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fontainebleau22 · 6 years

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Box of Frogs (Part 7)

From @tramstrams‘ not-at-all-serious prompt, ‘an AU with magic, but something has gone terribly awry and people are being turned into frogs. Only Sam Chisolm can stop this madness’.

Part 1 here. Part 2 here. Part 3 here. Part 4 here. Part 5 here. Part 6 here.

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‘What about your jobs?’ asked Emma. ‘Wasn’t there trouble about the time you’d missed?’

For a group of men who’d spent a week as frogs they seemed surprisingly unresentful, yet a residual guilt kept her prodding at the topic. On a golden afternoon like this, though, it seemed difficult for anyone to hold a grudge: the park was busy with sunbathers, frisbee-players, and old ladies sitting primly on benches gossiping with the pigeons.

They’d found a secluded spot under the trees where they could sprawl out on the grass: Red was setting up a barbecue while Jack unpacked an apparently bottomless cooler of food, and to Emma’s relief Gavin had ignored the promise of sausages and lolloped off to join in chasing the frisbee.

Faraday shrugged cheerfully. ‘Boss was pissed off I hadn’t turned up for a week, but just happened they’d had a big order come in that morning that he needs me to deal with, so it all worked out OK.’

Ale stretched lazily with just the smallest of sparkles to draw attention to the shift of his muscles. ‘Maria started shouting when I showed up at the cafe, but I smiled at her some and next thing she was feeding me blueberry pie to make up for all the crickets.’

Billy cracked one eye open from where he was lying with his head in Goodnight’s lap. ‘I just told them I was back and they should pay me for the break.’

The week since she’d met them all in such inauspicious circumstances had been like being picked up by a tornado, but in a good way: from that strange first evening when Josh had led them charging out to celebrate being human again, this ill-assorted group had adopted her into effortless friendship, filling her empty days with argument and activity and anchoring her again in the here-and-now.

Billy shifted a little, squinting against the sun in his eyes. ‘Teddy, could you?’ Goody asked at once. Teddy leaned over to lay a hand on the trunk and concentrated: the tree obligingly rearranged its branches to shade Billy’s face. ‘Better, cher?’ asked Goody solicitously.

Ale tsked disapprovingly. ‘He was just the same when you were a frog: humidity this, fruit flies that, is the heat lamp strong enough...’

‘Goody always takes care of me,’ said Billy with smug satisfaction.

‘Only the best for you, sweetheart,’ agreed Goody, stroking his hair. ‘Though I hope they’ll give me a refund on the equipment.’

‘I saw the size of his tank, with all those leaves and the little stream and everything,’ groused Faraday. ‘Mine don’t look much in comparison. You could’ve put more effort in.’

Ale batted at him, irritated. ‘I don’t know what you’re complaining about – I looked after you perfectly well.’

‘I was a frog the longest,’ declared Josh with a perverse pride. ‘What if I’d dried out? You could have got me one of those fancy misting sprays.’

‘Guero, I swear…’ Ale lunged up to tackle him, sending the two of them rolling on the grass; at that precise moment the Frisbee came zipping in, skimmed harmlessly over Josh’s head and bounced off Sam’s ear.

‘Damnation,’ said Sam resignedly; Gavin raced up, grabbed the frisbee and charged off again.

Ale had Josh pinned, knees on his shoulders, grinning as he squirmed. ‘I got in the tank with you, ingrato – did Goody do that?’

‘Not for lack of trying,’ said Sam, shuffling over to let Goody run a hand over his rapidly-rising bump.

Emma let the good-natured bickering fade into the background, closing her eyes to appreciate the warmth of the sun on her face, the rustling breeze in the branches above and the sound of distant excited barks.

Her grief was always with her, the sense of absence at her side a constant, but now as well there were Jack and Goody, gentlemanly and courteous, Teddy and Red with their shy smiles, Josh and Ale with jokes to distract her. You’d have liked them, she told Matthew silently. She opened her eyes again to Sam’s concerned gaze, and when she smiled he came to settle beside her on the plaid rug in wordless sympathy.

‘You know he kissed you to see if it would turn you back?’ Teddy was asking Billy.

‘Billy is attractive in every form,’ declared Goody, unabashed.

‘Oh, please.’ Josh pulled a face.

‘If anyone was a handsome frog,’ asserted Ale, ‘it was me.’

Teddy snorted. ‘You? You were just a green blob.’ Ale choked in outrage and Teddy smirked. ‘You had no neck.’

‘I have to say that Teddy’s right,’ agreed Goodnight, ‘you were a singularly unattractive frog. Plain as anything.’

‘Josh didn’t think so,’ said Ale, nettled.

Goodnight sat up straight and fixed them both with a severe gaze. ‘Do you have any idea what it was like once I put you in the tank with him? It was worse than the Discovery Channel – I was going to buy a screen.’

Gavin came galloping back to collapse panting at Emma’s side, and she buried a hand in his fur. Red appeared silently with a bowl of water which he placed in front of him, and Emma nodded her thanks as Gavin slurped enthusiastically at it. ‘You might want to be careful with the meat...’

They both looked over to Jack, pulling a string of sausages from his cooler. ‘No need to worry,’ he called heartily: he arranged the sausages precisely on the grill, then handed the tongs to Red and squatted down to scrub fearlessly through Gavin’s fur. Gavin writhed in delight. ‘We understand each other, don’t we?’ cooed Jack, and Emma stifled a stab of amusement at the similarity between the burly high-voiced man and her sofa cushion of a dog.

‘I hope you weren’t too inconvenienced by being…’

‘…a bullfrog?’ Jack beamed. ‘I found the whole experience quite refreshing, and Goodnight kept me out of harm’s way. He raised himself a little and put a hand to his chest formally. ‘Your hospitality was much appreciated, Goody.’

Goodnight looked pleased, though slightly puzzled. ‘I’m not sure I’d call a week in my bathtub hospitality, but you’re very welcome.’

‘Look,’ said Billy suddenly, ‘isn’t that Mrs McCann?’

Emma craned round and there indeed was Thelma, strolling along the footpath in the company of a tall ginger-haired man in a well-cut suit.

‘Is that her husband?’ Ale sounded incredulous and Emma couldn’t contain a giggle.

‘No.’ They watched as the man drew Thelma to a halt in front of a rosebush; he reached out a hand theatrically and it burst into flower, the buds swelling and opening to full bloom.

‘Nice work,’ approved Teddy. The man picked one and offered it to Thelma with a flourish; she took it, eyes lowered coyly.

‘I did go over there and offer to turn Thomas back,’ said Emma thoughtfully, ‘but she said it might be best to wait a while.’ Ale nodded understandingly and they watched the pair of them wander away.

‘Though if you’re still game for some frogging…’ Emma turned to Josh warily, but winked, unabashed. ‘This oily little guy’s started hanging round the cafe, Bogue he calls himself, and Maria thinks he’s working to undercut her franchise: maybe you could come and have a look at him?’

‘You can’t solve every problem with frogs,’ said Emma primly, aware of Sam raising his eyebrows beside her, but Ale grinned brightly. ‘I think this is one you can.’

Calm had finally settled, everyone relaxed in the sun as the scent of browning meat drifted appetisingly on the air; Billy and Goody laughed low together and Gavin’s tail thumped lazily.

A striped balloon came bouncing over the grass towards Ale, its string trailing, chased by a small girl in dungarees. ‘Here, mija,’ said Ale obligingly, reaching for the string.

‘No!’ shouted the girl, skidding to a halt; Ale had already plucked the balloon from the air and made to hold it out to her, but as he did so his arm jerked up and he started to rise from the ground, tugged smoothly upwards. ‘What the…!’

‘Let go, quick,’ pleaded the girl; Ale, already at head height, looked down in consternation.

‘Your face!’ cackled Josh gleefully.

‘Don’t just stand there, grab his feet!’ Teddy jumped, but Ale had drifted beyond his reach.

Emma turned to Sam. ‘Aren’t you going to do anything?’

‘Nope,’ said Sam contentedly, settling his hat over his eyes.

‘These things have a habit of working out on their own,’ Goodnight assured her, Billy still comfortable in his lap.

‘How high is he likely to go, miss?’ Jack asked the girl, and she shrugged helplessly. ‘Heavy people go up faster’n me.’

‘Red?’ asked Jack, and there was a flutter of feathers as his companion launched himself upwards. ‘He can puncture it with his talons, let him down gently.’

‘Noo!’ the girl’s wail of protest faded as she raced off after Red, waving her arms.

‘Wait till you’re over the trees and then let go,’ called Teddy as he and Josh followed the ever-rising Ale across the meadow.

‘Or see if you can drift over the lake,’ offered Josh, earning a faint, ‘Pendejo’ in return.

Emma hesitated. Should she follow? Turning Ale back to a frog could hardly help at this stage, and no one else seemed worried; Jack was once more clattering industriously at the grill.

‘Hey, Sam,’ added Goodnight idly, ‘how was your thing? Never did get the chance to ask about it.’

‘Good,’ said Sam from underneath his hat, ‘always worth it.’

‘Never heard you say different,’ approved Goodnight. He settled himself more comfortably against his treetrunk.

‘And you?’ asked Emma. ‘You had the hardest week of anyone…’ The thought of how distraught he’d been still brought a pang, but Goodnight cut her off with a flashing grin.

‘I’m fine – we all are.’

‘Well, not Ale right at this moment,’ interposed Sam cheerfully. From the corner of her eye Emma could see a small crowd beginning to gather, shouting advice and holding outspread blankets.

She turned back to Goodnight. ‘Truly?’

Goodnight looked down fondly at Billy, dozing in his lap, then winked at her. ‘Fine as a frog’s hair split four ways.’

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#fics #mag7 #the magnificent seven #box of frogs #the end #i have written 12000 words of this tomfoolery

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wozman23 · 3 years

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An Ode To Conan (AKA Conan Ode’Brien)

The year was 1995... or maybe '94... or at least sometime around then, give or take a year. I had just entered, or would be entering middle school, at age eleven... or twelve. With a new school came a later bedtime. So around that time I discovered two things: Saturday Night Live, and Late Night with Conan O'Brien. That was when my world changed.

For as long as I can remember, I've been a silly kid. My parents even used to throw an extra letter in my name and call me “Jokey.” Occasionally, they still do. But now, looking back, nearly 25 years later, I don't know if I'd have ever predicted just how much of my joking nature I'd be able to maintain at this point in my life. Today, at 37, if you ask me to sum up my personality in two words, they'd be “weird” and “funny.” As most age, they lose those traits. They'd instead define themselves as a “Personal Trainer” or a “Civil Engineer.” But I'm still just “weird” and “funny” - a goofball rebelling against the notion of “growing up.” I stubbornly keep the letter 'y' on the end of my name when most Josephs my age pick a more mature alternative. I have little interest in being anything else, and aspire for nothing more.

Much of that is thanks to a tall, freckled, red-headed idol I found on the late night airwaves of NBC, who danced as if he had strings on his hips and let people touch his nipple. I grew up watching cartoons like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Disney movies with comedic voice actors, and blockbuster movies like Ghostbusters and Mrs. Doubtfire, but I'd never seen anything as wildly experimental as Late Night. The (arguably) grown man at the helm still retained such a whimsical, silly, absurd outlook on life. He was a big kid, just having fun. It blew my mind. I was hooked. And it showed me that even if I was weird, I wasn't alone.

The absurdity of Conan and Late Night continues to be unrivaled, even to this day. There was a Masturbating Bear, who just went to town on this oddly nondescript jock strappy looking thing, Preparation H Raymond, an overly goofy looking character, with buck teeth and massive ears, who sang songs about applying a cream to irritated buttholes, and Triumph The Insult Comic Dog, who eviscerated Star Wars nerds and crashed the Westminster Dog Show. Clutch Cargo bits, where moving mouths were inserted into pictures of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Jackson, and Bill Clinton, always brought the laughs in the early days, with both Robert Smigel's impressions and the disregard for making things look authentic. The In The Year 2000/3000 bits provided the rapid fire jokes of randomness that I aspire to write today, one of my favorites being: “Babies will start listening to dance music when Lady Gaga teams up with The Goo Goo Dolls to form the super group, Gaga Goo Goo.” Other recurring bits like Celebrity Survey, SAT Analogies, and Made-For-TV Movie Castings provided similar repeatable formats that brought laughs night after night, as did Actual Items, a swipe at Leno's Headline's bit. If They Mated provided us with the horrors of what the love child of two celebrities would look like, in worst case scenarios. Desk driving bits and car chase spoofs with model towns and cars always delivered. There were the silly Satellite TV Channel bits, with the standout, the Men Without Hats Conversation Channel, as well as the truly pointless – yet my all-time favorite character – Cactus Chef Playing ‘We Didn’t Start the Fire’ on the Flute, created solely to poke fun at the criticism that the show was absurd. Conan Sings A Lullaby was always some macabre fun. At one point, The Walker Texas Ranger lever swept the nation, ultimately resulting in one of the oddest clips ever to grace television. “...Walker told me I have AIDS.” Constant cameos delighted, with frequent appearances from Larry King and Abe Vigoda, who were both always willing to go the extra mile for a laugh. And occasionally, my beloved comedy worlds would combine with someone from SNL like Will Ferrell showing up, dressed as a sexy leprechaun, or engaging in some other antics. Jim Gaffigan birthed the Pale Force cartoon. Hornymanatee.com became a thing. Remote bits, like Conan playing old timey baseball, were always instant classics. Plus, the show birthed the idea of travel shows, with trips to places like Finland and Toronto - the second of which has one of my other favorite remote bits, Conan training with the Toronto Maple Leafs. So much memorable, silly, recklessly avant-garde stuff happened in those years of Late Night. And all the best moments happened when Conan acknowledged the astronomical stupidity of it all. It was always a pleasure to watch, and it all felt expertly crafted just for me.

In the end, a program that got off to a rocky start, fighting off cancellation time and time again, blossomed over the course of fifteen years into a comedy juggernaut and bastion of brilliant buffoonery for my generation. It was practically perfection.

Then the first transition happened...

Like many, I was apprehensive about the switch to The Tonight Show. It was great to see Conan inherit what was formerly known as the pinnacle of late night talk shows, but I wondered if America was ready to watch a bear play with his dick at 11:30pm, especially the demographic that had enjoyed Leno's far more traditional approach. I think we now have that answer. NBC managed to repeat their past mistakes, and fumbled another smooth transition of hosts. Things got kind of ugly, but Conan managed to land on his feet at TBS, where his show continued to run for another eleven years, giving him and his employees - who had relocated to Los Angeles at the start of The Tonight Show - steady work.

The one issue with the migration was that Conan no longer retained the rights to any of his intellectual property. Exceptions were made, but most of this bits and characters were absent from the now titled show, Conan. There was also one less show a week. However, new bits were concocted regularly, like Coffee Table Books That Didn't Sell, Basic Cable Name That Tune, and NBA Mascots That Should Never Dunk. New characters were spawned, like Minty, the Candy Cane That Briefly Fell on the Ground, Punxsutawney Dr. Phil - The best Dr. Phil bit since Letterman’s Words of Wisdom - and Wikibear. Will Forte showed up atop a stuffed buffalo as network owner, Ted Turner. Experimental stand-up sets, like Tig Notaro pushing a stool around or Jon Dore & Rory Scovel being double booked provided some of the best stand-up sets ever. Embracing a digital, web-based format, they introduced new segments like Clueless Gamer, catering to my love of video games. There was Puppy Conan, and Mini Conan. Plus, they doubled down on travel shows, creating the Conan Without Borders series, which I believe to be Conan's best work to date, and a shining example of who he is as a person. There were Fan Corrections, which allowed me to influence his show for five minutes, and throw my own zaniness into the world, and back at the man who stoked the funny fire in me. At some point in life, I may achieve greater things, or have children, but I may still always say that the greatest day of my life was the day I was on Conan.

So Conan did have bright spots, but to me things were never quite the same. They were still good, but not amazing. Slowly it felt like things were beginning to decline. Longtime writer/performer Brian McCann left to return to New York. A while later, so did Brian Stack, finding a job with Colbert. The show was eventually cut to a thirty minute format. They spun it like it was a good change for the show. I however had my reservations. While I'd hoped for more experimental comedy, it seemed like the first half of the show was cut in favor of still getting in sizeable celebrity interviews. The band was gone, as were the options for nightly music acts. That meant no more fantastic moments like me discovering Lukas Graham with his subdued “7 Years” performance. Stand-up was pretty much gone too, which meant no more killer sets like Gary Gulman's bit on state abbreviations or Ismo's foreign take on the use of the word “ass” in English linguistics. Occasional product placement reared its ugly head. They had to keep the lights on, and they found a way to. So I continued to watch practically every show over the course of the eleven years.

When the pandemic hit, I found myself with more free time. So I decided to check out the Team Coco podcasts, cherry picking from the best guests of Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend, The Three Questions with Andy Richter, and Inside CONAN: An Important Hollywood Podcast. Never having paid attention to any podcasts, I found a love for them. And sometime amidst the pandemic, watching Conan interview some random celebrity, from some show I probably didn't care about, through Zoom, I kind of became at peace with the idea of a nightly Conan program ending.

From middle school, to high school, and then to college, I tuned in when I could. Without the luxury of the internet in its currently glory, or DVRs, I'd tape episodes on a VCR. Barring two or three episode of Conan that I missed while working two jobs, I've seen every episode of Conan, every Tonight Show, and a good streak leading into the end of Late Night. But I will admit that towards the end, it has sometimes felt like a chore.

One thing I didn't drag my feet on was attending tapings. It was one of the first things I did when I came to LA. Over the past few years I was fortunate to get to attend three tapings of Conan. In hindsight, I probably would have went more often. I brought family and friends along with me when they visited, but the treat was primarily for me. When he announced that the final few weeks of shows might have an audience, I knew I must go. I put in for two tapings, and fortunately the stars aligned for the third to last show with Seth Rogen. I was hoping for Ferrell, or Sandler, but it was great! It was the first show where masks were optional and it went recklessly off the rails. Like Conan, I've never been into pot. It's another of the things I enjoy about him. Like him, I don't really have a problem with it, but I've never tried it because I don't think it's for me. I’m the same way with alcohol. With a friend in town this week, I tried one of the beers he bought. I hated it, but I struggled through it. I’ll occasionally drink some fruity wine cooler but that’s about it. So seeing him reluctantly try the joint Seth handed him because he didn't care since the show was wrapping was great. Unseen in the TV edit was that after that segment, Conan and his producer, Jeff Ross, had a lengthy discussion as the band played. As the band wrapped up, Conan came back up and said to expect a rough edit on the show since they wouldn't be able to air them smoking. Turns out they could, which made for good TV. It was a symbolic moment where a man who's spend his entire career blazing his own trail – no pun intended - did so once more, knowing he had nothing to lose. I also put in a ticket request for the last show on the morning of because registration reopened for some reason, but I never got a confirmation. I'm excited to watch it tonight, but also sad to see things come to and end. But at least I can say I was there in the end.

For 28 years Conan and cast have delivered the show they wanted to make. Contrastingly, compared to the other late night shows, its always been far more apolitical, which I appreciate. Comedy to me is about dissociation. It's why I favor and write left-brained jokes about random subjects. No one really needs to hear another hackneyed Trump or Biden joke. Regardless of the state of the world, I could tune in to Conan for a mostly unbiased, silly outlook on the world. Conan always seemed to bring out the best in the guests too, making his show the premier show to tune into when someone was out in the circuit promoting something. Even the stereotypical animal segments or cooking segments provided ample laughs.

Most of the talk will be about Conan himself. But a very large part of what has always made Conan's shows great wasn't even him. A large cast of stellar writers and performers brought countless characters to life. Brian McCann and Brian Stack were longtime favorites. There was the No-Reason-To-Live Guy with his kayak, Hannigan the Traveling Salesman, Artie Kendall the Singing Ghost, and The Interrupter, to name just a few. Even people who had no business performing were utilized brilliantly, like original announcer Joel Godard or Max Weinberg both acting like creeps and perverts, trombone player Richie "LaBamba" Rosenberg being a dolt, and graphic designer Pierre Bernard in his deadpan Recliner of Rage segments. Jordan Schlansky was a comedy well. Andy Richter also deserves more praise. His quick wit makes him the perfect sidekick. I can't even begin to enumerate the amount of instance in which he was lightning fast with a witty response to someone or something. His more recent Sports Blast segments were absurdly stupid, and his Hillbilly Handfishing remote stands out as one of the best.

The late night talk show concept is built around volume. With 4368 episodes among three iterations of shows, there's a lot of time to fill. Things didn't always work, but most of the time they did. That's what you get when you experiment and evolve the medium. I've been thinking a lot about my history with the show, and it's amazing just how many silly bits, characters, and moments still bounce around in my noggin. I've only covered a small sample of the many great moments over the years. It's always seemed really weird to me that Conan has kind of been the underdog. To me, no one holds a candle to his brilliance. I can only liken attending his tapings to a few other experiences: the time I finally got to see Michael Jordan play as a Wizard, or Rush's final R40 tour – three great entities who may not have been at the height of their careers, but were still massively impressive none the less. Conan concluding tonight is very bittersweet. The future is uncertain. The details for his HBO Max show are nebulous. It's going to be far more small scale. I've always admired how much Conan has taken care of his cast and crew. He paid his writers during the strike, and his entire crew during the pandemic. But they will certainly fracture now. Will any of the writing staff follow? Will longtime performer Dan Cronin be there? Will Andy be back? Time will tell, but until then, television, the internet, and the world of comedy, will be a little less funny. In many ways, I wish we lived in a world we he still hosted Late Night, or a successful Tonight Show. But the late night landscape has changed a lot in the last few decades, so who’s to say this wasn’t the better timeline. If there’s one thing I cling on to that keeps me hopeful about the future, it’s Conan’s closing monologue from Late Night. Especially its ending: "It's time for Conan to grow up... and I assure you that's just not going to happen. I can't. This is who I am, for better or worse. It's just, I don't know how."

That hits me just as hard as it did in ‘09, if not harder. The more things change, the more they stay the same. The guy that started hosting in ‘93 is the same guy we see today. He’s still just as childish, just as absurd, just as brilliant, and a man of integrity. And as long as he is, so too will I be.

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hanajimasama · 7 years

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Ok so Day four is a little early but never mind. It is also dedicated to @voteforintensepuppets

I was struggling with Sam’s but this will do :) Merry Christmas Puppets <3

Day 4: Santa’s little Helper

New York was a busy city on a regular basis but at the holiday season it was much much worse. People pushing and shoving to buy their christmas gifts that would soon be forgotten about come the new year. A time for caring and good feelings towards your fellow man, which some people clearly missed the memo for. Sam Chisolm hated this time of year the most. Jack and Goody insisted on celebrating it at the house they all shared. He wasn’t a scrooge as such he just wished he could enjoy a Christmas alone without Faraday drinking far too much whisky and belting out christmas carols at the top of his lungs much to the amusements of the others.

He just wanted to spend Christmas alone just once. He missed his family and Christmas being a family holiday made old wounds so much more painful. Sam didn’t share in Jack and Goody’s sentiment that they were a big happy family. He respected them sure but he just couldn’t see them as family.

Snow had fallen heavy earlier in the week now it was a mix of slush and hidden ice patches. Sam pulled his heavy wool coat closer to his body as he crossed the road quickly almost slipping on small ice patch as he reached the sidewalk. Trying to look casual about his stumble carried on his way back towards that loud and lively house. Truth be told he could have taken the tub or driven to work but this meant he could be out the house longer. The darkness was started to creep in over the city early as per the winter months.

“Mommy! That elf is scaring me!” a child wailed in somewhere up the street. The mother apologised quickly and ushered her little banshee of a child away and past Sam. He barely looked up from the pavement at the scenario not really fussed at how ‘scary’ this jolly Christmas elf was. He glanced and only saw two elves with quite different heights dressed in matching green tunics, stripy candy cane leggings and green and red striped hat to match.

“Ho, Ho, Ho! Merry Christmas!” A hand bell rang out loudly as the elf called out it’s christmas message again even more obnoxiously loud and joyful. The elf collided with Sam head on knocking him to the ground. “I am so sorry Mr Chisolm”

Sam’s eyes focused on the elf that was smirking down at him, behind the goofy red and green striped pointy hat with large faux elf ears attached and the red paint smeared on his cheeks, Sam could just recall the face as one McCann, Bartholomew Bogue’s lacky. Looming behind McCann looking rather unimpressed at his current situation was Denali Bogue’s silent and stoic right hand, who was also dressed as a cheery Christmas elf, though this particular elf was void of any Christmas cheer or any emotion at all. “What do-”

“Mr Bogue sends his warmest Christmas greetings Mr Chisolm and well-” McCann pulled out a small switchblade which had a green blade and a holly print on the handle, he was certainly themed “You’re not going to ring in the new year I’m afraid.” the blade was shoved into Sam’s chest through the coat “Merry Christmas Sam.” McCann jumped to his feet letting Denali roll Sam into a near shrub before they headed off into the nights. McCann ringing his bell loudly “Ho ho ho merry christmas!”

That’s the last thing same heard, McCann’s irritating voice and the obnoxious ringing of bells. For once he wished he was at that house, at least he never had to witness Faraday dressed as an elf.

Day 1: Christmas Pudding

Day 2: Family

Day 3: O Christmas Tree

#mag 7 #Christmas prompts #pumpkin writes #sam chisolm #sorry sam

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madstars-festival · 5 years

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A RECAP OF THIS YEAR’S TOP 10 SUPER BOWL ADS

There’s been a tonne of Super Bowl coverage this week, but if you haven’t had have time to watch all of this year’s epic Super Bowl LIV ads, you’ll enjoy these nifty recaps from Little Black Book and Fast Company.

As always, dozens of brands seized upon the Super Bowl to connect with a global audience. Many of these campaigns featured celebrities, many were seeped in nostalgia, and tech giants like Amazon and Google were there to enjoy the party.

Little Black Book singled out 10 campaigns as their top pick of this year’s Super Bowl. The top 5 campaigns listed below are also Fast Company’s pick of this year’s Super Bowl ads.

JEEP – GROUNDHOG DAY

Bill Murray stars in his first-ever commercial in character as Phil Connors from the much-loved Groundhog Day movie. Only this time around, he doesn’t mind reliving every day so long as he has a Jeep.

Many agreed this spot won the night thanks to “appearances from the movie's original characters, a seamless tie-in with the Jeep product, and a delivery from agency Highdive and director Jim Jenkins that didn't feel at all forced,” writes Little Black Book.

This campaign was created by Highdive and directed by Jim Jenkins from O Positive.

Watch it here

GOOGLE – LORETTA

Created by Google’s in-house creative team, this ad depicts a man’s undying love for his wife.

Watch it here

MTN DEW ZERO SUGAR – AS GOOD AS THE ORIGINAL

Fans of The Shining will love this modern-day take on a classic horror film. As Fast Company says: “This is so weirdly random that it actually works incredibly well.”

The spot was created by TBWA\Chiat\Day New York and directed by Tom Kuntz of MJZ.

Watch it here

DORITOS – BASSQUAKE & TEASER

Inspired by classic Western films, Goodby Silverstein & Partners created this hilarious campaign for Doritos featuring the song ‘Old Town Road’.

Watch it here

DASHLANE – PASSWORD PARADISE

This campaign by Lightning Orchard shows how annoying it can be to forget your password in an unexpectedly silly way.

Watch it here

SQUARESPACE – WINONA IN WINONA

Created by Squarespace’s in-house team, this campaign features the delightful Winona Ryder as herself, visiting the town of Winona. Winona pokes fun of herself in such an endearing way – the spot was charmingly directed by Tim Godsall at Anonymous Content.

Watch it here

MICROSOFT – BE THE ONE: KATIE SOWERS

Hats off to McCann New York for bringing diversity to this year’s Super Bowl ads. This campaign stars Katie Sowers, offensive assistant coach for the San Francisco 49ers – the first female coach and openly gay coach to take part in the Super Bowl. It was directed by Peter Berg of Film 47.

Watch it here

AMAZON – #BEFOREALEXA

When Ellen DeGeneres and wife Portia de Rossi ponder what life was like before Alexa, it leads to a series of flash-backs to bygone eras, flawlessly depicted by director Steve Rodgers of Somesuch for Droga5 London.

Watch it here

LITTLE CEASARS – SLICED BREAD

This funny spot, created by McKinney, is inspired by the much-loved cliché: “It’s the best thing since sliced bread.”

Watch it here

PRINGLES – RICK AND MORTY

In case you’ve never heard of Rick and Morty, it’s an American animated science fiction sitcom for adults – and it creates the backdrop for this campaign for Pringles by Grey New York and Adult Swim.

Watch it here

* Read the original articles on this year’s best Super Bowl 2020 campaigns via Little Black Book and Fast Company.

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#superbowl2020

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thisdaynews · 5 years

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Charlton Athletic beat Doncaster Rovers to reach the League One play-off final

New Post has been published on https://thebiafrastar.com/charlton-athletic-beat-doncaster-rovers-to-reach-the-league-one-play-off-final/

Charlton Athletic beat Doncaster Rovers to reach the League One play-off final

Krystian Bielik extended Charlton’s lead in the tie inside two minutes of the second leg

Charlton Athletic beat Doncaster on penalties to reach the League One play-off final after Rovers had forced extra-time on a dramatic night at The Valley.

Krystian Bielik’s second-minute header made it 3-1 to the hosts on aggregate and seemed like it would put the Addicks comfortably on course for the final, but a driven effort from Doncaster captain Tommy Rowe and Andy Butler’s late header sent the tie to extra time.

Doncaster went ahead on aggregate for the first time when John Marquis nodded in Mallik Wilks’ centre in the 100th minute, but Darren Pratley made it 4-4 overall when he turned a loose ball home after Marko Marosi had spilled Lyle Taylor’s low cross.

Charlton centre-back Naby Sarr missed the chance to win it in the shootout after Dillon Phillips had saved from Marquis, but Rowe blazed wide to send the Addicks to Wembley and spark a pitch invasion by home fans.

Lee Bowyer’s side will now face Sunderland at the national stadium on Sunday, 26 May, with the south-east London club aiming to end their three-year exile from the Championship.

Relive a dramatic semi-final second leg at The Valley

Charlton, who finished third – 15 points ahead of Rovers in the table – took an early lead through Bielik’s thumping header from Josh Cullen’s clipped free-kick.

The Addicks were unbeaten in 17 home league games coming into the second leg, but a smart flick from Herbie Kane allowed Rowe to equalise and a brilliant low save from Dillon Phillips stopped Marquis from making it 2-1 on the night shortly afterwards.

The second half became increasingly fractious and had few chances of note, although Josh Parker prodded narrowly wide from a ball in from Taylor, before Butler rose high at the back post to head in Ali Crawford’s corner late on and send the match into extra time.

Former Millwall striker Marquis put the visitors ahead with his 26th goal of the campaign but the Addicks hit back immediately through Pratley to send the game to spot-kicks.

Playing at a sold-out stadium, with their biggest crowd since 2012 – the year the Addicks won the League One title – Rowe’s miss allowed the home fans to celebrate with players on the pitch and contemplate a return to the second tier, despite suffering their first home league defeat since October.

Charlton’s progress sets up a repeat of the 1998 second-tier play-off final, when they beat Sunderland 7-6 on penalties following a dramatic 4-4 draw at the old Wembley, a match which included a hat-trick for former Addicks striker Clive Mendonca.

Doncaster Rovers manager Grant McCann:

“I am extremely proud. On reflection, apart from the first half in the first game we were the better team overall.

“The players were outstanding after no-one gave us a chance but, to a man, we were first class. I have a squad who believe in their ability and are together, but unfortunately penalties are a bit of a lottery.

“Everyone should be proud of themselves because we have played them off the park and taken them all the way.

“We had some glorious chances tonight but congratulations to Charlton because they have done it. This has given us a taster for next season and this group will be stronger.”

#final #play-off

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sportsleague365 · 5 years

Link

Championship• Sheffield United slipped to third after Bristol City came from behind to take victory at Bramall Lane, with Andreas Weimann scoring his first career hat-trick. Chris Wilder’s side twice took the lead through Billy Sharp and Scott Hogan before Weimann completed a fine comeback to dent the hosts’ automatic promotion hopes. Leeds United returned second with their own heroic fightback at Elland Road on what proved a good day for the pack of teams chasing a play-off berth. • Aston Villa earned a fifth successive league victory, with Tyrone Mings heading home the winner over Blackburn Rovers after Tammy Abraham’s 22nd goal of the season had set them on their way. Derby County enhanced their own credentials of landing a top-six spot after obliterating Rotherham on home soil. Martyn Waghorn ran in a hat-trick as Frank Lampard’s side hit the Millers for six. Derby’s east Midlands rivals Nottingham Forest also remain in the hunt after a recording a late comeback win at the City Ground, where Molla Wagué struck the winner three minutes from time. Preston, who drop to 10th, lost for the first time since January. Tammy Abraham celebrates his 22nd goal of the season. Photograph: Alan Walter/Action Images • At the bottom, Bolton Wanderers put their off-field troubles to one side as they gave themselves a survival lifeline at QPR. Will Buckley and Callum Connolly both scored before Nahki Wells netted a consolation. Ipswich moved a step closer to relegation after falling to defeat at home to Hull, while Wigan and Brentford played out a stalemate. Aston Villa 2-1 Blackburn, Derby 6-1 Rotherham, Ipswich 0-2 Hull, Leeds 3-2 Millwall, Middlesbrough 0-1 Norwich, Nottm Forest 2-1 Swansea, QPR 1-2 Bolton, Reading 2-1 Preston, Sheff Utd 2-3 Bristol City, Stoke 0-0 Sheff Wed, Wigan 0-0 Brentford League One• Luton Town extended their unbeaten run to 27 matches as they moved seven points clear at the summit with six games to play. James Collins’s 21st goal handed Luton the lead en route to a 2-1 victory at Bristol Rovers, who pulled a goal back through the in-form Jonson Clarke-Harris, who has scored nine goals in as many games since joining in January. Barnsley squandered the chance to open up some breathing space between them and third-placed Portsmouth and fourth-placed Sunderland – who meet in Sunday’s Checkatrade Trophy final – after failing to beat Coventry at Oakwell. Charlton remain fifth after Lyle Taylor struck his 15th goal of the campaign. • Doncaster returned to sixth after, in effect, getting the job done at home to lowly Walsall inside all of 360 seconds. Goals by John Marquis and Mallik Wilks earned Grant McCann’s side a two-goal cushion inside four minutes, before eventually running out 3-1 winners. At the bottom, AFC Wimbledon secured their fourth win in five games on the road as Wally Downes’s side picked up a priceless three points. James Hanson was at the double to haul Dons to within two points of Scunthorpe and they remain inside the relegation zone only on goal difference. Southend, who sacked Chris Powell in midweek, slipped to their fifth defeat in six matches. Accrington 0-1 Fleetwood, Barnsley 2-2 Coventry, Blackpool 2-2 Plymouth, Bristol Rovers 1-2 Luton, Charlton 1-0 Bradford, Doncaster 3-1 Walsall, Gillingham 1-1 Rochdale, Oxford 2-1 Wycombe, Scunthorpe 1-2 AFC Wimbledon, Southend 0-2 Shrewsbury League Two• Macclesfield held league leaders Lincoln to a draw at Sincil Bank but Sol Campbell’s side finished the day at the foot of the Football League. Notts County raced into a 3-0 half-time lead at Stevenage and preserved that advantage to jump off the bottom, while Yeovil slipped closer to the drop after Newport won 2-1 at Huish Park. Scott Wilson’s 11th goal of the season earned Macclesfield the lead before Neal Eardley equalised for Lincoln, who sit eight points clear of second-placed MK Dons. Bottom club Macclesfield gave top-of-the-table Lincoln a fright at Sincil Bank. Photograph: Chris Vaughan – CameraSport/CameraSport via Getty Images • Fifth-placed Tranmere kept pace after racking up a seventh straight league win, cruising to a 3-0 win over Carlisle. Swindon earned back-to-back wins to halt 10-man Bury’s 14-match winning run and edge closer to the play-offs, with Ryan Lowe’s side dropping to third. Mansfield thrashed Exeter 4-1, with Tyler Walker and CJ Hamilton both at the double. There were also big wins for relegation-threatened Port Vale and Morecambe, with Tom Pope netting his 100th goal for the former, his boyhood club. Bury 1-3 Swindon, Cambridge 0-1 Colchester, Crewe 1-3 Cheltenham, Exeter 1-4 Mansfield, Forest Green 1-2 MK Dons, Lincoln City 1-1 Macclesfield, Morecambe 1-0 Crawley, Northampton 1-2 Port Vale, Oldham 2-0 Grimsby, Stevenage 0-3 Notts County, Tranmere 3-0 Carlisle, Yeovil 1-3 Newport Source link The post Football League: Weimann stuns Sheffield United as Derby romp to win | Football appeared first on 10z Soccer. #LeagueOne #LeagueTwo

#LeagueOne #LeagueTwo

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savetopnow · 6 years

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2018-04-04 07 SOCIAL MEDIA now

SOCIAL MEDIA

Adweek Social Pro Daily

WPP Appoints Independent Counsel to Investigate Allegations of ‘Personal Misconduct’ Against CEO Martin Sorrell

Domino’s Mobile Game Highlights the Many Ways People Can Order Pizza

MSNBC, the Network of The Resistance, Is Rising

Barclays Investment Bank Launches Global Digital Agency Review

U.S. Army Marketing Executive Involved in McCann Conflict of Interest Controversy Retires

Agora Pulse

What Meet Edgar and SmarterQueue Alternatives Are Out There?

How TravelMedia.ie Save Time and Rock Community Management

Social Media Lab Monthly Wrap Up – March

How to Use Facebook’s New Placement Asset Customization Feature

How Your Team Can Ace Social Media Collaboration

Buffer Social

How to Discover and Create Content That Your Audience Craves (and Grow Your Following)

How to Schedule Instagram Posts: The Complete Guide

Are You Listening? The 20 Best Social Media Monitoring Tools

7 Invaluable Marketing Skills That Help Teams Produce Consistently Great Content

How to Create Engaging Short Videos for Social Media (Including 7 Excellent Examples)

Dustn.tv

Social Media Statistics 2018: What You Need to Know

Instagram Sizes and Dimensions 2018: Everything You Need to Know

Why You Need to Be at Social Media Marketing World 2018

Grow Your Influence on Baaz with News and Content Curation

Twitter Lists: Everything You Need to Know to Dominate

Hootsuite Blog

How to Get More Views on YouTube

As Facebook Shifts, Instagram Emerges As A New Home For Brands

Snapchat, Instagram Stories, or Facebook Stories—Which is Right For You?

A List of Weird ‘Holidays’ to Celebrate on Social Media

How to Advertise on YouTube: The Ultimate Guide

Mike Gingerich

An Easy to Follow Plan to Create Your Free Website Opt-in Offer

Top Ways to Succeed in Business

8 Ways To Digitally Market Your Small Business

Google Analytics Hacks to Improve Your SEO

Recent Social Media Updates in this Halftime Mike Podcast

Peg Fitzpatrick

Three Things I Learned about Branding from Magnolia

Easy Ways You Can Achieve Twitter Success in 2018

How to Attract an Audience with the Facebook Creator App

Five Things You Should Know About Pinterest Traffic

How to Create a Business You Love

Reddit Social Media

Is social media dying overall?

Instagram Page!

Does FB Algorithms Apply To Videos?

Any ideas for Social Media Scheduling Name?

Building An App To Make Content Creation And Promotion Easier And I'd Like To Hear Your Thoughts, Ideas, And Pain Points!

Social Media Examiner

How to Use Instagram Type Mode in Instagram Stories

How to Optimize Facebook Ad Bidding: Clicks or Impressions?

Facebook New Subscription Service for Creators and Pausing Messenger Chatbots

LinkedIn Prospecting: How to Find and Connect With Future Customers

New Facebook Advertising Research for Marketers

Social Media Explorer

6 Tips for Effectively Managing a Small Business

Facebook Messenger Bots May Become More Important Than Email Marketing

Using a Strong Brand to Create Your Own Social Media Funnel

The Most Overlooked Email Marketing Strategies of 2018

How Blogging Changed the World and Why You Should Be Blogging in 2018 [Infographic]

Social Media Hat

5 Signs Your Instagram and Facebook Influencer Campaigns Aren’t Working

Facebook And Fallout From The 2016 Presidential Election

How To Debate Issues On Facebook

Want To Use Instagram for Business? Buy This Book!

Mike Allton Joins Agorapulse As Brand Evangelist

Social Media Today

What Instagram's Altered Algorithm Really Means for Brands

Facebook Is Removing Powerful Ad Targeting Options - Here's What to Do

Addressing Challenges, and Changing Culture, with Enterprise Social Sales Programs [Podcast]

Instagram Changes API Limits, Crippling Some Third Party Analytics Apps

11 Reasons You Don't Get Any Traffic from Google [Infographic]

Social Media Week

6 Ways To Explore the Future of Democracy & Tech At SMWNYC

5 Questions With Lydia Daly, SVP of Social & Branded Content, Viacom

Study: Amazon is Most-Liked Brand, While Trump Hotels is Least-Liked

Don’t Go There Without a Map: 2018 Content Marketing Trends You Need to Know

Report: Here’s How Facebook’s Algorithm Change Is Affecting Publishers

Top Dog Social Media

Introducing the New LinkedIn User Interface [UI Makeover] 2018 UPDATE

The Relationship Between Social Media, Cryptocurrency and Blockchain

The Real Score on ROI with Social Selling

LinkedIn vs. Xing: The Battle for DACH

Measure Your Marketing Performance to Your Competitors

#social media

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morganbelarus · 7 years

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Where beauty queens mingle with live rattlesnakes

Sweetwater, Texas (CNN)The beauty pageant contestants had been preparing for months, designing elaborate outfits, rehearsing talent acts and practicing flawless walks across the stage for their town's most highly anticipated event.

"We probably are the only beauty pageant that does kill and skin snakes," said Cyera Pieper, a high school sophomore and contestant in Sweetwater's "Miss Snake Charmer" pageant, a west Texas tradition that dates back decades. The winner of the contest is expected to take on responsibilities of a traditional beauty queen -- attend community events, take photos with residents and preside over the next year's contest -- but here in Sweetwater, they also agree to climb into a pit of poisonous snakes, decapitate and skin them.

A post shared by Chris Moody (@chrismoodycnn) on Mar 9, 2017 at 2:35pm PST

For nearly 60 years, this town of around 11,000 has hosted what has become the world's largest "rattlesnake roundup," where hunters bring live, poisonous snakes to the city's fairgrounds that are put on display, slaughtered and sold.

When the snakes arrive, they are weighed, measured and milked for venom. They await their ultimate demise in giant pits surrounded by curious onlookers and tourists, some of whom travel from across the globe. Once data is collected on the snakes, their heads are chopped off and their bodies are skinned and processed to be used for meat and goods like wallets, hat bands and boots.

The tradition began in the late 1950s, when ranchers, worried about rattlesnakes biting their livestock, workers and families, held an informal roundup. The roundup took on a life of its own over the years and now serves as the year's biggest fundraiser for Sweetwater's local Jaycee's group, a fraternal organization. Last year, the festival took in a record haul of 24,262 pounds of rattlesnakes; this year, organizers capped it at 6,500 pounds. Today, the weeklong celebration includes a parade through the streets of Sweetwater, a carnival, a neighboring gun and coin show, a cook-off, a beard contest and the beauty pageant.

A post shared by Chris Moody (@chrismoodycnn) on Mar 10, 2017 at 4:39pm PST

"It's a very big thing for our economy," said Rob McCann, a member of the Sweetwater Jaycees. "This event pays for basically everything we do in the community for a year."

Indeed, nearly 50,000 people flock to this town every year to see the spectacle, taste rattlesnake meat and watch beauty contestants dressed in sashes and tiaras climb into a pit filled with hundreds of venomous snakes.

For the young women of Sweetwater who participate, being able to kill and skin a snake is a point of pride.

"My guy friends are like, 'No, I'm not doing that. I don't know how you do that,'" Pieper said. "Woman power."

The festival, as many outsiders may guess, is not without controversy. Animal rights groups have long condemned the practice as cruel and unnecessary to the rattlesnakes.

"The traditional roundups of Sweetwater need to end," wrote Wendy Townsend in a 2014 CNN op-ed about the event. "The Jaycees could create a festival that raises money for the community and celebrates the rattlesnake as an icon of the American West."

But festival organizers point to the massive economic boost the town receives from the roundup and say the roundup keeps their communities safer.

"We live in West Texas so we have this problem," said McCann. "Don't judge us because you don't have rattlesnakes where your kids play."

A post shared by Chris Moody (@chrismoodycnn) on Mar 9, 2017 at 9:30pm PST

More From this publisher : HERE

=> *********************************************** Original Post Here: Where beauty queens mingle with live rattlesnakes ************************************ =>

Where beauty queens mingle with live rattlesnakes was originally posted by 16 MP Just news

#16 MP Just news

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be-conceptual-eyes-blog · 6 years

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CREATIVE MARKETING CASE STUDY: THE INSPIRATION FROM CITIES

Early in the spring this year, Coca Cola China has tried new twist on marketing strategy “Share a Coke” which has been brought to over 80 countries and made the huge buzz in both terms of media impact and trade effect since first launch in 2011. When “Share a Coke” started in Australia in 2011, the campaign focused on placing common first names on the label so people would snatch up bottles bearing their names and friends’ names. China followed the idea in 2013, yet used popular online nicknames like “Superstar” or “Dreamer” to tap into China’s media-savvy young generation instead of using real names. Continuing campaign success, customized bottles with song lyrics appeared a year later. Then, as movie trend boomed in 2015, the campaign was all about famous films and TV quotes replaced brand name on bottles.

This spring, to iterate the popular campaign, Chinese customers can have customized Coke sleek can inspired by traditionally cultural value which is one of the most effective material to do branding in this most populated market. China is a vast country with many megacities varied in manners an customs. Different cities regconized by thier distinctive charms in geographic condition, life style, people, food or infrastructure has coloured a stunning picture about China whose heart and soul lies in the cultural attributes of each place. Everyone has their own city that they fall in love with, it can be a person’s hometown sticked to thier childhood, a current city of habitation where their daily lives circulate within or someplace that people have not ever been but exists in them a desire to visit.

“The uniqueness of China’s cities has become a big talking point amongst Chinese youth, who are moving between cities more than ever. They want to stay connected to their roots, as well as forging new connections to the places they move to,” said Cia Hatzi, chief client officer for McCann Worldgroup APAC.

Coca-Cola is launching a series of 23 limited edition cans celebrating the distinct faces of city in China. 23 city themed design featuring thier unique icons and descriptions mixing it with modern and stylish sense of art, Coca-Cola can help you to get closer to these cities that touch your soul and at the other extreme, let you touch their souls. The can designs are visually captivating because some details are obvious, and others discoverable upon a second glance.

“No matter where we grow up, where we go to university or where our careers take us, each city that we live in leaves an impression that is embedded in us forever. Each has its own culture and flavor, its sights and sounds. But above all, cities are made of people. While we may live in a city, it’s the city that also lives in us,” said Richard Cotton, head of content, creative & design, Coca-Cola Greater China & Korea.

For example, a Delectable Guangzhou is known for its delicious food, so that the icon comes up with modern girl donning the hat with bamboo steamer with buns. A Stylish Shanghai with unstoppable pursuit of trend. Whether it is a group of passers-by or a typical bourgeoisie who enjoying a cup of afternoon tea on Nanjing West road, they all dressed up in a trailblazingly fashionable outfits.

As a part of the camapign, a short TVC is released to take people on a journey across 3 signature cities of China namely Beijing, Chengdu and Shanghai communicated a sense of what gives each location a unique flavor. The endorsement with one of the most popular influencer in China, Luhan with his huge teenager fan base which is counted as productive source of taget consumer, this cooperation has helped boost product sales as long as the TVC launched. In addition, Coca- Cola theme song “Taste the feeling” is also locally remade to adapt to new approach “Taste the feeling of cities”.

Besides TVC celebrating city cultures, the campaign also includes print billboards and a partnership with Baidu to create an augmented reality experience to allow customers to interact with product and packaging in interesting and engaging way. The opportunity for experience opens within 1-month duration from March 12 to April 16, offers customers the chance to scan the special animations on the can using Baidu app to unlock the city’s hidden charms to closely explore and understand its characteristic and temperament.

With the same purpose of previous campaigns, this twist is credited with boosting sales. There have not been specific number indicating sale volumes, however, it is inferred that Coca Cola would be experiencing significant breakthough in product consumption due to the fact that young consumer group has risen dramatically in the past 2 years. Further, there is a shift in consumption behaviour among these target group proven by the psychological insight that young people is constantly looking for changes in their perception of happiness. They are no longer sensitive to price. “Money can buy us happiness” has become the point of view of most new generation consumers.

This innovative approach of Coca-Cola attracted a lot of attention as soon as it was launched. In terms of media partnership, Weibo and Wechat plays critical roles of multiplying campaign’s magnitude in scale as in China, these 2 names are considered top-of-mind active platforms. The media performance analytics in solely 2 middle weeks of the campaign from March 24 to April 7 showed impressive numbers. Along with a support from massive engagment of wide range of fashion and travel bloggers, brand mentions have spiked as much as 504% on social media as many people are excited gto to express thier love over favorite cities captured on the can with hashtag #Coca-Cola City Can on Weibo and Wechat.

In summary, Coca Cola x City is a marketing campaign successfuly run based on profound insight of cultural value that has strong impact on emotional buying behaviour. Innovative approach has helped China stand out in current harsh competition in drink segment. The campaign offers personalized touch an customized sense of experience to that effectively enhances customer advocacy, then maximizes brand image.

Sticking to the same strategy motto “Share happiness”, yet previous campaign focuses on personal experience in terms personal identity, hobby, this time Coca Cola tells bigger story using nation pride as the fulcrum that generates promotion for the cities, thus evokes brand love.

Vietnam and China does not see big gap in cultural differences, hence lesson learned here is the applicability of the same innovative way to interweave brands’ core value with cultural context into local projects in future. Vietnam diversity and distinctiveness of regional values in combination with available technology base like Zalo can be a perfect duet of maketing catalyst to make the same effect for any brands in need.

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365footballorg-blog · 6 years

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Rob Maclean: Dundee will face fight to hold on to midfield duo

Media playback is not supported on this device

BBC commentator Rob Maclean provides his take on another weekend of Scottish football.

Dundee will do well to keep duo

Rhyming midfielders Glen Kamara and Mark O’Hara will be in demand after helping seal Dundee’s top-flight status.

McCann frustration at referee Walsh[1]

Arithmetically, the Dark Blues could still end up in the relegation playoff place but, in reality, that’s not going to be happening on the back of Saturday’s 1-0 home win against Hamilton.

Manager Neil McCann is right to say that clambering out of the drop zone is no great cause for celebration. Dundee should be better than that.

Media playback is not supported on this device

Twenty-two-year-old Finnish international Kamara wasn’t good enough for Arsenal but he’s been a stylish performer for Dundee, who will do well to keep him into the second year of his Dens Park deal.

O’Hara, also 22, is weeks away from the end of his contract and, as he stalls on signing an extension, there has to be lots of outside interest in the powerful midfielder.

I’ll be pleased for Dundee, but amazed, if they’re both at the club next season.

Capital gains are a must for Hearts

Media playback is not supported on this device

Hearts are playing capital catch-up this summer and it’s a massive gap they’re trying to close.

The league doesn’t lie with just a couple of games to go and the Jambos are 20 points worse off than Hibs going into Wednesday night’s Edinburgh derby.

There was a lot to like about the Hearts performance against champions Celtic at Tynecastle on Sunday despite losing 3-1. And two big decisions went against them.

‘Ridiculous’ decision cost us – Levein[2]

They had a goal wrongly chalked off before they did take the lead and Dedryck Boyata’s equaliser should have been flagged offside.

But over the piece their season has been one of under-achievement despite a post-Ian Cathro revival when Craig Levein first stepped back into the front line.

That recovery has fizzled out, they’ve won only two of their last 10 games and the success story at Easter Road has only emphasised how much Hearts have to improve.

Rising star Ferguson a coup for Reds

Media playback is not supported on this device

I don’t think teenage midfielder Lewis Ferguson will be patiently waiting in line to make his Aberdeen breakthrough next season.

He seems like the sort of youngster who’ll be quickly battering on the Dons’ door, looking to make an immediate impact, after signing a pre-contract agreement to swap Hamilton for Pittodrie.

Ferguson agrees pre-contract with Aberdeen[3]

Eighteen year old Lewis, whose dad Derek starred for Rangers and Hearts and whose uncle is former Rangers and Scotland skipper Barry, has had a rapid rise to prominence.

He only made his Accies debut four months ago and was instantly so impressive it made you wonder why he hadn’t played before.

After only 14 appearances for Hamilton, Ferguson is about to become an Aberdeen player and he looks to have all the attributes to continue on a pretty dramatic upward curve.

Final countdown for below-par Steelmen

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Two weeks away from the Scottish Cup Final, Motherwell turned in one of their poorest performances of the season, losing 5-1 at home to St Johnstone.

That’s the bad news. The good news is they have two more games to get back up to speed ahead of a massive test against double treble-seeking Celtic at Hampden.

Farewell treble a dream for MacLean[4]

And Motherwell’s last 90 minutes before a second cup final appearance of an impressive campaign is a Lanarkshire derby which should provide all the intensity they need.

Clear of any relegation worries, manager Stephen Robinson has to be philosophical about his team taking their collective eye off the ball in a match of little significance.

Although it certainly didn’t lack significance for Saints skipper-for-the-day Steven MacLean, who nabbed a hat-trick in his last game for the Perth team.

References

^ McCann frustration at referee Walsh (www.bbc.co.uk)

^ ‘Ridiculous’ decision cost us – Levein (www.bbc.co.uk)

^ Ferguson agrees pre-contract with Aberdeen (www.bbc.co.uk)

^ Farewell treble a dream for MacLean (www.bbc.co.uk)

BBC Sport – Scottish

Rob Maclean: Dundee will face fight to hold on to midfield duo was originally published on 365 Football

#Dundee #face #fight #hold #MacLean #midfield

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taesian-blog · 7 years

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How to get over World Series woes

Written by Taesian (Photo: LA times)

Hello Tumblr I’m back. Perhaps this is long overdue, and I might be back here after some Life Misfortunes and Life Miscues. SO I am a big Dodger fan. I’ve been to over 200 Dodger games since 1997. Most memorable game, is when we hit 4 HRs back to back to back to back, 2 off HOF Trevor Hoffman, followed by a Nomar HR in extra innings, Game I want to forget: Fernando Tatis hit 2 Grand Slames in 1 inning against ChanHo Park.

Oct 1st was pretty tough for me. More to follow on that on my next novel.

LOS ANGELES DODGERS had the best record in MLB. On to the playoffs. We waited for the winner of the NL Wildcard team, as division rivals Arizona Diamondbacks played the Colorado Rockies (2 of 3 teams in MLB using State in their names, I’ll consider NY teams as NYC)

I said if we lose to them, I was going to move out of State, just hop on my Harley and head East until I found something or someone to settle on. Then we faced the Cubs in the NLCS, rematch of last year’s, and we beat them pretty smoothly.

I thought we were UNSTOPPABLE………… WORLD SERIES - Great series. But it was turbulent. It was emotionally, mentally, and physically draining. It was up and down. It was like my parents’ marriage. It frustrated me to watch like how this tumblr page is lagging. I stared at the TV blankly for 6 minutes straight until the commercial break when Brian McCann hit the HR at the end of Game 5. Series ended. It ended on a ground ball to Jose Altuve, who I call Venezuelan Mighty Mouse, as he threw to first, and the Houston Astros celebrated their first World Series at Dodgers Stadium. On Blue Heaven. On the Cathedral. Congratulations Houston, But it just felt shitty. It was a shitty way to go. I heard this series was better than last year, and I have to disagree. Indians were down by 1 at the end of the game last year. Both teams were fighting 50+ year championship droughts. I felt very void. It felt like I was dumped. It felt like “the great hope” was washed away just like that. I received more “get well” messages than the times I tore my ankle, knee, shoulder - combined.

That was Wednesday. Back to work Thursday. Thursday I worked by USC Culver City. Many people had LA hats on, blue jerseys, Dodger t-shirts. I worked until 6:30 PM and as I drove by DTLA, I saw the sign for the Kings game. I bought a last minute ticket and went to the game by myself.

I saw the LA Kings jump to a 5-0 lead. Yes! (like how the Astros got to a 5-0 lead…… 0_x) It was Jonathan Quick’s 500th game. I saw a player score his first ever NHL goal.

Then there was some BS call, then the Maple Leafs scored on a penalty shot. The Maple Leafs came back and made it closer, score 5-3. Kings eventually won, but it was a very uneasy 5-3 game. Entertaining game at Staples. Friday night, I have been invited back to the Staple Center for a Laker game. It was the return of DLOas the Brooklyn Nets came to LA, as Brook Lopez, Dlo, Mozgov, Corey Brewer played their former teams.

Brook Lopez went OFF score 30+ points 10+ boards, my new favorite Laker Kuzma got a double-double as well. I saw more Dodger jerseys there, almost as many as Laker jerseys. I am fortunate to live in a great city, with all these great sports teams. Every year the Dodgers with the new ownership have gotten further into the playoffs, and at this rate, they should WIN the WS in 2018. The Vegas odds have the Dodgers 5 to 1 to win the World Series in 2018. To get over the World Series woes, I am staying optimistic in the management, manager and coaches, and the players, and the baseball gods, that all things will align and the Dodgers will win their first world series in 30 years. 7th title will come to boys in Blue. OPTIMISM of my town will get me through the World Series blues.

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savetopnow · 6 years

Text

2018-04-04 04 SOCIAL MEDIA now

SOCIAL MEDIA

Adweek Social Pro Daily

U.S. Army Marketing Executive Involved in McCann Conflict of Interest Controversy Retires

When Marketers Use Data the Right Way, We All Benefit

SS+K Hires New Creative Leader as M&C Saatchi Group Aims to Expand Its North American Footprint

How Brands Can Wield Their Power to Inspire Unity Among Consumers

The North Face’s New Campaign Aims to Focus More on Women in Advertising

Agora Pulse

What Meet Edgar and SmarterQueue Alternatives Are Out There?

How TravelMedia.ie Save Time and Rock Community Management

Social Media Lab Monthly Wrap Up – March

How to Use Facebook’s New Placement Asset Customization Feature

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Buffer Social

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othersportsnews-blog · 7 years

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Fantasy hockey - matchups, projections, notes for January 23-29

New Post has been published on https://othersportsnews.com/fantasy-hockey-matchups-projections-notes-for-january-23-29/

Fantasy hockey - matchups, projections, notes for January 23-29

We have experienced two NHL coaching improvements this year and, even however one arrived in November, both are top of intellect heading into this weekend.

The New York Islanders lastly did anything about their in general predicament by allowing longtime mentor Jack Capuano go this 7 days and replacing him with former NHL centre Doug Bodyweight.

Interim Florida Panthers mentor Tom Rowe took about driving the bench almost two months ago but is entrance and centre for fantasy owners this 7 days just after his reviews about Jonathan Huberdeau and Aleksander Barkov probably lacking the remainder of the campaign.

Florida Panthers superstars done for year?

Very first, let’s wander every person back again from the ledge with regard to Huberdeau and Barkov. Rowe’s reviews had been generic in mother nature and in reaction to a query that was precisely asking if they could overlook the relaxation of the year. Although the headlines all around the league are pretty foreboding, and they are not deceptive ample to say they are taken out of context, his true reaction was: “These are two franchise-sort gamers, and we are certainly not going to hurry them back again. They’re going to be back again in the lineup when every person feels they are prepared to perform. Yeah, you are usually concerned about it (getting year-ending), but we are not eaten with it every working day.”

That is a whole lot a lot less apparent than the headlines are producing it appear. In truth, fairly than propose they could overlook the relaxation of the year, Rowe precisely pushed back again Huberdeau’s timeline by a thirty day period, when not finding into any important specifics on Barkov.

Fantasy owners invested in the Panthers’ two young stars are most surely feeling the soreness, and looking at the headlines certainly was not an encouraging exercise, but this shouldn’t transform a whole lot about your solution if you very own them. Huberdeau and Barkov are stars on the increase and have been critical fantasy contributors when nutritious for the earlier two many years. Since Jaromir Jagr joined them to type a line at the tail end of the 2014-15 year, their numbers have been great. Combining previous year and the final 21 video games of the 2014-15 year, Barkov has seventy four points in 86 video games, Huberdeau has 75 points in one hundred video games and Jagr has eighty four points in ninety nine video games. Huberdeau has skipped all of this year, but Barkov and Jagr blended for forty eight points prior to Barkov was wounded in late December.

House owners who dropped Huberdeau in the final preseason activity in October have been discovering a way to exist with out him, and Barkov owners have experienced almost a thirty day period to fill the gap given that his damage. Although Huberdeau’s unique timetable was 3 to four months, a return in early March would make it five months total. If you have held on this long with him in your wounded reserve slot, what’s a further thirty day period? Barkov is a activity-changer for fantasy owners, so even however he is damage and now tied to people year-ending reviews by Rowe, he is continue to rehabbing and functioning towards an on-ice return. He’s truly worth holding on to except we get some variety of greater indication than Rowe’s generic reaction to a query.

That claimed, if you never very own Huberdeau or Barkov and you perform in a keeper league, now is the time to press for a trade with their operator. Although Rowe’s reviews weren’t truly worth placing a whole lot of inventory in, they are scary to fantasy owners who perhaps didn’t read between the lines. Huberdeau and Barkov will be top-75 fantasy property heading into following year – Jagr or no Jagr. If their owners are searching for anything they can use this year, they could be an outstanding focus on for keeper-league owners actively playing for following year.

Redraft league owners will never be able to do considerably about the predicament, as the apparent winner on the ice proper now is All-Star Vincent Trocheck. The elevated next-line centre has 14 points in eleven video games given that Barkov’s damage but will be spoken for in any league truly worth its salt. Following trying Jonathan Marchessault and Seth Griffith on the top line with Trocheck and Jagr, Rowe has seemingly settled on Jared McCann for now. He has 3 points in five video games when actively playing on the top line but will want to display a bit far more prior to getting advised for fantasy deployment.

New Islanders Islanders on the increase?

As for Bodyweight and the Islanders, his debut driving the bench couldn’t have absent greater Thursday. The Isles skated to a 3- shutout of the Dallas Stars, with catalysts John Tavares continuing his hot perform by publishing two ambitions, six pictures and a moreover-3 score. Just shy of forty percent of Tavares’ ambitions this year have occur in the earlier four video games (7 of eighteen ambitions), so he is been turning a corner given that prior to the Capuano canning and arrival of Bodyweight. But new blood bodes very well for the celebrity, who experienced a extremely disappointing 2016 half of the 2016-17 year.

The Islanders required a transform simply because they had been getting usually overwhelmed by opponents. They continue to be next to previous in the NHL in the shot attempts (Corsi) division, with an in general minus-298 for five-on-five belongings. They had been edged out in the possession activity on Thursday, but not by considerably. Anecdotally, Tavares experienced a further couple of potent scoring odds and could have quickly completed with a hat trick or greater in this activity, experienced a couple of bounces absent his way. Nevertheless it will not look to have been initiated by Weight’s arrival, Tavares appears to be like to be turning all around his year — big time. He may perhaps not get back his top-10 fantasy asset status with out some far more meaningful wingers in Lengthy Island, but even all alone, he can be a top-twenty five male.

Bodyweight has been Capuano’s assistant given that he retired in 2011, so it really is no shock that he didn’t transform considerably as far as the lineup was concerned. He also will not have lots of options for tinkering, as the Isles have fairly considerably experimented with every conceivable line mix this year with minimal results. Josh Bailey and Anders Lee continue to be with Tavares for now and convey benefit in streaks to deep leagues. Nick Leddy remains the position guy on the electricity perform but will not do ample with it to warrant shallow league possession. Thomas Greiss has potent ample ratios for perform as a No. two fantasy goalie, regardless of the absence of wins. None of this is new information or improvements proper absent simply because of this coaching change.

This will get attention-grabbing when the Islanders get started considering some of their youth as they glimpse to the long run. We could probably see some late-year utilization of AHL rookies Josh Ho-Sang and Michael Dal Colle or a return of offensive defenseman prospect Ryan Pulock. If the Islanders never have a important turnaround in the following thirty day period below Bodyweight, some of their veterans could be dealt off at the deadline and make room for some of the younger gamers to lead.

Fantasy Forecaster: Jan. 23-29

The All-Star crack normally takes 3 times out of this 7 days and, as a result, none of the NHL teams are on their January/February “bye” 7 days. If actively playing in weekly formats, this 7 days will presently be spoken for in your lineup on ESPN.com, as it locked in mix with previous 7 days simply because of the lowered quantity of video games.

Just about every team has at minimum two video games this coming 7 days prior to the crack and no team perform far more than 3. It truly is the Calgary Flames, Los Angeles Kings, San Jose Sharks, Toronto Maple Leafs, Washington Capitals and Winnipeg Jets that all have 3 video games, which signifies they all have a back again-to-back again set in there somewhere. The Vancouver Canucks, Philadelphia Flyers, Edmonton Oilers and Detroit Pink Wings have a back again-to-back again set following 7 days as their only video games.

Download the forecaster chart PDF in this article

For people new to the Forecaster chart, in this article are some explanations: “O” (offense) and “D” (defense) matchup rankings are primarily based upon a scale from one (bad matchup) to 10 (outstanding matchup) and are calculated working with a system that evaluates the team’s year-to-day statistics, their overall performance in household/highway video games depending on where the activity is to be performed, as very well as their opponents’ numbers in people groups. The “Rankings” column lists the cumulative score from one-10 of that week’s offensive (“O”) and defensive (“D”) matchups.

Crew notes

Calgary Flames: The Flames check out the Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators following 7 days. You can want to get started all the regular suspects and consider going a bit further. Troy Brouwer, back again from damage for four video games now, is back again on a line with Sean Monahan and Johnny Gaudreau to get him on track. If it appears to be like like he is continue to driving their wing headed into Monday, get him in your lineup. Although this has meant a demotion for Kris Versteeg, he continue to remains on the electricity perform and has ambitions in consecutive video games.

Philadelphia Flyers: The Flyers have a wonderful back again-to-back again set prior to the All-Star crack, having on the New York Rangers and Maple Leafs. If some line improvements prior to their “bye” 7 days hold this weekend, you are going to want to consider Sean Couturier for a return to fantasy relevance. He performed with Jakub Voracek and Nick Cousins when the Flyers previous hit the ice, when Michael Raffl was previous spotted with Wayne Simmonds and Claude Giroux. Brayden Schenn was lower down the lineup with Travis Konecny and Dale Weise.

San Jose Sharks: Following exhibiting some signs of existence previous 7 days, Mikkel Boedker was benched in the 3rd period on Thursday. If he has fallen out of favor with mentor Peter DeBoer once more, it signifies Joonas Donskoi gets a further shot in the top six on a line with Logan Couture and Kevin Labanc. The Sharks have a sweetheart 7 days on tap for scoring with video games from the Colorado Avalanche, Jets and Oilers.

New Jersey Devils and New York Islanders: Now may possibly not be the 7 days to experiment with the Islanders fringe gamers or get started some of the lower-tier Devils gamers. The Islanders facial area the Columbus Blue Jackets and Canadiens, which can switch in some of the far more formidable goaltending in the league (new success notwithstanding). The Devils facial area only the Los Angeles Kings and Capitals, which are similarly as “shutdown” as opponents occur. Tavares is in your lineups, so to is Taylor Corridor. Outdoors of that, you are on a scenario-by-scenario foundation.

Goalie notes

As ESPN.com’s Victoria Matiash pointed out this 7 days, Carey Cost requirements to head to the bench for a spell in fantasy leagues. We know there is a distinction between causation and correlation, but prior to Andrei Markov‘s current damage, Cost sported a one.95 ambitions-from average and .935 help save share in 22 video games. Since Markov was damage on Dec. 17, Cost has a 3.twenty five GAA and .884 help save share in eleven contests. Markov remains off the ice with a lower-entire body damage and no timetable, so it will not glimpse like we’ll be able to locate out if the absence of the veteran’s defensive prowess was a issue in Price’s current tailspin whenever before long.

We had been joking at the get started of January when we suggested Pekka Rinne was about to go on a run for the thirty day period, but in this article we are. Rinne has yo-yoed his stats this year, alternating good months and awful months like clockwork. Does that indicate you need to get started making ready for a slump in February? It can’t damage to be organized by handcuffing Juuse Saros to Rinne now in your lineup. Following all, Saros has been impressive in his constrained opportunities.

Although Frederik Andersen experienced a wonderful run in November and December, he is seemed shaky for mainly all of January. If you had been working with him as a No. two fantasy goaltender or place get started No. 3, it really is time to re-consider that strategy.

We are going to bite on at minimum retaining an eye on Magnus Hellberg when he is up with the Rangers. As soon as upon a time, he seemed like an heir obvious to Rinne in Nashville, but Hellberg could never ever match his stellar AHL rookie campaign from 2012-13. Nonetheless, he is stored his AHL history extremely respectable and place in a good deal of function for the duration of five seasons in the minors. With Antti Raanta wounded and Henrik Lundqvist sputtering, there could be a shorter run of benefit in this article for Hellberg.

Why not? Let’s get Ondrej Pavelec back again into the combine for the Jets. The veteran netminder who was banished to the AHL to get started the year, was back again up on Wednesday to notch a earn from the Arizona Coyotes. It, nonetheless, was not a fairly earn, as Pavelec allowed 3 ambitions to the hapless Desert Puppies, who have in any other case averaged two.07 ambitions for each activity this year. There is most most likely very little to see in this article.

Participant notes

Presently searching like he was rounding into type, a new linemate kicked Patrice Bergeron into higher equipment on Wednesday. Frank Vatrano replaced David Pastrnak on the top line and Bergeron managed a 3-position night time — his first of the year. If the window has shut on acquiring Bergeron very low, check out out Vatrano as an solution for assistance.

You imagine Nino Niederreiter is going to stick on the top line? Heading for a new glimpse pursuing a reduction to New Jersey, mentor Bruce Boudreau tossed Niederreiter into a unit with Eric Staal and Charlie Coyle. Niederreiter collected 3 points, which include two on the electricity perform, where oddly ample he will not perform with Staal or Coyle.

The Anaheim Ducks have improved up their electricity perform, going with a four-forward solution that now involves Rickard Rakell on the top unit. Rather superior news for a fantasy asset who will not get the love he justifies. Rakell is on pace for 36 ambitions regardless of lacking the first eleven video games of the year. How is this male out there in any leagues, allow alone 35 percent of them?

Antoine Roussel has been finding minutes on a scoring line with Jason Spezza and Tyler Seguin, though that could transform pursuing a shutout at the fingers of the Islanders. Nonetheless, Roussel requirements to be scooped up for shorter-term use when he is actively playing in the top six.

If you are trolling the emphasize packages for anecdotal fantasy options, glimpse no more than Viktor Arvidsson. Continually grabbing awareness with his speed, Arvidsson’s totals for the year continue to glimpse fairly superior regardless of a scoring drought to get started 2017. He snapped a one-guide-in-six-video games slump on Thursday with two helpers and could have a big complete to the year if he retains actively playing with Ryan Johansen and Filip Forsberg.

As recently as Jan. 7, all 3 of Rick Nash, Mika Zibanejad and Pavel Buchnevich had been on the sidelines for the Rangers. Now, the trio is tearing up opponents as the Rangers’ new scoring line. Owned in eighty one percent, 51 percent and 26 percent of ESPN leagues, you have a wonderful sliding scale for your own league depth from which to find one of them from the waiver wire.

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ngtrend-network · 7 years

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12 Ways to Find Legitimate Business Opportunities

12 Ways to Start a Business: Finding the Real Opportunities

Want to start a business? Don't waste money on business opportunity scams! The best business ideas are right in front of you. Here are 12 time-tested ways to start your own business.

They are lurking in your garage, in your basement, in your kitchen, and in your children's room. You'll find them in social media conversation you participate in, at your neighbor's house and at work. They're hiding in the annoyances you deal with daily and in the joyous celebrations in your life.

They are right there in the vegetables you brought in from the yard... in the stack of papers next to your laser printer...in the back of your truck... and at the back of your mind.

You don't need to be a genius or an MBA to spot those ideas and turn them into profits, either. Identifying business opportunities is often as easy as identifying problems many people share and finding a way to solve them.

When Matthew Osborne, an entrepreneur from Columbus, OH, wanted a way to make money, he found one right at his feet: dog dirt.

Unlike most people who just gripe about stepping in it or having to clean it up, he started a business removing dog waste from homeowners' yards.

The business was an immediate success, and after several years, he sold the business for a quarter of a million dollars. Even then, however, he continued to make money from his idea by writing a booklet about how to start a pet waste removal business and selling the booklet on the Internet.

Other business owners have turned their hobbies, interests and skills into satisfying and often lucrative businesses, simply by seeing a need in the world around them and finding a way to fill it. You can, too.

Do what you love to do Businesses don't just happen. They are made. Whether you plan to profit by twisting balloons into smile-generating shapes or orchestrating the growth of multimillion dollar, multinational companies, your success relies on what you bring to the business. If you love what you do, your passion for the business will drive you to be knowledgeable, creative and persistent. On the other hand, if your feeling for what you do is lukewarm, your success will be, too.

Read Also: How To Recover From Business Fall

Turn old standbys into new products Truly new concepts are few and far between. Most new products or new business ideas are simply spin-offs of old ones. Inline skates is one good example. Essentially, they are ice skates on wheels. Or, depending on your point of view, streamlined roller-skates. Other business ideas are nothing more than new ways of marketing mundane products. Take 1800flowers.com, for example. Florists were around as relatively small, local stores for years --but then Jim McCann, who started with a single retail shop in 1976, acquired the phone number 1-800-Flowers and developed a network of florists. The company saw an opportunity to grow online, and started selling through the early commercial online services, and then the Internet.

You may not have the money, management ability, contacts or desire to launch a major new product like inline skates or the energy or desire to turn your single store location into a multimillion-dollar sales organization. But you don't have to launch anything that large to start a business or introduce a new product. You need to think about what people want to buy and how they would like to buy it.

Years ago when my kids were little, I made money selling beanbags. The twist? I designed them in the shape of frogs and I filled them with birdseed instead of beans to make them pliable and less lumpy to the touch. To attract attention at craft shows, I displayed them in various human poses (sitting up, laying on their side resting their head on their hand, or hugging each other, for instance). I could produce them quickly and kept my costs low by making the frogs from inexpensive fabric remnants. That allowed me to price the frogs low enough to make them great impulse buys for parents who wanted to buy a small, inexpensive gift for a child.

You can spin almost any skill or industry knowledge into marketable new products or services.

A neighbor turned his skill at fixing cars into a repair and tune-up service. His angle? He was mobile. Customers didn't have to drop their car off at the shop. Instead, the "shop" (a van outfitted with tools and auto parts) came to them. Another acquaintance built a business by purchasing large quantities of chemicals and repackaging them in smaller quantities.

And then, there's the grandmother who couldn't find a product to organize her handbag. So, she went out and created one, and turned the product into a million-dollar business.

Look for mundane money-makers You don't need to create exciting new products or services to go into business, either. Millions of business owners profit by selling routine and sometimes unglamorous services such as window washing, car repair, sandwich making, building maintenance, house cleaning and plumbing. The key to making money with the mundane is to sell something your customers can't do, don't want to do, don't have the time to do, or can't get done well elsewhere.

Tip: one way to making really big money with mundane services is to develop a unique and reproducible method for marketing and delivering the service and then open up multiple offices, or franchise the concept. If you plan to franchise your idea or sell it as a business opportunity, retain an attorney early on who is familiar with franchise law and can help you steer clear of the pitfalls.

Turn that hobby into cash Do people ooh and ah at your handiwork? Whether you are a wiz at creating floral arrangements or at writing software, look for ways to turn your hobby into a business. You might want to manufacture your items in quantity, license them to other manufacturers, sell them by mail order, at flea markets or on consignment, or open your own retail outlet selling supplies to others with similar interests.

Ask the reference librarian at your public library to help you find trade magazines pertaining to your hobby, and read those to generate new business ideas.

Reach out and teach someone Do you have a skill others want to acquire? Do you have a knack for explaining things so others can understand them? If so, don't give your expertise away. Start charging for it!

For instance, if you are a karate expert, you might teach at a karate school or open your own karate school. If you're a talented artist, you could teach art at home or in a school.

Tip:: Make extra money selling books, supplies, or other items your students will need to buy to complete the course.

Sell training seminars to corporate America Don't limit yourself to training individuals or private groups of people. Look for ways to polish up your act and cash in on the $50 billion corporate training market.

What kind of training do corporations buy? Everything from sales, management and computer training courses to self-defense courses.

Read Also: Start Consulting Business and Sell Your Idea

To locate training opportunities, contact the human resources department and ask to speak to the person in charge of training programs. Introduce yourself to that person and make an appointment to discuss the company's needs and your ability to fill them. If you get the assignment, be sure to have handouts for the class so they know how to reach you for more intensive training on their own.

Mass produce your advice Selling your product or service one-on-one limits the amount of money you can earn to the number of people you can personally see. To increase your profits without significantly increasing your work, consider turning your expertise into booklets, books, computer programs, MP3s and DVDs that you can market in quantity.

You can use your computer to produce the printed matter and CDs, DVDs, and MP3s. You can outsource editing and production to professionals if you don't have those skills yourself. When sales volume grows, you may also want to outsource production and fulfillment.

If you need help producing audio or video, look for an independent contractor to do the work for you. Upwork.com, Freelancer.com, LinkedIn Profinder, and Craigslist.com are all good places to find freelance help.

Be an industry consultant This is another great way to increase your bank account. If you can solve business problems (such as how to bring waste water into compliance with EPA regulations) or answer important business questions (what steps should be taken to increase market share in a target market or how to manage inventory more efficiently) you can earn substantial hourly fees selling your advice to corporations as a consultant. Downsized corporations can be a good source of consulting business since they may no longer have experts they need on staff.

Turn a former employer into a valuable source of new business Just because you leave a company doesn't mean it doesn't need your services. Companies often retain the services of former workers on a freelance or consulting basis. That way they get the benefit of trained personnel without having to pay payroll taxes and benefits. If you leave a company on good terms, ask about contract or freelance opportunities. Don't stop with contacts who work with the former employer, either. Call your former employer's suppliers and customers and tell them about your capabilities. Call their competitors, too. Stress your industry knowledge, contacts and skills. You may soon find that the income you earn exceeds what you made as an employee.

Modify one of your existing products Sometimes all it takes to create a "new" product is to make a slight change in an existing product.

Harrison-Hoge Industries is a mail order company in Port Jefferson, NY, that sells fishing lures, inflatable boats and other outdoor gear. To expand their line, the company added a wide-brimmed, canvas hat called the Campesino to its catalog. The hat was a big success, but the owners of the company thought there might be more they could do with it. And there was.

They discovered they could adapt the hat to sell in specialized markets just by changing the hat band. As a result, they began to supply the Museum of Natural History and the Guggenheim Museum (both in New York City) with hats. Each museum's hat has its own distinctive hat band.

Skip the start-up headaches: purchase an existing business When you start a business from scratch you have to jump through hoops to find and train employees, build up a customer base and find suppliers. But when you buy an existing business much of this infrastructure will already be in place.

Don Pelham bough of MasterCare Cleaning Services, in Seattle, WA, from another businessman. He explains the advantage of purchasing a business this way: "In a start-up you have to pound the pavement while you wait for your ads to appear in the phone books and your website to show up in Google. But when you purchase a business, the phone rings from day one. Ads are in place and working. Schedules are already made. When I took over the cleaning service, there were about 12 jobs already scheduled, 3 or 4 a week, and the phone was ringing a new job every 2 or 3 days. "

Be sure to find out why the buyer is selling; don't rely on what they tell you. Investigate the business yourself. Find out how much traffic it actually gets. Check newspapers and town records for information about any proposed highways, superstores or zoning changes. Check for liens against the business or other problems that could have an adverse effect on the business. Consult an accountant and an attorney before you sign on the dotted line and follow their advice.

Buy a franchise  If you want to start a business but don't want to develop your own products, or methods of doing business, franchising could be your ticket to business ownership. That's because when you buy a franchise, what you get is essentially a build-your-own-business kit.

Depending on the amount of money you invest and the franchise opportunity you choose, you get rights to use the franchise name, distribute a branded product or service, and perhaps use the franchise's methods of operations. Customer leads, help locating your business and other services may be part of your package, too. The benefit of this approach is that it simplifies start-up and may also help reduce the chance of failure.

Buying a franchise won't actually put you in business. You have to do that yourself. But if you choose your franchise carefully, the franchise's products and methods can give you the leg up you need to succeed.

Scott Wallace started his commercial cleaning business in Eden Prairie, MN, this way.

"I had been fired from my job and decided I never wanted to go through that experience again," he says, "so I chose to go into business for myself. I decided to go with a franchise because of my previous business experience--none!"

Read Also: 6 Tips For Aspiring Enterpreneurs

After researching several types of franchises, Wallace concluded that the best one for him to buy would be a cleaning franchise because the investment was small (prices started under $5,000), no special knowledge was required, and the profit margins were good. He bought a Coverall franchise in 1994 because their Minnesota regional office seemed more interested in having him as a franchisee than other franchisors he contacted.

For his money, Wallace got a package of supplies, equipment, and customers. Then it was up to him to keep the customers and grow the business. A year after he had started he was not only making a profit, but was considering buying a second cleaning business.

Wallace is one of hundreds of thousands of individuals who have turned to franchising as a way to get into business. According to the US Census Bureau, franchise businesses now account for 10.5 percent of businesses with employees in the 295 industries for which franchising data were collected in 2007. Additionally, franchise businesses accounted for nearly $1.3 trillion in sales in these industries.

Despite the large number of franchise outlets and the huge dollar volume of sales, franchising isn't without its pitfalls. One New Jersey couple lost nearly $20,000 when the owners of a startup bread and roll franchise they had invested in went bankrupt. A West coast man sunk his retirement funds into a mailbox/office center franchise and discovered to his dismay that the income didn't come near the claims the company's sales staff had made.

Other problems can arise, too. Franchise territories may not be large enough or competing franchises or private businesses may open, making inroads into your selling area. Licensing fees may be excessive compared to the services rendered, supplies may be too expensive, or you may find you personally don't want to conform to the franchisor's way of doing business.

To minimize the risk, learn as much about franchising as possible. (For more information on franchising, visit FranchiseKnowHow.com.)

Evaluate your own motives, needs, interests and willingness to follow someone else's methods of doing business. Research several types of franchises and compare their profitability and appeal. Consider their track record, and your ability to afford the franchise. Remember you'll need money to live on as well as to get the business rolling.

Once you narrow your choices, call and visit as many current and past owners as you can. Get copies of the franchise's Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) and read it cover to cover.

Need more ideas for starting a business? Use the Contact Tab to Talk to Us.

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