Ember Carriers Featured in Forbes

Our favorite workplace expert, Mary Hladio of Ember Carriers, shared with columnist/blogger Jacquelyn Smith of Forbes the ins and outs of taking a stress-free vacation from work. For more on what that looks like, visit the link below:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2012/06/26/how-to-take-a-stress-free-vacation-from-your-stressful-job/

Ericka Nicole Malone Featured in Dayton Daily News

Scored urban theatre playwright, producer and director Ericka Nicole Malone an interview with Dayton Daily News about the challenges and advantage of taking a production to the road. For the full story, visit http://www.daytondailynews.com/entertainment/ohio-theater-arts/the-wicked-world-of-life-on-the-road-1392218.html.

TAHU Featured in Insurance & Financial Advisor

I'm happy to have helped the Texas Association of Health Underwriters, a professional organization of more than 1,900 health insurance agents and brokers, write and place the article at the link below regarding Health Care Reform. I recommended the article as a way to address the projected Supreme Court rulings that are to happen in the next few weeks. The full article can be accessed at the link below. For those wondering if PR firms are capable of working with clients from various sectors in non-local regions, the answer is a resounding yes!

http://ifawebnews.com/2012/06/12/5-things-health-reform-supporters-dont-want-you-to-know/

Should Your Company Hire a PR Firm?

This article originally appeared on PR Daily at http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/11768.aspx

Should your company hire a PR agency?

By PR Daily Staff | Posted: May 30, 2012

This year, billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban sparked a debate among people in the startup and PR worlds about the value of a public relations firm.

Cuban argued that startups shouldn’t hire PR agencies. Others (including the Public Relations Society of America) disagreed with his assertion.

[READ: 6 PR rules for startups]

PR Daily contributing editor Jackson Wightman also disagrees with Cuban, although he concedes that PR firms aren’t for every business. To that end, Wightman created an infographic for companies to determine whether they need the help of a PR firm.

My Journey to a Career in Public Relations

And the signs along the road that led me to where I am today

There are those fortunate to know their life calling from an early age. They’re curious about science, infections and how the human body works and have perfected signing Dr. before their last name at the age of five. Yet, for the majority of us, finding our career calling (not to be mistaken with life calling) can have many interesting turns. Many shake their head at this notion, citing the fact that the majority of people do not end up in a career that is the same as their major. I’m not sure that’s all that bad. There are numerous stories of those whose path to success includes instances of chance and circumstance. At my graduation speech from Miami, a professor referred to an individual who discovered optometry later in life and how it perfectly blended his background in science with his love for art as he carefully repaired eyes to their former condition.

For me personally, public relations and marketing speak to many things I am naturally curious about and what I believe I am naturally gifted at. Below are a few of my “A-ha” moments:

My journey begins early as my first grade teacher wrote in a note to my mother that that I would be signing books at Barnes & Noble someday. I also received perfect scores on writing proficiency tests, an award in the fifth grade for my rendering of a peacock and was told by my high school art teacher that I have an “eye for design.”

In high school, I was all over the place about where I wanted to go to college. I started corresponding with college coaches early, writing introduction letters and sending them highlight tapes. Oddly enough, I really enjoyed that process and thought to myself “Wouldn’t it be cool to be the person who writes these kinds of letters on behalf of a company?”

Fast forward to my freshman year at Miami during my English comp classes where I had  a few more “a-ha” moments. Our first assignment when I arrived on campus was to write an ethnography, another exercise I got a kick out of. I loved taking notes on a place and putting into words what made it unique. During another exercise we were asked to describe the experience of eating an orange and upon reading my work, a classmate told me I should be a marketing major. We also had to create a Facebook profile for a character we were reading about and I couldn’t help but think to myself “Wouldn’t it be cool to be the person who manages social media for an organization?”

That year, I lived across the hall from a student who was a communication major who informed me of what you could do with the degree and what kinds of internships her friends had. I read more about these internship experiences in the Miami Quarterly and changed my major from “Undecided” to pre-communication.

Sophomore year I began living with one of my good friends Emilie Bowman who just so happens to be the niece of PR all-star Ron Culp. She told me about her uncle’s experiences at Sears and our senior year we did an agency tour of Ketchum in Chicago when he worked there. That year I also took an introduction to public relations course. The oh-so-influential professor Bill Brewer told us the three skills we needed to succeed in public relations were good writing, the ability to “play well with others” and to be a problem solver. I believe I am above average in all three of those traits and loved the idea of a career path where I could continue developing them. In another introduction course, seniors presented their capstone PR campaign for the Office of the Diversity on campus. I was intrigued by the research they conducted that revealed the office needed to be relocated and the strategies they used to communicate the move.

I haven’t looked back since I decided in college to pursue a career in marketing and public relations and it’s fun to look back at my education and experiences that pointed me towards that selection. That being said, I don’t think any career will fit you perfectly as we are complex individuals who are continually evolving (and I don’t think a career should fit you perfectly, but that’s for another day). How did you figure out what you wanted to do for a living? What were some of the twists and turns along that journey? I’d love to hear that story and how you got to where you are today.

Back to the Basics: How Digital Media is Evolving

I've been wanting to write a blog post on digital media for a long time. I'm a little different from other PR pros in that I see value in social media but think it is overemphasized and find "digital media" all too vague of a term. Lately, however, I've become aware of how brands are effectively using social/digital media and have even noticed how much I rely on this particular communication medium. My coworkers make fun of me because I don't watch TV, but I'm a pro at surfing the web for hours on end. I like that online media lets you get the information you need fast rather than making you sit through an entire episode of Chopped to see who wins.

I've also picked up on how much others use social media and how brands are using it. PR Daily has terrific articles on brands who are effectively using Pinterest, Facebook timeline and Google + and I'm sure to follow everyone after reading about it. The brands that impress me the most do the following: they stimulate your mind to think about the possibilities that can exist. I'm a big fan of Lowe's Pinterest because there are pins on there that excite you about doing laundry. Laundry! I would have never thought to paint leaves in my laundry room to make it a spot of earthly cleanliness. BHLDN's boards give love new meaning and Smashburger's Facebook timeline makes me want to grab a sandwich fast. You might expect my coworkers would know plenty of blogs and Twitter handles but I've also had recommendations from church friends and even the guy at the coffee shop, demonstrating that just everybody goes online for both information and entertainment. In just the past few months I've discovered the blogs Crushable, Auntie's Eats, Uncrate, Huffington Post's lifestyle blogs and have re-discovered TechCrunch, Mashable and Lauren Conrad's feed. I used to see blog posts as an outlet for people to rant about nothing (much as many misconceive Twitter is). However, what's most personal is most universal and sometimes a cathartic blog post such as the one at this link has been very helpful: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/24/how-to-live-alone-turning-30_n_1447304.html. It helps that it's very well-written.

Perhaps a pivotal point for myself and many others and the way we see digital media was the release of Kony. There is one point in the video where the pyramid of hierarchy is changed because we live in a time that allows the masses to change the conversation. Theoretically. I also attended a luncheon with a Facebook developer referring to "likes" as a lightweight contact, much as texts lead to dates which lead to more serious relationships. Brands best function when they don't get "too hot and heavy too fast" he explained. Even though social/digital media has been around for 10 or so years, I've never been more excited about the way it's evolving and how brands/organizations can insert themselves into that as I am now. If you're not yet convinced, I'll leave you with the following two links that might better articulate how important online media is, especially for us "digital natives." The first is an article from Mashable that describes Internet meme culture as the "new rock-and-roll", the second is an infograph from PR Daily that shows that tablets and computers get the most "love." Enjoy!


http://mashable.com/2012/05/10/millennials-social-media-adora-svitak/
http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/11601.aspx

Why Trader Joe's is So Successful/Its Marketing Secrets

I love stories of either companies that identified a target public to match a product to (such as in the article below) or a target public to market to (as Lowe's and several car companies have started marketing more towards women) Below, a very well-written article from PR Daily about why Trader Joe's is so successful at the former strategy. Enjoy!


http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/11482.aspx

3 PR and marketing secrets from Trader Joe's

By Rosalie Morton | Posted: April 26, 2012

As a native of Pasadena, I have a special place in my heart for Trader Joe’s. The specialty grocer opened its first store in this California town in 1967.

Over time, America has embraced Trader Joe’s. Its stores sell an estimated $1,750 in merchandise per square foot, double that of Whole Foods. And this ridiculously successful, kid-friendly neighborhood market with a cult following is a brand built on booze.

Here are three marketing lessons we can learn from Joe Coulombe, the founder of Trader Joe’s, who created one of the most well loved markets in America:

Choose a specific audience that has a need.

Coulombe opened the first Trader Joe’s store to serve the overeducated and underpaid population of Pasadena—the journalists, teachers, museum curators and musicians. He chose this group because its influence is disproportionate to its salaries, and the members love to share their discoveries with friends.

Furthermore, Coulombe noted a strong correlation between alcohol consumption and education level, according to the travel and dining publication Gayote.

He understood that these folks liked to drink and appreciated quality alcohol. But couldn’t afford the really expensive stuff. So, if he provided them with good alcohol at a good price, he knew that not only would they buy it—they would tell their friends to buy it, too.

Build loyalty by addressing that need better than anyone else.

Coulombe stocked the first store with 70 bourbons and 100 scotches, according to Los Angeles magazine. In the 1960s, Trader Joe’s sold literally every California wine available. Coulombe bet on the booze, and he bet on value. He set out to prove that you could buy a decent bottle of wine for less than $10, and he built his empire on this notion.

He also secured an old license that leveraged a loophole in the fair trade laws, Gayote reported. This license enabled him to act as a wholesaler and develop a private label, which was actually the precursor to the infamous Charles Shaw wine—what many people refer to as “Two Buck Chuck.”

Create a sense of urgency and never stop innovating.

Once he conquered booze, Coulombe also knew this educated crowd had sophisticated and experimental palates. Trader Joe’s has an urgency to understand what their shoppers want even before they do. The company doesn’t follow trends; it creates them—from Mochi Ice Cream to Quinoa.

According to a Fortune article, a former senior executive revealed that the store’s biggest research and development expense is travel so it can find these taste-making (and tasty) foods. It’s through this sense of urgency and dedication to innovation that the company continues to captivate its audience.

And it has worked. Today, Trader Joe’s is known for its value-wine selection, “make your own six pack” craft beers and house-brand spirits, not to mention its house-label, limited run food. True devotees can tell you their favorite product that only comes once a year. (For me, it’s the Candy Cane Green Tea at Christmas.)

Nearly 50 years since the first store opened, the word-of-mouth continues, but now it’s amplified by an army of social media-savvy Trader Joe’s addicts. In fact, Trader Joe’s wine section has inspired a series of spin-off blogs: TJ’s Wine Notes, Trader Joe’s Wine Compendium, and TJ’s Wine List to name a few.

Rosalie Morton is an account executive at CRT/tanaka. A version of this story first appeared on the Buzz Bin blog.

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