Movin' On Up

I'm moving! No, not apartments again... this time, it's my blog that's getting a new home. From now on, if you want to check out my random thoughts on marketing and life in general, you can find me here. The Marketing Newbie blog is housed within the new and improved jbchicago.com, so while you're at it, check out the new site, too. It's redesigned and rewritten, all for your viewing pleasure. Let me know what you think!

An Ode to John Mayer

Oh John, how I loathe thee.

Yes, I developed a schoolgirl crush on you after hearing "Your Body is a Wonderland." And I will admit, I admire the way you interact with your 3,048,033 Twitter followers. Your tweets are oftentimes entertaining -- a nice odd/insightful combination sometimes makes me giggle. But you know, you really put a nail in your coffin with your recent remarks in Playboy magazine. And you also know I am not the only one to think so.


Image courtesy of http://thesassyginger.blogspot.com/2009/05/tmi-thursday-eat-shit.html

For those in the dark, Mayer, in an apparent attempt to seem witty and raw, came off nothing short of stupid by saying way too much. Some choice excerpts included his notion of having a "hood pass," then dropping the n-word. He discussed his sex life with a certain ex-girlfriend (ok, it was Jessica Simpson), describing it as "sexual napalm." He also talked about Jennifer Aniston and her aversion to social media, saying his frequent tweeting created a rift in their relationship and that "I think she’s still hoping it goes back to 1998."

But can we take another moment for how he dropped the n-word?

It's a given these are only sections of the interview. Sure, Mayer also spoke of his deep love and respect for his father, but then come more candid details of his personal life. It goes without saying people find this interesting... but he truly seems to lack a filter, and that's what draws more people in. He bemoans being misunderstood, but then he chooses to divulge entirely too much information, hence the vicious cycle that is his life with the media.

Sharing intimate details with friends is one thing, but sharing them with a magazine that's read worldwide is a whole other arena. Mayer's a smart man, so even if this is not innate knowledge, he should have learned it over the years. It is for this reason, and the fact he used a word that should never have been uttered, that this self-professed douche bag will remain just that in my eyes. On February 10th he tweeted "They don't make rehab centers for being an asshole."

It's a damn shame they don't.

Giving Thanks

I am so grateful for the holidays because every year, without fail, they help me put it allll in perspective. Thanks to a huge emphasis on family, generosity and love, the petty worries and drama fall to the wayside while I revel in how much I really have to be thankful for. And it is a lot... I have my health, a roof over my head, food in my fridge, a job AND friends and family to lean on. So, in the spirit of Thanksgiving, below are just some of the reasons I am giving thanks this year.

• First and foremost, I am employed. I have friends who are not as lucky, and it highlights how layoffs and cutbacks are not so unimaginable. I am blessed to have a job and like what I do.
• Big city that it is, I constantly see others guiding the blind toward an entrance, helping the elderly cross the street and paying for the bus fares of others here in Chicago. The kindness of strangers puts a smile on my face.
  
• Two of my very best friends got engaged this year, and their happiness means the world to me.
• I joined a supper club that is forcing me outside of my frozen pizza bubble -- as in, I have to cook. Hey, if you don't try, you never know, right? Thank God my critics are also good friends... here's to them taking it easy on me.
  
• I have seven great siblings who know they can come to me for anything. Though they like to worry me with their concocted stories ("I got a drinking ticket! Don't tell mom!"), I know that despite their teenage transgressions, they are all right.

And here at JB Chi, we would also like to thank the manyyyy people who have helped us promote our campaigns this year. The Tetra Pak campaign is something we are all especially proud of having a hand in, but we could have never done it alone.

To show our thanks, we will be sending #thankafarmer tweets tomorrow to show all the hardworking farmers how much we appreciate, well, their hard work. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, please take part in this between 10 a.m. and noon. Show 'em some appreciation, people... we all need it once in a while.

Campaign Wrap Up

All good things come to an end, and in this case, we have reached the end of the road with our Tetra Pak campaign. Those of you who are my Facebook friends will be sad to hear you will no longer receive my trick or treat requests, and on Twitter, you will cease to be "tricked" or "treated" as well. I want to thank all of you for participating in this -- and so does the WWF, because each time you played our apps, this nature conservation foundation received a donation.

We also want to extend a big thank you to the many writers who featured our campaign in their blogs. Their quality posts helped us spread the message to a much larger audience than we could have done alone, and in the process, we discovered some blogs we are sure to follow -- they're nothing short of inspirational! So please, help us help them by perusing through these sites. And again, thank you... couldn't have done it without you!

http://www.artfulcreativemama.blogspot.com/

http://www.centsible-sawyer.com

http://monaevedesignfarm.com

http://www.opentalkmom.com

http://www.savingdollarsandsense.com/

http://www.easyecotogo.com

http://www.mashupmom.com

http://www.greenlivingguy.com

http://www.got2begreen.com

http://www.nourishinteractive.com

http://www.greenscroll.org/blog/


Hope you had as much fun this Halloween as we did!

I Blame Drew's Cancer -- You Should Too

Every once in a while, you encounter something (or someone) that really makes an impression on you. In my case, it came from an unlikely source: Twitter. I stumbled upon Drew Olanoff, a cancer-fighter and blogger, and began reading his tweets. What followed is nothing short of inspiring.

Drew created a Twitter movement called #BlameDrewsCancer. He encouraged Twitterers to, via tweet, blame whatever was going wrong in their lives on his cancer. (Some examples: Faryl: @drew I #blamedrewscancer for Neil Patrick Harris not hosting the moon bombing. TimErnst: Wife's car had a nail in a tire this morning, $580 later, 4 new tires on Xterra. I #blamedrewscancer.) The goal? Drew hopes to have sponsors that will donate a dollar for every participant to Livestrong, his partner, when he beats his cancer.

But he didn't stop there. Drew is now in the midst of auctioning off his @drew username, and celebrities are getting in on the action. While he just hoped for a random Twitter user to step up and buy the moniker, the likes of Drew Carey have recently stepped into the ring -- in a big way. Carey has promised a one million dollar donation to the Livestrong Foundation if he reaches one million Twitter followers (at his @DrewFromTV) by midnight on December 31st. And with his current count at almost 69,000, it seems this might become a reality.

To think this all began as a result of a cancer diagnosis is nothing short of amazing. Instead of succumbing to bitterness and anger, Drew channeled his energy into something that will help others -- kindness to the max. If he can accomplish all this while going through chemo for Hodgkins Lymphoma, I think the least we can do is help him out by:

• Making sure Drew Carey reach one million followers on Twitter by following him at @DrewFromTV

• Following Drew Olanoff at @drew

• Blaming your bad day on Drew's cancer (include #BlameDrewsCancer in your tweet)

• Signing up to help at http://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey=dFJveWVob2Z6Q1pPWUs3RlVJaWVqc2c6MA

The Fruits of our Labor: SoNet Campaign

It's finally live! We've been working our butts off these past couple months at JB Chi to create something we think is nothing short of incredible: a complete “milk box” social networking campaign. It's a little bit of Facebook, a little bit of Twitter, a little bit of blogging, a little bit of e-mailing -- and a lot of blood, sweat and tears to bring you an online campaign that is not only fun, but also donates to the World Wildlife Fund with each click!

Here's the premise: Hershey’s and Organic Valley want to spread the word about milk in single serve, shelf stable cartons, and encourage moms to hand these out as Halloween treats this October. To do so, we created custom applications on Facebook, Twitter and the Web. On the social networking sites, you can choose whether your friends deserve to receive a treat or a trick – each and every one you send is a 10 cents donation to World Wildlife Fund. And on the Web, you can upload head shots of yourself and your friends, only to have them appear atop the dancing bodies of monsters, ready to trick or treat at your friends’ doors.

Each of these apps is fun and charitable. The dancing monsters, the quirky music and the Halloween humor make these lighthearted games worth sharing with your friends. Remember: While you’re laughing at the fact your friends decided you don't deserve "treats" (only tricks!), or horrified at the sight of your face on the body of a dancing vampire, you are also helping protect the future of nature with World Wildlife Fund. So share away!!!!