As a daughter of a mother, a mother of daughter with a daughter, the sister of a sister, and a girlfriend to many girlfriends, I’m pretty tuned in to what it means to be a woman today.
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Words to hope by.
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B Corp Annual Report – keep raising the bar
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.
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Recycling is tricky.
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.
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Growing Where Planted
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!
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Rethinking my relationship with alcohol
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.
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Eastern Oregon campaign aims to combat HIV stigma, increase testing
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).
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Creative in the time of COVID
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.
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Top 3 reasons why your organization could benefit from media training
While using the phrases, “off the record” or “no comment” might seem like a good idea, there are other, more effective ways to prepare for a media interview. Read more…
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“Abstract to ‘aha!’”: diving into the world of discovery with Oregon students
“What do you want to be when your grow up?” was a question I remember being asked often as a kid, though I never really had a good answer. A wedding planner? A professional crafter? Is that even a thing? Though I always knew I wanted to do something “creative” when I grew up, zeroing in on exactly what I wanted to do for the rest of my life was a daunting decision for a high school student.
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The beat goes on.
Some businesses survive less than a year. Others, like Gentile Pastificio, survive for hundreds and more. Only days ago, my family and I visited Gragnano, the tiny Italian town celebrated for its air-dried pasta. As we entered the massive stone building, I couldn’t help but wonder what the workings of an 1876-founded business might look like inside.
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Belt and suspenders approach to e-commerce for Portland leather goods maker
With tourism down in the Portland-metro area because of the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with ongoing protests in the city core, sales stalled for Orox Leather Co., a family-owned business that prides itself in its craft leather goods and Mexican heritage. Adding to this already challenging time for small, local businesses, the Orox team was robbed not once, but twice over the course of two months, losing tens of thousands of dollars of leather bags, wallets and other products.
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When the world is on hold, “Get Busy Living”
2020 was, needless to say, a year full of changes. We saw consumers shifting their needs, wants, perceptions and behaviors, and we along with our clients had to learn to evolve quickly. But what do you do when your consumer feels they can’t do anything?
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Reporting on a year like no other
With this blog post, we are announcing and publishing our second Certified B Corporation™ and Oregon Benefit Company Annual Report. It provides a window into our world including the tribulations and the triumphs during the last year or so of our journey to improve the social and environmental fabric of our communities.
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Inspiration for a new year
2020 was a difficult year, and as marketers, we found brands not immune to these challenges. How do you break through the noise to reach an anxious, angry and skeptical audience?
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Bringing the future to life
The year is 2020 and as I sat in my tiny work-from-home office, I smiled as I read the theme MAGNET (Marketing & Advertising Global Network) had chosen for their inaugural virtual Summit.
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Taking stock of my own connection to racism and moving from awareness to action
As a white person I can never really know what it’s like to be Black in America. After a seemingly endless streak of wrongful deaths from state-sanctioned violence. After listening to all the rhetoric about the American dream only to find closed doors and rigged systems at every turn. And after navigating daily doses of micro-aggressions and the weight that comes with them.
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Dear Evan Hansen, please keep writing
Full on mushroom ravioli and white wine, as a reward after a long day, I ambled my way south through downtown Portland to Keller Auditorium. Solo and feeling uneasy, this night was as much about dinner and a show, as it was confronting my inner anxiety.
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A look toward the future.
2020 – The start of a new year, a new decade, and the beginning of new opportunities. The CK team is back from our winter hiatus and sharing our visions and goals for the future.
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A Matter of Life and Death
Last Sunday, we loaded 10-month-old Emma Pearl in the back of the SUV and headed off for her first visit to 1000 Acre Dog Park on the Sandy River Delta. Non-stop, Chuck-it fetch madness ensued. Finally, having revved her engine to an ear blasting 200-RPM pant, we traveled two more miles down the road and back in time to Tad’s Chicken ‘n Dumplins in search of soothing sustenance. I first learned about Tad’s from my Uncle Norm, a no-frills traditionalist born in 1909—pre-empting the historic Columbia River Highway roadhouse by nearly two decades.
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Road trips and realizations
Our client, the Oregon Health Insurance Marketplace, helps people buy their own health insurance. In preparation for this year’s open enrollment campaign, we worked with DHM Research to learn more about our target audience of young, low-to-moderate-income folks. We conducted four focus groups in the Portland metro area focusing on communities of color and Spanish speakers and three around the state in Eugene, Medford and Redmond.
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In Good Company
With this blog post we are announcing and publishing our first Certified B-Corp and Oregon Benefit Company Annual Report. You can read it here.
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Finding the right balance
How often do you look at the calendar and wonder what your plans are for the weekend? Do you cram your schedule on Saturday and then spend Sunday doing laundry and binge watching Netflix? Or wonder if the forecasted sunshine is going to hold out long enough for you to spend the weekend enjoying the outdoors? For me, managing a work-life balance is important to ensure I continue feeling fulfilled in both my career and my personal life.
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Confessions of a thrift store addict – the environmental, social, and personal impact of second-hand shopping
As early as I can remember my mom would take me thrifting. We’d each go to our respective aisles and meet back at the cash register to unveil our fashion finds. As I’ve gotten older, not much has changed, except I’ve gotten a little more knowledgeable on the items I curate for my closet, and on the environmental, social and personal purpose behind second-hand shopping.
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A love affair with Design Week
Design Week my favorite time of the year. Okay, let’s be real, I put ???? at the top of my list. But for sure it’s a close second… or third. ????
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Social Media Detox
Nearly everyone I know has a tumultuous relationship with social media. They either love it, hate it, or hate to love it. I’ve heard millennials (like myself) have these mixed feelings about social media because we are nostalgic for life before its existence.
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Through the eyes of a child.
The snow we received last week, especially that first hit last Tuesday, gave me the opportunity to see pure joy on display. There’s just nothing like a snow day in the eyes of a school child. Making my way to work I came across one neighborhood kid after another skipping into hill sledding, snowman making and just the general WOW of the setting. I remember those days in their shoes.
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Tips to kick-start 2019
Your Christmas tree has seen better days. Your sweet tooth has been satisfied. And it seems there is no end to the January rain showers. But instead of dwelling on the post-holiday doldrums, the CK crew would like to offer up 24 of our favorite tips to beat the winter blues and help you kick-start 2019!
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What the season of giving is all about.
In this spirit of Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler’s Oregonian op-ed, Harnessing the holiday spirit to help our homeless, Coates Kokes held a donation drive to benefit Clackamas Service Center. Founded in 1971 by three women who pooled their bingo winnings to make a difference in their community, CSC is dedicated to providing basic life assistance, transitional support and resources to individuals, families and children who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness. In addition to the donations that CK staff brought in from their own homes, we went on an excursion – via the Portland streetcar – to Goodwill for a supersized shopping adventure.
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The art of color grading
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They say, “The journey is more important than the destination.”
After two and a half years of working on our B Corp application, certification has finally become a reality. As we celebrate this milestone, I’m reflecting back on the journey we have taken.
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If someone told me in 1985…
I have had the same employer for more than 33 years. (Crazy, right?) I feel like I have to phrase that really carefully. I can’t say I’ve worked at Coates Kokes that long (I’ve been through 3 name changes). I can’t say I’ve worked at the same place (5 different offices). And I can’t say I’ve had the same job. I’ve had…well, I don’t know how many jobs/titles I’ve had here, but it’s a lot (receptionist to partner and VP of Ops, however many that is). How did I manage to stay with one employer so long? I suppose there are as many reasons as “hats” I’ve worn. Or maybe there’s just one…
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Not quite ready for my closeup
In 2016, Coates Kokes helped the Oregon Health Authority launch a marijuana youth prevention campaign. The research indicated teens wished to hear from adults who had used marijuana in the past. We conceived of a video to test in focus groups that featured a former pot smoker who questioned his marijuana use as a teenager.
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A brand baby
As a designer/brand manager, one of the greatest privileges of my job is learning. To make an ad, you have to understand the customer. To make an infographic, you have to understand the process. To open a 5-star luxury lodge on the Oregon coast, you have to understand a lot more than business cards. It’s a learning process.
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Move-in day #tbt
This spring marks three years living in my 150-square-foot apartment in Northwest Portland. While I could go on about how living at my means, reducing my carbon footprint, and generally adopting the minimalist lifestyle of every aesthetic blogger’s dreams, let’s be honest with each other – tiny living is really hard.
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Baby, it’s cold outside
It’s been cold out these days. “Coat weather” as they say. Each morning before I head to work, I look in my closet and try to decide which coat to wear. Do I go with the soft fluffy cream or fleece-collared gray? Or is it the trench coat, the pea coat or one of my down-filled jackets in tangerine, sandstone or snowflake? Oh, but it might rain. Maybe the blue plaid, the belted black or the poly-tech raincoat would be a better choice. Then, again, there’s always the puffy coat with fur-trimmed hood lurking in the back of my closet. Choices, choices.
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Getting to work. An exercise in living better.
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In disaster relief, peoples’ goodwill gains traction
In light of recent tragedies, I’ve been reflecting on the role social media has taken in the aftermath of disasters. The responses to the hurricanes in the Southeast and the earthquakes south of our border remind us of the impact wide exposure of humanitarian goodwill can have to inform and inspire additional relief efforts. I’m…
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From EPIC fail, to a win
If you’ve ever participated in a team relay, you know what a labor of love it can be. There are 12 runners to a team, 6 in each van and you are coordinating from van to van to pass the “baton” off to the next runner at each exchange point. Each van has to account…
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Examining our views
There’s no doubt about it – the Coates Kokes office is beautiful. We moved into the Commonwealth Building in downtown Portland in 2011 (before my time here), onto the “unlucky” 13th floor. Superstitions aside, we have whiteboard walls, a fridge stocked with sparking water, a stunning, in my opinion, a 360-degree view of Portland –…
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Finding the courage to dance
In the aftermath of the Pulse Nightclub shooting, Justin Torres for The Washington Post wrote “In praise of Latin Night at the Queer Club,” a tribute I shared among friends, many who identify with a letter in the LGBTQAlphabet, and many who don’t. The outpouring of support and the unity that followed that brutal attack…
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Give better
Every two seconds, someone in the United States needs blood. Really, every two seconds. Most of us probably take for granted that the blood will be there, waiting for transfusion, if and when we or a loved one need it. But there’s no guarantee of that… unless we all do our part to contribute to…
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One shining moment
This time of year makes me happy. The days are getting longer, rain and snow will be behind us soon (OK, maybe not rain), and NCAA college basketball playoffs are underway. Coates Kokes is not alone in sponsoring a Bracket Challenge competition: 70 million people filled out March Madness brackets in 2016. USA Today says…
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The blog post that could have been
She did it. And we did it. With Tuesday’s historic vote, America fulfilled one of its original promises. Since the founding of the country, we’ve hoped to hold this truth to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. Now, to paraphrase Lin-Manuel Miranda, we can include women in the sequel. Women fought for 144…
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How well do you know this place?
“Where are you from?” That’s a common question I dread being asked as I never know how to answer it. Do I say where I was born, or my two nationalities? Or should I mention all of the places I’ve lived? Due to my dad’s job, my family and I moved approximately every three years…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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,…
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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…
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10 places to use your Go Box downtown (plus – what’s a Go Box?!)
At Coates Kokes, we’re passionate about sustainability. We also love to embrace the spirit and culture that is Portland, so the decision to participate in Go Box was a no brainer! What is Go Box you ask? It’s a sustainable way to take advantage of Portland’s downtown food scene. Participants are given tokens which are…
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The power of water
Viewers of Sunday’s 87th Academy Awards were treated to a spectacle of dazzle, drama and power straight out of the Pacific Northwest. We’re speaking, of course, of the Coates Kokes-produced TV spot for CleanHydro, which debuted during the ceremony.* “Snow Melts” is the latest in a series of four commercials for our client Northwest RiverPartners…
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Speaking from the heart
“It was with you the first time you blew out your candles. It was definitely there for your first slow dance. It’s been given away and it’s been stolen too many times to count. It’s even been broken a time or two….” As you can tell, we’re talking about your heart. Timed for February, National…
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No joy in Duckville
Look how happy we all look. This is a picture of hope and joy; anticipation and want. Sadly, it is also a picture of bragging rights never earned or realized. Nearly half our CK team identifies themselves as a UO Duck. Many went there. Some have kids or spouses who went there. Others simply have friends…
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The dirty secret
But if no one knows the secret, then no one gets hurt…right? Wrong. Believe it or not, every night hundreds of babies in our community go to bed wearing a pre-used diaper. Really, pre-used. This isn’t because their parents are stupid or love their children any less. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. These parents…
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Solar hits new ‘Heights’
Cutbacks at print and broadcast media outlets in Portland and an emphasis on digital content have demanded we think beyond traditional tactics and change the way we practice public relations. We have been transformed into visual content producers as well as writers, strategists and professionals pitching story ideas to reporters. We know that by offering…
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The elephant in the office
Our creative team was recently recognized for its integrated marketing and communications work with the Oregon Zoo. The Zoo received the 2012 Marketing Excellence Award presented by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) for the advertising campaign we created to celebrate 50 years of Packy the elephant. You may recall seeing the ads around…
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Fields of energy
One of the best things about living in Portland is access to great places just outside the city. For me, this access comes by way of my motorcycle, a 2002 Triumph Tiger. Over the years we’ve been on lots of fun adventures together, riding all over the Pacific Northwest. But one of my favorite rides…
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Whole lotta coverage
Our PR team has been working hard to get press for the Cottages at Cape Kiwanda in Pacific City. The two separate tasks have been to promote the benefits of fractional ownership and also Pacific City as a destination. In one weekend, there was an article in the Portland Business Journal about fractional ownerships in Oregon, highlighting the Cottages and also a story in The Oregonian’s Travel section about visiting Pacific City, highlighting the Cottages as rentals. Way to go PR team!
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Press check!
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The Oregon/SW Washington BetterBricks Awards 2010
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Portland Sustainability Institute joins the conversation on OPB’s Think Out Loud
Rob Bennett, Executive director of the Portland Sustainability Institute, and John Knott, CEO of the Noisette Company in South Carolina fresh from the second annual EcoDistricts Summit engaged OPB’s
Expanding Avista’s Energy Efficiency Outreach to New Audiences
Bringing Energy Efficient Design To The Drawing Board
What Do You Put On Your Lawn?
Congratulations to Everyone. But Especially the Potluck Winners!
Last Friday, CKers competed in the fourth annual 100-mile potluck. Lots of great food as usual but only three can be winners (or four if there’s a tie, and there was). So this year’s winners are (and BTW, you’ll notice the winners are all women, but this blog contributor will have you know the guys did a great job too):
Lindsay Frank "Most Local Ingredients" with her Rice and Summer Squash
Christina Bertalot "Most Local Ingredients" with her Pork Carnitas
Anne Hoffman "Best Tasting" with her Peach Salad
Time to Get Your Julia On!
Be vewy vewy quite, I’m hunting cawifwowa.
Alright CKers. Time to source your ingredients from within 100 miles of CK central and turn that local bounty into the best dang casserole ever!
As usual, prizes will be awarded for the dish with the most local ingredients, the best tasting and the best presentation.
Good luck!
State Public Health Officer Dr. Mel Kohn Voted Best Keeper of the Calm for His Work on H1N1
Rid Your Place of Powermongers.
The places we call home are filled with Powermonger breeding grounds. Leaky windows. Thermostats set too high. Computers that are carelessly left in power-save and never get shut off. It’s time we took back our homes and started saving energy.
With help from Avista and Every Little Bit, customers will soon be able to rid their homes of the Powermonger menace and start saving energy.
Avista Wins First Place for Every Little Bit
Avista Utilities entered some work into an industry award competition (Utilities Communication International). Avista won first place for the Every Little Bit campaign as a whole. First place for the :30 TV spot titled "John" aka "Profile." And first place for the "customer" print series. Congratulations all around! The customer outreach communication pieces beat out some tough competition and much larger utilities.
First Bocce Match
Is it called a match? Game? In our case, it would be called a "trouncing." We played against SwellPath. And while we did win a few rounds, they demolished us something like 12 to our 6. Well played, SwellPath. Well played. On another note, one of our bocce players mistook the game for dodgeball.
CK PR, Sunset and Pacific City
The PR team has been working hard to get some media attention around all the great activities Pacific City has to offer. The work definitely paid off with an amazing two-page spread in the June 2010 issue of Sunset Magazine.
Recent “Keep it Local” Coverage for the Stephanie Inn
Coates Kokes has been working with Martin Hospitality and their Cannon Beach properties, the Stephanie Inn and the Surfsand Resort, for the past five years. Recently, on KOIN’s “Keep it Local,” the notable Stephanie Inn was featured as one of the most romantic places to go away with your sweetie. Nice job PR team!
Bring Your Daughter to Work
Today Olivia Sheen accompanied her father to Coates Kokes. After meeting everyone and hearing about what they do, dad put her to work concepting ads for The Register-Guard online classifieds. Highlights included discovering the M&M bowl, fetching her dad a cup of coffee and learning how to post this blog.
Happy Earth Day, Earth!
You didn’t think this editorial staff would let Earth Day go by without a post did you? Well, it was decided that we’d bring a smorgasbord of nature-friendly, goodness to our readers.
Eat Your Fiber
Adventist Medical Center recently hosted another of their wellness seminars, this one about The Full Plate Diet and featured the doctors and authors of the book. The book is a NY Times and USA Today bestseller and goes into depth about why a fiber-rich diet is not only healthy but will also help you lose weight. Our own Anne Hoffman was on the scene to bring you this summary of the event.
A New Place to Scrape Your Plate
Sue and Kate on the PR team helped coordinate the Portland Composts! pilot media event Wednesday and all four TV stations showed up. Four neighborhoods, or about 2000 homes, were selected to participate in the initial program before introducing the food scraps composting to the entire city in 2011. Here’s some exclusive CK camera footage of the event.
Behind the Scenes
No spoiler alert here. Just a behind-the-scenes preview of a soon-to-air :30 second tv spot for Metro’s Recycling Hotline. Without giving away the concept, the spot is another in-house production with the help of producer, Katey Carson. In-house director, Sam Lienen was especially excited to finally get his eye behind a Red camera.