Posts by: Kawika Holbrook

Wild Cards

On May 16, 2013 By

Here’s a small sampling of business cards, collected over the past couple of years, from Marianne O’Connor. They were all fished out of her desk as we remove the last vestiges of Sterling’s old furniture to make way for some exciting changes in our Silicon Valley headquarters. Most California employees will be working remotely [...]

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Redesigning the SPG Solar Website

On April 23, 2013 By

Since 2001, SPG Solar has been designing, engineering, building and maintaining high-quality solar power systems for large commercial, industrial, governmental and public energy users. In 2006, SPG Solar started manufacturing the SunSeeker single-axis tracker to generate up to 25% more solar power. In 2012, they began to sell [...]

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Security Breach Supercut

On January 25, 2013 By

Over the years, Sterling has worked with quite a number of clients in data security. One of our favorites has to be our current client, Vormetric, which is trusted and used by 68% of the Fortune 25 (not to mention hundreds of others) to protect what matters [...]

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When is public relations more than PR?

On December 19, 2012 By

Public relations has been at the heart of Sterling Communications since our founding in 1989. Relating to the public, in case it hasn’t become obvious this decade, requires far more than mere “PR.”

Public relations — at least to our high-tech and cleantech clients — has grown far beyond press releases about new products, [...]

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11 Tips to Bore People Stupid Using Social Media

On July 13, 2012 By

I think we’re well past the point of convincing companies they should maintain a presence on popular social media sites. There’s even consensus that companies should attempt to be strategic about their efforts by mapping their tactics to corporate goals. However, there still seems to be debate on whether it’s OK for companies [...]

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Sound Off Podcast: Social Media Privacy in the Workplace

On April 19, 2012 By

Sterling Communications Account Supervisor Scott Smith sits down for a chat with colleagues Tiffany Bryant, Jordan Hubert, and Lisette Rauwendaal, to discuss how many companies are increasingly evaluating potential job candidates, and current employees, by evaluating content on their Facebook, Twitter and other social network pages. In [...]

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Sound Off Podcast: PR Consequences of Public Resignations

On March 16, 2012 By

For Goldman Sachs, a public-relations disaster had real consequences this week — $2.15 billion consequences on Wednesday. That’s the market value stripped away from Goldman’s stock price when shares dropped 3.4% after Greg Smith’s farewell to the company [...]

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What Is the Media Predicting for 2012?

On December 2, 2011 By

It takes a brave soul to sit in front of a room of people and predict the future. Wednesday’s Media Predicts: 2012 event sponsored by the PRSA Silicon Valley gathered a constellation of stars in tech reporting to find out what Apple, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and others may have in store [...]

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Sound Off Podcast Episode 2: Netflix, What the F***?

On September 20, 2011 By

Netflix’ stock price, brand value and customer goodwill all seem to be tanking after the announced split of its video streaming and mail-order DVD businesses. Not only are most vocal customers unhappy [...]

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Dear TechCrunch: Here’s Why Companies Use PR Agencies

On September 8, 2011 By

Arrington out at AOL (for real this time) I cannot be a part of TechCrunch going forward Yes, Of Course I’ll Resign Unless Mike Arrington Chooses His Successor TechCrunch As We [...]

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Open the Door

On August 30, 2011 By

We’re an all-Mac shop at Sterling Communications. We’re big fans of Apple even when one of their computers isn’t a fan of us. So when Steve Jobs resigned as CEO from Apple, we (like [...]

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Press Check

On August 16, 2011 By

While PR has traditionally been our bread and butter, there’s a reason why we’re called Sterling Communications. Here’s a quick video, shot and edited with an iPhone, of a press check we attended. We’re designing business cards, stationery, and a website for a new client. Details coming soon.

Kawika Holbrook can be reached at Continue Reading →

Free Advice

On August 1, 2011 By

Tomorrow, the National Student Leadership Conference will bus 16 high school students to Sterling Communications’ headquarters. Visiting from around the country, they’re interested in journalism and [...]

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7 Deadly Sins of Online Newsrooms

On June 28, 2011 By

In all the excitement about Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and other social networking sites, it’s easy to overlook a staple of public relations: the online newsroom.

Visit the “press page” for many high-tech companies and you’re bound to [...]

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How Today’s Number One Book on Amazon Started as a Dad’s Lament on Facebook

On May 12, 2011 By

Getting a child to go to sleep can be one of the most maddening tasks a parent faces, which is why this image from Facebook struck all the right nerves on my funny bone this morning.

(Warning: Clicking some of [...]

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Welcome to PlatformPro

On September 20, 2010 By

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Drag & Drop Design

On September 11, 2010 By

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Nullam quam quam, dignissim eu dignissim et, accumsan ullamcorper risus.

Aliquam rutrum, lorem et ornare malesuada, mi magna placerat mi, bibendum volutpat ante orci eget lectus. Morbi nec purus dolor, vitae varius orci. Nulla facilisi. Nam sodales cursus accumsan. Sed congue faucibus ligula, vitae tristique nunc tincidunt [...]

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Built for Customization

On September 8, 2010 By

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[...]

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Tons of Options

On September 8, 2010 By

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Nullam ac nisl non sapien gravida fringilla eu ut lectus. Nunc pellentesque iaculis odio vel tincidunt. Cras at metus risus, eget rhoncus sem. [...]

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Typography – Cufon & Google API

On September 8, 2010 By

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.

Nunc vulputate, nulla nec aliquet lacinia, nibh lacus tristique leo, vitae semper dui risus vehicula diam. Praesent in nunc sed est aliquam egestas. Nullam ac nisl non sapien gravida fringilla eu ut lectus. Nunc pellentesque iaculis odio vel tincidunt. Cras at metus risus, eget rhoncus sem. Mauris [...]

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bbPress & BuddyPress

On August 20, 2010 By

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Place HTML Anywhere

On August 19, 2010 By

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Generational Markers

On June 16, 2010 By

For all we have in common genetically, I've come to realize that my children and I share precious few childhood experiences. I went to a big public school on the East coast; they go to a small private school on the West coast. My parents had no idea where I was when I went out [...]

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How to Thrive on Camera

On March 1, 2010 By

If they're honest, most people will tell you that they find doing on-camera interviews at least a bit daunting. Over the past 20 years, I've seen many intelligent, articulate people deliver less-than-stellar performances on camera simply because their nerves got the better of them. Well, video is not only here to stay, it's quickly becoming [...]

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All I want for Christmas…is Apple’s new tablet

On November 17, 2009 By

Apple has done it once again; piqued my interest before the new product is on the market. No, I don't know exactly when to expect it or even what it will cost, but, darn it, I want one. Yes, we have a Kindle 2 in our house and it [...]

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tr.im Resurrected?

On August 12, 2009 By

Comments seem to be offline for the moment, so I'll reply here: to Nicole's post:

With more than 20 million Twitter users trying to cram their message into 140 characters, URL shorteners have become a necessity. However, much like Twitter, it can be difficult to find [...]

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Free Advice

On July 30, 2009 By

Advice to the 16 prospective journalism and mass communications students from the National Student Leadership counsel visiting Sterling Communications tomorrow.

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Embracing the Evolution of the PR Industry

On July 27, 2009 By

As we approach Sterling’s 20th anniversary at the end of August (BTW, how did THAT happen?), I’ve been reflecting on how PR has changed in the past two decades. For your reading enjoyment, here’s a quick look at the stark differences between PR in 1989 and PR in 2009:

1989:

Press releases [...]

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Cna yuo raed tihs?

On June 2, 2009 By

Aaperpnlty, Cmabrigde Uinervtisy nveer plbuhsied a rscheearch stduy sohiwng it dseno’t mtaetr in waht oerdr the ltteres in a wrod are. No mtaetr. It sitll semes the olny iproamtnt tihng is taht the frsit and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and [...]

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Replacing the Weakest Link

On February 19, 2009 By

ZDNet published a study by Jennifer Leggio, director of strategic communications for Fortinet, with some intriguing findings into PR agency relationships. The most startling statistic? More than 40 percent of respondents claimed they are considering [...]

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