

Clearly I am a huge fan of Idina Menzel and would have been devastated to miss this concert. This is a marketing case study for the value of social media, particularly Facebook.

To set the stage…I am on the SLSO’s mailing list. I’ve purchased individual tickets in the past, and I am a season ticket holder for the Maryville Speaker Series which is held at Powell. I seek out theater and live events. In the last four months I’ve seen Kathleen Turner in a play at the Rep (which is now headed to Broadway), seen Kathleen Madigan (the comedian from STL) at Ameristar, and my friend Lindsey Jones performed her own cabaret show at the Bistro Cabaret. In addition I was at Powell three times in Oct-Nov for the speaker series.

I have discretionary income that I actively seek to spend. I’m the perfect target audience for this kind of concert but I never noticed it promoted or advertised via traditional methods of signage at Powell, direct mail, print ads in the program books, online or e-mail. I have XM radio so missed any radio promo as well.

I had front row tickets to her concert at the Pageant a couple of years ago. Is it taboo for the SLSO to ask the Pageant for their mailing list? I’m sure there’s some way to cross promote. SLSO is running the Lord of the Rings movies with the orchestra playing the score live. I bet the Pageant has featured a band that appeals to the same LOTR fans, why not work together?

Luckily a friend posted in her Facebook status that she was so excited she just bought her tickets to the Idina Menzel concert. I immediately went online and bought my row E tickets. It was that simple. Who knows how much they spent advertising and promoting messages that I never saw! And a free FB post made the sale.

Before I started this blog entry I looked to see if SLSO or Powell had FB pages and immediately “Liked” them. In any of the mailings (e-mail or snail mail) I’ve received from the SLSO or the Speaker Series, I have never seen them ask to ‘follow’ them on FB! Every show includes a printed Play Bill or program. Nothing in there to ‘follow’ them either. (or if it’s there, I’ve never noticed!)

As a marketer, I am more and more fascinated by the power of social media and how we all connect. Personally I posted several times on Facebook about the concert and about the “Chess” CD I was listening to in anticipation of the concert. This triggered a friend to buy tix for the concert and buy the “Chess” DVD. I also found out, via my FB post, that another friend was going to the concert so we could meet up in person. I Tweeted about the concert and the SLSO began following me! And the photo above is from a FB post from this excited, nerdy girl!

Facebook, Twitter etc. only increases the thousands of distracting messages, ads and marketing we are exposed to so it’s even harder to ‘break through the clutter.” The power of word-of-mouth via social media can drive ticket sales, revenue or brand awareness. It’s a jackpot…if it gets through.

Schnucks kind of thinks I'm a shoplifter...Part 2

I apologize for being tardy for the blogging party on part 2 of the Jager/Schnucks debauchery.

So…I filled out a contact form on the Schnucks website with a link to my blog. The next day a guy from the home office leaves me a voice mail about my situation. I give him my credit card detail with the exact transaction amount so he can verify and send the store a note. I return to the store, they have his email so they remove the security cap. No one ever apologized for my inconvenience. The end.

Here’s the funny thing: I don’t think I would have bought it without the security cap. I thought it was a cool shot glass. Without it, it just looks like a beetle-juice, tiny head bottle.