what doing : carly white

The Process of Creating a Print Ad, according to Carly White

Fri, 20 Aug 2010 13:44:00 -0700

Let me share my experience with you. Let’s go through the steps involved to manage the creation and placement of a print ad for a multifamily property. (We’ll assume you don’t choose to have the publisher create the ad because that would be poor strategery).

Design. Work with your designer who is most likely not in house and in another state. Go back and forth tweaking images, copy, logo size etc. Overload your inbox with massive files. Fingers crossed you don’t exceed the 4 hours of allotted design time.
Approval. Take “final” design to The Head Cheese. Hopefully get approval. The Head Cheese questions the price tag. You’re already invested in the process. You hope it works. You say things like “I really think this will work”. You think. Possibly re-vamp with designer.
Placement. Contact your ad rep for the rental guide. Hope you make the deadline. Fret over whether you should upgrade to the inside cover or right read or all the things we’ve been told works. They share with you they “just had something amazing come available!”. This will cost you more. Caution: You might find yourself upgrading your internet at this point for reasons no one can seem to explain to you.
Tracking. It’s hot off the presses! Or is it? Where is it? Check multiple locations, hope you find it. You find it! Email the property, “Your print ad is live!” They can’t find it. Check back with the property. Did they get leads? Leases? They are not sure. Check the stats. Where is your username? You got a couple leads. It’s not clear if there were leases. Let’s assume there were 2 leases. Cost per lease = around $1,000.

Caregiver of the Year

Fri, 06 Aug 2010 23:12:00 -0700

During my years in student affairs I always joked with Emily Boling that we could write a book titled “Well What Happened Was…” The book would be the numerous accounts of students who had made a series of bad decisions. Occasionally it was a tale that had the best of intentions but ended up being the worst scenario. This happens to the best of us sometimes. And it’s exactly what happened…

Yesterday, after five days of Grandpa being overly hyper and agitated, I waived a white flag. And by ‘white flag’ I mean Grandma called his doctor who called in a prescription for xanax. The goal: reduce his hyperactivity, reduce his agitation and re-gain our sanity. Spoiler alert! None of these things occurred.

Grandpa endured TWO WARS and RECEIVED TWO PURPLE HEARTS. During one heroic act he jumped on a tank (with a gunshot wound to his arm) and fought off the enemy. I don’t think he even knew how to drive the tank. In the process he hit a landmine but managed to keep fighting. He’s kind of a bad ass. Yesterday Grandpa met his enemy = .5 xanax. It was like he had vertigo or like I was watching that video of the drunk guy in the mini mart. But the challenge was that since he has full Alzheimer’s, he kept forgetting that he could not walk. So basically we had to sit with him for five hours and keep reminding him “NO! Don’t get up!”.

Lesson: Don’t slip Grandpa “special memory pills”.

"Getting fired is nature’s way of telling you that you had the wrong job in the first place."

Wed, 04 Aug 2010 23:35:00 -0700

“Getting fired is nature’s way of telling you that you had the wrong job in the first place.”

- Hal Lancaster

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE INANIMATE OBJECT?

Wed, 04 Aug 2010 23:22:00 -0700

LOVE. And a goose down comforter.

Hometown Glory

Sat, 03 Jul 2010 19:25:00 -0700

I am willing to guess that most people do not end up living in the house NEXT to the house they grew up in. How that all happened is another story for another day. A quick search on Facebook confirms that of the 528 people “I am friends with” (70 I grew up with) not a single ONE currently resides in this hometown of ours. I suppose nationwide numbers might present some small percentage, but I imagine the amish skew those numbers with their many children who never stray from the buggy. Oh, and communities in Oregon.

This is not to say that I am upset or feeling downtrodden for moving back to my hometown. My life is far from a low-budget Lifetime movie where the lead female character leaves the fancy city life due to a lame relationship plot twist and ops for a ‘simpler life’ rooted back in her roots. But it is strange to be back in a place where so many things occurred that I paid so much money to sit on a couch and ‘unpack’ in sessions of 50 minutes. I almost want to call up my therapist and yell “REMEMBER WHEN YOU TOLD ME TO GO BACK TO THAT PLACE?! I’M F’ING LIVING IN THAT PLACE”. click. ( I kid, I kid, a little therapy humor…)

The dilemma I currently face is determining how to embrace a new environment that seems somewhat familiar. When experiencing the rituals of settling you explore and become familiar by getting totally lost and driving in circles. That hasn’t happened for me. I’ve so far located the most promising late-night martini bar (Nick’s) and the coffee joint within beach cruiser-cruising distance. The barista’s are starting to remember my drink and the woman at the dry cleaners is on to me, the new arrival in a sleepy beach town that for some unknown reason has a black lace dress.

But the good news is that I am a little more rested, living in flip-flops, wearing a little less make up, reading a little more, spending time with my family and there isn’t the local tranny-hooker on my door step. I suppose that’s how I know I am home.

"I am reminded of my autonomy when there is no one else to kill the spider."

Sun, 27 Jun 2010 22:50:44 -0700

“I am reminded of my autonomy when there is no one else to kill the spider.”

bunch: When you see a shot like this, how can you not miss San...

Tue, 22 Jun 2010 23:16:32 -0700

bunch:

When you see a shot like this, how can you not miss San Francisco? [via]

(via lauraaaduuh)

Bird Watching

Wed, 16 Jun 2010 00:33:00 -0700

I’ve been observing my Grandpa for the last 15 days. He is 92 and has stage 6 Alzheimers. He whistles tunes that don’t make sense, uses the wrong words, and can’t recall tasks he’s done each day for the last 36 years. Despite the Lieutenant Colonel’s inability to give or follow orders, he’s happy in his world of one.

Each day we eat lunch and after we’ve taken our seats with our sandwiches, the same topic comes up a few bites in. “Oh my! The bird is back!” Grandpa points towards the window with delight. “From here I can see it, flapping it’s wings, struggling to stay on the branch”. He is enamored with the daily return of the bird. There isn’t anything each day that he gets more excited about.

Today I discovered there is no bird. It’s the leaves and the branch and the way it all turns when a breeze catches it. But, you can’t kill a bird that was never alive – so I play along. Of the three of us I don’t know who is more cookoo.

"Ronald Reagan’s well documented final battles with Alzheimer’s disease were fought with..."

Thu, 10 Jun 2010 11:44:07 -0700

“Ronald Reagan’s well documented final battles with Alzheimer’s disease were fought with the same conviction and courage that his many public battles were fought.”

- William L. Jenkins

Groovin’ with Ken

Thu, 10 Jun 2010 11:39:00 -0700

Groovin’ with Ken

Happy Hour

Sat, 22 May 2010 18:16:58 -0700

Carly: This drink (Lemonade+Vodka) is so good, I could drain it.
Sound: Sluurrrrrrrp!
Andy: (see image below)

Photo

Sat, 22 May 2010 18:12:13 -0700

Dave Matthews sings “In My Life” at a John Lennon...

Wed, 12 May 2010 18:02:30 -0700

Dave Matthews sings “In My Life” at a John Lennon tribute

"The speaker points out that we don’t really have much of a grasp of things, not only the big..."

Mon, 03 May 2010 22:54:11 -0700

“The speaker points out that we don’t really have much of a grasp of things, not only the big things, the important questions, but the small everyday things. “How many steps up to your back yard? What is the name of your district representative? What did you have for breakfast? What is your wife’s shoe size? Can you tell me the color of your sweetheart’s eyes? Do you remember where you parked the car?” The evidence is overwhelming. Most of us never truly experience life. “We drift through life in daydream, missing the true richness and joy that life has to offer.” When the speaker has finished we gather around to sing a few inspirational songs. You and I stand at the back of the group and hum along since we have forgotten most of the words.”

- Louis Jenkins, “The Speaker”

Happy Easter Everyone!

Sun, 04 Apr 2010 14:40:28 -0700

Happy Easter Everyone!

Why the Great ILS Debate?

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:32:00 -0800

Exhibit A: A graph from www.Quantcast.com showing a comparison of “the top” multifamily Internet Listing Sites.

Fact: A steady decline in traffic for the ILS’s since August 09. About a 50% reduction.

CW’s Opinion: It’s not just print that has been dying over the last few months.

Exhibit B: Another graph that compares three ILS’s monthly traffic with Craigslist.

Fact: Craigslist is KILLING IT. The traffic nearly doubles each year.

CW’s Opinion: The ILS’s loss in traffic is because people are hanging with Craig.

"I have eaten the plums that were in the icebox and which you were probably saving for..."

Fri, 01 Jan 2010 00:00:00 -0800

“

I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox

and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold

”

- William Carlos Williams

Tiger Woods can drive a golf ball, but not a car.

Fri, 04 Dec 2009 19:08:22 -0800

Tiger Woods can drive a golf ball, but not a car.

SF Found! @TonyHawk #THTH

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 22:04:42 -0700

Last week Tony Hawk (Twitter bio: professional skateboarder, dad, videogame character, husband, ceo, kid chauffeur) hosted a week long scavenger hunt on Twitter. The official #THTH (Tony Hawk Twitter Hunt) packages were hidden across the country and even in the UK. If you are one of his 1.7 million followers - you couldn’t have missed the frenzy. I actually wasn’t a follower until I saw ~~my boyfriend~~ @sacca tweet the following:

So I started following @TonyHawk. As a marketer and lover of the world wide webs, I was curious to understand the rules and clues that he was using to manage this Twitter first. I was also amused by how easily he authentically engaged and harnessed the positive energy. For example, everyone cheered and re-tweeted when a scavenger spoofed a find in NYC:

I hadn’t considered being a #THTH scavenger until I saw this tweet:

I immediately knew the location - I go there almost everyday. Fort Point is at the southern base of the Golden Gate Bridge and primarily frequented by runners, strollers, tourists and dogs. There was even one occasion when someone I know rode their Capri Blue Vespa past the ‘Area Closed’ sign to check the surf late at night. They were greeted by Troopers and advised not to pass that sign in the future…

Five minutes later after seeing the tweet I was out the door. On my way there, I went over the rules to scavenger hunting:

The clues are never literal. Flip, interpret, expand, question.
It helps to know what you are actually looking for. An elephant? An envelope? A person dressed like a clown?
Cover ground methodically, rather than like a wild animal.

I disregarded all of these tenants and covered 2.51 miles within a space of 300 feet. My Nike+ ipod sport kit confirmed this:

I got lucky with the Friday 9am clue drop. No one else was hunting. They were either in class, suited up downtown, across town, or in traffic. (@dpchmd1 traveled from Oakland and was the only other scavenger that showed up). I had no excuses for not finding the item. I broke apart the clues, wiped the fog from my eyes and pulled myself together. I first had a #THTH meltdown:

And then moments later behind a rock I found:

And then snapped this:

And then I had to figure out how to do this:

I’m keeping the board despite the pleas from my young nephew. As a marketer and a millennial, I can’t think of a better reminder (read: trophy) to symbolize infusing the value of play to create a diverse community to support a cause. I might even try to take it off some sweet jumps. Tony revealed the cause appropriately Friday afternoon and made contributing easy. Simply text RIDE to 90999 to donate to the building of a skate park in Watts. If you don’t do it for the Watts kids or for Tony, do it for me. I don’t mean to sound emo here, but for those of you who know me, the last few months have been ‘character building’. My personal ‘hunt’ has been challenging and my intuition has been kicked daily. But if I can unexpectedly find Tony Hawk’s skateboard, I might be able to find a few things that I know are out there for me.

Terry Cloth Superhero

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 16:52:00 -0700

Terry Cloth Superhero