An Amazing, Selfless X-Mas Letter From 11-Year-Old Girl About Her Cancer-stricken Grandmother

Amazing and caring young lady.  Share if you have someone in
your life who cares as much for their loved ones.

MORE RECENT SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS

I am always excited to speak with various groups about my marketing experience and creative approach.  I demonstrate real-world successes versus theories and I've had the great fortune of addressing everyone from industry executives to colleges to high schools.

Speaking at the recent CTAM Think event for television marketing and millennials at FOX.

I find it works well to bring a combination of expertise as well as levity to group settings to be able to entertain while informing the audience.  If you've read The Surfer's Guide To Marketing you know by now that humor is a great vehicle to communicate the principles and strategies of dynamic marketing efforts.  And it makes for a fun afternoon!

In Miami on a panel hosted by on-air personality Dave Holmes

If you haven't had the amazing pleasure of hearing me speak (and who WOULDN'T want to experience that?!) then please follow me on social media and lets connect.  Who knows, perhaps I can bring some of my great strategies and (not so great) jokes to your group!

CTAM Think Event

It's never been a more exciting time to be in the world of entertainment marketing.  Along with the creative forces that develop desirable content, the world of technology has landed front and center in the platforms with which consumers get their content.

I preach about passion brands.  Those brands like Apple, NFL, ESPN, and others that evoke instant response.  They drive enthusiasm for their users and elevate their status over their competition.  And with the advances with technology, the debate about providing those hungry viewers with the best vehicle to consume the content they crave  has become significant in the industry.  Terms like TVE, OTT, VOD, and other acronyms that describe how you will "watch TV" in the future make for an exciting time.

I am proud to be discussing the marketing approach for the next wave of technology and how, in particular, millennials will consume content in the future.  The CTAM Think panel held at the FOX studios lot this week will be a great dialog for the future.  Both content providers and operators (the cable and telco folks who currently supply you with your networks) will discuss how we, as marketers, communicate the future of how consumers view their favorite show.

Father's Day

Looking for a fun Father's Day Gift? Want to show your dad a way to learn and apply marketing principles to everyday life?  And most importantly, want to get him an entertaining read that we know he'll enjoy?

Pick up The Surfer's Guide To Marketing and save $3 when you enter discount code: PT8RF4Y7
Click here to get your discount today!
https://www.createspace.com/4197986

Speaking Engagements

I wanted to provide a quick update to those who have inquired about having me speak to your organization, school, etc.  The answer, without a doubt, is always YES!  I enjoy the opportunity to entertain and enlighten peers and having sat through thousands of lectures throughout my career, I am confident that concepts, cases, and stories from The Surfer's Guide To Marketing will keep you entertained!

Today, for example, I am honored to speak to a sold-out group of successful businessmen at an Orange County luncheon.  I try to tailor my message ranging from specific marketing tactics when speaking to a university, to a more general Sports and Entertainment approach for a group like today.  From social media to traditional marketing to some of the best examples I've been lucky enough to pull off, I am always willing to share my experience and "work the room".


As a former stand-up comic, cartoonist, in-game announcer, online celebrity interviewer, and current marketing leader, I am confident that I can bring a fun, educational approach to your team, office, or school.  I am well versed in all levels including high school students that I've worked with through my non-profit T.E.A.M., to college students at ASU, USC, UCLA, LMU, Chico State, and San Jose State, to professional levels including Pepperdine's MBA courses and professional networking groups.

So if you would like to get this "Yeti From The Jetty" in person… give me a shout!

THE SUPER (COLD) BOWL

With the big game coming up, its time to discuss how to create a successful marketing effort during the most cluttered event in America.  In The Surfer's Guide To Marketing, we devote an entire chapter called Big Waves to marketing efforts that are developed and activated around the most competitive environment.    Retail during the holidays, travel during the summer, and of course trying to promote your product or brand during the Super Bowl.

Just like last week's contest at Mavericks that featured a record swell, the bar is raised when the world is watching.  With 40-foot faces crushing surfers, it is not for the weak or those who are fearful.  The big stage is only for those with the skills (and guts) to drop in on a wall of water four stories tall.

Even Laird Hamilton doesn't 

always win on Big Waves

This year, with the game in New York, it's shaping up to be an interesting experiment.  The biggest stage in the biggest city in the world.  And with bad weather looming, there is a significant chance that the elements might make for a marketing disaster!  And it wouldn't be the first time.

Several years ago, when the Super Bowl was in Dallas, we were challenged with creating an interactive consumer experience for AT&T and ESPN.  We accounted for huge amounts of traffic, excited fans wanting to participate, star-power with celebrities, and we ensured we had everything we needed to make our clients happy.  But as I say in the book, sometimes it isn't IF something goes wrong, but WHEN!  And the Case Study below is taken from the book and just goes to show that even on days with Big Waves, where the stakes are high, the competition fierce, and Mother Nature is ready to throw you a curve, you can utilize the proven marketing tactics in the book to avoid a wipeout.

CASE STUDY

The Big Game

The biggest event in the United States every year is the Super Bowl.  As a marketer, it’s the big leagues in terms of scale, cost, and exposure (see the chapter on Big Waves).  Ad time in the game costs seven-figures for a thirty-second spot and sponsorship of various official Super Bowl elements are a huge investment.  So creating your own Super Bowl event that cuts through the clutter and stands out among literally hundreds of events is a costly and extensive undertaking.

So when our client wanted to be part of the action of the Super Bowl, they approached us with the ultimate opportunity to demonstrate our Barnacle philosophy and latch on to someone else’s huge efforts.  For Super Bowl XLV in Dallas, our mission was to create a presence for our client at the big game in Big D…. but without the hefty price tag or reasonable lead time.  After all, creating an engaging experience that competes with the biggest spectacle in sports without all of the pesky budget or months of preparation is what every marketing veteran lives for, right?  But as the saying goes, “Go big or go home.”

When our client’s major sports partner announced that they were going to be broadcasting all of their television and radio shows from a local mall in nearby Fort Worth, including all of their talent-filled programs, we took this as an opportunity to drive awareness and branding without having to reinvent the wheel and create the event itself.  This weeklong festival would attract hundreds of thousands of passionate fans and it was simply our job to carve out a place on the reef to get our share of plankton.  

So in an expedited manor, we secured space and created the Digital Living Room activation that accented the various broadcasts and events throughout the week.  Our interactive booth would allow fans to experience our outdoor living room complete with sofas, tables, chairs, rugs, multiple flat screens showing the network’s programming in HD and 3D, broadband displays, and tons of branded premiums all promoting how our client and its partnerships were the only option for sports fans.  Add to that our beautiful Brand Ambassadors and Starfish appearances from Hall of Fame RB Eric Dickerson, former All Pro RB Christian “The Nigerian Nightmare” Okoye, and three-time Super Bowl Champion Roger Craig and we had an attractive booth that held it’s own with the existing large-scale production.

While some brands spend millions creating their own Super Bowl event including the Bud Light Hotel, DIRECTV’s Beach Bash, and more, we were able to reach thousands of passionate Super Bowl fans attending the shopping center’s events as a complement to the host network.  While our Digital Living Room was a component of the bigger picture, we served as a supporting actor to the main event and even provided value-add to their experience.   And in so doing, saved our client significant dollars playing the role of the Barnacle attaching to the existing event and the crowds they generated.

Editors Note:  As mentioned previously, surfers are the ultimate optimists and make lemonade whenever presented with lemons.  So when the 2011 Dallas/Ft. Worth Super Bowl week was hit with “the storm of the century” including wind, snow, and -5 degree temperatures, our outdoor living room seemed like a disaster in the making.  But, a few quick adjustments (and several large space heaters later) our virtual living room became a shelter from the elements for the crazy fans that still braved the cold.  While we had to endure some good natured ribbing for the unfortunate circumstances (including comments that our living room was “just like the fan’s own homes…only with five inches of snow inside”, or people wanting to tell Christian Okoye to change his nickname to “The Siberian Nightmare”, we still exhausted our inventory of client literature and branded premiums representing the maximum quantity of impressions we were targeting!

An AMAZING 2013!

Hello All.  I wanted to thank everyone for your amazing support this year with the release of "The Surfer's Guide To Marketing."  Its incredible to think that an idea in my head could come to fruition and be as successful as it is.

When I came up with the concept and wrote "The Surfer's Guide To Marketing" I thought it would be a great tool to help students and young marketing minds to see the amazing opportunities that live within my industry.  I had no idea that I would get such a great response from a diverse audience, support from friends, family, and interested consumers alike.

"The Surfer's Guide To Marketing" is on the shelf!

Having created T.E.A.M. to help motivate underprivileged students and showcase how they could excel in the world of sports and entertainment, I knew that showcasing my experience with brands like ESPN, NFL, ABC, etc. would resonate.  It was a formula I utilize in speaking engagements and when I meet with aspiring and talented individuals.  But until you put your heart and soul into a project, spend significant hours and energy creating it, and ultimately put it out for the world to enjoy, you don't know if you have a success.  It's something that I mention in the book as part of the marketing process but ironically I've realized it was also the feelings surround the creation of the book itself!

So as we end 2013, I wanted to thank everyone who helped me get to where I am.  All of the clients who had confidence in me and my team to develop campaigns that exceeded their expectations.  All of the creative and strategic minds that allowed me to join them to develop innovative efforts.  The amazing roster of celebrities, athletes, and business executives that I have been fortunate enough to engage and collaborate with.  And my family who go beyond this little "bucket list" project and stand by me regardless.

And most importantly, anyone who reads this and supports what I do.

"The Surfer's Guide To Marketing" was founded on the promise of providing an educational, motivational, and entertaining experience and I encourage you to read the book regardless of your career field.  Because had I not taken my own advice, I would have never taken a chance and written the book.  You can succeed in any field or activity you choose and if I can go from a packaged goods marketer to developing Super Bowl events, anyone can do it!  And as I always say, if a large uncoordinated man like myself can balance on a small board on large waves, then you can do anything!

Here's to a great 2014 and I hope "The Surfer's Guide To Marketing" provides an idea, an urge, or a spark to make your next year as great as mine was this year!