by thesavageway | Aug 19, 2015 | services
It’s that time of year again – hundreds of men, high heels, cold beer and a good cause. The 3rd Annual Walk a Mile in Her Shoes Charlotte charity walk for Safe Alliance is taking place on Saturday, August 22, 2015 at 9am.
Gentlemen strut during the 2014 Walk a Mile in Her Shoes (photo credit: Ally Frazier) – #thesavageway
Walking a mile in high heels is more than just a fashion statement. For the participants of this charity walk, it is about men raising awareness to stop gender violence and rape.
To quote Charlotte’s Walk a Mile in Her Shoes ® flyer, “In spirit of the old saying “you can’t understand someone’s experience until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes,” Walk a Mile in Her Shoes ® literally asks men to walk a mile in women’s high heeled shoes. The event is a playful and fun opportunity for men to raise awareness in their community about the serious causes and effects of sexualized violence.”
The 2014 event saw 130 walkers and raised over $27,000 for Safe Alliance! It was an incredible community event!
The 2014 crowd gathered at NoDa Brewing Company (photo credit: Ally Frazier) – #thesavageway
Photo from the 2014 Walk a Mile Event (photo credit: Ally Frazier) – #thesavageway
Photo from the 2014 Walk a Mile Event (photo credit: Ally Frazier) – #thesavageway
Let the walk begin! 2014 Walk a Mile participants (photo credit: Ally Frazier) – #thesavageway
As in year’s past, the event will take place at NoDa Brewing Company at their location on North Davidson Street. Men and women are invited to walk an actual mile in heels, or just come out and show support.
All proceeds from the 2015 walk will directly benefit Safe Alliance. Cost is $25 for Men and $10 for Ladies. Day-of Registration opens at 9am and all participants will take the streets beginning at 10am. The route takes the men (and women) left out of NoDa Brewing, up North Davidson Street to Heist Brewery. Participants will then cross the street and head back down North Davidson toward the brewery – a mile in all!
Noda Brewing Company hosts the official after-party so stick around and congratulate the participants for walking/running in those heels and relax with a nice beverage. The awards ceremony is definitely worth staying around for!
The 2014 Walk a Mile in Her Shoes winners! (photo credit: Ally Frazier) – #thesavageway
Concerned about walking in heels? Click here for a nice tutorial.
Walk a Mile In Her Shoes
Date: Saturday, August 22, 2015 at 9am
Location: NoDa Brewing Company
Register: Here
by thesavageway | Jul 10, 2015 | clean graffiti
When we happen upon a company that is doing different things in the marketing world, we stop and look. In the case of OrthoCarolina, we stop and admire. It is hard to go around any corner in Charlotte and not see something that has been cleverly calculated and effectively executed by the OC team.
If you don’t know, OrthoCarolina is “one of the nation’s leading independent academic orthopedics practices serving North Carolina and the Southeast since 1922. They provide comprehensive musculoskeletal care including operative and non-operative care, diagnostic imaging and rehabilitative therapy. Widely known for musculoskeletal research and training, their physicians have specialized expertise in foot & ankle, hip & knee, shoulder & elbow, spine, sports medicine, hand, pediatric orthopedics, and physical medicine and rehabilitation. They have over 130 surgeons amongst 25 plus locations to conveniently serve our patients.”
The creative mind behind the clever marketing of OrthoCarolina is Blair Primis, Vice President of Marketing. Blair is a rare breed in the marketing world. He sees beyond the traditional and he is constantly blurring the lines of what a doctor’s office “should be.” You can see this nontraditional approach to the marketing of OrthoCarolina all over Crown Town, but specifically in their unique sponsorships & outdoor advertising campaigns.
- Sponsor of the NoDa Grand Prix – with signage at the location of the highest crashes.
- Purchased multiple Billboards in collaboration with Adams Outdoors Advertising (titled Broken) Watch this cool video.
- Sponsoring a Cruise Cart that provides FREE rides to Charlotteans on behalf of OrthoCarolina.
- Main supporter of the ever popular (and growing) NoDa Run Club – Clean Graffiti was used to help denote the route.
- Wraps any and every truck that he can – ever wonder what OrthoCarolina was delivering to the gas station? 🙂
OrthoCarolina sponsoring the NoDa Grand Prix. (photo credit NoDa Grand Prix)
“Broken” billboard campaign that OrthoCarolina did with Adams Outdoor Advertising.
OrthoCarolina sponsored Cruise Cart – giving a FREE ride by simply waving one down!
Clean Graffiti Campaign for the NoDa Brewing Run Club, which OrthoCarolina is the main sponsor.
Random trucks all over Charlotte are wrapped in the OrthoCarolina logo.
Here at #thesavageway, we’ve had the pleasure of knowing Blair for almost three years. He was the first one to see our idea of cleaning sidewalks (aka Clean Graffiti) and say YES, let’s make this happen! Clean Graffiti (a Clean Message on a Dirty Sidewalk) provided OrthoCarolina with a new opportunity that “pushes the line.” (Also, Blair’s motto). We’ve been able to hit the streets (pun intended) with a direct line to their potential market: runners, walkers, bikers, etc.
Clean Graffiti by #thesavageway for OrthoCarolina and the UNC Charlotte Inaugural Football Season.
Clean Graffiti by #thesavageway for OrthoCarolina and their 10K Classic.
OrthoCarolina is the Official Team Physicians of the Charlotte 49ers. Clean Graffiti by #thesavageway.
One of the cool things about Blair and our work with OrthoCarolina is the brainstorming process. We will come to the table with a slew of ideas, from huge-we-never-think-it-will-actually-happen ideas to simple brand recognition campaigns, and every single time Blair pushes us to the next level. He challenges what we think about our boundaries and pushes us to think even BIGGER!
Some of our favorite #thesavageway/OC Clean Graffiti campaigns over the past few years include “Running Messages” and “Watch Your Step.”
Watch Your Step Clean Graffiti campaign by #thesavageway for OrthoCarolina.
Inspirational Running Messages along popular running paths – Clean Graffiti by #thesavageway for OrthoCarolina.
Our latest campaign was for the Winston Salem and Kernersville market. Naturally, we wanted to take Clean Graffiti to the next level for Blair, so we commissioned a local artist, Matt Hooker of Hooker Media, to help us design something unique and original.
Behind Every Great Athlete is OrthoCarolina. This #thesavageway Clean Graffiti campaign in collaboration with local artist Matt Hooker.
OrthoCarolina is great at what they do – fixing broken bones. But they are also great at something that should be a priority for other companies – building community. Blair has done a superb job of building community by hiring local, small companies (like us), supporting charity events, helping organizations grow and being honest along the way.
We are grateful that we’ve been an OrthoCarolina partner for the past (almost) three years and we look forward to the fun, crazy, awesome things that Blair will have up his sleeve in the future.
Getting to know the man behind OrthoCarolina Marketing. #thesavageway hanging out with Blair Primis at Salud Beer Shop in 2013.
by thesavageway | Feb 11, 2015 | blog, services
In our line of work, we get to work with so many talented, driven females. In fact, Charlotte, NC is home to some amazing, women-owned businesses. Recently, we were able to witness one of our good friends take on the role of Boss. Kerri Flanigan became the owner and operator of the Charlotte location of AIR – Aerial Fitness!
Meet Kerri Flanigan, proud new owner of Air Charlotte! (photo courtesy of AIR-Aerial Fitness)
Kerri has been the right hand woman to the AIR-Aerial Fitness brand creator/owner, Shama Patel, since the beginning. She has been the lead manager of all locations and has held down the Charlotte location with grace.
“Owning a studio has always been a dream of mine. AIR brings results and it is fun for members. When the opportunity came for me to step in and own the Charlotte location, I knew this was meant to be,” said Flanigan.
Kerri brings such a fun energy to the studio. She makes you want to work out and better yourself. Local newscasters have seen this energy when AIR was featured on Good Day Carolinas with Charity Bailey and on Wilson’s World (Fox News Rising) with two other Girl Bosses Chef Alyssa Gorelick (Chef Alyssa’s Kitchen) & Cristina Gillespie (28toLIFE).
Having fun with Charity Bailey of Fox46 Carolinas! #thesavageway
The morning AIR crew hanging with Charity Bailey of Fox46 Carolinas. #thesavageway
AIR Owner, Kerri Flanigan, on Wilson’s World with Cristina Gillespie of 28toLIFE. #thesavageway
THE FITNESS CONCEPT
AIR – Aerial Fitness is located in Myers Park (in the shopping plaza next to Harris Teeter). This training program fuses ballet, yoga, barre work, Pilates and cardio – all in aerial silk hammocks. When it promises to “strengthen, lengthen + tone your physique in record-breaking time,” trust us – AIR is no joke.
We have been working with AIR since 2014 (when it was called Flex + Fit and was located Uptown in the Duke Energy Building). Aerial silks were always a huge element of the gym concept and as the brand grew in other cities (Chicago, Los Angeles) it became clear that AIR needed to be the star of this boutique gym. The concept shifted to what is now AIR.
#thesavageway hanging out at Flex + FIt in 2014 (now AIR).
#thesavageway has been involved with AIR in a variety of ways, including assisting with marketing, social media training, events and community partnerships. However we have also both been active members since day one. We LOVE this fitness routine. Each trainer has her own style that pushes you in different ways. Within a week’s time we get to sweat it out with Kristi in an intense interval session, get the shakes from Alicia during her barre work class and fly high (and often) with Kerri’s AIR classes.
AIR Charlotte Side Plank. #thesavageway
Some of the AIR Charlotte Trainers showing off new moves. #thesavageway
Part of the 30-Day Challenge at AIR Charlotte. #thesavageway
Each month offers different specials and events to keep the members involved. Currently, we are at the tail end of a 30-Day Challenge to complete 30 classes in a month (and man have these ladies whipped us into shape)! Learn more about AIR at the next FREE Social on Thursday, February 12.
We are beyond proud of Kerri for taking a chance on something that she is passionate about. Owning a company is exciting yet challenging, but it is worth every moment! Looking forward to continuing on this AIR journey with Kerri and her team! #LikeABoss
by thesavageway | Jan 9, 2015 | services
As #thesavageway, we are blessed to have the opportunity to work with some amazing people and innovative business ideas. Our clients cross industries and company size (and that is exactly how we want it!) We love the variety working with clients on everything from sustainable media like our Clean Graffiti to social media training, brand consultation, copywriting, logo development, public relations, event management and more.
However, every once in a while we are given the opportunity to work with a business from the ground up and get our hands in everything. Most recently that business has been Cruise Carts.
THE CONCEPT
Cruise Carts is Charlotte’s newest transportation service and it is FREE for riders. The company offers a free, green & safe ride in and around the Queen City on an advertiser-sponsored golf cart.
A wrapped Cruise Cart during the testing period.
Cruise Carts Instagram Account: @RideCruiseCarts
“I saw a need in Charlotte for a sustainable transportation service,” said Owner Dustin Adams. “We offer a unique way for companies to not only practice social responsibility but to give back to their customers in a fun way!”
How are these brands giving back exactly? By wrapping a cart, that company is sponsoring a month of FREE rides to potential customers. Cruise Carts can be found cruising the Charlotte streets at popular areas (think Panthers Games, the EpiCentre, NC Music Factory, etc) so everyone walking by or riding in the cart is being exposed to that particular brand (as well as being given promo items). In addition, brands are giving back because each cart is not only 100% electric, but those harmful emissions left from motor vehicles are eliminated when using a Cruise Cart.
BIG PICTURE
There is something to be said for companies that constantly keep their consumers in the forefront of their mind. Seeing companies actively make the decision to think outside the box of traditional media AND practice sustainability is so rewarding for us.
We’ve seen these innovative thinkers with our Clean Graffiti service. Leaders like OrthoCarolina, MADabolic, and the YMCA of Greater Charlotte (just to name a few) have seen the benefit of using sustainable media. Now we have the chance to watch our client, Cruise Carts, take on this sustainable, outdoor media world as well!
HITTING THE STREETS
On New Years Eve 2014, Cruise Carts had their first contract with another Charlotte startup, Socialtopias. Socialtopias is a social networking app that allows users to discover new places, make plans with friends, and claim exclusive deals. During their NYE launch party, Cruise Carts acted as the VIP shuttle service to and from the several event locations happening around the city.
The Socialtopias team on the Cruise Cart in Uptown Charlotte.
Wrapped Socialtopias Cruise Cart.
Socialtopias quickly embraced the free ride concept and saw the value of aligning with another cool, innovative company in the Queen City. In the coming months, Cruise Carts will have an official launch date and media event, so stay tuned for more details. In the mean time, follow them on social media to stay up-to-date on progress (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram).
We are elated for Dustin and the Cruise Carts team! They truly are leaving Charlotte a little bit happier with each FREE ride!
More happy passengers on a Cruise Cart.
Cruise Carts at a Carolina Panthers game.
by thesavageway | Dec 10, 2014 | clean graffiti
#thesavageway won an art grant sponsored by Project Art Aid’s Queen City Soup. The grant is to execute positive Clean Graffiti messages/art around high-risk Charlotte neighborhoods. Upon winning, #thesavageway partnered with Project LIFT & West Charlotte High School to make a larger, more direct community impact. As this project unfolds, #thesavageway will be documenting their experience working with the students.
December 4, 2014
Last week marked the first meeting with the West Charlotte High School (WCHS) students. We joined Beverly Smith, WCHS Art Director, during her International Baccalaureate (IB) Art class. As stated on the program’s website, “the IB Diploma Program is an academically challenging and balanced program of education with final examinations that prepares students for success at university and beyond.” To say that these kids are talented is an enormous understatement.
Introduction to Clean Graffiti
We spent the afternoon meeting the teens and introducing the concept of Clean Graffiti to them. We explained how our use of this eco-friendly medium came about for #thesavageway (aka playing around with a pressure washer) and we showed examples of past clients (pictured here).
Clean Graffiti campaign for OrthoCarolina and the UNC Charlotte Inaugural football season.
Artistic Clean Graffiti campaign for Wine and Design Charlotte.
Two Clean Graffiti images for client MADabolic.
Next we introduced Paul Curtis (aka Moose) to the class. Moose, was the first person to ever do a reverse graffiti campaign. His work can be seen from San Francisco to London and beyond. His latest piece was in collaboration with Nissan Leaf, the world’s best selling electric vehicle. See video here. No one in the class had seen Clean Graffiti before and as artists, their interest was immediately peeked.
We also showed the class examples of one of the first companies to make sustainable advertising a business, Green Graffiti. When we first began our Clean Graffiti journey, GG founder Jim Bowes was an idol, that person we wanted to model ourselves after. Within the past year, we have been lucky enough to form a partnership with Jim and his team in the Netherlands.
Green Graffiti example use of Clean (or Reverse) Graffiti.
Green Graffiti example use of Clean (or Reverse) Graffiti for Starbucks.
Introduction to the Art Project
The students began questioning how they were going to be involved. We introduced them to the project and how they would play a pivotal role. The gist is to put down a positive, yet artsy, Clean Graffiti installation (in both English & Spanish) at each of the nine Project LIFT schools. We will also target a few of the walking paths around West Charlotte High School. Here is how it is going to work:
- Students are broken into groups and will work as a team.
- Design ideas will be discussed and sketched out for review.
- #thesavageway team will return to help guide the students in the right direction in regards to stenciling.
- In the New Year, the groups will present their proposals to #thesavageway then a winner will be chosen.
- From here execution of the project can begin.
- The IB art students will be present the day of execution at the high school so they can obtain that first-hand experience.
Thoughts from initial Meeting
We are BEYOND excited at the excitement and talent that these creative students exhibit. The fact that they are able to experience this new concept from the ground up is sure to be a wonderful learning experience. We could see their wheels turning and even brainstormed a few ideas on the spot.
#thesavageway team with some of the WCHS IB art students.
The initial goal of this project was to put down some positive vibes in high-risk neighborhoods in Charlotte, however with this collaboration, the opportunity has grown to making a direct impact in this community.
Stay tuned for the next blog when we return to WCHS to help the students in the design phase.
