From the desk (and BlackBerry) of Keith Parnell

Let’s talk coffee.
Let’s talk business.
Let’s talk family.
Let’s talk social media.

** NEW LOCATION THIS WEEK **

Come out to Panera Bread on Constitution Drive in Pembroke/Town Center, Virginia Beach, VA on Tuesday morning at 10:00 AM and have coffee with Keith Parnell, CEO of JASE Group Marketing & Advertising, CLO of NeedLocalHelp.com, and Co-Principal of New Media Conventions.

The new JASE t-shirts have arrived (photos: http://keithparnell.com/index.php/2009/12/12/3581/) so we will be giving away two of them through a business card drawing.

Bring your laptops and smartphones. Tweeting and blogging is encouraged while we are there. The Twitter hashtag is #cwtc.

No agenda. No sales. Just sharing.

Talk social media.
Talk new media.
Talk about your business.
Talk about how to grow your business.

Let’s live social media!

Join the video series online at http://www.CoffeeWithTheCEO.com

Please register at http://coffeewiththeceo.eventbrite.com

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On Twitter? Follow me at @parnellk63.

Listening to Good Morning Heartache by Tony Bennett.

Coffee with the CEO: Let’s Live Social Media in Ghent!

10:00am - 11:00am
Panera Bread
739 West 21st Street, Norfolk, Virginia

Come out to Panera Bread on 21st street in Ghent, Norfolk, VA on Tuesday morning at 10:00 AM and have coffee with Keith Parnell, CEO of JASE Group Marketing & Advertising, CLO of NeedLocalHelp.com, and Co-Principal of New Media Conventions.

No agenda. No sales. Just sharing.

Talk social media.
Talk new media.
Talk about your business.
Talk about how to grow your business.

Let’s live social media!

RSS and Facebook readers: click here to view and enter comments.

I had the amazing privilege of having coffee this afternoon with a new, local client. Rosemary Thornton is a 4-time best-selling author that has come to us to guide the marketing, advertising and public relations strategies of her upcoming book. We will have more conversations about Rosemary here so stay tuned.

In the mean time, if you catch yourself traveling through the Granby Street area of Norfolk, stop in to see the friendly folks at Riverview Coffee Parlor. You won’t be disappointed!

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For those mornings when you don’t have time to run to Starbucks …

Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

I’m having coffee this morning in memory of a good man that left this world way too early. Jim was a huge KC Chiefs fan. Here’s to ya, big man. Much love.

Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

My favorite cup of coffee is on Sunday morning. Unfortunately my favorite chillin’ morning only happens when we don’t make it to church. Today is one of those days.

The family is relaxed and resting. The puppies are napping. And for some reason the coffee tastes better.

I hope you enjoy your day. Make the best of it with your loved ones.

This is a photo I took from inside a Starbucks restaurant in Charlotte, NC. It could very well be inside the Starbucks near your home or office and look the same.

Starbucks branded their look. Starbucks branded their feel. Starbucks branded their comfort level.

Starbucks sells their brand consistently.

Then Starbucks brands themselves again and again in various locations staying consistent.

Do you? Are you steady with your brand?

I have been an avid reader of and subscriber to Men’s Health magazine since the early 90’s. Yes, I’m that old. I also receive their daily newsletter to my inbox, which I value reading each morning with coffee.

Today’s news alert is about cholesterol and tips on lowering your cholesterol levels. So I though it my male-civic-duty to pass on this tidbit. I left their reference links in-tact. Enjoy.

Worried about your cholesterol level? Stop worrying. Start fixing it.

Change your bread spread—out with butter, in with olive oil: You’ll lower LDL (“bad” cholesterol) and raise HDL (“good”) for a double-dose of protection.

Eat the right nuts: Have a half-cup of pistachios every day, and you could lower your LDL by as much as 12 percent. Throw in this other nut for another snack, and the monounsaturated fats could flush even more bad cholesterol out of your body.

Keep the doctor away: An apple a day—seriously—can lower LDL by 8 percent. The soluble fiber inside scrubs arteries clean: There’s more in these breakfast foods. And apples aren’t the only fruit that can help—this berry can stimulate your liver to better break down fat and cholesterol.

One more: Lower your LDL by as much as 20 percent by having two servings of this protein source every week.

image courtesy of neverleftLA on Flickr

“It’s amazing to see the power of the brand at work,” says John Giaquinto, manager of field marketing services for Dunkin’ Brands. Dunkin’ Brands is the parent company of Dunkin’ Donuts and Baskin-Robbins.

Giaquinto and other employees use the Toyota Yaris as their company cars which carry a seven-foot-tall iced coffee in the back.

“[The car] draws incredible interest. You go into a convenience store and when you come out there are all kinds of people taking photographs,” he says. “People say, ‘That’s my dream car!’ It’s frightening to drive. You have a trucker on one side, blowing his horn and pointing to his coffee and on the other a bunch of teenage girls plastered up against their car window taking pictures of you.”

What about you? Can your brand be identified quickly, at first sight?

Nicole met Sydni and I at the Riverview Coffee Parlor this afternoon. What a fabulous, little place.

This sitting room with its couches, comfortable chairs, newspapers, magazines and books make for a very relaxing visit for some chill time. The strawberry smoothie and bagel Sydni had was wonderful. The pimento cheese sandwich on 8-grain bread Nicole had was fresh and tasty. The hazelnut latte I had was great. And the prices aren’t too bad either. Just remember the bring cash or check with you; no debit or credit. I made that mistake today. Oops.

If you get an opportunity and are in the vicinity of the Riverview Theater on Granby Street (in Norfolk, VA), stop in. You will not be disappointed!

Riverview Coffee Parlor
4117 Granby Street
Norfolk, VA 23504
(757) 622-1365