Scene: a private home in Monarch Beach, CA. Question: what do you get when you mix a great location, a great organization and a great mix of people? Answer: a wonderful evening where everyone not only has a splendid time, but also helps “Do Good” in their community!

Such is the case when Santa Ana based Mercy House gathered people to together to preview their May 15th “Living with Heart” gala. In addition to honorees Experian & The House of Blues, the evening provided pivitol insight and education into how Mercy House works to address the needs of Southern California’s homeless population.

To learn how you can join this group of amazing people doing amazing things, please contact The Cypress Group. Enough said.

See photos from this event HERE:

Scene: 7 Degrees in Laguna Beach played host to a winning evening of mixing between the Orange County ASID and AIAcamps, all hosted by the wonderful people at Luxe Magazine.  More than just food and drinks, the evening brought together markets that work together – and hence can grow together. Affinity marketing at its best!

Of course, the notion that everyone was just darn luxe didn’t hurt either!

See photos from this event HERE:

Scene: The quarterly technology forum held by the Orange County chapter of the Association for Women in Technology put forth an aggressive panel designed to inform business owners how to work – or not work – today’s social media platforms into their business. With a panel comprised of representatives from Remarx Media, Webvisible,Printronix, Laguna Woods Village and others, the evening was a discourse in the many options business owners have not only in using social media as a business tool, but also about use within the workplace (if that isn’t a hot topic these days, what is?).

The “take away” away point for the evening? Social media is an entity – and a tool – to be used wisely. Got that? Good.

See photos from this event HERE.

Scene: The newest Specialty Cafe in Irvine, CA, held a pre-opening VIP reception to introduce the location to the neighborhood. Filled to the rafters with local business professionals – including a nice contingent from the Irvine Chamber of Commerce – the event gave attendees the opportunity to sample the wide range of baked goods that made the operation a staple in the Northern California market. Better yet, it was also a great opportunity to give new staff the ability to see the operation in full swing mode. What?? A training session camouflaged as a marketing event? Now, that is a special idea!

See photos from this event HERE.

February? Already? No! Seriously?

What’s new for this month? Being big fans of businesses engaging with their local communities, we have put together our own “Do Good 2010“corporate outreach program.  Be sure to take a gander at the organizations The Cypress Group is working with in 2010:

·    Santa Ana-based Mercy House – provides homeless prevention, emergency services, transitional housing and permanent housing with supportive services to homeless men, women and children living in Orange County and the City of Ontario.

·    The 2010 AIDS/LifeCycle - a 545 mile bike ride to advance the cause of the thousands of women, children and families affected by the continuing AIDS crisis in Southern California.

Stepping out into your own community not only gives you the ability to impact change on a local level, but also to interact with other business owners who share the same interests you may have. (Just a small hint from the file labeled “integrated marketing”!!!)

If you haven’t had a chance yet, be sure to jump over to our Web site and see what we have been up to lately. As always, if you or anyone you know needs help getting their businesses in front of the right people, please keep The Cypress Group in mind!

Welcome to 2010!

With 2009 in the past, January is a great time to stop, feel the wave of optimism about 2010 and look back to see what worked (and what didn’t) in 2009.

Being fond of changing things up, The Cypress Group kicked off 2010 with a re-worked web site. While it’s still the same URL – www.thecypressgrp.com – the response to our events and outreach postings led to merging The Cypress Dispatch onto our main site. integrated marketing anyone?

January also saw the official launch of our small business workshop “Work. Place”. Designed to help small business owners get a sense of direction, our first event was a great success! Be sure to check it out!

In any event: here is to a great year! As always, if you or anyone you know needs help getting their business in front of the right people, please keep The Cypress Group in mind!

Project: Corporate ID/Business Card (s).

What we love: Clients who realize that branding doesn’t need to be boring & business owners need to infuse their own personality into their brand. In this case, it’s all about fusing high technology, corporate communications,  traditional public relations, social media and personal brand equity with a heavy dose of 1980s inspired punk rock. Certainly individualized. Incredibility unique positioning.

Event: Mercy House 2010 “Living with Heart” Gala.

Date: May 15th 2010

Location: Disneyland Grand Californian Resort.

Interested in helping and doing good? Contact The Cypress Group at information@thecypressgrp.com to learn about sponsoring and/or participating in our upcoming preview event.

Here at The Cypress Group,  we spend a lot of time working with companies to help them identify who they need to be talking to. After all, talking to people who might be well suited to your product or service is generally seen as a good way to grow your business. Yes? Anyway, given that prospecting is generally one of those “Do I have to?” kind of tasks,  we thought we’d tell you to check out this grand seminar being put on by Sandler Sales. They have a great approach to “being yourself” while growing your business.

Yes, it’s sales. But really, isn’t that what Life is?

Check them out HERE.

Scene: The Sports Club Los Angeles in Irvine (THAT is a lot say!) as The Cypress Group paired with the Professional Photographers of Orange County to present a workshop designed to help small business owners grow their practice. Coincidentally, the evening also served as the premier event for our “Work. Place” series (more on that later!).

In all, the evening was nothing less than picture perfect!