Rick Snyder Airs First Television Commercial In Michigan Governor's Race

b-fresh consulting is proud to be a part of the team that is helping Rick Snyder run for Governor in Michigan.

Rick's first television ad, "One Tough Nerd", went live on Super Bowl Sunday and was created by Fred Davis of Strategic Perception Inc.

b-fresh's Sarah Crawford Elected Vice Chairman Of The Manchester Republican Committee

Congratulations Sarah!

From the official Manchester Republican Committee press release:

Manchester Republican Committee Elects New Board Of Directors

Manchester, NH -- Today, the Manchester Republican Committee announced its new board of directors. The board was elected last night by Manchester Republicans.

Chairman: Cliff Hurst, Director of Business Development, Hurst & DeGraffenried Wealth Management

1st Vice Chairman: Sarah Crawford, Founder, b-fresh consulting, LLC

2nd Vice Chairman: Jean Esslinger, Vice-President, Legacy Financial Solutions, Inc.

Secretary: Kristy Roney, Minority Policy Director, NH State Senate

Treasurer: John Castelot, Financial Planner, Northeast Planning Assoc.

“I ran because I want to help Manchester’s best qualified citizens seek elected office on the Republican ticket,” Cliff Hurst, the new Committee Chairman said. “This board is committed to working with all Manchester residents to create a positive political environment that will benefit the great city we all live in.”

The new Manchester Republican Committee’s vision statement is as follows:

• To work together with all residents of the City of Manchester to create a positive political environment.

• To grow the Manchester Republican Committee’s membership by implementing an inclusive atmosphere that encourages new ideas and fresh energy.

• To promote our new Mayor Ted Gatsas and his plan for a brighter Manchester.

• To encourage our best qualified citizens to seek political office and to be a resource for them on the campaign trail.

Manchester Republican Committee meetings are held on the third Wednesday of each month at 6:30pm. For more information, please contact Cliff Hurst at 603-289-2697 or visit www.manchestergop.com

Happy Holidays!

The End Result Of A Decade's Worth Of Work...

...is finally hanging properly in b-fresh's office

Many thanks to Rowland Studio for the framing, they do great work.

ICYMI: Snyder's Michigan Gubernatorial Website "Clean, Concise, Bold"

Dome Magazine reviews the Phase 1 campaign website of b-fresh client Rick Snyder. Please check their review out here.

b-fresh currently assists Rick's gubernatorial campaign with new media strategy and online brand management.

Our partners in the design/build of Rick's Phase 1 site were Branded Legion and Mint Reaction. Both firms do terrific work and we are pleased to be able to partner with them on a variety of projects.

Helping The New Hampshire State GOP Better Harness Social Media Technology

b-fresh's Sarah Crawford and Chris Stewart give a presentation about online branding and messaging to New Hampshire Republican Town Chairs at St. Anselm College this past Saturday.

We would like to thank the New Hampshire Republican Party for the opportunity. We had a lot of fun.

b-fresh's 4 Golden Rules For Breaking Through And Surviving A Customer's Email Bankruptcy

Tech reporter Mike Arrington - who is pinged constantly by everyone from the "man on the street" to Fortune 500 companies - complains that there are too many ways to communicate:

The wonderful thing about email is that it’s asynchronous, meaning you don’t need to deal with it when it is first received. For me and many others, instant messaging is basically the same – I may respond to an IM instantly, or 24 hours later. The recipient generally understands that a response might be delayed, and doesn’t take offense. Facebook messages, Twitter and cell phone text messages all have similar benefits.

But the benefits of the new ways we communicate also mean there’s a lot more of it. The volume of communication requests for most people today are far, far beyond what they can handle. Few people today respond to every communication they receive. And an increasing number don’t even claim to be able to read every communication they receive, let alone respond.

I routinely declare email bankruptcy and simply delete my entire inbox. But even so, I currently have 2,433 unread emails in my inbox. Plus another 721 in my Facebook inbox. and about thirty skype message windows open with unanswered messages. It goes without saying, of course, that my cell phone voicemail box is also full (I like the fact that new messages can’t be left there, so I have little incentive to clear it out).

So, how do you get the digitally overwhelmed to pay attention to what you have to say?

Follow b-fresh's 4 Golden Rules:

1. Know exactly what you are trying to say.

2. Say it well.

3. Know exactly who you are trying to communicate with.

4. Communicate it well using the correct digital content delivery system.

b-fresh's 100th Post Is Used To Announce The Launch Of The Rick Snyder For Governor Campaign Website In Michigan

b-fresh is proud to announce the launch of Rick Snyder's Phase 1 Core Website in Michigan.

Please click here to see this b-fresh project and to support Rick as he runs for Governor to reinvent Michigan.

We would like to publicly thank our partners on this project - Branded Legion and Mint Reaction. They are awesome. And about as far "outside-the-Beltway" as you can get.

(that's a good thing).

Please check back for updates on this project. The best is yet to come!

b-fresh Raises $150.00 For The Prouty 10k

b-fresh partner Sarah Crawford returns bright eyed and bushy tailed from her run in The Prouty 10k to benefit The Norris Cotton Cancer Center at Dartmouth Hitchcock Hospital.

Chris Stewart, who also participated in the 10k, had already collapsed by the time this photo was taken.

Congratulations to all the runners, walkers and bikers who participated in this year's event!

b-fresh consulting LLC Celebrates 1 Year Anniversary!

Happy birthday to us.

And thank you so much to those of you who believed in us from the very beginning. Sarah and I could not have done this without your help.

Here's to many more great years ahead!

www.facebook.com/bfreshconsulting

b-fresh scores what it needs in the 2nd great Facebook username land rush.

b-fresh Is Proud To Help Raise Money For The Norris Cotton Cancer Center At Dartmouth Hitchcock

b-fresh partner Sarah Crawford's fundraising email:

Dear Friend,

On July 11th I will be running to raise money for the Norris Cotton Cancer Center at the Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Hanover, NH.

Will you sponsor me?

The team I am with, "The Spokeswomen", will participate in the 10k run (me) as well as the 100mile bike ride.

If you can make a donation online, please go to this link and click on my name.

ANY amount you can sponsor me with will help us reach our goal of $500.

This is a fantastic cause!

Thank you very much,

Sarah Crawford

More information on the event:

The 28th Annual Prouty Century Bike Ride & Challenge Walk will be held on July 11, 2009 in Hanover, New Hampshire.

Through the Friends of Norris Cotton Cancer Center and the Prouty, you support Cancer Center researchers and clinicians who are working on innovative ways to prevent, diagnose, treat and hopefully, one day, cure cancer. You also support important patient services that would otherwise not be funded.

All money raised helps to support cancer research and patient services at Norris Cotton Cancer Center, one of only 40 comprehensive cancer centers designated by the National Cancer Institute for excellence in cancer research, care and community outreach. Research conducted here informs patient treatment around the world.

Thank you for your support!

"Real-Time Streams"

Erick Schonfeld explains what "real-time streams" are and how they are revolutionizing the way that people (and brands and companies) are communicating online.

Well worth a read.

b-fresh Launches A Facebook Profile For Our Brand

Smart. Thinking. Forward.

Now officially on Facebook.

Between managing a work blog, a personal blog, a personal blog Facebook profile, a regular Facebook profile and now a work Facebook Page, you can say that I truly appreciate the need for synergy whenever possible.

The hard part isn't launching these 21st century communication tools.

The hard part is making sure that these 21st century tools work for you, not you for them.

b-fresh Congratulates The Greater Manchester American Red Cross For A Successful April Fool's Day Benefit

We would like to thank the Manchester Red Cross for allowing b-fresh the opportunity to donate our time to help organize its first annual "Breakfast for Dinner" April Fool's Day Benefit.

We would also like to congratulate this year's dinner honorees; New Hampshire Governor John Lynch and Manchester Mayor Frank Guinta (who was awarded a giant license in the spirit of April Fool's Day).

200+ attendees took part in last night's dinner benefit and b-fresh is proud to have played a role in supporting the event.

For more information on how you can donate to the Manchester Red Cross please go here.

b-merry This Holiday Season

Everyone at b-fresh wishes you a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year!

b-fresh Co-Founder Sarah Crawford's Op-Ed In The New Hampshire Union Leader

On the importance of being politically involved EVERY year.

From 11/28/08:

Congratulations, New Hampshire, for surviving a presidential election more exciting (read: grueling) than any other in recent history!

Having worked on campaigns in and out of this state, I can say that New Hampshire voters are more experienced, knowledgeable and committed to their community, candidates and causes than are the voters anywhere else I've been. And it's not even close.

To the untold number of Granite Staters who go above and beyond the call to vote on Election Day -- who make calls from campaign headquarters, host meet-and-greets in their homes, attend town hall meetings and stand on busy intersections in the freezing cold to wave signs -- you are the people who keep New Hampshire at the top of the political universe.

If not for your passion and commitment, the arguments made against our first-in-the-nation status might very well prevail.

I sometimes wonder if our community activism flows from New Hampshire's barn-raising days, when our young communities came together to assist one another by rolling up their sleeves and raising the frames of each other's barns because "that's what neighbors do." In any event, that spirit is still alive here.

And in that "can-do" community spirit, I want to ask a question: New Hampshire has earned the right to play an important role in picking America's President every four years, but why do we need a presidential primary to continue to agitate and organize for constructive political change at the national, state and local levels?

We don't.

I know, I know, the 2008 primary circus has already left town, and we won't see the first whispers of the next New Hampshire presidential primary for at least another two years.

But so what?

We're still all here. We may have taken down our lawn signs, but that doesn't mean that we need to pack up our involvement.

Why should we hang back and let others determine what issues will be debated just because it's not an election year right now? Why should we wait to see if our thoughts on energy, health care or terrorism will be discussed at the Tilt'n Diner in three years?

We should not.

New Hampshire has earned a powerful national voice that leads this country every four years, but we don't need to wait for the next presidential primary to come back and remind us how critically important our own individual thoughts and concerns are.

Pick a cause and organize a coalition of activists right here, right now. We know how to do it. It's not rocket science. Republican, Democrat, independent, other, it makes no difference. Make some calls, have your neighbors over to share their thoughts and agitate for constructive change. CNN doesn't have to go live to make it a worthy event.

I am convinced that there is not a better place to make a significant impact on issues facing America than in New Hampshire. And Granite Staters are the ones who make it so. Positive change doesn't have to come only once every four years.

Our Website Goes Live

Welcome everyone.

Welcome To Fresh Buzz, b-fresh's Official Blog

blog (noun): A contraction of the term "Web log".

A blog is a website, usually maintained by an individual, with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in reverse-chronological order.

A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, Web pages, and other media related to its topic.

"Blog" can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.

Via Wikipedia.

But so what? Why would b-fresh want or need its own blog?

The answer is simple: There are currently over 150 million blogs posting online right now. Our hope is to use this blog to effectively inject b-fresh's messaging into a targeted fraction of those conversations for the benefit of our business and clients.

To put it another way, I'm trying to turn this blog into an online space that has "The Right Kind Of Eyeballs" regularly asking, "What does b-fresh think?"

And to attract the right eyeballs I need to create a smart, fresh and honest blog from scratch.

So, no pressure.

But no matter what happens we're going to have some fun.

And hey, it worked in New Hampshire.

So we're cautiously optimistic that it will work here.

Time, as always, will tell.