Pure Thinking

The History of Black Friday

A day welcomed by few and feared by most, Black Friday did not always mean running a fellow shopper down with your cart for a chance at a discounted flat screen t.v., punching another mother for a chance at the last cabbage patch doll (true story - my mom witnessed it back in the 80s. To this day, I'm scared to ask how she managed to get mine) or hoarding this season's hottest toy on the market and selling it on eBay in mass quantity, ripping off parents desperate to fulfill their child's Christmas wish list. 

One thing that has remained the same since Black Friday's beginnings - America has pretty much always hated it.

PJ Day

Did you know?

Sixty percent of Denver’s homeless are families with children, 29 percent are women, and 40 percent are working. Located directly across from the Denver Rescue Mission, Pure sees these statistics on a daily basis and decided to help.

For the past four years, the Mayor’s office and Residence Inn Denver City Center has hosted an annual PJ Party. Proceeds from the party benefit Denver’s Road Home, Denver’s10-year plan to end homelessness.  Every year, Mayor Hickenlooper attends the party donning a classic pair of red pajamas that were hand sewn 35 years ago by his very own mother.

Since implementation of the plan in 2005, Denver has seen an overall 11 percent reduction in homelessness, 36 percent decrease in chronic homelessness and has prevented 2,232 seniors, families and individuals from becoming homeless.

Due to the success and growth in participation, PJ Party is now, PJ Day, encompassing businesses, restaurants, hotels, schools and individuals. Fittingly, the Mayor’s iconic red pajamas have become the focal point to the new PJ Day brand.

The Denver Rescue Mission has been a large contributor to PJ Day. In turn, Champ Bailey is one The Denver Rescue Mission's largest donors, and was just named the Walter Payton Man of the Year for his leadership on the field and in the community.

In the spirit of PJ Day, The Mayor and Champ have come together in the effort to spread awareness of the cause. Watch the footage below to see the Mayor and Champ sporting classic red PJ’s. Look for the final piece unveiled in December. 

From left: Jerry, Champ, Michelle and Eric.

Participants to the shoot and donors to PJ Day:

Greta Walker, PR Director to The Denver Rescue Mission
Marc Piscotty, Photographer
Micheal Hupner, Studio Artist
Pure, Design

For information on how to get involved or donate to PJ Day, visit www.pjday.org or follow @DenversRoadHome

Purely Social was Purely Informative. See for Yourself!

With more than 75 percent of Americans citing the Internet as their primary source of information, online conversations are becoming a critical component of any communications strategy.  As a company in the consumer or business-to-business space, you can’t afford to be missing out on this conversation. But, before you start talking online, there is some homework to be done. Audience analysis. Goal-setting. Strategy development. Without this, your social media campaign is destined to fail.

At our first Purely Social workshop the other week, a group of Denver’s business leaders gathered at Snooze AM Eatery to talk social media strategy and enjoy some of Denver’s best breakfast. For those of you that couldn’t join us, here is a helpful framework for defining your social media campaign.

Who is our target audience?
o    Where do they spend time online?
o    What are they saying about our company? Our competitors?

What do we want to drive our target audience to do?
o    Do we want to generate leads, drive traffic to our website, increase sales, position our CEO as an expert, etc.?

What is the strategy for accomplishing our defined objectives?
o    Are we going to focus on social networking, expert positioning opportunities, crisis communications, etc.?

What tactics should we use to execute our strategy?
o    Do our tactics match up to where our audience is spending time online?
o    Can we realistically execute these tactics?

How do we measure success?
o    Have we benchmarked our current efforts to ensure that we have something to measure against?
o    When are we going to measure?

Spending the time doing the homework leads to a more targeted and ultimately more successful social media campaign. If you want to hear more about this and other social media topics, watch for information about our next Purely Social workshop on our social media channels.

Here is some footage from the event:

Go Disco This Holiday Season

It's that time of the year again... everyone's #1 favorite viral marketing campaign - and the one that no one can remember the owner of (it's OfficeMax) is back - and this year, it's disco.

It's Not Everyday You Are on Everyday with Libby & Natalie

One of our star clients, Excelsior Youth Center, got to showcase their charm and talent on the local show, Everyday with Libby & Natalie. Instructor Ms. Trish, and students Amanda and Regina from the Culinary Arts Program, taught viewers how to make a budget-friendly gourmet meal and their signature dish, Sopa.

 

Want to learn more about Excelsior Youth Center? Visit their website, or check out their Facebook page.

CU-Boulder students create Pac-Man Vacuum Game

Check out this video of CU-Boulder aerospace engineering students creating a Pac-Man Vacuum game to demonstrate their use of unmanned aerial system software. It would be even more impressive if they were able to discover a way to get college students to actually clean their dorms and apartments!! -- Tim

Another Day at Pure

Working at 24th and Lawrence comes with its charms. Today, a group of young, aspiring artists film a low-rate rap video. Notice the resourceful, low-cost use of the top of a car to capture the shot at just the right angle. I think we can expect to see a lot more from this group in the near future.

 

Special thanks to our own Todd Fisher for beatboxing in the background of this video clip.

 

Intern Post: My Saturday night was a lot better than yours...

“Wanna do something?”

“Ooo… I can’t. I’m actually going to a Gala… It’s for work.”

“Oh.”

That’ll shut your friend up. "What are you doing going to a Gala?". their thinking.

I got to attend the Little Wishes, Big Dreams Fundraiser Gala for the Children’s Hospital. I was there with three of my colleagues, Lara, Kate and Michelle to help escort media; making sure the photographers got great photographs. The truth is, it would be difficult to take a bad photograph at this event. Everyone looked absolutely stunning, and everyone was in high spirits and eager to support such a great cause.

This opportunity was different than my other experiences at Pure. This past summer I worked a handful of big events, and had forgotten how good it feels to be at an exclusive event like this, making sure everyone is enjoying themselves.

Some of the lovely guests included Governor and Mrs. Ritter, Chairpersons Darci & Jack Overstreet, with CBS4’s Molly Hughes and Jodi Brooks and emcees.

The event raised $2 million, taking place at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in downtown Denver. More than 1,400 were in attendance.

Following dinner, the 2009 Ambassadors – Alberto Robledo-Araujo, Michelle Gaffney, Benjamin Patterson, Lars Skoric, Rose Vu and Tanner Waterman took the stage and were introduced to the crowd. A short video followed, highlighting three of Children’s prominent programs; Neurology, Oncology and Pulmonology. The video illustrated some of Children’s Big Dreams for the future of pediatric healthcare.

There was a silent auction as well as a live auction. Some of the bidding items included
a 2010 Lexus HS250h luxury Hybrid presented by Kuni Lexus of Littleton and Colorado Springs and a chance to sing-a-long live with Loggins and Messina to “Your Momma Don’t Dance.” The night ended with a live performance by 70’s group Loggins and Messina.

For more information on programs of The Children's Hospital, log on to www.thechildrenshospital.org.

It’s not every day you get to go to a Gala, let alone a Gala benefiting such a thoughtful cause!

Kate, Lara, Me, Michelle

Our own Tim Carroll and his wife Heather attended

The brave and charming ambassadors for the Children's Hospital

Photos courtesy of www.BlackTie-Colorado.com, for a complete album visit their website.

Clearing out the candy jar

If you're like me, and already feeling guilty about the number of times you've dipped into the leftover Halloween candy stash, here are five ways to keep it off of your waistline and toward some greater good. You can donate it to charity or, in the spirit of the economy, sell it to your dentist for $1 per pound via halloweencandybuyback.com (oh, and they donate it to charity too). Details here.

-- Kate