I remember when I was young and started elementary school. My back to school supply list consisted of paper, pencils, crayons,
markers, glue, scissors and folders.

We are definitely on the dawn of a new era, the back to school list has now  developed into a Super Supply List.
These things were never on my list before:
tissues
hand sanitizer
freezer zipper bags
highlighters
steno pads
individually wrapped candy
clorox wipes
paper towels
"activity fee"

WOW!!!! Things have definitely changed!!!
For new parents, my suggestion is to keep an ongoing mental list for these items, especially for when they go on sale!

This was an interesting time for me to step back and analyze where I buy my kids' supplies and what each big box's marketing has done to influence my buying habits. In no particular order:

meijer
"Back to School Price Drop. It's baaaaack!"
This one's simple - meijer is the closest to my home.  Word of mouth among my mommy circle is that they have the best bargains by far! They are also offering a Back to School Sweepstakes.

Wal-Mart
"Get A+ Savings on Back to School Essentials"
I consider Wal-Mart my old faithful.  There's always one nearby. You can also order online and get free shipping on uniforms.

Dollar General Store
"Fall 2010 Back to School. Get Smart Savings"
I have been a proud supporter of DG Back to School supplies since I was a first grader in 1981.  Some folks have a tendency to snub DG, but I don't. When it comes to simple things like paper towels and tissues, you can buy name brand and save money.  Just toss the bright yellow bag when you get home.

Target
"Check off your list"
Why do I go to Target? Actually, I don't. My daughters have wonderful grandparents who consider back to school shopping an annual event and it always starts at Target. I tend to label them as the upscale shopping source. They have great sales and a great selection of what my daughters refer to as "sassy items."

I love the option of placing food orders online, especially with pizza chains.   I have placed online orders from Pizza Hut and Papa Johns with minor technical errors.  Recently, I ordered from Domino’s because my 5-year old saw a commercial that led her to believe that people will show up at our house with cameras and balloons to celebrate us trying the new Domino’s pizza.  Of course, I had to immediately inform her that it doesn’t happen like that.  I did, however, agree to place an order since it had been years since we have ordered from Domino's.

I was very impressed with their online ordering.  I played around with each pizza, adding various toppings, putting toppings on ½ and then taking them away.  When it was all said and done, I had ordered 2 medium, 2 topping pizzas.

I entered my credit card information and received my email confirmation. Upon reviewing my confirmation, I noticed that I had put bacon & ham on both pizzas, which I didn't intend to do.  That’s where the Pizza Tracker came in! I was able to call the store directly because the phone number was provided on the confirmation. I spole to the person that had received my order because his name was on the email and he immediately updated my order.  I was then able to track the pizza as it was being prepared, placed in the oven, added to the box and en route for delivery. I knew exactly when our order was going to arrive at our house!

You can track your UPS packages from the time you process the shipment to the time it delivers.  Why not be able to do the same with your pizza order?  I really enjoyed the ordering process and the pizza was pretty good. And, just for the record, I’m not a pizza snob.  If it has the right price, it’s the right pizza!

I know religion is one of those topics that's typically forbidden in the workplace, but there actually is a tie to CurrentMarketing here. Stick with me.

I recently read Squire Rushnell's "When God Winks at You." It's all about daily occurrences many folks label coincidences, which Rushnell refers to as "Godwinks."

Many of you know we have a few office dogs, one of which is Mona, our fuzzy Golden Doodle. I recently experienced one of Mona's "Godwinks."

We all know how it is when you have one of those mornings when everything that can go wrong, does go wrong.  Recently, I had one of those days.  As I prepared for our morning jolt, I felt a sense of, well, blah - so blah that I wasn't even in the mood to do my expected daily outburst of "Good morning, CurrentMarketing!!!!"

As I sat in jolt and listened to the team discuss their daily tasks, I had determined that I wasn't having a good day, so I didn't feel like talking, let alone saying "Good morning."

I was looking down at my notepad and noticed Mona walking towards me. As her tail was wagging back and forth, she looked up and in my head, I heard her say clearly, "Good morning, Mel!"  She came over so I could pet her head and assure her that I knew what she was trying to tell me.  It was like the clouds parted and I knew it was going to be a wonderful day.

As my turn came up to talk about my tasks for the day, I yelled out "Good morning, CurrentMarketing!" The best part about saying that each morning is that I get 25-30 simultaneous responses back – "Good morning, Mel!" What a daily joy!

Was it a coincidence that Mona approached me in the morning jolt? Nope - it was a Godwink.  She very seldom visits with me in jolt because she is busy playing with Molly (our other office canine). On this day, though, I think she sensed I was not having a good day and I needed that extra boost as a reminder of what a blessing life really is.

We have a great team here at Current.  When you're having a bad day, believe me, someone knows, even if you don't wear it on your sleeve. We are all each others cheerleaders and support team! When you can come to work with such wonderful and fun people, you can't help but start the day off with "Good Morning, CurrentMarketing!"

Every once in a while, you might even have to include a cartwheel, toe touch and high five!

Back in March of 1999, when I was just starting as a receptionist at a local printer, I had a lot to learn. Like CMYK (that’s cyan, magenta, yellow and black, the four colors that make up 4 color process). Also PMS, which I found out wasn’t a physical condition, but the Pantone Matching System.

Looking back, I think I came into the printing industry at a great time. Ten years ago, film was still being used to make plates. Now, of course, there are more economical digital processes that allow artwork to be burned directly onto plates.

Then, big offset presses ruled. These days, digital presses are mandatory pieces of equipment, because let’s face it, somebody’s always going to need a quick turnaround on a small quantity. Who wants to hold 500,000 brochures in inventory for 3 years?

I bring this all up because many print industry folks I know are worried about keeping jobs in the digital age. Call me naïve, but I’m not worried. People will always want ink on paper in some form. The trick for printers will be finding ways of producing faster, maintaining high quality and keeping cost down. As long as they can do that, they’ll have no problem coexisting with digital advances. In fact, the digital age may turn out to be the best thing that ever happened to them.

Can I brag about CurrentMarketing for a minute?

Everybody knows about credits cards and reward points. Most of us have them. I trade my Kroger points for 10¢ off gallons of gas. I use my Chase points to buy gift cards. But of course individual people aren't the only ones who use gift cards. Businesses use them too, and CurrentMarketing is no exception.

The difference is how we use our reward points. I have the privilege of making quite a few purchases here at CurrentMarketing. For that I use our American Express card, and of course those purchases accumulate points. So what happens to those points? You might think somebody somewhere would use them for their own exotic vacation or gift card, but that's not how things work here. Those points get used on us!

How? Well, our "birthday wheel" (the thing every employee is forced to spin in front of everyone on their birthday) is loaded up with gift cards from different retailers. I spun it recently and won a full day off (which as far as I'm concerned is better than a gift card, but that's beside the point). During our Christmas party I went home with a $50 Target gift card, which was great. And yes, that was paid for by our credit card reward points.

What does this say about CurrentMarketing? We are spoiled rotten (and lovin' it)!