Any marketing professional worth their weight in salt is both in awe and envious of the successful branding run of the Morton Salt Girl. The Girl is celebrating 100 years and never looked so young and hip! Kudos to all the internal and external marketing and advertising folk who kept her looking fresh and current throughout the years. She’s had some great stylists!
Who doesn’t love the Morton Salt Girl? I mean what’s not to love? Despite the fact that the Morton Salt Girl is wearing clothes de jour, if you’re an adult, she still takes you back to your days of youth when you enjoyed being out in the rain with your umbrella, splashing in puddles, and getting your shoes as wet as possible. And, if you are a child, there’s an immediate connection because of the clothes, and the fact that she, like you, knows the joys of “singing and dancing in the rain”.
The Girl still looks down-to-earth, and similar enough to the Girl we’ve seen throughout the decades in various styling stages, that she continues to support Morton’s brand promise to us that the Salt she promotes will bring all good things — like old-fashioned cooking, low-key suppers with family and friends, folks gathered around the kitchen and dining room table. Just general togetherness and slowing down for baking and cooking activities, i.e., more traditional activities, and the ability to step away from the fast-paced high-technology world for a minute. That’s a lot for one GIRL to convey, but she does it just wonderfully by her simplicity and her commitment to obliviously enjoying her day in the rain — with no desire or interest in being the sun or spotlight.
What memories does she conjure up for you?
Learn more about the Morton Salt Girl here: https://www.mortonsaltgirl100.com/.
Okay, maybe I’m stretching the Connector and Pretender rhyme a bit, but I’ve had so many reminders recently of the power of connecting individuals to each other that I wanted a punchy phrase and tune to kick off this discussion.
One of the best characteristics I inherited from my mom, Terry Snow — through observation and/or genes — is recognizing the value and importance of connecting people to each other, and taking the initiative to do so. My mom is one of the classiest, kindest people I know, and while being a mother of six children didn’t allow for a corporate life, she always introduced individuals from one social or community/volunteer organization circle to people in another circle. She didn’t care how different the people she introduced were. She wanted everyone to feel included, loved, and supported, and she saw great value in ensuring that people with diverse backgrounds got to know each other.
Probably because of the above, I’ve always been a connector on the romance front. Two of my closest friends can attest to my introducing them to their husbands. My love of playing matchmaker dates back to my early 20’s and I continue that practice to this day; however, as my career and professional life grew after college and graduate school, I’ve also enjoyed and saw the great importance of connecting individuals on the professional front.
I’ve shared many a headhunter/recruiter name with fellow job searchers, and am always passing contract and permanent job leads on to individuals who might be interested in them. I’ve passed many a friend’s or colleague’s resume on to another friend or colleague in a hiring mode/capacity, and friends have landed jobs or interviews that way. I also regularly share information about someone else’s services with others who might benefit from that service and/or who might be in a position to take advantage of that service. My belief is that there’s always plenty of work, and permanent and contract job opportunities to go around, so why not help facilitate some discussions in situations where both parties might benefit? My other belief — and I’ve experienced this many times over — is that when you help someone out, they are likely to return the favor, and what you put out there in the universe is returned to you.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me if I can make a “connection” on your behalf — I’m glad to do so. While I’m well-situated on the romance front — in fact, a lovely friend match-made me and my wonderful husband over 15 years ago — I hope you’ll consider “connecting” me on the professional front, as appropriate.
I’d love to hear your great stories about how the personal and professional connections you’ve made changed someone’s lives or how someone “connecting” you to the right person changed your life. During this holiday season, don’t forget the importance of connecting individuals who could really benefit from some new personal and/or professional connections.
While I’ve spent much of my career working in the non-profit world, most of friends, family, and colleagues don’t make the connection that I have. This is probably due to the fact that, while many healthcare organizations and health insurance plans are non-profit/not-for-profit organizations, their size and extensive advertising campaigns which I’ve overseen cause others to think of them as for-profit organizations.
In light of the above, despite volunteer work with non-profit organizations like “Home for Little Wanderers” and “Relay for Life”, many few me as a new kid on the block as far as developing and executing marketing and fundraising campaigns goes. Luckily, I’ve had the good fortune of working with organizations that the general public readily views as non-profits on both a paid and pro bono basis — organizations that provide social services and funding to vulnerable populations. And, what I’ve learned from this is that many of the marketing and communications tricks that work well for for-profit organizations also work well for non-profits — whether they are looking to create awareness of their organization or raise funds for their organizations.
A prime example is online advertising, specifically paid search and display advertising. I worked with a well-known Boston non-profit to create an ad campaign to support a holiday fundraising event, and am now managing it. Because individuals are equally interested, if not more interested, in researching both fun things to and charitable things to do, as they are researching business matters, the search and display ads are receiving a pleasing number of “click-thrus”, which my client and I hope and anticipate will lead to increased ticket sales from last year to this year.
I’m really hoping that more non-profits, particularly those that are indeed viewed as charitable/cause organizations, will be interested in speaking with me about the cost-effective and budget-maximizing activity that is online advertising. My last blog post spoke to “Missed Opportunity”. I believe for a non-profit to dismiss the possibility of employing online advertising to promote their organizations and/or raise funds is another “Missed Opportunity”.
It’s been a few weeks since I last blogged, but when you are a fairly new one-and-one-half woman company and have the opportunity to do new client work or meet with new clients, that has to be your number one priority. Regardless of how busy “Results Communications and Research” gets in coming months, I hope to always find some time each month to post something new here. I find both work and personal life provide new lessons every day if you just keep your mind open to what is being revealed to you. There’s always some new insight I want to share with colleagues, clients, friends, and family. A couple of weeks ago, I promised a reader who commented about the great education and training that volunteering can offer someone who is looking to grow their skill set and/or make a career transition, that she would like my next post. I had already planned at some point to provide support and make a plea for internships for more seasoned, senior (both age and experience) workers, and her comment just prompted me to make my case regarding this topic sooner rather than later.
While some of the antics and activities that go on in the 2013 movie “The Internship” are a bit outlandish and unrealistic, I actually found it both very funny and truly inspirational. For those who don’t know the storyline, two salesmen, very seasoned in developing and maintaining client relationships, who also have the ability to think outside the box because of the broad spectrum of work situations they’ve dealt with in their careers, obtain mid-career internships at Google. The salesmen, played by Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson, demonstrate to their colleagues who are less-seasoned and who have significantly fewer workforce/workplace battle wounds, that while they aren’t up-to-speed on the latest and greatest technology, they’ve learned a lot throughout their long and diverse careers that can be applied very effectively to workplace challenges and opportunities.
Most online or print notices announcing paid or non-paid internships seek college or graduate school students, or recent college or graduate school grads, and without a doubt, there are benefits to hiring less-seasoned individuals. But, the purpose of this post is not to provide negative or positive reinforcement of the aforementioned practice, but rather ask that, in addition to internships for less-seasoned individuals, employers consider implementing some “seasoned internships”. To me, “seasoned internships” are a no-brainer and create a win-win situation. Not only will an employer benefit from having a seasoned employee who is likely to bring, at a very minimum, the ability to form and lead teams as well as just participate as a strong team player related to any team project or event, the seasoned intern — so thrilled to have a rare internship opportunity in a desired field made available to him/her — will probably absorb more helpful information, have a bigger impact, and participate more fully than any employer would have ever anticipated.
So, if you are ever in a position of posting an internship or even a volunteer opportunity, give some extra thought to who you’ll make eligible for and who you really want to assume the position. Today’s “seasoned” workers are likely to want and need to work for many more years. Why not give both them and your organization the opportunity to benefit from an internship or volunteer position?
I’ll close with the fact that while “Results” is still in its infancy, I regularly mentor and share information about marketing and communications with those who are looking to grow in that area. While it may be some months before I can offer a “paid” internship, I’d be more than glad to consider in the immediate future non-paid intern candidates future with all levels of experience to grow along with me and “Results”.
P.S. Please continue to share your insights with me as well. I love hearing and learning from them!
