I am very excited to announce I have been nominated to be the 2009 Canada’s Mom Entrepreneur of the Year!

*pause* I know, huge.

This prestigious award has been awarded to incredible Canadian Mom Entrepreneurs who I aspire to have as mentors and is sponsored by Savvy Media Inc., Today’s Parent, Enterprising Mom’s Network and Joe Fresh Style, just to name a few.

I was more than surprised by this honour and would very much like to win this award for a few reasons. I would like my kids to see that others have selected “mom” for an award for her work in her business and for them to see that it is possible to be successful with your children AND your business. I also would like to win so that the award prize ($15,500) can be invested into our Brands for a Better World program which benefits others!

I need your VOTE to win and it looks like I have some catching up to do as voting began in May and ends in August. (Yikes!)

Top Votes=Mom Entrepreneur of the Year

All you need to do is take 2 seconds (literally) to click on any link in this email and go to my nominee Mom Entrepreneur of the Year profile and click on SUBMIT YOUR VOTE NOW.

I would also ask you to please forward this email to all the people you know who would kindly support me by voting. THANK YOU!!!!

For those of you who have not met me, below are the highlights of my nomination profile:

WHO IS: Sandy Gerber, 3 DEGREES WEST Design & Communications

-Single Mom, Lindsay(7), Jack(6)
-Partner, Successful Brand, Creative and Marketing Agency
-Child Mentor, Kidstart Mentoring Program
-Author-Mom By Design (Design the Motherhood you REALLY Want)
-Bridges To Community Volunteer (Home Builder in Nicaragua)
-Weekend To End Breast Cancer Top Fundraiser
-Artist, Published Poet and Karaoke Fan
-Kid at Heart

AWARD PLANS:
“I would celebrate accordingly – with my kids (a first time ever in Disneyland for the three of us!) and with my business partner (in developing our Brand For a Better World Program which gives to others!)” ~ Sandy Gerber

To vote: http://momentrepreneuraward.ca/MomBio.aspx?momID=362

I sincerely thank you for your time and your consideration.

Cheers,
Sandy

As I drive away from the very friendly cashier at the local Tim Hortons, I am reminded of how much Tim’s plays a role in my family.

Seems there is always a trip to Tim’s for a treat timbit box for the kids after an exciting experience, or a drive through for Mommy’s coffee on the way to school drop off, an afternoon treat with a iced cap, essential coffee stop on a roadtrip or one Sunday afternoon donut pick at the window for the kids. Funny thing, I’m not talking just about my kids, I am also relishing my memories as a kid.

Tim Hortons started as a family brand in its’ infancy with a value proposition (enrich your day with your family or daily routines with Tim’s), character of it’s unique founder and the casual, no pretense environment it evokes for its customers.

Some days I am seriously pleased as punch to go to Tim’s and grab a coffee. I FEEL their brand, loud and clear. I can wear my best leisure suit, be half asleep, mumble out an easy to give coffee order, with real sizing measures (not italian cup sizes) and be greeted with a smile and EVEN a dog biscuit for Modem.

It is a warm familiar place, like family.

The company’s marketing and advertising has never strayed from their committment to Canada and the family experiences and I am proud to support Tim Hortons. Tim Horton was an incredible man and he has made a difference to so many, with a well deserved coffee or extreme generosity in the community. I just wanted to take a minute, reflect and show gratitude today for awesome marketing, full of integrity, and a great cup of coffee. Cheers.

Seems everywhere you look online and offline these days, there is a discounted service or product available. I know the market stinks these days as we are reminded constantly by all media outlets of the impending doom of our economy. It’s just downright silly out there though, and I am seeing the direct impact on businesses’ brand and marketings plans.

The larger sized clients are cutting their budgets, but still expect the same level of service and the smaller clients are wanting more value for their dollars. Now I am all for sensible spending, however it is disheartening to see value bump up the list above quality in any brand or marketing project.

I actually know business owners who are getting their corporate identities (the cornerstone of their brands) redesigned by creative people in India for $50 and then asking small freelance companies to design and develop their site or emarketing initiative to save $. The trouble is, these decisions affect their brand and dilute the brand messaging because they are likely not working with strategy, merely execution. How do you know these “cheaper” projects will be successful? What metrics or goals were developed at the beginning of the project to determine the projected success?

These days I keep finding myself drifting back to the elementary principle and constraints of a successful project and successful project management, also know as “The Triangle”.

As defined by Wikipedia…
“This first project triangle reflects the fact that the three properties of a project are interrelated, and it is not possible to optimise all three - one will always suffer. In other words you have three options:

• Design something quickly and to a high standard, but then it will not be cheap.
• Design something quickly and cheaply, but it will not be of high quality.
• Design something with high quality and cheaply, but it will take a long time.”

Also defined by Wikipedia…
“Each side of the Project Management Triangle represents a constraint. One side of the triangle cannot be changed without affecting the others. A further refinement of the constraints separates product “quality” or “performance” from scope, and turns quality into a fourth constraint.

The time constraint refers to the amount of time available to complete a project. The cost constraint refers to the budgeted amount available for the project. The scope constraint refers to what must be done to produce the project’s end result. These three constraints are often competing constraints: increased scope typically means increased time and increased cost, a tight time constraint could mean increased costs and reduced scope, and a tight budget could mean increased time and reduced scope.”

So, in a nutshell…..The cost constraint is becoming a priority for businesses today and the remaining constraints compete therefore the project size (scope) is being reduced. As business owners in the service industry, we need to be aware of this constraint shift and present options for our clients/customers that fit within their new project requirements. Stay tuned for our new offering for clients today who have a cost constraint (no, it is not a sale)!

I had the pleasure this afternoon to interview Kye Grace, a local Vancouver Realtor……
truth be told Kye was gracious enough to be my guinea pig as I delved into the dimension of podcasting!

I hadn’t yet met Kye in person, as we’d established a two dimensional relationship through the filter of TWITTER, so as you can imagine I was curious to see how his effective online brand and personality translated in person…….is it aligned and is it authentic? By the completion of our interview I can tell you a confident YES.

The reason I asked him to join me as our first guest was because online he is a standout, a relevant voice, backed up with real action and dimension in an industry, I consider to be, filled with cardboard cutouts cut from the same old traditional marketing mold and methodology. At first glance Kye is the guy next door, with an unsuspecting, warm smile, but then you get him talking about his industry and the passion that drives him and he gets this bright, keen glint in his eyes. It’s very quickly clear that he has created his brand very deliberately, and has plans to continue be on the bleeding edge of brand marketing in this tired industry.

If you want to learn a few things about standing out with your marketing and developing a “remarkable” brand have a listen to what this local Vancouver Realtor, who is generating recognition world wide in just his first year in the business, has to say……

Podcast : Karley Cunningham, 3 Degrees West Podcast with Kye Grace a Vancouver Realtor >>

How does a brand develop, grow and survive when the company it represents does not do ANY advertising?

Consumer touch points.

When those touch points reflect the company values, mission, and goals; are delivered with consistency by the team who stands behind them; and consistent throughout their sales process, you have a SURE winner.

Recently I had a fantastic experience with the Zappos brand. As described by their founder and CEO Tony Hsieh, “We just want to be about the very best customer service and the very best customer experience.” In fact, Zappos offer $2,000 for a new employee to quit because” we want to really make sure that people are working at Zappos are truly passionate about the company,” And even though I have yet to buy a pair of shoes from them I have experienced this in just a few preliminary touchpoints.

My birthday is coming up and my folks asked me what I wanted. And the only thing I could think of was that I have been searching for my “perfect pair” of boots. To my disappointment, I haven’t been able to find them locally. I have heard great stories about? Zappos so I thought I would load up their www and see what they had to offer. (At the same time that night I was on TWITTER, twit’ing away about what I was up to, because that’s what TWITTERers do.) By default I went to www.zappos.com and started searching. (TOUCHPOINT #1: website) I was pleased to find their site was super easy to use, and was a great customer experience. The selection was incredible, so I wanted to start “adding to favourites” the styles I like to go back and compare them later and in order to do that I have to create an account. Here I encountered an obstacle…..in order for Canadian shoppers to create an account you need to go to their Zappos Canada site.

No problem. Over I went. I created my account and went back to browsing. However when I went to hit the “add to favourites button” it didn’t exist!! (I commented about this on twitter). I sat for a few minutes, disappointed and a little frustrated. I’d now spent an hour looking for shoes with no favourite list to compare. Then I remembered all the stories I’d heard about how great the brand and customer service was, and I wanted to put it to the test. (and I wanted to see if I just wasn’t seeing the button, if it might be in a different place on the Canadian site)

Within a few minutes I was on the line with a Zappos call-centre rep. (wish I could remember his name here and pay him compliments, I *think* it was William), and it wasn’t your usual customer support conversation, as within the first minute we were laughing and having an easy conversation as I explained what I had found and expressed my disappointment. (TOUCHPOINT #2: authentic customer service on a support call) William quickly logged into the site, followed my path, and said with genuine surprise, “Wow, you’re right, we don’t have that function on the Canadian site!”

Now he could’ve just left it at that with a simple apology on behalf of the company. But standing behind the over-riding value of the company, to provide the ultimate in customer service/experience, he continued, “You know Karley, that’s a really great point, thank-you for calling and pointing that out. This is something I must definitely share with IT and our managment team. In fact I’m sending them an email right now.”

My turn to say, “Wow!”

William asked if there was any other way he could assist me on the call, and we said our good-byes. And I was left feeling more than satisfied with the call, and funny enough, like I had a new friend in William - even though I’ll likely never speak to him again. (It was also during this conversation that I found out from William that Zappos does NO advertising!)

Throughout and after my call I was posting tweets about my experience, real time. And you might think this is where the story ends……no, this is just where it gets interesting……

The next morning I logged into my email, where I received frequent updates from TWITTER, including who my new followers are, among the list was a note that said, “Zappos is now following you on Twitter!” Cool! (TOUCHPOINT #3: social media connections with your target audience). And I thought that was interesting, someone at the company was obviously doing their homework and searching last nights posts on Zappos, and working on collecting a following. But what I was shocked to discover is that the face behind the TWITTER account was actually their CEO Tony Hsieh!! How cool is that and how many CEOs do you know who are that in touch with their customers?! I even DM’d (direct messaged) him a thank-you for following me, and he wrote back. Talk about transparency and authenticity!

As you can see, it’s not only the # of touchpoints you have with your audience, but also the effectiveness of each touchpoint. Even though I only experienced 3 touchpoints in that first experience with the Zappos brand I’m sure you can tell how impressed I was; and you can be sure I’ll be buying my birthday present through them!

I created a Twitter account because a person I know, who I value as an intelligent, professional business mind recommended the tool.(@BrandMaven)

My first questions were, “What is Twitter?”, “How do you use it?” and “Is it like Facebook?”- which I believe Facebook to be a cardholder for social inequities and a time waster for the popularity challenged.

To my great surprise, Twitter’s efficiency in connecting with others, broadening your personal and business networks and updating your activity to your followers is astounding! I jumped on the Twitter train, with no hesitation and I am loving the ride.

One of the things I have enjoyed most from Twitter is the learning and insight I have gleamed of the different stages I experienced in Twitterville.

From my perspective, there are really Four Stages of Twitter Life:

STAGE ONE: “The Tweetbie”

The Tweetbie is a new Twitter account owner, who has been referred to Twitter. He or she is optimistic and excited by followship growth of direct contacts and peers. The primary Tweetbie purpose of adapting to Twitter is to try the tool, to be cool. The Tweetbie typically for the first two weeks is active in posting tweets about their personal activities, food selections, weather and responds (”replies”) to his direct tweet network. He or she uses ample references to “tweet” in their posts, the Tweetbie is easy to spot.

STAGE TWO: “The TweetSpy”

The TweetSpy is a user who has been active on Twitter for a few weeks/months and is envious of profiles with tons of followers. This curious tweeter is extremely excited by receiving followship from strangers (a really cool feeling, making you feel worthy) and has dabbled in replying to people he does not know directly. The TweetSpy reads his/her tweets actively and begins to investigate the ample Twitter tools available.

*****This is a pivotal stage for the twitterer - it is at this moment that he/she chooses to make Twitter an active part of the day (read:a time committment) and he/she has shifted the posts from self confessions to responding to others and engaging potential Tweetbies from their network. The TweetSpy’s purpose is to connect with others, feel ignited by the knowledge sources and incredible possibilities of the tool.

STAGE THREE: “The TwitFix”

This stage of twittering is a blast and once you experience it, you will know the true beauty of Twitter. A TwitFix user is one who is focused on growing their followship - but for purposes of learning, growing and connection. It is at this TwitFix stage, that the Twitter user realizes how the tool connects us geographically by our profiles, interests and humour. There are conglomerate communities at this stage that enrich and focus on specific likemindedness. Some excellent examples (these are only a tiny spec of what is available):

TwitterMoms(personal fav), Authors, Coupon Crazy People, Dallas Cowboys Fans, Entrepreneurs, Firefighters, iPhone Developers, Military Family, Musicians, NASCAR, Networking Divas, Nurses, Plurk Users, Seattle SeaHawks, Small Business Owners, Tupperware Reps, Work at Home Dads, Youth Marketing and SO MANY MORE!!

There are even many tools, like the one I used for the above groups (Twitter Groups), that help you to find people and groups with shared interests.

The type of communication for the TwitFix is unique and giving. The posts are not self-serving, they are direct responses to people’s inquiries, RTs of interesting info (RT=Retweet, the biggest compliment you can give a tweeter) and humourous, genuine replies to follower posts. It is at this stage you must be FOREWARNED: DO NOT autoreply for tweet followers-it is not approved by the twitter community and almost brings you down to a Tweetbie stage.

STAGE FOUR: “The Twitistoric”

Now, this stage is hard for me to identify as simply there are few Twitistorics out there. These users are the leading edge of social media, they adopt technologies quickly, have relevant, interesting tweets and have a fantastic ability to aggregate and educate Tweetbies and TweetSpies. They are NOT Twitistoric because of their number of followers (some people will follow just to build #’s and then not be active in DMs, replies or posts). Twitistorics have been utilizing Twitter for ages, they welcome everyone, respond to DMs (1000s of them daily) and help people to embrace the tool.

Overall, the important thing to note is where you sit currently in the four stages of Twitter and where you want to be. When you are figuring that out, ask yourself, why? What stage are you aspiring to achieve with Twitter and why do you want to be there?

Me - I’m between a TweetSpy and a TwitFix, you can follow me @SandyGerber. I have definately learned that personal network posts are good for Tweetbies but responding and DMing Twitistorics provides me with way more enjoyment and education. Thank you Twitter for bringing our world together online with efficiency.

I have just returned from an incredibly life changing experience of building a house in Nicaragua for a week with an organization called Bridges To Community. Not only was I among a team of integrous, committed and loving people, I pushed my own inner boundaries in directions I did not think were possible before the trip.

I left for the journey with the intentions and expectations of following a well co-ordinated organization’s schedule and tasks and was quite confident that I would easily integrate and adopt the volunteer ways. Wow! Was I in for a surpise. You have to understand, unlike my twin sister, I have never done anything in this volunteer scale before and so obviously, what I had in mind as far as what I would give and get on this trip was way off! I EXPERIENCED a brand, like never before.

The Canadian team leader, the Bridges staff/crew and all of the volunteer team worked so cohesively ensuring that every touchpoint of the brand was exceptional while allowing for your own personal feel and extension, and it was done with authenticity!

Whether I was switching shovels with the crew and awaiting quality checks on my manual cement mixing ability, consuming delicious foods prepared laborously by the kitchen staff, struggling to communicate with the children of the village, singing with the team late in the evening, riding in the back of a pickup on the way to the worksite or absorbing the early morning and late evening sounds of the barracks…I felt a bridge to community. The community of Nicaragua, the community of the team and the community of leaders who make a difference in the world.

As a Brand Enthusiast, the experience I had with the Bridges to Community organization has made me into a champion of the brand and the company and I will be returning to build houses next year in 2010. Come join me on the Canadian Team! For more info, visit the site or join the LinkedIn Group, Bridges to Community.

In an effort to provide images for an upcoming “Brilliant (sub) Branding - Starbucks” post I encountered an interesting situation in brand protection.

I popped into a Starbucks that I don’t frequent often, with camera in hand and asked an employee if it would be okay if I took a few shots of their Christmas campaign so I could write a blog article on the greatness of this year’s campaign. I was quite startled by the response that I received, “Um………..” long pause, “You’ll have to talk to our store manager.”

Over he came after the employee explained why I was there. I knew this was going to be more difficult than I ever thought, as he walked towards me with the puffed chest of command and ownership……..

I again explained that I was a local branding expert and I wanted to promote what a great job they had done with their campaign this year. From my perspective, it would be a no brainer to allow someone a few photos so they could offer you FREE publicity, and I’d already stated that it was a positive spin. But apparently I had crossed an invisible line that alarmed the troops and was threatening a security breach of their brand!

The manager’s response, “Oh, well, I can’t allow you take any photos. You have to call our marketing department, AND our PR department and get permission.” I just stared back at him in surprise, my brain thinking, “But I’m offering you FREE advertising…….FREE.” The manager proceeded, “Wait here, I will get the numbers for you.” Into the back of the store he ran, and out with a binder twice the size of the Oxford dictionary. It took him what seemed like forever to find the number of the new PR agency, and he wrote all the numbers I had to call if I wanted to write my blog post. And my only response was a silent, “Are you kidding me?!”

Now I completely support developing a policy on how your brand is presented, how it is managed, who is allowed to manage it, etc. However when someone offers you FREE advertising, especially when they tell you they’re a fan of your brand, product, etc, you’ll want to seriously consider just how tight the reins are on your brand!! If you make it too hard for someone to promote you or your brand, if the red tape is too thick then they may just offer up the opportunity to your competition.

So you’ve invested in your brand. Maybe you’re a new start up and you’ve just worked with a design team to complete your corporate identity and your brand platform. Perhaps you are a marketing manager and you’ve just refreshed the strategy and modernized the legacy brand that you represent. Or maybe your company has experienced a merger and it was imperative for your company to completely rebrand to achieve a new face for your company and solidify the merging cultures of your team. Regardless of your situation, you’ve now got a brand platform, an investment, that you want to protect; and like any investment you make you want the value of that investment to grow.? So now begs the question, who’s managing your brand?

Without a brand manager, or better, managers, even the best strategized and designed brand will fail. The fact is that brands are organic in nature, they are living things that need to , and will, evolve; whether or not you manage them. So, it only makes sense to assign someone on your team to be your brand champion; someone who is in charge of overseeing and directing your investment.

Here are 11 tips for your brand manager to consider in helping you make the most of your new brand:

1. Upon completion of your revised brand strategy and design make sure you have a Brand Manual
2. As painful as it is, read through the Brand Manual, even if you only do it once, you will become familiar with the important details, the small nuances that make your brand unique (these are the small, but noticeable, distinctions? that will make you stand out from your competition)
3. If your brand manual could double as a barbel in your morning weight workout, ask for a condensed “Coles Notes” version to be created at the same time the full version is developed, for quick reference. Make sure it includes a copy of your company’s culture statement
4. Provide a copy of your condensed Brand Manual to all new team members, and highlight your culture statement
5. Make sure there are multiple copies (both printed and electronic) or your Brand Manual readily available for team members and suppliers to refer to
6. Review ALL collateral for Brand Identity consistency before it gets printed or launched on your website.
7. When you switch to a new external design team provide them a copy of your Brand Manual
8. To prevent your brand from going stale be open to evolution - take small steps and document them so others know what’s happening and why
9. When selecting an external design team consider one that has expertise in multiple areas (print, web, p.o.p, etc) so that fewer hands touch your brand - creative types have a tendency to be independent want to go their own way with things, the fewer of them, the fewer you have to herd!
10. Don’t be afraid to take ownership of the brand you have been asked to manage, your boss with thank-you
11. At the end of a set term (each quarter, every 6 months, or yearly) sit down with a team, a collection all of your marketing/advertising collateral and review it? to evaluate the health of your brand

A funny and exciting day at the office today as we tuned into the online broadcast of the Bill Good show:

11:00 NEXT ON CKNW’S BILL GOOD SHOW, WE’LL TALK WITH SOME OF BC’S TOP ENTREPRENEURS UNDER THE AGE OF 40 ABOUT HOW THEY ARE MANAGING THROUGH THEIR FIRST ECONOMIC STORM.

As Bill is introducing the three selected entrepreneurs for the show, Karley and I realize TWO of them are existing clients of 3 Degrees West!! It was so exciting. Maybe it’s the mom in me, but I felt very proud and excited for them and delighted to be on their incredible team supporting their business growth. Both clients, Rochelle Grayson (The Donat Group) and Mike Desjardins (ViRTUS Inc.) are incredibly inspiring leaders AND they are open to innovation and recommendations on evolving their brands. Karley and I thoroughly enjoyed executing these brand reVitalizations as they were strategic, exciting and fun.

The broadcast archive of the show is available in the CKNW Audio vault and you will need to select Tuesday Dec. 16th at 11am to hear the show. I highly recommend it as not only is there incredible insight on how entrepreneurs can weather this “recession”, but also, some very funny snippets (listen for the turkey flying comment).

Bill Good & Mike Desjardins (ViRTUS Inc)