SMOKE SIGNALS, PR

Tumblr for the Masses!

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 12:36:10 -0500

Ok, so maybe Tumblr has always been for the masses, but now it’s even more useful and versatile.

Introducing: Tumblr for Facebook Pages. Now, by reconnecting your facebook (tumblr is requiring all accounts to do this in order to fully implement the updates) you can choose which of your pages that your Tumblr posts to, when before you could only associate 1 Tumblr with your own personal fb page (without going around your ass to get to your elbow).

Now, I can associate separate Tumblrs with all of the Fan Pages that I manage and keep the content separate, clear and streamlined- thank you Tumblr!

If you haven’t checked this out yet, when you log on you should see a reminder near your dashboard in yellow that will take you where you need to go (if not, go to your blog, click on settings, and connect to fb there).

Let us know what you think and how this works for you.

Cheers!

Tara of SSPR

Yowza, Tara!

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 22:29:00 -0400

This was the greeting that our newest Smoke Signals girl received from her first creative merchandising gig back in college, and we think they were spot-on.

Hailing from Georgia, Tara brings with her a colorful background in social media marketing, outreach, sales and event management.

She’s a live music voyeur, a bellydance enthusiast (seriously, it’s on her resume) and your next project manager.

A warm round of applause please in welcoming Tara Dunn to the SSPR team- it’s showtime!

Campout! Carolina 2011

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 12:16:00 -0400

Right now I am completing a delightful, whirlwind campaign for EarthShare North Carolina encouraging everyone to get outside and camp! On the weekend of October 7th-9th (that’s this weekend people!) join the rest of the state of NC in Campout! Carolina 2011: ESNC’s annual, statewide event that demonstrates the importance of protecting and preserving our natural resources.

Participating is easy- just scoot on over to the Campout! Carolina site, Be Counted and you’re in! Once registered, you are qualified for prizes from REI and Columbia, as well as eligible to participate in the REI photo contest (did someone say gift cards?).

Also on the site are ideas for where to camp, what to cook and nostalgic games like flashlight tag to keep everyone in good spirits.

It’s bound to be beautiful weather and I hope to see you enjoying the outdoors during this year’s Campout! Carolina weekend!

Tara Lynn

Happy 1-year anniversary to the social change-makers at Bull...

Fri, 29 Apr 2011 16:53:00 -0400

Happy 1-year anniversary to the social change-makers at Bull City Forward!

We credit Bull City Forward with being amongst our earliest adopters. In fact, they were down with our entrepreneurial endeavor before we’d even finalized the name of our company. While we kicked around the names Scantily Plaid Communications, Count Talkula & the Colonel Von Tell, Pay Up PR, Wiseacre Media and Stodgy & Vanilla, we settled on Smoke Signals PR. That said, we’ll always be Blood & Thunder to Christopher Gergen and our friends at Bull City Forward.

nichtplusultra: Recorded for Baldwin& with Shaun Sundholm...

Wed, 27 Apr 2011 19:52:57 -0400

nichtplusultra:

Recorded for Baldwin& with Shaun Sundholm and Catherine Edgerton.

Our good friends at SEEDS are hosting their 3rd annual pie...

Sun, 10 Apr 2011 10:22:51 -0400

Our good friends at SEEDS are hosting their 3rd annual pie social in their beautiful garden today from 2-6pm. We have fabulous memories of this event from last year and highly encourage folks to attend. The only downside? They ran out of pie. But, hey, why wouldn’t they when the pie comes from the likes of Watt’s Grocery, Toast, Foster’s Market, Durham Catering and more.

This just in from our beautiful and talented friend, Sarah...

Thu, 24 Mar 2011 15:56:10 -0400

This just in from our beautiful and talented friend, Sarah Almond of Shed Letterpress as inspired by Endangered Durham:

In 1913, the Durham Traction Co. (later Duke Power) offered to pay to erect a large electric sign lauding Durham, as a gesture of thanks to downtown merchants who had purchased electric lights. The Commercial Club (later the Chamber of Commerce) sponsored a contest to decide the slogan. The winning entry, from WW Weaver and JE Banning was “Durham: Renowned the World Around”

The sign was erected on a moonlight night on December 15th, 1913. In addition to the slogan, it read “Health, Wealth, Progress, Success” around the circumference. The sign was 31 1/2 feet wide and topped by a “10 foot sphere”. It required 1200 bulbs to operate. It was illuminated to a crowd of either “hundreds” or “thousands”.

The card pictured above was faithfully reproduced from photos of the original sign and printed by hand on eco-friendly bamboo paper - includes a matching envelope. Purchase HERE.

Springtime in Durham, NC… Time for round two of teaching...

Thu, 10 Mar 2011 18:11:00 -0500

Springtime in Durham, NC… Time for round two of teaching Social Media for Entrepreneurs at Durham Tech.

For Immediate Release Smoke Signals PR...

Tue, 25 Jan 2011 17:46:00 -0500

For Immediate Release

Smoke Signals PR Welcomes Beth Fenton as Account Guru

Sonoma, CA January 25- Smoke Signals PR is proud to announce the hire of Beth Fenton as Account Guru. Originally founded in Durham, NC, Smoke Signals expanded its operations to include a Northern California- based office in the San Francisco Bay Area in September 2010. A resident of Sonoma, CA, Mrs. Fenton will play an immediate and vital role in the California operations.

Mrs. Fenton brings with her 10+ years of public relations experience and valuable knowledge of the culture, media and industry of Northern California. She specializes in communications for the high tech sector, with a focus on developing technologies. Beth delivers a broad and deep skill set that will be an enormous asset to Smoke Signals’ clients.

Fenton received her M.A. in Journalism and Mass Communications from the University of Minnesota where she was a classmate of Smoke Signals co-founder and Fire Starter, Molly Leutz. As Account Guru she will join Molly and co-founder and Chief Optimist, Margaret McNab in all facets of Smoke Signals’ operations, providing turn-key communications strategies to accounts.

Most recently working as a freelancer after several years with Porter Novelli in San Francisco, Beth lives in Sonoma with her husband and two-year-old daughter. She does not own a winery but enjoys a good Cabernet Sauvignon, and a rosé in the summer months. She begins her tenure as of Tuesday, January 25, 2011 and can be reached at beth@smokesignalspr.com. Inquiries on specifics of her hire should be directed to molly@smokesignalspr.com and business inquiries should be sent to Margaret@smokesignalspr.com.
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We at SSPR have been a tad quiet lately. Fear not attentive...

Tue, 26 Oct 2010 13:17:00 -0400

We at SSPR have been a tad quiet lately. Fear not attentive legions! We are still here. Well, actually some of us are “here” and some of us are “elsewhere.” You probably recognize the International Orange paint of the Golden Gate Bridge above, or at very least you recognize the omnipresent fog. So the “elsewhere” is San Francisco. Our beloved Molly has been living in San Francisco for the past six weeks while Margaret is still living, working and rocking in Durham. SSPR was born, got TOTALLY AWESOME, and then boom! We expanded to a bi-coastal operation. Life, work and perhaps destiny have brought Molly to Northern California. And while we are sad (really, it’s a mutual admiration society) we are not putting SSPR on a shelf or in a corner. Instead we are letting it fly, blossom and surf into new territories. What we love to do - strategize and implement unique, customized, modern communications plans for great people, organizations and companies - remains steadfast. Like communication, we are flexible. Look at it this way, we’re learning more in a creative hotbed and meeting more amazing people. Moral of this tale? We are still SSPR! And, we are ready, willing and able to work for clients from the Atlantic to the Pacific and most places in between.

What are you doing on 10/10/10? Keywords for Change suggests you...

Thu, 07 Oct 2010 14:27:45 -0400

What are you doing on 10/10/10? Keywords for Change suggests you spread the #LOVE! Sounds a bit like a virtual peace sign but this is more than hashtag hippies suggesting a new media love fest; Keywords for Change looks to explore the intersection between the technological and the social. Social media - blogs, Twitter, Facebook, etc. - is all about the network, physically how we communicate online and the networks we create with shared consciousness and built communities.

The tech-nerd side of the #LOVE experiment (and the part I obviously don’t fully understand…) looks at 10/10/10’s unique relationship to binary code (see, I don’t understand and you don’t either) and digs into the power of SEO. But ultimately the choice of the word #LOVE is telling, KFC (Fried chicken? no - Keywords for Change - stay with me) wants to know:

“What happens when we all focus our thoughts and words at the same time. What will the effect be if millions of people around the world shared the same message at the same time?”

Focus on #LOVE, whatever it means to you, however it guides your work, play, life. On 10/10/10 lend your thoughts and your social media words to the #LOVE experiment. Let KFC track the results with data visualization, random number generation and first hand accounts. Whatever you think of the metrics, what could be so wrong with weaving a little #LOVE into your day?

We’d #LOVE you to click the pic above and read more.

From the inaugural Hopscotch Music Festival, to the...

Mon, 20 Sep 2010 19:06:00 -0400

From the inaugural Hopscotch Music Festival, to the Nasher’s opening of The Record to the Megafaun-Fight the Big Bull collaboration Sounds of the South, the past few weeks have produced feats of passion, determination and ambition in the arts that I’ve come to expect from Raleigh-Durham, NC. These events were a testament to the potential of this community and hopefully a taste of things to come.

Photo credit: Liz Vitale

”Look Away Dixie Land” opened Friday at...

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 13:16:00 -0400

”Look Away Dixie Land” opened Friday at Durham’s Labour Love Gallery located in Golden Belt. Labour Love presents “Look Away Dixie Land” as an opportunity to explore the past, present and future of the great Southern racial divide. The show features three prominent artists from the Triangle: McArthur Freeman, Titus Brooks Heagins and our friend Dave Alsobrooks of the Paragraph Project.

The image above is from Alsobrooks’ series. Born and raised in South Carolina, Alsobrooks recounts the significance of the Confederate Flag as a point of contention in his artist statement:

The flag has traditionally been a prominent icon, seen on license plates, shirts, tattoos, bumper stickers and keychains among other items. The “Southern Cross” was even displayed atop the state’s capitol building from 1962 until 2000. Arguments were made to remove the flag and to uphold its public display in Columbia. I knew folks entrenched on either side of this discussion, so I was privy to both points of view. During this time the phrase, “Heritage, not hate,” became popular. It became the “politically correct” slogan accompanying the Confederate Flag. Paraphrased: the Confederate Flag doesn’t have any hateful associations — its public display is only a tribute to history, heritage and a way of life. Heritage, not hate? To whose heritage are we referring?

“Look Away Dixie Land” will be showing until October 10th.

anglophonic.: Business recommendations: Smoke Signals, PR. As much as I enjoy...

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 10:42:00 -0400

anglophonic.: Business recommendations: Smoke Signals, PR. As much as I enjoy...:

Business recommendations: Smoke Signals, PR.

As much as I enjoy selfishly showcasing my own pathos and creative angst on a daily basis, I thought I might put a cork in it today in order to recommend a female-owned publicity firm whose co-owner I have worked with (and with whom I have entrusted…

Where we spend many of our days in Durham - co-working,...

Tue, 03 Aug 2010 16:26:00 -0400

Where we spend many of our days in Durham - co-working, researching, writing proposals, socially media-ing, and hanging out with smart, driven and creative people: the Bull City Forward offices on Main & Mangum.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE INANIMATE OBJECT?

Mon, 02 Aug 2010 12:30:00 -0400

The book I’m reading. And my French press.

Innovation Cafe

Thu, 22 Jul 2010 20:17:00 -0400

Innovation Cafe:

We were among the who’s who of Durham (aren’t we always!?) gathered at Beyu Caffe downtown for the inaugural Innovation Cafe put on by Bull Works and Bull City Forward, modeled after the Science Cafe (Periodic Tables if you’re on the in.) We got to listen to the truly innovative 8 Rivers capital talk about their ground-breaking and potentially (hopefully!) world-changing energy solutions. They also shared with us the very smart, very talented people working with them, on their project and on their own. It was a big ol’ innovation pow wow. To be honest, listening, I was often over my head.

But as they talked about the “moment” when they took the plunge, went forth and left what they admitted to be lucrative jobs, I thought of our “moment.” Sitting on the porch at Parker and Otis, drinking (perhaps fittingly) Champagne, we left uncertainty for more uncertainty. But this venture - Smoke Signals PR - was going to be an uncertainty of our own making. Perhaps we won’t solve the biggest of questions, but we’re approaching what we do - building relationships and communicating - with an innovative and entrepreneurial spirit.

Thanks to Beyu Caffe for some tasty beer & wine, to all the great people we met for being great and talking to us, and to Bull Works for writing this far more eloquent review of the night: http://bullworks.org/2010/07/innovation-cafe-01-follow-up/ Full credit to them.

SSPR

Each Smoke Signals PR business card is hand-typed (Margaret...

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 15:38:29 -0400

Each Smoke Signals PR business card is hand-typed (Margaret captains the ol’ Smith Corona, triumphing often, swearing occasionally) and hand-burned. No two are alike. Kind of like our customized communications solutions. And snowflakes.

We love to pound pavement. Literally. And it’s all the...

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 17:55:00 -0400

[Flash 10 is required to watch video.]

We love to pound pavement. Literally. And it’s all the better in cute shoes.

Client Shout-Out The brain trust now known as Smoke Signals PR...

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 11:06:29 -0400

Client Shout-Out

The brain trust now known as Smoke Signals PR recently worked with SEEDS, to promote their annual Art Grows in Durham garden party which took place on Saturday, June 5. We had a blast learning about SEEDS and what they do for the Durham community. You don’t know?? Please, check them out - www.seedsnc.org The party was full of art, food (if you stuck with a strict tamale/Locopop regimen you could keep the fire at bay) plants and garden tours. Kiddie pools were also a hit because June in the garden can be a hot scene. The buzz and turnout were great because SEEDS throws a mean party for a good cause.

If you missed Art Grows in Durham, don’t fret, you can catch SEEDS at an upcoming event, or every Saturday morning at the Durham Farmer’s Market where they sell their tasty wares.