By Rick Griffin

SDX along with 10 other local marketing and advertising groups, will present the 12th annual Mingle Bells on Thursday, Dec. 10. Mingle Bells is the annual end-of-year party attended by members of professional groups spanning San Diego’s advertising, business communications, marketing, public relations, social media and graphic arts industries.

The party runs from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Fluxx nightclub, 500 4th Avenue in downtown San Diego. More than 500 people are expected to attend.

In addition to SDX — the new name for the San Diego Ad Club — attendees will include members of Ad 2 San Diego, American Institute of Graphic Arts, American Marketing Association, Health Care Communicators of San Diego, International Association of Business Communicators, Public Relations Society of America San Diego-Imperial Counties, SD Direct (formerly the San Diego Direct Marketing Association), San Diego Advertising Fund for Emergencies, San Diego Radio Broadcasters Association and Society for Experiential Graphic Design.

Among the sponsors for this year’s Mingle Bells are Entravision, BusinessOnline and several restaurants. Food will be provided by Cecilia’s Taqueria, O’s American Kitchen, The Tilted Kilt Pub & Eatery, Luna Grill, Meze Greek Fusion and Farm Fresh to You.

Cost to attend is $45 per person for members or guests of any participating organization or $65 per person for non-members. For info, visit www.SanDiegoX.org.

KOGO News Radio Plans Remote to Benefit Salvation Army

News Radio 600 KOGO-AM is planning a live broadcast from 9 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Dec. 12, at the Target store parking lot on 250 Broadway in El Cajon in support of the 39th annual East County Toy and Food Drive. KOGO’s Cliff Albert, LaDona Harvey and Ted Garcia will help collect donations benefiting the Salvation Army El Cajon Corps and East County families.

Also as part of the event, a parade of fire trucks from Heartland Fire & Rescue is planned. About a dozen fire trucks will leave at about 11 a.m.from Fire Station #6, 100 E. Lexington, El Cajon, and arrive at approximately 11:15 a.m. at the Target parking lot.

KOGO, an iHeart Media station, has annually supported this fundraiser with a live remote since 1996. Started in 1976, the East County Toy and Food Drive is one of the oldest and largest toy and food drives in San Diego County.

San Diego AMA Workshop Will Interpret Customers’ Voice

San Diego’s American Marketing Association chapter will host “Interpreting the Voice of the Customer,” a two-day workshop, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on  Wednesday, Dec. 9 and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 10, at the Marriott Marquis San Diego, 222 West Harbor Dr. in downtown San Diego.

Topics to be discussed will include key strengths and limitations of current VOC approaches, the business case for VOC investments, how to identify and implement customer metrics and how to make all VOC data work together. Speaker will be Randall Brandt, founder of Voice Crafter, a loyalty research and consulting firm. Brandt was named as one of “20 Researchers You Should Know” by Survey Magazine.

Cost to attend is $1,645 for AMA members and $1,945 for non members. For more information, visit www.sdama.org.

PRSA Will Host Holiday Mixer

The Public Relations Society of America’s San Diego-Imperial Counties chapter will host a volunteer recognition and holiday breakfast mixer from 8 to 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 9 at the Whisknladle restaurant, 1044 Wall Street in La Jolla. Admission is free for PRSA members and $15 for non members. The program will include recognition of volunteers, 2015 accomplishments and plans for 2016. Information also will be available about PRSA’s APR accreditation, now in its 51st year. For information and to RSVP, visit www.prsasdic.org.

Rick Griffin is a San Diego-based public relations and marketing consultant. His MarketInk column appears weekly on Mondays in Times of San Diego.

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