Week of August 24 The Stretch Season With the pandemic changing our normal seasons of travel, MMGY recently developed a solution to rethink future planning patterns. How do we give travelers permission to reclaim their vacation plans? By creating a new travel season. The Stretch Season. Check out how we're extending a consumer’s typical travel window to stretch their summer mindset. The campaign already received a TON of great press this week from MSN, Hospitality Net and through many more outlets. Clayton interviewed with SKIFT this week and is set to interview with Business Week next week. How COVID-19 Is Evolving The Customer Journey As destinations and hotels start opening up and preparing for post-pandemic operations, one of the toughest things we will have to navigate is how to manage guest expectations and the guest experience. We are all thinking about the shape of the “new normal” and what the shift from high-touch to high-tech looks like, but one thing that will be consistent across the board is the importance of new health and safety measures that have taken priority. Anxieties over health, safety and travel limitations have meaningfully changed the travel journey from end to end. The focus was once convincing travelers to choose your hotel, destination or travel activity, but now we must convince them to take the leap and book a trip – or even travel at all. As consumers search for and demand virus-proof journeys (or as close as they can get to one), we need to ensure our content around health, wellness and safety are as prominent as it can be and that we are communicating about how to keep visitors and guests safe ... not just once they check in but throughout the entire customer journey. MMGY HEADQUARTERS MOVES TO EDISON BUILDING As we put the finishing touches on the MMGY Global headquarters, we wanted to send out kudos to Manda Blanke, Kathleen Murray, Laura Swearengin, Katie House, Rick Dunn and a special cameo from Richard Anderson on making our new location in the Edison Building feel a bit more like home. The entire creative department played a HUGE role in crafting some great pieces that we are excited for you to see in person. Media Promtions Chelsea Staatz Chelsea received a promotion from Media Buyer to Senior Media Manager! Chelsea will start working on planning in addition to current buying responsibilities. We look forward to Chelsea growing the skill set she's developed in her 3+ years with MMGY. Congrats, Chelsea!   Gerone Navarro Gerone was promoted from Ad Ops Coordinator to Media Buyer. She has been with the agency about a year and a half and has stepped into the role of Ad Ops coordinator bringing speed, and knowledge that has made her an undeniable asset on our team.   Brett Mcatee Brett was promoted from Media Buyer to Senior Media Manager. Brett has been with the agency almost three years and in that time he has tackled the role of buying with patience, tenacity and humor.   Sarah Arnoldi Sarah was promoted from Senior Media Planner to Media Supervisor. Sarah has been a strong contributor since joining MMGY in December of 2017 jumping in on any project available. Anyone who has worked with Sarah knows she has a dedication to and enthusiasm for media that makes her a valued member of the department and agency. We're excited for this next step in Sarah's career!   August Happy ANNIVERSARY! Lisa Graves – 30 years, Alana Patton – 17 years, Megan Roush – 6 years, Whitney Attebury – 9 years, Clayton Reid – 31 years, Kelsey Chabot – 5 years, Kelly Bausch – 22 years, Roya Zaidi – 3 years, Sara Knipp – 6 years   AUGUST birthdays Noah Klein – 8/28, Christy Vaught – 8/29,  Jenn Toro – 8/31, Susan Gerdes – 8/31   AUG 27 MMGY Global: Case Study Showcase Bimonthly on Thursdays from 3–3:55 p.m., join us for a Case Study Showcase. This meeting features teams sharing recent case studies of how they turned a challenging situation into an MMGY Global success story. SEPT 1 Welcome to the Edison District, MMGY Global! Goodbye 4601; hello Overland Park, KS! The KC office can officially move into their new space on Tuesday, September 1. Look out for updates from the Leadership team prior to the move-in date. SEPT 14 All KC Team Members Return We expect all KC teams to be in the new office unless you have an exception from your supervisor. Please see Clayton's "Move and WFH" email and the updated COVID-19 Remote Working Policy document for clarification. Brand Ops + Project Management The Brand Ops team kicked off its Project Management initiative on 8/19 with the South Dakota team. They will be working alongside Account Management to launch the FY20/21 Shoulder Campaign. They are looking forward to this new opportunity!   Frankie Got Engaged! Congrats to Frankie Scarafile on her recent engagement. A date has not yet been finalized for the BIG day. Ably aided by fellow designer Manda Blake, Kathleen Murray led the creation of a stylish mural in the new office.