“We are not in the business of creating beautiful ads. We’re in the business of solving business problems.” – Howard Rockett, founder of Rockett Burkhead & Winslow. This little nugget of wisdom was drilled into my psyche years ago, and it stuck with me. It convinced me to go back to business school and it […]
Long ago I was taught a powerful, timeless lesson from a great political mind. It goes like this: If you truly want to impact a community, it starts by making sure these five people know you and what you stand for: The editor of the local newspaper; The chairman of the local school board; The […]
North Carolina is a land of friendly people. Yet there are many opportunities to disagree with one another. There are the obvious points of difference. Politics. Religion. Even basketball. In basketball, not only is there disagreement on the superiority of programs (Carolina vs. Duke, for example), but there is even disagreement over which rivalry within […]
I remember as a child sitting quietly in the family room of our Outer Banks cottage as neighbors would file in to place phone calls to relatives. My late fraternal grandfather was a physician. And our cottage was the only one within a quarter mile with a working phone. At my grandmother’s invitation, after breakfast […]
Communities throughout North Carolina are collaborating and making necessary investments for job growth. We heard that loud and clear today in Greensboro at a breakfast we co-hosted with Business North Carolina magazine. Darrell Frye, Chairman of the Randolph County Commission and representing the Greensboro-Randolph Megasite, Paul Cozza, Executive Director of the North Carolina Ports Authority, […]
I woke up this morning to several congratulatory comments from followers on LinkedIn today. According to LinkedIn, I’m celebrating eight years at Eckel & Vaughan. WOW. It’s hard to believe that nine years ago, my good friend Albert Eckel and I started talking about building an agency together. What’s even harder to believe is that […]
By virtue of where I grew up, I’ve lived through my share of hurricanes and hurricane threats. By virtue of what I do for a living, I’ve lived through communications crises and crisis threats. And I must say, both have extraordinarily similar characteristics. Now, before I offend someone in a world where some are too […]
Eckel & Vaughan (E&V) has announced a new partner at the strategic communications firm and two hires, including McGavock Edwards, formerly vice president with Baltimore-headquartered IMRE, and manager of its Raleigh office. The firm’s new partner is Matt Ferraguto, currently E&V’s client services director and an E&V employee since 2011. Ferraguto becomes the company’s third […]
Earlier today, my parents announced that their successful 28-year retail careers had finally come to a close. Vaughan’s Fine Jewelry & Gifts — a long-time pillar of Edenton, NC’s vibrant Broad Street retail center — was sold to a fifth generation of owners who took the reins of the establishment in the historic town. As […]
Get ready, folks. The 2016 election season is on. With it will come tremendous challenges for any marketer interested in reaching, well, let’s see … women, young professionals, African-Americans, Hispanics, men, retirees, college students — essentially any demographic to which you’d want to sell a product, idea, or service. Why? Because political campaigns of all […]
