WAS=WOW
That’s short for The Washington Auto Show® was amazing.
I know it’s been ages since we’ve blogged, but, duh, we were kinda busy. With the President. Yeah, that one.
The White House called Barbara during our Public Policy Preview Days to say that the President would like to visit the show. Arrangements were made. And on Tuesday afternoon, Jan. 31, President Obama toured The Washington Auto Show’s “Advanced Technology SuperHighway,” our 65,000-square-foot exhibit of innovations in safety and sustainability. The display was enhanced a bit as we included some additional vehicles in the area for the President’s visit.
Barbara Pomerance, Washington Auto Show Director of Communications and Media Relations, and Gerard Murphy, WANADA President, review the "Advanced Technology SuperHighway" ahead of President Obama's visit.
Here is Mr. President, checking out a Chevy wrapped in Americana artwork. He’s talking with Ed Welburn, GM’s Vice President of Global Design, with WANADA President Gerard Murphy looking on.
It was the first time a current U.S. President ever visited our show. For some perspective, the 2012 show marked The Washington Auto Show’s 70th edition.
The President appeared to have a blast, climbing into car after car, revealing that megawatt grin.
Here he is in the Ford C-MAX Energi, which was named Green Car Journal’s 2012 Green Car Vision Award™ winner on Thursday, Jan. 27, the Washington Auto Show’s Public Policy Preview Day at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.
The President checks out the Ford C-MAX Energi, named Green Car Journal's 2012 Green Car Vision Award™ winner at the Washington Auto Show.
Of course, there were many other highlights, especially a “Welcome Home Troops!” tribute that took place that evening. Held in partnership with the USO of Metropolitan Washington, the program offered active-duty and retired military personnel free admission to the show and a private reception celebrating them and their families. Headlining the evening event was an appearance by J.R. Martinez, the wounded Iraq war veteran who won the last season of Dancing with the Stars. Martinez, who has become an inspirational speaker, told a rapt audience that veterans can continue to fulfill the call to serve America beyond the battlefield. For his part, his words are his weapons, Martinez said, and his scars are his uniform.
Adding to the star power was an appearance by former U.S. Marine and WWE® Legend Sgt. Slaughter™. Both men signed autographs at the show after the private reception.
And what’s a party without music? Nearly everyone was thumping a boot or shaking a hip to the tunes belted out by the world-class Downrange pop ensemble from the U.S. Army Band “Pershing’s Own.”
Servicemen and women and their families were also treated to hundreds of mini-cupcakes, generously donated by the cult-favorite Georgetown Cupcake, which has supported our troops with shipments of deliciousness overseas.
Of course, these are just glimpses into the show’s bevy of special programming to strengthen and recognize the industry. A hallmark of that effort is our Public Policy Preview Days, which include our Capitol Hill Policy Summit, produced in partnership with National Journal, and many press conferences featuring luminaries from industry and government. This year’s speakers included U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, keynoter Dave Zuchowski, Executive Vice President of Sales for Hyundai Motor America and GM President Mark Reuss. High-profile guests including Georgia’s own Congressman John Lewis (D-Ga.) continued to visit the show throughout its 10-day public run, where we launched new promotions like “Cram the (Nissan) Cube” among area universities and a “Battle of the Bands” contest along with our crowd favorite — “The Price is Right” giveaway of a Hyundai Sonata and a trip to attend the show’s live taping in Los Angeles.
For a fuller perspective, click below on links to the newsletters published during the show by its producer and our longtime client, the Washington Area New Automobile Dealers Association (WANADA).
http://wanada.org/files/Bulletin_04_2012.pdf
http://wanada.org/files/Bulletin_05_2012.pdf
And now that we’ve caught our breath, we’ll start planning for 2013.
Next month, Barbara and the senior leadership will head to Geneva to meet with industry executives and take in the 82nd International Motor Show as we continue to build a more creative, innovative and meaningful Washington Auto Show.
Happy and Safe New Year!
Hello friends,
We want to wish you all a very happy, healthy, fulfilling and safe New Year!
As we approach New Year’s Eve, please remember the message of our client, TEAM Georgia, to designate a driver and get your party home safe. TEAM Georgia’s Safe Holiday Program provides tips on safe celebrations and information to get a free ride home from Checker Cab or a free ride for you and your vehicle at AAA/Tow to Go. Let’s all work together to protect ourselves and each other.
For details on TEAM Georgia’s Safe Holiday campaign, please visit TEAM Georgia on the web right here.
And while you’re there, please note that it’s not too late to make your year-end, tax-deductible donation! Just click on the “Donate” button in the right margin, and you will be directed to TEAM Georgia’s PayPal account.
Thanks for your support. Here’s wishing you the most magical and happy year yet!
Sincerely,
Barbara, Rachel, Bonnie, Judy and Meghan.
2012 Ted Prize Winner: The City 2.0
Kudos to the folks at TED for their brilliant choice of the 2012 prize winner. Yes, the city! The city is where most of us live — in or near –and contains that magical nexus of vitality and possibility. TED’s vision: The City 2.0 embodies a remaking of cities at their best — livable, walkable, beautiful, green cities. The best part? These places not only spur sense of community and wonder, but also economic development and sustainable living.
Here’s more on the TED Prize for 2012 and details on how the $100,000 prize will be invested in developing this idea. http://www.tedprize.org/announcing-the-2012-ted-prize-winner/
Where the cool kids are
I don’t know when exactly the “tech support” dudes became the cool kids, and, yes, I’m aware of Mark Zuckerberg and Steve Jobs and their legions of admirers. But I got to see the new frontier up close last week at DCWeek, which stands for Digital Capital Week, and was held, whodathunk!, in DC.
So the weeklong program, presented by Ford, was sort of like the TED talks meet your college campus — a sensibility underscored by the atmosphere in Artisphere, a supercool sculptural space filled with offbeat artwork and a lounge serving up drinks, grub, wifi (duh?) and, last Thursday, DCWeek’s “core conference.” It’s arguably the coolest space in DC, even though it’s in Arlington. So you’ve got folks in their funky sneakers and disheveled clothes hanging out there, looking like the 2012 version of the kids on Saved by the Bell. Actually, didn’t the nerdy guy end up doing porn? You see how nerd pressure leads to overcompensation? Some labels die hard. So, back to DCWeek, where all the nerds are saved by themselves if not the bell and looking like millionaires under 30. You do this by being as insouciant and irreverent as possible. Cue the “fireside chat” that closed the core conference. In his interview of Ben Milne, the founder of the online payment portal, Dwolla, Andrew Warner brilliantly notes that despite Milne’s success, he dresses like one of the rabble rousers in “Occupy Wall Street.”
And so you’ll forgive my taking some latitude as I blog about attitude. It’s not far from the M.O. prescribed by Justin Timberlake in the movie, “Social Network.” I freaking love that movie. Milne, incidentally, uses the real curse words. A lot. We get it. You don’t play by the rules cuz you’re making your own. And, you know what? I think that’s great. Whether you like it or not, the economy is moving toward entrepreneurship, and that gives you and me the freedom to hustle and live by the thrill and risk of our own charted courses. But we don’t all have to be high-tech priests and priestesses.
Sorry, this is starting to sound like a commencement address. I just would hate for the nerd kingdom to be the next bastion of snobville. DCWeek was definitely the place to be if you were remotely plugged in. But with everyone so wired in high-tech hipdom, man — I haven’t felt that uncool since middle school.
Look out, Zipcar, and why we need partnerships between big guys and small fries.
GM’s getting into the car-sharing business with its new partnership with San-Francisco-based RelayRides.
(By the way, what is it with company’s names these days — if you’re not smushing two words together, each with the first letter capped, you are apparently not cool. We should probably become PomeranceAssociates. Kidding.)
Anyway, this move underscores a key strategy that can bring great success to both the mainstream heavyweights and the new ventures. It’s called partnership, and it works beautifully. The startups get much needed backing and credibility, while the big corporations get an injection of cutting-edge cool. You’re seeing this happening on a very big scale in the media industry as mainstream publications try to co-opt the viral fandom of independent and hypercool agents.
The importance of such partnerships was eloquently argued in a recent Forbes piece by Rachel Sheinbein, a partner at the San Francisco-based venture capital firm, CMEA Capital, and also a friend of mine from college. Her article is below as is the Automotive News story on the deal between GM and RelayRides.
So hooray for GM on undergirding a small player in the business. And please don’t change your name to GeneralMotors.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/ciocentral/2011/09/26/why-big-companies-need-to-partner-with-cleantech-startups/
http://tinyurl.com/5w8puvk
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