The holiday shopping season is an ideal time to gauge companies’ customer service skills. The swell of crowds in the stores and the rush of online shoppers trying to hit “complete your purchase” before that long sought after sale item is out of stock (this...
If you work in PR, you are probably used to being asked, “What is it that you DO exactly?” Sadly, I’ve even had colleagues ask me this after I worked with them inside an organization for years. It’s amazing how few people know what public...
For the past 10 years, Market Connections has created a comprehensive study that analyzes the media habits of federal decision makers and helps federal marketers take a data-driven approach to their marketing planning process. Each year, approximately 3,000 federal respondents at defense and civilian agencies...
If you work in a public relations agency then you’re probably all too familiar with a giant to-do list and juggling 15 different balls at once. In our industry, there are a lot of deadlines, expectations, and deliverables. These three things can make it difficult...
Whether it’s finding fresh angles for stale content or using quirky metaphors to make dry or overly technical topics interesting, creativity is an important asset for PR pros. While both of these examples focus on creative execution at a more granular level, I want to...
It’s crunch time -- as the holidays approach it seems that everyone is trying to fit in every last event, award ceremony, party, etc. The technology industry is no exception. Last week the SpeakerBox team dug into this busy stretch of events and mother nature...
Thanksgiving is a time for many wonderful things -- indigestion, family arguments, getting ripped off by Black Friday sales -- but we mustn’t ever forget what the holiday is really about. Amidst all of the football, food, and festivities, Thanksgiving really boils down to showing...
Our final TMA event for the year was held barely 48 hours after the midterm elections and it was truly a high note to end the year on. Our speaker was Phillip Stutts, author of the book, Fire Them Now: The 7 Lies Digital Marketers...
Photo credit: [Paturo] Noroeste Pro 2017 (III) via photopin (license) Many companies come to us with a desire to create a new market category. While its natural for an innovator to believe that what they are doing is so different it defies current norms and definitions,...
Last week was the third annual GAIN Conference, hosted by Government Marketing University. This year’s conference was an all day event that included a keynote by Margie Graves, federal deputy CIO at OMB; several case studies; and a series of morning and afternoon workshops where...
One way that good PR agencies (and companies, generally) stay at the forefront of the industry is by investing in their employees - be that mentoring, internal training, or by sponsoring them to attend educational events or join professional organizations, etc. As some of the...
When I first started my social media PR journey, I pictured myself jetting around to events or press conferences every other day, tweeting fresh, creative content akin to any social media influencer. My clients’ followers would be liking, retweeting and replying so often, I’d struggle...
We’ve added a few new faces to the SpeakerBox family so we wanted to take some time and get to know our fabulous coworkers through a short Q&A. Please meet Tatiana Peralta, Emily Burdeshaw, and Ben Stanton. Kicking things off with Tatiana -- What is your favorite...
Writing in public relations can be overwhelming. We are expected to become mini-experts on different topics across various industries. All of this can be even more challenging when you’re fresh out of college, like me. Being new to the writing game in an agency can...
If you write for any part of your living, you’re familiar with the adage, ‘show don’t tell.’ Writing that ‘shows’ you something rather than explicitly telling you, allows a reader to experience a topic (not like this sentence). Language that ‘shows’ leads a reader through...
I recently read a blog post on a daily news site dedicated to PR, marketing, and media that basically called out all the ways that journalists frustrate PR professionals. While the post made some fair points (breaking embargos can, in fact, cost us a client),...
Recently, I somehow got on the email list for a national marketing professional organization that I do not belong to. In the last month, since I was added to their list, they have emailed me 15 times about three different events. That seems a bit...
The world needs great writing. Our clients demand it. The editors that we work with on a daily basis crave it. Search engines love it. And that hunger for well-articulated, thoughtful commentary, combined with compelling marketing language, seems to be growing with each passing day. At...
As publications face increasing pressure to do less with more these days, securing media interviews is becoming increasingly difficult for PR pros. The reality is, many publications are cutting back on their editorial staff, and it’s not uncommon for a reporter to turn down an...
Looking for a job right out of college is as terrifying as it is exciting. In my experience, I was overcome with joy over the fact that, after almost 20 years, I was going to (finally) be an “adult.” But, I was also terrified that...
Last week, our team spent a day at a couple of wineries for our annual #SpeakerBoxDay celebration. We try to take some time for team-bonding a few times a year. In the past, we’ve gone to baseball games, beer gardens, cooking classes, a teammate’s house for...
Good analyst coverage is a must for technology companies. But engaging with analysts to properly position and communicate your offering’s unique benefits presents real strategic, logistic, and monetary challenges. Plus, once you have connected, how do you know that the analyst has interpreted what you...
Knowing your target audience and when to take a calculated risk Nike released their ad, Dream Crazy, on Sept. 5. The two-minute montage follows obscure and well-known athletes alike, training for and playing their respective sports. The video ends with a bold call to action, “So...
This fall, SpeakerBox rolled out two new philanthropy programs that support our local community. As students across the country prepared for the beginning of the school year, the SpeakerBox team kicked off its Operation Backpack program. Sponsored by Volunteers of America, Operation Backpack aims to provide...
Like hunting for the Colonel’s secret recipe (hint: it includes black pepper), marketers have long sought to identify the algorithms that Google uses to determine its rankings. For years, search engine marketing experts have followed the ever-changing guidelines, rules, and updates that Google has issued...
"Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes" -Oscar Wilde Nearly every public relations professional has their fair share of mistakes, slip-ups, or other moments that make them sweat. Whether it’s a reporter breaking an embargo on a press release, or a spokesperson backs out...
This month I had the pleasure of interviewing one of the incredibly talented designers we use to bring our clients marketing materials to life. Based in Somerville, Massachusetts, just outside of Boston, Kristen and I have been friends for 13 years – and got to...
If you do a quick, unscientific look through Glassdoor for reviews on the leading mid-sized PR firms and management consultants, you will spot a troubling trend. The scores for work/life balance seem to sit right in the middle of the scale. Even among award winning...
Last year, Forbes published a piece entitled “Why Medium Doesn’t Matter Anymore,” only to slightly undermine that argument by extolling all of the reasons why Medium does, in fact, still matter in 2018. “Medium makes it easy to blog,” the author wrote, before also maintaining...
A few weeks ago, I was compiling a progress report for a client that covered the entire first half of 2018. For this particular client, we were in charge of media relations, analyst relations and building their social media presence. If you’re outside the PR...
I wasn’t always the debonair wordsmith writing for you today. I remember a time not very long ago when I was sitting in my car, hyperventilating, trying to think of a way to get out of doing my first big college presentation. My group had...
This week Market Connections released their 2018 Federal Government Contractor Study in conjunction with Merritt Group and the Professional Services Council. Market Connections typically conducts this survey every other year, and this year’s survey focused on the intersection of business development and marketing within companies...
This year’s DCA Live Red Hot Companies event celebrated 40 of the hottest companies to make a mark in the DC area. Even with the deterrent of rain and an MLB All Star game, companies from all over the region gathered at WeWork, 1440 G...
Once upon a time, some enterprising young upstarts created websites that would connect us to each other like never before, and allow any stray thought to be shared across the world. To quote Douglas Adams, “This has made a lot of people very angry and...
I have a secret. I like the Edelman Trust Barometer. Not as much as I love Mary Meeker’s Internet Trends report, but I do look forward to it every year. It’s interesting how much things change in a short period of time when it comes...
Not too many companies can boast a customer base of more than half a billion people spread out over 200 countries, but LinkedIn is a rare breed. Its social media cache comes from the fact that it is remarkably effective. More than 90 percent of...
While women are involved in nearly every aspect of a business, their advancement into leadership positions is still moving at a snail’s pace. Perhaps not surprisingly (at least to me as a woman) McKinsey found that “nearly 50 percent of men think women are well...
Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to moderate MindShare’s annual “Meet the Press” program featuring four local reporters who cover the business and technology community. First, what is MindShare? Launched in 1997, the organization handpicks 50 to 60 CEOs every year from the DC...
Before I really started delving into the world of social media PR, I thought live tweeting was stupid. Who needs someone blowing up their news feed, talking about how “Ben is a total jerk for not giving Carly a rose” and how “#UglyAF Danielle’s dress...
In the last few months as I’ve slowly become aware of GDPR and its ramifications, I have realized that my colleagues and clients here in the US are equally ignorant about how this may or may not affect PR. I started by trying to gather...
We’ve all heard the saying “go big or go home.” It means to go all out, live life to the fullest, and be extravagant. But how often in marketing do we really have an opportunity to do that? Aside from the odd trade show or...
I love to cook. After a long week of client meetings, pitch writing, and media outreach; there is nothing better (in my mind) than coming home with a bag full of groceries and cooking a delicious meal. I also love social media. As a millenial, it’s...
The world’s premier superhero team is still reeling from their battle with Thanos, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t learn from them. Superheroes are meant to be examples to look up to, and I believe they can teach us things beyond how to poorly...
At SpeakerBox, one of the many hats I wear is mentor interns who join the team for a few weeks or months. I aim to give them a snapshot into what it’s like to work at a public relations agency. When we hire young professionals,...
Though content marketing has been around for a long time, Selina McPherson, marketing lead at Hatch Apps, shared some fresh ideas on the topic at the recent Mid-Atlantic Marketing Summit. One of her points that resonated with me is the suggestion to focus on “big content.” According...
Chief Marketing Officers are more used to building interest in their companies than in themselves, but Wednesday night saw the spotlight shine on some of best CMOs when they were honored at DCA Live's Top CMO event. Hosted at the 80 M St SE WeWork, near...
Recently I’ve had the pleasure of introducing my nine year old daughter to the Star Wars series. We’ve been taking things out of order; I figured I would start her off with the newer films, which are pretty entertaining and easy jumping off points. We’ve...
The B2B Marketing panel was hands down my favorite at the Mid-Atlantic Marketing Summit late last week. I often feel that general marketing discussions just don’t apply cleanly to the B2B or B2G markets. Our audiences can be much different and much more narrow, and...
I’ve heard many marketers discuss agile marketing, but I’ve never actually seen it in action. In last week’s presentation at the Mid-Atlantic Marketing Summit, Laura Taylor, President of Silverline Communications and Chris Tomassian, an agile coach at Excella shared a case study for agile marketing. For...
As a PR professional for the last 17 years I was really excited for my last session at the Mid-Atlantic Marketing Summit, the PR-Marketing Convergence. While I may describe what I do as PR, the reality is that my clients are almost always on the...