Among other things, 2009 will go down as the year that social media went mainstream and changed the way information is transmitted throughout the world.
Another reminder of that came to me this Christmas. My good friend Laura Monagle at Staples Marketing LLC in Milwaukee tweeted recently that she was receiving as many e-mail Christmas cards as snail-mail cards this year. Me too.
Some of the public relations and marketing companies in the region went a step further with their cyber cards this year.
For instance, Bob Welke and the folks at The Welke Group in Milwaukee sent this tasteful presentation and Priya Barnes and Creatonomy in Milwaukee sent this one. (Although it should have come with a warning that it contains a funky earworm song that stays in your head for hours.)
The crew at Bader Rutter & Associates got jiggy with it, while the ambitious people at Zizzo Group Advertising + Public Relations sent along this head-scratcher.
However, the ultimate prize for creativity this year goes to our ambitious Historic Third Ward neighbors at Core Creative. Their cyber card contains a complete local video rendition of the timeless claymation television classic "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer." (The scene with the young bucks sparring is ... well, it made me laugh out loud. Bravo! Author!)
These smartly done multimedia presentations enable PR companies to showcase their capabilities to their clients.
As for me, I have no time this year to create something so special. So, I'll just close with my own holiday wish to all of our readers: Peace on earth and good will toward men. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Steve Jagler is executive editor of BizTimes in Milwaukee and is past president of the Milwaukee Press Club. BizTimes provides news and operational insight for the owners and managers of privately held companies throughout southeastern Wisconsin.
Steve has won several journalism awards as a reporter, a columnist and an editor. He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
When he is not pursuing the news, Steve enjoys spending time with his wife, Kristi, and their two sons, Justin and James. Steve can be reached at steve.jagler@biztimes.com.
