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Recent Entries

• Free ad work for non-profits
• Café Caturra closes original store
• CRT/tanaka picks up community college account
• Prime Outlets to open early on Black Friday
• ESPN NBA tour coming to Washington

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• By Brooks Landes from the entry 'Hancock Village openings'
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Nonprofits looking for someone to create free marketing materials can turn to Virginia Commonwealth University mass communications students.
The school is holding its CreateAthon for the third year on campus during spring break next year. But nonprofits need to apply by Nov. 20. 
The program is part of a semester-long class at VCU’s School of Mass Communications that specifically works on creating communications strategies for nonprofits.
Students — aided by professors and local ad professionals — will work more than 24 hours straight to create marketing packages, including public relations, branding materials and logos for the nonprofits.
CreateAthon is a nationwide project that was started in 1998 by RIGGS Advertising in Columbia, S.C. Mostly professional ad people work on the project in other cities.

Café Caturra has closed its original shop on Alverser Drive in Chesterfield County.

The café-and-wine bar opened in 2005.

A sign on the door today thanked customers for four years of business.

Café Caturra had been expanding in recent years. It has three shops in the area, including one at Short Pump Crossing Shopping Center in western Henrico County that opened in September.

Richmond-based public-relations firm CRT/tanaka will handle public-relations work for The Virginia Foundation for Community College Education’s Great Expectations program.
The firm will handle branding and donor awareness and help develop an online resource center.
Great Expectations is a program that helps teens in foster care transition from high school and their foster homes to college. The program stresses the value of a college education as the best way to find work and live independently.

Prime Outlets in Williamsburg will kick off its holiday shopping season at 12:01 a.m. on Black Friday.
The outlet mall will for its Midnight Madness Pajama Jam. The center’s retailers will offer special sales, and the first 500 people to show up in their pajamas at the center’s promenade will get a gift bag with coupons and merchandise.
The 115,000-square-foot center is on U.S. 60 and has about 120 stores. 

ESPN’s NBA RV bus tour will hit Washington on Wednesday for the Wizards game against the Miami Heat. 
The RV is part of a marketing campaign by the sports network and sister network ABC. 
It was created to draw attention to the NBA coverage on the two networks. ESPN personalities travel to games on the RV and then do on-air promotions. 
Besides Washington, the RV will stop at 19 other cities and cover more than 40,000 miles. 
Fans will be able to tour the RV and enter contests. ESPN will give away branded merchandise at the stops.