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.
February 24th, 2023
With this blog post we are announcing and publishing our third Certified B-Corp and Oregon Benefit Company Annual Report. Coates Kokes is proud of its continued growth in B Corp activities, with the highlight being our renewed certification late last year. The bar keeps getting higher, and that’s as it should be.
January 20th, 2023
Last year, I had a friend move to Portland from out of state, and as I was helping her settle into the local culture, she had some questions about recycling. Some of these answers were straightforward, like “what goes in the yellow bin?” But other questions I was left answering with a bit of shrillness in my voice. Because I know how to recycle, right? I recycle every day. There’s no reason for me to be this unsure about a few questions from a friend.
December 5th, 2022
A year ago, when I was living and working on my mom’s new farm, I would wake up to the noises of chickens, goats and sheep welcoming the day with their cacophony. I had alfalfa hay in every single one of my jacket pockets. Never would I have imagined that in six short months I would be working on the 13th floor in downtown Portland for a communications agency. Talk about a change of scenery!
October 28th, 2022
The first time my mom mentioned to me that my grandpa was an alcoholic, I was shocked. I always knew he liked to have a good time, but it took me by surprise because I was very young, and he didn’t fit my stereotypical conception of what someone going through alcoholism was like.
September 15th, 2022
We all have an HIV status, regardless of who we are or where we live. And we should all be tested for HIV at least once. Yet 6 in 10 Oregonians have never been tested. In rural parts of the state, it’s even more evident there’s work left to be done to increase testing for HIV and other Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI).
July 13th, 2022
After nearly two years of working at home alone, I was feeling burned out and creatively drained. However, 2022 brought some new inspiration in the form of “Rethink the Drink,” a campaign we’d been developing for the Oregon Health Authority to address excessive drinking in the state.