Soccer, Philosophy and PR

“Everybody’s inner philosopher, it seems, is released by soccer.”
-Roger Cohen, New York Times Columnist

Last week the Frause team attended the Sounders vs. Manchester United game, and my inner philosopher was indeed released.

Despite losing to Man U 7-0, I had a blast because I was with the Frause team. While in the stands, I was reminded of the common misconception that your “work life” is somehow separate from your “real life.” If you’re passionate about your job, then it’s easy to unite work and your real life to enjoy both. I have noticed this passion here in the office, on the weekends, and yes, even at the Sounders games. When someone at Frause has a great idea, they pitch it to the media. When they go shopping, they buy books about grammar. And when they volunteer, they commit themselves to help young professionals develop their skills.

-Emily Nauseda

The Professional Networker

The other day I was talking with a recent college graduate and the subject of our careers came up. Eager to find out where my classmate had landed after graduation, I asked him what he was doing. Although I laughed at first, his answer has given me a lot of mental fodder. He told me he was still looking for a job, and as a result he was attending a lot of networking events. He then dubbed himself with the strategically invented title of a professional networker.

Many people would ridicule the suggestion that anyone could be a “professional” job-seeker, but networking is so much more than that. I believe my friend’s answer was very smart. As college students and young professionals, we should all aspire to be professional networkers, not only for the purpose of seeking future employment, but for having a constant beat on the public relations industry, where your success depends on the connections you make between your clients and their audiences, or publics. So why not make these connections on a smaller, individual scale by attending networking events? With my friend’s clever new job title bestowed upon me, I was reminded of the importance of networking- not only to find a job, but to build and maintain my professional relationships.

I can still recall my first encounter with Frause. I was talking to an employee when they handed me their business card. In my opinion, Frause’s business cards are the gem of networking. The back of every card not only has the employee’s photo, but it also lists a few interesting facts about them. What better way to start a conversation than with the subject of sharks?

But alas, networking professionals are not born, they evolve over time. The paradox is that there isn’t much of an emphasis on networking in college, yet it is the time that networking will benefit you the most. Where does one begin? How about by getting some advice from the best networkers I know. Straight from the astute networking professionals here at Frause, I give you 10 tips to elevate your status as a professional networker:

1. Go out of your comfort zone and talk with people you don’t know.


2. Bring a buddy if you’re too shy to approach people alone.


3. Have business cards handy, even if you’re just a student.


4. It’s OK to jump into conversations. There’s no value in it if you don’t put yourself out there, even if you don’t know anyone.


5. Have an arsenal of questions handy. And no, “what do you do?” is not a good question.


6. Be your own brand. Come prepared with an elevator speech of who you are and why you’re there.


7. People do business with people they like, so talk about common interests. Don’t be a business robot.


8. Networking is not speed dating. The goal isn’t to meet as many people as possible, it is to meet a few people and have meaningful conversations with them.


9. Follow up with people you spoke with. The key is to maintain the connections you create.


10. Build your personal network early. It will help you later when you network for your business.

-Emily Nauseda

What Do You Love About Your Job?

For college students, summer is a time for exploration and new adventure (or maybe simply a time for more of these activities depending on the student). While my friends elected to visit Spain and Ireland this summer, I choose a very different adventure: working full-time. I often hear friends say college is their full-time job, but I would argue that if your earliest class is 10:00 and a ten page (double spaced) paper is the biggest stress in your life, your “job” ain’t bad.

In my opinion, one of the biggest reasons college students have a difficult time swallowing the job pill is that they usually have little experience in the workforce prior to graduation. My internship at Frause not only is preparing me for a future career in public relations, it affords a glimpse into the full-time work world most students only come to know once they graduate. So far my adventure’s been great.

Although public relations has been ranked the second most stressful job in the U.S. by CareerCast, Frause is no nine-to-five grind. True, the work can be challenging, but Frause’s office is filled with brilliant people equipped to tackle challenges through teamwork and effective strategy. And with jobs in the public relations field expected to grow 24 percent between now and 2018, U.S. News has also bestowed this field with the honor of being one of the 50 best careers to have.

This week, I solicited the help of Frause’s seasoned veterans to tell me why they love Public Relations and working at Frause. As you can see below, their answers echo the “work hard, play hard” mentality Frause is known for.

- Emily Nauseda

Social Marketing: Frause Style

Life will always have many unanswered questions. Where is the ChapStick? Why did Charlie bite my finger? What is the evolution of dance? And it’s questions like these that help lead us closer to modern-day communications Holy Grail: getting a video to go viral.

The truth is no one can make a video viral - that is up to the public. What you can do is take a lesson from these videos and include their basic elements to increase viewership. Recently, Puget Sound Starts Here solicited Frause’s expertise in social marketing; the use of marketing techniques used to bring about social change as opposed to a physical product. They needed a new way to teach residents about the negative effects pet waste has on the Puget Sound, particularly dog poop left by owners. What was our recommended fix? A comprehensive and interactive social media campaign centered around a dog poop rap video. Seriously. Check out Scooppoop.org and just try not to sing along!

We worked with video production company Seedwell to create a spoof video that has already taken on a life of its own—since launching last week, it has already garnered over 15,000 hits.



Here at Frause, when it comes to social marketing, we know that telling someone what to do won’t necessarily get them to do it. With the scoop poop campaign, we simply take a fun approach to change people’s awareness and behavior. My prediction is that in the weeks and months ahead, it will be an enormous success.

Just remember: the next time your dog drops a deuce, do the dog doogity and scoop it up!

-Emily Nauseda

The Lions Roar, "PR!"

Last week I spent much of my free time daydreaming of Cannes, France. This city is known to be the pinnacle of luxury, yet if I had one wish it would not be to sip champagne on one of the many yachts surrounding the city, basking in my own perceived glory. My wish would be to attend the annual International Festival of Creativity, also known as the Cannes Lions, which ended Saturday. Every summer thousands of delegates representing communications firms from over 90 countries head to Cannes for this seven-day festival, which includes sessions with thought-leaders, seminars, galas and the illustrious Lion awards, given to firms for their work exhibiting creativity in both idea and execution.


The Cannes Lions became even more exciting in 2009, when the festival announced the addition of the PR Lions awards. This enhancement recognized the shift we are seeing in the communications field. In today’s culture of media clutter, communications firms cannot rely on the success of one-time campaigns to capture audiences. Public Relations provide a consistent voice, rather than one sound bite in a sea of advertising.

Categories for the PR Lions include campaigns ranging from entertainment to financial services, as well as technique awards for best practices in social media, media relations and live events. This year, creative firm Clemenger BBDO of Melbourne, Australia won the ultimate honor of the Grand Prix PR Lion for their campaign, “Break Up” for National Australia Bank.

Although Frause is 5,431.131 miles away from Cannes (to be precise), I see the same Lion-worthy PR practices here on a daily basis. The Frause team not only preserves client reputation, but builds it through creativity and effective strategy. A quick look at Frause’s website makes that clear: “If the approach or action isn’t improving the client’s bottom line or furthering the
company’s goals, we challenge the value. We’re not afraid to rock the boat, but we’ll see you through waters both rough and calm.” Although I may not be on my yacht at Cannes yet, I’m enjoying my time sailing with Frause.

-Emily Nauseda

To Do: Internship

Hi there! I’m Emily Nauseda, Frause’s newest summer intern. I currently attend Seattle University, majoring in Strategic Communications with a minor in Entrepreneurship and Innovation. Besides the obligatory personal background (my favorite color is green, I’m from Santa Cruz, California, and my sign is Aries), I thought I would share one interesting fact that has shaped my life in a massive way: I am obsessed with lists. You will never find a blank sticky note in my house, and to further my addiction, I color code everything with my trusty multi-colored pen.


I have already received a few questions about my color system and ever-present Swiss Army-style writing implement here at Frause. Checklists and color coding are important to me because they remind me of my goals, and what it takes to reach them. Checking a task off of my list is my ultimate form of euphoria, so you can only imagine how happy I was when last month I crossed a few big red words off of my master list: “get an internship at Frause.”

Frause’s internship program has been on my master list for two years now. I discovered Frause when I met Richard Kendall through Seattle University’s Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) chapter. Upon touring the Frause office, it was clear where I wanted to end up as an intern. And after countless networking events, meetings, club tours and visits to Frause’s website, I am proud to be the new fly on the wall in Frause’s office. My internship has already been full of the unexpected.

Nothing here is mundane, which makes it perfect for my list addiction. Every morning I come into the office, and even before our morning meetings, I have at least five things to do. By the end of the day, my list is transformed into a beautiful, multicolored work of art, although I doubt anyone would want to buy it. To give you an idea of what I’m talking about, here are some excerpts from my list yesterday:

• Meeting 1, meeting 2, meeting 3, meeting 4
• Get watch (things move fast around here)
• Research client’s restaurant
• Attend video shoot about picking up dog poop
• Call Facebook (sounds a lot easier than it is)
• Write press release
• Create media list
• Brainstorm blog post

I felt like a pig in Angry Birds getting all of these tasks hurled at me, but it was exhilarating. To me, lists like the ones I am creating at Frause are the breeding ground for innovation. They enable you to generate ideas, get them out of your head, on paper and into the world, all while saving your sanity. A menial checklist may not seem like it holds much power, but it is the key to accomplishing goals. Frause’s aptly named blog, “Write This Down,” reiterates this. During my time here, I hope to not only check many tasks off my list, but add new ideas to it as well. Stay tuned for more highlights of my master list here at Frause!

-Emily Nauseda

Parting Words.

When I began my Frause internship back in April, I was told it would be shorter than the standard term, but I didn’t expect it would go by this quickly.

During my time here, I learned important PR tools and practices. I built media lists, wrote pitches, and drafted social media content. I also got to join a meeting with a freelance writer to pitch story ideas, participate in a product marketing brainstorm session, and conduct preliminary research for a future Frause publication. Throughout all of this, I received a firsthand understanding of the fast-paced inner-workings of an agency.

Beyond the PR realm, I gained significant practice in how to manage my time, both inside and outside the firm. Rather than simply clocking in and out, I was responsible for keeping track of my time spent on each client and project, holding myself accountable for every quarter-hour. This allowed me to see exactly how much time I was spending on a particular assignment. I discovered that if it was taking hours to finish something, typically this was because I was over-thinking it and in fact the task was much simpler than I had imagined. When giving advice to future Frause interns, every intern stresses the importance and value of asking questions. I certainly echo this; you’ll save yourself a lot of time in the long run!

Fitting both a full class schedule and 20 hours a week at Frause into the five-day work week was one of the biggest struggles I encountered over the quarter. There were days when I had class in the morning, immediately followed by work, with meetings and a night class to round out my evening. Having only the weekend and an occasional evening to complete my coursework, I learned to make the most of the little time I had available.

The best part of my internship at Frause has been the experience and understanding I’ve gained through working alongside such an amazing team. I’ve especially appreciated the supportive, cohesive and fun environment Frause provides in addition to the wealth of PR knowledge available within these walls.

While I am sad to be leaving Frause, I am about to embark on a new adventure! Less than two weeks from today, I will have traveled nearly 7,000 miles across a time difference of nine hours to spend my summer vacationing in Israel. When I return in August, I will have the opportunity to reconnect with the Frause team at the company picnic—so this isn’t goodbye just yet!

-Emily Levine

Getting into the weeds at Frause

Even though the environment here is often frenetic, with account teams constantly juggling multiple projects, I’m not talking about those kinds of weeds. I’m talking about a recent experience where I worked alongside some of the Frause team outside the office. We participated in Seattle Works Day, an annual event organized by Seattle Works that links volunteers to various community service projects throughout Seattle. In one single Saturday afternoon, Seattle Works brought together 1,500 volunteers for a combined 5,000 hours of service!

Nicole served as team leader for “Team Volunteer Park” which included Amy, Brook, Nathan and me. Our project was to remove ivy and other stubborn weeds from a section of Volunteer Park between the greenhouse and the playground. This particular area was completely overgrown with underground networks of ivy roots and thorny weeds half my height. Over the course of the three and a half hour event, our team of 23 was able to clear the area, cover the ground with wood chips, and even continue to pull up additional weeds well beyond our designated section.

This event was just one example of Frause’s dedication to Corporate Social Responsibility. CSR is a company’s policy of taking responsibility for its actions and encouraging a positive impact on the environment, communities, and across the public sphere. Frause not only exercises CSR in its business practices, the company’s employees are encouraged to become involved in the greater community as individuals. In fact, Frause job descriptions include a required portion of time spent in community development, with this time increasing alongside seniority. Account Executives and Supervisors are also expected to be active in at least one organization and serve on at least one committee.

Nicole has been involved with Seattle Works for the last three years, using her knowledge of social media to benefit the organization as both a volunteer and committee member. As a team leader for Seattle Works Day, she was responsible for putting together a team of at least 10 people, many of whom ended up being her fellow Frausties. I am proud to be part of a team of people who dedicate so much of their free time to the greater community, and who continually support one another in their work outside of the office.

Before and After:


-Emily Levine

The old school nuts and bolts of PR

Each day at Frause is different, and my workload often fluctuates, but often the assignments come in piles.

Take for example one recent Tuesday afternoon. A mailing consisting of 713-pieces had to be organized, stuffed, stamped, and fixed with mailing labels— all by 5 p.m. The previous day was spent wrestling with computer glitches and technical problems in an attempt to prepare and print the labels. In the process I learned all about Microsoft Word’s “mail merge” function, which I’ve realized is an extremely useful and time-saving tool.

By Tuesday, I knew my afternoon at Frause was going to be jam-packed and a little hectic. The calendar was blocked off, and those of us who were available dedicated time to getting the materials prepped for the mail. Hurrying through the stacks of envelopes, it seemed like we were making good time, until we passed 4 p.m. and the question hovered, “Would we be able to finish in time?”

Well, that last hour was madness, but sure enough, we were able to complete the piles and even caught a stack of materials that were missing their stamps. Taking the boxes down to the lobby at just about 5 p.m. on the dot, we found ourselves in fact well ahead of the postman’s pickup.

While stuffing and stamping envelopes isn’t exactly cutting-edge PR work, it comes with a nice reward at the end: The satisfaction of dropping giant stacks of mail into the post office drop box and knowing our selected target audiences will soon be learning about our clients!

-Emily Levine

Two Roads Diverged in a Lime Green Office

Everyone has heard the age-old cliché, “Do what you love and the money will follow,” and I’m sure most would agree that happiness and passion should have the greatest impact on what one chooses to do in life, rather than money-making potential or social pressure.

Yet so many of us give up our childhood dreams and put our hobbies on the back burner so we can devote our time to what are considered to be more practical endeavors. We work towards careers that promise financial stability or an elite reputation. We strain ourselves to complete greater levels of education, not necessarily for the enhanced knowledge, but for the increase in pay and honor that comes with the credentials. This emphasis on achieving, outdoing and accomplishing early often leads to individuals sacrificing their well-being.

College is frequently said to be the best years of our lives. It’s the stage in between being underage and dependent and being a true adult in the real world with real responsibilities. College allows us to explore our interests and have a good time while preparing for that big step out the door. But as the job market gets increasingly competitive, there is greater pressure on college students to work harder, gain experience earlier and exchange hobbies for resume builders, all while working towards a concrete goal.

I entered college with only a vague interest in communication, which managed to stick as I took several classes in the department. I was often asked what I hoped to do with a communication degree, and I struggled to answer. That is-- until I discovered public relations. Between PR classes and practical application towards representing my sorority, the PR work that I’ve been involved with has been inspiring and enjoyable for me. I soon realized, after pleasantly spending countless hours refining a simple flyer or revising a newsletter submission, that I could actually make a career out of this.

My experience at Frause has been exactly how I always imagined my ideal job should be; enjoyable, interesting and exciting. I look forward to work every day and I voluntarily come in early and stay late. On many occasions I’ve found myself so caught up in a project that I lose track of time, only to discover it is already past 5:00.



Even when I’ve struggled with a research assignment or been given a seemingly tedious task, the difference between the work that I do at Frause and my various class assignments is that the former has a purpose. Everything I do here contributes to a bigger picture project or objective, and I get to participate in what will ultimately produce significant impacts for clients, the agency or consumers. Moreover, there is a genuine sense of accomplishment with the completion of every task; a feeling that far exceeds the mere relief that comes with the submission of a school project.

I’ve noticed that part of the reason the atmosphere at Frause is so positive and fun is that everyone here is not only enthusiastic about PR, but they each have paired their enthusiasm with a particular topic or project they are especially passionate about as well. Not only is the PR work itself fun, but applying it to another personal interest creates an inspiring synergy. No matter how my interests might change, I think I will always be able to incorporate my passions into PR work.

-Emily Levine