Cascade Communications

04/08/2025

If you're a founder or small business CEO and want your PR and marketing campaign to be successful, you must do this...

As a PR and digital marketing agency, our job is to use stories to create credibility and emotional connection that drives traffic to your website, however...

If your website doesn't match the expectations of consumers who discover your product or service through media, content, search or social media, you lose sales and our efforts are for not.

Too many times we've crushed it for clients only to hear "we didn't earn enough in sales, like we hoped, to be able to pay you." Yeah, but we did our job.

Or did we?

This opened the door for opportunity.

Before you embark on a campaign to generate awareness, create curiosity and drive site traffic, companies need to ensure that the brand story and messaging align online and that the website meets consumer experience best practices.

Otherwise, it's a waste of your money and our time and energy.

This is why we work with clients to ensure our campaigns are truly successful and result in the one measurement that matters beyond credibility and reputation - sales.

Our team includes experts who can assist in ensuring online experience and personalization that allow PR and digital marketing campaigns to generate real impact.

If you want to learn more on how unique Cascade360 model and approach to campaigns for startups and growing small businesses?

Shoot me an message and let's chat!

04/04/2025

An avid believer in helping founders and business owners understand the changing media environment and its impact on PR, our founder is excited to deliver a webinar to the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business Chicago alumni April 10.

04/02/2025

In marketing and PR, circumstances occur and only quick thinking will save the day.

As professionals, we often keep the reality of what we're feeling inside from clients. Why? Because it's our job to stay calm and problem solve.

These moments made me more resilient, creative and a better professional...even if it is only seen in retrospect.

Today, I look back and laugh at the good fortune and outcomes. Laughter is key in this industry.

Here's a look back - I should write a book.

📌Traveling for a 25-market onsite event and contest for a client and waking up the day of flight with strep throat. Thankful for the swift response from my doctor for antibiotics - not thankful for the Chatty Cathy on the plane who didn't believe I was sick.

Then getting onsite to the event to have all six major media - TV stations, newspapers and online - waiting for the event and not having one contestant in sight. That's when you go to the ATM, withdrawal the maximum and then give a little cash encouragement to people on the street to come participate. Event saved. Media earned. Happy client.

Lessons learned and insight for clients:

📌We have to keep going even when we're sick. Campaigns cannot be rescheduled or stopped because we're under the weather. You find a way.

📌We do whatever it takes to ensure media coverage and successful experiential events for clients.

📌Sometimes you cannot rely on partners to do their job well. Trust and then follow up, follow up, follow up.

📌We can't predict what will happen so plan for every scenario.

📌Hotel room service can be your best friend with strep throat bringing ice water and ice cream, sometimes at no charge, all night long.

What are some of the experiences you've encountered that became critical lessons learned?

03/31/2025

The power of just one media story.

All it takes is one story shared with one journalist or media outlet to catapult a business.

With a targeted and strategic approach, I have seen how businesses are transformed thanks to just one media story.

✅ I secured a TV segment for a client offering a unique service that could change lives. That one story was posted online, searched and found leading to more clients and serious business growth.

✅ Another small business, a wine shop, had an employee with a unique, even contrarian thinking on products and their industry. I made one introduction to a journalist and industry expert. The two had a fast report. That report turned into ongoing interviews and mentions in a major newspaper. In turn, this small business met its annual sales goal in the first quarter and was shipping to customers across the country.

✅An inspirational clothing company saw immediate sales on the first day a major national woman's magazine included the products in their holiday gift guide.

✅A Dutch startup wanted to generate awareness for growth in the U.S. One email put the company in front of a national TV audience, while posting their press release on our website resulted in a Washington Post story.

Just because a company has a budget, doesn't mean that good things can't happen.

A strategic approach to PR and digital communications can have real impact.

At Cascade, we don't believe in the "spray and pray" method of PR and marketing. We believe in quantity over quality.

I'm Jennifer Fortney, Founder of Cascade Communications, an integrated digital marketing and PR agency for startups and growing, expanding small businesses.

Want to learn more? Visit our website and schedule a free call.

Cascade is an acclaimed, top integrated marketing and PR agency for startups, small business & small enterprise globally.

03/27/2025

How many times have I used my skills as as journalist in PR? A lot.

A number of times throughout my career, I have had to interview clients for media that send a camera person to an event, and this is one I remember fondly.

When I helped the American Diabetes Association in Chicago with PR for the annual Care-to-Cure Brunch at Soldier's Field, this NBC cameraman asked if I could interview Lovie Smith as part of the story they were going to run.

My real role was to manage media onsite for him, so to have the opportunity to play journalist was a real treat, and he was a pro sharing his personal story.

One of the signs of a great PR professional is our ability to pivot in the moment for the story.

We know how to think quick on our feet and problem solve in the moment.

I have so many stories like this from my career, more to come.

When have you had to pivot in the moment of unexpected circumstances or requests?

03/19/2025

Years ago, when PR was still our primary practice, I heard, for what felt like 100th time,

"We really appreciate all of the incredible media you achieved for our company, but unfortunately, we didn't earn as much in website sales as we hoped, so...we're not able to pay you."

What? 😳

But...we did our job.

I know that I am not alone in the industry. Others have experienced this too.

Frustrated, I set out to solve this challenge. 🤔

You see, PR's job, essentially, is to drive traffic to your website.

We achieve brand awareness that creates curiosity that leads to clicks. We're not responsible for how the website or product sells.

And while PR is still the foundation of what we do, and emphasize its unparalleled ability to create credibility and drive positive perception, PR is just a piece of your success puzzle, especially for brands that are yet to be discovered.

This is one of the primary reasons I began to pivot Cascade Communications into the agency it is today with the unique model I developed to better help our clients meet their business and marketing objectives.

Our Cascade360 approach has helped us surprise and delight founders and small business CEOs for the past seven years.

To learn more, open LinkedIn mail and drop me a note.

03/17/2025

When it comes to building a brand through marketing, you need a strategy.

A strategy is a plan.
A plan is a roadmap.
A roadmap is a rudder.

Without a roadmap, you're a rudderless ship.

I love when founders and business owners are excited about all of the things they are doing and what's to come, but done without a strategy that includes a detailed PR plan and marketing action timeline...

It's like jumping into the ocean without a life vest.

It's throwing money away or at things just hoping it will work out.

In reality, building brand awareness is a process that should be developed with purpose, carefully thought out, well planned and expertly executed.

When worked step-by-step, a good strategy can ensure your company meets its objectives long-term.

A strategy can look forward. It can help you, as a founder or CEO, see the next steps in your marketing. Like looking into the future.

This is how great brands are built, with thoughtfulness and thorough preparation.

Whether its PR, social media, content or design, we create strategies that allow founders and small business CEOs grow and establish their business in the market.

Don't be a rudderless ship!

03/14/2025

Founders, you understand the value of PR. You know that it matters for generating awareness, and, oh, yeah, investors like it.

The bad news is that you can't run before you walk, meaning just because you built it doesn't mean major national media are going to drop everything to cover you, especially when your company isn't well known.

Sure, it feels good to brag about being in the New York Times but wouldn't you rather brag about the incredible growth you've seen as a result of positioning yourself as an expert in the industry?

After all, THAT is where your customers are.

Did you consider the fact that larger major companies and corporations rely on their industry media to meet critical goals of sales, awareness and continuously establishing themselves as market leaders?

There is nothing more valuable to a startup or small business than being seen as a thought leader, innovator and powerful voice in your sector and seeing it reflected in the company's bottom line.

The visibility can be so much more meaningful to your business.

I am on a mission to help founders, CEOs and small business owners rethink PR and establish new objectives and expectations.

Want to learn more about how we do this? Jump into mail and Dm.

03/13/2025

It’s true. Artificial Intelligence (AI) has made a lot of lives easier, especially if you’re a startup, small business or one-person marketing department, but it’s not great for everything.

Where there is a bandwagon, people are going to jump on it, but it doesn't mean they use the latest and greatest well.

The same is true when it comes to using it to do the heavy lifting in PR.

I see posts and stories about people in the public relations industry, using and relying on AI to automate their work, completely. Full PR agencies use it to write press releases, content, journalist pitches and even to automate the entire outreach and follow up process. While this sounds great, it doesn’t work, for many reasons, including the one above.

And this is the reason journalists and media outlets hate AI.

AI is not perfect and, more often than not, gets it wrong. Really wrong.

We're sharing why journalists and media hate AI use in PR and how it can hurt your brand.

AI In Public Relations: Why it Will Never Replace a PR Agency

03/02/2025

Food styling and photography is no joke. Got to see the professionals work their magic for upcoming cookbook.

02/22/2025

I am forever curious 🤔 . It makes me a good journalist and writer, but also business owner. My curious nature helps me to take an authentic interest in others, business owners, and the challenges me and my team can solve.

"Never stop learning" was some of the best advice I received as a young entrepreneur, and my curiosity drives me to learn as much as possible. So much so that I signed up for a full weekend virtual conference.

Yep...ALL weekend. 😯🙄

Some may not sacrifice such treasured time away from work, but if it makes me better, my business and help my team deliver...it is worth it.

Stay curious, my friends!

02/21/2025

As Founder of Cascade Communications since 2001, I have long held fast to the rule that we don't take on every client that comes our way.

Why?

Team chemistry, collaboration and our integrity for high quality work for founders and business owners who want to invest in growth and expansion with us by their side.

Learn more about how our core values shape our work, commitment to client success and growth.

As a PR agency for startups and small businesses, we don't take on every client, and here's why.