Tropicana Supports Savvy Aunties!

Dear Readers,

One of the goals with creating Savvy Auntie was to showcase how aunts are part of the American Family Village - that not being a mother didn't mean we don't love children or want to nurture them, but rather that we love and nurture lots of children.

The challenge at the beginning was helping marketers realize that there were other women aside from moms who they should be focusing their messaging to. So far, many household-name brands have done so, and we're so proud of our sponsors, which include brands like Hasbro / Playskool, Sprout, Scholastic, TNT, Disney, and many others!

The newest sponsor to really understand the influence of aunts in the family is PepsiCo's Tropicana. Tropicana recently launched its Juicy Rewards program and came to me to help them let aunts know about it. They are letting moms know too - but really see how aunts are an important part of the family as well. I have to say, I am so appreciative of how sponsors as amazing as Tropicana value us. We're making headway! Marketers are listening!

Tropicana was so honest about wanting to include us, that the team flew me out to Chicago to meet them and shoot this little video about the Juicy Rewards program:



It means so much to me that Tropicana wants to reward aunts for all that we do for the children in our lives. It makes me so happy that you are being recognized, Auntie!

Cheers to you - and to brands like Tropicana who support us!

XOXO,
Auntie Melanie

Harold, Clifford and Me

Dear Readers,

First, let me apologize for being somewhat remiss and not tending to this blog more often. Savvy Auntie, now close to 15 months old, is growing by leaps and bounds and it's all I can do to keep up with it all. Which is a wonderful problem to have. I wish it upon all the entrepreneurs (and auntrepreneurs!) reading this.

When I was in first grade (or grade one as we called it in Montreal, where I was born), my favorite time of year was when we got to order our Scholastic books. The teacher (Mrs. Hirschorn of dear memory) would hand out a catalog list of recommended books by the school-friendly publisher, and I would take it home to negotiate my picks with my mother (of dear memory).

No matter what our budget, there was always money for books. I still feel that way.

I remember two of my favorites fondly: Harold and the Purple Crayon and Clifford The Big Red Dog. I remember the day the new books arrived in Mrs. Hirschorn's classroom just a few weeks after my order was placed. Oh I'm sure there were other titles on my list, but Harold and Clifford were my best pals as their soft, shiny covers glistened impatiently against the classroom florescent lights above waiting to go home with me.

Scholastic reminds me of reading as a child. In fact, I sincerely believe Scholastic helped me fall in love with books.

And that's why I am so very proud and honored that Scholastic has chosen to become a sponsor of SavvyAuntie.com. The people at Scholastic love the idea of helping Savvy Aunties learn about some of the newest titles hitting the shelves this season. The first book is Clifford The Champion which will launch in ads on SavvyAuntie.com and in sponsored Twitter conversation beginning tomorrow, as well as other platforms. As usual, I will disclose any tweets, Facebook mentions, etc, as sponsored. I fully support the FTC Guidelines on disclosing paid sponsorships.

Do you have a favorite Scholastic book from childhood? Or one that you've share with a niece or nephew? I'd love to hear about it.

Thanks again to you, dear Readers, for sticking with me as this business grows. And grows... and grows... Yep. I feel like my old pal Harold.

XOXO,
Auntie Melanie

PS - Visit SavvyAuntie.com/Gifts for hundreds of gift ideas, both classic and new, for your nieces and nephews of all ages.

Game On, Auntie!

Dear Readers,

I am so proud to announce the latest Savvy Auntie Sponsor! Webwars, an innovator in layered reality gaming and entertainment, is changing the way users engage with online entertainment by removing the barriers between Web gaming and Web sites.
Their first launch is Weblings - a game designed for women! Naturally, we love working with them! and when we discovered that Cindy Armstrong, their CEO, is a Savvy Auntie, we were thrilled! She's one of us, Aunties! And frankly, that's why she's working with Savvy Auntie. She understands the power and influence of PANKs (Professional Aunts No Kids).

Here's the cool part - they are holding a contest on SavvyAuntie.com. Simply answer one poll question, include your email address so we know how to reach you if you've won, and you're automatically entered to win one of two Toshiba laptops!

If I Tweet about this promotion, I'll use [sp] in the tweet so that you know it is part of a sponsored conversation.

Oh and if you love online games - then please check out Weblings to play. Check it out anyway. We love to support Savvy Aunties.

XOXO,
Auntie Melanie

Savvy Auntie Goes Beyond The Rack!

Dear Readers,

I'm proud to announce the latest sponsor for Savvy Auntie! Beyond The Rack is an exclusive shopping club where members have access to limited-time, flash sales events of designer goods at prices up to 70% off retail. Basically, they announce an incredible deal and you have a limited time to make the purchase - before it's gone forever.

The brands that Beyond the Rack has partnered with are some of the brands we covet the most, from Juicy Couture, Diesel and Puma - to Gucci, Christian Dior and Karl Lagerfeld. And many more!

Beyond The Rack's stunning ads are running throughout SavvyAuntie.com, and I'll use Twitter to let my readers know about some extra special offers from Beyond The Rack - and some really luxurious prizes too. When I tweet out an offer from Beyond The Rack, I'll include [sp] so you know it's sponsored.

In the meantime, if you decide to become a member, go to this page and use code SAVVYAUNTIE to get a $10 shopping credit. When you log in, you will see ($10 Credit) next to "Account" at the top of the page.

Thanks to Beyond The Rack for giving Savvy Aunties some great deals on some fabulous fashion!

XOXO,
Auntie Melanie

PS - Some offers will be exclusively promoted via Twitter, so please login or join Twitter and follow me at Twitter.com/SavvyAuntie to take advantage of them!

Introducing Our Latest Sponsor: Yoplait Kids

Dear Readers,

I am pleased to announce that Yoplait Kids is the latest Savvy Auntie sponsor!

The campaign runs April 22 - May 22 2009.

If I tweet about Yoplait Kids, please note I will add: #YoplaitKidsSA so you know that the Tweet is sponsored.

Thanks as always for your continued support!

XOXO,
Auntie Melanie