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MISSION STATEMENT
Our mission is to help companies collect, formulate and disseminate information relevant to their employees, clients or customers in the most interesting, engaging manner possible on a timely and consistent basis via a print or electronic newsletter. |
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 Partnering with clients and becoming a valued part of their team is all in a day’s work for Grapevine Communications. Just ask Joanne Stockwell.
Joanne, senior project manager for Network Services at AT&T West, called on Grapevine this past spring to help her find a better way to communicate with the Network Services division’s 16,000 employees, many of whom are technicians who work out in the field all day.
In response, Grapevine helped create Network News, a four-page, full-color newsletter sent quarterly to all division employees. But even before the ink was dry on the first issue, Joanne came to Grapevine with another request. More than 1,000 AT&T West employees were set to walk in the April 29 March of Dimes WalkAmerica walk-a-thon, which raises money to prevent premature births. When another vendor pulled out last second, Joanne had just two days to find a design for the company’s team T-shirts.
“I called Grapevine and asked if they would donate the T-shirt design,” she says. “They were amazing. They came up with a great design, and we got the shirts in on schedule. We even won the T-shirt design contest at seven walk locations in California!”
Joanne was so impressed with Grapevine’s work that she referred one of her colleagues, Julie Gonzalez, senior project manager of Customer Experience at AT&T West. Unlike Joanne, Julie needed an e-mail newsletter for AT&T West’s 40,000 employees.
Grapevine wrote and designed E-Flash, a monthly, two-page newsletter sent in a PDF format. Like Network News, it’s been a hit with employees.
“It’s been refreshing to work with the Grapevine team because they understand our employees’ needs and what kinds of communication are relevant to them,” Julie says. “They’ve made my job a lot easier.”
Let Grapevine Communications make your job easier.
www.GrapevineCom.com
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This past May, Grapevine client Gelson’s Markets celebrated its 18th annual Editors Luncheon! The luncheon is held every year to bring together the 21 editors for Gelson’s employee newsletter, Express Lines. The idea: celebrate a year of success, discuss the newsletter process—and crown the Editor of the Year.
Throughout the year, Grapevine works closely with the employee contributors from each Gelson’s location to gather submissions and photos, with each contributor earning points for their submissions. The contributor with the most points wins the “Editor of the Year”
award—and a Grapevine-sponsored pizza party for his or her entire store!
As you can see by the enthusiastic Gelson’s Editors pictured here, a fun time was had by all—resulting, as usual, in a great newsletter.
You can do it too—drive your newsletter to succeed by “revving up” your contributors! To see how it's done be be sure to read our Fueling Up Story Ideas article below.
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 As editor, you’re the “driver” of your company newsletter. But just as a car needs gas to run, your newsletter needs its own “fuel” — a steady stream of ideas.
A lack of story ideas and information is one of the most common reasons why a newsletter “stalls out.” So what’s the best way to “fuel up?” Rely on employee contributors, as Gelson’s Markets has for nearly 20 years. These contributors serve as your eyes and ears in each department or region— and can be a steady supply of ideas for your publication.
Here are a few guidelines:
- Appoint 5 to 15 contributors from throughout your company, not necessarily managers.
- Ask contributors only to “spark” ideas; do not expect them to write articles.
- Assemble contributors for a kick off meeting and follow up with consistent communication during each issue.
- Hold an annual get-together for all your contributors and acknowledge their contributions.
- Make it fun! Set up a contributor incentive program.
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 Looking for a fun article for your fall newsletter? Here’s one your readers will enjoy:
- Have you ever wondered why leaves change colors in the fall? The secret lies in the chlorophyll, a pigment that normally gives leaves their green color.
- Chlorophyll captures the energy from sunlight and helps a leaf make its food. During the spring and summer seasons, chlorophyll is constantly replenished and is abundant in a tree’s leaves. The abundance of this green pigment “covers up” the other colors present in the leaves, so the leaves stay green.
- As fall approaches, the chlorophyll starts to be replaced more slowly than it’s used up, and the leaf starts to die. As the amount of chlorophyll lessens, the green color begins to disappear. All the hidden colors—yellows, oranges and browns—are now on display! In
addition, another group of pigments, called anthocyanins, begin to develop in some leaves, giving them their brilliant red color.
Source: Wikipedia.org
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Better newsletters. They are our province, our passion. That's why, at Grapevine Communications, all we do is newsletters. No brochures or marketing materials. Just newsletters. In fact, we’re so single-minded...dare we say, obsessed?...that we have created a step-by-step system to help ensure the delivery on time, everytime.
Allow us to create your own better newsletter. With our services you will receive a quality publication that delivers strategic communications that are timely and ensure a consistent voice. We align recognition programs, collaborate to generate a singular voice, drive engagement and inspire people to succeed.Give us a call or visit our Web site for more information on who we are, what we do and how we can work with you and your company or organization.
Grapevine Communications. It’s just that simple.
www.GrapevineCom.com
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