When you invite the commissioner of Baseball, Bud Selig, to be the main speaker at your fundraiser, you’ve got to kick things up a notch or two. We helped the Boy Scouts Los Angeles Area Council create a compelling campaign to fill the seats and an inspirational environment to capture the imaginations, and open the wallets, of 270 invited donors. Pasadena Advertising created all the graphic support from invitations and fund raising collateral, to table talkers and a set design made up entirely of banners.
Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig speaks against a backdrop of iconic Boy Scout Banners.
The banners for the set, designed by Pasadena’s David Ensz, an Eagle Scout himself, avoided the overly used red, white and blue for colors exclusively associated with Scouting. “Olive, khaki and crimson are the colors I remember most from Scout uniforms and badges,” explained David, “They are an intrinsic part of the memories Scouts hold onto from their meetings, scout camps and Jamborees.”
All our materials used the same color palette and vocabulary.
The graphic style was reinforced in all the support materials, from the Eagle "hero graphic" to the program, pamphlets and response cards. The Character Counts event was primarily a fundraiser to support Scouting and the youth of our community, but it was also an opportunity to raise awareness for Scouting, and recognize the support of deserving volunteers and benefactors. Honorees included Los Angeles Area Council Board members Don Crocker, Rita Illig Liebelt, Dave Meshulam and Robb Scoular. Charles E. Blake, Sr., the Presiding Bishop of The Church of God and Christ, was presented with the The Whitney M. Young Jr. Service Award
The Scouting program focuses on leadership, character, development, and important life skills. This event makes it possible for the "Friends of Scouting" campaign to fund programs that make it possible for youth living in poverty to gain the skills and citizenship they need to become assets to society.
Involvement or commitment? The difference is easy to see. Consider scrambled eggs and ham. The chicken was involved, the pig was committed. Here at Pasadena, our relationship to the Boy Scouts is a whole lot closer to commitment, but without the carving, curing and pan frying. One prime example of this is how we dealt with the Boy Scouts Los Angeles Area Council's "Over the Edge" fund raising event. We promoted the excitement and thrill of dropping 27 stories over the side of the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles, but we took the extra step – literally.
Pasadena Advertising Creative Director and Eagle Scout David Ensz strapped on the full-body industrial harness and rappelling gear for the 250 foot drop... then took the big step. He had his very own cheering section down below near the pool deck a safe distance away from the landing zone, shouting encouragement and taking pictures. Thanks to the The Los Angeles Fire, and Building and Safety Departments, every precaution was taken to preserve life and limb. And in the end, the Los Angeles Area Council of the Boy Scouts raised over $135,000 to support inner city youth through Scouting.
Speaking as a totally unbiased Marketing Director at Old Pasadena Management District (OPMD), I have to say… Old Pas knows how to have a good time.
This month alone we’ve got the ongoing “Locals Only” Thursday specials with great savings throughout Old Pasadena for anyone who lives or works anywhere in Pasadena. And on Sunday the 16,th we are holding our annual Cultural Dance Festival from 1:00-6:00 p.m… Which oh by the way, is FREE… and everyone’s invited. And of course this is the first week of “DineLA,” and six of our restaurants are participating: La Grande Orange Café, POP Champagne & Dessert Bar, Quadrupel Brasserie, Sushi Roku – Pasadena, The Melting Pot on Colorado, Vertical Wine Bistro, Villa SORRISO and Yujean Kang's Gourmet Chinese Cuisine.
That not enough to celebrate? Let’s talk Halloween. From Saturday, October 22 through Monday, October 31, there are stunningly Spooktacular activities going on throughout the district: kids pumpkin decorating, store-to-store trick-or-treating, costumed characters “meet and greet,” and free outdoor screenings of Monsters Inc. and Corpse Bride. Still not satisfied? How about free haunted photos, a kid-friendly haunted house tour, and more!
There's a lot happening all over town, starting at One Colorado.
Halloween eve, Monday the 31st, features free store-to-store trick-or-treating at over 75 stores and restaurants in Old Pasadena starting at 4pm. There’ll be a variety of festive candy and confections for all the little ones. Free caramel apples will be given out on Colorado Blvd and at One Colorado Courtyard kids can get free haunted professional photos against a festive background among hundreds of pumpkins. One Colorado is also the site of free outdoor screenings of “Monsters Inc.” at 6pm and Tim Burton’s “Corpse Bride” at 8pm. And for a little variety, you can meet and greet various popular Halloween costumed characters who will be roaming Old Pasadena on Halloween evening.
And for those who love a little Halloween Horror, up-close-and-personal, the Old Town Haunt, Pasadena’s award-winning scary haunted house is back, dwelling in the basement of the historical Union Savings Bank Building where rumor has it, mysterious occurrences have taken place in the buildings’ deadly 109 year history Now the building is open to the public for chilling tours into the catacombs where ghosts and goblins meet from 7 pm-12 am. A lights-on, child friendly tour and walk-thru is also available from 12pm-4pm on Sunday, October 30.
So, celebrate the SPIRITS of the season with us in Old Pasadena. You’ll have a frightfully good time.
For over a decade, Kirk had put up with numbness, first in his feet, then his legs and finally all of his lower organs. But for over a year, things were going south rapidly. He fell often and fell hard. He frightened his 3-year old, and was in fear for his life. When the neurologists and neurosurgeons at USC examined his CAT scan, they found a tumor that had compressed his spinal cord to the thickness of a ribbon.
Kirk relates this experience of facing the consequences of a thoracic vertebra 7 level schwannoma, and his treatment, a gross total resection of the tumor by neurosurgeon, Patrick Hsieh, M.D. Graphic scans show the extent of the damage done by the tumor and the relief that Doctor Hsieh and his team were able give Kirk. More than just the ability to stand, and walk and regain control of his body. He was able to rebuild his life and rejoin his family.
This is just one of thirteen videos that Pasadena Advertising Marketing and Design produced for the USC Keck School Of Medicine: true stories of normal, healthy people whose everyday lives were suddenly shattered by catastrophic medical emergencies no one could predict or prepare for. The patients themselves tell their stories of survival with the help of their doctors: the neurologists, neuroradiologists and neurosurgeons of the Keck School of Medicine at USC.
This is the kind of information my wife and I wished we'd had when our daughter’s life was nearly ended by a brain hemorrhage in Scotland in 2007. We spent hours pouring over the Internet scouring all the information we could find on aneurysms and the treatment, coil embolization. Most of what we found was so arcane and technical that we could not truly grasp what was happening. We created these videos for people like us – people who need immediate answers, to urgent questions, in idioms they can easily understand.
With these videos at their fingertips, patients, friends and families dealing with life threatening neurological threats will finally have a place to turn for practical answers that they can understand.
These videos were conceived and produced by Tony Nino and Suzanne Marks at Pasadena Advertising Marketing Design.
The director and DP was James OKeeffe and the editor was Peter Bayer.
Annie remembers the day a blinding headache, vomiting and loss of balance sent her to the emergency room and began a day of terrifying revelations. Her doctors could not control her symptoms, and couldn't find a cause until CT scan revealed a massive acoustic neuroma, eighth cranial nerve brain tumor that was literally crushing her cerebellum. The doctors immediately scheduled surgery, and advised her to get prepped immediately. She said no.
Annie is a fighter, an activist and the founder of the American Soldiers Network dedicated to raising awareness for the needs of our veterans, our injured soldiers, their families and the challenges they all face during the reintegration process when they return from Iraq and Afghanistan. She takes nothing for granted. She tells how she immediately called on friends and colleagues and found one of the premiere neurosurgeons in the country, Steven Giannotta, M.D. at USC, and convinced him to see her right away.
Dr. Gianotta explains how her tumor, while benign, had grown so large, and was impinging on so many vital nerves and tissues, that only a surgical solution, a retrosigmoid craniotomy, was viable. His task at this point was not merely to save her life but spare her facial nerves
This is just one of thirteen videos that Pasadena Advertising Marketing and Design produced for the USC Keck School Of Medicine: true stories of normal, healthy people whose everyday lives were suddenly shattered by catastrophic medical emergencies no one could predict or prepare for. The patients themselves tell their stories of survival with the help of their doctors: the neurologists, neuroradiologists and neurosurgeons of the Keck School of Medicine at USC.
This is the kind of information my wife and I wished we'd had when our daughter’s life was nearly ended by a brain hemorrhage in Scotland in 2007. We spent hours pouring over the Internet scouring all the information we could find on aneurysms and the treatment, coil embolization. Most of what we found was so arcane and technical that we could not truly grasp what was happening. We created these videos for people like us – people who need immediate answers, to urgent questions, in idioms they can easily understand.
With these videos at their fingertips, patients, friends and families dealing with life threatening neurological threats will finally have a place to turn for practical answers that they can understand.
These videos were conceived and produced by Tony Nino and Suzanne Marks at Pasadena Advertising Marketing Design.
The director and DP was James OKeeffe and the editor was Peter Bayer.
Over ten thousand visitors gathered for the wildly popular “Make Music
Pasadena.”
On Wednesday
August 17, at our OPMD first Marketing Committee meeting after measuring the success of “Make Music Pasadena,” we held an informal roundtable on the most effective ways
to attract and retain customers. As the head of Marketing, I was specifically interested in how OPMD’s
efforts were making the merchant's efforts easier. But we didn’t exactly ask that question.
Thank goodness.
We asked, “What has
worked best to attract and retain customers for your business?” The
overwhelming answer was “Customer Service.” All the merchants around the table
agreed. Everyone was eager to share what had worked, and, even more
emphatically, what had not worked for them in their own businesses. This
promised to be much more interesting that what we had originally intended, so we listened and learned.
“Paying attention
to the little things,” was a common theme shared by business owners and
managers from the diverse group at the table from The Melting Pot restaurant,
Lula Mae boutique gift shop, Vertical Wine Bistro, Le Grand Orange Café and the
One Colorado development. Another common theme was rewarding locals, residents
and employees alike who spend time in Old Pasadena. The more personal the
approach, the better.
On the other hand,
impersonal discount aggregators such as Groupon were roundly dismissed.
Customers who came in to use their Groupon discounts were almost never seen
again. To make matters worse, the merchants only received 25% of the value of
the service or merchandise and the 8 ½ x 11 computer print-out coupons were
perceived as tacky and awkward to use. According to Online
Media Daily, we weren’t the only people to notice.
Personal coupons,
and targeted neighborhood discounts such as Lula Mae’s “Lula Bucks,” Le Grand
Orange’s Monday and Tuesday Neighborhood Nights, Vertical Wine Bistro’s Burger
Night Thursday and Melting Pot’s Rewards Program paid off consistently with a
wealth of return customers. And unlike Groupon customers, local customers taking part in local restaurants' promotions tipped their waiters.
When we finally
asked our merchants if the OPMD events helped them, they were effusive with their praise.
“Make Music Pasadena,” “Pasadena Restaurant Week,” “Summer Film Festival”
“Happy Hour Week” and our “Art Night” entertainment had all positively affected
business. Everyone was excited about the “Locals Only Thursday”
promotion running in September and October. In fact over 50 Old Pasadena businesses
have signed on to be a part of it.
Personal touch.
Customer Service. Catering to friends and neighbors. As much as we at OPMD
would like to believe that we are the driving force in Old Pasadena business,
apparently doing good business is still what does businesses the most good.
Open the doors and seize the day. That’s what they’re doing in Old Pasadena every Thursday for the months of September and October. Over 50 Old Pas merchants will offer special discounts and promotions to Pasadena residents as well as those who work in Pasadena during Old Pasadena’s Locals Only Thursdays.
From the home page of the website to signs throughout the district, locals are directed to savings
Due to the success of last year’s event, Locals Only Thursdays is being extended to two months this year beginning September 1. We fully expect to draw thousands of Pasadena residents, business people and employees to Old Pasadena to enjoy a wide range of in-store giveaways and promotions.
Restaurants; stores; coffee, tea and dessert shops; spas and beauty salons throughout Old Pasadena are offering special giveaways and exclusive savings including Banana Republic, Forever 21, The Body Shop, Verizon Wireless, Eileen Fisher, The Sofa Company, The Luggage Room Pizzeria, Stats Floral Display, Vertical Wine Bistro, Lula Mae, Distant Lands and Sushi Roku, among others. They are offering thousands of dollars in savings and many are offering free gifts to customers.
As head of the Old Pasadena Management District Marketing Committee, I get to congratulate Kershona Mayo for her excellent work in organizing this event, and Janet Swartz for her online marketing. I love how good they make me look. Wow times 2. But in truth, we really do have a lot of great stuff to work with.
Old Pasadena has always been a great place to live, work and shop, and now, it’s even better. For more information including a download of all the exclusive special offers, giveaways and promotions please visit www.oldpasadena.org/localsonly.
