Wednesday Weigh-In: April Fools’ Day Shenanigans & Stuff

If you can’t laugh at yourself and the silly curveballs life throws your way, you’re doing it wrong. It’s a cornerstone characteristic in marketing agency pros because every single day has its own set of unique challenges and changes. Don’t get us wrong, we are suckers for random acts of kindness (especially when it comes to helping save the puppies) but we can appreciate some April Fools’ Day humor just as much as the next prankster.

Without further ado, here are our favorite pranks, publications and foolish moments related to April Fools’ Day.

 

Leah: My husband’s birthday is on April Fools’ Day and no one believes him when he says it’s his birthday.

Missi: I love the show “The Office.” Jim always played the best pranks on Dwight. My favorite was when he put his stapler in Jell-O! Classic, but still hilarious.

Rachel: I was quite possibly the most gullible child to walk the earth circa 1998. My two older sisters who thought they were fluent in French convinced me to go around the neighborhood and knock on our neighbors’ doors saying “Bonjour! Je m’appelle ‘chien.’” I later found out it meant “Hello, my name is ‘dog.’” #LittleSisterLife

Stephanie: Hmmmm. I think the radio DJ faking an on-air heart attack was probably the best prank I’ve listened to.

Angela: When I was twelve, I tried to prank my mother (I know, I know, bad idea). I put a rubber band around the handle of the kitchen sink’s hose and when she went to get herself a glass a water, she got a shower instead. We had a good laugh! But I’m still sleeping with one eye open. Payback must be coming soon, right?

Nick: When I was five years old I told my Dad his shoe was untied. He looked down at his shoe and it was still tied. I shouted “April Fools!”

Cam: My graduating class put alarm clocks in our lockers and set them for 12pm-2pm so that alarms would go off in our school’s hallway every 15 minutes!

Marie: The Onion always nails it!

Mindy: A couple of coworkers I used to know would routinely take turns swapping out keyboard letters when the other was away for vacation or work. I sat in between them so every so often I’d get to hear “Dammit Teresa!” or “Dammit Ron!”

Erin: My husband and I were both design majors at OU (Go Bobcats!!), and we would stay up really late in the design lab working on projects. If I would step out for a minute, he would take a screen grab of my desktop and make it my background image. I would panic, thinking my computer was broken when I couldn’t click on anything. I would turn around and he would be laughing. You’d think I’d learn, but it literally got me EVERY time.

 

May the odds be ever in your favor this April Fools’ Day.

Random Acts of Kindness Aren’t Just for Your BFF Anymore

The holidays are over, motivation from New Year’s Resolutions has expired and all of our anticipation is focused on a beach vacation; which is all the more reason to slow down and take some time to make those around you feel special.

Enter: Random Acts of Kindness Week.

We challenged #teamME to do something nice for someone in their lives; whether it’s in the office, at home, at the gym, in line at the coffee shop, you name it. Some bought flowers for the office to enjoy, and others brought enough snacks to keep us well-fed for weeks. Marie, our fearless leader and CEO, was the proud recipient of a sleep mask for the beauty rest she deserves, Jeanna, account manager here at #teamME, received flower seeds to get her green thumb moving and our trendy social media strategist, Angela, was gifted a tiny, crocheted cactus so she finally has a plant she loves so much, without the worry of killing it. (Hey, we all can’t be great at everything.)

“RAKs” are so beneficial in building, not just personal relationships (who doesn’t want to be on the receiving end of kindness?), but also business/consumer relations; so much so that companies have increasingly adopted RAKs into their marketing strategies and public relations efforts. A few of my favorites include:

  • Panera Bread’s program, “Panera Cares,” a pay-what-you-can café at certain locations
  • AirB&B giving 100,000 costumers $10 to do a “unique act of kindness” for their #OneLessStranger campaign
  • Marks & Spencer making it snow on Christmas in Southern England where they rarely see snow
  • McDonalds starting its “Pay with Lovin” campaign which allowed random costumers across America to pay in acts of kindness, like a call to Mom

Random Acts of Kindness campaigns famously generate a lot of attention and profit for brands. Millennials are especially more concerned with what a brand stands for. Brands like TOMS, Love Your Melon and Warby Parker — all are booming in business due to their charitable efforts. Just like we want to keep the friend around who actively makes us feel appreciated, audiences want to keep the brand around that either makes them feel appreciated or makes them feel like they’re doing something good.

This might not work with every brand, business or campaign goal, but trying to incorporate more kindness is the type of marketing the world needs more of.

 


Cam Householder is a Sophomore at The Ohio State University majoring in Strategic Communications and Pre-Business. Cam has interned for #teamME for a year and never ceases to be a light in the office. (And she has some of the most beautiful calligraphy skills this side of the Mississippi.)

Wednesday Weigh-In: Thanks and Giving

The MurphyEpson team believes in credit where its due. From snaps at our weekly production meetings to showing gratitude to the one who gets the coffee brewing each day, we believe in “thanks.”

But for the time of year filled with turkey, mashed potatoes, football and those we hold near and dear to our heart, we wanted to express our thanks in a special way.

Here’s our Thanksgiving edition of Wednesday Weigh-In on what #teamME is thankful for:

Mark: I’m thankful that the team does GREAT WORK every day!

Missi: So many things to be thankful for that I could write a book but if I had to narrow it down to a small list, it would be these things:

A healthy, bright and kind-hearted daughter

An amazing career with awesome co-workers

Great friendships that help me get me through life

Leah: Cozy Saturday mornings on my couch with coffee, cats and my laptop. And cookie dough, because why not.

Elizabeth: I am so blessed and thankful for my relationships with family and friends, including those with fur and four legs. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Cindy: The chance to do meaningful work, family, friends and a healthy body (not sure about the mind sometimes!) so I can travel to some pretty fun places.

Nick: I am thankful for my family, friends, church community and chocolate.

Rachel: I’m thankful for my coworkers who get me through long days, friends who get me through long weeks, my precious pup who gets me up for early mornings and macarons and meditation that fill in the gaps.

Jeanna: I’m grateful for my work/life balance!

Erin: I’m thankful for the countless memories made on a daily basis as my little twin girls grow to understand what the holidays are all about. Like the fact they can now say “turkey, gobble gobble!”

Cam: I am thankful for a college internship with co-workers who make me laugh, 51 amazing housemates that support my skinny pop addiction, a short commute from home so I can visit my two gorgeous puppies whenever I’m in need of puppy snugs, a family that keeps me smiling and excited about the little things (like clean crawl spaces and potluck dinners) & the Buckeyes!

 

We hope you have the happiest of Thanksgivings and find time to reflect on what you’re grateful for.