Cell Phones Find Their Niche

I recently read an article on Buzzle about cell phones. The article suggested that cell phones have established a teenage market.

Teenagers, as technology savvy individuals, love cell phones. For one, they've really become affordable. Companies offer so many deals now, there's a plan and phone for everyone. Also, new phones have so many extra capabilities. They can be used for so much more than just calling. Modern technology allows people to browse the Web, e-mail people, play music and so much more right from their phone.

Like I said before, teenagers pride themselves on being technologically savvy. By adding all of these new features to cell phones, they really appeal to teens. Teens like to be the first one to own something new, so each time a new feature premieres more teens want it. Plus, the phones' new affordability really seals the deal for teens and their parents.

Cell phones have really found their niche in the teenage market. I think cell phone
companies can make the most of their marketing and advertising dollars by focusing on the teenage market.

Alec Baldwin's Lackluster Apology

It seems that Alec has fallen into the trap that many celebrities fall into when they get caught with their pants down. He apologized, but it was unbelievable at best.

He recently went on "The View" to publicly apologize for leaving his daughter a nasty message, which was leaked to the media. No matter what the situation, there is no excuse for that kind of parenting or rather lack of parenting.

Two media professionals expressed their opinions of the apology in a Boston Herald article. One, a publicist named Howard Rubenstein , doesn't agree with Baldwin's blame game strategy. He said, "He ought to keep repeating, 'I did wrong,' and then I think it would sound credible."

I completely agree with Rubenstein's opinion. The action was wrong, he admits that. The problem is that he "apologizes" and then proceeds to blame everyone else, including the media and his ex-wife. His apology became absurd when he vowed to give up acting and devote himself to the cause of parental alienation.

Apologies only work if the public believes that the person is sincere. The only way to gain credibility is to apologize and accept responsibility. Don't make any excuses or the public won't believe that you truly know what you did was wrong.

More of the Pet Food Scandal

It is reported that FDA agents searched a facility thought to be involved in the recent contamination of pet food yesterday.

Both Menu Foods and ChemNutra (which may have supplied the contaminated ingredient to Menu Foods) seem to be cooperating with the FDA by supplying the agency with records and complying with searches. However, they're involved in a kind of blame game. In fact Menu Foods is suing ChemNutra for supplying them with contaminated products. Menu Foods claims that ChemNutra sent them products with certificates assuring Menu Foods that the products were up to their standards. However, their products were contaminated.

While it is important to know whether ChemNutra misled Menu Foods or not, I don't think that it's good PR for Menu Foods to be involved in a public blame game. It seems like the company is simply trying to shirk responsibility. I feel that it would be much more beneficial for the company to show the public what it plans to do to prevent this tragedy from happening again. Menu Foods should hold an open meeting to discuss prevention tactics, like Tylenol did when pills were poisoned and caused several deaths.

The Job Interview

I went on a second round job interview today. It went really well, except for one major thing. Based on my first interview and their Web site, I thought that the job was for event planning and promotions. That is not the case. It turns out that the job is sales (and on top of that commission-based sales for the first month).

There is nothing wrong with sales jobs or even commission-bases sales jobs, but I know they're not for me. I wish that I would have known exactly what the job was before I wasted an entire day on an interview for a job that I'm not interested in.

So the moral of the story is: Ask tons of questions on your first interview. Leave no stone unturned or topic unaddressed.

I'm going to look at the positive aspects of this situation. Everything is a learning experience. At least I gained some more interview experience and now hopefully I will be more prepared when I go on a job interview that I'm actually very interested in.

Robby Bubble, Champagne for...Kids?

Robby Bubble is a non-alcoholic, sparkling beverage sold in liquor stores. It is marketed to kids. Its label is colorful with cartoon characters and its slogan is even "Celebrate like the grown-ups."

This product has especially upset a particular group, Mothers Against Drunk Driving. The Calgary president of MADD stated her concern about the drink. She feels that although the drink itself is non-alcholic it promotes drinking behaviors. She said, "Do we want to give them something, although it's non-alcoholic, and have them party like an adult?" in an article for CBC News.

I completely understand MADD's position. I think the Web site for the drink promotes an unhealthy attitude toward drinking. Although the drink is non-alcoholic it still presents itself as an alcoholic drink and it may encourage kids to try the real thing.

Darrell Weinbren, president of Robby Bubble, denied that the product was meant to encourage children to drink. He said, "There wasn't any intention from our point of view to encourage kids to drink alcohol. It was just a matter of trying to find something that would meet a family celebration with something for their kids."

I also understand the company's position. In theory, I see no harm in giving kids a non-alcoholic beverage at a family party, so they can feel like a part of the fun. However, I feel that this action may support the idea that you need to have a drink to enjoy yourself at a party.

This product could use a complete advertising and PR revamp. First of all, it should not only be sold in liquor stores. If the Robby Bubble was sold in a regular grocery store, it may not be perceived as such a blatant tribute to alcohol for kids. Mainly I think that the Web site and advertisements should not include the phrase "Celebrate like the grown-ups" and include kids dancing around uncontrollably with champagne glasses. It's an unhealthy and frankly scary image. If Robby Bubble doesn't want to give the wrong impression, it shouldn't look like it's promoting alcohol to kids.

Currently, only one chain of stores in Alberta stocks Robby Bubble, but sales are disappointing and it probably won't place any more orders.

The Presentation is Over!! Yay!!

I'm so excited! Finally, all our hard work has paid off and we're done with our Home Depot Foundation campaign.

It was a lot of hard work, a lot of long days and nights, but it all paid off. The presentation went really well I think. The representative seemed to really like our plans and suggestions and we got the thumbs up from Dr. Russell, so that's always a good thing.

I would not consider myself a fantastic public speaker, but I got through it and that is the most important thing. My only suggestion to others who don't feel like public speaking is their forte is practice, practice, practice. I can't tell you how many times I went over my part of the presentation. I recited it in the shower, in front of my mirror, with my suit on, in my car and just about anywhere you can think of. I'm sure the people of Athens thought that I was a crazy person because for about three days all I did was go around talking to myself, but it was all worth it.

I couldn't have asked for a better team to work with on this project. I've done more than a few group projects in my college career and my campaigns team was the best by far. We all got along fabulously and everyone pulled their weight. I'm actually going to miss hanging out with everyone. I love my campaigns team members!

This campaigns class has been a wonderful experience. My team and I worked hard, but we came up with an amazing campaign that we are really proud of.

PR Campaigns Rules my World

I can sum up my whole week in one word: CAMPAIGNS. Our final pitch to The Home Depot Foundation is on Monday morning.

Although, we are making amazing progress, it's very time consuming. We've pretty much camped out in a lab all weekend long.

However, the good news is that it will all be over by Monday, just in time to continue on with a test, a report and two job interviews (both which involve travel). The end of the semester is going to be very crazy, but that's ok. It will all get done and it will be over soon.

It's a good thing I get along with my campaigns team or all this work would be completely miserable. We work so closely together for long periods of time and we still don't want to kill each other. Working on group projects are so much more enjoyable when you have a good team.