Post by Michael Dailey a Former "Bubbler" at Half a Bubble Out

Not too long ago we posted a video on our Facebook page featuring the Chief Economist for Google. He surmised that online marketing is going the way of finance. The ability to gather data on internet surfers at an extremely cheap rate allows the connection of buyer to seller at much less expensive costs and a more focused sales channel. This caused us to ask a few questions:

Is marketing turning the way of finance? Are we simply going to use the copious data points the online age allows to push products? How does this impact the creative soul of marketing? How does this impact trust?

That’s right, we built a machine that would smoke 680 cigarettes at once.  Why?  Well two reasons.  We did it for one of our clients, First Five of Butte County, as a part of a PSA (Public Service Announcement) campaign (see other videos) and let’s face it, we thought it would be cool, really cool! (If you don’t already know it Half a Bubble Out is a Unique International Marketing and Advertising company in Northern California.) The main goal of the campaign is to educate people on the effects of second hand smoke.  We have really tried to create commercials that stand out from all the other commercials and just get people to pay attention.  We went with the facts and humor angle.  “Smoking 680 Cigarettes at Once” is our favorite so far.  Our clients loved it and all our friends just laugh and look at us with that look in their eye that just seems to say, “one more reason you are Half a Bubble Out.” It was crazy, a little out of control and really fun. So here it is and you decide what YOU think.

WARNING: It’s really gross and some people actually cough when they see the smoke but that’s what it’s supposed to do.  Breathe deep, press play and enjoy…

Imagine going to your favorite coffee shop by yourself, like the one I'm in right now, The Tahoe House (www.tahoe-house.com) in Tahoe City, CA.  ( I highly recommend it for the food and the atmosphere.)  You know what it's like when you get there at that perfect time when it's really quiet and you can get your favorite table?  You coffee house junkies know what I mean.  You sit down with your favorite beverage and pull out your book or computer and settle in for who knows how long.

What do wine, marketing and social media have in common? The quality and value of the content does not come overnight but improves with time if the original ingredients were quality also.

The Divine Business model is made up of three parts:

1. The ultimate goal for all of us is to have work that feeds us physically, mentally and spiritually.
2. Our work should let us contribute to our community and meet our needs by either using our gifts, talents and skills or doing things that help us grow in those areas.
3. The ultimate Business success is both profitable and fulfilling by employing people that primarily work in the areas of their gifts, talents and skills.

All my life I have had a natural tendency to dream about the future, about what could be.  I also like to strategize about what it would take to get there and most of my life growing up I was told to get my head out of the clouds and get to work.  It happened in school, at home and as a teen it even happened at work.  Now I know this sounds bad and maybe you can here the, "Poor is me" fiddle playing but it's not.  The truth was that I didn't perform well as a kid growing up.  I didn't get my homework done, I didn't get my chores done and I didn't always do well at my job early in life, unless it meant talking to people.  That was always something I had no trouble in producing.

A Gap is what happens when people forget to bring together and include vital parts of the whole.  Companies get gaps when they fail to recognize and integrate key parts of running their organizations.  This can happen with Vision, Strategy and Tactics.

How can two things that appear to be opposites or at least apposed both be true?  I don't know... but when they are we call it a paradox and if you want to be successful in business and in life you need to be able to live with Paradox's. 

We see Paradoxes all around us, here are a few examples:

• Grace and Truth
• Free will and Destiny
• Old ideas and new ideas

A paradox is something that really troubles us.  We look at it and say, "They both can't be true", but they are.  The most common problem we find ourselves in is we think we have to choose between two concepts and many times we don't.  It's not “either” but “both”.  The mother is being kind when she disciplines her child for doing something wrong but the child doesn't think so.  To an adult discipline and kindness can both be true but the child says it's either one or the other.  You’re either being kind or you’re disciplining me.

When I was young I hated rules and in a funny way I loved rules.  I hated them because they were limiting and I was creative and "innovative" as a child.  Not a characteristic every parent longs for in their offspring.  I eventually realized that I loved rules and structure because they allowed me to understand the boundaries of where I could go and be successful.  Just like in any game I couldn't win unless I knew the rules.  Once I learned the rules I then was free to create my own path.