Yaffe Tidbits

3 Things Every Entrepreneur Should Do

Just five months ago, 23-year-old Mallory Brown started a new company called World Clothes Line. Already, business is good and seems to be getting better by the day. It's a company who's time has come. People today want the brands they buy to be good corporate citizens and give back to the world around them. Brown decided that idea wouldn't be a part of her business, it would BE her business. It's a business model base on philanthropic giving.

World Clothing Line sells clothes, oddly enough. For every item you buy, an identical one is given to someone in need of clothing in one of three countries: the U.S., Peru and Indonesia. Brown has clothing designs that reflect the countries that she's giving in, So if you buy the Peru hoodie, one just like it is given to someone in Peru. Already World Clothing Line has given away clothing to two groups of needy people in Detroit. Soon, Brown plans to leave to take her first shipment to Peru. In fact there's a fund raiser to fund the trip tomorrow night.

Brown spoke at the Social Media Club Detroit monthly meeting last week and told her story about how she has seen this success almost completely through word of mouth and social media. When asked what three things she would tell a starting entrepreneur, this is what she said:

1. Celebrate the small victories. It's easy to focus on the big picture and the end goal. But you can drive yourself crazy or get discouraged that way, because it comes slowly. Instead look for small victories each day. Brown said her victory the day before was that she was talking to someone new and found out that they had heard of her company and knew what they were all about.

2. Tell your story as many times as you can. You never know who might be listening. She was talking with someone in a coffee shop about something she needed for her business and another person overheard. That person knew someone else who could help her with that exact issue.

3. Never underestimate anyone. Brown says that some of the most amazing help she's gotten have come from people she didn't expect anything from at all. Often when she goes to an event where she expects to meet a lot of people who can help her, nothing ever comes of it. But, its at those events and places that she has no expectations that she has often meet her strongest advocates.

Considering how far Miss Brown has come in such a short time, I'd recommend taking her advice.

Mike McClure, learning what Brown can do for me.

Photos by Jenni Murray

Passion Making Beautiful Music in Detroit

It's amazing what passion can do. As I write this, I'm sitting in a studio in downtown Detroit watching an incredible group of musicians come together for a cause. The cause is helping fellow Detroiters who are down on their luck and need a helping hand. We've barely started and already I have chills.

We got together with Harmonie Park Media Group to record a song for the Capuchin Soup Kitchen's annual SOCK event. Well known local singers, members of nationally known Detroit bands and some new talent just breakinginto the scene are combining their talents in a "we are the world" type tribute. The energy is palpable in the studio. The vibe is very upbeat and everyone is excited to do their part.

This is the same kind of energy I'm finding all over Detroit today. People are coming together in the spirit of hope and optimism for what we can accomplish together. I felt it last week at the DIA when TedX Detroit was going on - although that was at a much larger scale. Today, it's smaller but much more personal. It's something I can feel vibrating through the air. Everyone is giving of their time for free, the studio, the musicians, the technical people, the video crew, writers and arrangers, a local radio celebrity who's doing interviews, those of at The Yaffe Group and Harmonie Park. Because it's something we all believe in. And it's the right thing to do.

People in Detroit have always been willing to lend a helping hand and work hard to create success for those who need it most. I've been involved in a lot of these kinds of things over the years. But, today is special. I don't know if I can describe the true feeling here. For one thing, we're just laying down the music track and in the control room filled with about 15 or so people, half of them are just spontaneously singing along. the rest are bobbing and swaying. It may sound corny, but that's not the feeling in the room at all. It's that kind of vibe today.

The soup kitchen brought us food for lunch, sandwiches and a very tasty stuffed pepper soup. It was the same lunch that they served their clients today. Helped get us all in the spirit even more.

Now the singers are in the studio singing to the tracks we laid down earlier. They have a different vibe than the musicians - spending much of the down time verbally jousting with each other. Then, as soon at the track starts to roll they blend seamlessly into a one voice of many voices. It is a perfect metaphor for what will pick Detroit up - if we can all set aside our barbs and blend our many voices into one, we can do wonders. Later, each singer takes their turn in the spotlight, highlighting their individual talents. Again, you have to work together, but that doesn't mean you have to hide or downplay your individual talents.

Well, that was my amazing day. It was something I really needed personally. We've all been working really hard lately and a day immersed in a project like this was good for my mind, body and soul! A big thank you to the everyone involved. More on the song and video later - the CD/DVD will be available and your contributions can help the Capuchins in their valuable work, helping Detroiters.

Mike McClure, music lover, loving life in the D

How to Start Up a Business Over the Weekend

If you have the right team and put your mind to it, you can create a start up business over the weekend. That's one of the things I learned at StartUp Weekend Detroit this last weekend. It was a great weekend of hard work, team building and fun. I learned a few other things you need to get a business off the ground, too.

What is Startup Weekend? To quote their website, "Startup Weekend recruits a highly motivated group of developers, businesss managers, startup enthusiasts, marketing gurus, graphic artists and more to a 54 hour event that builds communities, companies and projects." It mirrors the country's move to a more entrepreneurial society, bringing together people who have a desire to either start their own business or help someone start theirs. The weekend starts with pitches to the whole group from anyone with an idea for a business. Then, people choose which ideas have the most merit, break into teams and start to build their businesses. It culminates with each team making a live pitch. You can see all the pitches from StartUp Weekend Detroit here.

I had a wonderful, exhausting, intense and educational experience. Along the way, I learned some important traits you need to have, if you're going to get your idea off the ground. To help illustrate this, I've linked to some of the new business sites built over the weekend below, most are prototypes for you to see the idea and not actual working sites (yet). Here, in no particular order, are some of the traits you must have:

Passion. With all the obstacles you need to overcome to launch a business, sometimes it's hard to keep going . But, if it's an idea you are passionate about, you won't quit. And that's half the battle, keeping at it no matter what. The team I was on worked well together, worked hard and had great ideas. But, it was obvious from the start that our leader had no passion for it. He made it clear from the beginning that he wasn't going to take it any farther than the weekend, no one on the team was even willing to pony up the $10.49 to buy the url for the site. He's a great guy and worked as hard as anyone, but his heart wasn't in it. And so no one went at it with great gusto.

Contrast that with the ReFrame Detroit group. Their leader lived and breathed the idea with tremendous passion. They found a conference room and almost never came out of there, working tirelessly through meals, presentations and after half the other teams had gone away. And even though they didn't present the winning idea on Sunday, it was fully developed and you could see the sheer amount of "above and beyond" effort they put into it. The presenter didn't read from a script or stumble through his presentation like many of us, he prowled the stage speaking from the heart without checking the screen or notes. I'm sure they will continue to go forward after all is said and done.

Innovation. When all is said and done, it comes down to this: is your idea a new one we've never seen before? Do you have a new way of looking at the world? A new way of doing something? A completely new product or service? If you do, you greatly enhance your chances to succeed. You can't be afraid to go big and present something unknown to your investors. Site Fog, the team that won the jury vote, started with the bold premise "we're going to reinvent the Internet model." What they presented was indeed a new way of looking at doing business on the net. It was so technical, that a non-data-head like myself had no clue what they were talking about half the time. But, even I knew they were on to something exciting. The tech people in the room who did know what they were presenting were going crazy and it was infectious.

Connect. Whether it's your intended audience or the investors you need to woo, you need to make a strong connection. You can do it by tapping into emotional needs, as the Naked Detroit team did with their pitch to create a more positive image of Detroit. But, if you can combine emotional needs, with other factors, like peer pressure, social morays, pyschographic and demographic targeting, you really have something. That's what the Cause Crazy team did with their start up aimed at getting a younger generation to be involved and give to various charities. They connected well with the audience in the room as well, winning both the Startup Weekend audience vote and the jury's "most fun" award.

If you want to take part of the entrepreneurial spirit gaining traction across the world, take some of these lessons to heart. Better yet, find a Startup Weekend event near you. They take place all across the globe. Rumor has it another one will be in Detroit at the end of the summer.

Mike McClure, Exec Creative Director & Business Fan

Can You See the Post Digital World From Here?

The world of marketing and business is changing so fast, chances are you feel like you're falling hopelessly behind in some aspect of it. Everyone is sorting through all the digital and social marketing tools and trends that seem to pop up like weeds overnight. And as soon as you learn one thing, something new comes along that you have to learn. You finally jump on the foursquare bandwagon and suddenly Facebook announces it's new geolocation service that just might make foursquare obsolete. Or will it? Nobody knows for sure. It's both an exciting and frustrating time for businesses and marketers alike.

The real problem isn't that you can't keep up. It's that you're so busy trying to keep up that you don't see where we're really going. And you probably won't be ready for it when it gets here. Just where are we going? Is there a post digital world coming that we can't see through all the apps popping up in our vision today?

Shiv Singh of Razorfish talked about this very subject at the Future Midwest conference last month. He said we're beginning to go through a Digital Renaissance. He likened this to the Renaissance period in history. Where the Renaissance was a bridge between the middle ages and modern era, the Digital Renaissance is a bridge between the Digital Age and the Post Digital Era. And now is the time to start thinking beyond the digital age we're in. Singh talked about how things are changing. Consumers don't align with brands the way they used to, they instead are starting to align with each other. Hotels are starting to worry way more about their online trip adviser ratings than advertising, because that's the biggest influencer of travelers. Ad dollars are moving to digital. Digital is beginning to become an awareness driver equal to TV; it doesn't have the reach TV has but it's getting there.

Singh describes the post digital era as one where we don't think about or talk about digital, it's just an ambient part of our life. Our living rooms will have more computing power than the combined might of the entire Royal Oak Music Theater full of geeks' laptops and cell phones. But it won't be visible, it'll just be wired into the room. Augmented realities will become our reality, with all kinds of facts, figures and info always available to us. Everything will be mobile. Location aware living will be assumed. For instance, just walking into a hotel with your device on you will check you in, without ever having to see anyone. There will only be one social network - yours. They morph into one portable social graph that you have control over and is not owned by anyone. Communities will get real again, instead of virtual. Time spent online will begin to plateau.

It's an interesting view of where we're headed. But what does it mean to us as marketers or business owners and managers? It means the brand advocates of today will be the participants of tomorrow. Singh threw up Pepsi as an example of how some brands are working towards that kind of marketing now. Instead of spending millions on Super Bowl ads, Pepsi spent that money on their Refresh project, helping advocates move the ideas that they're passionate about forward. To thrive in this Post Digital Era, brands will need to build deep social experiences. Storytelling by social influencers will start to replace advertising. Brands will start spending money on helping people tell stories instead of online advertising.

So, what can you do now to prepare for this future? Where does storytelling fit into your marketing plan? Who are the storytellers who can become your brand's advocates? We need to take some time away from learning the latest and greatest tools and start to put together strategies on where we need to be heading,  not just to survive, but to thrive in the future. It's a good lesson for all of us. Thank you, Shiv Singh for giving us a pause for the cause, as it were.

Mike McClure, Yaffe Exec Creative Director & Chief Storyteller

10 Surprising Things I Learned at Future Midwest

The first Future Midwest conference was held in Royal Oak, MI Friday and Saturday. It was a great event with nationally known speakers on the subjects of using digital technology and social media to help companies, brands and individuals migrate through the changing world we live in. There was some serious knowledge dropped into the laps (or in my case, laptop) of all who attended. It was especially good if you are a marketer or business trying to carve out your niche in today's fast-changing, connected world community. I swear I have enough notes to write 20 blog posts from the conference. It was both inspiring and practical. I learned stuff I can use for clients right now stuff I can use to prepare them for the future. There will be more in-depth blog posts on specific subjects from Future Midwest here over the next few weeks (probably not 20 of them, though). But, as a quick overview, here are 12 surprising nuggets of knowledge I picked up over the last two days.

1. Retention is the new Acquisition. The opening keynote speaker, Joe Jaffe, gave one of my favorite presentations, based off his new book "Flip the Funnel." One of the key points in his talk was that rather than spending a ton of money in a medium where only a small part of your audience is actually interested and ready to buy your product, why not concentrate on the few that are your product's biggest fans? Spend your money being helpful to these few brand evangelists and they'll tell others who are interested and ready to buy. But don't try to buy them. Be helpful and they'll do the rest. Customer service is becoming one of the biggest differentiators for companies. The real role of social media is to gain retention and engage your current customers, not to acquire new ones.

2. Talking about your advertising will engage your social media community. In his case study on the Pure Michigan campaign, presenter Tim Schaden of Fluency Media talked about this surprising finding from their social media efforts. One of the things that got more comments and more people interested in their social media was talking about their advertising. People were interested in it. Schaden said they expanded that subject matter to talk about what went on behind the scenes of the commercials and they created content like videos that showed part of the process in creating the advertising.

3. Soon, your car will be able to read your tweets to you. Ford's social media brandprenuer, Scott Monty, showed us a demo of a new twitter app they're developing for their Ford SYNC system. Through voice commands he could get it to read the latest tweets he'd gotten. Hands free tweeting is coming to a car near you!

4. Zombies can be good salesmen. Also, in Scott Monty's presentation, we saw a video ad featuring the new wireless key system for the soon to be launched Ford Fiesta. It was a video created with one of their Fiesta Movement agents. A chained zombie was release to chase three car owners through the woods. The only one who escaped had the new key that wirelessly lets you open and start your car. It was a very funny ad.

5. Having a twitter and Internet enabled phone is changing the way we poop. In their Pardon My Interruption style presentation on all things mobile, Henry Balanon and Damian Rinfelmann referenced this quote. It was to point out that now we can take the web with us anywhere and it's changing our lives significantly. You can't get lost now, because you can use a number of mobile and web tools, including geolocation to get you where you need to go. You always have a camera with you. You carry all sorts of ways for social interaction. And it will only continue to change how we spend our time and interact with the world.

6. Publicly complementing your competitors is good for your company. GM's head of social media, Chris Barger, talked about taking the high road in this always-watching, high transparency world. Do it in terms of dealing with your critics and with your competition. If your competitor is doing something good, compliment them on it. Publicly. Being nice guys really does aid your reputation. Humanizing your company only works if the public likes the humans it sees.

7. Fear is a natural resource. A lot of speakers talked about how companies fear change, fear the new digital and social tools, fear letting the customer have more control of what's being said about their brand, fear being transparent the way you need to be these days, fear failure and others. Jay Adelson, former CEO of Digg gave an inspiring keynote speech on how true innovators do things a little crazy, because they don't fear failure - and that's how success happens. Several speakers talked about harnessing the energy of that fear to spur your company on. Sam Valenti of Ghostly said the scariest thing in the world is not dying; it's that split second before you die when you say, "oh crap, I should have done this"instead of just "oh, crap!" So, use the fear of facing that moment as a natural resource. Do the things you should have done now.

8. My living room will be a powerful computer. Shiv Singh of Razorfish talked about preparing for life in the post digital era - when we don't talk about digital anymore because it's just an everyday part of our life. He showed us a picture of a living room that looked like any living room today. Then he said some day, not too far off, that living room will have more computing power than all the laptops and cell phones in the room - and we're talking about a room filled with 700 computer and digital enthusiasts & professionals here. He said, not only will it be more powerful, you won't see it. It will be ambient and seamlessly worked into the room.

9. Spikes in online conversations align with spikes in sales. In his Saturday workshop on data and analytics, Ken Burbary of Ernst & Young presented a case study where he showed graphs for a footwear retail company. You could see the spikes in the graph monitoring online conversation coincided with spikes in sales. So, there was a direct correlation between online chatter and sales. Also, by monitoring what was being said, they found that 47% of the conversations were about availability and new product releases. Further looking into those conversations revealed that customers weren't able to get the shoe they wanted because it wasn't in stock. Once they discovered this inventory management problem through the online conversations, they were able to fix it.

10. Most presenters are very friendly and accessible. Okay, it's not that surprising, since many of them preach that we live in an age where you have to be helpful. And I have connected to some of them before. But, one good example of practicing what you preach was Ben Smithee. After the conference was over, Yaffe EVP Michael Morin and I were standing in the lobby talking about an upcoming nonprofit project we're working on and how it had some similar issues to one of the case studies that Ben Smithee of Fieldwork had presented in his afternoon workshop. When we realized he was standing about 20 feet away, we went and asked him about some of the issues we were dealing with. Not only did he graciously give us some great insights, he invited us to continue the conversation after he got back home. 

These are just a few of he many insights from the Future Midwest conference that are clogging up my head. I look forward to sharing more of them with you in the weeks to come.

Mike McClure, still full of Future Midwest goodness.

You Can Help 50,000 Houston Youth in One Day. Here's How.

On Sunday, May 2nd, 50,000 youth will hit the streets of Houston. And they'll be asking for your money. But, they don't expect you to just give it to them. They plan to earn it. In fact, they've put together business plans, found investors and built their own places of business. It's all part of a great entrepreneur youth program called Lemonade Day. It's a free, community-wide event dedicated to teaching children how to start, own and operate their own business through the simple act of building and running a lemonade stand. And for it to work, we need to come together as a community and support it.

There's a lot of talk these days about "community" - especially as it pertains to brands and the online environment. But, the true meaning of community is a group of people who come together for a common purpose. Communities are built on passion and motivation. Lemonade Day is the perfect conduit to create passion and motivate people to get involved because it's centered around making sure the next generation learns the entrepreneurial skills necessary to be successful in the future and become contributing members of our community. They are encouraged to give back to the community, too.

The beauty of Lemonade Day is that, in true entrepreneurial spirit, the kids keep and manage their own money. After covering their expenses and paying back their investors, the children are encouraged to open a youth savings account so they may "save a little, spend a little and give a little," donating a portion of their profits to a local charity. The community helps by purchasing the lemonade, but the community benefits, too. Last year, nearly $500,000 of the proceeds from Lemonade Day were donated to local charities across Texas.

Entrepreneur and philanthropist Michael Holdhouse, co-founder of Prepared 4 Life, started Lemonade Day in Houston in 2007. Now, it's grown into nationwide project that has expanded into 13 cities. It's a great idea and like all great ideas, it's a simple one. The yearly momentum for Lemonade Day continues to grow and the goal is, that by 2013, the program will be in 100 cities with over a million youth participating on one single day. We think they'll get there. In fact, at Yaffe/Deutser we like the idea so much, we're working with Lemonade Day Houston to help keep the momentum going.

If you'd like to learn more, go to LemonadeDay.org, join them on Facebook or follow them on Twitter. The site has some great videos and all the information you need to be a part of this youth entrepreneur movement.

So, come May 2nd, make sure you do your part. If you're in Houston or one of the other 12 cities, buy some lemonade. Heck, buy a lot of lemonade. Buy some for your friends, your workmates, strangers... it's all for the good of our community and our future generations.

Mike McClure, hankering for some lemonade right now.

You Can Create Social Change Through Marketing. Here's How.

America's been on the social marketing and cause related marketing bandwagon for a couple years now. But can you use marketing to get a community to pass a bond millage when they've never passed one before? Yes, you can. In fact, we did - in the conservative state of Texas, no less.

The Yaffe Group was working to establish a position for our client, Houston Community College (HCC), for a number of strategic initiatives. One of the most important of those was an upcoming bond election. Passing the bond was critical to the on-going success of the college. We conducted research designed to  understand the performance, attitudes and value drivers of the voting public in the area. After reviewing the research and a strategic planning session with the client, we decided to position HCC as key to the success of the city of Houston and the surrounding districts.

One thing about social marketing, you usually have a big job to do and a limited budget.This was no exception. The good news is that you can usually get the media to give you more added-value bonus spots if it's for a good cause. I't a matter of positioning the client with the media reps, just as you have to with the general public. We managed to get tens of thousands of dollars worth of bonus spots and online adverting for the initiative.

Then we put together a campaign designed to influence the public awareness and attitudes towards HCC. Our main objective was to get people to vote yes on the bond issue. But, we had a number of secondary objectives. We wanted to foster public esteem as it related to HCC and their reputation. We wanted to talk about HCC's value to the community and as a valuable asset to Houston. And we wanted to attract more students and have communication efforts still be aimed at driving student registration.

While we did want to target the 18+ general public, which includes possible students, those looking to go back to school in this economy to find a second career and the 50+ adult population that has the heaviest voter turnout. However, we also targeted all the niches that were key to getting the bond passed. We targeted each niche with different media selection and different messaging. We targeted those in the 50+ segment since they represented a critical voting segment. We also targeted both students and prospective students, as both the end users and as important influencers. We had targeted marketing for the Hispanic, African American and Asian American population as well.  

We used TV, outdoor boards, posters, print, social media and online advertising to reach these targets. The results were terrific. there was a dramatic increase n regard for HCC which resulted in the first-ever passage of a $151-million bond initiative. It received overwhelming voter response and an 11% increase in recruitment of new student registrations, a new all time high.

So, it can be done. You can create significant changes in behavior using social marketing. How about you? What successes have you had? We'd love to hear them.

Mike McClure, Yaffe Exec Creative Director & Social Media Guy

In Dark Times, Find Your Sunshine

My dog is as dumb as a stump. But, there's one thing we all can learn from him, whether you're an individual or a company. You see, he understands what will make him warm and happy. On cold winter days, even if there's just a sliver of light coming through a crack in the blinds, he'll find it. And he'll lay there with sunshine falling on his face and have himself a little snooze. No matter how dark the house is, he'll find that little ray of sunshine and bask in it - even when it's just a little strip across his nose.

This concept is something that can work for you, too. What's your ray of sunshine? Is it your family? Your job? A hobby? A good book? Playing a Facebook game? Connecting with your online community? Whatever it is, use it to fend off the darkness whenever you feel it decending on you. The economy looks like it's poised to come back. But, it can't come back soon enough for some people. Maybe you had to take a job you don't like. Or you have bills that add up to more than you make. Don't let the darkness settle on you. Find that thing that makes you feel warm, safe and happy. Then embrace it. Even if you can only find time for a little bit of it, do what makes you happy whenever you can.

This goes for companies and brands, too. What makes your brand shine? What makes your employees feel good about working there? What does your company do that makes consumers feel good about you? Tap into those things and it will not only help your brand or company do well, it'll make all those associated with it feel good. This is why cause marketing, being green or being active in your constituents' online communities are important for companies these days. If you can make yourself and your customers feel good about what you're doing in these hard times, business will bloom when things lighten up.

Find your sunshine and bask in it. It does a body good!

Mike McClure, basking in that all-over Yaffe glow.

Phone Calls For Soldiers: a Social Media Valentine's Story

I've talked before in this space about some of the things you can do to create social media success for your company. Here's a can't fail tip: create a community around something people are passionate about. The non-profit organization JoeOnTheMove has had phenomenal success as one of Facebook's quiet giants. In just 5 months, their cause page (Free Phone Calls For Soldiers) membership has grown from around 100,000 to just shy 1.5 million.

How did they do it? JoeOnTheMove is a charity who's sole purpose is to provide free or affordable ways for soldiers deployed overseas to have a few moments on the phone with a loved one back home. There are a lot of people who have a loved one in the services and each of them has a circle of influence in social media. So, when they join, it's not hard to get friends and family to join. Most of us know somebody who has somebody deployed overseas. And even if you don't, you can relate to the true human emotion of wanting to connect to a loved one that you are separated from. Tapping into human emotions is a key to any social media success. Just read some of the stories:"I want to hear my husband’s voice. It kills me everyday not to hear my best friend's voice. To hear him laugh, to hear him upset, even just to know that he is right there listening to me is all I need some days. And there is nothing ruining a moment like not being able to call. If I could have just five minutes without worrying about a penny for every second I would cherish it." - Chris Snider

"As I fight to win the war my body is raging against cancer, my son fights in the war against terrorism and those who are against the freedoms all people deserve. We draw strength from each other, knowing that family and their love is the backbone and the core of what is important in our struggles. A terrorist is like a cancer that is trying to spread through the body of the world, and as my son fights that I want to be able to listen, share and support him in his challenging battle." - Debbie Peterson.

Right now, JoeOnTheMove is in the final stages of their Operation Valentines Connection campaign to raise $50,000 to provide free 5-minute phone cards to thousands of soldiers, so they can call their loved ones. It's a good cause and a good lesson in what makes social media work well. If you can tap into human emotions in an honest way and are truly looking to help someone out, you're way ahead in the social media world.

To donate, go to JoeOnTheMove.com or join their cause page on Facebook.

Mike McClure, ECD & Social Media Guy

How Technology & New Media Helped Haiti. What It Means To Marketers

We all witnessed an interesting phenomenon last week.  The U.S. rallied it’s political strength, emotional celebrity clout and its spirit of giving to raise close to 54 million dollars for Haiti.  In one week the U.S. orchestrated this massive relief effort: raising funds, getting water, food and supplies, medical doctor expertise including surgical theaters and expediting delivery of orphaned children who were mid-process of the adoption process.  

Our participation in the Haiti disaster over the last week was truly remarkable.  The U.S. television media organized multi-channel interactive access in presenting the real time situation, the pleas for help, the organizations where money should be sent and summarized how the money would be used, in graphic detail. Through the on-going media exposure using the most heart felt, engaging reportage, a stabilizing effort of relief and medical care was brought about out of complete chaos and disaster. We were even able to witness how the aid was beginning to repair the overwhelming damage.

But it wasn't just about mass media. The organization of new media channels for reaching out to each and every U.S. household with compassion and dignity brought the disaster vividly into all of our lives in a whole new way. Social media and the Internet have personalized the involvement among all of us.  By connecting through these online channels, all of us could feel we were personally a part of the relief efforts and the aid given. Even children and young teens were establishing organized efforts for relief. 

 This event crystallized in my mind the future role of the United States in a global community. Utilizing our creativity, intellect and technological reach, as a nation we have the capacity to lift third world communities into self-managing democracies by empowering individuals with the tools for on-going sustenance. 

Whatever one has to say about the all-encompassing and imposing nature of technology and media in our lives, we clearly saw how we can use our creative assets to further the benefit of global mankind. Technology allows for distribution of wealth in the most specific one-on-one terms.The scope of audience privy to the information is so vast because of technology, the burden in no longer on a select few. 

As marketers, it is our responsibility to harness this power in the most effective ways for building brands and making a difference. Cause related marketing is such a powerful magnet with the appropriate strategic partners. It takes creativity, imagination, intelligence and humanity. It can only serve to make all of us look good and feel better - about ourselves and about the companies we do business with.

Guest blog by Joanie Abraham, Partner at Style Branding.