I just thought you might be interested…:)

Hello folks!

I enjoy writing periodically. What I enjoy much more is the positive responses I get from the general reading public that keeps me going, doing something as solitary as writing….

Writing can be ‘alone’ time, ‘passing up a nice social event’ time, time on your own ‘creating, effecting, or somehow changing the world to make it a better place’ time.

A sincere thank you to my readers. Your comments are delightful, and I appreciate the time you take to give me your responses. From today you may see slight changes to the website as WordPress (to whom I am ever grateful!), for a reasonable fee, has allowed me to monetize the site.

Given the confidence I place in this wonderful organization, I am sure that it will result in nothing but positive outcomes. I expect there to be a generation both foreseen and unexpected ones. That’s what change does. It allows you to grow. One small change can seed future fruit aplenty!

I like to journal. Many writers probably do. This WordPress entry is inspired by the simple joy of writing ,being read, and giving thanks to readers, for this very gift that I’ve been given and for a special moment I wish to share with you. Permit me to meander and share recent experiences of life’s ups and downs a bit…I promise I will try to tie things up at the end!  🙂

Some people say that I’m a good writer. I now truly believe it to be so, although if you tried applying to a Federal government competition recently, you might not think  so! One of the reasons used to screen me out stated that, as far as the competition was concerned I did not meet their writing abilities criteria. LOL. Well if I didn’t meet it, then who did? And who says so?

It made me realize that we should take everything in stride, or as my father might say, “It’s not the end of the world!’ True. Judging by the positive feedback I’ve been given from work colleagues and reviewers of my site alike, I think it’s important both to believe in ourselves, and not to take feedback too seriously. There may be other factors at play. For example, there are many hundreds of applications made to Canadian federal jobs these days. So any slight slip on your part may get you screened out! It doesn’t mean I’m not a good writer, only that a screening tool has been used to consider other applications which meet the hiring criteria more closely, or the background characteristics that the organization is searching for. Sometimes I think that they are looking more for a ‘yes’ man, and not someone who can actually think, or go against the flow, turning it in another direction, in order to create a greater benefit for all. But I digress…

I guess I wish to stress that if there is some skill that you feel that you do particularly well, you owe it to yourself to pursue that passion, along with other enjoyable passions you may share with others. I happen to love sports! I’ve gotten pretty good at them. Given the fact that I’ve taught a Leadership course at school (with some wonderful feedback) and yoga at work during lunch time, I thought I could handle teaching squash to a newly-made friend from Meetup.com! Today I did just that! I went downtown to play, nay, teach squash, to someone who always wanted to learn!

The experience brought a lot of joy to both of us…she learned how to play squash (‘I always wanted to learn!’) from a patient instructor, and I enjoyed both the interaction and the scenery, both within and without the confines of her pristine building and her wonderful condominium strategically situated. You see, my friend happens to live downtown in one of the prime locations in Toronto, in the Queen’s Quay, Harbourfront area!

When we went out to celebrate my very first ever and also our very first ever and very positive squash teacher-student interaction,  afterwards we reveled in the scenery around us, taking in the sights, sounds, and the boat cruises along the lovely and serene harbour front. We had an enjoyable chat and a good bite to eat.

I am thankful that I have an open spirit, willing to learn from new experiences and from others… and I’m thankful that I made a new friend, and that we spent some wonderful time together. Memories that won’t easily be forgotten….

Well…I just thought you might be interested!

Now, how can you make your day or evening a better one?   😉

Good luck!

-Nilesh Shreedhar.

 

 

 

 

HRPA 2016, Jan 19-22.

Brief nuggets of things gleaned at the HRPA Conference that I wanted to share with you folks…

Gender differences in processing information.

Scientific data proves men and women process info differently…if you want to make an excellent decision, include all stakeholders…a really good idea to ask women what they ‘see’ because of the way the process information. They have a more holistic approach with includes more factors, men in general have a quicker approach and make decisions faster based on the immediate factors they see before them. Both are equally intelligent, in different ways. Good decision making includes both approaches.

Mental health…

More and more an issue; panel discussion included famous lawyer (Malcolm McKillop was his name if I’m not mistaken), and Clara Hughes (6 x Olympian; Bell commercials raising awareness for this cause). She was plagued with these issues (father alcoholic, dysfunctional family interactions). She made a strong call to action for there to be more resources allocated to mental health, catching it in the nip. A timely intervention can make someone (she is an example) still be able to make huge contributions to society.

Creativity…

David Usher…singer, 6 time Juno winner. Consults universities, and other organizations as board member. Graduate of Simon Fraser University (Pol. Science). Son of Professor.

‘Creative collisions’ occur and composed of 95% work. We are all creative beings. You need a structure in order to use these creative collisions. There is no magic…creativity is mixing and matching to create that magic. He begins with a blank page and his source of inspiration (a picture of himself at 3 years of age with a bow and arrow) gleefully free to do (create) whatever he decided on.

Benjamin Tal. (Very educated economist who hobnobs with people like Greenspan (of the U.S.) and influential Bank of Canada representatives).

Yes the next year will be painful in that economy is dicey all over the world. However these are growing pains due to changes in the economy where money is shifting from oil to commodities. Ultimately, given that we’ve lost 10 to 20 pc of our manufacturing sector in Canada, opportunities will exist in the commodities sectors.

Gaming, gamification.

Gaming concepts are being used to provide training. This provides an interactive, fun and stimulating way for people to learn company material. You will see this more often being implemented in organizations due to its effectiveness and cost savings and other ripple effect benefits.

The above information helps us be calmer about the future (2016 economy) and opens us to what to expect in the near future (gamification – is this word in everyone’s dictionary yet?), as well as helping us to keep alert about mental issues (‘am I my brother’s keeper? Yes, I guess you are!). Free yourself to be your creative best in 2016 and use diversity to your advantage!

Best,

-Nilesh Shreedhar.

Inner self talk is critical to success in life.

Finding your voice.

Past voices….

As usual, Toastmasters never ceases to inspire….

Using a style of writing that I’ve used before, and tying in to my ending, I will tell you where I am headed with this piece of writing….to My goals (please use this as a work-through (or ‘workshop’) to achieve whatever happen to be YOUR goals! This is meant to INSPIRE YOU! LOL). I want to share how important self-talk can be to success in life….

I promise to get you there reasonably quickly via past voices (negative ones of course) that my Toastmaster mentor Dawna (short form To-rmentor? No, I digress)…I will keep her last name private, but she does exist and has inspired many) was able to work through…given her near-death experience. Yes, near-death. Don’t wait for life to take you there before you take life where you want to go!

Come, now let us work through this together. Dawna’s Toastmaster workshop (Jan 2015) took us through a time long ago in her life, which still resonated slightly in her mind. We could see that she still had a little bit more work to do (as far as positive self-talk was concerned).

Years back, it was the teacher’s voice (Miller) that spoke to her and compared her negatively to her sister, older to her, and better at many things. This left her in a wake of comparisons made by other teachers who invariably knew her sister and made negative inferences too….

Lesson: ignore the negative voices in life (the ones that don’t fit in with a healthy self-image of yourself). For your benefit, and to personalize this story a bit more, here is an excerpt from the handout that Dawna provided us, so you get the point…idea is to work through your negative voices, so put this piece into practice, will ya! Do this by answering italicized questions….or absorbing the presented information to improve your thinking. Here are the excerpts (italicized):

My Mr. Miller is….

‘Certainly not as good as your sister are you?’  (This had a huge impact on Dawna’s life…  She gave up – she quit! Lesson: don’t listen to negative voices, DON’T QUIT! EV-ER! This is when you go Lalalalala in your head! As a child, or as an adult. Don’t listen! LOL.

In retrospect, what should Dawna (read ‘this could be any one of us, but we will use Dawna as our guinea-pig test person as per her workshop) have done differently? (Folks, this is where you are supposed to THINK and come up with some positive solutions – for the rusty, just substitute any positive affirmation)

‘It’s a product of what I did!  It’s my best work ever!’  Remember, whatever you have created (at school, work, or play), is PERSONAL expression and it is NOT – NOT to be compared with others….even (or especially) when you are a teacher (read mentor, parent, older respected sibling et al).

My nurse Amanda is…I should explain; nurse Amanda was the one who Dawna first heard say ‘we didn’t think you would survive!’ when Dawna ended up in the hospital due to serious stress related conditions. The italicized portion below will explain how she internalized this statement. (Backdrop: Shakespeare – remember, ‘nothing is good or bad, thinking makes it so!’)

Dawna: through self-induced stress…. She was barely conscious.  Stressed.  Exhausted. She spent three weeks in a hospital!  Nurse Amanda: ‘Dawna, we didn’t think you would survive!’

So…Dawna felt she was not supposed to be here! (Yes – she meant on earth)… She stopped having fun.  It was a ‘Wow’ experience – in a very negative way!

My Jennifer is…again, this bears explanation…in Dawna’s workshop, Jennifer was a good buddy and best friend who helped her realize the positives in life; she offered Dawna heart-felt and sincere encouragement and helped her heal from her negative thinking and cloudy past.

My cheer-leading team: Who is yours? For example, one of mine is: Shelley U., David L., and Isabelle H.  They are my encouragers and I probably owe them a debt of gratitude. Not probably, I do. Thank the people that believe and encourage you….

Lesson:

Shakespeare:

‘ Nothing is good or bad… thinking makes it so….’

Now, as per Dawna’s workshop….we are going back and reliving those moments in life, (we all have them) using a NEW perspective and the introspective that Dawna provided us:

My future voices…

If I could go back to Mr. Miller I would….  Have the wisdom I now have, with conviction….

I now choose to tell myself….  ‘Nothing is good or bad thinking makes it so.’

If I could go back to my nurse Amanda I would….

Use more positive affirmations, and change the (negative) messages in my head. I’d meditate, be more healthy, associate with positive people, stay healthy, and have more purpose in life.  Live a renewed life as a second chance….for living in greater abundance!

I now choose to tell myself….my affirmations….

‘Nothing is good or bad thinking makes it so.’

If I could go back to my Jennifer I would…

Thank her!

Realize ‘they’ (the negative ones) don’t know me….  hence they Gotta be wrong.

Watch serials Buddha and Suits. (I love them!)

My leadership voice…

I need to tell Trish P that she is quick and decisive.

I need to tell Kalida….thank you!

I need to tell Agee….hey! Thanks for being you!

Lesson:

Inner self talk is crucial to success in life.

BIG take-away from this workshop: How to turn negative talk into something positive.

PEOPLE, your self-talk is really important! It can ultimately be damaging or life-enhancing. At least be a good ‘Buddhist’ and ‘take the middle road’ and don’t be too hard on yourselves. (Talk out your negatives out loud to see if they sound ‘right’ or completely off the wall!)

In sum, Donna was shy and timid….  Her sister was an athletic and an academic star.  Jen was a best friend and star athlete.  Donna was part of a big family of children who were special from top to bottom yet Donna felt stuck in the middle, forgotten and unimportant.  Birth order can be determinative of how you feel – if you let it! Donna felt like someone stuck in the middle.

To overcome her difficulties though, she changed her mind set and the way she talked to herself….

Here’s one final positive thought for us to all take away…. to be more mindful of, and kinder and gentler with ourselves… what Donna learned from a positive role model, mentor and good friend….

Her friends said that though she was not the end pieces in her large family of siblings…she was the peanut butter…. the jam that made the whole sandwich sweet! (Aww!’ So sweet! No pun intended.)

So be good to yourself, and everyone else will too! We can be our own worst enemies, or our own best friends. It just takes a mental adjustment! You know….

Inner Self-talk can be critical to success in life!

Nilesh Shreedhar.

What is a Thought Ninja? (More Vegas TM Content)

Here is a concept I learned from the recent Vegas convention I attended (I still have 14 or so more pieces of writing I want to post!)

Well you know the format…if you’ve been following….Here it is once again, in case this is a ‘one-off’ for you and you happen to have just ‘dropped in,’ so to speak (I hate hyphens, sorry). Let me reword that, I can’t be bothered….no hate involved. That wouldn’t be very equanimous…apologies…inside joke for Vipassana meditators http://www.torana.dhamma.org/) . LOL.

Organization: Toastmasters.org (International) at TM International Conference: August 13-16, 2015.

Ed Young, Toastmasters, Las Vegas Championship Entry Speech.

Venue: Caesar’s Palace, Las Vegas, U.S.A.

Purpose of this post (Acronym: R O S E):

1. To Retain this valuable information for posterity.
2. To Offer inspiration to people.
3. To Share the wisdom gleaned from motivational and inspirational speech givers at such events.
4. To Effect positive changes in the world.

This speech was done by Ed Young and it was about keeping your promises, during the just completed International Toastmasters Conference in Las Vegas, U.S.A. As such, if it inspires even one person today, I think it will have accomplished it’s goal….

What is a thought ninja? Ed Young, asked?

He accomplished the commendable goal of staying sober for 16 years.

As I quickly tried to take notes at the convention, it soon became obvious that I wouldn’t be able to keep up with all the messages from all the different speakers. So I aimed for content….this one had a significant message:

The point of his story was that Ed was able to stay the with girl of his dreams….He did that by ‘assassinating the negative thoughts.’

So he called upon us to ‘dare to achieve your dreams,’ as he said, others may be depending on you….like a little girl, or a bride to be, someone who believes in you. Important to do so…so they keep theirs….too.

Before we let our dreams get compromised, analyze the content in your minds. Is it being sabotaged by little ‘thought ninjas?’ You must assassinate them upon contact!

Wonderful speech. Still a winning one in my books…for its content! So defeat your thought ninjas and achieve your goals, your dreams!

That’s today’s post folks!

Best regards,

Nilesh.

 

 

 

 

Aditya Maheswaran’s “Scratch” , 2nd place finish at Toastmasters World Championship of Public Speaking.

Speech giver: Aditya Maheswaran

Organization: Toastmasters.org (International) at TM International Conference: August 13-16, 2015.

Venue: Caesar’s Palace, Las Vegas, U.S.A.

Once again, here is my mantra – the purpose of this post (Acronym: R O S E):

1. To Retain this valuable information for posterity.
2. To Offer inspiration to people.
3. To Share the wisdom gleaned from motivational and inspirational speech givers at such events.
4. To Effect positive changes in the world.

Congratulations to Aditya Maheswaran of Mumbai, India, District 41, on finishing in second place for his speech, “Scratch.”

This speech was given by Aditya Maheswaran…..called ”Scratch”….about lessons learned after buying a new car…then going out right after with the girl who made his heart sing….

Driving with Neha, in his beloved new car, he parked it at the beach where they walked together….. He looked back – what should he see?

Aghast, he saw the Man walking at the beach scratching his….brand…. new…car with a pair of skis as he walked by! Completely neglecting Neha….he forgot about her and attended to car instead, running off, not caring about her….until much, much later. Alas, the damage was done – and not just to the car!
Depressed and at home, still thinking about it, he also hurt mom as he was still upset about the car, which was hard to get over…even saying leave me alone to his mom! The next day, with a wise mechanic’s help the car – was looking new again! Once again beautiful, sleek, and elegant…..The mechanic proffered ‘a scratch stays only as long as you don’t polish it.’ Using this wisdom, knew exactly what to do! He hugged his mom. After so much effort – realizing the errors of his ways – he persisted, and called Neha…12 times! He sincerely apologized for his behaviour saying, “I’m sorry, you are my precious!”…putting to use the significant wisdom that he had gleaned only days earlier from a mechanic!

• Nilesh Shreedhar.
• https://www.facebook.com/neilshreedhar
• http://neilshreedhar.wix.com/goodenergy
• https://www.facebook.com/aditya.maheswaran?fref=ts

2014 in review – NeilShreedhar’s Blog.

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2014 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

A San Francisco cable car holds 60 people. This blog was viewed about 790 times in 2014. If it were a cable car, it would take about 13 trips to carry that many people.

Click here to see the complete report.

Love Works – Joel Manby – Toastmasters International speech.

Love Works…Joel Manby Keynote

Joel Manby is a professional businessman, not a professional speaker and I got the pleasure to see him speak well and sincerely at the International Toastmasters Conference held in Orlando, Florida on 15 August, 2012. (Yes I’ve been meaning to get this out to you for a while, the old saying about writers and procrastination may have some truth to it after all). However, the lessons Mr. Manby teaches, imbibes and lives are still true. Here is part of his story, which I may continue in future for brevity’s sake.

Manby was the CEO for the U.S. operations head for SAAB. He described how on Easter Sunday he received a life-changing call from his boss in Sweden. In fact, it was the situation that helped him to alter his life for the better and many can probably relate to it….The first quarter sales were down for the North American Saab operations, but Joel had attained three years of solid growth over the previous NA boss…

Despite this, Joel was ‘called into the boss’ office. Except…. this office was in Sweden! The call he got was at 7:30 am in the morning, which meant that it was 3 am in Sweden at the time of the call!

Joel had made 15 moves in 20 years and, as was expected, always showed concern for the bottom line, but when his boss tore into him in Sweden, in front of his peers, he felt humiliated, and a loss of dignity. In short it was his worst nightmare realized and he felt that it was unjustified.

Here was a Harvard business school graduate who had moved all over, working for top companies like General Motors and who always paid attention everywhere to the bottom line and yet he was getting what he felt was the worst treatment of his life!

This is when Joel’s emotional withdrawal began from within from Saab. He thought to himself that there had got to be a better way in business to care about people and profits! There had to be! He wanted to be authentic (same at home, work and spiritually).

That’s the exact moment when Jack Herschend entered his life. Manby says that he’s the best at what he does, and Jack asked Joel to be on his Board….Jack was getting older and he wanted someone to replace him in his growing business. Joel felt thankful and lucky that he was asked by Jack.

As they say, the rest is history….Since 2000, Herschend Family Entertainment has had 12 years of solid growth. Joel can also proudly say that he definitely balanced home and work life.
Joel now has a mission and he wants us to be inspired…so he asked us these questions during the international Conference held at Orlando, Florida.

What is love? Did you know that there are actually four kinds: Eros; philos; storge and agape love(s)…this according to the Greeks.
Agape is unconditional love. How you treat each other. All relationships are about agape. Joel asked: why do we exclude agape?

He never saw this in any previous of the companies he worked for. It’s not being ‘soft.’ (An inaccurate thought).

Go to the Bible. 1st Corinthians: “love is patient, kind, trusting, and unselfish, truthful, dedicated, forgiving….weddings (?)

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking,it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres… (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Corinthians%2013:4-7).

Be unselfish – think of self less.
He developed this formula, (Employee unselfishness + Company unselfishness= and Sharing (our love, ideas, skills = it)) forward:
Think of yourself less…EU$ + CU$ = SIF$$$ (share it forward)…

I will follow this article up with more information as I may have piqued your interest now…gotta go! You’ve got enough information now to look into these great ideas for yourselves. Gotta keep you on your toes…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joel_Manby

“Joel Manby is the current President and Chief Executive Officer of Herschend Family Entertainment, the largest family-owned theme park corporation in the United States. HFE creates, develops and operates entertainment, tourism and hospitality properties spanning 26 locations in ten states.”

http://www.joelmanby.com

Dare to be Different; on Life, Lexus and Dell.

 

Reflective Journal #4

Differentiation

 

Prepared by:    Neil Shreedhar

Due Date:        Jun 02, 2007

 

Instructor:       Professor Mark Burgess

 

Course:            GBA 602 ­­       Marketing Management  

 

Differentiation

 

It is true that product differentiation is essential to the branding process. In choosing to differentiate a product, a marketer has the choice of form, features, performance quality, conformance quality, durability, reliability, reparability, and style. What follows are examples of currently produced products that have been differentiated and branded for each of these design parameters, a brief analysis and discussion of the example.

 

Definitions, examples and brief discussion of above marketing terms.

Conformance quality. Buyers expect the degree to which all the produced units are identical and meet the promised specifications to be high.

Example: Toyota’s are manufactured to stringent standards. Here is a mass produced item that practically revolutionized the car world. At one point in time it was difficult to get cars to start in cold winter weather, but now that Japanese automakers have resolved this problem, or perhaps with higher car standards have initiated the resolution to the problem, thankfully, it has become a non-issue.

According to ‘Mastering the quality staircase,’ Conformance, reliability, performance, and customization are the steps to climb on the way up to achieving competitive edge (Kim et al, 2007, p.1). In a step-by-step progression in order for its workers to understand the importance of quality analysis and problem-solving in the making of its car:

Toyota Motors trains its workers in these methods (Step one of the progression) for four months before they start to work (Kim et al, 2007, p.1).

No wonder they excel and garner a loyal customer following!

Durability is a measure of the product’s expected operating life under natural or stressful conditions, and is a valued attribute for certain products.

Example: Kenmore appliances. Sears has made an enviable reputation with the durability and the service attention that it gives to its appliances. It is evident that this reputation has also endured over the years since Sears has been selling appliances such as refrigerators since about 1910 (Sears Archives, 2007, p.1)![1].

Reliability. Buyers normally will pay a premium for more reliable products. Reliability is a measure of the probability that a product will not malfunction or fail within a specified period.

Example: Dell is another company known both for its reliable computer products and its ability to service these items:

Dell, EMachines, and IBM stand out on most reliability measures, while HP and Compaq often lag their peers. We’re treating HP and Compaq as separate brands (PC World, 2007, p.1)

 

1. This is a measure of the ease of fixing a product when it malfunctions or fails.

Example: Microsoft. Despite all the woes that we seem to experience due to patches that have to be applied to prevent viruses from entering our computer systems, I am amazed at the ability that Microsoft has demonstrated to be able to resolve the issues of potentially millions of computer users. This is a phenomenal achievement when it is put into perspective.

Style describes the product’s look and feel to the buyer. Car buyers pay a premium for Jaguars because of their extraordinary look. Aesthetics play a key role….(Kotler & Keller, 2006, p.377).

Personally, I prefer a Lexus, and associate this car with esthetic beauty and class.

Example – Lexus:

 

Lexus has become synonymous with luxury since its introduction in 1989. By offering some of the finest quality luxury vehicles and providing benchmark customer service, Lexus has become the top-selling luxury nameplate in the United States for six years in a row. Lexus and its 217 dealers have repeatedly achieved high honors for both the products they sell and the customer service they provide as rated by the independent research firm of J.D. Power and Associates (FT Business of Luxury Summit, p.1).

The ‘style statistics’ seem to speak for themselves! Wow!

Conclusion

 

In sum, “to be branded, products must be differentiated. Physical products vary in their potential for differentiation. At one extreme… (there are)…products…that allow little variation…At the other extreme are products capable of high differentiation, such as automobiles” (Kotler & Keller, 2006, p. 376). This implies that in order for the consumer to keep clear which product he wishes to buy, and for what reason he wishes to buy it, it is important from a brand recall perspective that marketers learn to differentiate their products, no matter how small the differences, in order to be successful marketers.

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

 

Kim, K.Y., Miller, J.G. & Heineke, J. (1997). Mastering the quality staircase, step by step. Business Horizons. Retrieved on May 30, 2007 at 8:13 pm from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1038/is_n1_v40/ai_19369681

 

Kotler, P., & Keller, K.L. (2006). Marketing Management (12^th ed.).  New Delhi:  Prentice-Hall of India Private Limited.

 

FT Business of Luxury Summit. (2006). The Rationalization of Luxury – New Business Models, New Strategies. Retrieved on May 30, 2007 at 8:38 pm from http://www.ftbusinessofluxury.com/2006/Sponsors.asp?m_pid=0&m_nid=5805 – 37k –

 

PC World (2003).  Reliability and Service Report Card http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,112915-page,8/article.html

 

Sears Archives. Retrieved on May 30, 2007 at 7:59 pm from  http://www.searsarchives.com/products/questions/appliances/kenmore_refrigerator.htm

 

[1]Retrieved on May 30, 2007 at 7:59 pm from  http://www.searsarchives.com/products/questions/appliances/kenmore_refrigerator.htm

Some thoughts on Integrated Marketing – Donald Trump’s The Apprentice Show.

 

Reflective Journal #3

Prepared by:    Neil Shreedhar

Due Date:        Jun 02, 2007

 

Instructor:       Professor Mark Burgess

 

Course:            GBA 602 ­­       Marketing Management  

 

Session 3         For this week’s entry, read the article under Syllabus/Materials regarding The Apprentice TV show.  Perhaps you may have seen the episode referred to on Microsoft Office Live Meeting.  Use this article as background on the subject of “integrated marketing”.  There are many definitions of “integrated marketing” as you will read in the text.  The definition I want you to consider is the integration of content (brands, products, etc) into this TV show’s format.  Many large consumer brands have participated on The Apprentice over the past two years including: Home Depot, Staples, Yahoo, Microsoft and the Pontiac Division of General Motors, etc.   We don’t know the fees involved to participate so don’t worry about a cost/benefit analysis type of response.

 

Question to address:  do you think that The Apprentice provides a good forum for companies to showcase their brand/products to effectively reach and impact their respective target audiences? 

 

Apprentice, which is one of televisions highest rated shows, has embraced this advertiser/content mix illustrating the power of a content integrated marketing strategy (Webpronews, 2005, p.1).

Undoubtedly. There are three main reasons for this: at the time that the advertisements were running, The Apprentice was one of the highest rated shows, it required a professional, not a simplistic approach to the use of the ‘toys’ used on it, and the host, despite his flaws, generally commanded a great deal of credibility and respect in the business community. For the balance of this paper, I will use the present tense in regards to this show as it appears that it may be picked up again by one of the networks.

 The Apprentice provides a fantastic medium for companies to showcase their ‘goods.’ What better way for a company to capitalize on wide public reach (according to the article, itis one of the highest rated shows), and achieve credibility in the potential buyers eyes because the product is both being endorsed AND showcased by well-known, knowledgeable business tycoons such as Mr. Trump himself?

To quote Webpronewso on the presentation created using one of these products (it seems that it has become very ‘cool’ these days to critique products in the manner in which Trump does) Webpronews (or it could be Trump himself being voiced) rates their usage of the product in this show as follows:

Their video was very simplistic … very much like a Power Point presentation instead of a polished promotional video. The statement voiced over in the beginning of the video, “Simply use your name and password to log in” gives you a clear picture where this promotion was headed. Not good.[1]

In essence, Trump’s integrated marketing approach isn’t that different from the following relevant example described in the text about interactive marketing:

The newest channels for direct marketing are electronic. The Internet provides marketers and consumers with opportunities for much greater interaction and individualization….Today…companies can send individualized content and consumers themselves can further individualize the content.

The exchange process in the age of information,…,has become increasingly customer-initiated and customer-controlled.[2]

Donald Trump likes, and associates himself with “winners” so he should know about the companies he is showcasing on his show. Mark Burnett, the producer of the show also has a great reputation for winning shows and great general business acumen.

Another obvious example of a successful integration of content marketing staring us right in the face lately: YouTube and Google[3]. Google is renowned for its tremendous search capabilities, to which video has now been paired through YouTube – what a dynamically integrated combination!

 

Conclusion

 

In sum, both The Apprentice and the companies that it associates with, such as Microsoft and other companies that we think of as “winners” have come upon a very innovative idea by successfully implementing the integrated marketing concept. It opens up a whole world of “tied-selling” opportunities in which more than one product can be successfully marketed at one time. From a marketing perspective, the concept allows the student a chance to see novel ways of how marketing surreptitiously creeps into every day living, almost subliminally, as the products are so much in use already and we hardly seem to notice them as they are already so eagerly accepted by us.

 

BIBLIOGRAPHY

 

Beal, Andy. YouTube’s Integration With Google Search Leading to “NSFW”Content? Retrieved on May 14, 2007 at 7:15 pm from

http://www.marketingpilgrim.com/2007/02/youtube-cussing-on-google.html

 

Kotler, P., & Keller, K.L. (2006). Marketing Management (12^th ed.).  New Delhi:  Prentice-Hall of India Private Limited.

 

Webpronews. (2005). Electronic source provided in course GBA 602 – Marketing Management. Instructor: Professor Mark Burgess. Centenary College, NJ, U.S.A.

 

[1]Webpronews. (2005). Electronic source provided in course GBA 602 – Marketing Management. Instructor: Professor Mark Burgess. Centenary College, NJ, U.S.A.

[2]Kotler, P., & Keller, K.L. (2006). Marketing Management (12^th ed., p.612).  New Delhi:  Prentice-Hall of India Private Limited.

[3]Beal, Andy. YouTube’s Integration With Google Search Leading to “NSFW”Content? Retrieved on May 14, 2007 at 7:15 pm from

http://www.marketingpilgrim.com/2007/02/youtube-cussing-on-google.html

 

Part #2: “If you are Speaking, you are selling.”

Jeremy Tracey.  “If you are Speaking, you are Selling.”

Hazel McCallion C, Delta Hotel, Meadowvale, Ontario.Toastmasters Spring Conference.

April 5-7, 2014.

“If you are Speaking, you are Selling”

As promised, here is the second selling  formula that Jeremy recommends so that you and the people you care for can get the things you want in life – either at work, or at home.

Jeremy often draws upon the experience and wisdom of Craig Valentine, a world-class professional speaker. Craig says that in order for an idea to appeal to someone, it must help them:

1. Esteem more.
2. Do more.
3. Gain more.
4. Enjoy more

Jeremy uses this EDGE formula and says it will work every time because it appeals to all types of people in one way or another.

Here is an example of it being used, in Jeremy’s write-up to invite people to this workshop:

“Regardless of your subject, you want your audience to walk away feeling excitement and enthusiasm because of what you said and how you said it. This workshop will be highly interactive and hands on. Arrive with questions and walk away with the skills that will help you stand out as a speaker that inspires your audience every time you speak. …It will take you less time to prepare an effective message when you understand the process that leads to your audience feeling connected to you and your words. It feels fantastic when people tell you how your speech has changed their way of thinking. Get ready for a lot more positive feedback.”

Notice how his advertisement appeals to all people, as all value their esteem or wish to do, gain or enjoy more…

You can use this simple EDGE (esteem, do, gain or enjoy more) formula everywhere – such as when getting the kids to help you clean up, or to convince your wife that you could both use a vacation!

Now let’s see what you can do to come up with creative uses in your own life!

If you want more information about Jeremy and what he does, check out the following links: http://jeremytracey.com;

http://jeremytracey.com/if-you-are-speaking-you-are-selling/