Ty Sullivan's Blog (69)

Honestly Deceiving: Being Real with the Consumer

From the moment we are born we are marketers.

It starts with ourselves and manifests into some other form down the line. No mater what business direction we end up taking, let’s face it, we are marketing.

Before we have learned to walk and talk, we are trying to get through to those higher beings…

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Added by Ty Sullivan on October 10, 2012 at 5:23am — No Comments

John Lennon: Peace, Love and Rockin' Leadrership

Hard to believe it's been over 30 years since the assassination of John Lennon. Hard to believe it has been that long since we all gathered around our radios and TV’s trying to take in the news that one of the last great pacifists was murdered. Just like Robert Kennedy. Just like Martin Luther…

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Added by Ty Sullivan on September 18, 2012 at 5:39pm — No Comments

Little Rascals Make Sure there is No Kid Hungry

OK, here comes the “not so interesting” opening hook line to start off a blog to engage the reader…

Recently, my daughter opened up her first lemonade stand and…

Here’s the follow-up line with the hook:

She did it for charity by her own choosing, raised…

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Added by Ty Sullivan on September 5, 2012 at 5:00pm — 2 Comments

When Restaurant Leaders Become Changers of Commerce

Remember Live Aid back in 1986?

Remember seeing Queen give one of the best performances in rock history? Phil Collins playing both London and Philadelphia?

Remember how it made us all fell to be a planetary communality that day?

You want to feel that feeling again? Well you can by helping out and getting involved and being a…

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Added by Ty Sullivan on August 21, 2012 at 6:30pm — No Comments

Quick Starbucks! What am I Thinking?

OK, so this is getting a little creepy.

Creepy but cool all in the same breath mind you.

First off...WARNING: Wipe any inappropriate thoughts from your mind when you enter a Starbucks. Your mind is about to be invaded.

It was announced that Starbucks was teaming up with…

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Added by Ty Sullivan on August 8, 2012 at 5:30am — 1 Comment

Street Teaming & 4 Wall Marketing 101

Nowadays with all the distractions people use to block out the “real world” as they navigate through their day with their iThings, hand held destructo-games and quick texting, it’s tough to get the attention of all those grumbling bellies making their way past our locations. Street Teaming is a golden…

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Added by Ty Sullivan on July 24, 2012 at 5:00pm — 1 Comment

100 Meals for under 500 Calories at Cafe Metro: the New Black in NYC

As the Director of Marketing for Cafe Metro in NYC, I was thrilled when noted nutritionist Martha McKittrick wanted to do a feature on our new 100 Under 500 Menu that features a menu of full meal options under 500 calories combined. Not a lot of places have embraced this mind set so I thought I would share it here. You can see see articles and great advise on her great website …

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Added by Ty Sullivan on July 10, 2012 at 6:00pm — No Comments

Cheap! Cheap! Not Bird Calls, Branding and Discounting

Where do you draw the line on cheapening your brand with discounting?

Short of handing out the store to get them in the door, where do you start and end?

Recently I have had many conversations with marketing mavens in the restaurant biz that have all had the same issue on their mind as they head to bed…

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Added by Ty Sullivan on June 26, 2012 at 6:00pm — 3 Comments

And the Social Good Shall Lead...From Summer Brand Camp.

Last week, for the third year in a row, I attended the single best conference on Marketing, HR, Social Media, Social Good, Social Chat…etc…Called the People Report Summer Brand Camp in Dallas Texas.

Let me start by saying I am not going to sit here and give you a play by play on the amazing stuff you missed.…

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Added by Ty Sullivan on June 12, 2012 at 6:30pm — No Comments

And the Lord Said "Follow me, I'll follow U Back!"

My daughter, who is 3 going on 26, came across an Easter card as we were cleaning our house this weekend and as some children might, exclaimed the obvious, “Oh look Dad, it’s Jesus!” “That’s right honey” I replied, “And do you know who His Daddy is?” “It’s Zeus.”

Clearly, she needs a…

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Added by Ty Sullivan on May 29, 2012 at 6:30pm — No Comments

The Top 3.5 Way’s You Really Should Handle Customer Service (A Parody)

Hello I’m Ty Sullivan the Director of Truths in Customer Service or as I like to say “DT’s in CustServ”.

You know, we always have customer service “guru’s, “Jedi’s”, “Lords of Sweetness” telling us how to properly coddle guests when they have had an “incident” or “very disappointing”…

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Added by Ty Sullivan on May 15, 2012 at 7:30pm — 1 Comment

Turn & Burn: Brand Messaging & Social Media

Paul Barron, of Digital Coco, discusses the importance of audience connectivity to brand messaging via food social-abiltly on various Social Media platforms with myself and Chef Rob Corliss- Founder of A.T.E (All Things Epicurean). Watch these great videos for…

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Added by Ty Sullivan on May 1, 2012 at 6:30pm — No Comments

Who Was Your Yoda?

Recently I sat in my therapist’s office all ready to bark at the moon and lay blame for all my issues on my mother, the kid that aimed at me in dodge ball and possibly Nixon. But the session turned into a warm and fuzzy remembrance of the man who turned my life around.

In high school we had a…

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Added by Ty Sullivan on April 17, 2012 at 6:00pm — 1 Comment

Signs of The Times

I have always believed in signs. I have also always believed that if we all spoke the same unspoken language we could dance around wars and confrontations. I also believe in aliens and fairies but that is another story.…

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Added by Ty Sullivan on April 3, 2012 at 11:30am — No Comments

Flip Flops at a Conference? Only at The People Report Summer Brand Camp

iPad. Check.

Cell phone charger. Check.

Business cards. Check.

Flip…

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Added by Ty Sullivan on March 20, 2012 at 6:00pm — No Comments

Under The Covers: Beatles, Business & Bamboozling

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Added by Ty Sullivan on March 6, 2012 at 6:30pm — 4 Comments

You're Hired! Celebrity Apprentice Meets Cafe Metro

This week my company had the unique opportunity to be involved with one of the biggest “reality” TV shows out there, The Celebrity Apprentice, Sunday’s at 9pm on NBC-TV.

I’m the Director of Marketing and Social Media for Café Metro’s parent company S.T. Management Group here in the quiet little…

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Added by Ty Sullivan on February 21, 2012 at 6:00pm — 1 Comment

Bus Boy: A Story of Being There

“Is everyone alright?”- Robert Kennedy’s Final Words

I was sitting down to write a humorous piece on customer service, the restaurant industry and bus personnel in particular. As I hit the Google images icon the famous…

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Added by Ty Sullivan on February 7, 2012 at 6:30pm — 5 Comments

The Blind Lead the Insightful? Leadership Eye Openers

If you want to test a man’s character, give him power.

~Abraham…

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Added by Ty Sullivan on January 24, 2012 at 6:30pm — 2 Comments

RAOBK? Random Acts of Business Kindness

This week I made a Random Act Of Kindness (RAOK) video for one of the concepts I do marketing for, Café Metro. The vibe was awesome! The feeling of getting out there and doing random acts of kindness on a 12 degree morning were appreciated by all. We gave out gift cards, free…