Month: October 2015

Best Practices for Nonprofit PR

All kinds of companies, organizations and enterprises are vying for media attention in today’s world and all have a compelling story to tell. But how do those in the not-for-profit space get their voices heard? After working at multiple nonprofits around the country, I’ve found that getting media coverage can be difficult no matter what, but for nonprofits, who aren’t always on the public’s radar, getting… Read more »

Don't Get Spooked By Ghost Spam

You’re sipping your morning coffee, sweet jams are streaming through your earbuds, and you’re ready to take on this digital day. With Google Analytics displayed across your monitor, you click through to see how well your website is performing and who is checking it out. Google, Bing, Facebook – the usual suspects are high on your list of source traffic. But what is that odd URL… Read more »

Networking – it still Matters.

I spent some time this week connecting with contacts that I hadn’t seen in some time, and was reminded of the value and importance of doing so in person. Technology has given all of us plenty of opportunity to connect electronically and, as result, an in-person touch may be inappropriately devalued in today’s business world. I worked for a boss years ago who insisted on doing… Read more »

Bridging the print-to-screen gap

Remember the QR code? These things were going to blow-up, right? QR codes contain enormous potential to bridge the gap between printed material and your mobile screen. I’ve seen some decent examples of their use both in application and design… although the design solution usually involves trying to hide them in cleaver ways. Changing their color to blend in, hiding images within the code or hiding… Read more »

An In-House Overview | Today’s Video Creatives

  It seemed fitting that my first blog post for Matter would be about the differences and similarities of working as a creative for companies in-house and as part of a firm. Over the last few years I’ve done a variety of work between the two and I’ve become accustomed to the day–to–day workings of each. To begin, I don’t want this post to be a… Read more »

Fantasy Football Sites Flagged for Infraction

A Crisis Communications Two Minute Drill Forget the overheated real estate market. Never mind the S&P 500. That massive bubble that seemingly formed overnight – the uber frothy, multi-billion dollar daily fantasy sports industry – is about to burst. And by burst I certainly don’t mean it will crash to its death before the MLB playoffs start tonight or prior to kick-off of this weekend’s NFL… Read more »

3 Lessons in: Client Relations

Welcome to Lessons in PR, an ongoing series of public relations tips and advice from the professionals at Matter Communications. Have your own tip to submit? Respond in the comments or email vboynton@matternow.com. Ever lost a client because you didn’t “gel”? Ever had a project slip through your fingers, and you know you could have done more to keep it? Yes – we’ve all been there…. Read more »

JDA Software Names PR Agency Matter Communications AOR

(Newburyport, MA) – Oct 5th, 2015 -Matter Communications, an award-winning PR and social media firm with in-house creative services and search marketing groups, today announced it will serve as Agency of Record for JDA Software Group, widely recognized as the preeminent provider of end-to-end supply chain and omni-channel retail solutions. After a competitive PR agency review, JDA selected Matter based on its deep expertise in enterprise software – particularly… Read more »

Red Sox Win PR Battle (for Now)

After a spirited and mildly successful late season stretch, the 2015 Boston Red Sox limped to the finish line yesterday in Cleveland, dropping two in the midst of a four-game losing skid to finish 78-84, the team’s third last-place finish in four years. Few tuned in on TV and with good reason; the real action occurred outside the white lines. In these final weeks, manager John… Read more »

Beating the buzzer: Capitalizing on breaking news

A good chunk of a PR pro’s day consists of finding creative ways to get a client’s story out there. Obtaining killer press coverage without a steady stream of company news is one of the biggest – and most exciting – challenges we face. But every-so-often, things just happen. All of a sudden you’re not creating the news, you’re typing and dialing like a mad-person reacting… Read more »

Infographic Best Practices

Data, data, data… how can we make the communication of data quick, clear and interesting? Of course an infographic. Love it, great idea. But not all infographics are created equal. So what makes one stand out as effective and unique? Well, in my first couple of months here in Studio C at Matter Communications, I was tasked with creating a couple of these information graphics one… Read more »