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Marketing Eye Mellissah Smith Articles
This past Saturday, I received a call from my friend Samantha, that her former colleague had just committed suicide. She was in shock and needed to take stock - and rightfully so.
Charlotte Dawson's name only became known to me through the media about "trolls" bullying her on Twitter. At the time, the media was reasonably supportive of her plight, but columnists and bloggers including myself were on the fence. If you took time to read the dialogue well before it became public you may have an opinion that some of the things that she had openly said about other people were not so nice either, and as an adult, some of the insults that flew back to the "cyber bullies" were something that you would be horrified about in a school yard.
Now, that doesn't mean that cyber bullying is acceptable - as it is not. I too have been prone to have a few trolls pass both of my Twitter accounts which combine amount to 41,000 followers, on some topics that I have chosen to write about on this blog, namely the one on how women can help their man be more successful. Apparently, I am stuck in the 50's but the trolls took it a little bit further and threw a few distasteful words my way. I politely replied to some (not all) with "Thank you so much for sharing your opinion. I respect everyone's point of view and perspectives." It stopped within 24 hours, only after my website had more than 100,000 visitors.
How Daniel Birnbaum turned a 6 million dollar company into a billion dollar global enterprise.
Feb 13, 2014 Written by Mellissah Smith
It caught my attention by accident. I was in an airport and Scarlett Johansson popped up on facebook. Apparently, after eight years of being a global ambassador for the anti-poverty group Oxfam International, their relationship had come to an end due to her doing a Super Bowl commercial for SodaStream.
Now, that's a word I haven't heard since I was a child. SodaStream was in every home when I was a child and at some stage, went down the same route of so many other popular brands that are "fads" and became a thing of the past.
The uproar was because SodaStream operates in Ma'ale Adumim, a large Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank.
The pedigree marketing background in consumer products that CEO Daniel Birnbaum credits to his name, was the reason that SodaStream fell in his lap. A friend asked him some years to have a look at the operations with him as he thought it was undervalued. After much consideration, it was decided that for $6 million, they would buy SodaStream and Birnbaum would take over as CEO.
I have watched Birnbaum and I would say that he has a "Steve Jobs" style about him and without doubt the same marketing nous.
Instead of selling SodaStreams to sit on your kitchen bench, he revamped the design so that it looked great on the bench and then started a multimillion dollar marketing campaign to showcase how much more environmentally friendly SodaStream is compared to Pepsi and Coke.
It was this head on approach that caused an uproar over this years Super Bowl Advertisements, causing SodaStream's original advertisement to be banned by Fox. Instead the advertisement was placed up on YouTube and received almost 13 millions worth of hits and was shared on every social media platform imaginable. On top of that, they received tens of millions of dollars in free editorial worldwide, literally putting SodaStream back on the map. It didn't harm them any having one of the most beautiful women in the world, sipping SodaStream from a straw.
In an interview with USA Today, Daniel Birnbaum said of the whole debacle of using the phrase "Sorry, Coke and Pepsi." : "Which advertiser in America doesn't mention a competitor? This is the kind of stuff that happens in China. I'm disappointed as an American."
As a marketer, I think Daniel Birnbaum is a genius. He may be using big agencies, but I suspect that he has alot to do with just how successful SodaStream has become. From a $6 million investment, the business now has a billion dollar market cap and while they don't have the marketing budget of Coke and Pepsi, they are giving them a good run for their money by clearly differentiating their value proposition. Who doesn't want an environmentally friendly solution and to save money at the same time? As for taste, I am neither here nor there. They both taste different but I am fine to carbonate my water with a SodaStream if it means that I don't have cages of landfill that is directly contributed to my laziness of buying on the run.
We've all been in love at some stage in our lives and as St Valentine's Day approaches, it gives those with a romantic bone in their body, something to think about.
Over the years, I have been with some of the most romantic men imaginable. St Valentine's Day has been filled with surprises, flowers, love notes, jewellery, surprise holidays, art and above all - love.
In the past couple of years, it's been no secret that perhaps the one thing I want most in life, is a little harder to get than the rest of my bucket list. In fact, it seems to be the only thing that really eludes me.
I sat in my office and looked up on the wall.
As I read each of my team members three (3) goals that each of them wrote down for the next two (2) years - I felt proud. Of the three, each of them have one crossed off as of February 1, 2014. What an achievement. I feel blessed that as a team, we were able to achieve this for them and they did it all within 3 months.
Then I looked at mine.
It's my second Thankgiving in America and I have to say, I am thrilled. Outside, snow is threatening to fall, with ice lining the pavement, and atmosphere is truly festive. Our team at Marketing Eye is taking the rest of the week off - my way of saying that I appreciate everything they do and the amazing culture that they together have endorsed and grown.
There is so much to be thankful for:
A week of discovery in one of the most beautiful countries in the world, Argentina, has led to a new discovery of my own: that the world is full of surprises.
Caught up in the hustle and bustle of a city that boasts more than 14 million people, Buenos Aires is the hub for the world’s best polo players, Malbec wine, salsa dancers and beef.
You cannot live by normal rules if you travel to Buenos Aires, because the city simply won’t let you.
From the availability of buying the Argentine peso at a rate that is not less than half of what you would get buying it on the street, to the ability to eat at a reasonable hour – Buenos Aires asks you to take a risk, and that’s what the 400 entrepreneurs who graced an EO conference at Alvear Palace do every single day.
Before writing this, I thought long and hard. My first concern was the relevance of this to my journey that I share on this blog. The second is because you either love Angelina Jolie or you hate her. No one seems to be indifferent.
I don’t write about celebrity for the simple reason that I don’t think any celebrity, sports star, politician or business person is better than the person sitting next to them – they simply have chosen different jobs. I have never been in awe of anyone in particular, although there are quite a few people I respect immensely – but those people, I know well.
I never have my photograph taken with a person considered a “celebrity” at a party, event, dinner party or social gathering - I simply don’t see the point. I possibly will never see them again, so why would I want a reminder of someone I don’t know? Is it so I can show my children (if I ever have any) or friends that really matter, that I stood next to a celebrity for a photo?
So, to call one a role model feels kind of weird – but in this particular case it is justified – for me at least.
Angelina Jolie has it all. She was born into a pedigree Hollywood family, growing up in Hollywood with wealth and influence. She attended her first Oscars as her father’s date when she was just 13 – her first real taste of light bulbs flashing and photographers yelling “look here”, “look at me”, “Angelina”. It must have been daunting, but today, I am sure it is like water of a ducks back.
She started modeling and acting quite young starring alongside her father in Lookin’ to Get Out (1982), but it wasn’t until her first major film role in Hackers and television films George Wallace and Gia (both award winning roles for Jolie) that she started to become known.
I saw an invitation today to attend a masquerade ball in Toorak on 1st November, 2013.
Everyone looks a masquerade ball! The opportunity to dress up and be a bit mysterious is just too alluring. I have quickly rung up a group of my friends and put a table together. While there are heaps of events to go to at this time of year, I would much prefer to save myself for the Black Velvet Masquerade Evening at Lincoln of Toorak, than make it all the way out to the track where I need to toss a coin as to whether it will rain, be cold or be so hot that I end up with third degree burns.
It took me a few minutes to realise that this ball is all for a good cause. While Cancer and Mental Health causes are very popular, its the one's that fall down the way-side that really need our help.
Epilepsy is dear to my heart. Growing up with a brother that has epilepsy brings back some raw memories of how much this disease affects people's lives and ability to live in normal society.
There are 225,000 Australian's living with epilepsy and more than 50 million people worldwide are expected to be diagnosed with epilepsy at some stage in their lives.
For those who have not been able to learn about the pitfalls of epilepsy; it is when the seizures are unprovoked and recurrent - in other words, happen more often than once.
It has a profound social, physical and psychological consequence and people living with epilepsy live in fear that it could happen anywhere, anytime. Medication is the only option but is full of side-effects, directly affecting a persons quality of life.
So, if you can get a few friends together and want to support a good cause put on by Epilepsy Foundation of Victoria, then get a table together with some friends and help raise some valuable funds for research into epilepsy. DJ Grant Smillie is playing (Awesome!!!) and he is supported by Nick Foley and WOOHAH DJ's. It's only $60 - cheaper than a ticket to the races and much more worthwhile.
SAVE THE DATE: November 1,2013
TIME: 7.30pm-2.00am
PRICE: $60
According to the World Health Organisation, epilepsy is the world's most common serious brain disorder. Let's support helping this worthy cause.
I was interested in speaking to him because in the past few years my eyesight has deteriorated significantly. Although in my case its not hereditory to have problems with eyesight, I seem to have fallen through the cracks.
I have a set of glasses that I never wear. To be honest, in part it's my vanity that is responsible for this, and the other issue I am faced with is that glasses don't feel comfortable on my face. I simply do not like wearing them.
Over the past few years my eyesight has gotten to a stage where I need to wear glasses fulltime. My friends keep telling me to get contact lenses, but having read up on the fact that it is more dangerous to wear contact lenses than it is to have LASIK surgery, I have shied away from investigating further and thus, I have done nothing.
An ex boyfriend had LASIK surgery and he swears by it and a more current flame had the same and he too cannot imagine life any other way.
There are many habits of really successful people - the billionaire type, but here are 5 that come to mind based on my experience in observing their traits:
1. Dominance is in everything they do
They dominate in whatever they do. If they place tennis, only a pro can beat them. If they play golf, it's of 3 or below. If they climb a mountain, its not just any mountain, its Africa's tallest mountain Mt Kilimanjaro or at the very least one of the highest mountains in the world.
In a meeting, they are always two steps ahead of everyone else in the room. They walk in, everyone stops what they are doing and they demand your attention - without saying a word.
If they are doing a business deal, you will always fair better to let them believe they have won, otherwise your head will be spinning at how fast they anilate you in their wake.
2. Family-first - always
Don't every be mistaken the importance of their family. They may have been onto their third or fourth wife, but when it comes to children and their family members, only they can say or do anything that may in any way hurt their feelings or put them in a position that isn't considered first.
3. Discipline across every area of their business and life
They display discipline in everything they do from when they have a conversation, by listening and asking questions first, without talking and playing their cards too early, to setting goals and doing all the steps, working relentlessly to achieve them. They wake up and go to bed at the same time every day and they never let emotion affect any decision they make. They can cut you as fast as you blink an eye lid - because they have trained themselves to understand that "this is business" and you have to do what you have to do.
4. Relationships go way back and are real
They maintain relationships with people that count from their college friends, bankers, suppliers, past employees, key clients and associates. You may not hear from them for a year, but they will make contact even if its just to invite you to their annual Christmas party. They are more likely to remember your birthday, people they have people who help them do so, than your Mother. And if you are doing it tough and you are someone that they respect, they will be the first to lend a hand, go for coffee or find a solution.
5. They don't suffer fools
They don't suffer fools but unlike you and I, they don't make the fool know what they think of them. Instead, they create a divide, so large that the "fool" cannot get within a mile of them. They also in subtle way, ensure that others around them are not bringing them into their sphere.
I celebrated my birthday twice. Once in Australian time and the other in US time. Both were equally fabulous and without flaw. I spent the most amazing couple of days in South Beach Miami and just chilled. Somehow all of the expectations of turning 40 disappeared and I enjoyed the "now".
Freaking out about turning 40 was wasting energy that could have been better spent elsewhere. I don't know why I started to look in the mirror and feel 10 years older, nor what started me thinking that my life is so miserable, when in fact, it is truly amazing. I am living the best life I could have ever imagined and I am doing things that I never thought possible.
My friends keep telling me that "life begins at 40". To be brutally honest, I am not so sure. How can someone think that is the case, when in your 20's you made all your mistakes but had the time of your life. In your 30's, you made some more, but they were far more manageable and life was pretty good. You had more money than in your 20's, more experience and had fewer issues. You felt as though you were more comfortable in your own skin and you came to terms with your flaws.
Then you started approaching 40. Somehow everything went back a few steps. Firstly, just when you thought you were comfortable in your own skin, you realized that there were a few things you wanted to change. For instance, your appearance. Do those wrinkles really belong to you? Have your eyebrows really drooped that much? Are your boobs really that saggy?
It seems odd that I would choose to write this blog, given my situation, but as odd as it may be, I think there is some relevance.
On Wednesday, I was flying from Chicago to Denver and there was an African-American woman with two children under 2-years of age who were crying. As I watched the situaiton, I heard snickers around this lady getting louder and louder with people complaining “just my luck to sit next to screaming kids” and “I have a headache already”.
It's the experiences in life that make us who we are. I have had the most amazing life journey, growing up in rural Australia with a life full of animals, family and friends. My career has been more outstanding then I ever dreamed of mainly because my expectations were so low and I guess I would have been just as happy following the route of many of my school friends and having a family rather than any major career.
Starting a business at 25 was exhilarating to say the least. I remember when I was 26 years old, with my then business partner, talking about how lucky we were and how we wanted to pinch ourselves because life really couldn't get any better.
The world is a tough place. There are so many obstacles that are put in front of us, that sometimes, we want to stop and take a deep breath and it takes every ounce of will to start back up again.
I don’t profess to know the answers, nor will I ever. It is not possible to know it all and for that matter, to have it all.
2013 has been a monumental year in so many ways. Things have happened in five’s and six’s and while many things have been good, even great, it’s not all positive.
Today, I arrived at the airport. I woke up at 3am in the morning, jet lagged and in desperate need of some sleep. I stayed awake, responded to a few emails and then I prepared myself for the day ahead.
