The Carpetology Blog On FloorDaily.net

I had an unexpected opportunity to talk Carpetology this week with Kemp Harr, publisher of Floor Focus Magazine and FloorDaily.net. I had a blast!

Here's how FloorDaily promoted this podcast:

Christine Whittemore, Solutia, on New Consumer Carpet Blog -- Christine Whittemore and Kemp Harr discuss the new carpetology blog and the feedback she gets on the type of carpet information that consumers are seeking on the Internet. Listen to the interview to hear that fashion and maintenance are two of the key areas of interest. Listen at FloorDaily.net.

Kemp asked me to describe The Carpetology Blog - when it was launched, what it's about, what our mission statement is, how a blog works and how it's different from other communications tools. He also wanted to know how we are connecting with readers and what kind of feedback we receive to know which topics are popular [hint: fashion ranks very high!].

How cool is this observation: We - the Women of Wear-Dated - through The Carpetology Blog provide retailers with a window on what consumers are thinking about carpet? I thought very.

Thanks, Kemp!

If you listen to the Carpetology podcast, let me know what you think. Are there other topics your customers would appreciate reading about that we should explore on The Carpetology Blog?

Technorati Tags: The Carpetology Blog Wear-Dated FloorDaily Kemp Harr Christine Whittemore Del.icio.us Tags: The Carpetology Blog Wear-Dated FloorDaily Kemp Harr Christine Whittemore

Engaging Brands For Consumers and Employees

How might a successful or "engaging" consumer retail experience translate to an employee experience?

That is what fellow Age of Conversation co-author Anna Farmery from The Engaging Brand invited me to discuss with her.

We explored brands and brand experiences, whether generational differences affect brand experience, and how the methods for creating an engaging consumer retail experience translate to an equally engaging employee experience.

The end result is The Engaging Brand's Podcast Show # 105 - Creating a Consumer Experience [which includes instructions on how to playback or download the recording. You can also playback by clicking on How environment affects engagement]. According to Anna:

"She [a.k.a. CB] talks to us about how to create an environment that expresses your brand and also engages the consumer. She talks about how we need to think about culture, colours, display and also how to walk in the consumers shoes."

I haven't had so much fun talking since Diva Marketing Talks. Anna is a gifted interviewer and made me feel immediately at ease. Her questions pushed me to link retail with non-retail environments, and consider how brand expression in one translates to the other. The goal is certainly similar: to engage the consumer/employee to become a loyal and longterm contributor.

Anna shared U.K. perceptions of American brands - an invaluable perspective in a world where our customers and employees are fast becoming increasingly global in culture and background.

Many thanks to Anna for living up to her mantra, an inspiring quote from Eleanor Roosevelt, "People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."

I will never forget how energized my conversation with Anna made me feel! This despite scheduling delays, the Skype Outage [as reported by the International Herald Tribune], and a few other technical issues.

Thank you, Anna. I do hope you make it to the Blogger Social '08. I will enjoy meeting you in person!

Technorati Tags: marketing, Anna Farmery, The Engaging Brand Podcast, retail experience, brand experience, The Age Of Conversation, Blogger Social '08

Diva Marketing Talks 7/24/07 - 6:30pm EST

Please mark your calendars for The Verticals Get It - Using Social Media in B2B, Toby Bloomberg's latest installment in her new Blog Talk Radio program titled Diva Marketing Talks. [If you wish to set a reminder, you can do so, too!]

The show takes place Tuesday 7/24/07 at 6:30 p.m. EST until 7:00 p.m. EST.

Toby has promised a show will be "business edgy, informative, sometimes controversial and always fun."

That's what I am counting on as she has invited me to join Paul Chaney, VP Business Development for Blogging Systems who describes himself on his blog as "not a Realtor, but work[ing] for Blogging Systems, the leading supplier of blog technology to the industry...[and] ... one-half of the team that wrote the book "Realty Blogging."" Toby describes him as "the Divo of blogging before it was cool to blog".

Paul talks real estate. I talk flooring. Our mission is to showcase how blogs and social media can be used effectively inside verticals. We've accepted [how can anyone say no to Toby?] and plan to have a blast tomorrow evening.

We hope you can join us.

And, if you miss the show, you can always listen from the archives.

Technorati Tags: Toby Bloomberg, Diva Marketing Talks, Paul Chaney, marketing, social media, podcasting