We know the ins and outs of public relations, content marketing and social media. But when our Creative Services team needs additional arms and legs, or if we’re assigned a major branding project, we call on one of our partners. To help us with our creative needs, we call on DCH Design and its founder, Dana Hoeck. Dana is no stranger to branding and design. Before starting her own creative business last summer, she worked for a small design firm in Washington D.C. for three years and then joined an advertising agency here in Richmond for 14 years. She has …
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Read MoreMarketers throw around phrases like brand journalism and content marketing almost interchangeably these days, but there is a definite difference between the two of them. Content marketing was born more in the b2b space, and it’s more about folks and companies giving out information, primarily custom information, like white papers or reports or offers. And those are designed to drive you to a landing page ask you to give them custom information about yourself, like email addresses and your job title. And, in exchange, you get a download of that information. Your email address then goes in the database, where …
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Read MoreI’ve been in public relations for close to four decades, and based on that experience, I believe that most journalists are fair, conscientious and accurate. Sure, there have been exceptions to the rule, but by and large, my respect for the Fourth Estate runs deep. And so when a reporter calls asking for an interview or quote, I do my best to try to accommodate those requests, even when the issue that has prompted the call is an uncomfortable one. I believe that media relations is a two-way street, and if we are to ask reporters to consider our pitches, …
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Read MoreBranding Always Trumps Messaging
We spend a lot of time working with our clients on their core messaging. What are the two to three essential points that your organization wants to convey to your key audiences? In an ideal world, that positioning is a direct reflection of your brand, the essential distinguishing characteristic that defines who you are. But it’s important to note that brands are not built simply by way of messaging. Rather, they are sum total of the actions that an organization takes. The decisions you make that dictate the quality of your products or services, your internal culture and values, how …
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Read MoreMy affinity for live, streaming videos of baby animals began in 2013. It was a big year for babies. Bao Bao the Giant Panda debuted at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. Lana, a cheetah at Richmond Metro Zoo, had a litter of five cubs. These live cams helped generate an awareness for the populations of these endangered species (and the zoos that care for them). Fast-forward to 2017 and the latest live-streamed animal phenomenon is April the Giraffe, the 15-year-old leggy lady at Animal Adventure Park in Harpursville, NY. Last week we posted a sampling of good and bad …
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Read MoreIf you host a large event, whether with customers, partners, prospects or the public, you know the joys and struggles of producing and distributing meeting materials. Even if, like me, you feel a beautifully designed printed piece is a thing of joy, you may just be ready to move away from a printed program guide to something more interactive. That’s the situation we were in recently as we helped a B2B technology client prepare for its bi-annual developer and user meeting. I’d had the good fortune to have managed the app for Richmond 2015, the UCI cycling championships held here …
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Read MoreHere’s what we learned
First things first, this is an apolitical blog. If you’ve ever signed up a for political candidate’s email list, your inbox has likely filled up with updates, donation requests and rallying cries. That’s what got us thinking: are there any trends in political campaign email marketing? What can communication professionals learn from the deluge of emails? We created a fake Gmail account and signed up for every political candidates’ email list and analyzed emails from February 19 – March 18. We pulled data using code from Austin Walter’s blog. At the time, Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, …
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Read MoreDo you think your small brand is ready for the spotlight? If the answer is yes, there a few things you might want to consider before kicking off media relations efforts and emailing a TODAY producer to pitch your brand. By lining up a few key elements, you’ll make sure your small brand is ready for the attention it deserves: What it takes Consistent Branding. A strong brand identity sets your product or service apart from all others and helps build brand loyalty. Establish consistent branding across all platforms, including your logo, website and social media accounts. High-resolution Images. High-res product and lifestyle images …
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Read MoreOkay, I know the word “PRublishing” is little hokey, but after some recent client efforts, conversations and new business meetings, one thing is becoming very clear: marketers are ALL OVER the idea of creating content that can be targeted to specific audiences to drive their business. The marriage of PR and online publishing (PRublishing?) will continue to dominate our industry as it matures over the next year or so. THP has just launched its first digital magazine on behalf of a client. Right now if we told you about it, the client would shoot us – at least for now. …
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Read MoreThings you probably didn’t know (or care to know) about me. I love Richmond native D’Angelo. I also love—to a lesser degree—Grantland.com writer Rembert Browne, who in my opinion is one of the funniest music/pop culture writers out there. So you can imagine my excitement last week when this happened. (Browne wrote about D’Angelo. I know, right?!?) I was expecting to read about how amazing D’Angelo’s newest album, Black Messiah, is live. What I got was a lesson in corporate branding. Stay with me. The criticism around how corporate SXSW has become isn’t anything new. And Browne, lover of all …
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