Pure Thinking

Intern Post: My Saturday night was a lot better than yours...

“Wanna do something?”

“Ooo… I can’t. I’m actually going to a Gala… It’s for work.”

“Oh.”

That’ll shut your friend up. "What are you doing going to a Gala?". their thinking.

I got to attend the Little Wishes, Big Dreams Fundraiser Gala for the Children’s Hospital. I was there with three of my colleagues, Lara, Kate and Michelle to help escort media; making sure the photographers got great photographs. The truth is, it would be difficult to take a bad photograph at this event. Everyone looked absolutely stunning, and everyone was in high spirits and eager to support such a great cause.

This opportunity was different than my other experiences at Pure. This past summer I worked a handful of big events, and had forgotten how good it feels to be at an exclusive event like this, making sure everyone is enjoying themselves.

Some of the lovely guests included Governor and Mrs. Ritter, Chairpersons Darci & Jack Overstreet, with CBS4’s Molly Hughes and Jodi Brooks and emcees.

The event raised $2 million, taking place at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in downtown Denver. More than 1,400 were in attendance.

Following dinner, the 2009 Ambassadors – Alberto Robledo-Araujo, Michelle Gaffney, Benjamin Patterson, Lars Skoric, Rose Vu and Tanner Waterman took the stage and were introduced to the crowd. A short video followed, highlighting three of Children’s prominent programs; Neurology, Oncology and Pulmonology. The video illustrated some of Children’s Big Dreams for the future of pediatric healthcare.

There was a silent auction as well as a live auction. Some of the bidding items included
a 2010 Lexus HS250h luxury Hybrid presented by Kuni Lexus of Littleton and Colorado Springs and a chance to sing-a-long live with Loggins and Messina to “Your Momma Don’t Dance.” The night ended with a live performance by 70’s group Loggins and Messina.

For more information on programs of The Children's Hospital, log on to www.thechildrenshospital.org.

It’s not every day you get to go to a Gala, let alone a Gala benefiting such a thoughtful cause!

Kate, Lara, Me, Michelle

Our own Tim Carroll and his wife Heather attended

The brave and charming ambassadors for the Children's Hospital

Photos courtesy of www.BlackTie-Colorado.com, for a complete album visit their website.

Clearing out the candy jar

If you're like me, and already feeling guilty about the number of times you've dipped into the leftover Halloween candy stash, here are five ways to keep it off of your waistline and toward some greater good. You can donate it to charity or, in the spirit of the economy, sell it to your dentist for $1 per pound via halloweencandybuyback.com (oh, and they donate it to charity too). Details here.

-- Kate

It's the most wonderful time of year. Already?

 

It's not even Halloween yet and the Halloween candy has been exiled to the clearance section at the grocery story. The aisles are now full of candy canes, tinsel and other red and green treats. Can't we enjoy one holiday before moving onto another? Every year, the Christmas season seems to come upon us earlier. Before we know it, holiday ads will start running in August. According to a recent New York Times story, retailers say the have a good excuse for rushing the holiday season this year - the economy.  

By pushing the holidays early, retailers are hoping that cash-strapped consumers will have more time to spread out their purchases, make decisions and ultimately purchase products. With this extra time retailers are hoping to avoid the National Retail Federation's predicted 1 percent decline in sales this season versus last.

Not only are shoppers getting extra time to bask in the holiday spirit, but they can expect to see ads that appeal to the emotional side of the holiday season with themes of family, friends and giving. Like everything else this year, holiday ads will also be focusing on celebrating on budget emphasizing discounts and sales.

Will the extra time to think about your holiday shopping and emphasis on the emotional side of the holidays drive sales? Only time will tell but from my perspective as one consumer, I will spend money either way. Let us enjoy our candy corn and turkey before we see candy canes grace the grocery store shelves and holiday ads running on TV.

- Shannon

Purely Social

Do the words Tweet, Facebook, wiki and blog make you shiver in fear? Do you avoid conversations with your colleagues or boss about social media?

You can't hide any longer. It is time to learn about what social media efforts can do for your business or organization. At Snooze AM Eatery, on Tuesday, November 3rd from 7:30 - 9am, Pure will fill your head with helpful social media knowledge so you’re ready to engage in the online conversation. We’ll also fill you up with some of Denver’s best pancakes.

Join us to decide if engaging in social media is right for your business or organization. We’ll answer your most burning social media-related questions and share real life case studies. By the end, you will no longer fear social media. Hopefully, you’ll be inspired to start engaging in the online conversation.

For more information and to reserve a spot before it fills up, visit http://www.pure-brand.com/purelysocial/ and to sign up, visit http://purelysocial.eventbrite.com/?ref=estw

From the Intern's Perspective II

Still loving my internship here at Pure—I love being busy. I have developed a productive routine, and am experiencing the rewards of positive results with my work efforts.

Highlights?
I was given the chance to attend the PRSA Colorado luncheon last week with Pure and I left feeling very inspired. We got to hear Dana Perino‘s experiences in working as the Press Secretary under President Bush. She was a very charming story teller. She told stories such as the shock she felt when she was appointed as Press Secretary, and advised the room of professionals on how she maintained relationships with the press, while having to keep a lot of information to herself. She really emphasized the importance of always being on your feet and always listening to what is going on. It made me reconsider how important sleep really is...(her first meeting of the day was always at 6:30am)!

Dana Perino, doing what she does best. Answering heated questions!

As cliché as it may sound coming from a young, female professional, but it was great to hear about a woman staying strong in such a high pressure, male dominated position, which “forced her to learn to be a fighter.”

It makes me think of the women I work with here at Pure. We have a small office, and a great group of hard workers. We also have a great group of women here. They are all driven to do the best job for the client and have an exceptionally diligent work ethic. The last agency I interned at, Kelliher Samets Volk in Burlington, Vermont, was female dominant as well. The Mad Men days are in the past and women have made a huge influence in the advertising and PR industry. As of 2002, females made up 70% of the public relations industry. With how quickly this change has been put into place, I can only imagine what the future holds for business women. 

Work it girl!

Other highlights of working as the PR intern at Pure the past few weeks?

Helping get together a big fundraising event for a client, reaching out to national and local associations to promote an event, and seeing results of our outreach efforts!

Looking for seasonal work?

In an effort to spread awareness about the brand, Proctor & Gamble is looking for five people to spend five weeks in a Charmin-branded, Manhattan bathroom and blog about the experience.

The five “Charmin Embassadors” will work in the Charmin Restrooms in Times Square from Nov. 23 to Dec. 31 and be paid $10,000 each. The "Embassadors" will interact with bathroom guests, maintain their own blog and content on Charmin-branded Web sites and popular social media sites, and share "family-friendly" video from the restroom space and surrounding areas.

Interested? Read more here.

-- Katie

Google What?

“There’s gotta be a program in which we can all edit the same document at the same time without messing it all up,” I over hear Gregg, a partner here at Pure, say the other day.

Well Gregg, you spoke just in time.

Meet Google’s Wave.

A web application which combines aspects of e-mail, chat, Wiki documents, blogs and photo-sharing sites to create what some may call a perfect world, but Google likes to call it a “hosted conversation”.

Some of you maybe have been hearing all about Google’s Wave on your Twitter feeds, on Facebook or on the news. It has certainly been hyped up, as people are dying to get “invited” to try out Wave.

My former Internet Marketing teacher, career adviser and favorite mentor at Champlain College, Professor Elaine Young (@ejyoung67) was just dying to get her hands on a Google Wave invite:

This response to the release of Google Wave has been seen all over social media this week.

As I read Mashable’s Complete Guide to Google Wave, I started to realize the Wave is actually like an electronic assistant. Some of its features, or should I say its job description, include Playback (playing back any part of the wave to see what was said) and Natural Language (the Wave autocorrects your spelling, as well as auto translates as you go).

The coolest part about Wave, by far, is the real-time capabilities. You can watch someone else you are signed on with, typing, character-by-character. Anyone else get keyboard shy when someone is watching you and mess everything up? I hope that does not become an issue with this communication platform…

This real-time feature will be a great tool for freelancers working for a company in another state, or out-of-state client meetings.

The problem with the Wave is that it is not going to actually be of any help to you and your business unless the person you need to be connecting with knows and understands how to use it. That is the challenge. This platform has so many layers to it – I wonder how Google is going to make sure that people can really understand how to use it.

Read more about the wave here.

Thoughts?