A.wordsmith | Portland PR & Communications

Rabbit Pelt Ad Draws Controversy, Pizzeria Tries to Save Skin

By Mary Gorretta | Apr 18, 2014

Just in time for Easter, the New Zealand pizza chain Hell Pizza created a controversial billboard advertising its newest pizza topping, smoked rabbit, by covering the billboard with real rabbit pelts and the tagline: “Rabbit Pizza. Made from real rabbit. Like this billboard.” As you can imagine, it received quite a bit of criticism […]

@USAirways gets us talking

By Ann Smith | Apr 15, 2014

The Twitter universe is abuzz about the now infamous U.S. Airways X-rated tweet. And while the tweet is unabashedly bad, and questions will swirl about how such a “copy and paste” accident could even happen, I can’t help but laugh and applaud the humorous responses that have spawned as a result. Do a quick search for […]

Frozen Foods Using PR To Save Their Bacon

By Ann Smith | Apr 13, 2014

A new campaign to defend the nutritional reputation Good news frozen pizzas, peas and other frost-bitten foods, you are about to get an image makeover! It has been confirmed by the American Frozen Food Institute the industry is in the final stages of preparing for a multilayer, multimillion dollar public relations campaign to defend the nutritional reputation of […]

Can Your Predict Which of Your Messages Will Go Viral?

By Ann Smith | Apr 9, 2014

The Harvard Business Review wrote this week about a recent psychological study that found we can successfully predict which messages will go viral and which won’t. The key to this success, according to the report, lies within the brain of the sender. In short, the more the author of the message values the message itself, the […]

Wine-making "Miracle Machine" too good to be true, but supports a great cause

By Mary Gorretta | Mar 18, 2014

Can you turn water to wine? Did you see the video advertisement for this product a few weeks ago? The ‘Miracle Machine’ claimed it could “turn water into wine” – making wine in three days with just water and a few other ingredients. The product seemed legitimate, particularly because it was promoted in the video […]

Lessons Learned in the Art of Pitching

By Ann Smith | Mar 14, 2014

Sometimes we have to learn firsthand that our pitches aren’t working –or even worse, outright stink. I have been in the public relations industry for almost a decade now, so I have had my share of successes and failures. Here are some of the lessons I’ve learned that I want to share with you: You’re not […]

Welcome Kailee!

By Ann Smith | Mar 10, 2014

Welcome Kailee Pence to the A.wordsmith team! Kailee joins as our spring intern and we’re so excited to have her. There’s much about her to like, starting with her love of country music, good Chinese food and visits to both the beach and mountain. Here are 5 more things you might not know about her […]

I'm not bossy. I'm the boss.

By Kelda Rericha | Mar 10, 2014

Yet again, Beyonce is awesome. And so is Condoleezza Rice, Jennifer Garner and a handful of other female and male celebrities contributing to the Ban Bossy campaign, a partnership between the Lean In and Girl Scouts organizations, which launched today. As the mother of two boys (soon to be three) I’ve always felt very comfortable […]

The Power of the Telephone

By Ann Smith | Mar 2, 2014

Picking up the phone In today’s world, we use a variety of outlets to communicate with others and voice our opinion. From emailing, texting, tweeting, posting, pinning, sharing and liking, the ability to communicate is near limitless. The one thing most people have moved away from is using the telephone. You can click to read […]

Spreading the Love

By Ann Smith | Feb 14, 2014

Given today is Valentine’s Day, I think it is only appropriate this post be love-filled. As I’ve mentioned in the past, I enjoy clever, witty and smart web tools. Today I bring you a Valentine’s Day Google doodle featuring candy hearts. Six candy hearts are arranged where the logo used to be. There’s “Crush,” “Mr. […]

An Olympic-Sized Celebration

By Ann Smith | Feb 11, 2014

Aren’t the Olympics great? I mean, after all they are an institution – not just in our country but around the world. A coming together. A celebration of camaraderie, commitment and, of course, sports. I’m sure we can all remember some of our favorite Olympic moments. Whether it was Flo Jo and her amazing nails, […]

Why Everyone is Talking About Richard Sherman

By Ann Smith | Jan 20, 2014

You may care little about football or you may have watched last night’s game with bated breath. Either way, there’s a pretty good chance that by now you’ve seen or heard reference to Richard Sherman’s post-game interview. See it here. It’s intense. The media reaction has been split between condemnation for his unsportsman-like conduct and dismissal […]