Category: BCG News
Introducing… Barcelona Creative’s New Social Media Squad!
Look out south sider’s, there’s a pair of new social media “ninja’s” in the neighborhood and lucky for us they’ve joined the Barcelona Creative team. I’d like to give a very warm welcome to Drew Templeton and Maggie DiMatteo, who have come on board this month.
Drew and Maggie will be working side by side with our team, developing and executing social media strategies. But that’s not all… I have challenged them to become “Masters of Engagement” and I am already impressed with their mad skills.
Meet Drew Templeton -
Social Media Guru
Drew holds well-rounded interests in social media, advertising, design and web development. He is ambitious, dedicated and creative in his work and aspires to become a successful professional within the advertising and marketing field.
During his free time Drew plays professional paintball and competes domestically and internationally. He enjoys photography, staying fit, playing golf and spending time with family and friends.
Introducing Maggie DiMatteo -
Social Media Sophisticate
Maggie grew up on the north side of Chicago with three sisters. She says this has enabled her to perfect the art of diplomacy and word choice, which she believes gives her a one-up in her developing public relations career. Maggie also loves to write.
Maggie’s interests center on the arts, having been a dancer from very early in life all the way through college. She is an avid music fan, claiming to know and appreciate “every genre”.
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Illinois Continuity of Care Association hosts a special event on Social Media
The Illinois Continuity of Care Association 
utilizes an extensively organized process of combining all aspects that ultimately create high quality patient/client care. The process combines the patient, the family and the team working together to ease the shift from one level of care to another.
Members of the Illinois Continuity of Case Association benefit in many different ways with all the association has to offer. Members are presented with networking opportunities with healthcare colleagues, as well as opportunities to identify key professional resources and services amongst the community. The Illinois Continuity of Case Association also hosts special events throughout the year. These events serve as a channel to enlighten the community of proven strategies that have ultimately helped businesses throughout the community become more successful.
Evolving technologies bring new challenges and opportunities for businesses and their brands. Social Media, when used effectively, can help businesses build relationships, create meaningful conversations and increase word of mouth. Our own Vice President, Juli Barcelona, will present success stories she has experienced with incorporating Social Media into the overall marketing strategy of Barcelona Creative Group as well as the strategies of their client’s businesses.
For more information please visit our Facebook event page.
If you have questions on how to successfully incorporate social media tools into your company’s marketing plan, please contact Juli Barcelona by email at juli@barcelonacreative.com or call her at 708.448.8077.
Barcelona Creative Group is Hiring!
Now that we’re finally settled into our new office space, Barcelona Creative Group, the most well known marketing agency on Chicago’s south side, is looking to hire a Marketing/Social Media Intern.
BCG is looking for a proactive and creative intern. We are seeking a motivated student with a passion for social media, marketing, public relations and writing. If you have experience with Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and blogging, this internship is for you!
Gain firsthand experience developing and implementing social media strategies in the competitive online world. Work with our Vice President in developing comprehensive social media strategies and execute on the plans to increase visibility, interaction and traffic.
Number of Hours: 10 to 15/week
Job Description:
- Ability to think creatively and measure results
- Enthusiasm and can-do attitude
- Strong writing and communications skills
- Basic website content experience
- Willingness to experiment with new social media tools
- Ability to contribute individually and as part of a team
- Ability to contribute 10 to 15 hours/week
- Ability to meet deadlines
Job Requirements:
- Coordinating social media activities by actively engaging in social media sites, blogs, etc.
- Experimenting with new and alternative ways to leverage social media activities.
- Monitoring trends in social media tools, trends in applications and appropriately applying that knowledge to increase awareness.
- Reporting on the impact of marketing/public relations efforts.
- Monitoring Twitter conversations to engage and identify influencers.
- Help execute strategies.
How to Apply:
Please send your cover letter and resume with contact information to Barcelona Creative Group, Attn: Juli Barcelona. Please put Marketing Internship in your subject line. Send resumes by Friday, February 26th.
Email: juli@barcelonacreative.com
A Joyful Two-Car Parade to the Food Pantry
One year ago, when we hoped that hosting an open house and food drive was a good way to bring good people together and help local families in need, I’m sure most of us thought that by this holiday season, the need would not be as pressing. With all area food pantries experiencing an even greater demand this year, we thought it was appropriate to host “Turkey Talk 2″ this past Monday, November 23rd. The response from our clients, friends and local business associates was so great that last Tuesday, the two littlest Barcelonas, Zach and Sam (here from Minnesota for Thanksgiving) helped us count $50 in cash contributions and more than 660 non-perishable items, topping our 2008 collections.
When the tally was complete, Juli Barcelona and I boxed everything up, packed our cars and delivered all your donations to the Palos Township Emergency Food Pantry offices on Roberts Road in Palos Hills. Township Supervisor, Colleen Schumann, and other members of their limited staff were overjoyed, saying they are now confident in their ability to take care of needy families during the Christmas holidays.
From our entire team, thanks to all who came and many who could not attend but were thoughtful enough to deliver a contribution in advance, plus Abby of Abigail Harenberg Photography, Beth Fahey and Becky Palermo of Creative Cakes in Tinley Park and BCG’s own Linda Barcelona, who donated the delicious cake, breads and cookies. Photos will be available on our website soon and even though Caprio’s Pizza was great, you just can’t have “Turkey Talk” without dessert!
Finally, I’m proud to inform you that we hope to host “Turkey Talk” on the Monday before Thanksgiving every year. If our local food pantries are full to capacity (we hope), we’ll ask you to “talk a little turkey” and kick off the holiday season by responding to another very worthwhile cause. In the meantime, please accept our sincere thanks for your support and our best wishes for a healthy and happy holiday season.
Moving On Down, To The West Side…
September is now upon us and as Barcelona Creative Group said goodbye to August, we also said goodbye to Suite #305. That’s right, “we’re moving on down, to the West side”… of our office building that is! The good news is we said Hello to a smaller, fresher space and we could not be more excited to make a new start.
First, let me stress that smaller does not mean we’re shrinking. We’re still going strong, helping our clients grow their businesses and practicing new and different ways to accomplish their marketing objectives. However, after building up 20 years of history, we realized we had more space dedicated to our past than our future. And as the old saying goes – “You can’t live in the past.” Plus, this gave my Dad a chance to have a presence on EVERY floor of this building throughout his 20 years of owning this business.
When we started looking into different space, we were all over the place. So, we re-grouped and sat down and really identified our needs, goals and vision for moving forward. We realized that we needed to do a much better job of conserving – both space, energy and trees! So we’ve recycled all the paper that will not be joining us in our new space and we’ve placed recycling bins all over the office to ensure that we are more conscious of the paper we use on a daily basis – recycling as much as we possibly can. Having less space also means less waste – because the reality is we don’t have anywhere to put it! But that’s okay. We have freshened things up and plan to make additional improvements once we get all of the “kinks” out.
Each BCG employee now has, one way or another, a window to look out of while we are hard at work. This is great for me because I haven’t had a window to look out of in nearly 5 years – and what a difference that makes. We’re taking great pride in our smaller space, maximizing its potential. Fresh paint and a few pieces of new furniture have really brightened the place up.
“The most important lesson I’ve learned from this move is that few things will go exactly as planned – some things are out of your control (a tough lesson for me to learn) and you have to be flexible and roll with the punches. But when I think about it, these things apply to everyday life and all sorts of situations anyway, right?”
We look forward to inviting clients and colleagues into our new “digs” for our 2nd Annual Turkey Talk Open House and Food Drive in November! In the meantime, feel free to stop by and see us in our new space – same address, just a different floor! Barcelona Creative is now located at 12416 S. Harlem Ave., – on the 2nd Floor – Suite 201.