Our Clients
Our clients range from authors and chefs to human resource and staffing experts, futurists, historians, health care professionals, national speakers, school districts and universities, and more. These entrepreneurs are creative small business owners who need a little help getting the word out about the good work they are doing — and our team is happy to lend a hand. For decades, we have worked as journalists (writers, photographers, illustrators, and editors) and are trained to know how to respond to challenges and get the work done on a tight deadline, and pride ourselves on exceeding expectations.
Click below on each client to see the work we have accomplished for them, and read our client testimonials to see what they think of Inkandescent Public Relations.
About the City of Fairfax Schools — Since 2002, Hope Gibbs has been the director of communications for the City of Fairfax Schools. She is the editor of City Schools Close-Up, a newsletter that circulates to 14,000 City of Fairfax residents and businesses. The goal was to educate them about the issues, programs, and accomplishments of the K-12 program, and to pass an $86 million bond to rebuild Lanier Middle School and Fairfax High.
Success Story — Whereas an earlier bond referendum to rebuild the schools had failed, in 2004 the bond request to rebuild Lanier and Fairfax passed with an 81% approval rate. In the years that followed, Close-Up kept residents up-to-date on the reconstruction project at both schools. The newsletter won six awards for writing and design from the National School Publications Association, and residents repeatedly informed then-Superintendent George Stepp and City School Board Chairwoman Janice Miller that they appreciated the information provided in the newsletter. For more, visit www.fairfaxva.gov/school/CloseUp.asp.
About The Delaware Market House — Kim and Edgar Alvarez are the owners and chefs of the Delaware Market House, an award-winning establishment that proudly caters to the most discerning of customers on the posh Main Line just outside of Philadelphia. Having spent years working in some of the best gourmet markets and restaurants in Philadelphia, Kim and Edgar know the difference between premium quality and mediocrity, and insist on providing their customers with the freshest produce, meats, deli specialties, and gourmet prepared foods.
How Inkandescent PR Helped — Our first step was to overhaul the company’s old website. Based on Michael Gibbs’ design and Hope Gibbs’ concept and writing, Max Kukoy programmed the site and gave a fresh, clean look to the Market House. “We wanted to stay true to the traditional look of the building, which is more than 100 years old,” says Michael. “But we also needed to incorporate a contemporary feel, because Kim and Edgar are amazing chefs who are very hip and savvy.” See the final product.
Success Story — Kim and Edgar were thrilled with the new site, and hired the Inkandescent team to create additional promotional materials — everything from business cards and event promotions to press releases and holiday and catering menus. The Philadelphia Business Journal got wind of the company and on September 19 published a front page business story about the young entrepreneurs. Main Line Today magazine also took note, and in November awarded Kim and Edgar with their 13th award: Best Gourmet Meals To Go 2008.
About The Essential HR Handbook — A quick and handy resource for any manager or HR professional, this book by HR experts Sharon Armstrong and Barbara Mitchell is a useful 250-page reference guide. Published in the fall of 2008 by Career Press, it is a must-have for everyone who deals with employees on a daily basis, say the authors who wrote the book because — as human resource professionals with decades of experience — they wanted to shed light on the issues that keep managers up at night.
How Inkandescent PR Helped — Sharon and Barbara approached Hope Gibbs to get the word out about their new book. The Inkandescent team created an elegant website (design by Michael Gibbs, concept and writing by Hope Gibbs and programming by Max Kukoy) that not only featured the new book, but also highlighted Sharon’s 2003 book, “Stress Free Performance Appraisals,” and through a variety of articles and a speaking engagement / workshop calendar showed readers the expanse of experience and expertise these two veteran HR professionals have.
Success Story — Due to the posting of several press releases and an active reporter outreach campaign, the Essential HR Handbook sold hundreds of copies within months of its release, and Sharon and Barbara have been sought after speakers for companies looking to build their teams and improve their relationships with employees.
About INSIDE — In 2008, Fairfax County Public Schools’ Director of the Instructional Services Division, Peter Noonan, approached Hope Gibbs to create a quarterly newsletter that would communicate the with principals and teachers about the programs, goals, and objectives that his organization was creating.
How Inkandescent PR Helped — Starting with the Summer 2008 issue, Hope and Mike wrote and designed a 6-page newsletter that made its debut at the district’s annual Leadership Conference. The topic, Ahead of the Curve, focused on cutting-edge educational thought leaders and the FCPS principals who have incorporated their ideas into their schools.
Success Story — “Everyone loved it,” said Noonan, who moved forward with subsequent issues. The Fall issue, about the district’s innovative testing program eCART, was distributed at another leadership meeting in October. The Winter issue, came out in February, and focused on Best Practices.
About GWU — As a graduate student at the George Washington University, Hope Gibbs conceptualized, wrote and coordinated brochures and other publications for the Office of Enrollment Management while working toward a masters degree in Educational Leadership. The mission of the department was to write and design glossy, hip, and eye-catching publications that would attract new students to the University. Worked closely with the art department, academic department chairs, and officials in the Office of Enrollment Management.
Success Story — In addition to winning several awards for the department for the brochures she helped create (see below), Hope Gibbs went on write for the GWU alumni magazine. It was one of her many clients in a successful freelance career.
About Golden & Cohen —Founded in 1992, Golden & Cohen is a health insurance benefit services company that serves more than 1500 clients. Based in Gaithersburg, MD, the firm generated $70 million in annual sales last year and has 15 employees.
How Inkandescent PR Helped — In 2008, CEO Stephanie Cohen decided she’d had enough of the ballooning cost of health care and decided to host the DC Health Summit on Oct. 29, 2008.
Success Story — The event brought together more than 100 of the top minds in the health insurance and health care industry, including keynote speaker Steven Aldana, owner of Wellsteps Inc., and panelists Kaiser Permanente’s Director of Population Care Dr. Amy Compton-Phillips, Neurosurgeon Dr. James Melisi, the National Rehabilitation Hospital’s VP Dr. Paul Rao, Maryland’s former Insurance Commissioner Al Redmer, and UnitedHealthcare COO Dr. Sanford Cohen — and Virginia Senator George Barker, who prior to taking office last November worked for 30 years for the Health Systems Agency of Northern Virginia where he helped contain skyrocketing health care costs, promote quality of care, and ensure access to medical care for all Northern Virginians. The moderator was futurist Andy Hines of the research and consulting firm Social Technologies.
About Great Handmade Gifts — Founded by Hope Gibbs in 2001, Great Handmade Gifts is an e-commerce website that represents dozens of artists, artisans, and authors and helps them market their goods to a national audience. The mission is to give artists, artisans, authors and musicians a spot on the web where their work shines – and sells.
How Inkandescent PR Helped — The company motto, “You are unique your gifts should be, too,” negates a herd mentality and encourages shoppers to be brave and shop for original goodies, the kind that the GHG’s artists create. To add to the high-quality feel, each member is juried into the network, and items are judged based on quality, presentation, and whether you will be able to fulfill orders in a timely manner.
Success Story — Using press releases, event planning, and reporter outreach techniques, the website became one of the first popular online gift companies. Seven years later, sales and membership continue to grow. For details, visit www.greathandmadegifts.com.
About Hooks Book Events — New ideas can change the way employees approach their daily tasks. Offering them a chance to network with colleagues while improving their work skills will differentiate your organization and improve the work environment. That’s where HooksBookEvents comes in. Partners Perry Hooks and Loretta Yenson work with large publishing houses and university presses to determine which exciting authors and new books are touring each season. Book events build communities and promote continuing education in your organization around new ideas, our mind-expanding programs also bring insight and stimulate intellectual discussions on current events, history, science and more.
How Inkandescent PR Helped — A new website was the first step toward helping this growing company show off the incredible authors and events they are hosting in 2009. Launched on New Year’s Eve, the site teased an article on the firm’s mention in The Washington Post magazine (Jan. 4) and an upcoming high-profile event with Dr. Muhammad Yunus speaking at the GWU Lisner Auditorium (Feb. 4).
About La Strada on the Avenue restaurant — This new family-friendly, family-owned Italian restaurant opened in Del Ray, VA in the spring of 2008. Executive chef Stephen Scott is the former maestro of the kitchen at such D.C. area dining icons as Zola, Argia’s, Primi Piati, Galileo, and I Matti. His parents Stephen and Diana Scott, and sisters Kristen and Courtney, will be managing the restaurant.
How Inkandescent PR Helped — “We are a family that loves to cook,” insists Diana, noting that her mother, Argia Balboni, knew early in Stephen’s life that he was destined to become a chef. When she and her husband bought the restaurant, they wanted La Strada to be about “la familia,” so that’s what we’ve focused on in the PR campaign.
Success Story — Open only a few months, it’s tough to get a seat at this local bistro and nearly impossible on Friday and Saturday night. To make a reservation, visit www.lastrada-ontheavenue.com.
About Lighting the Creative Spark — With a doctorate in Musical Arts under her belt, international award-winning pianist Celia Im decided to use music to help others and in 2003 founded Lighting the Creative Spark, LLC, an innovative company dedicated to helping clients develop their own intuition to enhance their relationships, career and life.
The music (often her own original work) is a tool she uses to engage the active imagination, explains Celia, who has been on the faculty and taught aspiring musicians at George Mason University, University of Maryland and Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University. “In my work, I combine an intuitive processes called Music-Evoked Imagery (MEI) with my experience as a performing artist and teacher. It’s very effective because I use my own experiences as a creative person to help others find their creativity. It seems to work as well for artists and musicians as it does for lawyers and bankers.”
How Inkandescent PR Helped — Our initial steps included developing a strategy for Dr. Celia Im to move forward with her innovative concepts. We were proud to see her create the first two in a series of valuable CDs that provides more people access to her music-evoked imagery. We’re looking forward to doing much more work together in 2009!
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About the Lincoln Leadership Institute — Civil War history becomes a metaphor, and the battlefield a classroom at the Lincoln Leadership Institute, an organization dedicated to serving as a resource for individuals, teams and organizations who find themselves having to perform or produce in a stressful and rapidly changing environment with limited resources and limited information. It was founded by Steven B. Wiley — an entrepreneur, author, and highly acclaimed speaker who has influenced and entertained tens of thousands of top executives from around the world — he leads organizations toward unprecedented success by developing leaders at all levels.
How Inkandescent PR Helps — Hundreds of C-level executives and managers attend the Journeys program, then go back to their offices with renewed energy and a common purpose. Inkandescent helps even more leaders understand the power of this approach to team building by helping upadate a quarterly newsletter, write press releases based on articles, and reach out to reporters eager to learn about Wiley’s secret.
About Social Technologies — Hope Gibbs served as the leader of corporate communications at this global futurist research and consulting firm from January 2007 through August 2008. There, she managed the public relations department, coordinating PR efforts between DC office, Shanghai, London, and Tel Aviv. She wrote a press release each week, numerous blog entries, updated the company’s website, served as managing editor of its quarterly newsletter ChangeWaves, and promoted books and other S)T publications.
Success Story — Due to her efforts, the company’s analysts were quoted in some of the nation’s top business publications including Forbes, MSNBC, BusinessWeek, SmartMoney, and the New York Times. Analysts were also featured on the CBS Early Show, ABC, and the Fox Business Report. For more, visit Social Technologies’ blog, http://changewaves.socialtechnologies.com.
About Workforce Learning — Workforce Learning LLC is a leadership development company that provides managers and C-level executives with the skills and knowledge they need to build a more productive work environment. Since founding the company in 1997, owner Alice Waagen, PhD, has developed highly effective leadership programs and coaching workshops that teach the people in charge how to motivate and inspire employees. “Research shows that the single reason most organizations fail to thrive is a lack of strong people skills among those at the top,” Alice says. “We work to ensure organizations are healthy from the top down, and ultimately if an organization has happy, energized, effective employees they find it reflected in the bottom line.”
How Inkandescent PR Helped — One of our initial goals was to revamp the dated website that Alice had been using, but first we got to work on a bimonthly newsletter that she had success with. “I loved writing the newsletter, but had trouble getting it out on a regular basis,” says Alice. “I knew that if we could get that out it would help me gain some visibility and from there we’d get moving on the website.”
Success Story — Within a few months, Hope Gibbs and Alice published two e-newsletters, thanks to help from Susan Devereaux, owner of S.E.D. Services and Alice’s virtual assistant who manages her database and newsletter distribution. In September 2008, thanks to the help of web developer Max Kukoy, Alice launched her new website.