Frause blogs

Hard Work Brings Great Rewards

Steffanie Mortera — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 16:58:45 +0000

I’m finishing my spring internship this week with plenty of projects. On the first day of my internship I was excited and eager to begin work at Frause as the intern. Everyone treated me like a true part of their team from day one. The morning huddles allowed me to get to know people and understand everyone’s role at the firm. It also helped that my office was right next to the kitchen, an area where any and all can be found at various points throughout the day.

I learned an incredible amount from this internship. I created extensive media lists, conducted media audits, pitched reporters, sent out press releases and carried out many other tasks. The most memorable was the challenge Kelli and I had to create two videos about Frause. It pushed me outside of my comfort zone and expanded my skillset.

Click here for the first video Kelli and I made. If you’d like to see the 15 Year Anniversary video, click here.

Through all the fun and hard work, I’ve found that there are five things essential to the success of being a Frause intern:

1. Be prompt: arrive on time or 15 minutes early to get a head start on the work planned out for the day.
2. Ask questions: it’s important to understand projects and expectations, so if there’s any uncertainty, ask questions.
3. Work hard, every day: Give 100 percent every day. Simple as that.
4. Balance: evaluate the projects that are already on the agenda and make sure to maintain a healthy balance between them.
5. Breathe: even when work gets hectic, take a deep breath and remember that life goes on. The project will get done!

I truly enjoyed the work I did as an intern and was excited to come to Frause every day. As my graduation drew near and my love for this integrated communication firm grew, I was recently given the amazing opportunity to continue as an assistant account executive. I am beyond ecstatic for this opportunity and I can’t wait to learn more from the great people here at Frause. This marks my last blog post as an intern, but I will be writing again in the near future.

Until next time,

Steffanie

Happy 15th Anniversary, Frause!

Steffanie Mortera — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 17:11:44 +0000

This year, Frause is proudly celebrating its 15th anniversary. To commemorate the special occasion, Kelli and I were asked to create another video (click here!).

We started planning and conceptualizing more than two weeks ago and brainstormed ways to reflect the fun character and expansion of the firm over the years. From the start, we decided to attempt a new style using typography rather than filmed scenes like we did in our last video.

Producing this video required more time than we initially expected. The most challenging parts of the process were picking an appropriate song and determining the messaging in the video. We wanted to be sure they captured the overall essence of Frause.

Through our experiences interning here, we felt a strong theme within Frause is the importance of stories, and finding the right way to share them through campaigns, websites, graphic designs, etc., in order to make an impact on the world. In the past 15 years, Frause quickly grew in size and services, starting off in public relations and now offering a much broader range of communication assistance to companies.

Frause strives to change the community – and ultimately the world – through our communication strategies. As years go by, we will continue to grow. Kelli and I are honored to have contributed a small part within the Frause history.

Happy 15 years, Frause!

Farewell, Frause!

Kelli Ho — Sat, 01 Jun 2013 00:00:27 +0000

I used to have waves of feelings where I was convinced I wasn’t creative enough or worked hard enough to produce anything worthy in the design field. Yet design was something I could not forget about no matter how frustrated I felt. At the beginning of this year I decided to make a resolution and stick to it. My goal was to stop doubting myself as a designer.

Today is the last day of an internship I am still shocked to have gotten. Interning at Frause has given me some of the best experiences I never could have imagined. I shadowed client meetings and project proposals, and learned about Pantone colors and printing processes. in retrospect, my biggest takeaway from Frause is the confidence I grew to have from doing things I didn’t think I could do.

I learned many things from each of my projects and assignment, but the two videos Steffanie and I worked on left me with the most lessons learned. During our production time for both videos, there were several moments that became so overwhelming I could not see it being successfully completed. Neither of us knew much about filming and we knew even less about video editing so there was a constant weight of stress hovering over us. The anniversary video was most challenging. Although there were a number of easier videos we could have done, we decided to attempt a motion graphics video despite having no idea how to create it.

It was incredibly frustrating to learn a new program while conceptualizing and designing the video at the same time. I admit becoming so annoyed with it I debated about scrapping our venture into “kinetic typography” and opting for an easier idea to film. It was hard to give up, though, with the support we had here, and that’s the thing I love most about Frause – being in an environment that both challenges and encourages you.

Bob once told me he wanted his firm to be a place where, even if an employee left, they would carry on through life and still feel it was one of the best jobs they ever had. I’m certain as I move on to the next best thing, my internship at Frause will be one I always remember.

5 Tips to Networking Successfully

Steffanie Mortera — Tue, 21 May 2013 15:19:24 +0000

On May 16, I attended the event, “Networking with the PR Pros” at Seattle University. For those of you who weren’t able to make it, I thought I’d pass along some of the beneficial networking tips given to the students (hey that’s me!) and young professionals there—tips that will ultimately help anyone pursue a career in just about any profession.

PR pros who attended:
Kate Hudson – Frause
Jay Weisberger – Skanska
Starr Burroughs – Waggener Edstrom
Christin Camacho – Redfin
Kelby Johnson – Wunderman
Lauren Lytle – Weber Shandwick
Konrad Palubicki – Edelman Digital

To open up the event, Jay Weisberger of Skanska told a story about his networking experience. From his speech, and from what some of the other professionals said, I drew five important lessons on how to network successfully.

1. Come prepared with questions.

At networking events, take advantage of the fact that you have professionals in front of you, willing to answer questions you may have about their work experience or their career journey. Have a list of general questions prepared that you may want to ask.

2. Bring business cards.

This almost goes without saying. Exchanging business cards provides an opportunity to open up dialogue between you and a fellow professional. It also shows that you are making an effort to create a personal brand for yourself. If you’re a student and don’t have a business card yet, I know many students use the site Moo to order, cheap, easy, customized cards.

3. Be yourself.

Relax and be yourself. You want others to get to know you for who you truly are. Show them the professional you can be, but also let them see your personality.

4. Stay connected.

Maintaining a connection is vital when networking. Just because you met someone and added them on LinkedIn does not mean you are connected. Because of the digital age we are in, be sure not to underestimate face-to-face interaction. Set up meetings in person and get to know professionals on a more personal level.

5. Follow up.

If there is a company or a professional you made a connection with, contact them with the information on their business card. Express your gratitude for the opportunity to meet them. And if you’re looking for a job, request an informational interview to get to know them and/or their company.

It’s never too early to start networking, even as underclassmen in college. Take advantage of all your opportunities, and good luck!

The F.R.A.U.S.E. Perspective

Steffanie Mortera — Tue, 21 May 2013 15:12:23 +0000

To Frause and friends:

This week, Frause’s Seattle interns were given a special challenge: to co-produce a video blog post. We brainstormed several ideas before narrowing down our list and making a final selection. Kelli Ho and I set out to satisfy our curiosity surrounding what Frause employees think the company represents by asking each team member to write a descriptive word for each letter in F.R.A.U.S.E. on a piece of paper. We received many creative and amusing responses, and turned them into a short video in just eight hours.

Here are some of the wonderful descriptions not included in the video:

F: Feisty, fresh, friendly, focused

R: Reliable, respected, reinvented, receptive

A: Articulate, authentic, able, agile, astounding

U: Utterly awesome, united, unique, unflappable

S: Story-tellers, supportive, savvy, sensational

E: Effective, elegant, enthusiastic, entrepreneurial

Through our hard work and perseverance, we were able to complete this task before the deadline, and most importantly before Kelli’s last day as the design intern. We hope you enjoy our video.

Thanks!

Kelli and Steff

p.s. Bon voyage, Kelli! -Steff

Happy Mother’s Day to Frause Supermoms!

Steffanie Mortera — Fri, 10 May 2013 18:57:10 +0000

For those of you caught up in the whirlwind of work and/or school, don’t forget this Sunday, May 12, is Mother’s Day. As grateful offspring nationwide reach for their phones to order beautiful bouquets for their moms, I recently reached for my pen to transcribe conversations I had with the moms of Frause. In our Seattle and Portland offices, we have a total of six working moms: Erika Schmidt, Jennifer Werdel, Lauren Kriegler, Lisa Smith, Susan Lamb and Natalie Price.

Frause moms devote countless hours on weeknights and weekends to their children’s activities. Sports seemed to be a common thread for the Frause kiddos. T-ball is literally a big hit with Lisa’s son Bohdi, 4, and Susan’s son London, 4. The boys have practices during the week and games on the weekend. Erika’s children Nathan, 14, and James, 9, have been bitten by the sports bug as well. Nathan plays soccer for his middle school, while James partakes in lacrosse. Jennifer’s son Connor, 16, who attends Columbia River High School with his sister Grace, runs track and cross country; Grace, 14 years old, participates in Irish dancing with the Yeates Academy.

Lisa Smith (left) and Erika Schmidt (right)

Frause moms Lauren and Natalie have different roles as mothers, as they’ve either moved beyond trucking their kids around to practice or have that to look forward to. Lauren’s little girl Blakely, 2, keeps Lauren on her toes as Blakely explores the functionality of her own two feet, and Natalie’s sons Brad, 28, and Matt, 24, are busy making their way in the work world as young professionals.

Being a full time worker in the communications world is not an easy task, but the Frause moms had some advice for current and future working moms to keep in mind:

“Don’t apologize for it. Understand that you’re valued for your contributions, and at the same time it’s okay to know that when the day is done you’re going home to your family.”
–Jennifer Werdel

“Let go of the guilt. When you have downtime, take advantage of it and be with your kids. And if you don’t, then that’s life.”
–Erika Schmidt

“Don’t feel guilty about leaving your child. Be flexible with your schedule and keep your priorities straight.”
–Lisa Smith

“Don’t strive for perfection. Accept that you can’t do it all. Try to be present when you’re home, and be present at work. Wherever you are, be fully present.”
–Lauren Kriegler

“Find the balance that’s right for you. Don’t let anybody else break that for you or get in the way of that balance you want.”
–Susan Lamb

All the Frause moms are looking forward to the weekend to spend time with their children and families, and to take time for themselves to relax. So as we head into this special weekend, keep in mind that every day is an opportunity to show how much we love our moms. If you’re not in the same town as your mom, pick up the phone or make a quick trip to surprise her, because in my opinion, shared quality time is the best gift that can be given. And for any Seattle-area families unsure of what to do for Mother’s Day, the Seattle PI has some free and fun suggestions.

Lauren Kriegler (left), Susan Lamb (center) and Natalie Price (right)

AIGA Studio Tours: integrating creative spaces and teamwork

Kelli Ho — Thu, 09 May 2013 15:11:03 +0000

An ongoing aspiration of mine that began at the start of this school year is to establish an American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA) student group at Seattle University and build the student design community. This “project” has humbly taught me several lessons, but perhaps the most important was how much easier and worthwhile it is to first befriend people who share the same interests as you and attend events with them instead of promoting and convincing total strangers of the merit and value of AIGA.

Developing this student group has been quite a challenge this year, which is why one of the best parts about my internship at Frause is the creative energy I am surrounded by and immersed in because of the creative team. Katy Harrison, a graphic designer at Frause, is always introducing me to cool websites and encouraging me to attend events hosted by AIGA.

Once I started making more of an effort to get to know people in my major, I began pitching these events to them and loved the excitement we all had in common. Last Friday my friends and I attended AIGA Seattle’s “Studio Tours,” an annual event where a handful of design firms open their doors for people to come in and explore the workspace, as well as meet the team working there.

This year six firms located in Capitol Hill participated: Civilization, Creature, DEI Creative, Substantial, Tectonic, and Urban Influence. When Katy first told me about this event, I jumped on board immediately after looking through the list and saw that Urban Influence was one of the participating firms. I follow the work of several design firms throughout Seattle, and UI was one of the first firms I came across when I started getting more into graphic design.

I was only able to visit four of the six firms but was blown away by the studios and interior design choices of each; they were each a graphic designer’s dream. None of the spaces were set up like normal office cubicles. Instead, the desks and computers were set up in the same area so that employees worked alongside each other. Each of the firms I visited said this allowed for more creative work and ideas to be quickly bounced back and forth between the team. Walls were covered with colorful posters and typographic prints, and bookshelves were filled with every design magazine and book on my wish list. Innovation and inspiration was everywhere, and the identity, as well as personality of each firm was strongly prominent in how they chose to design the interior of their spaces.

The team-oriented spaces of the studios reflect a thriving combination of teamwork and creativity where each member – designers, developers, art directors, etc. – contribute to the overall success of the firm. Each had the budding communal vibe I hope to create within the design program at Seattle U.

Week Five Check-in

Nick Smith — Mon, 06 May 2013 18:08:34 +0000

Today marks the start of week six, which means I am at the half-way point of my internship and I only have five weeks left until graduation and the inevitable plunge into the pool of recent graduates looking for work. As scary as that is, let’s take a minute to look back on the good and bad of the first five weeks.

Good:

I work with an amazing group of people. Everyone at Frause has been willing to help me when I’ve needed some guidance. However, no one has tried to hold my hand through projects. I’ve been able to grow by making mistakes and learning from them without the pressure of someone looking over my shoulder constantly.

I’ve had the chance to work on a variety of accounts and projects, so I’ve been able to learn new things. For example, I’ve had the chance to work on media lists, which is something I had not done in school. I’ve also had the chance to fine-tune a few skills, such as blogging and writing press releases. I’m not the “hey go get the coffee” intern; I feel like a member of the team at Frause. I think this is a product of working at a smaller agency rather than the large one with hundreds of employees. This was important to me because as an intern I wanted a chance to show my value and not get lost in the shuffle.

Bad:

I have to get out of bed early. I mean, we’re not talking “Armageddon” bad, but it’s still an adjustment. At first I was up super early because I was so worried about being late, now I’ve got the commute down to a science so I can maximize my sleep time.

Balancing work and school has been difficult, but not horrible. Like most college seniors in their last term of school, staying focused has been difficult, but by keeping in mind how far I’ve come and how close I am to accomplishing a lifelong goal it is easy to stay focused. One of the ways I’ve learned to balance work, school and my personal life is to not take things home with me. Learning to leave the projects at the office so I don’t stress about them at home has been a great tool for me. However, the best thing I do is turn my phone off and leave it off for the weekends, or during the time I spend with my family. By doing that, I eliminate the distractions and the quality time with my family is in fact quality.

Those are the two real difficulties at the top of my list. I’ve had an amazing experience so far and I look forward to another five weeks at Frause. Going out into the job market can be scary, but I feel the time I’ve spent here has helped me develop the skills that employers are looking for. This will only help make me stand out when those applications start pouring in.

The F.R.A.U.S.E Perspective

Kelli Ho — Thu, 02 May 2013 16:55:40 +0000

To Frause and friends:

This week, Frause’s Seattle interns were given a special challenge: to co-produce a video blog post. Steffanie Mortera and I brainstormed several ideas before narrowing down our list and making a final selection. We set out to satisfy our curiosity surrounding what Frause employees think the company represents by asking each team member to write a descriptive word for each letter in F.R.A.U.S.E. on a piece of paper. We received many creative and amusing responses, and turned them into a short video in just eight hours.

Here are some of the wonderful descriptions not included in the video:

F: Feisty, fresh, friendly, focused

R: Reliable, respected, reinvented, receptive

A: Articulate, authentic, able, agile, astounding

U: Utterly awesome, united, unique, unflappable

S: Story-tellers, supportive, savvy, sensational

E: Effective, elegant, enthusiastic, entrepreneurial

Through our hard work and perseverance, we were able to complete this task before the deadline, and most importantly before Kelli’s last day as the design intern. We hope you enjoy our video.

Thanks!

Kelli and Steff

p.s. Bon voyage, Kelli! -Steff

Danielle Johnson Selected as FMVP (Frause Most Valued Professional) for First Quarter 2013

Bob Frause — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 22:46:46 +0000

Senior Designer, Danielle Johnson was selected as Frause’s most valuable professional by her agency peers earlier this month. Danielle has been with Frause for more than four years and provides numerous clients with award-winning work. Her agency peers think so too. Here is what they said about her and her work:

“Danielle has really stepped up to the plate repeatedly over the last few months to work with account leads to create exceptional work for our clients. She is always trying to learn new ways to do things, always looking at how to provide our clients with beautiful design that meets their goals. She has been very collaborative with account leads and vendors to ensure a solid understanding of whatever project she is working on, while being confident in sharing her design expertise. She recently was very sick and could not work for three days. So she spent the entire following weekend working to meet her deadlines. I often get emails from her at nights and on weekends to address work projects.”

“Danielle has expressed a strong interest in learning how to be a better presenter. She is tackling that head on by doing more creative presentations and articulating the strategy and rationale behind her design decisions. It’s great to see her taking projects by the horns and running with them.”

“Danielle is an outstanding designer. The artistry in her work is very evident, from logos to illustrations to websites to advertising. Many designers tend to have strengths in a certain area, but Danielle is very talented in numerous areas. We are lucky to have her expertise in house.”

With comments like these it is easy to see why Danielle was selected as only the second person to ever receive the FMVP.

Congratulation Danielle on a job well done! We, and your clients, are lucky to have you on the Frause team.