Friday, August 29, 2008

Death by chocolate

Yesterday at RMI, our second Iron Chef competition of the summer took place. The not-so-secret ingredient: chocolate. The course: desserts. A whopping 17 entries were submitted from confident chefs in every department with dishes ranging from cakes and pies to cookies and candy bars. 38 judges and 15 broken diets later we named our winners...

3rd Place: Alison Howell (again!) for her Old Fashioned Fudge Pie
2nd Place: Ginny Naclerio for her Frozen Chocolate Fudge Cappuccino Crunch Cake
1st Place: Courtney Waters for her Brownie Crunch Desert

Prizes of $100, $75 and $50 gas gift cards were awarded.

Take a peak at our video of the competition here. Congratulations to everyone and stay tuned for next food challenge!

Labels: employees

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

The social networking bug

In the ever changing/evolving landscape of nonprofit direct marketing, the latest “hot” topic is how organizations can leverage social media sites to connect with potential donors/ activists, in the hopes that their mission will resonate with them and thus get them involved.

According to a recent Michael Pucian article in The Philanthropy Journal, “unlike e-commerce, which has been the huge Internet focus over the past 10 years, social networking is about connecting and getting involved, and not about buying and selling. Thanks to social media this is the perfect time for nonprofits to step up and ensure their mission is one that people are talking about.”

It may be the perfect time for nonprofits to step up, but the concept is a difficult pill to swallow for most traditional nonprofit organizations. It has always previously been about connecting with a person, telling them a story, that in turn, compels the person to make a donation. When did it not become about “selling”?

Ugghhh, and you thought direct mail acquisition mailings were a difficult sell to your board. Now you want to sell them the idea that you need one full time person on your staff who will be responsible for writing blogs, etc. that may or may not bring in supporters to your cause.

I happen to agree with Mr. Pucian’s take on the subject, but make sure you have all your ducks in a row before getting in front of the board. Have a concrete plan in place.

Mr. Pucian goes on to speak about the time investment that organizations must make in order to make this a viable operation. In his eyes the strategic commitment that it takes will cost you one full time person. As Mr. Pucian states find a person with the following qualities to spearhead this endeavor:

- Knows and enjoys social media
- Is tech savvy (but doesn't have to be a geek)
- Knows your organization and is committed to its mission
- Has a personable, outgoing writing style

One of my concerns with all of the hype surrounding social media is the audience you are reaching out to, and their long term involvement and commitment to the organizations. These folks are likely younger and/ or without families and perhaps not ready to become donors just yet.

I look at my personal use of Facebook and MySpace. Although I have an account on each site, I do not currently, nor, do I think will ever have the time available to spend utilizing all of their capabilities. Think about how you are going to keep people engaged and involved long enough so they can become donors and supporters! Have a plan!!

Labels: fundraising, nonprofit, social media

Monday, August 25, 2008

And so it begins...

If you're a marketer and just now planning for the holidays, the wrapping paper industry is way ahead of you. Christmas themed paper has been spotted at a Walgreens already (as pointed about by Future Gringo).

Labels: holiday, marketing

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Episode 2

If you know RMI, you know that we are predominately female (80% to be exact). So it shouldn't surprise you that for the next Iron Chef RMI competition the not-so-secret ingredient will be chocolate... every woman's weakness.

Participants are to prepare a dessert for judging on August 28th made out of dark, milk or white chocolaty-goodness.

You may, like Wikipedia, dispute that white chocolate technically doesn't qualify to be considered "true chocolate" because it doesn't contain any cocoa solids, but around here that kind of talk will get you thrown out. White will be honored!

Gas cards of $100, $75, and $50 will be awarded to the creators of the first, second and third place winners, as decided unanimously by the RMI staff.

Let the battle begin!

Labels: employees

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Congratulations to Cyndi Lee

Last week was very special at RMI. We added a new Vice President to our staff. Cyndi Lee is now Vice President of Business Development. As many of you know, Cyndi has been with RMI a little over two years. In this time her impact on the company has been tremendously noticeable. She has added a new dimension to our list sales, both in management and in brokerage, and has introduced new initiatives to many of our clients.

Thanks Cyndi...

Labels: employees

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Milk jugs to envelopes

Conformer Expansion Products recently launched a plastic expansion envelope made out of 75% post consumer plastics, particularly recycled milk jugs. Multiple colors, sizes and custom imprinting available. Maybe not the best option for shipping milk, but cool none-the-less.

Labels: direct mail, green

Monday, August 11, 2008

Freecycle.org

In our town we have to pay for garbage pick up. It's not included in our taxes. So twice a year our town has "bulk pick up day". It's a special day that everyone gets really excited about 'cause you can finally get rid of all the stuff you've been saving since the last pick up. Its treated with the same anticipation as a holiday. The broken chair you realize you're not going to fix, the role of fencing wire that's been in the garage since you moved in, all will be put out by your street curb for the town trucks to haul away for you. But before they do a cavalcade of pick up trucks and panel trucks systematically, and with army like precision, take all the interesting things leaving only the really useless, unrepairable stuff. It's a semi annual occurrence, like something out of National Geographic. Instead of our local land fill getting piles of junk, it gets recycled.

This brings me to Freecycle.org (thanks Becky). This is a grass roots nonprofit organization started with the idea that the best way to keep our landfills clean is to create a network where people who have stuff to dump can get in touch (via the web) with some one who's been looking for that exact thing. There a chapters all over the US and it's free. It's like a giant electronic swap meet.

Labels: green, nonprofit

Friday, August 8, 2008

Facebook pages: good for DM?

I clicked on this article yesterday and was intrigued by it. A little over a year ago Facebook launched Facebook Pages to attract advertisers to their website. The idea was for this to be a major branding effort for marketers. Not only can you advertise within the social media site but you have your own page. "Fans" can visit and tell their friends, who in turn tell theirs. Companies promote their Facebook page on their own website to drive traffic. JCPenney has geared a page and application to attract a younger audience as they get ready for back-to-school shopping.

It's a great way to brand your image, but will it sell? Will it work for traditional DM? It really depends on how your page connects with the "under 30" demographics. Social media is the new paradigm.

Labels: social media

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

USPS has great Green creative

Props to Katie Geraci here at RMI for passing this along to me. Two great items from the USPS.

The first is a self mailer with the word "en*vi*ron*mail*ist" on the back. Inside is packed with great food for thought for mailers to use to be "greener". Even a BRC which you fill out and get a free Environmailism Handbook and a cotton t-shirt. There are even cute punch-out cards you can use as coasters... I think.

Second is the USPS magazine, Deliver. Totally redesigned with some issues, like this one, all about Green. Again, full of facts and figures the activists don't tell you. I think it's great.

Labels: green

Friday, August 29, 2008

Death by chocolate

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

The social networking bug

Monday, August 25, 2008

And so it begins...

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Episode 2

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Congratulations to Cyndi Lee

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Milk jugs to envelopes

Monday, August 11, 2008

Freecycle.org

Friday, August 8, 2008

Facebook pages: good for DM?

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

USPS has great Green creative

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