The Durham Group

09/11/2024

What are you doing for your marketing planning this next year?

Are you doing Multi-Channel Marketing Campaigns?

This next week I am listening into a seminar to hear one of my partners-partners, with an online event with Constant Contact (see link below). It's a free seminar they are doing, and I always like to listen in to other marketers to see what the offer. (The link in the comments).

The Durham Group (me, Heather Durham) is working the 2025 plan for our marketing, and our budget. If you need help with your planning of your marketing, content creation, events, media relations/planning or other things related to your marketing, please, Give me a call or email.

* Photo from Unsplash by Markus Spike
https://unsplash.com/

04/13/2024

Hey all We are doing an Earth Day event next weekend and gettting our hands dirty making Paper Mache. Please joing us at the City of Cupertino's Earth Day celebration at the SVTAGA booth C3.
Likne to our meetup in the comments.

We did this in 2019 and it was a blast!
Our goal is to make over 200 Dragonflies and Butterflies... Please come help, bring the kids, or if you are a kid still and love to do art... come on out to Earth Day 2024!

02/09/2024

Friends, Family and Colleagues Please Join Me on Sunday-

I am participating in a Silicon Valley Reads talk on . The topic of this online discussion is on the book “All We Cam Save- Truth, Courage and Solutions to the Climate Crisis.” I have been listing to the book on Audible, which some of the readers include America Ferrera, Jane Fonda and more names you would know. The book has hundreds of authors that talk about climate from various backgrounds and experiences.

I know, you might be watching a game at that same time, but you can always record the game, and fast forward to half time…Some of you will not be watching the game. Here is the link for more information including the other very interesting and accomplished ladies that will be on the panel with me:

https://www.siliconvalleyreads.org/event-details/panel-discussion-of-all-we-can-save-hosted-by-indian-business-professional-women

*Growing up in the Bay Area, I remember that “one time” it snowed in the “valley” and you could drive up Mt. Hamilton to see snow... that once in a great-while… or even in the Santa Cruz Mountains there was an occasional cold spell. Then also you would get some really hot days in the fall, long after summer holidays were over. Now it seems we are getting more and more hot days, and colder days that feel like you are up in Lake Tahoe, not in the heart of Silicon Valley. Please come hear from the folks who have been working on solutions, that could help save the future of the earths climate change crisis.

This is being hosted by Silicon Valley Reads, Santa Clara Library District, San Jose Library, and Santa Clara County Office of Education. Thank you!

This expert panel will discuss the impact of climate change on marginalized communities, the creation of innovative solutions, and grassroots movements that are driving positive change. You won't want to miss this discussion!

10/21/2022

In every line of work we manage teams and in creative work it's especially important. This article is a highlight of some good work happening to help create teams that work for everyone!
Fast company is where the article was posted, but you can see it on their LinkedIN Page. If you follow the links you can see the TEDx talk about Stephanie Lampkin who founded an app, to help make recruiting fair to all.

This photo is retro (1995), For a graphic to be posted here, as there was none that popped up while sharing this article (video would be better, but I'm not camera ready-next time …LOL)

Anyway- I'm posting this old photo that a photojournalist friend took of me. It was just when I was graduating San Jose State University. Interesting to reflect back on my career while reading this article. This photo was also right before I went on a back packing trip around Europe for 3 months, that I had been saving for all through out college. Travel is one of those things, that you find out quickly how people work; if they are honest; if they can be depended on in a tight spot; how they handle pressure; how they think and anyaliz; how they might work out problems; how they handle people and situations that are of different cultures, values, lifestyles; how they handle budget; are the organized; are they kind/thoughtful and so much more.

Looking back at that trip, right before starting in the Advertisng and Marketing feild in the San Francisco Bay Area, it was one of the best things I did for myself. As I have always had a strong work ethic, and I knew I would never be taking that much time again from work (or at least I thought so then). Working hard never seemed like work, becasue if you enjoy what you do and the people around you, then time flys...

Enjoy this article:

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-manage-teams-when-youre-unconventional-leader-fast-company/?midToken=AQE_7RoTgAuOgA&midSig=1UXt83YaAlFGs1&trk=eml-email_series_follow_newsletter_01-newsletter_hero_banner-0-open_on_linkedin_cta&trkEmail=eml-email_series_follow_newsletter_01-newsletter_hero_banner-0-open_on_linkedin_cta-null-4w6x1~l9a6vodx~7z-null-null&eid=4w6x1-l9a6vodx-7z

09/16/2022

Thank you Meta (Facebook) for a great event...

Meta (Facebook) had a really informative and fun social media for small businesses event yesterday in San Francisco at the Westfield Mall at the BeSpoke Center. I’ve been doing marketing since before 1995 (which is the year I graduated San Jose State), but I won’t say how long I’ve been doing marketing. It’s always fun to go and refresh your skills - learn new things and buff up on the things you already know. Mostly it’s great to meet people and be out again (Covid isolation really sucked).
Many of the things they were teaching yesterday, I already do on Facebook (and Instagram when I go there) either for myself or clients. It’s always good to hear from the professionals who started the social media craze "what the best practices" are…(as they say straight from the horses mouth).

I’ve done much film editing and some of the things they were showing was nothing new, it’s just different with their software rather than professional editing software. SOme of the tricks of the trade I had learned on my own, or had learned on the job, but there were a few things that they did teach this gal yesterday!

As some of my friends and family know I was not taking clients all in during the pandemic, so that I could keep my elderly mother safe. Producing the www.svtags.org TV show and making sure mom was cared for, well/safe was my #1 priority during the pandemic.

My previous clients have been Chevron, Seagate Technology, Acer America, ViewSonic,Bell Labs, A nano technology glass company(not divulge in the name here), A doctor that developed a stage 4 ovarian cancer drug and we worked on his marketing planning/strategy, and various other clients throughout the years.

Yes I am open for business and looking for clients I could be persuaded to go to a company full-time if it was the right clients and they needed the help… (that certainly happened in the past when a client needed more help than just someone doing some contract marketing work!).

That particular client with my marketing planning and media strategy- we were able to raise their sales 400% within a year. We did this through various marketing and public relations tactics! Planning, planning and more planning, then ex*****on of the plan is how we got there!

Ok, so Facebook is not letting me post videos and only still photos is here (no combo of photos and video for sone reason), so I’ll post a couple of fun videos that we took at the event later on… tthere was a gadget that they had that it moves around you, then captures whatever you’re doing while the phones going around in a circle on a pole… (you stay on a platform and your phone takes photos kind of like a photo booth, but not in a booth- a complete 360 of you). It is a little hard to explain, but you’ll be able to see it in the video that I post, so please come back to this page... do share please with your friends!
Thank you and have a great weekend!
Sincerely, Heather Durham

PS. I tossed in a photo of the delicous chilli dog and garlic fries I had at the Food Court @ WestField Mall (865 Market Street, San Francisco CA, SAME PLACE THE BeSpoke is at). I also had to take a peak at Blooming Dales because they have a great sale going on, and if you ask nicely, the shop gal (or guy) will give you an additional 15% OFF COUPON.

I was looking for the great Pastry place that used to serve Crepes... did not find it, so sadly I think they probably closed during covid. Happy Friday!

06/13/2022

Join me this week at a Marketing seminar at the Silicon Valley Capital Club.

05/24/2022

How is your marketing planning and eco iron been during the pandemic? How are things changed for you? Do you need help with your Omni presence in Marketing?

Have you done search engine optimization (SEO)?

These are some of the things that I can help you with along with your regular marketing strategy media placement, planning and buying, Evevts and more. If it’s marketing help that you need there’s nothing that we haven’t done!

On June 15 I’ll be participating in a panel with two other ladies who do marketing & social media in the area. I will be a hands on event if you’d like to join us in the evening!

I’ll have the flyer posted here soon!

This group of ladies are on the planning team of the Silicon Valley Capital Club with me and we have some amazing events coming up! The marketing planning event is part of the Empower Hour that plan and we host quarterly.

There’s also coffee connections monthly in the morning, as well as WIN (women’s inspirational networking), at lunch time. 

02/10/2022

Hi all, it's been awhile since I have posted in my marketing consuting... with the Covid Pandemic I was not taking on any extra work, because I was trying to keep my 86 year old mother safe... (she was 84 then and is still with us-I am so grateful!). As we get older we get more picky how we spend our time, it's more valueable -(time is) and making sure she was safe was the most important thing the past few years.

I'm super excited that things are opening back up and I will offer what I did before the pandemic, a half hour free to talk about your marketing, media planning, public relations, social media, film productiong, or what ever you are doing for your advertising of your business.

Fun fact: In 2020 I took a SEO class at Stanford to "brush" up my skill set online in the summer. The guy teaching it said, "If your a markeitng person, then you know this stuff and will likely get a A in the class." Yep... it was the fun stuff of what we do as marketing people and I did get a A+. Do you need help with your SEO? Give me a call.

I love helping people with the all of their MARCOM planning. Give me a ping and let's chat!

Sincerely, Heather D.

PS

If you did not know, I am also a film producer, with 206 SVTAGS TV Shows that have now aired on 20 stations in the Bay Area. My plan before the pandemic was to start producing in other states and post the show in those states... We had 3 stations in MA that were ready to go! Anyway, here is a 10 min. Clip from one of the guest that is doing great work in the San Jose Area. Please take a look! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGMW1CDM6U8

Thanks Bunches!
PS If ou