Word of Mouth

Closed By Flood, Mall Builds Customers by Being Social

In early May of this year it rained in Tennessee. A lot. The record-breaking rain devastated the area and claimed 21 lives in the state. Businesses and homes were damaged and closed due to flooding, including the historic Grand Ole Opry. Right next door, Opry Mills Mall was underwater in every one of its 1.2 [...]

Read the rest of this entry »

Should I be over foursquare?

As the Mayor of 25 places nationwide, I think I’ve earned the right to question the value of foursquare. As someone who uses social media quite often as a tool to help clients generate word of mouth, I feel it is my responsibility to engage in and understand new media (especially when it was [...]

Read the rest of this entry »

Turn Disappointment into a Saucy Experience

Last night, my girlfriend and I decided to go to Sauce, the great informal pizza place from Fox Restaurant Concepts with a handful of locations around Phoenix. The closest one is about 15 minutes away at 7th Street and Glendale (Hey, Fox RC, Central Phoenix needs a Sauce!), so we headed over ready to eat. [...]

Read the rest of this entry »

I “Vote 4 Education”

It’s probably a golden rule for marketers to not choose favorites, but, if you know me, it’s no secret that Expect More Arizona is easily my favorite client. It’s not just the amazing people I get to work with (from the Board on down to my colleagues I drive all over the state with) or [...]

Read the rest of this entry »

Is LA Fitness’ Sales Pitch Kosher?

Here’s a crazy story from my experience today at LA Fitness. I won’t even go into the convoluted reason they had me cancel my membership and sign up again (annoying), but this led to meeting Sales Manager and Sales Guy (we’ll call them that the purpose of this post).
When I met Sales Manager a couple [...]

Read the rest of this entry »

My Nephew is a Blabbermouth

Sometimes I hear clients or colleagues refer to me as a “Social Media Expert.” While it’s very flattering, to be honest, I’ve never really been comfortable with the title. I am a marketer (with, hopefully, some level of expertise) who often uses social media as a tool to engage consumers in conversation. I’ve long maintained [...]

Read the rest of this entry »

Why I’m Not Joining WOMMA

My first encounter with the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) was in June of 2006 in San Francisco. I was working at an ad agency in Phoenix in the PR department, frustrated with the model of traditional marketing. Writing press releases and pitching journalists on stories they rightly had no interest in didn’t [...]

Read the rest of this entry »

What will Facebook be like in the future?

Did you see the article on NYTimes.com  – How to Market Your Business With Facebook? Most of the clients I’ve consulted are on board with using Facebook as a marketing tool. But, like with all social media tools, they have one big fear… Will it last?
They were around when everyone was saying, “You have to [...]

Read the rest of this entry »

VIDEO – Golf Match Play: Student vs. Teacher

Below is a video I made with my golf instructor, Robbie Camacho:

By the way, the Federal Trade Commision requires I tell you that Robbie is also a client. I am, however, under no obligation to tell you that Robbie is a great golf instructor, a pretty darn good golfer, and a really nice guy. If [...]

Read the rest of this entry »

Childsplay Offers Free Tickets to BlabberBlog Readers

Lucky readers of my blog, Childsplay is offering you free tickets to its season premier, Honus and Me. The show opened last weekend to rave reviews and runs until October 11.
From the Arizona Republic:
Childsplay pitches a near-perfect game with this production, the first of its 2009-10 season, with winning performances from company regulars… Beautifully staged [...]

Read the rest of this entry »