Category: Cause

Missing my favorite event of the year assembled by @dherman76 

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As I sit here thinking about the week ahead, I find myself truly disappointed to not be joining my friends and colleagues at this year’s Silicon Alley Sports event. On one hand, I’m appreciative of the opportunity to be busy with amazing client growth plans. On the other, I am sorry that I won’t see Darren’s vision take form in what will no doubt be another great year. 

From performance to brand building and several tech offerings in between, Darren’s event is one of the best places to meet up with those who make moves in the media and connected marketing landscape. 

Those of you interested in attending next year, let me know via DM. It’s an invite only event but I will be happy to bring a plus one next year if the fit is right 😉

I’ll be looking for photos and recaps from those of you going. 
http://www.siliconalleysports.com/new-page-1/

Mozilla’s new logo: An example of the power of the community for which they serve

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Disclosure: Mozilla is a partner of The Buddy Group. We proudly support certain internal product, communication and creative opportunities as needed. Proud to support the mission and ethos for which it stands. 

Mozilla has changed. So have we, the user. One thing that has not changed however is the respect they show their users in everything they do.

Last year Mozilla embarked on the most unique, eye-brow raising, risk/reward endeavor I have ever seen a brand take. Not only were they going to re-brand Mozilla for the next generation of innovation but they were going to tackle it in a way only Mozilla could tackle– open, honest and ready for feedback. They opened the process to the community and through the process earned our respect for taking a road less (if not ever) traveled on this scale.

We, as a company, with all our spirit and gusto to be mavericks and push clients outside of their comfort zone, remained glued to our social streams waiting for what would be next.

What came out of it is fascinating, right and admirable.

Rather than recap every step myself, I turn it over to Adweek and Mozilla’s own voice which did a great job of keeping a running log of the process.

Enjoy and let me know what you think!

As written in ADWEEK: For the last six months, Mozilla has been working on a brand identity upgrade, and it’s kept a running log of this process. But it also took it one step further, releasing open-source guidelines for anyone who wanted to jump in and help compose a new logo and visual cues.

“Rather than conduct a brand refresh behind closed doors, we just thought maybe there’s a better or different way to do this,” Mozilla creative director Tim Murray said in August.

http://www.adweek.com/adfreak/mozilla-open-sourced-parts-its-new-brand-identity-heres-how-went-175636

Why I joined the OCTANe and Project Hope Alliance Board of Directors

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I am committed to seeing Orange County take its rightful place on published lists of great places for tech startups and business to grow.

As an investor, builder and lover of all things tech, I am interested in seeing other passionate entrepreneurs commit to setting foundation within our community and throw out the challenge to join me by starting and building here.

Having lived and worked in New York, LA and Long Beach over my career, I can honestly tell you that OC is the most desirable and most conducive for building culture and brand value. The talent pool is growing as is the available capital.

The addition of high potential companies, led by high performing entrepreneurs is great for our economy for all the reasons we already know. However, it is often overlooked that the new tech can be leveraged by local brands enabling first mover competitive advantages and differentiation. Bridging the gap between innovation, start-ups and brands is one of my real passions.

My other passion is finding ways to give back to our community. By combining the mutual interests of a thriving tech and start-up community with the needs of community focused organizations everyone wins.

I am proud to be a member of the Board of Directors for Project Hope Alliance and, as of yesterday, OCTANe.

 

OCTANe drives technology industry growth and innovation in Orange County by connecting ideas and people with resources and capital. Its members represent Orange County technology executive leaders, entrepreneurs, investors, venture capitalists, academicians, and strategic advisors, all working together to fuel innovation in the OC. The organization has helped more than 800 companies via the LaunchPad™ SBDC accelerator. LaunchPad™-certified companies have received more than $1.7 billion in investment and equity exits. OCTANe annually welcomes more than 7,000 people to its programs and events. More than 2,000 business leaders throughout the Orange County region are OCTANe members. For more information, visit www.octaneoc.org.

 

Founded in 1989, Project Hope Alliance is ending the cycle of homelessness in Orange County, one child at a time. The nonprofit organization supports homeless students and their families, meeting the unique academic and psychosocial needs of these children via a two-generational approach targeting innovative rapid rehousing and education programs. Since 2012, Project Hope Alliance’s Family Stability Program has worked with over 150 families to end homelessness by moving more than 700 parents and children into permanent housing with financial independence. For more information visit www.projecthopealliance.org.

Last month my interests in The Buddy Group, OCTANe and Project Hope Alliance collided with The Buddy Group Invitational.  What came out of it was huge for the community, huge for the tech and investor scene and huge for local brands (yes, I wrote that knowing full well that you would be putting a Trump accent on the use of “huge”).

I look forward to helping Orange County thrive, grow, give and build sustainable businesses over the next 10 years and create an even better Orange County for my kids and future entrepreneurs to enjoy.

Care to join me? Connect with me on LINKEDIN.

OCTANE OC, MACKENZIE CORP., TEN-X, AND THE BUDDY GROUP JOIN FORCES TO PRESENT THE 4TH ANNUAL BUDDY GROUP INVITATIONAL

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

OCTANE OC, MACKENZIE CORP., TEN-X, AND THE BUDDY GROUP JOIN FORCES TO PRESENT THE 4TH ANNUAL BUDDY GROUP INVITATIONAL

 

Featuring a Unique Performance by Flock of 80’s

 

ORANGE COUNTY, CA — OCTOBER 5, 2016 —The Buddy Group, Inc. and Project Hope Alliance, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to ending the cycle of homelessness for kids in Orange County, today announced details for the Fourth Annual Buddy Group Invitational to be held on Monday, November 7, at the Aliso Viejo Country Club in Aliso Viejo, California.

 

From wacky argyle socks to rock music blasting the greens, The Buddy Group Invitational is one of the most unique and fastest growing un-golf golf events in Orange County. For the first time, this year’s event will be capped off with an outdoor concert under the stars by Orange County’s most beloved band, Flock of 80’s.

 

The format for the Invitational is a four-player best-ball with unique activities and challenges peppered across the 18-hole course. Following the tournament, players, sponsors and non-golfing invited guests will partake in a special 80’s-themed party hosted by the presenting partners and the generous sponsors (see below), as well as silent auction donors. Flock of 80’s will perform at sunset to cap off the night. While the golf event and concert are invite only, interested parties can request more information via the website. But just like past years, this event will sell out.

 

“Our events bring together brand builders, investors, inventors, and entrepreneurs who seek to Be The Exception(™) in their respective fields,” said Pete Deutschman, CEO of The Buddy Group. “By uniting our employees, clients, and partners, we will once again come together to raise awareness and funds to help Project Hope Alliance end the cycle of homelessness in Orange County. Project Hope Alliance is an amazing non-profit organization with an entrepreneurial spirit that authentically speaks to our guests and sponsors.”

 

“This is hands down one of our favorite events of the year,” said Jenny Dinnen of MacKenzie Corporation. “We always talk about wanting to work with industries and companies that we are passionate about. I would be hard pressed to find two more passionate leaders than Pete and Jennifer for moving their companies/organizations forward. We are proud to be sponsors again and look forward to this amazing event.”

 

“We’re proud to support The Buddy Group and Project Hope Alliance in their mission to end youth homelessness in Orange County, a community where our company has very deep roots,” said Ten-X CEO Tim Morse. “Ten-X is committed to investing in America’s youth and to helping preserve the American Dream, and there’s no better place to start making an impact than in our own backyard.”

“There are more than 26,000 homeless kids in Orange County,” said Jennifer Friend, CEO of Project Hope Alliance. “It is inspiring to see leaders of business, marketing, and technology come together on behalf of such an important cause.”

 

For more information about the tournament, including online registration and donations, visit invitational.thebuddygroup.com.

 

The Buddy Group Invitational 2016 Partners include:

Presenting Partners: The Buddy Group, OCTANe OC, MacKenzie Corporation and TEN-X.

 

Sponsors: Google, Signature Analytics, Top-End Motorwerks, Adorn Premiums, Pentel of America, Prosum, SpaGirl Cocktails, LootCrate and Lynx Grills.

 

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About The Buddy Group

The Buddy Group is evolving what it means to be an agency by focusing on the experience of an ever-evolving connected consumer. Driven by forethought, The Buddy Group shapes how audiences or segments think about brands and products by creating for the future. The Buddy Group offers strategic research, user-experience planning, and award-winning creative and development execution services to brands including Dell, Zodiac Aerospace, Edwards Lifesciences, Stacked, Ladera Ranch, Mozilla, and Pentel of America. Founded in 2005, The Buddy Group’s team of experts are located in Irvine, California, where they leverage their in-house experiential and content soundstages — DotLot™. For more information, visit thebuddygroup.com.

About Octane

OCTANe drives technology industry growth and innovation in Orange County by connecting ideas and people with resources and capital. Its members represent Orange County technology executive leaders, entrepreneurs, investors, venture capitalists, academicians, and strategic advisors, all working together to fuel innovation in the OC. The organization has helped more than 800 companies via the LaunchPad™ SBDC accelerator. LaunchPad™-certified companies have received more than $1.7 billion in investment and equity exits. OCTANe annually welcomes more than 7,000 people to its programs and events. More than 2,000 business leaders throughout the Orange County region are OCTANe members. For more information, visit www.octaneoc.org.

 

About Ten-X

Ten-X is the nation’s leading online real estate transaction marketplace and the parent to Ten-X Homes, Ten-X Commercial, and Auction.com. To date, the company has sold 244,000+ residential and commercial properties totaling more than $41 billion. Leveraging desktop and mobile technology, Ten-X allows people to safely and easily complete real estate transactions online. Ten-X is headquartered in Irvine and Silicon Valley, California, and has offices in key markets nationwide. Investors in the company include Google Capital and Stone Point Capital. For more information, visit Ten-X.com.

 

About MacKenzie Corporation

MacKenzie Corp. is a family-run firm with over 30 years of experience in partnering with clients to make them stronger and more profitable by strategically and creatively using data analytics and research. Success is achieved by uncovering detailed stories within data sets, making analytic results palatable, relevant, and useful to decision makers. At our core we are Curious, Creative, and Customer-Centric in our approach to all matters. Curiosity drives us to ask questions others do not. Creativity reveals trends, opportunities, and threats that others do not see. In being customer-centric, we always put the customer first because we truly care about their success. The only way we achieve success is through the success of our partners. For more information, visit www.mackenziecorp.com

 

About Project Hope Alliance

Founded in 1989, Project Hope Alliance is ending the cycle of homelessness in Orange County, one child at a time. The nonprofit organization supports homeless students and their families, meeting the unique academic and psychosocial needs of these children via a two-generational approach targeting innovative rapid rehousing and education programs. Since 2012, Project Hope Alliance’s Family Stability Program has worked with over 150 families to end homelessness by moving more than 700 parents and children into permanent housing with financial independence. Project Hope Alliance is located at 1954 Placentia Avenue, Suite 202, Costa Mesa, CA 92627. For more information, contact Suzy Gardner at suzy@projecthopealliance.org or 949-791-2714, or visit www.projecthopealliance.org.

 

Please take a moment to help Project Hope

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Will you help Project Hope Alliance earn a $5,000 grant? All you need to do is sign up for The Rite Aid Foundation’s KidCents (free!) and designate Project Hope Alliance as your charity. That’s it.

This amount of funding will end homelessness for 3 kids, and only requires 10 designations. Of course, if you share this with your friends and family, we could win a $20,000 grant and bring home 6 families in the new year! All designations must be completed by January 31, 2016.

Visit kidcents.com to get started. Below are step-by-step instructions.

STEP 1: Enroll in wellness+ with Plenti (Skip to STEP 2 if you’re already a wellness+ with Plenti member)

  • Visit kidcents.com
  • Click “Start rounding up today!”
  • Scroll down & click box on right to “Enroll in wellness+ with Plenti”
  • Complete registration process for wellness+
  • Click through to finish signing up in Plenti
  • You will then be directed to RiteAid.com (feel free to close the website)

STEP 2: Enroll in KidCents Round-Up Program

  • Visit kidcents.com
  • If you don’t see your account logged in on left, click “Sign In” on left
  • Log in with your wellness+ with Plenti name & password
STEP 3: Designate Your Charity
  • Click “Select a Charity” on left
  • Type “Project Hope Alliance” in search bar & press enter
  • Click “Select This Charity” when Project Hope Alliance pops up
THAT’S IT! THANK YOU!

THE BUDDY GROUP INVITATIONAL is NOVEMBER 9th, 2015. JOIN US!

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

IRVINE, CALIFORNIA – October 13, 2015

The Buddy Group, Inc. and Project Hope Alliance, a 501(c)(3) non-profit charity dedicated to ending the cycle of homelessness for kids in Orange County, announced the details today for the Third Annual Buddy Group Invitational to be held on Monday, November 9th, 2015 at the Aliso Viejo Country Club in Aliso Viejo, California.

“Our events in previous years have raised awareness for those in our community who, beyond all odds, seek to Be The Exception(™),” said Pete Deutschman, CEO of The Buddy Group. He added, “By uniting our employees, clients and partners we will once again come together to raise awareness and funds to help Project Hope Alliance end the cycle of homelessness in Orange County.” He continues, “Project Hope Alliance is an amazing non-profit organization with an entrepreneurial spirit like no other.  “There are more than 32,000 homeless kids in Orange County,” said Jennifer Friend, CEO of Project Hope Alliance. She continued with, “It is inspiring to see leaders of business, marketing and technology come together on behalf of such an important cause.”

From wacky argyle socks to rock music blasting the greens, The Buddy Group Invitational is one of the most unique and fastest growing un-golf, golf events in Orange County. It is also The Buddy Group’s largest fundraiser, with proceeds raised benefiting the charity and its’ mission.

The format for the Invitational is a 4-player best-ball with unique activities and challenges peppered across the 18-hole course. Raffle tickets will be sold prior to and during the event with proceeds benefiting the charity.  Lunch will be generously provided by Wahoos! fish tacos.

Following the tournament, players, sponsors and guests will partake in a special Be The Exception(™) themed Happy Hour hosted by The Buddy Group and the generous sponsors  (see below) and silent auction donors.  Darren Herman, VP Content Services of Mozilla and Jennifer Friend, CEO of Project Hope Alliance will be this year’s keynote.  While the golf event is by invite only, interested parties can purchase tickets to the Happy Hour online. But just like past years, this event will sell-out.

More information about the tournament, including online registration and donations can be found on the event’s website: http://invitational.thebuddygroup.com .

Thank you to our The Buddy Group Invitational 2015 Partners:

Auction.com, Mozilla, Google, BigRentz.com, NBC Sports, OC Register, Signature Control Systems, Top-End Motorwerks, Adorn Premiums, KODAK PIXPRO Digital Camera, MacKenzie Corporation and David August

ABOUT THE BUDDY GROUP

The Buddy Group is celebrating 10 years of evolving what it means to be an agency. By leveraging its vertically integrated creative team, in-house sound stages, proprietary process and technology, The Buddy Group is able to support, identify and create unique experiences with customers. Having expertise in B2B, B2C, the Internet of things, technology (hardware and software), financial services, and CPG verticals has provided unique opportunities for The Buddy Group to collaborate with notable brands such as YouTube, Wells Fargo, Mozilla, Dell, Western Digital, King’s Hawaiian Bread and TP-Link. For more information please visit, www.thebuddygroup.com.

ABOUT PROJECT HOPE ALLIANCE

Project Hope Alliance was formed in 1989 and seeks to end the cycle of homelessness in Orange County, one child at a time. The organization supports homeless students and their families, meeting the unique academic and psychosocial needs of these children. Project Hope Alliance take a two-generational approach to ending homelessness: The organization ends homelessness today through innovative rapid rehousing programs — providing stable housing and financial independence to homeless families; while their team is ending homelessness tomorrow with one-of-a-kind academic empowerment programs uniquely tailored to the needs (and strengths) of homeless children.

Since 2012, Project Hope Alliance’s Family Stability Program has worked with over 120 families to prevent or end homelessness by moving the families into permanent housing with financial independence. These families, representing over 300 children, have moved from motels and shelters into homes where the children can study, play and grow in a safe environment. For more information please visit www.projecthopealliance.org.

Eight ways the Internet of Things will change the way we live and work – The Globe and Mail

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IBM’s Almaden lab is sacred ground for techies. Set in the middle of 700 grassy acres on a hill south of San Jose, its scientists have filed thousands of patents. They’ve won Turing and Nobel prizes. And almost 60 years ago, they pioneered the first bulky disk drive. Since then, they’ve been involved in successive pushes to miniaturize it and miniaturize it again, so that now even the tiniest of devices can gather and store data.

Today, Big Blue is putting that tiny technology to work, developing a multi-application gas sensor that could help airports detect and track biochemical threats, determine whether the steak in your fridge has spoiled, or even diagnose breast cancer and other diseases simply by analyzing your breath. Click for more if this story.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/rob-magazine/the-future-is-smart/article24586994/?service=mobile

Mozilla is Advancing Content

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I see the future of content and the future is centered around more trust and transparency.

We have been selected by Mozilla to assist with communicating the authentic stories that live behind the products being built by their new Content Services team. This collaboration is meaningful to me personally because I truly believe in Mozilla’s mission and the team tasked with navigating the complexity of personalized media in a pro-privacy world.

Mozilla’s brand and mission are centered around trust, something the advertising and media industry has lost along the way.

In addition to Darren Herman’s blog post Today’s TechCrunch article does a really good job of highlighting the charter of Mozilla’s Content Services team and their new Tiles product offering.

I strongly encourage you read the post AND watch the video (produced by The Buddy Group in partnership with the awesome Mozilla Content Services team led by Darren Herman)