Blog

As pundits, policymakers, and political parties adjust to this week’s seismic political shift, communicators at public colleges and universities, government agencies, and advocacy groups — and the leaders who rely on them — face challenges of their own. Here in Austin, many of these communicators are neither partisans nor political appointees. They’re storytellers whose job…

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This summer, we faced an unexpected challenge at BandOne that organizations large and small navigate every day: how to work effectively across time zones. Yael’s brief trip to Israel turned into a two-month stay, thanks to the realities of traveling during a war, government bureaucracy, and unplanned family opportunities. Meanwhile, Gary was back in Central…

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Every Fourth of July, it happens. A loud boom echoes through the neighborhood. Someone looks up from the barbecue pit. Another glances toward the street. For a moment, everyone is trying to figure out what they heard. A gunshot? A car? A firework? A second later, the realization comes that it is the Fourth of…

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The ever-expanding calendar of commemorative moments creates continued opportunities for organizations to communicate with stakeholders, honor the milestone, and build connections with their audiences.  Memorial Day earlier this week. Pride Month starting next week. America at 250 after that. And heritage celebrations, awareness campaigns, and days of recognition throughout.  Some of these moments create genuine…

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As universities, governments, and nonprofits quickly remove Cesar Chávez’s name from streets, buildings, and celebrations, or take down statues of the farmworker rights leader, I’m reminded of the movement a decade ago to remove Confederate imagery and statues. I was in communications leadership at The University of Texas at Austin in 2015 when we took…

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With election season in full swing, millions of voters are focused on whom to support — while countless organizations are navigating whom to endorse.  Endorsements, however, are more than just a way to urge members, partners, and the public to get behind a specific candidate. They are also a communications opportunity, a chance to highlight…

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While collaborating with a partner organization on a complex and emotionally charged announcement recently, one of its leaders shared an insight about messaging: “So the goal,” he said, “is to get it down to as consumable and quotable a size as possible, without sacrificing the nuance… which is a tremendous balancing act.”  That wisdom — the equivalent of…

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When I spent years researching tourism, one pattern kept catching my eye: the checklist traveler. They arrive in Paris with a list: Eiffel Tower, check. Louvre, check. Best Croissant in Paris, check. The trip becomes a sequence of boxes to tick. Efficient? Yes. Memorable? Not always. By racing through the list, many travelers miss the…

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Within minutes of President Trump announcing the U.S. missile attack on Iran this June, my inbox, WhatsApp chats, and text threads lit up. Colleagues and clients across sectors were debating whether they should weigh in on the monumental news and what to say.  For some, it was a gut check to confirm there was no…

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