Blog

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

A Crash Course in Crisis Communications

By Katie Brotherton | May 5, 2021

Between an ongoing pandemic and increasing socioeconomic volatility, the past 18 months have served as a crash course in crisis communications. Leaders, companies and brands are constantly tossed into the proverbial deep end as a merciless sink-or-swim test that disrupts the economy, financial markets and global supply chains. Yet, many can credit excellence in crisis communications […]

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4 Mediums to Add to Your B2B PR Plan This Year

By Natalie O'Grady | Mar 30, 2021

2020 permanently changed the media landscape. As the journalism world continues to face mass layoffs and downsizing, those that remain are burdened with higher workloads than ever before. It’s always been important to make sure your pitches are targeted and relevant for journalists you reach out to, but this new era makes it an imperative. And even […]

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The Benefits of Digital PR

By Alexes Jones | Mar 19, 2021

Public Relations is a growing field that encompasses a variety of strategies and tactics. Traditionally, clients come to a PR team to get media coverage, writing assistance or to create a campaign. While these are still the primary focus for some firms, more clients are turning to digital PR as a means of growing their […]

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One Year Later: Flashing Back to March 2020

By Ann Smith | Mar 5, 2021

March is my favorite month. It starts off with a flurry of birthdays in my family, then a Guinness and shepherd’s pie at Kells on St. Patrick’s Day and with any luck some time away in the sunshine over spring break. But March now holds another place in history: the month COVID-19 changed our lives […]

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How to Define and Delight Your Ideal Customer

By Lisa Hildebrandt | Feb 16, 2021

Customers are the lifeblood of any business. Their opinions, loyalty and emotionally driven purchasing decisions shape your organization’s ability to thrive (or fall behind). You must intimately understand your target customer’s worldviews, irrational fears, frustrations and deepest desires to create a profitable and purposeful enterprise. Yet the process of clearly defining your ideal customer can […]

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How to Maximize the Value of Earned Media Placements

By Hailey Rae Swalley | Feb 10, 2021

After a great earned media placement goes live, there’s a number of steps that brands can take to increase the impact of their coverage. While a placement itself gets you in front of a publication’s readers, increases credibility and builds awareness among target audiences, communications pros and marketers alike should leverage other channels to ensure […]

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Wordsmithing for Impact

By Ann Smith | Feb 10, 2021

As I sat awestruck listening to the poetry flow out of Amanda Gorman’s mouth at the presidential inauguration on January 20, I had one thought coursing through my mind: words matter. She was brilliantly captivating, and when I went to her website I had never been prouder to be aligned with a fellow self-proclaimed “wordsmith.”  When I […]

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Dear College Seniors: My Advice to the Class of 2021

By Alexes Jones | Jan 21, 2021

My start as a P.R. professional has been a bit non-traditional. I am a full-time senior in college and a full-time public relations associate – who also started her career in the middle of a global pandemic. My days are filled with client calls and media outreach, while my nights are spent reading textbooks and […]

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How We’re Staying Connected During Extended Remote Work

By Hailey Rae Swalley | Jan 15, 2021

Looking at the calendar, it’s hard to believe it’s already 2021. In March, we’ll be coming up on a year of remote work, and like for many across the country, working fully from home was a new horizon for us at A.wordsmith. Our Culture Committee had to completely scrap some (in-person) plans, rethink others and […]

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“Silence is Not a ‘Safe’ Messaging Play” in Wake of Riot

By Gretchen Hoffman | Jan 11, 2021

Each day brings a new announcement of a brand or organization repudiating the Capitol riot and the officials who opposed the presidential vote certification. Among the latest: Marriott announced Sunday that it had cut support for the Republican senators, including Republican Sens. Josh Hawley (Mo.) and Ted Cruz (Texas), who opposed the Electoral College count following the deadly mob […]

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