The Daily Krier

I was on a call earlier today with an organization wanting to do business with the company I work for.  It continues to amaze me just how desperate companies are in these challenging economic times — offering discounts right off the bat.  A rep from this organization was telling me that they’ve had incredible response for an event they are holding in a few weeks, that registration is up over last year. I find that really hard to believe when I hear that companies are slashing travel budgets, advertising expenses and trade show participation.  For example, a very large consumer products company based in Southeastern Wisconsin has cut all trade show participation and most advertising and is trying to come up with ways to reposition their higher-end product to make sure that sales don’t fall off too drastically.  Yes these are challenging times but they also offer marketing professionals great opportunities for innovation and creativity. What great ideas have you come up with?  I’d love to hear them.

I was having a discussion with a co-worker today about technology and how quickly things change.  It’s so easy now to query Google to find a quick answer to a question or to find a resource.  It’s hard to think back to the “old school” way of doing research like when I was in high school — going to the library, looking things up in books, etc.  I wonder how different things will be when my kids are in school.  They are little now (one is 2, the other is 8 months) but in a couple of years when my older son starts K4 I can’t even fathom what tools will be available to him.  At the daycare they attend now, I see kids — little kids — using a computer. Granted, they’re just playing a game but still, it shows how ingrained technology is from early on.  I can’t wait to see what my kids learn and can teach me.

So on a whim a couple of weeks ago, I submitted an application for a contest here in Milwaukee  through Fitness Together that’s along the lines of The Biggest Loser.  While not significantly overweight, I could stand to lose about 20 pounds.  My application talked about how I’m balancing work, raising two small children (ages 2 and 8 months), etc.  Plus I threw in there how active I am in social media and my use of LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, this blog, etc., all in the hopes that they’d see how much free PR they’d get if they selected me.  Well it must’ve worked because I found out today that I’ve made the initial cut.  So now I’m onto Round 2 which consists of a lengthy questionnaire followed by an in-person interview next week.  Read the rest of this entry »

Ever have one of those days where you feel like you’re spinning your wheels and not going anywhere?  I feel like I have those days a lot lately.  There are a lot of projects in process, yet getting traction on any of them is challenging.  Like the American Marketing Association, for example. I’m the president of the local chapter and just last Friday I secured the final board member for next year’s board. What an accomplishment!  Then today I find out one of them may not be able to serve after all.  So here I am again, trying to find yet one more volunteer to fill a position.  

That’s why this blog is so good for me.  The title makes me accountable for posting daily so at least I feel like I’m accomplishing something each day.  Plus it gets my creative juices flowing.  Now if I could only cross something else off my to-do list everyday!

So I’m sitting here watching The Food Network, one of my fav cable channels, and a woman identified as a “7-11 Expert” was just interviewed.  I wonder…..what made this woman so interested in 7-11 that she’s now a recognized expert?  Is she some random 7-11 fan or (more likely) does she work in 7-11′s marketing department?  That then got me thinking about the Seinfeld episode where George was trying to determine what he was good at when he found himself unemployed and in need of a new career.  Every time he threw out an option based on something he liked, Jerry pointed out that some type of formal training was probably required.  In this age of social media, how things have changed.  We’re learning as we go, new tools are popping up practically daily and it’s largely trial and error.  The beauty of social media is that we can use the tools of the trade to reach out to those who are experts (like Chris Brogan, Guy Kawasaki, etc.) and get feedback, insights, suggestions and more instantly.

As Kenny Bania would say, “It’s the best, Jerry, the best!”

Welcome to my blog!  As a marketing professional who is learning more about social media every day, I figured it was time to jump on the bandwagon and start a blog.  I plan on blogging a bit about my job, my family and my life in general so you’ll find a variety of topics here.

Oh, and the name of my blog.  Krier is my married name and while it’s pronounced “kreer”, most people pronounce it “cry-er”.  So thanks to a suggestion from an acquaintance, I have a great name for my blog.  And the “daily” part will encourage me (ok, force me) to blog daily.  I just hope I can keep up!