Oprah's Pretty as a Picture

All you budding photographers out there, take note! Oprah is looking for beautiful photographs of nature to post on her web site. I don't have the statistics, but I am going to guess her site gets approximately five kajillion hits every day. If you're a photographer looking to get some exposure (pun totally intended), this is a perfect opportunity. If you are an amateur looking to drive traffic to your own web site, here's your shot.

I'd send in that rainbow shot, but I'm afraid I'd get some sort of retroactive traffic citation.

XO-Amy Mac

Life, Style and Work

Have you ever seen a profile of someone in a magazine or on TV dishing details about what they do for a living and thought “I want that job!!”? After seeing a stay-at-home mom on the Oprah show talking about how she’d written most of the songs for Faith Hill’s album a few years back, I briefly thought I should be a country music song writer. Thankfully, that delusion quickly passed, and here I am writing this blog (and lots of other things!) instead.

When these fabulous folks are being interviewed, it always seems rather “pie in the sky” to me – in other words, instead of hearing specific steps a person should take to pursue a dreamy career, we’re told “it just fell into my lap” or left with the distinct impression they had connections that made their success happen.

This week, the Amy Mac blog is launching a new series – it’s called “Loving this Living,” and it profiles women who have jobs they love getting out of bed in the morning for– and isn’t that the whole point?

If you know someone who does something for a living that makes you say “I so wish that was my job!!” send me an email at amymacpr@comcast.net . Following are some guidelines for submission:

1. Ladies only, please. As my school-age children will assure you, “Girls Rule, Boys Drool.” With all due respect to the men in our lives, No Boys Allowed in the Amy Mac Loving this Living series.
2. Lots of women out there are doing amazing work at phenomenal jobs…and I’m happy for ‘em. But what we’re looking for are women who have translated their passion into a way to make a living – and have done it successfully while juggling a real life (ya know - kids, dogs, husband-with-hefty-travel-schedule, volunteer work, triathlon training – okay, that’s a stretch, but you get the point)
3. Must be willing to share tips for breaking into the professional field and balancing career and life – this is key! We don’t want to hear about your fabulous life unless you’re willing to share your secrets!

In the meantime, stay tuned for the first blog entry for Loving this Living – it’s a California dream if I’ve ever seen one! AND, even more fabulous – a giveaway is coming your way!

See you back here soon! Amy Mac

A Gap in (Advertising) Time

A few weeks back I read an article about the Gap eliminating its television advertising for the remaining months of 2008, and their plan to shift to “traditional and non-traditional” marketing tactics.

I will miss the Gap ads this holiday season. Remember the ones from a few years back where the models danced choreographed dances to festive holiday music? I loved those, and bought a few sweaters and pairs of mittens because of those catchy commercials.

So why the sudden turn from traditional advertising? The answer is simple: it is expensive to run television advertising consistently enough to reach your target audience effectively. Really, really expensive when you factor in paying an advertising agency to concept the commercial, make the commercial (and all that entails, from paying the models, stylists and photographers to scouting and paying for locations), to paying for the “spot” – the actual advertising air to run the ad during The Oprah Winfrey Show, Good Morning America and Grey’s Anatomy -- and any other show the Gap’s research reports its target market is watching.

So exactly what does “traditional and non-traditional” marketing tactics mean? Most likely they will be launching a full-scale publicity campaign, complete with publicity events with high-profile celebrities, giveaways -- and I’m keeping my eyes peeled towards the Oprah’s Favorite Things show. Whether or not they actual land one of those coveted spots remains to be seen, but they’re good marketers over at the Gap. And the smart marketers are pitching (and have been since July) their little hearts out to Ms. Winfrey’s producers.

While I’ll miss those fun commercials, I’m glad for the reminder for all of us small business owners. What reminder? That a giant advertising campaign isn’t necessary to launch an effective marketing campaign. And while smaller businesses are unlikely to hook a big-name celebrity to promote our products in the press, a few news releases can go a really long way toward building your brand in your community.

Let’s all stay tuned on who has the best holiday commercials this holiday season (my money is on Target. You?)

Happy Holiday Marketing!