Running “Deep,” Instead of Running Away

On December 22, 2011 By

“Chevy Runs Deep”

When GM auto company Chevrolet introduced this new slogan late last year, few knew exactly what it meant. According to Chevy’s advertising agency – Goodby, Silverstein & Partners – “Chevy Runs Deep” is meant to be used in such a way that it will solve past marketing problems faced by the [...]

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The Future of Holiday Shopping

On December 14, 2011 By

Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Small Business Saturday, Daily Comparison Shopping.

Technology has changed the way consumers approach the holidays. For years now, media and analysts have pointed to Cyber Monday as the prime example of this.

In the next few years, mobile applications could very well outpace the Cyber [...]

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Small Business is Big

On December 12, 2011 By

Big brands are having no trouble luring shoppers in with low prices and extravagant advertising campaigns this holiday season, with Black Friday and Cyber Monday leading the way. Meanwhile, small, local businesses must find other ways to get an edge. Naturally, most small businesses don’t have the cash flow for pricey advertising [...]

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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 for the [...]

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Why Online Shopping Megabit This Year

On November 29, 2011 By

With bellies full of warm Thanksgiving goodness, many Americans turn from stuffing themselves to stuffing holiday stockings with Black Friday deals. In last week’s blog post, I explored how the Internet and mobile shopping are changing Black Friday. After countless interviews and maneuvering through [...]

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The Digital Turkey: How Technology is Changing Black Friday

On November 23, 2011 By

Black Friday. To some these words conjure images of post Thanksgiving family fun, waiting in line to get the year’s best pricing on hot ticket items. Others grudgingly stand in the freezing cold hoping to score that outrageously priced TV for a steal, and then there are those who forgo shopping of any kind to [...]

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Holiday Gift Guides – Why Didn’t You Start in August?

On November 18, 2011 By

Holiday gift guides are a golden opportunity for companies to showcase their products to a targeted audience using stories and photos. What’s better, it’s free. However, there are a number of key elements that companies need to keep in mind as they begin the gift guide process, if they want to be [...]

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Solyndra: Solar’s Reputation Problem

On November 16, 2011 By

In the wake of Solyndra’s collapse, the solar industry has received a lot of negative attention, and people may be getting the impression that the industry is doomed; however, this is hardly the case. Media have been focusing on the failure of large firms like Solyndra, Evergreen Solar and Beacon Power. This is understandable, [...]

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It takes a community…

On November 10, 2011 By

Have you ever just had to check out a product or website because it seems everyone was talking about it, and you wanted to see what the big deal was? (For me, that was Pinterest, and it’s safe to say I am now a shameless Pinterest addict and evangelist.)

At last week’s Continue Reading →

Social Media: The New Destination for Endorsements

On November 8, 2011 By

Elizabeth Olsen reminds you what film acting can be….

What movie critic said this? Wait, this endorsement actually comes from actor Alec Baldwin – in a tweet! And, the first time I saw this wasn’t even on Twitter, but in a print ad for the new movie, Martha Marcy May [...]

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How to Build Lasting Relationships with the Media

On November 4, 2011 By

While social media is a great tool for disseminating information quickly to a lot of people, it also fuels our gotta have everything and gotta have it now attitude. Remember back when Web pages took a minute or more to load? Now if it takes more than a few seconds we grow impatient and abandon [...]

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Bringing It All Back Home: The Ultimate Decision of Re-rebranding

On November 1, 2011 By

Like the Bob Dylan album title suggests, often the best move to make when all else fails is to go back to basics and return “home” to what made you great to begin with. Stemming from a recent blog entry of mine highlighting Twinings Tea Company’s abrupt revamping and then reappearance [...]

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5 Key Questions (and Answers) on Press Showcases

On October 28, 2011 By

Last summer I blogged a couple of times about different types of paid press events, such as a Satellite Media Tour (SMT) and an in-studio media tour. There’s a third type of event that I recommend to clients: the in-person “party” showcase that often occurs in conjunction with [...]

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The Role of Social Media in Activism

On October 25, 2011 By

We all know that the creation of the Internet and social networking sites have exponentially increased our ability to disseminate information; after all, they are real time mass information distribution networks, but they have also increased our ability to organize. Social media played an important role in the Tunisian and Egyptian uprisings, which ultimately led [...]

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Occupy: the Media

On October 20, 2011 By

Over the past few weeks, I have been watching the Occupy Movement stories with interest, and maybe a little annoyance, after having been harassed in Reno by a mob of Occupiers this past weekend. But whatever my personal view on this, I am grateful for the First Amendment, which grants us the rights [...]

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Halloween Goes Social

On October 18, 2011 By

With the proliferation of social media, gone are the days of thumbing through a newspaper to find out about Halloween events, or browsing through a store to come up with ideas for a costume. People are flocking to Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites more than ever to decide not only [...]

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PR for the PR Industry, Part II: Social Media

On October 13, 2011 By

Recently, my colleague Scott Smith blogged about how the PR industry itself could sometimes use a little PR. Today’s topic focuses on a related issue: social media for the PR industry.

As PR professionals, social media is becoming an increasingly larger part of our job, especially since nearly everyone is a [...]

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The Evolution of the Business Card

On October 11, 2011 By

Business cards have traditionally been the ultimate representation of your company’s brand. However, in the current technological age, new mobile applications such as Bump, CardMunch and Poken, are becoming increasingly more popular. Are conventional business cards becoming obsolete?

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From She-Devil to Free Woman: How PR Influenced the Amanda Knox Verdict

On October 4, 2011 By

The Amanda Knox verdict has captured international attention, and here in Knox’s hometown of Seattle, the buzz is almost palpable, as the community anxiously awaits her return. Whether you believe she is innocent, guilty, or somewhere in between, one thing is clear: a large part of the trial has centered around her image – and [...]

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To Wire, or Not to Wire… That is the Question.

On September 29, 2011 By

In my line of work, a huge part of my role is disseminating material company news to the largest audience possible. (For those not familiar with the term, “material news” is a public company’s news that might affect the value of its securities or influence investors’ decisions). So, when working with these companies, it [...]

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Tablets, mobile payments and more: A quick view of the future from Mobilize 2011 (via Geekwire)

On September 29, 2011 By

Editor’s note: the following article was originally published on Geekwire as a guest post from Sterling’s Kevin Pedraja. View original article.

Summing up a conference with an agenda as broad as GigaOM’s Mobilize 2011 in San Francisco is no easy task. The breadth of topics covered and companies represented over the [...]

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Sterling’s New Seattle Digs

On September 27, 2011 By

You’ve probably noticed that the Sterling Communications website and blog have a new look and feel. What you might not know is that our physical Seattle office does as well. After six years in our downtown location, the Seattle team has officially settled into our new digs in Seattle’s Belltown neighborhood. [...]

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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 with the changes, but [...]

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This guy *totally* gets it (or “a guy I would love to have as a client”)

On September 16, 2011 By

Sometimes you read a blog post and you think, “Wow, THIS.”

Joel Spolsky, a serial entreprenuer who blogs at Joel on Software just wrote an amazing post about whether or not it makes sense for a start-up to launch at a conference. It’s a fantastic overview of what every company should do before [...]

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BART Protesters: Know Your Enemy

On September 15, 2011 By

I am writing this blog post under duress. No, nobody is aiming a gun at me; my enemy is time.

You see, it’s the afternoon and, thanks to a sixth consecutive week of BART protests in San Francisco, I am forced to either end my workday a bit early, or end it very, [...]

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Mixing & Mingling in San Francisco

On September 14, 2011 By

Labor Day Weekend has come and gone with the unofficial end of summer. For most of the country that means crisp air and cooler temperatures. As a true San Franciscan I look forward to this time of year because it marks our Indian Summer, the two warmest months out of the year in the city. [...]

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Out of Tune on Twitter

On September 13, 2011 By

Effective communication requires the ability to read a situation for social cues. I spent a good chunk of time over the weekend of September 11th watching the 9/11 commemoration ceremonies on TV and reading Twitter and Facebook posts related to the events. I was also witness to some ugly disagreements. When people hide [...]

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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 Know It May Be [...]

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Managing Social Media Mishaps

On September 8, 2011 By

We all make mistakes every now and then – and with social media, it can be all too evident when a company errs. While many companies may be inclined to quickly hit delete and hope no one noticed, several have come up with more transparent ways (some humorous, some more somber, depending on the circumstance) [...]

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The “Big Yellow Taxi” of Marketing

On September 6, 2011 By

Don’t it always seem to go, that you don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone?

These immortal lyrics from Joni Mitchell’s classic song, “Big Yellow Taxi,” must be on the minds of Twinings Tea Company Ltd executives and customers alike. Following a revamping of its original 1831 Earl Grey tea blend with a [...]

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