You're Never Too Big

The other day at the gym, I received a good lesson in brand awareness and advertising. I was in the lockeroom when a woman came over close to me, bent over and pointed to my shoes and said "Those sneakers are exactly what I am looking for! I need more of a square toe! What brand are those?"

For your reference, here is a picture of the shoes I was wearing:

Needless to say, I was pretty shocked and uncertain of how to respond to such a question asking me what brand these sneakers were. Was this a joke?

"Uhhh, these? They're just Nike?" I said, as if I was not sure myself. Did someone seriously just ask me what the swoosh on my shoe represented?

I consider Nike to be one of the largest global brands in the world (So does Interbrand, they rank Nike at #24 in the world). Not only are their products popular, but their swoosh logo is easily recognizable, and they are always doing tons of advertising. They have definitely kept up to speed with the digital media revolution, but they still appear in print, on billboards, etc.

You could say that maybe the woman wasn't a big athlete or sports fanatic. That could be a fair statement, except that she was working out, so she had clearly purchased athletic clothing and shoes before. Also, she belonged to a gym in New York City, so she must either live or work in the city, and must have seen some Nike outdoor media at some point in her life:

Nike Billboard, Times Square NYC. Click here to read more

But, it is a scattered media world and people generally focus on themselves and their interests. It's still crucial to keep on building awareness and targeting new consumers. And despite how big you might think your brand is, just remember that some people do not even know what Nike is. It is possible to not reach a consumer throughout their whole life, or perhaps you can reach them but not make any impact.

For that reason, always keep inventing and promoting yourself. Are you relevant to certain niche markets you have yet to consider? Then promote yourself, or as Nike says "Just Do It."

4 Years Unplugged

I love pumpkin spice lattes and boots as much as the next person, but for me fall is all about my anniversary of moving to New York City and the beginning of my life without cable television, or any television at all. And look, I'm still alive to tell the story!

Four years ago this October, I moved to the Upper East Side of Manhattan with one of my college friends. We both got jobs at the same time, achieving a goal we both had to move to NYC after graduation. Not surprisingly, our salaries were entry level, making it hard to survive financially in the city. So, I was faced with choosing between my two loves: food or the Kardashians.

I mean, I seriously should be the 6th sister, my name does start with a "K"
Photo from vibe.com

I chose food. Our first year in New York we had an old boxy TV but no cable. Then, we moved downtown and never plugged the TV back in (gotta love tiny NYC apartments). I remember in the beginning when I would mention that I did not have cable or a TV, people would look at me like I was a freak of nature. But in the past few weeks I've heard a few people say they do not have TVs and no one else in the conversation seems to think it's strange. Also, some of my friends have cancelled their cable subscription. Finally, I'm fitting in!

To be fair, I might be a cord cutter, but I still watch TV. Here's why and how I've survived these past 4 years:

1. I didn't grow up really watching TV. Not because my parents didn't let me, but because in our first house the TV was in the basement and I was afraid to go down there.  I'm fairly certain that is where it all started. Once we moved, I had already discovered how much I loved playing with Barbies and using my imagination, so TV seemed boring. I then became a competitive swimmer in middle school and swam all the way through college which meant I had swim practice every day during prime time viewing hours. All of my friends were swimmers, so they missed out on TV as well, causing me to think it was normal to not watch TV.

2. The CW put all of their shows online, and since the only show I ever fell in love with was 'Gossip Girl' I really had no reason to pay for cable. Now that Chuck and Blair ended up together and all is right in the world, I can move on with my life.

For this photo and more  C & B click here

3. My parents live in Philadelphia, only about 2 hours away and barely use their DVR so I just load up all of the shows I want to watch and go home once a month to binge view.

4. Netflix... the perfect way to binge watch anything that you know will suit your interest. House of Cards has currently distracted me from all of my schoolwork. I've been telling myself it is giving me inspiration for my thesis on political communications strategies, but we all know that's a lie.

Find out why you'll love it as much as me

5. Shady websites where you can stream episodes of Mad Men. I really could only do this my first 2 years in Manhattan, now I have to use #3 because I don't have the patience or effort to find and load these sites.

6. The gym... I legitimately cannot workout on a machine without a TV because I get so bored. I'd like to thank E! for replaying the Kardashians all the time so I can keep up with my favorite all-American family.

Over a year ago I started babysitting for a family that my cousins put me in touch with. The kids were great, and I thought it would be awesome to be able to watch their TV after the kids went to bed. As it turns out, the TV wasn't that great. First, TVs have become a lot more complicated in the past 4 years and I have a hard time finding the shows on DVR or On Demand and finagling all the remotes. Try explaining to a 3 and 5 year old that you "don't know" how to use the TV. They look at me like I'm an alien or lying to them. Then, I discovered I really have no interest in surfing channels or just watching TV to pass the time. Good thing I have that thesis to work on!

I still get comments from people who ask how I survive without cable, but I'm more concerned as to how I would survive without food. I'm still a true believer that TV rots your brain, and even if I won the lottery next week, I'm not sure I would get cable. It's just something I've learned to live without.