At long last (and after many sleepless nights), Social Media is finally explained in this one picture.
Enjoy.
Fantasy Football Fever
Graphic Designer Joe Urana Blogs About How His Competitive Spirit Kicks Into High Gear with Fantasy Football
I’ve been playing Fantasy Football for about 4 years now. It took me a while to get into it because I enjoy watching football with no strings attached. In fantasy football, you might find yourself rooting for players and teams you’re not a fan of and/or your favorite team’s division rivals.
I usually play traditional fantasy football, but this year, I’m playing ESPN’s Gridiron Challenge. In the GC, you act as the owner of your team with a $50 million salary cap and score as many points as you can in your league. A player’s salary will go up or down depending on the players performance. Other players in your league can have the same players on their roster as you; your success depends on how you manage your team and the player bye weeks.
So far this season, I’m in first place in my league with a 45pt lead on second place. I drafted Aaron Rodgers in the beginning of the season. Last week he was on a bye week, I HAD to get him back. Well, he was now going to cost me $7.9 million ($6.5 million when I drafted him). He’s a big player who scores a lot of fantasy points. To get him back, I had to replace 1st tier players with 2nd or 3rd tier players. I also had another big decision to make; do I drop Calvin Johnson (the leading receiver in the NFL) and replace him or take the zero points for the week? I know this will cut my lead, or worse, drop me to second place, but in the long run it should pay off. There’d be no way I could afford him later. I kid you not; I accumulated about 15 different post-its with different roster options for the week.
Finally, at 12:36 pm on Sunday (24min to kick off), I made my decision; I’m going take the hit and keep CJ on my roster. Did it work out? Yes and no. I’m still in first place with a 15pt lead, but there is nothing more frustrating than watching the players on my post-its that I didn’t play score a ton of points. I expected more points with some of my other players, but that’s the NFL for you. You can’t predict what is gonna happen from week to week; no matter how many stats you read or how much advice you take from the experts.
Now, let me get my post-its together for the next game. - JU
The Politics of Advertising
While most of the nation has their eyes focused on the festivities of the upcoming holidays, and rightfully so, we in the media buying world have only one event looming ever so largely on our horizon – POLITICAL SEASON. Yes, that term prompts many in our line of work to reach quickly for the aspirin and breathe a heavy sigh quicker than you can say pre-empt. However, the bright and shining star in our sky appears when our clients are aware of the importance of pre-planning during these times.
Political years differ because, in a nutshell, the media outlets (television, radio, etc) have an incredibly high demand on their commercial inventory. This, of course, drives the rates up based on the simple concept of supply and demand. Also, media vendors cannot charge considerably less for any other advertiser than they charge the politicians (also called issue advertising). This means, when the political camps start spending dollars, the rates hit a high note and when Joe’s Plumbing down the street calls to place his advertising, he’s going to note equally high rates because of this. 
This can all be avoided by planning early. As a Media Buyer/Planner, nothing gives me more joy than to hear a client say “Let’s go ahead and book this annually” and it’s still a few months away from the new year. Joy is in my heart, birds sing, rainbows appear, and well….you get the idea. But it’s never more important to pre-plan than during a political year to avoid high rates, low inventory, and therefore, bumped spots.
The issue advertising has started being placed at this point for 2012, so just a word of caution: If you have not begun booking your advertising for next year, you might want to consider doing so very soon. It will save you time, money…and a LOT of aspirin. - CS
The Best Intern Ever at G-Force
We asked our intern Cynamon to provide insight on being an intern at G-Force Marketing Solutions. Here’s what she told us.
My name is Cynamon Frierson and I was asked to write a little about what it’s like to be a Marketing Intern here and also come up with a great title for myself (which I feel like I have). It’s my last year in the full-time MBA program at UNC-G and it is required that we complete a summer internship after the first year. I was a little nervous at first as with starting any new job, but my fear was that I would be doing what most interns do, all the things that nobody else wants to do. Although I’m sure I have, I also have been able to do some truly amazing things with wonderful people and I was thrilled when I got to extend my internship for a few more months.
I’ve worked with just about everybody here in some form or fashion from Account Executives to the Digital Marketing Strategist (whose title should be Digital Marketing Guru, by the way). The best part about being here is that we’re able to have great relationships with our co-workers and it truly feels like a family. No matter what needs to get done, we work together and do whatever it takes to get the job done right.
Although I’m not sure where life will take me in my future, I can only hope that I’ll be in a work environment similar to G-Force. It would also be great if I could bring my dog in to help me (like I do here), but that’s another story.
Gimme An Emmy
The Emmys seems to have hit gold with Jane Lynch as it’s host. After the disaster that was this 
past year’s Oscars, Hollywood honchos are betting more on entertainers rather than actors.
There were also a great group of winners. From Friday Night Light‘s Kyle Chandler to Justified‘s Margo Martindale, from Mad Men to Modern Family, the Emmy lovin’ was scattered amongst an assortment of the most deserving from various TV shows and networks.
A complete list of winners can be found here.
So, how do you think the Emmys stacked up this year? Any surprises or glaring omissions??
9 to 5? Fuggeddaboudit!
Sorry Dolly, There's No More 9 to 5
Before Social Media came along, most businesses were open 9am-5pm. For retail stores, a typical day was 9am-9pm. Boy, how times have changed.
The hours a store or business is open may remain the same for some, but with the advent of Facebook & Twitter (along with other social sites), most are open 24/7. For instance, if you encounter bad customer service at a retail store, most tech savvy people will forgo asking for a manager’s name. They’ll simply head to the company’s Social Media outlet to voice their complaints or concerns. In a short matter of time, a representative will publicly address their issue and most likely, send an e-mail regarding possible solutions to the problem. It’s also handled without any regard to typical store hours.
Social Media continues to change the way we do business…and when. It leads one to ponder, will we ever rest again?
