Read about an emerging market... overlooked or over the top?

Jason Alloy - Account Management

The ultimate in luxury, design and fashion may soon be seen in more places than just Miami's Ocean Boulevard or one of Paris' flashy catwalks. Would you believe the elite may soon be gathering in a Burger King or that the hippest outfits might be worn by a Russian army general? In a move to match marketing tactics against McDonalds' new designer uniforms, Burger King recently announced that selected stores would soon feature an 85₤ ($167) Kobe beef burger. It's all part of a move toward consumer mass marketing, with design as part of the core value, as described in Alice Wylie's article "Burger Bling." This kind of prestige marketing has companies focused on updating their image to attract new customers. The importance of visual appeal has even prompted Russia to commission its most famous fashion guru, Yudashkin, to design uniforms for high-ranking officers. Is there really a target market to which these outrageously priced food items appeal? Will these trends be able to survive in an economy headed for a recession? Get all the answers here.

Interesting read: Why Zappos pays new employees to quit - and you should, too

Judy Lynes - Public Relations

That headline in the Harvard Business Hotlist e-newsletter captured my attention; equally compelling was Bill Taylor's article about the super-successful Zappos. In a nutshell, the company is fanatical about customer service and wants to make sure all its employees are, too. So, after a four-week training program, every new hire gets "The Offer" to quit right then and be paid for the training, plus a $1,000 bonus. The savvy management reasons that the 10 percent or so who take the offer are not committed to Zappos' mission and would not make excellent employees. Hmmm... how many hiring mistakes could you have nipped in the bud early on with such an offer? Read the full article.

Welcoming at a hire level

Harvey Kaner - Account Management

Adapted from "Rolling out the welcome mat" by Kira Vermond, published by theglobeandmail.com, April 26, 2008

While some companies still adhere to the old, here's-your-desk-here's-your-phone-and-good-luck mentality, other organizations are developing innovative ways to orient and transition new hires more comfortably and productively. A study by the Human Capital Institute claims that 90 percent of new employees decide within the first six months whether they'll stay at a company, and many believe it's as soon as the first two weeks.

Bayer Inc. in Toronto recently launched its "Hello Bayer" program to introduce new hires to the company before they start. An extranet allows a virtual facility tour, info on workplace minutiae and even company acronyms.

A few more ideas for successful onboarding:

Send the benefits package beforehand so forms can be completed early. Consider emailing the company manual, newsletters and other materials that will engage the new hire.
Introduce the newbie to everyone using a company ambassador and/or have her present herself to everyone in an informal setting, when the company is meeting anyway.
Assign a buddy or mentor to provide her with a go-to person for questions.
Have her office clean, with phone, computer and login code ready.
Early on, explain why she was hired; it builds morale and sets expectations.
Make a three-day plan--give specific, achievable goals to work on right away.

Once you've found that perfect new hire, make her feel welcomed, included, acculturated and needed. Good luck!

Relax, it's versioned...

Greg Nason - Interactive

File versioning is a technique commonly used by software developers to retain the history of a digital file. This provides the ability to roll back changes to a previous point in history when the software was known to run bug-free; but versioning is not strictly for developers.

Writers can retain drafts of copy. Designers can retain the history of art files. Account folk may keep a record of strategy documents, all with descriptions of what each version contains, without needing to save multiple copies that simply clutter a server.

Knowing that files can be rolled back to any point in history is a good feeling. It can mean the difference between minutes and days when needing to revert a file. How could you use versioning? The folks at lifehacker.com can help get you started.

Note: Windows Vista Business and Windows Vista Ultimate users now have native support with the new shadow copy feature. For the rest of us and those in need of a shared server-based solution, I recommend Subversion.

On our favorites list - part I

Compiled at The BrainBangers Ball

Do you have a website that saves you time, gives you a chuckle or helps you share information with like-minded people? This month we'll share a few time-saving sites:

bugmenot.com - If you hate registering on a site in order to view some content, visit BugMeNot and type in the URL. They have user names and passwords for a gazillion sites.
mahalo.com - Mahalo is a human-powered search engine that creates organized, comprehensive and spam-free search results for the most popular search terms.
jott.com - Not near a computer? Just call from your cell phone and leave a voice message for anyone in your phonebook. Jott will transcribe it and email it to someone in your address book - for free.
tripit.com - Just send them all your travel confirmation emails (for airlines, cars, hotels) and they'll prepare a detailed itinerary and include local weather, maps, restaurants and more.
stumbleupon.com - They say that they find the weirdest, funniest, most interesting and most useful sites on the net, so that you can, too.
kayak.com - If you don't already know about this fabulous travel site, get paddling. You can sort and compare flight fares from 140+ travel sites.

Good news about some of our great clients

		National Geographic explorers-in-residence Dereck and Beverly Joubert are shooting a feature film about lions in the wilds of Botswana. The equipment of choice for this Emmy award-winning pair is Panasonic's AJ-HPX3000 master- quality 1080p P2 HD camcorders. The (as-yet-untitled) feature, slated for theatrical release early next year, is a joint production of National Geographic Films and the Jouberts' company, Wildlife Films.
		Monrovia, the leading grower of premium ornamental plants, has introduced a line of organic soil mixes and fertilizers developed specifically for home gardeners who want professional growing results. The new Monrovia Organics are available at independent garden centers nationwide and include potting soil, planting compost and seven plant-specific fertilizers.
		J.D. Power and Associates has ranked Dunn-Edwards as one of the top three paint manufacturers in customer satisfaction with interior paint, according to the research firm's 2008 Interior Paint Satisfaction Study.
		City of Hope recently received a five-year renewal of its designation as a Comprehensive Cancer Center by the National Cancer Institute, making it one of only 41 in the nation. NCI members set the standards for cancer care in the U.S. and this designation is given to institutions that demonstrate excellence in cancer prevention, training and education of its professionals and the community they serve.
		NuSil Technology recently launched a fluorosilicone extension to its line of aircraft adhesives/sealants. The new FS3-3730 bonds aggressively to most surfaces and provides excellent performance when protecting or bonding hardware components exposed to gasoline or aviation fuels. In addition, the company launched R-2100-2, a fast-curing, general-purpose black ink that is ideal for marking or printing on silicone rubber parts and other components. This rapid-cure product is designed to reduce or eliminate time constraints in the ink-application process. NuSil also completed the second in a multiphase study about how variations in silicone chemistry can influence its compatibility with other materials, which will enable the company to continue creating innovative products for the medical device and drug delivery markets.
		HealthCare Partners Nevada recently announced a new partnership with Physicians IPA, based in Las Vegas, which brings 140 more primary care physicians and 10,000 patients into the HealthCare Partners family. In Long Beach, Calif., HealthCare Partners Medical Group opened a new office in the Bixby Knolls neighborhood, providing area residents with a fifth location to meet their healthcare needs.
		The Los Angeles Orthopaedic Hospital Sports Care Outreach and Education Program recently provided hundreds of free sports physicals for athletes at local high schools. This is the seventh year of providing this service to students within the LAUSD system and, for many, it is the only medical care they receive. The program also provides certified athletic trainers at the schools to teach injury prevention, provide treatment and rehabilitation, and offer mentoring for health care careers.

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