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Allison DeLeone assumes role as TPN President

TPNBlogger — Sun, 01 May 2011 20:00:23 +0000

After 21 years as President and CEO for TPN, John Vadino announces appointment of the Presidency to Allison DeLeone, Senior Manager.

Vadino, continues in his role as CEO and as the foremost business developer and holder of several key accounts. In addition to these roles, he is devoting more time to his role as Producer of The Next Fifty, Seattle Center’s 50th Anniversary event series and as CEO and Founder of One to the World™.

DeLeone has been with TPN for over ten years in varying roles including Production Manager, Account Manager for JCB and Intel and has been an active member in TPN’s Leadership Group.

Vadino had this to say about the appointment, “I am excited about this change. After 21 years of daily leadership at TPN, I welcome being able to focus on my clients. Our new One to the World™ interactive web product is born out of TPN and key to our combined future. The Next Fifty will be a profound event for our region and the world and a dramatic use of our interactive technology. I chose Allison for this role because she has the right combination of experience and skills to take TPN to its potential.”

DeLeone has swiftly adapted to her role as President and is being warmly received by the staff, vendors and clients.

“I am honored to accept the position of President. The appointment will allow me to focus on the future of TPN. I am grateful for the support I’ve had from Vadino, from the Leadership Group and the staff. I am committed to this new responsibility and will work hard to earn your trust.”

intel launch event press keeps on coming!

TPNBlogger — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 15:38:23 +0000

Intel launch event at the Bently Reserve in San Francisco

We’re pretty excited about this event, and we know you are too.

Using Musion Eyeliner technology, a lifelike 3D holographic projection system as seen behind the speaker, Kirk Skaugen, vice president of the Intel architecture group, TPN helped bring the presentation to life with images seemingly floating on stage…

To satisfy your appetite for all things Intel, we’ve provided some more links below on the launch. Enjoy!

Intel Unveils New Server Chip

By Don Clark

Wall Street Journal

March 30, 2010

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304739104575154212321714670.html?mod=WSJ_business_whatsNews

Intel Corp. completed a broad overhaul of its chips for server systems, vowing to move the technology it helped popularize in personal computers to the very largest machines used by businesses and government agencies.

Intel chip hits 8-core milestone

By Brooke Crothers

CNET

March 30, 2010

http://news.cnet.com/business-tech/?keyword=AND+6100
The Xeon 7500 offers what Intel is saying is the largest performance leap in the history of its Xeon line, with an average three-fold jump in performance. And the feat of putting eight cores on one die–the raw chip–offers practical advantages to data centers. As a yardstick, data centers can replace 20 single core, 4-chip servers with a single new Xeon 7500 processor series-based system, according to Intel.

Why Nehalem-EX matters

By Jonathan Eunice

CNET

March 30, 2010

http://news.cnet.com/8301-31114_3-10471701-258.html

Nehalem-EX (officially, the Intel Xeon 7500) completes the set with a high-end, server version. It ups the feeds and speeds, of course. More cores! More sockets! More memory! More widgets! Most important, it makes it straightforward for server vendors to create extremely powerful x86 servers. 4-socket/32-core servers are easy peasy. 8-socket/64-core servers-enormous by any historical standard-are not much harder. Vendors like IBM and NEC that have majored on scale-up will go even higher. At the same time, Nehalem-EX adds the I/O bandwidth and reliability/availability features needed to feed and care for such large resource pools. Sure, there may be more variants of Nehalem to come (preview: Even more cores! Even higher frequencies! Even more bandwidth!), but the entire range is now in play.

Facebook, the long road to loyalty and soon…shopping

rachaelhg — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 16:40:52 +0000

Two years ago, I hated Facebook. It seemed like everyone I knew LOVED it, why? I hated feeling that my relationships were hanging on by the thread of a post. I hated the lack of intimacy. I hated having another “channel” I had to keep up with. Hated “putting my self out there”. Truth be told, those things still bother me. But Facebook is winning me over.
The first turning point was the near-immediate reunion with my friends from home. Do I wish I was with them instead of sharing photos? YES. But Facebook provides a welcome tie nonetheless.
The second turning point was when I could post something I was thinking, or doing without caring whether people judged me (that one can be chocked up to maturity vs. Facebook I think).
The third was when I stopped making apologies for not knowing “the latest’, when getting together with friends and family. It really is okay to check in infrequently.

I began to appreciate, with more enthusiasm, what Facebook has done to bridge east coast to west. While I may not “love” Facebook, I sure do love my friends. Is it love by association?
And now – I’m reading that very soon I am going to be able to do my shopping – right there inside Facebook. That might just be the last straw – I might just turn into a Facebook evangelist.
Two years ago I predicted that Facebook would eventually fail as a business model, to be replaced with another social media site – much the way that MySpace is taking its slow death. Now, for the record, I was wrong! I was thinking too narrow – the wealth of enticements to keep people on Facebook goes so much further than keeping in touch with friends. I saw advertising failing as a revenue stream, “who clicks on those ads anyway?” I just didn’t consider Facebook as an e-commerce site…do I need to say I was wrong again? So wrong!
First let’s get everyone up to speed.
1.   Companies will soon have e-commerce pages on Facebook (not just a link through to their actual e-commerce site – but a mini-store where the transaction A-Z happens inside Facebook). Minneapolis start-up, Alvenda, created a working example in its 1-800-Flowers page.
2.   Soon, anyone will have the ability to create an e-commerce page of their very own (this means you).
3.   The part that has me so excited – - Facebook is integrating an online pay system for their users.
Pay Pal’s open development platform could tie together purchases across the site. Meaning – all your purchases from any site you may shop on in Facebook will aggregate into one shopping basket. It’s like a world-wide giant Costco, but more earth-friendly, more brand selective. I think next they will make it so that you can sort your favorite stores and/or search for all the sustainable organizations etc. Can’t wait!

Video Chat is Where It’s At

rachaelhg — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 20:03:22 +0000

Skype is all the hype

OoVoo’s picking up streams

Dynamic Webcasting transforms events

WooMe makes dating a breeze

A Cisco research report that came out last summer estimated “video communications will increase ten fold from 2008-2013. And so far, their predictions are real – which has Marketers brushing up on the ‘humanizing’ side of their brands. While the implications for advertising are immense, to me, the more interesting story is how new video technologies are changing market research.

How often have you left a focus group (that you shelled out thousands of dollars for) and wondered…How many people in that room were lying? Who was trying to impress? Who was honest? We’re humans after all and are programmed to perform, even those of us with very little tact. Meanwhile video chats are recordable and capture people when and where they are most comfortable – their homes. That’s not to say people aren’t “on” when the camera starts rolling, but researchers can look beyond what they are wearing or the bag they are carrying and, for example, see the products in their home. Companies who were savvy enough to get a foothold like QualVu http://www.qualvu.com/ reap the market research revenues as well as the advertising revenues – making the investment sing to the tune of 90% revenue. Video chat has provided research marketing with the sweet spot of quantity, quality and revenue!

got ink?

rachaelhg — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:32:29 +0000

one of the many displays in the transformed living room

An article on The Bravern’s “An Evening with Jimmy Choo” event published in the Puget Sound Business Journal this morning. So happy to see TPN get a mention for our behind the scenes work from the predominant Behind the Scenes journalist, Patty Payne (whose name I can’t hear without thinking of Peppermint Patty (hug) and my Aunt Patty (double-hug).

For more from Patty Payne see http://seattle.bizjournals.com/seattle/

Here are some excerpts from the article…pick up a copy of PSBJ to read more!

Friday, November 6, 2009

Coffee talk

” — Not sure how business is in the new Jimmy Choo store at The Bravern in Bellevue. But recently they did have some remarkable sales at an event in Susie Naficy’s Medina waterfront home…Naficy’s living room was transformed by The Production Network (TPN). This company stages all sorts of extraordinary events, from the Dalai Lama’s visit here to product launches for T-Mobile and Boeing, to name a few…. “ – Patty Payne, Puget Sound Business Journal November 6, 2009

the phantom menace

Megan West — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 15:55:58 +0000

Yes, I watch too much Star Wars, but I couldn’t resist the title. Read the article below and you’ll see why. In it, the author talks about his disappointment after finding out that author John Grisham was a phantom Facebooker. What’s a phantom Facebooker you say? It’s a person like John who is perhaps too busy or too behind the social media revolution that they themselves don’t keep a blog/tweet/facebook/etc, but have someone (or in this case, he didn’t even know he had a Facebook page) do it for them.

Now, this seems okay to me if you’re only showing photos. But if you have someone responding on your behalf to fans/clients/friends, that’s a bit strange. And fake. I think the key to a successful blog, or any other social media, is to be AUTHENTIC. Otherwise, if found out, you risk losing all credibility.

If you do run a phantom Facebook page for someone, at least tell the person! Don’t throw them to the wolves on national TV!

http://adage.com/smallagency/post?article_id=134527

top chef comes to…TPN?

Megan West — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 21:59:44 +0000

Ian, Kat & Dave working hard

Oh yes it has! Twice. Well, not the actual show, but TPN’s own version. In our version, its not every man/woman for himself/herself, but each TEAM for itself. We divide the participants into 2 teams; they create their menu, decorate and set the table; some wear team uniforms, provide menus and even supply after dinner cigars. We aren’t playing around. This is serious business.

Rachael, who introduced this idea shortly after she started at TPN, had this to say when asked about her inspiration, “We introduced TPN Top Chef during XM week, a week long experiential education event. What better event than Top Chef to experience all the senses? The truth is I had more than XM in mind when developing the program. I saw a need to bring people together for some straight up fun…and I wanted to make some friends. The fact that there so many incredible cooks here, a giant kitchen and a culture that supports this kind of event made it all the better!”

a winning team

The rules are that chefs must share the kitchen and work within a limited budget. This means putting tape down the center line of the island table, pre-scheduling the stove and dividing the fridge in half. Sometimes the teams don’t play fair, and that’s where I come in. As the “restaurant owner”, my general duties are to keep the peace, supply the alcohol and taste test all food before it reaches the guests. It’s a pretty good gig. )

Cheese & Fig with Balsamic Dressing

We’re planning to roll out the next Top Chef soon, and to help us the bide the time, we’re launching employee run cooking lessons. The first class teaches “How to Make Pho”. Mmmmm…

the arts hang on…our walls

Megan West — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 19:34:27 +0000

For years now TPN has been hosting quarterly artist receptions for its TPN Gallery Walls project. Our curator, Ms Laurie LeClair, has a line up of local artists, usually 4 at a time, who display their artwork on TPN’s walls. Win/win situation: they get a chance to show/sell their art, we get free rotating art every 3 months.

We’ve just had our spring reception, the walls are filled with gorgeous art and the building is happy.

TPN's Gallery Walls

Spend Your Marketing Dollars on the RIGHT Gen Y Consumers

Nadine Haija — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 18:21:31 +0000

I recently received this video from Advertising Age, in which Emily Riley, a senior analyst for Forrester Research, suggested that Generation Y may want to be behaviorally targeted for adverts. Riley suggested that a site be created where Generation Y can opt in or opt out of specific advertisements. If a member of the digitally raised generation is interested in receiving advertisements concerning healthcare based on their web activity, they check it off. If they’re not interested, they leave it blank and check only those that apply. Riley explained that this site offered many pros, including the advertising industry shedding the “sneaky” image of invasively tracking the web activity of consumers. Ultimately, this upfront approach will be more effective with the coming generations.

After reviewing this video & the small excerpt of Riley’s speech, I completely agree. We are an over- advertised, ego-centric & transparent generation; with our lives consumed by & plastered all over the internet, how can we not be? If you’ve made a mistake, admit it. We’ll forgive you. If you’re after a sale, be genuine. Show us why it really does work for our lifestyle. If you want to advertise, provide mindful content. Your creativity, transparency and total focus on us will pay off because we’re also a generation of brand loyalty. So what better way to “hook, line & sink us” than to advertise your product/service to the young consumers that are actually interested in what you have to offer? We rid our lives of the ad-saturation and your marketing dollars are spent on a substantial and rewarding audience. Sounds like a win-win to me!

jet blue helps us laugh through the pain and may just sell some tickets

Rachael Hutchins Granata — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 14:27:53 +0000

Check out Jet Blue’s new campaign - http://jetblue.com/deals/welcomebigwigs/

Its been called, clever, tongue-in-cheek, risky, funny and smart. I say – Right On! – again- to a company that never plays it safe and yet somehow is always on target. Of course they don’t expect that the executives they poke fun at are going to line up to buy tickets – but the rest of us will.

Here’s a taste of their tone…

“On JetBlue, we give you unlimited snacks and sodas for free. We want to repeat that. FREE. Our blue potato chips are not a government bailout and there are no strings attached.”

“Fares That Won’t Give the CFO a Conniption

JetBlue’s fares start at very low prices. Let’s just say, they’re way, way, way less than the $5300 an hour you used to pay for your private jet. Now, in exchange for these shareholder-friendly prices, you’ll have to share the plane with strangers. Just think of it as jetpooling, only we find the other people for you.”

Rock on Jet Blue – I think this campaign has the power to keep people traveling and provides needed relief to the clutter of downers and crappy campaigns that pretend to know us…here’s what others had to say

http://adage.com/garfield/post?article_id=134782 get your dose of Bob Garfield sarcasm here (where I go when my dear old Dad isn’t free to take my call) with as much love and zeal.

http://www.brandweek.com/bw/content_display/news-and-features/promotion/e3i83b3be812614cf998db0785052f378f5 from brand week and New York Times

PS. The clutter of “downers” there is one exception - All State Insurance’s new serious campaign on what really matters – nailed it – that campaign is perfect. Perfectly timed, perfectly brand consistent and dead-on target. I can’t help but think of Dennis Haysbert as Present David Palmer from 24 – but somehow he is both David Palmer and putting you in good hands. I don’t know – I feel safer just listening to him. Thank you Mr. President…um…Dennis.