The PR Agency of the Future
Yesterday I was reading PR Week’s 15th anniversary issue and came across an article entitled “What will a PR agency look like in 15 years?” It was a compilation of comments about the future from some of today’s industry leaders: Gail Heimann, president of Weber Shandwick; Kim Hunter, president and CEO, Lagrant Communications; and Patrick […]
Building Meaningful Relationships: Five Tips From Networking Expert Keith Ferrazzi
When I graduated from college last spring my career path looked more like a complicated maze with no clear direction. I have a background in communications and journalism, but at the time I wasn’t sure how to narrow down my interests to a specific career or how to go about searching for jobs. My parents […]
Got Problems? Tips for Staying Solutions-Oriented in PR
A pretty significant chunk of our work in the PR industry is about solving problems. Perhaps the problem is huge: Your Fortune 500 client is facing a major PR headache and it’s your job to fix it. Or perhaps the problem is comparatively small: One of your team members is struggling to nail a pitch. […]
GeekWire Gala: Totally Tech With a Personal Touch
I recently attended the GeekWire Gala at the Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI) in South Lake Union. With more than 1,000 of Seattle’s tech industry professionals in attendance, GeekWire delivered an event to remember. From the amazing food to the lively DJ to the great conversation, there was no room for disappointment. As expected, […]
Playing By the Numbers
Every two weeks our team sits down over lunch to discuss client campaigns that are underway or upcoming and to reflect on recent successes and challenges. Aside from being a great team bonding experience, these lunches offer an opportunity to exchange ideas and to learn about new trends and effective media outreach practices from our […]
Sheryl Sandberg and Marissa Mayer Headline Dreamforce 2013
Early in November, I was lucky enough to acquire a few passes to attend Dreamforce, Salesforce.com’s annual conference. The four-day conference, which takes place in San Francisco, drew more than 100,000 attendees from the technology industry and is considered the third biggest tech industry event, following TED and CES. Big-name speakers from this year’s event […]
Should PR Pros Use Reddit?
We recently encountered an interesting scenario with one of our clients, who came across a relevant industry discussion on Reddit and wondered why their brand name was not mentioned. At first the answer seems apparent, since Reddit relies on user-generated content that, for the most part, cannot be controlled. But that got us thinking—is Reddit, […]
The Value of Contributed Articles
Contributed or bylined articles serve as a great complement to editorial placements. Unlike an article written by a reporter about a company or its products, contributed articles are written by the company and are meant to lend a vendor-neutral perspective on topics relevant to a publication’s readers. We often recommend contributed articles as a way […]
Playing Ketchup With PR: Heinz Loses McDonald’s Business and Winds Up on the Grill
McDonald’s recently announced its decision to part ways with longtime supplier Heinz. The two companies are cutting ties after 40 years of working together and the decision may be because of Heinz’s recent hire of former Burger King CEO Bernardo Hees and the lack of full disclosure. McDonald’s stated flatly, “As a result of recent […]
PR Lessons From the Healthcare.gov Launch
When the Obama administration launched its healthcare website on October 1st the President’s most prized project quickly turned into an unmanageable disaster. Healthcare.gov was riddled with technical problems that made it almost impossible to use, causing enormous public backlash. But there are a few valuable PR lessons to be learned from healthcare.gov’s disastrous rollout. Launching […]