Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Season's Greetings!

While I was waiting

The excitement of food, gifts, meeting family and friends, and leaving work early during the holiday season can come to a staggering halt when you see those dreaded words “flight delayed” or “cancelled.” Nature cannot always be predicted and with the increase of holiday travel, we should expect the unexpected. My record for waiting on a flight is twelve hours, which doesn’t compare to those who’ve endured weekend sleepovers on an airport bench because of severe weather. The high possibility of delayed flights around winter and the holiday season should be expected and one should come prepared.

For those of us who didn’t come prepared:

What services and features does your airport offer?
Pearson Airport in Toronto has “10 minute manicure.” Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport offers “The Airport Art Program,” which has sculptures, paintings and installations setup throughout the airport. Some of the pieces are for sell.

Scan the area
With all these people waiting around someone has to be flying solo or willing to engage in a conversation. Scan the area, break the ice with your neighbor, see who’s sitting or standing alone.

Shop around
Every airport should come equipped with a bookstore. Browsing through the latest periodicals is a great way to past time and to learn something new.

Hone in
It’s okay to listen to someone’s conversation. Chuckle at their jokes to lighten the mood, and slowly invite yourself into the conversation by adding a few words of your own. Proceed with caution because every conversation may not be so inviting.

Get your monies worth
Do you know every feature on your $600 phone? Now is the perfect time to figure it out.

One Word
Sudoku

Naked Ring Finger
See that lady over there? Let’s see what you got!

Year End Assessment
This is a perfect time to evaluate yourself and any goals that you set out to accomplish before the year end. New Years is right around the corner, jot down resolutions for the upcoming year.

Explore and find out what your airport has to offer and if nothing else you can always eat at the concessions.

Monday, December 22, 2008

We're in the November/December 2008 Issue of GD USA!





Sojo's Self-Promotional piece, Do you know Sojo? can be found in this month's GD USA!

Monday, December 8, 2008

Don't Cut the Budget, Just Change It!

Often times during tough financial times, companies feel like they should cut some unnecessary spending. And more often than not, the marketing department is the first area to get budget cuts. Various studies over the years, however - like the ones featured on the Financial Times website, prove that marketing is beneficial and even crucial, in times of recession.




According to one study featured on Financial Times, Kellogg's maintained its marketing spending during the 1930s depression, while Post did not. Kellogg then dominated the dry cereal market for the next half-century. As shown in a McKinsey & Company report, the companies who increased their spending in a recession were the only ones whose profits rose substantially when the economy recovered.

The companies that kept their marketing budget in tact, or increase them, were able to keep their voice heard, thus allowing consumers to stay familiar with their brand. And by keeping or increasing their marketing budget, these companies were able to increase market share and profitability over time, ultimately making their companies stronger players than the companies that decreased or eliminated their marketing spending.

Friday, December 5, 2008

It's snowing!

There's some light snowing going on at Sojo Lounge! Kind of like the snow we actually had here in Atlanta, Georgia earlier in the week!

The weather forecast is predicting it to snow all month long at Sojo Lounge.

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Can I have your attention please: Banner Ads


Has anyone noticed that banner ads are a lot sexier than they use to be? These mini, yet flashy animations are much more impressive than their static counterparts that were displayed back in the day. Unfortunately, flashy doesn’t necessary mean a hit. A “hit” is when the user actually selects the banner ad to view the web page.

Banner ads are key components of branding a company’s identity. Ideally, the company wants you to click the ad, visit their site and hopefully purchase something. A memorable ad may stick around unconsciously and the viewer may search for that product or service at a later time. Many people have caught on to the schemes of online freebees and the success rate of banner ads have dropped since their initial introduction. The integrity that a company upholds in the public’s eye is key to their longevity. If the product or service can’t be offered for free then maybe providing general information or a discount is more suitable.

Getting your banner on sites that has major traffic can be costly but the ROI may be worth it. Sites that are targeted more should equal more hits for your banner. There are also businesses that will post your banner ad on publisher’s web sites. A less costly route is to exchange banner space with a partner or client, which is where building relationships can finally pay-off.

Annoying as some ads may be, banner ads can be just as entertaining as a new movie preview. With applications such as Adobe Dreamweaver, Adobe Flash and Paint Shop Pro, these compressed, interactive and motion packed ads can deliver an entertaining message.

Ads on Tests and Quizzes?












After budget cuts, a teacher at a San Diego high school decided to cover his printing costs by selling ads on the bottom of his test and quiz papers! Two-thirds of the ads are inspirational messages written by parents. Two ads were from an engineering firm and a dentist office. With the ad sells, the teacher surpassed the amount needed for all his printing needs for that semester!

Tough times call for more creativity!

source: USA Today