PRWeek awarded Shannon Riggs of LANE PR its 2009 Young Professional of the Year award, which recognizes the outstanding achievements of a PR professional that has been in the industry for less than three years. The award was presented at a gala event at Tavern on the Green in New York on March 5.
Riggs has [...]

It started with a viral marketing video that would either take the blogosphere by storm or tank into obscurity. A young, freckled boy with dirty blond hair tells his parents at dinner, “The economy’s not what it used to be. It’s time to start my own thing.”
His “thing” turns out to be a lemonade stand—the [...]

True Confessions
Like best about the job:  I learn something new every day. Public relations is quickly moving online with new tools and new ways to add value for our clients. These new tools coupled with our industry sectors of financial services, technology, food and beverage, health care, sustainability and consumer products provide a rich daily [...]

Portland, Ore.-based public relations agency LANE PR has prepared recommendations for businesses looking to reevaluate marketing strategies as the National Bureau of Economic Research declares a recession.
“When the economy hits a rough patch, companies typically scale back on marketing efforts,” said Wendy Lane, president and founder of LANE PR. “But while resources may be scarce, [...]

Tens of thousands of Oregon schoolchildren who ride buses are exposed to potentially harmful fumes because of fuel system defects, according to the state Department of Environmental Quality.
But two bills in the Legislature that aim to help fix the problem may not advance out of committee, state officials and environmental activists said.
“I don’t think most [...]

It’s hard to miss the blue and white windmill embossed on dozens of Dutch Bros. drive-through coffee stands planted around the state. The quirky logo is going to be even more common as the company plans to expand in the middle of one of the worst economic downturns in U.S. history.
What makes the Grants Pass [...]

Four months ago, Amy Quick, a student in the MBA program at George Fox University, had a dream job in the business travel division of American Express.
When credit markets soured last fall, however, she joined thousands of Oregonians in search of work. And she quickly realized the hard truth: An MBA is no longer a [...]

Tanner Halton recently took over at Halton Co., a business founded 69 years ago by his grandfather, Ted Halton Sr.  Not surprisingly, the outlook for heavy equipment sales this year is bleak. One Portland company hopes the remedy is a little fresh blood.
Halton Co., a 69-year-old family company and the oldest dealer of Caterpillar Inc. [...]

Last week my blog was about my view of technology and small business over the course of the past 29 years.  This week I want to talk about the internet based world of technology today and what it means to my business and to our clients’ businesses. 
Public relations used to be the practice of approaching [...]

It’s tough to be optimistic about the economy today.  The market remains volatile on a daily basis, the unemployment rate is the highest it has been in 25+ years, G.E. is in trouble (read the NY Times article from this past Sunday), I could go on and on.
However, Justin Fox from TIME magazine had some thoughts this morning about [...]

During an amazing two-week adventure in western and southern Ireland, I saw and tasted dozens and dozens of loaves of soda bread.  What I found to be most fascinating were the variations in taste, texture and color.  While some differences were more subtle, others were more dramatic, including the addition of such ingredients as caraway [...]

I am getting into Twitter more every day.  It’s exciting to see which companies and brands are using Twitter and how they’re using it to promote their business and/or product.  Last week I went to Voicebox (www.voiceboxpdx.com), a new karaoke hot spot in Portland.  It’s not a typical karaoke bar; you rent private rooms for 10-12 people.  [...]