Blog

Fishing for Eyes: The Lure of Visual Content in Marketing

- September 28, 2016

Read me!! NO, LOOK HERE. Wait…now read this. If there was something that stuck out to you in the text above, then you have already observed how visual cues can influence the interpretation of a message. Correct me if I’m wrong, but that little voice in your head read each fragment differently, right?

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes, 11 seconds

The 2016 Social Media Strategies Summit

By: Joy Medellin

- September 02, 2016

Recently, I had the pleasure of attending the 2016 Social Media Strategies Summit in Dallas. While there, I met fellow social media marketers, learned from leading global brands’ social media managers and assisted HCK2’s Director of Social Media, Ingrid Kibler, in leading a workshop. The conference was a wonderful mix of small business Social Media Managers, Fortune 500 Chief Story Tellers and independent individuals wanting to broaden their social media knowledge. With such a diverse group, there was plenty to learn from every angle of the industry.

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes, 23 seconds

Tips for Choosing the Right CMS for Your Business

By: Mark Duncan

- August 23, 2016

Choosing a CMS can be overwhelming. It seems like there are so many choices and factors that go into planning a website in the first place, let alone a Content Management System (should you decide you need one).

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes, 23 seconds

Girl Scouts Taught Me S’more About Leadership, Business and Group Dynamics

By: Ginger Greenberg

- August 10, 2016

A good S’more can make you recall summer nights around the campfire, good times with friends and the soft singing of Taps as the sun goes down. Today is National S’mores Day and I am excited to make S’mores with my colleagues to help Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas announce the new S’mores cookie commemorating 100 years of Girl Scouts selling cookies.

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes, 4 seconds

How to Turn Around the Summer Slump

By: Elizabeth Cornelius

- August 08, 2016

Summertime in Texas brings air conditioners working overtime, team members taking vacation time and often more relaxed time inside the office. As a result, projects can stall or continue to get back burnered. Consider the benefits though of using this slower time to your advantage.

Estimated reading time: 1 minute, 50 seconds

The 2016 Olympics & the importance of media training

By: Drew Wilson

- August 04, 2016

This week, the world’s greatest athletes will descend on Rio de Janeiro to compete in the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. For 120 years, the Olympics have represented the pinnacle of athletic competition and national pride.

However, the weeks and months leading up to the games are often marred by negative media coverage. Virtually every Olympic Games has endured some sort of crisis leading up to the event – and this year is no different.

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes, 14 seconds

Truly making Lemonade. Four things we can learn about handling bad press from Beyoncé’s Lemonade

By: Laurie Nelson

- July 05, 2016

Summer is finally here, but we didn’t have to wait for the heat to rise to start sippin’ on Beyoncé’s lemonade. Back in April, the queen herself began releasing five to seven second promos of the ambiguous “Lemonade,” set to premier on April 23 exclusively on HBO. With no indication of what was to come on this holy day for members of the B-Hive, fans tuned in with anticipation and Twitter accounts at the ready as they prepared for the big event.

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes, 54 seconds

Are Messaging Apps Right for Your Brand?

By: Ingrid Kibler

- July 01, 2016

Social media is constantly changing. With new platforms emerging while others fade away, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed in keeping up with the fast-paced industry. Combine the fact that older generations are joining these platforms every day while younger ones are changing how they use them and you have a world of potential confusion…and opportunity.

Estimated reading time: 1 minute, 25 seconds

RECAP: PR News’ Digital PR & Marketing Conference

By: Ingrid Kibler

- July 01, 2016

I recently had the privilege of speaking at PR News’ Digital PR & Marketing Conference in Miami. The conference covered several topics including Snapchat, influencer marketing and video, and featured several speakers from across the country who shared their experiences and best practices.

Estimated reading time: 1 minute, 28 seconds

Co-Branding & Crossovers: The Proliferation of NBC’s Chicago Franchise

By: Steffanie Golliher

- June 21, 2016

Many literary critics and theorists have postulated that there are only a handful of distinct ways to construct a narrative and I feel this theory has never been more than apparent than in NBC’s roster of programming. Although this practice of situational and or narrative facsimile has manifested itself in many ways on NBC from the seemingly ubiquitous Law & Order franchise to the new and disturbing trend of re-envisioning popular movies as live television performances (A Few Good Men Live! coming soon), I find the Chicago franchise to be the most overt and, frankly, masterful, of their narrative duplications.

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes, 55 seconds