Women of the Olympics & the Telling of Great Stories

By Ann Smith | Aug 8, 2016

Over the weekend the Summer Olympics in Rio kicked off. Despite much worry leading into the Games over major issues such as safety, facilities, clean water and overall security, so far Rio is proving to be a respectable host. And in a time when it seems hard to find common ground, sports once again bring […]

Read More

10 Tricks to Appear Smart and Informed

By Kelda Rericha | Aug 3, 2016

2016 has been hard. In this tumultuous political, cultural and financial climate the conversations and written dialogues have been HEAVY. Never have I so dreaded my Facebook feed. So I want to take a step back and offer some tips for engaging in these conversations in ways that make you appear smart and informed, but not offensive. Taken […]

Read More

The Future of Design

By Kris Travis | Jul 28, 2016

What is the future of design? This question is a constant for most designers. 99U put out an article that posed this question to a number of design experts and visionaries, and they provided their thoughts on what we might see in the next 10 years. A few things stood out to me: The changing role […]

Read More

A.wordsmith Continues to Grow

By A.wordsmith | Jul 21, 2016

June was a big month for A.wordsmith. Last month, A.wordsmith saw a surge in new projects for our copywriting and content development team, as well as expanded marketing, media and publicity demands from established clients.  All told, we shattered a record in terms of client and firm productivity. Since opening in 2009, the agency has […]

Read More

3 Takeaways from Digital Summit Portland 2016

By Natalie O'Grady | Jul 18, 2016

This past week, I was able to attend the inaugural Digital Summit Portland at the Portland Art Museum. A meeting of the minds among social media, SEO, content marketing, and UX experts, the conference provided a wealth of information and networking opportunities. Speakers from companies like Pinterest, Microsoft, Facebook, and Uber gave me some inspiration for […]

Read More

3 Tips to Create an Effective Media List

By Savanna Frimoth | Jul 13, 2016

The creation of an effective media list is an essential component to any PR plan. A media list is a compilation of media outlets including specific reporter contact information. As someone who is just beginning my career in PR, I find myself looking to the below tips when creating media lists from scratch. They have […]

Read More

Facebook Newsfeed Algorithm Updates – 3 Things to Know

By Natalie O'Grady | Jun 30, 2016

For a company not even two decades old, Facebook has done a fantastic job integrating itself into the daily lives of people around the globe. It quickly became a hot spot for brands looking to connect to a wide variety of audiences, and public relations professionals have been including the platform in their communications plans […]

Read More

"Boring" Brands find Big Success through Smart Design

By Kris Travis | Jun 15, 2016

Branding a product or service that’s less-than-sexy has its challenges. This great article in FastCo Design highlights some key ways a number of “boring” brands have hit it out of the park with their digital communications. Brand and web design play key roles in their success. Here are a few of my favorite takeaways, along with […]

Read More

The 3 Classic Communications Strategies That Still Matter Today

By A.wordsmith | Jun 10, 2016

As PR professionals, we spend a lot of time keeping up with The Next Big Thing in communications strategies. For good reason – a Google algorithm or trending hashtag can make or break a campaign in today’s constantly-moving media landscape. In many ways, however, there’s nothing new about our jobs. Humans are communicators, and our […]

Read More

Debranding the Future

By Kelda Rericha | Jun 7, 2016

Since the 90’s consumers have been pushing back on advertising. We’re highly critical of traditional advertising — TV, print and radio — and highly skeptical of other forms of advertising. And for good reason. Coca-Cola sponsoring school events feels eerily similar to the way tobacco companies targeted members of the military during World War II. Free cigarettes! And […]

Read More

Engage, don't broadcast: People hate social media ads

By Natalie O'Grady | Jun 2, 2016

Mallory Benham, a 23-year-old recent graduate, summed up the problem with social media ads in an interview for a recent Harris poll with a quote that’s likely to frustrate many marketing professionals. “I go on social media to see and know what my friends are doing. I don’t want to see ads clutter my news […]

Read More

Your Brand as Art

By Kris Travis | May 18, 2016

Over the weekend, I got to check out the newly remodeled SFMOMA. The remodel is beautiful, as are the numerous exhibits (too many to take in on one visit!). I was really excited to check out the “Typeface Interface” graphic design collection, and it got me thinking about other ways a company can share its brand […]

Read More