PUNCH held its lemonAid stand all day on Friday, July 16th. It was hot out, as usual, and we all took turns holding down the fort. We were amazed and impressed when people would stroll by, drop a bill in the jar, and keep on walking. We like to think that while standing in July heat on a steaming sidewalk we not only “put the squeeze on childhood cancer” but pretty much throttled it.

Things really picked up when Donna brought her four-year-old twin boys to help out at the lemonade stand. They had been carefully prepped before hand by Donna, and arrived enthusiastic and ready to get to work.

“Lemalade for sale! Help the children in da hospital!” Our cute quotient went up exponentially and it was nearly impossible for anyone to pass our stand by without donating. The boys did their job with gusto and volume!

Stephanie and I decided to piggy-back on the mayhem, and held a summer sale of INK & PAPER items upstairs in the office. I’m not going to lie here. It was REALLY nice to be inside the air conditioning, surrounded by beautiful paper, while our officemates sweated out on the street. We offered deep discounts on some discontinued items, and also sold our giftwrap, note cards, greeting cards, gift tags, imprintable stationery, and more.

We owe a big karma check to all the folks who enjoyed some lemonade with us and helped support some great kids, who don’t deserve to be sick. You did a good thing! And thanks to the bosses, who bought us lunch too! Thanks to Children’s Miracle Network for organizing a really fun and effective fundraiser for a worthy cause. And thank you to the twins, who cranked up the donations with their adorable presence. All in all, Friday was a great day.

If I listen closely, I’m 95 percent certain I can still hear the monotone drone from stadiums all over South Africa chock full o’ vuvuzelas buzzing for 90+ minutes per game.  Hey, “Vuvuzela”...it’s fun to say AND fun to play! With that said, allow me to introduce what most of the living planet already knew of as the 2010 World Cup. Alas for me, it was my very first foray into an intense month-long obsession that I didn’t even know I cared about.

Prior to June/July 2010, my soccer knowledge was limited. There’s a field, some guys, and a ball. Oh, and it’s bad when you use your hands…unless you’re the goalkeeper, then it’s all good! What more do you need to know?

Actually though, I’ll admit, with the exception of being a boxing fan, my sports knowledge in general is limited. I love a good Olympics every couple years. And, of course, it’s obligatory to the family bloodline that I always cheer for the Cleveland Indians (except when they suck…then you’re supposed to spit, curse them, and be angry for a really long time.) And from what I’ve come to understand, the Indians have actually only been good about three times in my life, so I haven’t had to exert much effort on the cheering front.

But I digress, with the emergence of the 2010 World Cup, I latched onto something that, at first, seemed like an easy summer distraction from work. I concocted the idea to have a World Cup office pool. We could keep ESPN going on the TV at all times at work and the winner would get a day off. I figured the ladies in the office (myself included, I must shamelessly confess) would walk by the TV on the way to the kitchen and scope out the soccer hotties…which we most certainly did (hello, Ronaldo)! I figured a couple folks at PUNCH might have some small bets going, and all-in-all, it would just be some fun in the background.

What I was not expecting was to get involved in something that completely grabbed my attention for a whole month. Looking back, I watched just about every single game of the world cup (while working hard in the office at the same time, of course). I found myself waking up early on the weekends just to watch the 7:30 a.m. games. I would tense up and my palms would get sweaty when I was watching anything even remotely close to being intense! I was into it, to say the least. I became unhealthily wrapped-up in two specific teams—Japan, (Samurai Blue!), and, of course, U.S.A—the former because it was my assigned office pool team, and the latter for obvious home-team pride.

I recall going to Penny Lane Pub with my husband to watch Japan’s 7:30 a.m. match against Netherlands. I drank my early morning Guinness breakfast (the true breakfast of champions, that is) and was clearly the only Japan fan sitting next to tables of nothing but Orange. I also recall watching the U.S. vs. Ghana game with a throng of U.S. fans at Stool Pigeons. I nearly brought myself to tears after their overtime loss. With that defeat, I immediately swore, got up, left the bar, and promised myself that I’d never vacation in Ghana should the opportunity ever arise. My dad later told me that much like him, I’m not cut out to watch team sports (eh, thanks dad, go Cleveland!). A similar outcome came to be for Samurai Blue after going to penalty kicks with Paraguay, which knocked them out of the competition. After which I had to quietly excuse myself from the office to go on an early lunch break.

What was it that made me so crazy about the World Cup? I was so caught up in all the excitement. I could only imagine what it would’ve been like had I actually been in South Africa, sitting in one of the stadiums, for any one of the games. It would’ve been too much! Too exciting! My head would have surely exploded. I certainly, wasn’t the only one in the office feeling all this excitement though. One of our other designers plunked down $80 just to get a Netherlands jersey to support his office-pool team (he also won the award for saddest post-loss face after the final game). Another co-worker hand-drew the Portuguese flag on a piece of paper, cut it out, and pinned it to her shirt to show her support. Our accounts manager kept a small South Korean flag taped to her computer all month long. And I even rocked a samurai headband during the World Cup finale party we threw for ourselves.

And now…it’s done. Congrats Spain, you’ve won! The 2010 World Cup is over. Our month-long-distraction-turned-crazed-obsession is over. Let’s toss the jerseys back in the drawer, rip down our flags, and put away our scoring brackets until the next World Cup.  Aww, four years is a long time. I may go through withdrawl. But what will fill the void? I suppose in the meantime, until the next distraction comes along, I can reflect on the good stuff. The fun we had together at PUNCH while shouting, cheering, teasing, cursing, laughing, jeering, and betting.—all in good fun! But if anytime soon you stop by PUNCH and see me darting across the office in my Samurai headband, or happen to spot an employee carrying a vuvuzela into meetings, you’ll know we haven’t totally let go of the fun…at least not until something else comes along. So until 2014, I say, “Thanks 2010 World Cup. You were good while you lasted.”

Christine and I spent an entire Saturday with a huge trashcan, binders, and organizers. We went to my favorite store, Glassboat, and purchased a few bowls to hold all my paperclips, scissors, and little junky things, making my desk look clean and fabulous.

I have a confession to make: one of my favorite things in the world is a pen…and I am a pen thief extraordinaire. I seemed to have at least 100 lying around my office. One task Christine gave me was to go through my pens, return the ones that weren’t mine, and put in the supply closet ones that I really didn’t “need.”  This left me with about 10 pens.

Per Christine, “Hiring an organizer is a wise decision. When the client couples that decision with a positive attitude, the result is a fabulous environment. Thanks Kelly for being a great client!”

And thank you Christine. After all this, I have everything I need within reach, my office is clean and organized and it just feels good.

I love to tell stories—they just keep working themselves into my brain. One story in particular is about an encounter I had at Café Caturra at Libbie and Grove. I go there for the restaurant’s atmosphere. If I have a morning meeting or need to have coffee with a client or business colleague, I love to meet there.

One morning early last winter, I needed to meet a colleague there and I was in the zone. I had gone to see Coldplay in DC the night before and was reliving it on my iPod as I entered the restaurant. Literally 100 miles away from the world at that moment.

I walked in, ordered my coffee, conducted my meeting, and was on my way out, when I was stopped at the back door.  A young fellow sitting at a table with what looked like trainees stopped me to ask how my coffee was.

I answered, “Do you want the truth?”

“Yes, of course,” he replied.

I told him I was actually there for a meeting and the ambiance of the restaurant.

He then stated, “Can I ask what was playing on your iPod when you came in the back door?”

“I am a 42-year-old working mother of two. For $20, you should be able to tell me what is on my iPod.”

He stated, “Coldplay.”

I pulled out a $20, but he refused.

After actual introductions, I headed back to the office where I had to look him up online. Jeff Grant, a 20-something co-owner of a Café Caturra. I sent him an email, which has since become very long conversations about branding and understanding your customers.

Jeff explains it like this, “There is no closer to get to another human than feeding them your brand.”

Well said.

Which brings me here… Remember the five senses when considering your marketing strategy. Six if you count intuition. When is the last time you heard something, saw it, smelt it, felt it, and ate it—but understood it before you even experienced any of those previous senses?

In further reading about the senses in relation to marketing, I came across Martin Lindstrom’s 2002 article, Sensory Brand Management.

Enjoy!

I grew up with a chemist, otherwise known as my Dad. He has a PhD in Chemistry. If you think it was easy to live with one of the smartest people you have ever known, think again. He could never quite understand how I could make a living in the land of creativity and art. Lucky for me, I do get to tap into his knowledge bank whenever I deem necessary.

His name is Vernon Barham and here is a quick link to his past:  Discover Magazine
Recycling—his passion—it’s almost close to an obsession.

I asked my Dad do some research in regards to if using recycled paper really is more environmentally friendly than non-recycled paper. My belief was that it takes less money and resources to create paper from virgin resources vs. collecting paper, re-pulping, bleaching, and milling all over again.

How wrong I was. Following is my Dad’s response and a nice article supporting his statement, certainly giving us a lot to think about at PUNCH.

He stated that he supports using recycled paper for “the simple reason being that it is less costly and more environmentally efficient to reuse paper than to go through the wasting of tons of water, not to mention the non-cellulosic part of the original trees used to make original paper.”

“In fact, most of the new investments for at least the past 20 years in the pulp and paper industry are not the old large capital intensive mills that spew both air and solid waste into the environment (remember the Franklin and Emporia plants).  Paper manufacturers find it more economical to put in ‘mini mills’ which they can rework/recycle magazine stocks offering better and in many cases less costly products.”

Article Supporting Dad’s Statement:
Paper Information and Resources

Recycled Paper
Recycled paper is the end product of paper recycling. The production of recycled paper has significant environmental advantages over virgin (non-recycled) paper production, including less impact on forest resources, less air pollution, less water pollution, less water consumption, less energy consumption, and less solid waste. (To compare the environmental impacts of specific types of recycled and virgin papers, use the Environmental Defense’s web-based Paper Calculator.)

Recycled paper is produced in most varieties that virgin paper is produced, with quality generally equal to virgin paper. Prices for recycled printing and writing papers are generally slightly higher than for virgin printing and writing papers, because of a much smaller economy of scale for recycled paper production. In fact, recycled papers still comprise less than 10 percent of the printing and writing market.

“Buy recycled” programs are those that encourage or require consumers to purchase recycled products. In the case of paper, buy recycled programs are essential to increase the economy of scale for recycled paper production so that recycled paper can compete on a “level playing field” with virgin paper.

For months, I had meticulously planned our trip to Maui. I had an itinerary of where to hike, snorkel, swim, and eat. How do you plan for seven days of adventure? You do your research, wait for the day to arrive, and then execute your plan. Or so I thought.

On Monday, we snorkeled amongst a rainbow of fish, an abundance of coral, and the occasional eel. The afternoon was spent taking in the local sights and scenery. In the evening, we attended a Lu’au where we enjoyed the delicious food, listened to beautiful music, and watched the graceful dancers. “This is the first day in two weeks that the Kona winds haven’t brought us rain,” remarked the father of a family from Vancouver Island at our table. “This is great.” I thought. “What good timing!”

On Tuesday, it poured. Our plans to hike and snorkel La Pérouse Bay and the Fishbowl were put on hold. After waiting around for the rain to pass, it soon became apparent that the rain was not going anywhere. –And neither were we. Change of plans. We put on our hiking boots, gathered up our hiking packs, and went farther west to hike near Honolua Bay. As we hiked, we came across all different kinds of trees and plants from liliko’I (passion fruit) to banyan trees and strange cacti and moss. Rain? What rain? Just like that, it was gone.
On Wednesday, we put our hiking packs and snorkels aside to take in some of the local sights. We visited a few art galleries taking in beautifully carved koa’a wood vases and photographs that seemed too beautiful to be real. We ate at the Paia Fish Market and watched the surfers and windsurfers who were brave enough to take in the waves at Ho’okipa. The name “Ho’okipa” means, hospitality in Hawaiian. And as I watched the huge waves break across the jagged reefs and lava shelves, the word “hospitality” didn’t exactly come to mind. More like the words, “hospital” and “ambulance” in big, red letters. I watched as a ten-year-old boy surfed alongside his father like a pro. He came running in from the ocean, arms flailing wildly about him, as he reenacted his experience for his mother. Walking back, I spotted a large sea turtle that was hidden between the lava rocks burying her eggs in the sand.

On Thursday, the rain was back. We put on our hiking shoes and clear plastic rain ponchos (just kidding) and headed towards La Pérouse.  Less than a mile from the bay, we came across a jagged, alien landscape of lava fields that extended out for miles. At La Pérouse, we discovered that both the bay and the fishbowl were closed to snorkelers and divers for two years. So much for those plans! Luckily for us, Makena Beach (and 13 other beaches) was only minutes away!

Fast forward to Friday. At 4:00 a.m. while most people were asleep, we packed up our equipment and made our way to Ma’alaea Boat harbor for our trip to Molokini. From the sun peering over Haleakala Crater, to the grey silhouette of the occasional whale breaching in the distance, the morning was beautiful. We approached Molokini around 8 a.m., dove into the water, and swam with the fish! Sand stars, razorfish, parrotfish, wrasse, and the humuhumunukunukuapua’a (try saying that ten times fast) were all around us. At twelve, our Captain brought us to a second diving spot. All around us were underwater lava and coral caves and bridges. But, that wasn’t the best part. Five minutes into our dive, we saw our first group of sea turtles. Large and just as inquisitive, I was surprised by how close they would come to us. 

Saturday morning, we packed up the car and headed down the road to Hana. I had seen the t-shirts before and I was worried that this was going to be another “South of the Border” experience.  Thankfully, it was not. The road to Hana is made up of over six hundred curves, fifty bridges, and some of the most beautiful scenery that I have ever seen. Most of the trip was broken up by frequent stops to see rainbow eucalyptus trees, hike the bamboo forest, view numerous waterfalls, smell the plumeria blossoms, and enjoy the fresh banana bread from Hana Farm. Yes, we survived the road to Hana, but we also survived the road back—and at night.

Sunday went by way too fast. It was a whirlwind of activities. Snorkeling, swimming in the pool (for the second time since we had arrived) and packing. But, when it was time to board our plane I knew that it was time to go home.

So…how do you plan for seven days of adventure? You do your research, you take each day as it comes, and you have a back-up plan.  You can’t control the weather, but you can be prepared for it. After all, that really is what an adventure is all about!

One of my favorite things is to take out my Christmas decorations and look through all the photo cards I received from years past. It is amazing to see how much everyone’s kids have grown and changed over the course of a year! 

Similarly, this year, I’d like to take a look at some great memories at PUNCH from 2009.  We’ve had the opportunity to work with great companies and amazing team members who make what we do meaningful. It has been a wonderful year!

Highlights of 2009

PUNCH Field Day

Coffee with Kendall Morris

Devon & Laura’s baby shower

Dip-palooza

Halloween

Thanksgiving Chili Cook off

Birthdays

Christmas party

Richmond’s Best #2

Charity Dodgeball Event

Over the Edge

Anthem’s Quest for the Cure

Work
Special Olympics
Connor’s Heros
Richmond Animal League
Richmond Ballet
Lemon Aid Stand

Yes, 2009 has been quite a year! I have loved the opportunity to be a part of the PUNCH team over the past year and have learned so much. As they say, “All good things must come to an end.” And so, it is now time for me to move on. I have been offered another opportunity here in Richmond and look forward to continuing to work in this great city. It is with fond memories and a great appreciation for what can be accomplished when creative people work together that I leave PUNCH. 

In this crazy world of emerging media there aren’t a lot of rules. This is one of the reasons why I find it so much fun. You are rewarded and encouraged to be creative and innovative in your uses of the new technology platforms and it can often reap big rewards for businesses to do so.

At PUNCH we recently stumbled across a very active community online of dogs. Yes, you heard me correctly. Dogs are now being given their own Twitter handles, Facebook pages, and even Facebook Fan pages. These dogs are using the pages to speak to other dogs, expand the audience for the companies they are associated with, and incorporate a fun sub-culture that people are very passionate about.

Richmond has a vibrant community of avid dog lovers. This is visible in many ways across Richmond:
• Restaurants such as Café Caturra and Ellwood’s Coffee having dog-friendly patios complete with water bowls for the furry friends
• Stoney Point Fashion Park is another welcoming venue for dog-lovers and their dogs. They can even compete to be Next Top Dog.
• Local dog walking service, River City Rover, even uses an iPhone app to send personalized photo emails from the dog to the owner during their workday
• Valentine History Center hosts History Hounds Dog Walks during warm months
• Popular blog, Young House Love, devotes an entire blog to their dog Burger where he clearly displays a personality people want to engage with (@hamburgershouse has 1474 followers on Twitter)
• RichmondPetLovers.com is a very popular site for local dog resources
• Richmond SPCA hosts an annual FurBall each year and we actually friended our first dog on Facebook as a result
• Joey Stanley is the SPCA mascot this year and had used his Facebook Fan Page (170 fans and 613 friends on his personal page) to promote charity events and raise funds to help sick animals in our area. By becoming a fan you have the opportunity to gain insight into the daily life of Joey, the dog, and create a bond that is surprisingly easy to gain with a lovable dog

This is by no means an extensive list of active dog communities in town, but it illustrates the interest by the people in this community to support these types of events. So how can a business leverage that passion and interest and convert it into a benefit for their business? Take a look at a few examples below.

Young House Love drives traffic to their blog through Burger’s blog, Twitter account, and creative contests such as finding a girlfriend for Burger.

The Obama Administration uses @Obama_dog (5592 followers) to develop another layer of the first family’s persona and make them feel more accessible.

Purina capitalized on people’s love of their pets and social media to create Petcentric, a Web site for pet lovers, pet blogs, Twitter, Facebook, and even an iPhone app to locate pet-friendly places near you. (Oh, and once they’ve got you on their site, they will learn invaluable amounts about your habits, concerns, and purchases and be able to create new products that will be very successful based upon inside knowledge of the community.)

Remember: in emerging media creative content can be a powerful force for engaging your audience. Don’t be afraid to have some fun!

The concert kicked off with a cut from their new CD, Night Castle. Then the Christmas part of the concert began. This is my 8th year to attend and by far the best yet. The music was spot on and the vocals were out of this world. With the new lights and added video screens, this year’s concert was over the top. James Lewis gave an outstanding performance in the first half with his raspy vocals.

The second half highlighted the cuts from the CD. Night Castle is a CD fans have been waiting years for it to be released. With a change of keyboard players and a new vocalist, the second half took off with hard-driving entertainment. One of the new singers, Tim Hockenberry, was positively outstanding.

If you have never experienced TSO, plan to see them in the future. I guess the best way to decribe their style is Christmas music Classical music Blues and Jazz performed in a rock opera style with video, lights, lasers, fire, smoke, and yes, even snow. The CDs are great to listen to, but to see the stage show brings the music to a totally new level. But for now, just purchase their CD and video collection and get lost in great music

Art by PUNCH designer Matt Brown

Having spent my childhood going to San Diego Padre games with my father (he took me to the only World Series game they won in 1988) I know a little about baseball. For me, it was never about the game itself, but the experience of the crowd cheering, getting the Cracker Jacks prize, and spending time with my dad. In hearing Parney speak, it seems that the experience of baseball is something he understands quite well. It is his mission to develop the Richmond Flying Squirrels into a family experience that creates memories.  One time listening to him talk convinced me that there is something special that is being created here in town and I, for one, can’t wait to take my kids “Out to the Ballgame.”

Since Parney was able to sell me on the benefits of the team in town, I decided to create my own little Fantasy Emerging Media Campaign for the Squirrels. This list is by no means comprehensive, but I think it will give the Flying Squirrels a place start to connect with Richmond and get us out to the ballpark to make memories!

1. Web site: Develop a Web site that informs, engages, and inspires

2. Twitter

a. Create custom Twitter profiles that create engagement for fans with team members, coach, mascot, and/or players

b. Create Twitter account for “Ricky” the Squirrel

c. Host Tweetups where Twitter fans receive discount tickets to a select section of the park on a particular night

d. Display Flying Squirrels tweets on the screen during the game with play updates and behind the scene details

e. Host contests for Tweeters during the game to win prizes and interact

3. Facebook

a. Develop a Facebook fan page and have contests, post updates, and publicize events

b. Change individual page and group page to Fan Page

c. Offer 1 free ticket during the season for becoming a FB fan

4. Youtube channel

a. Behind the scenes tours

b. Interview team players and coaches

c. Show support of community through local events (little league, schools, etc.)

d. Host a contest for a commercial or jingle from the community
   

5. Flickr

a. Create Flickr account and encourage fan engagement by sharing and posting photos of fans with players and mascot

6. Blog

a. Create engaging content for the community

b. Utilize blog content on Twitter and Facebook

7. Contests

a. Poster contest for schools (1 class wins tickets to game or visit by player to gym class)

b. Taglines, Jingles, Commercials

c. Team up with charity to bring underprivileged families to the park for every season pass sold (1 family comes for a game)

d. Kid’s Club

e. Partner with local sports supporters and encourage Richmond to get active:

i. Sportsquest

ii. SportsBackers

iii. REI

iv. Dick’s Sporting Goods

v. Rock climbing

vi. James River Foundation

8. Search the Squirrels: Play off of Geocaching and Foursquare to encourage participation. Locate squirrel icons all over the city and claim prizes such as coupons for free soda, hot dogs, or signed memorabilia. Use squirrel coins for people to utilize in Geocaching and spread beyond Richmond region

At the end of the day, the best thing the Flying Squirrels can do is help us get to know them and how passionate they are about baseball and our community. These are just a few ideas that I’d suggest to Parney and the Richmond Flying Squirrels when they are searching for ways to engage the community in Richmond. Right now Parney is doing a great job of getting out into the community and sharing the story. Next, I’d like to see him get online and extend the reach of those relationships and create new ones. I’m excited baseball is back in Richmond. I can’t wait to take my Dad and his grandkids to share Cracker Jacks and make some memories!