Fun Friday - Chobani Rocks the Yogurt World

This post is the first of a series on Chobani Yogurt that will continue next week. Those that know me know I am a big fan of the Brand and the Product.

Announcement in Yahoo Finance April 20, 2011

In April of this year Chobani became the number one yogurt in the US. This is not a social media story. This is a product and timing story. They have the finest yogurt (in my opinion) which justifies their premium pricing. Their tag line Nothing But Good is not a load of bull. Read the label. It truly is Nothing But Good. All natural. No chemicals or preservatives. Even the milk is hormone and chemical free. All ingredients are premium high grade stuff. People know this. If you haven't been aware there has been a shortage of product because they can not keep up with demand. Show me a Consumer Food Product that has a shortage? I have never seen this. 

Chobani has 60,000 Facebook Fans. Two months ago it was 40,000. So this is a product story not a social media story. I will go into the details next week on what they have done right in their marketing. But I have said over and over no marketing or advertising can make up for a bad product or poor customer service.

This is a fun brand. They have passionate fans and customers including me. If you follow me on Twitter or see my Facebook posts I am very active in supporting them. But this goes deeper. They have created this passion in me beyond the product. Yes I have received free yogurt from participating on Twitter and Facebook in coupons and twice a whole case of 12 sent to me. They give away a lot of Yogurt! They encourage people to engage across many platforms. They support bloggers, chefs/cooking and fitness/nutrition. Their staff is as passionate as their customers. They care about their fans and do many things right.

Look at these fans. These are photos from their Facebook Page

I recommend you follow @Chobani which the very personable Emily Schildt who is Chobani's Communications Manager and thus Community Manager. As well as @ChobaniNicki which is Nicki Briggs MS RD who is their staff nutritionist. Ask her a question she will help you.

And if you want to see their CEO Hamdi Ulukaya interviewed on Bloomberg in April with his truly immigrant to America success story adding to 400 years of such history which is why people outside of America view us so differently here you go:

Fun Friday - The Do Lab!

If there ever was an Art Collective you might not know of...but probably know it's The Do Lab. From creating ridiculously crazy art cars for Burningman to their Sea of Dreams New Years Spectaculars to Lucent L'amour Valentines to Lightning in a Bottle to hauling their Alice in Wonderland Stages to festivals around the world such as Coachella Music Festival how can you not enjoy their creativity and vibe.

I first met them in 2005 at Burningman when they had this crazy Flower moving around the Playa and they have been part of my LA/West Coast Social Network since then. Some of my really good friends are part of the Collective as Resident DJ's to helping create and build their elaborate fantasy events and worlds.

Here is an incredible video from Lightning in a Bottle 2010. BTW ask @the_swedishfish how it was. He was there 8) Oh and the music is by The Glitch Mob  who will be in a future fun friday. Buy Drink the Sea on Amazon today! Drink the Sea MP3  and don't miss their summer tour! TOUR DATES

The LA Weekly just did an awesome coverage of their Stage and DJs from Coachella and while I might ridicule Coachella for having lame headliners (my view) the fact they have the Do Lab create a stage and bring underground music to the masses keeps them in my semi-good graces. There is also free music in the following article.

LINK

And here is my friend Patricio's amazing live set also downloadable for free on Soundcloud:

Patricio Coachella2011 by PATRICIO_LA

In fact if you go through the Coachella 09 video and search Soundcloud for those DJ's they all have free music you can get turned onto and just maybe you will find yourself at some rave party at 4am dancing wondering just how you got there 8)

You just need to do a search on You Tube or check out their site www.thedolab.com or fan them on Facebook or Twitter You just much catch one of their events or find out where they are bringing their stage to various festivals. Great people and amazing art!

All Points West 2009 New Jersey Patricio + Jupit3r

View from behind the DJ Set Up (Chief Alien's always have all access passes!)

Fun Friday - Applebee's Get's Toddler Loaded!

My friend and Superstar Rock Star on tour in Europe Dan Coyle

linked this amazing story of idiot process design by a Management dead set on shaving nickels of productivity.

LINK from http://www.alexgpr.com/

It seems a toddler was served a Margarita by accident instead of Apple Juice. I know you think wait...this story is for Fun Friday?! Yes! Because it is so dumb it is hilarious. Not only is the incident completely stupid the response is even more stupid! So glad Applebee's doesn't build cars or airplanes.

So with my 9 years of restaurant experience I have to assume this was the problem:

Combined with this:

So the Waiter goes and gets an Apple Juice. The button is next to the Margarita button and they press the wrong one. They are in the weeds which means very busy and stressed running around. The parents can't see it is a Margarita. The kid get's loaded. The response by Applebee's is training vs maybe their process. Just maybe they shouldn't be serving pre-made crap Margaritas from a hose that has a button next to juices kids request. Just maybe they should have a second freaking hose for anything with alcohol to prevent this. But instead it's a training issue?

I wish to say I do not find Applebee's a place with good food. I try to avoid it. I remember ordering an Asian Chicken Salad that came with only Ice Berg Lettuce, Peanuts, Chow Mein Noodles and Ginger Dressing. How much bigger of a Fail can that be?

So while Mr. Coyle and the Article discuss the PR Implications. Lets make it easy:

Applebee's Press Release:

In an effort to reduce costs and quality of product and service we the Management were so dumb and stupid to choose to serve our customers Margaritas pre-mixed at a factory served in a Keg and Dispensed through a Beverage Gun where the button was right next to the Apple Juice Button. We apologize for getting a 15 month old torched. But it does prove that the crappy Margaritas do indeed have some alcohol in them. At least enough so that a 15 lb toddler can't drive home. Please forgive us.

Applebee's

Fun Friday - Strongbad and Joe Cartoon

I found Joe Cartoon and Strongbad a few years back via ITunes. They were available as free podcast subscriptions. They have to be the funniest video shorts ever. Though warning there is foul language and sometimes brutal bloody happenings to gerbils and flies. Joe Cartoon had his own website then moved to Atom Films and now not sure but a lot reside on this You Tube Channel: 

http://www.youtube.com/joecartoondotcom

Strongbad has his own site with a very hilarious cast of characters. By far the Cheat which I think is his pet is the funniest. Strongbad is a young kid who dresses like a Mexican 1950's Wrestler and he likes to take Email Questions. As technology has improved Strongbad has upgraded his computer from one with a floppy drive to a more modern one. Also at the end of each cartoon if you move your mouse around the screen there are secret places to click to watch small clips.

http://www.homestarrunner.com

Joe Cartoon has this mid-western family called the Greenfields who are just like your Grandparents. Except they are pot farmers.

Strongbad tends to get quite rageful when his ISP is slow. In this episode Homestar Runner is manning the Internets.

One thing hilarious about Joe Cartoon is his Gerbil Fetish:

Homestar Runner who is Strongbad's sidekick broke up with his girlfriend Marzipan and goes on a video dating service....while getting drunk.....

I suggest, no. I command you to book market the two sites and when your boss or a client or just life in general is pissing you off. Go watch an episode of three.

Fun Friday - Funny People on the Twitter

Yeah yeah yeah! Shut it ok! You thought I was going to have a post on Famous Funny people. Well my funny people are funnier than those funny people and they deserve a platform for recognition!

So here are some people who seem to always crack me up. They are irreverent, witty, and even occasionally charming, but don't let that fool you. It is all a front. In fact I am not even going to give you their names, just what they are famous for in my world. You can look them up yourself. And who doesn't need a laugh during a grueling work day? =P

@sydcon_mktg - for some reason she dwells on last years NHL Stanley Cup for her Chicago Blackhawk's and constantly seeks to humiliate me for being a NY Islander's fan. But the Hawks were so last year and my team is an up and coming force. Watch for the Islanders in 2027! BTW she is a really hockey mom. Not like that Alaskan impostor!

@dan_coyle is a traveling rapscallion bard (who the hell is a bard these days?). He plays guitar and women swoon. I know people joke about women drivers, its not that they drive poorly, it is that they are listening to Dan and get lost in his voice. Well he is in Europe right now on tour after Interpol received his permission slip we signed for him. And his experience with handling my cross border skirmishes with Canada will come in handy in the EU.

Talking of cross border Skirmishes @catelorimer is Canadian through and through. She prefers her bacon round, her winters cold, and if I ever get into a bar fight I want her on my side. She also drives her dog sled way to fast causing havoc in small villages and says the word 'Ay' often.

@ShellyKramer a whipsmartass punk NYer who started traveling to California (well she won't admit this) when she was younger and stopped in Kansas City and never left. But she stays on the Missouri side of Kansas. I told you how smart she is! But also does checks in on FourSquare at Kansas City Star Newspaper Vending Machines. So maybe not that smart.

@cbaccus who seriously has a pretty hoity-toity title at a very prestigious firm but you know how those title and prestige things go. Chris really loves Facebook. He and I seem to have laughs at Facebook's expense quite often. Oh and he loves cars. He is a huge fan of the 1977 Pontiac LeMans and owns 3 of them. Normally he can be seen rocking these wheels to Eminem.

 

Lastly if you have ever been to an H.E.B. or been assaulted by a Werehole or an Asswolf you are not alone. @aaronstrout @dkdzyn and @doogsatx have been and viciously at that. And they will tell you all about it. It is one reason I refuse to visit the ATX or go to SXSW. I mean who wants to have to get a rabies shot after being bitten by a Werehole.

These are just a sampling of the wild and crazy people I have met on the Twitter. I suggest start with these folks and build up your comedic tolerance and then come back to me for more.

Fun Friday - the Podcast Editition!

I listen to several Podcasts on Marketing. There are three I listen to religiously. And a few I listen to when I can, and wish I could more due to time constraints. All are worth your time. You can learn an immense amount of marketing insight and current industry developments from most. One is just so delightfully irreverent that if they did not discuss Marketing I wouldn't care.

Start with my longest running favorite The Beancast hosted by Bob Knorpp (@thebeancast) out of North Carolina. Not only is Bob a great guy personally he somehow gets many of the best minds in Marketing onto his show, with people from around the world. Bob is really smart and always comes up with topics that are relevant to today. He is such a good moderator I tell him it's is very much like NPR's Left, Right and Center but much more lively and brisk with the banter. Many of the bloggers listed on the left have been on his show. It comes out every Monday and is available on ITunes or his Website.

Next is Bill Green (@MTLB) of Make the Logo Bigger and Angela Natividad (@LucktheLady) of Live and Uncensored. Angela is a California ExPat living the life in Paris, and Bill is an Buffalo via Connecticut ExPat now living the life in South Carolina. They are hilarious and definitely my best friends I have never met in person yet. Angela reminds me of the elites of acerbic wit and timely discourse, and Bill is very North East blunt say it as it is and not afraid to say. The show is uncensored though it varies from a very serious nature with some guests to complete hilarious chaos. You can subscribe on ITunes or at their Blog. They also get world wide guests most recently @Sandmonkey who through a mutual friend of Angela's became her friendslong before the uprising in Egypt that he became a fairly prolific participant. To prove Adverve's irreverence it used to come out on Wednesday, then sometimes Thursday or sometimes Friday. Now it is coming out Mondays. They also cover anything from Politics, News, Movies, Technology, PR, Environmental Disaster, Design, Art, Journalism, War Photography, and sometimes Marketing.

This is R Rated but as an Ode to Adverve I created a special movie for them:

Next is the Quick-n-Dirty Podcast which is hosted by Aaron Strout - CMO of Powered part of the Dachis Group (@aaronstrout) and Kyle Flaherty of Breaking Point (@kyleflaherty). Kyle is the new Co-Host replacing Jennifer Leggio from ZDnet (@mediaphyter) who founded the Podcast with Aaron. Aaron and Kyle are Boston transplants living in Austin, Tx big Patriots fans and yet somehow I still like them a lot, great peeps and very smart! It takes place on Thursdays live at 3pm on Blog Talk Radio. During the show you can log in and participate in the Chat Room. The format specifically focuses on Social Media and Mobile, with the occasional broader Marketing topic. They usually have a special guest and a Tweeter of the day. The chat room can get rambunctious and they cover a lot of ground in 30 mins. To get a taste of the format I also made a wonderful movie of the Podcast, though of course I need to make a new one with Lyle replacing Jennifer!

I will cover more Podcasts in next Friday. I figured I just sucked 2.5 hours of time from your week as it is that you are never, ever getting back! But worth every penny. Oh wait they are free. But nothing comes free. What's the catch. Plain old addiction that will benefit your career. If there is such a thing.

Fun Friday - Street Art

I love street art. Can't get enough. Not the lame ass name tag that deface property. I am talking real art. I don't care if it is on public or private property. Trust me. The art almost always improves the wall it is on.

We all know about Banksy and Shepard Fairey. But there is so much more. So here is some great places for you to explore and see what great art is out there. Just remember to keep your eyes out and pay attention when you are outside during your commute or shopping.

Venice Graffiti Walls

Kind of sucks that these are now regulated by the town. Used to be anyone over 16 with a can of spray paint could paint here. I would ride my bike down to see the new work all the time. My ex-neighbor and friend from Redondo Beach TikiJayOne was very prolific in West LA. He had me help him do the whole set of walls one night something he felt was never done before.

You know for a fact that white is the most AWESOME white ever painted. Well of course it was me! I remember getting half way across covering the previous art and my friend said 'Slow down. Just in case some of that art was done by gangsters'. I assumed because it's one thing to paint something new, and another to look like a do gooder cleaning the place up at 2am!

In NY my friend @ElCelso - LINK has a loose group of great artists that were known as the Electric Love Crew, kind of a street art collective. Here is a great repository of photos or you:

http://www.flickr.com/groups/elc/

Celso does incredible Nudes!

His studio is in a building visible from the West Side Highway. They used to have this amazing amount of art outside for all to see until the owners decided to paint a lame ass jungle scene.

Before:

After: LAME!

Some of Celso's friends do incredible work, check the web for Abe Lincoln Jr - LINK, Choice Royce, Plasma Slug, Dark Cloud, Keely, GoreB, DirtyBoards, or follow people like @cmonstah (Celso's lovely wife) - LINK or Luna Park  - LINK

Another great source for NYC Street Art is http://www.brooklynstreetart.com/theblog/ and you can also follow them on the Twitter @BKStreetArt

Lastly this is a site based in Moscow. It is in Russian but the Art Speaks for itself: http://vivacity.ru/ and they are also on the Twitter: @vivacity_ru

Some really incredible movies are available on Netflix as well. I highly recommend:

Exit Through the Gift Shop - A Banksy Film

Bomb It - A Film by John Reiss - he goes around the world incredible stuff

Beautiful Losers - by Aaron Rose - which has a lot of street art history

I love going on walking tours of street art, especially in NYC's Lower East Side and Williamsburg. But it can be found everywhere.Some from my travels:

SoHo

Manhattan

Woodside, Queens

Woodside, Queens

Williamsburg, Brooklyn (Celso v GoreB)

Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Fun Friday - On Saturday - The Oatmeal

Yes on Saturday. I was out most of the day yesterday so sue me. 

No wait we already have a way to lawyer happy sue everyone including Jesus and my sisters baby Turtle society. 

So don't sue me. You can't! Plus Tort reform is around the corner. 

Like in 2086 when we finally have a 3rd party in power in this great country. 

Any country that can not only invent the word Turducken but make it a noun where it actually exists in reality is a great freaking country.

In 1066 the Battle of Hastings was started because in a fit of rage
over losing a game of Yahtzee,
King Harold II of England told Duke Williman of Normandy
'Don't make me Turducken you!'
Of course that went down as one of the worst things every to say to a French Duke,
second only to 'Would you like some Ketchup with your Chateaubriand 

Anyway its freaking Saturday and I am typing this because I feel I let you down yesterday and because I don't want to ruin your weekend, at least I wanted it to suck much less, so here I am.

So without further ado I bring you 

THE OATMEAL

 

Thank you and a Follow Saturday to Vinny Warren who is pretty funny himself and has a great blog listed on your left.

Also thanks to the assorted blogs that prompted me,

after seeing it once again from Vinny to finally read the State of the Web Winter 2010 which made me laugh really hard.

Turducken Photo Credit to the 103.1 Morning Bounce

Chateaubriand Photo Credit to Mental Floss

Fun Friday - Halp! I Been Steam Rolled by a Fat Goggie!

 Ms. Susan Hua aka @satisfeye on the Twitter shared this with me
and I can't stop laughing at this photo!

http://icanhascheezburger.com/tag/halp/

 So I had to post this. There are many more fun pictures on the site.

Today I featured Susan because over the almost year I have gotten to know her she is a very delightful and funny person, who loves Advertising and Marketing. She likes to champion great work as well as bringing insight. She is really eager to learn and always good for a laugh. She is currently finishing her second degree in Creative Advertising and is a Teachers Assistant in the Program at Seneca College in Toronto. Her first degree is in Sociology (damn overachiever!).
I also owe her my Space Daiquiri recipe.

Susan is in Cahoots with Mr. Anthony Kalamut also known as @SouthSideAdGuy who is a Professor of Creative Advertising at Seneca College in Toronto. Anthony is very passionate about Advertising and every one of his young posse I have gotten to know on Twitter is whipsmart just like him! He is pretty fun and frolicky himself even though he tries to present a more serious face. Oh and he is a big Leaf's fan.

Oh and you can find Susan at:

The Next Great Generation

Her own blog:

http://www.seesuyi.com/

and working with

http://www.oddlystudios.com/
 (damn over achiever!)

Anthony can be found at:

http://www.anthonykalamut.blogspot.com/

and he has also been a guest panelist on the Beancast Hosted by 
Mr. Bob Knorpp who is @thebeancast on the Twitter.

December Podcast

October Podcast
If you don't subscribe to Bob's great Podcast covering current topics in 
Marketing you should. In fact drop everything and do so now!
 
HALP!
I Been Steam Rolled by a Fat Goggie!

Fun Friday is my take on Follow Friday. It is meant to highlight people or websites or 
freaking anything that makes life more joyous, interesting and fun.