2008 Beijing Games

Welcome to our agency blog!  We hope you find this section of our website informative, useful in solving challenges, and perhaps even entertaining.  My first entry has me thinking about the 08 games in Beijing.  As you may have seen in the Extra, Extra section of our website, we just completed an 08 Olympic partnership for one of our flagship accounts; The Hershey Company.  This deal (U.S. only) got me thinking about the impact the Beijing games will have on global brands.  Having traveled to China on business, I witnessed first hand the people's incredible spirit and commitment to innovation--I was awed at the development of cities like Shanghai.  It's hard to imagine how any brand isn't pointing (and investing) at opportunities in China.  After walking around modern cities with construction crane skylines and then traveling a few blocks off the beaten path, I quickly learned the delicate balance between booming capitalism and fragile poverty.  It made me realize that yes, brand bets in China are needed, but you better have a long term view and, MOST importantly, patience as the marketplace achieves wealth and real consumer spending takes hold.  Nonetheless, nowhere will the power of sport be on display more than the 08 Beijing stage.  And, if you are truly a global leading brand, how do you not find a way to use the Olympics as a springboard for your business?

-Peter Stern

STRATEGIC Lends a Helping Hand in the Community

Giving back to our community is an integral part of the spirit that drives the culture at STRATEGIC. We recognize all that the NYC community provides us and feel a moral obligation to give back when we can. On July 24, 2007 STRATEGIC took our hard work from 31st Street to Corona Park to complete our annual community service project. Under sunny skies in Queens, we spent the day improving the city park and making it a more enjoyable place for everyone. We began the day picking up trash around the property, making the park safer, sanitary, and visually appealing to the hundreds of people who use the facilities on a daily basis.

Next we grabbed some paint, rollers, and brushes and showed off our artistic abilities. While one group of the STRATEGIC staff repainted light-poles throughout the park, the other painted benches that were in desperate need of a touch up. Both groups succeeded in making the park look newer and brighter. At the end of the afternoon, we truly felt that we had left the park better than we found it.

Looking at the work we completed, Corona Park staff member Kathy Dallojacano said "this was a great group of hard working people who went above and beyond what we expected from them. Corona Park is grateful to have such great volunteers who care so much about improving our parks and our city." We felt just as fortunate to be able to have a positive impact on such a beautiful park and give back to the city that has been so great to us. We all have work to do, clients to service, and places to be...but every once in a while we take a step back and get involved trying to improve our community by taking ourselves and our agency to a place they've never been.