Blog

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

A Handy Flowchart for Exclamation Point Overuse

By Mary Gorretta | Feb 26, 2015

In written communication, particularly emails, one of the hardest challenges can be conveying your tone of voice. How many times have you read an email wondering if the sender is angry, annoyed, snappish or maybe just being brief? I know in many cases, I overcompensate for this by using an exclamation point to show how […]

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6 'House of Cards' Quotes That Apply to PR

By Kelda Rericha | Feb 23, 2015

Because House of Cards debuts next week, and because I was up way too late watching my DVR’d Oscars last night, I would like to take this moment to share this incredible collection of PR best practices an ‘House of Cards’ quotes from Frank Underwood and the rest of the House of Cards crew compiled by […]

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What Does it Mean to be a Thought Leader?

By Jillian Stephens | Feb 17, 2015

  As you may (or may not) have noticed, A.wordsmith has recently changed it’s descriptive title from “a boutique PR and marketing firm” to “a boutique PR and thought leadership firm.” Likewise, you may be thinking, “What exactly does that mean?” Well, I’m here to tell you. Marketing for the sake of sales By definition, marketing involves […]

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‘Office Housework’ – Addressing Gender Stereotypes Within the Workplace

By Lisa Lavora-De Beule | Feb 12, 2015

In a recent op-ed essay in The New York Times, Facebook’s chief operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg and Wharton Business School professor Adam Grant, address the issue of “office housework.” This piece is the third within a four-part series about women in the workplace. In it, Sandberg and Grant state that regardless of their role within […]

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With Twitter reach slowing, how do you measure success?

By Gretchen Hoffman | Feb 7, 2015

Twitter came under fire this week for a slowing growth rate, with industry watchers citing concern that lower-than-expected growth numbers released in its earnings report  could put the social networking site  in a vulnerable position a few years down the road. Twitter’s executives, however,  are trying to convince investors that its reach far surpasses the […]

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Super Bowl Commercials through a PR Lens

By Jillian Stephens | Feb 3, 2015

I must admit that, though my love for some good ol’ American football is tried-and-true, at least one third of my enjoyment of the Super Bowl lies in its commercials. One can usually expect to feel all warm and fuzzy, to chuckle here and there and even to heartily laugh at least once as the […]

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How PR Can Save Us from the Anti-vaccination Movement

By Kelda Rericha | Jan 27, 2015

Thanks to a measles outbreak at the happiest place on earth, our news feeds have all been filled with what we already know: vaccines work and are safe, but some people — primarily between 2000 and 2011 — opted to not vaccinate their children, and now we’re paying the price. The “why” has been examined […]

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Girl Scouts Go High Tech

By Gretchen Hoffman | Jan 21, 2015

It’s that time of year: My Facebook feed is slowly but surely starting to fill up with pictures of Girl Scouts and their cookie order forms. But the changes this year go far beyond the addition of a new cookie; for the first time since cookie sales began nearly a century ago, the parent organization […]

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New McDonalds Ad Tugs at Heartstrings but Receives Criticism

By Mary Gorretta | Jan 16, 2015

Did see you see McDonalds’ new heartwarming commercial while watching the Golden Globes or NFL playoffs earlier this week? I admit that I liked it. The heartfelt ad showed a photo montage of messages posted on various McDonald’s signboards by some of the fast food restaurant’s franchises, including “Thank you Veterans”, “We Remember 9/11”, “Boston […]

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How Oregon Football is Innovating Corporate Management Style

By Kelda Rericha | Jan 12, 2015

I didn’t attend the University of Oregon, but I grew up in Eugene, Oregon, so tonight’s national championship game between U of O and Ohio State is personal. Eugene’s culture is hinged on two things: U of O sports and hippies. It’s a beautiful thing. It should come as no surprise that the culture within […]

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