Hi everyone! Lauren Locher here – the newest member of the See.Spark.Go team! I’m excited to be updating you on the whereabouts of our team, exciting news about our clients and Athens life in general.
Since January, I have been fortunate enough to learn a little bit about each of the incredible clients we work with. I have had the opportunity to dive into their stories and find out really what makes them tick. However, I have realized that the best way to learn is to see the action live!
About a month ago I attended the Boosterthon Fun Run at New Prospect Elementary in Alpharetta, Ga. and was absolutely amazed. As my first official Boosterthon experience, I loved being able to see the unbelievable Boosterthon team interact and encourage each of the students in a special way. With awesome amounts of enthusiasm, the team teaches a 9-day fitness, leadership and character program in the schools, culminating in a fundraiser fun run to raise about 75 percent more money than traditional fundraisers. Wow!
The Boosterthon team with New Prospect students.
As I walked into the school’s fun run, I saw tons of kids with huge smiles on their faces, running around the Boosterthon Speedway, receiving high fives from friends and family members. Despite the rainy weather outside, causing a quick change of scenery (the fun runs are typically held on the school’s track and field), the Boosterthon Fun Run still went off without a hitch in the school’s gym.
Students running the Boosterthon Speedway!
I absolutely loved seeing the way that teachers were able to participate with their students, through decorating the school, engaging with the students and wearing Boosterthon attire on the day of the fun run. You can tell that the program truly allows the school to create a positive and engaging community!
Overall, my first Boosterthon experience was a huge hit and I can’t wait to attend another fun run! I’m excited to see Boosterthon [CTW]!
This is a special guest post by our friend and colleague, Jessica Henry.
As the Tour Producer of Mutual of Omaha’s Aha Moment Tour, Jessica has been working out of our Athens office as she prepares for the nationwide tour to capture and share America’s aha moments this summer. She has also helped us spread the word about Matchstic’s incredible new space and lives to blog about it. Check out this story in the Atlanta Business Chronicle, too.
Matchstic’s Kitchen (Photo courtesy of Matchstic)
I love telling Matchstic’s story. For years, the East Atlanta branding company operated out of a blue house that contributed to their company culture just as much as the team within. There were things about the culture of a home that seeped into the way Matchstic went about their business. Things like having a full kitchen and dining room.
The Matchstic team, who regularly has meetings over a home-cooked breakfast, is slowly becoming known for their trademark process which includes “Brands ‘N Eggs.” As Matchstic moved into a new office space recently in a very open, industrial building, they brought with them the very team member who made them who they are today: the kitchen.
Not just any kitchen (or a makeshift break room for that matter). The industrial kitchen has been fleshed out to host a mega office party, like the Brands ‘N Eggs Open House Matchstic had Friday, April 8. More than half of our See.Spark.Go team spent the morning enjoying a conglomerate of breakfast foods, some Octane coffee, and the company of more than 50 local business leaders.
A kitchen in the entrance of a brand identity house seems a bit odd, but it’s totally them. Matchstic has built a company culture and reputation around the meal table (literally and figuratively). In helping brands establish their identities, I love how these guys and gals have stayed true to their own.
How is your company culture defined? Is there a structural or relational component that you couldn’t live without?
As you may remember from our post on Passion 2010, our team at SSG is fortunate enough to begin the year telling the story of a global awakening for university-aged students called Passion Conferences. From Jan. 1-4, 2011, we jump-started our year with over 22,000 students and over one thousand volunteers, all coming together to worship and experience life transformation.
Something that was absolutely incredible was the way students completely reached and exceeded the original goal of Passion 2011′s Do Something Now campaign. Throughout the 4-day conference, students had the opportunity to impact lives throughout the world by donating to 10 different non-profit organizations. With an original goal of $470,000, college students blew that number out of the water by giving over $1.2 million dollars to the causes. In addition to that total, over 18,000 towels and 80,000 pairs of sock were donated to the Atlanta homeless.
Leaders at Passion 2011 in Atlanta included Louie Giglio, Frances Chan, John Piper, Andy Stanley and Beth Moore as well as sixsteps recording artists Chris Tomlin, David Crowder*Band, Charlie Hall, Kristian Stanfill, Christy Nockels and others.
Passion 2011 does not stop there, however.
In fact, our team has been in Ft. Worth, TX all week for part 2 of Passion 2011, along with 10,000 more university students and leaders. If interested in learning more, check them out here.
Quite a few awesome things have happened at the See.Spark.Go office since we last posted. Not only have we moved into a new office (more on that to come!), but we also have two new interns for the semester!
Maureen, a Peachtree City native, is currently a senior at UGA, majoring in Public Relations. As an executive board member of Relay for Life, Maureen has been involved with many organizations on campus. Even though she is busy preparing for graduation, we are so thankful for her eagerness to jump into See.Spark.Go from the start of the semester. We love having her personable, hard-working self in the office.
Fun Facts about Maureen:
She lived in Germany from age 2-5.
Her MacBook was the best gift she has ever received.
She swam with the whale sharks at the Georgia Aquarium.
She has traveled to 17 countries, but her favorite place she has visited is Tuscany.
Her “dream job” would be as a dolphin trainer at Sea World, but her PR “dream job” would be to work in PR or special events for a resort or luxury hotel, or to work in the entertainment industry.
Hannah, born and raised in Buford, Ga., is currently a junior at UGA, majoring in Public Relations. Clocking in at 4 feet 11 inches, Hannah is full of energy and always willing to learn. Like Maureen, Hannah loves to travel and had the opportunity to study abroad with Global LEAD in Greece. As our resident chef, she always brings delicious treats to share in the office.
Fun Facts about Hannah:
Her dream destination is South Africa and/or Bora Bora.
Her favorite food is cheese, and we hear she makes a mean mac & cheese.
She bungee jumped 28 stories into the Corinth Canal in Greece – it was “intensely terrifying but a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”
She sang opera in high school.
Her “dream job” is to own her own lifestyle PR firm in either California or the Southeast.
So, you can see that our interns are pretty impressive. Both claim that one of their favorite parts of interning with SSG is being a part of our team, but we are even more thankful that they are here! We can’t wait to share with you some of the awesome things they are doing!
Recently, I asked our summer interns, Anne Mitchell + Hannah Adams, to write a blog post on why college juniors, seniors or recent grads should intern at See.Spark.Go. I was THRILLED to see their response! If you’re interested in interning at SSG, email me with your resume at brittany [at] seesparkgo.com.
Reason #9: Athens
This one speaks for itself. I mean really, who wants to drive all the way to ATL during football season!
P.S. Lots of UGA blood in the SSG family.
Reason #8: Big agency experience – small firm relationships
One thing we’ve noticed/come to LOVE in our time here at SSG is the agency’s ability to incorporate business and great relationships into their work.
As an SSG intern you’ll have the opportunity to work intimately on big name national accounts and be included in decision-making processes. You’ll get an inside look at what goes on in meetings with the movers and shakers of the PR world, not to mention great guidance and friendship with your fellow colleagues.
Reason #7: Creative reign
Every skill you bring to the table will be used in your time at SSG. Every SSG intern gets an invite to brainstorming sessions and your input is always welcome and appreciated. Trust us – It’s AWESOME to have people who listen to your ideas and actually even use them from time to time!
Reason #6: You’re part of the team
You won’t be just making copies or fetching coffee here at SSG (though trips to Chic-fil-A and Jittery Joes aren’t uncommon). At SSG you get thrown straight into the fire, in a good way of course!
As an SSG intern you’ll be doing some of the same things as the head honchos and getting real world experience with really great guidance and leadership. You’ll learn the secrets they don’t teach you in school!
Reason #5: Prime Location
This office is what we call ‘primetime locale.’ You are within a mile of 2 Chic-fil-A’s, Five Points Deli, Barberitos, Panera, and Hannah and my personal favie- Publix (home of the pub sub for the uneducated sandwich eater). Occasionally we take office trips to Last Resort and Yoguri. Just sayin’.
Reason #4: The Other Intern
Over the course of this summer, Hannah and I have shared an obsession with Diet Coke, a weirder obsession for The Bachelorette (don’t get us started on Jake & Vienna) and most of all a love for SSG. We hope the next crop of interns is as lucky.
Reason #3: Carson
If you’re lucky, you might catch this little snuggler in the SSG office. He’ll probably try to get you hooked on Dinosaur Train and he LOVES to play in photobooth.
Reason #2: Expanding your network
As SSG interns we learned quickly that owners Brittany & Andy know any and everyone in town/the Southeast, probably the country. We’ve literally never been anywhere with them where they didn’t know someone. Naturally, they are great people for you to know as well!
Reason #1: Brittany aka ‘boss lady’
Co-owner, Brittany, is undoubtedly the best part of the SSG internship experience. Of course we chat about all things PR, but we chat about the celeb gossip, The Bachelorette and life in general too. Truth be told, we couldn’t have thought up a better mentor ourselves. We hope you’re lucky enough to meet her too!
Last week, SSG attended the Chick-fil-A Leadercast as a guest of our client, Booster. The speakers were phenomenal, the entertainment was mediocre (kidding – Booster was responsible for the entertainment and did an incredible job!), but the insights…the truth that each and every component of the day offered was remarkable and worth repeating. Daily.
Here are a few of the nuggets I took away:
On Leadership…
“Leadership is who we are in all areas of our life, every role, every relationship.” – Connie Podesta
“Talent is God given, be thankful. Praise is man given, be humble. Conceit is self given, be careful.” – Tony Dungy
“You can’t take anyone to higher ground, until you find common ground. Leadership is influence. Influence requires connecting.” John C. Maxwell
On Success…
“Greatness is not a function of circumstance – it is a matter of constant choice and discipline.” –Jim Collins
“Starbucks didn’t reach store No. 5 until they were 13 years old. Most ‘overnight successes’ are 20 years in the making.” – Jim Collins
“Success, born of hubris (arrogance) leads to failure.” – Jim Collins.
“The signature of the greatest executives we studied is their humility.” – Jim Collins
“You have to be working for more than your financial bottom line. Every enduring institution has an answer to this question: what would be lost if we disappeared?” – Jim Collins
“Great companies are built on a purpose beyond making money and a set of core values that are unshakable. Purpose ahead of success. If we lose our values, we lose it all.” – Jim Collins
On building a team…
“The right people are on a mission and they don’t write better stories, they make the story better.” – Jim Collins + Mark Sanborn
“We hire ambitious people. The most important job you have is the job you’re doing.” – Ed Bastian, Delta CEO
“Employees take care of your customers, so take care of your employees.” – Ed Bastian, Delta CEO
“If you treat people like they’ll do something great, they’ll do something great.” – Jim Goodnight, SAS CEO
On inevitable change…
“We’re schizophrenic to change: part of us wants it, part of us doesn’t. And if you don’t like change, don’t have kids.” – Chip Heath (ha!)
“Positive change comes from focusing on what’s working and doing more of that.” – Chip Heath / When’s the last time you asked, “What’s working?”
“Providence follows the prepared mind.” – Steve Uzzell
“To the 6 questions of journalism—who, what, when, where, why and how—add this: are you sure? Making sure you know what you know is the key to being prepared.” – Steve Uzzell
Brilliance…
Dr. Ben Carson, pediatric neurosurgeon, was utterly brilliant and closed the day with powerful teaching. Learn about his scholarships at http://carsonscholars.org/.
And I’ll leave you with this pic of our friend John Maxwell wearing Booster’s fancy red Converses on stage!
The first of its kind, Nike launched a store dedicated to bringing Nike Running to life at the Stanford Shopping Center in Palo Alto this weekend and See.Spark.Go got to the tell the story. But we’d be amiss if we didn’t let you all in on the scoop, too!
It’s more than a store, Nike Running Stanford is designed to be a runners’ hub — with the Runners’ Studio, where you will find even more specialized products, services and individual help to meet your goals. It is the place to go to get setup with the individual workout tracking of Nike+, the most fun and effective way to keep track of fitness progress digitally. It also offers the ability to customize kicks with NIKEiD, or take a new pair of shoes for a free trial test run. Of course, you can always join Nike Run Club for a group run of your choice of a 3, 5 or 7-mile route. (You can join Nike Run Club in other cities with a Nike Store as well!)
Check out the Nike Running blog for more info. Have a running tip you’d like to share? I’d like to know!
It’s already May believe it or not. Where did April go? I’m always amazed at how quickly time passes and I’m equally amazed that we are back on the road for the 2010 Aha Moment Tour (note: I’m not personally on the road)! Our friends at Skadaddle Media have put together a whole new crew (read their blog), a freshly updated, custom 34′ Airstream trailer designed as a mobile television studio and selected 25 brand NEW cities to visit across the U.S. for this year’s tour. What is the Aha Moment Tour you ask? It’s part of Mutual of Omaha’s search for real people with real stories to feature in their next national TV commercial spots.
The ‘aha crew’ has already visited Fresno, Calif., and will be LIVE in Tucson, Ariz., tomorrow and Saturday. Read more in today’s Arizona Daily Starnews brief.
I’m also including a link to view the top moments from the ’09 tour that are currently on air. You may have even seen one during Celebrity Apprentice, Dancing with the Stars, LOST and/or lots of other shows in the aha-lineup. Enjoy!
We’ve got big news stirring with our friends at U.S. Nike Stores. We’ll post more after May 5… Stay tuned! But until then, watch this FastCompany video from its Innovation Uncensored conference and Nike CEO Mark Parker on why his design background is critical to Nike’s success.
For the past 3 years, See.Spark.Go has had an incredible internship program that’s attracted some amazing talent (from whom I learn something new every day!). This post belongs to the one and only Mary Catherine Kinney (MCK as we call her, or just plain “Rockstar”). Take it away, MCK!
Mary Catherine the Intern here! It’s a sunny day in the Classic City, but a busy day around the office. We are all a-buzz preparing for Mutual of Omaha’s 2010 Aha Moment Tour in May and busy brainstorming for all of our clients. Brittany just asked me what I’ve learned about PR from See.Spark.Go and I just had to share with you my life as a member of the SSG family!
My experience at See.Spark.Go has given me great insight and experience in the wide and ever-changing field of PR. From pitching client events to crafting press releases, my intern days have been far from the water cooler and copy machine tasks.
As a senior in the Grady College of Journalism at the University of Georgia, I’ve had several years of PR teaching, instruction and knowledge. However, the classroom can never teach what you learn from being in the PR “trenches”. My internship at SSG has given me tangible real-world experience in Public Relations. I recall my first week working for Brittany. We had an event happening in Pismo Beach. There were media alerts to be written, lists to be made and reporters to call.
And I was clueless.
Brittany, however, saw a diamond in the rough. She equipped me with a quick lesson in Cision, Mapquest (Where exactly is Pismo Beach anyway?), and an expertly crafted press release and said those fateful words that led to great growth “Go for it.”
Through my internship, I’ve discovered the basics of writing press releases, developing media lists and building relationships with reporters while gaining clear insight into the real-world of PR that I wouldn’t have learned this anywhere else but at See.Spark.Go. This incredible experience equipped me for any PR job that may come in the future.
I just hope that wherever I land after my internship with See.Spark.Go also celebrates all accomplishments with freshly baked chocolate chip cookies.
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Read more from Mary Catherine on her blog and follow her on Twitter!
As you may remember from our post on 
Maureen, a Peachtree City native, is currently a senior at UGA, majoring in Public Relations. As an executive board member of Relay for Life, Maureen has been involved with many organizations on campus. Even though she is busy preparing for graduation, we are so thankful for her eagerness to jump into See.Spark.Go from the start of the semester. We love having her personable, hard-working self in the office.
Hannah, born and raised in Buford, Ga., is currently a junior at UGA, majoring in Public Relations. Clocking in at 4 feet 11 inches, Hannah is full of energy and always willing to learn. Like Maureen, Hannah loves to travel and had the opportunity to study abroad with Global LEAD in Greece. As our resident chef, she always brings delicious treats to share in the office.
Enjoy!
