Just for kicks,  I decided to research the fundamentals of unconventional marketing. It may not appear to be as fun as perusing pin boards for hours on end—but it’s close. Did you know that if you do a Google search on “unconventional marketing,” you will yield a dozen results containing the term “Guerrilla Marketing?”

Now, what was the first thing you pictured upon reading “Guerrilla Marketing?” An individual donning a gorilla costume, toting a huge sub-sandwich advertisement chasing people around Times Square? If so, you’re not too far off the mark. In all actuality the gorilla-suit scenario could be considered, in and of itself, guerrilla marketing. Especially if the hypothetical sandwich company in question was attempting to promote, let’s say, “A Gorilla of a Sandwich.”

In a nutshell (or, perhaps, a bombshell), Guerrilla Marketing incorporates psychology, relationship building, and cooperation among consumers and other businesses—even competitors. This not-so-warlike marketing warfare, in addition to being unconventional, is often also quirky and operates on a limited budget—two of our favorite things! Take a peek at two clever Guerrilla Marketing tactics featured on CreativeGuerillaMarketing.com.

Cingular goes Guerrilla…

Reynolds Wrap Raps up Marketing with Guerrilla Tactics…

Source obtained from CreativeGuerrillaMarketing.com

My lessons lessons in Guerrilla Marketing may not have me donning a gorilla suit while twirling a Hold It Baby like a rogue helicopter toward unsuspecting consumers anytime soon (although I did once attach one to my jeans’ belt buckle at the ABC Show; just ask Elizabeth). Still, my wheels are turning—does anyone have access to a city building and a 20-foot Hold It Baby?

For more useful information about Guerilla Marketing, click here… and …here

Anyway, resolutions are (to me, anyway) like milk just waiting to expire—sour and disposable. I much prefer solutions. Solutions are always available, and rarely expire. They’re like a Starbucks drive thru—delicious and usually easy to spot. So it is that I resolve (wait, is that a derivative of resolution?) to implement solutions in the year the Mayan calendar ends.

Instead of focusing on what is not working or negative in life, I choose to find a solution to alter my mood or situation toward a more positive state. For example, instead of thinking of 2012 as the year of doom and demise (since, again, it’s the year the Mayan calendar ends), my solution is to think of all the exciting and wonderful things I can pack into a year: Starbucks, spending time with as many family members as possible (only when they, too, are solution-oriented), making Hold It Baby as sought after as Bradley Cooper’s abs, Starbucks, becoming a certified hip-hop dance instructor (which is hilarious if you actually know me), being an extra in an a) infomercial, b) commercial or c) movie starring Bradley Cooper, Starbucks and creating more awesome blog posts for this blog!

Cheers to a solution-oriented year filled with all the exciting and wonderful things in your life!

P.S. (This is Elizabeth, and this is what happens when I am in charge of publishing the blogs after Erin writes them!) Speaking of solutions, be sure to check out Erin’s amazing new site (www.ErinDavisWrites.com) as well as her new app, The Pete & Sneakers Bed and Bathtime Show. If you need between 3 and 300 minutes of peace today, I can pretty confidently guarantee that it’s the best 99 cents you’ll spend to get it!

We’ve been touting the Hold It Baby’s ability to do just that for quite some time now, and when we find a new item that it saves from being lost or broken—especially when it’s an item that is expensive to replace—we want to share it ASAP!

Here’s a little proof that the next time you hit the store and need your child to be entertained by his (or his brother’s or sister’s) Nintendo DS or other handheld video game, the Hold It Baby is there for you!

Here’s to peaceful back-to-school shopping!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=GD_xgVE_JCo

As someone who speaks and writes about balance (and the importance of having it in one’s life), I must admit that I only know what balance feels like in my own life because I know what imbalance feels like.

And lately, life is tornadic (is that a word?), and what imbalance feels like is thus:

Imagine you’re in one of those game show tubes in which paper currency (some $1 bills, some $5 bills, some $100 bills) flies all around you, and your goal is to grab as much of it as you can in one minute, stuffing it here, there and everywhere so that when the buzzer sounds, you’ve earned more than $1.

You spend that minute in a frenzy, waving your hands everywhere, jumping around, stuffing your hands down your shirt even when you aren’t necessarily sure you have anything in your hands to stuff down your shirt.

And imagine, if you will, having a shirt stuffed full with currency, only to learn that each of the bills is only worth $1, leaving you with $50 when, had you just relaxed and focused, you could have grabbed one of the $100 bills, been $50 richer, and far less tired and frazzled for it.

Sometimes that’s how I find myself feeling. As a mom, a business owner, a dog trainer, and a cooktop repair technician (don’t ask), I’m jumping and spinning and grabbing and terribly out of breath and all I end up with is $72 in $1 bills. Which is great, but the elation quickly wanes when the electric bill arrives and it’s $75 over what it was last month! If only I’d simply taken a moment in that proverbial tube to center myself and concentrate without flailing, perhaps I could have focused on spying one of the $100 bills, grabbed it, and finished $28 wealthier (and far less exhausted) than I did.

Are you with me?

What I’m learning, or rather what I’m training myself to remember is that moving fast doesn’t necessarily equate to doing more. Sometimes, we actually accomplish more simply by sitting down and doing absolutely nothing. And, in moving so quickly all of the time, we strongly increase the risk that we will miss important details, important moments.

As I mentioned, I know what balance looks like because I know what imbalance feels like. So, as we approach 2011, I’m starting off on the right foot. Or, rather, the right couch.

I’m getting out of this crazy money tube, grabbing a good book, putting on my feather-filled, fur-lined slippers, and sitting the heck down!

Wanna join me?

***

What’s your strategy for staying centered and grounded?

*If you’re receiving this post via a reader subscription service, click on the post title to see the video.

Text version of tips and tricks:

1. Bring someone to the show who likes to complement you and has a generally positive attitude.

2. Bring a briefcase on wheels or a frame with wheels onto which you can put your laptop case and other relatively heavy items that you’ll be transporting to and from the trade show. One’s neck muscles can only handle so much and, at this convention at least, there were no chiropractors on site.

3. Be ready to network! Trade shows provide fantastic opportunities not only to meet prospective buyers and media personalities but also fellow exhibitors. We were surprised by how many exhibitors/sales reps were not friendly. It really made those who were stick out in our minds!

You never know when you might be able to partner up with someone, have a mutual acquaintance/friend in common, or learn a valuable business lesson (or need someone to carry your 20-pound laptop bag the last 9 feet to your hotel!).

4. Don’t panic. Ever. For every problem there is a solution.

5. Bring more money (cash) than you think you might need. $1.50 for a banana? I didn’t think so. Until I realized it was $1.75 for an apple. Next year, I may open a banana/apple booth in addition to the Hold It Baby booth. And I’ll only charge $1.49.

Therefore, here are 5 Tips for Writing a Book (that You’ve Likely Never Heard Of):

Last Friday morning, we had a scheduled photo shoot for the Hold It Baby. Might I remind you that we live in Phoenix, where it hasn’t rained for about 19 months.

So what do you think it was doing when I awoke at 6:05 a.m. to head to the shoot?

If you guessed “raining,” you would be correct.

Is it really raining? Yes, yes it is.

My first words?

“You cannot be serious.”

But kids love rain, and the increase in humidity made the hair of all women present look much like that of Monica Gellar in the Friends episode where they went to the Bahamas. So that was fun.

Also, our rock star photographer is allergic to bees. Guess what flying insect comes out in droves when it’s raining in Phoenix? Yes, bees. So while she worked her magic with a camera, I hopped around her flailing my arms, completely willing to sacrifice myself if necessary for the good of the company.

Is that dedication or what?

Avoiding the bees

Click Here to view Finding the Best Sippy Cup (as featured on the Baby Sugar Diaries at LilSugar.com)

What is your favorite sippy cup and why?

Share your time-management strategies via the comment section or on the Hold It Baby Facebook Page!

Learn some of her tips and tricks for doing so here.