It was a thrilling challenge and accomplishment launching Backdrops Beautiful less than 4 years ago. I myself was taken aback at the rate of growth in the first year alone. Luckily, I’m a “sporty” individual as I mastered jumping hurdles during these formative years!

We pride our company on both product and service, surpassing the expectation of our customers. We will go above and beyond creating the ultimate customer experience.

Our success has enabled us to reach out to the less fortunate and support various charitable organizations.  Giving back to the community and the military is a significant part of our company.  We have new ideas planned for 2012 and believe it is going to be an exciting year. That said, I wish everyone a Happy New Year, with only good health, joy and success in all your endeavors.

~Ilana Goldstone

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Event Solutions Magazine has announced the finalists for the 2012 Spotlight Awards, being presented at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, NV.  The finalists were chosen by the 2011 Event Solutions Advisory Board.

We are honored and humbled to be a finalist for the Event Solutions 2012 Spotlight Awards in two categories:

• Rental Company of the Year
• Rising Star Male (Jose D Ramirez)

And even though we’ve come this far, we still need your help.  Thank you for your support and congratulations to all of the finalists.

Please CLICK HERE or the logo below to vote for us!

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On May 19, 2011, San Diego’s event professionals, clients, investors, and staff gathered at 1020 Prospect Street Suite 100, a chic, modern event space in La Jolla’s trendy downtown, to celebrate the launch of Destination Event Center.  The venue’s versatility makes it perfect for any private event offering breathtaking views of the Pacific Ocean and gives clients the opportunity to customize events and celebrate in style. Many vendors including ourselves donated our services and products for the grand opening.  Our bubbles backdrop was showcased on stage behind the amazing NRG music group.

Destination Event Center boasts over 6,000 sq ft indoor event and meeting space and it can accommodate up to 200 guests. It is a perfect venue for any type of corporate party, wedding, bar/bat mitzvah, product launch party, client appreciation event, or any type of private event and with fewer restrictions than any other Downtown La Jolla event venue.

photo courtesy of Eddie Garcia E3 Photography

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For those that visited our booth while attending a trade show or conference, a big THANK YOU!

We are now offering everyone a chance to win a Slide HD Flip Camera. You can enter here.  Good luck!

Please remember to submit your event or recital photos as your company may be featured in our next blog or eNewsletter!

Win a flip camera

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When did we decide we needed our own shampoo brand? I remember growing up and only having one brand, Suave!  And for the most part it was the shampoo & conditioner in one to save space and money.  Growing up, my parents didn’t give us a choice.  It was one less thing for us to be concerned with.  Nowadays, thanks to my hair loss, I don’t need my own shampoo which makes life that much easier. Despite not having the need to use any hair product myself, I’m aware of the many options out there and wonder on how people decide on what to purchase.

Being that there are so many brands now that offer many different options for all types of hair, are customers loyal? Or are they making their choices on what’s on sale or on impulse buying? I know that in my own household there are always different factors that come into play when choosing a brand, such as, the specialty of the brand and price point.  As consumers in this struggling economy, I believe we want the most for our money and are willing to sacrifice brand name for value, especially when we do our research and learn that the store brand is being manufactured by a key player.  However, I do believe there are a handful of us who continue to buy on impulse because of the beautiful packaging and not necessarily if it’s right for us.

Companies are continuing to shelf new and improved products and more eco-friendly options, but do they really achieve what they promise?  I’m curious to know how many people really stick to one shampoo/conditioner brand and why they continue to do so. Is it because they continue to find value or is it because they’ve become conformed to an idealistic way of buying and are afraid to step out of their comfort zone and try something new?

I will say though, that if I ever decide to do something different, I would definitely check out Samson Hair Restoration.  They are doing some great things and I wouldn’t mind using some shampoo again.  And I know that if I were to buy a product, my buying decision would probably be based on packaging.  I can’t help it; I’m a sucker for great packaging!

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We all love to personalize our bodies and material things whether we do it with tattoos, piercings, clothing, vehicles, etc.  In most cases, we have a large canvas to work with such as our bodies and cars which make it really easy to express ourselves as individuals.  With most people, we tend to learn a lot about them by these branding messages or artwork displays.  But what happens when we personalize our vehicle plates?  If Twitter users think they have it tough with 140 characters try 7!

This morning on my drive to work I realized how many people personalize their vehicle plates.  As I came to the freeway entrance, I came across a white BMW with plates that read, “HRMNGR.”  The driver was a middle aged woman wearing what appeared to be a gray suit, a white collared shirt, and some trendy glasses.  Without me knowing anything about this woman, her message sort of fits who she is at first glance.  Her personalized plate message was clear and I was able to read it effortlessly which is why it got my attention.  I can almost assume this person has her ideal job and is happy to express who she is in the world.

On the contrary, I also came across a handful of vehicles that at times, was almost impossible for me to guess their message.  Isn’t the point to share something with everyone that is about you or something that has meaning to you? I understand that it is difficult and it can become a challenge to try to personalize your plates because by now most common phrases have been taken, but when I have to struggle to read and make it out it’s not worth the effort. In most states, no special punctuation symbols are permitted, i.e. comma, period, hyphen, exclamation point, question mark, etc.  Trying to express yourself in 7 characters or less is no joke!  I’ve see some interesting personalized plates on the road and you can definitely see that some people spend quite some time in working out the layout.  Sometimes the message is very clear and others you need to work to decipher the message.

Whether you are going to personalize your vehicle plates for personal or corporate, in doing so make sure that your message is clear and it is not lost in translation.  Do you think this is strategy or has the individual failed by making it too personal for their own audience?

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If you own a local business with a physical location that your clients can shop and haven’t claimed your place on Facebook, you are missing out on a great opportunity to promote your business.  In addition to Places, Facebook has now launched a new service called Deals and it is currently available for free.  Similar to Groupon, you can create special offers for your customers.  Having recently learned about Deals myself, I was inspired to show everyone just how to do it.

To do so, you first have to check in via your mobile device through Facebook app.  (If your smart phone is not equipped with the Facebook App you can download it from your smart phone app store or simply use touch.facebook.com)  Similar to Foursquare, you need to check in via your mobile device.

1. Open your Facebook App
2. Choose Places
3. Choose Check-In
4. Do a search for your business to see if it’s been added. If your business is present move on to step 6.  If not, you will need to “Add” it.
5. Add Your Full Business Name and include a business description and press the add button.  Your business will now be visible to anyone that visits your business.
6. Your business will now be in Places and is ready for you to check in.  You may check in alone, or check in with your friends by tagging them.
7. You must now login your Facebook account via the web.  Click on your profile tab and locate your business check in.
8. Once your business has a Facebook Place, you will see the following screen.  There is a link at the bottom left side that states “Is this your business?” Click on the link to begin the verification process.
9. You will now get the following pop up:
10. Upon certifying that you are an official rep of your business you will need to complete the next step/form.  Please note that claiming your Place on Facebook does require some supporting evidence including document verification to prevent from strangers trying to claim your business. (Unfortunately, there will be a waiting period of about a week before you receive an approval email from Facebook.)
11. Once your claim has been reviewed and approved your page will look like this and you will be able to add a photo, edit your details and create deals for your customers.  Click on “Create a Deal”
12. You will get the following box:

You are now ready to create you Deal on Facebook Places.

Click on “Create a Deal for this Page”

You have 4 different types of deals you can offer: (deal descriptions via Facebook Help Center)

• Individual Deal: Reward individual customers when they check in at your business. Best for simple discounts or gifts with purchase.
• Friend Deal: Reward individual customers when they check in at your business. Best for simple discounts or gifts with purchase.
• Loyalty Deal: Reward customers for visiting your business a certain number of times, similar to a traditional punch card.
• Charity Deal: Pledge to donate to a charity of your choice when customers check in at your business. A win-win for everyone!
• For demonstration purposes I will walk you through the steps in creating an individual deal.

For an individual deal you will need to define your offer, explain how to redeem, enter the dates you plan on running your promo, maximum number of redemptions if applicable and the number of times it can be claimed by the customer.  Proceed to clicking on Save.

You will then be prompted with the following screen.  You have now successfully submitted your deal to Facebook and it will take an approximate 48 hours for them to review and approve.  Please note that your page may have only 1 active deal at a time.

When your customers now check-in via Places on Facebook your deal will display in the following manner:

I hope this “How To” post helps you on improving your business presence on Facebook.   Even if you decide not to participate on Facebook Deals, it is imperative to at least clean up your listing on Facebook Places with a proper description and photo so that it is branded properly.

Check out Facebook Deals Video:

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It is definitely OKAY in my book to let loose once in a while. Attending the NACE / ISES San Diego Annual Holiday Party on December 7, 2010 at the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego gave us all the opportunity to unwind and have fun. And when it comes to photo booths, our sales team at Backdrops Beautiful is definitely not shy! Our co-workers Peter Armado, Donna Gonzales, Angelie Cavitt and myself (Jose D. Ramirez) had a blast with Classy Photobooth.

I decided to do a quick photo compilation of our best work. We pride ourselves on working hard, but we definitely know how to rock an event! Happy Holidays Everyone!

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Why setup a username you ask?  For one, it will make it easier for your clients to find and like your page.  It is also a great way to brand your work and provides accessibility for search engines to index you properly. It’s important to capitalize on all the features Facebook offers to set your brand apart from your competitors and what better way to start than by claiming your own brand name.

A default Facebook page url (username) will appear like this:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/backdropsbeautiful/106828624998

Make sure you log-in to your profile page and that you are an administrator of your Facebook page.

Go to the Facebook username assignment page:  www.facebook.com/username it will look like this:

Next, select the page name from the drop down box:

Enter your custom name in the right hand box that appears once you’ve selected the page name you want to assign a custom name:

Finally, press the “Check Availability” button (it will warn you if the chosen name is not available).  If available, a pop-up disclaimer will advise you that once you set your page with a username, it is final.  Accept disclaimer if you agree.  Upon confirmation your username will be assigned and you can now promote it.

http://www.facebook.com/backdropsbeautifulfanpage

Please note that your fan page must have more than 25 fans (likes) in order to assign it a custom username.  This is a big change from a year ago when Facebook required you to at least have 1,000 fans.

For FAQ Facebook Pages questions click on the link below:

http://www.facebook.com/help/?search=usernames#!/help/?page=900

I hope this tutorial helps you effortlessly setup your custom name and that you see the benefits of doing so.  If you disagree, I’d like to hear why.

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I’ve been a fan of Demi Moore and David Duchovny for many years now; Demi as early as Indecent Proposal and David from early childhood watching the X-Files.  Upon receiving “The Joneses” via Netflix (my promotion of Netflix) I was excited to learn they were in it.  To be honest, I had no idea what the movie was about until reading the movie description on the sleeve.  However, I was quickly enthralled by the concept and kept me interested.  The movie’s main storyline focused on the extremities of stealth marketing.  The notion of marketing being subliminal is spot on for our generation as we live in a material world.

Stealth marketing is deceptive when personal interest is not being disclosed.  In this movie, Demi and David are part of a massive scheme to push out various products to their community while staying under radar that they are being paid commission to do so by their employer.  This movie portrays the well known phrase “Keeping up with the Joneses” as it drives a neighbor into bankruptcy and eventually suicide.  We encounter this type of marketing in our own lives, at the stores we shop in, even though we might not realize it. For example, many nutritional products that are sold at our local vitamin stores have a kick back incentive for their sales reps that have been set up by the vendors.  In addition, electronic stores have similar programs to push out certain brands or extra warranties.

Perhaps most importantly, this movie was just plain interesting to watch because it exaggerated what seems to be the obvious.  Maybe it wasn’t an exaggeration at all. Maybe it’s reality that we don’t think about because we are consumed by our possessions.  It made me think of how we subliminally pitch the brands we utilize in the various facets of our lives to our family and friends and sometimes even strangers.  But we do this because we truly enjoy the products and are not being paid to like them or promote them.  I believe stealth marketing is only ethical when it is genuine, such as word of mouth.  Word of mouth and buzz has longevity when it is second nature and not promoted with a personal motive.  It is important to engage your brand with social media and have nature take its course with brand ambassadors and it will be rewarded with brand development.

Is stealth marketing part of your marketing arsenal?

Flickr photo courtesy madmolecule

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