Thrilled to be part of this New York event for women in startups! I’ll be at the fair helping answer questions on digital branding, website development and social media. Also sharing lessons learned in starting up your own virtual business. )

Location: NY Kids Club on 68^th & Amsterdam

Event Time: 7-9:30

Panel: 7:30-8:30

Resource Room: 7-9:30

Register now!

This awesome event is sponsored by In Good Company Workplaces (@ingoodcmpny) and Baby Bites (@babybites)!

See you there!

Workplace for women entrepreneurs

social community for moms to be

Just Kite It dot com, a community for kiteboarding enthusiasts

After speaking with a friend kiter, she joined a few kiting message board forums, which seemed so outdated in comparison to the social media technology of web 2.0 standards. Armed with not much information about kiteboarding she took her chances and called a school in the Great South Bay, New York in July. Good idea? Bad idea. Summer is the worst time to learn the sport in New York and the nasty green flies leave you with painful bites. Not only is the Great South Bay a two-three hour train ride on the LIRR from Brooklyn and Manhattan, learning to kite is not inexpensive. A lesson can cost anywhere from $150-$200 per hour depending on the level of instructor. At times the school will share your lesson with another student and not inform you of this. In some cases, you could get five-hour lessons for $500. Granted the sport is difficult, you will need more than three hours of water instruction. Kiters who have sailed, windsurfed, surfed and wakeboarded could pick up the sport quicker and faster. It is 90% about the kite and 10% about the board. Meaning, understanding the nuances of the wind and controlling the kite within its power, your kite flying skills and knowledge about your environment is key to enjoying the sport, your safety and the safety of others in the water and on the beach.

In August 2009, after a number of frustrating attempts at lessons in New York and Cape Hatteras, NC due to lack of wind in the months of July – August, Jessica then ventured to the Columbia River Gorge, Oregon. The wind capital of the Pacific North West. “I first discovered the River Gorge through a kiter friend on Facebook.” Jessica a natural traveler has not ventured beyond California for travels to the West Coast. “It looks like a little piece of heaven, why has not anyone mentioned this place to me before?” Another loop hole in the kiting world is the discovery and the level of detail that existing kiting web properties can provide. “Information sharing about kite education, kite spots and the consistent engagement of kiters worldwide is what we hope to solve for the progression of the sport.” Kiteboarding is breaking down geographic and gender barriers for over a decade now. So many untold stories are raring to be shared that will inspire connoisseurs of the sport, viewers and those curious about it. The global and local community’s affinity for wind, water and kite is a natural glue. Every kiter is in love with a fellow kiter’s skills and his or her experiences.

For version 1 of Just Kite It dot com our goal is to provide kiters worldwide and those interested in the sport with as much information about kite education, kite spots around the world through editorially curated from user-generated stories. Version 1.5 will be wrapped around extreme entrepreneurship and technology events for the startup community. It is a known fact, there is a growing number of technologists and startup founders who kite. This could be attributed to the leadership of the Silicon Valley VC, Bill Tai who has been featured on Forbes.com. Version 2.0 of Just Kite It dot com will showcase a fully social web property with mobile applications for engagement in a global scale.

The average age of kiters range from 30-35 professionals with a slow, yet noticeable adaptation of the twenty-something and baby boomer demographics. There is also a growing number of women who are kiting, up 30% from 2008. Kiteboarding is a lifestyle sport and it is growing at a steady rate of 20% annually.

Jessica Valenzuela is also the Founder and Chief Principal of a New York based boutique digital branding agency, Mavin Digital, Inc. the creators of Just Kite It. Her co-founder Marek L. Biestek is the General and Managing Partner of a New York based hedge fund, MSMB Capital, LLC. Jessica and Marek are kiteboarders who met at a parking lot on Tobay Bay, New York after a kiting session.

About Just Kite It dot com (http://justkiteit.com)
Welcome to Just Kite It dot com, a content publisher and social community focused on kite education, sports tourism and connecting likeminded professionals of the sport.

Founded by two kiteboarding addikts, with backgrounds in media, digital branding, social media, finance management and startups, Just Kite It aims to provide a place for sharing information and knowledge kite education, kite spots around the world and connecting likeminded professionals of the sport.

You can find us on Twitter @jkiteit and on our Facebook Fan page.

Mission:
Just Kite It is your source for kite education, kite spot locations around the world, inspiring stories from pro-athletes and enthusiasts,  networking events and off-topic features that will offer insight and make you laugh at the same time.

Our first corporate reel focuses on our roots in New York, our new brand message and how we personify a company that engages and connects people with brands. You’ll also see some of our work. Watch the video below or you can visit our You Tube channel.

Mavin Digital, digital branding on a dime is about helping companies achieve the WOW factor and performance on any digital marketing and advertising budget.

In the coming months we’ll be sharing more news via our You Tube channel that showcases how our spitfire team, our belief in creativity without boundaries, inspirational digital branding delivered with the right dash of expressionism help organizations achieve their marketing and advertising goals. We hope to share conversational interviews with clients both startups and recognizable brands.

Much gratitude and applause in the completion of our first corporate reel goes to Stephanie Coggin our Communications Strategist and dear friend for the support and guidance in shaping our brand messaging, Sami Eddaikra our Iphone Lead Developer and dear friend for the original music, Jae Lee our Video Associate and Motion Graphics expert , Michael Kelly, our Technical Lead Director, Christopher Lorn our talented intern, our Advisory Board, with special thanks go to my mentor and trusted friend, Nanske Wood, our teams in Estonia and Bangladesh, friends near and far, clients and supporters.

Thank you for trusting and believing in the potential of Mavin Digital. More news coming soon, so stay tuned!

~ jessica valenzuela

Join Advertising Age in a half-day panel session on Apps for Brands, September 23 presented by industry leaders and recognizable brands. After the session you will be able to better understand how mobile apps can be integrated into a brand’s digital branding strategy. What would make brands jump the band wagon using apps to communicate their message and reach out to their audience? What have early adopters learned?

Here’s a snippet of what you’ll hear from the discussion:

• Efficiently developing and deploying quality, robust mobile applications
• Distributing and developing supporting marketing tie-ins for your apps
• Measuring your success and developing realistic yardsticks for adoption and usage patterns
• Packing value, be it utility or entertainment, into your app to outshine the competition
• Developing customer relationship management and utility concepts to fully engage an energized audience
• Leading customers along a trail of relevant applications and monetizing extended relationships

Learn more about the session Apps for Brands.

Hope to see you there!

~ jessica valenzuela

It is a blessing that I’m very good at backing-up with Time Machine! Immediately rang Apple Customer Care my worried voice received with an impressive response from the Apple Care Customer Service agent who walked me through the process of restoring the screen. It didn’t go into cardiac arrest. Screen simply went blank. We’re guessing the video card is toast. Unable to revive the screen with the usual help desk tests my next option was to take it to the closest genius bar, which was at least an hour away in Portland, Oregon or wait till I get back to New York City. I had to endure two days of not hearing that familiar sound when you turn on a Mac product. Kiting filled in the gap and eased my worry.

Back in New York, first thing on the list was to drop off my ailing Mac Book Pro to the Mac Support Store, an authorized reseller for Apple since an immediate appointment at the genius bar was not available. I expected it to be an in and out arrangement by going to the Mac Support Store. This assumption and trust I placed on them being an extension of the  Apple brand, I discover three weeks later and with a $300++  loaner fee was an error on my part. This is where the irritation sets in.

The Mac Support Store promised an approximate 1.5 week delivery of my Mac Book Pro, three days FREE assessment and five days of actual repair. The only diagnosis of a communication they send you is email, so if you missed it tough luck! It just means your repair will take longer and if you took a loaner, it means you’ll probably end up with rental fees enough to pay for a new machine! It just happened I was out in Montauk for another long weekend and missed the email. I finally get around to calling the Mac Support Store when I got back only to find out that they’ve been waiting for my go ahead to send in the Mac Book Pro to the Mac Depot, oh and by the way do you want to keep the loaner? I said yes, quite frustrated with myself.

On the third week, this time I am genuinely peeved. At each follow-up (twice a day this past week), Mac Support Store asked me to call back or they would promise to call me back, which NEVER happened. At the end of each conversation I would be asked by a cold robotic voice on the other end of the line, by the way do you want to keep the loaner? Finally some sense kicked me in the behind, I said yes, but please can you give me the case number so I can personally follow-up on this. Reluctantly, the Mac Support Store gives me the case number.

Yesterday, my plight came to an end. First contact with Apple’s Customer Care after explaining my situation in less than five-minutes and ten-minutes of fact-checking into their system Nicole Massey (my Apple Customer Care hero of the day!) said, we will replace your Mac Book Pro with a brand new one and upgrade its memory, battery life, etc. It was painless and a new Mac Book Pro is on its way! Bravo to the Apple Customer Experience, specially when you have Apple Care! )

The point of this post, should Apple allow third-party vendors to have such an assumed brand extension without the same being able to deliver on the Apple Customer Care Experience and brand promise? A small gap that can be remedied with more training and customer service compliance from their third party vendors. At best, the Mac Support Store should have advised me to ring Apple Customer Service after the first week of delay to request for a product replacement. Well, of course they won’t do that, how silly of me…they are raking in fees on the loaner! And to you Mac Support Store, I think you need to revisit that mission  of yours:

“Help our neighbors who also own Apple products by providing outstanding local repair service.”

I certainly did not receive the help and service that you so promised.

~ jessica valenzuela

Relevance to now, the Hispanic market, local markets, performance based, top-notch resources and moving digital forward are key phrases mentioned multiple times by each honoree as they shared insight into current and future strategy for their company and clients. Being that there were 30 honorees each of them offered short and succinct, yet powerful responses. Here are a few highlights:

Suzanne Alecia, President Out of Home Video Advertising Bureau. “Her one key goal: make it easier for advertisers, agencies and media companies to buy and sell rapidly growing medium.”

Jonah Bloom: How do you ensure that the industry does not break into a million compartmentalized pieces?

Suzanne Alecia: There are three key elements listening, comprehending and guidance based on the standards that we set as a trade organization.

Wanda Young, Senior Director, Digital Marketing. “One thing I really loved from my last position is that I was able to grow digital as an overall part of the marketing arsenal,”

Jonah Bloom: After six months with the national retailer what characteristics make the retailing giant a success? (Note: question is paraphrased)

Wanda Young: People are empowered and the organization’s fearlessness to drive digital forward.

Sarah Armstrong, Director Worldwide Media and Communication Operations, Coca Cola. “The work ethic of a student-athlete is something that you can’t ever underestimate,” she said. “You have to juggle multiple aspects of your life and perform at a high level in all of them…And in a team sport like volleyball, you can’t be successful unless everyone is moving in the same direction.”

Jonah Bloom: Tell us more about “value-based compensation.”

Sarah Armstrong: A shift from labor-based to value-based compensation is a mindset we are changing and taking the lead to get the advertising industry to move in the same direction. Agencies earn their guaranteed profit based on performance produced by a campaign or a program.

Jill Beraud, Chief Global Marketing Officer, Pepsico. “One reason I wanted to come to PepsiCo was because there is so much change going on,” Ms. Beraud said. “When there’s a lot of change, there’s great receptivity to doing things differently, and a great deal of openness to new ideas and new ways of thinking.”

Barbara Blangiardi, Senior VP-Creative Partnership and Innovation, NBC Universal. “It’s tricky work, devising ads and promos that, describes the them “represent a partnership between the revenue side of the company and the creative side of the company.” Not only does Ms. Blangiardi have to come up with concepts that help sell product and generate awareness, she must also weave in elements that promote the programming these ads support.

Jonah Bloom: What are marketers looking for in a partnership?

Barbara Blangiardi: Advertisers are more interested in partnership. Success metrics are highly dependent on the advertiser and their key objectives for that particular campaign.

Shari Weisenberg, VP Strategic Marketing, Sci-Fi. “Love it or hate it, Sci-Fi Channel’s much-blogged-about name change to Syfy has been the most buzzworthy cable rebrand in recent memory.”

Jonah Bloom: Why change it when it is not broken?

Shari Weisenberg: Prior to my joining the team, there were two-years of work and research already in place to change the Sci-Fi brand name. The result of Sci-Fi’s brand name change resulted in highest ratings in the network in six years. Moreover, SyFy is more aligned with imagination and not limited to a “category.”

Jeri Ward, General Manager, Marketing and Strategy, Audi. “Bringing this idea to life shows how we are nimble, bold and willing to take risks.”

Jonah Bloom: Why did Audi choose to align itself with the last Presidential Election?

Jeri Ward: The previous Presidential Election marked a big moment of change. The idea of change and progress is core to Audi. We saw the opportunity to align with what Americans can strongly identify with. Audi employed multi-tier tactics including, print, online, takeovers and television. The result 111M impressions in a day. Key learnings: change perception and make bold provocative moves.

Esi Eggleston Bracey, Vice President, Global Cosmetics, Cover Girl. “Ms. Bracey was P&’s first female African -American general manager, though she says the milestone is really about valuing diversity more broadly.”

Jonah Bloom: How donyou keep your brand relevant for now?
Esi Eggleston Bracey: Timeless. Execution is always our X-Factor. We work with a top notch team in the industry.

Marla Skiko, Senior Vice President of Digital Innovation, SMG Multicultural. “Many clients are surprised, for instance, when she tells them that Hispanic moms 36 and older outpace non-Latinas in their use of social networks.”

Jonah Bloom: What should we learn about the marketing to the multi-cultural market?

Marla Skiko: Marketers should invest in multicultural digital programs. Get in the now. There is no reason to wait. Multicultural groups flock to technology, hence creates a powerful space for multicultural channels. Be relevant and do not limit your brand’s connection to the language. Make a connection with the culture.

Martine Reardon, Executive Vice-President, Marketing. “In these kinds of times, the fast approach is to just put it all on sale,” she said. “Every now and then I have to stop myself and say, “Is this really right for the brand? Is this who the brand is? Is this what the consumer recognizes as the brand.?”

Jonah Bloom: Can you share your approach to distribution?

Martine Reardon: Macy’s is a nationally based retailer, yet closely tuned in with the customer at the local markets. Consumer behavior is different across geo markets. Geo targeting is important and helps flesh out and strike a delicate balance of our national programs that are relevant to the local markets.

Fran Hauser, President, Digital-Time Inc. Style and Entertainment Group. “We are really focused on not having the advertising be misleading to the consumer,” she said. “As long as it’s clear to the consumer that it’s advertising, then we’re fine.

Johan Bloom: Tell us more about how your editorial and sales teams are working together to bring in revenue.

Fran Hauser: Our editorial and sales teams have partnered together to develop and brainstorm on creating programs for clients. Our goal is to create meaningful business. An example includes adding e-commerce features on InStyle.com and our recently released iPhone application that provides celebrity news tracker. For $1.99 users can track the activity of their favorite celebrities.

Jenny Cisney, Chief Blogger and Social Media Manager, Kodak. “The launch of the Kodak blog was really well-planned, but I knew from the beginning it would work out well.”

Jonah Bloom: In the use of social media how do you ensure that Kodak stays focused on their message?

Jenny Cisney: Be real. Be yourself. Be transparent

Here’s a complete feature of all 30 honorees Ad Age Women to Watch 2009.

As much as a number of the honorees mentioned digital media is a big push in their organizations, not many clearly expounded on what these programs would entail from strategy to distribution channels. Two emerging media properties where mentioned a number of times, including My Space and You Tube. What about the other notable tools and technology? I am hopeful that in the next year’s Women to Watch we’ll hear more about the use of live streaming video, gaming and cross-bred web properties that showcase  editorial and user generated content at the local market levels.

I do wonder why the question and answer segment was not open mic. I can only assume that it was a communications strategy decision. Perhaps each organization wanted to make sure that statements are properly cleared by legal and management or was it a timing issue?

Regardless, it was inspiring to see women leading their organizations and clients into the new era of advertising, media buying and distribution.

Are you a woman leading your organization’s efforts in marketing and advertising? Would love to hear your insight on how your goals and strategy align with Ad Age’s Women to Watch 2009.

~ jessica valenzuela ~

You may ask what is so special about Cheapeats when the New York Times keeps a robust sub-section of restaurants $25 and under, New York Magazine has Cheap Eat 2009 and there are a number of blogs that cover the $25 and under dining market. Personally, Cheapeats is special for many reasons. It is Mavin Digital’s biggest release for a self-funded entrepreneur which meant we had to create and build on a shoestring without compromising design quality, the user-experience and programming of multiple complex technologies, including customizing Google maps and integration with social media tools/sites. From a user’s perspective Cheapeats’ beta community will offer the opportunity to write reviews, add photos and videos, engage and interact with foodie communities they instigate or join. Moreover the content is not entirely focused on restaurants. Content curated will include recipes, how tos and famous chefs, easy to make recipes under $25, where to shop for inexpensive and top quality food ingredients and much more! The soul of Cheapeats speaks to every urban dweller who enjoys eating out or making their own meals on a budget.

To be part of the New York beta, make sure to register at Cheapeats. For updates, join the Cheapeats Facebook Group and follow @cheap_eats on Twitter.

For complimentary ad spots for the New York release, please contact jessica@mavindigital.com. Submissions are subject to availability and the content curator’s standards. For disclosure, Mavin Digital is an equity stakeholder and part of the Advisory Board.

Thank you for your support!

~ jessica valenzuela ~

IF you have not caught the Internet Week New York bug yet, here’s why you should:

Gain insight. Even when you think you know it all, there is a lot to learn. As an entrepreneur, big consumer and evangelist of everything tech, digital and social media it is important to stay current and filter what is useful and relevant for our clients and community. A few events that I think are key and if you can register  would include Beyond Facebook: How will the students of today use the web of tomorrow, The Future of Digital Cities and Creativity and Technology (I am at this one today!).

Be inspired. Admittedly my first time at a New York Tech Meetup event last night, I was inspired by the products showcased. Will certainly make this event a part of my monthly repertoire. My personal favorites:

• UpNext offers a 3D view and local search or your city (currently just New York). It is available on the iPhone!
• Centrl offers a new way of connecting with people on the go. Available on the BlackBerry and iPhone.
• Livestream formerly known as Mogulus. I believed in their product when I discovered it last summer. I didn’t realize how powerful the new Procaster tool – it is rad! I am so looking forward to dabbling in videos thanks to Livestream!
• Aviary bringing design and editing to the browser. I haven’t tried it, but will definitely encourage our team of designers to dabble in it.

Connect and reconnect. Internet Week New York creates an invaluable opportunity for people to connect and reconnect. Everyone who is passionate about the community, opinion leaders, entrepreneurs, VCs, techies and creatives are engaging and making the effort to support the events and programs. Personally met a number of new key contacts simply by getting indirectly involved with a handful of events and being present at a number of them. It is tough to leave your desk knowing you’ll be back in a few hours with a foot more of work before you left. Yet if you are aspiring to start a company or pursue an entrepreneur career in the future this is one of those city program events that you can’t simply miss. The time is now.

Learn about new trends in tech from kids. At the ContentNext event last Monday, June 1 10 Kid Entrepreneurs To Watch were showcased on flyers. Here’s the roster MyYearbook.com, Whateverlife.com, MobilEdu, Uno, FEE Entertainment, Courses, InternshipIN, Dynamik Duo, Teens in Tech, Eclectyk.

Celebrate the people who make it happen. By participating in the events and programs you are helping celebrate and support the people who work hard to make it happen.

Enjoy and have fun! Have you checked out the parties? Quite an impressive list difficult to decide which one to hit…I’ve been going from one to another the past two days.  Unsure if I can keep up the entire week! The list of the fun events are also listed in the Internet Week New York schedule.

Now get out there! If you tweet, the official hashtag is #iwny.

~ jessica ~