August 22, 2008
Make a Fan, Build an Advocate
If only all brands were so easy to support...
via Denver PR Blog.
Posted by Bree at 11:47 AM | Comments (0)
August 14, 2008
In Case You Were Curious...
That there on the left is what CLAW TOE looks like. (On the right is either part of Jame Gumb's lady suit or the corrected claw foot. Hard to say. "He's making a PATTERN!")
I ♥ my work.
Posted by Bree at 09:36 AM | Comments (2)
July 28, 2008
Recently I've Discovered
That owning my own business has kind of turned me into that guy. It's becoming most of what I think about, which has as much to do with the fact that I work from home - and thus never really leave work - as anything. This new-found compulsion likely also has to do with the fact that my work is now, always, going straight from me to the client. There are no editorial second-chances, like there are in an agency. No. It's just me and my oft-emulated "wait a day and then read it aloud in another room" mode of proofing. This, at times, can create heartburn.
So, I think about it. A lot. About how to get new clients, about what to do next, about where I could possibly bring this business (more on that later but I'll give you one hint: the idea of moving has come up more than once this summer), about whether I should scrap it all and go back to an agency and so on.
This may just be a byproduct of the work I'm doing for a new client this week, and the ever-increasing expectations I have (and promise) of myself to pump out quality product each time I get out of the gate. But jeebz. All of a sudden, I've got this to finish, that to finish, a proposal to write, a new colleague to meet and on and on. It's almost like I'm running a business here, kids. That said, I fucking earned my coffee today.
And those steak knives too.
Posted by Bree at 03:27 PM | Comments (1)
June 25, 2008
And the Good News is...
NEW YORK: US PR firms earned an average 19.7% profit in 2007 despite an economic downturn, according to StevensGouldPincus' (SGP) annual Best Practices Benchmarking Survey.
Via PR Week
HAHA! Global domination, suckas! My retail dreams can, in the words of Heather Jean, "eat a dick." For it's all about the Pentiums, to me.
Posted by Bree at 01:00 PM | Comments (0)
May 19, 2008
Site's Up (aka "S'Up")
You know how just five seconds ago I wrote that the web site was so close to being up I could taste it? Well get ready to feast, Bree, because here she blows. The URL still needs to be masked, and I need to add some clients in there and somehow work the word "organic" into my copy, and maybe change that iguana picture, but still. Accolades and applause are now accepted.
Posted by Bree at 03:37 PM | Comments (2)
Para-Professional Photography
My new work web site is almost up (so close I can taste her!) but it has come to my attention I should probably have a photo of myself on it. So, I've been swabbing the decks over at Flickr and, once I take out all the ones of me in a low-cut shirt, all the ones of me with a drink in my hand, and all the ones of me looking suspicious, irritated or scornful, I'm left with just a handful. Meaning, I'm going to have to take Angela up on her offer (or, more to the point, make her capitulate to my demand) to take some action shots of me...me writing, me editing, me thinking...me filing. They'll be magnificent, I assure you.
In the meantime, I'll give you perhaps the only one ever taken of me *on the job* so that you might begin to envision just what I actually do.
That's right, I write. In sunglasses.
Posted by Bree at 03:25 PM | Comments (0)
May 16, 2008
Office Shenanigans (Apacheeeee!)
If you're having difficulty justifying to your boss the hours wiled away here or at The Sartorialist or at Things You Can't Do Coked Up or whatever web site's floating your sick, sick boat, fear no longer, pilgrim. Workfriendly.net has sneakily devised Microsoft Word versions of all your favorite hunting grounds.
Behold the safe version of this site below:
Just as dry and mundane as one might expect.
If that's too much work for you, another solution would be to adopt my technique - developed and honed at Kensington Publishing Corporation - and keep a super complicated-looking excel document opened and minimized at the bottom of your screen. Boss peeks around the cube, and one quick second later, you're contentedly mired in columns and rows. This works even better if your job has nothing to do with quantitative analysis. Trust me on that. I'm a writer for Chrissake. The only thing I analyze is which Style Guide I can use to justify my rather arcane and inconsistent grammatical standards.
Please note that you could also utilize the more advanced strategy (either on its own or in tandem with the prior) of attaching a rearview mirror to your monitor (instituted and perfected at Edelman) to keep a peeled eye on those sneaky sleuths of the corporate world. You'll be one step ahead of the game in no time.
Via Denver Egotist
Posted by Bree at 12:27 PM | Comments (0)
May 08, 2008
Have I Mentioned Recently...
how glad I am not to have opened a store?
NEW YORK (AP) -- Consumers gave some of the nation's retailers a little relief in April after months of dismal sales, gravitating toward less expensive discounters and wholesale clubs but generally still shying away from stores selling clothes and other non-necessities.- Source
Posted by Bree at 09:12 AM | Comments (0)
April 25, 2008
Meeting
I just had a blind meeting with a potential client at Peaberrys and was totally reminded of the days of sitting around in some bar or coffee shop and eying every guy that walked in the door alone to see if it was my date or not. It was kind of awesome to relive that awkwardness without any fear of sexual rejection. Awesome for me, anyway. I think the intensity of my leering (plus, of course, a face fulla make-up, hotdiggety hairdid and jetsetter trousers) may have been a little frightening to my fellow patrons.
'tevs. Subtlety: never my strong suit.
Posted by Bree at 01:03 PM | Comments (0)
April 24, 2008
Tuscon Gives Respeck
"Tucson Mayor Bob Walkup has proclaimed Friday 'Public Relations Appreciation Day' to 'encourage all of our citizens to support, understand, and appreciate the intricacies of the practice of ethical public relations and public relations practitioners,' a press release said."
Media Bistro via Denver PR Blog
Posted by Bree at 03:00 PM | Comments (0)
Stationery Agent
Rebecca at Moontree Letterpress has posted a very nice picture of and write-up about the new cards. As a reminder, the logo was done by PlaidValentine at Etsy, the printing (of course) by Rebecca at Moontree and the (soon to come!) web site by Angela at Inv/Alt. With this awesomely talented posse at my back, who could possibly fail? I'm so excited at how this is all turning out! Thank you, ladies!
(Photo c/o Moontree Letterpress)
Posted by Bree at 08:18 AM | Comments (2)
April 21, 2008
Logorhhea
Thar she blooms. Plum aka Pantone 5115 C aka the color that made Bree a giant PR success aka a fine and natural laxative.
And, in related news, plum is of course the new black so feel my marketing muscle, suckas, and point me in the direction of the beach aka nature's most majestic toilet.
Posted by Bree at 01:37 PM | Comments (0)
April 02, 2008
Exciting News on the Design Front
I've hired Angela's friend Becky of Moontree Press to make my business cards and thank you notes for the bidness. Moontree Press is hot hotty hot. I've heard - and seen - nothing but awesome stuff about - and from - this shop. Wow. That sentence really doesn't work. So let's just leave it all behind and take a look at some pictures (ganked straight from her blog).
I'm so excited to get this all together! Angela worked on the web design today, and as soon as I get off my semi-toned ass and finish writing it, Bree 2.0 will commence for real. Put on your helmets, kids.
Posted by Bree at 07:59 PM | Comments (2)
March 27, 2008
New (Perhaps Temporary) Logo
I like this. I may screw around with it in the future, by adding some design element or something, but for now - perfecto! Now, on to the web site and stationary (aka the fun bits) and then? Then, the clients.
Posted by Bree at 06:55 PM | Comments (5)
March 25, 2008
Exactly One Mile High
I'm at work for the second time this week (!!) and am bored. Regardless of the theory I learned in the ninth grade that people who say stuff like, "I'm bored" are actually BORING (whaa?) because clearly they don't have the mental capacity to entertain themselves, there's no shame in my game. Bored, bored, bored.
Hence, I ate lunch around 10:30 a.m. and bought the "Denver" mug at the local Starbucks on my second four-shot Americano run of the morning. Then I took a picture of it.
Good times.
Let me know if you want to borrow a paper clip.
Posted by Bree at 12:50 PM | Comments (2)
February 15, 2008
Gawker Takes on E-man
My dad just called to alert me to a Gawker v. Edelman (my former place of employ) smack-down over on Gawker.com. Seems Gawker wrote about an anonymous (and for my money - bullshit) tip that had Edelman execs telling clients to "stand up there and lie" to the media. The CEO, Richard Edelman, responded and Nick Denton Hamilton Nolan wrote back in a bitchy, pointless post that does nothing to further his case that the tip is legit, and everything to show Denton (et al)'s own total lack of ethics. It's so obvious to anyone that this is just a tip from a disgruntled former employee or - more likely - a competitor. I mean, please. Edelman's got its fair share of total a-holes working there, but they're not stupid. They're definitely not stupid. I'm too rushed to write about this further, so will just quote one of the commenters - who got it dead-on:
"as someone who used to do this type of thing for edelman, this accusation isn't credible. i've never heard of anything like this happening anywhere, and a former PRWeek writer knows it certainly doesn't happen at a place like edelman. the entire premise is reckless and sloppy.
here's the thing: telling a client to lie isn't just unethical, it's bad fucking advice. why? because it's guaranteed to produce stuff like this every time. no one at edelman -- even the ones who don't know what they're doing -- would give this advice if they cared about keeping their job. people get fired for waaaaay less."
Posted by Bree at 08:31 AM | Comments (0)
February 11, 2008
Logo: First Round
The blurriness is not part of the design.
Not sure how crazy I am about a. the mixed fonts and b. the first font. Also imagine it without that tagline, which will be removed. I do like the star anise though, of course!
Any ideas or thoughts are appreciated - feel free to e-mail 'em if you're feeling sheepish.
Posted by Bree at 09:01 PM | Comments (0)
February 05, 2008
Czech It
Awwww yeah! Thanks Angela!
Posted by Bree at 07:56 PM | Comments (2)
January 30, 2008
Plagiarizing Myself
I wrote the following brief sales copy outlining my department's e-capabilities a few e-years back when I was working in a gigunds PR company in e-NY. I think I shall steal it from myself and use (the good parts of) it in the marketing consulting materials I'm developing to get some more clients on the docket. That's how I roll - all street urchin-like.
Creating effective online advertising and editorial copy presents challenges unforeseen ten years ago. Working with Interactive Solutions, Editorial Services has adapted traditional composition skills to this new media model and developed fluency in the e-market. We bring understanding, skill and motivation to the long- and short-term tasks of engaging audiences in the 21st century.
The Editorial Services team has built a comprehensive portfolio of successful new media campaigns for accounts ranging from pharmaceutical to consumer to corporate. We offer a diverse scope of services, tailored for each client's specific budget and time frame, and easily adaptable to any special needs. And, in addition to appreciating the tone and language necessary to effectively target an online audience, our staff is adept at writing content in styles as diverse as our client base.
Whether your client needs to build online presence from the ground up, supplement existing material, or reach targeted audiences through direct communications, Editorial Services will craft, develop and produce content to meet any need.
When you think "E"—think "Effective", think "Excellence", think "Editorial Services".
Or think ecstasy.
Whatever, you know.
Posted by Bree at 12:28 PM | Comments (0)
January 28, 2008
Small Town, Small Industry
The guy who I met with (via Zane and Leith) to talk over my career options in D-town Down just got profiled by the Denver Egotist. Very cool dude with some very cool ideas; worth reading if you have any interest in creative industries. This, in particular, sticks out given the business plan I'm currently hashing out in ME MIND:
"Clients need so much more these days than even 5 years ago. They want and need help with every facet of their business, not just advertising." Amen!
I also like this one:
"I’m baffled and fed up with people thinking Denver and this region is a crap hole. There is brilliant work being done here by agencies and the artists and talent who produce it. I love it here and I have many friends that are doing well, winning awards, making a living and enjoying the life we get to have here. There are crappy agencies and assholes in every market. Dan Wieden doesn’t lay awake worried about how bad the agency down the street is."
Posted by Bree at 06:29 PM | Comments (0)
OMG Briggles in the Extreme
In my current guise of a non-profit branding consultant from an investment-y family with a penchant for Youtube clips and gang* rap, must say I relate to a lot of this. Especially the Birkenstock cleats. Thanks, Rick!
Posted by Bree at 04:52 PM | Comments (2)
January 25, 2008
Oh the Mems
From New Zealand's brillig new drinking awareness campaign featured on NotCot. Stick a couple skyscrapers outside and I think I spent a good deal of my 20's in that conference room - underneath that wine glass. Better dressed, though.
Posted by Bree at 11:20 AM | Comments (1)
October 31, 2007
Crrruzzzy
Not to put the cart before the hoss, or anything like that, but I think I may have just scored myself a pretty SWEET freelance position redesigning/rewriting an NFP web site. Which just may involve a trip to DALLAS next week to meet with the graphic team. I'll say "hi" to Bobby Ewing for y'all.
Yahoo!
Posted by Bree at 01:40 PM | Comments (0)
October 23, 2007
Heeeeee! Meeeeee!
I just found my "official corporate biography" for Wine Chicks, which I don't think was ever published. For those who really don't know what my o.p. (original path) was when I first got here, enlighten yourself with the following italicized remarks:
My name is Bree, and I’ve been sober for roughly ten hours. Cut me some slack here. I work in a wine bar. Or, more to the point, a coffee bar that’s fast in transition to becoming a wine bar. And when I say “fast in transition,” I mean “thinking of setting a cheese plate next to the Splenda.”
Regardless. After eight years spent as a fancy-schmance writer in New York City (you know, the kind that would have the derring-do, technical know-how and joie de vivre re: hyphens to use the word “fancy-schmance” in a bio), I recently relocated to Denver to work a bit in the wine-service industry and see how I feel about opening up my own bar out here.
The best part about Denver? You can join the Mile-High Club from the comfort of your own bed. Or your own bathroom floor. Or his. Depends on how much official business research you’ve downed in the past few hours, animal.
Speaking of official business research, there are many exciting ways by which I am officially researching my business. I will share with you the top six:
1. Studying “Wine for Dummies” and other such high-falutin’ mainstays of the literary canon
2. Asking questions, noting procedure, and sitting in smug judgment of many of the basic marketing and service mistakes at my place of employ
3. Drinking as much wine as I can get my hands on
4. Drinking your wine too, on the sly-like, while you’re in the lavatory
5. Writing about all the hangovers and grit encountered along this entrepreneurial path on my blog, Sweet and Bitter
6. Writing about all the wine and related effluvia encountered along this entrepreneurial path on The Wine Chicks’ blog, The Wine Chicks
And there you have it.
Now let’s get that waitress over here.
Oh! Dipsomania never fails to amuse/confound!
Posted by Bree at 03:02 PM | Comments (0)
August 16, 2007
Bullseye! The Ideal Employer!
InquisiCorp, Corp. is a Christ-focused, leading provider of curricula and resources in the fast-growing homeschool industry.
Search OVER.
Posted by Bree at 03:10 PM | Comments (0)
August 13, 2007
Seriously Though...
Is there anything better than spending a Monday morning writing COVER LETTERS? Well, I mean, of course - besides roofie-ing my scanner into (relative) submission and finally FINALLY making all my hard-copy clips into computer files? 'cause if so, I sure as H.L. can't think of it. This has been one of the finest experiences of my early-30's and I'll go to me grave shoutin' such.
Speaking of, feel free to kill me.
But first, please pass the Grolsch. Mama haben durst.
Eric, level with me - is this the real reason you got out of trucking?
Posted by Bree at 11:39 AM | Comments (0)
July 17, 2007
Important Business Questions
I'm working on a big huge ole marketing proposal to present tomorrow (very! exciting!) and am wondering...is ONUS an inappropriate word to use? The context wouldn't be corporeal, of course. More like, "The onus is extreme."
I'm talking extreme.
Extreme onus.
Will this just make me laugh midway through? Does someone who laughs at the word onus even deserve a job? But what is it's a gigundie onus? [Insert ponder.]
Posted by Bree at 11:23 AM | Comments (0)
June 27, 2007
Work, Spend, Work, Spend
Things at work are exciting exciting exciting exciting. And not just because Pifuka told me I looked like I had lost weight. Or that she just gave me a roast beef sandwich to effectively put an end to that situation. Or that I'm buying THIS Jason Miller scotch-tape mirror from here TOO-DAY:
Me + mirror MERE MINUTES ago. I am suuuuper skinny, right? RIGHT? Like my new belt I got in Seattle?
This is one of SIX of these bitchez. Two in Tokyo, two at the Cooper Hewitt and two in D-town. Thass it. Seriously, yo. I'm CLEENING UP with regards to the home furnishings o'er to this joint. Next step? Paycheck.
Posted by Bree at 04:47 PM | Comments (0)
June 14, 2007
Workin' for the Weekend...'cept it's Always Weekend 'round Here
There is nothing I like better than my job.
This morning, while sitting on my guest bed surrounded by DOGGIES, I busted out a tight little press release on CO-DESIGN, a show we're doing in conjunction with Jaime over at Designklub on established and emerging Colorado designers (opening July 14, more info TK). Then, I rolled into work, ate some ham, had an espresso and lounged on a $15,000 couch (above). Then, Paul and Pifu gave me this BEAUTEOUS gold pineapple Piet Houtenbos oil lamp I have lusted for for YEARS.
Now? We're meeting with local design luminary Angela Schwab for happy hour margs.
What? How did this happen? How did this work thing get so good all of a sudden? If life keeps on pumping out the jams, I might actually - someday - have something to post besides nearly identical pictures of myself taken on my MacBook. Perish the thought!
Posted by Bree at 04:10 PM | Comments (0)
June 05, 2007
Time Keeps on Slipping, Slipping, Slipping
That it do, Steve. That it fucking do.
All right. New plan in the life of this kid: starting Thursday, I'm going to be all sorts of FT at P Design streamlining and revitalizing their marketing "mats" as the werd nerds like to say. Ah, come on guys... It's so simple. Maybe you need a refresher course. Hey! It's all marketing mats nowadays...
In the meantime, Paul and Pifu will share with me the lessons learned, plans enacted, dreams stymied and so forth of a year in the retail design business in Denver. In financial parlance, this is what's known as a "win win." In sports, it's either a "trade" or a "Van Gundy lundy"...not sure.
So, in a month or two, the idea is I'll have a much better idea of if I indeed want to sink my fast-dwindling funds into a business of this sort. I'm hoping the answer is yes, as it's going to be mondo frustrato if it's not...but time and experience will tell. Or I'll be kidnapped by pirates and forced to live my life in sexual servitude upon the high seas, making - naturally - all this career prep totally unnecessary. Fingers crossed! In the means, if you're in D-town come stop and see me at 2590 Walnut St. starting Thurday. I'll be the one covered in press release.
Posted by Bree at 11:31 AM | Comments (0)
May 24, 2007
Plan B
If this whole store thing doesn't work out, I'm weighing the pros and cons of a career in "bee beards."
I am fucking so fucking all over this.
Back off, bitch.
It's mine.
Posted by Bree at 04:58 PM | Comments (0)
November 17, 2006
Worky Worky
I'll be manning the helm, slinging merch and talking trash at my buddy Desi's swell lil store all the livelong. If you're in Denver and not too stalkery, swing by and say "hola" (with a hard H, if you please) either today or tomorrow. And if you do come, it'd be super swell if you bore a small Americano with three shots, skim milk, two equals and one sweet-n-low. THANKS IN ADVANCE.
Posted by Bree at 09:27 AM | Comments (0)
October 07, 2006
AHMAGOD
So much going on these days - it's a little Breeserk. To begin, I met with a residential real estate agent on Thursday and am **SO** (asterisks mine) excited to get this process started. Seeing as I'm in my lease until April 1, she suggested I don't start the search in earnest until December. This means I can hang tough with mortgage brokers and lenders in November and get things all squared away, shipshape, and other seafaring analogies before...erm...rowing my boat ashore...
Excellent, as one thing I've realized for sure: it's no fun to go driving around looking for "For Sale" signs in the middle of an election. Vote yes on 1A is all I'm saying. Preschool is important. Especially in dry dock.
As for my meeting with "El Gov" on Friday, things went well. I got some more info (including the name of a commercial real estate broker) and some more research sources, as well as just the chance to toss around ideas and hone my pitch a bit with an "in-the-know" chap. In other good news, I also made an appointment for October 17th with a local accountant/small business consultant who comes highly recommended.
Moving? Nah - more like shaking.
Oh and speaking of shaking...tonight, in celebration of all these countless minutes of hard work, I'm going to dance on the ceiling at the Clap Your Hands Say Yeah concert in Boulder. In terms of waiting...I can't no mo. This. Show. Is. Going. To. Rule. Plus, I'll get to say hi to John Mark Karr while I'm up there - so...win win.
Posted by Bree at 12:55 PM | Comments (0)
September 14, 2006
The Bidness of Being Bree
I'm writing my business plan this week. As I have been for a while.
Shut.
It.
As such, I had to come up with this brief summation of my professional experience. I thought I'd post it up here as I feel like most of my friends/family couldn't say what my career encompassed if they had a gun to their head. I might say the same of some of my former bosses. Snap! Also bear in mind, all of this would be much more impressive if I could somehow include how frequently I was incapacitated at work due to my overwhelming propensity to socialize and/or funnel beers. Ah! Adulthood! You crazy mofo!
Over seven years experience in marketing and public relations for consumer product and service providers. Has helped develop and hone brand campaign strategy for clients including Starbucks, Brawny Paper Towels (Georgia Pacific), Ortho Evra (Ortho McNeil Pharmaceutical), Dove health and beauty products (Unilever), and Barilla pasta.As a Senior Copywriter/Creative Supervisor for a boutique advertising and PR agency, Ms. N*ely spent four years covering architecture and design trends for commercial real estate clients. She conceived of and executed a range of marketing and press materials for multinational firms including CB Richard Ellis, Reckson Associates, Kurland Passaretti Group and Tishman Speyer.
Her online marketing experience includes crafting consumer-
based Web site content and catalog copy. She designed and maintains a personal weblog to broadcast her own unique sensibilities and personality. As the business grows, the site will be built out to spotlight her capabilities by incorporating shop information, writing on design trends and e-commerce.
You know how Jame Gumb in Silence of the Lambs is all, "I would fuck me." ? Well. Replace "fuck" with "hire" and, yeah...wait...oh God. This is just disturbing.
Posted by Bree at 09:50 AM | Comments (0)
August 28, 2006
I Figured Out My Life (or: Nannee Nannee Boo Boo)
Readers. Oh, readers. This web-based journey has been a long one - filled from the start with ponderous ruminations about beer boobs, transparently veiled recaps of drunkenness and sexual derring-do and the occasional exuberant shout-out to my homeslices in prison.
Yet, all this time, there has been a greater purpose. Sometimes hidden under the cloak of countless YouTube videos and comely snapshots of yours truly, but purposeful nonetheless.
Yes, all this time, I have been trying to figure out what the Hardees to do with my life since dropping everything I knew and moving several miles away. One of the thoughts, natch, was to open a wine bar out here in the land of altitudanal excess. Another was to...? Who am I kidding - I had no other. I figured if the wine bar thing didn't work, I could always go back to copywriting. Or start working more of the client-side at a small advertising firm out here. Or build a meth lab.
Click on through to keep discover the secrets to life in 10 easy steps!
So. Yeah. The wine bar thing? It stopped working. It stopped working a while ago, namely when I realized just how difficult it is to open a bar. Whoooey. Not impossible, mind you, but a bit along the lines of, "I think I'm going to take up running...oh! You say there's a 100-mile endurance race at altitude this weekend? Sounds smashing!"
Not impossible.
But hard on the joints.
I realized I would have to buy a bar. Buy a bar that was going out of business. Buy a bar that was going out of business yet still had a liquor license and was in a desirable neighborhood and was reasonably priced and at least somewhat fit my architectural and design expectations. Um...and those would be...where exactly?
Right.
And you can't really put together a business plan without a location. And you can't really get a loan without a business plan. And you can't really buy a place without a loan.
So you see the dilemma. And now...and now the solution!
After I came back from Argentina, and my - how do you say - distractions either came to an end or moved to Seattle, the Shasta really hit the fan. I had no excuses to put off the inevitable any longer. I had to face the fact that I didn't know what I was doing and even harder to confront - I wasn't sure that opening a wine bar was what I wanted. At. All. Several crises of various magnitudes - including but not limited to bursting into tears at Wild Oats - followed. I was lost. And the only person who could figure a route out - me - was too depressed and freaked to think clearly.
So, I sought some counsel. And the advice I recieved was invaluable: do only what you want to do for the next several days. Stop doing all the things you think you have to do and do only what you want to do.
Sounds simple but this exercise blew. my. mind. And it showed me something about myself that had been there all along - but had been so hidden under all these other thoughts and stresses and so on that I had failed to recognize it as my true interest and my true passion. In that period of doing only what I wanted, what I wanted was to read about, think about, plan projects and create things all related to interior design. And now, in retrospect - all of the signs seem so clear. My entire life has been spent redoing my spaces, shopping and autodidactically learning about this stuff. In times of great distress, it's been what I've turned to to see me through.
I love it. It's what I love. And it's what I've always loved. And it's what I've always been good at. Yet it's been such a constant in my life, that I forgot to notice it. And now that I have, I feel so free. In fact, I feel fantastic.
Screw the bar. I'm gonna open up a design shop and offer consultancy services out of it. Not only is it about 10 times easier - and cheaper - to launch this business, I'm actually excited about it! Imagine! And to think it was right in front of me - all this time...all these steps leading towards this. How truly humbling; how wonderfully exhilirating.
Oh readers, stick with me...the journey has just begun.
Posted by Bree at 09:19 AM | Comments (0)
August 09, 2006
Golden Opportunity
Though my computer has checked itself into rehab, I'm back in my usual place: sitting on Marie's guest bed watching her clean the house while I dick around online. Times? Invigorating. Oh and speaking of hot and sexy housecleaning, check out this job listing I just stumbled upon:
Hi, I have an 1100 Sq Foot single family home in SE Aurora. I am a nudist and am looking for a nudist female housecleaner to come in once weekly or once every other week to clean my home. Again, I would prefer to have a nudist female housecleaner or at least someone who would be willing to clean nude. I will consider a person who is ok with me being nude but not being nude themselves (italics mine), but pay will be less. Location: SE Aurora Salary/Wage: $17 - $20 / Hr
$20 an hour?! Pass the Swiffer, broseph.
Posted by Bree at 07:22 PM | Comments (0)
May 25, 2006
Pintful of Ail
UPDATE: Your girl is plum-illin'.
And Capuvino beckons.
No.
Fun.
Whatsoever.
But I am bold. I am beautiful. And these are the days of my life.
Posted by Bree at 01:56 PM | Comments (0)
May 17, 2006
Richard Edelman Rocks It WSJ-Stylez
Like the baggy, saggy retiree who still trots out creased snapshots of suitors long gone, I can't help but take a little misplaced pride in my former company's success...and smoldering sex appeal. To that end, Richard Edelman - MC Blog Daddy - just got interviewed by the Journal!
You know how those damned Wall Streeters are about online content though. (They're all up in the treehouse eating sushi amid piles of pay-for-content loot while the Times is busy scrubbing out the gutters. Yeah. That's the metaphor I'm sticking with. Shove it.) So I'm going to cut and paste my way around these 21st century profiteers (the gall!) and stick the whole article after the jump. Enjoy. And please ring me on the telephone the next time you want to play canasta and hear about my hot affair with Johnny Reb. I'll bring the goober peas.
Questions for … Richard Edelman
PR Executive Turns to Bloggers To Spread Messages for Clients
By BRIAN STEINBERG
May 17, 2006; Page B3C
With traditional advertising in the midst of massive change, some companies are turning to another marketing discipline that hasn't gotten as much attention: public relations. Richard Edelman has been pushing that profession into new frontiers.
Public-relations executives often devise ways to bolster the image of a particular company or person, and these can take the form of an interview on a TV program, a mention in a newspaper article, or even a star-studded event.
"I really feel that public relations is going to grow faster than advertising or some of the other disciplines that are in the holding companies," Mr. Edelman says.
As advertisers try to use more-subtle means of promotion, however, Mr. Edelman's firm has added other arrows to its quiver, including efforts through word of mouth and bloggers. At the same time, some older PR techniques such as the distribution of "video news releases" - often presented by TV stations as real news - have come under scrutiny. Below, Mr. Edelman, 51 years old, weighs in on the need for transparency as corporations start to use the Web and discusses the new ways marketers have to get their messages out - even if traditional media have already gotten involved.
The Wall Street Journal: So much of the PR industry is aimed at securing some sort of third-party endorsement of a client's products, services or reputation. But we hear so much about getting celebrities on talk shows to talk about drugs and medical procedures they have used, about prepared video news releases that are presented as if they were legitimate pieces of journalism. What practices are simply not acceptable?
Mr. Edelman: For me, and I think this applies in mainstream media as well as in the blogosphere, you've got to make sure that companies understand that they have to identify themselves, tell why they are doing what they are doing and make clear whatever financial arrangement there is with a sponsorship. This is an era of total transparency. In a video news release, for example, I think it has to be absolutely clear that this is sponsored, for whatever company it is. It's very subversive to credibility to have any other kind of structure.
WSJ: Should news outlets be forced to disclose their use of video news releases? Or should the practice be abolished?
Mr. Edelman: There is room for video news releases and satellite media tours because, frankly, we provide interesting, newsworthy spokespeople with credibility. But again, they have to be identified, and I think it's the PR firm's job to make it clear about who the client is and that it's the media's job to post that.
WSJ: You were recently quoted by the New York Observer as saying that mainstream media isn't 'god anymore' and that people can essentially get their news out in any way they see fit. Do you really subscribe to that notion? Isn't there still desire on the part of companies to have their developments covered in a mainstream outlet?
Mr. Edelman: Basically what I said is, look, there was an era in which you listened to Walter Cronkite, a single source, and he said, 'that's the way it is.' That's the week that was. I grew up with Walter Cronkite, and that's the way he would finish the broadcast, that was the voice of god.
Look, if you're in business, and you don't like the way a story comes out, whether it's in The [Wall Street] Journal or The [New York] Times or whatever it is, you can post documents on your Web site...you can post back to a piece you don't like and say, 'Hey, there's a different take on this,' because the only latitude we used to have was a letter to the editor. While a letter to the editor is yes, [still] one of the techniques, we have the ability to have an alternative story line. What I tried to say is 'Your piece is not necessarily the only word on the subject.' There are other channels available that companies own, channels like the blogosphere, and then other media.
WSJ: Your enthusiasm for blogs is well known; you have even hired noted bloggers to help clients develop an expertise in the format. With so much attention devoted to blogs in recent months, are you concerned that the whole platform has developed into a fad?
Mr. Edelman: I don't think so. I really see that this area of self-expression is bridging, clearly, into mainstream media...[traditional media outlets] are trying to accommodate a world in which the citizen feels as if he wants to not just be a spectator but also in some way a player, or have his voice heard.
WSJ: Consumer-created content is all the rage, so much so that some marketers are letting people create and post Web content that spoofs them. What's your advice to advertisers who allow people to poke fun at them? Should they take this stuff down or let it be seen by millions?
Mr. Edelman: My big thing right now is if brands, if companies want to be in this world, they have got to give up control. They've got to cede control in return for credibility, so, you know, you're going to have a few hours where you feel a little bit nervous about what's coming after your brand.
WSJ: Your firm has remained independent for years, even as the large global ad holding firms snatched up your rivals. What is the endgame for your firm? Can you envision a day when you might sell, and what would the catalyst be?
Mr. Edelman: I think it has benefited us tremendously in the last period of time, particularly in the last five years, since the turndown, to be a private, independent firm. We did not have to cut back as drastically as some of the other firms in sort of the 2001-2002 period. Yes, we have had cutbacks, but as a result we have had really terrific growth....I really feel that public relations is going to grow faster than advertising or some of the other disciplines that are in the holding companies. I don't preclude ever being acquired, but for us, we see a real bright future for an independent company....I'm not going to preclude going public. I'm not going to preclude any other avenue.
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