Month: July 2013

AP Style Matters

OK, I’ll admit it. I’m obsessed with “The Associated Press Stylebook.” It’s my bible to grammar geekdom. (Note the spelling of  “OK,” that quotation marks – not italics – are used around a book’s title and that “bible,” in this use, is lowercase because it’s a non-religious reference.) It pains me that most PR and marketing pros don’t use AP Style. I judge those people now,… Read more »

Five Ways to Make the Most Out of Your PR Internship

Every ambitious college student knows that completing a successful internship is essential to success. Earning a degree has become just a piece of the puzzle for those who wish to graduate and be hired into the workforce. Employers are looking for more than just a certificate proving you sat through 104 credits of classroom time, they are looking for an experience filled résumé. That experience is… Read more »

4 Summertime Tips for PR Firms

Summertime at a PR agency is an interesting season for a few reasons. Sure, the staff has an extra lift in its collective step because the weather is nicer (with the exception of places like the San Francisco Bay area, which, as I experienced first-hand last week, is typically steeped in fog this time of year). But there are significant challenges to smoothly running a successful… Read more »

Matter Communications Expands to Western U.S. with Hollenbeck Acquisition

Newburyport, Mass. – July 17, 2013 – Matter Communications has announced the acquisition of The Hollenbeck Group (THG), a boutique technology public relations firm based in Portland, OR, with clients in the mobile, startup and enterprise sectors. As a result of the Portland PR firm acquisition, THG founder Kent Hollenbeck joins Matter as Vice President, West Coast and member of the firm’s senior staff. Matter also gains existing… Read more »

PR Firm Matter Communications Launches West Coast Office!

It’s official: after months of careful research and planning, today we open the doors to our new, full-service PR office in Portland, Oregon by acquiring The Hollenbeck Group in Portland. The new office will be run by long-time PR veteran Kent Hollenbeck, who joins Matter as Vice President. Effective immediately, Matter Communications has a bona fide West Coast presence strategically located in a burgeoning city full… Read more »

George Zimmerman “Not Guilty”: Social Media Erupts in Protest to Verdict

On Saturday night, July 13th, it was announced that George Zimmerman received a “not guilty” verdict after the much anticipated trial for a crime that had been heavily publicized from the start. If you are active on social media, you knew the verdict at least 24 hours ago, and you also probably know all about the Trayvon Martin shooting that occurred in late February.     … Read more »

Krafting A Crisis Communications Response

How would you like to be Stacey James these days? For the uninitiated, James is the Vice President of Media Relations for the New England Patriots, a position he’s held for twenty years.  He’s been here through the really bad times, through three Super Bowls wins and two heartbreaking losses, through the very public and very messy Bill Parcells-Robert Kraft divorce, through Spygate and more.  He’d… Read more »

10 Ways to Be Invaluable to Your PR Firm

The public relations industry is enjoying something of a renaissance in recent years, because social media is all about engagement, and engagement has always been the lifeblood of solid PR pros. It’s what we do, whether it’s building relationships with print media, bloggers or influencers on various social channels. In short, it’s a great time to be in PR, and an even better time to for… Read more »

America’s Pastime

Few things are as American as watching a baseball game and so it seems only fitting that just days before we break to celebrate Fourth of July, the Matter Providence office caught a Pawtucket Red Sox game for an evening full of fun, food and fastballs. The rain held off just long enough for us to make our way into McCoy Stadium where we were treated… Read more »

How to lose a PR client in 3 easy steps

This article originally appeared in PRWeek. There is no shortage of reasons why a company will seek out new PR representation, but here I’m summarizing three points made to me by a number of new business prospects that have recently ended their working relationships with their PR agencies. While, naturally, the details of each situation have varied, consistently these three topics have emerged in discussions with… Read more »