Mar 06
Love0

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.

 

Mar 01
Love0

Pinterest is a Coffee Klatch. Facebook is a Kegger. Twitter is a Cocktail Party.

By Social Media, Uncategorized

“Oh, hello there. So nice to meet you. Why, yes, it IS a new top. I got it here. And where have you been lately? Etsy, I presume?”

That is sort of how the casual sharing of ideas happen on Pinterest. Sharing visual ideas, creative concepts and exploring new products is what it’s all about. I follow women in Germany and also rural Georgia who I am positive I will never meet, but they have great recipes and fantastic interior design ideas. All that is missing are coffee and bear claws.

“Dude, I was bombed at the conference! Boss read my post and fired my ass!”

Ah, Facebook. I have seen more former classmates and coworkers drunk in Facebook pictures than in real life. Perhaps Google+ will successfully manage to separate what is and is not appropriate to share for these folks. But I definitely do not want to hear how many beers my mortgage broker downed this weekend. If Facebook were a place in real life, however, there would certainly be a keg.

“I just posted a comment about Whitney Houston’s life story. Link here.”

So I didn’t just post a comment on Whitney Houston’s life story, but my point is that this is where the stories are shared. This is (or at least, can be) the intimate cocktail party conversation. You know when you’re meeting new people and someone says something like, “And that reminds me of this one time in Bangladesh . . .” I don’t know about you, but I shut up and listen because it sounds like something good is about to come out of his mouth. That is the quote and link for me. It’s the promise that there may be a good story if you follow the link. I’ll have a glass of Malbec, thank you.

What I’m saying is, it makes sense to know the cultural climate. I wouldn’t give my weekend update on Pinterest anymore than I would attempt to share a philosophy nugget on Facebook.

But what do you think? Do you agree? What would you serve in your social media reality?

 

Feb 29
Love0

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 23
Love0

The Marketing Data Creep-Out

By Social Media

I’m a huge fan and user of social media. I have plenty of profiles out there and love to share relevant information, events in my life, pictures of my family and friends or where my band is going to be playing next. I’m also a big debit card and CVS swiper, so I’m not too worried about purchasing data being collected when I shop.

But the story that came out last week in Forbes about Target’s data collection practices was just a serious creep-out. Apparently, Target was interested in whether, through purchase data obtained at the checkout counter, they could determine whether someone was pregnant and if so, how far along she was. They would then use that data to send said someone offers for baby-related products.

In one such Minnesota case, Target determined a certain someone was pregnant before her father did. As it turns out, the father of this someone opened some mail addressed to his teenage daughter, only to see these offers. Appropriately appalled, he then went to his local Target store to complain. In the end, after a talk with his daughter, he learned that she was in fact pregnant and admitted it sheepishly to the Target rep he had previously berated.

I’m not sure what’s creepier—that Target (and no doubt many others) collect data in this much detail about someone without their knowledge, or that it’s so powerful and predictive. I have to admit that my first reaction to this article is that I wanted to quit using debit cards forever and seriously dial back my social media use. I felt violated and dirty, and it wasn’t even about me. Jay Dolan wrote a hilarious post about this as well, right here.

I have decided I am not a fan of behavioral targeting, Big Data, or ceding control of my life to those who are. But it feels more and more like in order to function in today’s digital society, you have to basically throw in the towel and let them see whatever they want. Cash is rapidly becoming a thing of the past. So is privacy.

What do you think? Is this creepy to you also, or am I overreacting?

Feb 22
Love0

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″]