Our recent posts about the Gigabit City ideation activities conducted in part by our client The Brainzooming Group (download the free report here) have us keeping an eye on Kansas City’s new economic thrust:

As entrepreneurs ourselves, this is a fantastic affirmation. You see, less than two years ago in the darkest depths of the Great Recession–equipped with little cash, a few connections and the tremendous knowledge and encouragement we received from graduating the Kauffman FastTrac GrowthVenture program–we started AlexanderG PR.
Since then our revenues have more than tripled and our client load (local, regional and national) is quickly approaching the point where a dedicated part-time staffer will need to be hired…not to mention the fact that our job satisfaction has never been better.
It’s great living in a city that respects and encourages entrepreneurs. Most of all, it’s exciting that with Google fiber technology, the rest of the world will know about it very soon. The possibilities are endless.

Check out this story featuring Brainzooming’s Mike Brown, discussing the future of Google Fiber technology in Kansas City:

Click here to get your FREE copy of the Report!

In the spirit of broad Kansas City community efforts to brainstorm ideas for how the introduction of Google Fiber can change lives in Kansas City, The Brainzooming Group was excited to partner with Social Media Club of Kansas City to create “Building the Gigabit City: Brainzooming a Google Fiber Roadmap.”

“We conducted the large-scale brainstorming session on October 3 with a diverse cross-community group of nearly 90 people,” said Mike Brown, founder of Brainzooming. ” Today, we’re releasing the 120-page Google Fiber brainstorming report via free download on the Brainzooming website at brainzooming.com/googlefiberkc (download will be available after 10 a.m. central time on November 10).”

Read more at Brainzooming.

Iconic Women’s Fashion Retailer Partners with Central Exchange Education Foundation for Grand Opening Event at Zona Rosa.

Kansas City Northland women will now have access to more of the modern, impeccably tailored, on-trend designs offered by The Limited with the official opening of the Zona Rosa store location at 8734 NW Prairie View Road Kansas City, MO 64153.

Bridging a gap for the brand’s already enthusiastic customer base, the iconic fashion retailer opens its doors at the elegant Zona Rosa shopping district. Currently, there are two other Kansas City-area stores: at Oak Park Mall in Overland Park and Town Center in Leawood.

Beginning Friday November 4 through Sunday November 6, The Limited will host a grand opening celebration offering 40% off everything, including the latest fall fashions.  To commemorate the grand opening, Tori Binau, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Ecommerce for The Limited and representatives of the Central Exchange Education Foundation of Kansas City, partners in the grand opening weekend, will take part in a ribbon-cutting ceremony at noon November 4 at The Limited Zona Rosa. Additionally, a percentage of the proceeds from the three-day event will be donated to the Central Exchange Education Foundation. Ms. Binau will also talk at a breakfast hosted by the Central Exchange that morning. Click here for details.

“We’re excited to partner with The Limited for the grand opening weekend fundraiser,” said Central Exchange Education Foundation executive director, Ellen D’Amato. “We are appreciative of their strong support of our mission to promote the personal and professional growth of women in the community.”

“The Limited’s mission is to help women achieve personal success —fulfilling their potential and looking great every step of the way,” said Linda Heasley, CEO of The Limited. “That’s why we’re so excited to expand in the Kansas City market — and proud to partner with Central Exchange Education Foundation for our new store at Zona Rosa.”

The Limited, with more than 240 locations nationwide, including six stores in Missouri and three in Kansas; has seen resurgence in its popularity and is keeping pace with demand across the country with its new store openings. Kansas City is a priority market for a new store.

“We’re thrilled to be coming to Zona Rosa, said Heasley. “We are proud to be a part of a community that cares.  Through the years, our loyal customer base in Kansas City has grown and it’s only fitting we support those communities who have supported us”.

According to Heasley, the newest store design demonstrates The Limited’s new direction toward a look that she calls “more feminine, more approachable and more residential in feel.”

The new store, at just over 4,600 square feet, features:

• a light, bright and upbeat motif.
• taupe walls with white cabinets and a splash of red.
• the iconic red ceiling in the fitting rooms.
• wood flooring.
• chandeliers.
• a custom mural on the back wall.
• a built-in runway that allows for visual animation, while featuring the latest fashions for inspiration.
• seating for comfort, with books and magazines, to make for a positive experience for shopping companions.
• an e-bar with instant access to thelimited.com. (Online orders placed from the store ship to the customer’s home free of charge.)
• a cash wrap area that includes more registers.
• more fitting rooms to better facilitate wardrobing and one-on-one styling.

For more information about the new store locations, sales events, employment opportunities and online ordering, visit www.thelimited.com.

For more information about the Central Exchange Education Foundation, visit www.centralexchange.org or contact Jackie West, Membership Director at (913) 253-0900 or Jackie@centralexchange.org

About The Limited
Based in Columbus, Ohio, The Limited, an affiliated portfolio company of Sun Capital Partners, Inc., is well known as the store concept that began mall-based specialty retailing as we know it. Drawing on for almost 50 years of presence in American shopping centers, The Limited is an iconic fashion retailer that offers high-quality, private-label apparel designed to help the modern woman succeed. Design-driven, fashionable styles include suiting, sweaters, dresses, denim, outerwear, and accessories—to suit her lifestyle demands, from workday to weekend. The Limited has over 240 mall locations throughout the United States. For more information, please visit: www.thelimited.com.

About Sun Capital Partners, Inc.

Sun Capital Partners, Inc. is a leading private investment firm focused on leveraged buyouts, equity, debt, and other investments in companies that can benefit from its in–house operating professionals and experience. Sun Capital affiliates have invested in more than 265 companies worldwide with combined sales in excess of $40 billion since Sun Capital’s inception in 1995. Sun Capital has offices in Boca Raton, Los Angeles, and New York, as well as affiliates with offices in London, Paris, Frankfurt, Luxembourg, Shanghai and Shenzhen. For more information, please visit www.SunCapPart.com.

About Central Exchange Education Foundation

The Central Exchange Education Foundation is the 501©3 arm of Central Exchange. Central Exchange is a 31-year-old membership organization that provides the venue and voice for women seeking to reach their full personal and professional potential.  Our strategic imperatives include:
Achieving your full potential: With more than 400 programs a year, CX offers a wide variety of personal and professional development and networking opportunities.             

Making relevant connections: Our 900 plus members represent a cross-section of women and men from throughout the Kansas City area. Members include managers and executives, business owners, non-profit and civic leaders, and community volunteers.

Transforming our Community: Central Exchange is leading a campaign to increase gender diversity at the top of area companies.  Called win\win, a business case for Kansas City, the goal is to have 20% women on boards of directors and in executive officer roles by 2015.

Disclosure: The Limited is a client of AlexanderG Public Relations, LLC.

Our friends at The Brainzooming Group did a phenomenal job of facilitating the an effort by Kansas City social media users to strategize ways to capitalize on being first to receive Google’s ultra-high speed fiber. Working with the Social Media Club of Kansas City, “Building the Gigabit City: Brainstorming A Google Fiber Roadmap” was a tremendous first step. Check out this news report:

Mike Brown, founder of The Brainzooming Group, volunteered to fully donate the company’s innovation services and the Brainzooming Methodology to the session that brought together more than 80 individuals from SMCKC as well as the broader community—a combination of visionary entrepreneurs, developers, business leaders and creators.

Though this is only the beginning of a long road to success, we commend The Brainzooming Group and Social Media Club of Kansas City for making this “first step” on the road to Gigabit City a reality.

Disclosure: The Brainzooming Group is a client of AlexanderG Public Relations.

As you think of ways to get the creative juices flowing for your company or organization, remember: two heads are better than one. Case in point, Kansas City being chosen as the first city to receive Google Fiber (ultra-high speed internet service). To help the community figure out the best way to use what is potentially an economic game-changer, The Brainzooming Group (with their track record of success in conducting these types of workshops) is facilitating an epic brainstorming session for the movers and shakers in KC.  Think of it as the match that lights the fuse of creativity. Read on…

The area’s most avid internet users and innovators will convene with business, education and civic leaders to brainstorm ways to capitalize on Google’s bestowment of ultra-high speed fiber internet network upon Kansas City.

After Google announced last spring that Kansas City, Kansas and Kansas City, Missouri are the two initial cities to benefit from “internet access more than 100 times faster than what most Americans have today,” the task falls to the community to determine the best ways this technological gift should be used.

In response, the Social Media Club of Kansas City (SMCKC) will host “Building the Gigabit City: Brainstorming a Google Fiber Roadmap” October 3rd at the Kansas City (MO) Public Library Central Branch, one of the event’s major sponsors.

SMCKC member Mike Brown, founder of The Brainzooming Group, will lead the  invitation-only, daylong work session. Brown volunteered to fully donate the company’s innovation services and the Brainzooming Methodology to the session that will bring together more than 50 individuals from SMCKC as well as the broader community—a combination of visionary entrepreneurs, developers, business leaders and creators.

A public presentation of preliminary results from the Gigabit City session and a call for public input will be conducted from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Kansas City Public Library Central Branch Helzberg Auditorium at 14 W. 10th Street in Kansas City, MO.

“The importance of not only accepting this tool from Google, but using it with an eye towards long-term success cannot be overstated,” Brown said. “The Brainzooming Group is based in Kansas City, and our method successfully allows a large, diverse group to actively contribute and shape ideas. That diversity of thinking is exactly what’s needed to bring the community’s best ideas to the surface.”

The public is invited to share their thoughts about community needs and opportunities that gigabit home internet might help address prior to the workshop by completing an online survey at http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/GigabitCity. Data collected from the survey will be used to stimulate a focused, facilitated workshop designed to yield hundreds of potential ideas and at least 25 refined application concepts about what Google Fiber might mean to consumer households.

“We want to lay a framework on which businesses and individuals can develop opportunities on the social web within the Kansas City community, positioning the region as a national leader in the social technology and innovation space,” said Joe Cox, president of the Social Media Club of Kansas City. “As a metro area we will have a short window as the first gigabit city, and we believe in getting ideas on the table and into action as quickly as possible to take full advantage of the opportunity we have been given.”

Session output will also be shared with the public online as a crowdsourced foundation of opportunities and concepts for creation of positive economic, educational and lifestyle changes in Kansas City.

Other sponsors for “Building the Gigabit City” include Polsinelli Shughart PC and KCNext.

For more information, contact Joe Cox, President, Social Media Club of Kansas City, 816-809-6466, joe (at) joecox.me or Aaron Deacon, Events Chair, Social Media Club of Kansas City, 913-475-9885, aaron (at) thecuriolab.com.

Social Media Club of Kansas City’s primary mission is to expand digital media literacy, promote standard technologies, encourage ethical behavior and share best practices. We bring together journalists, publishers, communications professionals, artists, amateur media creators, citizen journalists, teachers, students, toolmakers, and other interested collaborators–essentially the people who create and consume media who have an interest in seeing the ‘media industry’ evolve for everyone’s benefit. We are more than just USERS, we are the reason the tools exist – we are the people who communicate our thoughts and ideas near and far. Join us and let’s shape the future together. Learn more at gigabitcity.smckc.com.

The Brainzooming™ Group, based in Kansas City, helps make smart organizations more successful by rapidly expanding their strategic options and creating innovative plans they can efficiently implement. Employing a diverse innovation methodology actively incorporating the expertise resident within an organization, The Brainzooming Group serves consumer, business-to-business, and non-profit organizations by dramatically improving their results in marketing, sales, and overall performance. Mike Brown, founder of The Brainzooming Group, writes daily about the firm’s approach to strategy, creativity, innovation, and social media at www.brainzooming.com.

Fifty years of celebrating Greek food, music, dancing and culture will culminate at the Greek Orthodox Church of the Annunciation Greek Food Festival Sept. 9-11.

Located on the church grounds at 120th Street and Wornall Road, the festival, entertainment and parking are free.

The Greek Food Festival features traditional homemade Greek delicacies including soulvakia, gyros, domathes, spanakopitas, baklava and much more. VIP seating for easier access to food and drink is also available–call 816-942-9100 for reservations.

Call ahead carry out will be available Friday, Saturday and Sunday–call the Greek Food Fest Hotline at 816-942-5206 to order.

Imported Greek items from gold jewelry to embroidered clothing to traditional icons will be available for sale in the gift shop.

Live bands will perform and dance groups will demonstrate traditional folk dances and invite festivalgoers to join in the fun. The Festival will offer many children’s activities including a moonwalk and other games.

The festival is open Friday 6-10 p.m.; Saturday Noon-10 p.m. and Sunday Noon to 6 p.m.

Showtimes for performances of traditional Greek dancing are Friday 6:30 and 9 p.m. Showtimes Saturday: are 1, 4 and 6:30 p.m. New to this year’s festival, a Greek DJ will spin tunes from 8 to 10 p.m. Saturday. Sunday dance demonstration showtimes are 1 and 4 p.m.

Tours of the historic church sanctuary will be conducted Friday at 6 and 8 p.m.; Saturday at 1, 4 and 8 p.m. Tours on Sunday are scheduled at 1 and 4 p.m.

On Sunday at 2 p.m. a U.S. Flag Retirement Ceremony will be conducted in memorial of the events of September 11, 2001.

The popular event is nominated for the second consecutive year as Favorite Ethnic/Heritage Festival or Event in the Visitors’ Choice Awards conducted by the Kansas City Convention and Visitors Association.

Greek Fest Logistics Director Steve Kartsonis, says with 50 years of history, the festival is a tradition for many area Kansas City families including those who aren’t Greek.

“We invite you to enjoy yourselves, clap your hands and say ‘YASSOU!’ and ‘OPA!’ to the sound of the bouzouki and the dancing of our youth,” says Kartsonis.

A portion of the festival proceeds will benefit Ozanam. Ozanam helps boys and girls with emotional, behavioral and learning disabilities through residential and day treatment programs, transitional living services, mentoring and school consultation. Visit www.ozanam.org.

Detailed festival information may be found on the festival’s Web site at www.greekfoodfest.org, on Facebook (Annunciation Greek Food Fest) or by calling the festival hotline at 816-942-9100.
 

We’re proud to have been a part of making the first (and now annual) KC July Jazz Jam a rousing success. It was standing room only at a fantastic concert. The keys to success:

1. Great talent. The concert had performers people would pay hard-earned money to see.
2. The right price. For only $10 a ticket (with free parking and free child care!), the audience saw artists they would have to pay at least five or even ten times as much to see at separate venues. (Check out this review!)
3. Strong volunteer organization. This concert was hosted by by Community Christian Church of Kansas City. Senior minister Rev. Bob Hill and committee chair Jeanne Martin worked tirelessly with church staff to make the logistics run smoothly for a successful event.
4. The word was spread. We worked to get the word out online, basing much of our message on the multimedia aspects of a PitchEngine social media release. The release was pushed out via Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, email and many other ways. The PitchEngine release garnered more than 4,500 hits in less than five weeks. We listed the event on community calendars, Yelp and similar sites. We also pitched local media and were fortunate to get a great article by the Kansas City Star Jazz columnist and an interview (below) with the concert’s presenter on our local Fox affiliate.

Certainly not every concert or event will sell out the first time around. However, if you keep an eye on organization, understand your market (and the price it will bear), and then buttress your efforts with good promotion your odds of success improve dramatically.