We took a break from our hectic schedule to enjoy our building’s summer tenant luncheon. Every year building management throws a themed event that gives the tenants a chance to mingle. This year’s street fair-themed event was a hit! I can’t wait to see what they cook up next year!
Last week Friday, I attended the 8th annual Leadership Breakfast for EarthShare of Georgia with our good friends from Tomorrow Pictures. At the breakfast, our team was awarded the small group Green Day Corporate Challenge winner for the work we did a Riverside Park! This was our first year participating in the event, and the judges from EarthShare were very impressed with the large amount of work our small group accomplished in such a limited timeframe.
Preparing the community garden at Riverside Park was truly an enriching experience. It’s was a great feeling knowing that we were taking part in an activity that will have a positive impact on an entire neighborhood. Our team is excited about seeing the “fruits” of their labor once the garden is complete. I’m looking forward to inspiring more change at Earthshare’s next Green Day Corporate Challenge.
Tags: EarthShare of Georgia, EOS Marketing, Green Day Corporate Challenge, Tomorrow Pictures
Last Saturday morning, we met our friends from Tomorrow Pictures at Riverside Community Garden for the Corporate Green Day Challenge. Every year, EarthShare of Georgia hosts a work-day to give Atlanta businesses an opportunity to celebrate Earth Day by volunteering in local community activities. Hundreds of volunteers have participated over the years, and the event was expected to be even bigger this year.
Our group worked with the neighbors in Riverside to prep the Riverside Community Garden for planting. The project , which started last year, provides low income residents in the area with access to fresh vegetables, herbs and fruits. We spent the morning mowing, tilling, weeding and building raised beds so the garden would be ready for the neighbors to start planting in the coming weeks. While landscaping the garden entrance, we discovered a beautiful oak tree tucked away behind ivy, an old chain link fence and trash. It was an amazing transformation, and I am planning to go back later in the season to see what is growing (and hopefully get a taste of some fresh produce)!
I love opportunities to give back to the community and what better to do it with co-workers and the extended EOS family at Tomorrow Pictures. Check out pictures from our adventure to really see how much fun we had!
Tags: corporate volunteering, Earth Day, EarthShare of Georgia, EOS Marketing, Riverside Community Garden
Last week Lauren and I went to SCAD Atlanta to speak with students about life after art school. Well, I spoke with them about life after art school. Lauren had much more professional and beneficial insights to share.
Since I’ve been working here at eos, my life has been a whirlwind of designing websites, concepting, creating print collateral, logo redesigns, anything creative you can imagine, I’ve had the great fortune to do it all here. And I love it. So on the way to speak to these design students, I took a moment to reflect on how different life is when you leave art school and enter the corporate world.
The biggest and most important difference is what I like to call “The Client Factor.” Simply put (but not so easily executed), you are no longer creating for yourself, you are creating for the client.
And creating for the client takes modesty and professionalism (something that a lot of artists have trouble with). It also requires you to establish a level of trust with your client. After all, this is THEIR money you’re spending. Their hard work has earned that money. It’s imperative that you are empathetic to this.
That said, The Client Factor requires thorough planning before you even consider the execution. A lot of times people think creative work is just making something pretty. Not true at all. You must have a concept. A strategy. A support system that assures your client you are handling their hard-earned money with the utmost amount of sensitivity and smarts.
Look at good design out there today, I promise you it was made possible because of a domino-effect series of events between the client and the creative.
1. A plan was established
2. Trust developed between the client and the creative team because of this plan
3. This trust allows the creative to have more leeway when developing the work, leaving both companies with work that they all can be proud of.
So, in looking back after art school, I’ve learned that it is no longer about me. It’s about the client. It’s no longer about me. It’s about the client. If you’re a creative, say this over and over and over. And then over again. Because it can be tough at times. But if you can get that burned into your brain, I assure you, everyone involved will come out on top.
Tags: Advertising, clients, EOS, EOS Marketing, graphic design, marketing, SCAD
Last week Friday, Lauren and I attended the the Fred Pryor mistake-free grammar & proofreading seminar. The class was a great refresher on grammar basics. It’s always nice to take time to stretch the old grammar muscle every now and then.
If you know me, then you know that I love when presenters have entertaining anecdotes that tie into the their lessons, and Dr. Faye Fulton was full of them. The story that stuck with me the most was a multi-million dollar lawsuit that was decided by a comma.
An extremely wealthy man passed away and left his estate to be divided evenly among his two nephews and one niece. In his will, it clearly stated that “Bob, Andrew and Leslie” would all receive an equal share of his estate. Bob contested the will stating that because there was no comma between Andrew’s and Leslie’s names, they were legally one entity. This means he would inherit 50 percent of the estate and the other two siblings would split the remaining 50 percent. The court ruled in favor of Bob.
Now obviously this judge was not aware of the Associate Press Stylebook, and I have no way of verifying the validity of this story - I wasted a full 30 minutes searching for it on Google - but, it still goes to show how important it is for our written work to be grammatically correct. A simple punctuation error could completely change the meaning of a sentence. And if a comma is the difference between $15 million and $30 million, you darn well better have it in the right place.
Today, another EOS goddess donned the pink crown and boa in celebration of her birthday. The team surprised Amber , whose birthday was Saturday, April 3, with cupcakes from A Piece of Cake and a spirited rendition of the ”Happy Birthday” song. What could be better than being serenaded by your colleagues while munching on cupcakes?
Today is Susan’s birthday, and to celebrate, we have made her head goddess for the day at EOS! Doesn’t she look chic in her pink boa and crown? This afternoon, the team will treat her to a special birthday lunch. Don’t forget to Facebook, tweet or email her you birthday well-wishes.
Margaret and I went to Cliff Oxford’s Entrepreneur Advisors event last Friday, February 26th at the Ritz-Carlton. We are founding members of the Entrepreneur Advisor’s group, but our hectic schedules make it difficult to attend the continuing education events it offers. Going to this symposium was time well-spent, and reminded us of the importance of “sharpening the saw” every now and then. We were excited to have our newest client, Janice Howell, co-owner of MODA Floors & Interiors, join us as our guest.
The day was filled with discussions on strategies that entrepreneurs can use to develop and improve their businesses. For me, there were several topics that reinforce the EOS business model, and the marketing advice that we provide our clients.
I found Cliff Oxford’s Three Steps of Change Management to be very intriguing, especially in the Atlanta’s current economic climate. These steps include:
We also spent some time talking about lead nurturing & management - especially online leads. The presenter used this New Yorker cartoon to highlight some of the positives and negatives of interacting with people on the internet.
The positive aspect of “no one knows you’re a dog” is the level playing field created by anonymity of Internet - small companies can have the same impact and presence as large ones. However, on the negative side, if you don’t use your online presence to clearly communicate who you are and the value you bring to your customers, you might as well be a dog.
We’ll keep you updated on the next Entrepreneur Advisor’s event. We hope to see you there!
Tags: Atlanta, Cliff Oxford, communications, Entrepreneur Advisors, entrepreneurs, EOS, marketing
This has been an exciting week for AMA-Atlanta Collegiate with two major events taking place, the Banana Republic Dress for Success Mixer and the 24th Annual Collegiate Conference. As the vice-president of communications, I am responsible for developing the pre- and post-event communications to spread the word and garner registrations for both events.
Yesterday, we held the Dress for Success Mixer at the Hudson Grill. Some of the members of the Collegiate team were given the opportunity to stroll down the catwalk in the Spring 2010 Fashion show, including yours truly. The fashion show gives future grads the opportunity to see what appropriate business attire is - from client meetings down to casual Friday.
Today is the 24th Annual Collegiate Conference. Students, advisers and staff from 12 schools in five states across the southeast will gather at the Biltmore Hotel to network, attend workshops and gain insight to the current marketing landscape. We are also holding a recruitment fair where students will have the opportunity to have marketing professionals, such as myself, critique their résumés and meet with over 12 businesses that are currently hiring. This will be one of the best conferences that we’ve done to date!
Hear ye! Hear ye! Tombow is holding an illustration contest through the end of the year and the winning entries will be featured on their new Dual Brush Pen set packaging. Plus, there’s no entry fee and the composition is completely up to you. Imagine this: you’re cruising through the aisles of your local art store and all of a sudden BAM! You see your own creation staring back at you from the shelf! A far cry from the days when mom would tape your masterpieces to the fridge.
For more info, click here.
