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Marijean

Marijean Oldham (Jaggers), a social media specialist and public relations professional, is president and CEO of Jaggers Communications LLC, a strategic communications firm based in Charlottesville, Va.

Mar 06
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JAGGERS COMMUNICATIONS ANNOUNCES 2012 COMMUNITY PARTNER: CENTER FOR NONPROFIT EXCELLENCE

By Jaggers Communications News

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (March 6, 2012) – Jaggers Communications, a strategic  communications firm with a growing presence in Charlottesville, announces that Center for Nonprofit Excellence (CNE) will be its local pro-bono community partner for 2012. The firm will develop an integrated, strategic communications plan to support the organization’s programs, events and member resources.

“We’re honored to have been chosen as this year’s community partner. Bringing increased awareness to the tools, training sessions and resources we offer will surely help strengthen our local nonprofit community,” said Cristine Nardi, CNE’s executive director.

Jaggers Communications provides a positive impact to the communities in which it has a presence by selecting a nonprofit organization to work with on a pro-bono basis each year. “We believe it is critical to give back to the communities where we live and work,” said Marijean Jaggers, president and owner of the firm. “We’re very excited to work with CNE as this year’s community partner. CNE works with local nonprofits to build the capacity of staff, board and volunteers to effectively manage and lead and to collaborate to increase mission impact. By supporting their initiatives we can effectively support the entire nonprofit community as well as local businesses.”

The firm has added several clients to its roster in 2012 including HemoShear, a biotechnology research company, telecommunications provider Lumos Networks, headquartered in Waynesboro, Va., the Charlottesville Albemarle Association of REALTORS® (CAAR), and Rebecca’s Natural Food, a supplement and organic grocery store based in Charlottesville.

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 About The Center for Nonprofit Excellence
Center for Nonprofit Excellence (CNE) in Charlottesville, Va. is the area’s primary resource for nonprofit management, leadership and collaboration. CNE strengthens nonprofits to reach their potential by sharing information, providing training and professional development and encouraging collaboration to enable a healthy, vibrant community.

About Jaggers Communications
Jaggers Communications applies experience to help businesses and nonprofits reach their business goals through strategic marketing, content creation, public relations and social media. Jaggers Communications provides organizations in the health care, education,technology, travel and tourism industries with social media consulting, public relations support and reputation management strategy. The firm was founded in 2011 to serve businesses with a need for cost-effective, strategic communications with effective reach.

 

Feb 29
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Jaggers Communications Adds Director of Client Services, Rusty Speidel

By Communications, Jaggers Communications News, Public Relations

Last year the most popular post on this blog was, sadly, not written by me. My good friend Rusty Speidel wrote it. So when it became apparent that it was time to expand the Jaggers Communications team, I didn’t have far to look; the right person for the job was right here all along.

He is the Felix to my Oscar; the Ernie to my Bert. I’m so happy to have him as part of the team!

Rusty brings a wealth of experience in brand positioning and management and a specialization in bringing products to market. A long-time digital communications expert, Rusty’s experience has focused on designing or improving user experiences and business processes that drive revenue, increase brand affinity and attract users.

Rusty’s background includes the creation of Rowdy.com, the social network for NASCAR fans. As the vice president of social media for Rowdy, Rusty grew the network to more than 1.5 million views per month and launched the award winning #1 ranked iTunes podcast, which has more than 60,000 downloads per month.

As part of the team at Jaggers Communications, Rusty will be involved in client plan development, brand positioning, project management and client services, content creation and strategic communications planning and execution. His capabilities, interests in technology and the environment, and thought leadership in community development and go-to-market strategy enhance the firm’s product offerings and complement Jaggers Communications’ client service.

Feb 22
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Truly Tasteless Tweets: The Hook Rides the Huguely Trial Trend

By Social Media

In the Twitterverse, the hashtag is used to assist users searching or following a particular topic. When there is breaking news or a popular conversation happening online, a particular hashtag might trend. In Charlottesville, and even nationally, the trial of a UVa student for the murder of a fellow UVa student has been trending with the hashtag of the accused’s last name: #Huguely.

In an appalling twist, a local newsweekly has decided to capitalize on the trend, tweeting the hashtag and connecting it to local restaurant features. A sampling of the offensive tweets appears below.

Brands much bigger than The Hook have tried this technique with disastrous results: Entenmann’s and Kenneth Cole have both tried “hashtag stuffing” making themselves look like complete asses. 

 

Interesting that The Hook is following suit.

What do you think of this practice?

 

[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/#!/readthehook/status/172392738942234625″]

 

[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/#!/readthehook/status/172394090284060672″]

 

[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/#!/readthehook/status/172402617123745792″]
Feb 21
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How to Tweet like a Total Douchebag

By Social Media
  1. Disrespect the hashtag. Use it frequently and with no real purpose. Ignore the fact that hashtags exist to enable useful searches or to allow users to find one another. Nope. Just put a hashtag in front of every word you think makes you #awesome.
  2. Wear a suit and tie in your profile shot. Or, if you’re a woman, make sure it’s one of those Glamour shots from the mall. In any case, make sure it’s impossible to distinguish you from other douchebags when spotted on the street or in the airport. (You’re important so you’re flying around a lot, right?)
  3. Make sure you mention your clients/customers/people who are paying you the big bucks in as many tweets as possible. It makes you legit.
  4. Don’t ever forget to tell us what a killer workout you just had. You’re inspiring us!
  5. Even if you’re not a true celebrity, make sure your Twitter name begins with “the real;” you know; how else are we going to know it’s you, for sure?

Feb 14
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Chipotle Commercial and Reputation Management

By Communications, Public Relations, Social Media

My friend Nick Sargent wrote about the Chipotle commercial that debuted during the Grammy awards.  The commercial is causing a lot of buzz among those interested in agribusiness, the local food movement and Chipotle fans in general.

It was appropriate to bring up and share during a discussion with a client whose work is at the center of the local and natural foods movement yesterday. We watched it together and shared some reactions. Someone commented, “Isn’t Chipotle owned by McDonald’s?”

McDonald’s, often villified (see Supersize Me) and taking it on the chin often, as the symbol of the entire fast food industry WAS in fact, the majority owner of Chipotle from 1998 to 2006 but it is no longer. 

Since, clearly people still associate the two (oughta work on that aspect of your reputation management, Chipotle), McDonald’s wisely chose this opportunity to release the news that they are phasing out “tiny cages for pigs,” the very image the television ad offers up.

 What do you think of the campaign?