Congratulations to our client, the Pelican Pub & Brewery in Pacific City--their Kiwanda Cream Ale has made DRAFT Magazine's Top 25 Beers of the Year for the third year in a row!  Here is the write-up for the 2010 issue:

"The brew is an exemplar of its style, a refreshing everyday beer and one we can't keep stocked in our beer fridge.  Kiwanda Cream Ale wins our hearts--and this year's gold medal for golden/blonde ales at the GABF--by proving subtlety is just as inspiring as shock and awe.  Lightly toasted grains segue into balanced bitterness, and its bright citrusy finish never disappoints.  Representing a classic, American-desgined style, this cream ale keeps our country's brewing history alive one sip at a time."

Congrats, Pelican team! 

There has been a lot of coverage recently about sick sea lions on the Oregon Coast--especially surrounding how they can infect dogs and sometimes, dog owners.  News outlets have been encouraging owners to keep their dogs on leash for the time being, which we admit does take some of the fun out of the coast.  Our client, Martin Hospitality in Cannon Beach, called and asked us to do some thinking around how to help alleviate some fear. 

Our idea was to think of all the things people CAN still do with their dog on leash on the coast right now.  We came up with a list of 10 options, which included ideas around our coastal clients' offerings.  The Oregonian pet columnist thought it was a great addition to her blog post about the sea lions and included some of the tips on OregonLive.com!

http://www.oregonlive.com/pets/index.ssf/2010/11/keep_pets_away_from_sic...

For years now we’ve helped Avista get the word out about energy efficiency and the programs and incentives they offer. We’ve engaged the likes of general homeowners, low-income customers and business customers, to name a few.

But we’ve never been asked to focus on renters. And even more specifically—college renters. Avista wanted to create a campaign within Every Little Bit that would reach college renters (and eventually general renters) and help those students realize the value of energy efficient behavior and choices.

Why turn our attention to college renters? Avista put it best, “As emerging customers, college students play an important role in shaping our energy future. Their commitment to energy efficiency can create lifelong practices that decrease the demand for resources.”

So what’d we do? On October 1, we launched a multi-facetted integrated experience across multiple platforms to engage our target audience and enrich the practice of saving energy. In other words, we created the line, “Don’t be a powermonger.” as both a call to action and a consistent campaign theme. Then we created a “Powermonger Awareness Kit” that students could order online either through Facebook or from everylittlebit.com/powermonger. Inside the kit are fun, informative posters, checklists, brochures, a shirt and more. After completing the included energy-saving checklist, students were encouraged to take a short survey online (letting us track results and receive feedback). Additionally, we created a short, entertaining three-minute video to help demonstrate and reinforce energy-saving habits.

Given the “soft-launch” nature of this effort, the client considers it a success. In fact, it alone has created a lot of internal buzz at Avista. In the near future, not only will additional materials be created for the college audience, but plans are now underway to develop new spinoff pieces and kits to reach general renters. 

For the past two years, Coates Kokes has managed the social media outreach efforts for the Regional Coalition for Clean Rivers and Streams, a partnership of eight public agencies in the Portland/Vancouver metropolitan area. During that time we’ve worked to educate people on the impact their ‘backyard behaviors’ have on the health of our local rivers and stream.

We recently completed three :15 videos that were concepted, produced, directed and edited in-house. Each video is centered on an everyday activity (EX: washing a car, children playing in the grass, etc.) and highlights the specific action (or inaction) with regards to that activity that's harmful to our rivers and stream. The videos were designed to ‘tease’ the viewer and direct them to the client’s website for more information. The videos are currently running as pre-roll on KGW.com, Oregonlive.com, KOIN.com and will be posted to the client’s YouTube channel and promoted via Twitter and Facebook.