Just a day or so, ago, I posted an item about an effort by businesses in Naples, Florida that have experienced a drop on business inquiries due to misconceptions about beach conditions, related to the BP oil spill.

Coincidently, USA today ran a front page article on the same issue, today. The article describes the greater geographical issue affecting businesses for general travel, destination weddings, and the like.

Thank you to the Naples Chapter of the National Association of Wedding Professionals for inviting to present a seminar and meeting talk, yesterday. It was a treat to meet so many new people and enjoy this most beautiful area in Southwest Florida.

Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Authority

Share on Facebook

As I sit on the balcony, gazing into the sunset, the rhythmic sound of waves, crashing softly on the beach, provides the soundtrack. Kids, laughing and playing, pierce the air with joy. Couples stroll, hand-in-hand, into the heavy air that coats the evening breeze.

I am at the Naples Beach Hotel in Naples, Florida. Life is beautiful.

There is just one thing…. For local businesses, the inquiries have slowed. The phones ring less frequently.

You see Naples is on the West Coast of Florida…. the Gulf Coast of Florida. You’ve heard about the BP Oil Spill, haven’t you?

Newsflash: THERE IS NO OIL HERE!! And it is projected at a 1% chance that this area will see any oil.

Yet people listen and watch cable news with one ear and one eye, if that much. It’s maddening enough that businesses is the center of the actual tragedy have to suffer. But why should this area, and others, suffer, too.

Not wanting to wait for the public relations cavalry, some area businesses started a blog: The Coast Is Clear Naples. It just has a few posts and pictures, so far, but it’s a beginning. It brings voice to this beautiful region of Florida and explains to the world that Naples is Open-For-Business.

Tomorrow, I will teach a seminar on social media and give a presentation for a membership drive, to members and guests of the National Association of Wedding Professionals – Naples Chapter. It may seem unlikely to some that a band of mostly small business owners can make sufficient noise to bring business to their community.

I, for one, don’t doubt it for a second. After all, they’ve taken the first step, in the right direction. Hear the rippling waves roar.

Visit Naples!

Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Authority

Share on Facebook

Just over a year ago, I posted the item, A Ruthless discussion of the term “Budget Bride” and wedding decision making.

It was edgy by design (so what else is new) and generated a lot of comments.

Sunday night, I was burning the midnight oil and before turning off the lights, I thought I’d check my blog statistics. There was a huge spike in activity. It came from a message board on Wedding Wire. In doing research, one bride found my post, and shared it with other brides (and grooms).

It is worth rereading my original post, and then reading the comments on Wedding Wire from brides.

Interested in your feedback!

Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Authority

Share on Facebook

Apple retail stores have taken a page from Facebook and other social media sites, but face-to-face.

Rabid Apple-fanboys (and girls) are so eager to chat with Apple employees about the next-great-thing that it had created a logjam at the Apple store Genius Bar.

Watch this video for the whole story…

Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Authority

Share on Facebook

The Wedding Marketing Authority, Andy Ebon is en route from the the DJ Think Tank Conference in Miami to the National Association of Wedding Professionals, Naples Chapter.

The afternoon seminar (registration at 2:30pm, 3-6pm) topic will be: Building A Focused Social Media Strategy.

Andy will also give a talk for the chapter’s general membership meeting, which begins at 6:30pm. The presentation is titled: Success By Association.

Both events will be held at The Naples Beach Hotel , 851 Gulf Shore Blvd North, Naples, Florida.

Share on Facebook

The National Association of Catering Executives is holding its annual educational conference, NACE Experience 2010, at the Austin Hilton Downtown, Austin, Texas, July 25 -28.

Attendees will be offered a wide range of general session and breakout speakers, as well as numerous special events.

During the course of the festivities, NACE will hold its annual awards gala, honoring the best work of its members, in Industry, Chapter and Volunteer categories.

Share on Facebook

I’ve seen Tony Schwartz once, in 40 years (at a 20-year high school reunion), but I’ve been reading his work for more than 30. You might not recognize his name, but it probably sounds familiar. Just over 20 years ago, it was Tony who was the writer for Donald Trump’s “The Art of the Deal.”

Yes, THAT Tony Schwartz.

In 2004, Tony and business partner, Jim Loehr published: “The Power of Full Engagement: Managing Energy, Not Time, Is the Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal.”

For me, their research and writing obliterated the overdone topic of time management. The message was clear: Your mental and physical freshness determines that quality and productivity of your work. The book is peppered with profiles of people and their work-life balance issues. You see a little of yourself in many of these case studies.

Just recently, Tony published a follow up work, “The Way We’re Working, Isn’t Working: The Four Forgotten Needs That Energize Great Performance.“

I pre-ordered it from Amazon.com, read it when it arrived, read it again, and read it, once more, on the plane from Las Vegas to Miami.

The basic message is uncomplicated: We are built to work in sprints, not marathons. Knowing it and doing it are, of course, two different things.

Since reading The Power of Full Engagement, I confess to being thrown out of rhythm. Life’s events can take a toll: The final illness, relocation, and death of my father being the first dramatic event. Concurrently, my illness and passing of my girlfriend’s father. Concurrently (yes, really), being diagnosed with Diabetes. My girlfriend’s car accident, the day following her dad’s funeral. The lightning fast passing of her closest friend, Elle, from a rare blood disease, only a couple of months later.

All in all, 2006 was a lousy year. We stopped counting the deaths after the number passed ten. The shocking part was losing friends as young as 36. For me, all of that was followed by two major surgeries. I’ll leave out the details.

Suffice it to say that the last year has been, mostly trouble free. And, despite some significant success and progress, since then, I’d be kidding you if I told you “I’ve fully gotten my groove back.”

The ongoing challenge is managing the effects of Diabetes. It is ALL about managing energy. It’s about diet, exercise, medication, stress, and pacing.

As I go the process of recapturing my rhythm, I will be rereading Tony’s latest work, until I can recite it from memory. I recommend it highly. We all have the same 24 hours in a day, but how we manage our energy determines our success and enjoyment of life.

Thanks, Tony!

Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Authority

Share on Facebook

Just finished attending, and speaking at, DJ Think Tank. This is an elite group of entertainment companies that gather, twice yearly. I have been working with the group since its inception in 2003, and contributing my rare blend of DJ industry experience and up-to-date marketing experience.

I was slotted for a 90-minute catch-all presentation of marketing and technology. Some reminder; but mostly solid explanation of recent developments, and some unveiled of the latest in technology, marketing, and software.

In preparing the presentation, I had a hunch about the iPad and how to cover it in this presentation (I have not bought mine, yet, for a variety of reasons that are not particularly important to this point. I do expect to buy one in the next couple of months).

First, it was interesting to look around the room and see what laptops people were using. Apple has a market share of 10% or less in laptops. In this room, one could see MacBooks in the hands of about 60% of the attendees. That was unusual.

My slide showed a handful of iPads and a headline stating: It’s an iPad world. I told a few stories abut what I have read and observed, and conversations I’ve had recently, with people who have been using an iPad.

Then, I asked for a show of hands: How many people own an iPad? Only about five hands went up. Inside, I was disappointed and thought, for a moment, that the next 30 minutes might go ‘in the tank.’ Not so fast my friend.

I asked the iPad owners how they were using their tech-toy in their businesses and room fairly exploded with ideas and applications. For reasons of confidentiality, I am not going to share all their brilliant ideas, but I am going to share two items that were very instructive.

1) I asked my friend, Ron, to share his experience about his iPad and his 7-year old. Ron has had his iPad for about 10 days. After having it just a few minutes, he put it in the hands of his daughter, and she went to work. She turned to him and asked, “Can I download this game…. it’s free..”

“How did you know about where to get the games?” he asked. “They show it on the commercials, Daddy.”

So much for that mystery. Within minutes, this youngster was using the iPad without hesitation or instruction. Shockingly intuitive.

2) At the end of 30 minutes of iPad sharing and  brainstorming, I asked the BIG QUESTION. “After this brief discussion about actual and possible uses of the iPad, by show of hands, how many expect to buy at least one iPad in the near future?” In a split second, the hands of three-quarters of the room shot up.

Owning a piece of new technology is not the point. The point is understanding the various ways one can utilize it to stand out and garner a competitive edge.

How are you using the iPad or any recent technology to gain a competitive edge?

Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Group

Share on Facebook

When it comes to social media, one of the biggest mistakes is the imbalance in communication. We tend to post far more than we read. Reading, or in my metaphor, “listening”, is far more effective in focusing your attention to peers that count.

As your friends list continues to grow on Facebook (or followers on Twitter), you should take advantage of the tool, called Lists. You can create up to 100 lists on Facebook, 20 on Twitter, to create sub-groups from your friends. This is, essentially, a simple database function that allow you to assign any friend to one or more groups.

For example:

• Venues in your market
• Businesses in your industry (regionally, nationally)
• Members of different local associations (in separate groups)

Once you have set up various groups, you can click on a particular group and just see the news feed on that group. This function enables you to focus on any sub-group, individually, filtering out all else. You can read what people are talking about and respond as appropriate.

Manage your friends, listen with two ears, and speak with one.

Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Authority

Share on Facebook

This year marks the 40th anniversary of my high school graduation. These sorts of milestones are cause for all kinds of thoughts, emotions and actions. In my case, it has motivated me to seek out some of my classmates and see what has become of them. Primarily, I was curious about their work and careers.

One such classmate of mine is Cliff (Clifford) Ross. In simple terms, one would refer to Cliff as a photographer. In reality, he is an artist, and an inventor.

His work has been shown in exhibitions since the mid-1970′s, but it is his more recent interest in extremely high-definition panoramic images that is most interesting. Cliff’s eye and mind saw detail that existing cameras could not capture. And that’s where the fun began.

He set out to design a new kind of device that would capture images down to the most minute detail, at impossible distances. He cobbled together a bit of magic to accomplish his goal. Even Cliff was surprised to discover that his device could become patented (and did). Cliff was just glad it worked as he had envisioned.

In this 7-minute video, you’ll meet Cliff, see his finished work, and learn how he came to develop this incredible camera.

To me, the interesting elements are innovation, creativity, and seeing beyond what is now, toward what is possible. He didn’t set out to be an inventor, but his curiosity and art drove him to this end. To me, it is also a reminder that whatever-the-tool, the most important element of a photograph is the eye, behind the camera.

In world of too many formulas, knock-offs, and repetition, Cliff’s story is a rare one. It is the quintessential example of thinking-outside-the-box. I find it fascinating and motivating. I think our 4th grade art teacher, Mr. Nohn, would be blown away.

Andy Ebon
The Wedding Marketing Authority

Share on Facebook