• Why I Get Amped When Visiting Our PR and Social Media Office in Portland!

    Last week I shared some thoughts related to the experience that clients have when engaged with a PR and social media agency that has a national presence – and this week I had the opportunity to spend some time with my dynamite crew of professionals in one of our offices on the West Coast. Here are a few reasons why I get pumped when I visit Portland, and in particular, when I spend time with the smart, savvy and hard-working gang from Matter in that city:

    First, Good Lord – what a town. Portland has a terrific blend of people, culture, hobbies, and happenings. It’s a city that supports an active lifestyle – and please see our gang getting recognized for being so healthy! –while also offering more eating, drinking and merriment options than all other cities of comparable size and scope. It’s a vibrant community that’s fueled by solid and honest people.

    Second, speaking of those people, our office is jammed-packed with a group of outstanding locals – and those who are quickly becoming locals. There’s a great blend of local knowledge, balanced by perspective from the East Coast. Half of our crowd are born and raised in the great Northwest, but a number of staff have moved to this great city from Boston, Atlanta and other hot spots on the eastern seaboard. As a result, it’s so nice to be here in person to meet new people – but also to see some of the familiar ones who made a great life choice to add to their career experience by spending time in Portland.

    Third, it’s special to sit with the team here in Portland in person and be reminded about their capabilities and their PR savvy. I love hearing first-hand how they are working creativity into their client programs – in terms of imaginative pitch ideas for media relations, or highly visual content produced by the creative team. It’s terrific to hear them overcome media challenges, and celebrate successes. While improvements in connectivity have changed all of our lives for the better, nothing really compares to talking shop in the office or catching-up on life during a visit to a pub.

    Fourth, this town has a steady and growing technology buzz. Beyond its thriving start-up scene, in which Matter client Urban Airship is so active, a constant stream of established players, such as Google, Intel and eBay, have moved people and their gigs to the region in the past few years. There’s so much energy that results from having credible, thriving and opportunistic technology players side-by-side, and the buzz can be felt while walking in the Pearl District – or glancing quickly at GeekWire.

    I like spending time here in our Portland office – can you tell?

    Scott Signore

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  • Why Our PR Agency Just Went “All-In” in Boston

    I’m thrilled to spread the news that – with gusto! – Matter just expanded its footprint in the city of Boston! We’ve moved from our modest shared space to a custom-built location designed to encourage smart thinking, creativity, and which is conducive to generating results.  It’s a place where smart and savvy PR professionals want to hang their hats – and we’ll be supporting our growth by welcoming them with open arms!

    In case you aren’t already living the dream in the Hub, here are several reasons why having a substantial footprint in Boston matters:

    First, it’s about being among the movers and shakers – in our business, and in the categories we serve. We’ve experienced a noteworthy business benefit by sharing some space in the Seaport District, and we’re looking forward to leveraging our new-and-improved digs to shake more hands, share more thinking and do more business.

    Second, we’ve always prioritized having the best professionals anywhere, and now, from a recruiting standpoint, we’re able to welcome those who want to join our team – but are urban dwellers who would rather not leave the city during the work week. When you’ve been named a Top Place to Work by the Boston Globe two years straight, you are always considered as a potential employer by the region’s brightest– and now geography won’t interfere with destiny!

    Third, and related to the above, we’re giving those hard-working employees in Newburyport, Providence – anywhere, really! – an in-town location for collaboration with clients and colleagues. It may not be a day-to-day happening, but it’s filled with energy, enthusiasm and a familiar Matter vibe when needed!

    Fourth, we’re now even more easily accessible to clients and partners – important face-to-face meetings can occur, whether scheduled or on a whim. Discussions about creative PR and social programs can happen with limited travel commitment.

    And, finally, it’s directly aligned with a key tenet of our success: that quality of life is truly important. On Portland Street we’re positioned well for commuters by the T or commuter rail, and within walking distance of so many places to eat, drink and be merry. It’s an accessible office that’s within near reach to so much that an employee’s professional path can be complemented by activities far beyond the job.

    Drinks, anyone?

    (more…)

    Scott Signore

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  • What Matters in Your Search for a PR Job

    I just spoke with a dynamite young professional who is moving to the mid-west and leaving Matter after four years – Molly, we will miss you! – and that quick chat reminded how I am able to see more clearly the characteristics of an agency that provides employees with a career rather than just a job. (It’s visibility I have now, after working for a number of agencies over the years!)

    If you are a young PR professional looking for an agency gig, here’s what I suggest you prioritize:

    First, you should be certain the firm you are considering focuses on its people – and is more action than just words. Far beyond the benefits package, you should ask good questions during the interview process, and you should follow closely their social media pages with an eye toward employee vibe and tone. You should seek an environment that has a structure that supports social happenings, but opportunity for all employees to contribute to the culture.

    Second, you should investigate the agency’s track record and only consider joining a firm that makes good business decisions, and is stable and sound. You want to be sure you join while the agency is on an upward trajectory, and while you are heads-down in getting results, you want to be confident in the decision-makers who can set you up for future success.

    Third, if you have the flexibility to travel, you should look for a firm that has multiple offices and a growing presence nationwide. Working at such a shop will allow you to experience new people and cultures, while being supported by colleagues and teammates. Professionally you will have the opportunity to add to your resume and portfolio by working on clients who require broad, national support, and personally you will meet new people in new communities. (And, as we’ve experienced at Matter, home is what you may end-up calling these new places you visit!)

    Fourth, you should look for an environment that’s crackling with creativity and activity. You have options, but you want to be in a place where the work is top-notch and the results are a source of pride for the agency. You want to know that you have an opportunity to contribute to the success of clients large and small, and you’ll have the opportunity to learn from all of that experience. You also want to know that new business is a process always underway, and new ways of doing what we do are always being discussed by colleagues and managers.

    And, finally, you want to join an agency that has an entrepreneurial spirit – and gets that they work for the purpose of seeing their clients succeed. You want to have a partnership-like relationship with your clients, and you want to be able to suggest and deliver highly creative campaigns that drive business results. You also want to know that a channel exists for ideas you may have for strengthening the client’s program and your agency overall.

    Did I mention that we’re looking for good people to join our team in Boston, Providence, Portland (OR), and Boulder, so reach out to [email protected] if any of the above describes an environment you seek.

    Scott Signore

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  • Companies Vying to be “Top Place to Work” – I’m Typing to You.

    Last week I had the tremendous pleasure of collecting the hardware associated with our agency being named a “Top Place to Work” by the Boston Globe – for the third year in a row! – and I’m taking some time to share how a business like ours receives such an accolade. We’re in great company, and while I’m confident that others on the Globe’s list manage their business similarly, here are a few steps we take to ensure that Matter is a place where people want to spend their time:

    First, we hire exceptionally well. We’re in a people business and having the very best PR, social media and creative professionals anywhere is key to our business success, and having such a high standard for employees drives expectations upward and fuels positive results. Delivering as a team or an individual – and being part of a culture with a results-focused foundation – directly contributes to Matter being a Top Place to Work.

    Second, speaking of culture, since our inception we’ve embraced a work-hard/play-hard approach, and balance work demands with a number of ways to clear our minds. We have active clubs for running, basketball, golf and yoga, and we have an active and robust agency-wide volunteer program – called “Helping Hands Matter” – which is a significant source of pride for all those involved. We collaborate as teams and in office-wide brainstorms, and celebrate all that we can while enjoying locally brewed beer poured from our Matter-branded beer tap.

    Third, we likely lead the PR industry with the amount of time off given to staff. In addition to a rich PTO (Paid Time Off) policy that includes our agency being closed between Christmas and New Year’s Day, and Summer Fridays from Memorial Day to Labor Day, our agency likes to offer some added time off for employees to make the most of holidays.  We have an extra day off around the Thanksgiving break, and we typically take a day to recover from our annual holiday party – among a long list of days off throughout the year. Our people rarely stray from doing 110% when they work, and having a few extra days to do whatever make them happy goes a long way.

    Fourth, our agency provides serious professional opportunity – in a way that you won’t find elsewhere. We have an established mentoring program that is one piece of a bigger pie that helps our staff reach important professional milestones. A career can be made while working at Matter, and several of our management team members have demonstrated exactly that. In addition, we are nimble and encourage entrepreneurial and creative thinking. While we have grown significantly over the years, we are still able to turn on a dime while embracing employee-suggested solutions on ways to become a better organization. That sort of environment encourages employee empowerment, rewards entrepreneurial thinking, and ultimately translates into increased revenues for the business.

    And, finally, we truly like one another and have fun coming to work and doing our jobs. Our agency’s vibe encourages friendship – in and out of the office – and it shows in client meetings and at company events. Our people genuinely like what they do, and have made a commitment to work as well as they are able while here at Matter. In turn I’ve committed to providing an environment that is supportive and fun, and that contributes to us being awarded as a Top Place to Work.

    If you take nothing else away from this blog post, it should be this: happy people do great work. And you know what else? They tend to stick around for years. That creates a virtuous cycle of consistency and excellence, and what could be better than that?

    Scott Signore

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  • Beating the buzzer: Capitalizing on breaking news

    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 to it.

    It’s not crisis communications, but the flurry you suddenly find yourself in leaves you feeling similarly. Here’s some advice on making your efforts count:

    • Remember to breathe: We work in a dynamic industry and sometimes that leaves us feeling like everything is urgent. Try to remind yourself that even though you’re reacting to breaking news, it’s important not to rush an announcement or an angle. Take the time to get it right. The results will be far more cohesive.
    • Pick a spokesperson: When in the trenches of this type of pitching, things happen fast. Journalists are looking to pump out stories same-day and want to speak with your expert ASAP. Scheduling can be a bit of a mess. Be sure to pick one spokesperson and discuss the best process for getting a hold of them when opportunities arise. Do they want to be emailed, called, texted or telegrammed? Do they prefer to dial the journalist directly, or have you hosting on a conference line? Should you just skip them entirely and go directly to their assistant? Lay out the process ahead of time so there’s no room for confusion and tedious back and forth.
    • News scan: While you should absolutely be opening up your existing press list and zipping the story off to your media besties, breaking news is the perfect time to make some new friends. Fire up Google News, see who’s covered the topic – or something relevant to it – in the past and pitch them! They’ll likely already be working on a story and as such open and responsive to new thought leader commentary. And the best part? They’ll remember that you’re good on the fly and reach back out for future stories.

    Have any reactionary PR tales to share? Tell us the good, the bad and the ugly on Twitter!

    Matter

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  • What I Learned at Boulder PR Firm Matter Communications

    “Wow, this place was awarded among ‘Best Places to Work’ five times in a row, TOO!?” I thought to myself as I applied for a position at Matter a little over three months ago. Could I really begin my Public Relations career at my dream agency? Coming out as a college graduate, it’s hard to be too picky when it comes to your first real job – but if I could have picked a place to start, it was Matter Communications.

    Lo and behold – three months later, I can now reflect back on my amazing time here at Matter and all that I have experienced in a short amount of time. Here are a few things that I believe set Matter apart from the pack:

    The People

    I never knew it was possible to feel like you know someone without ever having met them – especially in an agency that has five separate offices across three different time zones. While it’s different when it comes to coordinating schedules, it’s awesome to be able to have such a large company, yet feel so close to your teams. Our new Boulder office has already had many visitors come through from other offices – something that’s encouraged and practiced throughout the year among all the offices.

    The Culture

    While the Boulder office is still brand new and people who moved here from our main office in Newburyport are still adjusting to new life, we still make it a point to have fun and relieve stress whenever we can. Grabbing dinner and drinks after a long work day? Yep! Going to a Broncos game? You bet! Skydiving?? Okay, not skydiving. But, maybe one day…

    The Knowledge

    The amount of experience and pure skill that everyone possesses at Matter, whether having 15 years of experience or 1, is remarkable. Everyone just has those special qualities you need to be successful not only in a public relations, but in an agency. You can rest easy knowing that everyone around you is great at what they do, and can count on the expertise of your colleagues to be dependable and rock-solid – things I think that’s that makes Matter stand out.

    Can you ever truly be ready for life in the real world? Maybe. But being a part of a company that genuinely cares for its clients and employees in ways that I didn’t think were possible before I started working here, as well as being around great people, definitely helps to adjust. It’s been awesome seeing this company grow just in the short time I’ve been here, and I’m excited to be on this ride to see where it goes.

    Matter

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  • Pilgrimage to Portland

    Traveling from time to time is something you sign up for when making the choice to pursue a career in video production. It can be very exciting at times; getting to check out new places that you otherwise might never think of visiting. And although video production is a creative field, there are certainly those other times when the required tasks during the trip aren’t as artistically refreshing as one might hope.

    Last week I got to visit the Matter office in Portland, Oregon for the first time. Among my list of tasks were to take headshots for all of our staff, shoot some office B Roll, and give an overview presentation of Matter’s in-house creative services to the PDX staff. After a day and a half of this, I was to then hop on a plane to San Francisco to staff a Media Training event for a client. While all of this stuff is useful for the company and good professional experience for me, I needed to find a way that I could bring back more than just photos of smiling faces and a PowerPoint deck. Enter Nick and Cait.

    Nick and Cait are two of our staff members who recently jumped ship from Newburyport to Portland. They’ve been working from the Oregon office for a couple months now, so with their help I created this short doc about the migration process and how it’s affected each of them. Working on this project allowed me to get outside for a while to shoot B Roll around the city and take in some of the sights, all while telling their unique story.

    Breaking the norm of telling a client’s story to tell one of our agency’s own was a nice change of pace. From a Matter perspective, I hope this will help folks realize that moving 2500 miles away from home doesn’t have to be all that intimidating.

    Matter

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  • The Chronicles of Boulder PR

    On May 6, Matter Communications announced that it would open a new office in Boulder, Colorado. The tech, the startups, the passion for entrepreneurialism – what wasn’t to love? There is certainly a kinship between the People’s Republic and Matter’s headquarters in Massachusetts, so the announcement was met with excitement about what was to come.

    But wait, that was just a little over three months ago. What exactly has happened in that time? The short version: a lot. The long (and much more interesting) version:

    1. We socialized.

    When we said we wanted to be part of the community, we meant it. Less than a week after Matter shared the news of the soon-to-be Rocky Mountain office, we went to Boulder Startup Week, an event that celebrates the entrepreneurial spirit and provides resources to people looking to get into the startup scene. Our CEO, Scott Signore, spoke at Startup Stories about what inspired him to start his own company; we chatted with people at the job fair about who we are, what we do and how they could be a part of it; and we came away with one clear observation: Boulder is a place of enthusiastic, welcoming people.

    We also took our socializing to the digital world! We’ve had fun sharing the daily happenings of our office and spreading the word about local events on Twitter and Instagram – whether it’s in person or online, we love to connect!

    2. We moved.

    By June, a couple of members from the Newburyport team (myself included) relocated to Boulder, and we brought on a few more folks as well. And with that, the office was up and running and we had made downtown Boulder our home (1135 Pearl Street, Suite 203 to be exact). Before long, the larger culture of Matter began seeding its way into the Boulder office: team bonding activities, summer Fridays, and all the other perks Matter is known for.

    3. We worked.

    But of course, we came out here with a purpose: to work with local startups and support their PR goals. And we’re proud to say that even in our short time here, we’ve done just that. A few of the local companies – and stellar brands in the high tech space – that we’ve started working with include:

    • MobileDay: MobileDay is the creator of the one-touch conference call dialing app. If you’ve ever stumbled through the process of joining a call because you couldn’t remember which PIN to enter or you misdialed the number (in other words, what happens almost every time you join a conference call), MobileDay’s got you covered. Our first task was to help the company share the news that its app passed the 10 million call threshold, an indication that – like it or not – conference calls are on the rise, and people need a tool to eliminate the tediousness of the process.
    • JumpCloud: JumpCloud is the first Directory-as-a-Service®, securely managing and connecting employee identities to their IT devices, applications, and networks. The company has had a busy month, announcing the integration of Google Apps into its directory and the release of its RADIUS-as-a-Service (RaaS) solution, so companies can easily and quickly control and secure WiFi access. From local press like BizWest to tech trades like Network World, we’ve talked to them all about the effort JumpCloud is putting into making workplace security easy and manageable.
    • Stay Tuned for More: We’re networking like crazy and what we’ve learned is that there’s a real need for great PR work here in Boulder…something we’re excited to deliver on over the coming months and years!

    Needless to say, it’s been an exciting first few months here in Boulder, and the city is living up to those initial impressions we gathered following Startup Week. We work with companies that are passionate about what they do, and that combined with the energy of Pearl Street (and not to mention the incredible food), are sure to make the next few months just as interesting.

    Matter

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  • An Internship in PR: Breaking the Coffee Delivery Stereotype

    Walking up the steps and into the office building clad in the Matter signature red, I had no idea what to expect for my summer internship. I had never worked in the PR industry and didn’t know much more about it than the average person would. With each step a new idea of the stereotypical intern flashed through my head, fetching coffee all day, making endless photocopies, organizing mountains of documents. I wondered if I would be able to make an impact through my work or if I would simply be labeled as “the intern” and be pushed aside.

    As I toured through the office I was greeted by a sea of smiles and there seemed to be a buzz of energy throughout. There were people actually excited about their work. I saw focused groups of people in conference rooms, heard hopeful chatter about upcoming projects, and felt completely welcome. I knew then that this internship would be much different from what I had expected. By the end of the day I had attended two meetings, been assigned one project, and made 0 cups of coffee.

    Fast forward one month, and I have learned that one of my biggest challenges is not the result of being pinned with mindless busy work, but rather finding out how to stay busy. The entry-level hand holding stops when I complete an assigned project and begins when I realize I am on the clock and I don’t have someone constantly telling me what to do. I learned that if there is a lull in my workload, the best thing for me to do is reach out to both the members of accounts I am working on, or basically anyone in the office for that matter, and ask where and how I can provide help. I discovered that when most people have too much work, their first reaction is not to pass it onto the intern, which is why I have learned how important it is to remind co-workers that I am here to help wherever I am able. As a result of this, I have had many willing people reach out to me for help on a project, and while sometimes they spend more time walking me through it than they would have spent working on it alone, I have always been received with a positive attitude. It is this focusing and engaging environment that has fostered my growth as an aspiring professional and helped me to learn much more than I could have imagined in a month.

    While I have certainly drank quite a bit of coffee, I have not become any type of coffee mule around the office. I have worked on real projects for real clients. I have taken on the mindset of someone who wants to learn, which has done me a significant amount of good in an environment with so many people who are willing to teach. My experience at Matter has broken just about every internship stereotype while the fun, encouraging environment has sparked my early interest in PR, which keeps me coming back motivated each morning.

    Matter

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  • PR Teams Take Time Out for Team Building

    In such a fast-paced environment, trust and respect among team members is a critical element for success. That’s why it’s important to periodically take time out of the office, step outside of our comfort zones and get to know colleagues on our PR teams outside of the confines of conference rooms and our inboxes.

    We recently had the opportunity to venture pretty far out of our comfort zones on a photo scavenger hunt team building activity. Our group of nearly 20 divided up into teams of 4 and headed out for an afternoon of peculiar tasks designed to help us all better appreciate each other outside of our office environment. Between thumb wrestling police officers, seeking piggy back rides from strangers and performing original songs in public, it’s safe to say we all had the opportunity to get to know our teammates a little better and appreciate their unique talents. While we had fun along the way, we also had to get creative, think outside the box to solve problems, and work together to achieve as much as possible in just two hours, which parallels the results we must produce as a PR team for our clients each day.

    At the end of the scavenger hunt, we all came together as a team to discuss what we learned about each other, how different people and groups used very different approaches to produce similarly awesome results, and the importance of trusting teammates to complete unique tasks critical to our collective success.

    The result: A better appreciation for the ways each individual approaches tasks, a more cohesive team feel, and (of course) some pretty awesome photos. A few highlights below!

     

    Matter

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