Taking Your Small Business to the Big Time
May 30, 2012

Recently I participated in a radio interview with my mentor and all-around badass, Renee Fraser, and her Unfinished Business co-host Betsy Berkhemer. The theme of the interview was, “How to Look Big Time Even If You’re a Small or Home-based Business.” (You can listen to my segment here.) After chatting briefly with Renee and Betsy, I found I had more to say on the subject and wanted to expand on my tips.

Mac and I were joking that the problem with doing a radio show or blog about tips for projecting more of a “Big Time” appearance automatically lets your readers or listeners know that you’re small or home-based. Whoops! Then again, we’re very proud of the fact that we’ve built a company that offers best-of-breed services and results in the digital space, supported by a strong team of professionals, and we’ve done it all without the “brick & mortar” walls of a traditional office space. Still, creating a successful new home-based business in the highly competitive online arena—and in the very image-focused LA—is a tricky proposition. In addition to the tips discussed in the radio show, here’s what I think it takes to make it work.

Not as “big time” as Nakatomi Plaza, perhaps, but there’s less chance of Hans Gruber stopping by.

Invest in your brand. Get a logo, buy your domain name, set up a website. Not only do you need to be searchable online so that people can find your business, if you’re running a virtual office in this digital age, you need to at least have an online “storefront.”

For your logo, I highly recommend using a professional graphic designer. A good one will help translate the keywords and feelings you have about your brand into powerful imagery that you can use in all of your online and offline materials. Maintaining consistent branding in all of your company communication sends a very clear message: “We know who we are and we have our act together.”

Establish professional communication channels. First, set up a professional email address, as in “name@businesswebsite.com.” Free email services can be a handy way to get started, but nothing says “amateur” like an email from an executive with a Hotmail account. Second, I highly recommend getting a PO Box. You need one that looks like a street address that can accept FedEx and UPS deliveries. Having this is especially important if, like Click, your business interfaces with thousands of people you may or may not know every day and you don’t want every Tom, Dick and Sid to know where you and your family live.

Finally, you need a dedicated phone line. This is important for three reasons. 1. It allows you to compartmentalize your business and personal calls–either for billing purposes or just because you don’t want to take business calls after office hours. 2. Knowing all calls coming into that line helps you to be your own receptionist. After all, what sounds more professional: the person who answers their cell phone with a simple “Hello,” or the person who answers their business line with, “Thank you for calling Click, this is Dinah, how can I help you?” And 3. If you want to get fancy, you can set up phone numbers for, say, New York and LA, and have them forward to your business line. You publish them both on your website and no one has to know your running your shop out of a garage in Duluth.

Decide and implement company structure and culture before you hire. The internal structure of your business could change over the years, but you should have an idea of how you roll as a company, how the work should flow, and be clear about that to anyone you bring on board. After all, when you’re a one or two-person team, you don’t have to worry about anyone else giving your clients the impression that your company is disorganized and people don’t know who does what. As soon as you bring on anyone else, it’s important to make sure they’re as clear on your company structure and culture as you are.

Treat your home office like, well, an office. The first couple weeks of working from home, it can be very easy to kick back and enjoy the casual benefits—flexible hours that may allow you to sleep in or take breaks in the middle of the day, monitoring emails from your couch, a carefree dress code of pjs and flip flops. And hey, if you can project a high level of professionalism while working in an environment that relaxed, more power to you. Most successful entrepreneurs working from home learn very quickly, however, that they are more productive and professional when they approach their work time, work space and work attitude at home exactly the same as if they were in a high rise downtown. So get up early, shower, put on clothes you’d wear in front of your employees (whether you’re planning to see them or not), set up a dedicated workspace and keep it organized, and focus your time on work during your office hours. (Scott wrote a great post on this theme as well!)

Compartmentalize and focus your time. This is especially tricky for parents because a certain amount of work/family life crossover is inevitable, and you have to be prepared to roll with the punches. Still, I’m a big believer in planning. Plot out a schedule that includes face time with your employees and clients, grouping meetings into the fewest possible days a week if long-distance travel is a factor. I also subscribe to Marley Majcher‘s philosophy of designating certain days of the week for certain kinds of projects. Like “Money Mondays,” “Reporting Tuesdays,” “Meeting Wednesdays,” or whatever works for you.

Keep communication tight. I mentioned this in the interview, but it bears repeating. Good communications builds trust; crappy communication erodes it. This is true whether you have an office or not, but if you have more to prove to clients, then make strong communication a priority. Anticipate needs, be swift as possible with your responses, and above all be honest. When you’re pulled in a hundred directions as an entrepreneur, responding to every email quickly can be a challenge, but the strong relationships you’ll build with your commitment to good communication will be worth it.

One final note on communication: Email has limits. If there’s a concern that the tone of an email could be taken the wrong way, make a phone call instead. If you’re reading an email and you can’t tell if it’s hostile or not, pick up the phone. If an email chain gets to be too long with back and forth clarifications, just get on the horn and figure it out. Or, if the situation is appropriate, use video chat tools and get some face time. That way you can eliminate dumb misunderstandings quickly and alleviate some of the isolation that can come from working from home.

For more tips on how to rock your home-based business like the big-time CEO you truly are, take a listen to Renee and Betsy’s “Unfinished Business.”

By: Dinah McLean

Click on This: May 25, 2012 Edition
May 25, 2012

Every day the staff here at Click are finding and sharing links they find interesting. Some are industry relevant, some are just good for a chuckle. Here are our favorites this week:

-In celebration of the 35th Anniversary of the release of “Star Wars”, mashable.com brings you 15 funniest “Star Wars” twitter parody accounts.

-And just for good measure, here are the movie posters from all of the episodes.

-Hey John Hughes fans, this actually happened.

-KFWB 980 conducted an interview with Partner, Dinah McLean! Take a listen as Dinah discusses running a home-based business.

-Andre 3000 to play Jimi Hendrix in an upcoming biopic. Sweet!

-If you’re a fan of ‘Dean Pelton’s’ cosplay-loving ways in “Community”, then you’ll love this poster created by cartoonist Dennis Culver.

-This week, our very own Scott Neumyer spoke with the fine folks at Mondo about their genius work and upcoming projects.

-Looking back, retro Disneyland character costumers were awfully creepy.

-Take a look at these classic movies, side by side with their “Simpsons” parodies.

-And, finally, Your Weekend Moment of Zen: Today marks Geek Pride Day AND Towel Day, combined for your pleasure into 24 hours of geeky goodness! Enjoy!

By: Julie Camberg

Click Talks TV
May 18, 2012

Now that the TV season is coming to a close, we thought it the perfect time to reminisce on some of our favorite shows this year, as well as pour one out for anything cancelled or ending. Feel free to hit up the comments and tell us about some of your favorite TV shows!

Mac

Game of Thrones

“Game of Thrones” – While I’m not a huge fan of sword & sorcery in book form, slap that stuff onto the small or silver screen and I’m first in line. This show has everything you could want in an epic fantasy story, minus a Kraken and names you can pronounce/spell/remember. Dinklage is THE MAN and deserves all the Emmy’s for this show.

“Justified” – Timothy Olyphant, skinny as he is, is such a badass you can’t help but just laugh every time he hurts or insults the redneck populace of Harlan county. With characters like Raylan Givens and Boyd Crowder, this ode to the dirty South, complete with constant Bourbon swilling and amazing guest stars, is by far one of the most rewarding on TV.

“The Walking Dead” – The first season and a half is a little slow going, considering the massive escalation of zombie antics in the comic series, but the last half of season two is absolutely fantastic, with a wicked cliffhanger for fans of the comics. Plus, I really enjoy the “Where’s Carl?” “Not in the house, that’s for sure.” memes that are floating around.

“Dexter” – Dude, it’s a show where the serial killer is the center of attention. I mean, this is “CSI” meets “The Punisher”, and Punny isn’t getting his own series any time soon, so violent revenge is in the hands of our favorite blood spatter expert. This show also has excellent Big Bads each season.

The New “Friends” – I don’t know which of these is my favorite, but the group dynamics between these sets of friends are hilarious week in and week out, minus Chevy Chase. He’s the only one that’s worn me down, but the rest of the cast make up for it. In no particular order: “How I Met Your Mother,” “Happy Endings,” “Cougar Town,” “Community,” “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.”

AND ON AND ON: “Supernatural”, “Breaking Bad”, “Spartacus”, “Bones”, “Suits”, “Alphas”, “Eureka”, “Leverage”, “Saturday Night Live”, “Castle”, “House of Lies”…

Dinah

Cougar Town

I think the shows I’ll miss the most this summer are my beloved sitcoms: “Cougar Town” (R.I.P. Big Carl), “Happy Endings,” “Modern Family,” “How I Met Your Mother,” “The Big Bang Theory.” They’re just such fabulous little half-hour nuggets of happiness and laughter. As for the hour-long dramas, I’ve really come to enjoy “Grimm,” “The Good Wife,” “The Finder,” “Revenge,” “Ringer,” and, I’ll go ahead and admit it, “Hart of Dixie” (sue me, it’s adorable).

All of that said, I love the summer TV season, and have been bouncing off the walls waiting for USA’s “Suits” to come back all year. Gabriel Macht + Gina Torres = BADASS AWESOMENESS. I am also excited for the return of SyFy’s “Alphas” and “Eureka.” And of course, there’s my summer obsession, “So You Think You Can Dance.” I haven’t had time to recap the last couple of seasons, but my love for the show, the choreographers, the “jidges,” Cat Deeley, and all the wonderful, wonderful dancing remains as strong as ever. I really can’t wait for it to start up again!

Emily

Downton Abbey

“Downton Abbey” – Absolutely fell in love with this series within the first 5 minutes of episode 1. The cast is brilliant, Maggie Smith’s one liners make me smile every time. Beautiful scenery; even with all the crazy that happens in their world, who would’t want to live at Downton Abbey!

“Sherlock” – Besides the obvious draw of Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, Sherlock draws me in with each episode. It’s wonderfully shot and marvelously entertaining. Who knew a modern day Sherlock could capture a world’s attention?

“Gilmore Girls – Completely missed seeing this series until it had ended, but I’m finding myself making my way through the entire series a second time (all hail TV on DVD!). The quick quips and personal stories are fun and touching, and just makes me want to live in Stars Hollow amongst all it’s quirky inhabitants!

“Castle” – Let’s be honest, Nathan Fillion is awesome. I love the stories, the mysteries, the characters. Just love.

“Scandal” – Found myself sucked in almost immediately, and quite unsuspectingly. Have not missed an episode since.

“Bones” – The unusual murders and stories that the writers bring to this series keeps me endlessly entertained. I’m always happy to put on episodes from older seasons as I work around the house.

Scott

Girls

“Game of Thrones” – Insanely compelling every single week. It makes me wish there were more than just 13 episodes per season.

“Girls” – Yeah, yeah… I hear all the haters of this show, but they’re wrong. Lena Dunham’s creation is a nearly-perfect example of just how crazy life can be during your twenties.

“A Day in the Life” – This show is exclusive to Hulu Plus and that makes me worry that it’s really underseen. Produced and narrated by Morgan Spurlock, every week is a great look behind the scenes of one person’s life over the course of 24 hours. From celebrities to mayors of small towns, they’re all compelling.

“My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic” – I tried to resist it for as long as possible, but I have to just come out and admit it. I’m a Brony. I like to tell people it’s because I have a three-year-old girl, but it’s really not. I’m just a Brony and I can’t fight it. Oh and if you think this show is just for kids, you’re crazy. Need proof? Check out this awesome article on Topless Robot about the 10 Nerdiest Easter Eggs in the series. Yay!

Kim

Scandal

I watch an insane amount of television… not normally when its on the air, I have to catch it later online when I’m having insomnia… but TV is killin’ it right now with amazing writing, casts, and the production value has been stellar. Here are my latest obsessions:

“Scandal” – Shonda Rhimes, I bow to thee. If you haven’t seen this show, block out 7 hours of your day because you will want to see every single episode available the second the first episode ends. It’s got more tension and storyline pay off than Grey’s or Private Practice, and you can’t help but want to be a Gladiator in a suit right along with them. DOPE show!

“Homeland” – Claire Danes is a bi-polar CIA agent whose hunches about a POW being turned against the US, turn out to be not so crazy, but people don’t believe her. It’s scary because I have a sneaking suspicion its not too far from the truth of how it really goes down… There is literally nothing better. And the jazz score…It simplifies the tension. Amazing.

“Revenge” – I was waiting for a sudsy, soapy, campy thriller of a show, that also happens to have an intriguing storyline… Melrose Place left such a void. And this group delivers. I’m sorry, but NOBODY does a death stare like Madeliene Stowe. That woman looks at you and your veins ice over!

“House of Lies” – Don Cheadle as a lying, womanizing, genius, crisis management bad-ass who leads a team of equally dysfunctional business-school geniuses? Yes please. Add in his odd relationship with his psycho ex-wife, and his son who loves dressing up in girls tank tops and listening to Britney Spears and Barbara?! Like really? I’m watching this.

“Suits” – I love lawyer shows, and this one is finally unique! A kid with a photographic memory who has taken the bar for OTHER PEOPLE dozens of times, finds himself hired by a law firm. His boss finds out his secret, and the way they negotiate their relationship as friends and as boss and employee is really cool. And I love any show with Gina Torres, especially as a no-nonsense boss. Yes.

“Shameless” – There are no words to truly express the twisted depravity that is evident on this show. But its just soooo good. William H. Macy and Emmy Rossum are deliciously good actors.

“Dexter” – Everybody knows this show is amazing. I don’t really need to explain, frankly.

I could go on…I watch everything…But these are the without fail have to watch every week favorites.

Dre

Breaking Bad

It’s a little known fact that I do not watch current television. In the true spirit of online, I get most of my on-screen entertainment from Netflix (I can’t seem to keep up with Hulu’s windows of episode availability). That said, I see most shows after they’ve generated quite a bit of buzz, either by streaming on Netflix or watching TV on DVD box sets. Most recently, I’ve blown through all available episodes for “Breaking Bad” and I’m currently watching “Roswell” for the very first time. A big fan of “Weeds,” I thought that the gateway had been opened for the world of meth manufacturing and distribution with BB. I was SO wrong. “Breaking Bad” takes drug drama to ecstatic new highs and dark deep lows- I love it! As far as “Roswell” is concerned, I’m a little surprised that I’m so late to the party on this one. The show basically marries two of my other 90′s favorites- “The X-Files” and “Dawson’s Creek,” and I told William Sadler (“Sheriff Valenti”) as much when I moderated a round of phone interviews for him, recently!

Julie

Parks and Recreation

“Parks and Recreation” – I’ll admit, it wasn’t love at first sight. However, that quickly changed once season two came around. I found the cast additions of Rob Lowe and Adam Scott to be brilliant, and before I knew it, I was being charmed by Leslie Knope’s adorable nature and laughing my arse off at Ron Swanson’s isms.

“Colbert Report” – My weekday evenings are nothing if spent sans Stephen. Every night I’m amazed at his ability to remain on-point while delivering comedic gold that often brings me to tears. The man is a true talent. I’d also like to utilize this opportunity to urge you to purchase his latest children’s book, “I Am A Pole (And So Can You!)”.

“Breaking Bad” – I began my journey with this brilliant show via Netflix. I consider myself lucky for this, as I have NO IDEA how anyone has watched this show with week-long gaps in between each episode. Needless to say, I dedicated many a late night to taking in its majesty. The suspense, surprises, and stellar performance from Bryan Cranston are just a few of the reasons why it’s one of my all-time favorites.

“Girls” – Such an honest portrayal of the early 20′s! Some of the scenes are so awkward I can hardly stand it. Its raw humor and fresh perspective have me excited to see what the rest of the season will bring!

It would also be a lie for me to talk TV without mentioning my newest Netflix obsession, “Friday Night Lights”. My best friend insisted that I give it a go, and I haven’t looked back since. In fact, anytime I’m with my fellow-Friday-Night-Lights-Lovin’-Clickster Dre, there is a 100% chance that you’ll hear us dish out our best Texas accent, ya’ll. CLEAR EYES. FULL HEARTS. CAN’T LOSE!

Tyler

Workaholics

There are two shows that I never missed a new episode of this year, “The League” and “Workaholics”. “The League” is being renewed for a fourth season and in line with the football calendar, doesn’t air until the fall, thus I am stuck watching reruns on Netflix. Season 3 was the bomb dot com, catch up if you haven’t started, you have the entire summer. I was in that same boat for “Workaholics”, but season 3 starts May 29th, so “LETS GET WEIRD!” I haven’t been this excited for a new season of a comedy show since “Chappelle’s Show: Season 2″!

Haley

Revenge

This was one of the hardest posts for me to write yet, as I am at all times watching approximately 10-15 television shows. My Hulu queue is constantly growing and I have to admit I am somewhat ashamed of my television show addiction. My top three however go in this order:

“Revenge” – I live for this show in almost as dedicated a fashion as Emily VanCamp lives for Revenge.

“Modern Family” – Not only does this show provide me with a good laugh, but it’s helped me solve many problems in life by simply asking myself: WWPDD? – What would Phil Dunphy do?

And lastly,

“Gossip Girl” – This show has lasted for several years in my heart and I pray for a few more. But will it last? Only time will tell.
XOXO, Gossip Girl.

Tommy

The Big Bang Theory

There was a whole lot of quality TV this past season. From ABC’s “Once Upon a Time” putting a new twist on the childhood stories we grew up with, to “Game of Thrones” finally returning and transporting us to a beautiful but frightening fantasy universe once again. The one show that I must mention, however, is “The Big Bang Theory”. No other show delivers as consistently, in my opinion. Every week I find myself laughing out loud and waiting to see what will happen in the romance between Leonard and Penny. We all tend to root for the underdog, and there’s no underdog quite like the geeky guy trying to get the pretty girl. Add in the neurotic Dr. Sheldon Cooper’s annoying but hilarious quotes, the mama’s boy Howard Wolowitz, and the lady shy Raj Koothroppali and you’ve got a recipe for laughter. This is one of those shows that will go down as one of the great sitcoms of our time. If you’re not watching this show, you should be!

Jackie

New Girl

Like a lot of the Clicksters, I watch an inordinate amount of television, but here are some of my favorite shows that are currently on or just wrapped up the season:

“Game of Thrones” – A classic tale filled with adventure, love and power struggles as seven noble families fight for control of the Iron Throne in this epic fantasy where no one (including small children based on last week’s episode!) is safe. Just when you think you have this show figured out, a beheading, dragon or even a smoke monster will come into frame making it a must-see week after week.

“New Girl” – Sit back with a “Nick Miller Manhattan” (straight bourbon in a plastic cup) as you follow the antics of four charming but often clueless 30-somethings who live in a larger than life loft in LA. The West Coast version of “Friends,” this show is hilarious with pithy pop culture catchphrases a plenty from “Backslider” and “Fancy Man” to “White Fanging” and “Underpants Captain” (Just wrong).

“CBS News Sunday Morning” – Sunday morning would not be complete without Wynton Marsalis trumpeting in the day and Charles Osgood as his soothing voice introduces stories about bird migrations, shelling and other human interest stories that I and every other 84-year-old love. It’s basically “60 Minutes” without the indictments.

“Smash” – Who will play the lead in a new Broadway musical about Marilyn Monroe? Drama on-stage and off, this riveting musical drama from Steven Spielberg stars Anjelica Huston and Debra Messing, along with relative newcomers Megan Hilty and Katherine McPhee. Team Ivy all the way!

“House Hunters International” – If you need to know what the options are for a Paris loft or what does that Domincan Republic beachfront getaway really cost, this is the show for you. One day!

By: Julie Camberg

Click on This: May 18, 2012 Edition
May 18, 2012

Every day the staff here at Click are finding and sharing links they find interesting. Some are industry relevant, some are just good for a chuckle. We’ve decided to collect a handful of them to share.

-Approaching the subject of drugs, predators, and other important issues with your kids can prove to be a challenge. Thank goodness for the guidance that comes in the form of “very special” TV episodes.

-A virus that creates electricity. The future is cool.

-For those of you attending Comic-Con this year, be sure to put your zombie apocalypse skills to the test.

-With Battleship hitting theaters today, Screencrush.com was inspired to make fake movie posters based on popular board games.

-Speaking of Battleship, you can now simulate a Battleship-style attack on the location of your choice. Rad!

-What do the background characters in video games think about?

-Oh, Mark Zuckerberg, you and that sense of humor of yours.

-15 things you didn’t know about “Game of Thrones”.

-And, finally, Your Weekend Moment of Zen: These vinyl stunts took 18 hours and more than 400 records! (*Note, no records were injured during the making of this video)

Happy Friday and have a great weekend!

By: Julie Camberg

Click on This: May 11, 2012 Edition
May 11, 2012

Every day the staff here at Click are finding and sharing links they find interesting. Some are industry relevant, some are just good for a chuckle. We’ve decided to collect a handful of them to share.

-35 reasons to improve your skills in Photoshop.

-Nicktoon Avengers Assemble!…and don’t forget to treat yourself to some shawarma at Stark’s Shawarma Shack.

-Listen up! 100 pieces of advice from movies.

-A downloadable Hall of Heroes font. So cool!

-This guy hand-forged his own wedding ring…out of a meteorite. NBD.

-We’d like to thank the folks responsible for adding monsters to these landscape paintings.

-”It is a blessing to get old. It is a blessing to find the time to do the things, to read the books, to listen to the music…I have nothing now but praise for my life.” Thanks for everything, Maurice Sendak. Read more of his feel-good quotes here.

-And, finally, Your Weekend Moment of Zen:
High fives, hugs, and heartfelt thanks to all of the real superheroes out there…Moms.

Happy Friday, and have a great weekend!

By: Julie Camberg

Online Outreach Then and Now: From Problem to Priority
May 4, 2012

When Mac and I looked back at where we were five years ago when we formed Click Communications, we were struck by how much has changed in the world of online publicity since then.

When we first formed Click, we would tell stories about how, back in 2003, no one cared about reaching online audiences, and online journalists didn’t care about home entertainment. We compared that with 2007, a time when many studios realized they needed to be in front of online audiences, but the pool of interested online media had gotten so large that matching the right product and story with the right sites was a fairly daunting proposition.  As such, we were often hired to “solve the online problem.” In fact, once word got out about how handily we could navigate the web, we got really busy really fast, and our company grew from two people to seven in a few short months.

Today, of course, there are a myriad of different ways to “solve the online problem” because the problems are as vast and unique as the people and agencies prepared to take them on. The major difference between online publicity Then and Now, however, is that online has shifted from Problem to Priority.

When online outreach is viewed as a problem to be solved, it automatically makes it a problem to be solved. Everything becomes last-minute and fast breaking, not just because of the dynamic pace of the online medium, but because most long-lead attention is still placed with traditional media. And if traditional media publicity doesn’t meet expectations, online coverage becomes the consolation prize.

When online outreach is viewed as a priority, on the other hand, wonderful things can start to happen. For example, if you wait until the last couple weeks of a campaign to roll out your online strategy, then what happens earlier in the campaign when you’re pitching broadcast and long-lead print publications about your new brand that no one’s ever heard of? Those producers and writers will Google your product and come up with…. Nothing. By contrast, if you prioritize your online outreach early on to take place throughout the life of your campaign, then you build up Google results, conversations and the all-important Buzz.

Our approach at Click has elevated online outreach beyond a priority to become a driving force in campaign strategy. This frees us from some of the old rules and restrictions that can apply to available assets, allowing our team to parcel out exclusive content, premium items, compelling interviews and exciting event opportunities across multiple mediums to reach true market saturation with our ideal audience.

The Click team is also particularly deft at finding new ways of maximizing assets in fresh, creative ways. After all, when it comes to rolling out publicity and marketing materials over a period of time to your target audience, you have to be careful. Think of your assets like ingredients, and your press as a mix of carnivores, vegetarians, foodies and picky children.  You can either parcel out your interviews, video clips and widgets (or meat, vegetables and cheese, if you will), to the people who want each individual item the most. Or you can put them together to form, say, a delicious pizza—something unique and mouth-watering for everyone.

The trick, especially with a long campaign, is to make sure that you’re not pitching the same story to the same person over and over again. I don’t care how much a person likes a pizza—if they hear about it three times a week, they’re going to get sick of it and stop returning your emails.

Luckily for our clients, the Click team avoids this kind of creative fatigue with the right blend of targeting, timing, and our signature Click creativity and genuine enthusiasm. Our online experts are well-rounded, strategic publicity and marketing professionals, ready to lead the way on our clients campaigns, and deliver outstanding (and occasionally delicious) results.

By: Dinah McLean

Click on This: May 4, 2012 Edition
May 4, 2012

Every day the staff here at Click are finding and sharing links they find interesting. Some are industry relevant, some are just good for a chuckle. We’ve decided to collect a handful of them to share.

- This week, we here at Click are celebrating our fifth anniversary. Check out our blog posts: Five Year Flashback and Top 5 Clickster Countdown.

- Have you already seen The Avengers five times and you’re still craving your superhero fix? Check out this awesome font.

- Standing tall on the wings of my dreams!

- The month of May is going to rule.

- Today is Star Wars Day. May the Fourth Be With You!

-And, finally, Your Weekend Moment of Zen:

Happy Friday and have a great weekend!

By: Scott Neumyer

Five Year Flashback with Click!
May 3, 2012

This week Click Communications celebrates FIVE years in business. Conceived by one young couple that married expertise in marketing and publicity, our online agency was born with a humble one-client roster. Now, just a half decade later, Click Communications has grown to include 11 full-time staff members, and delivered outstanding results to nearly 20 clients. As the fifth anniversary is traditionally commemorated with gifts of wood, we stoked the fires beneath each of our employees to share exactly where and what they were doing five years ago.

Dinah

Dinah McLean

In April 2007 I was offered a fantastic promotion at Ticketmaster, where I’d worked for seven years. I came home to discuss the offer with my husband and our conversation eventually revealed that I was actually ready for a change at a new company, ideally one that offered a short commute and an upgrade in gear—as well as a fun and challenging professional growth opportunity, of course. As fate would have it, he happened to be right in the process of converting his freelance work into an agency, and how cool would it be if the agency offered online publicity AND marketing services? I very quickly ran some projections (like I do), set up our first set of goals, and the next thing I knew we had a business license and were designing a logo to put on our first sales deck. We haven’t stopped moving since.

Mac

Mac McLean

I had left the company of Terry Hines & Associates in the Fall of 2006, after 7 1/2 years of film promotions within an agency.  In April of 2007 I was freelancing for another agency, something I hadn’t done since the mid-ninties when I was working in concert production.  I was primarily handling the online outreach for Buena Vista Home Entertainment, along with a random odd job here and there when Disney came to me one day and said “You know, if you were a company, we could hire you directly.”  By the first week of May, Click Communications was up and running.

Dre

Dre Birskovich

Five years ago I was hustling between a bunch of part time jobs and just running myself ragged. Originally,I had wanted to escape the 9 to 5 grind behind a desk and have more freedom during the day, but I ended up working more hours just trying to make ends meet having little to no free time. Finding Click was true kismet. Finally, I could be gainfully employed with a salary and benefits, and I could work in my sweatpants without someone looking over my shoulder every minute of the day!

Emily

Emily Ronkar

Five years ago I had been living in L.A for 2 years, and was working as an assistant at a publicity/promotional agency based in Burbank. I was living in Toluca Lake with 2 roommates and had not yet acquired my heart; my Schnauzer/Jack Russell puppy, Lucy.

Scott

Scott Neumyer

Five years ago, I was about six months away from joining Click. I was wasting away in a job (and industry) that I’d grown tired of and couldn’t find a viable way to make interesting again. Then I met Mac and finally got the chance to do my dream job.

Jackie

Jackie Cavanagh

Five years ago, I was living in New York and working on the David Bowie-curated High Line and a new television show with a relatively unknown cast that would premiere later that summer…Mad Men.

Tyler

Tyler Gagnon

At this time 5 years ago I had just returned from a year of living in Alberta, Canada outside of Banff National Park. Leading into the summer I got my first taste of Hollywood as a Production Assistant on the independent film, American Primitive. The film starred Stacey Dash (Clueless) and was a great way to spend the summer on Cape Cod before heading back to college after a year on snowboarding hiatus.

Julie

Julie Camberg

Five years ago I was living in Huntington Beach and working as the Store Manager at Buffalo Exchange, a resale clothing store in Costa Mesa. This was a wonderful time for me, as I was living with some of my best friends and adding to my wardrobe almost daily with sweet vintage finds from work. Little did I know, years later I’d be given the opportunity to meet Mac and Dinah and work for an amazing company like Click. I look forward to reflecting on Click’s accomplishments fives years from now!

Kim

Kim Veasey

Five years ago I was working at a PR firm in Beverly Hills, preparing Ocean’s Thirteen to go to the Cannes Film Festival with the entire cast, ramping up the PR campaign for The Orphanage, a Spanish-launguage film from producer Guillermo del Toro, as well as starting the awards campaigns for The Bucket List, I Am Legend, The Assassination of Jesse James and Michael Clayton. Michael Clayton was one of the best campaigns I’ve ever worked on…People loved the film, hanging out with George Clooney at screening events didn’t suck, and it ended the following year in an Oscar win for Best Supporting Actress for Tilda Swinton. Best time ever!!

Haley

Haley Lierman

Being the baby at Click, it will surprise no one that five years ago I was still in High School. It was cheer competition season and I was suffering through two-a-day practices to make sure no stunt was left unperfected, and spending the rest of my days dreaming about heading off to college a whopping 20 miles away! Unfortunately around this time senioritis got the best of me – I was more focused on my prom dress than my work!

Tommy

Tommy Gardner

I had recently gotten out of grad school and was working as an assistant manager at GameStop in North Kingstown, Rhode Island. It was a fun job! I got to talk video games and movies with people all day (being able to borrow any game I wanted wasn’t half bad either!)

By: Julie Camberg

Top 5 Clickster Countdown
May 3, 2012

Happy Birthday to US! This week, Click Communications celebrates 5 years in business. What started as a simple solution for providing online outreach for publicity campaigns has grown to encompass digital marketing efforts and social media strategies as well. As our capabilities have expanded, our commitment to our Work Hard Play Hard ethic has only deepened. Join us in a trip down memory lane as our staff recalls their individual Top 5 Favorite Campaigns or Moments Since Working with Click!

Mac

1. Click’s Comic-Con Survival Guide.  I have been the resident nerd in most companies I worked at for most of my life.  Being able to create this guide was sheer glee for me and it’s something I look forward to creating and sharing with everyone every year.  I’ve already got a list going for this year’s issue!

2. You’re Hired!  Beyond “allowing” interns to work for us in a previous agency, I had never actually interviewed and hired anyone before starting Click.  While sifting through mounds and mounds of ridiculous resumes can be a little disheartening, we have been insanely lucky in hiring such great people throughout our five short years and it’s been a pleasure working with them all.

3. Visiting Pixar, Winston, ILM and the ARL.  When you’re as big a film nerd as me, getting to see where some of the greatest design work is created is spellbinding.  I’ve had the pleasure of visiting Pixar multiple times for UP and Ratatouille, and the miniature work for the UP house was incredible.  At Winston studios, I got to see some of the Hammer Drones and a piece of the War Machine armor long before it was supposed to be seen.  ILM is littered with props from so many favorite childhood films like Innerspace.  The Animation Research Library is one of the coolest places to visit because you can see everything from an original frame from Steamboat Willie to clay maquettes from The Nightmare Before Christmas.

4. Star Trek, LOST, Voltron, Inglourious Basterds.  Red carpets and press events can be exciting, disastrous or boring, depending on a variety of factors, but some of my favorite moments have been meeting the geeks and Hey It’s That Guy actors.  So being able to hang out and talk with folks like Bruce Greenwood, Gregg Henry, Zoe Bell, Michael Emerson, Robert Forster, Kevin McKidd and Seth Green have definitely been highlights.

5. Meeting Optimus Prime.  While working on The Transformers, we were able to secure press for a lunch with Peter Cullen.  I’m not a professional writer, so adequately defining the sense of awe and wonderment when I got to sit with him for a lunch is a challenge.  He was magnificent.

Dinah

Click Turns One!

1. Telling our family & friends that Mac & I were forming a company together and having them all unanimously respond, “It’s about time.”

2. Locking in clickcommunications.com. You never know, when you name your company, if you’re actually going to get the URL you want for your site. We had to bid on ours in an auction, and when we won it I jumped up & did a giddy little happy dance right where we were working… which happened to be in the basement restaurant at the Elliot Bay Book Company in Seattle. It just made things that much more official.

3. Our 1 Year Anniversary celebration. We made t-shirts, drank tequila shots out of limes, saw Iron Man. The first year flew by in a flash, but it still felt epic.

4. Runway for Life 2008. We worked this event with Disney, and it was a pretty typical talent-handling sort of affair. Except at this one, I got to meet Jon Hamm.

5. Click’s Comic-con Survival Guide. Every one of them. It’s highly unusual for a PR agency to create something—we usually just promote things. But we’re a creative, passionate bunch here at Click, and our Survival Guide really shows our clients & press partners what geeks we really are. Making the Guide is my favorite thing we do every year, and it just keeps getting better and better.

Scott

Iron Man

1. Iron Man – Just an enormous campaign for a movie that truly kicked off the Marvel Movieverse. My largest campaign to date and still one of the most fun.

2. Pulp Fiction & Jackie Brown – Classic films coming to Blu-ray that gave me the chance to chat with legends like Pam Grier and Robert Forster.

3. Chillerama – My favorite genre (horror) and getting to work directly with the four directors was insanely fun.

4. Scott Pilgrim vs. The World – Amazing film and a campaign with tons of awesome features, angles, and talent.

5. Avatar – It was a ton of work, but well worth it for such a great film and campaign.

Emily

Comic-Con 2009

1. Streamy Awards – it was challenging, interesting, and fun; it was such a great experience working so closely with all the Click teamsters on this event.

2. Comic Con 2009 – My first ever Comic Con, it was overwhelming, exciting, fun, and a little magical. We attended parties, spent time with our amazing press and just had a blast being amongst “our people”.

3. Scarface Blu-ray Premiere – It was like being a part of history, 30 years after its initial premiere, seeing the cast/filmmakers sit and tell stories of their experience was a truly wonderful Hollywood moment.

4. Tinker Bell campaign – It involves so much work from so many different people/departments, and is so wonderful to see something succeed so well. Having now worked on all four Tink campaigns to date, it’s fun to know that I’ve been there from the beginning.

5. TV on DVD – I start working on the titles in January, and finish around November; it’s hours upon hours of time spent pushing through title after title, and at the end it’s such an epic sense of accomplishment

Dre

1. Emily performing the Hoedown Throwdown from the Hannah Montana Movie for the very first time at a Click backyard BBQ. (She still knows it! Ask her for a show next time you see her.)

2. Attending Comic Con with the Click Clique for the very first time in 2009 and staying at the Hotel Del Coronado – can you say Adult Pool?

3. Attending the press day at Pixar for the Blu-ray & DVD of Wall-E. They REQUIRE employees to participate in 4 hours of extra-curriculars every week!

4. Getting my groove on during an African Dance lesson with some fabulous mommies during our Lion King blogger day.

5. I am most proud of my dual campaigns for the theatrical 3D and home entertainment releases of Disney’s The Lion King. With an extended timeline, I packaged assets and rolled them out using creative ideas that have since been adapted for other campaigns, and resulted in one of the company’s largest campaigns to date!

Jackie

Back to the Future

Back to the Future

1. Back to the Future Trilogy: 25th Anniversary Edition – One of the hardest secrets I have ever had to keep as a publicist was when I first saw the never-before-released Eric Stoltz film footage months before street date. It was like going back in time and in the words of Marty McFly, I knew that “history is gonna change” when we released that clip. Interest was so high online that it temporarily shut down several sites. The campaign culminated with an international press conference and cast reunion event – complete with the ultimate DeLorean cake from Ace of Cakes. Who knew it would be my “density” to help promote one of my favorite childhood films?

2. Scarface Limited Edition Blu-ray – “The world is yours” in PR when you have the opportunity to work with A-List talent and an iconic film. The campaign included a fan art contest limited edition hand-crafted humidor, multiple features and a party with the “Mang,” himself, Al Pacino! From the talent Q&A to a special performance by Ludacris and tasty treats from Border Grill chefs Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger, Clicksters, including myself, really enjoyed living large in Tony Montana’s world…for one night.

3. The Big Lebowski Limited Edition Blu-ray –
Achievers united when the cast was brought back together for this special release of the 1998 Cohen Brothers cult comedy at the 10th anniversary of Lebowski Fest Thousands of costume-dressed fans descended on the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York to worship at the temple of The Dude. The love and White Russians were freely flowing at the sold out event where the boisterous crowd did not hesitate to chime in with their favorite quotes and give multiple standing ovations for the cast during the 45 minute chat. For those who couldn’t attend, the campaign included a live feed of the Q&A via LiveStream.

4. Fast Five – Concerts and screaming fans at premieres are nothing compared to the roar of engines revving at Nascar. The campaign included the Fast Five 225 race at the Chicagoland Speedway with Tyrese and Jordana Brewster and has the distinction of being the loudest event I have ever worked. It was as exhilarating, fast and fun as the film, itself.

5. “Lost”: The Complete Collection – A collector’s edition set filled with a hidden disc, a BD-Live master’s degree program for die hard fans at Lost University and the new 12-minute episode “The New Man in Charge” was a fitting way to say good bye to the series that redefined television. The campaign included the box unveiling, interviews with Michael Emerson and the opportunity to watch some of the bonus features at the Lost props auction where fans could take home everything from Dharma Initiative can goods to that creepy Squirrel Baby. However, I still have questions…

Tyler

Scarface

1. Scarface has been my favorite campaign to assist with during my time here at Click. This campaign was a great learning experience on multiple fronts, from targeted research to working my first red carpet event!

2. The Lion King 3D Blu-ray release, working on a giant campaign such as this gave me insight into what Click Communications is capable of doing and trust me it is A LOT!

3. Danny Phantom was my first campaign that I got my feet wet in experiencing being a lead publicist. It was my first opportunity to draft a targeted pitch list and create assets to be pushed out across the web!

4. Jake and the Never Land Pirates: Yo, Ho Mateys Away! My first Disney pre-school title where I was the lead publicist. With help from our senior staffers, they taught me a great deal of how to handle bigger promotional items and proper asset roll out.

5. The Muppets, this was just a fun campaign to assist on, with all the hilarious parody clips, Muppet interviews and other creative assets.

Julie

Click Clique

1. Meeting my fellow Clicksters for the first time. We all got together to wish Brigid a fond farewell (tear), and I was just tickled at how warm and welcoming everyone was. I felt an instant connection to the team, and have since learned so much from all of them. We’re like a little family and everyday I am inspired by their hard work and commitment to one another and our clients. A gal can’t ask for much more than that from her fellow teammates.

2. 2011 Comic-Con Survival Guide. I became a Clicker at the end of June of last year, which meant we were in the thick of prepping our annual Comic-Con Survival Guide and kits. It was my first big project for Click, and it took a lot of work from all of us. I remember looking at the final edition of the guide and thinking, “Wow, I can’t believe my name is tied to such a masterpiece!”

3. Working the Scarface party. This marked my first encounter with a red carpet event, and boy was I over the moon. It was such a fun event to work with the rest of the gang, and being able to enjoy a Q & A with the cast, Scarface-themed cocktails and a performance by Ludacris was pretty much…the bees knees.

4. Scorpion King 3 press junket. I enjoyed working this event because it was my first press junket, and I learned a lot! I even got to sit in on some of the talent interviews, which was both interesting and enjoyable. That Bostin Christopher is a hoot!

5. Working on campaigns like I Don’t Know How She Does It, Lady and the Tramp, and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. While my contribution to these campaigns were more administrative, I always enjoy putting together party kits for our press. They’re hard work, and require lots of organization, but seeing posts of kiddos in mustaches and pirate gear makes it all worth it. Adorable!

Kim

Dumbo

1. Dumbo – I wasn’t allowed to watch Dumbo when I was little for some reason (I’ll have to ask my Mom about that one haha) so I wasn’t familiar with the story or the movie. This campaign really allowed me to learn and understand why it was such a beloved classic! We had such great activities I had a “Week of Dumbo” rollout, fun contests and features, and Webex sessions with the restoration team!! This was my first really huge campaign at Click and I enjoyed every minute of it!

2. Prep & Landing – This campaign was like the little engine that could!! We didn’t have much but clips and contests and yet people LOVED this short and cute little DVD. I had MAD requests for it, and it just goes to show you that if people like the story (and it helps that it was holiday season appropriate!) then they will promote it. The clips were hilarious too!!

3. Cars 2 – I had worked at Pixar Animation Studios during the theatrical run of this film so it was nice to be on the other side, and also work on the home entertainment release. I had a TON of assets and Q&A’s and clips and activities and contests and slideshows, and character interviews, and talent interviews… I mean you name it, we HAD it for this campaign. And since it was such a beloved franchise, the press and bloggers were incredibly receptive. It was a lot of work, but it was fun to bookend my time at Pixar by working on the film one last time.

4. I Don’t Know How She Does It – I have no idea how she does it! Haha, the fun things we were able to do with this title from the Best Apps for Mom’s, to the mom kits for the Career Mom and the Mom On The Go (shout out to Julie and Haley for help with those!) made it a truly fun campaign! We had so many responses, I had never seen that many entries for our contests before! One site had over 10,000!! And while I’m still not quite sure how SJP does it, I’m glad we were able to engage our mommy bloggers with a film they ALL completely related to.

5. Texas Killing Fields – This title was a tough subject, with a great cast, and yet it was still at times a tough sell. The main reason why I enjoyed it so much was that it got me back to working in theatrical PR which I remember fondly.

Haley

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

1. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides Campaign: This was the first campaign where I was able to put my true gift in life to good use: shopping. Finding cost effective yet entertaining items is clealry my calling.

2. I Don’t Know How She Does It: Once again, an opportunity to put together a kit for moms that involved a merchandise hunt. Of course, I am no mother, and I honestly don’t know how they do it, so input from Dinah was crucial.

3. Holiday Gift Guide: Researching sites with holiday gift guides was a ton of work. And while there were times I thought it would never end – you wouldn’t believe the amazing gifts I found while searching through hundreds of Holiday Gift Guides!

4. Lady and the Tramp: There were so many adorable promotional items and widgets being rolled I couldn’t help but fall in love like I was under the influence of my own bella notte.

5. The Hunger Games – Just proposing ideas for this amazing movie had me more excited than I have ever been. I can’t wait to see what comes of it!

Tommy

Phineas & Ferb: The Perry Files

So many cool things have been happening since I started with Click 3 months ago.
1. I’ve really enjoyed working on “Phineas and Ferb: The Perry Files”, it’s a really funny show that’s just as appealing to adults as kids.

2. I’ve also really been enjoying working on a lot of the “New to Blu-ray” titles. A lot of them are older movies that I grew up watching, such as High Fidelity, Adventures in Babysitting, and Judge Dredd.

3 & 4. Going to see John Carter and The Hunger Games with the Click team on release day was a great experience as well. It’s great to go see new films with others who are equally enthusiastic about them.

5. Speaking of new films, I can’t wait to go see The Avengers with everyone this Friday. It should be amazing!

By: Julie Camberg