A love story by Diane Andreoni
“Before you get a dog, you can’t quite imagine what living with one might be like; afterward, you can’t imagine living any other way.”
-Caroline Knapp-
When I was a kid I never had a dog. My family did have a pet kitten for a while that my dad found in our house’s window well. My brothers and sisters and I named him, Lido, after my father. He was so cute and tiny. His black fur coat had white blotches on it that looked like they were slopped on with paint. Lido loved taking…
my sister
whose eyes were black as coal
and as bright as a child’s
whose beautiful smile presented itself
behind a wavering lip
whose mind was that of an artist
which saw life too clearly
whose heart was filled with love
and felt it too dearly
whose soul grew weak
like flowers without water
whose spirit will grow strong
in all who remember her
my sister
poem by Diane Andreoni
My sister Paula would have been fifty-five years old this year. I’ve always wondered why she chose to die at the young age of forty-two. I don’t think I will…
Memories with mom.
Some of the best child-hood memories I have with my mom are of the road-trips our family took out west during summer vacations. My dad was the designated driver and my mom the fearless camp leader. We had a Buick station wagon with three seats. The third seat became the treasured “kids-only” escape hatch when one of us needed a quiet place to sleep. The middle seat was the “kids’ hang-out” where me and my sisters passed the travel time weaving macrame belts, crocheting scarves and needlepointing pillow covers (it was the 1970’s), while my brothers teased…
Life Lesson # 1
“Give yourself a breast exam. It could save your life.”
I was one of those people that got yearly mammograms for early breast cancer detection. Thinking these annual check-ups were good enough, I rarely gave myself a breast exam. But two and a half years ago, I did, and was shocked to discover a lump in my right breast. It felt large and hard; and it scared me. I worried about having breast cancer and the prospect of dying. My mom recently passed away from Alzheimer’s disease. And one week before I discovered my lump, my…
After attending the Social Media Strategies Summit in Chicago a couple of weeks ago, an idea rose to the top for me: in order for brands to be relevant to people in today’s socially focused world, they need to be authentic. To do this they should understand who they are by asking, “Why?” Why should people care what I have to say? Why should they listen? Why should they act? Only after a brand can honestly answer these questions will they have a great story to share with people.
A good story should reflect a brand’s human side. In social…
Marketers often rely on storytelling to connect with people emotionally. But think about how boring a story would be without the power of music. Music amplifies emotion in a brand’s story. It emotionally moves people. So this is another way a brand can tap into consumers’ values.
I have a personal story about how one brand used music to capture the hearts of my friends and me. American Family Insurance ran a great TV spot during the 2015 Grammy Awards. You can watch it here, https://www.youtube.com/user/amfam. The commercial suggests that the brand is dedicated to helping people achieve their dreams…
I’ve been thinking a lot about brand value lately. I’m wondering what it really means to me as a consumer. I know that there are certain things that I value in life. But do these same values transcend into the brands that I stay loyal to?
I definitely like brands that provide a human touch. Perhaps this is because I value these attributes in myself. My friends and family know me to be a happy person. It’s important for me to show compassion. To be an optimist. I like to surround myself with happy people. …
Rock 'n Roll