Anyone who knows me, knows I LOVE change. All good things come from change but also it forces you to remember the great moments and memories you had before the change came.

1085 Memories and Moments:
-Mike’s invitation to share space over coffee
-Morning gabs and laughs with Brie and Shannon
-Dog Wrestling (Chelsea, Modem, Angel, Chico, Goldie)
-Karley’s office move/setup surprise
-WTF Workshops
-Couch heart to hearts
-Unveiling the ViRTUS web design
-The Alarm Tripping (usually done by me-scared of alarms)
- Top Ten chalkboard list in the kitchen
-Tuna smell from Microwave (not a fav for Karley)
-Starbucks runs
-Christmas Decorations extraordinaire!
-Brie’s candle zen office
-Chico’s Courier Dog Attack
-Placement of our logo on building
-Vision Board making
-Amazing Garbage Cleaner (seriously we thought there were cleaners, found out 15 months in that Brie was emptying our garbages!)
-Modem’s bed in the cables under my desk
-Pride of our office and our shared office team
-Laughs, laughs and more laughs.

All bittersweet, can’t wait to see what comes next…

*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

Each book contains 6 cards which the book owner uses to uncover clues to a great mystery. There are 39 clues in total and 19 have been released to date. Not only is the marketing and visual creative design very appealing and relevant to the target book reader audience, there is a web platform which takes the series and reading experience to a new level entirely.

The website is very well designed, has an incredible animated mission/ game area (Arena 39) and offers rich interactive features for the 39 Clues book /game community. The real clincher is that the series offers over $100,000 in prizes to the clue hunters who succeed.

I am half way through the first book, The Maze of Bones with my children and we have succeeded Missions #1, 2, 3 and 4. My kids now know about the Bermuda Triangle, the Titanic, Amelia Earhart, Budapest, the Pyramids and more!

My son is eager to attempt Mission 5 and is anxious for the mission to be unlocked in September (they do not say which day to keep you checking the site).

Various authors contribute to the 39Clues series and there are also additional cards you can purchase to assist you in getting your clues.

In my opinion,  39 Clues is a complete success of marketing, education and merchandising. Well done Scholastic!!!!

Apparently someone decided to place some “malware” on our server and compromised our code by placing an automatic download on anybody’s computer that visited 3 Degrees West. Ya, all priorities that day came to a halt and Karley and I urgently began investigating this nonsense. We were obviously concerned about the security of our visitors but also we were greatly concerned for the negative impact this intrusion would have on our brand.

We immediately placed a fun dead bird on a wire image up on the site and made light of the “doofuses” that did this to us, while we stripped the code and cleaned all permissions on the site and server files.

I had no idea that fixing the site would just be the start of the journey to brand redemption. Ugh.

When I went on to Twitter to earn sympathy from my fellow tweeters for this incredible inconvenience, I discovered my Twitter account had been suspended! Apparently the malware affected a Twitter program and as such I was banned from tweeting and continue to be right now (god, help me).

As far as engaging Google’s trust again for our site and removing any messaging about our site, we have to go through the site review process again and this takes time. I have resubmitted the site and I am concerned how this will affect our search standings which we worked so hard on to improve with our newest website update. **I have a vision of a 30 something person, isolated in their home computer dungeon, spouts of evil laughing at his/her destruction**

Anyways, I won’t even try to understand why someone does this type of thing, obviously it must be for some twisted sense of adventure, losers.

So, as I am always trying to find the upside in a  negative situation (once the emotion wears off, of course); we discovered we were not being indexed by Google Sitemaps in the investigation process and as such, have now implemented that for our site. (Take that, malware messenger!)

The ripple effect on our brand from the Twitter suspension and Google Site review is unknown, but it is definately a reminder that technology can affect your brand, at your hand, or others.

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.

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 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 >>

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’m on the bus to Leon, driving through Masaya, taking in everything as we progress outside the city and I am struck by the reactions of my team members to the visual imagery they are encountering. Some people are amazed by the transit uniquenesses of the country (motorcycles with multi-passengers, rickshaw “taxis”, oxen pulled wagons, troupes of people standing in back of pickup trucks, etc.). Others are drawn to the people, stoic and calm, almost timeless in their duties. Me, on the other hand, I am completely focused on the advertising and brand marketing presence in Nicaragua. (hey, it’s who I am)

Among the stable of brands being marketed redundantly (and I mean redundantly, with stacked billboards) were Coca-Cola, Del Monte, Esso, Eskimo, Victoria and Tona (beer brands I personally tasted and highly support) and Colgate. These brands utilized marketing mediums standard to the North American market and in some weird way provided me with some comfort and familiarity in Nicaragua.

Two brand marketing campaigns completely stood out for me, one for the use of colour and one for their communication tone…

(For those of you living under a rock, Kotex is a feminine protection product). In a country so heavily riddled with alcoholism, poverty and single mothers, it was not surprising that a necessity brand for women was so highly advertised. After viewing many of the Kotex billboards and poster signage placements, the entire team started doing a “Kotex Alert”, everytime they saw the colour pink. BRIGHT pink usage in all of the Kotex advertising was overstated (to say the least) yet very effective in idenifying and remembering the brand. I don’t know if the Kotex product packaging in Nicaragua or North America is pink, (will be checking next time I am in the aisle) but let’s hope so for their sake.

(Internet and phone service provider) You don’t even need to know spanish to be affected by this brand. It is EVERYWHERE and each message is visual and effective. The logo alone is a fantastic icon to express their ability to connect people and their marketing is friendly.

Their taglines used frequently are “Que tienes ma”(slang term said, when people understand you) and “La navidaden la palma de tu mano” (the world is in the palm of your hand). They have an approachability in their brand that draws the consumer to their products, a memorable and friendly corporate identity and a credibility in their offers as the marketing placement is vast.

The two above brand marketing examples are excellent at showcasing successful colour usage and communication tone in your marketing. I look forward to seeing new players in this arena, next year when I go back to build another home for a family.