Costa Women Blogs

As with all good advertising headlines, ´I Need Mad Men! Publicity & Branding´ stopped me in my tracks – before following the path to Andalucía Lab, Marbella, to hear Personal vs. Commercial Branding techniques and opportunities for merging the two.   Many will have watched title series ´Mad Men´ with its portrayal of Madison Avenue ad agency Sterling Cooper, set in 60s New York.   The lecture was right up my street after working at ad agencies in 80s London, account exec at Francis Killingbeck Bain (L’Oréal, Durex), The Marketing Triangle (Cadbury, Coca-Cola, Schweppes) and Ingram Group Promotions (British Airports Authority, Sealink Ferries).   In an interactive four-hour talk by Ida Fernández – with a stream of questions from the 28 participants forming on-the-spot case studies – key sections included:   Personal brand Website, blog, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram… Ref TIME front cover http://content.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,20061225,00.html   Commercial brand Kotler´s 4Ps of Marketing Cases: Honda, BMW, VW   Elements of the brand Image Personality/Style Values Positioning   Mad Men era The Agency The Client The Studio   Social Media era Prosumers: Producer/consumer e.g. grow/make your own, multifaceted roles divided among: The Consultant The Planner The Thinker Human Resources The Freelancer The Developer The User (User Experience) The SEO The Storyteller The Producer Communications Manager Public Relations   Publicity today Fragmentation Digitization New habits   New supports Twitterization Dynamism

What is your mind full of? If you pay attention you will find out that it is full aff thoughts and stories about your past and future. There is nothing wrong about it until you realize that they are there...

Sue’s Stress-free Christmas Christmas is a time when our expectations can be unrealistic and with this comes stress. It’s up there along with moving house and divorce as one of the most stressful times. Ah yes, I remember it well. Those days when I was a practising perfectionist, I did not enjoy Christmas, although I did a pretty good job pretending that I loved every minute of it. Running a business, shopping, decorating the tree, baking, writing the cards and cleaning the house took its toll and I often spent Boxing Day nursing a sore throat, probably brought on by exhaustion. Here are a few tips from a recovering Christmas Perfectionist: You don’t have to prove anything. It’s acceptable to buy the stuffing, cake, mince pies and the pudding. If you must bake – do it in plenty of time and freeze things like mince pies. Nobody (apart from yourself) will notice if you haven’t cleaned the house. If you run out of time, leave it until after the holiday. Santa will only leave a mess coming down the chimney anyway. Set the table on Christmas Eve so that you don’t have a rush the following day. With the huge cost of postage, is it a crime to send e-cards this year? If you prefer to send cards, write them in good time and then put them aside to post later on. Instead of getting up at the crack of dawn to roast that fattened turkey, why not cook a chicken and a turkey breast instead and enjoy a little lie in?  Make a list and write down the sequence for cooking everything and keep it for the following year. So many people go into debt at Christmas. Don’t do it, it will only add to your stress. Start buying bargains in the July sales instead of putting everything on your credit card in December. If times are hard, why not forgo getting everyone a present and suggest a ‘Secret Santa’ sack? This is great if you belong to a large family. Delegate! If like me, you think that nobody does it better than yourself, get real. Ask other family members to lend a hand with the meal and, of course, the clearing up. Christmas is a time when a lot of families have rows. If things are getting out of hand, find an excuse to escape and practise some deep breathing exercises. Avoid too much alcohol. Remember to try and enjoy Christmas – it’s your holiday too. When all else fails – go out for lunch or help serve at a charity feeding event.  HAPPY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE AND REMEMBER THE REASON FOR THE SEASON.   Sue Cross www.suecross.com

We want benefits in our life. We want reward and pleasure. And I want to convince you that learning meditation is beneficial and rewarding. How to describe pleasure? Is it an object or is it rather a feeling...

See full feature here: www.paradisemarbellarealty.com/blog/spain-could-gain-from-portugals-pain  

We have started our annual appeal to buy the children in care in Alhaurin their dream Christmas presents. Can you help? Come along to our Christmas Fair or even if you can’t make it invite your friends. https://www.facebook.com/events/760737233981015/ You could buy a present. Give us your unused unwanted cosmetics and toiletries. Sell some raffle tickets or donate a raffle prize. Make a cash donation via pay pal via info@rayoflightcharity.com or bank transfer to Ray Of Light Charity, La Caixa 2100 6282 10 0200065017  Call and ask for  drop off points On 667 806 092