In a few minutes, the black sky will begin taking on gradually lighter shades of blue as last night becomes this morning.
I really hope I am asleep under my work desk by then.
I'm sure the rest of these people do, too. It's been a long, long busy night and everyone is looking pretty frazzled by this point.
The great news?
It's done. All of it. And it all looks amazing. Later this morning, there should be seven very happy nonprofits in Richmond.
After all the time, all the effort and, most importantly, all the caffeine, the business end of this CreateAthon has come to an end. Later, after all the designers, writers and public relations specialists get a few hours of sleep, they will present their new projects to representatives from the seven chosen nonprofits tonight at a much deserved after party.
So, was it worth it?
"Well, you can't ask me that right now but I want to see tears later [when we make our presentations]," Punch's Maureen Blackwood said jokingly. "But it is really amazing what we have accomplished."
From an outsider looking in on the whole crazy night, yes, yes it is. Truly amazing indeed.
-- Kent Jennings Brockwell, Richmond.com
React: What do you think? Done and almost done
Friday at 4:50 a.m.
It's 10 'til five in the morning and almost every project is only a hop, skip and an approval signature away from being complete.
In the back room, where all the magic happens, more than a dozen truly unique and in depth projects have been created.
For Comfort Zone Camp, Cassandra Wilder is putting the finishing touches on a unique accordion-style fold out brochure that the organization can send out to potential donors. The new unique and consolidated brochure will replace CZC's current donor prospectus, which is a slick yet cumbersome folder of news clippings and other information.
One desk over, designer Erin Potter is finalizing a few new poster concepts for Rx Partnership using a new pill shaped logo that was created earlier in the evening. Toward the back of the office, near the oft visited coffee urn, Ken Gibson is working on a series of bus ads for Homeward that tout a shocking statistic regarding U.S. armed service members and homelessness.
One of the most unique projects of the night has been created by Stephanie Russell. On Russell's desk sits a chrome hued mockup of a lunchbox filled with unique Central Virginia Food Bank goodies. The corporate gift, once manufactured from the design created tonight, will be given to the organization's top donors.
And even though most professional grade Web sites can take months to complete, Matt Brown has created an awesome new dog-themed Web site for FURS to replace the group's current version.
Whatever doubts I may have had 12 hours ago are officially shattered. The 15 now very weary people in this office have created an amazing amount of individual projects including Web sites, marketing plans, greeting cards, corporate gift packages, posters and brochures – about 360 total hours of work – in less than 24 hours.
Let's do the math on that again.
Seven clients. 360 hours of work. 24 hours to complete. Zero charge for the clients.
Wow ... and they say Americans are some of the least efficient workers in the world.
The really neat part? The projects created in the blitz tonight will be out in the world over the next several weeks and months in magazines and on the sides of GRTC buses.
-- Kent Jennings Brockwell, Richmond.com
React: What do you think? Two down and two out
Friday at 3:01 a.m.
And then there were less. I think the caffeine is either wearing off or reaching toxic levels.
After heading back to the Richmond.com offices to work on a sandwich and two caffeine packed Full Throttles, I have returned to a gaggle full of crazy people. On the front stoop to Punch's offices, there is a foursome of copy writers and designers puffing on cigars and giggling like schoolgirls.
Inside, on the other hand, two people are now sleeping on the floor and there is a half empty Heineken fridge keg on a conference desk.
With five hours left until the deadline, one of the projects, the Central Virginia Food Bank ad project that Sarah Shannon has been feverishly working on all night is finished, which is why she is one of the slumbering bodies in the other room. The FURS project is also almost complete. The other five are still chugging along.
Did I say five more hours? I need another coffee...
-- Kent Jennings Brockwell, Richmond.com
React: What do you think? Nearing the wall...
Thursday at 11:53 p.m.
The witching hour is almost upon us and there are plenty of lukewarm coffee mugs and half-shut eyes around. Though many of the projects are nearing completion, there is still a lot of work that needs to be done before the seven nonprofit clients receive their finished products in the morning at 8 a.m.
Working on the Community Based Services project right now is Devon Hoff, a project/account manager and copy writer for Punch. Currently she is preparing copy for a tri-fold brochure that the organization will use for its marketing efforts.
Besides the brochure, Community Based Services will also receive a new name (now Total Living Concepts), logo and branding package.
Tonight, Hoff said it will take about two or three hours to write the copy being that she has already done her research and read up on the organizations literature. However, she added that it is a bit overwhelming doing it all in one night instead of having a little more time to digest the info and prepare the copy.
Nonetheless, she is still fairly bright eyed and ready to go. And the looming deadline in eight hours? Not a problem.
"I have stayed kind of relaxed today but I think it is just because I have just gotten my second wind," she said.
And being that she isn't a coffee drinker, will she make it to 8 a.m.?
"Considering that my bed time is usually 9:30 p.m., I am not sure," Hoff said. "So it will be interesting. I kind of feel like I am on a high right now but I think 2 a.m. will be my scary hour."
-- Kent Jennings Brockwell, Richmond.com
React: What do you think? Bathrobes and Brainstorming
Thursday at 8:37 p.m.
They're now 12 hours into the process and the comfortable clothes have officially come out. Dinner was just served and cleaned up and everyone is now back to work.
But with most people in yoga or sweat pants and the rest in T-shirts and jeans, it doesn't look like your average work place. There is a giant five-gallon container of coffee set up in the back room (the third so far today thanks to the kind folks at The Common Cup), a very inviting massage station set up in the front room, a few friendly dogs roaming the halls and an iPod station blaring a good rock mix in the background.
Then again, for a massive 24-hour creative effort like this, comfort is necessity – especially for seven major marketing projects to be produced in under 24 hours. To an outsider with absolutely no experience in advertising or marketing, it seems impossible. But let's see what you think. So far, this is what Punch is creating pro bono for the seven local nonprofits:
A Web site, holiday cards and flyers for FURS, a dog rescue and adoption organization. A brochure and sales materials for Comfort Zone Camp, the nation's largest bereavement camp. Brochures and a marketing plan for Chesterfield CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates), a group that provides advocates for children who are in the court system due to child neglect and abuse. A new logo and posters for Rx Partnership, which partners with pharmaceutical companies to provide free prescription drugs to the uninsured through area free clinics. The posers will be put up in homeless shelters and other low-income areas. Bus advertisements for Homeward, a group that tackles issues related to homelessness. An advertising campaign and corporate gift design for Central Virginia Food Bank, an organization that identifies hunger needs and food sources to eradicate hunger in Central Virginia. A brochure, new name and branding for Community-Based Services, which maintains group homes for mentally challenged adults. To me, its sounds a little ambitious – scratch that – a little
too ambitious. But Adams earlier told me that it could be done. Being that she has been in a constant stream of conversations and mini-meetings since I arrived and everyone else's head is down and focused on the work in front of them, she may be right. So far all of the ideas and concepts being passed around sound great. I can't wait to see what starts materializing over the next few hours.
-- Kent Jennings Brockwell, Richmond.com
React: What do you think? 24-Hour Creation of Benevolence
Thursday at 7 p.m.
When 5 o'clock came around this evening, many workers in Richmond called it a day and rushed to get stuck in traffic on I-64.
However, for one small, dedicated group of advertising and marketing gurus on West Main Street, their shift was only a third of the way completed. Eight hours down, 16 to go.
Though the work day for the employees at local advertising firm Punch began at 8 a.m., they are planning to burn the midnight oil tonight in the name of benevolence. Their tireless effort (thanks to a steady stream of coffee) is all a part of CreateAthon, an international 24-hour "creative blitz" during which local advertising agencies provide extensive advertising services for select nonprofits in the participating agency's respective locale free of charge.
At Punch, the all-nighter is on for seven lucky Richmond-area nonprofits: RX Partnership, Homeward, Community Based Services, FURS, Chesterfield CASA, Comfort Zone Camp and the Central Virginia Food Bank.
And because we at Richmond.com seldom pass up a chance for massages (yes, Punch hired a masseuse for the event to combat the stress of an all-nighter) and all-you-can-drink coffee, we will be tagging along all night to see how the effort goes. Check back in a few hours for an update from Richmond's CreateAthon headquarters.
-- Kent Jennings Brockwell, Richmond.com
React: What do you think?