Deli, Cops, Coffee, Kudos, LBM & GreenDesign, Oh My!

Please welcome Michael's Restaurant and Wine Bar to the Amplification, Inc. social media family by clicking here to like their fan page! In March, Michael and Jerry Lochiatto took over operations in the lobby restaurant at the Ft. Lauderdale Resort and Hotel, near the Parrot Lounge and McSorley's Beach Pub. They sure do deli well! Can't wait to try the rest of the menu. Thanks to Ed at McSorley’s for spreading the word about how Amplification, Inc. helps Ft. Lauderdale’s coolest rooftop hot spot!


Hollywood's favorite Uncle Rich has a great live video feed on his Facebook page. He is promoting the Yellow Bikini Beach Bar at the Hollywood Ramada Inn that sits directly across the street from his world-infamous Harrison Street Wine Gallery. Please follow Rich's exploits on Twitter and Facebook.


Condolences to the Hollywood cops (and other staffers) who were recently laid off. Teachers, police officers, firefighters, first-responders, and other folks who are the bedrock of our society and our beloved American way of life should never be laid off. Economies and empires are built on the backs of these folks who perform their jobs out of passion, and are motivated by a deeper calling than the almighty buck. Their livelihoods should be sacrosanct, and poor governance that results in such decisions does none of us well. I only wish I had the resources to hire every one of those people who were unceremoniously let go. Keep the faith, because better days are ahead.

Networking Pays!


I can't say enough about the event that Kings Cup put on for the Fort Lauderdale Chamber's GBLX networking event (thanks again to Sully at Eco-Friendly Auto Center for bringing us in, and thanks to Drew Miller for making us stay!). Kings Cup really impressed me with the food, bar, and cool vehicle wrap akin to what Davie SIGNARAMA does. But the thought that went into devising their raffle prizes, which showcased their brand and offering, was really well conceived.


Kings Cup started as a coffee delivery service. They have since morphed into so much more! The list of deliverables they can bring to your door now includes sporks (so underappreciated), tuna, Snickers, toilet paper, coffee filters, tea, napkins, paper towels, ice cream, condiments, and well—the list goes on. I learned this because I stalked the door prize winners around the warehouse as they collected their 22 individual inventory-prizes. Kudos to Will and Shawn and staff. You guys did it right and were super creative in your giveaway!


This specific GBLX networking event spurred immediate economic activity. Just ask Marcia Craig of Print Basics (www.printbasics.com) or Michael Haigh of Foxtail Landscape Solutions (www.foxtaillandscapesolutions.com). Marcia is working on an Amplification, Inc. order this very moment, and Michael will soon help the grounds at Club Cabeza transform into a more eco-friendly landscape via Florida-friendly and water-miserly terrain design. Can't wait! Michael, I love the job you did for Sully at Eco-Friendly Auto Center.


Get Social


Do you want more revenue and more consumer traffic at your place of business? Are you taking advantage of Facebook Places and Foursquare? If not, please call or email Marnie or I immediately!! People are "checking-in" and "liking" your business right now on Facebook and Foursquare whether you have set up your profile or not! Leverage that to your benefit via the social circles/networks of your most loyal and outspoken customers. This effort will pay immediate, tangible, and trackable dividends and offer results that will impress anyone.


“This is easy to implement,” says Marnie Goldberg, Social Medium with Amplification, Inc. And as she so often repeats to drive home the point: “You will be so happy after you do this and you will get immediate results!”


Please, please, please subscribe to this blog, like Club Cabeza or Amplification, Inc. on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter. Email us if you need to tap into our integrated blog-to-Facebook-to-Twitter-to-LinkedIn network. Social media is fun, so jump onboard with us and let's all help each other generate more business!


Marnie and I love being members of the Davie-Cooper City Chamber of Commerce. I still need to get used to the “Davie hug,” but I can't imagine a more welcoming, fun, warm, and sincere group of business people. Thanks to you all! We have been members less than 2 months and have already paid for our membership three times over! Click here and join their fan page and follow them on Twitter.


You Can Help


Gary Hough is taking part in The Make-A-Wish Dream Date Auction on July 29 at Opium nightclub (www.dreamdateauction.net). He is a member of their all-volunteer board and is tasked to find sponsors for this deserving cause. If you are interested and willing to be a sponsor, connect with Gary on Facebook by clicking here. Gary is a firefighter who lives off of MonaVie. He spends all of his off-duty time in the gym and is ready to autograph your copy of him in the forthcoming firefighter calendar.


MonaVie may help you get abs and energy like Gary. Attend a meeting and see if it’s for you. The next one is set for Tuesday, June 28, from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the Renaissance Hotel & Resort, 1230 South Pine Island Road, Plantation, Florida 33324. Cost is $5.


Help me convince Anja-Isable Hessert, vice president of business development for Dauerflora GreenDesign, to donate some of their ambiance-enriching, eco-friendly and decorative-preserved, artificial hydroculture products to the Club. My heart’s desire is to get the distinctive, wild bamboo pieces arranged in black river rock to jazz up my pad. Please like the Dauerflora Facebook page by clicking here and help me modernize my lair! And check out their website photos if you’re in interior design in the residential, cruise line, yachting, hospital/healthcare, Earth-friendly, or hotel/hospitality industry.


And thank you, Heidi, author of http://themindthatneverstops.blogspot.com/. Your blog is uber-popular, and the Club appreciates the traffic you drive our way. Kudos!


This post was written by Steve Cabeza, Amplification, Inc.'s Idea Man. Daniel K. Brantley is the freelance writing asset that Club Cabeza can't do without. He can help you, too. Check him at www.DanielKBrantley.com or Twitter.com/DanielKBrantley. He researches topics, manages interviews and approvals, communicates progress, navigates corporate politics, conducts research, fact-checks, and delivers a consistently superior experience every time I deal with him. He can do that for you, too. Please email us at Amplification, Inc. when you are ready to increase awareness about your business. We will craft a viral and guerilla messaging campaign to help you leverage social media. We currently reach 23,000 people and counting.

Adventures while Amplifying

If you don’t know yet (where have you been hiding?), this guy (me) is always working. This has been the case since the inception of Amplification, Inc. (find us on Facebook and Twitter), as every event—social or not—is an opportunity to cultivate a larger social circle and perhaps engage a future client or valuable business contact or assist a current friend or client in need.

This past week was a whirlwind. Because of an impending need for office space for our growing social media empire, my business partner Marnie (Marnie Goldberg, Social Medium at Amplification, Inc.) started considering our options, both short- and long-term. And in case no one has told you, thinking many steps ahead all the time can be challenging.

Marnie here! I have to agree with Steve when he defines our week as a “whirlwind.” It has been nonstop, but I’m sitting here with a huge smile on my face, recapping and catching up on this week’s work. Forward thinking is a challenge, but that’s why I’m partners with the “idea man/marketing ninja” of Amplification, Inc. We, as well as our clients, are in great hands! His last name isn’t Cabeza for nothing! (For the non-Spanish speakers, Cabeza means head, and Steve-o uses his quite well.) Okay, back to Steve now.

I recently had the opportunity to reconnect with an old family friend, Marshall Golnick, CEO of the HMG Group. His father, Leon, invented syndicated advertising with the “shared” marketing approach he developed for Ford Motor Company back in the 1960s. Marshall continues to bring Madison Avenue to hometown America, and meeting his newest staffer, Daryll Dobson, was cool. Looking forward to doing big things together.

We also frequented McSorley’s Irish Pub a few times and took advantage of their unique and fabulous rooftop and beachfront sundeck lounge (check them out on Facebook and Twitter). There is nothing like enjoying a cold beer or one of Marnie’s fruity concoctions while you gaze out at the Atlantic. Stop by and check them out. They are just south of Sunrise Boulevard on A.1.A. We guarantee you will be surprised by how nice and classy the joint is—especially upstairs.

It was there that we had the opportunity to meet John D’Elia with Art-Technical and Eric Sherlock with Sherlock Home Renovations. Not sure if they were more excited about Marnie’s social media know-how or her legs, but they were obviously thrilled to be hopping on the Amplification, Inc. train. John and Eric were certainly entertaining, and their work is equally impressive. Eric does some visually impressive design and remodeling work. To get a peak, check out his Facebook page.

In case the whirlwind weeks have your head spinning and you missed out, Club Cabeza’s latest blog post was about Davie SIGNARAMA and some work they’ve recently done for Guy Harvey. It was fun learning about all the positive ways in which Guy Harvey supports the ocean in a responsible manner. Click here to read that article.

We also received news that our friends Kristin Levanovich and Robin Canfield launched their company’s website, www.aikensapproach.com. A huge congratulation to them for diving into the entrepreneurial world with The Aikens Approach for the business professional. The Aikens Approach is an on-the-spot stress management and performance improvement program tailored for business professionals. Check out their story on their website. All the best to you ladies!

The week wrapped up with some chamber fun, as we got to watch Eco-Friendly Auto Center and Sully Dawson win Small Business of the Year from the Fort Lauderdale Chamber of Commerce. Eco-Friendly is a green, earth-friendly auto center at Commercial and Dixie. Visit them for your next auto-service need, congratulate Sully in person, and be sure to tell ‘em Amplification sent you.

Amplification, Inc. also became the newest member of the Davie-Cooper City Chamber of Commerce. We’re looking forward to reconnecting with all the fine folks from there whom I lost touch with when I left Plantation General to go to work at True North.

Thank you for reading! This blog was written by Steve Cabeza, Idea Man and Marketing Ninja at Amplification, Inc. It was augmented, edited, and improved for publication by Daniel K. Brantley, our top-gun, freelance writing ace-in-the-hole! Email Daniel or follow along on Twitter. And of course, it was gently interrupted by none other than Marnie Goldberg, Amplification, Inc.’s one and only Social Medium.