Tag: matter communications

Where the Hipsters PR

What do Nike Shoes, local brews, foodies, hipsters and Matter Communications all have in common? Simple – all can be found in Portland Oregon. I have been fortunate enough to spend this week with some of Matter’s newest cohorts in our recently added Portland office. While I am here in an official capacity, it has hardly felt that way. There is something in the air in… Read more »

From NBPT to PDX: The Importance of Face-to-Face Communication

A bi-coastal, cross-office exchange program – how cool is that? With the importance of office culture always top-of-mind at Matter Communications, a program was created wherein each month two professionals from our East Coast locations are offered the opportunity to visit our new Portland, OR location. The goal: foster work relationships and encourage collaboration. Sarah Ellis and myself were recently (and fortunately) selected for the trip,… Read more »

PR: Is Proximity Relative?

As the newest team member at Matter Communications in Portland, OR, I take time to reflect on the words of one of the most influential voices of my generation to help make my transition as seamless as possible: “When opportunity knocks, you better let him in. Sit him on down and try to be his friend.” I’ve taken Coolio’s words to heart during my first month… Read more »

4 Tips for Getting Work Done – Anywhere

Here at Matter, our team of 80 plus employees works out of four main offices: the Newburyport headquarters, Boston, Providence and Portland, Oregon. In addition to those four offices, we also have other small offices that team members work out of, and we all share the need to occasionally work from home, especially since most of us are located in New England and road conditions can… Read more »

Four Reasons Holiday Parties Matter

Later today, the majority of our staff (and their plus-ones!) will be gathering to celebrate the season.  Like so many agencies nationwide, we’ll share holiday joy by eating, drinking and being merry. After a full year of helping our clients achieve both communications and business success, we’re ready to enjoy a holiday season celebration – and likely, you are too! Here are four reasons why holiday… Read more »

Along the Western (PR) front

I – along with Jesse Ciccone, a Managing Director here at Matter – have had the luxury of spending the week in the Pacific Northwest with Kent Hollenbeck and Josh Rein, two of the dynamite professionals who joined Matter earlier this summer when we acquired  The Hollenbeck Group, based in Portland, Oregon. In addition to getting together to cover timely topics such as recruiting, cross-agency happenings,… Read more »

Matter Communications Green Lights Broadcast Video Production

Last night, Matter Communications held an open house to celebrate our tremendous growth and show off our new broadcast production studio. With an energetic turnout, business colleagues walked our expanded halls, decorated with client successes and accolades, and chatted up Matter execs on why this agency is so special. My take? It’s a special agency because Matter is listening. We haven’t expanded into graphic design, video… Read more »

Pitch Please!

The art of the pitch – it can be delicate and precise like threading a needle, to something much more direct and forceful, like demolishing a wall with a sledge hammer. Regardless of your style, if you are going to get into PR, you should enjoy breaking down the walls and building relationships with the media. As PR Snoop Dogg (Snoop Lion does not exist to… Read more »

3 Reasons Reporters Should Switch to PR

My name is Dan G., and I’m a recovering journalist. I spent the first half of my career working in local television news, seeking the high that comes from landing a big exclusive or hitting a home run during a breaking story. I started as a lowly intern and after paying my dues I was overseeing day-to-day coverage as an Executive Producer at a station where… Read more »

Come to LunchSpotting 4.0 at PayPal in Boston!

I’m excited about the 4th Lunchspotting event that we are hosting in conjunction with MITX at PayPal Media Network in Boston’s Innovation District, and here are the two reasons why: First, everyone eats lunch. Right? At the very minimum, everyone takes some kind of mid-day break. In addition to valuable networking with smart folks from myriad companies – described below – you indeed get a free… Read more »

Matter Communications Wins Best Places To Work – AGAIN!

I try to reserve this blog space for insights about public relations, social media and marketing, but every now and again something happens at our PR agency that deserves comment. A few days ago my firm won the Boston Business Journal’s “Best Places to Work” award, marking the second time in two years we’ve collected the honor. To me, this is perhaps the highest form of… Read more »

So, You Just Started Your First PR Job?

Just about a month has gone by since I started as an Account Coordinator here at Matter Communications – a month packed to the brim with new experiences and new challenges. As a recent grad just starting her first “real-world” job, I know exactly how awkward and full of butterflies the beginning can be. But I have also learned a few useful tips to help ease… Read more »

Stop Calling us PR “Practitioners!”

Somewhere along the way the PR industry got a bad rap. Maybe it was one too many gum-snapping, vapid airheads masquerading as public relations pros that tarnished our field. They’re a rare and feckless creature, but they have and do exist. Just as the newspaper business has caricatures of hard-boiled, cigarette-smoking, bourbon-swilling reporters, the public relations industry has its own cartoonish persona that undermines the very… Read more »