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Great Moments in CIG History - Chapter 3

The future was bright and our spirits were high as CIG rang in 2007. With the team we had assembled by the end of 2006, I was optimistic for the milestone year ahead as FasTracks continued making progress and our list of clients continued to grow. Although some clients were feeling the initial flutters of a turbulent economy, others were thriving and hoped to embrace new trends in public relations and marketing.

In the spring, we launched our Web site, cig-pr.com, and had started earnestly engaging in business development. We pursued several promising opportunities – including marketing and branding projects for both the City of Wheat Ridge and the Longmont Downtown Development Authority (LDDA) – which resulted in contracts and two wonderful, long-term clients for CIG. It wasn’t long before our team found ourselves in a familiar situation – enough work to expand once again.

What we really needed was someone who could hit the ground running, handling the more behind-the-scenes logistics of our client accounts, serving as support to the rest of the team. As much as I hate to admit it, coming from Bears country at the University of Northern Colorado, our search for such a resource led us again to the land of green and gold, home of the Rams – and two of our team members already – Colorado State University. It was there we found CIG’s first intern turned full-time employee, Megan Rees.

“How do you feel about dogs?”

It was the final and most important question of Megan’s job interview, which was conducted over soft tacos and green chili at El Azteca in the Republic Plaza food court. As you guessed, she answered favorably and after a ceremonial introduction to the “guardians” of CIG World HQ (aka my two sweet, albeit enormous and protective, flat-coated retrievers Lily and Becky); she secured her spot on the team.

It was a busy summer as we embarked on new projects, formed new partnerships and embraced new challenges. Construction season was in full swing as FasTracks celebrated another milestone – the first project construction-related activity on the West Corridor.

But as the days of summer came to a close, another season quickly approached – campaign season. Or as we later dubbed it – cocktail season. In 2007, we were excited to partner with our friends at CRL Associates on several local election campaigns for clients including the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, Colorado Symphony Orchestra and Xcel Energy. All of which were successful at the ballot, by the way…!

By the end of the year, we were operating at steady pace and all was well in CIG’s world. As we headed into 2008, however, many unseen changes loomed on the horizon. The economy was starting to appear unstable, with only the worst ahead and it was clear the nation as a whole was starting to squirm…

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Posted by Karen Morales on 04/29 at 07:36 AM
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Great Moments in CIG History - Chapter 2

Before I knew it, 2005 was over and the calendar rolled over to 2006. Suddenly, my little firm started growing faster than the number of congressmen being taken down by sex scandals that year – faster than any of us ever could have envisioned.

Apparently, once people heard we were in business, they decided to check us out. At CIG, we refer to that as “a good problem to have.” In 2006, our “good problem” was that the economy was strong and the relationships we’d built through the years were providing new business opportunities. So what was the problem? Well, first off, we’re public relations professionals, so there are never any “problems,” – just “challenges.” No, wait… make that “opportunities.”

Opportunities were many. We’d been fortunate enough to be collaborating with our old friends at Kiewit, who were serving as Construction Manager and Owner’s Representative on Cherokee Denver’s redevelopment of the former Gates Rubber Factory site. We also had the great pleasure of helping with some of the final Transportation Expansion (T-REX) Project opening celebration. We also developed terrific new relationships with Adams County, Mapleton Public Schools and several private firms.

With our work on RTD’s FasTracks program in full swing, my colleague Laurie Meza and I found ourselves already busily humming along, so we brought on fellow T-REX veteran Kristi Estes in January that year, initially to head-up our non-FasTracks work. Later that year, Kristi joined the FasTracks team as well – taking over for Laurie, who went on a loooong maternity leave, to explore the wonders of raising twins.

Typical of how CIG rolled back in the early days, we worked out of a space graciously loaned to us at CRL, our homes, coffee shops, client’s offices, restaurants and yes, even our cars (I actually do recall driving up and down Broadway, my laptop on the console, angling for a free Wi-Fi signal). We had more work than staff members and – with the resources I had in place – I could see we needed to expand if we were to continue providing our clients the quality and customer service we demand and they deserved.

Our good problem, er, opportunity, was to hire another staffer who could manage the ever-growing list of clients and projects that were not under the FasTracks umbrella. Who could we hire to be in this role, and where might we find this person? As I’d done before, I went back to the well of former project colleagues and tapped Matt Wittern.

For me, the challenge of balancing client work while managing three employees, payroll, HR issues, invoicing, ordering office supplies, negotiating contracts, etc. – all the while trying to maintain a personal life – became too much. It was time to call in reinforcements. 

In June, my very dear friend Terri Atmore had flown out from Atlanta for my Big 4-0 birthday. It wasn’t long after (the very next day, in fact), that I roped her in and, within weeks, she became CIG’s new Office Manager, Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, VP of Organization and Karen’s Personal Sanity Saver.

Within six months, CIG had doubled in size. Things were running smoothly and, by the fall, we had even more clients to enjoy. In December, I decided we all deserved a celebration, so we held the first-ever CIG Christmas party, which somehow ended with a limo ride to Polly Esthers. But, hey, that’s how we do things at CIG – we catch the tradewinds as they come and hope for a Disco at the end.

Everyone was feeling pretty good as 2006 drew to a close. We’ll call that the calm before the storm. Calm that didn’t last for long, because 2007 had a lot in store for us… 

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Posted by Karen Morales on 04/22 at 08:50 PM
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Great Moments in CIG History - Chapter 1

In May, CIG turns five and – in true CIG style – we’re not letting this birthday pass by without a celebration. What anniversary is complete without a commemorative nod to years past? And, let’s face it… after five years of clients, collaboration and, of course, cocktails, we’ve got a few stories to tell. Lucky for you, we’re willing to share a few with our friends and colleagues in a series we’ve dubbed: “Great Moments in CIG History!”

The year was 2005. Some of you may remember it as the year Steve Fossett broke a world record for around-the-world non-stop flight, or the year that Saddam Hussein went on trial. Maybe you’re the type that remembers it as the year Tom Cruise “jumped the couch,” so to speak, or that “Hollaback Girl” was the No. 1 song on the radio.

I remember it as the year an unlikely public relations firm – CIG – was born.

Unlikely, because I never intended on starting my own business. In fact, the thought had never even really crossed my mind. The T-REX project was just beginning to wind down and I was very happy, quite content in fact, to bleed Kiewit black and gold for many years to come. Following the tremendous success of T-REX, we decided to put together a team to pursue the FasTracks Public Information and Outreach Consultant project as a Kiewit venture, which I thought sounded like a great transition from T-REX. The “FasTracks Yes” Campaign had been a triumph and we began to put our proposal together with the understanding that Kiewit would supply the public information side of things and CRL Associates the public affairs side.

However, things didn’t exactly go as planned, as they typically don’t. The arrangement our team had began to unravel. Thus, a decision was laid out in front of me – leave Kiewit to work on FasTracks, or stay with them and abandon an opportunity to work on the largest voter-approved transit expansion project in the entire United States. To leave a job I loved with a company that was unconditionally supportive, for a chance to step into the dark abyss of small business ownership. This proved to be the single hardest decision I have ever made.

Well, I guess something about the instability and inconsistent pay sounded appealing to me, so I took the plunge and within days, CIG became reality. In July 2005, we started working on the RTD FasTracks Public Information and Public Outreach Consultant contract with joint-venture partner CRL Associates. I hired my first employee, Laurie Meza, and we set up CIG World Headquarters at Hacienda Morales, high above beautiful downtown Evergreen.

As a public relations firm, we decided one of the first things we needed was a logo and brand identity (mainly so we would have something to put on a business card). I enlisted the help of my longtime friend and colleague Michelle Carnes and Communication Infrastructure Group was born.

Now, you might think that a veteran communication professional would appreciate the power of brevity. Not always. My original e-mail address was .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

After a few months of giving that out over the phone, coupled with the escalating probability of developing carpal tunnel syndrome, we decided to shorten it up to cig-pr.com. Looking back, I can hardly fathom how we survived that first year, with me doing my own bookkeeping and serving as the HR, Billing and Client Services department at the same time.

Survive we did, and sure enough, next thing you know, it was 2006…

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Posted by Karen Morales on 04/15 at 08:42 AM
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Plan to Fail?

A client of mine, Kiewit Building Group, has a phrase by which they live:

“If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.”

I always thought it was just a clever turn, never realizing the value of living by that credo until it came to building a nursery for my new son in our upstairs bedroom. Due to a lack of effective planning, I ended up putting in a lot more work than really should have been necessary.

Exhibit A – drywall texture. Due to inadequate foresight, I had to bust out the drywall texture gun (which is a total pain to setup and also clean) two extra times. Why? I neglected to share my vision of a nursery wrapped in beadboard and topped with chair rail with my wife (aka “the Foreman”), and instead went about texturing the ceiling and walls over 33 inches. Much to my chagrin, the Foreman vetoed this vision and I had to re-texture everything.

The next “oops” was because the 1980-style closet doors I had “demoed” on day one turned out to be an odd size vertically. Again, the Foreman noticed this after I had already textured and painted. I had to build a soffit/header-type thing, drywall, re-texture and paint before hanging standard-size closet doors.

These issues are just a couple examples of wasting time and money by failing to effectively plan. I assure you, there were plenty more on this project.

Conversely, when the time came to renovate our family room, I developed a detailed 36-step plan complete with timeline and responsibility matrix to complete the project. Although the Foreman made fun of me, the plan (as well as communicating my vision with her), allowed me to finish the project with minimal effort wasted by reacting to unexpected developments. 

The point I’m trying to make is true in the construction industry as well as the communication industry (and any industry for that matter) – if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Taking the time up-front to plan your moves will save you headaches, time and money.

Next time, take the time and plan to succeed.

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Posted by Matt Wittern on 04/14 at 09:33 AM
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The Ugly Sweater of Marketing

Have you ever attended an ugly sweater party? Typically hosted around the holidays, ugly sweater parties have gained rapid popularity in recent years for offering guests an excuse to put aside their cocktail attire and sip eggnog in the comfort of a hideous, yet festive, holiday sweater. You know the kind of sweater I’m talking about, the kind that pairs itself perfectly with mom jeans, complete with beading, appliqué, glitter and sometimes even battery-operated lights. When it comes to these sweaters, the more embellishments the better, but that’s not the rule of thumb when it comes to any marketing campaign.

In a recent New York Times article, Keds embellished its history stating it was “the original sneaker” with the hope that this would boost brand recognition among a younger demographic.  According to its Web site, Keds claims the term “sneakers” was coined in 1917 to describe the quiet rubber soles of its shoes. However, after further investigation of the lofty claim, the article reported that people had been using the term informally since the late 1880s. 

It may be a technicality, but there are a lot of brands out there that can claim to be the “original” of something, but they have to put their money where their mouth is. It’s simple – unless you are 100 percent confident in your claim, don’t make it. Any gray area could be dismal to your reputation.

Due to its lack of factual evidence, Keds’ claim has been challenged by several individuals who researched the history of sneakers and found evidence, dating back to 1887, contradicting the footwear giant’s assertion. As a result, Keds modified its campaign Web site, OriginalSneaker.com, explaining it was “the first sneaker brand, which popularized the term ‘sneaker.’ ”

Marshal Cohen, a researcher for the NPD Group, said, “With the reach of social media, the minute an ad campaign is challenged or can’t be substantiated, social media is going to spread that like wildfire. Before you make a statement, you have to be sure you can justify it and live up to it.”

I couldn’t have said it better myself. So keep on embellishing the clothes in your closet and the honest facts in your campaigns.

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Posted by Liz Viscardi on 04/07 at 10:16 AM
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A ‘Tail’ of Two Brands

Angry citizens surrounding the capitol building are a common daily sight in Denver, so it came as no surprise when I encountered the usual on my way to a meeting last week. I figured the animated crowd was most likely protesting the new health care bill, but as I got closer, I realized it was a group rallying to save the lovable Frontier Airlines animals that so famously reside on the tails of the company’s airplanes.

Indianapolis-based Republic Airways Holdings Inc., which recently acquired both Frontier and Midwest Airlines, is considering doing away with the Denver-based airline’s popular marketing campaign that features animals such as Flip the Dolphin, Griswald the Bear and Larry the Lynx.

According to a report by Channel 4 News, both airlines have built fierce customer loyalty through their current identities — Frontier as a service-oriented airline marked with animal mascots on its planes and in its commercials and Midwest as a caring company that serves warm chocolate-chip cookies on every flight. As Republic Airways studies a possible re-branding of its entire fleet, the question becomes, how do you integrate two unique brands while retaining the customer loyalty on which those brands were built?

From a PR perspective, the task at hand for the airline giant will require determining the value of each company’s brand, then figuring out how to blend the brands together under one unifying identity.

So how do you decide? In-depth research and solid strategy.

Most brand consolidation efforts fail and fail expensively. Republic Airways needs to begin by researching the marketplace to determine the brand strength and general market opinion of the participating companies. My own research found a strong customer loyalty for the Frontier brand, unmatched by that of Midwest airlines. A closer look at the Facebook fan pages of each airline showed more than 6,000 followers on Frontier’s page demanding the animals stay, and 2,000 on the Midwest page actually complaining about the airline. There is also an entirely separate Facebook group dedicated to saving the Frontier critters which has more than 5,000 members.

This is where good strategy comes into play. To me, when deciding the fate of two brands, if there is an obvious winner, the losing entity would likely just take on the brand identity of the more popular airline.

In reality, one of the reasons Republic Airways purchased Frontier Airlines was probably because of its ultimate brand value. Those little animals have adorned the backs of planes for years and began talking in 1994. They have won critical praise around the country and clearly have a loyal following. My advice to Republic Airways – keep the strong animal brand that is Frontier and add a warm chocolate chip cookie to every flight. 

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Posted by Laurie Meza on 04/02 at 09:06 AM
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Glad to see Republic Airways took my advice!

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As Republic Airways studies a possible re-branding of its entire fleet, the question becomes, how do you integrate two unique brands while retaining the customer loyalty on which those brands were built?

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