Baker lost a beloved co-worker Thursday evening, May 16, 2013. Helen Aktuna died after battling a serious illness. Each of us grieves not only at the passing of a tremendous individual but also for the loss her husband and family suffer.

Baker lost more than just an important member of our staff, we lost a true friend. Helen had worked as a production manager at Baker for more than 10 years, yet this title does not express the real scope of her duties or work ethic. She took her responsibilities seriously and worked tirelessly for clients and our firm.

Before joining Baker, Helen sharpened her talents in the international design community. She compounded this experience with diverse work for companies throughout London, from advertising firms to merchant banks. Helen had also overseen design and production for numerous independent music labels, working with labels, artists and photographers at a UK-based music media manufacturing agency.

An innovative and creative spirit, Helen is an irreplaceable part of the Baker family. She will be greatly missed by her co-workers, past and present.

Please join us in celebrating her memory today and in the coming weeks, months and years.

— Everyone at Baker

Values. Forget the posters. Forget the words. A crisis is the prime moment that reveals what a company is really about and has prepared to do. Corporate responsibility comes to life, values turn to action. The rest of the world gets a front row seat to seeing who knows how to serve and who is still being self-serving.

Many responses to Hurricane Sandy reflected that CR has become an active, ongoing concern inside companies. This is a more strategic approach to CR than setting up that once-in-a-while Volunteer Week. It’s a sign that CR leaders are integrating lessons from customer-centric branding — putting customer needs first rather than lobbing pots of money for the best photo op. Then there are those companies (stand up, American Apparel) that continually remind us that they connect with their customers’ money more than with their reality.

Fast, effective and empathetic CR responses don’t happen by accident. They demonstrate planning, forethought and a strategic approach to being a partner in a 360-degree relationship with consumers and community. What does that look like? Here are some examples of companies that do this well and a few who don’t.

The good and the clueless

In response to the Hurricane Sandy, AT&T worked with Mayor Bloomberg and the City of New York to get generator-driving charging stations and RVs with charging capabilities to local food and water stations set up throughout the five boroughs. P&G’s Duracell rolled out its Power Forward Community Center and Rapid Responder 4X4 truck to power up people’s mobile device and give them online access.

Comcast took one step forward and then one step backward from their poor reputation for customer understanding. On a positive note, they followed in AT&T’s and T-Mobile’s footsteps and opened up their WiFi network to anyone in affected states. At the same time, the company’s customer service department failed the “good citizen” test by charge a customer for flood-ruined cable equipment (and The Consumerist publicized it).

Anheuser-Busch could have been the butt of plenty of jokes had they sent in truckloads of beer. Instead, they were smart and used their facilities to package 44,000 cases of emergency drinking water — a great example of asking first what was needed, rather than what was in the warehouse to give.

Not so PepsiCo, who sent (among other things) Doritos and Mountain Dew. Gothamist’s Rebecca Fishbein blogged that while the donation was “pretty nice” it also offered “little-to-no nutritional value,” and hoped that an expected cereal donation from Walmart didn’t mean Froot Loops. All part of what left many with a Sandy Five.

It would have been easy for Ernst & Young to send a check and sit out the mess, but with many of their colleagues left homeless, more than 271 E&Y families opened their homes to colleagues. More than a gesture of goodwill, this speaks volumes about a corporate culture that values trust and compassion.

Focusing on after-the-aftermath, Groupon set up a fundraising campaign for Accion to provide small business recovery microloans. Best Buy put Geek Squad Agents on the ground to support nonprofits, schools and libraries that were delivering disaster relief. OfficeMax partnered with nonprofit AdoptAClassroom.org to launch the Hurricane Relief for Teachers (HuRT) program to help restore damaged classrooms along the east coast.

POST KATRINA CHANGE FOR THE BRIGHTER

CFL lightbulbs today are near ubiquitous, the result of a concerted effort by Walmart and GE in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. A price cut in the months following Katrina and press about their superior energy efficiency from the likes of Oprah shot the curlicues to national attention and into America’s homes.

Read all about it in Fast Company’s “How Many Lightbulbs Does it Take to Change the World? One. And You’re Looking At It.”

Sympathy is nice — empathy connects

Smart CR leaders understand (and know how to demonstrate) the difference between offering sympathy and connecting with empathy. Of course, while CR should shine a halo on corporate reputation, that should never be the driving purpose for any one action. (Washing clean pots is a recipe for PR disaster.) Authentically turning values into relevant actions proves that a company can see beyond its own self-serving interest in consumers. Those companies can see that “consumer” is just one aspect of a fuller partnership with a community and nation of people.

RESOURCE

Business Civic Leadership Center Hurricane Sandy Corporate Aid Tracker

Company: Baker | Brand Communications
Position Type: Contract
Salary: Commensurate with experience

Summary
Baker | Brand Communications (www.bakerbrand.com), a brand and communications design firm based in Santa Monica, CA, has an immediate opening for a Production Artist. Why Baker? Our people and work culture are second to none. We have a passion for creative excellence, strategic problem solving, and fun—and we do it all in a casual work environment by the beach!

Production Artists execute the strategic and creative vision of a project by producing precision digital and traditional mechanicals. They play a key role in preparing presentations and final art, implementing revisions and producing quality work. Production Artists often work on multiple projects with overlapping deadlines.

Critical Job Responsibilities
— Produce assets and files in appropriate software programs
— Implement file revisions as directed by team members or client
— Prepare files for handoff to printer or other vendors
— Ensure deliverables meet highest standards of quality

Skills and Experience Required
— Advanced working knowledge of current design software programs (Adobe Creative Suite, etc.)
— Extensive knowledge of printing and proofing processes
— Detailed knowledge and capabilities in most or all of company’s service areas; i.e.: print collateral, interactive, video, branding, etc.
— Mature interpersonal communications skills; professional, positive and respectful attitude toward clients, vendors and colleagues
— Strong verbal and writing skills
— Extreme attention to detail and commitment to quality in fast-paced environment
— Patient, mature approach to problem-solving and issue escalation

Candidates will likely have 5+ years production experience in a design firm environment. Familiarity with production of annual and other corporate reports is ideal; web or multimedia experience a plus. Competitive salary offered.

To apply, please send your resume and cover email, including salary requirement, with the position title and your name in the subject field to jobs@bakerbrand.com (subject example: Production Artist – John Doe). No phone calls please.

Who in the world?

Who uses IE6 still? China. That’s who. Usage of Internet Explorer 6 remains a stubbornly high 24% there. That’s IE6 -– the 10-year-old, non-standards compliant browser. The browser that even Microsoft, its inventor, no longer supports. In most of the rest of the world, usage has dropped below 2%.

Why in the world?

So why would anyone ever spend the extra design and development time to build a site compliant with IE6 (or IE7, for that matter)? Well, China (or Korea or Vietnam). To reach a broad consumer audience there. But if your focus is the business and investment class in the US, Europe or elsewhere – let’s safely assume they’ve been afforded some computer upgrades over the years that automatically come with updated browser software.

On average it’s about 30-100% more work to program for these outdated browsers. Not to mention the client and IT time spent beta testing and reprogramming to keep that ever so small and decreasing percentage of non-consumers in the loop.

The newer browsers are safer, have faster download times, offer better SEO functionality and have more features for a better web experience – and they reach the desired audiences. So unless you’re targeting the general Chinese population, it’s time for your enterprise to upgrade. It saves time and money.

Help us join the countdown … http://www.ie6countdown.com/ and http://theie7countdown.com/.

Statistics source: StatCounter, March 2012

Baker is 27 years old this month. We’re as sprightly and nimble as ever, approaching our work with the same energy and enthusiasm as when we first opened our doors.

Reaching 27 years is no small feat for a business these days, and we know that it’s only made possible through the relationships we’ve built for nearly three decades. To our clients, colleagues and friends, we give our heartfelt gratitude. Without your commitment, collaboration and contributions, none of this would be possible.

Thanks—and congratulations—to all!