INK PUBLIC RELATIONS

My 2011 mantra is “Be Water” inspired by Bruce Lee’s philosophy on life and the martial arts. When this year kicked off, I approached this from the perspective that I would be more flexible when things do not go according to plan (I’m kind of Type A). With the passage of a few months, I have recognized that there are times to be flexible to ensure things do go according to plan. This is why, with much bittersweetness, I write that today is my last at INK.

I’ve had six years of the most amazing personal and professional development at INK. I’ve been pushed to aggressively evolve on both fronts because I’ve been surrounded by the most amazing group of co-workers. On a daily basis, I see nine other women relentlessly pursuing perfection in work and life and I recognize I better do the same to keep up. The way INK sees it, everyday is an opportunity to provide better client service, become more savvy in media relations, come up with the next big social media campaign and when you go home, do something interesting with your life.

Did I mention I’ve had a hell of a lot of fun along the way? INK plays as hard as INK works. The fabulous leadership team makes sure we find moments of levity in it all. There has not been a CES without a little LOVE and hardly a summer goes by that we don’t find some time to river rat it up in New Braunfels (even if we have to brave it in the rain).

It’s no surprise that I have steadfastly clung to this environment as long as I have. Yet, to achieve the rest of my personal and professional development goals, this water hast to flow a new way. And INK is flowing new ways too…substantial client and team growth and fancy new digs are just a few examples. These women will always be a part of my life. They are too valuable and I know that I will always need their continued personal and professional insight and if they ever think of forgetting me, I always have pictures like this to blackmail them:

Many months ago, when it was not the hottest month ever recorded in Austin, TX, I looked around the conference table at the old INK offices and noticed we were ALL wearing cardigans. Seriously, all 10 of us. Now I know we all wear underwear, we all wear jeans, and sometimes we might all wear t-shirts or bows in our hair (not really – just seeing if you were paying attention), but it was a rarity that – in the aforementioned Austin, and in April no less – we would all have on a cardigan at the same time. Or so I thought. Ever the competitor, I immediately challenged my fellow INKers to not only count the cardigans in their closet, but take pictures! Share! Show me the sweater! I said it was because I had a brilliant analogy I was going to make to what we do, and launch it as a social media campaign to promote the responsible use of cardigans – do you “get carded?” But, alas I must admit, that’s just not true. Try as I might, I can’t come up with anything brilliant that relates cardigans to public relations – I just really wanted to know if I had the most cardigans. And I do. Well, I do at INK. When I expanded the challenge to include our clients (perhaps we were a little slow back in April?), I was delighted to find that Jessi Marshall, esteemed Gemalto client and cardigan connoisseur, wins (by a small margin – she has 33 (that’s more than 1 per day for a month folks!). What does the lucky winner get? A picture of her plethora of cardigans on Fresh INK – and a congratulatory drink at The Grove whenever she’d like to take me up on it. Then we’ll see who gets carded.

The winner's closet

The actual INK cardigan count (read ‘em and weep):

Starr: 29 (this actually borders on a fetish – who needs this many cardigans in TX? Still, means I win so can’t be all bad. )

Allison: 22 (I still doubt this number – she likely had at least another 5-10 at the dry cleaner’s)

Candice: 19 (but had just donated 6 to Goodwill – still, not in her possession at time of count)

Kari: 17 (winner of the ugliest cardigan category)

Case in point - Kari's Christmas sweater

Helen: 14 (winner of most jubilant use of cardigans in photo category)

A Mary Tyler Moore moment

Jessica: 8 (winner of the sensible moving category – having moved from NY to TX, she thought “I don’t need that many cardigans!” Little did she know…)

Blair: 8 (winner of the wear as many cardigans at one time category)

"Hi, I'm Chandler - could I be wearing any more cardigans?"

Beth: 8 (winner of the best named cardigans category)

Alexis Cardington

Adrienne: 5 (ironically, the same number as her infant INKer daughter Charlotte)

The littlest cardigan wearer

Rachael: 5 (winner of “needs more cardigans” category)

We’re hiring! Do you have what it takes?

INK PR Job Opening: PR Account Supervisor/Director

Years of Experience: 7 – 10

We are looking for a PR account supervisor or director with seven to ten years of experience in PR and/or marketing in the high tech and clean energy industries. This person lives and breathes their clients’ industries, thrives on providing sound counsel and creative solutions, understands the dynamic media markets in which our clients play and how to tell a fresh, newsworthy story, demands excellence from a team and, at the same time, can have a beer with them at the end of the day.  If you are our candidate, you love what you do and you could never see yourself doing anything else. You play well with others.  You possibly have a war story that involves CES or Walt Mossberg; bonus points for both. You know what CSP stands for and have a hankering to visit a wind farm; added bonus points if you own steel-toed boots. Your friends know as much about your clients’ technology as you do, and they are still your friends. You are bored of social media talk and interested in social media results. You are respected by your team, your clients and the media, all at the same time.  Are we asking too much? We don’t think so.

There is a lot of love at INK PR – for what we do, for the clients we work with and for each other. We’re still a relatively young (in our 8th year) and small (you make 10) company with a growing reputation for personalized client service, top-notch media relations (800 journalists voted INK best small tech agency for PRSourceCode Top Communicators 2010 award) and PR programs that exhibit the perfect blend of strategic counsel, creativity and common sense (finalist for PR News’ 2011 Small Agency of the Year). We work hard – very hard – but we also value work/life balance and enjoy ourselves along the way. We’re looking for someone who can bring new insights, experience and relationships to the table. You will make an impact on INK and we will make an impact on you.

Job responsibilities include:

Management of multiple accounts and teams consisting of 2 – 5 people

Day-to-day client relations as the main point of contact to provide strategic counsel, convey status, set expectations, manage budget, anticipate needs and adjust plans accordingly, and find solutions to problems

Team management, utilizing team strengths and available time in a way that motivates and ensures excellence and results

Media relations including setting media strategy, leveraging key media relationships and continuing to build new and top-tier ones

Educates clients on social media tools and strategy; utilizes social media channels for effective campaigns

Writing and editing of plans, messaging documents, pitches, press releases, blogs and bylines

Maintains and demonstrates a deep understanding of clients and their industries; teaches others

Manages account budgets and makes staffing recommendations

Qualifications: Bachelor’s degree or higher with 7 – 10 years of experience in PR and/or marketing in the high-tech and/or clean energy fields. Please send cover letter, resume, references and salary requirements to Adrienne Huebner at work@ink-pr.com.

When was the last time you read an entire article… in an actual newspaper? Not just skimmed, but actually read, absorbed, and retained the information. It is no surprise that in today’s world a large majority of us like our news information short, bulleted, and hopefully with pictures (sad, but true). With the flailing news print industry, the emphasis on online content has become overwhelmingly important, not just for the news sites, but for us readers as well.

In the PR industry, we are faced with the same struggle. How can we work with media to deliver original content that is informative and compelling, while still capturing the attention of our target audiences? One answer – infographics. These colorful, easy to read graphs that break down the news have become the latest boom with online reporters; and if you are a whiz with pulling stats and have mastered Adobe InDesign, you are pretty much the bee’s knees. While this tool may be a buzzword at the moment, and just a fleeting trend, readers dig them and reporters are now demanding them.

So, rather than bore you with how infographics can maximize marketing ROI, I’m just going to show you my favorite of the week. (Compliments to our folks at Tabbedout who sent this our way.)

One month ago today INK began working from its new home in the beautiful rolling hills of West Austin.

Our new digs, red door and all (of course).

Having cramped 10 people into space originally procured for 5, the collective sigh of relief and stretching out of arms, legs and workspaces has been enjoyed by all. While the move was necessitated by growth, the space is designed for creativity – from the vibrant wall colors chosen by our resident designer Kari Hernandez (shades of blue, orange and green abound, playing off the multiple shades of our INK brand) to the brainstorm room with its handy wall of whiteboard, and yes, to the soothing water of the pool out back. While we’ve been too busy to use the pool, it has been nice to look at.

This is how we stack up.

We've not been in, but the family sure has enjoyed it.

But busy isn’t a bad thing – and business is good. At this very moment, we’re tackling a messaging conundrum for the Bluetooth SIG, preparing for the consumer launch of an excellent new app from magicJack, getting Tabbedout and Sensory lined up with industry analysts, and continuing the drum beat on a variety of fronts (media, events, customer programs, social media, etc.) with Gemalto, CSIDentity and Nuventix. We just completed media training for ACCIONA in advance of this fall’s “wind wins” media and speaking tour, and the images from the Wisconsin wind farm shoot by our own Jessica Warren will look lovely on the Broadwind Energy landing page we’re working on.

We’re enjoying our new digs. Put Friday, October 21, on your calendars. We’ll be inviting you out for a beer and a tour. Stay tuned.

If you travel up and down Bee Caves Rd, you've probably seen our sign.