Mediaboss Marketing

They had yet to see the fruits of their investment, given what the opportunity was, and it was unclear for how long vaping was going to be lightly regulated, said Scott Dunlap, the chief operating officer at the time. They were excited and pushing hard.

Fidelity declined to comment.

The Juul, which looked unlike any other e-cigarette and delivered a far more powerful nicotine punch, was supposed to be the hit product for the company, then named Pax Labs, but a few months in, it appeared to be a bust. Convenience stores and vape shops were not getting their orders because of supply chain problems. Manufacturing defects left some customers with bad batteries, or worse, a condition nicknamed JIM juice in mouth with no one at the company quite sure how much of the toxic nicotine substance could be safely ingested.

In a meeting in San Francisco in the fall of 2015, the board of directors decided to remove Mr. Monsees as chief executive, dismiss other senior leaders and effectively take over the company. It would be 10 months before they named another C.E.O.

I was in that first meeting where you tell the board, We arent going to hit the numbers. There are issues; there are problems in the supply chain. Not a lot of good news, said Mr. Dunlap, who said he had advised the company to slow down and take the time needed to fix the problems. He was fired the next day.

The board meeting, which has not been previously reported, was a turning point for the company.

Over the next few years, the company which became Juul Labs after splitting from Pax in 2017 would reignite the stale e-cigarette business, grabbing more than 75 percent of the vaping market and tallying more than $1 billion in sales in 2018. At the end of last year, it was valued at $38 billion, more than the Ford Motor Company.

From 2016 to 2018, the years Juuls growth became astronomical, the number of adult nonsmokers who began using e-cigarettes doubled in the United States, according to an analysis of federal survey data by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Ciccarone Center for the Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease. The study estimates that six million adults were introduced to nicotine via e-cigarettes.

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Juul Says Its Focus Was Smokers, but It Targeted Young Nonsmokers - The New York Times

Help wanted: artist needed to help design and execute a new mural in downtown Williamsburg. The job pays $5,000, which includes the cost of supplies.

This white wall at the corner of Main Street and Fourth Street in Williamsburg will be the site of a new mural.

The Whitley County Community Green Dot program is seeking a muralist to design and execute a mural to cover the white wall at the corner of Main Street and Fourth Street in Williamsburg.

The Green Dot program, which is a bystander intervention program in part,

was developed at the University of Kentucky in 2006. It was then expanded into high schools across the state of Kentucky in 2009.

In a five-year research project between the University of Kentucky, the Center for Disease Control, and the Kentucky Association of Sexual Assault Programs, Green Dot was found to reduce the rates of perpetration of sexual violence by up to 50 percent.

The mural is part of a social marketing campaign that depicts components of the Community Green Dot program, according to the mural grant proposal.

The campaign will focus on the problem of power based personal violence. The rates of power based personal violence are high as evidenced by the following statistics. One in four women and one in ten men are the victims of sexual violence. One in three women and one in nine men are the victims of domestic violence. One in three children are bullied. Every ten seconds a child is abused, the grant proposal stated.

The mural must conceptually incorporate the 3 Ds of violence prevention: direct, delegate and distract.

It also must conceptually incorporate Williamsburg feels like home or the good things that happen in Williamsburg, such as empathy, respect, kindness, and inclusiveness of the entire Williamsburg community, according to the call for mural artists.

The mural must include at least one of the following hashtags: #greendotyall, #bekind, or #greendotneighbor.

The mural must also demonstrate an appreciation of the past and embrace the future, and preference will be given to interact murals.

The wall is about 17 feet wide and 20 feet tall.

The deadline for submitting proposals is 6 p.m. on Dec. 6.

A committee of five community members, who have an understanding of the subject matter and two of whom have training in mural development, will select the muralist.

The selection will be announced on Dec. 13, and the mural must be completed and installed by Jan. 17.

For more information about the application process, contact Cecelia White, victims services director for Cumberland River Behavioral Health, at cecelia.white@crccc.org.

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Community Green Dot mural coming soon to downtown Williamsburg The News Journal - The News Journal

Theres a certain kind of celebrity capable of making a middle-aged woman lugging a tote bag climb frantically over a couch for a chance at a photo to flaunt to her friends.

No, its not a $20 million-a-movie megastar or the Emmy-winning headliner of the latest prestige drama. The inspiration for this Olympian-level maneuver is Brittany Cartwright, a cast member of the Bravo reality series Vanderpump Rules. And she was hardly the only reality TV heavyweight to incite such fervor over the weekend.

Welcome to BravoCon.

Nearly 90 Bravolebrities a nickname introduced by the network to describe the stars of its reality TV properties and roughly 10,000 star-struck fans descended on New York City for the three-day convention, which had devoted Bravo fans running around like wind-up toys, frigid air be damned, for an opportunity to make a cameo in the life of their favorite reality stars.

This is our Super Bowl, Michele Cavoli, 46, of Darien, Conn., proclaimed at the start of the festivities.

In the age of Peak TV, few networks programs and the fandom they attract warrant their own convention. But Bravo has built an empire of addictive reality soaps with a legion of devoted viewers, including Jennifer Lawrence, Elisabeth Moss, Jimmy Fallon and Rihanna. It has given rise, among others, to the multi-city Real Housewives franchise; its offshoot, Vanderpump Rules, following a young group of waitstaff working at a West Hollywood restaurant owned by former Housewife Lisa Vanderpump; Southern Charm, featuring some of Charleston, S.C.'s single social elite; and Below Deck, which chronicles the adventures of crews working on luxury sailing yachts.

Frances Berwick, president of NBCUniversals lifestyle networks, including Bravo, considers BravoCon a significant moment in the networks evolution. Though it once spotlighted drama and independent film, Bravo rebranded itself in the early 2000s to focus on pop culture- and reality-centric programming like Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. Since then, the network has become synonymous with its popular unscripted franchises, much like AMC with The Walking Dead and HBO with Game of Thrones an advantage thats hard to overstate in a landscape cluttered with platforms and programs vying for viewers already stretched attention.

Were in a moment in time when its really hard to get attention for shows, Berwick said. One of the most important things is having a strong brand and having a consistent content filter where people know what theyre going to get when they come to the network. This is about really establishing a connection with the viewer, but also really cementing the brand.

A crowd of convention-goers at Summer House Party at Union West in New York City during BravoCon 2019.

(Rob Kim / Bravo)

Many compare the passion of Bravo enthusiasts to that of soap opera aficionados or rabid sports fans. But viewers say it goes deeper than that. Theyve followed the reality stars for years, in many cases, seeing them at both their best and their worst, all while hearing what they really think thanks to confessional interviews. Theyve gotten an inside look albeit an edited one at the feuds, divorces, jail sentences, hookups and messy departures. And theyve empathized with them, made fun of them and turned on them as if they were living inside the TV too. Its why the likes of Cartwright, Vicki Gunvalson (Real Housewives of Orange County), Shep Rose (Southern Charm) and Andy Cohen (Watch What Happens Live) are more important to BravoCon attendees than mainstream, A-list celebrities.

Ill be walking down the street and fans are like, Hows your daughter?! Glad you went to dinner with Mario! Hows Coco [her dog]? said Ramona Singer, a veteran cast member of The Real Housewives of New York City. They have a huge interest in our personal lives. Its a rush feeling all the energy here. I feel almost like Im a famous actress. But, look, reality stars have become pop icons. I have to embrace it.

We feel a kinship with them, is how Brigid Mitchell, 35, of Massachusetts describes it. Yes, they are celebrities, so to speak. But Ive met movie stars, and thats a little more of a detached experience. They dont let us into their private lives like these individuals do. So theres this intimacy you cant get any other way. That is the attraction: We all feel like we have these intimate relationships with these people. We text our friends about their lives as if we know them.

And for three days, BravoCon offered many that long-awaited introduction.

Inside the conventions three venues The Manhattan Center on 34th Street and, roughly half a mile away, Union West and Skylight Modern the puffer jackets and wool coats came off and it was clear who wore their Bravo love on their sleeve: Some donned dog-patterned caftans from Southern Charm cast member Patricia Altschuls line, while others had custom T-shirts with Bravo in-jokes like Its not about the pasta or Gone with the Wind Fabulous. One guy even sported a wig in the style of Lisa Rinnas signature shag cut. And there was an abundance of perfectly tousled hair and sequined dresses the ultimate BravoCon cosplay.

Attendees ran up to to friends and family members in a frenzy after snapping selfies with their favorite stars and excitedly FaceTimed news of their run-ins to those unlucky enough to be stuck at home.

For those unable to land a coveted selfie, panels boasting Bravo talent past and present yielded plenty of moments that only diehards would appreciate as when Caroline Manzo (Real Housewives of New Jersey) agreed to a fans request to hurl ham slices at his face or Cynthia Bailey (Real Housewives of Atlanta) twerked onstage. Visitors created their own versions of the Housewives instantly recognizable opening credits, heard cocktail-making tips from Vanderpump Rules stars Tom Schwartz and Tom Sandoval, and sweat it out in an aerobics class led by Dorinda Medley (Real Housewives of New York City). For the cognoscenti, there was even a Real Housewives Museum to explore, replete with artifacts from the franchise: gowns from the series live reunions; the blue bunny that Kim Richards returned to Lisa Rinna (Real Housewives of Beverly Hills); the implants that Tamra Judge (Real Housewives of Orange County) had taken out.

This thing [BravoCon] feels like a destination wedding where you dont know everybody but you all have a shared interest, said Cohen, a former Bravo programming executive who, as a ringleader of the networks reunion specials and host of its late-night talk show, may be the biggest Bravolebrity of them all.

Andy Cohen hosts his late-night gabfest Watch What Happens Live! at BravoCon 2019.

(Karolina Wojtasik / Bravo)

The cost of attending might have called to mind a destination wedding too: A one-day pass ranged from $125 to $700, while a three-day pass began at $300 and went up to $1,500 inspiring a number of memes lamenting the price tag. (By comparison, passes to Comic-Con, which attracts roughly 130,000 visitors each year, are $69 per day and up to $304 for four days plus preview night for 2020.) And thats before factoring in add-on experiences like a Vanderpump Rules after-party, a brunch with the cast of Southern Charm and dinners created by contestants from Top Chef.

But people were more than ready to pull out their credit cards three-day passes sold out in less than a minute after they went on sale in mid-August even without knowing what, exactly, they were paying for: Talent wasnt announced until a little more than a week before the extravaganza.

It could have been the Fyre Festival 2.0 but we didnt care, said Lauren Reyes, 30, of San Francisco. At all points in the process I wondered that. Like, there was barely any social media posts from the Bravo people. But I still would have paid twice as much. Im loving it.

BravoCons success illustrates the networks unrivaled success at tapping the rich vein that is reality TV.

Talks about hosting an event of this scale have been going on for years. But while network executives had noticed the demand after taking Cohens show, which typically has a dozen audience members, on the road to Los Angeles, it was last years Night of 31 Doorbells episode that finally convinced them.

Ill never forget the moment and the energy in that room at that time, said Maria Laino Deluca, senior vice president of consumer and social marketing for Bravo and Universal Kids. About three or four of us on the Bravo side looked at each other and it was like, we didnt even have to say the word. We were all thinking the same thing: We have to do BravoCon. Its time.

All of the anticipation came to a head with the conventions grand finale, Real Housewives of New York City star Luann de Lesseps cabaret show. It was not without its frustrations after the festivities began an hour behind schedule, attendees jeered De Lesseps during a Q&A in the middle of the show but in the end, the delay didnt matter. Those who stuck around charged the stage for the nights closing number, singing and dancing under a twirling disco ball as De Lesseps slinked across the stage in a sparkly gown.

The song? Money Cant Buy You Class.

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'Real Housewives' fans attend their 'Super Bowl' at BravoCon 2019 - Los Angeles Times

DRAPER, Utah, Nov. 21, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ --JP & Associates REALTORS (JPAR), the fastest growing 100% commission brokerage & franchise network in the country, has expanded its partnership with Inside Real Estate, providing their automated marketing solutions, CORE ListingMachine & Social to their growing network of agents nationwide. The automated marketing tools provide a powerful enhancement to JPAR's existing technology, B.O.S.S.S (Broker One Stop Shop System) powered by Inside Real Estate's flagship platform, kvCORE.

"We do believe that kvCORE is at the very core of our B.O.S.S.S. Platform, and that's helped us recruit thousands of agents across the network because in the end agents want tools that allow them to be more productive to sell more real estate, and very few platforms allow the productivity background like kvCORE," said JP Piccinini, CEO of JPAR's parent company Vesuvius Holdings. "We have no doubt that adding CORE ListingMachine and Social to this powerful platform will elevate our technology leadership and agent productivity even further."

JPAR's implementation of CORE ListingMachine and Social will empower their agents & teams with a fully automated listing marketing solution that quickly creates attractive, comprehensive and effective marketing campaigns for every listing. This robust automation ensures every listing gets branded and marketed effectively on behalf of the agent, driving a higher volume of leads and eliminating the large amount of time and resources typically involved in creating listing marketing materials and campaigns.

Key features of CORE ListingMachine and Social include:

"We're thrilled to be partnering with JPAR as they continue their strong leadership in the industry and provide best-in-class technology for their entire organization," said Joe Skousen, President of Inside Real Estate. "By leveraging the unique offerings of CORE ListingMachine and CORE Social within their kvCORE Platform, they are able to quickly grow and support new markets with top technology solutions."

About JP & Associates REALTORS: JP & Associates REALTORS (JPAR) is known for their acclaimed culture revolving around productivity and service. It is no wonder JP & Associates REALTORS has gone from the #1 independently and privately held brokerage in Texas to the fastest-growing 100% commission brokerage and franchise in the USA, as well as ranking as the 50th brokerage worldwide for home sales by REAL Trends. In 2018, JPAR trademarked the term "Exceeding Expectations," relentlessly going above and beyond for both their agents and clients. Now franchising across the USA, JPAR Franchising is set to take the USA by storm after entering 9 new states in its first six months.

JPAR operates multiple offices across Alabama, Texas, Louisiana, South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona, New Mexico, and Florida, is expanding nationwide, and offers franchising opportunities for entrepreneurial real estate professionals. To learn more about becoming an agent or franchising visit http://www.jpar.com.

About Inside Real Estate: Inside Real Estate is a fast growing, independently-owned real estate software firm that serves as a trusted technology partner to over 200,000 top brokerages, agents and teams. Their flagship product, kvCORE Platform, is the most modern and comprehensive solution in the industry known for delivering profitable growth at every level of a brokerage organization. Built on a modern, scalable and flexible architecture, kvCORE enables every brokerage to create their own unique technology ecosystem through custom branding, robust integrations and high-quality add-on solutions. With an accomplished leadership team and over 175 employees, Inside Real Estate brings the resources, scale and vision to deliver ongoing innovation and success to their growing customer base. To learn more about Inside Real Estate and kvCORE, visit insiderealestate.com.

SOURCE JP & Associates REALTORS

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JPAR Expands Relationship with Inside Real Estate, Providing Powerful Automated Marketing Tools to Their Thousands of Agents - Benzinga

Last week, we held an #SMTLive Twitter chat to share and discuss the findings from our recent report, The State of Social Lead Generation 2019 Survey Report.

Ever since Facebook was launched the early 2000s and social media took off as a means to connect, and share our lives digitally with others, businesses have also been taking advantage of social platforms in order to accomplish a variety of marketing and sales goals. For example, brands use social media to build brand awareness and loyalty, provide fast customer service, recruit employees, make sales. And, ideally, to generate leads.

For our survey report, we gathered close to 350 responses from fellow digital marketers to reveal some interesting social media lead generation trends happening today.You can download our full report here, but here are a few highlights from our conversation on Twitter last week.

Because social is constantly evolving and marketers need to keep up with the trends to remain relevant, we were curious to learn more about how brands are using social for lead gen today. How many brands rely on social for lead gen? What social platforms do they use to run lead gen ads? What types of ads work best for lead gen, today? ...And so on.

In our report, we found that the majority (64%) of our 320+ respondents already have a social media lead gen plan in place.

Interestingly,the poll we ran during our Twitter chat showed a similar outcome: 69% of participants said they already are using social media for lead generation. And 65% of those who already have a plan in place say their strategy needs improvement.

I think it's safe to say that social media is a major tool used by marketers today for lead generation, but not many of us have found the right system to accomplish this goal.

Which social networks are best for generating leads?

This one won't come as a huge shock to anyone; Facebook came out on top during our survey and during our Twitter chat as the main platform used for lead gen.

Once again, the poll from the chat complimented our findings from the report. Facebook took the lead as the best lead-gen platform, followed by LinkedIn and then Instagram.

Of course, every brand is different and each will approach their lead gen strategy differently. Some brands might find great success on Facebook while others will rely on another platform, like LinkedIn or Instagram, to reach their goals.

Regardless, the stats prove that Facebook is the go-to platform for lead gen. The question is, why?

Robin notes that "Facebook is the most affordable while also allowing for good targeting of leads."

This is the first question I posed during the chat that showed different results from our survey report.

We learned in our survey report that, in terms of social content and ads used for lead gen, marketers have found that images and video work best.

Although the poll didn't exactly reflect our report findings, the #SMTLive community agreed that video is extremely powerful, ranking video as #1.

To wrap up the conversation, we discussed a few best practices for social media lead generation.

Whether you choose to use still images or video, or you post an ad in the feed or in Stories, it's really all about how well you can make your content or ads blend into the user's feed.

There is an art to creating graphics and videos that both stand out (stop people from scrolling past) and blend in nicely to their feed of curated content. You want your content to look like your own, so working on templates that fit your style guide is a great place to start.

If you need some assistance or inspiration, here is a great article by one of our contributors all about building social media templates.

Hope you enjoyed the recap of this #SMTLive Twitter chat. You can read through highlights from past Twitter chats and RSVP for our next chat here.

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#SMTLive Recap: The State of Social Media Lead Gen 2019 - Social Media Today