The victim of a car crash, Katrina, 17, has been signed by top agency just months after doctors feared she would be paralyzed.
Katrina was in a car that ploughed into a ditch in January and she needed 11 titanium rods put in her broken neck, back and left leg.
She amazed doctors by taking her first steps just days after the final surgery.
Soon after seeing her photos on the Internet, London's BASE Models got in touch with Katrina and signed her to the agency.
At first glance, it looks like any old pizza party: kids reaching for cheesy slices, dads on the couch watching baseball, moms arranging cardboard boxes and trying to control the chaos.
But in reality, the event at a Fayette Avenue home in Buffalo last weekend was a two-hour, in-your-face commercial for Domino’s Pizza with host Robyn Brewer as the star.
It’s an example of “viral marketing,” the latest trend in corporate advertising. It’s where a company tries to garner hype and support for a product by arranging “hands-on brand time” with it, hoping to manufacture some valuable word-of-mouth buzz.
In the latest local instance, Brewer was one of 2,000 consumers around the country to host a Domino’s- sponsored party for family and friends. The events were organized by House Party, a viral marketing company founded in 2005 and headquartered just outside of New York City.
“Consumers get a tryout in a trusted environment. Marketers are excited because we’re putting them on a consumer’s couch or at their kitchen table in an intimate social setting,” said Kitty Kolding, chief executive officer of House Party. “Once [consumers] get that immersive experience, they’re more likely to tell people about it. It turns into an exponential outreach.”
Though the method bears a similarity to the Tupperware parties of old, House Party hosts are not paid, and do not give sales pitches. The object is to find “brand ambassadors” already passionate about a product.
In order for the idea to work, the host must be “appropriately social” and technologically adept. Brewer is both. Her house is often ground zero for neighborhood barbecues, she takes part in online social networking and often posts pictures on sites such as Snapfish.com.
“It sounded like a good idea,” Brewer said. “I thought it was a neat way to try some new products and share them with my friends.”
Brewer received a “party pack” with vouchers for $75 worth of free pizza, as well as a free board game to be used at the party and goody bags to hand to guests.
In exchange, she blogs about the party on her personal Web page at HouseParty.com and uploads digital pictures taken as the fun goes down. She’s encouraged to share the page’s URL on sites such as Facebook and MySpace.
The hope is that Brewer’s guests will tell their friends about the fun, who will tell their friends, and — you get the picture.
According to marketing experts, TV watchers have become immune to the traditional 60-second commercial, which is often looked at as an interruption —if it is looked at at all.
“We’re so tech enabled and have so many choices. We want to create our own consumption experience,” said Charles Lindsey, assistant professor of marketing at University at Buffalo’s School of Management. “And for companies, [viral marketing] maximizes the likelihood that a consumer will pay attention.”
So companies have begun injecting their products directly into the center of consumers’ lives — with their permission, of course.
“Buzz” or “viral” marketing capitalizes on the idea that consumers will be more perceptive to a band’s latest CD or Fisher- Price’s latest toy if they are the ones who have chosen to let it into their homes.
“These are people who have signed up to be there. It’s not Ford promoting our own message,” said Connie Fontaine, brand content and alliance manager for Ford Motor Co. “It has allowed us to connect with so many consumers in a way they want to be part of, where we’re part of the entertainment.”
Ford has used House Party for three promotions, the most recent of which was tied to its sponsorship of “American Idol.” Hosts held viewing parties for the show’s finale and test drove the company’s new Ford Fusion, which were delivered to about 40 percent of the participating homes by local dealers.
Critics are left to wonder: will people really want to turn their social gatherings into advertising campaigns? The answer is maybe — if there’s enough in it for them.
Many hosts are attracted by the promise of free stuff or advanced access to new products. Some feel a certain amount of social status comes with screening a movie at home before it is released in theaters to the general public.
So consumers get to feel like insiders while the sponsoring company gets the chance to build warm and fuzzy relationships with new consumers. But does it work?
Many major corporations seem to think so. House Party has marketing contracts with dozens of the retail and entertainment industry’s biggest players such as Fisher-Price and Kraft Foods. The company claims to be on track for $12 million in revenue this year.
According to clients, House Party’s ability to track metrics and gauge the success of a party marketing initiative is a major draw.
“They are very data driven. Some results are easy to quantify and some are more qualitative,” Fontaine said. “How excited were the hosts? How many people were invited? How many showed up? How many registered online and entered the sweepstakes?”
The key, experts said, is to keep the brand interaction and the socializing as authentic as possible. Pushy hosts shilling products from a script would defeat the whole purpose. But that doesn’t stop House Party from providing hosts with scripts to read when contacting media outlets about the parties, hoping to garner even more free buzz.
“We give hosts the tools to throw a great party and then we get out of their way,” said Kolding.
The entire concept stems from the kernel of marketing wisdom that word of mouth is the best advertising. But some question whether authentic and effective word of mouth is something that can be created by an outside source. Some experts seem to think it can.
“If you have the right product, the right format and the right host, there is a way to jump start early market share,” said Lindsey.
Earning additional money has become a necessity for most people in these tough financial times. Gone are the days when persons could feel comfortable with a single source of income - for some people, a nine-to-five job has almost become an endangered species.
As people look for ways to supplement or replace their salaries, one business opportunity has risen to the forefront as a viable option. Network marketing, also called multi-level marketing (MLM), is now being seriously considered by many people as a route to starting their own business.
According to Wikipedia.com, network marketing is a selling strategy that compensates promoters of direct selling companies for product sales they personally generate, and for the sales of others they introduced to the company. By using referrals and word-of-mouth promotion, independent business owners receive compensation for the volume of sales they and their down-line team can generate.
Marketing concept or money scam?
This alternative method of marketing products has been underutilised by many people due to their ignorance of how it operates. Direct selling simply allows consumers to benefit from buying or selling products straight from the manufacturers or large distributors. The money that would normally be paid to wholesalers, retail outlets and advertisers can now be passed on as commissions to the end users.
Over the years, the network marketing model has received a bad reputation due to the actions of pyramid scheme operators claiming to offer legitimate MLM opportunities. Pyramid schemes entice people to join them by offering a monetary reward for enrolling others into the programme, without any product or service being consumed.
To distinguish a viable network business opportunity from a pyramid scam, you have to ensure that the main source of the commissions is coming from the sales of the company's offerings. If the plan offers impossibly high compensation payouts that are tied to pricey entry fees from new recruits, it may be a sign that the business is likely to be a non-sustainable operation.
The reality is that the multi-level rewards concept already exists in many organisations. Sales people earn commissions on their individual efforts, while their sales managers and their bosses also earn bonuses from the combined efforts of their teams.
For people who like helping people
Network marketing operations are, however, fundamentally unlike other businesses. Regular business owners may be accustomed to competing with others to ensure that they come out on top. On the contrary, being successful in network marketing requires that you work with others in your team to help them to build their own businesses.
Robert Kiyosaki, author of Rich Dad's Business School for People Who Like Helping People, confirms that "If you are a person who truly wants to help as many people as possible achieve their financial goals and dreams, then the network marketing business is worthy of your time". Kiyosaki reveals that network marketing offers several positive values that can make it fulfilling for the right people.
Good MLM opportunities will help you to develop your sales abilities, which Kiyosaki insists is the number one skill that all business people must have. He notes that most people aren't afraid of selling, they are afraid of rejection; and points out that the leaders in the business should help to guide you in facing and overcoming your fears about being rejected.
A creditable networking business should also offer education in areas such as leadership skills, communication skills, people skills, time management, money management and investing skills, goal setting and accountability.
Is this the business for you?
When evaluating a network marketing opportunity, here are a few questions to consider:
- What is the product or service being offered? You need to decide if the company's offering is something that you will personally use and feel comfortable recommending to others.
- Who are the principals in the organisation? Investigate who is in charge and their track record of success in business, just as if you are checking out any other business option.
- Are you comfortable being trained by the person who introduced you to the opportunity? If your potential sponsor is new to the business, can you get access to others in the line of sponsorship who can guide you?
- How is the money made? Make sure you have a clear understanding of how the compensation plan is designed. Is it possible to make a living doing this business full-time, or will it only bring in part-time income?
- Are you willing to do what it takes to become successful? Many people fail at network marketing, not because the business model or product line was not viable, but because they did realise that it required education and proper work ethics to succeed.
As you look for ways to increase your income, remember that network marketing is not a get-rich-quick scheme that will effortlessly make you money overnight. However, if you're willing to be trained, and to then teach others to become successful in business, it just might be the opportunity you've been waiting for!
Miss Hawaii will be crowned Saturday night. On Friday all 30 contestants, reigning queen Nicole Fox and Ray Abregano the pageant’s director will be in studio.
Thirty contestants from around the state compete for the coveted title of Miss Hawaii and the opportunity to represent Hawaii at Miss America in January 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Over $500,000 in scholarship awards and prizes will be made available. Miss Hawaii 2009 will be televised LIVE from the Hawaii Convention Center via OC16 at 8:00 p.m., June 2Very Very good news to all the web users, Google is about to launch another innovation, Check this out..........
Google Voice hasn’t opened to the public yet, but there’s lots of speculation that the search giant’s phone service could become available soon.
GoogleIt allows users to link their home, work and cellphone numbers to a new number, whose voicemails they can check online or by text message. Users can also specify which device rings based on the caller, set up personalized greetings for different callers, and save and search calls and messages.
In April, Courtney Banks reviewed Google Voice for WSJ.com, saying it could be particularly valuable to consumers with multiple phone numbers and devices. The automated voice-to-text conversion, which it uses to transcribe voicemail messages for reading in an email-like interface, has some kinks to work out, however, she said.
Craig Walker, a group product manager at Google, told the WSJ in a March interview that Google Voice won’t immediately run advertising but might in the future.
Currently, Google Voice is only available to users of GrandCentral, an Internet-phone service Google bought in 2007. Will you be there when it opens? What features are you looking
IN the all's-well-that-ends-well department, Ana Maria Macedo -- who was stood up by her fiancé a year ago just two weeks before they were set to swap vows -- married him on Saturday, capping a three-day, fairy-tale wedding celebration.
Brazilian-born Ana Maria, a model and fashion designer, married Swedish financier Jon Jonsson at St. Bartholomew's Church in front of 200 jet-setting guests, including novelist Coerte Felske, restaurateur Vittorio Assaf and his Swedish wife, Charlotte, shipping heir Alexei Zoulas and his Brazilian wife, Priscilla, and Nicole Coste, the former flight attendant who has a son, Alexandre, 6, by Prince Albert of Monaco.
"If you were a wedding crasher," observed one guest with an eye for gorgeous Brazilian girls, "this was the wedding to crash."
It was an event that most of the guests thought would never happen after Jonsson got cold feet a year ago, in a replay of the "Sex and the City" movie, just before the lovebirds were planning to marry in Stockholm.
"I'm a real-life Carrie Bradshaw, jilted by my own Mr. Big," Ana Maria told Page Six Magazine a month later. The groom evidently freaked out as the guest list climbed from 80 to 250 and the bride-to-be planned increasingly lavish celebrations.
Not that she stinted with the New York version. The bride wore an Oscar de la Renta gown and borrowed Bulgari jewels, while the groom was suited by Tom Ford. The 10 bridesmaids wore Nicole Miller.
The fun started Thursday at Pink Elephant. On Friday, guests wore white for a cruise by the Statue of Liberty aboard the yacht Romantica with an after-party at Kiss & Fly. After the black-tie wedding on Saturday, Tavern on the Green turned into Carnival, with scantily clad samba dancers. Die-hard revelers finished off at the Griffin.
The happy bride, who lost her voice, whispered to Page Six, "There's no way to explain how wonderful it was." She and her groom leave today for Stockholm, then Ibiza for two weeks, and maybe St. Tropez.
Hobbies: Anything active! Waterskiing, wakeboarding, swimming, biking, dancing, shopping, hanging out with my pups, traveling, and running local 5k’s for charity.
My mission is to educate my clients about exercise, diet and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. My goal is to empower them to make the most of their abilities: through knowledge, direction and encouragement. Ever felt lost and confused when trying to work out on your own, even after using the services of a personal trainer? Never again-you'll understand every aspect of your program. I encourage clients to take an active interest in accomplishing their goals, and I welcome their input and feedback throughout the entire training process.
Now that you know a little more about me, I will leave you with this thought!
Don’t give up on your dreams! You can reach them if YOU believe in YOURSELF! Find something your passionate about and let it shine! Don’t let anyone or anything stand in your way! Break the barrier and fight for what you truly love! It won’t be easy, but you can take the obstacles and learn from that. Regret nothing and move forward! And my favorite saying “Keep fighting the good fight, train for life!” Thank you to all may fans out there that support me!!!! I really appreciate the kind words!!! I love you all!!!
Yours in Health,
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WHAT IT'S ABOUT Pretty much the same format as the 2003 ABC version - think "Survivor" with celebrities plus some comedy. These episodes will air live from Costa Rica, and viewers will be allowed to vote for celebrity challenges. Want Heidi to throw Spencer into the Pacific to practice synchronized swimming with the Great Whites? Hit the number for "Yes! Please, please, please!" on your phone.
In fact, challenges will not be life-threatening, per se, but stomach-threatening. (Insects for dinner, anyone?) People are voted off or simply leave. Hosts are Myleene Klass and "Total Request Live's" Damien Fahey, who predicts the first to go will be Speidi: "I don't know why. They're not accustomed to being in the jungle."
BOTTOM LINE Six years ago, ABC plucked this British import off the shelf of reality TV's dollar store because it was so deep in fourth place at the time that there was nothing left to lose, anyway, including dignity. The ABC version sank.
Will we be so lucky this time? One cannot be certain: The live component is certainly a delicious new wrinkle, and Speidi without makeup or hairdressers? Will we even recognize them? Plus, the production team will camp this show up big time. Will it be terrible? Almost certainly. Will we watch? Alas, almost certainly.
The original American version of "I'm a Celebrity . . . Get Me Out of Here!" aired on ABC from Feb. 19 to March 5, 2003. The "celebrities" stranded in the Australian Outback included eventual winner Cris Judd (the dancer/former husband of Jennifer Lopez), Robin Leach, Alana Stewart, Maria Conchita Alonso, Nikki Ziering, Tyson Beckford, "Downtown" Julie Brown, Bruce Jenner, Stuttering John Melendez and Melissa Rivers. John Lehr was the host.
Today it happened something unusual, when an Air France AF447 flew for brazilian city of Rio de Janeiro airport, and it should have landed at the Paris airport at 09:15 GMT, however, the plane is missing. The pilots of the Airbus A330-200 plane reported a technical fault at the electric circuit, and that they are experiencing turbulence. After that, the AF447 flight has gone missing and there are no news yet. Air France officials said that they don’t know where the plane is at the moment, and they are hoping that all people aboard and the crew are OK. The AF Airbus A330 had 216 passengers and 12 crew, and the Brazilian officials said that the pilots last reported something at 11 P.M. local time when they were near the island of Fernando de Noronha. This is at about 1,5000 northeast of Rio de Janeiro, between the city of Natal and the island of Ilha do Sal.
President Nicolas Sarkozy said that he is deeply concerned, and he assured people that he will do the utmost to find the Airbus A330-200 plane. I remind you that the missing Air France flight AF447 was carrying 228 people aboard, and we surely hope that all of them are OK.
The Airbus A330-200 is considered one of the safest planes, and such aircraft didn’t have a fatal commercial flight crash. According to experts, the A330 shouldn’t go down in flight or when climbing to the flight route as accidents happen when landing or when planes take off. Also, the Air France didn’t have a fatal crash since July 2000 when a Concorde plane crashed, but the supersonic airplanes aren’t used for commercial flights anymore.
We will keep you updated with the Air France Flight AF447 status, and we hope that the passengers of the Airbus A330-200 will be found safe and alive
Africa has been known as the dark continent since centuries, but if you look Africa deeply, you will see that it has its own history, culture and tradition.
