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Overdrive Lunch n' Learn: BloggingToday’s lunch hour at Overdrive was one of learning, laughing and blogging. The employees at Overdrive gathered over sandwiches to talk about the importance of blogging, to share blogging tactics and concepts, as well as give encouragement to our peers that we all have something valuable to share through the Overdrive Blog.  The presentation included games and interactive presentations, as it was lunch hour after all. We gathered in groups of three to complete a madlibs hand out about our office cubicals (this included jogging our memories about the definition of adjectives and superlatives).  Not only did the activity elicit entertaining presentations, but it also got us thinking about content in a new light. We all read the same news every day, but we all have different opinions about what we read and what we take away from particular articles. This segued into our presentation of generating content and forming opinions about news articles relevant to the marketing industry. Lunch n’ Learning wouldn’t be complete without a homework assignment. Employees left with a new topic for their next blog post, so stay tuned! Happy Friday from Overdrive Interactive! Labels: Blogging, Campus Life, Overdrive News New Movie Releases Generate Big Buzz Using Social MediaTwo recent and upcoming movie releases have used the social media web in innovative ways to stir up interest and mystique surrounding the films. One in particular, “Paranormal Activity”, the horror film created on a reported $15,000 budget, has managed to become a run-away success this past weekend. Between October 9th and 11th, “Paranormal Activity” raked in an impressive $44,163 per screen average, totaling $7.9 million and is currently ranked #4 in the box office charts – and that’s with a limited release of only 160 theaters! The people behind “Paranormal Activity” generated buzz surrounding the movie by creating its own Eventful page in an effort to stir up one million user generated votes for a nationwide release of the film. According to Paramount Pictures, the strategy worked, “Over 1,000,000 people from around the country demanded the film play in their city by logging on to ParanormalMovie.com. In response, Paramount Pictures will release the film nationwide beginning Friday, October 16th.” “Paranormal Activity’s” initial release was limited to late-night showings in college towns, generating an intense buzz surrounding the movie on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. A second movie, “The Fourth Kind”, scheduled to be released in November, is just starting to generate a buzz online. The movie, centered on mysterious disappearances in the village of Nome, Alaska, portrays itself in trailers as using actual archived footage of real events as it follows Dr. Abigail Tyler’s inquiry to the strange events. “The Fourth Kind”, which derives its name from a “close encounter of the Fourth kind” with an Alien, aka an abduction experience, is using the internet and social networking sites in a unique way to stir up curiosity surrounding the release. One Local Alaskan Newspaper, the Anchorage Daily News, has done some investigative reporting into the film. The paper dug up a Twitter account, a Facebook page, and interestingly, discovered several websites, authentic in appearance, with news articles and biographies relating to the film. The websites, (both of which have domains that were registered in the last month according to a quick WHOIS check), highlight information about the main character of the film, Dr. Abigail Tyler. However, some of the articles appear to have been forged, the websites are extremely new and suspicious in appearance, and Ron Adler CEO of the Alaska Psychiatric Institute and Denise Dillard, President of the Alaska Psychological Association say “they’ve never heard of the Alaska Psychiatry Journal, or of Abigail Tyler.” And, suspiciously, although “The Fourth Kind” is purported to be filmed in the small coastal village of Nome, Alaska, the film was actually shot in the lush mountains of Bulgaria:  A screen grab from "The Fourth Kind" trailer shows the "Nome" Alaska used in the movie.Have you seen “Paranormal Activity?” Do you plan to see “The Fourth Kind?” Do you believe marketing films using social media will be a trend that continues well into the future? It’s hard to argue against the success of “Paranormal Activity”, but some have criticized “The Fourth Kind” for being too vague about the movie and blurring the line between fact and fiction. Let us know your thoughts in the comments! Labels: Campus Life, Facebook, online marketing, Social Media, Social Media Marketing, Twitter VIP at the House of BluesOn July 29, a simple act of charity netted Bill Holmes a VIP pass to the House of Blues. By donating a few bags of food, Bill won a contest through WBCN to interview Rise Against before their show at the House of Blues. Back stage passes, VIP seats, and the chance to meet Rise Against and Rancid (Bill's favorite band in the world) were all part of an amazing evening. Bill volunteers at the The Greater Boston Food Bank in his spare time and feels very strongly about fighting hunger. The Rise Against interview can be seen here and we've posted some pics from the night below. For more information on how you can support The Greater Boston Food Bank, click here.  Bill Holmes and the lead singer of Rise Against, Tim McIlrath!  Bill Holmes and Lars Frederiksen from Rancid!  Our incredible view for the show! Labels: Campus Life Chase Corporate Challenge 2009Taking part in the Chase Corporate Challenge is an annual tradition here at Overdrive Interactive. This year's Boston race was held on June 25th, 2009 at the Boston Common and consisted of team members: Ty Velde, Bianca Garcia, Shane Kelly, Barb Wojslawowicz, Kitty Wong, and Laura Vecchio. Some of our marathon runners were missing, but the team pulled through with times ranging from 21 minutes to no later than 35 minutes! Before we left for the race, the girls stopped for a picture outside the new office.   After the race, the entire team met up at Solas on Bolyston Street to celebrate!  Even after 3.5 miles, we were still feeling pretty strong!!  Not only did we have an Overdrive team running in the race, we had a cheer leading team as well!  Thanks to everyone at Overdrive who participated or supported the team... we are looking forward to next year! Labels: Campus Life, Chase Corporate Challenge Spring Potluck 2009It was a bittersweet Potluck Lunch - last one at our Leo Birmingham Parkway location! Competition was fierce but thankfully everyone brought their A-game. Setting up...the anticipation is building!  Fruits of our labor! All our client names were listed on the flags...brilliant!  Meryl recreated the garage in our office - very impressive! Complete with Austin Powers, and all. Dig in!  And the awards go to... Dan/Shane - best last minute dish (delivery is the way to go sometimes...) David - best stomach satisfying dish (rum cake with homemade chocolate sauce) Meryl - best 46 Leo Birmingham Parkway theme (see picture above for full effect) Laura - best use of a condiment (chocolate frosting is considered a condiment around here) Ra - best presentation AND most nutritious dish (fruit salad - see above for full effect)  To see more pictures, view them on our Facebook Page at: www.overdriveinteractive.com/facebook. Labels: Campus Life Walk for Hunger 2009!On Sunday, 5/3, 44,000 people came to the Boston Common to raise millions for the hungry during Project Bread’s annual Walk for Hunger. The 20-mile pledge Walk attracted over 1,000 religious organizations, as well as 1,200 corporate teams, 1,200 schools, and 700 friends and family groups. These Walkers and their sponsors raised $3.8 million to provide food for 400 emergency food programs in 128 Massachusetts cities and towns. The funds will provide a hot meal or a bag of groceries for out-of-work families next winter. To learn more about the cause or to donate, please visit: http://tinyurl.com/dfhk3b  This year, five Overdrive team members joined the walk and raised $1,200 for the cause (of course we were decked out in our full OD gear!). It was the 2nd year in a row that Overdrive has been represented at the Walk for Hunger...and luckily, NO RAIN this year!Getting started - leaving the Commons full of energy:  Mile 10 - halfway there...  Once we saw the bridge, we knew we were in the home stretch! At last - happy faces after crossing the finish line!!  We'll be back again next year! Labels: Campus Life Overdrive Interactive is On The Move!Last week, it was announced to the Agency that we will be moving into a new building on June 15th! The announcement came as a suprise to most when Harry instructed employees during our weekly traffic meeting to line up with their cars and follow him!  Outside the new building, the announcement was made to all that this would be our new 'home' on 6/15. At the top of the stairs was Katie filming everyone's reaction. You can check it out on YouTube shortly...  Here's Patrick and Andrew checking out the buildout plans:  So much space...to GROW! More pics to come as we get closer to the move! Stay tuned... Labels: Campus Life April Monthly Party - Happy Birthday Harry!Today, we had our monthly agency party - always a great way to kick back with our fellow employees! Here is a couple of the OD men chilling out with a brew and some good conversation...is that the monthly blog post winner I see in the back there?  People impatiently wait all month to see the comical haiku riddle revealed: As Harry had the only birthday in May, we got him a special treat for his sweet tooth...topped with trick candles! Labels: Campus Life Time for a Celebration!On the last day of each month, Overdrive hosts a party for its employees to celebrate success! In February, we celebrated four employee birthdays, several new client wins and the release of our first internal Newsletter. Our Newsletter acknowledges all the employees who were recognized by their peers for going above and beyond during the month - Extra, Extra, Read All About It!  Cheers!  The party planners!  If we were on Facebook, this picture would represent Shane 'liking' the conversation... Some of the guys chilling out after a long week of work. Same with the ladies...say 'cheese'! Labels: Campus Life Overdrive Interactive Works the Bentley University Career Fair Today, Overdrive Interactive worked the Bentley University career fair; two Bentley alum represented the company: Ra Un and Laura Ragno. This is such a great recruiting opportunity for both students and employers. For those students who follow our blog and stopped by the booth, thank you for learning more about our company!For those graduating Seniors, May is just around the corner. We are hiring for multiple entry-level positions so check our the careers page of our site and submit your resume and cover letter if you wish to be considered. Labels: Campus Life, Events 25 Random Things About Overdrive InteractiveUnless you've been living under a rock for the last month, you have probably been tagged in one of your friend's '25 Random Things About Me' on Facebook. The New York Times last week reported that running a Google search on '25 Random Things About Me" yielded 35,700 pages of results within a two week period! We decided by participating in this as a company, we would have a fun way to share with our friends and fans a 'behind-the-scenes' look at what goes on at Overdrive. There is a mix of just about everything from: #16 Overdrive has an unspoken employee stand-off each day - it’s called ‘who will get stuck replacing the water jug’ to #21 A member of our SEO team graduated from college at 15 years old! For a full read through of our 25 random things, please visit our Facebook page. Labels: Campus Life, Facebook, Social Media Tis' the Season: Overdrive Holiday Party 2008 This year the Overdrive East and West crew came together and celebrated the holidays at Maggiano's Restaurant. The evening was filled with lots of amazing Italian food, a Yankee swap, new Overdrive gear and company haikus! Katie did a great job at wrapping the gifts all different shapes and sizes - everyone was surprised!  Ready, set, UNWRAP!  Some of the Overdrive ladies already wearing their presents - new vests!  Laura, Harry and Andrew feeling festive: Mike proudly displaying his Yankee swap gift and reading his haiku: West side crew! Cheers to a successful New Year! Labels: Campus Life Overdrive Interactive Attends BIMA Charity GalaLast night, a group of us from Overdrive attended the 8th Annual BIMA Charity Gala/Holiday Party sponsored by Microsoft at the Boston Park Plaza. The gala held a silent auction that benefits the Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston. The charitable group helps young people, especially those most in need, build strong character and realize their full potential as responsible citizens and leaders. To learn more or find out how you can help, click here. Thanks BIMA; looking forward to next year's party! The New Biz team:  Ty & Bill with festive attire: The lovely ladies of Overdrive: Bill and Mike didn't go home empty-handed; way to support the cause! Labels: Campus Life, Events |
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