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Ashleigh Johnston, Consultant Staying organized. It’s a passion of mine from my work, to my email folders to my color-coded closet.  If you are missing important deadlines, shuffling through stacks of papers to locate that proposal or draft or lost in a sea of Outlook email, I suggest you take the time to get yourself

Dennis Culloton, Founder, CEO, and President  The political conventions are in the rear view mirror and the presidential candidates are honing the messages they believe resonate with voters.  Developing the right messages started before the Iowa Caucuses so many months ago.  Now the candidates are focusing on a handful of swing states and trying to

Jodie Kaplan, Vice President of Media Relations and Branding Writing a blog is not necessarily an easy thing.  We tell our clients to have blogs, but then I find that I struggle with writing about topics that are relevant and of interest.  Hence my choice for a blog topic. Creative – right?  I simply thought

Patrick Skarr, Accounts Supervisor “The Coming Jobs War,” by Jim Clifton, chairman and CEO of Gallup, is a fascinating work that should be read by every candidate and campaign consultant. Clifton uses Gallup’s vast data pool to succinctly articulate why we are miscommunicating the nature of the new economy and why we need to change

CeCe Marizu, Account Executive If you’re an athlete have you heard, “Why do you use the word teammate?” or “You talk about your teammates a lot” or “Why don’t you just call them friends?”  No matter how many times you explain to people that your teammates are your best friends or basically your second family,

Manuel Ozaeta, Consultant  My erudite and patriotic colleague Patrick Skarr penned a blog last week offering his perspective on the reasons modern political conventions matter.  He correctly noted that conventions serve as the endpoint of a nominating contest, provide a venue for up and coming political stars, and are simply part of a national conversation.

Ashleigh Johnston, Consultant It’s a holiday weekend, so I know you all are using your free time to brush up on your grammar and spelling, per my last blog “Let’s eat grandma”. I applaud your dedication and would like to add to your list of studies with an overview of AP Style. If you send

CeCe Marizu, Account Executive  Yes football fans, it is that time of the year again.  Take it in… take it all in.  The smell of game day, the sounds of game day, the thrill of game day!  Football season brings a wave of excitement in addition to long hours glued to the TV in America. 

Patrick Skarr, Accounts Supervisor  Despite months of intensive planning for the Tampa and Charlotte soirees, Mother Nature will serve as the great unknown, adding melodrama to otherwise staid affairs. As we enter convention season, the usual grumbles over the process has returned. Inches of newsprint and numerous pundits have taken to task the millions spent

Erin Minne, Intern Wherever I go these days, everyone seems to be talking about the presidential candidates and upcoming elections. The last time I checked, I don’t live in D.C., so why am I bombarded with chatter about Obama’s health care policy or how Romney may or may not be paying his share in taxes?

Angela Benander, Vice President of Advocacy  One of the most memorable lines uttered by Richard Gere as lawyer Billy Flynn in the 2002 movie “Chicago” is punctuated with “…that’s Chicago.” He’s talking about the fact that he was able to raise the murdering housewife Roxie Hart to mega-celebrity status and now that she has been

CeCe Marizu, Account Executive People constantly talk about the younger generation, the millennials and how we view the world.  We’re a generation of multi-taskers and social media gurus that find information instantly from a Google search, Facebook status, or tweet. At the same time, we’re the generation that some people can’t quite figure out because

Dennis Culloton, CEO and president You can call it being adaptable or suggest it falls into the category of if you can’t beat them join them, but businesses are getting more sophisticated about the power of campaign strategies. USC Sociology professor Edward T. Walker writes in the New York Times that Fortune 500 sized companies

Tracey Mendrek, Senior Consultant As PR professionals we are experts at knowing what path to take in a given situation.  This is knowledge we have gained through years of repetition, research and review.  We sit down with our client the first time and we know what they should do.  But, do we know what to

Ashleigh Johnston, Consultant I feel like there is a dangerous trend emerging. I read articles about schools downplaying the importance of teaching the fundamentals of good writing, and communication is getting progressively shorter. Messages confined to 140 characters don’t always allow for the most eloquent prose, Orwellian implications notwithstanding. With restrictions in place limiting the

Manuel Ozaeta, Consultant For the last few weeks, millions of viewers throughout the globe have been glued to their television sets watching the thirtieth incarnation of the modern Olympiad. Simply known as the Olympics, this 4 year tradition has become part of our television watching habits and water cooler conversations. Many of the games take-away

Erin Minne, Intern  Too often, companies will jump on the social media bandwagon before they really know how or why they want to use it. Just like every other business plan, social media must have a strategy put in place with measurable goals. If an employee is posting pictures of what he had for breakfast

Patrick Skarr, Account Supervisor POLITICO recently reported that online political advertising has reached a new zenith, inventory for video ads in swing states was sold-out. Astronomical sums will be spent for the 15-second video before you can watch the latest cover of “Call Me Maybe,” on YouTube. There is a steady appetite for these advertisements

CeCe Marizu, Account Executive  People across the globe are glued to their television sets, live feeds on the Internet, and any form of social media that reveals the results of the Summer Olympic Games.  Along with the cheers and tweets of excitement come the critics.  You know who you are.  You’ve been watching the swim

Jodie (Shpritz) Kaplan, Vice President of Media Relations and Branding As a PR professional not a day goes by where I am asked what it is that I do.  Many people confuse PR with advertising and vice versa.  And while there are many synergies, they are not the same.  Often times we find ourselves having

Manuel Ozaeta, Consultant  Last month’s Supreme Court decision on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) was one of the most highly anticipated decisions to come this year from the highest court of the land. The President, congressional lawmakers, and curious and concerned citizens anxiously waited that Thursday morning to hear some answers related

Erin Minne, Intern I have written a fair amount of cover letters throughout my college career, and I have picked up on a few pointers from workshops, counselors, and friends about how one should best demonstrate his or her abilities. The first tip I think about when starting a cover letter is formatting the letter

Ashleigh Johnston, Intern  I recently read an article titled “10 Unusual Interview Mistakes and Six That Are All Too Common.” The mistakes were indeed very unusual but it reiterates what I think can really be your best asset. Being a great interviewee is important at any stage of your career. However, I will assert that

Patrick Skarr, Accounts Supervisor A few years ago while in the Washington D.C. a cab driver entertained the group I was with, with his rendition of American history and analysis of why Washington was broken. His theory was that the nation’s politicians are too comfortable in the capitol, namely that they should shut down the

CeCe Marizu, Intern  In honor of the 2012 Olympic games this summer in London, I thought it only fitting that this  blog channel the inner Olympian in every PR guru out there. An Olympic year represents more than just a month of high level athletic performance. An Olympic year represents years and years of preparation,