Covered in Color! Saturday Adventures at the 2014 Color Run

June 12, 2014 ~ Nicole Monahan ~ Leave a comment

I used to love running… I’d wake up early. Get the runner’s high. Push myself further and further each run. The best part was getting toned and in shape, having buns of steel! Yet, I gave it up about two years ago. I had been training for a 10K religiously. I’d hit Central Park on the weekends for my longer 6 mile runs, and along the west side highway to the Chelsea Piers on weekdays for my shorter runs. I actually kind of miss the routine and structure of it all. However, hitting the concrete jungle’s pavement for too long really damaged my feet, before I knew it I had plantar fasciitis and was going to physical therapy.

I stopped running after completing that 10k, but I knew in 2013 I wanted to do the Color Run 5k. Pathetically I tried training again but at the root of it I ended up mostly run/walking most of the way. There’s no denying that the Color Run truly lives up to it’s slogan, the happiest 5k on the planet. I had a blast, completed it, but didn’t have much interest in coming back next year and messing my foot up any further.

All of this was thrown out the window four days before this year’s Color Run in Queens. My friend Megan, pounced at the opportunity to win tickets from blog celeb Gala Darling‘s Color Run giveaway. A few of the original winners didn’t claim the prize and now the Color Run was ours for the taking! We both responded to her and won instantly.

The whole giveaway was in partnership with one of the Color Run’s sponsors, Shout, which was produced by Edelman. Gala had to do a number of things like take part in photos and videos, Instagram/Tweet the event, and write a blog post recap. Overall, all of us got to reap the sweet benefits and were treated like royalty. We received ahead of time Shout/Color Run swag by mail, although I still never received mine due to UPS. Womp Womp. But they took really good care of me when I arrived there, showering me with shirts, bags, and tons of free stuff. We also got to skip the entire line and went straight to the starting line.

Other fun perks:

We had a videographer follow us around for most of the run, and one girl got to wear a GoPro through the whole race.

We got to cut the line for the Shout 360 Color Cam Videos.

We got to cut the line and go directly on stage for the orange color throw. (Shout’s brand color)

And overall I didn’t have to force myself to run or hurt myself. We all walked it and it was so much fun to hang out with a brunch of friends and meet a whole group of new friends. I couldn’t have asked for a better way to spend my Saturday. These ladies were awesome!

Here’s Gala’s blog post from the Color Run adventure. And a few more photos below from the event.

xox

Social Marketing Finds: Classes, Contests, and Partnerships Oh My!

October 16, 2012 ~ Nicole Monahan ~ Leave a comment

The week started off with a class themed overload, just forewarned, but these contests, partnerships, and content finds just couldn’t be ignored. However, there’s more than just classes, I promise.

Here’s a few examples of partnerships and contests from my favorite brands, in addition to extra goodies I wanted to share with you all. Enjoy!

Of A Kind + General Assembly: Get Schooled Giveaway

I was first introduced to Of A Kind a few weeks ago, when I found out they were having an event at their limited time only Pop-Up store. While checking out the company I fell in love with the concept. It felt exclusive, like buying something truly unique. I saw this back to school set on the site before, which I loved and seemed like the only reasonable thing I could afford. However, I’m also one of those indecisive buyers. That’s why I’m glad I found this, and this is such a great partnership.

General Assembly: Private Class Giveaway

I’m not sure what the reason is for so many giveaways with General Assembly but I’m not complaining. Who wouldn’t want a private class. Keep ’em coming. You have my attention. I’ve enter to win both. Pick Me Please!

3rd Ward Brooklyn: Creative Speed Networking

Why must 3rd Ward be so far away. I’m in need of more class based companies in Astoria. This image instantly caught my attention first and then I looked at the description. Now that’s a creative event concept, especially since I don’t really like networking. This is a great solution; it’s quick, easy, and if it’s awkward you can move on in a few minutes.

Warby Parker Class Trip + American Express

This is simply well executed. More than anything, I love A.) A creative campaign or event and B.) Attention to detail. Check out the full site to get the whole experience. My personal faves: Their Facebook Class Rep Video Contest & the on the road blog. Now I’m super bummed I missed out on NYC- I’m due for a new pair of glasses. These old ones need to get off my face immediately!

ModCloth: Awe & Order Contest

This contest works because it makes me realize how much I need to spruce up my space and put more order in my life. These entries provide great visual examples of organizing your space while putting my apartment to shame. Then it hooks me into ModCloth– Could they be the answer to my clutter? Now I’m on their site…again. Brilliant. Just wish there was more buzz and promotion on it. As you can see I caught the tail end of the contest and I’m not the only one, they only had a handful of entries.

Seamless: It’s Raining

Clever, funny, simple, and doesn’t have to go too far on the design to get its message across.

Orbitz & 5 Gum Micro Pack – Freebies

Hustler Tip: Stick around Midtown for awesome street promotions and marketing ops, like these free micro gum packs I scored. I tend to avoid Midtown (and Chinatown) like the plague but I forgot about the freebies. I may need to rethink this.

Enjoy the rest of your week! Share your favorite social media brand posts, contests, partnerships, freebies, anything at all, in the comments.

Social Marketing Mondays: Typography and Image Edition

August 20, 2012October 3, 2012 ~ Nicole Monahan ~ Leave a comment

Back from vacation and back into the social goodness.

My first pick for this week goes out to Seamless’ Lunch for a Month Sweeps. I am personally a sucker for typography and lunch. When you combined the two it looks like a classy meal I can’t help but enter to win.

Second pick goes to DailyCandy’s August Things to do this Summer. Again the typography is what really drew me in first, I am a visual person and it worked. Plus I am a huge fan of DailyCandy’s content and the way they curate it, very tailored and polished while hooking you in.

Third goes to Tom’s Shoes. Visuals for the win! While quickly scrolling through my Facebook news feed, this sunset really caught my attention. The timing was just right, as I saw the Facebook post at around sunset my time. As Tom’s asked their fans, “what’s the view like from behind yours?”, the whole concept was certainly intriguing and engaging. I also noticed this post got many likes (around 7K), something I haven’t seen from them in recent posts.

Takeaways:

A great takeaway from this week’s examples is that visuals are key and will hook your audience in. Combined that with the right timing based on your content and audience, makes for a sure fire way to successful engage with what you’re marketing. For example the Seamless was posted right before lunch time at around 11am. I noticed DailyCandy’s guide a week ago just as I was searching for last minute end of summer things to do. And as I mentioned, Tom’s I noticed yesterday at around sunset.