With the Big Game only two days away, the energy and excitement in downtown Indianapolis continues to grow. From A-List celebrities to news personalities to the Mayor of Indianapolis, you never know who you’ll see roaming the streets.

We continue to capture the fan experience on buzzfunnel.me, the fun and dynamic, mobile-optimized website Borshoff created to connect all the Super Bowl fans’ videos, Tweets and impressions around the big event.

I asked my fellow buzzfunneling colleagues to tell me some of the funniest, craziest, coolest things they have seen around town. They had some great stories!

• “The funniest thing I did while buzzfunneling was interview the leading lady of Indianapolis, Lady Victory, to get her first-hand impression of the transformation of her home in Monument Circle. She loves all the city’s done!” – Andy Pollen

• “The craziest thing I saw while buzzfunneling was definitely Pick Boy from Nicktoons dressed in a cape, mask and full body super suit. He went on to explain how Indianapolis’ layout is perfect for the Super Bowl and his superhuman powers.” – Charlie Henry

• “While buzzfunneling at Media Day I got to interview Michele Tafoya, which has definitely been my highlight!” – Linda Jackson

• “The coolest thing I’ve seen while buzzfunneling has to be the transformation of the city. I’ve been out a few times and seen the set-up along Georgia Street and the Circle. To go from everyday Indy to full force Super Bowl action has been amazing!” – Amanda Suter

• “While I was out walking around the other night, I ran into Questlove from The Roots and got my picture with him. It totally made my night!” – Lisa Tellus

What crazy, funny, cool things have you seen while out downtown this week? Have you had any celebrity sightings? Please post a comment below or upload a video (via YouTube or Vimeo with the tag buzzfunnel) to see it appear on the buzzfunnel.me site. We’d love to hear from you!

Yesterday’s first-ever Super Bowl Media Day to be open to the public promised to be a circus, and with all 7,300 tickets sold out and more than 5,000 media in town, it did not disappoint. Media mixed it up with everyone from Nicktoons’ Pick Boy to Mayor Ballard, while spectators tuned in to six different radio channels to hear live interviews from their favorite players or coaches. Some jumped and cheered from the stands to get the players’ and media’s attention. And you could definitely find the favorites – Eli Manning for the Giants and Tom Brady for the Patriots – as the media crushed around each player for the best video clip and sound bite.

My buzzfunnel.me  partner-in-crime Charlie Henry and I hit the floor to connect with some hometown boys – Purdue grad Niko Koutouvides (Patriots) and Cathedral High School alum Mathias Kiwanuka (Giants).  While we loved talking to both of these great players, we were thrilled to chat up NBC Sunday Night Football reporter Michele Tafoya about the merits of Indy as a Super Bowl city. See what Michele had to say about Indy’s ability to host sporting events, her favorite sports venue and what restaurant she planned to hit while in town.

We’d love to know your impressions of Media Day. Leave a comment below or Tweet your thoughts with the hashtag #buzzfunnel to join in the conversation!

For those of you who don’t know about the buzz around buzzfunnel.me, it’s a fun and dynamic, mobile-optimized website we’ve created to connect all the Super Bowl fans’ videos, Tweets and impressions around the big event.

After launching our www.buzzfunnel.me site just three days ago, it’s buzzing! We have already had over 100 videos posted to the site, featuring a variety of content showcasing Indianapolis and the Super Bowl XLVI festivities.

In case you haven’t checked out the site yet, here’s a taste of what’s “buzzing” on buzzfunnel:

• A Colt’s Super Fan does his best Village People impersonation
• Visitors from Russia predict the Giants to win
• Our own Bill Lovejoy does his best Heisman pose
• A Patriot’s fan shares his video from the AFC championship game
• The light show on Monument Circle pumps up the crowd

Come back to www.buzzfunnel.me throughout the week as we share more of the buzz. And in the meantime, share your videos for all to see. While you’re out and about in the city, capture some footage of the excitement and upload them to YouTube or Vimeo and tag with “buzzfunnel.” We’d love to feature you on the site!

Lavish parties, high-profile celebrities, an outdoor zip line – the city of Indianapolis is transforming in front of our eyes and I, for one, couldn’t be more excited. I look forward to enjoying the ultimate fan experience in Indy and want to be able to share that with others, both in Indy and around the country. So how do all of the fans come together to do this? They buzzfunnel.me!

Here at Borshoff, we wanted to create a buzz and serve as a grassroots “hub” for a behind-the-scenes look at Indianapolis and Super Bowl XLVI. We wanted to allow everyone, no matter where they’re located, the opportunity to enjoy the “every day” fan experience.

So we created buzzfunnel.me, a fun and dynamic, mobile-optimized website that will connect people now until  the Super Bowl by capturing people’s interests, experiences and comments about the event via video. We’ll be out in Street Teams all week, capturing videos and interviewing fans, so be on the lookout. The site will also feature Twitter feeds and variety of Quipol polls.

Whether or not you’re going to the Big Game, buzzfunnel.me will provide the ultimate fan experience this Super Bowl. And if you’re out and about in Indianapolis and/or the surrounding Super Cities over the next week, upload videos to YouTube or Vimeo and tag with “buzzfunnel” or find a member of the Borshoff buzzfunnel street team out and about around the city. And follow us on Twitter: @buzzfunnelme. We’d love to feature you on buzzfunnel!

I don’t usually make art-related recommendations, but this is a worthy exception.

If you haven’t visited our local art community’s Super Bowl initiative, TURF, I urge you to check it out.

Indianapolis Downtown Artists and Dealers Association (IDADA)’s “TURF” Art Pavilion is a temporary public space for the presentation of installation, video and experiential works of art that will showcase the world-class talent residing here on Central Indiana’s turf. Located in the historic Old City Hall building at Ohio and Alabama, the IDADA Art Pavilion is free and open through Feb. 5.

I visited TURF with a friend on Friday evening and we loved it. First Friday exhibitions are always fun, but this time IDADA takes full advantage of two unique factors it doesn’t normally have: the Super Bowl buzz/crowds and the amazing space at the Old City Hall building. The building itself and the large-scale installations work together to offer a unique and interesting experience. Why not take a friend or three and check it out next weekend?

It’s open Tuesday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Visit www.idadaartpavilion.com for more information.

Every new year brings new challenges, new opportunities – and new visual trends. In the world of graphic design, it is our job to stay abreast of such trends.

Being “trendy” is not necessarily a bad thing; trends can reveal characteristics about our world and how we view things. However, I don’t blindly follow them either.

Some graphic design trends are noteworthy and make sense when applied. Others are short lived for obvious reasons. As visual communicators, it is our job to filter these trends and only apply ones that benefit our clients’ brands.

So what trends are we watching for in 2012?

• Tangerine Tango, the new hot color for 2012
• Condensed fonts used as headlines
• Letter-press and old fashion printing techniques
• Large photo backgrounds

Over the next few months, I’ll write a blog on each of these trends. In the meantime, do you have anything else I should add to my list?

Two years ago today – January 12, 2010 – the most devastating earthquake in Haiti’s history occurred when a 7.0 magnitude earthquake killed 300,000 people. There are many memorials underway in Haiti no doubt, but here in Indianapolis, 1,700 miles away from Haiti, we have an opportunity to better understand the tragedy and be truly inspired by the international humanitarian response.

Our friends at the Downtown Indy IMAX Theater are debuting Rescue 3D next Monday for audiences participating in the White River State Park free-day in celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. My family and I will be among the many moviegoers who will receive free admission and free parking on Monday, January 16 with a canned good donation (one can per person) to benefit Gleaners Food Bank.

I had a chance to get a sneak peak at Rescue 3D, which plunges audiences into the hard, but inspiring work of saving lives in the face of a natural disaster. Behind the scenes, the film follows a Canadian naval commander, two pilots, and a volunteer rescue technician as they train for action.

When that earthquake hit Haiti two years ago, it created one of the biggest humanitarian disasters of the century. This amazing film – shown on Indiana’s largest screen – allows the audience to be swept along, joining with the massive effort that brings military and civilian responders and hardware from around the world. Rescue 3D is a journey of real-world disaster and emergency response captured in 3D with unprecedented scale and impact. Come see for yourself.

Plus, in the spirit of helping others, as Dr. King inspired, and as a tribute to first responders everywhere, the Downtown Indy IMAX Theater is partnering with the Indiana Blood Center on January 16. Blood donors will receive free concessions for donating blood. So bring a canned good, see an amazing movie for free, park for free, and donate some blood and eat and drink for free. What a day!

Hope to see you there – at the IMAX Theater in the Indiana State Museum, 650 W. Washington Street. Show times are 10 a.m., 11:25 a.m., 12:50 p.m., 2:15 p.m. and 3:40 p.m.

For more information about the IMAX Theater, visit www.imaxindy.com.

Do you ever set New Year’s resolutions only to find that you slowly forget about them? In my coworker Andy Pollen’s blog, he mentions “those of us who fail in our yearly resolutions are the majority, not the minority.” In a 2009 study, a psychologist at the University of Hertfordshire (United Kingdom) found that 78 percent of people who set resolutions fail.

It’s important for all of us to feel motivated to keep resolutions. In preparation for the New Year, at our last 2011 staff meeting, everyone was encouraged to participate in a creative exercise where we created motivational posters. Using our ‘creative juices,’ our task was to craft a message and use an image that would ‘motivate’ us to keep our 2012 resolutions long-lasting. According to the book “Drive:  The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us” by Daniel Pink, each of us is most motivated when the following three elements are present:

• Autonomy – the desire to direct our own lives
• Mastery – the urge to make progress and get better at something that matters
• Purpose – the yearning to do what we do in the service of something larger than ourselves

With Pink’s message in mind, spend a little time thinking about what motivates (or demotivates!) you and have some fun creating a motivational poster (or a parody poster) at one of the following websites.

• http://wigflip.com/automotivator
• http://bighugelabs.com/motivator.php

Hopefully your poster will help you stay motivated to follow-through with your 2012 resolutions!

We’ve recently been given a gift of warmer-than-usual weather here in Indianapolis.

Knowing this would likely be my last chance to walk around, sans puffy coat, before the snow comes, I hit the streets.

I’ve been noticing all the accessorizing our city has been doing for the upcoming Super Bowl, as well as the growing Cultural Trail project, and wanted to check out a few sights.

So I hit Mass. Ave. (Massachusetts Avenue) in search of the Kurt Vonnegut mural, part of 46 for XLVI, a project created to enhance our city’s arts and culture for the upcoming Super Bowl.

Then I meandered through downtown, all the way to White River State Park and back, finding murals and art installations, both old and new.

A lot of the ‘new’ art has been created through the partnership between the Arts Council of Indianapolis and the City of Indianapolis as we prepare to welcome thousands to our beautiful city.

I love Indiana, both the countryside and the city I live in. It was such a treat to see a city I have been around so much of my life and its evolution of outside art for all to enjoy.

What a wonderful, charming and cost-free adventure — to be a tourist for the day at home.

I hope your 2012 is off to a wonderful start. I also hope you’re inspired to pop around where you live with ‘new’ eyes and enjoy it.

I was at my parents’ home last month for Christmas and I went through a stack of 40 or 50 holiday cards they had received. Their stack was vastly different than the collection at my home.

It was interesting to see how many of their friends and family actually wrote something in their card. How novel I thought. Who would send a Christmas card that wasn’t just a glossy photo of their family on a beach? Not only did the senders write something, they wrote in cursive. A skill I barely possess.

My older brother and I poured over the cards reviewing everyone’s hand-writing skills. “Wow, look how she did her ‘e’s.” The review quickly turned to a “second language” conversation. “I can read it, but I can’t write it.”

Along with 47 other states, The Indiana Department of Education has officially ended cursive writing as a requirement. This will of course affect future typefaces and type treatments. I find it interesting that this style of communicating will eventually become extinct or will evolve into a secret language for anyone born before 2001. Use it while you can designers.

I’m horrible at keeping New Year’s resolutions. Don’t believe me? Just ask the set of INSANITY workout DVD’s in my basement or the Meditation for Dummies book collecting dust on my nightstand.

Not surprisingly, those of us who fail in our yearly resolutions are the majority, not the minority. A psychologist at the University of Hertfordshire (United Kingdom) found in a 2009 study that 78 percent of people who set resolutions fail.

We fail for multiple reasons, but chief among them is we focus on the downside of not achieving our goals, and we dream too big. The roughly 20 percent of individuals who succeeded at keeping their resolutions set smaller, more attainable goals and shared their successes with friends and family.

Since I’m a glutton for punishment, and can’t celebrate the New Year without setting goals, I’m going to try something different in 2012. First, I’ve set professional goals instead of personal. Second, I’ve streamlined the list to include five small, yet important goals.  Third, each of these requires the assistance of someone else to ensure I’m still on track.

1. Connect with my mentors. I’ve been lucky to have multiple individuals that have guided my career, but I’ve lost touch.  By December 31, I can have the Outlook invites sent for quarterly lunches.
2. Continue my education. I already found a partner in crime at the office, and we have committed to attending at least one seminar, Webinar or networking event a quarter.
3. Read. I’d like to believe that Entertainment Weekly and ESPN The Magazine aid in my professional development, but they don’t. I’ve decided to start a Borshoff “reading club” where a few us can pass along interesting articles or summarize them with key takeaways for the group.
4. Get out of my comfort zone. I’ll admit it; I don’t really get Twitter.  This year, I’m going to take one of my colleagues up on the offer of regular tutorials so I can become a Twitter expert and learn to maximize the tool for client success.
5. Recharge.  I had a coworker who implemented a “3 o’clock dance party” at least once a week. This was her excuse to play a horrible teen-pop song from the 90s and dance around for a few minutes. Sure, it looked ridiculous, but my batteries were recharged faster – and more effectively – than if I just ran to grab a pop.  I may not dance around the office, but I’ve found a buddy who also loves active breaks, and we’ll do them together.

So there you have it, my resolution list for 2012. Short, sweet and attainable. And, I haven’t forgotten about INSANITY and meditation, they will just need to wait until next year.

What are your professional goals for 2012?

My children make me smile every single day.

One of today’s many reasons included the Christmas list my daughter composed (see picture).

I’ve provided a transcript in case you don’t read third grade writing/spelling.

Additionally, for those of you without children, please understand that Santa “can make anything!”

(Elise)

My Christmas List

1. Drawing books
2. iPad
3. 3D DS
4. Real spy kit
5. Real tiger fur
6. Easel
7. 6 dollars
8. Mini gumball machine
9. Anything else
10. A Merry Christmas

Having received this list just recently, a few of these items are going to be difficult to get. It’s fascinating to me that the list changes so often in the days leading up to Christmas. I suppose when you know that Santa has elves and magic on his side, changes should be no big deal.

Let’s start with item number two – iPad. The beauty of children is their inability to understand money yet their keen ability to succumb to advertising. Thankfully, she accepted the patent protection defense as to why Santa cannot make and deliver iPads – clear infringement. I was quick to add that Mommy would like to own an iPad before one of her children does.

OK, so on to the real spy kit. The key word being “real,” she’s already used that fake kit. Do you think a real spy is marketing his or her kit anywhere? If you happen to know a real spy, please let me know if they are selling kits. Also, while you are talking with the spy, would you ask if they know where I can get some real tiger fur?

Real tiger fur – yes, item number five. I told her that I think it may be illegal to hunt and kill tigers for fur. She explained to me that the tiger doesn’t necessarily need to be hunted, just dead. “What do they do when the tiger just dies? Who gets his fur?” Excellent question! I should have asked her what exactly she wants to do with the real tiger fur, but I didn’t. I think something inside of me said “don’t ask, you may not like the answer.”

The rest of the list seems pretty doable. Six dollars should be easy to round up yet difficult to wrap. Number nine, anything else, gives me a lot of room to run. It makes me feel like such a great mom that I have anticipated at least half of the items on her list and hence communicated this to Santa. And as any parent knows, what we really want for our families, more than anything is “A Merry Christmas.” Her list has already given me that.

I would love to help other parents out, too. Feel free to submit your children’s hard to find items. I believe if we unite, to help Santa, we can knock these ever changing lists out in the next two days.

As the new year approaches, it’s common for many of us to reflect on the days gone by. In my own life, I’m amazed by how much has changed over the year. I completed my master’s degree in public relations. I transitioned careers from TV news to strategic communications. And I even got engaged.

Here at Borshoff, we celebrate the changes that the company has experienced as well. We grew from 45 to 55 employees. We’ve started expanding our office space again to accommodate our growing staff. And we even named Karen Alter a principal of the agency.

With 2012 just around the corner, we are excited for the new opportunities and changes that await us, personally and professionally. What are some of your fondest memories of 2011? What are you looking forward to in the new year?

“You better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout, we’re telling you why…”

Even the big man in red has crises of his own every holiday season. He may be jolly old Saint Nick, but he doesn’t play games when it comes to his busiest day of the year.

Mr. Claus has a crisis communications plan of his own to ensure he still brings ‘joy to the world.’ The following highlights 10 tips to handle a crisis and exactly how Santa incorporates them into his own plan to guarantee ‘all is calm; all is bright.’

1.  Expect it. Even well-run businesses and organizations experience crises. There are things in life that you have no control over. If you expect it, you’ll be prepared, and you’ll be a step closer to surviving it.

Rudolf may have a glowing red nose, but sometimes the foggy night is too much. Santa expects this may be the case, so to combat the fog Santa always keeps his GPS in the sleigh’s glove compartment so he can tell South America from Africa.

2.  Plan for it. Have a crisis communication plan in place, practice it and update it. You wouldn’t go on a sales call unprepared or meet with a client unprepared. If you’re expecting a crisis, why would you face a crisis unprepared?

People celebrate Christmas in July for a reason. That’s when Santa and his reindeer do a practice run, of course! Sure, Santa has been doing this gig for hundreds of years, but practice makes perfect, right?

3.  Step up and act on it. Take control of the situation and the coverage it is generating before it takes control of you. Respond to media inquiries immediately, even if only to tell them you’ll be holding a press conference later in the day. Listen to conversations on Twitter, Facebook, blogs and other social media channels. Be responsive. Be a part of the conversation. Don’t let the public wonder what you are doing about the situation.

‘He sees you when you’re sleeping. He knows when you’re awake.’ He also knows what you’re saying about him on Twitter! Through @santa_claus, Santa is monitoring all inquiries to ensure he is responsive.

4.  Face the facts and tell the truth. While respecting confidentiality and legal restrictions, do your best to share pertinent information quickly and accurately. Never mislead. And remember, nature abhors a vacuum. If you don’t provide information, others will.

With more than 6,019,527,381 houses and apartments here on Earth, it would be a miracle if Santa hit all of them. So sometimes he misses one or two! Therefore, before leaving any continent, Santa’s head elf always calls Santa via the two-way radio (in Santa’s hat of course) to let him know if he missed any.

 5.  Care about it and own it.  Show compassion and concern. Don’t just talk about the issues or the facts. Express feelings and acknowledge feelings as appropriate. Own up to mistakes and express regret. Take care of the victims in the process.

Let’s be honest…the sleigh is pretty heavy and sometimes it damages roofs. Santa’s not the kind of guy to commit a hit-and-run. Santa admits the mistake and calls on the Elf Support Squad to repair any housing damage he may have caused.

6.  Personalize it. Carefully select your spokesperson. In most cases, a written statement cannot adequately tell your side of the story. (An exception would be when legalities prevent you from speaking, or if you strategically wish to distance yourself from a situation, such as a former employee who committed a crime.)

Santa is the face of the holiday season, but sometimes he’s a little busy for media inquiries. That’s why there is back-up! Who’s a better spokesperson than the Mrs.? Mrs. Claus, that is. She knows all key messages to communicate effectively.

7.  Look inward. Don’t neglect your internal audiences and other key stakeholders. Remember employees, board members and vendors, as well as customers and the public. You should make special efforts to keep them informed. Don’t let them get all the details from the newspaper or television. Talk to them directly.

At the North Pole, everyone works hard all year long to ensure Christmas is a special time. That’s why, when any news breaks, Santa’s staff hears it first! Mrs. Claus, the elves and reindeer—without them, Santa would be in trouble.

8.  Include your friends. Especially in a protracted situation, call on your allies to back you up. Are there citizen groups, affinity organizations, customers, clients, vendors, etc., that would be willing to show support for you in a genuine way? Will it ring true with the public?

Children are Santa’s biggest supporters, but Santa has friends all over. In fact, his biggest allies are retailers and parents. If Santa hits a snag at the North Pole, he knows he can count on his friends to cover for him.

9.  Stick with it. Don’t assume you can make only one statement when a crisis breaks. Watch the coverage and the questions and continue to be responsive if the crisis is prolonged. If inaccuracies are reported in the media coverage or through social media, correct them.

Did you know there is a media center at the North Pole? Believe it! Where do you think Santa and his elves monitor @santa_claus? Santa’s too busy for an iPhone, so elves monitor coverage and other events to confirm Santa is receptive.

10.  Learn from it. Evaluate and plan for the future so that your organization can grow from it. Those who do not learn from the past are doomed to repeat it.

Santa’s been doing this gig for a LONG time. To say he has learned a thing or two is an understatement. Learning is a lifelong experience. Some tips Santa will always remember are the following:

• Eat all the cookies and drink all the milk, or the children take offense.
• Santa’s suit is dry clean only! It also helps if it is flame retardant.
• Stay up-to-date with the latest technology. No more cassette players in the sleigh…ever.
• Regardless the age, everyone has the ability to believe.

As soon as Thanksgiving is over, I begin checking the guide on my TV to see when the holiday movies will begin. For me, there’s nothing like watching a Christmas classic – or the latest hit – to boost my spirits and set the mood for the upcoming holiday.

So to spur the holiday spirit in my Borshoff colleagues, I sent a poll to find out their favorite holiday movies. The top four were:

1.       A Christmas Story (by a landslide)

The tale of Ralphie and his various schemes to convince his parents to get him the only thing he wants for Christmas – a Red Ryder BB Gun with a compass in the stock.

Check out one of our favorite scenes.

2.       Elf

The journey of Buddy through the seven levels of the Candy Cane Forest, past the sea of twirly, swirly gumdrops, through the Lincoln Tunnel, all to find his real father.

Check out one of our favorite scenes.

3.       A Charlie Brown Christmas

The story of a disgusted Charlie Brown who, with the help of a lonely, scrawny little tree and his friend Linus, helps everyone understand the true meaning of Christmas.

Check out one of our favorite scenes.

4.       It’s a Wonderful Life

The story of George Bailey, a man on the brink of committing suicide until his guardian angel intercedes showing him what life would have become for the residents of Bedford Falls had he never lived.

Check out one of our favorite scenes.

Other favorites mentioned included Dr. Suess’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Miracle on 34^th Street, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, White Christmas and A Christmas Carol.

Now that we’ve shared our favorites with you, it’s your turn. What movie gets you in the holiday mood?