Archive for April, 2011

More Fun Around the G/J Office!

Friday, April 29th, 2011

Last week we celebrated Easter a little early here at Gunn/Jerkens. Why would we want to do that?

Five eggs-cellent reasons to celebrate Easter early:

1. You love the taste of bunny ears when made of chocolate
2. You figure Good Friday sounds like a good day to start celebrating
3. You have a bag full of eggs and you don’t know what to do with them
4. You really love bunnies and want to post them all over your Facebook
5. You want to win the Gunn/Jerkens Easter Egg Extravaganza – badly!

We were a great display of frenzy last Friday at Gunn/Jerkens as we celebrated Easter early, battling it out in the G/J Easter Egg Extravaganza. Linda took time to decorate two Easter eggs for each person in the office and strategically hid them throughout the common areas of the agency. Although the whole team wasn’t able to participate that day, those of us who were had 30 minutes to scour the shelves, drawers, kitchen and lobby in search of the special treats. Linda kept track of who found what and where, marking off each retrieved egg from her checklist. That way we didn’t leave any uncovered eggs to be found at Christmas!

Some of us had better luck than others in our searching skills. A couple people were able to locate more eggs than were allotted to them while others had a hard time finding one or two. In the end we all had a great time and the experience brought back many childhood memories for us. After the hunt we were all ready to celebrate a weekend with family and friends. Thanks for the fun and games, Linda! We all had a blast!

To stay up to date on all the new and innovative happenings at Gunn/Jerkens, check back often, follow us on Twitter (@GunnJerkens) and “Like” us on Facebook.

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The Royal Wedding: Social Media Mania

Friday, April 29th, 2011

By now most of you have probably watched the royal wedding on TV. And chances are you’ve even checked your favorite social media sites to learn more!

While Princess Diana’s wedding was strictly a television affair,  Prince William and Kate Middleton’s nuptials are on a whole different level–a level in which social media is at the forefront.

Here are some fun social media facts about the royal wedding:

-There were 1.7 million total tweets about the event by the time the couple said their vows (13,000 tweets per minute)

-A whopping 29% of online mentions come from blog posts

-17% of internet buzz arrived in the form of tweets

-There’s an official site for the royal wedding, where you can learn all there is to know about Britain’s most happening ceremony

-The wedding has its own official Twitter hashtag, #rw2011

-The British Monarchy has its own Facebook page that connects enthusiasts to all things royal wedding

-65% of social media outpour hails from the United States

-Last week, the royal wedding was mentioned one time for every 10 seconds on the internet

For more information on social media’s role in the royal wedding, check out this article or read this story.

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Posted in Consider This, New Media, Social Media, Technology | 1 Comment »

The Results Are In…And Jen F. Has Made the Cut!

Thursday, April 21st, 2011

Earlier this year, Jen F. was selected as one of 200 individuals chosen to represent the Odwalla brand on the Odwalla Team 2011! Athletes from different sports backgrounds are chosen to compete in their sport of choice for the duration of the year. Representatives for Team Odwalla are selected based on a combination of accomplishments including philanthropic work, online activity, agreement to represent the team in at least three different races throughout the year and these qualified individuals must agree to tweet about their experiences! At Gunn/Jerkens, we don’t know anyone more qualified than Jen!

We were all excited as we watched Jen receive her supplies from the yummy juice company. In the training supplies box she received her official Team Odwalla gear, snacks to help with her training and more!

After much preparation including early morning and after hour’s workouts, Jen was ready to compete. In her first race of the year, Jen competed in part for Team in Training, who she helped to fundraise for, and for Team Odwalla. The chosen race was The Lavaman Triathlon held in Waikoloa, Hawaii just a few weeks ago.

Combining swimming, running and biking, this race was described as being one that pushed contestants to the limit and generated a strong sense of camaraderie between teammates.

Way to go, Jen! We’re all proud of you and can’t wait until your next race. We’ll be waiting to see those tweets!

To stay up-to-date on all the new and innovative happenings at Gunn/Jerkens check back often, follow us on Twitter (@GunnJerkens) and “Like” us on Facebook.

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Innovation at Its Finest!

Thursday, April 14th, 2011

Gunn/Jerkens recently had the privilege of working on something quite ingenious for a special client, Shapell Homes. We like to call this project The Eco-Savings Showroom. The Eco-Savings Showroom was specially designed for Shapell’s new community, Plum Canyon Ranch. It’s filled with a multitude of energy-saving products that amount to one large eco-savings for the household!

This project was designed to emphasize the importance of living “green” and promote the unique features that can be found in the new homes at Plum Canyon Ranch. The Eco-Savings Showroom is actually a garage attached to one of the model homes. We removed the garage door and replaced it with a storefront design that greets prospective homebuyers arriving at the community and offers a preview of the savings and products to everyone who passes by.

The whole Gunn/Jerkens team worked together on The Eco-Savings Showroom. From the concept to the design, our efforts resulted in an innovative display of walls lined with lists of the eco-friendly amenities offered in these unique new homes and creative artwork of how each provides for additional savings to the homebuyer.

The displays include information on energy-saving appliances from solar energy panels to engineered heating and cooling systems, water-conserving toilets and showers and more. Each illustration articulates the specific requirements needed to receive a positive rating on the EnergySmart Home ScaleSM, a part of the Builders Challenge program for homes in California.

We owe a huge shout-out to the Shapell Homes team for this opportunity! The response to The Eco-Savings Showroom has been tremendous and we feel honored to have been a part of such a novel project.

To stay up-to-date on all the new and innovative happenings at Gunn/Jerkens check back often, follow us on Twitter (@GunnJerkens) and “Like” us on Facebook.

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Foursquare Users: Plugged in and Ready to Spend?

Tuesday, April 12th, 2011

Quite a few of us around the office are avid Foursquare users–in other words, the battle for Gunn/Jerkens mayor is always a heated topic. So, of course, when I saw this article, I knew it was something I had to bring up.

According to reports from RadioShack®, those who use Foursquare spend 3.5 times as much money on products as those who are not using the location networking app. The article further reports that because Foursquare users are generally young and tech saavy, Foursquare has become a very valuable marketing tool. For more, check out the article.

Once again, social media proves to be one step ahead of the game. So what about you? Do you follow brands on Foursquare or use it to find your next new gadget?

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You’ve Got Hail

Friday, April 8th, 2011

Have you ever noticed how strange April weather is? One day it’s sunny, the next day it’s cold and rainy and then back to sunshine. It’s almost like mother nature can’t make up her mind. Is it spring? Is it winter? Somewhere in between?

Well here in Long Beach, we’ve been experiencing our fair share of unpredictable weather, and today was an especially weird day!

Not only did we get an interesting combination of rain and shine, but we also encountered a bout of hail! And since Long Beach isn’t normally cold enough for hail, you know it made for a particularly fascinating spectacle to the G/J office!

Even more fascinating, when the hail began to fall, the sun was still shining. And as we all watched, suddenly the clouds  formed a thick blanket over the office, hurling hoards of water droplets against the pavement–until instantly the whole thing disappeared as fast as it began.

We tried to snap a picture of the hailstorm, but because the rain arrived so fast, no one was able to capture it in action! So instead, I’m going to leave you with this image.

So was the hail this bad? No. But did it still feel like the world was coming to an end? No comment.

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You Can Always Spot Someone Who Lives at Alamo Creek!

Tuesday, April 5th, 2011

Gunn/Jerkens just released the video it created for the new Shapell Homes campaign “You can always spot someone who lives at Alamo Creek.” It’s been three months in the making and well worth the wait! We want to send another thank you to all the stores and shopping centers that allowed us to shoot in their facilities: Blackhawk Plaza, Jellyfish Spa, d.bar, Flaunt Boutique, Cloud Nine Skin and Body Care and Draeger’s Market. And finally, we owe a special “Thank You!” shout out to our great client, Shapell Homes, the entire Shapell Homes team and the Alamo Creek sales team for their assistance with this project.

And now, without further ado, enjoy your front row seat to the video premiere!

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Posted in Branding, General Blogginess, New Media, Our Neck of the Woods, Social Media, Technology, Uncategorized | No Comments »

Happy Bowlin’ Birthday!

Monday, April 4th, 2011

This last Saturday was Linda’s birthday, and you know we didn’t leave it at that! It may have been over the weekend, but we made sure to dedicate some time on Friday to celebrate her special day–and what better way to celebrate than with a friendly game of bowling?

Much like the Gunn/Jerkens Starbucks Excursion, the whole office made the trek down to our local bowling alley, where we all laced up our shoes, readied our bowling balls and put on our game faces to see who could claim the title of Gunn/Jerkens Bowling Champion!

Though most of us don’t have much bowling experience, we were all excited for our special field trip and for the chance to have some fun with our office crew. My personal goal was to bowl turkey (sadly, this did not happen) while some members of the G/J team simply aimed to stay on two feet–I’d like to add that I’m proud to report that no one fell! However, we did have a gutter ball roll back down the lane!

Each member was put into one of two teams, and then came the bowling showdown. With our best foot put forward, we all tackled the lanes, shared cheers of encouragement and bowled from the heart–and the results weren’t disappointing! We had some great frames filled with strikes, spares and high fives as well as our share of gutter balls.

When the tenth frame finally came to an end, the winning team was clear! Congratulations to Amanda, Laura, Ken, Chris, Jayne and myself for knocking down the most pins! And who one the big prize? Word around the office was that I was favored to win since I have my own bowling ball and shoes, and luckily for me, I didn’t disappoint! The pressure was on, but I pulled through to earn the hefty title of Gunn/Jerkens Bowling Champion!

After the game came to a close, we all got together to have a taste of some delicious fruit tart and show Linda some birthday love. From our bowling expedition to the fruitful dessert, Linda’s birthday bash was a great Gunn/Jerkens outing!

Here’s Linda sharing her birthday present with Giji. Thanks for a great outing, Linda. We all had tons of fun and we hope you had a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

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A Honeymoon to Remember!

Friday, April 1st, 2011

Our social media extraordinaire, Camy, recently got married and spent the last week on her honeymoon! And she didn’t just go anywhere for her trip. She went deep into the Caribbean to the island of Barbados! Luckily for us, she was nice enough to share her experience!

So what did the lucky honeymooner do on her trip? Everything that makes for the perfect honeymoon!

She spent most of her time soaking up the sun and swimming in the ocean, but what she enjoyed the most was the delicacy of the exotic local cuisine: french fries. French fries were available almost everywhere the new couple went, and they were irresistibly good. Who knew??

After the sun went down, the newlyweds hit the local reggae clubs for a nightly dance extraveganza as well as some festive island music complete with steel drums.

The pair even made friends with the locals, who took them on a tour around the island and made sure they saw the  island’s finest destinations. And of course, no trip would be complete without some souvineer shopping! Camy made sure to get some beautiful jewelry reminiscent of her wonderful trip!

All in all, sounds like Camy had a great honeymoon!

Congratulations, Camy!

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