The FFA Convention is off to a rocking start if you judge it by the theme song. The theme is Blue Jackets – Gold Standards.
I don’t know if they have always had a musical theme song but they do this year.
If you like a rocking tune then listen to it here: blue-jackets-gold-standards-theme.mp3 (3 min MP3)
I guess Brant did a good job as an intern at The Meyocks Group. After graduating and getting some experience he’s now back.
Brant Ausenhus has joined The Meyocks Group as an account manager. Before joining the agency, Ausenhus had been a marketing specialist with Marsh, Inc., also in West Des Moines. Previously, he worked for three years as an account executive with Bader Rutter & Associates, a business-to-business marketing services agency based in Brookfield, Wisconsin.
The World Congress on Communication for Development got kicked off today in Rome. I guess we’re not the only ones to come up with the idea of a virtual press room. This is something I’d like to help companies and ag groups develop by the way.
Having participated in an event like this at FAO headquarters in the past, I know there’s a lot of dignitaries gathered there who want to help alleviate hunger in their respective countries. Of course food is essential and good communications is necessary to efficiently produce food. Ask any American farmer how important information is to him/her. What I think will be interesting is to see how the communications platforms develop in these countries. They probably aren’t going to be stringing wires all over the place to plug telephones into. Radio is going to be a big part of it (already is) and so will internet strategies.
USDA gets involved and had a report on the Congress out today which you can listen to:
fao-world-congress-1.mp3(1 min MP3)
The march goes on to bring high speed internet access to rural America. We’re becoming a wired countryside folks. How are you gearing up to communicate?
Deputy Agriculture Secretary Chuck Conner announced today that broadband and telecommunications loans totaling almost $210 million are being awarded to communications firms in four states. The funds, provided through two USDA Rural Development programs, will allow for the extension of new and improved telecommunications services to more than 40,000 residential and business subscribers.
Well I was heading out. Then I got an email with this announcement about a Case IH tractor making its acting debut on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition this coming Sunday.
“Move that bus!” is a legendary catchphrase for viewers of ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Shouted by thousands of cheering onlookers at the end of each episode, those words cue the show’s producers to reveal a mind-boggling home built in just a few days for a deserving family. When Extreme Makeover: Home Edition airs on Oct. 29, the crowd may end up shouting, “Move that tractor!” That’s because the featured family will receive a new Case IH JX1100U tractor with a LX252 loader, courtesy of Case IH, along with their new home. Be sure to catch Case IH on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition Sunday, Oct. 29 at 8 p.m. (7 p.m. Central Time) on ABC.
My presentation here in Cedar Falls is over. We gave my Dell equipment a good workout and I hope I contributed some information that’s useful.
There were a few bloggers in the audience and even a couple of people involved in a podcasting project. Great questions were asked. As usual I found that the “comments” feature of blogging got a lot of questions. This is a challenging aspect of blogging for companies to deal with. How do you handle feedback and what if it’s negative? I think you just remember why you’re doing this to start with. Hopefully it’s to be more open and honest with your customers. I think we all learn from our critics. I know I have. I’ve also seen negative commenters turn into positive customers when they not only felt like their voice was heard but they got immediate company feedback (or saw positive comments from other customers) that addressed their concerns.
So long from here. It’s road time back to Holts Summit, MO (near Jefferson City).
Well we’re about to get started here at the MAC meeting in Cedar Falls.
It’s pouring rain outside but we’re inside and dry. I’ve been chatting with a few of the members who are very interested in learning how or why you would use new media tools for business purposes.
That’s what I’m going to try to cover over the next hour.
I’ll have more later.
Good day from Cedar Falls, Iowa. It’s a beautiful rainy morning, the kind that makes you just want to turn over and go back to sleep. But not the serious blogger.
I’ll be speaking at the Marketing, Advertising & Communication Professionals of Northeast Iowa luncheon which is being held at the Holiday Inn on University Ave. starting at 11:30am. Come on out if you’ve got nothing planned. Sorry for the short notice.
You can probably expect to see something from the meeting later on and during the presentation. That’s just how I like to do my presentations – live and online. As a little bit of a heads up I’ll be participating in a presentation on November 7 at the Farm Equipment Manufacturers Association convention in Minneapolis, MN. I believe we’re the general session that’s mid morning. That’s going to be fun.
Colle+McVoy has named Patty Henderson (formerly with Target Corporation) the director of their interactive department. Does “interactive” mean websites still? How many interactive department people are blogging? That’s just something I’ve wondered. I wonder if they like blogging. Just a thought. . .
At Target, Henderson led strategic planning of interactive and emerging media initiatives for electronics, entertainment, kids, toys, sporting goods, holiday and Target Financial Services. Previously, she has held interactive and marketing director positions with Juut Salonspas, Martin/Williams Advertising, Regis Corporation and Mara-Mi. “Capitalizing on the always-changing field of emerging technologies takes someone who displays smart thinking and passion, someone who has been in the trenches, like Patty Henderson,” says Christine Fruechte, Colle+McVoy’s president. “Patty will play a critical part in our clients’ success moving forward.”
The 79th FFA Convention got kicked off today. I was hoping to be there but it just didn’t work out. The FFA website has a lot of content you can check out though to keep up with all the action.
With all the hoopla surrounding the start of this mega convention a little controversy did surface related to the fact that Carrie Underwood is performing tonight. She’s made it clear that she’s a vegetarian and that’s apparently created some animosity among a number of people, including Trent Loos. I had several emails today on this topic and tried to get in touch with the folks at FFA about it. I got a call back but was in a meeting so I didn’t get to talk to anyone. However, it looks like Lindsay Vance at Buckeye Ag Radio Network did.
I just didn’t get to work on it this year but maybe next year I can set up an FFA AgWired blogger to help me out so we get the on-the-scene scoop from the perspective of one of the blue coat participants.
