Jayme Soulati, Author at soulati.com

Soulati Media On The Street With More In Media

07/15/2013 By Jayme Soulati

At a conference where I presented and debuted my new book, Writing with Verve on the Blogging Journey, available here on Amazon Kindle and via softcover here, I met some really amazing people.

The coolest woman I met, and I say that because she’s the owner of orange and I LOVE ORANGE (I have an orange Mini Cooper convertible…digress) and she’s got the best branding in the world is right here in the brief video below.

Meet Dorien Morin-van Dam, owner of More In Media. Watch why her branding knocks it outta the park…wait, do they have baseball in The Netherlands?

She’s a #RockHot business women in Myrtle Beach; please engage with her.

The Happy Friday Series: Don’t Bloom Where You’re Planted

07/12/2013 By Jayme Soulati

We’ve all heard the phrase, “bloom where you’re planted.” It conjures visions of sunflowers swaying happily in the breeze, right?

But what if your current environment makes you feel like a weed? A dandelion squeezed between the sidewalk cracks?

You have the power to uproot and move to richer soil.

I know what I’m talking about.

As an adult, I’ve moved all the way across country twice, voluntarily. You see, my husband and I had a conversation about 14 years ago that went something like, “if you could live anywhere, where would you go?” We both had a deep curiosity about the Pacific Northwest, so we visited, loved it, and decided to pack up a U-Haul, two dogs and one cat, and move from the Washington, DC area to pretty much the farthest point away in the continental United States.

We happily spent about 12 years in the gorgeous, lush, remote Northwest. But then we started to get an urge…with kids in the picture who wanted to know their grandparents, a severe Vitamin D deficiency, and a vague need to be back on the East Coast, we started researching a new place to bloom.

Once again, we chose a place to visit, fell in love with it, and packed our family (now 3 kids and one cat). The winner? An island town outside of Charleston, SC. I’ve always dreamed of living at the beach, so I’ve literally moved to my “happy place.”

However, this post isn’t about how awesome it is to be barefoot 75% of the time. (It is awesome.) It’s about taking control of your happiness, and choosing where you want to be, rather than feeling stuck where you are.

Maybe your happy spot isn’t a physical location. Maybe it’s a new career. Regardless of what it is, make your move!

Bloom where you plant yourself, and be happy.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rosemary O’Neill is Co-Founder/President of Social Strata, which makes the Hoop.la online community platform. For the last 15 years, she has been evangelizing the social conversation and helping customers like Mattel, Long John Silvers, and HarperCollins grow thriving communities. She has also appeared on Fox & Friends and NPR as an HR rebel. You can find her online via Twitter (@rhogroupee), on her small business marketing blog at https://rhogroupee.com, and as a weekly contributor to Liz Strauss’ Successful and Outstanding Blog. She makes a mean blueberry pie.
LinkedIn Profile: www.linkedin.com/in/rosemaryoneill

Urban Outfitters Needs Sensitivity Marketing

07/11/2013 By Jayme Soulati

The eclectic millennial hipster retailer known for edgy household and clothing items for ultra petite urban chic has pissed off poison control centers, substance abuse groups and attorneys general across the country with its Rx coffee mugs and shot glasses. The coffee mug, a pill bottle with handle, has an Rx label for coffee prescribed by Dr. Harold Feelgood for patient Joe Espresso who is instructed to take one mug by mouth and repeat daily.

On June 14, 2013, Urban Outfitters caved to pressure from the aforementioned groups and pulled the Rx coffee mug and shot glasses off the shelves, yet it remains prominent in its online store (whether it’s for sale, not sure).

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has succeeded in taking down a serious threat to the fight against drug abuse – coffee mugs that look like prescription drug bottles.

Madigan, along with attorneys general from more than 20 other states, sent a on May 22 to Urban Outfitters CEO and Chairman Richard A. Hayne regarding the “controversial” product line his company was selling. The concerned party wrote:

On behalf of the undersigned Attorneys General, we request that Urban Outfitters immediately cease sales of your “Prescription Line” of glasses, coasters, mugs, drink holders and related products that mimic prescription pill bottles and prescription pads.

Why?

Because, as the attorneys general said:

There is a national health crisis related to the abuse and diversion of prescription drugs. As Attorneys General, we have prosecuted and engaged in outreach to stop this epidemic. We are actively engaged in a campaign of environmental change to educate the public that abuse of prescription drugs is not safe simply because the medication originated from a doctor. … By putting these highly recognizable labels on your products you are undermining our efforts.

Other items for sale by Urban Outfitters are oriented to the same disestablishmentarianism and push-the-envelope of poor taste promotion of millennial binge-drinking-is cool approach to life.

I’m sure the F-bomb canteen and “drunk as F-bomb” head gear are best sellers at Urban Outfitters. In fact, I’m wondering what percentage of sales Urban Outfitters enjoys from its smarmy snark non-apropos products? I bet the “Coffee Makes Me Poop” mug in brown is popular for ex-husbands’ fathers’ days. And, the pile of goo-like poo in the bottom of a coffee mug should be something bought for the old boyfriend. Seriously, would a guy risk purchasing this stuff for a woman? Talk about the

Or, better yet…

Sensitivity Marketing

Not sure if Sensitivity Marketing is even a discipline; if you put the word “marketing” next to any descriptor, it pretty much works. I do know there is sensitivity training so perhaps that’s what this is about.

Now that Urban Outfitters has had its 10 minutes of negative publicity fame (and really ticked off people from whom you don’t want attention like half the country’s attorneys general), it’s time to act like you’re sorry, stop thumbing your nose at substance abuse advocates and put products back on the shelf that really mean something e.g. Save The Whales, Eradicate Illiteracy, and the like.

Is Urban Outfitters looking for a viral product to infiltrate cultism? Am betting so, but guess what? #FAIL.

New Gender Marketing With Oakley And Ruffles

07/08/2013 By Jayme Soulati

Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Advertising Age hasn’t inspired too much blog fodder of late; perhaps it’s due to its new ugly format and thin reporting. It was too serendipitous, though, that in the June 3, 2013 issue two stories about gender marketing with men and Ruffles and women and Oakley appeared pages apart.

Which got me thinking (always dangerous).

Why do brands continue to have gender marketing challenges in this day and age? You know, the era of women’s equality, stay-at-home dads, paternity time, and breaking the glass ceiling, etc.?

Oakley Trying To Sun Glass Women

The sub-head of the story really surmises the irony of this brand’s challenges, “At the $1 billion (yes, billion) apparel and eye glass company, the women’s business accounts for just 10% of sales, making it the biggest opportunity.” (Read that again without gasping, really?)

Apparently, the brand has attempted to sell to women but has obviously failed. No women were managing teams; they were in product development roles instead. Pink became the predominant color of choice for the women’s line because male leadership thought every woman identified with that. Few women were positioned in leadership ranks and testosterone prevailed in the male-dominated company.

Same-sex companies targeting same-sex customers does not beget inter-gender marketing success; I guess Oakley found that out.

Hmm, I wonder if Proctor and Gamble has noticed a trend for Daddy Mamas and is redoing diaper branding to make the box more manly?

Ruffles Women And The Bro Code

Ruffles, the potato chip with ridges, has always been a family brand – moms buy and the family eats. Getting too family for its britches, brand marketers sent a team of women into bars to immerse in the male snack-food psyche and crack the bro code. Men, who are too close to men, couldn’t master such research due to the introspectiveness of that analysis (or some such).

For three years (wow), the women infiltrated the snack-food brotherhood and learned a lot that resulted in these adjustments to the lowly potato chip with ridges:

Men shop for junk food on impulse; 25% of chips are purchased in smaller sizes.
The brand began to target millennial men.
Packaging was redone with inspiration fueled strictly with testosterone.
A spokesman the likes of Ron Burgundy meshed with Burt Reynolds and Clint Eastwood (how the heck are they millennial inspiration?) was created, named Ruff McThickridge.
The Ultimate Ruffle was born with thicker, manly ridges along with Ruffles Max to go alongside the beer (not so heavy).
Flavors were beefier and included beer-battered onion rings.

What’s so astonishing is the longevity of both these brands. Oakley is 38-years-old and Ruffles has to be older than that. How is it that this kind of eye-opening gender marketing research is happening now?

So glad it is, as I pity the poor man who can’t have a potato chip because the packaging is too girly. As for my sunglasses? I think I’ll settle for my Prada. Goodness knows those Oakley wraparounds would totally interfere with my curls.

The Happy Friday Series: 24 #RockHot Guest Authors

07/05/2013 By Jayme Soulati

The day after a U.S. holiday is always low key, and that’s why we’re going to bang it up today and clang the pots and pans in honor of the 24 #RockHot guest authors I cajoled, nudged, begged, and just plain old invited to write for the longest-running series a blog has ever had (and longest sentence, too!).

What began as an experiment with zero nada expectation has become a weekly post on Fridays about happy. Thank you to each of you below who willingly participated and accepted my invite to be part of this blogger’s happiness project out of the blue.

Along the way, two goals were created:

1. That Jayme Soulati would never need to write (because nothing was in queue) unless she wanted to (Secret: I have a post I wrote after something significant occurred and I will post it when there’s a need.)

2. To get through one entire year of guest authors every Friday until mid-January (Jan. 17, 2013 launched the series), and so far so good!

Without further ado, let’s get on with the show! I thank, am grateful, adore, appreciate, and have so much respect for each of the people in this community below who so graciously shared a piece of their happy. XO to each and all.

24 #RockHot Happy Guest Authors

Each of these titles begins with “The Happy Friday Series:”

January 11, 2013 — Everyone’s Happy! Kick off post by Jayme Soulati

January 18, 2013 — Power Of A Smile by Peg Fitzpatrick

January 25, 2013 — Top Five Cheery Songs by Susan Silver

February 1, 2013 — Creating Optimism in Traffic on Foursquare by Paula Kiger

February 8, 2013 — Glass Half Empty And Happy by Jenn Whinnem

February 15, 2013 — Five Favorite Dances by Erin Feldman

February 22, 2013 — Smiles From Alaska by Amber-Lee Dibble

March 1, 2013 — Should Life Be Serious? by Jamie Wallace

March 8, 2013 — Science of Happiness and Do-Overs by Geoff Reiner

March 15, 2013 — Finding Happy with Scoliosis by Sandy Appleyard

March 22, 2013 — Embrace Happiness Today by Mark Harai

March 29, 2013 — Be The Sun And Serve by Betsy Cross

April 5, 2013 — How To Find Your Happy by Amber-Lee Dibble

April 12, 2013 — Let Go Of Sad by Nancy Jean

April 19, 2013 — A Chat With Pooh by Stan Faryna

April 26, 2013 — Five Seconds And Happy by Brian Meeks

May 3, 2013 — What’s So Great About Being Happy? by Sharon Gilmour-Glover

May 10, 2013 — Spring Does Come To New England by Michelle Quillin

May 17, 2013 — Tunes of Time by Brad Lovett

May 24, 2013 — Amazing Online Friends by Kristen Daukas

May 31, 2013 — Beads, Buttons and Crochet by Christine Esposito

June 7, 2013 — Fine Art Photography and Family by Ed King

June 14, 2013 — Taking Risk For Desert Passion by Brian Wrabley

June 21, 2013 — Life-Crafting Goals to Push The Envelope by Adrienne Jandler

June 28, 2013 — Thriving Or Surviving? by Carolyn Nicander Mohr

How To Write For The Happy Friday Series

Yes, it is no small feat to find a different guest author weekly for this series. That’s why you ought to consider it. I’m told it’s a highly therapeutic happening. When you think about what makes you truly happy or what your interpretation of happiness is and could be, writing about it becomes an awakening.

Happiness is introspective and few of us desire to take that kind of hard look inside; when you do you share among friends and it feels so very good.

If you care to write for this series, and I implore you to consider it, here’s how:

1. Send me a note, tweet, post of intent everywhere (even in the comment section below).

2. Write your post and give yourself two weeks to get it done.

3. Deliver it with an author bio, photo for the story, links to your blog, etc.

4. If the headline or content within needs tweaking, I reserve the right to edit. If the content really needs tweaking, I’ll send back to you for review and approval.

5. Share the heck out of it when it appears here! Easy!

(P.S. There are bound to be link mistakes above; please inform me right away, and I will correct! Thank you!)

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