What makes us tick

It’s quite simple really. We feel energized and gratified by the type of work we get to do. We’re not just communicators—it’s so much deeper than that. Employing each of our unique talents, we are storytellers and movement builders. We are change agents, reframers and advocates. And continually proud of the impact we make. Learn more about what drives us in our staff-written blogs.


The end is just the beginning

The ash kept falling like snow, but it just wouldn’t melt. Citizens roamed the streets, their anxious faces dressed in unfamiliar surgical masks to protect their lungs. Nervous cars hid in their garages fearful of clogged air filters. It seemed Portland, my beloved hometown, would be forever lost to unpredictable Mother Nature. I celebrated my…


What country music has to do with advertising

Growing up in North Carolina, I don’t remember listening to much country music. Now that I live on the opposite coast, I can’t get enough of it. That’s partly because, as much as I love Portland and the Northwest, I miss the touchstones of home: Southern accents, properly-fried okra, four distinct seasons (as opposed to…


Fear and trepidation on the slopes of life

My son Cameron came home last night for a visit from college.  Catching up with him reminded me of our trip about a month back for spring break.  The two of us and my wife Madeline headed to Utah and hit the slopes.  In these last years of our kids growing up and leaving the…


Keep going: Portland on two wheels

It was the jazz-loving beats of 1950s San Francisco. Then it was the raw talent of a few fearless kids that brought skateboarding to life in 1970s Venice Beach. Now it’s the rain-soaked cyclists of Portland. The bike scene in the Pacific Northwest is a movement all its own and Tim Jacks, one of our…


Fresh eyes on Portland

Last December, I moved back to Portland after having lived in Seattle for the past eight years. I began working at Coates Kokes as a Senior Account Manager, and one of the first clients I started working on was Metro, the governing agency for the three counties that make up the greater Portland area (Multnomah,…


Put your trunks in the air for Elephant Lands!

Not every city can say that they are home to a 12,500-pound celebrity, but Portland sure can! Packy, the big guy, is a household name around these parts. He also shares a birthday with our account manager for the Oregon Zoo, Christina – so it goes without saying we’re pretty excited  to see the progress…