Cartoons and Content Marketing: All work and all play

This was one of my favorite projects in recent memory. Fun because it required sitting around in my pajamas watching several episodes of Phineas and Ferb, one of my longtime favorite cartoons (right up there with Adventure Time and SpongeBob), and fun because it involved brainstorming silly ideas for games and activities and writing catchy copy involving the evil Dr. Doof and his nemesis, Perry the Platypus (a.k.a. Agent P).

Over the past two years, I've worked on several copywriting and content development projects for SUBWAY® Restaurants and SUBWAY KIDS™. I do this on a freelance basis for the advertising agency Jack Morton Worldwide, through their Boston office. This year's SUBWAY FRESH FIT FOR KIDS™ meal campaigns with Disney have been especially fun, and I love that they're giving away free eco-friendly reusable lunch bags with each meal. Each bag comes with a free game or gizmo inside, plus a special code to unlock other downloadable activities from the SubwayKids.com website. The Phineas and Ferb kids meals came with a make-your-own wallet kit inside the reusable bag, plus a code to unlock these printable games and activities I developed:

Agent P's Cipher Code Wheel

online games for kids

Dr. Doof's Cootie Catcher

content writing for children

and more...

games and activities for kids

I also wrote copy for the Frankenweenie micro-site for SUBWAY KIDS™ and developed content and online games and activities for the new Monsters University FRESH FIT FOR KIDS™ meal, in SUBWAY® Restaurants this month.

Other copywriting and content projects for SUBWAY KIDS™:

Content Writing Samples: Monsters University for SubwayKids.com

Content Marketing and Cause Marketing: Public relations with a purpose
Writing all online content and collateral material for the Random Acts of Fitness for Kids™ national program for  K–6 schools, 2011–12 and 2012–13 campaigns.

Earth Day Interactives: Copywriting with a conscience for corporate clients
Writing copy and features for online interactive "Eco-Quest" game as part of marketing promotion with The Nature Conservancy.  

The Best and Worst Times to Post on Social Media Networks [Infographic]

Timing: A key element of social media marketing strategy

When it comes to social media, timing is everything. Opportunities to capture attention and engagement are fleeting, so you've got to strike when the traffic is right to maximize your reach.Think of the Five Ws of journalism — Who? What? When? Where? Why? — when crafting a post and keep the WHEN top of mind. WHAT you post is of utmost importance, but you also need to plan WHEN to post it WHERE in order to reach the WHO you'd like to hook. When is your target community most likely to be tuned in and responsive? What's the prime time to spark a conversation?The folks at Social Caffeine created this infographic to illustrate the best and worst times to post on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Pinterest and Google+. 

Disclaimer: Content may settle during transit...

Naturally, the times above may vary by industry, target audience and other factors. But use this infographic as reference alongside your analytics, or combine your own intuition and hard data.

So what's the method to your social media marketing madness?

Do you connect with early birds over coffee on LinkedIn? Party (engage) with night owls on Pinterest? Do the prime time frames above for Facebook and Twitter ring true to you? Do you ever just wing it? Please share your findings below. Thanks!

Online content and social media promote healthy school, community and corporate partnerships

The Energy Balance 101: Enrichment Zone web content I developed last spring for the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation is now live on TogetherCounts.com, and I'm excited to see kids already participating in these first weeks of September. Developed to complement the existing standards-based Energy Balance 101 curriculum for grades K-5, the Enrichment Zone is a flexible program designed for after-school programs, clubs and community organizations across the country. I've had a hard time explaining to people what it is, who it's for and who's behind it, so here's the skinny:

HWCF + Together Counts!

What is the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation? It is a CEO-led coalition of over 200 organizations working together to help families and schools reduce obesity — especially childhood obesity — by 2015. With corporate heads from General Mills, Inc., Coca-Cola and PepsiCo.; Kraft Foods and Kellogg's; Anytime Fitness and Sports Authority;  Hershey, Nestlé and Mars at the table, the impact is significant.

How is Michelle Obama involved? In May 2010 the First Lady, founder of initiatives like Let's Move! and Partnership for a Healthier America, announced with HWCF companies their pledge to reduce 1.5 trillion calories annually by the end of 2015. These changes are being made through new lower-calorie options, reduced calorie content of current products, and reduced portion sizes of existing single-serving products.

HWCF + Discovery Education

Next the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation set its sight on the nation's elementary schools. Developed in partnership with Discovery Education, the Energy Balance 101 program provides schools with a free online K-5 curriculum and resources to help kids lead healthier, more active lifestyles. Building on the success of its program in the schools, EB 101 began extending its reach to the home and out in the community. Fueled by a successful brand and social media campaign, the TogetherCounts movement has a wide following (and 12,000 followers on Twitter!). Check out this quick Together Counts! animation to get what the movement is all about.

The next phase is underway. HWCF is rolling out programs and activities for kids, parents, families and community groups outside of school. Here's where I come in. The Energy Balance 101: Enrichment Zone is now being used by after-school teachers, Girl Scout leaders, parents... pretty much anyone interested. More flexible than the in-school curriculum, it is modular in format to suit a range of programs and schedules. The lessons and activities incorporate and reinforce Energy Balance 101 concepts; promote physical activity after school and on weekends, and inspire students to make healthy choices and be mindful of their daily Energy Balance for life. Organizations like the following have already signed on as Enrichment Zone partners:

• Girl Scouts of the U.S.A.

• U.S. Soccer Foundation

• National Recreation and Park Association

• K. Kellogg Foundation

• Gen Youth Foundation

• Paul Pierce’s The Truth onHealth

• Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics

Together Counts!

Although separated into different websites last year, all of the above can now be found in one place: TogetherCounts.com. Here you'll find interactive features and active social media channels for schools, homes and community organizations. It's a fun way to track who's doing what in K-5 schools across the country. Check out the blogs, tweets and posts from schools and organizations already actively participating. I'll be helping out with a pilot after-school program at Inly School in Scituate, MA and will blogging about the experience along the way. I'll keep you posted!