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EC=MC: The new law of marketing
Every Company is a Media Company. It's a phrase coined some eight years ago by tech journalist Tom Foremski to describe the impact of technology on marketing.
From the Internet to Wi-Fi to smartphones, a tectonic shift has taken place with technology forever changing the landscape of marketing, just as radio and television did before.
Only this time, it's different. This time, the power has shifted from the hands of a few hundred powerful media outlets to the hands of billions of consumers.
At the same time, companies like yours have been handed powerful tools and an unparalleled opportunity to engage with customers like never before. It's not just in the obvious new places like mobile websites, apps and the media. Technology has made it easier and cheaper to communicate through video, live events and, yes, even print publications.
Like it or not, you are a media company.
So what's a media mogul like you to do? You need to do one thing: create content. And you need to do it well. You need to create content that generates interest among your target customer base and engages them with your organization.
It might sound easy, but it's not. Most business leaders know that effective communication is one of the biggest challenges any company faces. When that communication is what sets you apart in the minds of your customers and prospects, the stakes are all the higher.
Here are a few important points to keep in mind as you set about embracing your new role as a media company.
Be where your audience is
Content comes in many forms. Most of us 40- or 50-something business executives are more comfortable reading printed material. Flipping through your brochure, newsletter or even your own custom magazine is comfortable for us. So hand us something.
But younger VPs and 20-somethings — many of whom do the heavy lifting of researching company buying decisions — are more comfortable gaining intel online. They scour videos on YouTube, mine infographics on visual.ly and peruse PowerPoints on SlideShare. So take the time to figure out which of these is the right channel to reach your target customer.
Share knowledge, not platitudes
Yeah, we get it. Your people are smarter, their customer service is better and their breath smells fresher longer. But that's not why we might be interested in your business.
What we want to know is how you're going to solve our problems and make our lives easier. We don't want you to tell us you are smarter; we want you to show us you are smarter.
Thought leadership articles, white papers and blog posts showcase your knowledge of industries, issues and tactics. They differentiate you from your competitors and position you as a subject matter expert in your market.
Talk about customers more than yourself
The best communicators are great storytellers. Stories resonate. They connect us. They are, simply, what we remember.
Sharing client success stories is one of the best ways to tell your own story. The tried-and-true case study is one of the most effective forms of content in a marketer's arsenal. If you show us how you can make our businesses faster, better, stronger, we will do business with you. It's that simple.
And if you have particularly well known and respected clients, you get the added benefit of basking in their reflected glory. Welcome to the media business. Now go tell your story.
Michael Marzec is chief strategy officer of Smart Business Network and SBN Interactive. Reach him at firstname.lastname@example.com or (440) 250-7078.
Kelly Borth: How to ensure everyone knows your name so prospects are already familiar with you
Building a strategy to earn name recognition in the marketplace is more complex today than ever, and increased competition breeds more choices.
The Internet feeds prospects' desire for 24/7 access to information and, at the same time, has changed the face of publishing. Email provides messaging directly to someone's personal mailbox. Smartphones connect us around the clock and around the globe. And social media has revolutionized communication by providing a vehicle that gives a voice to the masses.
Much has changed and the new paths have opened the way for businesses to chart their own course. There are fewer barriers to getting your message to your targeted audience (unless you are trying to reach them on their office phone, right?) but many more fragmented choices to reach out and connect with them to get your message heard.
Develop a well-thought-out strategy
As with all marketing, the best-laid plans produce the best results. Businesses today need an online strategy, an industry strategy and a direct-marketing effort to build exposure.
Understanding what potential customers want and need is imperative to success, as is knowing where potential customers hang out so you know the best opportunities to connect with them.
Chart your own course
The Internet offers no barriers to entry. Unlike having to pitch your story or white paper to an editor to get it published, the Internet freely accepts whatever information you would like to create and share with its open universe of information seekers.
This accessibility means opportunity is at your fingertips to populate that universe with your information. Popular forms of providing information include websites, blogs, press releases, white papers, case studies, educational videos, virtual webinars, various forms of presentations and pictures of products, comparison matrices, social media sites, such as YouTube, LinkedIn, Google+, and so on.
Some Internet services, such as those that distribute press releases, charge a fee, whereas posting sites, such as blogs or social bookmarking sites such as Digg, are free. Tracking engagement and turning engagement into opportunity begins with a solid website that effectively communicates your message, is connected to all of the information you have placed on the Internet and is optimized for search engines.
Becoming visible within targeted industries is more traditional. Strategic sponsorships of industry association events, trade shows, informational seminars and forums, as well as advertising and editorial within trade news vehicles — both print and online — are just a few options.
Think of sponsorships as your connection with the industry that can match you with potential customers. You are benefitting from relationships these industry associations have with the individuals and companies you want as customers.
Your direct strategy is about getting your company in front of a prospect so that when there is a need for what your company sells, the prospect is already familiar with you. This can include direct mail, email campaigns (make sure they are opt-in) and invitations to webinars or seminars where you present meaningful information.
Other options include Google AdWords or other pay-per-click campaigns, trade advertising, trade shows, online advertising, etc.
Plan for a comprehensive, integrated approach
To get noticed today, companies need to have an integrated plan of action, one that is comprehensive in nature to reach the intended target audiences. Just having a website is not the answer, nor is just going to a trade show or having a video on YouTube. It is much more complex than that.
Building a known name in the marketplace takes a commitment to a planned approach and follow-through. And don't forget the importance of a consistent brand message and voice, as well.
Kelly Borth is CEO and chief strategy officer for Greencrest, a 22-year-old brand development, strategic marketing and digital media firm that turns market players into market leaders. Borth has received numerous honors for her business and community leadership. She serves on several local advisory boards and is one of 30 certified brand strategists in the United States. Reach her at (614) 885-7921, email@example.com, @brandpro or for more information, visit www.greencrest.com.
Invest in developing a marketing strategy if you want to improve business results
How often do you go to market without a solid business strategy? Probably never, right?
The reality is that if you're like most organizations, then you're doing this right now — and you don't even know it.
That's because most organizations do not have a well-thought-out marketing strategy. Instead, most are doing what somebody told them they should do. This includes creating a mobile website, engaging in social media and advertising.
All of these are "smart" marketing initiatives. But if they're done in a vacuum, there's no way to measure what results those initiatives are intended to accomplish. Worse, you're chasing tactics instead of delivering results.
There is a significant difference between marketing tactics and marketing strategy. Marketing tactics are ways to bring channels to life. This could be a new website or a mobile-optimized version of your site. Or it could be creating new sales collateral. Tactics should be used to bring your brand message and value proposition to life.
Unfortunately, if they're not tied to a cohesive strategy, you will not achieve the results you desire.
A marketing strategy, however, allows you to understand the results you should achieve. It also keeps everyone aligned with what you're trying to accomplish and where you are in the process.
As an example, there are three main reasons for a website: to verify your organization's brand message to potential customers, to deliver your value proposition and conversion.
Conversion can mean different things for different industries. In retail, it might mean picking out a product, putting it in your shopping cart and making the purchase. In business-to-business, conversion might mean picking up the phone to contact the company, providing a name, email and phone number, or signing up to receive a newsletter.
Without understanding how consumers behave, you may be selling your marketing efforts short. You might not be providing enough information to clearly articulate your brand message or value proposition or you might not be offering users an easy experience that allows for conversion. So how do you ensure that a consistent brand message, value proposition and the ability to target customers converts across all marketing channels?
First, understand who the target consumer is and their needs, attitudes and behaviors. This can be discovered through research, including focus groups or through industry-based segmentation.
Then, conduct a deep dive to understand your business goals and objectives. In retail, this might be the number of sales you want to drive. In B2B, it could be increasing the numbers of prospects in your pipeline.
Finally, evaluate your company's existing marketing tactics — your website, marketing collateral and overall brand message.
Only then will you be well-equipped to evaluate your overall tactics and compare them to marketing best practices and the competitive landscape. This results in recommendations that include expected business results and return on investment.
Prioritize these by measuring the highest impact against investment levels, and then create a timeline to implement them over a one- to two-year period. Share this strategy throughout the entire organization so everyone understands what will be accomplished and what the expected results are.
Without strategy, and an understanding of everything that goes into it, any money you pour into tactics tends to be money poorly spent. Done correctly, your marketing strategy suddenly becomes your organization's key driver and leads to tangible and measurable business results.
Dave Fazekas is director of digital marketing for Smart Business Network. Reach him at firstname.lastname@example.com or (440) 250-7056.
How planning and communication are the keys to handling a reduction in force
Over the past five years, layoffs have become an undeniable fact of life for millions of Americans, and even today as we slowly recover from the great recession, layoffs continue. For example, in June, there were 4.3 million total separations, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
And as painful as they may be, layoffs are sometimes necessary to allow a business to reorganize or restructure to remain viable. If they are not handled correctly, however, a reduction in force could be devastating to the future of a company. Research done after the economic downturn in the 1990s found layoff survivors had high levels of distrust and lower levels of motivation. In addition, absenteeism increased and productivity decreased.
"The keys to effectively managing a layoff are planning, communication and treating people with dignity," says Jerry Miller, vice president, marketing, at Executive Career Services. "Your goals should be to preserve morale and the intellectual capital of the organization and to avoid litigation."
Smart Business spoke with Miller about how employers can mitigate the negative effects of layoffs when they become necessary.
What role should planning play with managing layoffs?
Planning encompasses numerous areas, so you need to first understand the reasons for having the layoff in the first place. What do you hope to accomplish? You need to determine what the company will look like going forward — post-layoff.
Then you'll need to decide which positions are going to be eliminated and why. Also, how much notice will be given and what type of severance packages and other benefits will be provided, including outplacement assistance? While you don't want the legal department to drive the layoff, you need to know the relevant laws and understand all the legal ramifications. Some of the more important laws to be concerned with include The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) and laws dealing with age and other forms of discrimination.
Finally, and very importantly, you'll want to formulate your communication strategy, both during and after the layoff. Once the planning process is complete, move swiftly. Don't drag things out. Word travels fast in an organization and you want to stay ahead of rumors.
How does a good communication strategy look during a reduction in force?
Once the implementation phase begins, communication should be wide and frequent. A critical component of this phase is the notification meetings, which should be conducted by the immediate supervisor or department head, and if the meeting is expected to be especially sensitive, a representative from human resources. This is not a time to delegate. It is critical that these managers, particularly if they have never delivered a layoff notice, be coached in how to conduct the notification meetings. If you are using an outplacement firm, it will be able to provide this type of coaching.
What do managers and department heads need to keep in mind during a notification meeting?
Information packets should be prepared in advance with all the necessary information. Expect that impacted employees will likely be in a state of shock after learning of the job loss and much of what is said afterward will not be heard or understood. They need information to take with them to read when they are finally able to process the bad news. Notification meetings should be private and take place as early in the workday as possible on a day that is not immediately prior to a weekend, a holiday or a planned vacation.
The impacted employees must be treated with dignity and respect. They will share their experience with survivors, and if they are not treated appropriately, it could have a very negative impact on those remaining. Managers should imagine themselves on the other side of that table and treat their exiting employees as they themselves would like to be treated. Be brief and direct in the notification meeting. Anticipate emotional reactions and be prepared to deal with them. Don't engage in small talk or allow your anxiety to cause you to say something to ease the immediate situation that can't be lived up to. Explain that positions, not people, are being eliminated. You want to be sensitive to the employee's situation but direct and firm, making sure he or she knows the decision is final and non-negotiable. Tell employees how much you appreciate their work and thank them for their contributions. Finally, direct them to the next step in the process.
How should an employer handle the remaining employees?
Oftentimes a company is so focused on the layoff itself that it loses sight of the impact on the survivors, but doing so can cause significant problems later. This is where leaders need to lead. Meet with the remaining employees to discuss the layoffs in an honest and forthright manner. Share the latest company news with them and commit to keeping them informed. Acknowledge their emotions and give them time to deal with them, but not too much time — don't allow them to engage in endless carping or complaining. Work must go on. Managers should lead by example. Be positive but also realistic. Discuss the workload and how it will be distributed, perhaps even asking the team what they would recommend. Keep lines of communication open and check in regularly with individuals. Above all, be available to remaining employees. Don't spend time in your office with the door closed.
Remember, how you treat people matters, to those impacted as well as to those who remain. If you plan effectively, communicate openly and often, and treat people with dignity and respect, a layoff can be done with minimal disruption and little or no negative impact on the organization going forward.
Jerry Miller is a vice president, marketing, at Executive Career Services. Reach him at (949) 251-5600 or firstname.lastname@example.com.
Insights Human Capital Solutions is brought to you by Executive Career Services
How a growing company can design recruiting and retention strategies
In the service industry, employee-related expenses account for 50 to 70 percent of total expenses, which makes it critical to bring in the right people and ensure your investment is a good one.
"The cost to hire people is significant, from advertising to interviewing to the onboarding process," says John Harabedian, Managing Director of the Retirement Plan Services division at Tegrit Group. "If you are only retaining 50 percent of the people you recruit, that's a huge cost to the company that needs to be reduced."
The benefits of recruiting and retention strategies aren't just cost-related.
"If you're growing and you've got a strong culture, you'll be known as a good place to work, which enhances the company's reputation and image in the community," he says.
Smart Business spoke with Harabedian about recruiting and retention practices.
Why does a business need recruiting and retention strategies?
Not having a recruiting strategy often leads to reactive hiring. If someone terminates employment, a manager who hasn't thought about a replacement strategy might make a quick decision to hire someone who seems qualified but isn't.
You always want to look for loyalty in your employees, that is the key to customer retention as well as cost savings. Customers value continuity; if you have the same person on the account for a long time he or she will know the client well and the chances of the client having a great experience are significantly enhanced.
What are some best practices for recruiting?
Your human resources department should have an active ongoing recruiting process for key positions, even if those positions aren't open. You interview people as resumes come in, for future position openings. Then if you have to replace someone you already have two or three people in mind — you know what their situation is, if they need to move and their salary requirements for example. This makes positions easier to fill, especially for specialized, technical jobs, and ensures your company does a better job of finding the right people.
You need to define your corporate culture and find people who fit into it. A strong work culture engages employees and provides them with opportunities, which is crucial to keeping them satisfied.
In addition, good employees typically surround themselves with similar-type people, so employee recommendations can be a critical source for hires with the same work ethic and values. You can incentivize your staff with a cash bonus for recommending someone who gets hired.
An internship program is another excellent recruiting tool where both the intern and employer can evaluate each other before making a long-term commitment. You can start an internship program using younger employees who recently graduated with connections to local universities. Then in the second year, once you hire interns permanently, you can use them as spokespeople for the next graduating class. However, a successful internship program is predicated on interns having real work to do. You need to make interns feel like full-time employees by letting them have one-on-one time with managers, attend meetings and do client-based work.
Once you've recruited the right employees, what can you do to ensure they stay?
The defection of good employees is all tied to the culture. You need to put people where they have a passion. You don't want to leave people in jobs they may have entered into if that is not what they want to do long-term. If you can get a person excited about what they do — if they can contribute and have some creativity in their role — they are much more likely to stay with the company.
A growing organization has to recognize you are always looking five to ten years down the road. Not only who are my managers today, but also which employees can become directors or fill other senior level positions? Internal mentorship programs identify key performers with significant potential. And you don't have to be shy about who is in a mentoring program and who isn't as it might motivate others.
Keep in mind what influences employees today. Younger employees put an emphasis on family and outside activities that you wouldn't have found 20 years ago. You may need to be more creative in allowing staff to work remotely or have flexible schedules. You also might have to help older managers adjust to the mindset and values of younger staff.
How do you evaluate your recruiting and retention strategies?
Your HR department should always be looking for feedback from staff as well as evaluating the job application website you use to see if they are the most appropriate.
You can also rate your employees to find out how your retention strategies are working. For example, you can rate staff as (1) key performer, don't lose; (2) good performer; and (3) average or acceptable, and any employee who is rated below three you would want to actively manage out. Then evaluate which employees are leaving — how many were ones, twos and threes?
Although the recession has created a double-effect that works for the employer — the talent pool is deeper with more people out of work and with fewer jobs more people are staying put — this kind of situation is only short-term. You need to invest in your employees and ensure the company has a wonderful culture in which they can grow and eventually take on more responsibility.
John Harabedian is the Managing Director of the Retirement Plan Services division, for Tegrit Group. Reach him at 330.983.0520 or email@example.com.
Insights Retirement Plan Services is brought to you by Tegrit Group
Ravi Kathuria: How to determine the levers for maximizing immediate revenue
To fight a war, a country may have at its disposal an arsenal of resources and avenues: air force, army, navy, cyber warfare, public relations, propaganda, etc. When, where and how each is leveraged determines the outcome of each battle and ultimately the war. The successful overall war strategy must include integrated battle plans that exercise the right combination of levers.
Integrated approach
It was the ancient Greek physicist and engineer who said, "Give me a place to stand, and I shall move the Earth with a lever." He realized the power of the lever to increase the force given to it so that the output force is much greater.
Similarly, to drive revenue, a company has several levers at its disposal. However, companies often do not develop and follow an integrated approach to driving revenue. Responsibility for revenue generation falls solely within the sales department's purview. Too often, individual salespeople independently develop their own approach to drive their own sales.
Revenue levers can have either a long-term or short-term effect. Developing new products/services is an example of a longer-term revenue lever. Companies are better at managing longer-term levers, but they often do a poor job leveraging or optimizing the mix of short-term levers.
Short-term levers
Some businesses do excel at optimizing short-term levers. Consider the case of a flea market vendor. She arranges her wares in such a manner as to first attract attention, and second to highlight her best-selling items. If during the day, she notices customer interest shifting to different items, she reconfigures her layout of items to maximize sales.
Larger retailers follow a similar approach. The store layout and items displayed during the Christmas holiday season is quite different than what you will find before Valentine's Day. Ever notice that the high-traffic areas become focal points for customers? Attractive product displays draw customer attention by promoting a sale or welcoming a season.
Other industries that have developed the art and science of maximizing short-term levers include airlines, hotels, and Internet retailers. Airlines and hotels constantly vary prices and promotions to match seasonal demand patterns and adjust prices on a daily basis to match demand against existing inventory. Since airlines and hotels have a perishable commodity (an empty seat on a flight is revenue lost forever), how well they manage their immediate revenue has a huge impact on their annual performance. Internet companies such as Amazon constantly adjust their top-of-list item displays based on each customer's shifting buying interests to "capture the moment" where they have the customer's eyeballs. This is done so seamlessly through the use of technology that you don't even think about it. In a short time, you begin to expect it and count on it to make it simpler for you to find similar products.
Levers can target segments
The levers for your company may include focusing on a mix of products/services to emphasize in the marketplace, targeting certain market and customer segments, leveraging specific marketing and sales messages, offering specific promotions and pricing, and other creative mechanisms based on your particular situation. The movie studios, for example, target different market segments during different seasons. During the summer and winter holidays, they release movies targeting kids and families.
There are other examples of levers. One software company insisted customers buy all their software modules integrated as one system. The integrated system was suitable for larger customers with deeper pockets, but smaller customers could not afford and did not need all the modules. As a result, smaller customers migrated to other solutions. After it recognized the alarming trend, the company decoupled its modules allowing smaller customers to buy the individual modules they needed. A small change in product configuration helped the company impact revenue immediately.
Ask yourself how well do you leverage your short-term revenue levers? How nimble is your strategy to maximize immediate revenue? Do you manage your short-term revenue actively or passively? You must take the time to identify and understand each short-term revenue lever. Then, dynamically and opportunistically choose and exercise the right combination of levers to drive revenue immediately.
Quoted in The Wall Street Journal, Barron's and WorldNews, Ravi Kathuria is a recognized thought leader. Featured on the BusinessMakers show, CBS Radio, and Nightly Business Report, he is the author of the highly acclaimed book, How Cohesive is Your Company?: A Leadership Parable. Kathuria is the president of Cohegic Corp., a management consulting, executive and sales coaching firm, and president of the Houston Strategy Forum. Reach him at (281) 403-0250 or feedback@ cohegic.com.
Tips to integrate e-mail and text marketing
Business leaders today are looking for opportunities to engage with customers and prospects in new ways that build stronger relationships, reward loyalty, and most importantly, drive sales.
There is no shortage of strategies or tools to enable stronger relationships — between the old standards of television, print advertising, out-of-home, direct mail, etc., that have been in the marketing plan for years and new technologies like e-mail, SMS/text messaging, mobile applications, social networks and location-based services that may be in the early stages of proving value. Marketing leaders have a lot to consider.
At Signal, we've developed a global solution for small, medium and enterprise businesses that simplifies digital communications via e-mail, SMS and social media. With a wide range of clients — from Sears and Redbox to family-owned businesses — we've learned a lot about what works and what does not.
Here's a primer on how you can impact your bottom line with an integrated strategy leveraging SMS and e-mail to develop a direct line of communication to your customers and prospects.
1. Build a customer insights database, not a list of e-mail addresses and mobile phone numbers.
So you have e-mail address and mobile phone numbers in your opt-in subscriber list — now what? Do you know if the e-mail and mobile number belong to the same person? What about the time of people are most likely to respond to your campaign, or whether they engage more with SMS or e-mail communications?
It is certainly valuable to build your subscriber lists for the purpose of sending messages, but consider the obvious benefits of transforming that list to a single "data warehouse" of customer insights and behaviors. Signal's platform makes it easy to collect a wide variety of data then store it in a single customer profile, which can be used for segmentation and targeting in the future.
The more you know about your subscribers' interaction with your communications across e-mail, SMS and even social media, the more efficient your marketing efforts become, allowing you to maximize spend.
2. Set expectations and deliver value.
Your customers and prospects already get enough self-promoting e-mail, so it's important to offer content that adds value to your customers' lives while also supporting your company objectives.
Have you ever signed up for a company newsletter because of a call to action like: "Sign up to subscribe to our newsletter for exciting company updates"? Though it may seem like a reasonable pitch — "exciting company updates!" — this prompt is generic and does not showcase the value that subscribers should expect from opting in to your database.
Instead, focus on the things that you know customers want: special offers, discounts, exclusive content, etc. Also, make sure that you are clear about how frequently they can expect to hear from you and what type of content you'll be sharing. Make that content exclusive to that channel, whether it's e-mail or SMS, and customers will want to subscribe.
By setting the right expectations that give subscribers a good reason to opt-in and stay subscribed, you'll experience stronger growth and engagement, which in turn extends reach and ROI.
3. Affect buying decisions with timed offers and calls-to-action.
Understanding usage is an important step in delivering value to your customers and influencing their decisions through e-mail and SMS.
E-mail allows you to communicate with richer content as compared to SMS. However, open rates and click-through rates can change significantly depending on when your e-mail hits the inbox. If your content is valuable to your readers when they start their day at the office, a weekday morning may make the most sense. If you're sending a promotion for a happy hour, then just before lunch is ideal so that customers can start to rally their friends during lunch.
SMS, on the other hand, is a much more immediate communication that can affect a buying decision in real time. About 83 percent of text messages are read within one hour, and open rates for SMS are typically 3 to 4 times higher than for e-mail. For example, a recent study found that 68 percent of lunch decisions are made in less than an hour or on an impulse. Timing is incredibly important if you want your message to impact a customer's buying decision.
4. Prime the pump with e-mail; close the loop with SMS.
It's no secret that better outcomes are the result of a fully considered marketing plan. However, too few businesses truly leverage their various channels to maximize the return. Understanding e-mail and SMS usage will help you execute a truly cross-channel strategy for maximum efficacy.
One useful strategy for syncing your SMS and e-mail actions is to use e-mail to build awareness or initial interest in your offer or content, then rely on SMS to prompt action at the moment of truth. For example, you can use your weekly or monthly newsletter or promotional e-mail to set expectations about an important upcoming event, then close the deal with a text message that reminds buyers about that promotion.
Marketing today is more integrated that it has ever been in the past. However, silos still exist — to the detriment of your business' ability to leverage digital communications channels to their highest potential. Your path to successful cross-channel communications and increased ROI is to better understand customer behavior and preferences and translate those insights into campaigns that map most closely to what your customers want, when they want it.
John Sharry is an Account Executive at Signal, a Chicago-based company that offers a dead simple product that unifies e-mail, mobile and social marketing in a single platform. Recently named No. 108 on the 2011 Inc. 500 report, Signal offers more great insight on Twitter, Facebook and their blog.
Why your company's mobile strategy is failing...and how to fix it.
Interested in learning why your company's mobility strategy is failing?
Join Smart Business and Chris Surdenik, president of Call One, at 1 p.m. CDT on September 29th for an in-depth look at mobility in this digital age. Register today!
Surdenik started at Call One in 1998 at the recommendation of Ameritech. He had previously been a provisioning supervisor at USN Communications, where he was responsible for training and administration of the provisioning department.
He knew there was a better way to tackle telecommunications needs.
Now, 13 years later, Surdenik has proven Ameritech's recommendation – and his decision – to be prescient. Call One has seen substantial growth, most recently being named to Crain's Fifty-Fastest Growing Companies in Chicago and Inc. Magazine's 500 5000 list.
Earlier this year, Smart Business sat down with Surdenik to discuss how he tackles business challenges. You can read the interview here.
The bottom line is that it's becoming an ever increasingly mobile world. And for business, that means you're conducting transactions on the go, holding meetings on the road -- and from remote locales -- and accessing your data from anywhere at any time.
So what does mobility mean, and how can you best take advantage of what's out there?
At this Webinar, we'll tackle such topics as:
* Hardware: Smart phones, wireless devices and creating transparency in business communications.
* Client Experience: Mobility puts you in the "now" at anytime for clients, creating a dynamic customer service experience.
* Integrated Communications: How mobility plays an important role in a fully conceptualized integrated communications plan.
Register today as this is one Webinar you don't want to miss.
How to maximize profits by adopting a systematic approach to pricing management
Although pricing plays a pivotal role in generating profits, most firms end up leaving money on the table, because they rely on ad-hoc or undisciplined practices instead of a well-honed strategy. Worse yet, they don't establish a price based on the product's value, or forgo profitability by hastily initiating discounts to grab market share.
"Executives don't run enough 'what if' scenarios before establishing a price for a product or service and then hope that something good will happen," says Dr. Jagdish Agrawal, associate dean and professor of marketing for the College of Business and Economics at California State University, East Bay.
Smart Business spoke with Agrawal about the dos and don'ts of pricing management.
Why do companies overlook the need for disciplined pricing management?
For starters, academia hasn't paid enough attention to pricing so MBAs aren't familiar with the tools or the need for a rigorous methodology. In fact, there isn't a single academic journal on the benefits of good pricing. Executives also tend to think that the market establishes the price for goods and services, when it's up to the seller to educate buyers on their product's value.
What are the components of an effective pricing strategy?
These best practices are integral to an effective strategy.
- Start with a profit objective. Market share and profits aren't necessarily related; conceptually, you can reduce your price to zero, lose money and capture the entire market. Start with a profit objective before establishing a price for the product and then research the market to see if it's on target.
- Practice value-based pricing. Pricing should be determined by the value of a product or service, not production costs. Research the competition and then adjust your price up or down based upon the inferiority or superiority of your product.
- Understand market segmentation. Airlines are experts at market segmentation based pricing. They understand that business travelers don't pay for their tickets so they don't care about price, but families always shop for the best deal when booking a vacation.
- Price proactively. Avoid knee-jerk reactions to competitive price changes by continuously monitoring buyer preferences as well as social and economic changes so you can adjust prices proactively.
- Develop prices collaboratively. Solicit input across the entire enterprise, because each group offers unique expertise and perspective that leads to better pricing.
- Invest in marketing. It's not that buyers won't pay more, but they need education and data to appreciate your product's value.
How can companies utilize tools to attack pricing both tactically and strategically?
Savvy companies understand price elasticity and customer preferences and use niche software programs to conduct incremental break-even analyses. For example, what will happen if you drop the price of a product by 5 percent? How much will sales go up and will you still make a profit? Conversely, what will happen if you don't reduce the price? Start with a conjoint marketing analysis to uncover the nexus between price and value by forecasting the impact of various price changes and then conduct trials or tests to validate the results before initiating wholesale price changes. Some product managers are turning to a new field called behavioral economics, which helps them understand buyer motives and strategically offer rebates or other discounts to communicate a product's price and value to customers.
How can companies avoid typical mistakes?
Marketing has four variables, or 'Ps': price, product, promotion and place. Because price is the most flexible, people tend to use it for instant gratification. But it's a mistake to temporarily lower prices for competitive purposes, because it compresses margins across the entire industry. Another error is incorporating irrelevant or non-incremental expenses into the cost assumptions because it results in an inflated price that isn't based on the product's value. Fixed costs like managerial salaries aren't necessarily impacted by the number of products a company produces, so you stand a better chance of developing value-based pricing and realistic forecasts by excluding them from the estimated costs. Isolated pricing decisions made by a single department like marketing or accounting are usually off the mark. Instead, develop the brand's positioning and profit objectives before creating a coordinated promotion and advertising campaign. Next, develop various pricing scenarios through a collaborative effort and run 'what if' models to validate your sales and profit goals. If necessary, adjust your product's positioning or marketing strategies until they align with the desired outcomes, because everything should flow from the brand's positioning.
How can companies boost profitability through pricing improvements?
Start with the actual product or service to uncover untapped market segments and incremental profit opportunities. Does your product solve a problem? Are there prospective customers who would be willing to pay more for a solution? For example, retailers usually charge less when customers buy online, but some people are willing to pay more for the experience of shopping in a pleasant environment. Train everyone in the company on pricing fundamentals and methodology so they make better pricing decisions and spot additional opportunities to sell goods and services for a higher price. Remember, price is the only marketing variable not associated with the product's cost, and price allows you to realize the value of all your investments and boost profits.
Dr. Jagdish Agrawal is associate dean and professor of marketing for the College of Business and Economics at California State University, East Bay. Reach him at (510) 885-3290 or email@example.com.
Taking traditional tools into the digital age
Deborah Fine is pretty good at shaking things up.
Three years ago, when she joined Direct Brands, the largest distributor of physical multimedia products such as books, movies and DVDs was in desperate need of transforming its business model to better compete in an increasingly changing marketplace.
Fine's problem was pretty straightforward: Many of the company's holdings had strong brand recognition, such as Rhapsody, The Literary Guild, Columbia House, QPB and The Book Of The Month Club, but those and other brands had lost their luster. And with the shine went some of the corporate revenue.
Aiming to provide more for the customer and recapture brand loyalty, Fine introduced a largely fresh marketing team and implemented new Web and social media strategies. She also took a new look at traditional, proven methods.
"We realized pretty quickly that between the database of scale and owning the ability to power a direct consumer channel, inherent in those lie two very, very large opportunities for growth," Fine says.
Smart Business sat down with the former president of iVillage to discuss what it took to turn Direct Brands into a digital age company.
Q: On day one, what challenges did you walk into this job and face?
I walked into the success of a model that was largely unchallenged for decades, so there was nothing wrong with this model for a very long time. A mere three years ago, this was a billion-dollar business. The challenge is that the landscape changed so quickly. This is a company that saw throughout its legacy Red Box, Amazon and the changes at Barnes & Noble. It saw radical change around it, and frankly, it didn't respond with the speed that the company now thinks and executes with.
Q: Did you find there was an urge to leverage your existing resources to expand outside the company's core competencies?
Yes and no. We identified our growth strategy on several fronts. The first job was to go back to our roots and execute against core, direct marketing tools and best practices to increase loyalty retention — all the things that belied our heritage.
The second was to take the 24 businesses we own — those in physical form as well as their digital companion sites — and bring related business into the fray. For example, if we have amongst our audience several hundred thousand members of The Good Cook, (we have) a reasonable opportunity to monetize that audience and sell them the related casserole dish, spices and kitchen gadgetry.
The third (job) was recognizing the turnkey legacy value and expertise needed to power that model — with best-in-class distribution and customer service components — enabling us to enable others.
Q: You've been in industries where disruptive innovation is necessary. How are you bringing disruptive innovation to this organization?
Most disruptive about what we're doing is exposing the company to new ways of running a business, as well as bringing in new disciplines. Titles such as 'head of business development' and 'chief transformation officer' were not titles that existed before. So I think I say it sort of in jest, but not really — the biggest change was showing up and bringing in a CEO to transform the entire management team. I changed 80 percent of the management team in my first year. Talent is the silver bullet, and there are very few business practices that are silver bullets.
Q: How are you balancing traditional channels with the new channels for doing this business?
It's really a hybrid. When I arrived at the company from working as president of one of the largest online sites for women at NBC with iVillage, the perception was that I was going to show up with the world's largest shredder and literally shred every piece of paper, every catalog and every piece of collateral material that we used to run our business. But no business today, regardless of genre, is able to throw the baby out with the bathwater.
So for us, I subscribe to test, learn, repeat; test, learn, repeat. And that's what we are doing. Social media is a great example. There's no way I'm going to walk away from 60 million pieces of direct mail, 500 million e-mails and 27 million cartons that can be marketed in, on and around in favor of a new discipline that may or may not work for us. But common sense says that because our demo is there, because our customer is connecting online, because our customer is active in social media, we have to be there.
Q: So how does this look in practice?
We're certainly not abandoning our traditional tools, tactics and strategies, but based on demography, it's the fastest growing segment. It's requisite for us to be there, and I think it's a combination of analytical tools, research, training, learning and business processes.
As a example, we had a situation where we had a consumer registering a complaint and posting it. Actually, we had two situations happening at the same time because of that: We had customer service react almost immediately, people who are monitoring those pages, but then we also had our loyal fans, de facto brand ambassadors, come to our defense.
You can go on the site and read their posts: "I've been a member for 20 years, 30 years, 40 years, you know. I've never had this problem with the company. The service has always been a hallmark."
So re-engineering the company is as much about new systems and processes as it is about changing the psyche.
How to reach: Direct Brands, www.directbrands.com
Interviewed by Dustin S. Klein / Story by Jessica Hanna


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Lazy Girl's Guide to a Quick Morning Routine
If you're not a morning person, we're right there with you. So we've compiled the best tricks for streamlining your routine and getting dressed, ready, and out the door on time with minimal effort.
For More Real Beauty
Lazy Girl's Guide to a Fall Haircut
Best Waterproof Makeup
Lazy Girl's Guide to Fall Skin Prep
Best Makeup for Olive Skin
Reprinted with permission of Hearst Communications, Inc.

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The Wedding Bliss And Blues boards are back!
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My boss and I joke that the warranty expires at 40.
How can I get better at accepting compliments? I always say thank you, but I'm always afraid my tone of voice is wrong, either it sounds like I'm mocking or full of myself. I'm terrible at accepting compliments and I think that's making me rude. I don't want to be rude, I just have no idea how to take a compliment the right way
I think my issue is that I don't always think I deserve it. For example, a coworker told me I did really well at the special teams academy (he was there with me); it was unexpected and I didn't think I did anything extraordinary. I didn't know what to say so I very awkwardly said "thank you" and he called me out on being terrible at accepting compliments (it was in good fun, he and I have a rapport of sorts, he was not being mean by calling me out). I didn't understand why he was complimenting me so I didn't respond correctly You've given me good advice. Thank you. I will try to implement it; maybe if I look at the compliments differently I'll be able to accept them better. It's hard for me because I don't have the best self esteem and I don't often get compliments other than how I'm smart.
About the taking a compliment, I never know how to answer or what to do when m'y SO tells me I'm pretty.Saying Thank you would seem uterly weird, so I akwardly smile... What do you answer to that ?I like it when he says it, I'm juste really not used to anyone saying it beside my parents.
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Central Michigan rolls past E. Michigan 42-10
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. (AP) Zurlon Tipton ran for four touchdowns on Friday to lead Central Michigan in a 42-10 victory over Eastern Michigan and become bowl eligible in the Mid-American Conference for the second-straight season.
Tipton ran for 216 yards and scored back-to-back-to-back touchdowns in the first half to jump the Chippewas (6-6, 5-3) to a 21-0 lead. His third touchdown was on an 86-yard run and he finished the half with 134 yards.
Eastern Michigan (2-10, 1-7) drove down the field for 85 yards in 55 seconds to score its first touchdown, making the score 21-10, before the end of the first half.


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October 3, 2012
December 12, 2011
November 3, 2011
Today's top stories
- Can you pull off the pro cyclist look? Want to be on Emmerdale? Now's your chance...
- Video: TfL apologises to cyclist after bus driver calls him a "knob" following close pass
- 2014 WorldTour bikes: the bikes of the peloton this season
- Haribo Beacon says prompt first aid saved rider Levi Moody's life after cardiac arrest
- Video: Houston cyclist uses flagpole to enforce often-ignored passing law
- Buyer's Guide to Saddles
- Colombian cyclists refused UK visas for Giro d'Italia Big Start in Northern Ireland
- Boris bikes fuel rising prices in London rental market, says lettings agency
- Turas Poggio 105 road bike
- Canal & River Trust wants your views on sharing towpaths
Latest comments
"In light of our research, it's a good reason for investors into London to thank Boris Johnson ...
While I agree with your sentiments and the need for proper cycling infrastructure I use the ...
Yep, check the European Transport Safety Commission (ETSC) website. I don't have a link to it ...
No matter how many errors a cyclist makes, there is no justification in endangering their life, ...
The choice is actually quite small in Canterbury itself. Cycles UK by the bus station cater more ...
This e-petition closes today. Still worth signing if you haven't.
Bump. This petition closes today, last chance to sign if you haven't.
Hmm, in France they've also started banning people from driving if they're caught over the ...
Ti v Carbon? Carbon. Cheaper, lighter, stiffer (which doesn't equal less comfortable). I have a ...
Gkam, I couldn't work it out, one startlist that came out had Henao on, then Boswell, then Boswell ...
Latest blogs
Dave Atkinson, April 17, 2014
jimmythecuckoo, April 16, 2014
Liam Glen, April 16, 2014
David Arthur, April 10, 2014
Dave Atkinson, March 30, 2014
On the Forum
- Canterbury Bike Shops
- I may have found a good reason for a bike helmet!
- Online entry for High Above Hay Sportive closes midnight
- Carbon vs Titanium
- Giro Del Trentino - Stage 1
- Cheap bikes
- GELS: best/tastiest/most economic
- cannondale or canyon
- Should I get a power meter?
- Giro D'Italia
- Cold when not riding
- Which among the following Trek road bikes!!
- Between these 3 bikes
- scary speed wobbles (Boardman 2010)
- Pictures of your Bike
- Bike Bags
- Podium Cafe VDS
- Sergio Henao suspended by sky
- Turbo training music
- Is it just me or is the classics game really boring?
Events coming up
- 312 mallorcaApril 26, 2014 (All day)
- The Tour of PembrokeshireApril 26, 2014 - 07:30
- Wiggle Ups & Downs MTBApril 26, 2014 - 08:00
- Velo29-Altura Daffodils Sportive 2014April 26, 2014 - 08:00
- Team Townend Challenge 2014April 26, 2014 - 09:00


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The Center on Global Legal Transformation, in collaboration with Professor Olivier De Schutter (University of Leuven, Belgium and Visiting Professor, Columbia Law School; UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food), will hold a conference on "Governing Access to Scarce, Essential Resources" in New York on 20-21 June 2013. The conference, sponsored by a grant from the NSF Law & Social Sciences Program, will explore alternative governance regimes for "essential goods" – i.e. goods on which humans depend for their survival. See below to view the call for papers for junior researchers to participate in the conference. In anticipation of this conference, Professors Pistor and De Schutter will also chair a panel discussion on "Triangulating Property Rights" at the Heyman Center for the Humanities at Columbia from 6:15 to 7:45 p.m. on 28 November 2012.
On June 3-4, 2013, the Institute for Global Law and Policy (IGLP) at Harvard Law School will convene its first biannual international conference on New Directions in Global Thought. All submissions must be received no later than March 1, 2013.


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An adventurous guy like you has gotta be prepared for any pandemonium that might come your way. When the weather gets unruly, you can face it fearlessly with the Chaos jacket from Hurley. With soft Sherpa lining, two front button pockets, two zip chest pockets and a drawstring hood, this quilted full zip jacket is up for anything. If the weather thinks it's intense, wait until it sees this heavy-duty jacket.
- 100% Polyester body, backing and filler
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Most, if not all, of the many posts I've written about the demographic difficulties facing the Republican Party have focused mainly on America's growing minority population.
Be wise about the proposed hospital tax on March 11.
Oscar Pistorius vomited in the dock and retched repeatedly and loudly at his murder trial Monday as he heard graphic details of the injuries sustained by the girlfriend he shot, including a head wound that was probably instantly fatal according to...
Russia's Foreign Ministry on Monday denounced what it called lawlessness by far-right activists in eastern Ukraine, a statement likely to trigger alarms in Ukraine about possible Russian intervention there.
Well, here is a very legitimate and interesting question that was being discussed on CBC, BBC and AJA� this morning: With Obama declining to meet with the disputed political leader of Tibet in the Oval Office because of possible affront to China,...
You can tell it�s Lent without going to church:� Groceries are packed with seafood and coupon deals.
Once upon a time, there was Tabasco and Louisiana. Those were kinder, gentler times in the universe of hot-pepper sauces.These memories rapidly are morphing into today�s tongue-numbing hell of boutique hot sauces.
When I was about 10, my younger sister swallowed a puppy worming pill. My mother called 800-222-1222 � the Poison Control Center � to find out what to do. She told them my sister�s age, weight and what else she had eaten that day, among other...
There is nothing better than suddenly realizing your cheeks are pushed upwards, your eyes are slightly closed, your teeth are exposed and you are adding new wrinkles to your crow�s feet.
The killer app on cellphones is the camera, as in photography. Last year, tens of billions of pictures were shot by them, eclipsing stand-alone digital cameras.
- Events Calendar


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Yoga Class April 15th, 2014
Start Date: April 15, 2014
End Date: April 15, 2014
Time: 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm
Yoga Class – April 1st, 2014
Join us on Tuesdays 6:00 – 7:00 p.m. in the Fletcher Dance Studio in the Fuller Campus Center in Leicester. Classes of Hatha Yoga will be taught by Carol McGuiggan, who has taught yoga for 45 years. Classes will be held on these dates: February 4th, 11th, 18th, and 25th. March 4th, 18th, and 25th. April 1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd, and 29th. This series of classes is free and open to all students, faculty, and staff. Please note: space is limited in the dance studio – first-come, first-served.
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Event Categories: All and Student Activities.
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Can You Live on the Minimum Wage?
More than 4.8 million workers now earn the lowest legal pay. This calculator shows the hard choices that have to be made living on the smallest paychecks.
New York Times Endorsements Through the Ages
A collection of The Times's endorsements for the presidency, from Abraham Lincoln in 1860 through the editorial board's choice of Senator Barack Obama this year.
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Andrew Rosenthal, the editorial page editor, answered readers' questions April 13-17, 2009.
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Here it is! Our brand new music video for There Ain't No One!
The song is part of our Postcard EP, which is literally a series of limited-edition postcards featuring artwork by Crooked Brothers & friends from across the country, as well as a link where you can stream/download 3 brand new tracks AND watch the video!
The idea is that the postcards are collectable as art (we're only making 100 of each design), or you can download the tracks then send a note to a friend so they can download 'em too. Who doesn't like getting something in the mail? I mean, aside from Stephen Harper...
Jesse Crooked made the video using footage from our tours and travels in Europe, Cuba and across Canada taken on his old 8mm camera - no digital filters or plugins, just straight up film wackiness.
All of this is in anticipation of our Postcard Tour across the prairies Jan 30 - Feb 9. Can't wait to hit the road again - we're revisiting some old favourites and playing some exciting new places.
Nebulous Bird-Hand, 2013 by Jesse Matas, Oil on Hockey Tape


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April 23, 2014
March 9, 2013
CHESAPEAKE, Va. (AP) - A Virginia-based Coast Guard team has returned home after a five-month counter-piracy effort.
Officials say the Chesapeake-based Coast Guard Maritime Security Response Team returned Friday after deployment to the Middle East.
The detachment served under the direction of the Navy's 5th Fleet aboard the Jacksonville, Fla.-based USS Farragut and the Portsmouth-based USS Winston Churchill.
While aboard the Navy ships, the team provided expertise in emergency medical procedures, mission planning and execution. That expertise included detecting hidden compartments onboard vessels suspected of smuggling contraband and conducting drills involving the interdiction of suspected pirate skiffs and vessels involved in illicit activity.
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A good week for those with HD TVs — The Clone Wars animated feature arrives on Blu-Ray, the first Star Wars movie to do so. Meanwhile, on television, The Clone Wars continues with another solid installment, especially those with an unabashed R2-D2 hero worship thing going on, and Seth, Matt and the folks at Stoopid Monkey / Adult Swim bring Star Wars back to Robot Chicken. Here's a recap of the content on StarWars.com this past week:
- KIDS / BOOKS: Workman Publishing Group presents the Star Wars Fandex, a sourcebook / flashcard hybrid that lets you test and build your Star Wars knowledge. Fun for the whole geeky family.
- CLONE WARS: A 30-second preview for "Duel of the Droids" posts in the video section, while a preview article talks about the dissection of R2-D2.
- CLONE WARS: The Clone Wars movie debuts on DVD and Blu-Ray in a variety of flavors. The original launch article is repromoted.
- CLONE WARS / VIDEO GAMES: Also in stores this day are Clone Wars games for the Nintendo DS and Nintendo Wii.
- CLONE WARS / VIDEO GAMES: An incredibly impartial review of The Clone Wars Wii game. Right.
- MEDIA / VIDEO: A slew of Robot Chicken Episode II videos finally hit the site. Boba Fett, Lando Calrissian, Darth Vader and The Emperor. You may have seen these previously everywhere else on the Internet.
- COLLECTING: Licensing sends out a press release reminding people of the existence of Holiday gift-giving and that there may be a Star Wars product or two available.
- MEDIA / VIDEO: Another Robot Chicken clip, this time an exclusive for a few minutes, featuring Admiral Ackbar.
- COLLECTING: Pete Vilmur excavates the Lucasfilm Licensing Archive once again to uncover international Droids and Ewoks collectibles. Nous somme les E-E-E-E-E-E-Ewoks!
- COLLECTING / BLOG: Found on eBay: a number of Clone Wars action figures signed by the crew, with auction proceeds benefiting the Heifer Foundation.
- CLONE WARS / BOOKS: The weekly new Clone Wars comics lands on a Thursday this week. Discount, illustrated by Grant Gould, stars Gha Nachkt and features Passel Argente doing something other than dying.
- CLONE WARS / VIDEO GAMES: The Nintendo DS game Jedi Alliance is chock-full of Star Wars storytelling, and Brooks Brown reveals 18 fun facts about the game to discreetly drop in the company of learned gentry at your next cotillion or Fête champêtre.
- ROCKS / MEDIA: Seth Green and Matt Senreich are back lampooning Star Wars with their Robot Chicken action figures, and we interviewed them about their latest TV special.
- BLOG: Yoda cat. CHEEZEBURGER, I CAN HAS.
- CLONE WARS: "Duel of the Droids" airs, in which General Grievous would have undoubtedly gotten away with it if it weren't for those meddling Jedi. The episode guide expands with a full synopsis, trivia and memorable quotes, and a gallery of images and concept art to browse.
- CLONE WARS / VIDEO: For those who can't tear themselves away from their computers to watch television, episode #6 of The Clone Wars, "Downfall of a Droid" streams on StarWars.com.
- CLONE WARS / VIDEO: Continuity-minded fans fretful of the galaxy-shattering paradox that would arise should Anakin and Grievous ever meet face-to-face in the Clone Wars series should watch this commentary and learn to relax.
- BOOKS: Chronicle Books wants to know how obsessed you are. They're hosting a contest calling for photo submissions.
Tags: Site Updates, StarWars.com


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Access the FR announcement (click here). Access a release from EPA with comments from the Administrator (click here).
32 Years of Environmental Reporting for serious Environmental Professionals
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In the past month, police in Lower Gwynedd, Montgomery county seized two million dollars in heroin.
At a Delaware County High School, police took 81 bags of heroin from a student. At Triton High School in Runnemede, New Jersey heroin overdoses killed two.
FOX 29's Shawnette Wilson spoke with a young man about his wake-up call, sobriety, and his quest to help others.
WHBQ-TV | Fox 13 485 S. Highland St.Memphis, TN 38111Main Station: (901) 320-1313Newsroom: (901) 320-1340


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Devil's Due
Rating: 2 stars out of 5
Starring: Allison Miller, Zach Gilford
Directed by: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett
Running time: 89 minutes
Parental guidance: Coarse language, disturbing images
The thing about found footage is, maybe it was lost for a reason. Maybe it was "misplaced," like that reindeer sweater your Aunt Millie gave you for Christmas, the one with the puffy red nose on Rudolph. Maybe it was meant to stay lost.
No such luck with Devil's Due, the latest movie that uses home movies, surveillance footage and other mock digital representations of reality. It tells a derivative and mostly unfrightening story about Zach (Zach Gilford) and Samantha (Allison Miller), newlyweds who travel to a Caribbean island on their honeymoon and visit a fortune teller who informs them, with all due creepiness, "They've been waiting." Then a mysterious cab driver takes them to a party, and the rest of the night is a blur.
Back home, Samantha discovers she is pregnant and Zach decides to record the event, a job later taken over by someone who has hidden cameras all over the house. My first guess was Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, who co-directed Devil's Due, but in fact it's the strange people who have moved into the old Anderson place down the street, the house with boarded-up windows and prefab spiderwebs.
Samantha experiences a particularly difficult pregnancy, which you can kind of figure out from the movie's opening scene, the part that quotes the Bible about "many antichrists" coming (John 2:18, if you're keeping score.) Giving birth to the antichrist is, of course, every family's worst nightmare, and while it often turns out to be true by the time they're in junior high, it mostly blows over.
For Samantha and Zach, however, things look pretty grim: She has odd nosebleeds, her stomach is roiling around in odd ways and she develops an unhealthy urge for raw meat, sometimes right in the hamburger aisle of the supermarket. Furthermore, their friendly family doctor has been replaced by the creepy Dr. Dylan, whose way with an amniocentesis needle leaves something to be desired. As a further sign of fraught doings, the family dog seems to sense something is wrong.
The dog must be a movie fan: Devil's Due is, of course, Rosemary's Baby on video, a hand-held version of Roman Polanski's classic, although minus the deep-seated horror, the ambiguity and the art. And the tripod. Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett, who collaborated on a section of the — oops! — found-footage compilation V/H/S manage to set up a few scenes of tension in the last half-hour, but Devil's Due fades into an anticlimax. They should have listened to the dog.


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Oh yes, that will save hundreds of lives. very useful...NOT
Good idea -- could be used for building latrines.
Christian radio stations spend thousands of dollars and effort to gather Bibles thinking that while they may bring some humanitarian relief, the Bible must accompany it. They try to hit the most vulnerable thinking it's fulfilling the Great Commission which is to make disciples of all nations. They believe it must be done but fail to see that if they spend all that extra effort instead of collecting Bibles on something more worthwhile imagine how much more they could REALLY help these people...
@Angela: Haven't you ever heard, "Go make disciples of all nations..." It's the Great Commision taken from Matthew 28:16-20...that's what they think they are doing here...
Amazing in this day and age that they get away with it.
Reminds me of the quote by Archbishop Desmond Tutu:
"When the missionaries came to Africa they had the Bible and we had the land. They said "Let us pray." We closed our eyes. When we opened them we had the Bible and they had the land."
He has some excellent quotes and if I did not know they were his I would have credited them to some witty Atheist. Spend a few minutes here if you like...
I understand that they still burn wood for heat in Haiti (you can tell from satellite imagery, it's quite deforested compared to the Dominican Republic which is on the same island of Hispaniola); perhaps the bible will save a Haitian tree.
Study bibles would be even better as they burn longer.


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- Romanian (ro)
- Slovak (sk)
- Slovenian (sl)
- Swedish (sv)
- Turkish (tr)
We need to change the way we produce goods and services. We need to 'green' our economy. But this does not consist of developing just a number of selected sectors, such as renewables, eco-innovation, corresponding to 5 or even 10 percent of our economy. It requires greening the entire economy. The question is: 'How do we create a performing economy that creates jobs and ensures our well-being, and yet respects the limits of our planet?'
Europe produces large amounts of waste. How does Europe manage its waste? Is it a problem or a resource? We asked these questions to Almut Reichel who works on waste and sustainable consumption issues at the European Environment Agency.
Food waste05 Jun 2012
Around one third of the food produced globally is lost or wasted. When more than one billion people around the world go to bed feeling hungry, it is impossible not to ask what can be done. But food waste is not only a missed opportunity to feed the hungry. It also represents a substantial loss of other resources such as land, water, energy - and labour.
Waste in Greenland05 Jun 2012
From densely populated cities to remote settlements, everywhere we live, we generate waste. Food leftovers, electronic waste, batteries, paper, plastic bottles, clothing, old furniture - they all need to be disposed of. Some end up re-used or recycled; others are burned for energy or sent to landfills. There is not a single way to manage waste that would work everywhere. How we do it needs to take into account local circumstances. After all, waste starts as a local issue. Given its sparse population, long distances between settlements and lack of road infrastructure, here is how the Greenland government approaches the country's waste issue.
From mine to waste, and beyond05 Jun 2012
Almost everything we consume and produce has an impact on our environment. When faced with daily choices to buy certain goods or services, we often do not think about their 'footprints' on the environment. Their shelf prices hardly ever reflect their true costs. But there are many things we can do to green our consumption and production.
Power to the people15 Mar 2011
In modern societies, almost everything consumes energy. It is not only electronic gadgets, household appliances or street lighting that need it. Bringing water to our homes or food products to our supermarkets also require energy. Current consumption and production patterns demand a steady and often increasing energy supply.
Waste without borders: Zhang Guofu, 35, makes EUR 700 a month, a huge wage in provincial China, sifting through waste that includes shopping bags from a British supermarket chain and English-language DVDs. The truth is that waste placed in a bin in London, can quite easily end up 5 000 miles away in a recycling factory in China's Pearl River delta.


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Moen T3112WR Wrought Iron Single Handle Moentrol Pressure Balanced and Volume Control Shower Trim with Single Function Showerhead from the Kingsley Collection
Technical Specs
|Installation Guide
|Moen Shower Valve Buying Guide
|Specification Sheet
|Exploded Parts
|Approved for Commercial Use
|Bodysprays Included
|Cartridge Technology
|M-PACT Common Valve
|Connection Size
|Diverter Included
|Drain Assembly Included
|Escutcheon Height
|Escutcheon Included
|Faucet Holes
|Faucet Type
|Shower Faucet
|Flow Rate (GPM)
|Handle Material
|Handle Style
|Handles Included
|Handshower Included
|Installation Type
|Wall Mounted
|Mounting Type
|Wall Mounted
|Number Of Bodysprays
|Number Of Handles
|Pressure Balanced
|Scald Guard
|Shower Arm Reach
|Single Function
|Showerhead Flow Rate (GPM)
|Showerhead Width
|Slide Bar Included
|Spray Pattern
|Spray Settings
|Valve Included
|Valve Technology
|Valve Type
|Pressure Balanced
|Wall Supply Included
|WaterSense Certified
This product has additional required/recommended options. To configure, add to your cart.
Rough In Valve Required
Product Features:
- Covered under Moen's limited lifetime faucet warranty
- Premier finishing process - finishes will resist corrosion and tarnishing through everyday use
- Kingsley offers the best of both worlds combining a classic antique look with modern luxury
- Designed for reliability, safety and sophisticated style, Moen has set the standard for quality and innovation throughout the industry
- Single function shower head
- Single function cartridge - one handle controls both volume and temperature
- Featuring Moen's M-PACT Common Valve System
- Shower Package Includes: Valve trim, shower head and shower arm
- Designed to easily install with standard U.S. plumbing connections
- ADA compliant
- All hardware required for installation is included
Product Technologies / Benefits:
- Posi-Temp® Valve: A pressure balancing valve that maintains water temperature within 3° F. Built-in temperature limit stops allow you to control how far the handle rotates, in effect controlling the range of water temperature. The Posi-Temp® offers the best water flow available for any comparable valve.
- M-PACT Common Valve System: This innovation from Moen gives the homeowner the up-most functionality and convenience when it comes to bathroom faucets. Designed to be a catch-all valve system, once M-PACT is installed you can upgrade the style of the lavatory or shower faucet without replacing any of the faucet plumbing.
Different Types of Valve Inlet Connections (All Connection Types Might Not Be Available For This Model):
Valve Trim Specifications:
- Temperature dial swings 120-degrees
- Escutcheon (Cover Plate) Diameter: 7"
- Includes pre-set safety stop with override capability
- Rough-in valve is sold separately (when adding to cart, valve will be offered)
Shower Head Specifications:
- Single function shower head with full body spray pattern
- Shower head rotates 360-degrees on a swivel ball assembly
- Flow Rate: 2.5 GPM (gallons-per-minute)
- Shower Head Width: 4-1/8"
- Shower Arm Length: 6"
- T3112: This model
- T3113: This model + tub spout
Additional Moen Links
- View Manufacturer Warranty
- Shop All Moen Products
- Shop All Moen Kingsley Collection Products
Our SKU: T3112
This product is listed under the following manufacturer number(s):
Antique Bronze
Antique Nickel
Brushed Nickel
Oil Rubbed Bronze
Polished Brass
Wrought Iron
*Denotes a finish or option that has been discontinued
14 Questions from the Community
Will this fit my old "Chateau" shower with and adapter? Is is a Moentrol model?
This model is Pressured balanced. I am also looking at a Moen model that is Posi-temp Pressured balance. What is the difference?
Does this come with the drain cover?
what is the difference between T3112 & T2112
I'm told by Moen, that I need to order this as 'moentrol trim' to enable it to fit my current Model 82000 valve (with and adapter). How do I do that on this web site?
We ordered a T3112ORB for shower which was recommended for our valve. However, our valve does not have a ceramic disc to attach the escutcheon. Can this part be ordered separately?
Can I use this trim set with the IODigital controller?
will this faucet replace a "pull on" type as in Moen T181..
Is the Moen T3112 trim kit compatible with the Moen 3570 valve?
Is this showerhead the same as the 6302?
Can I use the Moen T3112 with the 3972 diverter spout?
I have a very old shower system that I want to upgrade without breaking tile and changing plumbing. Other than the adapter part for changing a standard system to the moentrol, will this work for me? I have a push/pull knob right now with a standard arrangement.
will this fit a standard moen valve with adaptor kit #145058
How do I know which rough in valve to pick - there are 3 choices!
A. The 3510 and 3520 are basically the same except for the way they connect to the pipes. The 3510 uses threaded pipes and the 3520 uses soldering. The 3570 has service stops, so if you were to have a problem you can shut the water off at the valve.
Product Reviews
Moen Kingsley Collection
Other Products In The Moen Kingsley Collection
Moen T6125
Double Handle Widespread Bathroom Faucet with Metal Lever Handles from the Kingsley Collection
Moen YB5408
Double Post Toilet Paper Holder from the Kingsley Collection
Moen YB5486
Towel Ring from the Kingsley Collection
Moen YB5403
Robe Hook from the Kingsley Collection
Moen YB5424
24" Towel Bar from the Kingsley Collection
Warranty Info
Moen® products have been manufactured under the highest standards of quality and workmanship. Moen warrants to the original consumer purchaser for as long as the original consumer purchaser owns their home (the "Warranty Period" for homeowners), that this faucet will be leak and drip-free during normal use and all parts and finishes of this faucet will be free from defects in material and manufacturing workmanship. All other purchasers (including purchasers for industrial, commercial and business use) are warranted for a period of 5 years from the original date of purchase (the "Warranty Period" for non-homeowners). This warranty is applicable only to faucets purchased after December 1995 and shall be effective from the date of purchase as shown on purchaser's receipt. Faucets purchased prior to December 1995, Moen warrants to the original consumer purchaser that this faucet will be leak and drip free during normal domestic use for as long as you own it. If this faucet should ever develop a leak or drip during this time, Moen will FREE OF CHARGE provide the parts necessary to put the faucet back in good working condition.
Moen warrants to the original consumer purchaser all other aspects of this faucet to be free from defects in material and workmanship for two (2) years from date of purchase except for decorator finishes which are warranted for (1) year from date of purchase. A replacement for any defective part will be supplied free of charge for installation by the consumer. Defects or damage caused by the use of other than genuine Moen parts are not covered by this warranty.
If this faucet should ever develop a leak or drip during the Warranty Period, Moen will FREE OF CHARGE provide the parts necessary to put the faucet back in good working condition and will replace FREE OF CHARGE, any part or finish that proves defective in material and manufacturing workmanship, under normal installation, use and service. Replacement parts may be obtained by calling 1-800-BUY MOEN (1-800-289-6636), or by writing to the address shown below.
Moen Incorporated
25300 Al Moen Drive
North Olmsted, Ohio 44070-8022
Proof of purchase (original sales receipt) from the original consumer purchaser must accompany all warranty claims. Defects or damage caused by the use of other than genuine Moen parts are not covered by this warranty.
This warranty is extensive in that it covers replacement of all defective parts and finishes. However, damage due to installation error, product abuse, product misuse, or use of cleaners containing abrasives, alcohol or other organic solvents, whether performed by a contractor, service company, or yourself, are excluded from this warranty. Moen will not be responsible for labor charges and/or damage incurred in installation, repair or replacement, nor for any indirect, incidental or consequential damages, losses, injury or costs of any nature relating to this faucet. Except as provided by law, this warranty is in lieu of and excludes all other warranties, conditions and guarantees, whether expressed or implied, statutory or otherwise, including without restriction those of merchantability or of fitness for use.
Some states, provinces and nations do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages, so the above limitations or exclusions may not apply to you. This warranty gives you specific legal rights and you may also have other rights which vary from state to state, province to province, nation to nation. Moen will advise you of the procedure to follow in making warranty claims. Simply write to Moen Incorporated using the address above. Explain the defect and include proof of purchase and your name, address, area code and telephone number.
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From Electrical Engineering TA Handbook
EE TA Announcements
TA application for Autumn quarter 2011 will become available in early August
The application can be found on our website at: http://gradapps.stanford.edu/ClassApply
Please note that anyone wishing to be considered for a TAship MUST submit an application (this includes current TAs). You will also need to upload a copy of your Stanford unofficial transcript with your application. If you have been a Teaching Assistant at a different institution for a similar course for which you are applying, please list this information in the Comments box on the last page of your application.
Please do not assume that you have a TA appointment just because an instructor has told you that you are his/her choice. Only student who have submitted an application and transcript will be considered for an appointment.
Students will be notified via email in early September if they receive an appointment.
If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us at[mailto: email@example.com].


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Round-Up - Carlsberg's Capital Markets Day
Carlsberg invited a boatload of media and analysts to Copenhagen this week to discuss the brewer's markets. just-drinks was on the boat.
The just-drinks interview - Carlsberg's CEO
16 September 2010
Carlsberg held its 'Capital Markets Day 2010' in Copenhagen yesterday (16 September). Michelle Russell made the journey over to Denmark, and managed to grab some time with company CEO, Jørgen Buhl Rasmussen.
Focus - Carlsberg's 'Capital Markets Day 2010'
16 September 2010
Around 120 investors, analysts and journalist landed in Copenhagen yesterday (15 September) for Carlsberg's 'Capital Markets Day 2010'.
DENMARK: Carlsberg looks beyond core brands for innovation
16 September 2010
The CEO of Carlsberg has said that the brewer will look at adjacent categories to beer in a bid to broaden its offering globally.
Browse more hot issues
29 Sep 2010 -
22 Sep 2010 -
Currently reading -
Round-Up - Carlsberg's Capital Markets Day
8 Sep 2010 -
2 Sep 2010 -


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UK's fast growing online marketplace and ecommerce trading platform. Exclusive preferential rates for bira members.
bira bank
bira bank is the only trade association owned bank for independent retailers and we can help you whether it's lending or saving for you or your business.
bira direct
The buying service for bira members, offering you improved terms, deals, discounts, rebates and reduced minimum carriage paid order values with a wide range of major suppliers, manufacturers and distributors.
bira legal
Professional advice and guidance, specific to your business by telephone, email and online from a friendly, dedicated team of lawyers, consultants and experienced advisers, including the in-house bira legal team.
Card processing
bira members benefits from an exclusive packaged card processing deal with Global Payments, the starting rate for face to face standard credit card transactions is 1.175%, and could be as low as 0.975%.
Business banking
bira members benefit from preferential business banking rates and terms in partnership with HSBC Bank plc.
bira insurance
specialist insurance for retailers
bira music store
bira music store is a royalty free in-store music service for members.
bira training
From one day workshops right through to the blue riband Oxford Summer School our retail and technical training is practical, relevant and delivers positive results for your business.
AXA/PPP health scheme
AXA/PPP private medical insurance scheme offers cover for out-patient, day-case and in-patient treatment and is available to all bira member companies and their employees
Website design
bira members can benefit from generous discounts on website design and hosting with Sitewizard
Hotel discounts
bira members can enjoy fantastic reductions on their UK hotel bookings with Jury's Inn and Grange Hotels.
Shop fitting
bira members can benefit from low prices for their shop fitting needs with Salepoint who can help with projects from shelving to a fully designed refit.
Breakdown cover
bira members can enjoy exclusive negotiated rates from the AA, the UK's No. 1 breakdown service, who have more dedicated patrols than any other breakdown organisation.
Utilities and telecoms discounts
bira has partnered up with a number of specialist providers who can offer members discounts on their gas, electricity and telecoms bills
Member communications
Being a bira member gives you access to a range of member communications
Business stationery
bira members can get preferential rates on over 18,000 product lines with Charter, including stationery, shredders, catering products & bespoke printing including receipt pads, invoices and letterheads.
Rating Service
The bira rating service with DTZ Debenham Tie Leung provides a no win, no fee guarantee which has made significant savings for members where a rates reduction has been identified.
Printed Carrier Bags
You get exclusive access to a range of Printed Carrier Bags to suit your retail needs. You get the best rates because you are a bira member.
What our members say
We recently phoned bira legal and were amazed at the realistic commercial attitude shown by the new team at Ellis Whittam. It was very refreshing to feel they were 'on our side' and to speak to someone straight away without having to wait hours for a call-back. From our dealings so far we are very impressed.
David Clarke, Rightway Limited/W.Bevan & Sons ltd
Our bank wouldn't help us but bira bank did!
Janine Tozer, Not Just Pets
I regularly use bira bank for my business needs as not only are their rates very competitive but the service I receive is convenient and hassle free.
Bob Chapman, Bavenhill Mechanics
I was amazed at how low the rates were with bira bank, much better than my own bank's, and how easy and quick it was to get the loan.
Christine Lynn-Thomas, Kooks, Richmond
We were delighted that a member of the team was successful in obtaining a scholarship to attend the Oxford Summer School. We might have lost them for a week out of the business but the post School benefits have been more than compensation. I would urge all independents to look closely at sending delegates. You will not regret it.
John Morris, Managing Director, Elphicks, Surrey
A message from our advertisers
The bira family
British Hardware Federation
BHF is dedicated to protecting & championing independent retailers of hardware, ironmongery, tools, DIY, home improvements and allied products
Cookshop & Housewares Association
CHA supports and champions independent cookshops & retailers of housewares, homewares, design-led giftware and allied products
Pet Product Retail Association
PPRA represents, supports and promotes independent pet product retailers
Home Decoration Retailers Association
HDRA works closely with BHF to support and represent home décor, furnishings and interiors retailers
British Agricultural & Garden Machinery Association
BAGMA ensure those working in the land based engineering industry are supported, well represented & have access to training to meet the industry's developing technologies
Read more about British Agricultural & Garden Machinery Association
Fashion Association of Britain
FAB is the new association formed to represent, support and champion all independent retailers in fashion – menswear, womenswear, childrenswear, accessories and allied products


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We welcome your comments, questions, and suggestions. Please feel free to contact us at any time.
Windows on the River
2000 Sycamore
Cleveland, OH. 44113
216.861.1445 voice
216.861.1471 fax
Windows on the River is located on the west bank of the Flats in downtown Cleveland, OH, on the second and third floors of the prestigious Powerhouse building.
For Directions, click here.
Kristine Jones,
General Manager
ext 7854
Bobbi McCartney ,
Sales Manager
ext 7856
Sales Office
Molly Coyne,
Director of Sales
ext 7855
Diana Molina,
Office Manager
ext 7857
Web Questions or Problems
Directions to Windows on the River (back to top)
From East
I-90 to Route 2 (westbound)
Exit at W. 28th Street (inside lane)
Right on W. 28th Street
Immediate Right on Washington
Immediate Right on W. 25th Street
Wide Left onto Washington
Left onto Winslow
From South
I-77 North
Exit at E. 9th Street
(Follow Ontario's signs)
Right on Orange/Ontario
Left onto Huron
(behind Tower City)
Left onto Veterans Memorial Bridge
Right on W 25th Street
Immediate Right onto Washington
Veer Left onto Winslow
From West
I-90 (eastbound)
Exit at W. 25th Street
Left on W. 25th Street (north)
Pass the Detroit Bridge
Immediate Right onto Washington
Left onto Winslow


text:
Protege Production Information
Production Notes:
Aired- for all of three episodes- on the WB in the U.S.A. before Warner Bros. pulled it. The full series aired in France and Canada.
If you know of more people who worked on this cartoon, or want to submit additional production information about Protege, please submit your information here.
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Upcoming Webinars from FOLIO
Recent Webinars
Marketing Services: A Strategic Report Card
Join us for this webinar as two of these publishers share their hard-won secrets for not just setting up a marketing services group, but avoiding the common pitfalls around campaign pricing and sales, execution and deliverables.
Wednesday, June 26, 2013 - 2:00pm
Watch Now
M-Commerce and the Shoppable Magazine
As mobile use has exploded, magazine publishers have been exploring ways
to connect the print product to the mobile platform. Product purchasing
directly from the pages of the magazine has emerged as a one
potentially lucrative opportunity. Join us for this webinar and we'll
show you how publishers are activating their printed pages to tap into
mobile commerce and a host of other interactive opportunities—including
the technical implications, production impact and actual performance
metrics on the consumer side.
Tuesday, June 11, 2013 - 2:00pm
Watch Now
Putting the "Response" in Responsive Design
In this webinar, GTxcel will show you how to publish a responsive
website and package content into responsive mobile apps that result in
audience growth, a great reading experience, and more monetization
opportunities that are engaging and exciting to sell.
Thursday, May 16, 2013 - 2:00pm
Watch Now
Big Data Meets Big Content – Driving Customer Engagement & Personalization
Optimizing your readers' visit requires a strategy that leverages their
behavior in order to deliver the right content, at the right time, on
the right device. Not only is it now possible to achieve true
online content personalization – increasing traffic and lengthening the
time they spend on your site – it's critical to staying relevant in real
Tuesday, April 30, 2013 - 2:00pm
Watch Now
What Comes After The Banner Ad
The Internet's most popular ad metric is worth less every day. In this
webinar we'll examine how and why your advertising strategy needs to
move where the money is. We'll reexamine what your audience is worth and
show you a new platform that offers your advertisers 100% click-through
to your audience. If your audience is valuable, this is a program you
won't want to miss.
Wednesday, April 24, 2013 - 2:00pm
Watch Now


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If you've got a Keurig® K-Cup® or Vue® brewer, there are lots of options for trying something new to "Renew Your Brew." Things like flavored coffees – Limited Edition Island Coconut comes to mind – and Brew Over Ice flavors like lemonade, iced coffee, and iced tea. (You did know that every Keurig® brewer can make iced beverages, right?)
The point is, single-serve packs are a really convenient way to enjoy a great cup of coffee any time of day. But being able to use your brewer to make iced coffee, iced tea, lemonade and other fruit drinks is a little like discovering that your washing machine can also fold and do ironing. Sigh…if only.
So in case you need a little more motivation, here are 10 Ways to Renew Your Brew that you may see floating around as you travel through cyberspace in the next few weeks. And if you do try something new – beverage related or not – please leave a comment; we'd love to hear about it.
10 Ways to Renew Your Brew
1. Start chillin' with your Keurig® brewer. Enjoy iced coffee, iced tea, and more.
2. Raise a mug to Mom. Order a special Mother's Day Brewer Bundle to make her morning easy.
3. Think outside the bean. Try Brew Over Ice lemonade by Green Mountain Naturals® and other fruit brews.
4. Stockpile your favorite flavors with 15% off storewide, now through May 7. Just use keycode RENEWBREW at check-out.
5. Give a gift of good taste to someone special (see #4 regarding storewide sale).
6. Take a sip to paradise with Green Mountain Coffee® Island Coconut® seasonal coffee.
7. Get a special delivery. Café Express® members enjoy regular automatic delivery of their favorite items AND save 15% on every order.
8. Get a newer brewer. Check out the Keurig® Vue® V500.
9. Make time for tea with Bigelow and Celestial Seasonings K-Cup® and Vue® packs.
10. Try something new to you. Fair Trade Certified™ selections, Tully's Hawaiian Blend, and more!
You know where to find all these great options, but here's a shortcut to get you started: www.GreenMountainCoffee.com


text: Can anyone provide a detailed (with drawings if possible) instructions of how to combine the Kohler Rite Temp 304-KS Valve and the Kohler K-728-K-NA Transfer Valve to provide water to a hand held shower head and a rain shower head, individually and together? I have been told by the customer service folks at Kohler that these 2 valves can be connected to provide 3 showering options (hand shower, rain shower, and both hand and rain shower), but my plumber said he only knows how to combine them to provide water from either the hand shower or rain shower, not together. Thanks for any help.


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Rustic Leaves
32 Piece Dinnerware Set, Service for 8
Rustic Leaves stoneware brings a vibrant, organic look and feel to your tabletop. Finely detailed twigs of leaves in natural tones of green, gold, and white climb the rims of the dinnerware. A prism of light sand and stone colors creates a backdrop to highlight the bold pattern, while each piece is complemented by a rich, dark underside. Due to the nature of reactive glaze, each piece of this handcrafted collection will exhibit unique variations in color and pattern. Microwave and dishwasher safe. 32 piece set, service for eight, includes (8) each: 11 inch dinner plate, 8-1/2 inch salad plate, 16 ounce soup bowl and 12 ounce mug.