A PR Extravaganza

Two months of planning. The hard work of several individuals. Many hours of planning and sweat equity. The result? We raised 3,036 pounds of food! We pulled off Hunger Hurts Greenville with more success than we imagined. We set a goal two months ago of raising 2,000 pounds of food for several organizations in Greenville, and we blew that goal away last night!

From a PR standpoint it was also a huge success. We had a camera crew from WSPA come out to cover the kick-off event on Thursday evening to run in the 10pm and 11pm news. We had Chad Bowen chatting live from the Liquid highway room with News Anchor Amy Wood LIVE while she was on the air. We had WYFF show up with the live truck for an interview with Chad Bowen LIVE from the roof of Liquid Highway for the 11pm news as a "top story". We had a billboard donated by Fairway Outdoor that drove several hundred pounds of food to the event as well as a ton of cooperation from TK and Monnie fromthe Magic 98.9 morning show, including a live appearence from Monnie on Friday Morning. The Greenville news came out to cover the event for the closing ceremony last night and posted over 60 pictures on ther website.

Never ever underestimate the power of PR, period.

WHERE'S GRUMPY?

The blog has been a little silent lately eh? It's in the works to move the blog to a new location, with a fun new look and more interactive features. Also, stand by for a big announcement next week!

A few thoughts I am pondering right now...

I'm getting more and more intrigues with this new social media thing. For example, today I recieved a Twitter from Amy Wood from WSPA and CW News at 10. I tuned in to the CW News at 10 and found out about a chat program in which Amy is chatting in the news room while at the news desk doing the news. So in the course of the day, I was exposed to Twitter, Blogging and the chat room which resulted in me tuning into the CW Newscast for the first time.

Stick with me here... are you grasping this? The world is changing. Quickly. I'll post more complete thoughts on this tomorrow, I just had to share this overhwhelming feeling of CHANGE!

In the words of Buffett... Come Monday.

Here it is, byt the time you're reading this it's Monday morning! The beginning of a new week and many new things here at the office. Planning continues on the "plan". Curious yet? Stay tuned, I'll be letting the cat out of the bag soon.

A quick note for my clients: Our new intern starts this morning! Katue McCuen, a 2008 graduate of Wade Hampton HS and incoming USC Freshman starts today at 9! Why are interns great, especially in a marketing firm? They are unjaded. Their young unknowing skulls full of mush are oh so full of ideas and optimism. I'll be putting her on a few projects over the next few weeks, and if you have any creative ideas you want to execute or events coming up that you need assistance in planning that would be right up her alley! She's been working already on the Hunger Hurts Greenville promotion, and has done a great job so far!

No matter how great (or how not great) an intern is, I have always learned alot, and in many cases probably learned more from them than they have learned from me.

Results?

I've been asked several times for an update on my weight loss progress, so if you really care - here you go! As of this morning I've lost a total of 14 pounds, with only 12 pounds to go to reach my goal of 180 by September 1st. If I can keep up this kind of progress I should be able to make it! Thanks to everyone for the tips and encouragement!

A quick recap...

It's getting to be a regular habit of making excuses for the lack of blogposts. The past week has been BUSY!
- Monday was craziness! There are so many projects going on, juggling vendors and quotes, proofs and estimates. One by one everything is getting done! In a clients mind (and many times in mine) it should be a 5 minute process of getting a quote. We work with creative vendors who are constantly seeking ne and better ways of doing things and sometimes take a day or two to get an estimate done to find the best and most cost effective way to complete a project. And even then I sometimes send it back to the drawing board to find a way to do it even better and sometimes even cheaper!
- Tuesday... I'd prefer to forget. I apparently picked up a 24 hour bug from somwhere. Not pleasent. I missed all of the action on one of my most favorite days of the year... ELECTION DAY! I was able to make it out of the house long enough to vote. And congrats to Greenville City Councilwoman Chandra Dillard on her win! She'll be heading to the State House in Columbia to give much needed FRESH representation to those of us in District 23. Congrats also to Greenville Mayor Pro-Tem Lillian Brock Flemming. She'll be in the runoff with Ralh Anderson in a few weeks.
- Today... Wednesday. Long drive down to Columbia to deliver some direct mail pieces for a client. A brief meeting with the Relish half of Mustard N Relish and here I am, back in G Vegas. Maybe we'll get some rain? I ran into plenty on the way up 26 and 385 from Columbia, but my yard didn't get that lucky. Any contributions to my monthly water bill would be greatly appreciated.

Coming soon... a big announcement. Exciting, very exciting!

James Ray trip

It's no "secret" that I took a road trip with some friends yesterday to see James Ray in Charlotte. "What did you think?" That was the first question I was asked when we got back in the car for the trip back to Greenville.

It was inspiring. He's a great speaker, he knows how to motivate, but I wasn't inspired to write him a check for 2k. Rather than being philisophical and writing a 3 page review I'll give you my short version.

Go see James Ray. Leave your credit cards and checks at home. Go and hear what he has to say. Take it with a grain of salt. Digest everything and make it your own based on your beliefs and value system. And then take what you learned agt the free event, write a check for 2k ands invest in your business or yourself. Spend 2k on marketing your business, spend 2k and pay off your car... invest in yourself, not in James Ray.

THE END IS NEAR!

Or so the media would have you believe. I've been out meeting with clients all day today, and they seem to tell a different story than what the media portrays. "Sure business is down a little, but it's nothing that will put us under." Forgo the purchase of the new Mercedes, stash a little extra green away for the rainy day and you'll weather the storm.

I have one client who is opening two new locations in the next 90 days with more to come, and another client opening 3 new hotels within the next year along with some new restaurants. They see the light at the end of the tunnel, and it's not the train coming at them. Keep talking Brian Williams, but the folks in Greenville SC aren't listening. The one sided local stories on WYFF can keep airing, but Greenville isn't buying it. If you're ever starting to buy the schlock that the media is feeding us take a stroll down Main St in Greenville... I'll even give you the numbers for my clients and let them give you a pep talk!

Never look back...

The first lesson that a business owner must learn is to make a decision and NEVER LOOK BACK! I work with so many first time business owners who are in the infancy stages of their business, much of their time is spent second guessing small insignificant decisions they must make. "Should the logo be red or blue?" They first choose red, and then iut's back and forth for a significant amount of time... time that could have been spent on profitable projects or pressing forward with other decisions. The best advice that I can give a new business owner is to spend some time on the question at hand, but once the decision is made, don't look back. You'll lose your place in the race and get behind... losing time that can never be recovered.

I found myself in that same situation last week. I had an opportunity of a lifetime to work for a great group of radio stations in the Cayman Islands... but I'm still here. After almost a week of back and forth... should I go, should I stay... I decided that Greenville is where I should be. A few times I've thought.... what if. I need to take my own advice and realize that I spent a lot of time on this decision and looking back will only waste precious time right now that I can be spending on the projects at hand today.

A major factor of my decision is my wonderful clients and friends that I have made during my short time here in Greenville. Friendships are one thing that cannot be replaced. Will I ever regret my decision? Only if I look back.

The forgotten blog...

The abandoned blog... grumpadman... alive? YES! It's been a busy few weeks around the office. You would think that the holidays would have given me some extra time to catch up, but of course not!

I've been doing some soul searching the past few weeks. What is Mustard N Relish? What do our clients need us to be? How can we better serve you? How do you want your agency relationship to be structured?

That's a whole lot of thinking! Many questions, with hopefully many answers to come. I've spent way too many hours on google looking up other agencies across the US and back in the UK where many "virtual agencies" seem to be popping up, and giving the big boys a run for their money! One really unique agency that stuck out in my head was Big Al's Creative Emporium. I'm loving that site and the concept!

I plan on being back on here on a regular basis and providing some great new content and research... and stand by. Hurrican Season is here and I feel something big brewing. No details right now... as there aren't many to provide. But buckle up and get ready for the ride over the next few months!