Spoke was thrilled to be featured on the latest episode of All About Business, featuring marketing companies in the St. Louis area. Check out the video on allaboutbusinesstv.com.

Summer is in full swing and so is our Sprockets program!  Three interns were chosen in early June; Jay, Andrea and myself, and we have been working at the Spoke office since June 14th.  We have chosen the Sprockets winners from over 40 worthy applicants and although the decision process was not easy, we are very excited to be working with five amazing non-profit organizations.

After a week of reading and sorting through applications, and another of phone interviews and meetings, the five organizations we will be offering free marketing services to are Habitat For Humanity, The Wellness Community of Saint Louis, The Mission Continues, Aim High Saint Louis and Partners for Pets.  These final five organizations have strong missions and support five very worthy causes.  We look forward to fulfilling each organization’s marketing needs while also getting a feel for the agency world.

Habitat for Humanity’s Sprockets application was one that the team was eager to read.  We were familiar with the name and wanted to learn more about this nationwide organization whose local dedication is focused on eliminating substandard housing in Saint Louis.  Habitat for Humanity Saint Louis’ mission is accomplished through a comprehensive program that helps families who are determined to proactively better their lives by investing their time and effort into actually building a home, owning a home, and becoming a contributing member of our community.  The organization is asking for our help in creating general presentation materials, such as a presentation book and brochure which will be used when the CEO, Development Director or Major Gifts Manager meet with companies or individuals to solicit financial gifts.

The Wellness Community of Saint Louis is a non-for-profit offering professionally led support groups, educational workshops, nutrition and exercise programs, and stress reduction classes to empower and educate individuals affected by cancer.  All programs are free of charge to cancer patients, survivors and their family members and caregivers.  Spoke will be helping launch a new awareness campaign for the organization as well as producing advertisements and a general marketing plan in an effort to make The Wellness Community Saint Louis a more well-known support center for cancer patients and their loved ones.

The Mission Continues really intrigued us because of their unique mission.  The organization’s Fellowship Program empowers wounded and disabled veterans by challenging them to serve once again in their communities through volunteer projects.  It rewards the soldiers by allowing them to leverage the strength and leadership skills they’ve gained while serving our country and apply them to the traditional workforce.  The program also has a profound benefit on communities throughout the United States who are improved because of these projects.  The organization also has the Warriors in Service Initiative, which encourages all veterans and other citizens of all backgrounds to perform service projects in their communities.  Jay, Andrea and I, along with the guidance of the partners of Spoke, plan to help The Mission Continues by creating a cohesive look for all or the organizations marketing materials, including a new logo, brochure and design templates.

Aim High Saint Louis is a great organization that not many people in the Saint Louis area are familiar with.  Aim High offers a four year, tuition free program to 300 rising 6^th-9^th grade public school students from economically disadvantaged communities who show academic potential.  The program includes an intensive five-week enrichment summer session along with monthly meetings on Saturdays throughout the school year with a goal of inspiring the kids desire to learn, stay in school and become responsible members of their communities.  We are eager to get started on our project for Aim High, in which we will provide them with a new marketing plan, updates for their current website, a new brochure and a possible advertisement.

Partners for Pets is an organization that pulled on the heartstrings of all of the interns, including myself.  This non-for-profit goes into animal shelters and rescues animals who have used up their maximum allotted stay and are on the verge of being euthanized.  Whether the animals have health or behavioral issues, or they have simply “used up all their time,” at the shelter, Partners for Pets comes to the rescue and helps the animals become ready for adoption.  We cannot wait to spread the word about this organization through new merchandise designs, a new logo and new marketing materials.

We are itching to get going on all of these fantastic projects.  We have held preliminary meetings with all of the organizations and are just getting started on each individual project.  We look forward to the experience and will keep you updated as the summer progresses.

Emily Steinhauser-Project Manager for Sprockets 2010.

AdSaint had a nice profile on what Brian Schwartz, our Partner and Interactive Director does for our agency and our clients:

If you are in the ad or marketing industry you should be checking out AdSaint daily. They have a great deal of content about agency life, current trends and industry news.