The Hammock Blog

The September-October issue of Semper Fi, the Magazine of the Marine Corps League, highlights two extremes of military might: the stealthy, lethal sniper and the massive force of tanks, amtracks and other armored vehicles.

Today's Marine Corps snipers carry on a lengthy military tradition - that of the solitary elite marksman patiently stalking his quarry often behind enemy lines. Today's Devil Dog snipers usually work in small teams, and may spend as much time gathering intel on shadowy terrorists as getting into place for a lethal shot.

Marine Corps armor also bears a proud tradition, one that made its legendary battles in the Pacific in WWII unforgettable as amphibious vehicles and tanks fought their way ashore. Today's tankers operate the mighty M1A1 Abrams; the Corps has upgraded and refitted its old amphibian assault vehicles to meet modern needs as a stopgap for the next generation of amphibs.

Also in this issue of Semper Fi which we produce for the Marine Corps League is a look back 60 years to another famous Marine flag raising, this one above the US Ambassador's residence in Seoul, South Korea. And we report on the 87th National MCL Convention, held this past August in Greensboro, NC.

That hunger is pretty literal for a number of us who like to put in gardens or who participate in the active and—dare I say, growing—community supported agriculture, or CSA, movement, or who have a few square feet to put in their own garden.

Marines have always been amphibious warriors, usually striking from the sea onto dry land. At the 2010 Marine West Expo aboard Camp Pendleton, CA, a powerful winter storm did just that to the hundreds of vendors displaying the latest in military gear under a large tent. The storm swept ashore Jan. 26, the night before the show opened, and driving rain seeped into the carpeting under the exhibits.

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No matter what time of year I hear certain songs ("Gaia" by James Taylor, "Pinch Me" by Barenaked Ladies, "If You're Gone" by Matchbox Twenty), specific artists (Counting Crows, Katie Todd Band, Mat Pond PA) or even a single album (Transatlanticism by Death Cab for Cutie), I immediately have a desire to don a hoodie and go camping, like I do most autumns.

To make sure I wasn't the only one who associated music with the season, I asked my fellow Hammockites if they had any songs that made them sentimental or nostalgic for the fall, and luckily I discovered I am not alone. Here are some other fall favorites from around the office:

Since our new site launched last December, each Hammock employee has had a "people page." On these pages you’ll find our individual contact information, bio, blog and photos. Today we have a fun new media addition to all of these people pages—video. Watch these short interviews of each of us for a lighthearted look at us, going beyond what we do here for our clients every day.

Watch for more video to come on Hammock.com in the coming months. In the meantime, if you need a creative video solution for your organization, contact us.

We at Hammock Inc. have a profound respect for great creative work, and especially for work that relates to our clients—in this case, The Marine Corps League. On Jan. 16, the U.S. Marine Corps began airing a stunning new TV recruitment commercial featuring the Corps' legendary Silent Drill Platoon.

The Marines traveled to 15 locations in 10 states to shoot footage, from the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco to Times Square in New York, even to Columbia, TN. The video folks shot loads of scenes, probably enough to make a dozen commercials – in fact, they made an exciting teaser preview. Meanwhile, a still photographer and writer documented each location, including moving stories from veteran Marines, from parents and siblings and friends of Marines who came out to watch the taping.

The results are posted at the website, ourmarines.com, along with an extended version of the TV spot (click the video sidebar to view).

One incident is worth noting because it has another Hammock tie-in. Rex Hammock happened to be in New York City at the same time as the Drill Platoon. After filming from about 2 a.m. to sunrise, the Marines went live on Fox and Friends, then boarded a bus to CBS' Early Show, 11 blocks away. When the bus became mired in mid-Manhattan gridlock, the Marines debarked and marched to the CBS studios. As Rex was leaving his hotel to head out for JFK Airport and an early-morning flight, the Marines were heading back to their bus. "I've seen lots of unique things in New York City over the years," recalls Rex, "But nothing can compare with how impressive -- and surreal -- it is to chance upon the Marine Drill Team at six a.m. in Times Square."

From all accounts the platoon took Manhattan without firing a shot.

It's no secret that Hammock founder/CEO Rex Hammock is quick to volunteer as a lab rat when it comes to experimenting with any shiny new digital media.

So it surprised no one around here yesterday when the Nashville Tennessean ran a story about his use of Twitter.com during Tuesday night's New Hampshire election returns. The story was based on his post about the topic that appeared on his shiny new People page -- as well as on his vintage weblog, Rexblog.com, which he started nearly eight years ago.

Today, we launched a new blog on Hammock.com called Custom Media Craft. We'll soon be merging into the new blog lots of the items we used to post as "case studies." Our focus on the new blog will be to provide ongoing insight and observations on the crafts -- including lots of how-tos -- that are related to creating and managing successful custom media -- print and digital.

To kick off the new blog, we've posted a piece on a concept we're calling (although, we're sure many others have used it before, so we're not "coining" anything here) Mediacasting. The idea we're looking at is this: For most associations and non-traditional media companies, the reason to embrace digital media is to get your message to those who can act on it: your members and customers -- and to enable them to respond. For some reason, however, most associations and corporate digital marketers still use an advertising business model metrics -- page views or web traffic -- to drive their web strategy. Our post -- along with an accompanying post with some specific ideas for "webcasting" in 2008 -- takes a look at what your goals with digital media should be.