By Jenny Fuerst, Director, Corporate Communications

Acquisition Doubles the Firm’s Digital Capacity

Today, Fahlgren announces that we’re acquiring GRIP Technology, a leading Web design and technology development firm located in Columbus. Its services include Web application development, Web site design and development, e-commerce, e-mail marketing, intranets, extranets, search engine optimization and marketing, and strategic Web consulting. GRIP is co-owned by Scott Sanders, Dustin Leggans and Bill Kiefaber.

“It’s no secret that the online world is growing, and our clients are asking for more and more digital work from us every day. It’s an integrated part of virtually every campaign we create,” said Neil Mortine, Fahlgren, Inc. president and CEO. “We are thrilled to be able to double our capacity in this area. GRIP is a natural fit as they complement our team, and we already have a great working relationship. We’ve been sharing clients and projects with them for more than two years. We’re impressed with their offering and client service and delighted to welcome them to the Fahlgren family.”

“Our business model is very client-centric,” said Scott Sanders, founder and president of GRIP and the new leader of Fahlgren Digital. “When I founded GRIP in 2002, I set out to develop a digital agency that was committed to helping its clients reach their business objectives, not just build great Web sites. Technology is only a tool, one part of the equation. It’s our goal to offer more than just great online creative and coding; we provide solutions to meet business objectives. Joining forces with Fahlgren, which shares the same client-centric business model, we can now offer our clients the full support of a leading, independent full-service agency.”

 For more details, check out the news release.

By Ann Marcum, Senior Account Specialist

Companies look to repeat hires to grow business.

Not many people leave an employer and have (or even want) the chance to return in a few years with an expanded perspective and more specialized skills, but I’m one of a handful of so-called ‘boomerang’ employees at Fahlgren Mortine. 

It may sound like an odd path, but rehiring former employees is quickly becoming a trend. A recent survey revealed that 40 percent of employers plan to rehire ‘boomerang’ employees. The reason is three-fold: 

1. Former associates know the business, so training time and costs are reduced. 

2. Ideally, these associates have proven that they mesh well with the office culture, eliminating the question of “fit.” 

3. Having worked in a new environment and/or industry, they bring new skills and a fresh perspective to the game. 

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By Ray Hancart, Associate Vice President

Online video usage is up 10 percent year over year.

It’s happened and we didn’t even know it. We, as consumers, have started to turn up our noses at the old-fashioned text directions or step-by-step instructions we grew up with - what, no video?

And frankly, why shouldn’t we? Improvements in technology (and lowering of video quality expectations) allows us both as consumers and professionals to record life, educate and entertain at an expense level never thought of five years ago.

According to Nielsen, online video usage is up 10 percent year over year with sites like YouTube, Yahoo and Facebook leading the way. Clearly, the growth of online video goes hand in hand with the social media boom. Social media sites give you a variety of ways to merchandise your video asset to help your return on investment while increasing consumer engagement. Prior to social media, you could have used the video statically on your site and maybe in some annual meetings or trade shows. Now, you have five times the distribution points.

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By Dennis Brown, Vice President

A guide for execs on how to stay relevant in this social media-filled world.

With Betty White set to host Saturday Night Live (thanks in large part to Facebook), I recently saw an article that was only half-joking when it suggested that “80 is the New 30.”  

I had a different perspective when, in the summer of 2009, we started what would become The Middle-Aged Executive’s Guide to Social Media: How to Stay Relevant and Prosper in an Increasingly Social World.  

When it came to social media, 50 felt like the new 80. 

Suddenly, social media was everywhere, and I was feeling old beyond my years. I found myself fighting the urge to rise from my figurative rocking chair, toddle out to the front porch and, shaking my fist in the air, scream, “You kids had better keep your tweeting and friending off my Internet!” 

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By Marty McDonald, Vice President

Five tips for keeping up with mobile travel technology

As the leader of Fahlgren Mortine’s tourism practice, I read a lot of articles and blog posts about trends shaping the travel industry. Last week I came across an article in USA Today titled “Smart phones have changed the way we travel.” You can say that again.

The article gives a long list of examples of how today’s travelers are using smart phones, and it provides more evidence that the travel industry is leading the way with some of the most innovative applications. As marketers, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by new technologies.

So do you need a mobile Web site? Should you create an app? The answer is almost always “it depends,” and it would take much more than a blog post to explain how to evaluate your specific needs. In today’s world, it’s easy to get “caught up in keeping up,” meaning that there’s a huge temptation to jump into new trends because everyone else is doing it. I would contend that the most important thing you can do is relax and take a step back.

If you’re in the beginning stages of creating your mobile strategy, here’s a list of five basic things you can do to ensure your strategy is on target before you take a costly leap into mobile marketing.

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By Marsha Hall, Senior Counselor

Those pesky but proper pronouns

I cringed the other evening when I heard a TV reporter state, “And then they presented the award to he and I.”

Whoa, I thought, back up that grammatical train.

He or him? Me or I?

Actually, this reporter would receive a big red line through both pronouns if she submitted this verbiage as part of an English assignment during one of the courses I taught at Marion Technical College. But, she is not alone. Many of us will confess that we have problems determining the proper case for some pronouns.

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By Amanda DeCastro,

Buzz creators for non-profits

Some of world’s most well-known brands are non-profits: American Red Cross, American Heart Association, Special Olympics, Girl Scouts of America, even the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty of Animals (you know, that heartbreaking commercial with Sarah McLachlan) and the list goes on. Our world heavily relies on non-profit organizations for their donations, charitable giving and selfless support.

A perfect example of this? The outpouring of support provided to the millions affected by the earthquake in Haiti. The devastation energized people across the world to act. From large, arranged mission trips to something as simple as a couple dollars donated to a charity that was sending money, supplies and aid to Haiti. 

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By Jenny Fuerst, Director, Corporate Communications

I think we have to admit that we were a little surprised by all the responses to our recent blog post on grammar pet peeves, which even got coverage in Ragan’s PR Daily. The page views, comments and shared links have inspired us to develop a series dedicated to good grammar. You ask; we deliver.

With 140-character limits, text messaging, and all the other instant forms of communication these days, it’s still as important as ever to be grammatically correct, no matter which style you follow. As PR pros, we’re trained as journalists and mostly write for journalists, so we generally follow the AP Stylebook. But, Fahlgren Mortine is part of a full-service communications agency, and as such we often work with advertising copywriters. We understand creative writing and know there are times to take creative liberties. In addition to news releases and story proposals, we’ve also written marketing collateral, speeches, white papers, Web copy, community reports, and even ad copy.

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