The Secret's Out, I'm Running for President

I guess my earlier blog post about the nation owning $9.5 trillion inspired some people, but I never expected a groundswell for my candidacy for president. I mean, really, thank you, but this is a little out of control, particularly the billboards.

It's not that I don't think that a moderate candidate is just what this country needs, but even with all this chatter, it's going to be tough to break through into the mainstream. I suppose we can keep trying, but anyway, watch the video below.



What's really behind it is evident at the end of the video. It's exceedingly clever, but will it accomplish the business objectives of the sponsor? Not so sure about that, but I'm pretty sure you're thinking about making your own right now.

Testing the Power of Word of Mouth Marketing

So, we know this is a blog about marketing, and we know that word-of-mouth marketing is the most powerful kind of marketing, so I'd like to put that to a small test.

The Smith Family is a foundation in Australia that helps disadvantaged kids in lots of ways. Apparently, it got it's name when anonymous donors who started it kept saying their name was "Smith" in order to stay anonymous. It's got a great reputation helping Australian kids, sort of like "Make-A-Wish" goes Down Under.

My brother (who lives in Sydney) is part of a 3-man team trying to raise $100,000 (Aussie $$, which is currently almost exactly the same value as a US $) to help 300 kids who need it.

And get this, they are climbing 3 volcanoes (two of them active) in 36-hours to do it. Yes, 3 actual, real volcanoes.

As of this writing, they've raised about $20,000 of their $100,000 goal.

I'm telling you, so maybe, ya know, you can kick in, donate, and help these kids, too. Word-of-mouth (or maybe, word-of-blog) marketing. But it's for a good cause.

If you can help these kids, I'd appreciate it. And if my brother falls in to any of these volcanoes, I'll try my best to post some photos of that... My brother is the one on the right.