This is a video assignment in our Viral Marketing Class for my Internet Marketing Degree.

Week 1: We were assigned a fictitious company. I chose GIft Baskets for All.
We created a Discovery Brief on that business in week 1.

Week 2: We the had to develop a Creative Concept Brief, describing the outreach concept of our Viral Marketing Plan.

The goal of the marketing plan was to reach new market segments and increase sales/revenues throughout the year, trying to level the peaks and valleys of the prime selling season that evolved mostly around the holidays and purchases for Women (birthdays, Mother’s Day, Easter, etc).

Week 3: Where we had to create a movie as the outreach product of the Marketing Plan.  The goal of the movie was to speak to the new market segments we wanted to reach.

I decided to target two verticle segments: College Students and Men – neither of whom receive many gift baskets, but both of which would benefit from them.

The emotional hook I tried for was that men were suffering the lack of gift baskets, and knew that certain favorite items would be easy to put in along side other premium items that would surprise them. The gift baskets for college students evolved around “care baskets” – students cannot survive on pizza and cafeteria food entirely – they need fruit and – well yes, even candy!

I admit, I am NOT a movie producer, but I did my best -with the help of my friends (whose names I promised to keep to myself) to get the point I needed to make across to the audience. LOL

Google’s new Street View Snowmobile!

Just in time for the 2010 Olympics, Google announces their Street View Snowmobile.  I love this idea!  So many years I’ve wished for a more “community-centric” view of the Olympics – more visuals of the snowy peaks and the villages.

This year, we will be able to become even more immersed in the Winter Olympics than in years past!  All the thanks goes to Google’s newest addition to Street View – the Snowmobile!

This is such a great idea, it makes me wonder if they are working to retrofit a BOB with video equipment for the Summer Olympics!

That, too, would be a new perspective!

The BOB - a personal submarine!

On February 12, 2009, more than five hundred students came together at Full Sail University in an attempt to create a Guinness World Record.

Imagine the power this group could bring to solving a problem like hunger, rescue efforts in Haiti….Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens CAN CHANGE THE WORLD.  Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has!  [Margaret Mead 1901-1978]

Ok, anyone who knows me even a little bit, knows how much I LOVE technology.  Making people look at me like I have three heads is actually fun, and sort of a talent I have built a lot of skills around the last 10 years….

Every once in a while thought, I get totally blown away by some technology I find!  This morning is one of those times!  I just have to share…

We were having storms come in from the Gulf around 5am.  It woke me up.  I have what I endearingly call “Barometer Head”.  No, it’s not contagious!  What it means is that when storms are closing in, my head feels like it is going to explode.  When it gets drier (like in the Fall or Winter here) it feels light and like it may cave in.  It’s not a fun feeling when you live in the TROPICS, but eventually I have grown used to it and may even be able to turn it into a tourist business when I get older….now that I am in college pursuing a degree in Internet Marketing, I could sell it to hotels along the beach using mobile technology for their guests.

LOL….I DIGRESS!

So, I am one of those coastal freaks who looks up the weather map on line to see what is in store.  Must be because we lose power so much of the time when we get a good rainstorm and with so much expensive equipment in our house that is tormented by electrical surgest and outtages, I like to be very careful (this is when Barometer Head comes in handy!).  So, right after I woke up this morning, I was online checking it again.

Now, our local website has put in a whole new “interactive” weather map that I have played with before — with much frustration…. because I am like a bull in a China store with my touch pad and one minute I am looking at the west coast of Florida – the next I am on the east coast of Africa, all because I drew my fingers across the touch pad accidentally. ARGH!  I was more delicate for some reason this morning and was able to drill this map down to street level!  At one point, it had stopped raining over me, but was still raining at the end of my street!!

Heck, with information like that imagine what I could do – it would almost be like those carnival psychics….I could go all folklore with the ‘barometer head’ and use my iPhone to drill down to the street level right in front of a particular hotel and then report my findings – which would always be accurate.  LOL OK! OK!! I am not going to really do that, but come on, it’s 5am!!

Here is a caption of what I saw.  I took it up a bit from street level so I would get a two color dimension on the rainfall. I had to wait until it slowed down at 6:59am so I could get some variations, we were all red for a long time there…

Interactive Weather Map - West Central FLorida 09-12-09

I was in light rainfall (green), while only THREE STREETS away, they were in medium (yellow) rainfall…and 11 streets south it was POURING (red).

If I were traveling, I would head north to get off the beach to the mainland! LOL  How do I know?  Because I brought it up a few notches to get a better/wider view…..

Interactive Weather GEO Mapping of West Central Florida 09-12-09-2

As you can tell by the color codes, heading SOUTH is a bad idea.. but the good news is that it’s light rain off the coast (light green) as opposed to a bank of severe rain (red), like what woke me up.

Cool!  I can leave and go get a Venti Pumpkin Spice Latte from my favorite Starbucks on the mainland, after all, I am now fully awake and excited about the possiblities of this new interactive radar, especially for more severe storms and potentially any hurricanes; but more so for my new business idea!  LOL

Wanting to know how much time I had to make this Starbucks run, I widened it again, and found out there is more coming, but I have plenty of time to get my treat and head back home before it gets here…it also looks like my friends in Orlando area are high and dry – for now, anyway!

Peace, Love, I’m out!  After all, once i get my coffee, I did promise you a full report on Florida’s Choice Health Care program so the truth is known.  I have charts to do and a story to write —right after i get that Pumpkin Spice (10,000 calorie/only meal of the day) Latte!  Look for the story later…right before I go to the Obama HealthCare Reform Bus Tour in Tampa this afternoon!

Yeah, yeah, no! no!!! I am not so much politically inclined, as I am just a firm believer and Evangelist that Health Care should be a RIGHT not a privilege!