Get your tweet on!

Blueprint has recently signed on to be a part of an awesome event here in Dallas called the Dallas Twestival.

Don't worry, we hadn't heard of a Twestival either until a few weeks ago. So here's a quick definition to fill you in.

Twestival is a combination of the two words "Twitter" and "Festival". It's also a combination of what the words "Twitter" and "Festival" mean...a social media/networking party.

Basically, you tweet, meet, and give back to the community. We're already on our Twitter accounts enough as it is, why not throw in some local support at the same time, right? Right. So I'm urging everyone to get in touch with your tweetness and check out the website to see what it's all about.

What is Blueprint doing with the Twestival? So glad you asked. Since we are public relations and social media pros, we'll be taking care of the PR, Marketing, and Communication Chair position for the event. So, if you hear anything about the Twestival around Dallas, chances are we're behind the buzz!

As with any charity event, the more the merrier--and we'd love to have help spreading the word and getting involved! Here's what you need to know and do:

-Put down September 12th, 2009 as busy in your calender since you'll be at the Twestival!

-Buy your tickets for the Dallas Twestival here

-Check out the Twestival website and blog

-The local charity for this year's Twestival is The Women's Musuem

-Follow the Twestival on Twitter

-Add a twestival twibbon to your Twitter profile picture to support the Twestival

-Message the Twestival organizers from their Twitter page if you want to get involved or help out, or I can pass the message along too!

We'll be keeping you updated with what's going on with the event so stay tuned for more in the upcoming weeks!

Until next time,

Sloane and Chelsea

Kourtney (should) hand a big fat check to her PR team

There's a reason Kourtney looks so smug...

"Helloooo high ratings!"

Because all of you care so much about Kourtney Kardashian, I thought I'd make your day and give you an update since last week.

In case you missed the big news--Kourtney is pregnant. Try not to jump out of your chair from excitement.

Quick review on why you're even reading this celebrity gossip on my blog--I'm claiming that she withheld her pregger news (and who the father is) until right around the time her show, Kourtney and Khloe Take Miami, debuts on E! to draw people in for the drama that is Kourtney and Khloe Kardashian.

This is what we call smart public relations. Use your news to your advantage to make moolah and get good publicity.

Anddddd guess what. It worked. The show was E!'s highest watched show since 2002's Anna Nicole Smith Show. Approximately 2.7 million viewers tuned in which was a 60% jump from the Keeping Up With the Kardashian's premier.

Goes to show that sometimes keeping a secret for a little bit longer is not a bad idea...

"Shh! I've got a little secret up my sleeve!"

BE BOLD OR GO HOME

Get your #2 pencils out cause I've got a pop quiz for you!





Did Perez Hilton achieve his successful blogging site Perezhilton.com by:








a.) Delicately commenting on Hollywood gossip and stars

b.) Becoming a grammatically correct and beautiful writer

c.) Boldly speaking his mind and constantly pushing the limits.

Answer is.....


C!

An awesome fellow blogger, Copyblogger, declares in a recent post that blogging boldly is the way to keep people interested and coming back for more.

Audiences want to be entertained. So dilly dallying around your point, novel descriptions of what you ate/did last night/saw at the movies/your crazy dream, random uninteresting news, and not letting your personality show in your blog are sure ways to lose your audience. Try to avoid them at all costs.

Check out Copyblogger's site for more info on the subject.

COMING SOON: List of sites and blogs that excel at keeping readers around.

Until next time,

Sloane and Chelsea

Obama School Cont...

I've gotten some feedback since posting this morning about the possible renaming of the Billy Earl Dade Learning Center in South Dallas to the Barack Obama Middle School:

One person tweeted about being OK with the name change if the school shares the same vision as the President Obama.

One person exclaimed, "It's way too soon! What if he turns out to be like Hitler??! Then what would the school do??"

Both responses have completely different views.

Person #1 is thinking about vision and meaning, what Obama stands for. If those align with what the school is striving for, then what's to lose?

Person #2 is thinking about branding. The school could gain a negative image and representation should Obama slip during the remainder of his term.

Interestingly enough, DISD isn't thinking about branding. They're more in Person #1's mind frame. They state that this particular school shouldn't be a tribute to Obama since it's already a tribute to Dade, make another school the tribute to Obama. Others agree, but say to wait a while since Obama has only been in office 6 1/2 months.

I'm leaning on Person #2's viewpoint. Let's think long term here, people. 20 years down the road are we going to be happy to have a school named after Obama? We don't know. And that's why it shouldn't be done.

**We love getting responses and feedback on our posts so thanks to those who let us know their thoughts! Keep em' comin!

Until next time,

Sloane and Chelsea

School renamed as Barack Obama Middle School--good idea or bad?

I ran across an article this morning that reeked of BAD IDEA so much that I could not believe it was actually a real issue. Let's discuss it, shall we?

What: DISD school board trustee, Ron Price, wants to rename a school in Dallas "Barack Obama Middle School".

Why: "Overwhelmingly, the parents and the kids said we want Barack Obama and when you see those kids eyes, their eyes just started glowing, and even the parent's eyes were glowing just for the fact that their kid would one day go to the Barack Obama school," Price said.

When: Currently being debated now.

Response (PUT YOUR POLITICAL VIEWS ASIDE): I say absolutely not, stick to original name. For now.

"But why?" you ask, "Why not name it after our current president that has achieved so much for our country? Who has preached about hope and change, making a real difference, and changing the way things are done in DC?"

I'll tell you why. Because he's still preaching those things. Why is he still preaching those things? Because it's not even been a year since he was sworn in. Meaning? We barely know what he's done because he's barely had enough time to do anything! He's got more than 3 years left! Sure, he could follow through and become the amazing president that everyone has hoped for. He could also dig himself a hole deeper and deeper until he's barely able to breathe by the end of his term. Who's to say what will happen--which is the exact reason a school, much less anything, should be named after such a famous, public, figure.

Not convinced? Here are a few names of people that started off being known as positive, awesome people. We'll pretend schools decided to rename their schools after these people.

Michael Vick High School



















Tonya Harding Elementary



















O.J. Simpson Preparatory School



















Hitler Academy (a little extreme, yes, but hey, people liked him for a while over there in the beginning!) I'll spare you the picture of this mustached madman.

You get the idea. Obama will probably be an amazing president. But just in case he's not, hold off on changing the identity of anything until you're positive it will be a positive change for long after. You want as much positive association with your brand as possible and should stay away from anything that has the teeniest, tiniest bit of chance to label it as something negative.

Bottom line: When it comes to naming something after famous people--wait several, even decades in some cases, years before renaming.

Until next time,

Sloane and Chelsea

Get pregnant to get publicity, kinda.

If you keep up with celebrity gossip then you've heard that Kourtney Kardashian is preggers.

My guess is that she's been preggers for quite some time and only just now announced it. Why? Her new show, Kourtney and Khloe Take Miami, premiers on E! this Sunday.

What does that have to do with anything? Well let's see...

-Everyone knows Kim Kardashian. Kourtney and Khloe? Not so much. Until now, since the media is jumping all over the new addition to the Kardashian clan. Now people will want to find out more about Kourtney. And oh, convenience, they can start finding out more on Sunday.

-For a while there we were left wondering if Kourtney's crazy partying antics we've been seeing on the previews for the show resulted in babyville. Who wouldn't want to tune into a show to watch drama like that unfold?

-Kourtney only just now revealed that her boyfriend, Scott Disick, is the father. Who cares at this point? Peole are going to tune in anyway to see the drama around the baby news.


-On every website and TV channel that Kourtney's new announcement has been talked about, they also mention her new show. Hello free advertising. Just go to E!'s website--the feature story is Kourtney's news and her appearance on the Today Show.

So what have we learned? What's the common theme of each of these points? Get pregnant to get publicity.

(Octo-mom photo courtesy of Perezhilton.com)

Just kidding! Bottom line is the promotion of Kourtney's show.

It's a common PR tactic to use information like this and tie it into a feature/show/book/movie/appearance etc to bring in the mass publicity.

Just watch. Kourtney and Khloe Take Miami will bring in high ratings this Sunday. Maybe Kourtney's pregnancy was unplanned, but revealing it to the public was well planned.

Side note: Will Kourtney name her baby something that starts with a K? What's with that anyway?

Until next time,

Sloane and Chelsea

Google Gets Caffeinated

Caffeine [ka-feen, kaf-een, kaf-ee-in] noun, a white, crystalline, bitter alkaloid, usually derived from coffee or tea: used in medicine chiefly as a nervous system stimulant.

OR

Caffeine, noun, Google's improved search engine that provides speedy results and a larger index which results in excited, hyper behavior by the Googler.

While Microsoft's Bing has been generating buzz these past few months Google has jumped on the We're Better Than You bandwagon by creating an even better Google than they already have. Always one step ahead, aren't ya Google? That's why we like you.

Check out their blog which announces, "For the last several months, a large team of Googlers has been working on a secret project: a next-generation architecture for Google's web search. It's the first step in a process that will let us push the envelope on size, indexing speed, accuracy, comprehensiveness and other dimensions. The new infrastructure sits "under the hood" of Google's search engine, which means that most users won't notice a difference in search results. But web developers and power searchers might notice a few differences, so we're opening up a web developer preview to collect feedback."

Here's what I like about this:

1. While Microsoft has been basking in the hype of Bing, Google rises to the challenge and begins work on making their genius work more genius. There's never an end limit with them.

2. Most users won't notice the difference with the updated version, meaning it's under the same brand as the current Google search engine. Users will simply notice faster and larger results. In sum, Google isn't looking for a ton of compliments and rewards, just customer satisfaction. (which will bring them rewards and compliments--sneaky, but smart)

3. They're asking for feedback from their own kind. Forget pretending they know all, they just want to make sure it works well, and if not, what changes to make. Again, customer satisfaction.

Google looks to be striking gold with Caffeine. And the name isn't too bad either. After all, who wouldn't become hyper and excited after finding endless results in less time?

Until next time,

Sloane and Chelsea

Top 5 List of Twitter Need-to-Knows

Everyone has heard of Twitter. Not everyone knows how it works. Here is a list of the Top 5 things you need to know if you're a person who's curious about using Twitter.

1. Show Twitter the love. When I say love, I mean the real thing. No passive aggressiveness, no fighting, no complaining, no yelling, no hating. Think of you and Twitter in an endless honeymoon stage. Spend hours learning as much as you can about Twitter. Become enthralled. Enthusiastic. Excited. Enlightened. The more time you spend with Twitter the more you'll understand about Twitter. In return, Twitter will give love back to you. See how that works? Who said relationships are hard?

2. Show your profile some love. Spend an hour or so showering Twitter with presents. Presents that come in the form of designing your personal Twitter page. Make sure one of those presents is a profile picture because otherwise you'll just make Twitter seem sketchy to everyone else. If you have trouble drawing stick figures than maybe consult one of your artistic friends who could help you out. There's always the Internet as well for those questions. And, Twitter of course. That's a good Tweet right there--"Anyone know how to easily create your own profile for Twitter?" And speaking of Tweets...

3. Filter your Twitter thoughts. It might seem really easy to quickly type a 140 character Tweet that you've just thought of. Well, hold that thought. Make sure it's one of your "I should write that down somewhere" thoughts and not one of your "Um...good story..." thoughts. Food, for instance, falls in the "Um...good story..." category. Unless you did something AMAZING with it, like build a workable desk out of apples or write a press release for Frito Lay using only potato ships shaped into words, then chances are no one cares about your food intake.

4. Channel your frustration into Twitter success. Don't get overwhelmed by your Tweet Deck constantly telling you every other second that 375637856378563 people have just updated their Twitter and there's no way you can read every single one. Half of those updates probably aren't even worth your while anyway. So. Focus on the ones that are. Then go back to those OFTEN. ReTweet those people. If they have blog they reference, follow it. Become a Twitter companion. The more REAL friends you have, the better your life is, right? And when life gets tough, you lean against those friends. So don't take your frustration out on Twitter.

5. Never underestimate your Twitter knowledge. You don't know a lot about Twitter. "Yes I do!" you exclaim, "I spend 4 hours on Twitter every day!" Well, while you're on Twitter, Twitter headquarters, who, by the way, is the top social media company in Fortune 100 companies, have put their thinking caps on to come up with even better ways to use Twitter. Make sure to check their links, pages, whatever else they offer on their site to see what they're up to. And don't forget to keep up on the web outside of Twitter. You don't want to become a Twitter addict, just a Twitter genius.

Until next time,

Sloane and Chelsea

Could middle school actually be fun??

Remember middle school? Try to dig it out of the drawer in your memory labeled "Let's Just Forget This Happened, ok?" Still foggy? Herein lies my point: middle school isn't much fun for most people. Awkward, acne, and attitude are a few words that come to mind on the subject.

However, there is at least ONE teacher, now published author, that tried to make it fun. More than just fun--a roller coaster ride of emotional fun.

Check out this interview in The Pittsburgh Examiner to get to know the coolest teacher around. Then, if you feel robbed of a middle school experience (the cool kind), check out his website for more info.

Happy schooling!

Until next time,

Sloane and Chelsea

DEbranding to INcrease brand awareness

Someone in the marketing department at corporate Starbucks must be having a good month. Only someone feeling creative, innovative, and unrestricted would be able to come up with adding booze to the menu, free ice cream giveaways, free pastries (only this morning!!), and now trial DEbranding a few of their stores.

Well, we say debranding, but my opinion (and Starbucks' too most likely--we're similar in genius thought) is that they are actually branding their name even more. How so? You've heard about Twitter, facebook, and other insanely popular social networking sites, right? They're allll about connecting people. Connecting people in similar areas, interests, markets, industries, businesses, ideas, opinions, and pretty much anything else you can connect about. Starbucks is simply applying the same strategy to a few of their Seattle locations--connecting with the locals and the nearby community.

If all goes according to plan, we'll soon be hearing how Starbucks cares SO much about their customers that they want to adapt their locations to their customers likings. They'll be known for catering to their customers, being unafraid to think outside of the box, and paving this new marketing road for others to follow.

Think it will work? Time will only tell. We'll give you an update when we hear of anything!

Until next time,

Sloane and Chelsea

Free Ice Cream!

We love free stuff. We love free stuff even MORE when it's in conjunction with social media. (It's all the rage, you know.) So we've got to give props to Starbucks and Unilever for offering 280,000 free pints of its new ice cream to facebook users.

Through July 19, you can visit Apps.facebook.com/starbucksicecream and try your luck. At the top of every hour, you will have a chance to give a pint of Starbucks ice cream to a friend or family member. Here's a TIP, download the app only a few minutes after the hour, or all 800 pints will already be gone. (We know, we tried it.) Although the promotion encourages participants to send the treat to friends, if you don't feel like sharing you can send the coupon to yourself... yeah, we're greedy too.

Until next time,

Sloane and Chelsea

A Whopper of an Ad

All bloggers most likely know about famous celebrity blogger Perez Hilton. After all, he's the one that helped start the blogging phenomenon with his blunt comments, unsubtle remarks, and off the wall sayings (his latest favorite is "amazeballs"). He's one of a kind. So, being a blogger, we check his site every minute of every day--er, I mean every now and then.

Today we found his comments about this ad. Looks like the advertising and marketing team over at Burger King have taken the crown for the loud, sexual, over the top ad of the month. And hey, loud, sexual, and over the top works. Why is it fast food that always takes it up to the sexual notch? Fast food is definitely not sexy. Tasty, yes. Sexy, no.

Until next time,

Sloane and Chelsea

When in tough times...

If you don't know about Daily Candy by now then you must be living under a very large rock. I wake up every morning and gleefully check my Inbox where I have emails from Daily Candy Dallas (where I live), Daily Candy Atlanta (where I'm from), Daily Candy New York (because I like to be in the know), Daily Candy Travel Deals on Tuesdays, and last, but definitely not least, Daily Candy Weekend Guide on Thursdays. It's a fabulous way to stay informed about amazing deals, delicious treats and eats, and trendy hot spots around town. If you aren't signed up I suggest you do so now.

Sometimes, because I love Daily Candy so much, I peruse the website to make sure I haven't missed anything. Sure enough, I happened to miss the opening of a cute boutique store called I'm that Grrrl in the Bishop Arts District in Dallas. The catch? Nothing is over $100. Now that's what I call safe shopping.


In these depressing economic times it's important for any business, in any industry, to let their customers know they're taking extra steps to help them through the tough times. I'm That Grrl will appeal to Dallas shoppers because a.) It's in a trendy new spot, b.) It's swanky and chic, and c.) It's AFFORDABLE. Whether I'm That Grrl will keep prices under $100 forever doesn't matter, it's the fact that they're doing it NOW.

Another example? Across the pond, Mr. Jimmy Choo is lending his stylistic expertise to the fashionable and affordable H&M clothing store. H&M has teamed up with other well known designers before such as Stella McCartney and Karl Lagerfeld. It just gives me warm fuzzies all over to know that I can shop Jimmy Choo at an affordable, reasonable price. Who knows if H&M will continue to pair up on collections in the future (I hope they do!), but again, it's the fact that they're doing it NOW, with an expensive, famous, couture designer, that makes H&M customers know they're shopping at the right place.

Lesson learned? Adjust for your target customers. They'll appreciate the effort and stay loyal.

Until next time,

Sloane and Chelsea

New light on Old media

I thought this was a billboard worth mentioning. Designed by Colenso BBDO for TV3, they incorporate and existing light into the design. An excellent use of a somewhat obtrusive lighting source.


Until next time,

Sloane and Chelsea

Hello Sharpie, Thanks for joining us

Sharpie recently launched a new multichannel, multimedia campaign to showcase the iconic marker used for self-expression... How novel. They demonstrate a trend as old as graffiti, and seem to have hopped on the recession advertising train as well. 

"The new Sharpie campaign challenges people to re-imagine, re-invent and re-create the mundane, everyday items in their lives as a way to express their creativity and embrace value in these tougher times." 

- Sally Grimes, global vice president of marketing for Sharpie

 As unoriginal as the campaign may be, hopefully it will instill in teens that clothing doesn't have to be expensive to be "cool". I give it a 7. 

Check out Sharpie's new website, the cornerstone of the campaign, to see artistic creations submitted by the Sharpie community.

Until next time,

Sloane and Chelsea

Kleenex... mmm... tasty

There are so many opportunities for eye catching product packaging, it's always nice to see something unconventional. Check out this seasonal package redesign by Kleenex. Kind of makes me want to sit poolside and blow my nose.

Following in the footsteps of personalized M&Ms, Kleenex now offers "design your own" tissue box. That's one place I never though to add my vacation photos. Sorry Martha, no more crouched tissue box covers! Hmm... now there's a promo, the Blueprint logo on a tissue box during cold season... maybe not.

Until next time,

Sloane and Chelsea

Bing! A new search engine emerges

Google might have some competition coming its way in the form of Microsoft's Bing, a search engine that is developed to give answers instead of just relevant information. 

Intrigued, I decided to take a look. I immediately went to Google to find information on Bing, and chuckled when I realized the irony of the situation. I wonder if people will ever get accustomed to going elsewhere to find information rather than Google at first thought? Perhaps that is an ignorant comment seeing as our technology world advances at an incredible speed and new ideas and concepts sprout up every second, Google could be overtaken in a minute if a bigger and better competitor came along...right? I guess we'll find out. 

In the meantime, it's worth your while to check out Bing. The homepage itself is pretty impressive (if you're impressed by cool images and web page design, that is). I sat for a moment thinking of some amazing term to test search Bing's claim at finding "answers" rather than just relevant information, and I, of course, could think of nothing better than "Sloane Cannon" (feel free to detect the sarcasm).

I popped up in several results, some blog posts from my personal blog, some from this blog, and a few results from previous accomplishments--even dating all the way back to my high school years. However, Google results were no different. So far, I haven't been able to think of something I really need "answers" for rather than relevant results...but I'm still thinking. 

I've decided to keep Bing as part of a permanent tab to give it a few more tries, see how its popularity fairs since its just recently joined the live Internet. If you want more information on Bing check out this article from the Wall Street Journal, OR simply go to Bing itself and see what you can find. 

Happy searching and answer finding, and happy Monday everyone!

Until next time, 

Sloane and Chelsea

Swine Flu Spin

Sometimes a news story can get out of hand. There's no telling why, it could be anything--people who believe anything they read to a bad spin on a subject thanks to some public relations professionals who still practice the dishonest, outdated, and one of the reasons PR pros have a false bad name, spinning technique. 

But for whatever reason, things can get blown out of proportion and the Swine Flu, excuse me, H1N1, is the latest victim. 

I just went to the Wall Street Journal site and saw they had added a tab titled "Flu Outbreak". I log onto Facebook and am bound to find at least 10 new status updates exclaiming their fear of the Swine Flu. The Fort Worth public school system closed schools for several days a few weeks ago. Parents are keeping their kids at home. People are walking around using hand sanitizer every few minutes. My parents called me, panicked, telling me to avoid crowds for several days. 

It's gotten a little over the top. While there definitely is a flu going around, it's not the first, and certainly not the last. I like Bret Stephen's take on the whole ordeal in today's Wall Street Journal. 

Sometimes it is quite valuable, if not always, to get an unaltered point of view from someone not affected by any hysteria in the news and public. Hopefully the people who are 'spinning' the Swine Flu out of orderly control will take note of Mr. Stephen's argument. 

Until next time, 

Sloane and Chelsea

Social Media consumes InPrint once more--Book Review

I've been talking a lot about social media lately. It's not the only part of PR, but it is a huge part, and the capacity to which a PR pro understands and practices it, either makes or breaks their client's success. 

Here at Blueprint we like to stay updated on current trends--whether they're tech trends, news trends, fashion trends, blogging trends, topic trends (Swine flu immediately comes to mind for that one), and the list goes on. That's part of the job, after all, staying up to date with pretty much everything and everyone. So, last Friday I found myself at Barnes and Nobles looking at the newest fiction novels when my "maybe I should check out the marketing section and see what's new" sense switched on. Next thing I know I'm walking out with 8 books on PR and Marketing skills. 

Yes, I sometimes go overboard, especially in bookstores. But I believe in the power of the written word, be it online or in print, and these particular books jumped out at me as a way to become even more of a PR pro (If that's actually possible...). 

Either an employee at Barnes and Nobles strategically placed amazing, intelligent, extremely helpful, perfect, books on the shelves so that I would automatically look at them first, or I'm just an incredible PR-book-picker-outer. So far, the ones I've read are filled with tips, hints, ideas, theories, quotes, history, case studies, and just the right amount of humor to rock the PR pro's world. 

I'm currently in the middle of "Putting the Public Back in Public Relations" and it's the first time I'm having a hard time putting a non fictional book down to be productive. That's saying a lot. I've been highlighting up a storm, crazily writing notes, and nodding in agreement with just about everything Brian Solis and Deirdre Breakenridge discuss. 

My point for this post: If you're looking at either getting into PR, hiring a PR pro, or simply wanting to know more about PR, this is the book that will answer your questions. I'm not divulging any of their topics or information solely on the fact that you will have incentive to go buy it. 

Happy reading and happy Friday everyone! 

Until next time, 

Sloane and Chelsea

Practicing what I Preach

Have I mentioned that social networking is important? Just to lodge that point further into your brain I'm following my own example and have now updated Blueprint's Twitter page, and created a facebook fan page. Go ahead and boost our ego by following us. Then go create or update your own accounts! Viva Social Networking! 

And if your blog, facebook, myspace, or twitter needs a makeover -- we can design you something cool.

Until next time,

Sloane and Chelsea

Razzle Dazzling Your Website

An article in the Wall Street Journal talked about businesses taking a more interactive approach to their websites to gain more awareness, publicity, clients, and sales. 

My thinking of this idea: Viewers will probably close the box a few seconds after the video starts to get down to the real reason they visited the site, but hey, what harm can it do? 

I checked out one of the companies mentioned, Nike, to see what they had come up with on their website. 

My thinking of Nike's video: 

First few seconds- Hmmm. Seems like a pretty simple 'feel good' advertisement...nothing out of the ordinary...

Couple seconds later- Are they naked?? Can they show butts in advertisements?? 

Couple seconds later- My, how advertising has changed...

Couple seconds later- Giggling at various parts in the video

Couple seconds later- This is actually really funny...Well done, Nike, well done. 

Couple seconds later- Hey, I recognize the voice of that girl...oh! It's Kara Goucher, she coaches me on my ipod running download. Haha!

At end of video- I kind of want to go running naked now. 

Conclusion: It was a little over 2 minutes, which is LONG for an advertisement, but I watched the entire thing, giggled, thought Nike was extremely clever, and felt like buying their product at the end. Or at least browsing their shoes. In short--it worked. Check it out here. 

Another example: The author Jodi Picoult's website. Being an author, you would think there's not much she can do to 'show' her product besides a picture of her latest book. False. There's a trailer sneak peak of a new movie coming out in June that was created from her book My Sister's Keeper. There's a video promoting her newest book, Handle with Care, showing pictures of various things while she talks about the book and reads the first paragraph or so. 

Result? I'm on page 354 of Handle with Care. 

I'm not a sucker for advertisements and interactive websites. I'm just a sucker for GOOD advertisements and interactive websites. 

If you want more people coming to your website, add GOOD content. It's that easy. 

Until next time, 

Sloane and Chelsea

Blogs, Twitter, and Facebook, Oh My!

The Information Age is sometimes overwhelming--even for the professionals who deal with it on a daily basis. I'll be catching up on a blog and suddenly a perfect, witty, 140 character tweet pops into my head! Next thing you know I'm attempting to blog in 140 character sentences. 

Here's a way to keep track of ALL your social networking accounts: Tweetdeck, Skimmer, and Seesmic. 

And guess what? They're all FREE downloads!! Check out what the Wall Street Journal had to say about them for more info. 

Now you don't have any excuse to confuse your social networking accounts! 

Until next time, 

Sloane and Chelsea

Building + Branding = Bucketfulls...of success.

We've all been there: mouth dry, palms sweaty, eyes darting around the room, feeling as if the room is getting smaller and smaller by the second, the interviewer boring holes into your head as they stare at you with pursed lips...licking your lips you try and answer the seemingly easy question: Who are you? Why choose you over other applicants? 

Whether this experience happened during an interview for President of the Glee Club in high school, a first round interview after graduating college, or attempting to land your first big client in a corporate job, we've all experienced the deafening silence that occurs once you realize you can't answer the question "who are you?". 

Don't think it's that hard of a question? Well, try this then: Quick!! List 5 things about yourself that make you YOU. 

Waiting...waiting..."Unique" doesn't count. Try again. (checks watch) Alright. Nice try. Moving on. 

In this economy you've got to have the "it" factor to make it in business, in a job interview, and basically, just in general. Once you've got it figured out it's pretty much smooth sailing. It's the figuring it out part that stumps most everyone. 

You've known yourself since Day 1, but for some reason you can't answer the simple question to move yourself forward. Here's how to un-stump yourself: Blueprint. (did you really expect me to say anything else?) 

Blueprint is all about answering the big WHO ARE YOU question. That's where we start with every single client. If figuring out how to answer that question is all you need-Great! Consider it done. We'll help you map out your past and current successes, identify common trends and concepts, and how to use those in future endeavors. Then we'll send you on your merry way. Should you need PR or design work to go along with your "brand" new view of yourself, you'll know who to call for that too. 

Once you've contacted us to make an appointment make sure you check out this article from the Wall Street Journal. They've got some good pointers about branding and using it to get ahead. 

Until next time, 

Sloane and Chelsea

Fixing Economic Crisis: Check!

I think everyone is familiar with the word 'Recession'. And 'Economic Crisis'. And 'Downturn'. Not to mention 'layoffs', 'salary freeze', and 'cutbacks'. Not one of those words makes me feel warm and happy inside...instead a scary cold and panicked feeling settles in. 

But I'm not here to deliver depressing news on top of the already gloomy circumstances. I'm here to get you revved up! Motivated! And energetic about your business! In other words, never fear, Blueprint is here! 

While reading the always trustworthy Wall Street Journal online, I came across an article titled "New and Improved". In a nutshell, it features 5 companies who were suffering from the current, situation-who-shall-not-be-named-but-it-rhymes-with-brisis, and each being a small business without an abundance of upper management, they were able to turn their marketing strategies around and find their footing again. 

It's that simple. If what you have isn't working it's time to find something that does. Maybe go back to, say, the 'blueprint' of your company...Or, better yet, call Blueprint to help you examine your strategies and come up with fresh, new, innovative ideas of how to better market your business, product, or brand. 

Let Blueprint help you with your blueprint. 

Now that we've conquered the economic crisis, moving on to world peace! 

Until next time,

Sloane and Chelsea

Twittering, tweeting, tweet, twurped.

Yesterday someone must have Tweeted "Social media skeptic alert: PR Pros believe in social media choosing, not full on delusion. Attack!" Everywhere I turned there was an article, reference, or conversation about social media use. 

While I by no means think social media is overrated (hello...this IS a blog I'm writing on, not a typewriter) I stick by my original thought that it can be taken to a level deemed, let's say, Not Necessarily Necessary. 

Before you start waving numbers and success rates in my face, remember that I am indeed a Public Relations professional, and in this industry you HAVE to acknowledge the trends that help clients take on a new aspect of meeting their consumer and marketing needs. 

I also acknowledge when it gets carried away. I mean, do we really need to know that Ashton Kutcher is angry at his next-door neighbor's early morning construction? Maybe some of you do. But no matter your take on the subject I'm sure you'll find this take on the hype amusing.

Blog comments, tweets, and texts can wear out their welcome sometimes, wouldn't you agree? 

Now that you've had your laugh for the day, make sure to check back to our website to see how we might carefully choose the best social media aspect for you. Because if you haven't noticed, we're well in tune with the subject. 

Not had enough of social media? Check out this Wall Street Journal Article about Twitter's founders. 

Now, enough with social media for a while!

Until next time, 

Sloane and Chelsea

The Truth Behind Social Media

While reviewing PR Week I stumbled across an interesting opinion of the social media hype currently taking over the world. Twitter is obviously the current front-runner while Facebook, Myspace, Linked in, blogging, texting, and on down the list, take a close second place. 

You're aware of this already, we know. You don't live under a rock. But did you know that the current hype is actually NOT current, but ever present? 

Confused? Let me explain: Remember when computers became popular? Pagers? Cell phones? AIM? Texting? Internet on cell phones? Or more recently in the past few years, Myspace? Facebook? Gchat? And now jump all the way to Twitter.... caught on yet? 

Social Media is like an old habit that keeps popping up whenever you start to get over it. It's frustrating, isn't it? 

This article in PR Week talks about how every person, business, university, whomever, jumps on the next big thing that's considered social media development no matter what. Why? Because they're afraid they're going to get left behind, lose business, and ultimately fail. 

This isn't always the case, but it's difficult for people to determine whether or not they should invest their time and money into a new development, and they'd rather take their chances then risk losing out. 

How to get around this social media pickle? That's what we're here for! We can test, strategize, and determine which social media aspect is best for your business. You may not need the short blurbs of Twitter, but you may need the witty banter of a blog. 

Successful and savvy PR professionals know how to make their clients succeed...this is our specialty! So let us take on the Social Media frenzy while you get back to business. 

Check out the PR Week article to find out more. 

Until next time, 

Sloane and Chelsea

InPrint is in action!

Greetings Blueprint followers! 

Whether you've stumbled upon us, travelled via the Blueprint website, or referred by a trustworthy friend, give yourself a pat on the back for finding the best source for all of your Public Relation and Design needs! 

What might you need to be informed about? We'll tell you! 

-The ever changing, ever transitioning PR world of communication. When one trend takes off, another is soon to follow. Twitter, anyone? 

-What's goin' down in the town (...or, rather the big city of Dallas, Texas!) related to our clients, things YOU need to know, and whatever else you fancy. In other words, send us a quick email or comment, and we'll do our best to address your needs and questions on InPrint. 

-Blueprint information of course! We're a small and snazzy firm dedicated to the profession and we're starting off by hitting the ground running. So avoid the dust and keep up with us! 

Intrigued? Good! That's what we like to hear! We're excited to have you tag along!

Until next time,

Sloane & Chelsea

Hello Blogworld!

Check out our website, www.BlueprintDallas.com.