Very recently, I ran into a ‘social media’ tool that reminded me of my love/hate relationship with social (mostly hate).

Over 3 years ago, my friend Scott posed the question, “Can You Quit Social Media?” http://www.mediaemerging.com/2010/01/08/can-you-quit-social-media/.

My answer was, “not entirely”.  Since then, I have been more in the camp of, “Show me a good business purpose and I’ll bite”.  So, from there, I am slow to try and even slower adopt personally.  For me personally, I have never found that social medium that I want, really want.  The one that I could not quit.

Until I met you  .. I love you YELP

Yes, I know you have been around for years and I didn’t notice.  But, I did now.

Why the sudden love?

• you play well with iPhone, especially your maps
• I need to find a restaurant for upcoming travel, bookmark it, and map it later, you are there for me
• you let me make a restaurant reservation, right now
• you are so much more that a place to eat
• monocle is cool (doo-rag and shades cool)
• you help me know what I am getting into, I like to know what I am getting into

So, I will amend my answer of 3 years ago to, “If all social tools had the real life value of Yelp, no I would not quite”

Don’t miss the watermelon incident here: http://wp.me/pEsfI-cU

Because every post needs a picture

You ever wonder what would happen ….

No, probably not …. either way …. anything for the kids

Just look around, it is everywhere

    

    

    

This past weekend, I once again had the opportunity to go to a great metal show.  I have been spoiled for the past 2 years, as a friend of mine scores tickets to the best heavy metal concerts on the east coast (Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Anthrax, Testament, Death Angel, Iron Maiden, Slipknot, etc).

The day started with a 4 hour drive to Atlanta and a pregame meal at The Vortex.  The Vortex was an incredible burger joint, here is my review on Yelp.  While at The Vortex, a friend of ours, back in Charlotte, posted on Facebook, “Nothing like a good cheesecake on a hot day”, thus the blog post name.  Between PBR’s and a Buffalo Burger and a Slayer concert, we were now thinking about silky smooth cheesecake …. well, no, not really.

We were actually in town for the Mayhem Festival.  It was an all day event, but we were there to see Anthrax, Motohead, Slayer and Slipknot.

     

Anthrax headlined the 2nd stage and did not disappoint.  Once again I had the best “seat” in the house (front row center on the rail) from the opener, “Caught in the Mosh”, to the close, “I Am The Law”.  It was the 4th time I have seen them in 2 years, and it never gets old.

Before Motorhead started, As I Lay Dying got to play a few songs …. there was a bunch of screaming.  And, they gave a very poor attempt at the wall of death …. they did not pull it off.

Next up, Lemmy.  It was my first Motorhead concert, and at 66, Lemmy can still rock, opening with “Bomber” and closing with “Ace of Spades” and “Overkill”

Slayer was next.  Slayer is the loudest band I have ever seen.  They were the best band at the festival.  They opened with “Disciple” and “War Ensemble”.  ”Seasons in the Abyss” came a bit later and blew everyone away.  The show ended with “Angel of Death”, “South of Heaven” and “Raining Blood”, which may have been the best 3 consecutive songs I have ever seen at any concert.  This was the 3rd time I have seen Slayer in the past 2 years and I will go the next time they are in the area.  Awesome.

Slipknot closed the festival, it was my first Slipknot show.  Slipknot was …. interesting.  A bit of a carnival.  they put on a good total performance, though a bit goofy at times.  Closing with “Surfacing”  …. a fan favorite.

Iron Maiden kicked off their 2012 Tour in Charlotte last night.  Great show.  The last time I saw Maiden was 1988, they played the same “Maiden England” tour Thursday.

Alice Cooper opened the show, interesting, entertaining.  Note: everyone in Alice’s band is younger than me, Alice is 64.  School’s Out was released when I was 3.

Bruce Dickinson was awesome, if you look up “COOL” in the dictionary, there is a picture of Bruce.

SCREAM FOR ME CHARLOTTE!

Here is a couple of poor quality pictures….

     

Alice Cooper

     

Iron Maiden

 

Here is the Iron Maiden set list.

Moonchild

Can I Play With Madness

The Prisoner

2 Minutes to Midnight

Afraid to Shoot Strangers

The Trooper

The Number of the Beast

Phantom of the Opera

Run to the Hils

Wasted Years (My all-time favorite Maiden tune)

Seventh Son of a Seventh Son

The Clairvoyant

Fear of the Dark

Iron Maiden

Aces High (Encore)

The Evil that Men Do

Running Free

 

For the past 5 year, with the support of my employer and our local chapter, BMA Carolinas, I have had the opportunity to meet with the greatest minds in B2B marketing for a few days each and every year.  This has created many friendships and given me the knowledge and support to TRY to be the best at what I do … YES, this conference, and YES, this organization.

I wrote about it LAST YEAR and the conference only got better.

The best POST I have seen so far this year, from Tell Your Story Brand Communication.

A nice BIT in B2B Magazine.

Some of my thoughts from this year:

• Social is big.  It is a huge part of the B2B Marketing mix and it is a huge part of our lives.  The rubber meets the road when our business life and that marketing meet.  Kind of like going to the store for a Coke, blowing your nose with a Kleenex or using a Post-It note.
• “culture is what you do and how you do it” ….. “brand is the image you create and experience you deliver” ….. “marketing isn’t a function, it is the integrated fabric that makes the firm run” ….. thank you for that Motorola, and yes George, Eduardo is smooth
• Jim Stengel was one of my favorite speakers (former CMO, P&G).  I loved his take on P&G and B2B Marketing, went something like this ….. “P&G sells to businesses, they also put some money in, to create demand” …. he also said, “start big, start small, just start”, I couldn’t agree more
• “seek participants, not targets” – Kathy Button Bell (She also will win the award for, my favorite person I met for the first time that won’t remember me)
• Stephen Liguori said, “If you can figure out how your customer wins, you will never go wrong”.
• Fred Reichheld was awesome, note to self: learn more about the Net Promoter Score.
• Guy Kawasaki was a great speaker, 1st timer for me.  He said to check out the Justin Bieber Movie for marketing lessons ….. I will (don’t tell my kids)

On a more social note:

• The “networking” at the conference is great, Paris Club for Chapter Leaders (buffet of lobster tails and shrimp as big as your thumb), House of Blues for ALL attendees, meet the CMO, all stellar ideas
• I love seeing the chapter leaders from around the country, KC and Chicago came strong this year, and Colorado always does
• Yes, some friends humored be with a trip to the best pizza in the world, Giordanos

My favorite statements of the week (forgive me for not citing the source):

• People buy from people they know, like and trust
• Customers need contrast to move away from the incumbent

The bottom line:

Gary Slack put on one heck of a conference.

These guys are awesome too….

See you next year.

It doesn’t hold a candle to Chevy’s, but, I’ll take it.

Monday             

Tuesday                 

Wednesday             

Thursday               

Friday                     

Just a teaser, more later

“And men, remember, if the women don’t find you handsome, they should at least find you handy” – Red Green

Step 1: Purchase starter at AutoZone, 90 bucks for the starter, 70 bucks for the refundable core.

I can honestly say, I was a bit torn on the uses of and how I wanted to use QR Codes for Marketing in my industry.

I have seen their widespread use at marketing conference, where marketing guys (and gals) like show other marketing guys (and gals) cool marketing stuff.  I have seen them on massive banners on the sides of buildings and along the roadsides, yes, basically useless.  I have used them myself to point to extended product information, but nothing past that.

So, the question is, in my world (food product marketing), where do marketers use QR Codes and what do they use them for?

I scanned 34 QR Codes in 7 different trade magazines.

In one (1) business magazine, I scanned 6 QR Codes: 3 went to a company website, 1 went to a product information page and 1 went to a virtual showroom tour and the final displayed text saying. “mention this QR Code for one free hour of remote service, 555-555-5555″

In three (3) food magazines, I scanned 8 QR Codes ( 5 in one, 2 and 1): 5 of them went to company websites (one site was in a foreign language), 1 went to a “request a sample” form, 1 was a discount gateway to register for an event and one I noted as a GREAT information page from US Soy.

In three (3) packaging magazines, I scanned 20 QR Codes (15 of them were in one magazine).  The uses for these were widespread; 11 went to instructional videos, 6 went to company websites, 1 article, 1 info page and 1 free offer in which the QR Code was no longer active (go figure).

I discussed my findings later with a friend and pointed out that it was good to see the variety of uses, and that I felt pointing to websites was not very original.  My friend pointed out that it was easier than keying word/backslash/word/backslash, etc.  Good point.

In closing, not only did I get a good look at the print/online marketing cross-over, I realized the possibilities for delivering massive amounts of quality content appear endless using QR Codes.

 

A week ago, I had a quick business trip to Tampa, FL.  Eating out in a new city, as you know, can be challenging.  But, with a good recommendation, and a little bit of luck, we had 3 meals that were worth the trip.

We flew in at lunch time,  and on the way to work (the food show), we stopped at a Cuban deli that I was told was the best in Tampa.  We were not disappointed. When we got their at noon, there was a line out the door and the place was jammed.  A good sign as far as I am concerned.  I ordered a Cuban sandwich and a deviled crab.  I had no idea what a deviled crab was, but the friend that recommended the place said to get one.

   

It was a great sandwich.  The meat was piled high and the flavor was incredible. The pork products made the sandwich.  The ham may have been the best I have ever tasted and the shredded pork offered great taste as well.  My only recommendation, get the small, the large may have weighed in at 3 pounds.  On to the Deviled Crab.  I would best describe it as a breaded and fried crab cake.  Brocato’s added a few diced peppers and some other spices, it was delicious.  After living in Maryland for 6 years and falling in love with the crab cake, I can say that the Deviled Crab could definitely give the Maryland Crab Cake a run for it’s money.

That evening, though I felt I could have gone 3 days without eating, we stopped at Cody’s Roadhouse in St. Petersburg on the way back from an unfortunately quick poker tournament at Derby Run.  I later noticed that Cody’s is a small chain in Florida, which explains a lot.

Cody’s was a friendly place, with that “Roadhouse” look.  Our waiter was clearly sick, which was a bit concerning, but a week later, I’m good to go.  As usual I asked the waiter for a recommendation, letting him know that this may be the only time I ever visit and asking them what they do best.  The waiter responded with, “get the Ribeye”.  I said, “really, I can get a steak anywhere”, he said, “that is my favorite”.  At that point, playing it safe was probably the best idea, so I took his recommendation.  After getting the food, I realized I was right in the middle of a gigantic cliche.

• In-shell peanuts on the table, shells on the floor
• Cinnamon butter with the rolls
• Paper on the tables and crayons
• A large bowl of salad, tossed at the table, all you care to eat
• The big mug of beer
• Nothing unique on the menu, but a little bit of everything
• “hotter than hot, hot” wings (which were a huge disappointment)

Overall, fine, and a bit humorous for a marketing guy.

The next day was a long day at a food show.  For dinner, we decided to go to Ybor City and find a place.  Ybor City was a very cool little place, it reminded me a lot of a smaller version of the French Quarter.  We went to Carmine’s.  HOME RUN.  Once again, I got a Deviled Crab, excellent.  The Gorgonzola salad was also very good.  I again asked for an entree recommendation and was given two unique dishes, I ended up with a platter of Cuban style Pork, just pork, a big platter of pork.  Excellent.  Great atmosphere, great food.

If I find myself in Tampa again (or decide to take a tasty detour), Brocato’s and Carmine’s will be visited.