Quadrify It...

If you are a business in Vermont (or Eastern New York), of any sort, you should immediately go to this site - www.CelebrateChamplain.org. As you hopefully know, 2009 marks Vermont's Quadracentenial Celebration and everyone is getting in on the action. And that is exactly why you should too. In marketing, you don't want to be the one who doesn't play.

If you are in Vermont and your business can somehow be tied to the history of Lake Champlain, the land around Lake Champlain, or the people connected to any of the areas over the past 400 years, than you more than qualify to quadrify!

You can already see how much fun it is going to be to quadricize everything (i.e. fun marketing words), so as a Vermont PR professional, I urge you to find a way to tie in your business...

~ Offer a Quadrific discount
~ Make a Quadspific product
~ Share your history in your marketing materials
~ Tell your quadcentric story
~ If you run events, sign up to quadrify your events and benefit from the mass marketing of the Quadracentenial team
~ Collaborate!!!!!! Find others in your area and see what you can offer as a group for this great celebration!

The Quadracentenial will be going on all of 2009 with a kick-off bash after the clock strikes midnight once 2008 turns to 2009. The key events will be held in the summer of 2009, but folks can celebrate the Quad year 'round!

Interested? You best be! Go check out the Celebrate Champlain website at www.CelebrateChamplain.org and see how you can get involved and how your business can benefit by this widespread, collaborative effort!

End of March Events Worth Checking Out

Progressive Sale at Tootsie's and Progressive Art at Candles & Creations

As my favorite band says, "Break outside of your cathedral." And I share that advice for the coming of Spring!


Break outside of your cathedral and trade in your winter-ick shoes for some fun spring shoe fashions at Tootsie's on College Street in Burlington during their "progressive" sale this March! The sale starts Thursday, March 27th and runs through the weekend. Prices start at 40% off and go down to 70% off on Sunday, March 30th. Best prices at the end, best selection at the beginning. And if you didn't know, they give the best pedicures in town (so I've heard)!

With the money you save on shoes, wrap up your March by heading over to Candles & Creations in the Blue Mall anytime between now and March 30th to get your tickets for the Kimberlee Forney Art Benefit Event being held on the 30th at 5 pm to benefit Prevent Child Abuse Vermont and raise awareness about Traumatic Brain Injury. Tickets enter you to win a bunch of prizes from other artists connected to this community nexus of a store as well as the option to bid on Kimberlee Forney's live auction at the event.

I declare the end of March as Support Your Community Businesses Week (as well as every other time of the year)! Do it!!!

Former Mentee Follows in Footsteps

When I graduated from Marist College back in 1998 with my degree in public relations, I moved to Nashville, Tennessee to spread my wings and prove my independence to whoever cared (um, myself?). My PR experience at that point consisted of the classes I took in college and the internship I had at the Dutchess County Girl Scout Council (site seems to be disabled) in Poughkeepsie, New York.

While I searched and applied for entry level PR jobs, I started to learn of the judgment that is deeply passed on those of us from the North. I didn't really think it existed since I had never been south of Washington DC before and when folks up North think of folks down South, we pretty much think of cool accents and grits. But, while I continued to not get called for first interviews for the many vacant public relations and marketing jobs at the vast array of companies, I naively learned that going to college in New York was a weakness in the Nashville job market. Luckily, Nashville has the 5th largest Girl Scout Council - www.gsmidtn.org - in the country (well, it was then) and with a background in Girl Scouting since the 1st grade as well as the internship, I thought they must be able to find a use for me - and luckily, I was right!

I began running a theater program for high school girls and a high adventure program for middle school girls which then molded into earning the position of Teen Program Manager and I had a ball! What a great first job for a budding young professional. I got to interact with tons of girls, motivate adults, and create programs and ways to market them with my Northern flair! I found the Girl Scouts to be a refreshing source of open-mindness, diversity, and the progressiveness I was accustomed to being a gal from the Northeast. I made many friends and the very best part was my involvement with so many amazing young women. I try to track some of these women from time to time and one of them most recently found me on Linked In. I had volunteered to be her mentor through one of the many programs we had at the Girl Scouts and she also performed in the theater and singing group I started.

Her name is Kia Jarmon and she was one of the most articulate, aspiring, helpful, smart, and pleasant young ladies I have had the privilege of mentoring in all of my time in that role. She emailed me the other day and shared with me her success of starting her own PR agency in Nashville, Miss Ellanious PR. It literally made my day! From what I have found on the internet and know of this young lady from ten years ago, I attest she is truly impressive. Kia has carved a niche for herself in industries and areas she has personal interests and passions, she works on a very grassroots level, and is committed to the relationship element of public relations, three of the basics I hold near and dear to my own heart.

I wanted to share her success with my readers and also ask that you share her PR agency, Miss Ellanious PR at www.kiajarmon.com, with any of your contacts in the Nashville area. And kudos to the concept of six degrees of separation!!!

3 Tips

Think you have news? Do you want to get your news to the press so they can share with your audiences? Good. You are thinking in terms of public relations. Now, you have to determine if your news is newsworthy. Here is how:

1. Does your news solve a problem?

2. Does your news offer useful tips?

3. Does your news identify a trend?

If it does not do one of these three things (and we're talking 100% here, not "it could if you looked at it this way") it is not newsworthy!

Now, I am not talking about small company announcements, etc. that are being included in specific areas of a business publication. I am talking about trying to get a feature story written.

So, if your news doesn't do one of the three items above - don't despair! Do some background work and research and find a way for your news to do one of those three things - then you'll have something editors want to know about!