M Creative, a values-driven communication strategy and design firm, has announced the addition of a new member of its creative team that will assist in the development and implementation of social media programs. As the new social communications strategist, Vanessa Boynton will be applying her knowledge of social media practices on behalf of M Creative’s many clients in the healthcare, education, conservation and non-profit industries.

A former public relations professional in Providence, Rhode Island, Vanessa Boynton recently transitioned to Winston-Salem to pursue projects more fully dedicated to advances in social media and communications. “Social media has created an ideal landscape for organizations to not only create and manage meaningful brands, but also affect positive social change, perform real-time customer service, research customer needs, and more,” said Vanessa. “I was thrilled to connect with M Creative and learn about their ideas for how social media can create valuable relationships between their clients and supporters, and it’s a real pleasure to now be a part of such a forward-thinking team.”

More information about M Creative’s portfolio of work or catalogue of services can be found by visiting MCreative.net. To follow Vanessa Boynton online, please visit Twitter.com/Vboynton, Facebook.com/vanessa.boynton or LinkedIn.com/in/vanessaboynton.

—Todd Cohen | June 4, 2009, Philanthrophy Journal

The ECHO Council, a group formed in 2003 to build "social capital," or civic connectedness, has launched an initiative to collect and share life stories from people who live and work in Forsyth County.

Modeled loosely on StoryCorps, an oral-history project whose stories air on National Public Radio, the local StoryLine project will record individuals' stories in a mobile van outfitted with digital-recording equipment.

The 40-minute interviews will be archived at the Forsyth County Library and edited versions of three to four minutes will be available at storylineproject.org and be aired once a week on WFDD, the public-radio station at Wake Forest University; WSJS-AM; WSNC, the public-radio station at Winston-Salem State University; and on four Spanish-language stations operated by Que Pasa.

"If we can have people understand all the different kinds of people who live here by listening to their stories, we will start to feel connected to each other, we will start to understand that we may be more alike than we realized, and that we share a common humanity," says Gail Fisher, volunteer director of the project.

Fisher, a retired marketing executive and consultant, has served on the ECHO Council since it was formed in 2003 to build social capital in the community.

Initially funded by the Winston-Salem Foundation, which continues to provide support, the ECHO Council grew out of a national study that looked at social capital in three-dozen communities in the U.S., including Winston-Salem.

That study, led by Robert Putnam of Harvard University, found local residents do a great job volunteering and giving to charity but are divided by race and class.

After several initiatives that focused on leadership and community outreach, the ECHO Council in 2006 formed a marketing committee to find ways to "market social capital to the larger community," says Fisher, who chaired the committee and now chairs its successor group, the StoryLine steering committee.

Working with a two-year budget of $100,000 to $120,000 and a former bookmobile donated by a Mocksville resident who had been operating it as an ice-cream truck, the committee purchased digital-recording gear.

Specialty Vehicles Company in Pfafftown donated labor to transform the van into a recording studio, while the design staff at Winston-Salem architecture firm CJMW donated their time to develop an interior-design plan for the vehicle.

And communications firm M Creative developed a graphic brand-identity the StoryLine project is using on its van, website, brochures and compact discs it will give to each storyteller containing their story.

Working with civic groups, religious congregations and other organizations, the van will travel throughout the county to collect stories, making a special effort to find "voices that haven't been heard," particularly those of African-American and Hispanic residents, Fisher says.

Working with a volunteer facilitator who will ask questions, pairs of people will record their stories, which then will be edited at Spot Recording Studio.

StoryLine will translate into Spanish or English, respectively, stories recorded in the other language.

All the stories, and others already recorded, will be available on the StoryLine project website.

The local radio stations will air the edited stories, and each station will run the stories in a scheduled time slot each week.

Scott Wierman, president of the Winston-Salem Foundation, says the StoryLine project will "let people know everybody has something to contribute and everybody's story has value in building a community."

Fisher says the goal is to "show this community the rich diversity of voices within the community."

Stories, she says, "have the power to connect people to each other."

M Creative and Young Graphics received two awards in the recent Printing Industries of the Carolinas (PICA) competition: a Special Judges Award in the Announcements & Invitations (1, 2 or 3 colors) category for the Saint Mary's School Women in Leadership/Cokie Roberts luncheon and an Award of Excellence for the Hospice & Palliative Carecenter capital campaign identity in the Corporate Identity Campaigns category.

M Creative and Hutchison Allgood received a Special Judges Award in the Annual Reports combination category in the Printing Industries of the Carolinas (PICA) competition for our work on The Winston Salem Foundation's 2007/2008 Integrity Shines Annual Report.

M Creative has been recognized by in the 26th Annual Healthcare Marketing Advertising Awards for its work for Randolph Hospital. The firm was awarded the Silver for Direct Mail Advertising and Merit for Total Advertising Campaign. Over 3,600 entries were received in this years competition, making the awards the largest healthcare advertising awards competition. Silver awards went to only 251 entries. View

For the second year in a row, The Winston-Salem Foundation has been selected to receive the Council on Foundations 2009 Wilmer Shields Rich Award for Excellence in Communications. The 2008 Report to the Community, designed and produced by M Creative, received the Bronze Award in the highest category for community foundations (assets over $250 million). The Cleveland Foundation won the Gold and the Boston Foundation received the Silver.

M Creative and Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center were recently presented with a Gold Aster Award for the Medical Center's capabilities brochure, 'Fast Forward: Medicine Today.' With over 3,000 entries, the The Aster Awards is hosted by Marketing Healthcare Today and is one of the largest competitions of its kind. The Gold Award reflects a placement in the top 5% in the nation.

The WSF Annual Report designed and produced by M Creative recently won the Silver Award in the 2008 Wilmer Shields Rich Awards for Excellence in Communications. This year's award is particularly exciting because it marks the first time that the Foundation has been judged with other national community foundations in the 'more than $250 million' asset class. The other winners in the Top 3 were The Community Foundation for the National Capital and The Boston Foundation. Pretty good company. Council on Foundations
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M Creative and our partner printers were recently recognized by the Printing Industry of the Carolinas for the following awards:
Best of Category: Corporate Identity Packages
Ronald McDonald House
Printer: Young Graphics

Special Judges Award: Booklets-Small Format
John Motley Morehead Society/The Morehead-Cain Foundation
Printer: Young Graphics

Special Judges Award: Sheetfed Magazines
North Carolina A&T State University
Printer: Hutchison-Allgood

Special Judges Award: Booklets-Large Format
Brenner Children's Hospital Children First
Printer: Hutchison-Allgood

Award of Excellence: Presentation Folders
North Carolina Arts Council Cartwheels Program
Printer: Young Graphics

Ongoing education is important to M Creative as we strive to provide creative solutions based on the latest technologies and trends. So, in February Lisa headed south to the Print Oasis Print Buyers conference in Amelia Island, Florida. In addition to seminars on color management, direct mail, and the value of print, she attended several sessions on environmental responsibility and learned more about FSC and SFI certifications (Forest Stewardship Council and Sustainable Forestry Initiative, respectively). There is a strong push throughout the printing industry to purchase pulp and paper products from responsibly managed forests, and Lisa plans to do more research into this initiative. But is wasn't all work and no fun. A bonfire on the beach (complete with s'mores) and an hour-long think tank were opportunities to exchange creative ideas that will enhance our already strong print management capabilities.

Jill Carson has joined M Creative as a designer. She received her design training at The Creative Circus in Atlanta, Georgia, after graduating Summa Cum Laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia.

M Creative and two of our printing partners were honored with five awards in the 2006 Printing Industries of the Carolinas (PICA) competition. M Creative and Hutchson Allgood were recognized with the Best of Category Award for Brochures (four or more colors) for The Winston-Salem Foundation brochure; a Special Judges Award in the Sheetfed Magazine category for Jurist magazine, the alumni magazine for Wake Forest University School of Law; and an Award of Excellence in the Booklet category for a piece produced for the Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts.

M Creative and Young Graphics were awarded the Best of Category Award for Brochures (one, two or three colors) for our work on Mountain Valley Hospice and a Special Judges Award in the Announcements and Invitations category (four or more colors) for a SmartStart invitation.

Saint Mary's School and M Creative have received an Award of Excellence from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) District III in the category of Printed Publications/Paid Advertisements. The student recruitment campaign was conceptualized, written and designed by M Creative.

The Winston-Salem Foundation has received a Gold Award in the Annual or Biennial Reports category in the 2006 WIlmer Shields Rich Awards Program for Excellence in Communications. The 2005 Annual Report, 'A Generous Community,' was conceptualized and designed by M Creative. Judges noted the report's 'bold and beautiful design,' as well as its 'engaging dissemination of information.'

The Wilmer Shields Rich Awards Program recognizes and encourages excellence in communications by foundations and corporate giving programs. The awards showcase the ways foundations and corporate giving programs use communications strategies and techniques to advance the goals of their grantmaking. In addition, the awards program seeks to educate the field of organized philanthropy about creative and strategic communications. Through case studies, articles and other outreach efforts, the Council on Foundations and the Communications Network highlight the award-winning programs, explaining strategies and techniques that can inform the work of other grantmakers.

'Election 2004: A Woman's Perspective Past and Present' at Saint Mary's School in Raleigh, NC has won the Gold Medal in the national Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) 2005 Circle of Excellence Awards in the category of Special Events. These annual institutional advancement awards recognize innovative and effective programs and projects by schools, colleges, universities and nonprofit organizations from around the world. Last year's winner in this category was Texas A&M University for the launch of its billion dollar capital campaign.

'Election 2004' also won the Bronze Medal in this year's Circle of Excellence Awards category of Individual Public Relations and Community Relations Projects. Duke University was a bronze medal winner in last year's competition.

In addition to these international awards, 'Election 2004' won the Grand Award in the category of Institutional Relations Projects in the 2005 CASE District III competition. Runners-up in this category included Duke University Baldwin Scholars Program, Elon University, Furman University, the University of Virginia and University of Richmond.

The Circle of Excellence awards will be presented at the 2005 CASE Annual Assembly in Miami Beach to be held July 15-17 at the Fontainebleau Hilton Resort.

M Creative has won two Grand Awards, one Special Merit Award and an Award of Excellence in the 2005 Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) District III awards competition. CASE is the international association of professionals who advance educational institutions. Schools, colleges and universities from nine Southeastern states participated in the annual competition.

M Creative won the Grand Award in the category of Institutional Relations Projects for its work with Saint Mary's School in Raleigh, NC promoting the special event, “Election 2004: A Woman’s Perspective Past and Present,� a celebration of women in politics throughout the history of the nation. The October 14 event featured veteran journalist Cokie Roberts. This competitive awards division recognizes excellence in projects designed to support a specific program, event or institutional priority.

The Grand Awards are the highest awards in each category.

M Creative won three awards in the magazine publishing division. This division recognizes all-around excellence in magazines sent to external audiences. Judges considered editorial content, writing, editing, design, photography, printing, budget and the use of resources.

M Creative won the Grand Award in the category of Magazine Publishing Improvement for the 2004 revamp of the Saint Mary’s School Magazine, as well as a Special Merit Award in the category of excellence in alumni magazines for colleges, universities and schools with enrollments of less than 5,000.

Finally, Wake Forest University Babcock Graduate School of Management and M Creative were recognized with an Award of Excellence for the Wake Forest MBA alumni magazine which M Creative designs and produces for Wake Forest.

The awards will be presented at the 2005 CASE District III conference in Atlanta on February 22. The winning entries will be on display throughout the conference which runs February 20-23 and will then be placed in the archives at CASE International in Washington, D.C.

There are more than 540 member institutions and nearly 4,500 professional members in CASE District III, which is comprised of educational institutions from Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia. For more information about CASE District III and the awards program, visit www.case3.org.

Salem Baking Company was recently recognized at the Atlanta Gourmet Show with a Buyers Choice Award of 'Best Packaging' for its newest line of products, Cocktail Companions. The packaging was designed by M Creative.

Personalized Blue Ridge Parkway license plates are popping up throughout the state. Designed by M Creative, the plates remind us to 'Share the Journey' of this 469 mile national treasure that connects the Shenandoah and Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Sales revenue from the plate supports the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation.

To order your personalized plate, visit NCDOT.

All Kinds of Minds and M Creative were recently recognized with a National Gold Award from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education. The National Gold Award is a top award in this highly competitive national competition. All Kinds of Minds, a non-profit institute for the understanding of differences in learning, is expanding nationally with its ground-breaking programs based on over thirty years of research by its founder, Dr. Mel Levine. M Creative is helping All Kinds of Minds bring its programs to schools nationwide.

M Creative has received a Downtown Excellence Award from the Board of Directors of the Downtown Winston-Salem Partnership. The annual award recognizes organizations that have made a significant contribution to improving downtown. This year, M Creative was recognized because of the firm's many hours of quality pro bono work promoting Rock the Block, Winston-Salem Events, Piedmont Crafts Fair, the Legacy Plan and ArtsIgnite. According to the Downtown Winston-Salem Partnership, the impact of the firm's work 'has been significant in increasing the visibility and branding of downtown events and programs. The award will be presented at the DWSP annual meeting on February 25.