Giving back to the community becomes even more rewarding when hard work is recognized. We are a finalist in the WE Celebrate awards, nominated for best Marketing Campaign for women. Our nomination is based on the work done on behalf of Impact 100, a local group founded to promote philanthropy among women. Sanger & Eby donated $40,000 worth of time and creative to develop a new website for the group.  The goal was to create a website with an “at a glance” informational homepage, as well as a members-only section to allow the committees of Impact 100 to more effectively communicate.  Sanger & Eby designed the site based on Impact 100’s existing logo with a yellow and purple color scheme, built discussion forums for members and implemented a content management system (CMS) to update the site.

We are thrilled to share our nomination with the other worthy finalists, and while we’re looking forward to finding out who won, we are truly honored to be nominated.

It just feels good to do work with clients that do good, repeatedly. Working recently with Macy’s on their “Shop for a Cause” website, application and database has reminded us how much Macy’s gives back to local communities. Their contributions, leadership and volunteer efforts help create stronger, healthier places to work and live and we are proud to play a small part.

Shop for a Cause is Macy’s national charity shopping day to support national and local nonprofit organizations. And, since 2006, Shop for a Cause has helped non-profits raise more than $28 million for their ongoing charitable efforts.

As of August 1, things just got a whole lot easier with online registration for non-profits nationwide. Macy’s has partnered with Sanger & Eby to develop the site and robust application system. For the first time ever, non-profits can register their organizations for the October 17 fundraiser, select from a list of participating stores, and get email updates for and about the big day — all online. The site and backend database helps Macy’s streamline the entire registration and communication process, with tools to track ticket sales, validate charitable status, and manage specific store events.

We are proud of our continued relationship with a company whose culture, like ours, is deeply rooted in giving back. 

If you are involved with a non-profit group and want to see what a difference a day makes, sign up to get your group started.

What is Twitter?

According to twitter.com, “Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?”

Twitter is a “micro-blog”. Like a blog, Twitter allows you to create an online journal or diary and share it with the world. However, unlike a blog, Twitter only allows entries/thoughts that are less than 140 characters. This limitation demands short updates and quick thoughts. This allows users to share experiences through Twitter much faster and more frequently than is conventionally done through a blog.

Why are we using Twitter at Sanger & Eby?

Well, just like the definition above stats, we want to share what we’re doing here at Sanger & Eby. We believe that we have a great story to tell, and want to have a running dialogue with you – our friend. We’ll be sharing stories right here on our blog as well, of course, but Twitter will allow us to quickly record and publish smaller experiences.

Also, we understand the you live in a busy world – if you follow our Twitter feed, you’ll be able to very quickly get a feel for recent happenings here at Sanger & Eby. If you have time to learn more, then you can read the blog!

Finally, we are always striving to stay in touch with the latest Internet trends, and what better way to showcase this expertise than by putting it to use ourselves!

Twitter Fun

Many celebrities, including Ashton Kutcher (@APlusK), Lance Armstrong (@lancearmstronG), Shaquille O’Neal (@The_Real_Shaq) and even Cincinnati’s Chad Johnson / Ochocinco (@OGOchoCinco) to name a few, are using Twitter to talk directly to their fans. And not just one-way communication, either. I follow the @The_Real_Shaq and @OGOchoCinco Twitter pages. They regularly post dozens of Tweets a day, which are nearly completely filled with replies to people who have sent messages to them directly. I’m not the biggest fan of Chad, but I have a lot of respect for how engaging he is with his fans.

More Information

Of course, this is just an introduction. There’s a lot more than meets the eye at first glance with Twitter. A few examples: using Twitter via mobile phone SMS messages, learning about breaking news – many events hit Twitter before mainstream media, and even chatting directly with your favorite celebrity, as highlighted above.

If you want to learn more about Twitter, here are a few links that may be helpful:

Twitter.com/

What is Twitter? Twitter Basics

How to Set Up a Twitter Account

Why Use Twitter?

How to follow Sanger & Eby on Twitter:

1. Create a Twitter account: https://twitter.com/signup
2. Visit the @SangerEby Twitter page: http://twitter.com/sangereby
3. Click the Follow button.

That’s it! Now, when you’re logged in to twitter.com, our updates will be included on your home page!

Tony (left) just before taking out Jordan Farmar of the LA Lakers.

Today, members of the Cincinnati Poker Club became a littler richer. Tony McGlone, the member who represented the CPC at the 2009 World Series of Poker finished in 171st place, winning $36,626. Sanger & Eby has 4 CPC members and for the second year in a row, has sent a player who had out lasted over 6300 other players — many of them pros — to bring home cash. (Happily, we all share in the jackpot.)

Tony is not flashy, nor is he an in-your-face player with an attitude trying to intimidate the table. He doesn’t have to. Tony knows the game, knows himself and is a patient observer. Smart player. And, when he has to, stands up to aggressors who mistake kindness for weakness. Yep, they soon learn.

In poker, as in life, we really don’t need dog-and-pony shows to demonstrate our value… too often they are just an attempt to cover ineptitude. Business — good business — doesn’t have to be purposefully complicated or dressed up in fancy packaging. It’s too transparent. We are who we are and our strengths come through our authenticity, loud and clear.

Congratulations, Tony. Thanks for giving us all a taste of being there through the continuous Twitter updates and nightly email summaries. We’re glad we could come along for the ride.

I read once that the most collectively oblivious people in the world are neighbors. I’m afraid I’m one of them. In these days of iPhones, Twitter, blogs and other internet phenoms, our face-to-face social networking has stalled. Well, it’s almost dead. After 8 years of living in my home, I just discovered that one of my neighbors invents things and has patented a really cool kid’s toy. Another has beaten non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. And I found someone in my neighborhood who shares the same story with her teenager that I do. You mean I’m not the only one… ?  I wonder if I got to know more of them if there would be a potential employee, client, resource or valued friend?

This all to point out that while we make great connections via the computer, there is an untapped source of human contact so very close yet we ignore it. It’s easy to be too busy, too distant and too involved in ourselves.

The same holds true with our most treasured asset in the business… our clients. Remember them, those folks who value our talent, trust our guidance and then pays for it? And, for the most part, the reason we continue doing business with them is that we really do like and respect them. Think back to the first work you created with them. A relationship started and then continued to grow… because we fed and watered it (and not with a mouse.)

We all understand that e-mail and phone conversations cannot replace those face-to-face contacts that strengthen relationships, but it becomes too easy to rely on the former. Remember that there is a competitor trying to get in to see your client — in person and often. That should be the catalyst, that should start the change.

Get out. Continue to build and strengthen your in-person network. You never know who you might find down the street.

Congratulations to the Sanger & Eby team, lead by Trevor Minton and Mike Welch, for receiving accolades for their work in developing the Macy’s College Employer Brand.

At the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) conference in June, the ad campaign developed for Macy’s won an award for best overall employer ad in the NACE journals.

The macyscollege.com website ranked in Universum’s top 50 best college recruiting websites.  (Universum is an international corporation that surveys 300,000 students and 80,000 professionals and provides Ideal Employer ™ research, full-service media portfolios and strategic consulting services.)

Ashley’s commitment to our core values paid off when her name was randomly selected to win the $1000 SE Core Value appreciation prize. All Sanger & Eby employees are given SE Bucks to hand out throughout the year to anyone demonstrating our Core Values — above and beyond the norm. (Ashley had accumulated quite a few.) The Bucks are redeemed for gift certificates and then go in to box for the big drawing during Sanger & Eby’s annual anniversary celebration. Congrats, Ashley and thank you to everyone for living the Values everyday!