December 16th, 2008
by Greg Kriegler

My wife sent me an article from the Seattle PI reporting that Toys for Tots (a treasured and uber popular holiday toy drive) has collected only about 5,000 toys so far—compared with the 50,000 toys that have been donated by this time during most years. This regrettable lack of donations really got me thinking:

With national economic turmoil, it’s pretty easy to justify pinching every penny…after all, who knows which of our family members or friends is next to get the rug pulled from under their feet by the national/global economic downturn. As of a week ago, I would’ve been writing this from my ivory tower. At least a few times a day, my mind wanders to two main ideas:

• 1. That I’m lucky to have a job at all
• 2. That I’m doubly lucky to have a job that I love with an extraordinary group of people (more…)

tags: community partnership, corporate charities, seattle, socially conscious, Toys for Tots

December 4th, 2008
by Karin Zabel

Last week, Projectline was featured on King 5’s Evening Magazine as the best company to work for in Seattle. Reporter Michael King visited our Seattle headquarters to find out what’s so special about Projectline (and, as it turned out, to steal some of our oatmeal). As you see in the segment, Michael found happy employees, donations for NW Harvest, a well-stocked pantry, ear plugs, pool playing, and the Wii in action. The three minute spot demonstrated the essence of the Projectline culture and the company’s mission: to positively impact the people we work with, the people we work for, and the people in our community. In his on-camera interview, Chris Opsahl said, “When I came to this place, it was so cool that I almost thought it was too cool.” I think many people who step through Projectline’s door (or slow elevator doors)-employees, friends, family, and clients-feel the same way. This place is cool!

In fact, there many more things that make Projectline a fun and dynamic workplace than were mentioned on Evening Magazine. Here are just a few of the other reasons why we love Projectline: (more…)

tags: community partnership

October 30th, 2008
by David Jones

Can a small consulting firm make the world a better place? At Projectline we think so, and here is one of the ways we are doing it…

We pride ourselves on having not just talented business people work for us, but great people. Our clients benefit from the skills and experience of our team, but may be unaware that behind the scenes, we are also making an impact on a global scale with every new project we undertake. A portion of the revenue from each of our projects is redirected to help entrepreneurs in developing countries build their business and lift themselves out of poverty. Through Kiva, Projectline lends money to entrepreneurs who are unable to draw startup capital from banks. This process helps small business owners build their businesses, which will, in turn, hopefully have a positive impact on their communities… You get the drift. I am proud to say we have been actively lending money to individuals in developing countries for over 22 months now and have made more than 60 loans. (more…)

tags: B2B, cause-related marketing, community partnership, kiva, socially conscious

September 30th, 2008
by Lena Moses

I know each and every person that has ever looked for the next job/career has spent time combing through newspapers (for those of you still old fashioned) or on-line sites for that perfect job description. Searching, reading and knowing that thousands of other people are doing the same thing. Taking extra time working on your cover letter, trying to pick the perfect words to standout from all the others. Knowing in your heart you will land in the middle of a huge pile of resumes that are trying to get in front of that same recruiter who holds your future and happiness in hand.

Always left with ‘What else can I do?’

Here is my suggestion… NETWORK. This is such an under realized and underutilized resource. What better way (or easier way for that matter) than to ask someone who knows you and can help to put your resume on the top of ‘that’ pile. Whether you give them a bullet point version of your experience or your full resume, just make sure you give them enough information and insight about you to talk to your skills and the direction of your career. There is nothing worse than getting a referral that has nothing to do with the company or any of the open positions. So remember, this is not to add work for others, it is to streamline your efforts. So don’t leave anyone guessing about what you are good at. …and for goodness sakes, don’t forget your contact information.

I am telling you this really works. After all, I practice what I preach. How do you think I ended up here at Projectline?

tags: Best practices, blogging, community partnership, Interviewing, Recruiting

August 6th, 2008
by Katie Hoffman

This is Katie Hoffman and I am writing in Lena’s Joblog while she is sailing the seas in Alaska (lucky girl). Some of you may already know that Projectline volunteers every month and we pick the cause based on ideas from employees and sub-contractors. This allows us to help out locally and also get to know each other better. Recently, I suggested that we volunteer for a brand new event designed to raise funds for brain cancer research.

The statistics say that 3 in every 100,000 people are diagnosed with a brain tumor. The average survival rate of someone diagnosed with brain cancer is one to two years. When my sister, Kim Hogle, had five people close to her diagnosed with a brain tumor, she knew it was time to figure out how to get involved and help those families close to her. When she realized that Seattle is fortunate enough to have the Center for Advanced Brain Tumor Treatment and she met Dr. Greg Foltz, Kim was inspired to start the first ever Annual Brain Cancer Walk, called the “Cranium Crusade.” She also got me involved.

(more…)

tags: cause-related marketing, community partnership, corporate charities, marketing, Recruiting, responsible, socially conscious

July 18th, 2008
by Lena Moses

How do you decide where you want to work?  Job description?  Location?  I say NO, you decide from the people you would be working with.  On that note, I want to show you the character and heart behind the cool people I get to work with on a daily basis.  Hope you enjoy…

tags: blogging, cause-related marketing, community partnership, events, responsible

June 30th, 2008
by Christina Lee

It doesn’t have to be said that blogs, wikis, podcasting, twittering, etc. will eventually be considered a natural part of the way we communicate as individuals and is fast becoming the way that enterprise companies reach their audiences (see Forrester research). But turns out now it will be a major way big companies reach their employees and facilitate conversations between their employees too.

(more…)

tags: blogging, community partnership, Digital Content, marketing, new media, podcasts, social media, web 2.0

April 22nd, 2008
by Anika Lehde

To be honest, writing up a little blurb about Projectline’s efforts to reduce our environmental impact by choosing innovative gifts has been on my (long) list of things that I want to do for a while. No complaints tho’ – being busy is a a great thing! When I woke up this morning I was reminded by the radio that today is Earth Day, and I figured it was the universe telling me to get off my duff and share some information. I know I don’t want any more throw-away, meaningless, economically-questionable SWAG and I suspect many others are in the same boat. Here are some ideas that you can use for your own firm, or recommend to your clients that want to buck the status quo:

(more…)

tags: cause-related marketing, community partnership, corporate charities, kiva, socially conscious

April 6th, 2008
by Anika Lehde

Just a quick note for all marketers: Ad Club Seattle is hilarious. Check out their two promotional videos below.

For Puget Sound-based marketers: At 4 PM Thursday April 10, 2008, Seattle Ad Club plus the Puget Sound Chapter of the American Marketing Association (AMA) are having a “spring mixer” at Victory Studios (2247 15th Ave W., Seattle). (more…)

tags: advertising, community partnership, events, humor

August 3rd, 2007
by Amy Baskerville

This past weekend while having dinner with my parents, my mom looked at me from across the table and presented a seemingly simple request: “So Amy, tell us about your new job.” Coming from one of my parents, this question was much more complicated than it appeared. You see, as far as my parents are concerned, a position in technology, and not social activism, is a difficult sell. Essentially, you’re one of two things—either a giver to society or a taker—a concept very well illustrated in the book Ishmael: An Adventure of the Mind and Spirit, by Daniel Quinn. Although my career passion doesn’t lie in the public sector, managing business problems, developing marketing campaigns and working with technology (that changes our world for the better) and being a positive force is my form of social activism—I call it ‘changing it from the inside’. (more…)

tags: cause-related marketing, community partnership, corporate charities, marketing, socially conscious