I’ve had an opportunity to spend a good deal of time over the past few months with my good friend and colleague Lorie Gardner at Mad Monkey Productions. One day we got on the topic of internet advertising and immediate nature it affords of seeing results. That was followed by a commiseration of how people (clients) have come to expect “immediacy” from all of their advertising investments whether online or via traditional means.

So, for all you “readers” (and client types) out there—here are a few things to think about when advertising your product or service…anywhere (and yes, even online).

“There are two classes of people who tell what is going to happen in the future: those who don’t know and those who don’t know they don’t know.” -John Kenneth Galbraith

Yesterday, I was watching the Steven Spielberg movie, Back to the Future, which was a phenomenal box office success, as was the sequel, Back to the Future III. Both movies took us back to the past from our present day. It was Back to the Future II that was a huge bomb. I think part of the reason it bombed so badly was that it took us into the future; a future of flying cars, not a future of the internet, iPods and cell phones.

But face it, none of us are any better at predicting the future. And yet we can’t help but try.

The Township Auditorium Foundation has retained Marketing Performance, LLC to complete a comprehensive fundraising program that will run concurrently with the Township Auditorium’s $12 million renovation project.

Construction is slated to begin in the summer of 2009 and includes an expanded lobby, backstage support area, upgraded box office, modernized concession area and improved restroom facilities.  All money collected during the fundraising campaign will be used to further programs of the Foundation.

The Protocol School of Washington® has partnered with Marketing Performance, LLC to promote its new professional development e-learning series.  The series, a sequence of online tutorials, is expected to be available to the public by April 2009 and includes lessons on body language, socializing in professional settings, appropriate business attire and electronic communication etiquette.

According to a new report from Netpop Research,  ”Media Shifts to Social,” the percent of time people spend communicating online has increased 18% since 2006, while time spent on entertainment has declined 29%. The Executive Summary says that Online entertainment is shifting to a small, powerful proportion of social media contributors fueling Web activity through blogs micro-blogs, social media, video and photo sharing.

Key Findings from the study include data such as:

“However mean your life is, meet it and live it; do not shun it and call it hard names. It is not so bad as your are. It looks poorest when you are richest. The fault-finder will find faults even in paradise. Love your life.” -Henry David Thoreau

Being the outcome driven person that I am doesn’t leave me lots of time for contemplation of my navel. However, yes to answer the question, I do have a therapist that I see weekly. While I am not unique or alone in this, it’s funny how some people smile or roll their eyes when I mentioned something that I learned “in therapy.” Besides, it’s great to have someone that can look at me dispassionately for who I am and help me make decisions based on that viewpoint; a lot like I do on behalf of my clients. Rarely have I ever had a client in 12 years of business who can step back and see their business or product the way an “outsider” can. It’s a “forest and trees” kind of mentality.

“To attain happiness in another world we need only to believe something, while to secure it in this world we must do something.” -C.P. Gilman

I guess when you read the same quotation twice within days of each other, it means something. And it was this quote from Charlotte Perkins Gilman that I had in my mind as I toured the Family Shelter here in Columbia this week. (http://columbiafamilyshelter.org) They are recruiting board members and a few people, most notably my banker Rhonda Hughey, think I might be a valuable member. I’m still considering it as I don’t take these responsibilities lightly.

Now before you start thinking that I’ve gone all touchy-feely somewhere over the rainbow I’ll poke you with the pointed advice of Ann Radcliffe: “One act of beneficence, one act of real usefulness, is worth all the abstract sentiment in the world.” In other words, “No one wants to hear what you believe. We’re watching. Show us.” I couldn’t have said that better myself.

Talk is cheap. Actions, even small actions, relentless actions, committed actions are the signature of people who change the world.

I have just returned from the first training session of the year by the Protocol School of Washington, one of our clients (www.psow.com). It was, as Bill & Ted might have said, quite an excellent adventure. A long weekend in our nation’s capitol, interesting and relevant information presented by a variety of experts and most of all an eclectic group of international business people from all backgrounds seeking one thing: new ways to compete; and in this case, different ways to “outclass the competition.” Because, as we all know, sales don’t get made by email or text message; sales get made by relationship building, people skills, knowing what to say and when.

And so today, fresh from this trip, here are a few thoughts for the brave individuals who have started their own businesses on a shoestring and a prayer in these uncertain times.

Close to thirty years ago I cast my very first vote. It was the 1980 presidential election and I, like so much of America, voted for Ronald Reagan. If you can’t remember that time, let me refresh your memory. Jimmy Carter was President. Americans had been held hostage for 444 days in our own embassy in Iran. Just a few years before, mortgage rates were at 18%, jobs were scarce and if you saw a line at a gas station, you’d better get in it.

I missed posting last week because the spring semester began at USC and, even though I knew it was coming, I still managed to find myself running behind in preparing for my class; something I admit happens most semesters. Between work in progress, two new clients and getting ready for the class I teach to graduating seniors in “Advertising Campaign Strategy”… I was admittedly….blog-less.

This week, I borrow heavily from Advergirl, (click here) one of the blogs I read as often as it’s updated. Her article “Commercials That Open Minds” focus on two companies—Carnival and Kaplan. I liked her topic for several reasons: