Strategy Portfolio - Kellogg Marketing Competition

The 2011 Annual Kellogg Marketing Competition Winners

Strategy Portfolio - Yahoo! De Moda

Need to create content that connects fashion-enthusiasts with personal care brands?

I partnered with Yahoo! to create De Moda, a women's entertainment and fashion blog and webseries that bridged the gab between American and Latin culture, fashion, and beauty. 

Strategy Portfolio - Always Chicas Talk Back

Need to reach teenage girls that typically feel uncomfortable talking about being women? 

We partnered with mun2 to create a webseries, through crowd-sourcing and curation, about all the things Lateenas want to talk about but sometimes do not have the courage to discuss with their friends or family.

Strategy Portfolio - Digital Upfront

Created a new process for innovation

Created a new opportunity for brand connectivity

Created an opportunity for client, agency, and suppliers to collaborate

Created win-win-wins

Dating Dangerously

I got this email today that I thoroughly enjoyed. I don't know that I would ever actually do any of these things on a date, but I won't deny that I thought that every single one of these things would be incredible to do. Especially #s 15 and 19. Now I'm just waiting for someone to go one these adventures with me.

1. go on a search for as many good climbing trees as possible, climb as high as you both can in all of them, compile photo evidence
2. go to a major chain bookstore and leave notes to future readers in copies of your favorite books
3. have her dress up as a ghost and you dress up us pacman. walk around downtown holding hands, and whenever anyone sees you two, pretend to be embarrassed, and run off screaming “wocka wocka wocka.”
4. create photo evidence suggesting that you went on an adventure that didn’t really happen
5. dress up as superheroes and stop at least one petty crime “ie. jaywalking, littering….”
6. build forts out of furniture and blankets and wage war with paper airplanes.
7. try and visit as many people as you can in one night and turn as many things inside their apartment upside down as you can without them noticing.
8. go to the airport, get the cheapest, soonest departing flight to anywhere when you show up, and stay there for a weekend.
9. write a piece of fiction together. outside at a cafe. ask strangers when you get stuck.
10. dress to the nines, pretend to be married, and test drive very expensive vehicles at an auto dealership.
11. do the lamest tourist thing in your area that you have both secretly wanted to do forever. have an unabashed good time!
12. in the middle of the night, drive to the beach, so you arrive just as the sun is rising. have a breakfast picnic, then fall asleep together. bring a sun umbrella.
13. drive somewhere unknown and have dinner in a city you’ve never been to. with fake names.
14. go to a minor league baseball game under the stars. tell each other stories about how bad you are at athletics. randomly cheer for both teams. eat lots of cracker jack.
15. go around the city with sidewalk chalk and draw hearts with equations inside on random things
16. walk around a city and perform short silent plays in front of security cameras
17. with camera and pair of boots, make photo-log of a day in the life of the invisible man.
18. walk around the city all night and find a place to eat breakfast at dawn
19. go to a restaurant and convince the cook to create something completely new for you.
20. rent a movie you’ve never seen before. set on mute and improvise dialogue.

Social-izing My Life

We are collectively insane.

Google Funny Things

I love Google. I can type in anything and magically get an answer. That's way better than asking some of my friends who couldn't come up with an answer to any question to save their lives...So I've been googling random stuff like whoa once a day, every day.

Today for my random google experiment, I typed in "funny stuff" which provided these classic links helping me waste the day away.
* http://www.inherentlyfunny.com/
(One of my favorite things on this is probably 11. Hoff Rolling Hooga Hooga Ooga Chaka!)
* http://www.avclub.com/denver/articles/flight-of-the-falconater,34295/
(Because who can get enough of that Falcon kid)
* http://www.google.com/finance?q=funny%20stuff&hl=en&ned=us&sa=N&tab=ge
(Because there is NOTHING funny about Finance)

Down the Rabbit Hole

For some reason, I really happen to like bands named after Rabbits (see: White Rabbits). So when I stumbled upon a new song called "Swim Until You Can't See Land", I was super pleasantly surprised to find out that it was by Frightened Rabbit. And imagine how happy I was to find out that Frightened Rabbit was from Scotland! New.Favorite.Band. While I'm actually only so-so about the rest of their album, I really liked this song.

I can't embedded it in the blog, but you NEED to check it out:
http://fat-cat.co.uk/fatcat/release.php?id=308

Here's the stripped down acoustic version if you'd prefer:

Dream a little dream with me...

I've been having terribly weird dreams recently. I'm not sure why either. Maybe it's because I have been falling asleep while watching TV. Or maybe because I'm taking an obscene amount of caffeine. Anyway, after the dream when Shaq ate me like a slurpee, I decided to chronicle my dreams. Here's the one from last night. If nothing else, it's entertaining.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sent at 9:53 AM on Friday
me: awesome
that's good that you're working in the mean time
i had a really weird dream last night
or this morning actually
where for some reason, you and i and this guy called megan harney
and i carefully asked her how she was and she was talking about how she was terrible because she had just gotten her stomach pumped
and then i was like "oh geez i didn't know" and she said something like "sorry, i just assumed you did"
and then almost instantly i was on the phone with you
and i was asking about all the things that you were doing in your free time before work starts
Sent at 9:58 AM on Friday

me: and you were like "well i actually dont have any free time because im in Afghanistan right now"
and after i freaked out a little bit you said "yeah they're training me to be a legal spy"
and i said that i really wanted that job
Sent at 10:00 AM on Friday

me: but then i realized i was a spy for the Aamerican government and they had actually asked me to put you to a test to see if you could conceal that you were a spy
so when i coughed you changed your story to be like "haha like they would ever want me as a spy" and the govt bought it
but the agent in the background on my end was telling me that it was time to start my mission
and then you were telling me all about this fake paper work that you were doing although you didn't tell me it was fake
the line went dead
how sweet is that
Sent at 10:03 AM on Friday

Meghanne: carrie, what did you take last night
Sent at 10:05 AM on Friday
Meghanne: hahaha

oh carrie

Sent at 10:12 AM on Friday

Going Bananas

I was eating a banana at work today when my mom sent this to me...fate? I think so. Bananas must be the reason monkeys are so happy all the time!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A professor at CCNY for a physiological psych class told his class about bananas. He said the expression "going bananas" is from the effects of bananas on the brain. Read on:

Bananas contain three natural sugars - sucrose, fructose and glucose combined with fiber. A banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy.

Research has proven that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout. No wonder the banana is the number one fruit with the world's leading athletes.

But energy isn't the only way a banana can help us keep fit. It can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses and conditions, making it a must to add to our daily diet.

Depression: According to a recent survey undertaken by MIND amongst people suffering from depression, many felt much better after eating a banana. This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin, known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier.

PMS: Forget the pills - eat a banana. The vitamin B6 it contains regulates blood glucose levels, which can affect your mood.

Anemia: High in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of hemoglobin in the blood and so helps in cases of anemia.

Blood Pressure: This unique tropical fruit is extremely high in potassium yet low in salt, making it perfect to beat blood pressure. So much so, the US Food and Drug Administration has just allowed the banana industry to make official claims for the fruit's ability to reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke.

Brain Power: 200 students at a Twickenham (Middlesex) school ( England ) were helped through their exams this year by eating bananas at breakfast, break, and lunch in a bid to boost their brain power. Research has shown that the potassium-packed fruit can assist learning by making pupils more alert.

Constipation: High in fiber, including bananas in the diet can help restore normal bowel action, helping to overcome the problem without resorting to laxatives.

Hangovers: One of the quickest ways of curing a hangover is to make a banana milkshake, sweetened with honey. The banana calms the stomach and, with the help of the honey, builds up depleted blood sugar levels, while the milk soothes and re-hydrates your system.

Heartburn: Bananas have a natural antacid effect in the body, so if you suffer from heartburn, try eating a banana for soothing relief.

Morning Sickness: Snacking on bananas between meals helps to keep blood sugar levels up and avoid morning sickness

Mosquito bites: Before reaching for the insect bite cream, try rubbing the affected area with the inside of a banana skin. Many people find it amazingly successful at reducing swelling and irritation.

Nerves: Bananas are high in B vitamins that help calm the nervous system.

Ulcers: The banana is used as the dietary food against intestinal disorders because of its soft texture and smoothness. It is the only raw fruit that can be eaten without distress in over-chronicler cases. It also neutralizes over-acidity and reduces irritation by coating the lining of the stomach.

Temperature control: Many other cultures see bananas as a "cooling" fruit that can lower both the physical and emotional temperature of expectant mothers. In Thailand , for example, pregnant women eat bananas to ensure their baby is born with a cool temperature.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): Bananas can help SAD sufferers because they contain the natural mood enhancer tryptophan.

Smoking & Tobacco Use: Bananas can also help people trying to give up smoking. The B6, B12 they contain, as well as the potassium and magnesium found in them, help the body recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal.

Stress: Potassium is a vital mineral, which helps normalize the heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain and regulates your body's water balance.. When we are stressed, our metabolic rate rises, thereby reducing our potassium levels. These can be rebalanced with the help of a high-potassium banana snack.

Strokes: According to research in The New England Journal of Medicine, eating bananas as part of a regular diet can cut the risk of death by strokes by as much as 40%!

Warts: Those keen on natural alternatives swear that if you want to kill off a wart, take a piece of banana skin and place it on the wart, with the yellow side out. Carefully hold the skin in place with a plaster or surgical tape!

So, a banana really is a natural remedy for many ills. When you compare it to an apple, it has four times the protein, twice the carbohydrate, three times the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals. It is also rich in potassium and is one of the best value foods around So maybe its time to change that well-known phrase so that we say, "A banana a day keeps the doctor away!"

Rock on, bananas, rock on!

Una Artista

Oooooooh excellent website...

www.apoetinstead.com/

a poet instead
the art of travis lawrence

ENGLAND

Loving this mostly because it's from one of my favorite English funnymen.

Flying on the Conchord

Even if the show is just going ok, Bret and Jemaine are still super on their game.




Why can't I figure out who they sound like??? It's someone else famous...but who?

Satisfaction...

Takes so little, means so much!

Is your daddy a cobbler...because you are clobbering me...

(What, that joke doesn't work?)

Yesterday I ran across a cobbler whose kids didn't have any shoes. It was awkward because I knew he didn't have any, and there I was wearing two pairs (one on my hands of course for safe keeping). But he was very nice about it. I tried to give him a pair when I learned of his doings, but he would have none of it claiming that the sizes would just not work. So there's that. And since then I've been thinking about why the cobbler would not want a second pair of shoes. Perhaps it is because he makes shoes for a living and what we do for a living we inherently don't care to do outside of it. Too much of a good thing is still just too much?

At least these were the things I contemplated in my 10 minute dream between snooze buttons.

Inno-vention?

Two things I stumbled upon today that both led me to Google the word "Innovation". Of course the results for both were Wikipedia. But there was an interesting piece in the article that caught my attention: A distinction is typically made between invention, an idea made manifest, and innovation, ideas applied successfully.

The reason that's so interesting to me is that 1) I always thought that they were closely related, 2) I think that innovation is the best form of invention, and 3) if I had to choose which word was my favorite, I would undoubtedly choose "innovation".

In my mind, innovation is a type of invention; it's the way in which we look at the current world we're working in (be it the actual world or the world of online media or the world of politics, etc) and imagine a different outcome. It's about being able to think differently, push the envelope, have foresight, and shape the future.

Invention to me seems to be the solution to a current or existing problem.

Don't get me wrong, I think that these can both exist together, and in reality, I think they must in order to continue to advance socially, politically, etc. But does it seem like one is addressing our past while the other addresses our future? If you ask me, I would fall on the side of the future any day.

I mean, it's not like these two words are going to war. And we certainly don't have a lot of philosophical minds debating to determine the future of these words in a world where only one can exist. But why invent when we can innovate? The suffix -ent literally means "to form"; meanwhile the suffix -ate means "to do".

I say, just "-ate" it!

Sunday Quotable

“Life is the sum of all your choices.” — Albert Camus

It's like compounded interest though...because each choice builds upon the next. And it's not until the end that we see the final product. It's interesting to think though that every choice builds us up. Even if we think that they tear us down, they just continue to add our lives.

Ok, Bacardi, You Caught My Attention

Let's forget for a moment that sometimes alcohol companies get blamed for targeting underage consumers. And let's forget that sometimes advertising is considered the downfall of, well, America causing consumerism galore. Putting that aside, I think that liquor companies have always (ok, ok mostly) done a really good job with marketing and advertising. They push the boundaries of where they should be playing, they do a good job of targeting the right consumers (especially the "luxury" brands), and they aren't afraid to take risks. Actually, they HAVE TO in order to stand out and try to influence the tastes of very fickle, always changing generations. Working in the advertising/media industry, I am constantly amazed (and largely surprised...and very excited) that clients actually approved these strategies and ideas. It makes me love advertising.

Anyway, I really like the new Barcardi ad where the guy goes through different time periods to get the best mojito. But the best part of that ad is the music: Daylight from Matt and Kim. Seriously, check out the song, you'll love it. My brother was actually the first one who recommended it to me...and wanna know why? Because he heard it in a Baracardi commercial.


Anyway, check out this song because it really is awesome. And when you're done, check out some of there other stuff. Lesson Learned: The song is pretty good but the music video kills. I love it.

American Rockstar???

I figured that I better write down and share my American Idol experience before the time to stop milking it comes (which is probably pretty soon).

Saturday
5:30 am - Get up. Stare at clock. Think about getting out of bed. Cry. Pretend I'm going to get out of bed. Sleep for another 2 hours.
8:00 am - Jump out of bed and practically straight into a cab. A little bit too late, I think about my hair. Eh, it's alright, I'm going to Susan Boyle it.
8:30 am - Registration journey begins. In line with several people who have tried out before, feeling anxious. Wish I was with someone I knew.
9:30 am - Done. I was so worried that they weren't going to take my work ID as a real ID, that I actually forgot how old I was; they couldn't have cared less.

Sunday
1 pm to about 5 pm - Julie "Drill Sergeant" Campbell helped me go through and sing about a hundred songs before we settled on a few to sing for the family.
5:15 pm - 5:16 pm - 3 song show.



Monday
4 am - Woke up on the wrong side of 4 am. Fame isn't worth this.
6 am - In line with some crazies...I do love this.
7:30 am - They start letting us into the United Center. Several cameras have come by and quite a few Radio DJs have interviewed people in line over their cell phones. Lots of people are singing, more people are getting/giving advice, and everybody is drinking coke zero.
8:15 am - We film lots of screaming: "Welcome to Chi-Town"; "Welcome to the Chi,il"; "Season 9 Idol", etc, etc.
9:45 am - Waiting starts. Screeching from the floor begins. Auditions have commenced. It's actually really hard to wait for ridiculously long periods of time on your own. So I made some friends around me. There were the three people from the southern-most point in Indiana; they were trying to get their original music heard. The girls behind me were larger-than-life Italians that scammed the system by pretending to be "handicapped" (read: twisted ankle) so they didn't have to wait in line; by any stretch of the imagination, I did not believe that they could be famous. From afar, I saw a couple of drag queens in tutus, but I could hear their operatic voices reverberating off the hallway ceilings. It was pretty cool.
5 hours, a pretzel and 2 diet cokes later - They finally call the section next to us. From our section, cheers erupt as does my stomach. As we make our way down to the United Center center floor, I can see the 12 tables they've lined up. There are 2 producers behind each table; we approach them in groups of 4. It's blurry. The guy ahead of me makes it through. I step up; I start singing Celine Dion. "You were my strength when I was weak/ you were my voice when I couldn't speak/ you were my eyes when I couldn't see/ you saw the best there was in me/ lifted me up when I couldn't speak/ you gave me faith cause you believed...I'm everything I am because you loved me." Except I missed the note on faith by a full mile, and I knew it. 3 other girls sing. We're all called to the table. "You, you, and you, sorry, you're not what we're looking for this season"...which left just me, standing there, shocked. The judges were split/undecided, so I got a second chance.

American Idol Producer: Why did you sing Celine Dion?
Me (fumbling...): Well, I, uh, think that, uh that's the kinda music I would make.
AIP: Well, you're not Adult Contemporary.
Me: Ok...I -
AIP: And you're not Celine Dion.
Me: Uhhhh - Thank you...?
AIP: Ok well we're going to give you another shot. Do you have anything else?
Me: Yeah, you know I really see myself as more of a singer /songwriter anyway.
[I sing about 20 seconds of "Goodbye to You".]
AIP: You're a good singer; keep singing. Unfortunately, I think that there are some better singers than you in Season 9.
[I exit out the non-winners' hallway.]

And that was it. That was my American Idol experience. Maybe you'll see me during the Chicago auditions day, but most likely you won't. Despite the early mornings, despite the waiting, despite the rejection, it was worth it. I'm not quite famous, but I do get to say that I did it.



And lucky for American Idol that next season I won't be able to sit there and scream at my TV set that I was better than those crazies...Instead, I was just one of them.

I want this Rockstar

I am such a dork...but I love, love, love this commercial.