EOS needs a savvy PR intern

EOS needs a PR intern. The ideal applicant is a recent graduate with a background concentration in marketing, public relations or communications.  S/he must have strong written and oral communication skills, be computer literate and have social media knowledge, as well as demonstrate the desire to learn in a team-oriented environment.

This paid internship is a great way to gain real world experience and work with some of the best creative minds in the business. If you’re interested, please view the job description on the PRSA job board. Thanks and good luck!

Street Fair Fun!

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!

It’s a Boy!

He’s creative, smart, and even more amazingly, he’s a guy! Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it’s true. EOS has thrown some testosterone into the mix with the start of our new design associate, Barry Klipp.

Barry’s quick thinking, smart concepts and refined design skills gave him the edge needed to beat out the competition. He’ll be working with the EOS team and learning various aspects of what it takes to be an art director, web director, photographer and designer.

Being the only guy takes a special kind of person. So, who is Barry exactly? Well, no one can tell you better than the man himself.

The World According to Barry

1. I’m a visual person and have been credited with the ability of capturing the essence of a person with my camera within the first 10 minutes of meeting them. I also get praise for my use of light… it’s all about the lighting.

2. I switched careers from photography to art direction because I wanted more of a challenge, a new avenue. I love thinking of ad concepts and new big ideas.

3. I entered a design contest for the cover of Media Magazine and Alex Bogusky tweeted about my design. I was also featured in the same issue.

4. The things I love most in life: my wife, Liz, cheeseburgers and of course my friend Baxter (my dog).

So there you have it. We’ve added a guy to the EOS team and we’re ready for you to send the next big creative challenge our way.

EOS wins Green Day Corporate Challenge award

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.

The Client Factor

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.

Million dollar comma

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.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SUSAN!

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.

Continued Success

EOS partners Margaret Gearing and Susan Frost attended the Executive Women of Goizueta 2009 Conference today. The conference, hosted by the Goizueta Business School of Emory University, brought together executive women for day of professional development and networking. This year’s theme was Managing Change, Managing Challenge, which focused on achieving professional and personal success through unstable times. Through keynote speakers and breakout sessions, Margaret and Susan learned valuable tools that will help them further build their leadership and motivational capabilities.

A New Goddess Joins the Team!

EOS would like to welcome a new goddess! Glynn Murph joined the team today as the company’s newest Account Manager. With a strong public relations background, she has worked with clients across a broad spectrum of industries from nonprofit to corporate communication. She’s a wonderful addition to the EOS team, and will help provide a new perspective.

Goddess on the Move

EOS Goddess Lauren Elder was named AMA-Atlanta’s Member Volunteer of the Month for September.   Lauren has volunteered with the Collegiate Committee for three out of the four years that she has been an AMA member. As the vice president of collegiate outreach for the Collegiate Committee, Lauren was instrumental to helping grow AMA’s collegiate membership by 60 percent in one year. Congrats to Lauren on the acknowledgment and all her hard work with AMA’s Collegiate Committee!