moBiLOG: Suns wax Kings

Thank you Sac Bee for use of the hospitality suite. Those mini
burritos were delicious. But, boy were they filling.

Thank you,
Sterling

Sent from my yuppie iPhone

Bagna Calda Night

Bagna Calda Night has been attended by the Wiskerchen (and relatives) clan for, man, probably 20+ years. This was my second year in attendance. Anything I do twice is considered, on my island, tradition.

20 or so gather in the heavy, plastic enclosed porch at Chris' aunt and uncle's out near Mogul. Space heaters keep us warm. Wine flows. 8 electric skillets with oil, garlic and butter await our dumping meat, veggies and more meat and veggies in the hot, bubbling love.

Bagna Calda is absolutely a smell disaster. You REEK after, so the preferred method is wear old clothes that you don't mind getting messed up with stank. Last year, Chris surmised that we should just shop Saver's for the clothes. One thing leads to the next and you've got yourself a multi generational freak show with flare to spare.

Enjoy... (click on any photo to link to the slideshow)

What's good for the goose is good for the gander.

I do the 'subscribe' thing for media research and statistics. I came across this blurb from the Center for Media Research. The scientists at the Center walk around with PDA's and take notes while observing people in glass enclosures. This time, they peeked in on web socialites...

Thursday, December 27, 2007

Emotional Business Bonding on Social Networks

New research from Communispace, supporting the hypothesis that people are looking to fulfill six essential social needs online, and drawing on the Maslow hierarchy of human needs, concludes that businesses that help facilitate those needs are more likely to create deeper emotional bonds than usually exist between companies and customers.

In the report by Julie Schlack, Michael Jennings and Manila Austin "Meeting Business Needs by Meeting Social Needs...", the Communispace researchers, building on the work of social scientists, have identified the specific social needs that are met through participating in social networks.

The study addresses "Six Social Needs" and relates them to Online social networks, suggesting that business can take advantage of these observations in creating more affinity with their prospects and customers.

1. Online social networks provide people with the ultimate tool for defining and redefining themselves, as evidenced in profile pages on Facebook and MySpace.
2. The need for autonomy, recognition and achievement are essential to our sense of self-worth and are fulfilled in online communities, blogs, and social networks that provide a way to develop and manage a virtual reputation.
3. People have a need to both seek and provide help to others. Mutual assistance between strangers is a phenomenon that has been uniquely enabled by the Internet.
4. Online communities are becoming the way people find, create and connect with others "just like me" - people who share similar tastes, sensibilities, orientations or interests.
5. A sense of belonging or affiliation alone is not equivalent to a true sense of community. Achieving a real sense of community requires long-lasting reciprocal relationships and a mutual commitment to the needs of the community as a whole.

Communispace referenced its other research on social networking behavior and found that when companies meet the full range of social needs, they gain trust and deep insights into their consumers and community members. And when companies go still further to actively embrace and act on people's ideas they fulfill a sixth social need.

1. People want to be reassured of their worth and value, and seek confirmation that what they say and do matters to others and has an impact on the world around them. Meeting all 5 + 1 of these social needs generally requires the level of intimacy and facilitation that are the hallmarks of smaller, invitation only online communities.

The study abstract and additional information about Communiscape can be found here.

Ok, so here's what I like about this: it puts the gun in your hand and more fish in the barrel in regards to target marketing. Consumers are gathering in networks, making it known what they like and don't like, what they will use and not use, and then providing opportunities for the marketplace to insert relevant information that may, or may not, lead to a sale. Consumers say, "I choose you." and then give you the gate key. I'm not going to go into the diatribe about brand value, it's obviously the car that got you to the gate in the first place, but I must admit that social networks are creating marketing dynamics like nothing ever seen before. Your brand has to, somehow, validate someone according to these six criteria. Brushing with Crest makes me important because they donate toothpaste to poor communities in (x) and I care about the (x) people! I subscribe to a blog from a person who writes about the (x) people. I'm going to tell my friends about it. What we are creating is a culture of brand advocates thru networks. These networks have always existed, loosely, with the brand advocates generally being housewives or Buick owners, etc. Now, we have aggressive networks with the ability, as read about in Malcom Gladwell's The Tipping Point, to move a brand up in the food chain virally. And in a lot of cases for reasons that have nothing to do with the product, but something the brand is doing that resonates with the community. What's good for the goose is good for the gander. Right?

I am compelled to write down a list of brands I use regularly and communicate the qualities that keep my eye on their ball. I bet I come across a few, with scrutiny, that have some sort of social marketing aspect. Uh, oh. I think a new module is about to grow legs on the old bloggerooney.

moBiLOG: do I need this?

Hats off to the Melting Pot, location of the company Christmas dinner.

P.S.
I was just thinking about how many companies canceled their Christmas Party this year, in particular our largest client who throws an absolute doozy. They are a home builder, so you can understand why. We had a very turbulent year as well. Sometimes I had to entertain the thought of 'what now?' and thankfully we came up with some bold moves to keep us moving forward.
I'm thankful for the group at Media Directions and Turn 2 Powersports Marketing. We're a small, scrappy, innovative and absolutely determined office with vision, passion (overused but legit) and education.
2008... we're comin' for that ass! YOU get ready.

And So This Is Christmas... here it is right on time

Time for me to post Charlie Brown's Christmas Kwanzaa. Long live the tradition.

My Christmas Card 2007

moBiLOG: nuff said

moBiLOG: guitar hero 2

The addiction continues.

Get uncomfortably energetic with Power Thirst

Boldly Go

I was recently in Scottsdale pitching my services (marketing, branding, advertising) to a variety of motorcycle dealers from all over the country. My pitch was conducted over a two day period, 9 meetings per day, 40 minutes of one-on-one with the dealership principal. It was an amazing opportunity to survey the triumphs and failures from market to market of businesses using basically the same marketing schemes. Not surprisingly, those that had never used an agency were frustrated with their marketing and further, most of them had no marketing plan to speak of. The theme that came up time after time was cutting of the marketing budget as sales have slowed - an overall trend. I kept replaying the Old Spice commercial in my head, where the guy is in the locker room just after playing basketball and realizing his choice of deodorant matters. “I used to think cutting my marketing budget was a good idea (turns to different camera); DUMB.”

Cutting your marketing budget in a down market is like a NASCAR driver pulling into the grass and stopping if there’s a wreck ahead. Down markets are a car wreck and you should boldly go, maintain levels and use the situation to gain on the field. Now is your opportunity to work harder than you ever have to take the advantage and surpass your competition. Stand on the gas, break from the pack and gain the favor of a segmented and finicky customer base that wants to know why they should choose your brand over another. And everyone loves a winner. So win.

In all of my meetings during the Scottsdale trip, there was only one business owner that walked into my hotel room and really understood the value of what I was offering. Ron Glassman, with his son, owns one of the largest dealerships in the country. Mr. Glassman is near retirement age, comes from the car business originally and has seen every peak and valley our economy has thrown at him. And his philosophy is absolutely dead on: Maintain your advertising and sell your way out of a down market. I can’t express the rush that I got listening to this man explain his point of view. You have to appreciate a man that is basically saying it’s up to a business owner to understand the value of their business is their brand and their position in the market place is directly related to the amount of effort exerted — consistent excellence during the pre-purchase, purchase and post purchase customer experience — to maintain that position. If the guy across the street cuts his marketing in half, your marketing values just doubled and if you have the better brand, the better staff and the better promise, your business just doubled, too.

A down market can be a scary thing, but the truly successful business professionals in any field understand that down markets have consistently produced giant opportunities. Build your brand, maintain consistency and you will have customers for life. Guaranteed.

Sterling Doak is a brand strategist and creative director at Media Directions, a premier marketing firm in Reno, Nevada.

moBiLOG: keeping it sexy

I like my old school crib because I have a wood burning fireplace. It is nice to have the new cabinets, marble counters and oval soaking tub; at some point I will enjoy those luxuries. But for the moment, it is nice to stoke the fire. The sound of wood burning is magical...like listening to the breath rapidly expelled from a dissapointed Christams shopper when the salesperson explains the last {enter inferior electronic device here} was just sold moments ago. Maybe your little fat nephew will be happy with a gym membership instead. Nothing says holidays like exhaustion and exacerbation.
Enjoy!

One week without a car

I'm a BMW owner. I love my 3 series. I bought it used a few years ago. It's a 2000 with 80k on it and it runs like Carl Lewis. I purchased this vehicle because I wanted something that would run deep into the ODO, go fast, have top notch fit and finish and not be a Honda. I own the car, so at this point the only payments I make on it are to the mechanic for routine maintenance. Well, the old bird came down with a cracked radiator, so I shuffled her on over to AutoMotion. I'm plugging these guys because they kick serious ass. They do everything the local BMW dealer does except they do it from the front, where I can plainly see if I might be getting... expletive omitted.

Anyway, I take the car is last week. I had to leave for business to Scottsdale Sunday, so I dumped the rig off in hopes that it would good to go when I got back. It wasn't. The shop has had a comedy of errors trying to get the correct part - bla bla - cool thing is they eventually had to nix the after market and go with factory parts. Generally, this means I pay more, but because they have taken an extraordinary amount of time, they ate the cost. Nice of them. But this isn't the point of the story.

I was just doing some laundry and thought to myself how it really hasn't bothered my not having a car for a week. Sure, it's a pain in the ass, but I've been able to do everything I needed to do. Now, a few months back I broke my smart phone and I almost lost my mind. It's just very interesting to me that, given the choice, I would almost rather forgo transportation in favor of my means of communication. And that is b.s. What the hell good are all these forms of communication good for it there's nothing to talk about?

When the car comes back home, I'm going to make a pact with her: we're going to travel more next year. More trips to the bay, national parks, Vegas, Oregon... hell, might even go see my man Kevin in Phx. Who knows how many miles are left on her. She should see some good road before she goes. I can survive without my phone, I can't survive not having an adventure to call about.

moBiLOG: Phx airport is home away from home

I love this place because they have free WiFi. Anyway, just leaving
via Scottsdale where we met and pitched 18 Powersports (bikes, ATVs,
snowmobiles, etc) dealers from around the country. We provide brand
strategy and basic marketing services and were well recieved. This
particular industry is, frankly, behind the curve on marketing
practices and we didnt know to what degree we would be persuasive.
Well, we were.

When I'm settled I'll break it down. Stay tuned.

Thank you,
Sterling Doak

Sent from my yuppie iPhone

moBiLOG: last Nevada homegame

Currently 38F and smirky at the stadium.

moBiLOG: fake tree is up

Hoisted the fakie. Christmas just got upgraded to full blown jabam.

Music Makes the World Go 'Round

If you look down on the right hand side of the page, I have all my Pandora stations listed. Pandora is rad. Hoist one up and have a hear.
Cheers!

Giving Thanks and Finding Peace

It's been extremely hectic since returning from Thanksgiving holiday in Albuquerque and I just have the opportunity to catch up and write on the subject. It was a bitter sweet trip.

My mom and I flew in T-day from Reno. Most of our family is still there - both sides. I stayed and feasted with my Grandparents, aunt and uncle (my father could not make it in from Indiana) while mom went to her cousin's. I had a wonderful time and always love seeing my GP'z. Thanksgiving was very quite with only five of us, really cozy. We had a chance to catch up on their recent trip to Williamsburg and future plans to travel back to Europe one last time. I just can't express how cool it is to hear about their adventures. I believe my sense of adventure comes from hearing them talk over coffee about all the places they have traveled to. When I was very young, they would have friends over and show slide shows of trips overseas. I am thankful they traveled and inspired me to do the same. Anyway, I'll be back in February to see them and meet up with my pop for some skiing in Santa Fe and giant plates of juevos rancheros.

A few days a large portion of my mom's side of the family got together to spread the ashes of my cousin, who recently past at the young age of 34, and his mother, who expired some year's ago. My uncle Bill and cousin James spread mother and son's ashes in a small river outside of Santa Fe where Bill and Helena conceived Zia. It was very peaceful and a beautiful experience. Back to the earth, back home.

Rest in peace my friends. You loved and were beloved.

VISIT THE PHOTO SET HERE

MoBiLOG: back at Phx airport

So far, so good. Flight seems to be on time for Reno. The only omen
was the airline posting the wrong flight number. It was corrected.
Don't let me down Phx.

Thank you,
Sterling Doak

Sent from my yuppie iPhone

Mobile blog: wow

Happy Tha ... Tha... Th, Th...ahhhh hell with it. Just cut a hole
open and jam some pie in there.

Mobile blog: renting a car at Abq

Within a span of 30 seconds, Craig T Nelson and one of the Arkins
walked past me. They weren't traveling together. Last time I was here
it was Val Kilmer. Must be snow at Taos.

Thank you,
Sterling Doak

Sent from my yuppie iPhone

Mobile blog: Phx airport

The Phx airport is my fucking arch nemisis. I can't remember the last
time I had a flight on time here. I'm on my way to Abq and thankfully
we got a head start on these punk asses. The glazed ham jabaam is
still on!

Of note: these birds in the airport. Wow...where do I start with that?
Lazy piece of shit birds.

Living in the Amazon.com

I was watching PBS last night, Charlie Rose, and Jeff Bezos was on. Amazon just released the AmazonKindle, a digital reader. I am always impressed with Bezos and how he presents his products in a rolled up sleeve fashion. Not only is he completely lucid in his predictions, he seems genuinely lost in the forest of the Amazon.com jungle of new products, yet able to maintain a a lifeguard's perch on the company's visions of the digital future.

I love the Kindle idea. I'm becoming a person who likes to carry less and less with me - I recently bought an iPhone and my iPod rarely leaves the car now and my lap top is usually on house arrest - so the idea of taking many books, articles, etc with me on the road is an amazing prospect. Bezos claims all information is destined to be digital, I agree. But my question is... if we are destined for a paperless environment, what's going to happen to all the forests 500 years from now? Obviously, digital toilet paper is on the horizon, but seriously... I would love to be a fly on the way hundreds of years from now when EVERYTHING is made of wood again because these damn trees are EVERYWHERE.

George Washington's teeth would be proud.

Nevada vs Hawaii Pregame Post

Dude, the internet freaks me out sometimes. I'm getting ready to write a short blurb about anticipating the game tonight, and in the process I do a quick search for some info. I Google 'Nevada vs Hawaii' and I click on a link for Yahoo's Upcoming. Okay, fine. But then I look to the right and I see in attendance Ryan Jerz. Recently, I invited Ryan to speak at an ad club luncheon, with others, on Web 2.0. As part of the Web 2.0 speaker selection process, I began to do a ton of research on Web 2.0. and really started to feel the geek inside me start to stand erect. I had one of those 2001 A Space Odyssey moments... dun duuuuunnnnn.... DUN dun DUN dun DUUUU. (I still don't understand why I can't listen to sounds clips on Wikipedia). Anyway, the point of all this is, just the mere coincidence of seeing Ryan's group on Yahoo randomly has made me rethink this Web 2.0 community we're living in now. You don't just randomly run into people online, you run in networks. Your moving around looking for things and you bump into other people and I'm finding it to be pretty cool actually.

Alright, off of that and on to this. It's pre-game. The NEVADA football game is tonight vs undefeated Hawaii. We have a great record against Hawaii, so tonight could be the big upset. It's going to be cold out there, and Hawaii is a sheltered bunch of women. Yeah, yeah I made a feminist joke. Call Phil Jackson for my appology. I got my thermos, puffy jacket and custom Wolfpack hat (in the shape of a wolf's head). I stole it from the Wall. I'm ready! GO PACK!

6am

Sometimes I wake up early. I caught this piece of action at 6am - marble sky.

The Bryan Mcardle/Nate Coats Birthday Experience

Most of the gang got together last night to celebrate the aging of two great guys. I've known both of these gents for a few years now, and have celebrated their birthdays independently, but never in tandem. I think it worked out well. I always like the conglomerate birthday because you generally get a larger and more diverse group, which makes for big fun.

We generally do a dinner for the birthdays - as I think most people do. This night we ate Sushi. In attendance were Bryan and his girlfriend Michelle, Tyler, Chris, Matt, Nate and girlfriend Beth, finally, Todd. Todd was the wildcard here - he drove all the way down from Incline Village, needing some MANTIME as he just broke up with his lady of many months. Todd is like the Autobahn and I think she was driving a Honda Accord. Here are some photos from dinner. Nothing of note happened except overeating, a few choice jokes (I told a sushi joke - I asked the guy for a Godzilla Handroll) and some good conversation.

(from top : me and T-Bone, Bryan and Michelle, Quail Egg Shooters, Todd gives the all go, Matt and Nate, Chris points with choppers)

Our next stop was the bowling alley. We've started bowling again as the weather turns colder. We've been a few times in the last few weeks, and I think I'm finally at the point where I need my own ball and shirt to seal the deal. It won't make me bowl better, but it will put the pressure on to act like I know what the hell I'm doing.

Because this was a birthday celebration - shit got a little, well, fun. The group at large bowled about three games. A few of us die hards went on to bowl a total of five games. Basically we shut the place down - pretty standard procedure for this crew.

(from top Todd plays some competitive sports, Vern throws the domestic violence ball, Nate in action, Nate impressed with himself )

Of note: because Todd is the Autobahn, he has few limits. Drinking is one of them. I give you... a pint of Jager!



Good night sweet prince.

Booty Call

I was in Sactown today. News Station 10, out there, has a live morning show that follows Good Morning America (I believe?) and one of our clients, a developer, has been sending the VP of Sales out to pitch their condos in the Sacramento Valley. He's a good guy. 25 and Special Ed - got it made.
Anyway, I get to the studio to meet the VP there. We're in the green room shooting the shit about nothing in particular and I hear... loud celebrity banter in the hallway. Let me preface: I have not been around a lot of celebs, and even when I am, generally I don't approach them for autographs or photos. I figure there are two types of celebs - those that want to be left alone, and those that make a spectacle, thus inviting the attention (usually promoting something). Ok, three if you count those that are habitual line steppers, repeatedly busted for snorting cocaine off the airfoil of their Porsche and inflict collateral damage to a vehicle with an umbrella... in Los Angeles...with an umbrella. I will tell you here and now - this guy doesn't have an umbrella. He's come to the morning show because he's performing at a local comedy club (clue number two) and being interviewed to plug the show.
The Celeb comes in and immediately takes the time to say hello to everyone, though never introducing himself to the four people in the green room. Only the VP and I are of the age group to know who The Celeb is - MTV generation (final clue). The Celeb starts asking why my client is on the show, condos, how much, where... Jesus, I think, are we going to get a sale right here? I begin to feel a public relations hard on emerging. Dear Lord, the Celeb buys condo from my client, photo op, front page, ding, ding, ding, ding! But then, as it appears the Celeb is just chatty, I lose blood flow. Must say that Celeb is very engaging and actually quite nice.
The Celeb is obviously part of a well oiled schedule, because he is not in the green room more than 2 minutes before he's on the air. The Celeb is a pro and his interview turns to a movie he made some years back. Not a great movie, but the Celeb created a catch phrase, from which the movie got is title, back in the day. The interplay with the hosts is great, the movie banter leads to banter about what the movie means and before you know, the Celeb has every woman in the building bantering on this lap. The Celeb is laughing and having a very jovial time as they exit to commercial. Brilliant. The Celeb is a bona fide pimp.
I won't bore you with how the VP's segment went, because only Burt Reynolds, early 1970's style nudity would be more entertaining, but it went well. I remain in the green room. I hear the Celeb coming up the hall, still being followed by his impromptu harem. Quickly, I pop up and duck my head out the door and say, "Hey, Bill. Great segment. Best of luck with the shows. And, would it be ok if I got a pic with you?" The Celeb is accommodating. Ladies and gents, give it up for a hell of a guy and coiner of the term 'booty call', Bill Bellamy.

Sharing the weekend

The weekend

Sometimes people ask, "How was your weekend?" Usually I say it was great. Sometimes I think I should share it. So, here it is:
It was a very relaxing weekend for the most part. Friday, me and my 'special friend' went to see the Dancing Queen at the Eldorado. Let me preface the situation while you wipe up the drink you just spit out, ok? Ok. My friend is a dancer, so I thought, "Hey, what a nice thing for me to do for her." See, I'm not a complete {expletive deleted}. I like to do things for people when I know they will appreciate it. We had dinner at Bistro Roxy, which was lovely. I got a {expletive deleted} up look from the waiter when I asked for the bottomless pasta bowl and took my shoes off. Eventually they were able to calm me and get my shoes back on. I ordered us a nice steak. {expletive deleted}. Anyway, great food. I was in rare form and we spent the next hour laughing and eating. I'm really good on dates. I make my dates laugh. I think this is the purpose for going out to dinner; to amuse your date. But that's just how Sturbo rolls the dice. Anyway, back to the story: The Dancing Queen is one of those canned, live casino shows downtown. I'm not going to go into great detail, but I will tell you right now that I was just expecting to sit thru this show, smile and be nice. {expletive deleted} that {expletive deleted}. From go this thing was hilarious. Everyone on stage was homosexual - I love gay people, don't get me wrong - but this was over the top. These people were not only gay, but British. Which is another realm of gay. ShowGay. No one said the thing was a comedy. I was doubled over the entire time, so was my date and so was the lady behind us. Great show, made our night.
Moving on to Saturday...
I have a large tree in my front yard. You see where I'm going with this, right? Yes, I was time to get Ryan Leaf out of the front yard. My roommate's (Tyler) boy (the Man) was here this weekend, so we put said Man to work. But only after we made a {expletive deleted} island size nacho platter.

Here are some photos from the yard.


How cute is this little bastard (actually not a bastard, I know where both of his parents are). And then he played us a song.

Yeah, I know. It makes you want to have one, right. WRONG. Anyway, onward.
Saturday night was my mom's birthday dinner at Johnny's. I had the Penne Alla Vodka. Lovely evening. Friends and family. Gave mom a car detail. I do it every year. We broke the rule and sang. She was NOT amused.
Sunday...
I got up and cleaned the shit out of my car because I think a bear had been living in it. I surmised by the 4lb dump on the floorboard and various candy wrappings. Then off to Adam's to watch some tackle football and play some Nintendo Wii. Today I bowled a personal high of 224 with 5 strikes in a row. I bowled like {expletive deleted} the rest of the day.


At the moment, I am home and getting ready to watch the rest of the Cowboy game. Go 'boys.
Thank you, and good night. Oh, and have a nacho. We still have some left.

First things first

I'm trying to rock a cross blog from my Myspace and I get this action:

"Sorry! an unexpected error has occurred.
This error has been forwarded to MySpace's technical group."

C'mon MyspaceGoogleTimeGEMicrosoftStarbucks
get your shit together.