Over the past few years, See.Spark.Go has embraced the idea of building communities through social media, like any good communications agency (wink). Very rarely do you find yourself talking one-on-one with your target would-be customer, but social media allows you to do just that from anywhere in the world.

Enterpreneur Magazine writer Mikal Belicove lists four critical elements to creating a social media content strategy for your business in this article and video (below), but I want to highlight the value of his step #1: positioning. These are the critical components for any company or organization to define its identity and space before proactive communications outreach can begin. They are:

1. Who are you?

2. What do you do?

3. Why does it matter?

4. Why are you better?

Define these, and you’ve nailed the inner core of your business or enterprise. Scripture says, “Out of the heart, the mouth speaks.” (Luke 6:45) The same is true in business. Out of who you are as a company/organization/etc., your story flows. Here’s a great test: how would your co-workers, staff and customers answer the four questions listed above?

We couldn’t be more thrilled and honored to be the mouthpiece for so many meaningful and outstanding organizations whose hearts we buy into and believe in fully. So, we ask: what’s your story? We hope these questions help set you on the path to communicating well the story you’re living out. Enjoy!

Okay, so forgive the title. I have two toddlers.

Last Friday, May 4, our staff worked behind the scenes at the 2012 Chick-fil-A Leadercast. In all, more than 125,000 leaders from around the globe watched (from 800+ locations!) as some of the most renowned authors/speakers/leaders in their own rite took the stage to talk about the choices that affect our leadership. We are all leaders and the choices we make everyday, matter.

My personal favorite came from someone’s tweet (I can’t remember; I saw so many come through!), but he basically said, I now think of my alarm clock as a shotgun start for the day. I like that. I just might revise the phrase “alarm clock” to my “second cup of coffee.”

Alas, here are a few of our favorite quotes from the day:

“Every decision you make is, at some point, going to be nothing more than a story you tell.” – Andy Stanley

“Ask yourself: What would my replacement do?” – Andy Stanley

“Your challenge is to take what is unique about you and make it useful.” – Marcus Buckingham

“I want to make someone else’s life better because I’m here. If you have that attitude it will change your day and change your life.” – Tim Tebow

“We have no more excuses. Kids will move to the expectation we have of them.” – Roland Fryer

“Always ask yourself: what’s best for the brand? Let that guide you. It removes egos and self.” – Angela Ahrendts

“We don’t grow on accident, we grow on purpose.” – John Maxwell

“If you can somehow raise the level of play of those around you, then you’re considered a leader.” – Urban Meyer

If you’re interested in learning more or downloading the streaming access from Friday’s speakers, check out the new Chick-fil-A Leadercast Network.

-Brittany

Please give a warm See.Spark.Go welcome to our newest team member, Nicole Foo! We are thrilled to have her join our team and we think you will love her as much as we do! She’ll be heading up several PR projects here at SSG, and we can’t wait to see her tear it up! As an accomplished publicist, Nicole understands the value of PR for clients and is able to navigate the media landscape, leveraging the great stories that we have the opportunity to share!

We asked her to give you a glimpse into her first week at SSG and a little background on herself. So, without further adieu, here’s Nicole!

Hello, all! Where do I even begin? I am so excited to be a part of the See.Spark.Go family and am looking forward to what’s in store for the team.

A little bit about me – my name is Nicole Foo and I am from Marietta, Georgia. I graduated from UGA in May 2011 with a major in public relations and minors in Spanish and Chinese language and literature (Go Dawgs!). I recently worked at Atlanta Convention & Visitors Bureau before starting at See.Spark.Go.

I had a great first week and I absolutely love it here! The office was a little quiet with interns on spring break and Lauren off on her honeymoon. Still, it was a really great opportunity to get a thorough overview of our clients. I participated in a few client conference calls, sat in on a company pitch, contributed to a creative brainstorming session, and visited a client site. Phew – all in one week!

The See.Spark.Go team is incredibly talented and so hard working; I know I will learn a lot from everyone around me. It is great to be surrounded by such a positive environment with people who are willing to work hard for their clients. I know that I will do the same!

Some fun facts about me:

• I speak three languages – English, Mandarin and Spanish. I’m working on French now (thank you, Rosetta Stone!).
• I studied abroad in Oxford, England, in the spring of 2010. It was the best academic experience of my college career.
• I was born in Singapore.
• Other things that make me happy: traveling, hiking, scarves, greeting cards, Scrabble, cardigans and Walt Disney World.

I am proud to be the newest member of the See.Spark.Go team and look forward to keeping you updated on things that are happening here…any maybe sharing your story one day soon!
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Follow me on my blog or on Twitter.

Many of you may not realize that our name is our process. See.Spark.Go is more than just a catchy name or a logo, it’s the steps we use to seek out, create and execute meaningful and impactful public relations and social media campaigns. Our process begins and ends with you (the client) in mind as we see, spark and go, ultimately telling great stories about great companies.

So, why is knowing the process important? As we begin any journey, in life, as in PR, it’s important to have a roadmap.

We start by defining the “win”. Seeing is all about understanding, getting a lay of the land, knowing the competition, etc. Spark is the fun part. It’s where we get to create an engaging campaign that highlights your story in a tangible and creative way. And “Go” is the storytelling aspect. Whether it’s simply a newsworthy story we’re sharing with the media or an integrated campaign that involves our partners in advertising/event execution and our sweet spot of social media and PR, the “Go” is where the magic happens.

In brainstorming sessions, we navigate through each aspect of communication within the organization to discover how we can come be an extension of your team. Think of us as another set of eyes seeing through the lens of communication and asking questions like, “What do we want people to hear?” and “What channels should we use to reach the right audience?”

Remember, you’ve got the story to tell; we know how to tell it. Whether you’re seeking to get your name in front of influential media or to create an online community, we’re your team.

As we like to say, those three little words know how to pack a punch. We’re passionate about the brands we represent and stories we share. Now all we need is your expertise in your field and for you to say the words, “Let’s See.Spark.Go!”

Which step of “See.Spark.Go” do you need the most? How can we make this process better? Share your thoughts below or Tweet @seesparkgo with your ideas.

There is something nice about a fresh start at the beginning of a new year. But what happens when the newness wears off? As February comes into full swing, here are a few ways to make each day count. (And, by the way, we’re taking a cue from Nike’s challenge to “Make It Count” campaign with the launch of it’s latest and greatest, the Nike+ FuelBand. More on that below.)

1. Accountability. Nike’s “Make it Count” campaign encourages brand enthusiasts to share stories of inspiration via Twitter and using hashtag #makeitcount. There’s something about writing it down or telling a friend that at the end of the day, makes you just do it. Pun intended.

2. Measure performance. With the launch of the Nike+ FuelBand comes the ability to sync to a mobile app using the wristbands sport-tested accelerometer, and measure daily workouts based on steps or calories. Users set a fitness goal in “Fuel points” and must work to a certain level of physical intensity to attain that goal.

3. Love what you do. A person can do any form of activity—from running, to walking, to dancing, to soccer – you choose what you love. The FuelBand tracks progress and notifies the wearer of their success by changing from a red light to a green light when the goal is met. I can’t think of anything greater than hitting a goal by doing something I already love.

4. Make it a habit. We think Nike is on to something much greater than athletics. Having a “make it count” mindset could transform the way we approach our lives. After all, attitude is everything.

Our favorite part of the Nike+ FuelBand is the ability to translate your everyday moves into NikeFuel. We can choose to do simply what is required of us or to set the bar high and go beyond it. Make every move count.

You want incredible results? Are you craving to see positive changes in your world, your life? Make it count in the small, daily aspects of work and life and fuel your dreams and aspirations. We can’t think of a better reminder in this second month of 2012.

So, we ask you: how will you make it count in 2012? Comment below or Tweet at @seesparkgo with the hashtag #makeitcount.

For those who just so happened to drive by the Georgia Dome during Passion 2012 at the start of the New Year, initially the sight didn’t look too out of the ordinary. The 40,000 people walking around the Georgia Dome at night could have easily passed as Falcons fans, excited about the night’s game. But instead, this gathering was different: it was Passion 2012, where more than 40,000 students between the ages of 18 and 25 came to sing, worship, donate and pray in the name of Jesus. Among those tens of thousands of students, you could find the See.Spark.Go team hosting members of the press there to cover what these life-changing days in the heart of that significant “university moment” that has shaped so many of us.

The four-day gathering sold out the Georgia Dome at 42,000 collegiates, nearly double that of the 2011 gathering held at Philips Arena and the next-door Georgia World Congress Center. Lead worshippers such as Matt Redman, Chris Tomlin, Charlie Hall, Kristian Stanfill and Christy Nockels took the stage in music, while world-renowned Christian speakers Beth Moore, John Piper, Francis Chan and Passion founder and visionary Louie Giglio brought powerful messages to the Dome, inspiring attendees to live out their faith and also to “Do Something Now.”

This year’s event was dedicated to the cause of FREEDOM: freedom for the 27 million people around the world currently living in modern-day slavery. Passion’s goal was to raise $1 million for this cause, and the students of Passion far surpassed that goal, reaching a total of $3.3 million before the conference came to an end. The money will go to a variety of organizations that help victims of modern-day slavery find rescue and restoration and work to prevent human slavery all together.

A few of the chosen organizations are Tiny Hands International, A21 Campaign and Wellspring Living. The money donated to Tiny Hands International will build and fund eight border monitoring stations and eight safe homes in Nepal that will help intercept victims as they are being trafficked. Wellspring Living will use the money to renovate 12 apartment homes for survivors of sexual exploitation in Atlanta, Georgia. Finally, the A21 Campaign will fund a year-long prevention program that will reach 48,000 children who are at risk of being trafficked in Ukraine.

Louie Giglio said people had laughed at the thought of poor, Ramen noodle-eating college students donating their petty cash for this abstract cause. But as he announced the second morning that donations had already exceeded $1 million, I was particularly touched. I can admit, as can Louie, that people today have certain preconceived notions about my generation, the college students of today. Many believe we are self-centered and immature, only concerned with our cell phones and ourselves. But the college students at Passion 2012 proved that argument wrong. As this Atlanta news video agrees, “these are kids today.”

As you may guess, Passion 2012 attracted the attention of more than just the pedestrians on Northside Drive. In addition to the 11Alive coverage, and many other articles and blog posts, the CNN Freedom Project took notice and did an international segment regarding the event. Also, the Atlanta Journal Constitution was especially impressed by Passion’s $100,000 donation to the Atlanta Police Department’s Child Exploitation and Online Protection squad here. Overall, Passion 2012 did powerful things in the lives of countless college students and also in the lives of those all over the world…in the name of One powerful Savior of the world, Jesus. We can’t wait to see what’s in store for Passion 2013!

Photos courtesy of Passion

Today we have a guest post from one of our fall interns, Amy Dodge. She has been a wonderful addition to our team and has signed on to join See.Spark.Go in the spring as a part of our apprentice program. We’re thankful for her and look forward to the upcoming semester. Enjoy!

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This semester, my fellow interns and I have been blessed to work with a variety of See.Spark.Go’s amazing clients. As I learn about their core missions and values, I begin to appreciate more and more the incredible stories that these clients have to tell.

Boosterthon Fun Run is one of those clients: a fitness, leadership and character development program that helps boost funding in schools throughout the country. It’s far from just selling wrapping paper or cookie dough—Boosterthon Fun Run helps students embrace strong character and teaches them what it means to be a leader.

Last month a local Athens school, Prince Avenue Christian School, hosted the Boosterthon Fun Run. I was excited to see with my own eyes the enthusiasm and motivation that I have learned about over the course of the semester.

When we arrived at the school, I could hear the loud music from 500 yards away but still didn’t know quite what to expect. But as we walked into the gym, I saw hundreds of kids running laps around the gym, donning their Boosterthon All-Star jerseys. The teachers checked off every lap on their jerseys as they whizzed by with smiles on their faces. The stands were full of parents and grandparents to check out the program—and there’s no doubt in my mind that they were all quite impressed.

Their children were getting exercise and raising money for their school, all while learning valuable principles about teamwork and leadership.

This year’s character theme at Boosterthon is “Epic Adventure.” EPIC is an acronym Boosterthon uses to represent four key actions: Encourage, Play, Invite and Celebrate. By teaching children to encourage their peers daily, play together outside, invite others to play and celebrate the success of friends, Boosterthon is establishing a foundation of leadership and teamwork early on.

As we left the Prince Avenue gym that day, I couldn’t help but wish my elementary school had participated in a Boosterthon Fun Run. Boosterthon is so much more than just holiday wrapping paper or double-chocolate chip cookie dough; it is a revolutionary program that is changing the lives of elementary school children in more than 1,500 schools throughout the country.

In the true fashion of a See.Spark.Go client, Boosterthon has a great story to tell. To learn more about the Boosterthon story, visit their website.

It’s that time of year again! The weather has started to cool, Athens is full of red and black and a new semester has begun at UGA. While all this is happening, we’re excited to welcome new interns into the office. This semester kicks off something new in our internship program.

For the first time in See.Spark.Go history, we have three talented interns on our team! We’d like to introduce you to Amy Dodge, Heather Kevern and Libby Wilson, three Grady students with a passion for PR. Each of them brings unique skills and talents to the table and has proven to be a huge asset to our team!

Amy, a senior public relations and Spanish major from Roswell, Ga., has an extensive resume in the communications industry and is the kind of employee who you can count on to get the job done.

Fun Facts about Amy:

• She is originally from the Cape Cod area in Massachusetts and sailed as a child.
• To relax, you can find Amy with a cup of coffee and a magazine.
• She was a collegiate swimmer at University of Richmond for a semester.
• Her PR dream is to work for an international PR agency in Boston.

Heather, a native of Memphis, Tenn., moved to Athens as a freshman in college and has never looked back. Now, Heather is a senior public relations major with a communications studies minor and a certificate in new media. But don’t worry, she still has some Memphis roots in her, as her favorite food is Memphis-style barbeque nachos.

Fun Facts about Heather:

• Her favorite place (other than Athens) is Verona, Italy.
• Her passion is dancing. She’s got some great skills.
• She has an affinity for local coffee shops and farmers markets.
• She has a dream of starting her own Not-Just-for-Profit company that has a business model to support a philanthropic goal.

Libby, from the Golf Cart Capitol of the World (Peachtree City, Ga.), is a fifth year public relations major and speech communication minor who will graduate in December. As she finishes up school, we are thankful she is dedicating some of her time to See.Spark.Go.

Fun Facts about Libby:

• One of her favorite scents is the smell of honeysuckle trees.
• Her favorite food is sushi, which is great, because she works at RuSan’s on the side.
• Her family vacations at her cottage in Northern Michigan on Lake Huron, one of her favorite places.
• She dreams of being a travel writer. What could be better than seeing the world and writing all the time?

As the fall season comes closer, we are already seeing how talented and high-caliber these interns are. We’re thankful for their constant desire to learn and ability to achieve. We can’t wait to see all they accomplish this semester!

In addition to celebrating our fall interns, we are accepting applications for the spring 2012 internship.

To apply for spring 2012, please send your resume to lauren@seesparkgo.com. We look forward to hearing from you!

After countless hours of preparation and training, six young men, staff and alumni of the Paul Anderson Youth Home have officially set off on a 1,500 mile bike ride to encourage parents to take the FamilyStrong Parenting Pledge to “make parent a verb”. On the 50th anniversary of the same route that Paul Anderson rode in

1961, this team will bike from Vidalia, Ga., to Omaha, Neb., to honor Paul Anderson’s legacy as an Olympic gold medalist, “World’s Strongest Man” and founder of the youth home.

These young men hit the rode today for the Paul Anderson Cycling Challenge and will stop in several cities, including Atlanta, Chattanooga and Nashville, Tenn., St. Louis and Kansas City, before arriving in Omaha, Neb., on July 29.

“This ride will be a test of strength and yet, a true honor. The young men who participate in this feat will never forget the moment that they reach Omaha,” said Drew Read, Executive Director of Paul Anderson Ministries and fellow rider. “As they follow the path of a man who has changed their lives forever and the lives of thousands of others, they will learn perseverance, discipline, teamwork and endurance.”

The Paul Anderson Youth Home prides itself in being a living laboratory for the past 50 years. Each of the young men in the youth home has faced incarceration at some time, and the PAYH staff has watched as dangerous trends affect youth everyday. Now, the six young men are out to share their stories across the country and encourage parents to take action in their children’s lives before it’s too late.

I know that our team was most shocked when we learned that over 90,000 teenagers are arrested daily in the U.S. The incredible thing to hear about PAYH is that 90 percent of the young men who participate in the program never face jail time again.

“Like” Paul Anderson Ministries on Facebook and “Follow” @PAYHMinistries on Twitter to hear more interesting statistics and stay updated on the progress of the Paul Anderson Cycling Challenge.

Additionally, you can track the bikers live on their trip to Omaha at http://www.payhbikeride.com/. We are looking forward to seeing all that these young men accomplish over the course of the month!

Have you ever tried to go a day without water? I took on that challenge earlier in the year in honor of those who don’t have access to clean water and failed miserably. It’s a lot harder than you think. Even things like brushing your teeth, making coffee and flushing the toilet use more water than many people across the world have access to each day.

Nearly one billion people lack clean water, and every day 5,000 children under the age of five will die as a result. Wash Away Thirst, a new client of ours, is tackling this water crisis by donating one day of clean water to one person for every car wash at participating car wash locations.

This one-for-one-for-one campaign has united approximately 100 car wash locations under one philanthropic umbrella to provide five million days of clean drinking water to people in need. That’s pretty impressive!

Jim Dudley, owner of Wash Me Fast car washes and founder of Wash Away Thirst, is thrilled to connect car washes throughout Georgia, Florida, Connecticut, Texas and Alabama. Wash Away Thirst is partnering with Rotary International’s Water & Sanitation Rotarian Action Group (Wasrag) to provide clean water to areas that are in desperate need of this precious resource.

“Through this campaign, we will provide community members with the opportunity to make a difference in others’ lives by doing something as simple as going to a carwash,” said Dudley.

And Dudley has a great point. Since we first met him and the members of the International Carwash Association, I’ve learned that the car wash industry is on the forefront of water conservation practices, such as recycling.

Car washes in general, and particularly the ones participating in this campaign, are dedicated to practices that don’t waste water, but rather will recycle about 90 percent of the water.

That’s 90 percent more than I can recycle by washing my car at home and 100 percent easier and more philanthropic. It looks like I’ll be visiting Swifty Car Wash in Athens, Ga. quite a few times during the months of July to December!

To learn more about the Wash Away Thirst campaign, “Like” Wash Away Thirst on Facebook here and “Follow” @washawaythirst on Twitter here.