Go Digital During the Holidays

  By Jimmy Egeland, Creative Services Manager, Dallas

As we all know in the business world, it is customary during the holiday season to reach out to clients, contacts and prospects to deliver a holiday message. Often times a paper greeting card is the default option. It’s quick; it’s easy, but is it the best option for growing your business?

To best figure out that question, answer this one: what do you do when you get a corporate greeting card in the mail? Read it and then immediately toss it in the trash? Read it and then put it a shelf for a month…and then toss it in the trash?

The point here is that the vast majority of greeting cards—if not all of them—hit the garbage can after their one and only impression. The chances that they live on past the holiday season or that they are shown to anyone other than the original intended recipient are slim to none.

Digital greeting cards change the game. When you take your paper card and postage budget and use it to develop a digital greeting, the chances for your message (and your brand) to reach beyond your initial mailing list expands exponentially.

Creating a fun, memorable or charitable holiday greeting that is online takes advantage of all the methods of sharing—email forwarding, social networks, even distribution channels like YouTube.

A trend towards goodwill and corporate responsibility is tangible in today’s business culture. Why not create an option at the end of your digital greeting card for recipients to choose a charitable organization that your company will make a donation to?

It engages them as they make a positive connection with your brand. After all, companies not only need to provide a great product or service, but also need to be proactive in giving back to the communities they affect.

Will 2010 be the year you ditch the paper card? Take the time to develop your digital approach and be sure to let us know if you need any help along the way. We’ve created plenty of digital holiday greetings for our own company and clients, such as Skanska USA and Armstrong Ceilings, ranging from fun to philanthropic.

Your contacts just might appreciate the change of pace and their contacts just might be introduced to your business.

2011 Fashion Forecast: Work wear makes mainstream style

  By Courtney Goldberg, Senior Account Executive, Dallas

2011 Spring Style Snapshot Military influence is here to stay – think cargo, olive tones, unique detailing – but with an added feminine touch Heritage-inspired collections still key Khakis are a player in a big way – colorful, sanded, tinted Skinny-fit jeans The white out continues Distressed denim – gray, ripped or worn in Washed palette – neutral hues, such as taupe, gray, navy and olive green, with pops of color

Here in Texas we’re just dusting off our winter coats and scarves for the unpredictable winter that lies ahead. In the halls of Hearst and Rodale, fashion editors at top trendsetting publications are laying down the spring 2011 fashion styles we’ll be lusting after in the coming year.

Over the past few years, work wear has infiltrated the mainstream fashion scene as more industrial looks and heritage brands have come into the spotlight. Editors mix high-priced designer pieces and everyday labels to play up the diversity of clothing and how contrasting styles can complement each other. Also, the recession has caused an increased focus on budget-friendly apparel and work wear generally falls into this category.

While our Dickies client, a leader in the work wear industry, has always received the occasional nod in mainstream consumer outlets, we’ve seen increased interest in the brand from these fashion editors. On a recent desk side media tour in New York with Dickies, we visited 15 fashion editors at top men’s and women’s consumer and trade publications. During the meetings, we ran through the highlights and top samples from Dickies’ spring 2011 line, and learned more about what each outlet will be focusing on this coming spring.

When it comes down to it, the line between quality and price continues to weigh heavily on consumers in the purchasing process. Editors will continue the look-for-less trend because while spending is expected to increase in 2011, shoppers are projected to continue in a conservative nature.

Gobble Gobble, It's Time for Holiday Travel

By Meredith McKee, Senior Account Executive, Dallas

UPDATE: The original entry of this blog post ran on Monday, November 22 and follows below.  Following the Thanksgiving holiday, results from the annual Travelocity Thanksgiving Task Force include:

With hundreds of tweets from Travelocity and its spotters and more than 150 media interviews conducted by the Thanksgiving Task Force team, Travelocity was able to keep travelers informed of what was happening at the 12 airports where they were stationed and beyond. We hope you had good travels!


Are you boarding a plane next week? Our client, Travelocity, has a program that may help make the process a little easier.

The Tuesday and Wednesday before Thanksgiving are two of the busiest travel days of the year. The Air Transport Association is predicting that about one million more people will fly this Thanksgiving than last year. Once again Travelocity will help travelers navigate the airports with the 10th Annual Thanksgiving Task Force, stationing spotters at 12 airports across the country to update travelers via Twitter on security wait times, cancellations, delays, crowd conditions and even the occasional celebrity spotting.

Travelocity looks to you, a fellow traveler, to help provide updates as well. All you have to do is tweet your travel updates, including your location and the Twitter hashtag #TravelocityTTF on November 23 and 24, and you’ll be eligible for giveaways from the Travelocity Roaming Gnome.

To see the real-time status reports, flight tracking tools and holiday travel tips from Travelocity and other travelers from across the country, you can check in at Travelocity’s travel blog, The Window Seat or follow Travelocity airport spotters on Twitter from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on November 23 and 24 from the following airports:

• Atlanta Hartsfield (ATL) - @fly_from_ATL http://twitter.com/fly_from_ATL
• Charlotte Douglas (CLT) - @flyCLT http://www.twitter.com/flyCLT
• Chicago O’Hare (ORD) - @flyfromchicago http://www.twitter.com/flyfromchicago
• Dallas / Fort Worth International (DFW) - @flyfromdallas http://www.twitter.com/flyfromdallas
• Denver International (DEN) - @flyfromdenver http://www.twitter.com/flyfromdenver
• Las Vegas McCarran (LAS) - @flyfromvegas http://www.twitter.com/flyfromvegas
• Los Angeles International (LAX) - @flyfromla http://www.twitter.com/flyfromla
• New York La Guardia (LGA) - @flyfromnewyork http://www.twitter.com/flyfromnewyork
• Phoenix Sky Harbor (PHX) - @flyfromphoenix http://www.twitter.com/flyfromphoenix
• San Francisco International (SFO) - @flyfromsf http://twitter.com/flyfromsf
• Tampa International (TPA) - @flyfromtampa http://www.twitter.com/flyfromtampa
• Washington Reagan (DCA) - @flyfromdc http://www.twitter.com/flyfromdc

Have a specific question about your Thanksgiving travel plans?

Travelocity will host a Twitterview on Monday, November 22 from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. EST, where Contributing Editor Jennifer Gaines will be on hand to answer any and all of your Thanksgiving travel-related questions. Tweeps should direct their questions to @windowseatblog http://www.twitter.com/windowseatblog and include the Twitter hashtag #TravelocityTTF.

Competing With the Elephant in the House

  By Linda Edwards Gockel, Executive Trainer, Austin

When it comes to getting the attention of Texas lawmakers, message matters. And when the competition for that attention is a whopping $24 billion budget deficit, message matters a lot. The elephant in the room, or in this case the House, represents about a quarter of the state budget in a state that already runs lean and mean compared to others.

When the 82nd session of the Texas Legislature begins on January 12, the biggest issues will be the budget, the budget, redistricting, the budget, and maybe a few other items such as immigration and voter ID. State agencies and universities that were asked to prepare a budget with 10 percent cuts last spring, today look at that decrease as a possible best-case scenario. Stark realities necessitate that they be very creative and focused in their attempts to preserve their basic mission of serving Texans.

Any company or other organization that wants to be heard by Texas lawmakers now and during the upcoming session should keep a few things in mind.

Propose cost-reducing solutions. The best ideas will be the ones that save the most money. The most poorly received ideas will be the ones that cost money. Entities that rely on State funds will either propose their own workable solutions, or have solutions, workable or not, imposed on them.

Go local. All politics are local. So, visiting the Senator’s or Rep’s local office is smart. Localizing statistics, examples, and impacts to their district will result in a message that is more likely to hit home and leave a lasting impression. It’s important to put “people” with the numbers. How will individuals be affected, specifically people in their legislative district?

Move now. Anyone who wants to influence legislators has a limited time to do so. The workload will pick up as the session moves forward. So, any communications must be early, planned, brief and to the point.

Get outside help. Many industries and organizations have already hired professionals, including Vollmer Public Relations and Edelman, to help with their messages and how to best deliver them.

Especially this session, a little bit of preparation, expertise and coaching can take you a long way with busy Texas lawmakers.

Three Tips for Keeping it Fresh… and I’m Not Talking about Food.

  By Lori Martin, Account Director, Houston

Client relationships are like a marriage, and it’s important to always keep it fresh, real and open. This is especially true if you’re looking for new twists on a 25-year-old annual event.

We’ve worked with the Uptown Houston District on its branding and public relations for many years. It’s one of those great clients where you form a true partnership – to the point that sometimes it seems like we’re practically married! Each year Uptown Houston, recognized as one of the best urban, mixed-use development corridors in the world, produces its Uptown Holiday Lighting event on Thanksgiving night. The event is spectacular, and nearly 200,000 visitors kick off the holiday season with Houston’s largest sing-a-long, millions of twinkling lights, 80 Christmas trees, the jolly man in red and one of Houston’s most spectacular fireworks extravaganzas, all for free.

But how on earth do you present a time-honored tradition as fresh, real and fun to media and the public after 25 years? Making this and other annual events special each time they come around takes following:

Keep it Fresh. Push the limits on your media approach every year. Pretend it’s a new event and client you’ve never worked on before. Easier said than done sometimes, but if you push your team to find something new, I promise, magic can happen. Uptown understands that to stay relevant to its retailers, corporations and residents they must stay actively engaged in the social media conversation. Planning and implementation of the 25th anniversary has given their social media program some new arms and legs. You’ll have to follow us on Twitter @UptownHouston to find out how!

Keep it Real. Have an honest and open relationship with your client, and set expectations and realistic goals before you get started. Not every year will you make it on MSNBC or even the Houston Chronicle front page, but every year you should give it your all. Create story ideas and pitch angles for new media beats. For example, we asked all 150,000 attendees to wear something that sparkles silver to honor the 25th anniversary. Media love it, people think the idea is fun and it’s creating new excitement around the event.

Keep it Fun. Every year, including this year, the Uptown Holiday Lighting production crew eats dinner at a nearby cafeteria on Post Oak. Besides the good food, the team is surrounded by the memories they’ve created in the past 25 years. But if you listen to the conversation, (are you listening to your client??) the words tend to vary from year to year. That’s our job: To change the words, create new conversations and make them meaningful in a new and vibrant way every year.

If you were in Houston on Thanksgiving, we hope you joined us…and wore silver. Whether you were able to attend or not, here are the little-known 25 Facts About Uptown Holiday Lighting sure to get you in the holiday spirit…

1. The Light Wall at the 1984 World’s Fair in New Orleans inspired the tree-lit Post Oak Boulevard.

2. Four months prior to the first event in 1986, the City Post Oak Association changed its name to the Uptown Houston Association.

3. The very first Uptown Holiday Lighting, planned in only four months, was held on Tuesday, Nov. 26, 1986.

4. Eighty live Christmas trees were hand-picked and cut from a Wisconsin tree farm, for the first two years of the event.

5. The original name of the Uptown Holiday Lighting was the Grand Lighting Ceremony.

6. The first lighting included a larger-than-life tree outline in lights on Transco Tower (now Williams Tower).

7. Houston TV weatherman, Doug Johnson, city councilmember, Christin Hartung, and a Texas Children’s Hospital patient helped Santa flip the first switch on Tuesday, November 26, 1986...25 years ago!

8. About 100 people attended the first Uptown Houston Lighting event; now 150,000+ fill Boulevard each year.

9. Houston mayors Kathy Whitmire, Bob Lanier and Lee Brown have all attended the Uptown Holiday Lighting.

10. The first four Uptown Holiday Lighting events, 1986, 1987, 1988 and 1989, were held on the Tuesday night before Thanksgiving.

11. Pop! Bang! Pop! Fireworks choreographed to favorite holiday music arrived on the scene in year three, 1988.

12. In 1989, after months of design and production, 80 official Uptown Holiday Lighting trees and bases with over a half-million lights were installed and are still used today.

13. Through the years, the Uptown Holiday Lighting has benefitted a number of deserving charities, including Sheltering Arms Senior Services, The Children’s Art project, Texas Children’s hospital, and during the very first year’s event, the Houston Food Bank. This year, the event benefits Be An Angel.

14. The event featured a Parade for nine years: 1988, 1989, 1990, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2004 and 2005. In 1997, Second Baptist Church introduced the Electric Light Parade to the event.

15. Cheers! In 1990 crowds eagerly awaited the arrival of Santa on the famous Anheuser-Busch Clydesdales. However, rain cancelled the Clydesdales appearance but for Santa, the show must go on and he was center stage to light up the Boulevard.

16. Celebrity athletes who have participated in the event include Houston Oiler Quarterback, Warren Moon (1999), Gold Medal Olympic figure skater, Kristi Yamaguchi (1992) and Gold Medal Olympic diver, Laura Wilkinson (2000).

17. For the past 17 years, since 1993, thousands of Houstonians have run through Uptown Houston as part of the annual Turkey Trot which takes place early morning, prior to the Uptown Holiday Lighting.

18. It’s a bird…it’s a plane…it’s Santa. The man in red has arrived seven times via helicopter: 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2002.

19. From 1999 – 2001, Disney’s own Mickey Mouse and friends helped Santa light up the night.

20. The excitement filled the air as the Grambling State University Tiger Marching Band headed down Post Oak Boulevard in 2005.

21. The charming sounds of the Salvation Army Harbor Light Choir became a tradition at the Uptown Holiday Lighting in 2005.

22. The Uptown Lighting fireworks display is choreographed and fired using four computers and GPS technology for synchronization; fired from three separate locations, the Uptown Lighting uses the most modern and cutting edge technology.

23. Santa’s sing-a-long is the biggest in town.

24. Decorating hotel balconies have long been a tradition of the event for many years; the official Hilton Houston Post Oak Balcony Decorating Contest began in 2007.

25. Luby’s cafeteria on Post Oak is the favorite pre-event spot for the Uptown Holiday Lighting production crew to celebrate Thanksgiving Day dinner together.

Talking About a REDvolution

  By Danielle Allen, Senior Vice President, Austin

The 2010 elections have come and gone, and for some, there is “election fatigue”—political exhaustion from the onslaught of the negative campaign ads, barrage of snarky interviews and clutter of candidate-promoting yard signs.

For others, there is intense fascination about what’s to come in the approaching 82nd Texas legislature, convening on January 12, 2011. A sea of red on Election Day resulting in the election of 99 Republicans in the House—an historic Republican majority in—has left many to wonder what the 140 days of session is likely to hold. The Texas Senate, for its part, maintains a Republican majority just two seats shy of securing a 2/3 majority required by law.

At the height of the intrigue is the election of the Speaker of the House. Whether current Speaker Joe Straus, R-San Antonio, will emerge victorious against conservatives Rep. Warren Chisum, R-Pampa, and Rep. Ken Paxton, R-McKinney, remains to be seen, but not without a wounding battle for the majority party. Meanwhile the Texas Senate will debate whether to overthrow its 2/3 majority rule to ensure easier passage of majority-sponsored bills.

While the politics of these issues will certainly impact the policy outcomes, two things are irrefutable: the state will take up redistricting and the budget, according to Jason Embry, the Capitol Bureau Chief of the Austin American Statesman, who dropped by our offices today to provide a legislative update. With a projected $20-$25 billion shortfall, education and health and human services most certainly have targets on their backs, and the conservative wave leaves few options besides a blood bath of budget cuts for both.

With these contentious issues at hand, many are asking whether there is room for anything else – and yet, on the opening day of legislative filings, the first pieces of legislation filed were a mixed bag of unrelated issues addressing immigration, voter ID, food safety, and oil and gas regulations, among many others. In the opening days, over 300 pieces of legislation have been filed, and if the 2009 Legislature is any indication, there could be more than 7,000 bills proposed by the time it’s all said and done.

Last session, we worked with LIVESTRONG to advocate for legislation to make Texas a smoke-free state and with the Texas Carbon Capture and Storage Association to keep the regulation of this emerging technology within the jurisdiction of the Texas Railroad Commision. This session is going to be vastly different, but one thing’s for sure: organizations with a stake in the outcome of legislation will have to be creative in getting their message across and demonstrating statewide support for their issue. Session is only 60 days away and there will be just over four months to make an impact. Otherwise, there won’t be another opportunity until 2013.