Drawings to Draw People in
Happy Friday! At yesterday’s “Governor’s Conference on Tourism” at Sunday River, NMC hosted caricature artist Jim Stinchfield to do drawings of people who came to our trade show booth.
It was a great draw and people lined up to have their drawings done!
Over 350 industry professionals gathered for the one-day event which was sponsored by L.L. Bean and coordinated by NMC.
Are You Pinterested?
Happy Wednesday! NMC Account Coordinator Whitney Moreau shares today’s Witty Wisdom about a visually based social network that has everyone sharing:
Every day it seems like we are inundated with the constantly-morphing world of social media. While I keep up with the latest hype and social babble as a part of my career in PR, in my personal life I stick to the “basics” and primarily use Facebook.
Until recently. What is this new wave of social media that has me hooked while I could be dwindling my internet surfing time elsewhere, you ask? Pinterest.
Described as a social catalog and online pinboard, Pinterest is a collection of powerful visual stimuli. From the time you visit the homepage until the time you reluctantly leave, you will see vibrant images ranging from lavish bedrooms with cathedral ceilings to crocheted winter hat patterns for tiny tots.
View the “pins” displayed randomly or search by category. My favorites? Do-It-Yourself & Crafts, Food & Drink, Home Décor andWeddings & Events.
If you’re “pinterested,” request an invite. A few days later you will receive a link allowing you to set up an account, start your own “boards” arranged by chosen categories and start pinning your likes, inspirations, ideas and motivations.
Despite common belief this social site emerged recently, Pinterest was created in December of 2009 and as of late has taken off and become much more than just an eye-popping phenomenon.
Maine Based Nonprofit Drives Social Change through Empowering Young Women
Happy Monday! Today’s Maine Maven is well known around the state for her leadership and incredible work with young women. Megan Williams is the president of Hardy Girls Healthy Women, a national, research-based non-profit empowering girls with knowledge, critical thinking skills, and a platform to drive social change.
A graduate of Colby College, Megan was hired in 2005 as Hardy Girls Healthy Women’s first staff member. During her time with Hardy Girls, Megan has created the Girls Advisory Board – an adult-youth partnership model designed to give girls leadership experience and an equal voice in programming decisions.
Megan launched the Training Institute – a national initiative for adults who want to integrate Hardy Girls’ strength-based approach to working with girls into their work, and she transformed HGHW from a volunteer-run, Maine-based organization into a national brand, widely respected for its girl-powered social change approach.
Megan was included on MaineToday Media’s 2011 40 Under 40 List – a list of Maine’s most accomplished young leaders, recognized for their commitment to leadership, professional excellence and their communities; Mainebiz’s 2009 Next List – a group of 10 emerging leaders recognized for shaping the future of Maine’s economy.
Also, in 2010, Megan was awarded the first ever Open Door Award from the Frances Perkins Center, an award given to a woman under 30 who has demonstrated exceptional leadership.
Additionally, under her leadership, Hardy Girls was awarded the 2010 Governor’s Award for Nonprofit Excellence for achieving significant results by combining ingenuity with sound management practices and principles.
Megan serves on the steering committee for KV Connect, a networking group for young professionals. She is a vice-chair of the MaineShare Board of Directors, an organization that provides support to nonprofits doing progressive social justice and root cause work, and a board member for the Maine Association of Nonprofits, a membership organization advancing and strengthening Maine’s nonprofit sector.
NMC Honored by Friend and Client
Happy Friday! We at NMC were proud to be honored last night by a dear friend and client, The Maine Children’s Home for Little Wanderers, at their annual dinner last night.
The Maine Children’s Home recognized us in helping increase donations through their website that we created and maintain and for our overall involvement in promoting their programs.
We were truly touched by the recognition and by the speakers at the dinner!
NMC Account Executive Greg Glynn, Account Coordinator Whitney Moreau, Company Principal Nancy Marshall, Account Coordinator Nikki Busmanis, and Interactive Marketing Manager Matt Rideout posing with their award at The Maine Children's Home's Annual Dinner.
Executive Director Sharon Abrams of The Maine Children’s Home was recently featured as a Maine Maven. Check out her post!
Even Our United States Senator Loves Facebook for Business
Happy Wednesday! We have been touting the value of using Facebook for business for a long time. Lately, we have been doing Facebook advertising campaigns for our clients, which have been highly effective in helping clients get the word out about their products and services.
Yesterday, U.S. Senator Olympia Snowe held a workshop at the Augusta Civic Center to promote the value of Facebook for business.
Senator Snowe extolled the value of Facebook for building a community around your brand.
Here is a link to the article in the Kennebec Journal about the workshop.
We figure if our esteemed U.S. Senator is promoting Facebook for business, we must be on to something big.
Marketing Successes and Challenges for Historic Maine Windjammer
Happy Monday! Today’s Maine Maven is Captain Barry King, co-captain of the beautiful schooner Mary Day in Camden with his wife Captain Jennifer Martin.
Barry and Jen are both Coast Guard licensed masters and have extensive sailing and educational backgrounds. Barry has voyaged to Bermuda, the Bahamas, the Caribbean, and along the Canadian maritimes to Newfoundland. Jen’s sailing career took her to Florida and the Bahamas before becoming captain of Figaro IV, a classic ocean racing yacht, here on the Maine coast.
Barry is a Registered Maine Guide, and a Nationally Registered Wilderness EMT. He also sails as an officer aboard the 1877 barque Elissa. Jen is a nationally certified Wilderness First Responder.
Jen and Barry met as students with the Audubon Society’s Expedition Institute while earning master degrees in experiential environmental education. This program gave them in-depth experience in a diversity of human and natural communities ranging from a sub-artic fishing village in Labrador to the native American desert southwest.
Captains Barry and Jen with their children Sawyer and Courtney aboard the schooner Mary Day
Barry and Jen were married aboard Mary Day and live year round in Maine with their children Sawyer and Courtney.
Combining their enthusiasm for people, wilderness, and beautiful traditional sailing vessels, Barry, Jen, Sawyer and Courtney will be happy to welcome you aboard.
Full-Service PR: from Press Events to Press Treats
Happy Friday the 13! Yesterday, NMC organized a press conference in the State House Hall of Flags in Augusta, ME to announce the donation of 143-acres of land by the J.M. Huber Corporation to Baxter State Park.
We had our neighbors at Kennebec Chocolates in Augusta make these beautiful and delicious cupcakes that were decorated with edible moose antlers, brook trout, hummingbirds, and pine cones.
People were excited about the announcement, but they were also excited by the cupcakes!
Greg Glynn, NMC account executive, coordinated the event. He is pictured here with Bob Currie, vice president of communications for Huber.
“Most Wanted Media List”
Happy Wednesday! Just as salespeople create a list sometimes called “The Dream 100″ of their top prospects for new clients or customers, you can create a “Most Wanted Media List” that targets the media outlets where you’d like to receive coverage for your company, product or service.
When we work with clients on public relations campaigns, we come up with a “Most Wanted List.” We systematically go through each publication or broadcast outlet to identify the types of stories they cover and the personalities who make the decisions and do the reporting.
Then we target our pitching to each publication or outlet according to the audience of that publication or outlet.
Would these make your "Most Wanted List?"
If everything lines up, you will be doing a targeted pitch to the right person with a relevant story that perfectly aligns their audience with your audience.
For example, if you sell a service that is relevant to owners of small businesses, “Fast Company” might be on your “Most Wanted Media List.”
You would buy several copies of the magazine, or subscribe to it, and study the stories, study the masthead for the names of the people making editorial decisions, study the names of the writers, and try to link with them on LinkedIn or see if they have Facebook Pages so you can friend them.
This is a time- consuming process but it’s the most effective way to generate highly targeted media results.
Most PR people just send out hundreds of press releases and hope something will stick, but creating your “Most Wanted List” and really getting to know the people and their audiences is the best way to do PR.
Good luck and let me know if you have any success with this technique.
Using PR and Social Media to Make a Difference for Maine Youth
Happy Monday! Our Maine Maven today is Sharon Abrams, executive director of The Maine Children’s Home for Little Wanderers (MCH), friend and client of NMC.
Sharon has worked for MCH for 38 years this September. She came to the agency as the first teacher in the Teen Parent School Program and later became the director of that program.
After 14 years working with the teen parenting program, Sharon became a licensed social worker and provided casework for young women who were considering adoption as an option. This included the legal surrender and release for adoption in Probate Court and post adoption counseling.
Sharon later became the assistant executive director which included the financial aspects and development work for MCH. In 1994, Sharon became the executive director at MCH.
Besides the programs that Sharon has been involved in directly, MCH provides out-patient mental health counseling, an early care and education program, as well as a Christmas and summer camp program.
1.) Sharon, what do you find is your biggest challenge in sharing the message of The Maine Children’s Home for Little Wanderers?
Our biggest challenge is making sure our messages are seen by the correct people. We need for clients of our various programs to know what is offered for services while also reaching potential funders who may donate to the organization.
2.) Has your marketing changed due to developments in social media and the internet?
Have these technological advancements been good for your organization?
Marketing has changed with developments in social media. We have found that Facebook is a great way to get events publicized.
We also utilized Facebook this Christmas to get the word out fast about immediate needs in our packing. We found that posting our need for mittens, hats and clothing in a specific size really worked. You can find our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/mainechildrenshome.
3.) How can people donate or help The Maine Children’s Home?
People may donate on our website, by mailing to MCH at 93 Silver Street, Waterville, ME 04901.
They can also give gifts of stock, insurance or through their estate planning. MCH also uses volunteers depending on their interest. Volunteers working with children would be required to have background checks.
The Friend’s of the Maine Children’s Home are volunteers who help fundraise for MCH and also work specifically on the Christmas Program. They do two major events to help raise funds for the Christmas and Summer Camp Scholarship Program, the Lobster Lunch in October and the Spring Yard Sale.
Snow on the Mountain
Happy Friday! We are so happy that it’s snowing in the mountains today.
Who’s ready for a ski-weekend?
Someone shook the snow globe today, giving this Sugarloafer some great skiing and riding on Upper Timberline.
Photo and caption courtesy of Sugarloaf.com. Check out Sugarloaf’s daily report for weather and mountain conditions, snowfall, photos and video!
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