The 2010 animations will be co-directed by Elias Dancey and Kevin Harrison with Elias serving as lead animator and designer. They will feature the Flying Squirrels mascot, Nutzy and credit Eastwood Media.

The ultimate goal is to provide family entertainment and extend the connection between the Flying Squirrels and local Richmond, VA community.

Whether your company is just starting out in Social Media or you’ve been a fan since day 1, the velocity of information can be overwhelming.  Just trying to list all the social sites is enough to make your head spin.  Consider sites like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube (is YouTube really considered Social Media anyway?).  If you are feeling overwhelmed when it comes to social media, relax.  This is a marathon, not a sprint.  Before you get caught up in the race, you must understand the 4 pillars of Social Media Truths:

Truth #1 – Be realistic about the results of social media.

Simply dumping stuff onto a popular Social Networking Site will not automatically make you popular.

Truth #2 – Understand the unexpected consequences.

By blindly turning over your valuable content to other sites, who ends up owning the keys to your kingdom?  From this perspective, social media sites begin acting as leeches on the very source materials you create.

Truth #3 – Backlash can be real, very real.

Failing to identify the risks of jumping into the Social Media stream without a plan can be painful (both financially or in terms of your reputation).

Truth #4 – Get your marketing house in order.

Before you leap into social media, be certain your core communications are professionally represented:

1. Website Review – Review your website for relevancy and effectiveness.  Perhaps your design needs to be brought up-to-date?  Or have you seen how your website looks on a mobile phone?  Do you know the top search terms that bring visitors to your site?  Don’t depend on your own understanding of these things, get help from professionals.
2. Email Newsletter – Start signing people up for newsletters.  In our current digital lives, email still remains the ultimate way to maintain relationships.  Unlike communications in the social stream which become invisible over time, an email remains until deliberate action is taken.
3. Offline Branding – Stick your URL onto any physical product or printed material.  Being accessible in the “real world” when customers need your services or supplies makes your relationship tangible.
4. Loyalty Enhancements – Encourage repeat business at every opportunity.  After all, it is far easier to keep a customer than find a new one.  Don’t be afraid to be creative and find new ways to communicate your value to your customers.

Once you have your core communication strategy in place, then you can start the process of engaging your customers through social media.

If you’ve found this information liberating, contact us to see what a difference Eastwood Media can make for you as a client.

With the advent of the reality series, television has made celebrities and successes out of some pretty ordinary people. But Tatiana Londono, owner of the Londono Realty Group, was on a meteoric trajectory, way before HGTV’s “The Property Shop” introduced her trademark curls and feisty personality to viewers. Learn how a robust work ethic and an innate talent for selling things turned this call center representative into a hotshot realtor and TV hostess.

Hello Tatiana and welcome to The Deal Reveal. Can you share a bit of your background with us – how did you get started in business?

It actually started when I was young.  My mom and dad didn’t have a lot of available income to give my brother and me, so we would come up with ways to make money. I know this sounds cliché but we set up lemonade and ice cream stands. We marketed it as “homemade,” even though my mom was buying the lemonade and ice cream at Food City. I couldn’t have been more than eight and my brother five, but we understood the whole idea of marketing. We made my mom come through the back door, because we knew that if someone saw her coming through the front door, they would know that it wasn’t really homemade.

After working at a flea market, as a lifeguard and at an amusement park, I joined the army at 19. I was a member of the Canadian Forces for about a year. My brother then suggested I get into the call center business. My brother and father were the catalysts to a lot of the big decisions I’ve made. On the first day, I made 10 sales, selling a medical directory. That’s where I learned to “shoot”—I perfected a sales pitch. I became a manager in six months and was making six figures at 21. That was a pivotal moment.

I then opened my own call center. But when the FTC became very strict in the states, keeping up the due diligence was too expensive. So we closed down the call center.

Where did your career take a hard turn into real estate?

After closing the call center, my husband and I were unemployed and my children were both babies at the time. My father, who was a realtor, asked me what I was going to do with my life. I was panicked. He said, “The way you sell and the way you manage these businesses, you could be a fantastic realtor.” In 2004, I did my real estate course and started working with him at RE/MAX.

Not even three months into it, my father was screaming at me, “I’m not your secretary! Maybe we shouldn’t work together.” That was what I was waiting for. I left RE/MAX and went to work for another broker, called Sutton. I was the Number 1 salesperson there, just three years into my career. But at that point, I’m bored. I know how to sell houses; I’m making a good living … what’s next? My new goal is I’m going to become a chartered real estate agent and open my own company.

How did “The Property Shop” come about?

Producers Debbie Travis and Hans Rosenstein got the biggest order in the history of HGTV to fulfill I don’t know how many episodes of “Buy Me.” They picked me for two episodes. I thought I was special and these people called me because I was talented and I had the look, but little did I know that they were calling every Tom, Dick and Harry on the map because no one, except the seller, wasn’t getting paid for it. The realtor had to do it for free.

I took to the show like a fish to water. I didn’t care that the cameras were there. I didn’t bite my tongue. If the seller didn’t like me, I told them to “leave me alone” and “shove it” and the producers liked that about me. They asked me to do another episode.

The producer of “Property Virgins” saw that episode and I was given the opportunity to host their show. But because “Property Virgins” was being filmed in Toronto (I live in Montreal) and they wanted me four days a week, I decided not to take it. But I went to the “Buy Me” people and told them that I was the new hostess of “Property Virgins.” It wasn’t true but I told them that. Debbie Travis and Hans Rosenstein said, “Wait, we discovered you!” I asked them what they had to offer. Hans said, “If you stay, Tatiana, you will be the star of our next show.”

Two months later, they came to me and said they had an idea for a new show and wanted me to be the star. Their idea was to follow condo projects. I said, “That is boring. How long of a life span could a show like this have?” Instead, I suggested that they follow me as I opened my own agency. We did the demo and the people at HGTV loved it.

Has it been smooth sailing ever since?

After the first season, HGTV-Canada did not renew for a second season. It wasn’t because of the ratings. It was because they didn’t have the money. I went to visit every single HGTV executive in Canada. I wanted them to see that I still wanted this. I’ve never been one to hold my horses. I even went to Freddy James, the SVP of program development at HGTV, and I got big, big crap for that. But I still stand by what I did.

God bless America, HGTV-USA ended up buying the show. They’ve now signed up for Season 3.

Do you think the show has been the entire catalyst for your success as a realtor?

The show didn’t air for a year (after we filmed the first season), but agents suddenly started calling me, wanting to join my agency. They would see all my listings on MLS with Londono Realty Group – I’ve always been a good salesman and had a lot of listings – and say, “This girl has a huge part of the market; let me join her team.” So one after another, they started joining me and soon I’m at 15 agents.

My show hasn’t aired in Canada for a year now, but my company, Londono Realty Group, is now at 60 agents, 80 by the end of the January. So I own this success. I own what I have achieved here. In January, HGTV-Canada will air the Canadian content from Season 2. Can you imagine the kind of year I’ll have in 2010?! I can’t wait!

How is the Londono Realty Group different?

I carved out a niche for myself. I want to be the Walmart of real estate. I want to cater to everyone, to the “people” – $200,000 up to a million dollar homes. Guess what? There are few of those people who have their money in the stock market (to really feel the down turn of the economy). What they have left is their real estate.

Has the economy affected your business strategy? Have you made any changes to your marketing?

During this economy, I was lucky and the business kept coming in. So you reduce commissions a bit and you work harder. For me, it’s about work ethic.

And while everyone was crying about the economy, I was promoting. I got myself a radio show. I was the positive spokesperson and gave people little tips about how to save their money, how to get out of trouble, how the credit card companies work, etc.

Did the business model succeed as originally envisioned, or what changes had to occur?

You have to change what isn’t working. For example, I was hiring agents but I wasn’t giving them yearly contracts. Because my training was so special, they were coming to work for me, being trained by the best, and then leaving to go to places that were more convenient. The business model was too much work and the high turnover could’ve been a recipe for disaster. I implemented a one-year contract with a penalty. If the agent leaves before a year, they have to pay a three-month penalty to at least cover my training.

Time for the Deal Reveal – Was it a decision, event, action or luck that took your business from startup to success?  Tell us why this was significant.

I believe we make our own luck. But there’s something about being in the right place at the right time. There’s something about me opening the agency and having the opportunity to have my own TV show. I only did two episodes out of about 150 (of “Buy Me”). Why did that lady watch that one episode and think to herself that I would be a great hostess of her show? Does luck come into play?

I have to say I’ve always been a pretty lucky person but I also believe in seizing the moment. People don’t do that. We get opportunities all day. It’s about choosing the right ones and going forth with what comes out of the opportunity.

To answer your question, in short, I believe it was all four: decision, event, action and luck.

Are there any resources you would suggest to entrepreneurs who may be struggling with finding success? Anything that helped you in particular? Books, videos, websites, etc.?

The Secret (by Rhonda Byrne) is an amazing book. It’s about getting rid of negativity in your life, not wallowing in your sorrows. The word “failure” doesn’t exist for me. It’s not even an option. I believe that is the kind of mentality that struggling entrepreneurs have to have. You have to keep going.

Outliers (by Malcolm Gladwell) is also a fantastic book.

Would you like to do a follow-up interview with us so we can hear about your progress?

Absolutely, this was easy and fun! It was my pleasure.

There are a number of disturbing things about this and for all the details you should really give the podcast a listen. But from a marketing perspective, I was amazed with the effort dr. Brinkley put into finding his patients (or should I call them prey). He ultimately set up a radio station in Mexico and blasted 1 million watts of marketing goodness across the US. His voice would come on the air saying, “you know you’re sick, you know you’re sick.” And the message brought people in droves.

Do you see a similar scenario happening in business today? Marketing “experts” blast their message over twitter, facebook, etc. tugging at business owners…..you know your business needs help, you know it does.

John Brinkley had doctor credentials. Many patients gave testimonials of success (though in reality it was only a placebo effect). And the radio messages always promised hope.

The story ends with dr. Brinkley going broke, getting a leg amputated and dying after his forth heart attack. Many of his patients died and those that didn’t had to live with implanted goat testicles.

Not all doctors are quacks just like not all marketing agencies are bad. But there is a difference and it might not always be easy to tell. Want to know how your business can choose the right marketing agency? Leave a comment below and I’ll share my answer with you.

Jeff needed an online sales solution that matched standout design and ease-of-use with a tightly integrated eCommerce platform. Eastwood Media delivered a knock-out with a custom WordPress eCommerce website.

For their new line of nutritional supplements and snacks, Eastwood was commissioned to design packaging to appeal to a wide range of American and Canadian consumers. The results reflect the unique propositions of Creating Wellness products: pure, natural, fresh and high quality.

In this post of The Deal Reveal:

Learn how internet tycoon Brandon Wade made millions playing online matchmaker to the rich and beautiful.

Regardless of your opinion of online dating or your definition of “consenting adults,” SeekingArrangement.com is bound to raise some eyebrows. You can’t help but be a little curious about a site that describes itself as “Mutually Beneficial Relationships™, The Premier Dating Website for Sugar Daddies, Mommies and Babies” (admit it…you want to at least take a peek).

And that’s exactly what CEO Brandon Wade was banking on when he launched the niche dating site. SeekingArrangement.com, which connects rich men with generosity-seeking ladies, now reports its membership at a staggering 350,000. Sugar Daddies spend from $44.95/mo. to well over a $1,000/yr. depending on the package they buy while Sugar Babies have a free ride (on the site and otherwise). Not bad for a niche market!

Entrepreneur meets Opportunity:

Wade went from a string of mainstream jobs, including executive positions with Microsoft and GE to running a cash-intensive tour business with a friend. It was the touring business that was sapping most of his time, energy and money when he started looking at putting his tech experience into building SeekingArrangement.com.

The idea for this edgy site started simmering when Wade was just a geek trying to get a date at M.I.T. and reached a full, rolling boil by the time he was a successful exec … but still experiencing the same challenges in his love life. He explains that traditional dating sites didn’t work for guys like him, because he just didn’t stand out among the throngs of men vying for that small handful of choice women. He wanted a dating site that changed the dynamics and gave guys like him (money talks) the pick of the litter.

The Challenge:

So how do you create a dating site where there are always plenty of lovelies for big spenders to choose from? “I look for controversy,” says this 30-something entrepreneur, “It’s really difficult to compete in the world where there are so many established players, specifically in dating.” He realized that targeting an unusual niche not only gets people talking and the media buzzing (he’s had media attention from ABC’s 20/20 to the NY Times), but it also drives business.

But controversy and a higher premium for the guys weren’t the only ingredients to making the site a success. He had to have the ladies involved from day one. Actually, before day one. “People would’ve come to the website, seen that it wasn’t very widely used and they would have left,” Wade explains. Launching before there were plenty of faces to shop would’ve been suicide for the business. He chose to delay his launch until the site had 2,000 members.

These several strategic moves, along with the fact that Wade invested little more than his own sweat equity in the beginning, garnered a profit for the site within its first month.

The Deal Reveal:

What was that one Decision, Event, Action or Luck that brought SeekingArrangement.com its initial success?

Wade says that it was his decision to place Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising on Google and other search sites. Using keyword phrases like “seeking arrangement,” and even “student loan” and “help with rent,” which he researched from actual arrangement seekers on Craigslist, helped him find his Sugars and go from zero to 2,000 members almost instantaneously. Wade maintains that if he had invested more heavily in this advertising in the beginning, his success probably would’ve been even more meteoric.

Rule for Your Success:

It’s not who you know, it’s who knows about you. Targeted, well-researched advertising not only pays, but pays big.

What’s Next for Wade:

The entrepreneur is currently planning a dating site targeted to a more mainstream audience. Look for its launch by year’s end. We’re betting it will make Match.com® and eHarmony® look like a church mixer.

Get Connected:

Become an Eastwood fan on Facebook to get The Deal Reveal updates.

Suggestions:

Know a CEO or entrepreneur with a great success story? Leave a comment below.

Wonder no more. The powers that be here in Eastwood are excited to announce our new interview series: Deal Reveal. We’ll go one-on-one with CEO’s and entrepreneurs who have made it big and tell you how they really did it!

Our first interview is with Brandon Wade, an internet icon whose websites have brought him as much controversy as they have success.

You won’t want to miss a single installment of the Deal Reveal series. Become an Eastwood fan on Facebook or contact us to be added to our email list.

It’s no secret that we are big fans of WordPress (and so are our clients).  In the spirit of open-sourceness, we are glad to offer back to the community a WordPress Maintenance Checklist.  Perfect for designers, developers and agency professionals.  Enjoy.