Gingerbread Logo Cookies

This year, create something special that will standout from traditional gingerbread cookies. Your logo in gingerbread will surely stir up conversation and be remembered for holiday seasons to come. These cookie are great client gifts, reception counter treats, and simply fun to eat.

Follow these easy steps:

1. Select a part of your logo that is simple to reproduce in a cookie form. We used the image of Brian running in our logo. A running gingerbread man.

2. Print out this single image onto heavy photo stock paper and cut out a template. Make sure the image is 3 to 4 inches tall or wide depending on shape of the image.

3. Place your template on the dough and use a paring knife to cut out cookies. Follow cooking instruction below.

4. Decorate cooled cookies with your company's colors in your favorite icing and be sure to keep it simple. We used the tie and iced another template with the tie cut out.







MOLASSES-GINGERBREAD COOKIES
Makes about 24 logo cookies.
5 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, extra flour for rolling
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons ground ginger
4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoon ground clove
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup dark-brown sugar
2 large eggs

1 1/2 cups unsulfured molasses

1) Mix flour, baking soda, salt, and spices together in a medium sized bowl.

2) Beat butter and sugar with a mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Add eggs one by one making sure to beat well. Beat in molasses. Reduce the mixing speed to the slowest setting. Gradually add flour mix and beat until evenly combined. Divide dough into thirds and wrap each ball or bundle in plastic. Refrigerate for one hour.

3) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place flour dusting onto parchment paper and roll dough to a 1/4 inch thick. Brush off excess flour off of rolled dough. Place in freezer for 20 minutes.

4) Cut out cookies (as described above) and transfer to parchment lined baking sheets and freeze for 20 minutes.

5) Bake cookies for 5 minutes. Remove cookies from oven and tap on oven top or counter to flatten cookies. Place back in oven and bake for 3 to 5 minutes. Make sure they do not darken unless your logo needs that effect.

6) Cool on parchment sheets or wire racks.

" Wow! This is quite amazing! Who would have ever thought you could make your logo into a cookie."

-- Emily Boyd, UO Alumni Association

Truly Remarkable Checking

I thought it would be almost impossible for a financial institution to offer a checking account that would generate a higher return on interest than most savings accounts but guess what? Oregon Community Credit Union has done just that.

Just last month, the OCCU introduced Remarkable Checking. Can you believe it? Something remarkable sitting out in plain view for everyone to see.

I jumped into my car and visited my local branch to ask what the catch was. You know what they said? No catch. The credit union was just wanting to act like a credit union by serving its members the best they could. Sure you need to sign up for online banking, get your statements via the website and use your ATM card ten times but hey, who's not doing that already.

You know what? By getting your statements online you save paper which saves trees. That's good news. And also when you sign up for Remarkable Checking you can use any ATM for FREE. Yes FREE. Yes any ATM. Not just credit union ATM's, but the banks ATM's as well. Now that worth the switch all by itself.

Sometime businesses forget that the best marketing they can do is provide the best services they can and the good will generated will most certainly grow their business.

We All Scream For Ice Cream

This Tuesday Ben & Jerry's Homemade, Inc. holds their annual FREE Ice Cream Day at all their stores world wide. Everyone can enjoy a FREE cone between noon and 8pm on April 17th, 2007. Giving free ice cream is the perfect way for Ben & Jerry's to remind people where their store locations are before the hot season hits.

Giving away a free product or services is an excellent word-of-mouth generator that can be better and cheaper then most other forms of advertising. Give the people a free try and in turn they'll spread the word about your wonderful business. As you can tell from this blog, I've already started to spread the word for Ben & Jerry's and I can't wait to get my free scoop of Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough.

A Sign Of The Times

When IKEA decided to open a new location in the Portland area, it found itself building in the new remote shopping area -- Cascade Station. The future appears bright for this new shopping area with its close proximity to the PDX airport, the Glenn Jackson bridge (which crosses over to the state of Washington), and the new light rail transit center.

The concern for IKEA must have been on how to promote its new store in what can only be deemed as a destination location. Do you know what they decided to do? They decided on a REALLY BIG SIGN.

The sign IKEA erected stands 100 feet tall and proudly announces their new location. This sign can be seen from miles around and had IKEA chosen not to erect it, they would surely be lost in the hustle and bustle of airport commuting. I'm sure IKEA never wanted to hear the dreaded phase, "Oh, I forgot you had a store over there."

With thousands of people flying in and out of the city of Portland everyday it is up to IKEA to do something BIG to get their attention. There's nothing better for marketing to foot traffic (or car traffic for this matter) than a REALLY BIG SIGN.

What Does Your City's Postcard Look Like?

The minute you see an huge arch featured in a photograph you instantly recognize it as being the city of St. Louis. The same is true for the Space Needle of Seattle and soon Portland will be branded as the city with an Ariel Tram.

While the Tram was designed to carry workers to a hospital atop a southwest Portland hill, its marketing function is hardly mentioned. I'll guarantee that you'll soon be able to find glorious sunsets and sunrise shots of the Tram on postcards all over town. These cards will then be mailed around the world thus began the steady process of branding Portland, Oregon as the city with a shiny silver Aerial Tram.

This type of direct mail marketing that is likely to garner national news and draw tourist interest to a city that until now hasn't had a major monument of its own. A smart move by a city looking to improve on an already outstanding brand.

So when you think to yourself of how the rest of the world visualizes your city, ask yourself, "What does my city's postcard look like?"

The Future Is Here

What is supposed to be a reality in the not-to-distant future, is found in the here and now. Take for example Disney's Future House of the 1960's. Built as a theme park attraction for patrons to see what a "Home of the Future" would look like, it was eventually torn down because it couldn't stay ahead of technology.

In 1980 when I was 10 years-old, I visited Disneyland in the hopes of getting a glimpse of what the future might look like in my own home. Once my family was inside the Disneyland park walls, I ran directly to the Future House. To my dismay, I found that the exhibit was closed. I was turned away by a young woman standing on the steps leading to the front door. I asked her why I couldn't go in and she replied with a smile, "There's nothing in this house that you don't have in your own home." I asked, "Like what?" She smiled once again and said with a sigh, "Our biggest future item was the microwave oven and now everyone has one of those in their homes. We decided that we can't keep up with how fast products are being released to the public so we decided to closed the exhibit." I thought at the time this was kind of interesting considering they had an area in the park named Future World.

The lesson I learned that day was that when you are dealing with technology you have to be prepared not to wait for the future to come, but to understand that the future is already here.

I Want My AppleTV

Last week Apple finally released its AppleTV. The future of television is changing and the cable industry should be nervous.

AppleTV is really a very "special wireless ipod" that hooks up to an HDTV. The rub with this new product is the HDTV connection limits its use to only high-end users who own an HDTV. Also, iTunes (Apple's music and video sharing software) only sells standard definition programming so the High Definition connection is essentially negated. So why should the cable industry be nervous of a devices that has such a limited audience?

It's the potential of the device Apple has developed. Apple thinks about the future when it creates something. It may or may not take-off but Apple plants the idea of what is to come. Don't you hate it when cable companies keep increasing rates on a ton of channels you'll never watch? With AppleTV you'll be able to watch the shows you want, when you want. You pay for only what you need.

Are you a fan of Project Runway and have to pay for extended cable to get the Bravo Channel? No more. You'll be able to get the shows you want downloaded the moment it's available. In the next few years, brand new TV shows will be released on iTunes for your AppleTV at the same time it's released on cable/dish/standard TV. The day your favorite TV show is released, your computer will download it and you'll be able to watch it anytime. No more waiting for a 10pm showtime.

How will the TV industry make money? Buy selling the shows directly to consumers. The movie industry has known for years that the real money is in selling the movies direct through DVD. Many movies made today make a lot more money with DVD sales than the theatrical release ever does. Heck, the movie industry is getting ready to release its product via download so the consumer gets the movies they want instantly and the movie industry no longer has to spend money printing DVD packaging. The TV industry is just following suit.

So what does this mean to you and me? In the next five years, cable will have new competition from the computer world as people "cut" their cable and plug wirelessly into their computers.

When New Is Old

You've probably seen or hear that Cingular is now the "The new at&t." Wait a minute. Wasn't AT&T Wireless bought up by Cingular? I mean, I used to have my wireless service with AT&T and then it was Cingular and now it's at&t. What gives? I just had to know, so I call my local Cingular dealer.

A male staffer over the phone told me that nothing was changing with my service but just the name was changing. I reminded him that it was just AT&T a year and a half ago. He agreed with me and stated again that the change was in name only and not in service. It was only going to affect them only internally. That's when I had to chime in and say, "So what's new about AT&T?" If you've been paying attention to the way I refer to AT&T and how Cingular refers to at&t you'll "see" what the difference is. Still don't have it yet?

Here's the difference. The old AT&T used all caps in its logo, where the new at&t uses all lowercase letters. When the staffer told me this I said, "What? So the only thing new with AT&T is that it modified its logo?" He replied, "Yep. That's it." I politely thanked him for his time and decided to forget all about it. That is until I started seeing the "The new at&t" plastered everywhere. They must be sending tens of millions to get the word out. What's the lesson here?

If you want everyone to think you're new but you're not, just spend a lot of money on advertising to tell everyone that you're "new." And heck, maybe just making your old logo new by changing the case of the letters like AT&T did, or is that at&t. I guess as long as my service stays the same I'm okay with the new at&t. I was just looking forward to something "new" from at&t. Wait a minute, I guess there is something new for me from at&t. I get to type their name in a new way. Plus, they have me talking about them so I guess the advertising must be working.

Art Is Everywhere - 1% for Art

You may have seen some interesting art outside a new building and thought, "Why do so many building have these strange pieces of art?" Well, many states mandate that when public money is use to build a new building, 1% of the cost should go to art. So if you are in search of finding new art, usually large structures, find the newest building in your town.

Take for example the art in this photograph. It commands a large presence outside the new business complex at the University of Oregon. At first glance, it appears to be a huge metal wall. But if you wait for a moment and if you're lucky enough for a slight breeze, you'll be surprised to see a ripple of a wave move from panel to panel as small metal squares blow gently in the wind. It's quite unexpected.

The next time you see something new being built, wander around it and you never know what art you might stumble across.

This Is The Droid You've Been Looking For

Experience the POWER OF THE PARTNERSHIP by visiting your local R2D2 mailbox at a street corner near you. Partnering with another business is nothing new in marketing but it's how you utilize that partnership that can create a powerful force.

Take for example the new partnership between LucasFilm, LTD. (the creators of Star Wars) and the United States Postal Service (USPS). To generate buzz about the 30th Anniversary of Star Wars, these two organizations have plenty of options to choose from. Options such as creating a new series of stamps, displaying promotional materials in post offices across America, and having mail men/women handout promotional toys to children on their routes. But all of that has been done before. When partnering with another organization, you need to find a way to set yourself apart from all those marketing efforts that have been previously done. You need to ask the questions, "What is our hook?" and "What will make this special so people will take notice." It appears that LucasFilm and the USPS have answered these questions.

There are thousands of USPS blue mail boxes all over the United States. Most have prime real estate with heavy foot traffic. The problem is that most of these mail boxes have faded into the background. You just don't see them anymore. That is why this partnership is brilliant. R2D2 (actually written in the film script as Artoo-Detoo) is the perfect shape for a USPS mailbox which easily displays the promotional website www.uspsjedimaster.com. Beginning March 28th, clues will be posted on the site for a surprise promotion. If you visit the site, you'll be able to watch a specially modified movie clip that ends with an option of receiving an email reminder. This is a great way to measure the response rate to this partnering effort.

So on the journey to find your nearest R2D2 mailbox, remember what See-Threepio (C-3PO) said, "Artoo! Artoo-Detoo, where are you?"

More Than A Phone

Do you ever feel like Apple, Inc. overhears your product ideas and then releases it back to you a few years later? I sure do. I've always wanted a device that I could take with me everywhere and do everything, all while comfortably fitting into the palm of my hand. I believe Apple has created such a device.

What makes the iPhone different from other cell phones? It's a mobile computer first and a cellular phone second. That's my impression of the iPhone after watching the demo on the Apple website. Even the iPhone's display face doesn't even resemble the traditional cell phone. The "phone" button is just one of many choices you can make on an iPhone. As the photo shows, this is not a cell phone with added cool features, this is a handheld computer that has the ability to make calls.

Apple has created a device that appears to be upgradeable. What kind of upgrades? Software upgrades. Cell phones so far have been mostly disposable. If you find that you need new features for your cell phone, you generally have to discard your old device and purchase a new one. With the iPhone, you'll be able to download new software (I'm sure at a fee) that will continue to expand the capabilities of your iPhone. You could essentially keep the same iphone for a much longer period of time than we do now with our current cell phones. A major benefit when you consider the high retail price of the iPhone ($499 & $599).

Apple has changed the way we receive music and now Apple will be changing the way we receive phone calls. I can hardly wait to wrap my hand around an iphone and do something other than make a call.

Get Smart

On our honeymoon two years-ago, my wife and I were walking down the back streets of Rome when suddenly I was stopped dead in my tracks. It was so tiny I wasn't sure it was real. I snapped a quick photo. I was sure that I had found something rare. This turned out not to be the case when we turned the next corner only to see another. I thought, "Who makes these?", "Is it safe" and "How do I get one."

Now my wife wasn't as taken with the car as I was, but we both fancy ourselves to be early adopters of new products. We were one of the first people to buy an ipod (the one with the short battery life/monochrome screen), a digital camera (the big brick type) and the Scion XB (the small looking station wagon with a huge interior). So naturally, we found ourselves interested in the Smart car. As we continued to travel all over Europe, we started to see the Smart car everywhere. It made me personally want to get one more than ever. Guess what? The Smart car just hit American soil. Oh, we plan to take a test drive ASAP.

I've read that the imported Smart car has great handling (Mercedes engine) and gets 40 miles to the gallon (excellent). This fall, the Smart cars they plan to release for the US market will be six inches longer, have more storage space and run on engines made by Mitsubishi with a base price starting under $15,000. The import starts at $25,900. A little steep for such a tiny car. I bet the extra price is for the Mercedes engine.

Now my wife is 6' 2" and I'm 6' 4" so fitting into the Smart car is a bit of a concern (especially my wife's concern). So I went online and found some great ads that changed her tune. Check them out at http://www.smartusa.com/movies.html.

So if you're like us and enjoy watching people rubberneck when you drive by, I would think about getting a Smart car. Oh, the car has a top speed 90mph. Very zip zip zoom.

Where Do Ideas Come From?

Some people get ideas all the time, others seem to have none. But how can someone who doesn't get ideas, get ideas all the time?

I'll answer that question with an idea I have about ideas. Ideas come from "What if," "How can this be better," and "Why" statements. When you see things in your world, try and connect them together. For example, a clock and a radio -- BANG! clock radio (I know you saw that one coming). I bet whoever first thought of that connection sure made a bundle of cash.

And another example of coming up with an idea is asking a question such as, "Why do showers still use water?" A question like this leads you think about other ways to get clean without the use of water. Possible? Probably. Is it going to happen? Only if someone out there asks the question and then most importantly takes action.

Ideas are everywhere and if your willing to take the risk and make some idea statements, you'll find ideas coming to you all the time.

The North American "Coffee Break" Brought To You By Starbucks

On Thursday, March 15th from 10am to noon, most of the United States and Canada will find itself standing in line at a Starbucks. Why you might ask?

Well, Starbucks is offering a FREE 12oz. coffee at any of it North American locations. Starbucks promoting this event as a "Coffee Break." And to make sure you don't forget (and I'm not sure what coffee drinker would) they are very quietly offering a reminder via text message if you text BREAK to MYSBUX (697289) or visit starbucks.com. Since nothing is for FREE anymore, why is Starbucks making such a kind offering to all of North America? I'll tell you why and why it's brilliant.

In the age of partnering with other businesses to increase awareness and market share, Starbucks is using this two hour event to promote the use of text messaging in association with its stores. The new wave in marketing today is getting your message directly to your customers via mobile media (cell phone devices). What better way to spread the word than to do the best word-of-mouth generator possible, give something away for FREE to get people to try your product. The deal here is that the product isn't coffee, it's the text messaging (which I'm sure makes the mobile phone industry smile).

Not only will Starbucks remind you of the event, they can also provide you with a nearby Starbucks via their new service which gives you two options for finding the nearest Starbucks coffeehouse in the U.S. or Canada. Ah ha, now isn't that convenient! You can do this by texting your zip or postal code of your current location to MYSBUX (697289)*, and they’ll send you three store matches in your neighborhood. Can you see where we're going here? Oh and of course, carrier charges may apply for using text messages.

As you can see, Starbucks is testing how it can best reach its customers via mobile device, by offering you a chance to stand in line on March 15th for a FREE cup of coffee. Enjoy.

McMenamins Kennedy School Will Surprise You

If you ever wanted to see someone's wildest dream come true, visit the Kennedy School in Northeast Portland, Oregon.

Since 1983, brothers Mike and Brian McMenamin have championed the philosophy, "It's got to be fun," and over the last 24 years these two brothers have created a "Kingdom of Fun," with more than 54 neighborhood gathering spots in Oregon and Washington. To create this amazing organization, the brothers found that art, live music and history could draw people together into one location, reinforcing a new sense of community.

The Kennedy School is special because it embodies all the spirit of the original establishment for all its patrons to enjoy. You can walk the hallways and view historic art, take in dinner plus a movie, sleep in an old classroom, enjoy a dip in the soaking pool, or spend some time with friends in the building's three small bars. This is an impressive offering but it doesn't end there. The building offers free wireless Internet access throughout the property, the gift shop provides a variety of unique mementos, and you can plan your next special occasion here at one of the main event spaces. Personally, I had a great time at the Kennedy School when my wife's high school reunion took place in the historic gym.

It amazing what two brothers can do when they make their wildest dream a reality for all of us to share.

Shop In Japan Without Ever Leaving America

Just about every city in America has a Japanese community that is supported by Japanese retail. If you want to get a small taste of what it would be like to shop in Japan, stop by your local Japanese store. You'll be amazed by what you'll find.

I find that I enjoy walking up and down the store aisles, exploring a sea of new products. I wonder what everything is, and what everything is used for. If you've ever wanted to make sushi (which is fun to do), a Japanese market is the place to go. You'll most likely need some assistance in understanding the products available, since most of the packaging will be in Japanese. Ask any sales clerk for help and they'll be glad to assist you in finding what you're looking for and maybe even something new.

Umajimaya Asian market is located in Seattle, Bellevue, and Beaverton, Oregon. The store includes food, books, sushi restaurant, clothing, and gifts.

Look For The Fiction In Your Reality

The rise in popularity of documentary films made over the last few years has lead to a new form of entertainment that can only be described as Realfiction. How does Realfiction affect you and I? Well, if you're not ready for it, it will be ready for you.

I'll be the first to say that I enjoy this type of comedy. "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" is hilarious for those of us who had a good sense of humor. You'll find Jon and his merry men and women out and about making fun of those things that need making fun of. A classic bit done on one of the shows is a few years is back is when one of Jon's merry men goes to a Hunting Preserve to explain how Vice President Dick Chaney could have shot his friend in the face. If you ever get a chance to see or hear this comedic news segment, you'll be rolling on the floor. I bet you can find it on YouTube.com.

Now Realfiction is rearing its funny head in feature films. The most successful and famous example of Realfiction in a film is, "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan." If any movie has tried to push every button, this one has done a great job of it.

Borat is the creation of Sacha Baron Cohen who first started doing this character of Borat on his hit BBC show "Da Ali G Show." Sacha Baron Cohen throws his fictional character Borat onto unsuspecting people who in the end show their true colors. It amazes me what people will say when they think Boart is "real." The downside of Realfiction is that the popularity of Borat means Sacha Baron Cohen can no longer enter the real world in this character without everyone knowing that it's just a gag.

So the next time you find yourself in the real world, be on the lookout for Realfiction because Realfiction is looking for you.

Visit The Small Town In Your Big City

Before the skyscrapers moved into your current busy downtown, you'll find that your city was just a small town with many neighboring little towns. As the years passed, your city grew big and gobbled up its little neighboring towns making them the cities neighborhoods. Even though the downtown got really big with the influx of large corporate businesses, many of the neighborhoods did not. Most of these humble neighborhoods have stayed true to their original architecture and resemble the towns they once where. Of course many of the shops have changed, but the local flavor has not.

In the photo shown here, this is Multnomah Village which is located inside the city limits of Portland, Oregon with a population closing in on a million people. It's a fun town with lots of interesting shops and great restaurants. This is my local town in my big city.

One hundred percent of your dollars spent in these local shops stay in the local economy. Your dollars help grow and sustain the neighborhoods you live in. While I can agree that the malls are important to the economy, the challenge for you is, the next time you want to go shopping, try shopping in your very own small town.

Don't Sweat It. Remarkable Tribute to Richard Carlson

I can remember when I was in my mid-twenties when I first saw, "Don't Worry, Make Money" sitting on the shelf of my local bookstore. I just had to have it. Worry-free money making, that was for me.

This was my introduction to the wonderful writings of Richard Carlson. Richard is most famously known for his bestselling book, "Don't Sweat The Small Stuff...and It's All Small Stuff." Personally, I found his books unique because each chapter was only a page or two. Even with the chapters so short, they where long on great advice on so many different topics. Most of Richard's books focused on how to be happy and how to reduce stress. I was sad to hear that Richard Carlson died suddenly of a heart attack (at the early age of 45) on December 13, 2006, on the way to New York to promote his new book, "Don't Get Scrooged."

What makes Richard Carlson so remarkable? It's how many people his thirty popular books touched. He had 26 million copies in print and they were published in 35 languages and sold in over 130 countries. Now that's impressive.

Richard proved with his own life as an example, that everyone can be happy and successful with very little perspiration.

The Fourth Place

You can boost your creative and innovative output tremendously if you can find a Fourth Place. What is the forth place you might ask? The Fourth Place is an area you can go to get away from everything. Yes, everything. All the distractions and interruptions that enter you daily life. Why is it called the Fourth Place?

Well, Starbucks is famous for developing the concept that their stores are the Third Place people go in their lives. The First Place people go is their home, the Second Place they go is their work, and the Third Place is Starbucks. They believe a person can go into their stores to experience their local community and get away from their First and Second Places. Much like that of pubs in Europe.

I have always championed that it is important to find a Fourth Place. A place you can relax and have the time to decompress from all your daily hassles and regenerate mentally. Once you start going to your Fourth Place on a regular basis (weekly is best), you'll be surprised to find your productivity level way up, especially if you have to be creative, innovative or problem solve at any of your other three places.

Word of 10 Mouths

Want to know a marketing secret? It goes back to the dawn of commerce. Way, way back.

The secret is, the most powerful form of marketing a business can create is word-of-mouth. Especially in today's world where marketing messages are everywhere, all the time. There are so many advertisements directed at you that you start to block them out and they fade into the background. So what is a business to do to get noticed?

Take a look at what Chipotle Mexican Grill is doing. They are known to spend far less than their competitors on marketing efforts. It woundn't be hard to prove that Chipotle's marketing budget can't hold a candle to that of Taco Bells'. But Chipotle is the fastest growing Mexican food chain today. How? Because one of their most powerful marketing tools is generating word-of-mouth. Here's how they do it. It's easy and inexpensive to do.

I'm sitting in my car driving down the road to meet a client and the cell phone rings in my ear (wireless bluetooth headset). I answer and a friendly female voice on the other side says, "Hi. This is Jessica from the Downtown Chipotle Mexican Grill and you have won TEN free Burritos." I say, "Wow. That's great. Now, how did I do that?" She said, "You put your business card in our fishbowl and it was chosen as this weeks winner. I'll fax you a form and you can order any ten menu items you'd like." I tell her thanks and I decide to drive on over and pick up a menu directly from the store. So what does a guy do with ten burritos?

I call a few of my favorite clients and asked if they'd like me to bring them a free meal courtesy of Chipotle Mexican Grill. Of course they all say, "we'd love a free meal." I then take their order and explain the entire Chipotle menu to them. Can you see what just happened? Chipotle got me to tell ten other people about their product and then get new people to try their product. That's amazing. That's getting your product directly into the hands of a consumer. No amount of advertising can do that. It appears that spending their marketing dollars on giving it away is a great way to stimulate word-of-mouth.

You know the saying, "The more you give, the more you get." So the next time your looking at your marketing budget, spice it up by seeing what you can give so you can receive.

It's A Dog Eat Cake World

You can always tell when you are standing in the presence of something truly remarkable. You know how? You'll find yourself saying, "Wow!"

Such is the case with a cake we bought our dog on his second birthday. We invited all of Flash's (our Italian Greyhound) close friends over to our home (all that are social) for a chance to play together for two hours. If you really think about it, a dog party is just an excuse to spend time with your human friends who have dogs. As an added bonus, the dogs get all worn out. Now what was so special about that cake we bought?

As you can see from the photo attached to this article, the cake is something special. The minute my wife opened the cake box with a big bow on it I knew this cake was going to be different. Heck, who puts a bow on a dog cake or a human cake for that matter. You know what? It was better than I could have ever imagined. My wife turned to me and said, "It looks better than our wedding cake" and I hate to admit this, but she was right. This cake is REMARKABLE and it's for our dog. Wow!

Now the dogs didn't care what the cake looked like but they sure enjoyed the taste. Our dog's brother Bruno, who is a very finicky eater, ate his entire piece of cake to his owner's surprise. They wanted to know right there, right then, where we got a cake that their dog would eat every last morsel of. So I told them and now I'm telling you.

It's time to do the bakers honors by giving them the word-of-mouth marketing they deserve. To generate a ton of "WOWS" at your next bow wow party, order a cake from Bone-Jour Gour-Mutt Bakery and Boutique. You can find them at the West Linn Central Village on Hwy 43, 5656 Hood Street, Suite 107 West Linn, Oregon 97068. Their phone number is 503-557-2328.

Oh, to top it all off, the bakers makes every cake fresh the day of the party. Wow!

It's All In The Presentation

Everywhere you go, you can take take something ordinary and make it extraordinary. How you might ask?

The best way to explain this is by an example. Take the carrot cake to the right. Looks pretty tasty if you like carrot cake. I'm planning on serving this cake at an event presented just the way it is in the photo. Surely it must have been freshly made with the best ingredients. I even once had a woman say that my carrot cake tastes better than her very own award-winning carrot cake. She just had to have my recipe. That feels pretty cool for someone who bought this wonderfully awesome carrot cake at Winco for $6.98. Imagine if I had just left the carrot cake in its boring clear round plastic container sitting atop cardboard. I guaranty you that no one would have ever thought to enter this carrot cake into any contest, let alone become an award-winner.

So if you want to increase the value of anything, present it in it best light and you'll be surprised to find out how well received it will be.

How To See A Purple Cow In The City

Seth Godin's book "Purple Cow" describes what it's like to see a cow in the country side for the first time. It's exciting. You might even go "moo." But after a while, all cows in the country start to look alike and you stop noticing them. Unless you saw a Purple Cow. Then you might turn your head to take a look. So how do you see a Purple Cow in a city where there are no cows?

Well, the idea of the Purple Cow concept is being something remarkably different from all those similar things around you. All cities are full of houses. All are pretty much the same. But every once in a while an architect moves into your neighborhood. They love to find an open lot and build the home of their dreams. And the homes they build for themselves are Purple Cows. Love them or hate them, these buildings stand out and say, "an architect is home."

Should I Stay Or Should I Go Now

No one really thinks much about the waiting area in the front of their business. But you know, they should. Because the waiting area is the first impression customers will have about your business. And as we all know, it's all about first impressions.

Here's how it goes. Once the customer steps into your business, they pause, looks around, and wonder "should I stay or should I go now." The simple truth is, if the waiting area looks inviting, they'll stay and if it looks uncomfortable, they'll leave. So what can you do to make the customer want to stay?

Just put yourself in your customer's shoes. Think to yourself, if I was going to wait here, what would I like to see and feel? Does my waiting area represent the businesses brand? Most importantly, how long should any wait actually be?

DRINK LESS

It has been said that the sure fire way to lose weight is to EAT LESS. If only it were that simple. The problem is we pay no attention to the amount we eat and what that means calorie wise. But this assumes that everyone who is over weight is an over eater. What if your overweight and you don't eat very much? Now I know that doesn't make much sense, but when you think about it, it is possible.

I have a very good friend who decided one day that it was time to lose her "pear" shape. I mentioned to her that I had read in Oprah magazine that most people underestimate the number of calories they take in a day by a 1,000 calories. That means if you take in an extra 1,000 more calories a day then you need, you will put one pound on every three and a half days (one pound is equal to 3,500 calories). Ouch! That's fast. Here's what my friends problem was.

She claimed that she didn't eat that much. Probably like you, I figured she snuck food. So I asked her to count her calories for a few days. When she came back and told me everything she had eaten, it only totalled to an average of 1,100 calories a day. Once I saw this figure I was convinced that she was sneaking food. But you know what, as I looked at her list of foods she had eaten, she hadn't listed anything she drank. Hum, maybe she's drinking her calories I thought. So I asked her what she had to drink that day and boy was I surprised.

She started her morning with a Starbucks drink that was 600 calories. Later she would drink soda pop that amounted to about 400 calories. Later she would drink a soda again for another 400 calories. And in the evening she would drink a few beers or have a few glasses of wine. I was stunned. She was taking in an average of 1,800 calories everyday from liquids. There was the problem in black and white. Once you added the 1,100 calories of food she was eating everyday, there was her weight gain. So you know what she did?

She lost 40 pounds over a few shorts months (and she looks great) by cutting back on all the high calorie drinks. She has a small coffee drink in the morning (170 calories) and diet soda whenever she needs something sweet with her meals. She drinks beer and wine only on special occasions and only one beer or one glass of wine. Since she doesn't overeat, the weight just flew off her body. So what does this mean?

No one has been thinking about the people who are "over drinkers." The saying should be, eat and DRINK LESS to lose weight. Still, easier said then done.

Art Is Everywhere - Powell's Bookstore

The problem is most of us don't take the time to stop and view it. I try to take a mental note of where art can be found in the areas I travel the most. In my experience, art has a tendency to hide in plain view.

Take Powell's Bookstore in Portland, Oregon for example. Way up on the third floor, in the area reserved for book readings, you will find a gallery of surprisingly different art that is well worth the trek. I bet many shoppers go to Powell's to find a wonderful new or used book but don't realize the art offering on the third floor. And let me tell you, every time I venture up there, I am always surprised to find art that I wouldn't normally see on my daily travels.

So the next time you find yourself out and about, stop and enjoy the art.

Most Advertising is Dead on Arrival

This is the famous quote from advertising strategist, Chris Riley, who felt that "most advertising is dead on arrival." Why you might ask?

Well, Chris realized that the world is cluttered with too much advertising causing people to ignore advertising all together. So what is an advertiser to do?

An advertiser must focus their ads on a narrow target market. What does that mean?

Don't blast ads every where across the globe hoping that the right person will view it. Find out who that "right person" is and then give them advertising they won't mind seeing in their world.

What is Remarkable?

Seth Godin is a recognized marketing guru who created the idea of the Purple Cow. His basic idea is that to become a successful business or marketer, one needs only do the following:
1) Be remarkable.
2) Network with people who want to hear from you.
3) Get customers.

His idea has become a goal for myself and my design and marketing firm -- to be remarkable.