Cascade Communications

If you're a founder or small business CEO and want your PR and marketing campaign to be successful, you must do this...

As a PR and digital marketing agency, our job is to use stories to create credibility and emotional connection that drives traffic to your website, however...

If your website doesn't match the expectations of consumers who discover your product or service through media, content, search or social media, you lose sales and our efforts are for not.

Too many times we've crushed it for clients only to hear "we didn't earn enough in sales, like we hoped, to be able to pay you." Yeah, but we did our job.

Or did we?

This opened the door for opportunity.

Before you embark on a campaign to generate awareness, create curiosity and drive site traffic, companies need to ensure that the brand story and messaging align online and that the website meets consumer experience best practices.

Otherwise, it's a waste of your money and our time and energy.

This is why we work with clients to ensure our campaigns are truly successful and result in the one measurement that matters beyond credibility and reputation - sales.

Our team includes experts who can assist in ensuring online experience and personalization that allow PR and digital marketing campaigns to generate real impact.

If you want to learn more on how unique Cascade360 model and approach to campaigns for startups and growing small businesses?

Shoot me an message and let's chat!

In marketing and PR, circumstances occur and only quick thinking will save the day.

As professionals, we often keep the reality of what we're feeling inside from clients. Why? Because it's our job to stay calm and problem solve.

These moments made me more resilient, creative and a better professional...even if it is only seen in retrospect.

Today, I look back and laugh at the good fortune and outcomes. Laughter is key in this industry.

Here's a look back - I should write a book.

📌Traveling for a 25-market onsite event and contest for a client and waking up the day of flight with strep throat. Thankful for the swift response from my doctor for antibiotics - not thankful for the Chatty Cathy on the plane who didn't believe I was sick.

Then getting onsite to the event to have all six major media - TV stations, newspapers and online - waiting for the event and not having one contestant in sight. That's when you go to the ATM, withdrawal the maximum and then give a little cash encouragement to people on the street to come participate. Event saved. Media earned. Happy client.

Lessons learned and insight for clients:

📌We have to keep going even when we're sick. Campaigns cannot be rescheduled or stopped because we're under the weather. You find a way.

📌We do whatever it takes to ensure media coverage and successful experiential events for clients.

📌Sometimes you cannot rely on partners to do their job well. Trust and then follow up, follow up, follow up.

📌We can't predict what will happen so plan for every scenario.

📌Hotel room service can be your best friend with strep throat bringing ice water and ice cream, sometimes at no charge, all night long.

What are some of the experiences you've encountered that became critical lessons learned?

How many times have I used my skills as as journalist in PR? A lot.

A number of times throughout my career, I have had to interview clients for media that send a camera person to an event, and this is one I remember fondly.

When I helped the American Diabetes Association in Chicago with PR for the annual Care-to-Cure Brunch at Soldier's Field, this NBC cameraman asked if I could interview Lovie Smith as part of the story they were going to run.

My real role was to manage media onsite for him, so to have the opportunity to play journalist was a real treat, and he was a pro sharing his personal story.

One of the signs of a great PR professional is our ability to pivot in the moment for the story.

We know how to think quick on our feet and problem solve in the moment.

I have so many stories like this from my career, more to come.

When have you had to pivot in the moment of unexpected circumstances or requests?

It’s true. Artificial Intelligence (AI) has made a lot of lives easier, especially if you’re a startup, small business or one-person marketing department, but it’s not great for everything.

Where there is a bandwagon, people are going to jump on it, but it doesn't mean they use the latest and greatest well.

The same is true when it comes to using it to do the heavy lifting in PR.

I see posts and stories about people in the public relations industry, using and relying on AI to automate their work, completely. Full PR agencies use it to write press releases, content, journalist pitches and even to automate the entire outreach and follow up process. While this sounds great, it doesn’t work, for many reasons, including the one above.

And this is the reason journalists and media outlets hate AI.

AI is not perfect and, more often than not, gets it wrong. Really wrong.

We're sharing why journalists and media hate AI use in PR and how it can hurt your brand.

AI In PR: Why it Will Never Replace a PR Agency AI In Public Relations: Why it Will Never Replace a PR Agency

Food styling and photography is no joke. Got to see the professionals work their magic for upcoming cookbook.