After more than two years as a witch, I will be leaving the Eastwick fold on Friday, September 21, for The Conversation Group. A few people may know that I first met Barbara and Giovanni (former EW principal) at a PRSA Counselor’s Academy conference. The conference is geared toward very senior PR folks – VPs and principals – and I was the most junior person there with less than two years under my belt. Needless to say, I held my own, and won Barb and G over with the now infamous Black Martini, also known as a chocolate espresso martini.

The past 2+ years have seen some big changes for Eastwick – office moves and office additions – and for me – move to Silicon Valley and promotion to Senior Associate. Four years ago, I never would have thought that I’d have passionate discussions about the 802.11n standard (still not ratified), or become intimately familiar with wikis. I’ve had some incredible clients during my time here – Ruckus Wireless, Vyatta, and BroadLogic to name a few. The entire Eastwick team has really become a family to me, and I’ve learned so much. I’ve made some really great friends that I’ve had some great times with – G, thanks again for bailing us out of the SJ jail – and I know I will continue to into the future.

Living here in Silicon Valley, we are right in the middle of daily innovation, disruption, and evolution. Being in PR, we see how communications are changing, and how people want to participate in the conversation, not just be spoken to. On October 1, I’ll be joining The Conversation Group which was recently launched by partners Giovanni Rodriguez, Ted Shelton, and Chris Heuer. As the Director of Integrated Media Campaigns, I’ll be working with the team to help global brands that are seeking better ways to participate in the new communications landscape. It will be an exciting, new adventure!

I’ll miss working with my colleagues and clients on a daily basis, but I believe that once a witch, always a witch. I’m looking forward to seeing everyone at the upcoming Black & Orange Bash! Cheers!

Barbara Bates, BroadLogic, Chris Heuer, Eastwick, Eastwick Communications, Giovanni Rodriguez, Networking, PR, Ruckus Wireless, Ted Shelton, The Conversation Group, Vyatta, Wireless

It’s been just over a year since Eastwick shacked up with our client, Coghead. As a predominantly female agency, the move was similar to a sorority sharing a house with a fraternity. We weren’t quite sure what to expect from the mysterious Cogheaders, and I know they were not quite sure about a bunch of witches moving in. Luckily, we all got along. And, I don’t think there was any funny business in the co-ed shower…

Although we’re excited to be moving into our new digs in Mountain View (in Googleland), we’re going to miss our roommates. It was interesting to see some of the inner workings of a hot start-up. Of course, it was fun to hang with the execs afterhours too.

My partner in crime snatched the “Top 10 Things We’ll Miss About Coghead.” The past year has been great, so here are the top 5 things we won’t miss about shacking up with Coghead:

#5: Reminding visitors which watercooler is Eastwick’s
#4: Missing out on the leftover pizza from Coghead’s Friday meetings
#3: Dealing with the “effects” of Quentin’s miscellaneous “snacks” throughout the day
#2: Having to come in 20 minutes early so I can get a parking spot

And the number one thing I won’t miss about shacking up with Coghead is…
hearing Greg’s story about bleu cheese dressing. It was so gross; I will never eat bleu cheese dressing again.

If you are in the Mountain View area, stop by our new digs and check it out!

Coghead, Eastwick Communications, Off Topic, Offline, PR, Quentin

I was catching up on some industry reading this afternoon, and came across a great top 10 list over at eWeek.

Check out the slide show to see all 10. My vote for the worst if the DigiScent iSmell product. Do I really want a strong wiff of bull when I’m checking out the latest at Valleywag? Not so much.

I think what we can learn from these flops is to remember who your audience or target customers are. If the only people really excited about your product are you and your grandmother (because she’s so proud of you), or it’s only going to appeal to a small demographic in Barrow, Alaska, you might want to go back to the drawing board.

As a PR pro, I’m constantly thinking of ways to make my clients’ product appeal to the bigger trends happening, not just in their specific industry, but also in the business world and everyday life.

Sometimes we get so tangled up in the weeds, in work and life, that we forget to look up every once in a while. But, it’s a good thing to do…

Emerging Technology, eWeek, Flops, Off Topic, PR, Technology, Transparency