Pinterest is a new social media site where users can “pin” inspiring ideas related to fashion, food, home, DIY, humor—basically anything—from across the web. Pins are categorized by boards. And then there’s the whole social part of it—your friends are there too, and you can comment on, like and repin one another’s selections. For someone in love with all things creative and domestic, Pinterest is my new favorite.
And I’m not the only one. I’ve heard many admit that Pinterest should come labeled with a warning: highly addictive. Many have said the site even steals from their Facebook time. Now that’s powerful!
Team members from across the Flint Group manage SunButter’s social media presence. As personal Pinterest addicts and serious SunButter fans, when the idea of Pinterest was brought up for SunButter, we jumped at the chance. Pinterest’s visual focus was a perfect match for SunButter’s drool-worthy, peanut-free recipes. And, perhaps most importantly, our friends were already there! Moms, the peanut allergy community, paleo dieters, health nuts, foodies—they were already hanging out on Pinterest.
We proceeded to create an account as “SunButter Elizabeth” – openly disclosing the brand, while maintaining our blogger Elizabeth persona (who, in fact, really is a Flint copywriter and social media maven, Elizabeth Hansen). Elizabeth’s naturally warm personality and relatable mom approach helps to humanize the SunButter brand across social media, including Pinterest.
SunButter Elizabeth’s Pinterest adventure has only just begun, but we already have boards centered around the themes of: crafts, inspiration, breakfast, lunch, savory, sweet treats, snacks, smoothies, cookies and “no peanuts, please!”
We’re excited to see how Pinterest aids in SunButter’s continual community building and growth on social media!
When did you first have a martini? One of The Flint Group’s longtime employees, Susan Hogen, had her first martini with Harold Flint (yes, the founder of Flint Communications) in Bismarck at a North Dakota Newspaper Association meeting.
“Let’s just say I enjoyed the olive, but couldn’t get the rest down,” Susan recalls with her signature bright smile.
That was in the 1970s.
Flint Communications just celebrated its 65th year of business, and Susan has been part of amazing growth and transformation in the communications world—and with the agency.
Susan, left, with Connie Ness of Radio Fargo Moorhead at the Flint Holiday Party in Fargo earlier this month.
Today, Susan continues taking care of clients, mainly on the AdFarm side of our business, and she still fills in as the Fargo office receptionist. Away from the office, she and her husband Rodney manage Red Trail Vineyard in Buffalo, N. D.
Rodney and Susan in the Gift Shop and Tasting Room at their vineyard.
Rewind to 1979 “The first time I met anyone from Flint Communications was at the Gas Light bar in Fargo, which was a hangout for the agency gentlemen,” Susan recalls.“I started working at Flint Communications as the receptionist in May 1979. Since I was the receptionist, I was in charge of making sure the coffee pot was always full, which is also the reason I started to drink coffee,” Susan says. “When I started at Flint, many of the employees smoked at their desks. I remember Harold smoking his pipe and telling stories about the circus.”
Susan in the days of typewriters and piles of paper.
Receptionist to first female account executive
Susan continues: “I soon became a project coordinator, making sure media contracts and materials were sent out in the mail correctly, and then I became Flint’s first female account executive. I worked on various client projects, including Bobcat Parts and any other projects. I coordinated the schedule for Roger (Reierson, now leading the agency) and filled in as receptionist from time to time.”
Again, the martinis “Back then, there were many long lunches on Fridays, and I only had time to go back to the office and do the mail for the day,” she says. “We had electric typewriters and when you typed anything you used carbon paper to get two copies and white out to fix the mistakes. We also hand wrote our statements first, and then someone would type up the invoice to be mailed to our clients.”
Work hard, play hard
“During those years, we had two Christmas parties every year,” Susan says. “On Tuesday, we hosted our suppliers and media representatives. Then on Thursday, we hosted our clients. One other employee and I did most of the planning for both of them.”
“We also had birthday parties for agency employees. People with birthdays in the first six months planned parties for people in the last six months, and vice versa,” Susan recalls.
Some things haven’t changed
Flint employees still work hard and play hard today. Susan, far right, with agency friends in the photo booth at our 2011 Holiday party:
Get to know a Flintster: Q + A with Susan!
Tell us about a memorable work experience. We were the agency for many political candidates and campaigns. The big three media options at that time were newspaper advertisements, radio and TV commercials. One time we needed final artwork to The Farmer magazine, so I hopped a plane to Minneapolis in the afternoon, rented a car and drove the material to the publisher’s house so the ad would be printed the next morning.
I was back on the plane the next day to Fargo and arrived in the office before most others.
How does your passion outside of work fuel your work? Coordinating all the details of events at Red Trail Vineyard is similar to my time at Flint. It gives me the opportunity to be involved with many organizations. I love meeting people and like to find out what their passion is in life.
What do you do on a typical night or weekend? In the evenings I look forward to dinner, as Rodney prepares it most of the time. I have gone back to sewing for items to sell in our Red Trail Vineyard Tasting Room. In the summertime we have group dinners, wine tasting, mowing the vineyard and helping with pruning and tying the vines to the trellis. Each year, we host the North Dakota Grape & Harvest Festival the third Saturday of August. I continue to help organize and coordinate vendors, entertainment, wagon rides, wine tours, wine tasting and all the other details.
What was your first job? Working as a car hop at A&W Drive-In. Some of the nights became quite challenging when the bars closed and people came to get a hamburger and fries. Growing up, our family was very active with 4-H and the high school band, so marching in parades was a summer highlight.
Okay, maybe that’s not how the saying goes; but ask Wimmer’s Diamonds, and they’ll attest to a jewelry giveaway’s clout in gaining Facebook friends.
The situation
The company is a fourth-generation, family-owned business that has been serving the Fargo, N.D., area for over 92 years. Wimmer’s Diamonds had been working with Flint for many years, and, after launching their Facebook page last July, came to us wanting to build their fan base.
The solution
Flint Communications partnered with Wimmer’s Diamonds to help them acquire more “likes” through a jewelry promotion on the company’s Facebook page.
The contest was simple, which we’ve found is optimal for maximizing user interaction within social media platforms. New fans were greeted by a landing page instructing them to “like” the page to enter a contest to win a pair of diamond earrings valued at $700.
Having “liked” Wimmer’s Diamonds’ Facebook page, both new and existing fans clicked a side tab to sign up for the contest. Each participant was required to supply their name and email address and answer the question, ‘What is the best jewelry gift you’ve ever given or received?’
The creative
The Flint creative team designed a number of pieces to promote the contest on the Wimmer’s Diamonds Facebook page, including a landing page for new fans, a side tab through which both new and existing fans entered the contest, and a new profile image highlighting the contest.
We also created posters that were hung in West Acres Shopping Center, one of two Wimmer’s Diamond store locations, and designed table tents displayed in the mall’s food court. Finally, our team prepared ads that ran in a number of newspapers, including The Forum, The NDSU Spectrum, MSUM Advocate and The Concordian.
Implementation
With the Facebook collateral and printed pieces in place, Wimmer’s Diamonds launched the contest on November 1 with a wall post.
The contest continued for a month, during which Wimmer’s Diamonds periodically posted announcements about the promotion on their wall, in addition to advertising the giveaway through the posters, table tents and newspaper ads.
Wimmer’s Diamonds announced the giveaway winner on November 30.
Results that sparkled
At the start of the promotion, Wimmer’s Diamonds had 146 fans. Their goal was to reach 500.
Through the contest, Wimmer’s Diamonds gained 368 new fans, amounting to an overall increase of 352 percent and surpassing their goal by 14 fans.
The moral of the story?
Diamonds may be a girl’s best friend, but Wimmer’s Diamonds makes a great Facebook friend.
They say the holidays are the most wonderful time of year, but we all know the season can also be chaotic, tense and downright maniacal.
It’s easy to get wrapped up (oops, unintentional reference to the gifts you have yet to wrap) in the fast-paced frenzy that we forget about the subtle joys of the holiday season—the smells of holiday baking, watching Linus explain the true meaning of Christmas, family heirloom ornaments, the search for that elusive “perfect gift,” and of course, eggnog—magical moments we look forward to all year.
This year, the Flint Group made an effort to intentionally take notice and embrace every part of the holiday season.
Each Flint office took its own decorative approach to get in the holiday spirit. Creative director Ken Zakovich helped his coworkers at WestmorelandFlint “get in the mood” with a festive ornament on the office Christmas tree.
Amid our parading and decorating, we’ve also been rebranding the North Pole, helping Santa establish a social media presence, copyrighting Rudolph red, and creating a PR plan to help Frosty launch his spring campaign against global warming.
With the success of these holiday festivities, we thought it fitting to create a short video to capture our enriching approach of taking time to appreciate this season—to fully experience this holiday and truly savor its subtle joys and moments of wonder.
Take a minute and enjoy, won’t you?
So this holiday season, when you’re at your breaking point—when you don’t think you can take another bite of your aunt’s fruitcake, or when you find yourself wandering the aisles of Target at 11 p.m. on December 23—remember, there’s beauty in everything.
All you have to do is find it.
Happy Holidays from the Flint family. May your holiday season be filled with beauty.
Harnessing the latest buzz is smart marketing, and we have the Queen Bee.
Debbie Morrison, who is based in our St. Cloud office, strategizes proven communications for a broad range of clients. Away from the office, she and her husband Jim live on and operate Sapsucker Farms, their Minnesota-based certified organic farm, which includes 12 bee hives, chickens, sugar maple trees, a vegetable garden and an apple orchard. She also contributes to the Simple Good and Tasty blog.
Sweet rewards
You know the colleagues who bring the best treats to the office? That’s Debbie.
Her passion for organic agriculture yields sweet results, especially honey and organic maple syrup. Besides our offices and homes, Sapsucker Farms products are enjoyed all over the world. Debbie ships anywhere: Just order here.
Debbie’s syrup in Jerusalem
Accidental farmers
“We got into organic farming accidentally,” Debbie explains. “We bought 172 acres of land near Mora, Minn., in 1997, then built our house and moved in 2000. Our original goal was to restore the land to natural habitat. We started by restoring 40 acres of hayfields into native prairie. All of the prairie flowers inspired me to start beekeeping. A friend from Vermont saw our maple trees and suggested we tap them, so we did. Then we planted the organic apple orchard, which is 60 trees in 30 varieties, and I started learning about organic agriculture. The chickens were added last year. We’ve been certified organic since 2006.”
Jim and Debbie during maple syrup harvest
Do you know where your food comes from?
Watch how Debbie bottles Sapsucker Farms pure, organic maple syrup:
At the office, Debbie is, as she describes, “Director of Strategy and Lots of Other Stuff.” She consults and strategizes for various clients and industries, in part lending experience she gained while working for large Minneapolis-based agencies earlier in her career.
Get to know a Flintster: Q + A with Debbie
How does your passion outside of work fuel your career?
My passion for the farm stimulates my thinking in so many ways. Farming requires constant problem-solving, strategizing, creating, building, and continually forcing me to push beyond my boundaries and work outside my comfort zones. All of this helps me be a much more creative thinker, strategizer, analyzer, problem-solver, and leader in the work place.
What do you do on a typical night or weekend?
It depends on the season. This time of year, our farm chores are feeding, watering the chickens and collecting eggs, plus filling our outside wood boiler twice per day with firewood. In the summer, we feed and water the chickens, and collect all of the fresh, organic free-range eggs – about one dozen a day. On weekends, we inspect the 12 bee hives, weed the garden, cut firewood and basically spend about 12 hours per day of hard labor on the farm. We get dirty, get sore muscles and go to bed exhausted every night. And we love every minute of it. Autumn is harvest time and hunting season. I do as much as I can after work and indulge in both on the weekends. In the spring, during the maple syrup season (usually starting in March), after work I go out into the woods to collect sap, then on the weekends the sap is boiled to perfection to create maple syrup. Also in the spring, I start vegetable seeds in our greenhouse for the garden.
What’s your dream job?
I have it already: I’m an organic farmer.
What was your first job?
In the kitchen at a nursing home, where I served food in the dining room and washed dishes.
What is one thing you’d be willing to practice for an hour a day?
Target shooting with a bow, pistol or rifle.
What’s the best advice you ever got?
Empower the people who work with you and for you.
What sound do you love?
Frogs croaking, especially spring peepers in our pond.
What scent do you love?
The sweet scent of honey inside the honeybee hives.
Making a difference
“Obviously, I’m passionate about growing and producing fresh, safe, organic food, reading and learning everything I can about the food industry, agriculture, and organic practices.
“The earth is in peril, and needs help. By being a good steward of the earth’s resources, I believe I am making a difference,” Debbie says.
A bit more about bees
“Our farm is USDA certified organic, certified by MOSA. Organic certification is a LOT of work, with lots of paperwork, but it’s worth the effort. The only thing that is NOT certified organic is the honey. While I do manage the bees organically, it is nearly impossible to have honey certified organic here in the lower 48 states. The reason why is because bees will forage up to four miles away, and if there are any conventional farm fields, golf courses or other landscapes that have been sprayed or planted with GMOs within that radius, a beekeeper cannot prevent the bees from foraging in those areas,” Debbie says.
“We are also expanding the farm considerably in 2012. We will be putting out 1,000 taps for maple syrup, and have opened up a new one-acre field for vegetable growing. Plus we have qualified for an NRCS (USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service) grant to add a high tunnel for vegetable growing. It will be 30’ x 100’ and will extend our growing season. Also in 2012, we will start a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) offering subscriptions to people in our local area,” she explains.
Balloons, presents and pointed party hats. Who doesn’t love birthdays?
Flint does, which is why we were so excited when Moore Engineering Inc. (MEI) came to us for help in planning its 50th anniversary celebration in summer 2010.
Cake and candles aside, the goal was to use MEI’s 50th anniversary as a platform to demonstrate and showcase the firm’s expertise and commitment to clients by highlighting a number of key projects, clients and the employees of the past 50 years.
Party planning
In preparation for the celebration, Flint redeveloped MEI’s website, established the company’s blog, redesigned the MEI logo and created a special anniversary icon.
Our creative team also crafted new ad messaging and designed a number of fresh print ads to be released as part of MEI’s anniversary.
While Flint’s interactive and creative teams were fully immersed in rebranding MEI, our public relations team was preparing materials for a 50th anniversary media kit. Pieces included local, regional, national and trade versions of news releases; a portfolio featuring high-profile projects, founders, distinguished alumni and current staff; and a timeline of the company’s history.
The guest list
When the big day came, MEI was greatly impressed with the dignitaries and guests that turned out for the event. Attendees included West Fargo Mayor Rich Mattern, Lee Sprague (the firm’s first employee) and MEI cofounder Marshall Moore. The celebration also featured a ribbon-cutting ceremony with the Fargo Moorhead West Fargo Chamber of Commerce.
MEI has been headquartered in West Fargo, N.D., since 1964, but it also has a branch office in Fergus Falls, Minn., and recently opened a third office in Minot, N.D.
The after party
Nothing marks success more than an engaging after party.
Since MEI’s anniversary last year, Flint has been working with the company on a variety of marketing and advertising ventures, including creating and placing print ads, assisting with public relations, maintaining the website and editing blog posts.
With MEI’s 50th anniversary behind us, we’re already looking ahead to the company’s 100th. Hey, it’s never too early to start planning, right?
Maybe it’s just a Flint thing; but, like I said, we love birthdays.
How does your company celebrate its anniversaries? Share with us in the comment section below.
Brittney’s passion for food began as a goal familiar to many women—to prove her husband wrong.
“It started when my husband told me that healthy food doesn’t taste good. All his meals consisted of broiled tilapia seasoned with pepper alone, plain brown rice and steamed veggies straight from the freezer. It’s been my mission ever since to prove him wrong.”
A woman on a mission
When she’s not managing accounts and preparing press releases in our Duluth Office, Brittney, a PR assistant and account coordinator at WestmorelandFlint, enjoys cooking a variety of experimental, healthy meals.
In fact, she cooks a five-course meal every night.
Okay, okay… the five-course part might be a stretch, but she does cook delicious, inventive meals most nights of the week. Just ask her husband, who, by the way, openly admits that Brittney has proven healthy food does not have to be bland and boring.
“I love Brittney’s cooking,” says her husband Eric. “We are both active people, so we want food that is good for our bodies as well as our taste buds. Brittney somehow manages to accomplish this with every meal she cooks.”
His current favorite? A flank steak sandwich with roasted bell peppers, balsamic onions, arugula and a variety of other veggies, all sautéed and placed into a pita pocket.
Her current favorites? Venison steak stir-fry with fresh veggies and jasmine rice, homemade black bean burgers with roasted sweet potato fries, and falafel sandwiches with yogurt dill sauce.
“I really like cooking because you can experiment with mixing different ingredients together, and you can never really mess it up,” says Brittney, proudly noting that she’s finally mastered the art of falafel. (And yes, falafel is an art.)
From food to fitness
Brittney’s love of food goes hand-in-hand with her devotion to fitness.
“I want to set a great example for my children, when we have them, and I want to be healthy myself,” she says.
Her passion for fitness began with her discovery of kettlebells, a workout that uses cast-iron weights to build functional muscle and core strength.
“I like to try new things and take on new challenges,” says Brittney. “When you’re working with kettlebells, you have to give it your all the whole time, and that’s a great thing to take with you out of the gym.”
Brittney and Eric began training at a local kettlebell gym, and loved it so much that they soon invested in their own kettlebells to train at home.
One tough couple
The two fitness enthusiasts are currently using kettlebells as part their training for a Tough Mudder race—a hardcore 10- to 12-mile obstacle course that tests strength, stamina, mental grit and camaraderie.
“It’s kind of like a Warrior Dash, except it’s a 10- to 12-mile race, rather than a 5k race, through mud and up, over, under and through different obstacles,” says Brittney, noting that one such obstacle is running through live electric wires.
Brittney says, “We thought it looked super challenging, exciting, maybe a little fun, but mostly it looked badass and would give us something to work toward. Honestly, the Tough Mudder terrifies me, and that’s part of the reason I’m doing it!”
Get to know a Flintster: Q + A with Brittney
What’s your dream job?
Anything that allows me to grow as a person and as a professional. Oh, and has amazing vacation time.
Which job would you not want to have?
President of the United States.
What was your first job?
I worked at Dairy Queen in Grafton, N.D. It dropped the franchise, so if you’re driving through Grafton, N.D., it’s now the Ice Box—stop and grab some fried pickles!
What did it teach you?
Teamwork and self-discipline.
What is one thing you’d be willing to practice for an hour a day?
Active listening.
What’s the best advice you ever got?
Be yourself.
What sound do you love?
Two sounds: water/waves and laughter (not necessarily together).
Where you travel and what you do depends a lot on what you know. And what you know greatly hinges on your ability to find information.
But for a tourism bureau, it’s more than simply providing information, or even providing the right information; it’s providing information in the format and medium people want.
The Greater Grand Forks CVB knows the best way to fulfill its mission is to meet and greet travelers where they are most comfortable getting information, whether in a brochure, through a phone call, on a website or (drum roll please…) via social media.
Enter, Flint Social Media Gurus
That’s why the Greater Grand Forks CVB partnered with Flint—to seize the untapped power of social media to tell visitors about all there is to do in the Greater Grand Forks area.
Our team took the reins, providing social media strategy and training to guide the Greater Grand Forks CVB staff in establishing a blog, Facebook page, Twitter feed and other targeted social media outposts.
We also helped them understand best practices for managing and updating social media outlets, responding to comments, and encouraging reviews and online interactions.
With these social media tactics in place, the Greater Grand Forks CVB had Flint redesign its website to incorporate its blog and Facebook posts on the homepage.
The organization now uses its learned social media skills to provide frequently updated and relevant information, reviews and real-time advice to new and returning visitors of the Greater Grand Forks area.
“Simply Grand” Results
The result has been an ever-growing fan base of visitors, potential visitors, locals and community businesses connected by a common purpose of exchanging information about the best spots to shop, dine, play and stay. And for the Greater Grand Forks CVB, these results are, of course, “simply grand.”
Kaia explains, “Six years ago a colleague attended the Special Olympics Summer Games and noticed there wasn’t any media coverage of the event. We reached out to SOND and offered to help and the rest, as they say, is history.”
In 2007, she started as chair of the Public Relations Committee for State Summer Games.
Since, she has assisted with the group’s marketing and public relations for the World’s Largest Truck Convoy and the send-off of the ND delegation to the national games, where she gathered close to 100 fans to cheer on athletes as they loaded the bus. Kaia and the Flint Group work to capture the media’s attention for these events, creating a larger awareness and visibility of SOND.
Kaia was honored for her ongoing dedication to the mission of Special Olympics at the SOND State Awards Banquet in early November, where she was recognized with the Outstanding State Volunteer Award!
Seeing the world differently
“Helping with Special Olympics lets you see the world differently,” explains Kaia. “The athletes have such an honest and genuine enthusiasm for life. Preparing for the events can be a lot of work, but watching the special athletes compete like any other typical athlete makes it all worth it.”
“There’s one athlete who competes in track and field every year, and he always comes in dead last in his event,” Kaia describes. “But every year he has the biggest smile you’ll ever see as he makes his way toward the finish line. The crowd cheers louder for him than for anyone out there, and when he finally crosses that line, his friends, family and competitors go absolutely nuts! It’s an amazing sight and by far my favorite event every year.”
Get to know a Flintster: Q + A with Kaia
What’s your dream job?
Product tester for Apple, Inc.
Which job would you not want to have?
Product tester for Microsoft.
What was your first job?
Sales associate at OfficeMax.
What did it teach you?
A job is what you make of it. Retail isn’t fun, but keep a positive attitude and work hard and you’ll have a blast. Everyone should have to work at least one retail job in his or her life.
What is one thing you’d be willing to practice for an hour a day?
Any musical instrument.
What’s the best advice you ever got?
If you work hard, things will come easy.
What sound do you love?
The silence when you go outside on a calm winter night.
What scent do you love?
Freshly cut grass.
Interested in seeing the world differently with Kaia and the SOND athletes? Become a volunteer.
Back in July, when West Acres food court had a vacant space to fill, the Flint team suggested something interactive, a place where customers could freely voice their suggestions. A chalkboard barricade graphic did the trick!
The artwork asked people what restaurant they’d like to see in the space. When it went live on July 12, it filled up in less than two hours. After recording the suggestions, West Acres staff erased the chalkboard nightly, allowing people to start over the next day.
The first day it was up, West Acres also reached out to its Facebook fans, crowdsourcing the same question. Over 100 responses appeared (and most with multiple restaurant requests).
Traditional media also tuned in—specifically, Mike McFeely of KFGO AM thought it would make a fun radio topic. He interviewed West Acres on his show and asked callers to phone in their suggestions.
The people spoke: just last week Qdoba Mexican Grill opened in the West Acres food court. The nearly 80,000 Black Friday shoppers had the opportunity to enjoy lunch (err… breakfast?) at the new food court restaurant, chosen specifically by shoppers.
We all know word of mouth is powerful. Sometimes people just need a little nudge to talk—and sometimes it’s as simple as a food court chalkboard.
The professionals at Flint Interactive are always hungry for new marketing trends, techniques or hot topics that we can share with friends and clients. Watch for a regular stream of insightful information – or join in the conversation.
Pinterest is a new social media site where users can “pin” inspiring ideas related to fashion, food, home, DIY, humor—basically anything—from across the web. Pins are categorized by boards. And then there’s the whole social part of it—your friends are there too, and you can comment on, like and repin one another’s selections. For someone in love with all things creative and domestic, Pinterest is my new favorite.
