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Sprockets
Think of our blog as a window where you can see what's new with us, our clients and the demand creation world we operate in. To close the loop between advertising and sales, we find ourselves in interesting places: cornfields, laboratories, retail stores, bank lobbies and more. Enjoy our tales. Be sure to share yours.

Category Archives: Community

August 10, 2010

Making A Living And Living Well — In Both Technekes Locations

Turns out we’re not the only ones who think Charlotte and the RTP (home to our two offices) are great places to live.  In recent articles, Yahoo! Real Estate and Money Magazine agree.

Looking for a great city for young adults?  According to Yahoo! Real Estate, it’s hard to beat our hometown headquarters, Charlotte, NC.

Charlotte is listed as one of top 10 best cities for the 35-and-younger crowd, offering below average median monthly rental costs, a “bustling” downtown, and lots of entry-level jobs for college graduates.  (We like to think Technekes contributes to that number!)

Money Magazine was equally enthusiastic about two cities in the Research Triangle Park (RTP) area, which is home to our Marketing Interaction Center (the MIC).

Cary, NC came in number 23 on a list of the best 100 small towns in which to live, thanks to its low crime rate, low employment numbers and above average college sports activities.

Chapel Hill, NC, also in the RTP, came in at number 40, thanks to its well-educated population and the abundance of jobs, parks and additional protected natural areas.

Author Cheri
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June 21, 2010

It’s How We Play The Game.

The good news is that the Technekes softball jerseys, designed by our own Alison Hoskins, are among the best-looking in the league. The other news is that, as team leader Michelle Stowe reports, “Y’all – we had so much fun.”

Yep. We have yet to pick up a win. But we sure look good.

After only two games, all is far from lost. The Gear Heads have made some spectacular defensive plays and benefit from a very enthusiastic dugout. We’re getting our bats on the ball, too. We just need to find away around those straight “Adam” hits. By that, we mean “at ‘em,” as in “at” the pitcher and “at” the shortstop.

Still, the team’s having lots of fun. And did we mention how good we look in our spiffy jerseys?

We’d love to see you at tomorrow night’s game, because as Michelle points out, we’re having lots of fun — the way we always do at Technekes.

Author Cheri
0
May 21, 2010

Always On Target, Always Giving Back

It was bound to happen.

After all, targeted database marketing is what we’re known for.  And it’s true that no one gets a bigger kick than we do out of helping our community.  And, finally, as luck would have it, one of our founders, Jack Ross, is a nationally ranked shooter.

Add it all up and we were a natural.  Of course we agreed to be one of the  presenting sponsors of the Red Shoe Shoot Out fundraiser, a sporting clays tournament to benefit the Ronald McDonald House of Charlotte, scheduled to open in early 2011.

The Ronald McDonald House of Charlotte will be one of the more than 280 Houses operating worldwide today, providing needed services, loving support and comfortable housing for the families of hospitalized children.   The Charlotte location, on Morehead Street, will serve families of patients at the Presbyterian Hemby Children’s Hospital and the Levine Children’s Hospital at Carolinas Medical Center.

Several similar clays tournaments have already been held nationwide, but this will be the first in Charlotte, taking place this November at Fork Stables.  Given our history with the Ronald McDonald House (we contributed $10,000 just a few months back), we’re optimistic that, with the support of our staff, clients and friends, we can make another sizable donation.

We’re looking for additional sponsors now – and even starting to assemble some teams (no experience necessary).  Interested?  Contact Erin Faucette or Jan Burlee at Technekes (704.342.2900) for more info.

Author Preston
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May 19, 2010

New Offices For Us = New Furnishings For Those In Need.

For too many years, we’ve heard, “when in doubt, throw it out.”  An admirable aspiration, perhaps, if you’re cleaning out a kid’s school locker or Aunt Millie’s stocking drawer, but at Technekes, we know a lot old stuff still has plenty of life in it.

For example, when we moved into new offices in the Research Triangle Park, we were left with a lot of unneeded, but still usable, office furniture.  Truckloads, in fact.

It would’ve been easy to just drag it to the curb and leave it.  (OK.  Not that easy, but you get the idea.)  However, that’s not the way we think at Technekes.  In Wake County, NC alone (seat of the state capital and one of three counties represented in the RTP), nearly 80,000 residents (8.8%) live at or below the poverty level.  No question, the need is great.  Furthermore, according to the EPA, furniture accounts for over 9 million tons of landfill every year.

What a waste.

Our old furniture, however, is being put to good use by The Green Chair Project, a newly formed non-profit corporation created to be a donation receptacle for gently used household furnishings to be given back to those in need throughout our community.

In fact, we’re proud to say that we were The Green Chair Project’s very first donor.

If you’d like to know more, visit thegreenchair.org.  And as always, if you’ve got other ideas of how we can do good, we’d welcome your ideas.

Author Preston
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May 18, 2010

Christmas In May. (We Just Couldn’t Wait Until July.)

Can you spot a few familiar faces in our 2008 holiday card?

It’s supposed to reach the high 70s here in Charlotte today, but it seems that a lot of folks already have Christmas on their minds, so by special request, we’ve posted images of our infamous Technekes holiday cards on Flickr.

Take a peek. You’ll likely recognize the illustrator’s work. He’s Dean Macadam, who’s produced work for Kraft, Nickelodeon, Disney, The Village Voice, Rolling Stone and many other standout brands.

The cards are a Technekes tradition, and from what we hear, it’s a tradition our clients and vendors look forward to every year. Instead of the usual gift baskets, we pick a worthy charity, call Dean, and get a little nutty in the process. Last year, we were able to contribute $10,000 to the Ronald McDonald House of Charlotte on behalf of our terrific clients.

Ideas for 2010 are already in the works, but in the meantime, check our gallery. We’d love to hear what you think and if you’ve got thoughts for the coming holiday season, be sure to let us know that, too. Some of our best ideas come from clients!

Author Preston
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