Yesterday was the 20^th anniversary of Take our Daughters and Sons to Work Day, launched nationally by Parade.  I am fortunate enough to work for an organization that not only understands work/life balance but embraces it. To mark the occasion, we had a group of six children in the office ranging from infants to age seven. Interestingly, they were all girls.   Check out a few photos here thanks to PRWeek.

As I commuted into the city with my twin girls, many commented on the huge number of youngsters on the train.  And while Peppercomm’s group happened to be all female – as did many on the train, the majority of those commenting assumed it was Take Our Daughters to Work Day.  I wondered why that was. Is it simply because more women tend to participate and happen to have daughters who join them? Or do we think that girls will be more engaged (read: behave better)?

As part of their coverage, Parade, the magazine that launched this tradition nationally, published a story about Jackie DiMarco, Ford’s lead engineer on the F-150 pickup.  Jackie happens to be a woman and have twin daughters. She uses the day to encourage her daughters’ interest in math and science, and I hope, to dispel the ongoing stereotype that girls (and women) are not as interested or as talented in these fields of work.

The article focused on her rise in this particularly male dominated field where some have assumed prior to meeting her that she would be male and others have assumed that she would be more understanding of family commitments than a male manager would. Her response? Why would you think that?

Bravo to Parade for focusing in on what continues to be an issue in the workplace even though many believe it’s not.

Special thanks to Peppercomm’s culture committee for making this a meaningful experience (and truth be told, wrangling cats!).

It’s been awhile since my last blog but travel tends to inspire me to write, or maybe it’s just the ridiculous things that occur when on the road.  Last week, several colleagues and I flew to Chicago for a meeting.  I am typically a United (formerly Continental) gal but someone in the group (read: the boss) is none too pleased with United since the merger so we flew American. I was more than happy to go along for the ride particularly since the cost for a first class seat was marginally more expensive than a coach fare.  The trip out was uneventful although first class was lacking.  The trip home, however, was another story altogether.

Our meetings concluded a bit early so we bolted for the airport in hopes that we could hop on an earlier flight. During our two hour drive, a few back in the office were kind enough to help us research and rebook on an earlier flight. All was well or so we thought.  Upon arrival and check-in we learned that we were not only no longer in first class (allegedly there were no seats available which we later learned was untrue) but that we now owed American $300 EACH to move back to coach.  Wait, it gets better. Our esteemed colleague who had purchased an economy fare checked in and was upgraded and received a refund of $10 on his original ticket.  WHAT!?!?  In what universe does this make sense?

Now, I have absolutely no problem flying economy, in fact, 9 out 10 times, that’s where I am seated. The premium security access is what I am after.  American had no explanation for this except for “It’s how you booked. We don’t know why but we can’t help you.”  Well, American, the customer experience here was in no way “first class” but did have one redeeming quality. Gwen at the First Class ticketing counter at least attempted to assist us and ensured me that although we had now paid a small fortune to be downgraded we could enter through  premium security. Thank you, Gwen!  I will be flying United for the foreseeable future.  It’s not perfect but at least they make sense.

Recently I had the pleasure of attending the Word of Mouth Marketing Association’s WOMM-U conference in Chicago.  I joined several sessions on different topics ranging from content marketing tools and an approach to content creation by Second City that uses improv, to strategies for embedding social across the enterprise and various ways to drive engagement (contests, reviews, etc.).

Overall, a very interesting if somewhat predictable couple of days.  The speakers were smart, for the most part engaging and focused on topics of use for those in attendance – other marketers.  Highlights include:

• A session on content marketing tools which played out a bit too much like a sales pitch.
• A look into how Whole Foods manages employee ownership of and participation in social media at a local and regional level.  The approach is organic and refreshing.
• A sweepstakes case study from Jackson Hewitt – This is how they do it!
• An honest and engaging session featuring the Whirlpool Moms/Mom Central laundry review program (disclosure: this is a Peppercom client)
• Finally, we listened to Paul Adams of Facebook describe five major shifts that are affecting marketing.

Interestingly, no matter what the topic the key takeaway was this: driving consideration and advocacy is still all about connections and building relationships.  We here at About You wholeheartedly agree. No matter the platform, the topic or the audience, establishing that common ground is the key to success. Now go make some friends.

Last week I traveled to a small town in Tennessee.  The easiest way to get there was to fly into Atlanta and drive two and a half hours. Fun right?  On the night we were to fly home  home, we were delayed departing said small town
and had to stay overnight at a hotel close to the airport in Atlanta.  My only request?  That we stay at a “real” hotel.  By real hotel, I mean a hotel with dining and imbibing options that extend beyond powdered continental breakfast eggs and vending machines.  Someone back in the office booked us into the Hyatt which was much appreciated.  I was thrilled – until we pulled up and saw that this was a Hyatt Place. Now, I do not have anything against convenient and affordable options a la Holiday Inn Express and Comfort Suites but it had been a long two days and I was looking forward to a decent meal and a glass or two of drinkable vino.  Well imagine my delight when I walked into a shockingly stylish lobby which boasted 24 hour food options and a small bar. Who knew? Someone apparently did because the place was packed and a post stay search revealed that Hyatt Place boasts more than 58,000 likes on Facebook.

Perhaps I just haven’t noticed the marketing associated with Hyatt Place before, but I was not only satisfied with what I found, but feel that the brand’s messaging was spot on – Welcome to a different place. Because you deserve to have access to everything you need 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The café’s signage and menus catered to the business traveler touting that just because you arrive and depart at off-peak hours you don’t have to eat chips from the vending machine, dream about a cold beer or wait until you arrive at the airport for a hot cup of coffee on your way to a 6am flight.

Keep up the good work, Hyatt Place – I will be back!  Two suggestions:

1. While the front desk/wait staff are personable and efficient, managing front desk duties, take-out orders and the bar can be challenging and somewhat frustrating for bar/café patrons.  Give these guys some help!
2. Continue to differentiate yourselves from the pack with great amenities, stylish surroundings and your marketing communications. As a frequent business traveler, I was unaware of what was available to me and wrongly assumed you were just like everyone else.

Guest post by Jason Green…

Bleary-eyed, scrolling through the morning’s daily deal e-mails on my iPhone, one of them catches my eye. It is from “Daily News Reader Offers” the daily deal arm of the New York Daily News. Gone are the days of spreading out the Sunday paper of choice on the kitchen table (carefully avoiding the plates piled high with challah French toast) in order to artfully cut out coupons at the request of your mother. The customer experience has been reduced to treasure hunting in mass e-mails before sunrise and I believe this could be the albatross around the neck of companies like Groupon and LivingSocial.

Few companies have grown faster than the daily deal sites in such a short period of time. But rapid expansion often sheds light on flaws in the shadow of stacks of money.  A member of
Stifel Nicolaus’s equity research team correctly identifies Groupon’s risky growth strategy in the Wall Street Journal, “Groupon’s ‘get big fast’ strategy to dominate the local-deals business is bold, potentially revolutionary and wrought with organizational challenges.” A stagnant stock price and growing customer fatigue will force Groupon, LivingSocial and competitors like the New York Daily News to retool its customer relations and deliver more than just an e-mail.

As I thought about it more, it became clear that the New York Daily News and other newspaper companies are well-positioned, in comparison to others, to take on Groupon and
LivingSocial because they built significant brand equity over years of being the most reliable source of coupons. Creating an experience and customer trust was at the center of coupon insert success. And recreating this interaction with customers online is the most significant piece missing from the daily deal business model. Witty descriptions of each deal is not enough to change the perception that we are all just waiting for our daily deal trough to be refilled, so we can eat.

The daily deal market is crowded and competition to stay out of a customer’s spam folder will only get tougher. Ultimately, to gain on Groupon and LivingSocial, companies like the New
York Daily News should abandon their copy-cat strategy and think about what customers wanted in the golden years of couponing. By reminding customers of whom they used to trust and creating a differentiated experience, I think that newspapers can be a formidable competitor.

One idea to get the New York Daily News team started: Instead of blast e-mails, develop a Zynga-like game that allows customers to create a profile online and connect to other
social platforms, virtually clip coupons, earn greater awards, unlock badges and actually engage with its daily deal provider. I’m interested to hear about your experience with daily deal sites and what you think they can do to improve. So, what do you think?

So I was working from home last week and had NBC on in the kitchen.  The entire first three hours of the Today Show prattled on in the background with all the typical headlines and nothing really caught my attention.  Then Kathie Lee and Hoda came on and I had to stop, look and listen and this time it wasn’t because I was wondering what they were drinking.  Style expert Bobbie Thomas was on with a slew of “weird and wacky” items she found – crazy new bottled water (it’s black), a boyfriend pillow with an arm to put around you while you sleep (creepy!) and the list went on.  The one that got me?  Cat hair jewelry. Yes, you read that right. Jewelry made out of cat hair.  Earrings, bracelets, you name it.  Really?  And not only jewelry, there is an entire book coming out In November dedicated to crafting with cat hair.  Now I am all for creativity but this is just disgusting.  I spend countless hours trying to rid my home, clothing and
linens of those tiny little balls of gross and these people are making things with it!?   I think the desire to reduce and reuse has gone a little too far in this case. But who am I to talk?  The segment achieved its goal – I stopped what I was doing to watch it.

Wednesday night, Maggie and I attended a chef’s showcase and tasting for caterer Creative Edge Parties. We went to their really cool space downtown and were treated to crisp cocktails and a tasting menu that scared the bejesus out of me. (Editor’s note: I am not an adventurous eater and I have serious texture issues). With that said, I did taste everything they put in front of me – from bone marrow to veal heart. Yes, I ate veal heart.  I did not like any of it until Maggie reminded me that if I always ate this way (read: one bite of each dish), I’d be thin. Well, maybe I liked the rosemary cava sangria.  The flavor profiles were incredible but the textures were something I just could not get past.  What I did like was the marketing approach – an elegant, leisurely meal with great conversation, and get this, no sales pitch.  Creative Edge’s Carla Ruben is a genius.  She flew in two adorable chefs from Spain and Sweden who cooked for and charmed a room full of 40 people who were all viable potential clients. While I would not look to create such a menu for any of my clients, I will keep Carla and crew in my repertoire for future
events.  Did I mention the drinks?

That is what I am calling the fact that I procrastinated starting back-to-school shopping for our twins until yesterday – the first day of school.  The onslaught of sale information (read hurry up and buy!) started in July.  I was involved in creating and disseminating some of it, yet I refused to shop.  I blamed it on work, summer-itis, you name it – anything to avoid starting the annual spending spree.

Well, yesterday was the first day of kindergarten, and guess what?  The girls wore an outfit they have worn several times before and nothing happened!  They looked adorable. And you know what else?  We went shopping today after school ended.  Expecting the worst – picked over aisles and no size options – I was pleasantly surprised.  The shelves were stocked and I discovered something else. I am not the only one.  I met two close friends and another class mom in Target doing the very same thing.

So to all of my fellow procrastinators, just because they say it’s time to shop doesn’t mean it is.  Remember that when the holiday décor and sales start in October.

Guest post by Erin Howard, fellow Peppercommer and YAY DIY! blogger.

Well, maybe not. Ready?

So yesterday, the blogosphere exploded with images of this shirt, apparently on sale just in time for back-to-school. The shirt in question was available in sizes 6-16; targeting not only elementary school girls, but girls in that already awkward and confusing time that most of us would rather forget called middle school.

There are so many things wrong with this! There’s the fact that somewhere along the line, multiple teams of people thought this was not only acceptable, but maybe even a money-maker. Because let’s face it. No one designs, creates, buys and promotes a shirt they think isn’t going to sell. Maybe they’d buy this for their child.  And maybe they’re the kind of people who dream of their daughters being First Lady and not President.  I’d like to hope that mentality is held by only a very small minority of parents in this country.

School age girls are impressionable. They believe what people tell them.  One thing they should NOT be told is that
they can’t be both pretty and smart. There are no “roles” or “molds” girls should be taught to fill.  They don’t have to be “The pretty cheerleader” or the “mousy computer nerd” or the “smart girl in Future Business Leaders of America.”  That pretty girl, the one who’s always cast as the cheerleader, or head of the “mean” squad in
the movies?  That girl should be encouraged to be an engineer, a doctor, a lawyer, or even President, just as
much as anyone else.

The young women who can fit into this shirt are tomorrow’s leaders – but only if we help them realize their full potential. There is nothing wrong with telling young women that they’re beautiful – there is only something wrong with telling them that beauty and intelligence are mutually exclusive.

OK, I’m done.

Business travel can be a real pain in the you know what.

That said, sometimes during a lengthy flight delay one can uncover a hidden airport gem. During a recent delay at O’Hare I discovered Tortas Frontera by Rick Bayless in Terminal 1 (near gate B11). Not only do they offer a great menu and some truly tasty margaritas – the entire menu is available for takeout, including the drinks!  Why should you care?  Two reasons: 1.) plane food stinks and if I am going to pay for it, I would like to enjoy it. 2.) If you have to sit at your gate and wait out a delay, a drink helps.

I ordered chips and salsa and, of course, a margarita.  All came tastefully packaged in travel-friendly containers for me to take on-board. Too bad my flight was delayed so long that I polished it off before boarding!

I’m not the only one who’s a fan. Frommer’s named Tortas Frontera one of the top 10 airport restaurants. Quoted in a March USA Today article about the top 10 list, Bayless said wanted to “set a new standard for what airport food should taste like.”   I, for one, think he has succeeded.  He’s also a smart marketer: the take-out window is front and center with an easy to read menu that makes it clear it’s all about me – the consumer. My stomach thanks you, Rick!