Pecha Kucha by definition is a Japanese word for the “sound of conversation,” and has become “a presentation methodology in which 20 slides are shown for 20 seconds each, usually seen in a multiple-speaker event called a Pecha Kucha Night” It is a way for our creative community to come together and share their ideas. These happen all over the world, but the Charleston PKN12 was extra special.

The room was filled with people from the production & film industry, photography industry, retail stores, web creation, architecture, marketing, and graphic design. There was a buzz in the room that was electric and contagious. It is no wonder that this event sold out in 50 minutes…the crowd was obviously happy to be there and happy to share in the creativity in Charleston.

Although every single speaker was truly inspiring, I have to give an extra special shout out to our friend and colleague, Jay Fletcher with J Fletcher Design. His presentation was the most down-to-earth and simple of the evening, but for everyone who knows Jay, and anyone who does not, it stood true to who he is, and what his work is all about. As one of his slides represented, Jay is a reputable rock in the Charleston Graphic Design Scene, and his work can be seen on store and restaurant windows, on stationary and invitations, in design books published nationally, and all over the world-wide-web.

As I stood there watching and listening, my creative AHA moment came from the live twitter feed on the projector up front. I was fascinated at the idea of live/immediate feedback, and waited anxiously for my tweet to show up on the screen. @GRANDIDEAS

Jay Fletcher Design

Closing out the evening

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A recent example getting in one’s way: I emailed a new contact with the hopes of setting up a time to meet and introduce myself, and with the absolute understanding that I may never hear back. The response I got was: “Yes, I want to meet with you ASAP! I have been using the same promo company for years and am very dissatisfied with their services, but have not had the time or strength to look elsewhere.” If she had simply gotten out of her own way, and searched even just a little bit, she probably would have found Grand Ideas years ago.

Whether in your personal or professional life, I challenge you to get out of your own way. It may lead to a new sale, a new customer, a new idea, a new relationship, a new hobby, and the list goes on.

Twitter, this monster of information out there that although is sometimes damaging to companies, individuals, relationships, and partnerships alike, can also be a useful resource for transferring media and news. We would all be cowards if we chose to ignore the fact that this singular forum for online messages is a powerful resource that we must embrace.

Although you will find many stories about how quickly news traveled across twitter about the recent split of Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries after a mere 72 days, you will hear less on the speed that the news traveled up the east coast warning of the earthquake headed that way. People were prepared for this natural disaster unlike ever before, all because of twitter.

Within our industry, twitter is a strong tool to use when pushing last-minute promotions, driving traffic to websites, featuring product types, showing trends, and staying in front of customers on a more regular basis ( even if from behind a computer screen). A study found that almost 90% of distributors in our industry use twitter to increase their number of contacts. The simple concept of the “Follow Me” icon that twitter made famous is a sure call-to-action, but steps need to be taken after that to ensure you keep that contact. Committing to twitter requires that you engage with those contacts, give them relevant material to read, and answer to their questions or comments.

Just another sign of times-a-changin’. Just think how much you may have missed while reading this blog post!

I was reading over the Bios for the 2011 PPAI Board of Directors nominees, and a common theme jumped out at me: How will our industry accept and adapt to the technology changes and the “ways” of the 20′s and 30′s somethings? Seems to me like an easy question to answer because I am one of those 20 somethings…but for the majority of our industry, it is a daunting question.

Whether it is in the Promotional Products industry, or any other industry, this same question will haunt all of us until it is given attention. In what ways are we all doing business differently than we used to, and what changes must we make to keep up?

Specifically in our industry, we have seen a huge shift to online ordering. A good and bad beast… that “world-wide web” is for most of us. We are required to be plugged in or we risk losing information, sales, and knowledge. As urban dictionary puts it, “Those caught on the outskirts enter a void of stupidity and insecurity.” However, it also means that our competitors are more out there than ever. We must maintain face-to-face contact with our clients for it is just as easy and cost-effective for them to place their orders online. With more choices than ever in front of their faces, our ideas must be GRAND and our contact must me frequent.

How do you plan to keep up with the changing technological aspects of your industry?

It is not always the predictable ones that change the world!

1.) Persistence

2.) Simplicity

3.) Imaginative

4.) Humble

5.) FUN!

You know, the video below got me thinking about these questions; Thinking about ‘Time’ and how or why we track it, and how it has changed over the course of ‘time’.

Many people will argue that they no longer need a printed calendar due to our ever changing and improving technology. Many would also argue that calendars require us to focus too much on the future when we should be most concerned with the present. (and I do agree, living primarily in the present is a good practice) However, I am one of those people that likes to see dates circled and starred with fireworks surrounding it-acting as a constant reminder of a date to look forward to.

To me, when the outlook calendar appointment reminder pops up on my screen, it really stresses me out; but when I can look at a printed calendar at my leisure, it seems less intrusive, and more inviting.

In the stone age, Lunar calendars were used until a written language was created, only about 5000 years ago. It would be interesting to know how many people were late for engagements in the stone age; I would bet that the number of scheduled events on their “calendar” differed greatly from today.

I guess we each have our own method of keeping track of time. Each to their own; But, I still prefer the printed calendar, and it seems that a lot of others out there do as well!

“We live in deeds, not years; in thoughts, not figures on a dial. We should count time by heart throbs. He most lives who thinks most, feels the noblest, acts the best.” -Aristotle

Because so many of our lives revolve around the sport of Football, marketing departments all over the country put so much effort into the season. We all have our favorite t-shirts we wear on Game-day, and in some places, head-to-toe outfits we wear on Game-day in our school colors. We all have the embroidered caps, the koozies, the tablecloths, the chairs, the bags, the coolers, the rally towels, and the list goes on and on. But what is it all for other than to show our team spirit? Why should we carry on like this for a football team, which for most of us is a team of unknowns…no one we even know?

Well, it was in a yoga class last week that this just came to me. Yes, I said yoga…I know you yogis out there are saying “you are supposed to be focused on calming your mind during yoga!” Well, this particular moment in time, I was more concerned with Football…go figure. The teacher was doing her little speech before she started, and she brought up football, and specifically explained why she was a Hokie Fan. At that moment, it became clear to me why we put all of this hoopla into a sport. It was not that she had attended undergraduate there, nor did her family; she had no relatives, friends, or even acquaintances on the team, and she now lives over 300 miles away from the home stadium. It was because she grew up being taken to those games by her father, when they still lived in Virginia. She associated football games with cotton candy, shelled peanuts, and huge fountain cokes. The feeling she remembered of driving up to the top of the hill with a chill in the air and the leaves starting to turn, the sounds of the band bellowing out of the stadium from miles away. I suddenly connected and had chills come over my body…because I knew exactly what she meant.

My memories are with the South Carolina Gamecocks, so by the time our season starts, there is no chill in the air and no leaves are even thinking of turning yet. But every time I hear this song, my mind races back to when I was young and following closely in my father’s footsteps as I chased him to the stadium entrance in my cheerleading outfit, pom poms in hand.

Kudos to the marketing teams that keep that fun stuff coming and reminding us often of our past and the memories we have made and will continue to make!

GO GAMECOCKS!

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My mother was the queen of Thank You notes, still is for that matter. I actually just received one from her thanking me for celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary with them last weekend…I thought to myself, ‘wouldn’t have missed it for the world’! But was I expecting that little note in the mail? Of course not…she could have just as easily sent it via blackberry messenger as we often communicate. Her handwriting is something to be most proud of. Not only does she take the time to write, but her penmanship makes whatever she has to say even more beautiful. She used to buy me and my brother packs of Thank You notes after our birthdays and after Christmas; we would have a dedicated time to sit down and write 2 per day until we got thru the whole family list! Although it was not such an exciting task when I was young, I am forever grateful that she instilled in me this so often forgotten southern hospitality.

A few weeks ago, I ran by the mailbox at lunch to grab what I expected to be credit card offers and junk mail. Instead I found quite the tear-jerking surprise waiting for me. My 45 yr. old aunt had a stroke last year, and has been recovering since from paralysis on her entire right side, her dominant side. She has been to countless months of therapy that have progressed her ability to walk and talk beyond where most would have never thought it would. She is truly a walking miracle as well as an inspiration to so many! What I found in the mailbox that day was a letter from her, what she called a “right hand letter”. As soon as I read the first sentence, my eyes filled with tears…tears of joy, tears of shock. Quoted from her letter read “I never thought I would be writing to tell you Thank You for the flowers you sent me in the hospital.” At that point I stopped reading, because it really didn’t matter what the letter said, it was the feeling I had by just receiving it. It occurred to me how much easier it would have been for her to type that out using her IPad, but that Thank You never would have meant the same to me. I will forever hold on to that letter, and the way I felt when I saw it sitting in the mailbox that day.

So, after several paragraphs of blabbing on about my experiences, I challenge you to create your own. In your personal lives and in your professional lives, aim to send 1 hand written note each week and progress from there. Step away from your computers and take a pen to a pad. Don’t worry about your penmanship, because as I described in the example above, it doesn’t really matter what it says, it is the thought that counts.