Baby panda saves the day (actually, the year)

Last June, when the world was staying put and buildings were being boarded up, three of us decided to venture back into our 5,000 square foot office because we were going a little insane at home. As we rattled around in that big space, we felt like most people did at the time—anxious, sad, exhausted, and stressed. But in August, a tiny glimmer of joy appeared. A baby panda had just been born at the Smithsonian National Zoo and the live PandaCam was queued up for our viewing pleasure.

Throughout that long winter of 2020-21, we obsessed over Xiao Qi Ji as he grew and progressed. And we gained some mad respect for his incredible mama. Our new friend just celebrated his first birthday on August 21^st, and we’d like to wish him the happiest of birthdays and send a big thank you for keeping us sane through all those dark months. Donations in honor of Xiao Qi Ji are welcome here if that’s something you’re into.

Knocking heads with other agencies

Megan doubled up on facemasks and boarded a plane to D.C. for a first-time-in-over-a-year, in-person meeting with her Agency Management Institute peers. For two days, they shared business successes and losses, ideas, trends, best practices, and opportunities from the past 6 months. Outside the confines of their conference room, they indulged in happy hour and took in a ballgame at the Washington Nationals’ ballpark. As always after these meetings, Megan returned to the office excited and energized, and ready to take on the next 6 months.

The magic of LinkedIn

After attending an intriguing webinar hosted by Deniz Zekic about the effectiveness of using LinkedIn as an outbound marketing channel, Beth ordered his short book entitled Social Selling and Marketing: LinkedIn Magic 5 Formula. She won’t give away all his secrets (the man deserves his $8 from Amazon), but here are a few quick takeaways:

1. Proofreading really, really matters
2. Be interested more than trying to be interesting
3. Be consistent and be nice and maybe, just maybe, people will talk back

Featured on Forbes

Megan’s expert tips and advice on marketing, along with other agency owners, continue to be featured in articles on Forbes. Recently, she’s contributed to topics such as:

Optimizing a website for voice searches

Preparing for long-lead deadlines

Elements of memorable speech

AFTER HOURS

Carol re-entered the international travel scene with a trip to Iceland earlier this month. Her travels reached a whole new level of difficulty beyond the usual travel hassles, with multiple paperwork entry requirements to Iceland and proof of negative COVID tests prior to departure in both directions. But it was all worth it. Iceland lived up to its many glowing reviews of being one of the most beautiful countries to visit. Carol and her entourage fully experienced the land of Fire & Ice with a helicopter tour over an erupting volcano and a speed boat tour around the glacier bay. She also thoroughly enjoyed floating in the famous Blue Lagoon while sipping on an adult beverage and the rare opportunity to see her beloved puffins up close.

Sam’s fondness for furry felines led him directly to the soon-to-be famed Cat Video Festival in St Paul. After all, what could be better than giant screens with constant streams of flexible flirtatious felines? Was it the friendly folks? Or the fantastic food? Or the festive fireworks? Yes. And also, the fruitful funds that were raised for Twin Cities feline charities.