by thesavageway | Feb 25, 2015 | blog, services
#thesavageway team is a preferred vendor of Carolinas HealthCare System and we were brought on for the entire month of February to act as the promotional and street team presence for the #MyHeartBeats4U campaign, geared towards heart health awareness.
The Issue:
Heart disease is a big issue in America. In fact it is the number one killer of women and the leading cause of death for most men. The Sanger Heart & Vascular Institute of Carolinas HeathCare System works diligently year-round to bring awareness to this disease. During the month of February (heart health month), the issue is brought to the forefront and risk factors are identified and prevention methods are broadcasted even more.
Some of the heart disease risk factors include:
- High blood pressure
- High LDL cholesterol
- Smoking
- Diabetes
- Excessive alcohol use
- Physical Inactivity
- Poor diet
- Obesity
#MyHeartBeats4U Campaign:
Since heart disease is such a large issue for Americans, Carolinas HealthCare System decided to institute a social media based campaign to gain exposure and communicate to the masses.
Using the hashtag #MyHeartBeats4U, community members are encouraged to answer the question, “Who does your heart beat for?” and then take a photograph and post to a favorite social media portal!
Charlotteans participating in Carolinas HealthCare System’s #MyHeartBeats4U campaign – #thesavageway
These pictures are then uploaded to the Carolinas HealthCare System website and rotated throughout the month. A variety of photos are also selected at random to appear on the digital EpiCentre billboards located at the corner of College St. & Trade St.
More #MyHeartBeats4U participants for Carolinas HealthCare System – #thesavageway
Events Around Town:
#thesavageway, along with Pink Toast Ink, were brought in to concept and create the photo booths that are used in correlation with our street team. Each week we venture out to various locations around the Queen City including the Duke Energy Building, 7th Street Market and Bank of America Plaza, all in the name of spreading heart health awareness!
Last week, Larry Sprinkle and the WCNC crew joined us to on the streets to further bring awareness to the campaign.
Larry Sprinkle of WCNC joined #thesavageway promo team for the #MyHeartBeats4U campaign.
During the month, our team has been able to interact with citizens on the street, business owners, families and even the Carolinas HealthCare System executive staff. We were able to participate in the AIR – Aerial Fitness February Social event that featured healthy-food guru Chef Alyssa’s Kitchen. This was the perfect opportunity to educate about heart health awareness and showcase ways to combat the disease (exercise & healthy diet).
AIR Charlotte owner Kerri Flanigan (pictured on right) and regular Mandi Staley (on left) tell us who their heart beats for!
Asheton Brown (@Smasheton) tells us who her hearts beats for during the AIR Charlotte Social – #thesavageway
Three Hunters Vodka participates in the campaign at the AIR Charlotte Social – #thesavageway
Get Involved:
If you want to be involved and help spread the awareness – go to Carolinas HealthCare System website, print a sheet and tell us who your heart beats for! You can also follow #thesavageway on Twitter – @thesavageway – to find out our location on the remaining Thursday and Friday of the month and get your picture taken in the photo booth! #MyHeartBeats4U
#thesavageway Promo Team for the Carolinas HealthCare System month long campaign.
by thesavageway | Feb 23, 2015 | clean graffiti, services
We have worked with the YMCA of Greater Charlotte on two Clean Graffiti campaigns within the past 6 months. They are true supporters of sustainability when it comes to advertising.
Corporate Social Responsibility
We love when companies put their money where their mouth is and actually practice Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Defined as a “Corporate initiative to assess and take responsibility for the company’s effects on the environment and impact on social welfare,” CSR is very important for companies these days.
When the YMCA chose to spend some of their marketing budget on Clean Graffiti, they in turn practiced CSR. Clean Graffiti is the process of cleaning a message onto a dirty sidewalk (it’s just water). They saw the benefits of using reverse graffiti to stand out from other outdoor advertising methods while being sustainable.
YMCA of Greater Charlotte uses Clean Graffiti for marketing campaign.
The first campaign the YMCA executed was on several of their campuses touting their “Stay & Play” initiative. The goal was to get YMCA members and passersby to realize that the YMCA offers dance, swimming, sports, tumbling and other programs beyond just a gym atmosphere. The participating campuses of the Greater Charlotte YMCA were the Johnston, Lake Norman and Stratford Richardson locations.
Social Media post from #thesavageway about YMCA of Greater Charlotte’s Clean Graffiti campaign.
Recently, another opportunity arose for the YMCA to take on sustainable advertising, the BB&T Corporate Cup 5K & Half-Marathon.
“The Corporate Cup is in its 36th year and the Race Planning Committee saw an opportunity to spice up how we communicate with something truly innovative compared to our other marketing vehicles,” said Center City Marketing Director for the YMCA, Brittany Durkin. “We saw how Clean Graffiti created a buzz between everyone (in person and online) and we wanted to try it specifically with our race.”
YMCA of Greater Charlotte Clean Graffiti for the BB&T Corporate Cup. #thesavageway
Clean Graffiti messages were placed around the race route and popular running areas to help promote the upcoming March 7 race.
#thesavageway did some Clean Graffiti for the YMCA Corporate Cup.
More images of the Clean Graffiti the #thesavageway did for the YMCA Corporate Cup.
More images of the Clean Graffiti the #thesavageway did for the YMCA Corporate Cup.
The best part of it all is that the YMCA has chosen to expand their CSR by returning to the spots and cleaning them away after the race. That’s what we call full circle, sustainable marketing!
Click here for more information on Clean Graffiti.
Click here to sign up for the BB&T Corporate Cup.
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 | Dec 17, 2014 | services
2014. A year that brought many Happy moments and many challenging ones. Here at #thesavageway, we are beyond grateful to have made it another year in business and still remain passionate about what we are doing in this world.
At the end of each year, we like to take time to reflect on the moments that defined us, inspired us and that simply made us happy. Here is a look at a year in the life of #thesavageway:
#thesavageway Team Expanded!
At the beginning of 2014, Paula came on as a full time partner! This was a huge moment for the company and one that we had been working on for some time.
Other areas of growth in Charlotte include our residential Clean Graffiti division, Clean Graffiti Kids. However, our biggest move has to be our expansion to New York. Our sales team in NYC is bringing our sustainable medium of Clean Graffiti to the dirty (and perfect) streets up north!
We Met the “Steve Jobs” of Our Industry!
Torrie & Paula on a Skype session with Jim and Mike of Green Graffiti.
Never in a million years did we think we would meet our European competitor let alone become friends and partners with him! We traveled to Nashville, TN in June of this year to meet Jim Bowes, founder of Green Graffiti and crusader for all things sustainable media. Talk about eye opening and inspiring! Our future with Jim and his team is developing as we write this and we cannot wait to see how together we can make change!
We Won an Art Grant!
Queen City Soup Proposal.
Talking Dirt at Queen City Soup!
On a whim and some encouragement, we applied for Project Art Aid’s Queen City Soup micro grant. After a fairly hilarious skit in front of 200 people, we were awarded the grant for our Clean Graffiti project. The premise was to put down positive messages in high-risk areas of Charlotte in both English & in Spanish. Upon winning we decided to partner with Project LIFT as they were already established in West Charlotte and would allow a more direct impact in the community. Our project is ongoing with the West Charlotte High School IB Art students. Stay tuned for the finished project around March 2015.
We got to work with some pretty rad people…
As a small business, your clients are your bosses and we have to say that we have had some of the best. Huge shout out to this amazing bunch of clients, partners and friends that we’ve had the opportunity to work with this year!
28toLife, AIR – Aerial Fitness, Breathe, Bruks Bars, Carolina Textiles, Carolinas Healthcare System, Charlotte Gastroenterology & Hepatology, CPCC The Curious Advertising & Graphic Design Club, CrossFit 704, Cruise Carts, Crunch Bistro, Custom, Epic Apparel, FaceMounts, Flex + Fit, Four Sisters Boutique, Green Graffiti, Green Teacher Network, Idolize, Justin Driscoll Photography, Libretto’s Pizzeria, LiveUptownNow.com, MADabolic, Midtown Search, NoDa Brewing Company, NoDa Neighborhood, NoDa Brewing Run Club, OrthoCarolina, Pink Toast Ink, Playing for Others, Progressive Urban Real Estate, Project Art Aid, Project LIFT, Queen City Church of Christ, Ready at 7, Rebuilding Together of Greater Charlotte, Second Helping Charlotte, Stache House, Tech Talent South, TRi Yon Performance, UNC Charlotte PRSSA, Wine & Design Charlotte, Yelp Charlotte, YMCA of Greater Charlotte
We Fell BACK in Love with Coffee.
Delectables from The Daily Press.
If we didn’t love this sweet nectar of the gods before, the coffee scene in NoDa sure made us obsessed. We’ve always had a soft spot in our hearts for Smelly Cat Coffeehouse & Amelie’s French Bakery, but we were blessed with the opening of not one but three coffee shops this year. Ozpresso and Boquette Mountain Coffee became a staple for our client meetings. However the introduction of The Daily Press has to be our favorite. Their hand crafted treats bring a smile to our faces every time we sample them (hello fall favorite Piccadilly Fog). Needless to say there is no excuse to be tired in this neighborhood!
Networking Became Enjoyable Again!
The lovely Corri & Amy, creators of #InstaBeerUpCLT. Photo courtesy of @corriasmith Instagram.
We’ve all been there… a stuffy networking event that is more uncomfortable than meaningful. Well two pretty rad ladies decided that the Charlotte networking scene needed a shake up. Enter #InstaBeerUpCLT. Corri Smith & Amy Herman created a fun monthly event where social media followers could meet in real life! These networking socials bring together the movers and shakers of the social media world at different hot spots around town. Bravo ladies! Looking forward to the next one!
We also look forward to the 2015 development of the new Charlotte group, #WeLoveCLT. Bringing together awesome people to talk about making our city an even better place. YES!!! Stay tuned for more details here.
This is simply a snapshot of the monumental moments in the #thesavageway world. To us, a successful year is one where we get to work with people that we believe in and collaborate on projects that make a difference in the world. 2014 was fantastic and we look forward to 2015 with excitement, passion and possibility.
Cheers!
Paula & Torrie
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.
