Author Archives: emma

Product placement marketing is becoming extremely popular today because it offers many advantages to all parties involved. Branded entertainment promotions have helped many companies to significantly improve their bottom line, especially when linked to movies with a high success rate. The information below will highlight some of the uses and advantages of product placement.

First, let take a look at exactly what is branded entertainment.

Branded entertainment, sometimes referred to as product placement marketing, is a strategy that is used to infuse branded products into various forms of entertainment. Basically, brands would offer monetary consideration to or pay for producers of films, television shows, web videos, video games and other forms of entertainment to include their products in entertainment presentations.

The emergence of movie product placement strategy has coincided with the diminishing interests in the traditional advertising mediums. Many companies discovered that consumers were not paying attention to traditional advertising media, so product placement was incorporated in their marketing strategy to reach a wider audience. Marketers reinvented their strategies and started to place advertisements in popular movies and television shows to capture consumer’s attention.

Uses and Advantages of Product Placement

When marketers started to use branded entertainment strategies, increasingly more companies were seen promoting their products in popular movies and television shows. These advertisements can be seen in popular films such as James Bond featuring Omega watches; Mission Impossible featuring Apple Macs; Men In Black promoting Ray Ban glasses and many popular television shows such as The Apprentice, Top Chef, Project Runaway and American Idol.

As of such, the branded entertainment strategy became a magic potion for marketers. Due to the major success of advertising in movies and TV shows, the marketers move on to the next level and started to use web videos, video games, music videos and other entertainment mediums.

Product placement marketing offers several advantages to manufacturers, producers and movie stars. From the perspective of the marketers, it provided companies with an opportunity to be associated with famous actors and to use movie footage and stills to conveniently advertise other products. As it pertains to the producers and actors, they earned substantial amount in fees as well as the chance to endorse brands in various film festivals.

Musicians also benefit from branded entertainment in their music videos and lyrics. Most artists use the earnings from these deals to offset the overall cost of producing their music videos.

The marketers are also using the Internet to incorporate product placements in songs that music fans would get from YouTube. In this case, the main advantage is that brands would develop higher retention rates in people’s minds whenever the artists perform at shows and concerts.

Overall, product placement and branded entertainment strategies have proven to be extremely effective as more consumers are linking certain products to the names of famous actors and singers. For this strategy to work, the brands must be featured prominently whilst making subtly appearance in movies, television shows, web videos or video games.

Everyone loves to look at photographs of their friends and family! This is the key reason that digital picture frames make such great gifts. They are versatile, allowing nearly anyone to display favorite photos with ease and style.

Many people struggle with the holidays because of the constant worry about what kind of a gift to get. If you have a lot of people to shop for, and are bewildered by the variety of gifts on the market, look into digital picture frames first. These frames are great for nearly anyone you can put on your gift-giving list, because they can be as   unique  as the people receiving them.

What makes digital picture frames so exciting to give and receive? Part of the appeal lies in the fact that there is room for each person to customize his or her picture slide show. There is no end to the variety of photographs that can be loaded onto this gift, and it will continue to lend beauty and personality to any room for years to come.

While many gifts are obviously geared toward one age group or demographic, these digital picture frames can work just as well for the kids as for the retired set. Even people who are not tech-savvy can manage this simple system and enjoy the results. Grandparents love this gift because it allows them to have instant access to a ton of pictures of those precious grandkids!

College students tend to enjoy anything that is personalized and fun, and these digital picture frames are both. Give your college-bound graduate a way to see parents, siblings, or friends from home even when he or she is away at campus. The digital picture frames available can make any dorm room feel a bit more cozy and home-like.

If you are planning to attend a baby shower and have no idea what to get for the expectant parents, digital picture frames may be your best choice! This gift makes it easy for new parents to capture moments in time with their newborn. They will enjoy sharing the photo slideshows with everyone they know, and can keep their pictures in one spot with a minimum of fuss. Ease of use sets digital picture frames apart from the standard, one-photo frame many people use.

Christmas parties for the office can be a lot of fun, but they can also be stressful if you are clueless about the personal tastes of your co-workers. If you are going to be giving gifts at a business holiday event, digital picture frames can provide you with an easy solution. No matter who your gift ends up reaching, that person will have fun choosing photos that mean something personally. It is a classy gift that will never look out of place and will be sure to liven up an office desk.

If you have parents or friends that live far away, think about using digital picture frames as gifts and also as a way to stay in touch. You can pre-load the picture frame with meaningful photos of yourself with the recipient if you like – this will be a treasured keepsake! You can also use digital picture frames to tell the story of your year, loading it with photos of that great summer vacation or that first snowy afternoon. When you have found the last photo to make your montage “just right”, send it on to bring a smile to someone’s face.

A couple that is about to be married will also find digital picture frames to be very special. This technology allows them to keep their sweet memories on display for as long as they like!

Digital picture frames make great gifts for anyone who likes to view photos! Give the gift that can display a lifetime of special moments.

The question for most Internet Marketers is should you be making money on Social Sites like Twitter, Facebook and MySpace? These are the top three most used sites although other sites like Linkedin, YouTube, Pownce, Yahoo, Delicious and Friendster to name a few have their following as well.

With these Social Sites acting as a Cyber Worldwide meeting place, the question for all network marketers is how and should I try to monetize my use of these sites? Often, if you are a member of these site you will see posts advertising their business opportunity or product disguised cleverly at times and very obvious at other times. These are usually the persons you don’t quite understand the Psychology of the prospective customer or recruits that they are targeting.

It has become apparent to many Top Producing Internet Marketers that a lot of money should, can and will be made on these sites. The question that is giving many marketers problems is how to monetize these sites without being perceived as the proverbial used car salesman trying to sell anything to everyone in site! The truth of this matter is that the majority of the subscribers to these sites are doing exactly that.

There are some, a small number of individuals who have learned the secrete techniques of making money on Twitter and Facebook and Likedin. MySpace has become more of a Social Site for individuals who wish to share their own brand of interests and points of view, A Place where they feel they can be themselves with total anonymity. Many experienced Internet Marketers do not try to Market on MySpace.

The Technique that works on Social Sites to make money is to Network. Networking means building a relationship with those who share the same interests and want to achieve the same things as you do. This takes time to develop just like any new relationship. The foundation for any successful relationship is Trust, Honesty, Communication and Bringing Value to the relationship.

There is a basic truth in Network Marketing and Direct Sales. That truth is People buy from People! They, you prospective buyer or recruit must feel that they can trust you. They must feel that you can bring Value to there lives and help them to get what they want. They want to be sure that you will be honest with them and not tell them anything just to get on their good side so you can use them. This is all accomplished by communicating with them on a continual basis and giving value to the relationship.

To often the marketer forgets that no one likes to be sold or pressured every time they see you or hear from you. Always having something to sell them. They forget the psychology of why people buy and join. They forget to put themselves into the shoes of these people they are trying so hard to sell or recruit. This method may get some results, but the fact of the matter is, overall they will do poorly.

When you network, you build relationships that should last a lifetime. If you take the time and help others to succeed by connecting them with others that can help them succeed and don’t worry what’s in it for you, then you can start to build value into the relationship. If you can teach or share knowledge that will help them and not try and sell them the information, you will build trust and loyalty. If you don’t try to sell them every time they see or hear from you then they will begin to really like you. If you can share moments about yourself, your family or that trip you just took, you are developing friendship. This is the art of Networking.

Making money on the Social Sites like Twitter, Facebook and others is not only a Smart Marketing Campaign, it is also the best way to make life long friends and develop a massive network. A network that will allow you to succeed in many ares of Internet Marketing the rest of your life.

Falling in Love

Have you ever fallen in love with someone much older than you and from the same sex? Well, it happened to Rivi, a 14 year old girl falling in love with Michaela, her literature teacher at school. And, surprising or not, Michaela has fallen in love with Rivi, and their mutual erotic love has continued for years…

This, apparently, is the core of Judith Katzir’s “Dearest Anne” (the Feminist Press, 2008) who has devoted pages on pages to describe, in much detail, the erotic love between the two; their longings for each other; their “sexual games”; their adductive, forbidden love. Written in beautiful, aesthetic language, as you read the book you can’t put it aside; you are attracted to whatever happens between the two, at time wishing you could have been a fly on their wall…

The power of attraction

The reason for the readers’ “attraction” is simple. The sexual descriptions are written elegantly and beautifully, and as much as the two women never “gotten tired” of each other and never had enough, so does the reader never feels he has read enough. Part of it is due to the beautiful, artistic language of Judith Katzir, which makes the book not only a page-turner but an aesthetic experience in its depiction of places, characters, love and sexual attraction.

But the reader’s attraction to the book is due not only to the erotic descriptions, but also for another crucial point: As much as the love story between the 14 year old girl and her 27 year old teacher is “unique” for the two of them, it echoes universal love stories of people throughout history (not necessarily between two people of the same sex and of different age groups) and very possible echoes some of your own experiences with love and eroticism.

Existential, universal daily-life issues

Yet another reason for the attractive power of the book is the broadness of issues it brings before us: the novel circles around existential issues such as: where is the balance – or the border – between love and passion, between giving and abuse?

What motivates people to do what they do and behave in the way they behave? Is there “pure love” or is love actually often based on neediness, on the need to be loved and accepted?

In addition to these – and other – questions, the novel deals, among other, with issues of existential love, sickness and death, girlhood and womanhood, aspirations, disappointments, forgiving and missing opportunities (such as: If I had to live my life all over again, what would I have done differently?).

Our personal life vis-à-vis “Dearest Anne”

By raising such important, universal issues, Katzir’s book prompts us, the readers, in addition to experiencing pure pleasure in reading her book, to delve into our own life, our own fantasies and aspirations, our own love (or lack of), our own life-experiences, sorrows and/or joyful moments. It also drives us – consciously or unconsciously – to bring up questions regarding our self-awareness, as well as our understanding – or lack of – of the way we “do” life; the way we communicate with our loved ones; the way we hurt ourselves and others and last, but not least, the fears and needs which drive us to behave the way we do.

Self-Awareness

This issue of being aware to one self is dealt with elegantly yet hesitantly throughout the book. Is Rivi – as 14 year old girl – aware of what she does? Is she aware of the dangers which might be posed on her way? Is she aware of what motivates her to fall in love, lie to her mother, and become obsessed with her love for Michaela? Is she aware of the (bad) relationships she has with her mother and understands how these might have driven her to fall in love with Michaela?

Once again, these questions motivate us, the readers, to think and contemplate about our own parental qualities – or lack of – if we have children and about the relationships – of lack of – that we have developed with them.

Pleasure in reading as an inspirational board to developing our own awareness

Katzir’s “Dearest Anne” not only gives us pleasure in reading a well-crafted, aesthetically written courageous “love-story” (could we have had the courage to actualize our own love or other desires we might have had?), but in addition it raises in us a whole bunch of existential-philosophical questions regarding life in general. Then, if we wish (and have to courage to delve into) – the book encourages us to deal with questions regarding our own life, encouraging us to view and observe, in retrospect, our own accomplishments and missed opportunities (whether love-related or otherwise).

“Dearest Anne” can become an inspirational board for us to develop our self-awareness regarding our own life, vis-à-vis the universal issues the book presents in front of us.

Now why would anyone want to do an enema, let alone a coffee enema? Well…

When we eat devitalized foods such as sweets, white flours, bread, meat, cooked fruits, processed drinks, and pastas and take in things like coffee, drugs and alcohol our body is stimulated by these products and produces mucous to protect our intestinal tract from the resulting toxins. The more often you ingest these substances, the harder it is on your body and the more layers of mucous are produced. This is one reason why some meals should be all fruits or all vegetables. Mixing fruits and vegetables in the same meal are hard to digest and can give you acid reflux.

One problem with multiple layers of mucous is that the pancreatic fluids which normally keep the mucoid layers stripped and digested off the gut can’t keep up. Over time (years usually) these mucous layers build up and harden making the intestines less effective at absorbing what you eat. One sign of this happening is the presence of vertical ridges on your little fingernails.

Gradually, the body weakens and our digestive processes become slower. When this happens, food starts to rot in our gut a little bit after each meal creating even more toxins and an imbalanced gut flora (and an overgrowth of yeast). Even the muscular walls of the gut weaken and lose tone creating a pot belly, prolapses, diverticuli, polyps, colitis and smelly gas problems. Eventually these disturbances may lead to cancer.

Small bowel pockets and diverticuli are more common than most health professionals realize, and should be taken into account when any low grade infection or decrease in vitality over time are present. Low back pain, menstrual irregularity, ovarian cysts, constipation, bladder problems, heart palpitations, hemorrhoids, tipped uterus, and prostate problems are often a result of a prolapsed (fallen) transverse colon. Fasting and enemas can help these greatly.

Food was meant to pass through the body within 8-18 hours. The longer it is held, the more putrefactive, toxic and gaseous it becomes. When bowel tone and condition are good, we should have a bowel movement after every meal.

Laxatives never solve the problems of poor eating habits, lack of exercise and bowel neglect. Repeated artificial stimulation of the bowels destroys their natural emptying reflex, so that they will no longer move without artificial stimulants. The laxative habit begins innocently enough with the correct belief that bowels should move every day, however, laxatives will cause the evacuation of several days’ worth of stool in a single movement. Impatient for reestablishing stool regularity, the patient takes another laxative, and the cycle begins.

Toxins are released through the skin, kidneys and liver, but the main route for toxins release is the bowels. This process needs to be assisted from time-to-time or the toxins will be reabsorbed back through the intestinal wall. Also, when doing a water or juice fast, the normal bowel movements do not take place because the gut is resting.

Enemas and Fasting: Starting a fast with an enema seems to help with hunger pangs and solidifies the beginning of my fast, helping to shut down the digestive system so it can detoxify, repair and rejuvenate.

The Coffee Enema

Coffee enemas are used routinely in the process of detoxification to stimulate the liver, control pain, nausea, general nervous tension and depression. At first they are given often–as often as up to every 8 hours.

When used as a retention enema, coffee enemas do not go through the digestive system and do not affect the body as a coffee beverage does. Instead, the coffee solution stimulates both the liver and gallbladder to release toxins, which are then flushed from the body.

Note. Although coffee enemas are used more often in the first few days of fasting, cleansing and cancer treatments, I often see people who are overdosing on the enemas. It’s like they have a fixation on getting every last germ out of the intestinal tract. Not possible. Enemas need to be done within reason, or they can also harm the body by taking necessary nutrients and flora out of the body. Enemas should be used for a purpose, and if you have never done them before you may want to use them under a practitioner’s supervision until your comfort level is satisfactory.

Excess use of coffee enemas over a 6-month period may deplete the body’s stores of iron and other minerals, vitamins and can cause anemia. Do not use coffee enemas for more than four months at a time.

To make enemas the most effective, the patient should lie on their right side with both legs drawn up close to the abdomen. Try to hold the enema in for 5-20 minutes. Some people use a plastic sheet on the floor “just in case” or put a diaper pad where you will lay, but my husband and I had no trouble just retaining the coffee. I lie on a beach towel on the bathroom floor while massaging my abdomen. Do be close to a toilet though because the coffee does cause peristaltic contractions and the results are marvelously effective..

Always use Organic Coffee to do these kinds of enemas.

How to prepare the Coffee Enema: Dr. Max Gerson, a raw food diet advocate, recommends using three tablespoons of ground drip coffee (not instant) to one quart of water. Let the entire mixture boil for three minutes and then simmer 15 minutes more. Strain and use at body temperature. The caffeine is absorbed from the fluid within ten minutes through the hemorrhoidal veins directly and is then transported directly through the portal veins and into the liver. This stimulates the production of bile and gets that elimination system moving. If you are allergic to caffeine, you might want to use a lemon juice enema instead.

We tried several types of enemas during our 40-day juice fast and we came to the conclusion that the coffee enema was the most effective in cleansing the bowels. If you have to do an enema, we recommend this one!