Monthly Archives: January 2019

#CarpoolKaraoke: “Lights, Camera, Cure!” edition

31 January 2019

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Enjoy our version of #CarpoolKaraoke for #LightsCameraCure. In part one, my carpool buddies Bethany Basanese​, Aimee Chapman​, and I take on #JustinTimberlake, #MoonRiver, #CelineDion, and #Detroit’s own #Eminem. Thanks to Lia De Biasi​, our director, for figuring how the tech on this and to our cabaret queen Denise Isenberg Staffeld​ for the idea! 🎶

Video: https://youtu.be/qGpplBGhJiQ

“Lights. Camera. Cure!” is NEXT WEEK, benefiting The American Cancer Society – Relay For Life of Canton and Plymouth. Tickets are going quickly! Order yours today! Purchase here.

“Lights. Camera. Cure.” is a special theatrical event to be held Wednesday, February 6, 2019 at 7:00 p.m. (doors open at 6 pm) – a musical fundraiser featuring classic film hits as sung by local performers at The Village Theater at Cherry Hill. Learn more here.

#CarpoolKaraoke part deux with the divine Cathy Skutch McDonald and Jeff Steinhauer … some #BarbraStreisand / #LadyGaga #StarIsBorn magic, #AmericanGigolo ( #CallMe ), #SpyWhoLovedMe, and #SaturdayNightFever

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYP2YlB_ybg&t=60s

Here we are. The END of our #CarpoolKaraoke TRILOGY. Me and the adorable and talented Caitlin Chodos. Some #Xanadu. Some #WillyWonka / #VerucaSalt. And a whole LOT of #BohemianRhapsody.

Video: https://youtu.be/lQRRvwstYPA

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Reel Roy Reviews is now TWO books! You can purchase your copies by clicking here (print and digital). In addition to online ordering at Amazon or from the publisher Open Books, the first book is currently is being carried by Bookbound, Common Language Bookstore, and Crazy Wisdom Bookstore and Tea Room in Ann Arbor, Michigan and by Green Brain Comics in Dearborn, Michigan. My mom Susie Duncan Sexton’s Secrets of an Old Typewriter series is also available on Amazon and at Bookbound and Common Language.

Legal Marketing Association: Tech Recipes From “You Don’t Just Buy Tech, You Live It”

19 January 2019

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Co-written by yours truly and two legal marketing colleagues – original post here:

“Technology can be our best friend, and technology can also be the biggest party pooper of our lives. It interrupts our own story, interrupts our ability to have a thought or a daydream, to imagine something wonderful, because we’re too busy bridging the walk from the cafeteria back to the office on the cell phone.” – Steven Spielberg

Last month we spoke at the inaugural LMA Mid-Atlantic Conference about not just buying technology, but living with it. We discussed our real-world challenges and successes with technology. Whether we as legal marketers like it or not, the reality is that we are all “tech people” now.

We acknowledge this is difficult; change is hard! Going into a room of successful people — ahem, lawyers — and telling them their paradigm needs to change… The odds are against us. But, what would motivate them to listen? If we use technology to change the way we share and leverage information about our firms in order to create a more meaningful client experience, change will happen.

When working on a specific initiative, step outside of the “project tunnel.” Look around, and confirm that your marketing team, the working group of attorneys and other professionals involved in the project are on the same page. Keep your eye on the prize and help those around you see the benefits ahead. Confirm that they understand the pain points and can articulate the positives and navigate the negatives. Communicate progress and successes, great and small. Don’t be afraid to admit when something isn’t working. The team you build will be equipped to be your problem solvers and the advisors in this process.

In order to maximize our technologies, emphasis must be placed on the business case. We often focus on this when requesting approval for a new technology, but it’s imperative to do so at every stage of the project, even after a successful launch. Embracing a new technology is a disruptive change for a firm, and we need to address it as such via change management principles such as training, guidelines, and being positive stewards of the new technology. Highlight its positive results and value to other departments and attorneys. Most important, when you launch it, don’t walk away. Live in the “on” stage, and leverage the information gleaned for even more positive results.

Below are a few “tech recipes” and how we made it work at our firms:

Websites: Your website may be brand new, or you may feel it’s awful. Either way, use it! Maximize your attorney biographies. Post to your news or knowledge center daily. Make your content and SEO power work for you. This is one key example of living in the “on” stage. Your website should never stop changing.

Blogs: Attorneys not giving you content? Make it up. All joking aside, leverage sponsorships, programs they’ve presented, events you’ve attended and alumni magazine mentions. Anything. Aim for posting at least twice a month.

Email Automation: Get those newsletters out. Measure the open rates, look at the data, share it with your attorneys, and help further refine the next round of content based on your subscribers’ interests.

Social Media: Get on social media (and, don’t be afraid of Facebook). Tag your attorneys (but, ask them first). And if you have a decent network of your own, cross-share. Build a network with media in the legal space and industries in which your attorneys focus. You will see the impact and create motivation for your attorneys to be involved.

Contact Relationship Management (CRM): If you can get approval for an investment and it doesn’t already exist, push for CRM or some equivalent to track your client contact info. You may be surprised but many firms still do not track this vital information. (Don’t forget those pain points mentioned!) CRMs come in all shapes and sizes now. Connect with your professional colleagues in LMA to learn about what’s worked and what hasn’t for firms of different sizes, different budgets and other considerations.

Webinars/Podcasts: Augment the written word with the spoken word. Webinars are inexpensive (and even free through some outside offerings like Strafford Publications) and can be promoted before and after as events. Podcasts offer client convenience and minimize attorney stress due to their short nature and opportunity to listen on the way to work, etc.

Experience: It doesn’t have to be an off-the-shelf solution. Start with a coalition of the willing, the groups that have a pain point and are willing to work with you to solve it. Identify critical pieces of information that will allow you to gain insights from other sources of information such as client-matter numbers. Design with your future end-product in mind, not just solving today’s problem.

Added Bonuses: And, no matter what, content can and should be repurposed on all of your channels. Boost the social posts by targeting your audiences; impact can be had for as little as $50.

Remember: Implementation of technology — and promoting/monitoring thereafter — is KEY. Listen to your users, and modify and update as needed. Report regularly to your internal stakeholders on your successes, challenges and the value provided. With apologies to Gandhi, exemplify the change you want to see in your world.

By Rachel Shields Williams, Senior Manager of Experience Management, Sidley Austin, LLP; Terra Liddell, Chief Marketing Officer, Finnegan; and Roy Sexton, Director of Marketing, Clark Hill PLC, for the Fourth Quarter 2018 LMA Mid-Atlantic Region Newsletter

 

 

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Reel Roy Reviews is now TWO books! You can purchase your copies by clicking here (print and digital). In addition to online ordering at Amazon or from the publisher Open Books, the first book is currently is being carried by Bookbound, Common Language Bookstore, and Crazy Wisdom Bookstore and Tea Room in Ann Arbor, Michigan and by Green Brain Comics in Dearborn, Michigan. My mom Susie Duncan Sexton’s Secrets of an Old Typewriter series is also available on Amazon and at Bookbound and Common Language.

“Lights. Camera. Cure.” theatrical event to raise money for American Cancer Society Relay for Life, February 6 + delightfully serendipitous miscellany

3 January 2019

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Originally published by BroadwayWorld here.

“Lights. Camera. Cure.” is a special theatrical event to be held Wednesday, February 6, 2019 at 7:00 p.m. (doors open at 6 pm) – a musical fundraiser featuring classic film hits as sung by local performers at The Village Theater at Cherry Hill. View a preview video here. 

Producer/director Denise Staffeld of Lake Michigan Credit Union observes, “Last year, we had a vision to do a Cancer Society fundraiser that celebrated the healing power of Broadway. I had no idea – though I had faith – that it would be such a runaway success. We sold out the house, and raised over $15,000. We also had an amazing time along the way, so how could we NOT do this again?”

Music direction is by Kevin Robert Ryan, Director of Music and Liturgy at St. Thomas a’Becket Catholic Church. Ryan adds, “I love working with this cast. They are so clever and so talented. Film music speaks to all of us, doesn’t it? Reminds you of a happy time or a special memory. We’ve got Disney hits, classic musical numbers, The Wizard of Oz, on through The Greatest Showman. This is going to be an absolute ball.” Jeff Mongrain, Sonny Teodoro, and Joel Walter round out the orchestra.

Roy Sexton, director of marketing for the Clark Hill law firm, will emcee the evening as well as perform. “I wouldn’t miss this for the world. Denise is a long-time friend and such a pillar of our community. I don’t know how she does all that she does, but I’m honored to be a part of this. And somehow she’s convinced me to sing a Whitney Houston solo from The Bodyguard. This could get really interesting,” notes Sexton.

The cast is comprised of semi-professional and professional talent from throughout Southeast Michigan’s theatre community: Shirley Auty, Denise Staffeld, Aimee Chapman, Christina Bair, Cathy Golden, Cathy McDonald, Caitlin Chodos, Noel Bittinger, Julzie Gravel, Bethany Basanese, Keri Mueller, Janine Creedon, Tracey Bowen, Diane Dimauro, Roy Sexton, Jeff Steinhauer, AJ Kosmalski, Bruce Hardcastle, Tim Chanko, Kurt Bowen, Tracy Neil, Carl Nielsen, David Dilsizian, and Paul Bromnick.

Kelvin Elvidge will serve as sound designer/engineer. Lia DeBiasi is the production’s stage manager, and Daniel Pocock will assistant stage manage. There will be special appearances by Tom Cassidy and Canton Township Supervisor Pat Williams, opening remarks by Kim Scartelli, and event support by Megan Schaper (American Cancer Society) and Tammy Brown and Marion Rozum (Chicks 4 Charity).

Before the performance, there will be a red carpet reception, with silent auction and desserts. Just like the Oscars, there will be a pre-show, hosted by Canton Chamber of Commerce President Thomas Paden and Stephanie Tierney.

Paden laughs, “We get to channel Ryan Seacrest and Joan Rivers. We are going to broadcast via Facebook live, interviewing attendees as they arrive and sharing real time updates on our fundraising. I’m thrilled to be part of this and to see us all take this event to the next level.”

American Cancer Society Community Development Manager Megan Schaper notes, “The Cabaret is a great representation of the flexibility we have in partnerships. We want to attach cancer how our communities want to attack it. So ideas like musicals and other fun things allow us the chance to connect with different groups in the community and spread out our efforts year round.” Schaper supports Canton, Plymouth, Westland, Wayne, Ypsilanti, Livonia and Redford.

All proceeds for this event benefit the American Cancer Society Relay for Life Canton-Plymouth Event.  Tickets are available for $25.00 by visiting www.cantonvillagetheater.org. The event includes the performance, dessert reception, coffee bar, a silent auction and a cash bar.  This event is being offered in partnership with the Women’s Life Society, Chapter 827, Chicks for Charity and The American Cancer Society.

“We have so many surprises in store.” Tammy Brown of Chicks for Charity said. “We’ve already sold nearly a third of our tickets as the people who saw last year’s show don’t want to miss the next installment. Everyone loves movies, and everyone loves helping their neighbors, friends, and family. We are fighting this insidious disease with hope and music, your dollars and love. Please join us.”

Today, I’m sporting a new birthday gift (the shirt) from my folks AND proudly displaying (in my office) the sweet card they made me.

[View the Canton Chamber of Commerce’s recent “Business Spotlight” video feature on “Life is a Cabaret” here.]

Tickets: Online or visit or call the theater 10am-2pm Monday-Friday. 734-394-5300 ext 3. PLEASE LEAVE A MESSAGE. CALLS WILL BE RETURNED WITHIN 24 HOURS OR WEEKEND CALLS BY END OF DAY MONDAY. All ages must have a ticket. No refunds or exchanges.

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Have I mentioned how proud I am to be on the Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit board?

From The Detroit News: “Jeffrey Seller [Hamilton producer] recently saw the youth perform at New York’s The Public Theater. ‘He had the reaction that a lot of people have when they see the performances,’ Stefanie Worth said. ‘He was really, really impressed by the young artists. He has an affinity for what Mosaic does.’ … The $1 million grant will be used for two of Mosaic’s most popular programs: its four-week summer camp and the Mosaic Experience Empowerment Program, an eight-week after school program in nine Detroit schools. Both programs teach kids theater and vocal training and culminate with a student showcase, said Worth, who recently took over as Mosaic’s executive director.”

More: https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2019/01/02/detroit-theatre-gets-1-m-hamilton-producer/2468760002/

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Lol. Well, thank you, Heather Morse-Geller! I think we make a fine team where THAT is concerned:

“Life is too damn short, and, honestly, Roy Sexton can only bring so much FUN to the world. So, yes, #BeARoySexton. Don’t take yourself or your life or your job too seriously. Give back to those around you, and have some FUN while doing it all!”

More: https://www.legalwatercoolerblog.com/2019/01/03/new-year-new-no-way/

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Reel Roy Reviews is now TWO books! You can purchase your copies by clicking here (print and digital). In addition to online ordering at Amazon or from the publisher Open Books, the first book is currently is being carried by Bookbound, Common Language Bookstore, and Crazy Wisdom Bookstore and Tea Room in Ann Arbor, Michigan and by Green Brain Comics in Dearborn, Michigan. My mom Susie Duncan Sexton’s Secrets of an Old Typewriter series is also available on Amazon and at Bookbound and Common Language.

“It is new and different. Therefore, we should fear it.” Ralph Breaks the Internet

1 January 2019

4 Comments

[Image Source: Wikipedia]

Happy New Year! We finally saw Disney’s Wreck-It Ralph sequel Ralph Breaks the Internet. Don’t make fun of our movie choice because it took a month and a half to get there. Or because it is, well, Ralph Breaks the Internet. The flick is a clever and zippy analysis of the light and dark sides of the internet and a logical extension of the franchise. The Disney princess sequence which has gained the lion’s share of the film’s buzz is indeed loony meta-perfection. The last 20 minutes of the movie feel a bit labored and darkly existential, like the filmmakers just had NO idea how to wrap the thing up, but otherwise the movie is a delight.

About the original film, I wrote six years ago:

“Does Disney’s latest animated foray Wreck-It Ralph live up to the peppy pixelated promise of its retro fun trailer? Not quite. Is it an enjoyable pre-holiday diversion with a lot of heart to accompany its endlessly merchandisable premise? Absolutely. A shameless amalgam of Disney’s own Toy Story, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, and Tron, this film deftly imagines a world in which video game characters (from across thirty years of canon beloved by Gens X & Y, Millennials, and beyond) live, laugh, argue, and play after the neighborhood video arcade takes its last round of quarters for the evening. Clever touches and pop cultural references abound, with the Donkey Kong-esque titular character Ralph, warmly voiced by the ever-reliable John C. Reilly, trying to shake off three decades of villainy to gain acceptance from his digital cohorts.”

[Image Source: Wikipedia]

This synopsis basically holds true of the 2018 sequel as well. However, Wreck-It Ralph 2 benefits, like the Toy Story sequels before it, from a built-in audience familiarity with its premise. Going in, we carry few (if any) expectations for a groundbreaking narrative or breathtaking visual experience and are settled in for some cinematic comfort food. On that front, Ralph Breaks the Internet more than delivers.

The vintage arcade that houses Ralph, Sugar Rush racing game’s Vanellope von Schweetz (an impishly acerbic Sarah Silverman), and their sundry digital buddies adds “WiFi” internet access for its young patrons’ convenience. After a mishap involving the steering wheel controller attached to Vanellope’s game console, Ralph and Vanellope use said WiFi to take a wild and woolly trip into the far reaches of the internet to retrieve a replacement.

[Image Source: Wikipedia]

The same aesthetic inventiveness from directors Phil Johnston and Rich Moore that benefited the first film is on display here, depicting the interwebs as a glistening Emerald City-style metropolis, populated with perky chirping Twitter birds, YouTube-inspired video cafes, and an ebay shopping complex that borrows liberally from Target and IKEA and the Mall of America. Oh, and just like the real internet, the denizens of Ralph‘s mythic world know that one should never read the comments section.

[Image Source: Wikipedia]

Vanellope and Ralph’s friendship is put to the test when she is lured by the manic, violent pleasures of an online Grand Theft Auto-style game Slaughter Race and its a**-kicking heroine Shank (a wry Gal Gadot). After a satirical meet-up with all the Disney princesses (which is somehow both ultimate Disney-corporate synergy and a bold send-up of Mouse House excess), Vanellope sings her own “I’m Wishing”/”Part of Your World”/”Belle”-style anthem of longing, the zany “A Place Called Slaughter Race”: “What can it be that calls me to this place today?/This lawless car ballet, what can it be?/Am I a baby pigeon sprouting wings to soar?/Was that a metaphor?/Hey, there’s a Dollar Store!” (and so on).

[Image Source: Wikipedia]

Ultimately, the core message of Ralph Breaks the Internet is that true friendship can withstand any challenge or geographical distance. Ho hum. The more important takeaways are that women are people too, free-thinking and bold, and that nothing is gained in life without a sense of risk and adventure. As the arcade characters are cautioned by one of their own when “WiFi” enters their midst: “It is new and different. Therefore, we should fear it.” Pshaw!

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Yours truly modeling my new birthday coat (FAUX fur collar). My mother thinks I look like the creature from “The Shape of Water.” LOL.

Reel Roy Reviews is now TWO books! You can purchase your copies by clicking here (print and digital). In addition to online ordering at Amazon or from the publisher Open Books, the first book is currently is being carried by Bookbound, Common Language Bookstore, and Crazy Wisdom Bookstore and Tea Room in Ann Arbor, Michigan and by Green Brain Comics in Dearborn, Michigan. My mom Susie Duncan Sexton’s Secrets of an Old Typewriter series is also available on Amazon and at Bookbound and Common Language.

Want to hear me attempt to sing Whitney Houston? February 6 cabaret “Lights. Camera. Cure.” (Plus, a bit of good news!)

1 January 2019

4 Comments

Enjoy this preview of the Feb. 6 #LightsCameraCure cabaret to benefit American Cancer Society – video here: https://youtu.be/EA2MW45itFI. Includes some schmoozing and singing from yours truly. My attempt to channel #WhitneyHouston 😂 … as well as a throwback to Oklahoma! (oh, what a beautiful melody) are all at the 9:45 mark. Plus, I will be emceeing the event this year again.

Tickets are going fast – last year’s event sold out and raised nearly $15,000 dollars. Get your tickets at http://www.cantonvillagetheater.org today.

Thank you, Thomas Paden and Canton Chamber for this coverage. Great job, Denise Isenberg Staffeld, Megan Schaper, Tammy Schenck Brown, and Kevin Robert Ryan. Canton Chamber of Commerce Business Spotlight: December 2018

 

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Proud to announce that my fabulous colleague Megan McKeon and I were both promoted to director-level roles at Clark Hill PLC, in the Marketing and Business Development group, effective January 1. We report to a truly amazing and supportive Chief Marketing and Business Development Officer Susan Ahern (she is the best!). I feel fortunate to be part of this incredible team and to be part of this organization, and I am very grateful for their appreciation of my individuality, of my quirks, and of my contributions thus far. More to come! Happy New Year!

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Me, Kevin Ryan, and an unnamed holiday conifer. “The breeze is so busy, it don’t miss a … Christmas tree?”

 

Reel Roy Reviews is now TWO books! You can purchase your copies by clicking here (print and digital). In addition to online ordering at Amazon or from the publisher Open Books, the first book is currently is being carried by Bookbound, Common Language Bookstore, and Crazy Wisdom Bookstore and Tea Room in Ann Arbor, Michigan and by Green Brain Comics in Dearborn, Michigan. My mom Susie Duncan Sexton’s Secrets of an Old Typewriter series is also available on Amazon and at Bookbound and Common Language.