Atheist billboard on Billy Graham Parkway ...

This morning I saw a news item in the religious news service I subscribe to, with the headline 'Atheists erect billboard on Billy Graham Parkway'. Billy Graham Parkway is in Charlotte, North Carolina and leads from the airport into town. It's named after US evangelist Billy Graham. The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association (BGEA) has its headquarters on the Parkway - in fact it was the association between the BGEA and the city of Charlotte that led to the naming. I've driven along the Parkway and spent some time at the BGEA offices and associated memorial library shooting footage for 'Remembering '59'.
You can see why the news item caught my attention. It took a while to actually find a picture of the offending billboard and when I did see it, I wondered as an Aussie what all the fuss was about (see pic). Apparently the problem with the statement on the billboard is not what it says, but what it doesn't say. The organisation responsible has left off the words 'under God'. The phrase is a paraphrase of the US pledge of allegiance which reads: "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
Leaving 'under God' off is what has caused the billboard to become a news story. From: http://is.gd/d6ZUP
"The billboard features an American flag background and quotes the original phrase from the Pledge of Allegiance, before “under God” was inserted after “one nation,” in 1954. That was at the height of the Cold War and the addition was meant to distinguish the United States from the Soviet Union, which officially embraced atheism.
Set to be up for four weeks, the billboards – costing a total of $15,000 – are a July 4 project of the N.C. Secular Association, a coalition of groups such as Charlotte Atheists & Agnostics, the Ethical Humanist Society of the Triangle and Western North Carolina Atheists.
Their message: non-religious North Carolinians are patriots, too."

As an Australian, I wonder what all the fuss is about - especially given what we've gone through this past week with change of Prime Minister. Certainly I can see why the Billy Graham organisation decided not to comment. Storm in a teacup I reckon.

How one phone call changed a country wide packaging contract …

I'm a fan of Gloria Jeans Coffees. Partly because I got to know the two founders way back in the 90s when they brought the franchise to Australia (and then bought the whole company) but also because their stores give me a great customer experience. Last year the family gave me a home expresso machine and I now fill it with ground beans bought from my local GJC outlet. The coffee is always good and the service likewise. Over the past few months I noticed that as the bag of coffee got towards the end - coffee grounds started to leak out of the bottom of the packet.
This wasn't a major drama - but after the 5th bag did this I figured that GJC head office might like to know and check for a faulty batch.
After dropping an e-mail to my founding friend, GJC responded with a phone call to me that same day and then three follow-up e-mails. In the e-mails I gave some more information (although pretty hard to write in-depth about a bag that holds coffee grounds) and three days after my initial e-mail I received a note saying that GJC had spoken to their supplier and they had agreed to dump the previous style of packaging they supplied and move to a brand new style, Australia wide. Wow - how's that for influence? Not sure if my knowing one of the founders made the difference - but I am seriously impressed with such a quick response on behalf of GJC and their supplier.
Just goes to show the power of the consumer?
Gloria Jeans Coffees have also started sponsoring The Jesus Racing team and Andrew Fisher in the Jesus Ute in the V8 Ute series. Another reason to drink their coffee.
Thanks Peter.
PS. Be nice if GJC marketed a 200gm container with a resealable lid with a GJC logo, into which coffee lovers could decant their ground coffee? I'd buy one.

The circles of new business ...

I'm becoming a fan of Seth Godin. Seth is a blogger, an author and a speaker. Here's what he says about himself on his web site.
'Seth Godin is the author of ten books that have been bestsellers around the world and changed the way people think about marketing, change and work.'
A few weeks ago Seth wrote a blog called 'The circles (no more strangers)'
In it he spoke about how businesses go about getting new business. As someone just 16 months into running my own business I read it with interest. You can read it for yourself, but his core message was that in business, its a lot cheaper and easier to reach your existing customers and sell them another one of your products than it is to reach new customers. People who have already commissioned work from you are more likely to come back for more - especially if you delight them the first time around.
As I read that, something intriguing happened. I got three calls from previous clients asking me to do something new for them. In one case a client referred me on to one of her clients because she knew I could do the job.
The coincidence of Seth's blog and then seeing it work out in practice was exciting and now, some months after I read Seth's original piece, its still happening. Can't complain about that.