Gooden Group

Social media is the future.

Are you tired of hearing that yet?

So am I. But no matter how much it may be overdone, it’s still true. In fact, businesses should be ecstatic over these new technological developments, because any new way of communicating is good for business.

Of course, businesses have varying needs of social media. If you own a local restaurant, a store or have a trade, then by all means, use social media as much as you can to get your name out. The general public needs to know about you and would benefit (as would your business) by your online presence. But if you’re, say, an investment firm or developer, your social presence is less needed. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t even put your toes in the water; it just means you can’t be online every day advertising your specials, because, well, you don’t sell products. However, you still have a story to tell.

Here at the Gooden Group/Public Relations, we’ve slowly begun using social media in our own endeavors. We have a Facebook (shameless plug). We also have a Twitter (another). We post updates and news from our clients on both of those. We encourage our clients to have both as well. Every time we make a video of a product or event, we post it on our YouTube page.

Many companies are getting on board, despite an adherence to traditional business practices or forms of communication. You know – press releases, press releases, and more press releases. They are slowly realizing the potential literally at their fingertips: potential to reach hundreds or thousands more customers than before, potential to keep their customers up-to-date instantly. The world is moving to a more open form of communication, and while we don’t recommend ditching all the customary practices of spreading the word, a gentle mixture of old media and new media serves all purposes and works the best. Send a press release and crank out a Tweet. Make an announcement in a press conference and on Facebook. Even though every business’ online strategy would be different and need varying levels of investment, each can benefit in some way.

So social media is here; we know that, and we know how important that fact is if a business wants to stay relevant. Take that to heart and give your business the extra boost it needs.

The newest addition to the Boathouse District is the Chesapeake Finish Line Tower, slated to be completed next year. In late November, members of Chesapeake Energy and the Boathouse Foundation celebrated the raising of the last beam by "topping out" the tower with an evergreen holiday tree, a construction tradition. Check out a video of the event below:



For those of you not familiar with the Finish Line Tower, here is a previous video showing details and renderings of the building:

The exhibited works of well-known British artist and Royal Academician Nigel Hall are on display at the City Arts Center, Oklahoma City’s leading contemporary art space.  Nigel Hall actually came to Oklahoma from London with the intent of exploring our vast geographic spaces.

 “On my travels around America I have managed – by a major oversight – to miss Oklahoma. I am now eager to remedy this omission,” Hall noted.  This is his first visit to the U.S. in over a decade.

For more than 40 years, America has held a fascination for Hall. It was the vast open spaces and natural beauty rather than its cityscapes that originally drew him to this country. Spaces that are free from human touch have a particular resonance for this sculptor; he lived in California during his early artistic years to explore the visual concepts of the openness of the Mojave Desert. “This experience of a seemingly empty landscape taught me a lot in terms of space and economy,” he said.

Hall’s exhibit at City Arts Center, located at the Oklahoma State Fairgrounds, includes two large-scale sculptures, more than 35 drawings and 25 maquettes, models and small sculptures.  It is fascinating to see him explain how his eye sees the Mojave Desert, for example, and how his hand translates that visual experience into a work of art. 

Royal Academicians are artists and architects who are elected to the Royal Academy of Arts, London, and are considered among the leading names in contemporary British art. Hall is the first international artist to personally exhibit at City Arts Center.  His exhibition entitled Nigel Hall: Carbon Handprints will continue until mid-December, and is truly a feast for the eyes. 

There’s been plenty of buzz and speculation surrounding the highly-anticipated Classen Curve, the newly developed retail and restaurant center in Oklahoma City, and with good reason.

Have you seen this place? Unique architecture, chic restaurants and retail rivaling Fifth Avenue. Anyone familiar with Rand Elliott’s work (i.e. Pop’s, Chesapeake Boathouse, RED Prime Steak) realizes this place screams “Rand”- sharp angles, large windows, open layout. He created the entire complex to look like a trophy case, which is fitting considering the products are worthy of display - Balliets, Uptown Kids, Café 501, RePUBlic Gastropub, Upper Crust, On a Whim, Red Coyote, Metro Shoes, 105 Degrees, and who can forget the soon-to-be Whole Foods.

Walking along the shops at Classen Curve will take you back to a time when window shopping was king and individualized customer service was standard. Chesapeake Energy President Aubrey McClendon, the developer of Classen Curve, envisioned creating a “modern Main Street”. The intimate experience of Classen Curve is exactly what consumers are missing in this superstore society. In talking with some tenants about the design of their stores, I noticed a pattern. They each referred to their stores as art. When you walk into Balliets or even Uptown Kids, you get the sense that these products are not just clothes on hangers, but true works of art. Gary Goldman of Uptown Kids told me that Rand designed the store with that particular concept in mind, framing the products in such a way that it feels more like attending an art gallery than shopping!

So, I suggest you go ahead and skip the art gallery and head on over to Classen Curve and see what all the buzz is about!

What started in 1920 as Macklanburg-Duncan is now M-D Building Products, and what began as a small weatherization company is now a much larger one – with branches in Oklahoma City and Georgia, a 90^th anniversary under its belt and ground broken on a completely new facility.

M-D has been an Oklahoma City anchor for almost a century – that’s something to celebrate, and so they did. On Saturday, October 9^th, the company commemorated 90 years by closing down Sante Fe Avenue, erecting giant tents, bringing in three different bands/musical ensembles, grilling hot dogs and hamburgers and opening their entire factory floor as an open house. Family members could tour the factory and see what their mom, dad, brother or sister did for a living. There were games, prizes for the kids, and big, inflatable obstacle courses – entertainment for everyone.

But the day wasn’t just fun and games: it was business, too. M-D Building Products broke ground on its new distribution facility, directly across the street from its current factory. The 80,000 square foot building will augment the company’s existing 450,000 square foot distribution center and extensive product line. M-D already makes a range of residential and commercial weatherproofing products, including door and window weather-stripping, garage door weather-stripping, pipe insulation and a complete line of interior and exterior caulking products – anything and everything a home or business would need to make its building greener and more energy-efficient.

CEO and President Loren Plotkin spoke at the event, as well as representatives from the city, county and state. When Executive Vice-President Larry Sanford unveiled the new distribution center’s plans, all the employees and their families cheered. It was easy to see the pride they felt for their company. I talked to many workers who had been there for 20 or more years and were along for the ride for many more. They spoke with immense pride satisfaction of their time at the company. It was evident that when you’re part of something steadfast yet forward-moving like M-D Building Products, it’s easy to fall in love with it.

Here’s to another 90 years.

Check out the videos below of the groundbreaking ceremony and expansion plans.

The Henry Bellmon Research Center is impressive.

The exterior of Oklahoma State University’s newest addition, along busy Monroe Street in Stillwater, continues the school’s traditional bricks and faux-Georgian architecture. The windows are tall and the building curves slightly inward, drawing in the viewer. But it’s what’s inside – both in aesthetics and functionality – that really wows you.

I got a chance to tour the HBRC with the OSU/A&M Regents on their first visit to the facility. They were duly impressed, as was I.

The first thing you see is the Wall:  a beautiful dark wood expanse embedded with a series of ethereal, color-shifting lights that cast a welcoming glow over the lobby. I heard a worker at the adjacent café (the aptly-named Newton’s) tell one of the Regents the lights can be programmed to have any sort of lighting effect: a wave, a rainbow – perhaps even OSU orange? The Wall isn’t much, but it provides a beautiful welcome to anyone entering the building.

But the building is more than just the lobby. Beyond security doors, graduate and research students are able to access the building’s high-tech laboratories with a swipe of a card. 

OSU VP for Research and Technology Transfer Dr. Stephen McKeever took the Regents through the vast hallways and research labs of the HBRC. Like the Wall, the study rooms are decorated with glowing lights or hanging LEDs. The main areas’ staircases are broad and open from floor to floor, designed specifically to facilitate interdepartmental interaction. But that’s just the aesthetics. The labs themselves – for everything from chemistry to biophysics – are the Center’s real focus.

The university definitely didn’t skimp in this area. All labs have state-of-the-art technology, fashioned to put OSU ahead of the curve in scientific research.

And it’s being noticed – from high places.

McKeever related a story to the Regents of an executive from a top medical company who toured the facility and called it one of the top five in the nation.

The Regents appreciated that, to put it lightly.

We heard from several of the HBRC’s top scientists and researchers who have only recently set up shop in their new facilities, including Dr. Li Ma, from the Department of Food Safety and Biosecurity. Ma told us how she’s already begun a collaborative project with another department, simply because their departments are now directly next door and can share ideas and resources easily. That’s something that could never have happened before, when the departments were in completely separate buildings.

The building is named after the late Henry Bellmon, a former U.S. senator and Oklahoma governor, and is the first step in a future three-phase research complex. The two additional phases include the renovation of the current Physical Sciences building and a completely new building.

The center is definitely an advantage for the university, and the Regents all seemed to agree. While Oklahoma State University already stands out in other areas, the Henry Bellmon Research Center is a major addition that will attract top-notch faculty and continue to produce the best students for years to come.