In the Fall of 2009 the GNU Group was introduced to the Blue & White Foundation, a group of volunteers committed to the goal of developing an new Stadium for Davis High School in Davis California.

They engaged GNU with request for our firm to help them PLAN, DESIGN and IMPLEMENT a comprehensive Donor Recognition program for the newly planned Stadium design by HMC Architects out of Sacramento.

The images below chronicle our PROCESS approach in assisting the Blue & White Foundation along with the Davis Joint Unified School District in navigating through what at times can be a very complicated and detail oriented donor project. GNU would like to especially thank HMC Architects who generously allowed GNU use of their sketch-up models which were critical in the design and marketing aspects of this project.

STEP 1 - Planning is critical to understanding how users will circulate the stadium along with how they will navigate to the various destinations throughout (ie: Main Entry Gate, Concessions, Home/Visitor Bleachers, Various Track and Field functions)

STEP 1 - Define hierarchy of Donor Recognition elements and begin to locate them throughout the Stadium and Stadium Grounds, this sets us up to develop fabrication and installation budgets early on in the process

STEP 2: Begin to develop concepts for Donor Elements such as Main Courtyard identification with Donor and Sponsor opportunities

STEP 2: Developing concepts that begin to step outside a client's perception of what their program should be can be a great way of creating unique Donor Opportunities

STEP 3: We assisted the Blue & White Foundation in helping them "tell their story" in a compelling and professional manner, a comprehensive booklet

STEP 3: It is important to convey your story, we assisted the Blue and White Foundation in honing their message and making sure that it resonated with the right audience - their multi-faceted Donor base

STEP 3: Through the help of HMC Architects we were able to lay in our concepts to their Sketch-up models, as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words

STEP 3: A compelling visual that communicates to potential Donors how their name will be recognized within the built environment, we like to think a picture worth a few thousand extra dollars

STEP 4: Where the rubber hits the road, once the program was approved we launched right into our Construction Intent documents, the drawings our fabrication partners will use to construct these Donor Recognition elements

STEP 4: Documentation is key in making sure Donor Elements are produced in a logical and economical fashion, a clear and logical approach to phasing a program can sometimes save our clients thousands of dollars

I recently attended a SMPS seminar on Social Media Marketing in San Francisco. Rick Klau of Google was the featured speaker. Rick is the Business Product Manager for Google’s Blogger and ran the campaign weblog for President Barack Obama’s 2004 Senate race. He is a well respected authority in Social Media Marketing. Rich Burns, Founder of the GNU Group was also in attendance with me.

Over the past year and half both Rich and I have pushed ourselves to both embrace and understand this wave of Social Media that seems to have permeated the airwaves, TV, web and blogisphere. We’ve learned a lot as it relates to GNU’s marketing efforts as well as those of our clients. We are finding that a good majority of our clients are interested in Social Media and are eagerly seeking advice in establishing a well organized Social Media Platform.

With that said, here is just some of the advice Rick presented:

You are not in control. And that is sometimes the beauty of it but can also be what scares the BA-JEE-ZUSS out of some companies. This reinforces the need for a well planned approach to your Social Media Platform. What do you want to communicate? Who do you want to communicate to? What tools/applications will you utilize to communicate?

Not all Social Media Applications are for everyone. So just because you’ve embraced Social Media does not mean you have to have a FACEBOOK page or TWITTER account. GNU Group currently doesn’t although that may change on the near future.

The “just post it and they will come” mentality does not work. You need to actively engage in Social Media, cross pollinate in venues and with other Social Media users you want to be communicating with. Push content. Example, I know that if I do not push this post to a few people, it probably won’t be read.

Expect to make mistakes and even screw up. This is a whole new way for companies to broadcast their intellectual property that is vastly different than traditional marketing. It will take awhile to get up to speed, hone the tone of your message and direct/push it to the correct audience.

When it comes to blogging, don’t feel that it needs to read like a formal dissertation. There is an acceptable and even beneficial level of informality that can help potential contacts and business relationships blossom by being yourself or communicating with a casual tone. Not all posts need to read like a press release.

Don’t avoid Social Media because you think you do not have the time. This seemed to be one of the BIG issues brought up during the seminar by audience members. Rick’s comment, if you have time to e-mail, you have time to engage Social Media. Again, have a smart plan in place and stick to it.

In summary, Social Media is here to stay and while there is still is a lot of skepticism of it’s ROI there is no doubt it can contribute to your company’s (or Project’s) visibility on the internet and beyond.

In late October, the GNU Group was profiled in the San Francisco Business Times.

Click here to read the article.

During a recent interview I was reminded of 2 things — 1… Just how far our professions consulting services have been integrated in the built environment. And 2… Just how much more passionate we need to be to complete the FULL message!!!

The assignment was a new Healthcare Campus Masterplan that includes a 300 bed hospital, ER department, 4 medical Office Buildings and 2 parking Garages. The existing consulting Team is using the Integrated Project Delivery ( IPD) process. What excited me was that we were being interviewed to be part of the Masterplan in the research and programming phase…. I can remember when we were happy to be getting involved in the Construction Phase !!

As I was introducing our Team and discussing our EDA™ work product, a proprietary process of qualitative and quantitative experience research, it became clear just how far we need to go to get the FULL message out to our clients and potential clients of knowing what the real BIG PICTURE means.

Although it was great that we were getting in right at the start of the assignment it became obvious there had been little if any discussion of the visitor experience Touch Points beyond the need for a signage and good integration with the assumed objects into the physical spaces.

Our story must go beyond this and help the client understand how important it is to know : how and where the pre-arrival information is given to the patient — this can include marketing materials, appointment calls or mailers, website interaction, offsite communications and most importantly how verbal directions should be given. Its only when we look holistically at the many TouchPoints that we can best serve our clients.

We have all come a long way but now with the right Focus and Passion to educate we can help our clients provide the very best Experience to their customers — and isn’t that what its all about?