Underdog Marketing Challenge takes off - with some unexpected problems!

Dr Alex here, with an update on the Underdog Marketing Challenge: things are truly hotting up.

As it appears, I made a mistake: in my previous entry I said Shaun was 19, but he is really 18 - fresh from the high school! I'd prefer him having this extra year of life experience, but what can you do...

There is another, far more pressing problem.

Namely, Shaun is not without money as I mentioned previously, it is MUCH WORSE - he's had to borrow money to complete his Personal Trainer course and he's now $4,500 in debt!

Now that's tough...

I've been preparing the "shopping list" for Shaun with the software tools that he badly needs for his business - but there's no way he can afford them now. This puts heaps of pressure on his support team - Penelope, Terry and me - to come up with the equally good no-cost alternatives.

What to do, what to do... the pressure is on!

In the meantime, here's the video marking the start of the Underdog Marketing Challenge:

Yes, despite everything, Shaun has 3 things going for him:

1. Some remarkable and original ideas on how to help people get fit for life
2. Friends ready to give their right arm for him, and
3. Shaun is a REALLY nice guy - and I am not the only person to say it!

Public Relations, what is that???

Now that we've started introducing Shaun's support team, here is what PR legend Penelope Herbert has to say on public relations:

Meet Terry Reeves, the salient marketing whiz...

I place my faith in Terry to help Shaun with salient marketing. But first, what is salient marketing anyway?

Who's behind the camera?

In case you're wondering who is behind the camera, here she is: Terry's talented 13-year old daughter Nikita.

"Would you like to flunk out of school and stay behind the camera for a living?" I asked her.

"No, I want to be a vet!" was her reply.

The remarkable thing is:
- Shaun inspires EVERYONE to get fit -
...even the animals start exercising in his presence!

By the way, we've received 17 comments on my first entry, Why did I get $196 speeding ticket today?

• First, thank you for your comments and words of encouragement, we all needed it!


• Secondly, I've received 5 emails from the people who know me personally, which can all be summed up with "Are you crazy - why are you doing this?"
  OK, I know that not to many people would be willing to put their reputation on the line when the odds are slim... and they'd be even less inclined to do it for free... and they'd be absolutely horrified to disclose some of their best marketing secrets in the process!
  
  Sometimes I am not clear myself - maybe I am crazy - but I promise to talk about our motivation in more depth...

What is coming next?

Shaun needs to get in the business frame of mind... define his niche... select a domain name...
But as I am finishing this entry, we're being hit by some TRULY BAD NEWS - and I really have not seen this one coming!

Stay tuned for more...