A Very Merry Banksgiving

As we speak, a thousand or so holiday cards, laced up and sealed with a bow, are on their way to our extended MMI family, hearkening the return of our most beloved annual tradition.

It’s that time of year – time for the MMI holiday charity fundraiser and bank-decorating contest – and we have much to celebrate. First and foremost, a wonderful year filled with exciting, enriching, successful client projects, sure to inspire a record-breaking, bank-jingling MMI donation to the yet-to-be-decided bank contest charity for 2011.

Picture 8 card2
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Event Planning: Three Things Will Always Go Wrong

Nothing rings more true in the world of PR. When planning an event, three things will always go wrong. This is a little mantra we’ve adopted (and a particularly poignant section in Cindy’s soon-to-be-published MMI 25th Anniversary book).

We say this not with pessimism, but because it is realism (which I suppose is a pessimist’s translation of the word) that allows us to plan for the hiccups and last-minute change-ups so that no matter what happens, we are able to keep our eyes on what needs to be accomplished and hit our goal regardless of the day’s events. (For our MMI event planning checklist, check out Maggie’s blog post here.)

PerrysRibbonCutting

This past week, the Perry’s Steakhouse account team and I joined Perry’s leadership in San Antonio to help kick off the opening events with a ribbon cutting and media “Hard Hat Preview.” With much enthusiasm from the San Antonio community on the anticipated arrival of such a wonderful restaurant, we expected 26 members of the media to attend for the tour and tastings.
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My Life as an Art Exhibit

It was the “Box of Curiosities” that really got me at the P.O.D.A. Project exhibit at Discovery Green in May. The other artists’ projects were cool, interesting, imaginative. But the Box of Curiosities resonated in ways none of the others could.

I was strolling through Discovery Green because our awesome client PODS Houston was a sponsor for this art exhibit benefiting the 2011 American Association of Museums’ Annual Meeting & MuseumExpo™ that would travel around the city of Houston after being debuted at Discovery Green. Donated PODS containers were the palette for the artists’ creations: inside, outside, around, even deconstructed. Continue reading

We’ve come a long, long way together

The big news around MMI lately is that we’ve really been growing. So much so that we now occupy a third building on South Boulevard. Once the hustle and bustle, hanging of pictures and files and shifting of desks has subsided, a photo tour will definitely be in order.

In the meantime, I thought I’d share something I came across last week during all the moving and de-cluttering:

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Wow. What a difference a couple of years make (@MMIHouston‘s two-year Twitter anniversary was March 29, to be exact). We made this to circulate amongst the agency, get everyone used to the idea that social and business worlds were colliding a bit, and take part in the agency’s online voice.

Social media two years ago seemed like something new, outside, foreign. Since then we’ve proved over and over that they really are nothing more than new tools – shiny, exciting, but marketing is still marketing, PR is still PR, and sound strategy must still stand behind every social venture.

For the agency, that strategy has been focused on listening. We’re able to connect with our clients and their business in new ways because we’re listening online, we’ve gained new leads, new connections, new friends, and kept in touch with the people in our industry running alongside us.

How have things changed for you and your business since starting a social media plan?

(Want to know what your twitterversary is? We used this fun little app here.)

The Shell Houston Open Has Gone Digital!

Spring always means it’s SHO Time in the MMI world and this year we are excited to announce that the Shell Houston Open has officially gone digital!

The Shell Houston Open announced their new mobile policy this week, so now you’ll be able to visit the tournament without worrying you’ll miss some important news pertaining to your business or a phone call from the baby sitter. For more information, check out the Shell Houston Open mobile device policy and this article in the Houston Chronicle. Continue reading

How to Spell TEAM

Here at MMI, we all serve our clients in many different roles as part of a team. Clients hire us knowing that the best ideas and support comes from the strength of a group, not an individual. In fact, it is our mission to gain our clients trust and confidence in us as a team.

TEAM

“Coming together is a beginning.
Keeping together is progress.
Working together is SUCCESS.”
-Henry Ford

To be an effective team member, you should be able to: Continue reading