O&G's Social Media Workshop - a recap

I'd just like to start this blog post by extending a huge thank you to all that made it to the Social Media Workshop on the 26th of November, at our offices in Hove. A great night was had by us at O&G and we're really pleased to report that everyone who came has told us, how beneficial and informative it was for them. In the spirit of the evening, we even received thanks from some of the attendees via social media channels that we talked about in the workshop.

When Dara and I were brainstorming for content for the workshop, one thing we didn't want was just a presentation that people would just have to sit there and read while we rambled on. We wanted it to be interactive, and to start as much debate about the topic as possible. A dialogue instead of a monologue, which is essentially what social media is.

Although the presentation itself was fairly lengthy, it was general enough for people not to get too caught up on what was displayed on the PowerPoint but intriguing enough for people to feel comfortable about asking questions. We broke the slides up by turning the conversation over to the audience when we thought they would have something to say for themselves (and we weren't disappointed). Straight off the bat we asked our audience what social media meant to them and their ideas of it, before going into our own explanation of the subject. Already they were giving some great feedback and topics for the debate which we were able to tie into the presentation itself, and this theme continued throughout the evening.

The liveliest part of the workshop was without doubt the quiz. We showed the attendees an image related to, or representing a famous social media site and the first one to guess correctly got a very special prize of a Wispa (or Wispa Gold)*.

Again, in the spirit of social media, we've uploaded the slide show to SlideShare. Unfortunately not all of the animation and interactive elements of the presentation could be uploaded to SlideShare, including a fantastic video that looked at Ikea's use of Facebook to promote the opening of a new store in Sweden**, and the animations used for social media sites quiz. Having said that, you can still see the main themes and topics we talked about (and some handy stats) and if you have any questions about something on the presentation, you can always ask us.

An introduction to Social Media

View more presentations from Oliver & Graimes.

Once again, thanks to all that came and we'll soon be looking into the subject for our next workshop. For those that were unable to make it, fear not, we are looking into the possibility of holding another run-through of this one in the near future.

We'll keep you posted,

Ben

* The use of Wispas themselves were related to the social media theme, because as some of you may know, they were essentially brought back from the chocolate afterlife as a result of a very well publicised campaign on Facebook by customers pressuring Cadbury's bring the Wispa back.

** You CAN however, see the video here on YouTube. It's a great case study so I really recommend watching it if you're interested in marketing on Social Media.

O&G Movember support - week 3

As we enter the penultimate week of Movember there are some interesting developments to report!
We now have a number of well-established moustaches amongst the team, ranging from the neatly trimmed professional to the untamed (and rather scary looking) horse-shoe.

Perhaps the largest and most disturbing evolution is taking place within the design studio. Maybe it’s the lighting, or just the constant cups of tea that are having an effect, but the men in the studio are sporting some impressive facial furniture!


John, Martin and Owain have all been trimming, brushing and stroking the space above their top lip to ensure their efforts do not go unnoticed.

Meanwhile, members of the team from other departments have also been busy pruning and are boasting an array of amusing designs.


Dara Fitzgerald, Digital Account Manager, currently sporting a 'tache and matching sole patch in an interesting shade of orange, said of the team’s Movember efforts: “It’s a great way to raise awareness of the cause and apart from a few odd looks on the bus its been a good experience, everyone’s made a great effort!”

So far the team have raised £75.00 for their efforts, all of which goes directly to The Prostate Cancer Charity.
To encourage the team to keep growing the intriguing editions to their face, please visit our sponsorship page on the link below:

Debonair Donation Page

Oh and its not just the men that have been getting involved…….
Whoever said girls with moustaches didn’t look good clearly hasn’t seen Sarah and Katie’s efforts! (don’t panic – they’re not real!)

MO & G - Moustache for Cash

The men of O&G shall be proudly sporting moustaches for the remainder of November, inline with the Movember campaign, 'changing the face of men's health'. Movember is partnering with and raising funds for The Prostate Cancer Charity, encouraging all able-bodied (or lipped in this case) men to sprout a Tom Selleck for a month.

In our case, we are a little late getting in on the campaign but better late than never, especially where charity is concerned. Luckily we didn't have to start from scratch though, as at it happens there weren't too many of us cleanly shaven when we agreed to do this. So we were able to fast forward in order to keep up with the month-long cultivation of our facial furniture (with the exception of a couple of baby faces who shall remain nameless - the pics to follow will of course separate the show-ers from the grow-ers).

We will be posting progress pics here on the blog as well as:

O&G Facebook Page
www.twitter.com/oandg

Our Movember donation page (The O&G team name is Debonhair) can be found here: Debonhair Movember Donations

So keep following for more updates...