1. Justin Goldsborough – Justin Case You Were Wondering
2. Mike Schaffer – The Buzz by Mike Schaffer
3. Teresa Cantwell – Finding your Feet
4. Samantha Ogborn – KoolIWanna
5. Jackie Lampugnano – Gen Wise Perspective
6. Eric Berto – Geek Giant
7. Chuck Hemann – Analytics is King

And before you say it, yes there are seven folks here. But kiss my ass – I can’t count and get to peeping out these folks.

Sure it might seem simple and kind of corny, but the note mentioned that my friend Mike Schaffer had passed the campaign along to me. So off the bat it comes with a sense of credebility since they took the time to note who passed the along making for a great personal connection with the campaign.

For instance, that soda is “NEW…AND IMPROVED!”  (When you figure that one out, give me a shout.)

Winter is “Harsh,” so get a blanket with sleeves.

That quarterback is a “Golden Boy.”

Some labels are negative, some are positive, some are true, some are false, but all are rigid.

Labels exist because they are instantly relatable.  You just say a word and the masses understand what you mean.  And if they don’t understand, they FEEL something about that person, place or thing.  Savvy marketers know how to use labels in the art of persuasion, calling your innermost thoughts and emotions to get you to act (or not).

It’s not necessarily cruel or immoral, but just a fact of the industry.

I also have grown to find labels lazy.  How can a product or person stand-out and evolve if they are stuck with the same label they’ve always had?  They never had a chance.

Over the past year, I’ve shed a lot of labels about me.  From my marital status (the wife and I just celebrated our first anniversary!) to my employment (left the sports world behind after seven years) to my fantasy sports addiction (I retired, except for NCAA March Madness), a lot of the ways people identified me just 13 months ago no longer apply.

I don’t expect anyone to care about my life changes.  However, this has been one of the most exciting periods in my life.  And if changing the way I handle my own business can be so invigorating, I can only imagine how a company would feel if they altered their marketing tactics and freshened their brand.

So my challenge to you, marketing folks, is to rewrite your rules.  Take something you’ve always done because…well…you’ve always done it…and toss it out the window.  And in its place, do something you’ve always wanted to do, but your hands were tied because of that thing that you just got rid of.

I’m not advocating change for the sake of change, but rather change for the sake of growth.

What are you willing to change to improve yourself or your company?  Answer the question, then go do it.

Mike Schaffer is a Washington, DC, based social media strategist for Iostudio.  He likes sunrises and short walks on the beach.  No, really.

Here’s a brief excerpt from the site, click the links below for both sides and let us know what you think.

Unless you’ve been living in a cave, chances are that you’ve heard the sports news that has also made its way into the gossip rags and morning talk shows – Tiger Woods is returning to the PGA tour at the Masters.

While the return of the world’s top golfer will help the Tour’s ratings, it also marks an interesting event for the media. In his public apology spoken press release, Woods did not field any questions and has not answered any questions about his marital infidelity.  So while we’d like to say that the media will stick to the tournament at hand, drama sells and the opportunities for juicy questions and an irate golfer are some must-see TV in the making.

But hey, you don’t come to this blog to read about sports or infidelity so let’s get to the root of Tiger’s return to the PGA at Augusta National as a PR move – one that is safe, nostalgic and was strategically planned.  Much like a CEO, Woods is advised by some top notch PR folks who carefully chose when he would return to golf. Given the course’s history, importance and pageantry, the Masters is an intriguing choice for Tiger.  Our two in-house Sports PR experts don’t agree with each other on this topic:

What a great move

Dumb move, Mr. Woods

Keep it smiling and help out a good cause here.