It seems that luxury prizes are losing steam as sweepstakes prizes in this downsized economy. Many promotion marketers are finding that female shoppers have been forced to change buying behaviors for both their families and self. The media has welcomed all types of cooking shows, chef endorsements and cooking contests.

The economy has also forced families to cut back on entertaining and home parties. The trend seems to be smaller home gatherings with more affordable food or even pot luck dinners. Haven’t you noticed national brands returning to one dish comfort foods that go easy on the family grocery budget? Campbell’s soup company is advertising their affordable green bean casseroles which were famous in the 1960’s ! Consumer coupon distribution and consumer coupon redemption is on the rise after a decade of decline.

Currently HP Hood is promoting a sweepstakes for a dinner party for ten people at your home cooked by a professional chef. This is a good example of of appealing to the female shopper. Hannaford supermarkets, an a&g brand promotion client tapped into this trend while promoting Hannaford private label grocery products. ” Win a backyard barbecue for 40 of your friends and family” was developed into an integrated promotion that had media, in-store and experiential event components.

Ten barbecue events were awarded as prizes in five states. Turnkey experiential administration and chef executed events were huge hits with winning consumers. Best of all, 400 guests sampled Hannaford foods and brand hospitality. It was a huge success.

Tapping into trends and learning about your customer insights is paramount to any successful promotion.

So, last Friday night, we had some friends over.  It was very last minute and I had no idea that I would be cooking for a group of people that night.  Anyway, as soon as I realized that my friends weren’t going anywhere and had settled in quite nicely on my new couch pillows I started rummaging through the fridge for something to cook.  I ended up staring for a long time at empty space when I found a package of frozen Tilapia in the back of the freezer.   I then dug up a single russet potato, some herbs, frozen corn, feta, chick peas carrots, and the next thing I knew, we were eating potato crusted Tilapia, corn, pinenut, feta and craisin salad, and steamed carrots with dill.  My friend, Janeen, exclaimed through a mouth of food “how is the world do you do it?”.  I blushed from the compliment (or red wine…not really sure which) and just smiled and shrugged my shoulders.  I live for those compliments.

I must admit, all modesty aside, that I have received similar comments over the years on “how DID she do that”…like somehow I have this chip built inside my brain for figuring out the perfect meal.  It is true that I have a pretty unique ability to mix textures and flavors.  To look at a dish or recipe and make it my own without a direction or exact measurements.  But trust me, TRUST ME, it has not always been this way.  There have been so many mistakes along the way, that if I admitted this more regularly, I’m not so sure how many people would be lining up with a look of Oliver on their faces, saying “Please sir, may I have some more”.

You may have read about the “christmas dinner disaster” in an earlier post….but that’s just one of the many embarrassments that I have tried to brush far under the rug.  Let’s see, the chestnut stuffing explosion (who knew you had to take the shell off first), the Pasta and Garlic Oil disaster (precisely why you don’t put dishwashing liquid in a container that looks exactly like the one you keep olive oil in)….the chicken and styrofoam soup (yes, I know you take off the styrofoam…I was a new mom…give me a break).  Anyway, I have burned it, served it raw, oversalted, underseasoned and had my fair share of scrunched faces and looks of pity or disgust.

So, the next time you are enjoying something fabulous, that makes you shout “how DID she do that “….remember, it was a long, mistake laden road that got that dish there in front of you.  Lucky for you I don’t give up easily!!

As VP Group Director in Marketing, I’m responsible for helping our clients understand and solve the marketing challenges they face, both on a daily basis and long-term. I immerse myself and my team in understanding our client’s business, their customers, and their competition. From this ongoing immersion, my team and I craft smart, differentiated marketing solutions which we plan, develop, implement, and measure. A critical aspect of these efforts is that we’re constantly gaining insights that influence future marketing recommendations and optimizations. We thirst to understand “why?” With each effort, we focus on getting smarter.

So what was I up to before arriving at A&G? Well, you could say I “grew up” at Digitas, having interned there in the summer of 1995 (when it was Bronner Slosberg Humphrey) and then having returned as a full-time employee in 1996 after graduating from Georgetown. I then spent the next 12 years there, learning the direct marketing ropes and then leading teams in the development of CRM engines, cross-channel brand affinity promotions, website development, and brand positioning on the likes of IHG (Crowne Plaza Hotels & Resorts, Candlewood Suites), Microsoft, GM, and AT&T.

In September 2008, I decided to take my skills set to A&G, where I saw a passionate, curious, and nimble group of marketers. At A&G I’m invigorated by the fearlessness of my colleagues, of their challenging the status quo, and of their genuine desire to understand “how did our effort do, and what can we do to improve it?”

What else is there to this lanky… err, svelte… guy?  I found “a damn good egg” of a life-time partner in my wife, Corinne, and cherish my time with her and our chocolate lab, Bob.



I’ve got some rickety knees from running a few marathons years ago and from playing basketball my whole life.

I live in Southie and love learning about its community - though I prefer the good…



over the not-so-good…



I’m a fan of Boston sports, live music, kids, slapstick movies, biographies, and trying to figure out how to swing a golf club.  I’m known for “dad humor” - essentially, 1 in 10 of my jokes and one-liners is considered funny.

And I often wonder how on earth we got by without technologies we have today, but also value and embrace tradition - picture Clark W. Griswold seeking that perfect Christmas tree, but with an iPhone in his pocket!

American moms think we were a little greedy when we bought those fancy phones, flat-screen TVs and fancy cars — and that’s why they’re reining in our purchases. Moms, who control much household spending, won’t approve purchasing anything now unless it’s absolutely essential. Thats the finding of an Allen & Gerritsen study, anyway.

Read more at Wired.com

Ever since Apple announced that they would move to an Intel based architecture(x86) there have been hobbyist trying to get the OSX on the PC. In the beginning this was done via hacked install discs, that method is not 100% legal. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOnJVtd76l0&feature=related Not only is it not legal it’s very cumbersome to get it to work on the first try, even if you have compatible hardware hacked drivers are required.

In comes the recently release EFI-X an amazing little chip that turns your PC into a perfect Mac Clone. So I put it to the test. I recently built a new PC (geeks love building their own rigs) that was Mac compatible. It was a pretty beefy machine Intel quad-core 2.4gz with 8 GB of ram, and an NVIDIA GeForce 7800GT card. Basically from a hardware point of view it’s more powerful than any iMac and almost as powerful as a Mac Pro. And it cost me less than $800 dollars to build whereas the two previously mentioned systems are well over $1000 dollars each and being a geek I spend way too much money on gadgets as is.

EFI-X is an USB dongle so the installation was simple plug it in and it works. Next I took the retail Leopard operating system disc put it in the drive.



After that a nice Boot Selector comes up, this thing is awesome (especially for those people installing multiple OS on multiple drives, like Windows or Linux). For the first install choose the DVD and it will boot into the OSX installer



The installer will start and you go through the standard install of selecting a the drive. Once you get to this screen it’s all gravy baby.



The install on my rig took about 20-25 minutes. After that I rebooted and got the welcome screen all us hobbyist get excited about.



After that I ran all the updates (yes all the standard) and my PC is now a Mac clone. Yes I have messy desk and I’m very proud of my blue piggy.



So what this means for Apple is that they are no longer the only destination for a compatible product. I don’t have to spend over $2k for a beefy development machine and, yes I know it’s not shinny but I rather keep money in my pocket and still be able to do everything a Mac developer can do.

So how much could it cost you to build your own versus buying from Apple.

Mac Clone Cost

Newegg.com parts

• 8 gigs of ram 2 x Kingston HyperX 4GB (2 x 2GB) : (77.99 - 45.00 main in reabte) x 2 = 65.98 (154 before mailin rebate)
• Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 Kentsfield 2.4GHz LGA 775 Quad-Core Processor Model BX80562Q6600 - Retail $189
• GIGABYTE GA-EG45M-DS2H LGA 775 Intel G45 HDMI Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail $106 (before mail in rebate 126)
• APPLE Mac OS X v10.5.4 Leopard (New version) - Retail 109.95

Micro Center part (local retail)

• 22x DVD±RW Burner with Dual/Double Layer Support OEM SATA 24.99
• 160GB Western Digital OEM 24.99

EFIXUSA.com

• 199.99 EFI-X chip

Total: $609.96

Apple computer starting prices

• (2 cores) MacBook 13″ $1299
• (2 cores) MacBook Pro 15″ $1999
• (2 cores) MacAir $1799
• (2 cores) IMac $1199
• (2 cores) Mac Mini $599
• (8 cores) Mac Pro $2,799

I will keep the extra $600 dollars in my pocket …..”HOW YOU DOING!!” (quote is only relevant if you have seen the movie Norbit)

Your mom is always right! We have all heard that saying growing up and now a&g has provided the stats to back it up. In a recent survey of US moms conducted by a&g, moms are making the right decisions about what needs to be cut in their family’s budget to help save money during these difficult financial times. The survey which is featured this month in PROMO Magazine polled 431 mothers with children under the age of 18. Questions ranged from what items are being cut from their households budget and how they are choosing them, to who is at fault for the current economic problems. Click here to read the results of this survey and the full article at PROMO Magazine’s website.

Your mom was always right about eating your vegetables growing up and now she might be right about what vegetables are worth buying…

A recent study released by IGN Entertainment shows the average video gamer is 32-years old, more than half are married, and 45% have kids. Sounds like a prime target for ads from a presidential campaign.  In Mid October 2008 that’s exactly what Senator Obama’s presidential campaign did.  They placed “billboard” advertisements in the Xbox360 games Burnout Paradise and Madden ‘09 plus a handful of others.  The ads were strategically geo-targeted to gamers in swing states.

Viral videos have been recent favorites for advertisers looking to harness the massive social sharing power of the Internet.  To date most of these videos had been created by a company with the intent of advertising a product.  But that may change as traditional product placement and sponsorship moves from television to the user created content of sites such as YouTube.

If you’re over the age of 16 you’ve probably never heard of Fred, the over-medicated six year old with a shrill voice living with his alcoholic mother.  Fred is played by 14-year old Lucus Cruikshank from a small town in Nebraska.  Cruikshank created Fred and now writes, shoots, and stars in all of his Fred videos.   The short, simple videos tell of Fred’s adventures in riding bikes, swimming, and running for kindergarten class president.  Most of the comments attached to his videos would give English teachers nightmares.  “OmG UR so funnyy! i luv thes vidos!!!”  is a standard example.  But an English teacher’s nightmare could be a marketer’s dream.  His YouTube channel boasts over 615,000 subscribers. His videos, 33 to date, average between 2 and 10 million hits each. That’s close to 200 Million hits from captive 14-year olds.



With numbers like that it’s no wonder Fred attracted the attention of talent agents and now corporate sponsors.  ZipIt is a small company that makes $50 wireless messaging devices marketed directly at young teens.  They have paid for placement in Fred’s homemade videos and Fred now appears on their website and in television ads for the product.  Has ZipIt started a new trend of product placement in homemade videos?

THE CONSUMER IS IN CONTROL. This phrase has been repeated thousands of times over the last few years. We all know that media consumption is changing and the consumer is now king. Nowhere is this more evident than with video content.

The television is still where we view the most video. According to Forrester Research, it continues to be the top reach medium. But DVRs have given us a taste of viewing video on our own time. Nielsen’s July 2008 report on U.S. DVR Penetration and Usage states that DVR penetration is growing, but what’s really interesting is that among homes with more than one DVR, there is more “timeshifted” viewing but less overall television usage taking place.

So where people going to watch video? Based on numerous sources, the answer is online. Horowitz Associates report, Broadband Content and Services 2007, states that 6 out of 10 high-speed internet users watch/download online video content at least once a week and 70% of internet users who watch TV online do so because they missed it online. One of the reasons for this is video online has moved from just user generated content (which can be good too) to top-notch professional long-form video content. New vendors have emerged to provide video content for our viewing pleasure and are monetizing this trend. Users are flocking to these video destinations because they can view when they want and there’s basically no cost to do so.

Just a year old, Hulu.com continues to pick up momentum. According to Nielsen, they are streaming over 140 million video a month. Not only have they provided consumers with a place where they can consume video when they want to, but they’ve also made it interactive by providing forums where users can post info and comments. This joint venture from NBC Universal and News Corp have enabled old-school broadcasters to share their content a whole new way. The site now has over 100 content providers, including FOX, MGM, Comedy Central, PBS, and Lionsgate. What attracts users is watching the content on their time and only having to endure one commercial per ad break. This model seems to be working, so what becomes of traditional TV? Don’t expect it to go away, but it will need to evolve to models like this one where content providers put control into users hands. By the way, that content can be in any form, not just video, as long as the user has the freedom of how and when they want to connect with it.

ESPN is another good example of how a broadcaster/site/publisher becomes a content provider. They are one of the first to successfully connect with their audience across various media platforms. Users can view their content whether it be audio, video, or text across the ESPN platform of media vehicles from cable to internet to mobile, including with their new IPhone module. Yes, they probably still have some kinks to work out but the content they provide has given them advocates by giving users control of when, how, and where they want to connect with the brand. That’s one of the reasons they are the only ones confident enough to take a stand and walk away from the Ad Networks out there. They are stronger than ever because they’ve been able to focus on the one one thing that keeps users coming back: content.