VerveCast

Last week, our client Miller Time Pub & Grill celebrated its grand reopening with a block party, live music, food and beer. To help introduce the new brand to the media and get the word out about the event, we worked with the team at Miller Time Pub & Grill to create a unique, branded press kit.

To set us apart from the hundreds of emails media receive daily, we decided to hand-deliver each press kit to a variety of outlets–from TV and radio to magazines and newspaper. For an important announcement like the introduction of a new brand, an email just isn’t enough to break through the clutter.

The press kit contained an invite to the grand reopening event, cover letter, news release, and the restaurant’s new menu, all tucked inside a Miller Time Pub & Grill branded beer glass. We placed the glass in a clear box and filled it in with some barley (not only because it looks cool, but also because we needed something to hold the glass place). We also included a USB drive with all written contents, along with photos of the renovated space.

We think the press kit turned out pretty darn great! And the media liked them, too. We placed numerous articles as a result of them—and even secured an appearance for our client on Fox 6 WakeUp.

We’ve been working with the Milwaukee Wave since 2005, and in that time we’ve both grown quite a bit, and while this weekend will see them headed to the MISL Championship for the second year in a row (and going for their 6th championship since they started) we decided to look back and some of the video work we’ve created for them over the years…

It’s pretty crazy to think we started doing the game intros with a MiniDV camera in our old photo studio in 2005, and now we’re doing the intros with a RED ONE Digital Cinema Camera in our photo studio (which is now over 3 times larger.)

Enjoy the video, and hey, while you’re at it, let’s root for a win tonight and on Sunday, to make our Milwaukee Wave the MISL Champions once again!

Our own Milwaukee County Zoo is in the news, for a unique program involving iPads and orangutans. See the story: These Orangutans Play with iPads

Sure, there’s still the hurdle of finding an orangutan-proof iPad case, but I wouldn’t worry… with all the iPad accessories on the market, it’ll probably be just a matter of time before someone comes out with one.

One of the key components of my success thus far as a young creative has been involvement. Getting out there. Meeting new people. Learning about new ideas. Getting to know the movers and shakers in the Milwaukee community. Plus, being involved in the creative community is a great way to reinvigorate your own creativity. Re-motivate and re-inspire yourself, so to speak. And it never hurts to be in the know.

That’s why I’m a big supporter of networking and community gatherings that support Milwaukee’s creative culture. The following three upcoming events are personal recommendations from yours truly. I suggest you check them out:

TONIGHT: Spreenkler Meetup
Group of energetic creatives who gather to discuss social, tech, startups and more. The meetup consists of a little presentation or two, Q&A and then open forum. Beer and snacks are usually provided. I’ve attended this meetup for close to a year now, if not more, and in my opinion, it’s a can’t-miss event.

SATURDAY: WriteCamp
“WriteCamp is a free, unconference designed for you to discover new ideas and connect with people who are part of the writing world in the Midwest. It’s free and open to the public — come and enjoy keynote speakers, ad-hoc presentations, networking and food.” This will be my first Write Camp visit… can’t wait!

SATURDAY: PhotoCamp
“PhotoCampMilwaukee is a BarCamp-like event fully focused on photography. It’s an ad-hoc un-conference for people who love photography to get together and teach what they know, and learn what they don’t.” Even though I’m no pro photographer, I do have a passion for it. Sadly, it falls on the same day as WriteCamp so I won’t be able to attend this year, but you’ll see our very own Pete if you attend!

Okay, now it’s your turn. What events here in the Milwaukee area do you love to attend? Why do you think it’s so important to stay involved with and connected to our creative community?

You may remember seeing the Milwaukee Wave “UNITE” video we shot last year. It was for the 2010/2011 MISL season, which, the Wave just happened to win. I’m sure much of their success was due to the video. (Just kidding!)

But seriously… we love these larger video shoots, and now that Joe and I got a chance to edit all the behind the scenes footage, you can catch a glimpse of what the 12+ hour day was like for us. (Also, it was about 95 degrees that day.)