PF Fun

Nope, I’ll guarantee you we’ve collectively lost our ever-lovin’ minds. That translates in to chaotic fun and unrelenting frivolity almost on a daily basis.

On Tuesday, we had a meeting of upper management. It happens four times a year. There are about 75 of us who help chart the direction of the agency. We all get together for a “what-the-hell-is-your-team-doing-that-we-should-be-aware-of-and-gosh-have-you-lost-weight-you-look-good” mind meld.

After 30 minutes of pleasantries and agenda items, we were informed that we were going to be broken up into groups of five … for a “team-building exercise”. In most companies, this announcement is followed by an eye-rolling, groan-inducing wave of insubordinate dissention. At PlattForm, the last time we had team-building, there was ice cream involved – so how bad can it be? Although – come to think of it – two recent group activities have involved trips to the emergency room … less I digress.

This time around we had a good ol’ fashioned scavenger hunt. You know, where players have to scramble to find an arbitrary list of miscellaneous items in an allotted amount of time. Our team was determined to win no matter what the cost or what laws we’d have to break.

While I’m familiar with the premise, I’ve never been on a scavenger hunt before. This one seemed even more ridiculous and more random than usual. My team went for the big ticket items. Get a picture taken holding a snake. Get an authentic recipe from an Italian restaurant. Bring back the mayor. (Believe me, he wasn’t happy about it.)
And the list went on and on.

Picture of a mullet. Concert poster. Bird feather. Origami swan. A lock of hair from a stranger’s head. Photo of a family with four or more kids.

I found myself walking up to complete strangers like a crazy person and asking for things. Most obliged and didn’t ask questions. Obviously they had been on scavenger hunts before. In the end, we ended up winning by THREE points over our nearest competitor. It was our gas receipt for $.50 that helped propel us to victory.

If your company hasn’t had fun lately … I’d strongly suggest a scavenger hunt. PlattForm’s motto? “That which does not kill us — only makes us win more gift cards!”

Think back to the first day of school, possibly where you didn’t know anyone, and you sit there staring at the wall, your hands, the desk or anything else to avoid eye contact. One would think this wouldn’t ever happen again once school is completely over but that is not the case.

As most new kids in class, you feel this anxiety of starting your first day in a new environment and ask yourself: “Was this the best decision?” “Will I get along with everyone?” “Why does it feel like I’m starting over again?” The anxiety just keeps building and building.

Lucky for me, I knew the moment I sat down on my first day with Jan that this was the place for me. I came from the event marketing world and had background in Higher Education, so it just makes sense professionally to combine my experiences into one. That is why I am excited to be at PlattForm!

How can I describe this place? Typical ad agency? Kind of, but not really. We dress more casual than most businesses, which means jeans are allowed every day of the week! On our breaks we can enjoy a game of ping pong, playing video games on the Wii, and even relax in the yoga room. We have random eating competitions between departments, video messages about fun events, and occasionally costume contests. PF is so much more than a ‘typical’ ad agency!

Everyone is on the same side, willing to put forth that extra 150% and strive to meet the needs of our clients. Not to mention, I was welcomed into the company with open arms and everyone is willing to takes steps to ensure my success.

A main goal within the company is to dive right in, get involved and progress quickly. Goals are posted all over the company, which is very motivating and inspiring. I have goals in my life but keep them to myself until they are achieved and then create new ones. Now, I have weekly, monthly, and annual: team, department, company, internal client and external client goals. It is definitely a shift from the average, “Set three goals and we will review them sometime” business style. It is actually refreshing to have a breakdown of these goals to really achieve.

Goal: writing a Blog. Mission accomplished!

Wow, over 2 months ago I started at PlattForm! Achieved a few goals, and with all the experiences I have gained I feel like I have worked here for years, but in a good way!

Yanni?
Yawn-y, right?
Surprisingly, no! And I’m the newly-eyes-opened witness to tell you why.
Until last Tuesday night, all I really knew about Yanni was that he produced some distinctive New Age CDs, keyboards mostly, awhile back and that his trademark look was long-hair. My only example of his work went MIA when I left it in the CD player of a car I traded off—two vehicles ago.
So, when an Email popped up offering two tickets from Danny Pumpelly to the Yanni Concert at KC’s Sprint Center that night, I mused aloud, “Hmmm….Maybe I should go get those tickets.”
It was already after five, but my ICD compatriots still at their desks, Erin Sullivan and Tracy Benbrook, urged me on–with equal parts ridicule and ‘we dare you’—to risk it for the tickets.
I shoved my way into Danny’s office to discover only one rival for the tix: Shana Kreikemier. She had them in her hand, waving them thoughtfully. “Oh,” I said, not sure if I felt deflated or not, “I guess they are taken.”
Shana offered them to me, saying, “Actually, I’m not sure I can make it to the concert tonight.”
From that moment on, the musical planets aligned. En route to change clothes, I called a friend, who stunned me by saying, “Yes, I’m available for the concert tonite,” despite not knowing the first note about Yanni. We readily found parking and our seats, bought a tee shirt (at Danny’s request)—all good.
The concert itself, styled Yanni Voices, started off with a long, slow bluhh number performed behind a transparent curtain. “Gonna be a long night,” I thought.
It wasn’t. Once the curtain rose, the tempo did, too. The voices: Nathan Pacheco, Chloe, Leslie Mills and Ender Thomas—seen and heard on at least one PBS special of the same name—stunned. The staging turned clever, the camaraderie among performers zoomed to the height of the top tier seating and the level of musicianship astonished. World class!
One highlight—a performance progressing through every Latin dance I could name and a couple I couldn’t—featured Chloe (I think) dancing and singing and vamping through a 10-minute segment that took my breath. (How she had the pipes to keep singing I’ll never know.)
By the second half of the show, audience members were on their feet, moving, grooving and keeping the beat, rapt at the variety of music ethnicities that Yanni and his troupe so powerfully displayed.
I stood, applauding and whooping, for two curtain calls.
In the bathroom, I ran into an exotic woman with a heavy Cuban accent, from Miami. She purred, “I first saw Yanni in MeeAHme (she rhymed) nine years ago and wherever I’m near a concert of his, I go. I just happened to be in Kansas City this week, and look, here I am.”
Indeed. And so was I. Amazed. Thankful that Danny Pumpelly couldn’t make the show. (And yes, Tee, I really WAS sorry that I got those tickets instead of you, but only for two seconds Next time you need to work late so you too can scramble for the tickets…..)

12 Hour Videos Offer a Platform for Fresh Faces and Different Roles

Before the production began, no one who knew Adam Castle envisioned him as a grisly-voiced, face-contorting FBI bad ass. But now it’s hard to see him any other way.
The soft-spoken marketing consultant for Beauty Schools Marketing Group competed in this year’s 12 Hour Video Contest. With his performance in the winning video, 24, he crafted a new persona as comedic actor with a striking impersonation of hard-as-nails cop from television, Jack Bauer.
Castle’s experience exemplifies the magic of 12 hour videos. In the upside-down world of employee self-made video making, the unexpected is the expected … and the expected is as edgy as company videos should ever be allowed.
12 hour video teams consisted of 8 to 16 employees, including a camera person, an editor and a production assistant/grip/writer-editor. Each team was allotted 12 hours to write, shoot and edit a video that follows a given theme. This year, the themes were: Fear, Revenge, Joy and Anger. Beginning at 3 p.m., the teams were allowed to film until midnight on Fridays and then come back to edit the material into a cohesive production on Monday morning.
What happens behind the scenes of a 12 hour video is not unlike what happens when the camera is rolling. The silliness and the camaraderie that spills out when topics are being brainstormed and loose scripts are being developed often makes the transfer to the scenes that are filmed. And, that is the magic of the process. Contributors who take a leadership role in the group are often at the forefront of the shooting process.
In a company-wide vote, employees made 24 by far and away this year’s winning video, which earned it a showing at PlattForm’s annual meeting. Given his unexpected stardom, Castle said the experience wasn’t too of course from what he had envisioned.
“My 12 hours video was basically what I expected,” Castle said. “I was expecting that we would be working on the video until midnight, but we had a pretty defined idea, so we were able to finish up early. Our team didn’t drink as much beer as we thought we would either … it makes me wonder what that says about my expectations of Plattformers? Just kidding … kind of.”
The 12 Hour Video experience was the same across the country as PlattForm’s New York office got in on the act. Jason Penta, who worked behind the camera channeling what he called his “best inner-Spielberg,” helped create the visuals for “Land of Confusion.”
“We definitely all brain-stormed together as a group,” Penta said. “Everyone had great, creative ideas. And of course, everyone was willing to ham it up for the camera. It was also the day of our First Friday/Cinco De Mayo party, so there was a lot of excitement in the office all day. As the margarita count got higher, the video definitely got more interesting.”
Castle said the only other time he ever acted was in ninth grade drama class. He said he had no idea what role I would play in the video before the production began. His teammate, Brandon Gregory, conceived a spoof of the 24 television show starring Keifer Sutherland, and that was all it took.
“Once we had the idea, the whole team was really into it as soon as we started brainstorming,” Castle said.
Castle is the antithesis to the Bauer character, which made it 10 times funnier to see him in the roll.

Don’t be surprised if you see Lori Oswald acting out of character – surviving on nothing but Starbucks, wearing windshield-sized sunglasses indoors, dressing like a hobo … That’s just what celebrities do.

And Lori is practically famous.

Recently, she was hand-selected to be part of the Chevy Traverse Kansas City Mom Squad. Along with four other KC mommy bloggers, Lori was chosen to test-drive a brand new Chevy Traverse for eight weeks.

In return for these two months in a free car, Lori just has to pimp it online and enjoy perks like free massages at Massage Envy, grocery store gift cards, Royal’s games, and a Flip video camera … man, being a celebrity is rough.

But so far, Lori hasn’t let fame go to her head: “Hearing my name on Q104 the other day was so surreal! I was like ‘Skyler! That’s me, that’s me!’ But she couldn’t care less, so I was frantically trying to find someone to call. So of course I called my mom.”

Oh, Skyler. She’s just jealous. After all, it’s thanks to HER that Lori started blogging in the first place.

Lori began mytwo.wordpress.com over two years ago, as a way to keep her friends and family updated on her pregnancy. Since then, Lori’s blog has blossomed into a place where she can showcase her photography, vent frustrations, and record her life with 20-month old daughter Skyler and husband Ronnie.

Now that the Oswalds have the Traverse; life has already gotten easier. 2 weeks into the 8-week test drive, Lori says: “It’s been super fun driving the Traverse so far – and it’s been a new creative outlet for me to work with video blogging that I’ve enjoyed much more than I expected (despite my first embarrassing attempt – see “Awkward Interview” on the list of videos)”

So – here’s the thing. Like all celebrities, Lori is only as famous as you make her. She doesn’t expect to be the top Google search for 2009, but she expects her fans friends to vote for her. So check out Lori’s entries at www.mommymadnesskc.com and vote for her as Kansas City’s favorite Mommy Blogger! She’s been known to bribe people with rides to Happy Hour in return for votes.

Sidebar: Vote for Lori at www.mommymadnesskc.com, and visit her at mytwo.wordpress.com.

Sidebar: Want a taste of the celebrity life for yourself? Get your own free massage by visiting your local Chevy dealer! Just test-drive a new Traverse and receive a Massage Envy 1-hour gift card!