Alberta Business Marketing

The world has changed a LOT in the last few years. Things are speeding up so fast many of us have difficulty keeping up. Stereotypically the ones complaining about this “speeding up of life” are members of older generations. This isn’t ageist – its just that those under the age of 35 have grown up with a high level of change and haven’t been around long enough to remember any form of  ”good old days” when the pace of life was different.

As my grandma once told me: each generation that has passed has experienced more change in their lifetime than the one immediately preceding them. Or you could just ask anyone who has had to ask a toddler to program their latest gadget; they’ll tell you. (My best friend’s daughter who is just two is already better than I am with Skype for example.)

While it has been my experience frame of mind, rather than age, is usually a much better indicator of willingness to work with – rather than against – the new challenges the world may give you, there is sadly no denying it can be a factor. So with that in mind, here is the list of the ages of Calgary City Council incumbents as of voting day 2010. Decide for yourself if their is an age pattern to the ones you agree with, and compare your philosophies with the ones about the same age as you.

Although, there are none under 40 so I can’t really compare myself on that basis. And I’m not sure how many of my blog readers will be able to either. (Perhaps that’s a naive assumption on my part however.) Either way, I still find it interesting to know the demographics of those who represent me and I thought you might too. So here they are:

Dave Bronconnier – 48

Dale Hodges – 69

Gord Lowe – 71

Jim Stevenson – 65

Bob Hawkesworth – 59

Ray Jones – 57

Joe Connelly – (Couldn’t find his age.)

Druh Farrell – 51

John Mar – 41

Joe Ceci – 53

Andre Chabot – 51

Brian Pincott – 49

Ric McIver – 51

Diane Colley-Urquhart – 61

Linda Fox-Mellway – (Couldn’t find her age.)

These ages are based off of numbers I pulled from the introductory articles of candidates in one of our two big newspapers during the 2007 election, so I can’t vouch that they are 100% accurate. Please forgive me if there is a mistake.

And yes, there is something to be said for having life experience too.

Tags: Andre Chabot, Bob Hawkesworth, Brian Pincott, Calgary, calgary city council, Dale Hodges, Dave Bronconnier, Diane Colley-Urquhart, Druh Farrell, Gord Lowe, Jim Stevenson, Joe Ceci, Joe Connelly, John Mar, Linda Fox-Mellway, Politics, Ray Jones, Ric McIver
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Have you ever gone to Lake Louise?

Lake Louise is home to the famous Chateau Lake Louise nestled on the banks of  the historic Lake Louise.  The Chateau Lake Louise is now a Fairmont Hotel but once was part of the CP Hotel chain which at one was part of Canada’s foundation.

What I truly admire about Lake Louise is the great gems of the Canadian landscape, it is purely beautiful and something everyone must experience.  Lake Louise is about a 2 hour or less drive from my home in Calgary and a great escape to burn off some stress…even if you have to fly here from out-of-town, it is worth the trip.

David and I are out here for a couple of days of sharing search engine optimization, social media consulting and online Internet marketing to a leading Lake Louise hotel.

If you are looking for some great Lake Louise accommodations, check out the fine folks at The Post Hotel.  This is truly one of the gems of Lake Louise, Alberta.  The ownership group truly takes pride in providing “A COMPLETE EXPERIENCE” to all their guests.

Tags: Business/Finance, Hospitality/Recreation, Internet Marketing, Lake Louise, online Internet marketing, search engine, search engine optimization, Social information processing, social media, social media consulting, Stuart's ramblings, Technology/Internet
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…To the wolves.

In our world of cheaper and further-reaching technology, consumers are being given greater and greater amounts of power. Our world has evolved to the point where the relationship is no longer advertiser – consumer; instead it is more like consumer – consumer. This is the notion of brand democratization, and it is here, folks. What surprises me most about this though, is that most companies are ignorant of this phenomena, or are choosing to ignore it. In either of these instances, the company is bound to fail totally and completely.

How do you think Toyota’s problems became so exasperated? Many auto companies and other companies in general have had similar blunders (Ford and Maple Leaf come to mind). However, what was the difference with these two and Toyota?

Ford’s problem was in the early ‘90s, before the advent of the Internet as we know it today. Maple Leaf’s problems, on the other hand, happened recently. They tackled their problems head-on in a relatively quick fashion by having a finely tuned public relations campaign, but also by monitoring the social media world and using these platforms to interact with their customers. Maple Leaf understood that, by allowing and fostering open and honest communication between brand and consumer, the consumer becomes part of the brand and subsequently, becomes brand ambassador. For many companies, this is a foreign notion – customers controlling their brand. However, this is exactly what is happening with Toyota.

Frustrated consumers, who have been brushed aside by their car manufacturer, are turning instead to blogs, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter to voice their concerns. It is with this that Toyota’s brand has ceased being theirs in the sense that it has become democratized; every person who is online and who interacts with others becomes brand ambassador. Can companies really afford to ignore this? Probably not, so take note.

By Philip Lewis, a student at St. Lawrence College in Kingston ON.

Tags: Customer Experience, social media, Strategy
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18 hours per week the average Canadian spend online.

I think I spend 18 hours or more each day online.  Since I work and own a vibrant Calgary Internet Marketing Consulting firm, well I should be online most of my day.  My word processor is online, my email sits in a data centre somewhere in the world and you want to catch up with what I am doing…tune into my online services.

My fellow Canadians are now tuning into YouTube and other online video sources to get their video entertainment, hurting the television advertising industry.  Canadians are shift their viewing to online media vs. cable television and of course fueling a heated debate about a so-called TV Tax we are facing here in Canada.  This unrest in the cable TV community and the traditional television networks such as Global, CBC or CTV are causing many Canadians to review the value of our modern-day television services.

What do you think?

Are you turning to online resources to watch video or even traditional television programs?

During CBC’s National, Peter Mansbridge reported about a family who has completely cancelled their cable service and switched completely to the Internet for their online television or video watching.  Bypassing the traditional advertisers and the parents actually claim they can even control the content being viewed in their home.

Social networking is consuming Canadians time, efforts and attention span.  We saw reports this week about Facebook, Twitter and other services are now part of people’s daily routine.  Social Media is woven into the fabric of almost every Canadians life, many checking Facebook first thing in the morning and just before they go to bed.

Why are we still trying to figure out if Social Media is something we need to get involved with?

Combine this with iPhones and other smart telephones and now…well the world is truly connected.

Tags: Blog software, Cable TV, Calgary Internet Marketing Consulting, canada, Compagnie Generale de Batiment et de Construction, CTV Inc, Facebook, Facebook Inc, Internet, Mass media, online media vs. cable television, Online social networking, online television, online video sources, Peter Mansbridge, Social information processing, social media, Social Media Ventures Inc, social networking, Technology/Internet, television advertising industry, television networks, television services, Twitter Inc, web 2.0, word processor, World Wide Web, YouTube Inc
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