It's Part 2 of our conversation with Chris Solerno and Nick Paradise of Kennywood Park.Kennywood History• Founded in 1898 -  2 buildings still remain• Jack Rabbit - 1920• Thunderbolt - 1968Favorite Unique & Untold Kennywood Story Chris Salerno:• The school program - the park still has part-timers on staff that go into schools to sell hard tickets to school.• Company Picnics - there are so many companies and organizations that have had their picnic at Kennywood for over a hundred years. The park was built on picnics and it's still a major part of our draw.• 90% of business comes from Pittsburgh, but the internet has allowed the park to expand it's reach all over the world.• Channel management - television, radio, but social media and digital has come on strong! We create custom urls for companies to help promote their picnics. Has changed the whole dynamic.• Giant Eagle - a great promotional partnerNick "Two Tickets to Paradise" Paradise:• Large existing following that I've been able to expand.• From a PR perspective, we don't have to wait for the media. We can engage continually• Throw Back Thursday campaign - old images shared by followers• Video trend allows the park to make share the experience from another• Kennywood was BORN for social media - a great way to tell the many stories.• Fall in Love with Kennywood campaign• Bringing Back the Whale - Noah's ArcAudible.com Special OfferLet's Get Digital• Good, engaging content• Instagram - so perfect for Kennywood. Share your photos and stories.• SEE - Significant Emotional Experiences• We get to take people behind the curtain and show them what makes Kennywood tick.Kennywood SecretsChris - 4-D Theater - great experiences year roundNick - Star Refreshment Stand - secret short time to Potato Patch Fries!

It's Part 2 of our conversation with Chris Solerno and Nick Paradise of Kennywood Park.

Kennywood History

• Founded in 1898 -  2 buildings still remain

• Jack Rabbit - 1920

• Thunderbolt - 1968

Favorite Unique & Untold Kennywood Story 

Chris Salerno:

• The school program - the park still has part-timers on staff that go into schools to sell hard tickets to school.

• Company Picnics - there are so many companies and organizations that have had their picnic at Kennywood for over a hundred years. The park was built on picnics and it's still a major part of our draw.

• 90% of business comes from Pittsburgh, but the internet has allowed the park to expand it's reach all over the world.

• Channel management - television, radio, but social media and digital has come on strong! We create custom urls for companies to help promote their picnics. Has changed the whole dynamic.

• Giant Eagle - a great promotional partner

Nick "Two Tickets to Paradise" Paradise:

• Large existing following that I've been able to expand.

• From a PR perspective, we don't have to wait for the media. We can engage continually

• Throw Back Thursday campaign - old images shared by followers

• Video trend allows the park to make share the experience from another

• Kennywood was BORN for social media - a great way to tell the many stories.

• Fall in Love with Kennywood campaign

• Bringing Back the Whale - Noah's Arc

Audible.com Special Offer

Let's Get Digital

• Good, engaging content

• Instagram - so perfect for Kennywood. Share your photos and stories.

• SEE - Significant Emotional Experiences

• We get to take people behind the curtain and show them what makes Kennywood tick.

Kennywood Secrets

Chris - 4-D Theater - great experiences year round

Nick - Star Refreshment Stand - secret short time to Potato Patch Fries!

Game 7.Whether it’s the World Series, Stanley Cup or NBA Finals, Game 7 makes for a great story. Recently, one of the greatest stories in NBA history was told. LeBron James brought the city of Cleveland its first major sports title in 52 years. In honor of this momentous event, I present my Top 10 NBA Stories.Our guests today come to us straight from Kennywood Park! Welcome to Chris Salerno, Director of Sales & Marketing and Nick Paradise, Director of Public Relations & Social Media.Backgrounds - Chris SolernoCame into the amusement park business back in the 70's, starting at Six Flags Great Adventure, then Dorney Park, Caesar's in the Poconos, and helping to introduce Great Wolf Resorts before bringing his talents to Pittsburgh.Chris feels like a steward of great historical entity regarding his position at Kennywood.Backgrounds - Nick ParadiseNick is a Penn State grad with a background in journalism. He worked in the news/broadcast industry for many years before making his way back to Pittsburgh.Together, Chris and Nick are working to keep Kennywood relevant and fresh.Fun Fact: Kennywood is one of only two amusement parks listed in the National Register of Historic Places.Part Two of our conversation with Chris and Nick will go live on Thursday, June 30.

Game 7.

Whether it’s the World Series, Stanley Cup or NBA Finals, Game 7 makes for a great story. Recently, one of the greatest stories in NBA history was told. LeBron James brought the city of Cleveland its first major sports title in 52 years. 

In honor of this momentous event, I present my Top 10 NBA Stories.

Our guests today come to us straight from Kennywood Park! Welcome to Chris Salerno, Director of Sales & Marketing and Nick Paradise, Director of Public Relations & Social Media.

Backgrounds - Chris Solerno

Came into the amusement park business back in the 70's, starting at Six Flags Great Adventure, then Dorney Park, Caesar's in the Poconos, and helping to introduce Great Wolf Resorts before bringing his talents to Pittsburgh.

Chris feels like a steward of great historical entity regarding his position at Kennywood.

Backgrounds - Nick Paradise

Nick is a Penn State grad with a background in journalism. He worked in the news/broadcast industry for many years before making his way back to Pittsburgh.

Together, Chris and Nick are working to keep Kennywood relevant and fresh.

Fun Fact: Kennywood is one of only two amusement parks listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Part Two of our conversation with Chris and Nick will go live on Thursday, June 30.

It's Part 2 of our conversation with Dr. Lisa Walters MT(ASCP)SBB, CQA (ASQ), MBA, PhD. She has extensive experience in cGxP auditing and consulting, including medical labs, transfusion services, tissue banking, plasma collection, and blood services. She’s a faculty member of State University of New York at Fredonia and Penn State-Erie, Center for Continuing Education. She was the principal of Healthy Solutions Consulting and began her career in Quality Assurance with the American Red Cross. She’s also a published author.What have you learned from BS in the workplace?When trying to acclimate, I found myself presenting data in the most positive light to fit in. I hit a point in my career where I stopped playing the game. I made it about legitimate data.Marketing Success:It's easy to present problem data, but a group of us present contextual data - putting it together as  a full package. It gives a better, more thorough picture. I believe in giving beyond what is expected.Big Idea: ComplianceRegulatory compliance. My dream is to develop the model for compliance. What makes one organization compliant and one not compliant. It has become very benefit for companies falling under consent decrees, which can be very costly for companies. I want to create a predictive model that helps to define the major contributing factors to better define compliance.Tool or Tip:No matter what business you are in. Start to collect some type of data to better visualize your business. The Pareto Principle.Hit the Bullseye:Aflac DuckCan You Hear Me NowJake from State FarmUPMC: Life Changing MedicineKFC: Finger Lickin' GoodPlop, Plop, Fizz, FizzSights & Sounds of 2000Big Data - 10 billion of exchanges of data on Google every dayKeys to Data:Volume - Bronto bytesVelocity - Speed that it occursVoracity - Uncertainty in dataVariety - Lots of data from different areas and how it fits togetherValue - we're a data rich world, but we need to get value out of what we're learning from the data.On Gathering Data: "Do not let  perfect be the enemy of good."

It's Part 2 of our conversation with Dr. Lisa Walters MT(ASCP)SBB, CQA (ASQ), MBA, PhD. She has extensive experience in cGxP auditing and consulting, including medical labs, transfusion services, tissue banking, plasma collection, and blood services. She’s a faculty member of State University of New York at Fredonia and Penn State-Erie, Center for Continuing Education. She was the principal of Healthy Solutions Consulting and began her career in Quality Assurance with the American Red Cross. She’s also a published author.

What have you learned from BS in the workplace?

When trying to acclimate, I found myself presenting data in the most positive light to fit in. I hit a point in my career where I stopped playing the game. I made it about legitimate data.

Marketing Success:

It's easy to present problem data, but a group of us present contextual data - putting it together as  a full package. It gives a better, more thorough picture. I believe in giving beyond what is expected.

Big Idea: Compliance

Regulatory compliance. My dream is to develop the model for compliance. What makes one organization compliant and one not compliant. It has become very benefit for companies falling under consent decrees, which can be very costly for companies. I want to create a predictive model that helps to define the major contributing factors to better define compliance.

Tool or Tip:

No matter what business you are in. Start to collect some type of data to better visualize your business. The Pareto Principle.

Hit the Bullseye:

Aflac Duck

Can You Hear Me Now

Jake from State Farm

UPMC: Life Changing Medicine

KFC: Finger Lickin' Good

Plop, Plop, Fizz, Fizz

Sights & Sounds of 2000

Big Data - 10 billion of exchanges of data on Google every day

Keys to Data:

Volume - Bronto bytes

Velocity - Speed that it occurs

Voracity - Uncertainty in data

Variety - Lots of data from different areas and how it fits together

Value - we're a data rich world, but we need to get value out of what we're learning from the data.

On Gathering Data: "Do not let  perfect be the enemy of good."

Cut the BULL$H!# Rant: The Problem with "That's Not My Problem"Today's guest is Lisa Walters MT(ASCP)SBB, CQA (ASQ), MBA, PhD. She has extensive experience in cGxP auditing and consulting, including medical labs, transfusion services, tissue banking, plasma collection, and blood services. She’s a faculty member of State University of New York at Fredonia and Penn State-Erie, Center for Continuing Education. She was the principal of Healthy Solutions Consulting and began her career in Quality Assurance with the American Red Cross. She’s also a published author.Full disclosure, Dave has known Lisa since first grade...where he gave her the nickname Ziggi.Lisa went into the field of medical technology and wanted to specialize in blood banking. As she says, "If you can secrete it, I can test it."She moved into quality management for the Red Cross, then soon after opened a consulting firm in an effort to "keep her hands bloody in her work."Zig's Example of BS in the Work Place: Working in silos. Let's focus on the solution.Our conversation with Dr. Lisa Walters will continue on Thursday, June 23.

Cut the BULL$H!# Rant: The Problem with "That's Not My Problem"

Today's guest is Lisa Walters MT(ASCP)SBB, CQA (ASQ), MBA, PhD. She has extensive experience in cGxP auditing and consulting, including medical labs, transfusion services, tissue banking, plasma collection, and blood services. She’s a faculty member of State University of New York at Fredonia and Penn State-Erie, Center for Continuing Education. She was the principal of Healthy Solutions Consulting and began her career in Quality Assurance with the American Red Cross. She’s also a published author.

Full disclosure, Dave has known Lisa since first grade...where he gave her the nickname Ziggi.

Lisa went into the field of medical technology and wanted to specialize in blood banking. As she says, "If you can secrete it, I can test it."

She moved into quality management for the Red Cross, then soon after opened a consulting firm in an effort to "keep her hands bloody in her work."

Zig's Example of BS in the Work Place: Working in silos. Let's focus on the solution.

Our conversation with Dr. Lisa Walters will continue on Thursday, June 23.

It’s Part 2 of our conversation with Scott Morgan, president of Brunner, a creative integration hub that incorporates analytics, strategy and ideation.Today Scott discusses his entrepreneurial spirit and that of Brunner. Michael Brunner has lead the company by always looking to zig when others zag.” This spirit has served him well as he has helped to grow Brunner from an 11 million company to the 200+ million firm that it is today. The company has stayed ahead of the industry by acquiring a database management component (their first foray into analytics) in 1993 and buying in Light House Interactive in 1997.“Insight gathering is so fundamental. We just go about doing it differently.”Scott’s Favorite Marketing/Messaging Success Story:“When you impact product development and help to create a solution.”Examples:Respironics - helped them to create medical devicesZippo – moved them out of the smoking categoryDick’s – Innovation GroupWhat's the Big Idea? How Does it Happen?“Provide the values and vision for our people to help create the culture.MASSolutions is offering a free Audible download with a 30-day trial just for listening to today's podcast. Just login onto Audibletrial.com/nobs Dave's Reading: Elon Musk - Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic FutureScott’s Favorite Tools/Tips National Center for Arts & Technology - Bidwell Slide Share Malcolm Gladwell’s work Simon SinekHitting the BullseyeOn the Geico Gecko – “Can appreciate it from where it started as government snail mail.”On Jake & Flo – “Both irritate me. Tired of it.”The Sights and Sounds of 1988“Don’t Believe the Hype” by Public EnemyDave and Scott’s summary of the lyrics – “Authenticity – deliver the message in a true blue way.”To learn more about Brunner or Scott Morgan, visit Brunner’s website or email Scott.

Welcome to the No BS Marketing Podcast with Dave Mastovich.Today's rant: The Experience Trap in MarketingRemember to always challenge assumptions and bring fresh perspective. Improvement must start at the top!Today's guest is Scott Morgan, President of Brunner, a creative integration hub that incorporates analytics, strategy and ideation.Scott has helped to grow Brunner from 11 million to the 200+ million firm that it is today. Scott received his MBA from Katz Graduate School of Business at the University of Pittsburgh and is a Drucker Institute Strategic Planner. He has been a guest lecturer at Carnegie Mellon University and other universities and was recently inducted into the American Advertising Federation Hall of Achievement.Scott's Thoughts on The Experience Trap: "Young is a state of mind. I can learn from anyone any day."Scott lived in Washington, DC for a short time working in marketing for financial services , but has spent most of his career in Pittsburgh where he says his 'Pittsburgh work ethic' fits best.Scott played football at IUP as a tailback and offensive end and gives props to coaches as his mentors including George Chaump, IUP head coach at the time. He recalls playing in an undergrad in an alumni game where Jim Haslett was the alumni coach.On Being on the Client Side Before Leading on the Marketing/Advertising Side: "When you are on the agency/marketing side as a consultant, it is important to remember the operational and HR side of the businesses day-to-day.""I always knew where I would be. I always embraced creativity."On Creativity for Creativity Sake: "There's so much more analytics to it today. We can make a case for how we've impacted a business. More clients than ever don't care about the awards. It's more important to prove that your creative has engaged people."Mentors:Caroline Wells, first boss - a former nun. Learned the fundamentals, work ethic from her. "Must you be such a barbarian! Knock on the door before you enter."Michael Brunner, hired him at Brunner 20 years ago.BS in the workplace - too many people in a meeting. "Think in terms of a basketball team. If we are telling people we are nimble, let's be nimble."When Scott admits to being a BSer - had to learn the way a creative mind works. I learned to be more transparent with team and be real about timelines and deadlines.Part 2 of our conversation with Scott Morgan will go live on Thursday, June 16th.