Marketing and Advertising Craft Beer In San Diego Is About To Go Super Social

As an award-winning Creative Director, it's my job to see the right window of opportunity for my client and then build the damn window when opportunities are slim. Today, I'm proud to announce my agency's most ambitious Twitter Chat to-date: San Diego Beer Chat! 

#SDbeerchat is a weekly Twitter Chat for San Diegans to talk about what makes them happy: #CraftBeer (Thursdays at 5pm PST). 

After completing months of painstaking research, publishing several case studies on LinkedIn, dominating the field in productive content strategy, and seeking local advertisers for @TwitterAds, #BigBikeGroup is preparing to deploy what we're predicting to be the largest and most active professionally organized #TwitterChat anywhere on Twitter. 

Why San Diego? And why beer?

It's actually not a secret that San Diego has grown to be a dominate force in #CraftBeer globally. On April 7th, 2014, the Voice of San Diego published an article of this very interest in relationship to local economics titled "City of San Diego Weighing Subsidies for Craft Beer". 

Here's an excerpt: San Diego has decided craft beer is part of its economic identity. It’s even thinking of giving two breweries a subsidy to keep them from expanding elsewhere.

Also in a separate detailed study called,"The Economic Impact of Craft Breweries in San Diego", the National University System Institute for Policy Research (NUSIPR) evaluated labor data from San Diego’s craft brewery industry and measured its economic impact within the region and report the following:

One of the fastest growing business sectors in San Diego this decade has been craft brewing. Since 2011, the total number of craft breweries in the region has more than doubled. In addition, San Diego’s craft brewers contribute to the region’s tourism industry dollars by hosting year-round events, festivals and facility tours. 

• Craft breweries have a significant regional economic impact. In 2011, brewers and brew pubs generated a $299.5 million direct economic impact in San Diego County.

• The economic contribution of craft brewers is more than 1 1⁄2 times greater than the economic impact of Comic-Con International, San Diego’s largest annual convention. NUSIPR also found that the industry made $680.8 million in sales, and sustained or created 2,796 jobs that year.

• San Diego’s craft brewing community is growing rapidly. More than half of the brewery licenses in the region have been issued since 2011. Larger, more established brewers are also expanding and adding new locations. Given that expansion, when 2012 figures are released we expect to find an even larger economic impact.

• In addition, Brewery tourism is an important part of San Diego’s visitor industry. Unlike seasonal attractions, brewery tourism occurs year-round, and most of the major industry events in the region occur during non-peak visitor months. Readers should note that because of data and methodological limitations, the figures above do not include the impact of beer-related tourism.

The Opportunity:

My goals as a Creative Director for this uncanny project is to generate:

4-6K tweets per (1 hour) chat

2 Million (organic reach) timelines 

20 Million+ impressions (per chat)

I will be meeting with local advertisers to discussion unique advertising opportunities (@Twitterads) over the next two weeks. Contact me at BigBikeGroup at gmail for more info and scheduling.

An Open Letter to @USGBC: Do Not Steal #GreenBuild From #SanDiego In 2016 For The Political Ambitions Of Mayor Garcetti

RE: Don't Take GreenBuild 2016! San Diego is Truly the Future of Sustainability & Los Angeles Needs To Wait In Line.

Although you may think that San Diego is a city of passive aggressive beach bums, we will simply not overlook your attempt to stifle our long-awaited turn to host GreenBuild. GreenBuild, for those who are not fully aware, is the world's largest annual conference and exposition dedicated to the green building industry. David Gottfried, an original founder and founding President of the United States Green Building Council in San Diego, took a big risk to certify the Ridgehaven Building in our city (not LA), which is greatly overlooked as an original seed for this entire movement. Much like David, I moved to San Diego to found my green career—I believed that, if David could succeed in San Diego, I could too. For other young entrepreneurs advocating for sustainability, the influence of David’s project was profound, because it put history makers into motion beyond the confines of trendy Los Angeles. San Diego was destined to host GreenBuild and 2016 is finally our moment!

I saw a Facebook post on April 3^rd at 3:36pm stating that Matt Petersen, the outgoing President of Global Green USA and now staffer for the Mayor of Los Angeles, was proud to announce that: Mayor Garcetti Hosts President Clinton at City Hall; Announces GreenBuild Coming to LA In 2016. I nearly fell out of my chair. How could Matt and his colleagues eagerly deprive the San Diego green economy of such an honor? What about our efforts to advance sustainability into the mainstream consciousness of three million people? 

Many of us started at the bottom in San Diego and endured pressure from critics stating that green building was a fad, a trend, a fluke that would go away—our city is now behind us 100%! And, we have quietly waited for our turn to host GreenBuild. Austin in 2002. Pittsburg in 2003. Portland in 2004. Atlanta in 2005. Denver in 2006. Chicago in 2007. Boston in 2008. Phoenix in 2009. Chicago in 2010. Toronto in 2011. San Francisco in 2012. Philadelphia in 2013 and New Orleans in 2014. I am sorry Matt and Mayor Garcetti, but disregarding us and our legacy of hard work will not go unnoticed. Do the Super Bowl planners simply decide to change venues mid-stream and start fresh in another city? How about the Olympics or World Cup hosts? So, if you are attempting to overshadow our glory for your own, I am asking my city to stand behind me once again. 

You need to play nice in the sandbox and wait your turn. Press releases stating you want Los Angeles to be the greenest city in the United States are just that—press releases. How about trying to beat San Diego in having more installed residential solar than other cities? Or supporting the largest Earth Fair in the world and climate science that's replicated across the globe? More small organic farms than us or more clean technology companies, investments, and innovation?

San Diego residents have just as much right to host GreenBuild as their Los Angeles counterparts, and our green buildings are the same green plus certified in silver, gold, and platinum. Our LEED APs are equally as passionate and our green builders just as celebrated. The citizens of San Diego are just as healthy and environmentally conscious in adopting electric cars, local organic food, green products and materials, renewable energy, and adolescent education. 

What is so appalling and disturbing to me about this complete disregard for glorious San Diego is the equal disregard for our citizens and contributions. If this move occurs, the negative economic impact on our city will be disastrous and will undermine green initiatives and the adoption of green products, services, tourism, and cuisine. The loss of hotel taxes alone will be staggering and the impact on the local job market will result in loss of demand.

I sincerely challenge our new Mayor and old I-Mayor to stand up for San Diego and make a bold statement regardless of the controversy that may ensue.

The city of Los Angeles is not immune to political pressure—neither are the U.S. GreenBuilding Council or its President, Rick Fradrezzi. So, why am I so upset? I am not a LEED AP, however I started from the bottom in 2006, and today own a highly regarded yet small advertising agency with BIG plans for 2016. I am also not your average sustainability advocate. I am a minority presenting an industry that desperately needs more women and people of color to influence for the green movement and inspire "green for everybody,” including the poor and disadvantaged.

My weapons of choice to fight the good fight are better storytelling and better advertising. Let’s remove ads with a simple reference to “sustainability” or strategically placed photos of flowers and children. Instead, lead with a real, sophisticated content strategy based on support for big data and showcasing minorities and Spanish language translation. I push feverishly for mobile advertising, native advertising, social media marketing and digital first strategies every time I meet with a decision maker in any green Industry. I recently introduced a large nationwide brand into new territory with a first ever Twitter chat to engage with a legacy base of 17,000 Twitter followers. I publically advocate for green businesses and urge their executives to make social selling a major priority.

We are San Diego! We support the Qualcomm W building. We are home to the world's first LEED certified Marina, Sun Harbor, and tons of other major projects and residences. Yes, that trend will continue whether San Diego hosts GreenBuild or not, but our storytelling for Green Building has not advanced nationally. Older advertising campaign tactics have not evolved with the technology around us. My individually planned contribution to the 2016 show included a digital-first breakthrough within the green building industry—proving solid value and expertise leading up to 2016.

My ultimate goal is for every expo company to explore the opportunity to go digital and transform marketing and sales functions. They could energize the green community via large digital walls and constantly push the boundaries of off-site marketing and VIP events. I also plan to unleash technology to target hundreds of thousands of smartphone and tablet device users who engage with high volume apps and mobile websites. I would digitally connect budding brands with a hungry social media audience in ways that once seemed impossible.

The taste makers and risk takers in San Diego all have a stake in molding and shaping the future of our green city. We choose different platforms yet share the same goal. GreenBuild 2016 is my platform and true leaders will never back down or be quiet.

I'm not called the Fresh Prince of Cleantech for nothing! 

Being @SDADman - Inside The Life of an Advertising #CreativeDirector & The #AgencyLife Via @Instagram

I go by a lot of names in my business, but today I'm focusing on me the ad man. The mad man on Instagram known as @SDADMan. I'd prefer to be called @ElJefe, but of course that handle was taken by a wannabe alpha male who takes absolutely zero risks to contribute anything to better this world (Pardon my distain for machismo bullshitters who think their hustlers).

My advertising agency is a very small shop that I started on a shoe string and the logo is a hashtag: #BigBikeGroup. When hashtags do go out of style like the Rolodex, I'll be that old guy with a hashtag on my business card. But until then, I'm the 33 year old Blaxican "cool" kid that's passionate only about making Sustainability cool. 

I genuinely hate that Creative Directors aren't celebrity, iconoclast types in our popular culture, so hopefully I make the B list and make it the movie business, too! Therefore, today I want to be brave and say whatever I want about the agency life. And trust me, the agency life is very desirable!

First things first, I need a dirty martini. 

Second, I need to send a tweet (under a different handle that many social media ppl hate and ask me to change a lot)!

@frshprnzcleantc: "There's something wrong with me. I need to write to feel better about myself." #CreativeDirector @AgencyQuotes #thingsyouhearinagencies

Anyway, I'm bullish about what I want to achieve and I'm not afraid to walk into a client's office and pitch them what I believe is my best work to #movetheneedle! I would be lying if I said I'm not interested in winning awards, but since I won best paid advertising campaign of the year in America's 8th largest City (San Diego) by taking a risk on a chef who fired me twice and took me back and fired me again (and blocked me on Twitter plus unfriended me on Facebook), I think I'm a little entitled to blog about the agency life!

So what did I do?

I used that award to do something really crazy and apply for a Director of Digital Communications position for a company I wanted to win business and I thought that if I were hired, I'd be a Creative Director, ad man from the inside! 

Wrong... Didn't happen. But I went in there for an interview and told them what's up!

I hope that tells you something. I'm a mad man!

"Ambition is a drug that makes its addicts potential madmen." - Emile M. Cioran #MadMen #advertising #ambition #potential #CreativeDirector #pfsfeature #agencylife #hustle #swag #freshprinceofcleantech

I'm on my Fresh Prince tonight since my I'm not out on a date tonight as planned, so I'm gonna move onto some pet peeves in the world of advertising.

First, if you knew what you wanted, and could do it on your owe, then you wouldn't fucking need me! So don't pretend like everything is all gravy!

Second, it's not my job to tell you what you want to hear! It's my job to tell you what you need to hear! So don't pretend like you're comfortable with where you're at today!

Third, if you don't like social media and think it's a waste of time and money... Well, then goodbye! 

I'm the kind of Creative Director that doesn't just come up with ideas... I like to get my hands dirty... I put my money where my mouth is! And in the case of my award winning campaign, I was more that willing to go to jail and get slapped with misdemeanor graffitti charges for spray painting 35 hashtags around Downtown San Diego. In fact, I did it during broad daylight and on a baseball game day with a shit ton of cops driving around... But that's precisely why I did it! My fucking ungrateful client needed to feed his family and I needed a shit ton of new eyes to stop, take a pic on Instagram, tag #SDpopup, and take a second to learn about him and his Popup restaurant! 

 

Guess what else I did?

 I stole a sign from a nearby construction site and graffitied on that bitch and carried that shit 9 city blocks on my head to put out front of Analog (the venue), just to prove a point! I'm not just a Creative Director... I'm the muthafuckin Creative Director who went H.A.M.! Hard than A Muthfucka!

And I don't play!

Do I regret anything? Hell no! I go to bed every night knowing I was crazy enough to try to win for this guy. This brilliant, misunderstood chef that was "Exiled by the Malarkey Empire" only a few months before. He won and I won! Period!

So what turns me on now? 

Solar! Cleantech! The unsexy shit that's cold and dead! The shit that usually has a bunch of flowers in the ads! LOL

I personally want to lead the charge to kill off #GoSolar! 

Seriously! Go Solar?!???!!! That weak shit deserves disruption!

Is that the best we can do? I'm sorry, but that shit will never be Goodby's "Got Milk" nor will anything ever be! You can't drink Solar, so stop trying to tell people to go drink it and like it because it's the right thing to do!

Let's go for the Creative Gold for Solar! Let's shoot for the Moon, and miss and hit fucking Mars! I'm that guy who's willing to risk it in order to reach new customers like ever before and propel a company's product into iPhone status!

I don't want to wake up tomorrow thinking "what if..." I want to wake up and do the damn thing!

I want my kids to look up to me and say my Daddy helped stop Climate Change! 

And of course, I want to look pretty fly doing it. Cheers to the Agency Life!

Check out my crazy agency life on my Instagram acct today at @sdadman and follow me on Twitter at @frshprnzcleantc Also nominate me as your #KloutHero using my @frshprnzcleantc handle here: http://blog.klout.com/2014/02/do-you-know-klouthero/

Why Solar Needs To Win Marketing And Advertising Awards In 2014?

What do we want? Sales!

When do we want it? Yesterday!

Well, if you had met or exceeded your sales goals then you wouldn't need me. Am I right? I'm here to disrupt the industry with award winning work and provide new compelling reasons to lease Solar in 2014.

If 'moving the needle' is truly the objective then it's time to do something different according to where your Solar business is on the adoption curve. See below:

Based in the number of customers most companies currently have, my estimation is that all Solar Companies in the US are in between the early adopters column and barely into the early majority. After years of following the teachings of Geoffrey Moore, author, speaker, advisor, best known for Crossing the Chasm, I am absolutely clear that Solar needs to get more strategic in digital marketing and mobile advertising. 

Mr. Moore's teaching are simple: As you maneuver thru the adoption curve, the compelling reason to buy is not the same bewteen early adopters, the early majority, and the late majority. So what's my solution to do kick sales into overdrive?

Peanut Butter and Jelly:

Marketing solar in 2014 needs to achieve a clear cut "peanut better and jelly" moment where plug-in electric cars and solar are sandwiched together in an effort to create context of: saving lots of money everyday! Context is King in 2014 and branded content needs to drop the hard sales pitch. Once context is established, targeting electric vehicle owners to adopt solar will lead to setting sales records. 

Why electric car owners? With US plug-in electric vehicle sales up 84% in 2013, that means there's movement within the early majority (also known as "Pragmatists in pain") who've discovered their compelling reason to adopt. In fact, InsideEVs.com and the Detriot News have both report:

“In 2013, automakers sold nearly 49,000 plug-in hybrid vehicles — up 27 percent over 2012 — and 47,600 electric vehicles — up 241 percent, according to data complied by Ward’s Automotive.”

And guess what American City is the epicenter of plug-in electric vehicle adoption? Sunny San Diego

San Diego Now Has More EVs Per Capita Than Any Other US City: http://t.co/AV4ap44fOa

Why San Diego? Um, well... Maybe because we endure some of the highest gas prices (high cost of living) in the country, and the majority of drivers commute less than 50 miles per day. In fact, several plug-in owners acquire a second electric car within a year or two after there first purchase after realizing the money saved on a daily basis. San Diego Gas and Electirc estimates there are roughly 5000 plus plugin hybrid, electric vehicles currently on the road in America's Finest City and 2014 is the watershed for pragmatists in pain.

The definition of Pragmatism alone explains why marketing solar in 2014 must adapt: ^[1]Pragmatism is a rejection of the idea that the function of thought is to describe, represent, or mirror reality. Instead, pragmatists develop their philosophy around the idea that the function of thought is as an instrument or tool for prediction, action, and problem solving. Pragmatists contend that most philosophical topics—such as the nature of knowledge, language, concepts, meaning, belief, and science—are all best viewed in terms of their practical uses and successes rather than in terms of representative accuracy.

What's the silver bullet to target electric vehicle owners via advertising? Mobile and Native advertising... Duh!! Fact: the majority of all electric vehicles owners also own a variety of mobile devices and use apps on a dialy basis related to their vehicles especially charging. This also includes news apps. 

Now, I'm not going to give all of my secret sauce away, especially my advertising concepts, however pay attention this year to who's doing what and when because I'm determined to win  lots of these (below) for solar in 2014:

Follow myself and Geoffrey Moore on Twitter. My handle is @frshprnzcleantc. They don't call me the Fresh Prince of Cleantech for nothing!

Geoffrey Moore is a Venture partner at MDV. Chairman emeritus of The Chasm Group, Chasm Institute, TCG Advisors.

Don't Think. Be Yourself. There Can Only Be One Yeves Perez!

@frshprnzcleantc: "Some have good ideas. Others are good at execution. I can be great at both, so call me Jefe. El Jefe." - Yeves Perez, #FreshPrinceofCleantech #AgencyLife

Photographer: Philip R. Ødegård

Copyright: Yeves Perez

All Rights Reserved.

Shut Up and Hustle

"Hustle or go home"! - Yeves Perez

http://www.yevesperez.com #Nodaysoff

Yeves Perez Says

@frshprnzcleantc: "Solar needs a killer ad, something that blows Chipotle away." #MoveTheNeedle http://www.yevesperez.com #FreshPrinceOfCleantech #advertising

Protect

@frshprnzcleantc: "Protect what is yours." -Yeves Perez | http://www.yevesperez.com

Yeves Perez Has No Fear

@frshprnzcleantc: "Fear nothing and gain everything" - Yeves Perez |http://www.yevesperez.com

#sandiego #sustainability #advertising #freshprinceofcleantech

I Am An Agent of Disruption, Not A Con Artist. There's A Difference.

"Innovative." "Brilliant." "Fun." My work to advance the cause of local food culture here in San Diego has been acclaimed for over a month now, until a few people decided to soil my best work by branding me as a dangerous con artist and accuse me of scamming my clients in an callous act of revenge over a small debt. They took a risk to publicly call me a fraud online/ social media and said that my advertising campaign was a scam... all over a small debts that linger because of my inability to pay. I'm sorry but that's online bullying. Bullying me was a mistake that will cost them. What surprised me the most about this attack, was the involvement of Barbarella Fokos publishing this con artist defamation as reporting without contacting me or anyone else to investigate. Her tweets are littered with such reports.

So, who am I and what did I do to deserve being called a con artist? Well, I'm not just your ordinary entrepreneur who wants to start a shoe shop, or a cool food truck. To date, I may be the most polarizing and controversial public figure in all of Sustainability. I am called the "Fresh Prince of Cleantech" for a reason. I exude confidence. I see opportunities and tactics to change the game in an industry... I'm a visionary. I work double and triple OT and I take larger than normal risks to prove my ideas are right. My bravado attracts people and I speak swaghili when I ask them to join in on the fun.

Have I made mistakes in the past? Yes. Have I failed people and failed at making a business successful? Yes. Do I regret trying at the current cost of being called a con artist? No. Do I regret losing money that was lent to me for trying to make things happen? No. Well, why not? Am I a monster? Yes, I eat what I kill. Am I a heartless beast and don't want to hear about any pain I've caused? No, I have been wronged in my life and handled it the right way. Don't I care about what a handful of people say terrible things about me online? Depends. I think there's a difference between "a compliant" and "revenge." A wise friend said this to me: (Yeves) there's a lot of people out there that don't distinguish between a business that fails and a con artist.  there are a lot of reasons that businesses fail and it shouldn't be taken personally if there's a loss.  it's sentiments like that that give fodder to elitists to say "average people can't be investors because they don't understand the risks".

Each and everyone of these interactions about me started off great, almost always high on the possibilities, and excited to be apart of something BIG! They all wanted me to deliver BIGTIME, on time, no excuses. Did I give any excuses? Yes. Was I really the fool to be so desperate, and accept help from people who could go online and leave out what I risked? Yes. They all just completely leave out what I lost... my side... but all the books say "don't be too proud to beg." So, I sat down, explained my plans, and asked for help in starting my early companies. Was I perfect? Hell no! However, I've completed lots of good work, in good faith, and have executed 10x more than what I'm being accused of or complained about. Then after failing, I deciding to disrupt the local advertising scene and start a small agency. This time at 99% all-my-own-risk!

Did my past matter? Yes. Did clients get concerned when googling me? Sure. How did I explain myself? I made mistakes and I moved on to do the best work I can do! My virtues however are really a double edged sword and just this month, an article in Psychology Today titled "When Virtue Becomes Vice" opened my eyes to what sabotages my work relationships. 

Source: http://m.psychologytoday.com/articles/201308/when-virtue-becomes-vice

My skills as a visionary were perfect to be a Creative Director and my appetite for Risk was perfect to pitch ideas. As the article indicates I did let my fears and limitations go which makes me appear reckless, impulsive, or callous and I admit I did ignore other people's fears and limitations. Were all my pitches great? No. Did I struggle? I still am struggling. Do you have good intentions? Yes! In fact, I think every vengeful post about me on line should really include the fact, they deep down know I always had good intentions to do my job.

So, what did I do now? I was late on paying some debts. Why was I late? Because stuff happened and I don't have a LOC. Why don't we resolve this in court? Because San Diego has entered into a childish competitive mindset that's similar to famous Silicon Valley beefs and apply that online like Yelp. Plus revenge is sweeter especially when you want a public figure to pay you faster. I feel like Kanye West meets Sean Parker. And like them, I will not be bullied.

I strongly disapprove of Barbarella using her professional Twitter handle (which does not say my views and opinions or tweets are my own and do not represent the San Diego Reader or NBC) to defame me and use her clout to warn my clients of danger, which is untrue. She did not call me nor did she attempt to investigate. She posted unverified information in a calculated attempt to cause monetary damages. I will protect my clients and my intellectual property from slander and defamation and file a libel lawsuit. What's even more disappointing is her "I will believe anything these people say bad about him," attitude and completely ignore all the great things he's done for his community and for Sustainability. And no references to what I risked and lost. I am also disappointed by Jim Holman (Owner) and the San Diego Reader for not even realizing what Barbarella was posting as investigative reporting until I called him. It is obvious his operation lacks ethical oversight as all her tweets are published to the San Diego Readers website (so it must be all true)! I recently shared an email exchange between Barbarella and I to Jim Holman where she admits to acting (publishing) out of "anger" which is not in accordance with the Society of Professional Journalist's Code of Ethics. According to SPJ.org Journalists should:

— Test the accuracy of information from all sources and exercise care to avoid inadvertent error. Deliberate distortion is never permissible.

— Diligently seek out subjects of news stories to give them the opportunity to respond to allegations of wrongdoing.

— Identify sources whenever feasible. The public is entitled to as much information as possible on sources' reliability.

— Always question sources’ motives before promising anonymity. Clarify conditions attached to any promise made in exchange for information. Keep promises.

— Recognize that gathering and reporting information may cause harm or discomfort. Pursuit of the news is not a license for arrogance.

— Recognize that private people have a greater right to control information about themselves than do public officials and others who seek power, influence or attention. Only an overriding public need can justify intrusion into anyone’s privacy.

— Show good taste. Avoid pandering to lurid curiosity.

I will not regret proving her wrong about me and my good campaign. Bullying me is not a good idea. Moving forward, I'm ok with being the Dark Horse figure for telling my story, because disrupting is what I do. In fact, I've just earned my Ph.D.

Why Discount Codes Are Unsustainable And Need To Die Off Now

As a recent nominee for the "Best Public Advocate For Sustainability" award here in Southern California, I take what works and what doesn't work seriously! As the Creative Director for an Advertising Agency that enjoys all things Sustainable, I especially want to advocate for what works when it comes to putting in hard work for honest pay. However, I now find myself eager to advocate against the use "Discount Codes" by Conference or Seminar organizers and want to see them die off this year. 

The business practice is very straightforward: it's cheaper to sell tickets to my Conference if I find people or organizations with a mature network to sell them for me in-exchange for a fee and call them "Media, Marketing, or Community Partners". Let's call it "leveraging". And all I have to do is give them a custom discount code (let's say 10% off). The benefit to you is some extra income and looking good for helping out. For years organizers of Seminars, Symposiums, Workshops, and Conferences have been complacent and continue to operate under the false premise that Discount Codes are profitable. They are not. 

But they seem to work so well, what can go wrong? First, it discourages this business offering the codes to work hard like everyone else and adapt to changing times. Second, the practice discourages this business to be creative and pay for other forms of marketing and advertising. Third, the practice does not require the organizer to guarantee anything. The truth is they can canel the discount at anytime and are not required to give you advance notice, no matter the risk to you or your organization's reputation. It's all about them and their goals. And guess what! You are not special unless you are given the only discount code. 

Now some organizers feel as though they are impervious to change, especially when there are so many gullible young professionals. And frankly why should they change if there really are so many gullible young professionals to convince to work for you for free. I think it's time to give them reason a change and now.

So, if you're 22 to 40 years, I think we should stop being so guillible and dropping our pants and giving away our hard earned (newly acquired) networks. If someone emails, calls, FB, or Tweets you offering a discount code, say "Do you have anything better?" I for one am a 32, young professional in San Diego, California who spent a lot of time and money paying for my transportation and waredobe to attend the 48 networking events I attended just last year (not to mention cellphone minutes, emails, coffee and lunch meetings just to maintain that network). I must say no working for free and no to handing it over to someone who did'nt work for it. And I refuse to support anyone or anything with a Discount Code to market the sale of tickets. You can be the most Sustainable Conference in town, but if that's your angle then I know you don't care about true cost.

I'd rather support the following to earn a discount:

- Hosting an Instagram contest 

- Developing an app where I have to play a game and win 

- Clicking on or just seeing a damn good advertisement 

- Having an Influencer I respect tell me I should attend

But what do I know? I'm just an agent of disruption and make talk worthy ads. 

Add Shot - BigBike Group revs up San Diego's Mobile Scene

It's no secret to anyone who knows me that I love my Starbucks and especially adding a shot of espresso when I want to get something done right then. Using that metaphor, San Diego based businesses have much to accomplish in 2013 and require an "add shot" to their marketing and advertising plans. As Creative Director, I want to run all of the best campaigns in San Diego County. As a visionary, I see where the solutions are and because I have the gift of research, I can execute like nobody's business.

My Partner's Work

Let's face it. Mobile is where it's at. Not tomorrow. Right now! I purposely coined "Add Shot" to not only serve as my agency's term to pitch the Mobile trifecta, which takes aim at the Mobile website, the Mobile app, and Mobile advertising, but also a brief manifesto of what's to come and the effects on my Client's bottom line.  I'm an agent of disruption, so at the risk of appearing wonkish I promise to drop data to support my claims.

By the way, how does your site look on an iphone or android? Does in conform to appear clean, clear, and legible like this (pic left)? While every other agency spends all year pushing for responsive web design that automatically adjusts to the users adjusts to fit the users screen resolution (which is really for blogs), BigBike Groups runs against the gain on this debate. One of our top focuses in 2013 is to release the best mobile specific websites with separate content to dramatically improve load time and feature API keys to improve brand connectivity and sharing. Why does this debate matter? A 2011 Compuware article titled "What Users Want From Mobile" states if your site does not load with 3 seconds 60% of them will leave and never come back. Mobile is an art. Companies selling products, food, and services deserve better.

Windows Phone

As Creative Director, getting the right mobile website matters for me to focus on #goodvertising and for my mobile ads to matter and produce the results that show my clients the money! Seriously, creating rich media ads including video ad units, gifs, and interstitials are challenging enough and they commanded a greater click through rate of 1.1% in 2010. So wasting a better CTR and that potential customer's trust on a slow loading site makes no sense to me and serves as the first opportunity to save the client money.

It's also apparent that device makers are fully aware of the culture influence on society their toys have and so do the users. Yet, did you know 2/3 of our time on mobile phones are used for non-communicative activities with the average American spending 94 minutes per day utilizing mobile apps vs. web-based consumption? Mashable called 2012 The Year of Mobile Advertising and the Atlantic covered the national acceleration of mobile advertising accurately.

BigBike Group Mobile Ad Campaign

As for popular apps go in San Diego, there is a rush for publishers to develop and launch to appease their subscribers and not lose ground on readership, however San Diego is so diverse. From the craft beer scene having an app to the local tourism app to the County Parks app, and everything in between, there's a niche for advertisers to fill and not worry of competing with 5 other ads of the same page. It just takes a good eye and a skilled firm to lead the way. Thus developing an app should also be no light conversation either. I believe a brand selling a product or aiming to increase employees engagement or creating a loyalty program or wanting to increase demand with a game, they  should have a Mobile app.

Also, did you know San Diego was dubbed the "Wireless Capital of the World" over Silicon Valley by Forbes Magazine just last year? It's true. Forbes tech contributor Mark Fidelman's June 27th piece pointed out the concentration of wireless employees in San Diego is 484 per 100,000 residents, compared to Silicon Valley's 375 per 100,000. Plus Novatel CEO Pete Leparulo's quote lends our mobile industry some credibility when he said, "San Diego for wireless technology is an amazing place. It's what I image Detroit was like during the heyday of inventiveness." Not bad, but what about San Diego's mobile market?

Well, besides the thousands of high wage employees of telecom companies that either carry a smartphone and or tablet device (just ask any Qualcomm employee), San Diego County has 3.1 million residents, 4000 square miles—and an ultra conservative estimate of 500,000 mobile devices in adult households according to Scarborough Research's *outdated stats from 2007, or closer to 1.5 million compared to National estimates of 52% released at CES. Yes, the range is wide, however the evidence is self evident.

I also believe its "The Year of The eWallet" for San Diego and advertising to the ewallet user will pay off in huge divided ends. I think there's clout here since Scarborough ranked San Diego as one of the top tech savvy cities in the country and the swipe of the mobile to pay for food, drinks, products, and more just completes the rave review.

Now, I'm not going to discuss my firm's strategies of how I present all of this and pitch, so that some young ad executive at a competing firm looking to prove something can turn around and copy me, but I will say to those who could be potential clients reading this... let's meet for coffee soon.    

Email me at yevesperez [at] gmail [dot] com or tweet me @frshprnzcleantc.

Still Getting Inspired by Nature to Sell Sustainability

On July 7th, 2011 I wrote the following for a Green Business website:


The Year of the Sustainable Sale: Getting Inspired by Nature to Sell Sustainability

Part One by @frshprnzcleantc
San Diego, CA, USA

Green businesses have a great deal to offer, but don’t always do a great job at selling it.  I’ve seen this over and over again, and wondered how we can do a better job at selling sustainability. So I’m developing sustainability sales training to teach others and I want to lead a national conversation so we can all benefit from shorter sale cycles.

About three months ago, I attended the Biomimicry Conference at the San Diego Zoo, which launched me onto a path to develop a better approach to selling Sustainability. At the conference the organizers pushed us to look at nature to solve our own challenges. My mission: Improve my sales techniques. The Result: I developed a craving for honey.

Sounds strange?  Perhaps.  But stick with me.

Biomimicry studies biological systems, processes, and elements to solve human business challenges.  Over the eons nature has evolved elegant solutions to many of the challenges businesses face today.  Example: The leaves of the lotus plant inspire dirt repellent paint, and termite mounds inspire energy efficient cooling of buildings.  The San Diego Zoo has partnered with the City of San Diego and local universities to become the world’s first biomimicry hub, encouraging more of us in the business world to turn to nature for inspiration.

My big break came months later when a green business owner friend said, "you're like a badger!"  No wonder I don't get invited to Christmas parties! It turns out the honey badger (Mellivora capensis) is more than just fierce and tenacious.  They are also collaborators, and are an inspiration for a better way of selling.

In looking for a rich meal of honey, the honey badger works together with a bird, the "greater honeyguide".  The greater honeyguide simply leads the badger to a beehive, and the badger breaks open the hive and eats the honey, allowing the honeyguide to eat as well. This is not a referral system... This is a “we both eat” system.

This type of relationship in nature is called mutualism, in which both animals benefit by working together.  There are many examples of mutualism in nature, but the inspiration of the honey badger provides green business owners a new direction as well.  

By working together with other businesses in a sale we can both eat the honey.  While many in the business world still follow the model of competition, a kill or be killed mentality, I say it’s not the only way to go if you choose to be financially sustainable.  Mutualism allows for my business to create opportunities for you, and for your business to naturally create sales opportunities for me.  By following the model of mutualism and looking for it in our sales environment, we can develop these opportunities, make the most of them, and save our energy for the hard part --- the close.


Check out more of my thoughts and quotes here: https://sites.google.com/site/therealyevesperez/Musings/yeves-perez-quotes


Learn more about me here: http://about.me/yevesperez