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The Tip Sheet
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issue of : November 2009
Web Design
Recently the PTA Interactive team attended the book launch party for Donna Fenn’s Upstarts! How GenY Entrepreneurs are Rocking the World of Business and 8 Ways You Can Profit from Their Success. We were invited because PTA Interactive had the honor and pleasure of building her new website for her.
Her site was interesting for a variety of reasons. First, as a designers we always like to try to follow the visual aesthetic of the book cover. Upstarts! Is an elegantly designed book that afforded us the opportunity to do some fun design work on the website.
When planning websites, we always keep book marketing in mind. Upstarts! covers the new generation of entrepreneurs. All of the people profiled in the book are web savvy and very plugged in. It was great to build an opportunity to showcase them and tap into their communities online via DonnaFenn.com. And the best part is, Donnas site is fully content managed. That means that she can add and edit all of the content on her site without having to pay a web designer to make additions.
All in all, we are very proud of this one. If you are interested in talking to us about designing (or redesigning) your website, please contact me to discuss. We’ll put together a custom proposal to fit your needs and budget. And, of course, if you are interested in Entrepreneurial things, pick up a copy of Upstarts!. It is very inspiring.
For web design information contact Jeff Nordstedt, head of PT's Interactive Division.
Quote of the Month
“Seize the moment. Remember all those women on the 'Titanic' who waved off the dessert cart.” --Erma Bombeck
If you have a great quote to share, please send it to us. Thanks.
Pitch Ideas
Looking for an event to anchor your pitch idea? Some of these ideas just might translate into a Morning Drive, a Satellite TV Tour, or a road tour topic:
December 2009 and January 2010
Health:
- 12/1 – World AIDS Day
- 12/3 – International Day of Disabled Persons
- January – Cervical Cancer Screening Month
- January – Shape Up US Month
- 1/1–1/18 – National Lose Weight/Feel Great Week
Business:
- January – National Clean Up Your Computer Month
- 1/25 – Better Business Communication Day
Sports:
- 1/1 – Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl
- 1/18-1/31 – Australian Open Tennis
- 1/31 – AFC/NFC Pro Bowl Game
Holidays:
- 12/12-12/19 - Hanukah
- 12/25 – Christmas Day
- 12/26 – Kwanzaa Begins
- 1/18 – Martin Luther King Jr. Day
General Interest:
- 12/5 – International Volunteer Day for Social and Economic Development
- 12/6-12/12 – National Handwashing Awareness Week
- 12/7 – Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day
- 12/28-12/29 – National Chocolate Days
- 1/14 – Dress Up Your Pet Day
Surfin'
Some are industry related, some are fun and some are just plain quirky sites that our PTA Interactive division recommends:
COOL TOOLS:
Google Wave
Google Wave is an online tool for real-time communication and collaboration. A wave can be both a conversation and a document where people can discuss and work together using richly formatted text, photos, videos, maps, and more. This just came out in a Beta version and, much like the way Gmail started, it is an invite-only situation. So if you want it you’ll have to ask your nerdiest friends, colleagues or family members if they have an invitation to spare. (Sorry, we’ve already spent ours!)
BLOG OF THE MONTH:
Planet Money
While commercial radio stations reduce their playlists and water down their offerings to try to lure the largest possible audience while fighting their war against technology, NPR is doing the exact opposite. Planet Money is one of the shining examples of smart, cross platform content. Everyone in PTA’s Interactive Department listens to the Planet Money podcast religiously. Three times a week they report on economic news and issues in an intelligent way that non-finance people can understand. The blog expands on the conversations they start on the podcast. Great stuff.
FOR FUN:
BST WOrld
In the interest of full disclosure, the guys behind the BSAT are our clients. But that isn't why we're featuring them here, we featuring them because they are funny. Authors John Forster and Marc Segan are on a mission to get "those bastards at the college boards." They have written "The BSAT Official Study Guide" and have created the companion website BSATWorld.com. If you can imagine a cross between The Onion and Princeton Review, then you have a pretty good idea about what BSATWorld.com is all about. Luckily, you don't have to just imagine it though, head to the site and read some of the hystrical BSAT Questions of the Day.
*If you would like us to consider your site for “Blog of the Month” please send us a link. Be sure to write “Blog of the Month” in the subject line.
What Have You Done For Me Lately
Here’s a sampling of our latest bookings.
For About Jenga (Greenleaf) we booked:
- Wall Street Journal
- New Jersey Star Ledger
- Fort-Worth Star Telegram
- Investors Business Daily
- AOL Small Business
Some of the recent hits generated from our DC office:
- Washington Post cover story on Health Care for Kaiser Permanente CEO George Halvorson’s book Health Care Won’t Reform Itself
- WTTG-TV (FOX) Morning News in Washington -- Interview with 24 star Mary Lynn Rajskub in support of The Bentzen Ball Comedy Festival.
- Washington Post Express cover story on The Bentzen Ball Comedy Festival
- The Onion A.V. Club featured interviews with comedians Tig Notaro (The Sarah Silverman Program), A.D. Miles (head writer for Late Night with Jimmy Fallon) and Mary Lynn Rajskub (24) in support of The Bentzen Ball Comedy Festival
- CBS Radio “Around The World in 60 Minutes” interview for Jonathan Tourtellot, editor of National Geographic Traveler Magazine
Say What?
A recent Marist Poll revealed what Americans found to be the most annoying conversation statements. Can you guess the top 5? “Whatever” led a list that included: “You know”; “It is what it is”; “Anyway”; and “At the end of the day.”
As people who make a living off of words, each of us in publishing and public relations should seek to be mindful of how we communicate with others. But we seem to fall short in many ways. The PR Tips section of our website features an article on things to keep in mind in our communications with others. Read it here.
Brian Feinblum is the chief marketing officer at Planned Television Arts
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