Author: Dana Phelps

NCPSRA InSpire Awards Recognize Excellence in PR and Communications

Dana PhelpsBlog, Public Relations, Raleigh PR Agency, Social Media + Influencer Engagement,

From triangle.com:

RALEIGH, N.C. (May 3, 2012) ―The North Carolina Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America announced today the winners of the 2012 InSpire Awards. The fourth annual event recognized the best in regional PR and communications with awards in 45 categories, including newly added nonprofit and government subcategories. Valonda Calloway, co-host of NBC-17’s My Carolina Today show, served as emcee for the event, held at the Capital City Club in Raleigh on May 2.

Modeled after PRSA’s national Bronze and Silver Anvil Awards, the InSpire Awards are open to all public relations, communications and marketing organizations and professionals in the state. Silver InSpire Awards recognize entire campaigns, while Bronze InSpire Awards honor specific tactics or components of programs.

“The InSpire Awards represent the best in North Carolina PR and communications,” said Eva Hornak, NCPRSA board president. “It was great to see so many talented professionals together celebrating their work and accomplishments.”

Largemouth Communications received the Best in Show award in the Silver division, and Clairemont Communications took the Best in Show award in the Bronze division—both representing the top-scoring entry in each division. In addition, UNC-Chapel Hill students Joseph “Fitch” Carrere, Michael Coletta, Jacquelyn Johnstone, Adam Schifter, Sarah List, T.J. Scholl and faculty advisor Scott Misner received the Student InSpire Award of Excellence for their entry “BIG:Durham.” The top-scoring entry in each category is listed below. A full listing of all the Awards of Excellence and Honorable Mentions is available by clicking here.

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Green Thought Thursday: Vogue’s Top 10 Must-Haves

Dana PhelpsBlog, Sustainability, , , , 2 Comments on Green Thought Thursday: Vogue’s Top 10 Must-Haves

Earth Day might have been last week, but each Thursday at Clairemont is a Green Thought Thursday! Today, Clairemont intern Margot Horgan shares why going green is so en vogue…

In honor of Earth Day, Vogue published a list of its top ten must-have items for going green. With everything from home goods, to food, to transportation, this list of items is 100 percent stylish and 100 percent eco-friendly. We’ve shared the list with you below, so make sure to check it out!

1.     Suntanned leather shoes from Esquivel. Why Vogue loves it? The suntan collection is made with only sun-tanned leather and for the first time, George used the sun as a tool to bronze the leather eliminating the use of harmful dyes and treatments as well as lowering the number of energy-consuming machines traditionally used in the production of shoes.

2.     The Natural bamboo bicycle from Panda Bicycles, starting at $3,000. Why Vogue loves it? This company, based in Colorado, produces the first steel-lugged bamboo bikes hand built in the U.S. The bamboo is sustainably farmed and processed, and they offer custom paint and finishing touches to ensure each bicycle is different.

3.     Freitag Truck Tarp tote bags, F52 Miami Vice, $105. Why Vogue loves it? The bags are unique because they are made from used truck tarps—each one having its own look and its own state of use. Furthermore, each one-of-a-kind bag is still cut by hand in Zurich, Switzerland, and gets its individual look depending on the color, the writing, and design of the tarp.

4.     Greenopia Digital City Guides, $5; Available May 1. Why Vogue loves it? Whether you’re looking for a nontoxic dry cleaner or the best natural shampoo, download the online guide Greenopia, which lists eco-friendly retailers and services in major cities from Honolulu to New York—all without wasting a single piece of paper. And, with their new e-reader version, you can get access on the go, making it even easier to stay green while traveling or on vacation.

5.    La Isla hand-embroidered bikinis. Why Vogue loves it? La Isla has partnered with Jean-Michel Cousteau’s Ocean Futures Society to donate a portion of its 2012 proceeds to his organization, which works to protect oceans and educate children about their importance.

6.    Irving Farm Coffee Company special edition Rainforest Foundation coffee bag. Why Vogue loves it? All of the Irving Farm Coffee Company’s beans are roasted at its farm in upstate New York, and from every coffee bag sold, $1 is donated to the efforts of the Rainforest Foundation. Plus, the bag itself biodegrades, leaving behind only water, CO2, and natural fertilizer. Continue reading “Green Thought Thursday: Vogue’s Top 10 Must-Haves”

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Putting on a Show… a trade show, that is

Dana PhelpsBlog, Free Advice, ,

With the trade show season upon us, today’s Free Advice Friday is focused on some beginner tips to making the most of exhibiting at an industry trade show. Based on Clairemont team members’ experience helping plan and conduct media outreach at shows in a variety of industries including building/construction, furniture, agricultural, lawn and garden, technology and telecommunications, below are a few tips to get you started. If you are already a trade show pro looking for some creative ideas for your next industry event or for an advanced trade show communications strategy, we’d be happy to discuss. Just drop us a line or give us a call!

  1. Start early. We recommend having an annual trade show plan in place so that you can compare and evaluate opportunities in a strategic fashion instead of on the fly with quickly approaching exhibitor deadlines. Select the opportunities that best match your business objectives, and start working with show organizers as soon as possible to get the best space and maximize all of the promotional opportunities available to you as an exhibitor.
  2. Have standards! We are talking about brand standards, of course. Make sure you are consistent with your company’s branding guidelines, and that your messaging is consistent at the show. Your booth graphics, your news announcements, your presentations, etc.  should all support the same message.
  3. Bring your A team.Think about who you need at the show and realize that different team members serve different purposes. If the focus of your booth is on products, the appropriate product managers should be available to answer questions. Making a big announcement? Consider a company executive or trained spokesperson. If you are doing media outreach, you’ll want your PR team there to facilitate interviews.
  4. Show me. After all, it is called a trade show, not a trade tell. Show how your products work. Demo your technology to show what your company can do that your competitors can’t.
  5. Go paperless.Trade shows are exhausting. Nobody wants to carry around a bunch of papers. Consider using flash drives or better yet, house your information on a branded url or driving participants to your social media channels for additional information and engagement.

Trade shows present amazing opportunities to meet with prospects, potential partners, industry influencers and members of the media. Hopefully the tips above, along with a comfortable pair of shoes, will have you on your way to a successful show!

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Green Thought Thursday: Spring Cleaning

Dana PhelpsBlog, Sustainability, , , ,

While Josie Butler is Clairemont’s resident Queen of Green, Margot Horgan has definitely been our blog post princess this week, educating our readers on a variety of topics. Today, Margot shares her own Green Thought Thursday with some Mother Earth-approved spring cleaning tips. Enjoy! –Dana

Image from lifeologia.

With only one week left in February, all of us southerners are almost through with our winter, which means 2 things: pollen and spring cleaning are right around the corner.

But before, we all grab our conventional cleaning products, which are riddled with chemicals, check out some of these green recipes for homemade cleaning solutions for common surfaces in the home:

  • Glass: Mix 1/4 cup vinegar with 1 quart of water in a spray bottle. Spray on glass and wipe clean with old newspaper or a lint-free cloth.
  • Countertops and bathroom tile: Mix 2 parts vinegar and 1 part baking soda with 4 parts water. Apply with a sponge, scour, and wipe away.
  • Floors: Mix 4 cups of white distilled vinegar with about a gallon of hot water. If desired, add a few drops of pure peppermint or lemon oil for a pleasant scent. After damp mopping the floors, the smell of vinegar will dissipate quickly, leaving behind only the scent of the oil.
  • Wood furniture: Mix equal parts of lemon juice and olive oil. Apply a small amount to a cloth, and rub onto the furniture in long, even strokes.
  • Toilet bowl cleaner: Sprinkle a toilet brush with baking soda and scrub away! Occasionally disinfect your toilet by scrubbing with borax instead. Wipe the outside of the toilet clean with straight vinegar.
  • Disinfectant: Mix 2 teaspoons borax, 4 tablespoons vinegar, 3 cups hot water and 1/4 teaspoon liquid castile soap. Wipe on with dampened cloth or use a spray bottle. Wipe clean.
  • Mold and mildew: Wipe with straight vinegar.
  • Air freshener: Sprinkle essential oil on a cotton ball, and stash it in a corner of the room. If you have kids, make sure it is out of their reach as essential oils are very strong and could irritate their skin. Lavender is a relaxing scent that is great for bedrooms, and cinnamon, clove and citrus oils are great for the rest of the house. You can stash a few in the car, too—try peppermint, which may help you to stay alert.

To read some more green spring-cleaning tips check out sparkpeople.com. Will you try any of these eco-friendly cleaning solutions? How will you stay green when you do your spring cleaning this year?

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Whaddaya Think Wednesday: Is F-Commerce Gone for Good?

Dana PhelpsBlog, Social Media + Influencer Engagement, , 2 Comments on Whaddaya Think Wednesday: Is F-Commerce Gone for Good?

If you’ve been reading our blog this week, you’ll know that Margot Horgan, Clairemont intern, has taken us from Pinterest to peplums and now to F-commerce in today’s Whaddaya Think Wednesday. Tune in tomorrow when Margot shares how to put some green in your clean.

With Facebook becoming ever more popular and powerful, the social networking behemoth had started to brand itself as not only the place where you talk about things you like, but the place where you actually do those things you like. In the past Facebook was where people could like a movie, but in Zuckerberg’s future, Facebook would be where people could watch that movie. So, it only seemed natural that retailers would set up shop on Facebook, where users could purchase items without ever having to leave the site.

However, retailers like Gap, J.C. Penny, Nordstrom and GameStop are closing up shop on Facebook. According to Sucharita Mulpuru, an analyst at Forrester Research, “There was a lot of anticipation that Facebook would turn into a new destination, a store, a place where people would shop,” said Mulpuru. “But it was like trying to sell stuff to people while they’re hanging out with their friends at the bar.”

But does this really mean the end of F-commerce? Maybe not forever, but definitely for now. Retail stores on Facebook were slow running and offered users no incentive to buy there instead of the regular store website. And, with other sites like Pinterest more equipped for retailers, big brands have switched over from Facebook.

So for now and the near future, Facebook users will have to leave the site in order to shop online. But, for majority of us, we won’t miss this app. Will you?

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