AM:PM PR Employee to Raise Funds for Bosnian Flood Relief

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Fenbi at Sirens Port Townsend

Fenbi at Sirens in Port Townsend

Several years ago I performed part-time in a pseudo world music band called The Fenbi International Superstars. Willamette Week reporter Nick Jaina caught a Fenbi show at a punk venue on Alberta called The Know in 2010 and wrote:

“Portland’s Fenbi International Superstars have fomented a welcome frenzy. The six-piece borrows its twin loves for gypsy punk and throaty sing-alongs from the likes of Gogol Bordello and Flogging Molly, and like both those groups FIS realizes that the essential element in that witch’s brew is a palpable sense of fun, though a talented fiddle player doesn’t hurt … Fenbi International Superstars hit their marks exactly, executing accordion flourishes, scissor kicks, and back-of-the-throat odes to drunkenness with a fine balance of exactitude and slop.”

fenbi logoIt was during a world music class in college that I first became interested in “gypsy” music. That interest led me to explore the history and people of the Balkans. It was through Bill Carter‘s 5-star memoir “Fools Rush In” that I truly caught the Bosnian bug, and was able to visit the country in 2012 as they commemorated 20-years since the beginning of the 90’s war.

Tonight our band is reuniting for the first time in three years to stumble our way through old songs and to raise money for Bosnian flood relief for a region that has just experienced devastating 100-year floods that have altered and shifted already treacherous land-mine fields and caused devastation across the country, which already experiences 44% unemployment. Here is a recent article about the floods: Click Here

While we can’t promise scissor kicks (or even amplification) we can promise that we’ll have a grand ol’ time at one of our favorite local haunts, the 442 Soccer Bar at 17th and Hawthorne. We’ll perform from 7-8 p.m.

For the Facebook invite: Click on this link

If you are unable to attend, please consider a donation to the Bosnian Red Cross.

 UPDATE: We raised over $600 for Bosnian flood relief efforts, and to help one individual who had lost most of his home.
bosnian building with bullets

I took a photo of this contemporary dwelling in 2012, check out those bullet and grenade marks!

 

“I Graduated, Joined PR Circus” – New Intern Dustin Nelson

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 by Dustin Nelson

“I’ve always known that I wanted to be a professional juggler.”

While my lack of hand-eye coordination has kept me from pursuing a literal career in juggling, my passion for juggling multiple projects led me to the metaphorical PR circus that is public relations. It’s often difficult for me to explain to friends and family what exactly a public relations professional does and that’s exactly what I love about it. Working in PR allows me to be many things at once, from a writer (my first passion), to a branding consultant, to a crisis manager.

university of montana building

Hailing from the town of Missoula, Montana I studied journalism at the University of Montana where I took a four-year crash course in balancing my many passions and academic and professional impulses. While I discovered journalism wasn’t exactly the direction I wanted to take professionally, what I learned was that I love people and writing.

After graduating this spring, my passion for food, wine, and PR brought me to Portland.

At heart, I’ve always felt more like a city boy trapped in the country, albeit beautiful country, so my journey to Portland was a smooth transition. While I expected the great food and wine that your fair city delivered to my ever-expanding waistline, what I didn’t expect was how much I would love the people of Portland.

For a big city, Portland has a sense of community that rivals many of the 3,000 population Montana towns I’ve visited.

From the time I pretended to be some random girl’s boyfriend to help rid her of an unwanted drunken suitor at a beer festival, to the staff at Thai Noodle who know our orders like we’re family, building relationships with the folks around here has been easy. I’ve known since I stumbled off the airplane at PDX that I wanted to help tell the stories of this community in whatever forms they take.

oregon wagon image

Everyone has a story to tell, and while some people put it into words, others tell their stories through the things they create, businesses, products, food, and art. A public relations professional gets to be the gatekeeper to such stories, we help businesses communicate their stories to help shape the way people live their lives and interact with their community. It may be a circus in this new world, but to me, the strange is familiar and I can’t wait to learn some new acts.

REPOST: Cool Spaces: AM:PM PR’s Southeast pride (Photos)

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Earlier today our office was featured in The Portland Business Journal for our “Cool Space.” We’ve linked to the original piece and reposted much of the article below and hope y’all find the opportunity to make your way in here someday, either through our Speakeasy events or otherwise.

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Cool Spaces: AM:PM PR’s Southeast pride (Photos)

You can tell a lot about a company from its entryway.

Walking into AM:PM PR’s Southeast Clinton Street offices, for instance, one barely feels as if they’ve entered an interior space. The floor plan revolves around natural light, conveyed by the firm’s (it shares the space with the tech firm 7/APPS) massive north-facing windows.

The firm occupies a neat space in the Cyrk Building, owned by Will Emery and Bonnie Serkin. DECA Architects designed the office while B & G Builders, with a eye on using sustainable materials, built it.

It’s a keenly planned layout that evokes its Southeast Portland environs (many of the materials are recycled or repurposed) as well as AM:PM PR’s sense of fun (an image of firm co-owner Pat McCormick depicts his penchant for wearing socks with sandals).

Click on this link for more glimpses of the AM:PM PR and 7/APPS space.

Facebook may have found the key to mobile world domination. It’s Paper.

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Facebook Paper imageFebruary 3, the day before Facebook celebrates its 10th birthday (my granddaughter Meagan just turned 10, too), the social media giant released an elegant new app, called Paper. It displays your Facebook news feed – and other personally relevant content – in a simple, beautifully designed format perfectly tuned for smartphones.

Data released last month by Flurry Analytics, whose tools measure usage of the 300,000+ mobile applications it tracks by more than 1 billion monthly active smartphone users, shows Facebook’s dominance.

According to Flurry’s report, smartphone users spend 18% of their connected time using the Facebook app. That’s three times longer than all other social media services combined.

Mobile users spend 80% of their connected time on apps, according to Flurry. As our colleagues at 7/Apps note, smartphone users overwhelmingly prefer to use apps for their online activities rather than mobile friendly websites. A responsive website is essential, too, but for many companies it isn’t sufficient to meet their customers’ mobile needs.

Paper’s design is simple. Reminiscent of news readers Flipboard and Zite, it’s built to take full advantage of smartphone capabilities.

The creative hand behind Paper is Mike Matas, who designed software for the original iPhone and the interface for the Nest thermostat.

I’m an Apple fanboy and Nest user. So I wasn’t surprised to learn an Apple alum was responsible for the design. Matas’ company was acquired in 2011 by Facebook. He now leads creative Labs, a new group of small teams inside Facebook. Paper is Creative Labs’ first product.

If Paper is any indication, Facebook’s second 10 years will be as remarkable as the first.

If you’re a smartphone user, download Paper. It’s a native app that confirms why mobile users spend most of their time using apps.

Click the image to view the new promo video:

Facebook paper video

 

 

 

Morgan Holm Share’s What’s New in Public Broadcasting

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morgan holm OPB

Photo Credit: Deston Nokes

Earlier this month AM:PM PR hosted a dozen guests for an evening with OPB’s Chief Content Officer and Senior VP Morgan Holm (Twitter: @morganatopb). The event was part of our new Speakeasy series where we invite industry thought leaders to our office to discuss their latest projects, or trends in their industry. Morgan shared OPB’s latest plans for expansion and led a spirited discussion about the evolution of public broadcasting, with an intriguing behind-the-scenes look at the production of a recent (and popular) feature story about glacier caves at Mt. Hood.

After receiving a tip about an expansive ice cave network on the west side of the mountain, Morgan explained that the team at OPB immediately realized the story was a once in a lifetime opportunity to capture these rapidly shrinking natural wonders. OPB mobilized a massive operation involving key staff members from their website, radio and TV departments (even grabbing key staff from Seattle) for an unprecedented feature story. Their efforts were rewarded when the project received tremendous positive viewer feedback and interest from across the country. The program was picked up by other NPR programs including The Takeaway, based out of Boston.

If you haven’t seen the Glacier Caves story, check it out here:

http://www.opb.org/glaciercaves/

With the addition of a new Vancouver, Washington bureau, 2014 will be another great year for programming at OPB and we are thrilled to continue being proud OPB supporters.

2014 will also be a great year for AM:PM PR and we’re looking forward to more unique programming of our own. If you’d like to join us at our next Speakeasy, we’re inviting University of Oregon professor Kelli Matthews on February 6th to share the findings of a research project she’s been involved with on millennials who work at PR agencies. The study focused on how millennials see ethics, company culture and organizational relationships. She’ll also talk about what she is seeing now in her current crop of students, how they see the industry and what social networks they are most interested in. Contact mike (at) ampmpr (dot) com to RSVP.

Follow us on Facebook for more information.

AM:PM PR becomes first PR firm to commute by hoverboard

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marty and hoverboard

Today I woke up to the news that Amazon.com has a brilliant new way to deliver their goods … by drone. Their new legion of drones (technology first pioneered by Darth Vader, and recently picked up by the U.S. military) can deliver packages of up to 5 pounds within a ten mile radius of a major city center. Using GPS technology Amazon will ensure that your package will leave their distribution center and arrive at your doorstep within 30 minutes. As Jeff Bezos discussed on CBS this morning, they are years away from implementation.

By the time I got to work, I had heard or read about this story on CBS, NBC, NPR, The Oregonian and through various social media channels – where creative types are hard at work on new drone memes, and where conspiracy theorists are organizing into neighborhood watch parties to discuss how to destroy the drones (I made that last part up, but I wouldn’t be surprised.)

alexis on a hoverboard

The thing that struck me about the story is that there isn’t really much of a story here. The program is in development and won’t be ready for years, pending laws and technology upgrades.

From a PR perspective, the story is brilliant, as today is Cyber Monday and Amazon needed to get their brand name out into the media to positively impact sales. Really, is there any other reason you’re hearing about this story today as opposed to last week, next week, or say, five years from now when they’re ready to implement? You have to hand it to their PR team for this has been a successful media blitz.

That said, today AM:PM PR is announcing we are the first PR firm to commute entirely by hoverboard. We won’t have the technology for 50 years, but I do have this crude artistic rendering of Alexis on a hoverboard to give you an idea of what to expect once we have the budget, technology and proper legislation in order.

Until then, we sit and wait for the media to inundate us with interview requests…

AM:PM PR Wins Award for One Direction Pop-Up Store Campaign

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Alexis and Mike photobooth

They had a silly photo booth, so we got silly.

Last night AM:PM PR attended an award ceremony put on by the Portland Metro Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America, and we left having won a Spotlight Award. Our award-winning PR campaign supported a pop-up store for the British boy band One Direction (1D) that opened in Portland’s Pioneer Place Mall for three weeks this past summer.

From the beginning, this award-winning project seemed like it’d be anything but. We started with barely two weeks notice until the launch of the store, and the members of the boy band wouldn’t even be making an appearance in Portland. Further, the grand opening weekend was scheduled during the Portland Rose Festival’s Grand Floral Parade. When I arrived the morning of the opening at 6 a.m., the parade route completely encircled the mall like a boa constrictor, choking off any potential foot traffic; while downtown Portland was deserted like a ghost town.

 

viral social media campaign

Two contestants from our viral video campaign

Despite all of the challenges we were given, our team rallied to craft several creative solutions and each member of the team showcased a remarkable skill or talent. Allison crafted our strategy (and a great partnership with Radio Disney), Cam engineered a great video component to assist a viral social media campaign, Alexis generated some great print coverage, and I was able to secure dozens of free promos from local pop radio stations. With our powers combined, our team echoed the go getters from Captain Planet (and our soundtrack was just as good).

The pop-up store project was fun, and a great learning experience for all involved. And perhaps most importantly, now the entire team can finally claim to know who One Direction is, and more importantly, what their music sounds like (mostly because we couldn’t get their songs out of our heads for months afterward).

 

one direction fans

One Direction fans lining up

 

 

Keyword (Not Provided) – Google Makes Big Changes for SEO

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– by Cam Clark

The world of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) changes rapidly and this week Google announced a dramatic move to secure searches “to protect internet users.”

What does this mean for your SEO efforts?

Analytics programs will no longer be able to tell with which keywords were used to bring a visitor to your site.  

Keyword data has been a very valuable component in SEO because it’s used by developers and marketers to improve the website experience. This, undoubtedly, will make optimizing a site more challenging.

However, Rand Fishkin, Moz CEO, makes a great point, “Any time we see the complexity of our practice is increasing, we also have an opportunity, because it means that those of us who are savvy, sophisticated, able to track this data, are far more useful and employable and important. Those organizations that use great marketers are going to receive outsized benefits from doing so.”

While Google sites privacy concerns, some experts point to the NSA’s Prism project as Google’s main concern though keyword data will still be provided through paid search. Which makes you wonder if this is a sneaky way to get you to buy more Google ads? Or are they truly just looking out for the little guy?

What are your thoughts?

Rebranding PR 3.0 – Introducing Speakeasy

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We started a little informal gathering we dubbed “PR 3.0” back in 2009 as a way to stay up to date on the latest social networking trends. PR and communications were changing rapidly so we assigned staff members specific areas of study so they could educate the rest of the team at the weekly get-together. In the beginning we religiously monitored Facebook, Twitter, social apps like Four Square, SEO and video. We held our meetings every Thursday at 4pm over drinks in our office or at a cool spot with wi-fi. We started inviting peers and clients and anyone who was interested, and the gatherings evolved.

Four years in social network time is like 40 human years. Changes in social networks are happening daily and the list of social networks worth paying attention to has grown substantially. Our jobs as communicators are increasingly more complicated with so many challenges to take stock in, while traditional media outlets shrink, and catching the attention of overburdened reporters becomes an Olympic-sized challenge.

We recently realized the name for the group was dated when a 17-year-old high school student came to our office for an informational interview to learn more about PR. She asked what 3.0 referred to.  She had never heard of Web 2.0. The name hadn’t been cool for years. We must have looked like dinosaurs.

We decided then to give our PR 3.0 meetings a makeover. With the addition of new team members, new interests, new strategy, and tactics and technology making waves in our industry, we began the search for a name that fully encapsulates this wild industry (and sounds professional enough so that our colleagues from other companies can talk their bosses into attending). After several failed attempts at witticisms, a visitor named Brie Shea suggested the name “Speakeasy.” Perfect.

So, there you have it. We’ll be hosting Speakeasy gatherings twice a month.

Click here to join the Facebook Group to receive and share the latest news.

We’ll try once a month to have a special honored guest we think is extra smart about a topic. Kelli Matthews, University of Oregon’s most popular PR instructor, has already agreed to make a special trip up for one to talk about what she’s teaching the next generation of PR pros. Our next Speakeasy gathering is planned for September 19, 2013 in our office. We’ll have some adult beverages on hand to get your big thoughts flowing. Who knows what could be happening in communications three weeks from now? If you can predict it, you’ll win.

PR 3.0 gets all up in Linkedin

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linkedin logoThis platform has been adding new features and updates during the past month that may dramatically alter how PR professionals, small businesses and jobseekers use the platform.

At PR 3.0 on Thursday, May 9th we’ll discuss some of the latest developments including the new Facebook-style mention feature, visual portfolio feature – and discuss how they’re trying to corner the market for both job-hunters and established professionals.

For a primer, check out the following links. Feel free to share any additional links or comments that may facilitate further conversation.

LinkedIn Now Lets You Add a Visual Portfolio to Your Profile

LinkedIn Adds Facebook-Style Mentions Of People And Companies In Status Updates And Home-Page Comments

LinkedIn’s New Recruiter Homepage Gives Headhunters Better Search, Status And News

linkedin screenshot