The Human Rights Campaign’s annual National Dinner is always a star-studded, glamour-filled night of celebration and inspiration, and this year’s event was no different.
Let the fall festivities begin! Join Dale Curtis Communications and the Public Affairs Council’s Political Involvement Network (PIN) for their upcoming Pumpkin Spice Happy Hour!
Spice up your night on Tuesday, October 3rd from 5:30-7:30 PM in the private library space of The Darlington House near Dupont Circle! Guests will enjoy delicious cocktails, conversation and networking with your fellow public affairs professionals.
The Public Affairs Council is a nonpartisan, nonpolitical association that serves public affairs professionals all around the world. The Political Involvement Network (PIN) is a subsidiary of PAC that provides networking and idea-sharing opportunities for the council’s more politically active members.
Please join us!
What: PIM Pumpkin Spice Happy Hour
When: Tuesday, October 3rd from 5:30-7:30pm
Where: The Darlington House
1610 20th Street, NW, 3rd Floor
Washington, DC 20009
When I was an undergraduate at Harvard and active in the Harvard University Institute of Politics (IOP), I dreamed of the day when I could be a mentor to young people, just as the IOP staff, fellows, and Student Advisory Council leaders were mentors to me. Since then, I have had the opportunity to employ and mentor many young people, but this week, I had a chance to lead an actual IOP activity.
On July 20, I had the honor of hosting an after-work discussion with colleagues from the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) and the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) in collaboration with the Harvard IOP.
The Harvard IOP is a "living memorial" dedicated to President John F. Kennedy, designed to help Harvard students discover their passion for politics and public service through speakers, study groups and other opportunities. The IOP's Summer in Washington program provides social, educational and networking opportunities for students interning in D.C.
As a Harvard alumnus who participated in the Summer in Washington program in 1982, I am always delighted to have the opportunity to meet current students and help them to build their careers.
The discussion I led featured three of Washington's smartest PR professionals: the BPC’s VP of Communications, Robert Traynham; the BPC’s Content and Branding Manager, Rachael Gresson; and HRC’s Senior Vice President of Communications & Marketing, Olivia Alair Dalton. All three offered unique insights into how their communications teams operate, how their careers unfolded, and what the Washington PR game is really about.
A special thanks to our panelists for taking the time to speak to the students and to the IOP for helping to coordinate this event with DCC!
DCC is pleased to announce that we were included on the Washington Business Journal's list of Top LGBTQ-Owned Companies in the D.C. area. We are tied for #22, ranked by number of employees. Check out the complete list here (subscription required).
We are proud to announce that Dale Curtis Communications is now certified by the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC) as an LGBT Business Enterprise (LGBTBE®)!
The NGLCC is the nation’s certifying body for LGBT owned and operated businesses. Co-founders Justin Nelson and Chance Mitchell wanted to showcase that LGBT people are business owners, employers, taxpayers, and corporate citizens, too. We are a vibrant, essential part of America’s small business engine.
With this certification, DCC joins a growing group of more than 800 certified LGBTBE’s across the United States, and one of only a few certified PR firms in the public affairs arena.
Although DCC has not done any paid client work in the LGBTQ space, Dale has been a proud and active supporter of groups including the Capital Area Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (CAGLCC); Human Rights Campaign; Metropolitan Community Church of Washington DC; Q Street; SMYAL; Victory Fund; and the Walk & 5K to End HIV.
Team DCC loves to put our PR skills and experience to work for great causes, and this certification will help us grow and evolve our role in the market. It's also a wonderful way to celebrate the end of Pride Month!
If you are interested in learning more about the certification process, visit the NGLCC's Get Certified page.
It’s not a surprise that an internship at Dale Curtis Communications will teach you basic, tactical knowledge about communications and public relations work.
In my year at DCC, I learned how to write and format a press release. I learned how to create and maintain media lists, compile and summarize news clips, and pitch stories to media outlets. I learned how to format e-newsletters in MailChimp, draft and schedule social media, perform website updates, and copyedit communications materials.
But my internship at DCC gave me something much more important: confidence.
I began my internship at DCC with no experience in public relations. It was my first summer internship in Washington, DC, and even though I was a rising senior at Georgetown University with previous internship and work experience, I was nervous to begin this particular job. The team at DCC is small, and if I made a mistake, it would not go unnoticed.
During my first week, however, I quickly discovered that I had nothing to worry about.
On my first day, Team DCC encouraged me to speak up at our all-hands meeting. Also on my first day, my colleagues asked me to sit in on client phone calls and introduced me to the client over the phone. They gave me clear tasks and goals and offered nothing but support and help on that first day. I knew immediately that I would be nurtured at this small PR firm.
And I was not wrong.
This sort of work environment encourages better and stronger work from its employees. Knowing I could ask questions or make a mistake here and there without feeling pressured or anxious was empowering to me. Being encouraged to give my thoughts, opinions and ideas allowed me to forge a voice for myself and grow confident in my ability to contribute to the firm’s goals. I never, ever felt like a lowly intern doing grunt work at DCC; I felt like a full-fledged member of the team.
By the end of my year at DCC, I was being asked for ideas on strategies and tactical plans. I was coming up with marketing tactics for the firm itself and had a lead role in DCC’s social media accounts. I grew confident enough in myself and my role at DCC that I could confidently begin my own projects and know I’d be supported along the way.
Going forward into my career, not only will I have polished communication skills – I will have greater confidence in myself and know that I am a valuable member of whatever team I end up working with in the future.
I know that my voice and my ideas matter.
And I owe that all to Dale Curtis Communications.
DCC is excited to announce that we are now ranked on the 2017 O'Dwyer's List of Top PR Firms in America! We’re ranked #120 in the nation, #16 in DC, and #53 in the nation among firms with a specialty in high-tech clients. Check out the complete lists here .
We are just over two months into the Trump administration, and lobbyists and PR professionals all over Washington are still trying to get their bearings.
Will we see decisive, disruptive action this year on major items like health insurance, corporate taxes, immigration, and infrastructure? Will battles over appropriations and the debt limit come to the fore? Might a foreign policy crisis or even a constitutional crisis crowd out all other discussions?
No matter which issues dominate the public debate in any given week, smart government relations professionals know that it’s best to take a long-term approach, and lobbying isn’t the only way to advance your agenda.
According to the Public Affairs Council, public affairs is an art in which “lobbyists, grassroots advocacy specialists, policy experts, political involvement specialists and communications professionals coordinate their activities to achieve advocacy success.”
Put another way, lobbying goes hand-in-hand with strategic communications, policy analysis, and grassroots advocacy, and the total package is worth more than the sum of its parts.
Writing in the Harvard Business Review, National Journal’s Michael D. Gottlieb recently called this “building a Washington brand.”
“Just like consumer and employer brands,” he wrote, “a Washington brand captures how the audience perceives a company. … Do these policymakers respect a given company? Do they care what that company thinks, and actually listen? Is that company their first call when they have a question? As it relates to DC, a strong brand offers an upper hand in influencing policy outcomes.”
Here at Dale Curtis Communications, we work closely with client-side executives – and often with a large cast of characters that may include attorneys, lobbyists, marketing and branding experts, activists, and others – to develop and implement smart, strategic, integrated communications programs that enhance their Washington brands.
A few of the tactics we have used and might recommend for your organization’s Washington brand building are:
- Developing compelling, plain-English messaging and materials such as fact sheets, issue briefs, research reports, videos, and PowerPoint presentations to educate your target audience;
- Applying beautiful graphic design to impress your audience with effective branding, visual aids, and easy-to-navigate websites;
- Managing and growing social media accounts to grab the attention of stakeholders on the sites they frequent most;
- Convening events that complement the print and electronic outreach with face-to-face relationship building; and
- Reaching out to reporters and editors at outlets large and small, providing interviews and ghost-written articles to help educate key audiences on your policy agenda.
Our case studies offer a bit more insight into how we have applied these strategies and tactics to achieve success in specific policy battles.
If your organization is struggling to clarify its Washington brand and have greater impact in its advocacy communications, please give us a call. We’re here to help.
Well, it certainly was an eventful year, wasn’t it? I’ll skip the political and social commentary, but I think most people would agree that the past year has left us a bit perplexed.
Here at the worldwide headquarters of Dale Curtis Communications, our biggest change was the move from 1250 24th Street NW (which will soon become the office of “former” President Barack Obama) to 1111 19th Street NW, in the heart of downtown DC. We’ve loved our new offices – a sublet in the suite of Results for Development (R4D). It has great light, all-new workstations and amenities, and access to many lunch and shopping spots.
Unfortunately for us (but fortunately for their clients and causes), R4D is growing rapidly and needs its space back, so DCC faces another move by April 1.
In the human resources department, we welcomed Breyana Franklin as an Associate, with strong experience in PR and journalism and an uncanny ability to stay cool under pressure. The other new face was our Intern, Emma Gross, a senior in Economics and Journalism at Georgetown University, who seems adept at every project we give her.
The rest of the team remained the same: Director of Operations and “House Mother” Marsha Smith; Senior Account Supervisor and utility player Peter Morscheck; and our “go-to” partners Deborah Sauri of iSpy Creative; Paul Farrell of National Capital Video; Steve Clawson of Validus Public Relations; and Andrew Gagliano.
The entire team has risen to the many challenges of 2016 – juggling multiple demanding projects and delivering solid results for our clients – all while keeping the business moving full steam ahead.
We were pleased to take on several new assignments, including media and content support for a rapidly growing association in the broadband industry; a writing and thought leadership program for a global association CEO; websites for advocacy groups and professional firms; and commencement addresses for corporate CEOs. In general, our work involves strategy, messaging, materials in all formats, media, online, video, and events.
Clients this year included InterDigital, a leading wireless R&D company; IPC, an association uniting the global electronics industry; NENA-The 9-1-1 Association and especially its Friends of 9-1-1 program; the Wireless Internet Service Providers Association (WISPA); Chavez Schools for Public Policy; the Bipartisan Policy Center; the Alliance of U.S. Startups and Inventors for Jobs (USIJ); LyondellBasell, a top global chemical company; and SAP, the software giant.
In other new and noteworthy developments in our business:
- We expanded our video capabilities, including partnerships with great vendors and delivery of several effective video pieces;
- We joined the Public Affairs Council, the leading nonpartisan, nonpolitical association for public affairs professionals worldwide, which provides a wealth of best practices and contacts.
- We sponsored the 10th Annual Book Festival at For Love of Children (FLOC).
- And we were active in a variety of organizations, including Q Street and the Public Relations Society of America, National Capital Chapter.
In 2017, we anticipate additional growth and development in our business, and a lot of challenging but fun assignments for great companies and causes. My personal resolutions include more discipline about time management, more networking, more writing and video-ing, and an always-open mind to new innovations and talent.
From all of us to all of you, we wish you health, peace and prosperity in the New Year!
Deborah Sauri has been a graphic designer working in the Washington, DC market and elsewhere for more than 20 years. Through her work at design and public relations firms, and now with her own independent business, iSpy Creative, Deborah has built an impressive portfolio of branding and marketing materials for a range of clients, including the 495 Express Lanes, IBM, and Shell Oil. Dale and Deborah have worked together on dozens of assignments for more than a decade.
Given all that experience, we decided to ask Deborah to share some insights into her profession, and why graphic design matters so much for all organizations.
You've been a graphic designer for over two decades. How did you get to where you are today?
My Japanese mother always wanted me to be a doctor, but it took one chemistry class for me to realize that career wasn’t for me. After my first year as a pre-med student, I told my parents I was going to try art. I can still remember how disappointed my mother was at the news, but my father encouraged me to follow my passion, and I made the switch.
I knew after my first year as a Communications Arts & Design major that this was what I wanted to do. Right before graduation, I received job offers from an international, award-winning design firm and a well-known PR firm in DC. The PR firm had better pay, but my gut said to go with the design firm, and it was the best move I made for my career. After four years, I left that position with a strong portfolio and awards from major design magazines, which then led to some amazing career experiences. Soon I was in France, making design presentations for the TotalFina annual report. Then I was asked to establish an in-house design division for Dittus Communications, a rapidly growing DC PR firm, where I was able to travel the country and art-direct ad campaigns for clients such as Household Bank and Shell Oil Company. That’s also where I met Dale.
What’s the importance of having well-done graphic design for a company or organization?
Whether you realize it or not, you are surrounded by products that designers created. The mobile phones we use everyday, the chairs we sit in, the label on the bottle we’re drinking from, the clothes we wear, the cars we drive… Design is everywhere.
Within seconds of receiving a business card or a piece of marketing material, people will form an impression of that company. The logo, the paper, the colors, the shapes will all have an impact. Anyone interested in your company will likely go to your web site, and they may not be aware of it, but they’ll be making judgments based on the look and feel. How consistent is the brand? Is the site easy to navigate? In other words, how intentional and successful is the design in achieving the purpose?
All of our decisions are influenced by good design. Organizations that place a priority on design are going to be more credible and outshine their competitors.
How has the internet and the shift to digital affected your work?
In terms of design trends, it seems we’re going back to “less is more” which has to do with our digital lifestyles. We want information, and we want it fast, which is why websites now are more streamlined and minimal, with content in one continuous scroll. Creating responsive content that’s accessible and simple to use enhances user satisfaction.
Within the industry, it is becoming easier for unskilled amateurs to try their hand at design with the use of templates and tutorials on sites like YouTube. Because of this, people expect graphics to be created faster and cheaper which often hamstrings quality and ultimately affects results.
On the other hand, graphic designers have more opportunities and flexibility. Today, companies can work with graphic designers anywhere in the world because the internet allows for the quick exchange of files and video chats. I can interact with clients from anyplace as long as I have an internet connection.
What is your approach to the design process, from meeting with a potential client to delivering the final product?
It is critical that I understand the client’s business before any design conception. No matter the subject, I ask a lot of questions about objectives and the demographics that will interact with the design.
When brainstorming ideas, I always start with pencil and paper. I never go to the computer first. It’s too limiting. Creative brainstorming should be unencumbered and fast. Once the ideas are down, then they can be worked out further electronically.
What are some of the biggest challenges you encounter in your work?
Design evolves constantly, and quickly. Because I have my own firm now, I try to surround myself with inspiring designers and projects. I make it a point to stay attuned to the fast-changing trends and preferences among different generations and cultural backgrounds. I attend design conferences and keep in touch with other designers to stay ahead of the curve.
Of what product or client are you most proud?
I wouldn’t have started my business had it not been for a dear friend who asked me to do a logo design for her company that was building the 495 Express Lanes on the Washington Beltway. Not only did it push me to take the risk to become a business owner, but it was also a very big and exciting project. I love that logo because of its simplicity, yet it took almost a year of hard work and many meetings to complete the design. Now I’ll go to a gas station to fill up my car, and the logo will be on an ad at the pump, and I think to myself, “My kids would think it’s pretty cool that Mom did that.”
Sample design via iSpy Creative