Blog

Join us in conversation on the topics we believe matter...to our industry, our city and our society.

Staffing Updates – New Faces at A.wordsmith

By Natalie O'Grady | May 13, 2016

2016 has already been a great year for A.wordsmith. We’ve started work with some amazing new clients and have exciting plans for the second half of the year. We’ve also brought on some new team members who are helping the firm grow with their talents and passion. In April, Marta Betts joined us as a […]

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How are you a thought leader? Answer these 6 questions to find out.

By Kelda Rericha | May 3, 2016

If you are reading this you likely already understand the value of thought leadership products. A thought leadership product is anything – written, video, multi-media – produced to help inform an audience on something you do really well. These products are especially critical for service organizations that rely on the smarts and unique capabilities of […]

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Getting Ripa'd

By Ann Smith | Apr 27, 2016

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock for the past week you’ve most likely know the full story, or at least rumblings, of the Kelly Ripa vs. Michael Strahan vs. Disney-ABC drama.  On Tuesday Kelly returned to the show after taking some time off to digest and deal with the news that not only is […]

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Passion, Practice, and Teachability

By Kris Travis | Apr 26, 2016

I had the opportunity to check out a number of cool events during last week’s 2016 Design Week Portland, and especially enjoyed hearing Dana Tanamachi’s talk, “Perfectly Imperfect” on Wednesday night at PNCA. It was inspiring to get a glimpse of her background in design, her unexpected successes, and to hear her thoughtful reflections on her evolving work and […]

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Should Native Advertising Become a PR Tactic?

By Natalie O'Grady | Apr 15, 2016

Though marketing, advertising, and public relations all play in the same “sandbox,” traditionalists in the world of PR will tell you that the industry doesn’t have much to do with paid placements or marketing pieces. And for the most part, they’re still correct – public relations by definition is about earned media and public perception […]

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2016 Design Week Portland

By Kris Travis | Mar 31, 2016

It’s comin’ up quick! Design Week Portland is “a week-long, city-wide series of programs exploring the process, craft, and practice of design across all disciplines.” April 15-21, all four corners of Portland will see a flurry of design-related talks, events, workshops, studio tours, and shows. This is a huge week for designers, but also offers […]

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Streamline Your Writing: Five Tips

By Christine Antles | Mar 28, 2016

Steve Jobs once said: “Simple can be harder than complex. You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple.” Throughout your PR and writing career, you have heard more than once to tighten up your pitches, your white papers or your press releases. While it takes practice, the result is worth […]

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Public Relations in the age of the Internet of Things

By Natalie O'Grady | Mar 17, 2016

When I was finishing my undergraduate degree program several years ago, one of my communications professors introduced the class to something called “The Internet of Things.” He explained that in the not-so-distant future, we’d be living in what basically amounted to the home in that Disney Channel classic movie, Smart House – refrigerators which has […]

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Moodboards: Feeling Your Way Through Brand Discovery

By Kris Travis | Mar 7, 2016

Once relatively exclusive to the fashion design industry, moodboards are everywhere now–design, architecture, politics, education, therapy…basically anywhere one’s brand or identity is a work in progress. I use them a lot in the design work I do, whether for a brand identity project, or to determine the mood of an internal campaign for an already […]

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Dealing with Negative Social Media Comments: You Can't Just Delete

By Natalie O'Grady | Feb 24, 2016

Social media allows brands to connect with their consumers on a pretty cool, personal level. When you set up a social media account and get things rolling, it can also be a nice ego boost. Things have been going well on your company’s Facebook page – people are liking, commenting on, and sharing your posts. […]

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