To celebrate the heat and get out of the office for a bit, Joe took the Meridian Group and Launch teams to Todd Jurich’s 21^st Century Burger Bar for lunch.

Owner Todd Jurich served as a judge at Meridian’s Annual Q back in June and as a grand prize – the winner of the burger category, Team “the Mamas and the Papas” will have their winning burger featured on the menu sometime this year!

We enjoyed our field trip to Burger Bar; great atmosphere and delicious food! Thanks Joe!

O’Connor Brewing Company, the leading microbrewery in Hampton Roads, recently hired Meridian Group to develop their brand identity and packaging rollout.

In working with O’Connor Brewing Company, Meridian Group is in the process of developing a new brand identity as well as an integrated marketing program including interactive, packaging and point of sale materials.

Since 2010, O’Connor Brewing Company has grown to have over 350 taps throughout the Hampton Roads area and Richmond.

Meridian Group recently announced the addition of Kelly Timms as media strategist for both Meridian Group and Launch Interactive.

“Media trends are constantly changing,” said Joe Takach, CEO of Meridian Group. “Timms’ background will bring innovative ideas to the table.”

In Timms’ new role, she will be responsible for all strategic planning of traditional and online media for both Meridian Group and Launch Interactive clients. Timms was previously in marketing and sales with The Moore Group in Norfolk, Va., and prior to that she was the local marketing director at Qdoba in Virginia Beach, Va. Timms holds a bachelor’s degree in communication from The University of Alabama with a concentration in advertising.

Welcome to the team, Kelly!

1.11 hours one-way, 57.25 miles and no pay.

Despite the constant traffic of Interstate 64, the 7-mile backup at the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel, having to merge 4 lanes to get off of an exit on 264, all the while paying $3.50 for a gallon of gas, we happily make the trek to 575 Lynnhaven Parkway, Suite 300, every Tuesday and Thursday. Who are we, you might ask?  We are two of Meridian Group’s summer interns.

Some people deem us crazy, others always ask WHY? We both have many reasons for voluntarily subjecting ourselves to hours in a car, and they seem to go like this…

Gain Skills. Practice. Learn. Grow. Be Creative. Real World Experience. Make Connections. And the list goes on.

While all these reasons sound well and good, the real reason is that we have been presented with a great opportunity here at Meridian Group. We have been given the chance to color outside of the lines and grow in more ways than one. For the first time, we are applying what we learn in our college classrooms at JMU and Virginia Tech to the work that we do, on a daily basis. We are working for real clients, whether it’s writing a press release for a cyclist in the STIHL Tour des Trees, or speaking to small business owners about Independent We Stand.

We are learning new things every time we step foot in this office. To us, all of this is well worth the twice a week battle of getting to the 23452 and back home to the 23185.

For the past nine years Joe has hosted all Meridian Group and Launch Interactive employees at his home for the “Q”. It is a head to head barbeque cooking competition that allows everyone to put their creative energies into something besides marketing. It also encourages teamwork and builds camaraderie while have some good old fashion fun. Winning teams are awarded cash and prizes.

On Friday, June 10^th, Meridian Group held the 9^th Annual “Q” at Joe’s house. This year, five teams competed to create four dishes; a shrimp dish, ribs, a drink or dish featuring the secret ingredient (strawberries) and lastly a bonus round of hamburgers to celebrate the opening of BurgerBar. Our judging panel featured Todd Jurich, of Todd Jurich’s Bistro, Bobby Huber, executive chef at Steinhilbers, Richard Boone, formerly at Sonoma Wine Bar, now at Todd Jurich’s 21^st Century BurgerBar and Kristin Crowley of WTKR.

This year’s Grand Slam winners were the “Mamas and the Papas” comprised of John, Matt, Tiffany and Brenda. The Team XXY comprised of Lindsay, Jasmine and Dave took home two categories including the best shrimp dish and best ribs. The Three Amigos featuring Mel, Katherine and Terry took home “People’s Choice.”

The burger that won (created by the “Mamas and the Papas”) will be featured on the menu at Todd Jurich’s 21^st Century Burger Bar for one week!

Special thanks to our excellent panel of judges and Joe for supplying the food, the liquid refreshments and the great location!

Winning Shrimp Dish:

Fire & Ice

Jumbo Lump Crab Salad on top of a Fried Wonton topped with Grilled Shrimp with Fiery Lemongrass Sambal

Vietnamese Summer Rolls filled with Assortment of Herbs, Shrimp and Vegetables

Whopper Lust? Check out this link to see  Burger King’s latest campaign that rewards customers who watch footage of their signature sandwich, the Whopper.

http://www.nrn.com/article/watch-tv-get-free-whopper

The Meridian Group picked up two Awards of Merit from the Virginia State PRSA Awards last week in Richmond. This adds to the three Pinnacle Awards won at the Hampton Roads Chapter the week prior.

Once again, our client STIHL was recognized for the Lithium-Ion product Launch and Meridian was awarded for their Independent We Stand cause marketing initiative which has recently topped over 56,000 pledges.

It’s one thing to have your client praise you for your work and very rewarding to have our peers recognize the efforts we put forth.

One of our award-winning programs will visit Virginia Beach this year when the STIHL Tour de Trees kicks off at STIHL headquarters on October 2nd. The ride will benefit the Tree Fund research which has raised over a half-million dollars since STIHL has come aboard as the title sponsor.

For more information check out www.stihltourdestrees.org.

Meridian Group is in the middle of promoting Soldier Ride events, a ten-month fundraising initiative benefiting Wounded Warrior Project. The Soldier Ride campaign began in February this year and extends to November, stopping in various cities nationwide.

On May 4, they stopped by the White House preceding the Soldier Ride events in D.C. and Annapolis. President Barack Obama welcomed the participants by saying, “You represent the best in America. And in your fight to recover, and in that ride you’re about to begin, we see the values and virtues that make our country great.”

Soldier Ride is a Wounded Warrior Project initiative that began in 2004. It provides adaptive cycling opportunities to wounded warriors across the country to help restore their physical and emotional well-being. In 2007, the event allowed the general public to ride alongside the warriors.

Soldier Ride is recognized as one of the more significant charity events, highlighted by major media outlets like USA Today: http://yourlife.usatoday.com/mind-soul/doing-good/kindness/post/2011/05/charity-news-highlights-contests-awards-pro-bono-efforts-etc/169231/1.

Meridian Group is proud to be a part of this great event. We wish Soldier Ride and all the wounded warriors involved the best of luck with the remaining rides this year!

On Wednesday night at the PRSA Hampton Roads Pinnacle Awards Gala, Meridian Group was honored with two Pinnacle awards for work on the campaigns, Independent We Stand and the STIHL Tour des Trees to benefit the TREE Fund!

Independent We Stand, a movement of independently-owned local businesses across the country dedicated to educating their communities about the importance — and the benefits — of ‘buying local’, won for Community Relations and STIHL Tour des Trees, a weeklong, 500-mile cycling event to benefit the TREE Fund won for Public Relations Programs: Special Events.

Congrats to the team! Also, wish us luck as we head to the 2011 PRSA Commonwealth Awards next week in Richmond!

Joe Takach, CEO of Meridian Group and Elizabeth Lester, president of Launch Interactive were featured in this week’s Inside Business article, “Social Media: How do you dive in?”  The two shared their expert advice and knowledge of social media platforms and how to effectively incorporate it into your business strategy.

 Click here to read the article.