Blog
It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year
Patrick Skarr, Account Supervisor Today is one of my favorite days of the year – Election Day! While in the Land of Lincoln, the voters aren’t being asked to weigh in, the decisions of voters elsewhere will set the tone and environment for our upcoming election. Most importantly, elections and incumbent office holders will take
Team Blog: What's your scariest PR moment?
Dennis Culloton, President & CEO Some days it seems like my career has been a series of scary public relations crises. However, there are some moments that are more scary, bizarre, or chaotic than others. My career in crisis communications is a litany that reads like the plot of the next “Final Destination” movie. It’s
#thereturn
Julia Schatz, Senior Account Executive Tonight is a very big night for Chicago sports fans. For anyone who has read any of my previous blogs, you know I myself am one of these fans and I, like many others, hold a very special place in my heart for Derrick Rose. Tonight marks the 2013 Chicago
It's all about "I"
Conor Culloton, Assistant Account Executive It shouldn’t surprise anyone that psychology and language are inexorably linked. Psychology is the study of everything that’s going on in somebody’s mind; language is a way to express those thoughts. A recent article in The Wall Street Journal shed some light on the way humans talk given particular psychological circumstances,
Tesla flameout? Not so fast.
Tracey Mendrek, Executive Vice President Earlier this month the “it” car maker Tesla faced a potential public relations nightmare when a video was posted on YouTube of their Model S in flames. While it was tempting to write about it then, it was worth the wait to see how they would handle the exposure and
How do you get the news?
Conor Culloton, Assistant Account Executive Infographic by Grace Culloton, Design Intern Take a moment to recall the quaintness of everybody acquiring news from large, folded up stacks of thin, cheap paper called newspapers. Welcome to the brave new world where a once simple, narrow industry of disseminating information to the masses has bloomed into a
Super Committee Begat Sequester, Sequester Begat Fiscal Stubbornness, Fiscal Stubbornness Begat Continuing Resolution, Continuing Resolution Begat Standoff, Repeat
Patrick Skarr, Account Supervisor I feel as though we’re living in a dream, wherein television has become reality, and reality occupies television. All of the radio waves have somehow meshed the Nov. 19 episode of The West Wing, aptly named, “Shutdown,” into the minds of capitol hill strategists and politicians. We’ve seen theatrics on both
Social Media Week – CS Edition
Chicago’s Social Media Week took place last week. After attending different sessions throughout the city, members of the CS team reflect on their favorite social media platforms to use as PR professionals. Dennis Culloton, President & CEO Sometimes in public relations, it’s not what you know, but who you know. I’m convinced public relations
@Hemingway
Conor Culloton, Assistant Account Executive Brevity is key. It is said that Hemingway once wrote a six-word short story. I wonder how he would feel of the latest trends in media consumption. When he was alive all he had to work with was a typewriter and his work was sent through a publisher or an editor,
Streaming Changing the Game for Traditional TV
Conor Culloton, Assistant Account Executive Infographic by Grace Culloton, Design Assistant The reported release date of the second season of Netflix’s staggeringly successful series “House of Cards” is early 2014. When season two premieres I will put school, work, sleep, and socializing on hold as I follow Francis Underwood’s Machiavellian, underhanded scheming in a series
The Week In Review
Tracey Mendrek, Executive Vice President One of the interesting parts of a job in public relations is the Monday morning opportunity to quarterback statements made to the press. This past week provided plenty of material for what to do and not do when responding to media inquiries. So here is my week in review. First
Bear Necessities Pediatric Cancer Awareness Day!
Julia Schatz, Senior Account Executive Did you know less than 4% of money raised for cancer research goes to Pediatric research? September is Childhood Cancer Awareness Month and today, September 13, is Bear Necessities Pediatric Cancer Awareness Day in Chicago and across Illinois! In honor of today we wanted to help share awareness about a
How the New York Jets Plan to Stay on Message
Dennis Culloton, President & CEO Before Super Bowl III, New York Jets quarterback Joe Namath famously and publicly guaranteed the Jets would win the championship game. Fortunately for Broadway Joe he was able to lead his team to victory, and in doing so joined the pantheon of sports legends. That kind of excited utterance is
They Taught Us Well
As another school year begins, the CS team reflects on their favorite subjects in school and shares how these classes influenced their career today. Dennis Culloton, President & CEO In college, my favorite classes were in my major, journalism. Interestingly enough, my favorite class that I took during college was not an upper-level journalism
The CS Law(s)
It is easy to criticize existing laws, rules, processes, etc. In an office filled with people across the political spectrum, conversations about such things can get very animated and interesting. A recent office conversation inspired the question for the latest CS team blog: If you could have any law named after you, what would the
Decoding Millennials
Conor Culloton, Assistant Account Executive Image by Grace Culloton, Design Intern Time Magazine recently attempted to sum up my generation in a few short pages, writing about the idiosyncrasies of the young people who will someday become the world’s leaders. As our first ever infographic shows, Americans in the Millennial generation are increasingly single and
Is the Internet our common link?
Tracey Mendrek, Executive Vice President Last week, some of the biggest tech companies in the world announced a new initiative. Facebook, Samsung, Nokia, Qualcomm and Ericsson have come together to make the Internet available in developing countries. Proposed as a way to connect the entire world, and thanks to a voiceover provided by John F.
The Power of Speech
Julia Schatz, Senior Account Executive “Speech is power: speech is to persuade, to convert, to compel. It is to bring another out of his bad sense into your good sense.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson An important aspect of PR, which is not always listed in the job description, is speech writing. Great speeches can stand
Summer Reading Roundup
Ashleigh Johnston, Account Executive Back in April, I was already itching for summer weather, which is my favorite time to pick up a good book and enjoy the sunshine. I read year-round, but there is something special about the summertime that is synonymous with devoting extra time to reading. I love using the morning hours
Lessons Learned
Patrick O'Connell, Intern Before I started this internship, I did not know how to tie a tie. I also never would have believed that a group of professionals would trust me with real client work. I expected to sit at a desk filing papers, or fetching lunch and coffee, considering many of my friends experienced
A Classic Never Goes Out of Style
Manny Ozaeta, Account Supervisor July was National Ice Cream Month, a fact I only learned at the end of the month. I’m sure there were some great special events, discounts and celebrations that I missed out on (sigh). President Ronald Reagan, adding that this deliciously cold treat was nutritious and fun, officially recognized this quasi-holiday
All of the Time, Some of the Time, None of the Time
Dennis Culloton, President and CEO I recently stated in a Sun Times article that I love all my clients but sometimes they listen to all my advice, sometimes they listen to some of my advice, and sometimes they listen to none of my advice. This statement has been true since my days in law school and I’ve
Historical Perspective Key to Avoiding Cynicism
Conor Culloton, Intern Something is rotten in the state of New York. Anthony Weiner, despite recently committing the same riotously impolitic error that caused him to resign from Congress after “Weinergate” in 2011, continues his campaign for mayor of New York City. Meanwhile, Eliot Spitzer, the man who might still be governor of New York
In Opposition – Actions, Ideas & Words Matter
Patrick Skarr, Account Supervisor In 2010 a white-hot electorate delivered a tidal wave unlike any other in history. Voters’ actions roiled state capitols, tossed long-tenured office holders to the curb and delivered a massive class of new members to the U.S. House. While this was “a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away,”
Leading, Not Wilting, in Times of Crisis
Dave Bayless, Vice President One year ago, I had an opportunity to talk to a group of marathon race directors and marathon medical directors from across the country about something that keeps many of them up at night: their readiness to effectively manage a crisis and communicate in the midst of unfolding crises. The discussion
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