Tuesday, June 8, 2004 – Before I “break camp” in the evening and call it a day, I’ve always made a habit of going over my to-do list, backwards and forwards. What I’m not able to put behind me simply gets carried over to the next day, so what I end up with in my cramped, bulging Day-Timer (call me old school, but I’ve never used a PDA) is a long, eclectic list of not only all my commitments, but also my goals and ideals — each one to be acted on (hopefully) in the near future — trailed by and an even longer history of what’s (thankfully) been put to bed. At Yellowfin Direct Marketing, this habit remains unbroken, and I can’t help but think that A Fine Kettle of Fish is the perfect place to air such a list. So without baring anything proprietary, here’s a quick rundown of just some of what’s on my plate — and, also, what’s top of mind, across the agency – in the busy weeks ahead.
Tagline for Yellowfin. We’re not there yet, but we’re close. I’ve been running suggestions by David for a few weeks now, and we’ve whittled it down to the following:
Better Net Results
Good Catch, Great Results
Cast a Wider Net
Make a Big Splash
(and, my personal favorite…)
Direct Marketing out of Water
Florida State University. Mike and Sarah left yesterday for Tallahassee, where they’re meeting with the FSU development staff today to present our direct mail creative (three packages) along with strategy and ideas for a series of alumni fundraising events in the fall.
Newsletter. Gave David a rough outline of the Yellowfin e-newsletter we’re planning to launch in just a few months. We still need to flesh out the proposed content, but a tentative TOC for the premiere issue includes articles on variable data digital printing and direct response fundraising in the higher ed marketplace, a case study, a client profile and more.
The Public Broadcasting Co-op. We’re introducing two new direct mail packages at next week’s big R&D meeting, which is being held at UNC-TV in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. Expectations are high for this one. So is our confidence.
Spay-Neuter Assistance Program (SNAP). Over the course of the next few days, will be putting the finishing touches on a new raffle package for this organization, which dedicates itself to stopping the destruction of healthy dogs and cats in animal shelters due to the pet overpopulation problem.
Summer CAMMP. Preparations have begun – in earnest – for our participation in the Council of Alumni Marketing and Membership Professionals conference, to be hosted by the University of Connecticut July 28-30 in Windsor, Connecticut. We’re already working on our two-minute “infomercial” (which I will be presenting), along with all the marketing-related accouterments you’d expect (and some you wouldn’t) we’d bring along to such an important conference.
The Ad Club Mentor Program. Made it to the kick-off breakfast yesterday morning, hosted by Digitas, to learn that my responsibilities as a mentor are to meet with several Ad Club interns over the course of the summer and introduce them to potential opportunities in this field. My pleasure!
18-Month Yellowfin Calendar. It’s practically all hands on deck for this initiative, which is in the design phase right now, and should be good to go – as a token of appreciation to clients, prospects and friends – sometime in July.
Intern. Met with Melissa Rodriguez, our new intern, yesterday afternoon, to review some of her responsibilities – and quickly realized just how big an asset she is going to be our operations this summer. We’re lucky to have her on board.
Blog. Got some good advice about A Fine Kettle of Fish from Jennifer Rice, who publishes an excellent blog called What’s Your Brand Mantra? – she was very kind and generous in dispensing some invaluable feedback.
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