Thursday, February 28, 2013

Spring Break 2013



Since the beginning of the spring semester, students plan ahead the most anticipated break of the year.  I’m not talking about Christmas, summer or Thanksgiving day. I’m talking about SPRING BREAK. This one week break represents freedom from school, it is understandable after half semester of hard work, why not a one week of vacation. Not only college students wait anxiously for this week, high schoolers are the most excited about Spring Break.

My plans for Spring Break will  be staying at  my house having a regular week. I’ll work at my regular job and my Internship. Since my internship requires me to accomplish 300 hours and I might be falling behind about 20. I will use the Spring Break week to catch up with my hours. I just rather stay home and rest than go out there and have sleepless nights. This semester has been really hard and stressful between working two jobs, school work and driving back and forth from my house ( an hour away) to orlando is really consuming.  At least I’m planning on, (if weather conditions are good) going to the beach, maybe Cocoa Beach, something close, to relax, enjoy the breeze and hopefully a sunny day at the beach. Fortunately, most of my friends are staying in town this year, so I won’t feel so bad about not going anywhere next week. I’ll keep focus on the gym as well this week, try to go as much as I can this week since there is no classes or  homework.

I have heard that some people will go on a cruise, go to Panama City, FL, Miami, Conzumel, Mexico. Some other people will spent the week helping people in need with volunteer work. i think this a noble way to spend Spring Break. Not many decide to skip the beach and help others.Next year definitely , I’ll go on a cruise to the Bahamas or Conzumel. My best Spring Break was 2 years ago in Miami, a great trip with awesome friends. We went for the weekend, but had enough time to shop, eat, party and go to beach.

To all Spring Breakers, have fun, enjoy and be safe. Memories last forever make it a special one. Recharge with energy to go back and make the rest of the semester worth it!

Friday, February 22, 2013

What ever you need is now in Peru



Whatever you need is now in Peru! This is the slogan used to promote Peru, my home  country to the international market. This great campaign is aimed to people of other countries to briefly show them the wonderful landscapes,and the amazing things you can experience if you chose Peru as your next vacation destination. The video that has over a million views in YouTube will make you pack your bags and be ready to go. If you haven’t seen it take a look and see by yourself what you are missing. Here is the link to the video: Peru country brand.


As the person on the video, I wanted to remember how I felt when I was in Peru. Even though I moved here at a young age, the memories remain in my heart and my head. I wanted to explore and enjoy a great vacation. So I packed my bags and after ten long years I was on my way to explore my amazing home town country.

Miraflores, Lima- PERU

I invite you to take a look at the webpage I created to share with my family and friends, my travel to Peru! I have shared pictures of the places I visited and the delicious food I ate during my vacation. My main focus on this trip was the city of Lima, the capital. Due to time issues I was not going to be able to visit other parts of the country, perfect excuse for another getaway! 



Enjoy the best vacation of your live in the city of Lima. There different alternative for everyone. If you want to go shopping, your must go destination is Larco Mar, a shopping mall built in a cliff facing the Pacific Ocean. Here you can spend the day shopping, take a break and eat at any of the ocean view restaurants and by night explore the nightlife, at any of the lounges and clubs in the same mall.
If you are the adventurous kind, you must ride a paraglide over the ocean, and take a VIP look of the whole city. An unforgettable experience.
If you like to explore the old world, Lima downtown is the perfect place, the colonial buildings will amaze you, old structures that remain intact with time. Also archeological sites from the Inca’s that blends with a modern Lima. As the ruins of Pachacamac and Huaca Pucllana.
The city of Lunahuana is only a couple hours from Lima, a small town, located in the mountains, adjacent to the Lurin river. The destination of the adventurous soul, to come into close contact with nature. Rafting, bungee  jumping, horse riding, among other extreme adventure sports.


Ceviche, Causa, Maki and Tiraditos


The food in Peru is just unbelievable delicious!  A must try is the peruvian ceviche, raw fish marinated in lemon, garlic,salt ,pepper topped with red onions accompanied by peruvian corn and sweet potato.  Is a mouth watering dish, that you would love. Right now Peru is going through a gastronomic boom, innovative dishes, fusions of peruvian and japanese, peruvian-italian, peruvian-chinese. Our food has been worldwide recognize and awarded in different gastronomic festivals, conferences and events.

A trip to Peru is a trip to remember, an awesome experience! You will fall in love with Peru’s wonders that you will come back and remember forever that time when you went to Peru! Remember that Whatever you need is now in Peru!


Friday, February 15, 2013

Suggestions







I signed up for the Digital Marketing class to learn more about how businesses use different technologies to approach their consumers, create awareness and promote their brand. Due to Ms. DeSousa health issues the class haven’t been consistent since the beginning with barely 3 meetings since the first day of class.  I was really excited to begin this class, liked the syllabus and the projects we have to do. The mobile ad campaign seems very interesting, can not wait to start on that project.

My three recommendations for this class are: Go through chapters more in detail, more feedback and help with homework projects and improve communication through Webcourses. 

It will be very helpful to go through the chapters more in detail, since we haven’t since chapter 1. and 2. Understand the material and discuss in class with real world examples, and share opinions with others. It will be really interesting to discuss news on magazines about how digital marketing strategies are been incorporated in companies. I will also learn more about Social Media Optimization. 

Feedback from the instructor is very important for students. Been able to ask the professor if a project is going the right way before it is finished. When we have so little info about a project and how to proceed it is hard, that’s why feedback is important to learn from mistakes, improve the outcome of the project and to prevent misunderstandings with homework. We have very little information about our next project which is the Mobile ad Campaign. I really have no clue on how to start or what program we have to use to develop that ad.

Communication through Webcourses has been very difficult, only students answering other student questions. I really appreciated all the communication throughout the transition period and announcements you made. It gave us a clear a idea of what was going on with the class. A fast way to communicate and keep contact with the instructor to clear any doubts about the class. When professors only write through knight’s email, is not helpful since not many people check that email periodically. Webcourses is a better way.


Friday, February 8, 2013

Live Mas - Super Bowl



Raise your hand if you did not watch the Super bowl! If so, what were you thinking? You are not among the 108.4 million people that tune in their TV’s to watch the most expected sports event in the United States. The expectation is not only around the game, but also around the halftime show and the innovative commercials. Companies paid a fortune to advertise during the Super Bowl, they know people are waiting to see with what they have come up this year. This is the perfect opportunity to create awareness, generate buzz on social media, and engaged consumers with their brand.

My favorite commercial this year the Viva Young Taco Bell, it was hilarious, and for sure got me singing the catchy song until today. The commercial showed a group of senior citizens, having the time of their life after the nurses at their retirement home went to sleep. They go to a club, do some pranks, one of them got a tattoo and of course they end up eating at Taco Bell. The song featured is the Spanish cover from FUN’s “We are young song”. At the end of the commercial there is the bell ring sound representative of the brand and the brand logo with the phrase VIVE MAS (Live more in English).

 They only advertised their Facebook page address at the end; unlike other brands that created a hash tag for twitter, showed their website address even Instagram account. I typed the Facebook address, which I have to admit did not grab my attention. Who wants to remember that long address? Their Facebook page shows more than 9.7 million likes. They started posting commercials with the senior citizens a few days before the actual Viva Young commercial. A pre game commercial that end up saying, “Buckle up 2.3.13”, this left their customers waiting to see what was coming on game day. This was a great strategy and way to keep expectative among the consumers.

Taco Bell has a YouTube channel, which I found more interesting and engaging. In there I was able to find links for Twitter, a #LiveMas hash tag and a link for Instagram as well. Taco Bell is definitely all over the place, TV’s, Magazines, Social Media pages and the Super bowl. At their website they also show icons for IOS and android apps.I think they have a great social media strategy, reaching their consumers from different sides. That commercial was a hit and generated buzz on social media; that is what they were aiming for.

If we compare how Taco Bell’s digital marketing strategy differ from competitors, let’s take a look at how Chipotle Mexican grill and Qdoba Mexican grill manage their digital campaigns. Chipotle digital marketing strategy is not as big as Taco Bell, they don’t spend as much money as Taco Bell in publicity. They opt for a non –traditional marketing strategy, almost like word of mouth. They do have a Facebook, Foursquare, Twitter, and YouTube channel. At their Facebook page, Chipotle does not have even half of likes Taco Bell has.  They had a campaign going during the Super Bowl about Buying 6 burritos and getting a free one the next time you come back. But this was only advertised on their Facebook page.  Somehow they were trying to reach the Super Bowl fans to offer them an alternative for game day food. On the other side Qdoba does not even reach 200, 000 likes on their Facebook page. Besides that they have a Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram page. I think reaching consumers through Pinterest give them a competitive advantage, because none of the 2 restaurants mention above has it.  It would be a great idea for Taco Bell to start a campaign through Pinterest, many people is crazy about it and would spend hours and hours pinning and re pinning.
Taco Bell for me was the winner of the Super Bowl ads. They engaged consumers, were creative and for sure the commercial will be memorable.

Friday, February 1, 2013

Art Festival




Florida is known as the Sunshine State, we have the best weather during the winter season, not extremely cold, not too hot, and just perfect enough to enjoy the day outdoors. If you are looking for a family oriented activity, free and educational I recommend the Mount Dora Art Fest. It happens every year on the first weekend of February at downtown Mount Dora. The hours of operation are form 10am to 5pm. It is one of the main events the town along with the Mount Dora Center for the Arts organizes.  It congregates more than 285 artist from all over the world and more than 250 000 visitors every year. It is one of the most recognize art events in Florida. 

 Downtown Mount Dora streets become a sea of tents during these two days; exhibits featuring oil paintings, pottery, photography, glass, watercolors, acrylics, sculpture, amaze  the visitors. If you are feeling like taking a small break from the walking, just go to the downtown park and enjoy the live music.  The park has a distinctive small hill, and people just sit there to enjoy the main stage and the view of the festival. There is also food offered, a variety of  tents selling BBQ, turkey legs, popcorn, honey roasted pecans (my favorites), Burgers, Gyros, Arepas, ice cream, smoothies, and many other options. If you are feeling like spending a few more bucks, there are great restaurants to go downtown just a few steps down the street. My recommendations are: the Monkey and the Frog, the Gobblin Market and Pizza Amore.
This is a family oriented event, and there are fabulous activities to enjoy with the little ones. There is a  “Kid friendly art zone” where the children can develop their creativity with different art materials provided by the Mount Dora Center for the Arts.

 This will be my 9th year attending the festival, and it never gets boring. Every year the talented artists stun me. My favorite tent is this guy that takes pictures of lightings from around the world. He just captures the right moment it is amazing. Another tent is this lady that takes pictures of cats, which I love, I just want to buy them all. One of the sponsors of festival is WFTV  channel 9, you can get to meet your favorite local news presenters.


A few things I recommend if you are going are: leave your pets at home, they are not allowed to be at the festival. Parking is really difficult to find, if you arrive early there is a chance you will find parking at the street, if not, prevent the waste of gas driving around, and for only 5 dollars you can park at the high school or any church, and they will provide a bus to take people downtown. This is the best convenient way, the buses go back and forth every 20 minutes.  If you are from out of town,  watch out for the speed limit, police here have very little to do, and they love to check on the speeders. Save yourself a ticket!. Don’t forget to enjoy the beautiful Lake Dora views. Enjoy your day at the festival!