The Orphaned Sea Otter Pup 681

Who knew a baby otter can be so fluffy and adorable!  The story of Pup 681 has gone viral so if you haven’t heard about this heartwarming story of rescuing an abandoned baby otter, this is one you’ll want check out.

Curious how they came up with the name for the Pup 681, her story begins with being abandoned at just a week old on September 30. She weighed less than 2 ½ pounds, apparently small for a baby otter, and had been separated from her mom for more than 16 hours. The Monterey Bay Aquarium found her alone on a California beach where they quickly started rehabilitation.  It was critical she started consuming calories as quickly as possible in order for her survival. 

Pup 681 made it to her new home at Chicago’s Shedd Aquarium on October 28, where staff makes sure she has round-the-clock care to learn necessary otter life skills of grooming, foraging and feeding. Normally, sea otter pups stay with their mother as long as eight months so this little pup has a lot to learn.

The tiny pup – now 5 weeks old and weighs a healthy six pounds — is also learning how to regulate her body temperature by moving to a dry towel when she’s done swimming. She’s reaching new milestones every day like taking formula from a bottle and eating shrimp and clams.

Sea otters were listed as threatened under the U. S. Endangered Species Act in 1977, and have made a slow recovery in California. In 2014, the population was 2,944, a growth of five (that's right FIVE) from 2013, according to the United States Geological Survey. 

For now, Pup 681 is still behind the scenes at the aquarium as she continues to grow. You can see her in action in the video above. Her squeaking sounds will simply melt your heart.

We're Hiring: Traffic Coordinator

UPDATE: This position has been filled. Thanks to all the people who applied.

Please share if you know anyone looking for a job that meets these requirements. Thanks so much!

Traffic Coordinator  Job Description

Eire Direct, a boutique marketing agency in the River North neighborhood of Chicago, is currently seeking a motivated individual who enjoys a flexible and creative atmosphere. The traffic coordinator will be an integral part of the creative and production team. From onset of all new creative projects through finalized product to production, candidate should be a great team player and have strong organizational and time management skills.  Eye for detail a must.  Job responsibilities include:

•  Assist creative director and production supervisor in daily management of creative projects
•  Manage all traffic functions between creative and account service
•  Assist art directors in prioritizing daily workloads
•  Develop/manage all creative schedules on a project-by-project basis
•  Proofread all rounds of creative changes, with attention to typos, layout changes,
consistency of message, etc.
•  Work with account service team to communicate layout/type changes and requests back to creative team
•  Interpret client/account service suggestions, make creative recommendations
•  Ability to handle ongoing changes within tight deadlines
•  Work with account service to prioritize creative workload when necessary
•  Work with production supervisor to quote print jobs, review proofs, attend press OKs as needed
•  Work with production supervisor to learn postal regulations and requirements
•  Attend all creative input meetings
•  Attend all weekly status meetings
•  Maintain creative/production project files
•  Maintain sample files
•  Simple working knowledge of Adobe creative suite software a plus

Experience needed:  1+ years of experience in marketing or advertising coordinator position, or applicable project management role.  Competitive benefits package.

To apply, please provide cover letter and resume to jobs@eiredirect.com.

Film: Finding Vivian Maier

 

Last week I had the opportunity to go see the documentary film, Finding Vivian Maier, about a street photographer who spent the majority of her life in and around Chicago.

Vivian's story and artwork are unique because she was virtually unknown until a box of her negatives was purchased, after her death, by Chicago resident John Maloof for a book-writing project. Not quite suited for his needs, they were set aside until he eventually began scanning the negatives and created a blog posting the images. Maier's work is stunning.

The more he investigated this artist, the more he learned about her whereabouts, career as a nanny on Chicago's North Shore, and most importantly, her pursuit of photography. Literally thousands of negatives were uncovered in a storage unit, along with other memorabilia that filled the space floor to ceiling, wall to wall. There were also boxes filled with undeveloped rolls of film.

The film follows the pursuit of Maloof to uncover what he could about Vivian Maier. What unfolds is a series of interesting interviews, interspersed with image after image of Chicago and New York streets and residents, self portraits and even short "home movies" of herself and the children she helped raise. But regardless of all the clues left behind, you're still stuck asking questions and wishing there were more details. Vivian Maier was fascinating.

Without wanting to give too much away, I'll just say it's been over a week since I saw this documentary, and I find myself thinking about it daily. Wondering about this strange, complicated woman and going back again and again to look at her beautiful, tortured, stark and emotional images. If you have any interest in Chicago, photography, and eccentric artists, this is a must-see film.

*All images from website.

Augmented Reality

A few weeks ago I attended the national Direct Marketing Association’s annual convention at McCormick place here in Chicago with some colleagues.  In all my years of direct marketing, this was the first time of attending and I was curious to see how good old fashioned direct marketing was being represented in the new digital era.  My own work with clients has changed drastically over the last decade, and I wanted to see if the DMA had kept pace with that change.

I attended several fascinating sessions, but the one that was most intriguing was a session about the latest mobile technologies, including augmented reality trends.  Augmented reality is a view of the real-world in real time that has been “augmented” or enhanced by computer-generated sensory input.  More specifically, augmented reality uses the camera on your smart phone to overlay information on your field of view that you see through your smart phone.

IKEA uses augmented technology with its catalog and a smart phone to let customers see what specific pieces of will look like in your own room at home.  Way better than taping a catalog picture of a table to the wall in your dining room to see if it looks good!!

Check out this IKEA video.

Even more practical, and useful, is what Audi has done in Germany using augmented reality to create a new version of an owner’s manual.  I recently got a new car, and it’s a different brand from my old car.  The other day, a strange light appeared on the dashboard.  I flipped through the owner’s manual to no avail.  Then, I took a picture of it and texted it to my husband, who told me I needed to fill my tire immediately!  Audi’s new owner’s manual eliminates the need for a handy husband (at least when it comes to cars).

Audi's Augmented Reality.

Of course, my mind went wild thinking of applications for our clients, and in my everyday life.   How about an app showing how your home would look with new energy efficient lighting, or new energy efficient appliances, along with an estimate of how much you could save based on how many lights you have in the room?  How about scanning an item from the grocery store, and getting some recipe ideas or even better, seeing the cooked item on a dish at your kitchen counter?  For now, I’ll settle for looking at my living room through my smart phone and seeing it cleaned up, instead of looking like this:

Amazing how much chaos a two-year-old can get accomplish in a very short amount of time…

BizBash Social Media Workshop

On Wednesday we went to BizBash IdeaFest in Chicago and participated in a workshop organized by @IanSohn from Ogilvy & Mather on Social Media for Event Marketing. Ian’s presentation was Event-specific, but his ideas could also be implemented into any marketing plan. We discussed the importance of including social media – not as a tag-a-long after-thought to the overall effort – but having it's own agenda and specific purpose. Social media can be looked at as a way to ignite an entire campaign, promotion or event. It stretches the reach to include a larger audience… including virtual attendees, consumers, etc. through "word of mouth". These were my favorite take-aways:

PRE (Event, Campaign, Promotion)

– Establish a calendar – then tear it up

This point really resonated with me. I think it's great to have a plan but it takes away the essence of the vehicle to know what you're going to say ahead of time. We don't need to tweet just to tweet – it's better to be moved to. It can be what makes your tweet ring true – that something you saw or heard or experienced is something worth sharing. Basically, have a plan but be prepared that you probably won't follow it.

DURING

– 80/20 rule: Don't be boring

I like having rules to follow and this 80/20 breakdown is a great rule of thumb. 80% of your content should be relevant information, what's happening, what's engaging you, what you're interested in (and seeing and doing and hearing). Save the other 20% for self or brand promotion. Also, the best content is serendipitous – not planned!

POST

– Generate an Impact Report: How many tweets, re-tweets, favorites, shares, comments, likes, uploads etc.

To me, one of the best things about social media is the ability to track activity. Simply by including a #hashtag, we can search for content and record the results. How many people are interacting with Eire Direct? Our clients? Our creative??? What are they saying? These answers are so easy to collect – they are right there at your fingertips.

The main thing, you need a plan. It can and should be simple. It should allow people to exercise their own creativity and experience – but with a little added direction and forethought. Social media efforts can be everyone's job, or no one's job – so be clear about your objective and assign responsibilities accordingly.

Summer

I'm a Chicago girl through and through, and with that comes a real appreciation for summer.  Even this year, with our relatively mild winter, we've earned our summer, as always.  The Chicago lakefront. Light until almost 9pm. Dining al fresco, backyard BBQs, beaches, pools, and being barefoot. Reading outdoors. Riding a bike. Thinking about summer also got me thinking about summer music.  Here's Billboards list of summer's top 30 songs.  Whether it surprises or disappoints, it will get you thinking about your favorite summer music.

Bike to Work Week – June 9-15!

Eire will be celebrating Chicago’s annual Bike to Work Week by participating in Active Transportation Alliance’s Bike Commuter Challenge. This will be the 5th year we have participated. Oh wait we didn’t participate last year because I was on maternity leave and no one covered for me. I’m back! So let’s get excited and bike to work!

We challenge you to compete too.
The Bike Commuter Challenge is the best way to celebrate Chicago Bike to Work Week, June 9–15, 2012.

Just sign up your company and be a Team Leader or join an existing team and start logging your trips during Chicago Bike to Work Week. Any bike trip to work counts – even partway. You can bike to the train, bus, or carpool location and lock up there.

It’s easy, free, and most of all, fun! There is even help you get ready for the Challenge with tips and tricks on how to ride to work.

The Bike Commuter Challenge is brought to you by the Active Transportation Alliance. Active Trans is a non-profit advocacy organization that works throughout Chicagoland to improve conditions for bicycling, walking and transit while engaging people in healthy and active ways to get around.

Chicago Farmer's Markets

Summer in Chicago is amazing. Sure, it can be crazy-hot and swamp-humid, but it’s my favorite season, hands-down. One of my favorite things of summer is the reappearance of farmers markets. Sure they have flowers, veggies, and fruit… but my neighborhood market also has crepes, fresh bread, and a truck called, “Everything’s Better with Bacon.”

There are more than 70 vendors that come out every day of the week throughout the city. If you haven’t been to a market yet, you should go! The people-watching is pretty amazing, and you can find some pretty fantastic, super-fresh produce. As a bonus, you’re supporting local farmers and businesses. I think this weekend I’ll check out the farmers market and look for some strawberries and asparagus… and maybe a crepe!

For more information about Farmer's Markets in Chicago.
To find a Farmer's Market near you, in the city or suburbs, click here.

Image from Free Things To Do In Chicago (Green City Market).

Running for a Cause

Last weekend Marcia and Hillary both ran in the American Brain Tumor Association's "Path to Progress" 5k event. Despite less-than-optimal weather conditions, they had a good time and were proud to participate and show support for friends and their family members. Path to Progress is an annual spring event that continues to grow every year, and takes runners and walkers up and down the Chicago lakefront. It's a great way to get out and see the city while making a contribution to a worthy cause – so consider joining them next year!

Passing the Baton

Today marks a big day for the city of Chicago. Mayor Richard M. Daley, the city’s longest-serving mayor, steps down and is replaced by former White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel.

Whether you love him or hate him, Mayor Daley’s has had some serious staying power here. In 1989, the year he was elected to his first term, I was in the 5^th grade. Paula Abdul and Milli Vanilli both had 3 #1 hits on the Billboard charts, and Rain Man won the Oscar for Best Picture. My, how time flies.

Congratulations, Mr. Daley. Welcome, Mayor Emanuel!