What is Sprint Nextel thinking?

Here's a follow up on my favorite brand mis-match. Today in my AAF SmartBrief, I notice a banner ad for Sprint together with NEXTEL.

So following up on my mention from last month, I guess that Mark Schweitzer, Sprint's chief marketing officer has so much confidence in Goodby that the company now plans to chase customers away with targeted advertising.

There is a quote in the CNET News.com article Advertising seeps into the cell phone from Lowell McAdam, chief operating officer of Verizon Wireless that Sprint Nextel, who according to the article "will be the first of the four major U.S. carriers to move in this direction", should heed as a warning.

"We are being careful about jumping into advertising," Lowell McAdam, chief operating officer of Verizon Wireless, said during a panel at the CTIA show. "People view their cell phones as their personal space, more so than their PC. If they get an ad they don't want to view, that is a violation."

Why in the world would Sprint Nextel think that this might be a even a slightly good idea?

The company is consistently losing market share, has no brand identity, zero customer loyalty and are just plain fun to beat up on as a brand and company. Being the first in the industry to show ads to its subscribers is certainly not an area of business they should be focusing on.

Really sad statistics on volunteering.

According to an Associated Press article published today in the St. Pete Times, both the state I currently live in and the one I am originally from rank among the lowest of all the states in volunteerism rates.

Most of you know the amount of time I put into volunteering and the importance I feel it has for the community and personal growth.

Here is the URL for the article if you are interested:
http://www.sptimes.com/2007/04/16/Worldandnation/Volunteer_rates_dip_s.shtml

Here's the lowest five states...

• 47. Mississippi, 24.2 percent
• 48. Florida, 21.8 percent
• 49. Louisiana, 21.2 percent
• 50. New York, 20.1 percent
• 51. Nevada, 17.5 percent

If this statistic makes you feel like we should do more, then just take some time and do something. It's a pretty pathetic statistic to read on a Monday morning.

Using Blogs/Community for Career Advancement

I read the following WSJ.com article on "How Blogging Can Help You Get a New Job" and decided it would be a good reference for some of the young professionals and business associates that I interact with to review or see in writing somewhere validation for what I try to have them do for their own business or professional career.

Utilizing Blogs such as this the one you are reading now is of value and a good start to getting your name out there for people to find you and learn more about you.

However, more powerful than that is to grow an active Blog for an association, charity or other community related organization that is bigger than yourself alone. The power of many is just as important in on the Internet as it is in the real world.

I have personally worked to put this to the test with the Blog projects started for Ad 2 Tampa Bay and the National Ad 2 organization. These two blogs, although currently new and maybe a bit anemic on content should prove to be a huge resource to the current and future board members who decide to fully utilize the voice that we have created for them as young professional leaders.

Article Summary & Link: WSJ.com - How Blogging Can Help You Get a New Job
Corporate recruiters have long surfed the Web to vet potential hires, but now they are also surfing blogs to unearth job candidates, expanding their talent pool and gaining insights they say they can't get from résumés and interviews.

Ryan Loken, a Wal-Mart Stores Inc. recruitment manager, says he spends one to two hours a week searching through blogs for new talent or additional information about the candidates he has interviewed. "Blogs are a tool in the tool kit," he says. Since he joined the Bentonville, Ark., retail giant three years ago, Mr. Logen estimates that Web journals have helped him ...

Here's a link to the entire article if you are a WSJ subscriber.

Revamped Website for the Red Cross Tampa Bay

I worked relentlessly this afternoon and evening (from La Casa Dolce ;-) to get a fresh update done for the Red Cross Tampa Bay so that the website looked a cleaner and had correct information. They will be doing a complete overhaul later this year but for now this was to just get the information out there and correct... quickly.

Red Cross Tampa Bay Chapter, Serving the Community of Tampa Bay since 1917. The Tampa Bay Chapter serves the 2.6 million residents of Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco counties, with offices in Tampa, Brandon, Clearwater, St. Petersburg, Hudson and MacDill Air Force Base. This Chapter is governed by a volunteer board of directors, made up of dedicated and civic-minded community and corporate leaders.

To visit the website please click here.

Who's to blame for Sprint Nextel's woes?

Today's AdAge article, Goodby Scoops Up Sprint's $1.2 Billion Business, quoted Mark Schweitzer, Sprint's chief marketing officer, "Goodby's sterling reputation and creative talents are second to none and together we will deliver a more integrated and strategic brand execution,"

I wish Goodby luck on this one. Merging a top consumer oriented mobile carrier (Sprint) with the top business oriented mobile carrier (Nextel) was a bad idea and I am not sure if any branding is going to fix that. Among casual users the products are too clunky and have no style; while business users are now alienated with varied services that are just not needed.

Sprint, together with Nextel may never "power up" and the agency may end up taking the blame.

Consumers love to love HP and the the Goodby campaigns enhanced that image. Meanwhile consumers and business users alike seem to love to hate Sprint Nextel right now. How does any agency counter that?

Florida Animal Friend Application Deadline

Florida – 4/1/2007 – Florida Animal Friend, Inc. has set out to save lives of the state’s cat and dog population by preventing overpopulation through the awarding of grant money to local non-profit organizations for spay/neuter programs throughout the state.

The fast approaching deadline for the 2007 grant application to be received by Florida Animal Friends is April 15, 2007.

Grant application forms, details and instructions can be found on the Florida Animal Friend website, www.floridaanimalfriend.org.

In 2006 the Florida Animal Friend license plate program provided funds to 18 programs throughout the state by assisting these local programs to develop more comprehensive and far-reaching dog and cat spay/neuter programs.

Florida Animal Friend, president, Larry Dee, DVM is extremely grateful for the strong support the program has received. “After three years of work it has been a great delight to participate in the distribution of $202,000 in grant monies to Florida non-profits for the neutering of companion animals.”

“Thanks to the generosity of the Florida animal lovers who buy the spay/neuter license plate, we can put a brake on the pet overpopulation epidemic and reduce the senseless killing of unwanted dogs and cats in the state.”

Florida Animal Friend’s specialty license plates are available at all state-wide DMV locations and can be purchased for $25 in addition to renewal fees. All funds benefit the further development of state-wide spay/neuter programs.

Client Profile: Donica Mediation Services

Herb Donica and I met last fall while volunteering together for the 2006 Toys for Tots program where he served as Chairman of the Volunteer Committee.

Last month we launched a new website for his company Donica Mediation Solutions, LLC.

Donica Mediation Solutions, LLC. was formed by Herbert R. Donica, Esq., to provide mediation services to parties seeking to resolve disputes. With over two decades of practice in the areas of bankruptcy and commercial litigation, Herb is prepared to mediate a broad range of disputes. Each mediation session will be conducted in a manner that encourages the parties to consider the risks of litigation and the cost-effectiveness of a mediated solution. In complex financial disputes, parties will be challenged to quantify the financial aspects of their respective positions. Herb has the ability to use empathy and humor to defuse stressful situations. Through Herb’s approach, he puts the parties at ease in order to facilitate the productive dialogue necessary for a successful mediation.