Facebook. The name has come to be synonymous with fun... a way to reconnect with the past and renew old relationships.

Did you know that, in addition to its ability to find your best friend from high school, Facebook also offers some strong, effective marketing options? Just imagine: with access to entire networks of people at once, your message can spread virally to all the corners of the planet in record time.

It's that time of year again.

As the calendar year winds down, countries across the country are evaluating (and re-evaluating) their projected ad expenditures for the new year. And in light of an anything-goes economic climate, those budgets will be under more scrutiny than ever.

So, what can you do to make sure your ads are being all they can be [pardon the shameless appropriation from the U.S. Army]?

Walking down the aisles of your local supermarket, you've probably seen all the product packaging promoting the benefits of organic food. Everywhere we look, we’re taught that organic food is healthier, more nutritious, and free of chemical substances when compared to conventional foods. Some products even claim to protect consumers from cancer-causing pesticides. (I’ll take those in bulk, please!)

Choosing to exhibit at a trade show is a strategic decision. Perhaps now more than ever, the decision "to show, or not to show" is fraught with huge financial risk. Costs for services like labor and freight continue to rise, and travel expenses are becoming an even larger part of the pie.

That said, the trade show arena (the figurative one, not the literal one) offers some unbelievable bargains. The payoff in terms of face-time opportunities with clients and prospects is still one of the most cost-effective and time-efficient ways to connect with your audience.

To begin this story, let's start with some basic stats:

• According to the Marketing to Moms Coalition (MMC), American mothers are responsible for purchasing power to the tune of $2.1 trillion/year.
• Mothers typically have the last word in deciding what products their families consume.
• In a recent MMC survey, three-quarters of mothers feel that Super Bowl ads don't target their needs at all.

You’ll notice that we’ve deliberately refrained from posting a “best of” list for 2007. And for good reason.

We believe in using the past as a learning tool, but it doesn’t pay to get too overwhelmed or to drift into morbid reflection. Because today—as every day—we’re moving forward…ever forward.

What do we look forward to in 2008?

Remember the good old days of using a favorite catalog to write your Christmas list? My companion was a classic behemoth that became my toy-shopping bible, happily lugged from place to place while I daydreamed about the Barbie Dream House and EasyBake Oven that Santa had, no doubt, set aside for me.

It was a sad day when, due to changing lifestyles and so-called “advances” in technology, these Christmas catalogs became just a fond memory. Since the Sears Wish Book—one of the last to succumb to the advent of the web—was discontinued in 1993, a whole generation of children has missed out on this cherished holiday pastime.

In recognition that yesterday was America Recycles Day, it’s worth noting that we everyday consumers create a shocking amount of e-waste. According to the EPA’s stats for 2005, “between 1.5 million and 1.9 million tons of used or unwanted electronics were discarded in US landfills, including as many as 130 million cell phones [our italics]. Only a little more than 350,000 tons were recycled.”

Sodexho, the food service giant known for supplying hotel chains around the world, has recently gone native. Sodexho—which supplies breakfast and lunch for more than a dozen school districts in Rhode Island—will now purchase a larger percentage of its produce from local farms.

In conjunction with nonprofit group Kids First, Sodexho worked on this project for three years—making sure local farms met their certification needs and negotiating fair prices for produce.

Still full from lunch? Not hungry for dinner yet? Then go grab a free taco from Taco Bell during the inconvenient hours of 2-5pm on October 30th. While you’re there, feel free to drink a soda, or order a gordita…or six. Taco Bell found a PR goldmine in its advertising “gamble” to give away free tacos to America if any player stole a base in any game of the World Series. In Game 2 on October 25th, everyone’s wishes came true when Red Sox rookie Jacoby Ellsbury stole second, and consequently Taco Bell stole the stage.