Its the last big push before the On the House application period comes to a close. We've all heard about the economic hit that non-profits have taken in the last several months. I'm sure you know of a worthy 501(c)3 in the Atlanta area that not only needs a boost right now, but also needs some assistance with their brand strategy and brand presence.

Here's your chance…send ‘em to www.matchstic.com/onthehouse to apply before EOD this upcoming Mon, March 23. You'll be giving them the opportunity for a chance to make an even larger impact.

Its the next best thing to giving them actual cash (meaning that doesn't excuse you from still supporting them financially…come on).

Do it. Right Now.

www.matchstic.com/onthehouse

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Keanu Reeves is arguably the best stone-faced actor of our time. We all know him. We can all imitate him. And we can all recognize in an instant when he's being imitated by the person next to us.

By now you're wondering, "But what can Mr. Reeves teach us about branding?" While his inert demeanor and avoidance of emotions doesn't help his acting credibility, it does make Keanu Reeves perhaps the most well-branded person in Hollywood. Fancy acting wins Oscars for Russell Crowe. Staying true to himself makes Keanu Reeves a good brand.

One of the most important ingredients for a solid brand is consistency (after having a good product, of course). This does not necessarily mean being repetitive with colors, typography, imagery, etc. (Mr. Reeves puts on a variety of hats — but we still know it's him). It means staying consistent with your brand's personality, or message.

There's a reason the strongest brands out there (Apple, Honda, Target) remain the envy of their competition. They never stray from the essence of what they're about, but still allow for aestheic breathing room and the ability to evolve as times change. By that same token, as many of his peers have become forgotten in the black hole of the fickle entertainment industry, Keanu Reeves has proven himself to truly be the one.

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I think we all love it when a brand comes up with a interesting new way of marketing their product. This year the trend seems to have been placing advertisements in video games. Burger King has had a fair share of odd promotions that never fail to please.

I'm interested in Puma City, an 11,000 sq/ft store and event space. It's constructed out of 24 old shipping containers which are hauled on a standard cargo ship and form the first fully shippable store, which presents an interesting idea concerning our growing global market.

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The Bite Back campaign has been one of my favorite identities to develop. Its a great campaign with a remarkable mission; to help eradicate Malaria in Africa. We featured the Case Study before, but we haven't discussed the most recent component, the bracelets we designed.

As Compassion International teamed up with Youth Specialties to produce school rallies with students, they wanted something to fuel a movement with students. Something trendy, like the Live Strong or WWJD bracelets, as a leave behind after their purchase of a life saving mosquito net. We knew the bracelet market was saturated, but we wanted to give students something tangible and unique to the cause that would remind them of their $10 donation.

Above is what we developed. Its a bracelet made from the actual Mosquito net material that fastened with two African style beads. I'm really excited about the end result and haven't taken mine off since last Monday. It's a conversation starter. People ask me everyday what it is, and what it means. The Bite Back campaign is staying true to themselves and bringing what makes them standout to the forefront, and in doing so is saving lives one net at a time.

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Day two of WOMM-U for me was all about a better understanding of social media: how to use it and how to leverage it.

Topics included:

• Social Media: Beginners

• Social Media: Advanced

• Developing a blog strategy

• Social Networks: Buy, Build, or Rent?

I was challenged not to just have participate in my own social media (facebook, blogging, linkedin, etc), but really to join the conversation that others are having. It's one thing to do my own thing, it's another to join what others are doing. It's not a matter of choosing one or the other, but doing both.

I also keep hearing so much about Twitter. I now have a profile there and have been experimenting for the past few days. If you are a twitter person, check me out here, and let me know who you are so I can follow you as well.

The above photo is of me competing at guitar hero at the Burson-Marsteller booth. I lost. To a girl. That's right: I lost at Guitar Hero to a girl. Kara from Diamond PR, if your goal was to embarrass me, you succeeded.

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Enjoying the WOMMA conference as always. Yesterday was great.

Most of all I enjoyed hearing keynote speaker Joseph Jaffe, author of Join the Conversation, in the morning.

Here were his top 5 things to make sure you're doing:

1. LISTEN to your customer.

2. RESPOND quickly & decisively.

3. JOIN the conversation (but you must be invited to join, you can't just show up and expect to be respected).

4. CATALYZE. Find the influencers and help them.

5. START conversations.

They gave everyone a copy of his book, and I really look forward to reading it.

Stay tuned…should be a great day today.

Craig

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I'm in Miami this morning for the Word of Mouth Marketing Conference. I always really enjoy learning a lot at these conferences. I'll be posting some of my learnings here over the next few days.

If you are curious to look in on the conversation, this year they are doing a live feed on their website. Click here to check it out.

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Three months ago, a potential client came to us and needed a full website up in one month. Though we really wanted the business, we had to be realistic and turn down the work because we were unable to hit the deadline. They chose another firm, and it still ended up taking three months. Dustin, our project manager, emailed me his thoughts this morning on the situation and I loved them so much, I had to post a blog about it.

Here are Dustin's words, "The other company probably told them they could do it, failed to do it on time, and the client kept pushing. In the end though, we may not have gotten to do the website, but we did position ourselves as experts and truth-tellers. A bad experience with the other firm pitted against our realistic expectations set and a reputation kept intact is worth more than any dollars we could have made by over-promising and under-delivering."

Dustin, you proved once again why we are so excited to have you on the Matchstic team.

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Another great day in Vegas. Our friends and clients, Sixthman, presented the key note this morning on how they've built an amazing event eight years running with The Rock Boat. It sells out a year in advance purely on the basis of a great experience and Word of Mouth (WOM). We are very proud to be a part of the success.

I have to say though that my favorite was Andy Sernovitz talking about how to get people talking about even the most BORING of products. The best example was this blender company which has many people talking (including myself now). They've done it with this YouTube video that has over 2.5 million views.

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