We couldn’t let tonight’s premiere of the new TV series “Eastwick” go by without a little fanfare.

For those of you who don’t know the story behind our name, here goes:

When Patrick Corman (former Regis McKenna colleague of Elaine Cummings and Nancy Blake, two of the three original founders of Eastwick) found out about our plans to start a new agency, he couldn’t help but comment: “Oh my, sounds like ‘The Witches of Eastwick.’ ”

Nancy Blake

Needless to say, the comment stuck and, lo and behold, Eastwick Communications was founded.  While it was clear that I was the Susan Sarandon character (redheads unite!) Elaine and Nancy always had to fight over who was Michelle Pfeiffer (both blondes) and who had to dye her hair for the Cher character.

In the early days, our clients endearingly called us “the witches.”  Here are five things that the current coven of witches and warlocks has in common with our TV counterparts:

1. We don’t always behave ourselves…meaning, we like to break the rules.
2. We’ve been known to turn some frogs into princes with the right spell.
3. We see a change coming and are looking forward to it!
4. In the words of the Houston Chronicle TV reviewer who recently reviewed the new show, we have the “potential to be great frothy fun.”
5. And in a similar review from The Detroit Free Press we can be “a charming and beguiling show(agency) that has enough estrogen and star power to keep viewers (clients) coming back for more!”

Life’s a “witch” and we love it!

Elaine & Barb on Halloween

Former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt once said, “A man who has never gone to school may steal from a freight car; but if he has a university education he may steal the whole railroad.” He alludes to the fact that with an education comes the opportunity for people to thrive.  But what happens to those whose chance at an education is limited?

Because the Mexican government provides education only through the sixth grade, students who want to attend Middle School (Secondario) or High School (Preparatorio) must travel long distances and pay tuition.  As you can imagine, an “extended” education becomes less important when families barely have the means to survive, let alone prosper.

The Beca Program

This is exactly the case with many of the children that Eastwick’s pro bono client Comunidad Para Baja California serves.  As a non-profit dedicated to providing health care and educational services to the indigenous communities of Baja California, Comunidad is committed to providing assistance to students with the desire to continue their studies. The cost of attending Prepatorio and Secondario is $200/year, so Comunidad developed a Beca (scholarship) program to help tribal children pay the additional schooling expenses and keep their focus on education, rather than having to go work in the fields or factories.

Unfortunately, this year Comunidad has over 100 Nativo (native) children who will not be able to continue their schooling because of lack of funds. For just $200, it is possible to provide a student with tuition, books, transportation, uniform and room/board for an entire year.

Make a Difference

Eastwick would like to encourage anyone interested in truly changing the fate of these young children to visit the Comunidad site to learn more and donate to this specific cause.  Your donation can truly determine whether a child can break the hold of poverty and ignorance and take control of his or her life.

Contact

Teresa Moreno, Comunidad Beca Director

Teresa@teifeld.com
All contributions are tax-deductible.

Josh Hilliker

Intel, Intel, Intel… is it the unsung hero of effective B2B social media?

I’ll be asking that very question of Josh Hilliker, one of Intel’s key B2Bcommunity leaders and evangelists when he joins me on our podcast, Break through the Noise.

[Listen]

Until then, learn more about the man of the hour, in his own words:

Josh Hilliker is the Enterprise Evangelist / Community Manager for Intel®  vPro™  Expert Center, in End-user Platform Integration (EPI), part of the Digital Enterprise Group (DEG) within Intel.

In this role, he engages the Intel® vPro™ community as a champion and community advocate for the products, technologies, and Intel.

Josh joined Intel in 1995 within Information Technology, created the Internet / intranet and external e-Commerce help desks, established customer support, and paved the support path for future e-Business applications.

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Guy Kawasaki

With a guy like Guy, where do you start?

Throughout the highs and lows (has he had ‘lows’?) of his career, his winning personality has endured. Positive, yet candid and - dare I say - ballsy, Guy Kawasaki is a survivor and a true Silicon Valley original

We are thrilled for him to join us on our Break through the Noise podcast. As an influencer himself, his perspective is truly unique and we can’t wait to see what he has to say next.

[Listen]

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As you know, with our initatives on influence and weekly podcast on the topic, we at Eastwick were thrilled to host Social Media Club’s June event, The Power of Influence. You can read a recap of the event on the SMC blog here.

Thanks again to our sponsors, Social Media Club and - above all - our employees who banned together to make the event a success!

Today I had the pleasure of discussing how influence happens today and much more with Tom Foremski, the former Financial Times journalist, who now heads up Silicon Valley Watcher.

[Listen]

(Please pardon the technical difficulties, it gets better after it gets bad)

The treasure trove that is the Computer History Museum was on full display yesterday when FOX Business News staged its 3 Days in the Valley 2009 series from the Museum.

It was the perfect backdrop for the series, reminding viewers of the rich history of the Valley.

CEO John Hollar walked FOX News reporter Liz Claman through the collection, pointing out some of the choice pieces including the Commodore 64 and original Macintosh.

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Mario Sundar, Source: Marketing Nirvana

Back in September 2008, I attended BlogWorld Expo and on the panel of my first session was Mario Sundar. He spoke about the value of corporate blogging and, during the Q&A, I challenged him with a few real-world examples that were challenging me.

Mario not only did his best to answer my questions, he invted me to come talk with him further after the session had concluded. Unfortunately, I got caught up speaking with another panelist and never got the chance to speak with Mario. We’re remedying that today as he is our featured guest on our Break through the Noise podcast.

[Listen]

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By Lyda Velez, Senior Associate

Tony La Russa, Source: Examiner.com

When I heard that St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony La Russa was suing Twitter over the claim that someone created an account under his name and sent out derogatory remarks that damaged his reputation and caused him “significant emotional distress,” I couldn’t help but wonder…

if Tony La Russa were my client, how would I have advised him to handle such a situation?

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Peter Shankman

My guest on Break through the Noise this week may need no introduction as he’s already infamous to so many… (infampus in a good way, apologies to Mrs. Shankman)

So let’s go straight to hus bio, shall we? PR Week Magazine has described Peter as “redefining the art of networking,” and Investor’s Business Daily has called him “crazy, but effective.” Peter Shankman is a spectacular example of what happens when you harness the power of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and make it work to your advantage.

That’s our man this week. Peter Shankman. We love to love him, if only for creating the infinitely useful HARO (Help a Reporter Out) which has seen his fame - and rumored wealth - grow.

[Listen]

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