I Want All That's Coming to Me.

So, yes, I'm stuck in 1999 and I enjoy LiveJournal.

There.

I'm not ashamed.

We've been buddies since I had braces. It's hard to let go of a friendship like that.

Besides, dearest ElJay has provided me with my favorite outlet of Free Stuff.

There. That's my secret. That's how I found the coffeemaker that I sold on Amazon for $60 bucks. That's where I got my subscriptions to TV Guide and Nylon. And that community is why I have one of those new Neutrogena Wavers. Companies routinely give away their products for free as a way to increase trialability and promote awareness of new products.

Free Stuff. also has a link to a site with a nice catalog of free stuff that appears pretty legit, called Thunder Fap. Unfortunate name, yes?

Have fun, guys!

Money Money Money . . . MONNNEEEYYY

Everyone has at one time or another received one of those stupid e-mails or pop-ups promising you a free product, gift card, or check if you completed one of their surveys.

And by now, we all know that they're fake and you will never, ever receive something in return.

Well, if you didn't, you did now.

Anyway, there are a few reputable websites that pay for surveys or offer products in return. Of all these sites, PineCone Research is my favorite.

According to the PineCone Research website:

"PineCone Research is at the forefront of "online research", today's sophisticated and leading-edge approach to gathering consumer opinions. Consumer input is vital to the development of new and improved products.

Traditional survey methods, although effective, can be inconvenient and time consuming. Online research helps solve this dilemma. With online research, you can answer surveys from the comfort and convenience of your own PC and at a time that is convenient for you."

So, what happens is companies hire PineCone Research to survey large groups of people for them. Sometimes, they send new products, not yet on the market, for users to test and report back with their opinions and criticism.

Cool right? Well, it gets better.

As anyone who has tried to get a large group of people to fill out a survey accurately knows, it's really, really hard. Not many people want to bother with it or will fill in with fake answers. To combat this, PineCone Research pays $3 per survey you complete. I, personally, have racked up almost $40 in a couple months. I've also received two products to test out. However, due to PineCone's confidentiality agreement, I am forbidden to speak about them! Sorry guys.

The other bad thing is you cannot sign up for the panels, you have to track down one of the ever-moving banner ads and join that way. There are groups on the internet devoted to pointing out where they lie. Currently, my sources say that this LINK works. Good luck with it, if it does! I promise it's worth it!

Ellen again!

The Ellen DeGeneres show has another cool promotion going on right now.

During one of her shows the other day, she gave away a cruise on the new "Celebrity Solstice" from Celebrity Cruises. She then directed the viewing audience to her website to enter to win a cruise of their own. Being the excited person I am, I quickly scampered to her website and found the entry page.

According to the website:

You can win a cruise for two on the extraordinary, new, state of the art, "Celebrity Solstice" from Celebrity Cruises. Celebrity Solstice is ushering in a new era of style, accommodations, and of course, indulgence. It's the first cruise ship with a half-acre Lawn Club with real grass, 10 incredible restaurants, and a glassblowing show and studio! That's right, you could win a 7-night cruise during the inaugural season of Celebrity Solstice.

Promotions like these are good for both companies; Ellen's show is shown as being fun for giving a cruise away and the cruise line is given extra publicity.

And real grass . . . really?!

(click on the photo to enter)

Online Advertising: The Final Frontier

Okay, post number two where I stray from the original topic of this blog. But hey, it's not like anyone reads it anyway! hah.

Online advertising isn't just for young people anymore.

For the launch of their new drink called Tava, Pepsi has decided to advertise solely through its own website, banner ads, promotions, and "offbeat stunts like sampling events at popular shops and the delivery of free samples to the employees of prominent companies like Google and MTV."

According to the NYT article by Stuart Elliot;

That would not be an unusual introduction if Tava were intended for the younger consumers who have grown up in a digital world. But the product, which is fruit-flavored and caffeine-free, is being aimed primarily at men and women ages 35 to 49.

“There used to be an assumption this target was not online,” said Frank Cooper, vice president for flavored carbonated soft drinks at Pepsi-Cola North America in Purchase, N.Y. “But there’s a group in that category that’s ‘reborn digital.’ They’ve lived through the change and learned to adapt to it.”

“This consumer spends significant time online, although what they do may differ from the younger consumer,” Mr. Cooper said. “They’re not I.M.-ing their friends; they’re looking at e-mail or looking up information about travel, music, food.”

I think it's great that advertisers are finally taking notice that almost everyone is online and that traditional advertising is not as essential. With the development of TiV0 and the availability of DVRs, people are able to skip through their commercials, rendering TV advertising much less successful . . . there is no longer the "captive audience."

Way to go, Pepsi! But your Tava sounds disgusting.

Dear Drink Companies,

Please stop producing these "fruit flavored drinks" which have no benefit to the drinker and are worse for you than water and a zillion times more expensive. How about 100% juice? What happened to that, people?!?

Thaaaankks,

Chelsea

Oh well . . . You win some, you lose some.

Slightly Off-Topic?

This may not directly deal with the subject of my blog, but it's my blog, so deal.

I think this falls under "promotions."

Can't afford to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on advertising? Are you new product who needs to get introduced to the market, but spending that much money on advertising that may or may not be effective doesn't sound appealing to you?

Be like NXT.

NXT (pronounced "next") is a men's shaving gel that comes in a package reminiscent of a lava lamp.

According to the New York Times:

"The buyer was stunned until Mr. Leventhal pulled a prototype out of his briefcase. The product, called NXT, is sold in an arresting triangular container that lights up from the bottom, illuminating air bubbles suspended in the clear gel. The plastic is tinted blue, and when the AAA batteries in its base are lighted, the whole thing looks like a miniature lava lamp or a tiny fishless aquarium.

To call attention to themselves, the products, which are aimed at 18- to 24-year-old men, will glow on the shelves, inviting customers to pick them up. Every 15 seconds, a light-emitting diode (LED) in the bottom of the container flares on, stays lighted for a few seconds, then fades out."

Really, how cool is that? I know if I'm walking through Target and something in the personal care isle starts flashing and turning the place into a nightclub, I will probably stop to check it out. Now, I'm not a dude and do not currently have a beard or mustache to shave, but I will tell my guy friends that they, too, can turn their bathroom into Les Deux.

I'm sad I can't find a website for the product and I have no idea who the company is, it's probably in that article somewhere but I am full of s'mores and too lazy to look.

I am also bitter because I was supposed to be on a plane to Seattle today, but every flight everywhere has been canceled. Le Sigh.

Deodorant and MTV . . . A Match Made in Heaven?

From the website:

"Dove® go fresh in association with MTV presents Fresh Takes, a new micro-series, starring Alicia Keys. It takes a behind-the-scenes look at the surprising, hilarious, and inspiring chronicles of a 20-something putting her everyday pressures from career to dating to beauty in a fresh perspective.

How have you overcome your 20-something pressures to pursue your passion? Share your story with us."

The gist:

You enter and if you win, you get a walk on role on Dove's new micro-series on MTV. Plus, you get to hang out with the cast (however "fun" that may be). But you may get to hang out with Alicia Keys . . . I am not sure.

Although I think co-branding Dove with MTV is totally stupid and putting a promotional micro-series (which is apparently much smaller than a mini series and even smaller than a regular series, etc . . .), I guess the contest and further promotion will gain further publicity for both parties.

But then again, what do I know?

(click on the image to be taken to the entry form)

Procter & Gamble are pretty cool.

Check this out.

You know those P&G Brandsaver inserts you find in your Sunday paper (or the Saturday/Sunday version, here in Ithaca) that contain coupons for Procter & Gamble products?

Now, through April, for every coupon you redeem from the P&G Brandsaver, Proctor & Gamble will donate a liter of clean and purified filtered drinking water to children in developing countries. This is a pretty cool tie-in with PUR Water Filters, if I do say so myself. What a great way for the company to gain positive PR and take your money! :)

Save money and save people!

Check out the article from PR Newswire.