However, the industry has changed over the years, and it’s time for SEMpdx to evolve with marketing. Now that digital has integrated into traditional marketing disciplines, our member and sponsor needs have changed. COVID and AI have further altered consumer behavior and how they use digital channels. The remote workforce has increased the need to reach beyond Greater Portland. MarTech has evolved as have media and advertising with it. Events have changed as well, creating greater challenges for trade organizations to create financially-viable conferences.

To address the changing industry, the SEMpdx board has unanimously voted to merge with NextNW, a creative industry association with an international footprint across the Pacific Northwest into Canada. Our new mission is to further elevate and integrate digital into all aspects of marketing, including creative and advertising. With a membership of over 500 marketing professionals across five States and two Provinces, our resources are considerably greater.

We’re excited to integrate SEMpdx’s members and sponsors into NextNW, effective immediately. All SEMpdx memberships will automatically transfer over to NextNW through December 2025. We plan to migrate our infamous digital marketing blog to NextNW in the coming months as well. Our key sponsors, Forix and Data Speaks will also carry over to NextNW. And most importantly, we will maintain a focus on developing digital marketers with excellent programming, starting with a February webinar with Rand Fishkin. We will also continue sending our monthly email newsletter, although the frequency may change.

Stay tuned for further communications as we merge the two organizations in 2025. We value your membership and support and look forward to bigger and better programming, events and networking opportunities in 2025.

The post SEMpdx + NextNW = Greater Opportunities Ahead appeared first on SEMpdx.

About the Tournament:

Announcing the first-ever SEMpdx 9-hole scramble golf tournament!

This year, we’re inviting golfers of all skill levels to compete in a fun and friendly environment at Colwood Golf Course on July 18, 2024. Whether you’re aiming for the top of the leaderboard or just looking to enjoy a day on the greens with friends, this tournament promises excitement, competition, and fun.

Tournament Format:

Scramble: Each team’s players tee off on each hole, and the best of the tee shots is selected. All team members play their second shots from that spot, and so on, until the ball is holed.
Teams: 4-person teams. You can register as a team or as an individual to be placed in a team.

Why Participate:

Compete and Connect: A perfect opportunity to challenge yourself and network with fellow golf enthusiasts.

Win Prizes: From golf gear to gift certificates, numerous prizes await the winners.

Become a Sponsor:

We’re actively seeking sponsors for the SEMpdx Golf Tournament. This is a unique opportunity to showcase your brand to a community of passionate golfers and local business leaders. Our sponsorship packages offer valuable benefits, including:

Brand Visibility: Your logo featured on event signage, promotional materials, and the event website.
Networking Opportunities: Connect with potential clients and partners in an informal setting.
Community Engagement: Demonstrate your commitment to supporting local events and charities.

Hole Sponsorships: $350

Sponsorship includes: Promotion on SEMpdx.org, event signage, email mentions, social media posts, pre-and post-event recognition.

For more details, contact Mike Terry at miket@coredigitalconsulting.com

 Event Details

Date:  July 18, 2024
Time:  10:00 AM – 1:30 PM
Location: Colwood Golf Course
Registration Fees: $125 per player, $225 twosome, $450 per team

Register now!

Don’t miss out on this exciting event. Whether you’re competing for the trophy or just for fun, secure your spot today! Registration closes on July 15, 2024

The post SEMpdx Golf Scramble – July 18, 2024 appeared first on SEMpdx.

Getting Creative: 2020 Highlights
2020 was such a rough year, I felt obligated to dedicate the masthead image to the “Moldy Whopper” which aptly represents 2020. Burger King launched the Moldy Whopper ad campaign in early 2020 to highlight the lack of preservatives in their burgers, in order to draw a truly unique comparison to their rivals. While the campaign included broadcast and broad media exposure, the ad went viral digitally. It may not have increased Whopper sales, but it did capture tons of free media exposure. In other news, the Superbowl happened as it does every year, involving breaks in between commercials for some football. Check out some of the best ad creative via The Drum’s Superbowl highlights. Shout out to The Drum for being a critical resource for this article. I’m a long-time reader and fan, and they’ve done an exceptional job curating content, including Creative Works: the 10 most viewed ads of 2020. One brand that generated a great deal of buzz from its Superbowl ad was Planters and the killing off of its 104-year-old mascot as outlined in this article: The Mr. Peanut Death Super Bowl Commercial Refuses to Die.

Making Lemonade During The Pandemic
While Asia was rocked by COVID-19 in the Fall of 2019, the US didn’t feel it until March of 2020. Face masks, handwashing, thermometers, quarantine, remote work and Zoom meetings became a part of our daily lives. Marketers had to adjust to the resulting layoffs, hospitalizations, deaths, restrictions and changing behaviors. Smart brands adapted quickly, tweaking logos, messaging, creative and channel strategies to reach those stuck at home. One notable COVID-19 messaging adjustment came from a global fast-food chain: Why KFC isn’t stickin’ with its famous finger lickin’ slogan… for now. For the remaining brands, I outlined a few notable coronavirus communications strategies in the article Ten Marketing Communications Strategies to Navigate the COVID-19 Crisis. I also shared insights into the impact of coronavirus on the mom-and-pop storefronts: How to engage customers and market your retail business during a pandemic. One of the positives to come from pandemic is a renewed focus on authenticity in marketing: Coronavirus is prompting brands and tech players to show the real power of purpose. Regardless of the degree of your marketing or business pivot during 2020, humans have changed for good. I address the impact of the pandemic in the article COVID-19 changed consumer behavior and marketing strategy. In case you were looking for a silver lining in all of this, Facebook (aka Mark Zuckerberg’s) earnings were impacted, earning $3 billion less than pre-pandemic estimates.

Making Social Change
On May 25th, George Floyd was slowly suffocated by police, on a now infamous 8:46 video. While excessive force and deaths are common among minorities in the US, this particularly graphic video became a rally cry to eradicate racial injustice. Protests started Minneapolis and spread quickly across the US and around the globe. Some brands reacted quickly and powerfully, like Ben & Jerry’s, and others followed suit, as covered by The Drum: Brands show solidarity with George Floyd protests, but can they contribute to real change? The ripple effect extended to Facebook and Twitter in the form of advertising boycotts. Despite media attention, this summer’s Facebook ad boycott did not affect the social network’s ad revenues. Many brands elected to reallocate ad budgets back to Facebook moving into 2021, but time will tell whether any meaningful change resulted from the boycott. One lasting impact that snowballed quickly after George Floyd protests was a new cultural awareness filter regarding product names, mascots and packaging that could deemed insensitive. Names changed across the board, ranging from professional sports teams (The Redskins) to household products, as outlined in this article: Eskimo Pie Becomes Edy’s Pie: Here Are All The Brands That Are Changing Racist Names And Packaging. If you’re still unsure what your brand can or should do to honor (or simply minimize blowback) from the racial equality movement, I’ve outlined a few key stopes in this article: How You and Your Brand can make Positive Change in honor of George Floyd.

Maximizing Brand Strategy & Engagement
For the past few years, influencer marketing has been a big buzzword and a growing marketplace. The pandemic further fueled growth, as consumers were relegated to shopping online for most of the year and looked to influencers for ideas. I’ve outlined my perspective in this article: Influencer Marketing Strategy Best Practices, Tips and Trends. The coronavirus ripple effect forced marketers to evaluate new ways to engage consumers and influencers. The best example of opportunistic influencer marketing engagement is outlined in this article: Ocean Spray finally reacts to viral skateboarding TikTok. I’m a big fan of authenticity in influencer marketing, so I felt the Ocean Spray example was a gold standard for what will be a more intentional brand strategy moving into 2021. Another trend I couldn’t help but notice, was a rash of brand collaborations and product licensing deals between CPGs, QSRs (and other brands that lack cool abbreviations). The Drum provided an excellent summary in this article: From Dunkin’ PJs to Doritos’ sweaters: why brands are leaning on licensed products. Last but not least, I have to give a shout out to my idol, both personally and professionally: Yes, Ryan Reynolds Really Writes His Own Stuff, and He’s Got 7 Marketing Lessons for You. Beyond his acting and comedic chops, Reynolds brilliant marketer and a very astute businessman, from whom we can all learn.

Evolving Channels & Platforms
While I kicked off my digital marketing career in the mid 90’s as a search engine marketer, I’ve always preached the virtues of a multi-channel approach. In this article, Omnichannel marketing in the new digital age, I outlined the importance of integrated messaging and tracking across media. The pandemic forced many lagging businesses and marketers to make a digital transformation to deliver products and services online. One of the channels that benefitted from quarantine, was podcasting. While I first co-hosted a podcast over a decade ago, podcasts were relegated to a nerdy subset of the consumer spectrum. Not anymore, as Forbes outlined in its article, Podcasting Is Going Mainstream. I provided an outline for brands looking to join the fray in this Business Journal article: Podcasting strategies for quarantine life and beyond. Finally, virtual meetings and events became the new standard form of communication, as well as marketing. In a two-part series, the Anvil team outlined a game plan for slow adopters looking to ramp up event marketing in 2021: The Power of Virtual Events, Part 1.

For many, 2020 was a year to try to forget. For smart marketers, however, it will be a year to remember. Brands and marketers demonstrated an ability to pivot, be more authentic and create content with a greater sense of purpose. Look for that trend to continue. When it comes to digital marketing strategies and trends in 2021, we have you covered as well. For more insights into the year ahead, check out Anvil’s 2021 Digital Marketing Predictions.

The post 2020 Digital Marketing Highlights: A Year in Review appeared first on SEMpdx.

At Anvil we continue to be optimistic about the future, especially 2021. Each year since 2004, we’ve developed digital marketing predictions based on trends we see or believe will emerge in the following year. For reference, we advise you not to spend too much time reviewing our 2020 digital marketing trends especially since we evaluated the accuracy of our 2020 predictions in our annual year-end assessment on Anvil’s blog. We’re excited about the prospects 2021 holds, probably because it’s not 2020.

In case you’re not familiar with our predictions, we try to take a bold stance, and stay away from obvious or unavoidable trends. For example, digital advertising is rebounding from the pandemic and should have a strong year in 2021. Consumer behavior changes have also altered the advertising media mix and will continue to evolve in the following areas: audio (podcasting), (virtual) events, marketplaces outside of Amazon and esports, as well as app and gaming sponsorships. Pretty straight forward, right? That’s why it didn’t make the list below. So, let’s get started…

Post-pandemic behavior changes will take root and change marketing permanently
The pandemic’s impact has been significant and, likely, enduring. Consumer behavior has changed and reset, to a degree, permanently. We predict smart marketers will make short and long-term changes to messaging as well as products and services. Specifically, successful brands will focus on value-based pricing and messaging. We’ve shared our thoughts on the topic of consumer behavior change, both personally and professionally in these articles:
How the Pandemic Has Changed My Behavior
COVID-19 changed consumer behavior and marketing strategy
We’ve also outlined how brands can and should adjust marketing to address the impact COVID has had on consumers, from what they buy to how they shop:
Ten Marketing Communications Strategies to Navigate the COVID-19 Crisis
How to engage customers and market your retail business during a pandemic
While research from established firms like Ipsos and McKinsey provide valuable insights, we predict brands will conduct extensive research to better understand how the pandemic has impacted its employees, customers and industry. Smart marketers and brands will utilize those insights to inform both 2021 marketing strategies as well as long-term shifts in media and messaging.

Digital Transformation will evolve from catchphrase to reality
The pandemic has forced brands to adopt digital channels for product and service delivery as well as marketing. “Digital transformation” has become a popular buzzword since March 2020, and companies of all sizes are investing significant dollars in the migration to digital platforms, including ecommerce, chatbots, email, apps, artificial intelligence, predictive analytics, omnichannel marketing, and augmented and virtual reality. Brands that embrace evolving technologies to create a more seamless customer experience will be in a leadership position post-pandemic. Related articles:
Omnichannel marketing in the new digital age
Podcasting strategies for quarantine life and beyond

Brands will turn to Conversational Marketing in a big way
2020 was a year of desired connection – any connection, including that of consumer and business, as many companies moved to digital communication and abided by health restrictions to limit in-person communication. With that desire came demand for a new kind of marketing: Conversational Marketing. Brands such as Dominos and Sephora have seen success in 2020 using this method, noting their consumers’ desire for direct, and easily accessible, answers to their questions. Conversational marketing is a personalized approach that moves buyers through marketing and sales funnels through real-time conversations. Some examples include, but aren’t limited to: AI, chat bots, email marketing, and voice search. In 2020, these methods saw increases in user engagement for all of these, especially voice search which recorded just under 50% of all adults in the US who use voice assistants via smartphones and other devices. It is expected by 2021 that 80% of businesses will have some form of chat bot automation instilled into their company marketing strategy. We predict that conversational marketing will rise to that 80% in 2021.

Social, environmental and ethically responsible brands will flourish
We’ve long championed authenticity and transparency in marketing with our clients. We also walk our own talk, with Anvil’s Charity of Choice and other community-centered initiatives. Racial inequality protests in 2020 inspired us to change our own behaviors and advise our clients on content strategy. We predict brands will make significant efforts to clean up business practices and adjust messaging to appeal to enlightened consumers that care deeply about a company’s purpose and commitment to social and environmental sustainability. Research has shown that ethical businesses will be more successful in the long-term, so we expect to see many businesses to join in the movement in 2021. We’ve provided a few relevant articles below, for context.
How You and Your Brand can make Positive Change in honor of George Floyd
How to Create a Content Marketing Strategy: Pure Purpose
6 Secrets to Marketing to Ethical Consumers

Targeted advertising will become more regulated, creating challenges for advertisers and forcing them to get creative or expand their audiences/targeting
Data privacy has been a big topic throughout 2020 as the government has been cracking down on advertising platforms like Google, Facebook, and Twitter. Users are being tracked more now than ever on websites, apps, and even their location. At what point does it become a data privacy issue? With the release of the documentary The Social Dilemma, many people are finally understanding how these algorithms work and the way they target users in a very specific way. Many platforms like Instagram have made changes where users are now able to opt out of these targeting measures. Instagram has added a new setting which will enable users to choose whether they can be targeted with more personalized ads in the app via the usage of supplementary data sourced from third-party platforms and providers. As we move into 2021, we predict that these opt-out settings will become more popular and many targeting features will become more restricted as data privacy becomes a more well-known topic for all.

Amazon will experience unprecedented competition from online marketplaces
2020 saw the launch of multiple ecommerce marketplaces by American retail giants Target and Walmart. Both companies took a gamble in launching their ecommerce marketplaces to directly compete with Amazon and are offering incentives for vendors to enroll in their platforms by undercutting Amazon’s fulfillment and listing fees. While neither Walmart Marketplace or Target Plus currently offer the same one-stop ecommerce shopping solution for virtually every product imaginable, they have a head start on where Amazon initially began with a strong foundation of logistics, inventory management, and ecommerce experience. Both Walmart and Target also can leverage their brick and mortar locations with services like “buy online and pickup in store.” Expect the eCommerce marketplace wars to heat up considerably in 2021 as these 3 giants compete for market share and attract new vendors.

Google’s “Passage” structured data will gain wide acceptance
When Google First announced “Passage Indexing” there was some confusion from the SEO community on how the process would work. Would a whole webpage be indexed or just a passage, leaving the rest of my content to be disregarded? Google recently clarified “Passage Indexing is not the indexation of passages independent of the host page. Rather The entire pages will be indexed and passages from pages may be used as an additional ranking factor. The Anvil SEO team sees this change in the ranking process as an opportunity for a new type of structured data to take shape. We are theorizing that a new structured data and corresponding rich result will be released in 2021. This new markup will be aimed at selecting the specific passage which a webmaster feels best encapsulates the keyword or key phrase of the page. The new markup would be very similar in format to the existing FAQ markup, which may serve as a base which evolves into a Passage Indexing/Ranking markup.

2021 is (finally) the Year of Voice Search, seriously
SEO experts have been saying “this is the year of voice search” for years now…But we swear THIS is the year of voice search, 2021. Our team blogged about the Google updates that were announced during the Search On 2020 Live Stream. The Anvil SEO team believes that by expanding the BERT algorithm to 100% of English language searches Google will be able to gain and use the insights gained from these searches to further improve the context and understanding of voice searches. Just within English language there are different dialects, accents, and context of words. If BERT can master these intricacies in traditional typed searches Google has a much clearer roadmap to improving voice recognition algorithms to recognize them in voice searches. Additionally, the improved spelling algorithm may be useful in recognizing true search intent when our devices do not perfectly pick up our voices or use an incorrect homonym for the intended word. While the October updates should vastly improve all searches, the Anvil SEO team believes Google has taken massive steps toward making voice search a staple of search in 2021 and beyond.

Personalization will become an impactful ranking factor
Creating quality content and providing value takes time and effort, and as Google’s ability to understand language and conversation expands, it will be impossible to stand out from your competition unless your content aligns with how your customers talk. And doing so will ultimately help your website rank for voice searches. Research suggests that over 70 percent of searches will be voice-activated in 2021, and Amazon recently announced improvements in the works to provide better experience and more accurate results. Furthermore, reputation and representation are crucial components to SEO – particularly local SEO, so regularly updating your website, GMB, and social media platforms with personalized content will contribute to success. As we saw in the 2020 Local Search Ranking Factors which highlighted which variables have the biggest impact on rankings, personalization had about a 6% weight. However, COVID forced platforms, like Google, to expand the information included within the listing to provide consumers every answer they need about your business. Because of these additions, a complete and regularly updated GMB listing that is personalized to your company will have more impact in rankings compared to a weaker profile.

The Pandemic will create a permanent reliance on influencer marketing
Brands use social media influencers to present authentic unbiased advertising to a more loyal following group. As more people are using social media and for longer periods of time compared to before the pandemic there is an opportunity for brands to utilize social media influencers more now than ever. With the rise of the platform Tik Tok with the Gen Z and Millennial population and the continued popularity of Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube brands should be looking at ways to use social media influencers on those platforms to advertise in a creative way. A recent study found that 40% of people reported that they purchased a product online after seeing it used by an influencer on YouTube, Instagram, or Twitter. Influencers can speak on a more personal level and give their honest opinion that resonates more with their followers compared to normal brand advertising. We expect influencers to gain even more popularity and followers and businesses to use influencers more in 2021 than ever before. If you are new to social media influencer marketing read our recent blog post and reach out if you have any questions.

We believe that 2021 will be full of optimism, with a focus on performance across channels, empowered by improved tracking. We’re also looking across the spectrum for expanded testing of platforms, creative and an evolution of search. Let us know what you think of our 2021 digital marketing trends in the comments section or add your own predictions. Here’s to a healthier and brighter 2021!

The post 2021 Digital Marketing Predictions (via Anvil) appeared first on SEMpdx.

Speaking at Engage Conference in March 2019, Jose Cebrian, Senior Vice President of Digital Messaging for Merkle  reports U.S. email users reached 255 million in 2019. 91% of internet users use it, and 76% of the overall population is on board with email. And, no surprise, once it becomes a part of our working lives, we become addicted to it.

• 90% check email compulsively
• 76% take a look every morning
• 56% can’t resist a peek right before sleeping.

Email is consumed across all age groups.  Multiple daily users increase from ages 13-18 and remain consistently high from age 33 onward. Email, your blessing and your curse, remains one of the most powerful marketing tools available.

25% of email users take action after receiving a promotional email

Marketers never lost faith in the power of email as new technology arrived. 88% use it to engage customers, and most in-house marketers say email’s ROI is ‘good’ or ‘excellent’.

The proliferation of email optimization tools takes the tedium out of email tasks and offers highly granular data on email marketing results. Imagined constraints of the format (such as mobile open rates and limited scripting and tagging) are not hurdles to success.

According to Cebrian, there is lots to be excited about as better tools evolve. Companies like What Counts, Taxi for Email, Bluecore and Movable Ink are bringing creative solutions and vivid presentations to the old-fashioned email workhorse. The results are much better personalization, greater dynamism of content and improved ROI.

Happening now:

• Interactive email
• Hyper personalization (your name appears on a photo of a beach umbrella in your email!)
• Powerful integration with local data (we see it’s snowing where you are so how about this down jacket?)
• Personalization to your location, map activations for directions
• Notifications with specific relevance to your existing services
• Animation to make headlines and products pop in email
• Countdown timers for special offers
• Digital “Scratch off” offer reveals
• Interactive elements that react on hovers
• Video tutorials – yes!

Email marketing pros are as important to the business model as SEO experts

As “people based marketing” becomes more complex, with customer touch points offered in so many ways, email is still a fierce targeting tool. 29% of email marketers target or retarget subscribers in online advertising, and 27% target customers based on website behavior. That’s why we are all getting so many emails! “Zero In Box” is a myth.

“Email sits at the intersection of scale, control, addressability and speed,” notes Cebrian. “It rates high for speed to market and addressability.”

Sign us up!

The post Email and Its Role in Customer Experience appeared first on SEMpdx.

2018 Summer Networking Party

Join us for some old school networking in Portland’s living room, Pioneer Courthouse Square. Previously this was called the Rooftop Networking Party, but we renamed it this year since we’re no longer able to host it on a rooftop. Enjoy good food, drinks and conversation as DJ Chad Smith spins tunes. Don’t miss the best networking event of the summer!

Who?:

Anyone 21 years of age or older, whether they are a member of SEMpdx or not.

Date and Time:

Thursday, August 16, 2018
5:30 pm to 9:00 pm

Location:

Pioneer Courthouse Square — see map
701 SW 6th Avenue
Portland, OR 97205
The party will be within the fenced-off area on the east side of the Square. Enter on SW 6th Avenue.

The SEMpdx annual Summer Party promises to be the most talked-about networking event of the year. Many professional organizations will be joining us in the Square. Be on top of the latest developments going on at the most innovative marketing associations in the Pacific Northwest!

Sponsors

Presenting Sponsor

Logical Position (LP) is a digital marketing agency offering pay-per-click (PPC) marketing, search engine optimization, social media marketing, shopping feed management, graphic design, and website design. LP has won consistent accolades as an Inc. 500 Fastest Growing company, Inc.’s #3 Best Workplace in the Country, a Premier Google Partner, a Bing Elite SMB Partner, and Bing’s Partner of the Year. Headquartered in Lake Oswego, Ore., LP runs additional offices across the country.

Gold Sponsors

At The Growler Guys our goal is to bring fresh craft beer to beer enthusiasts everywhere. Each of our locations celebrate craft brews by offering an unparalleled selection of taps, hosting frequent tastings and events and offering exceptional customer service and extensive beer knowledge. 

If you like craft beer or cider (and who doesn’t?!), visit our two Portland locations to see what we’re all about! Find us at SE 8th Ave. and Belmont in the Grand Central Bowl Building, and at South Waterfront on SW Bond Ave. Follow The Growler Guys on Twitter at @thegrowlerguys.

Acrobat Wines are the result of determination to handcraft high quality Oregon Pinot Noir and Pinot Gris. At the heart of these wines is the love of pairing an honest wine with casual meals and gatherings. Carefully grown in the gorgeous hills and valleys of western Oregon, Acrobat values and honors sustainable farming practices.  Sustainability has become a standard for Acrobat, and is at the core of all Foley Family wines.

Acrobat and the Foley Family are proud to support up and coming business leaders and promote the importance of networking. By working together, big things can happen.

Digital & Print Advertising Solutions – More targeted results, within your reach! Oregonian Media Group offers a full suite of digital and print advertising solutions to generate more leads, build your brand and increase sales. Connect with the audience that’s right for your business, wherever they are. Averaging over 7M unique visitors, and 59M page views per month¹, OregonLive.com can deliver this audience. Combine that with the Pulitzer award-winning, The Oregonian, and you have the largest, most trusted media company in Oregon. We make it easy to reach the customers your business needs to grow.

1. Source: Google Analytics. Monthly Averages. Jan-Jul 2018

Webfor partners with people looking to grow their business through exceptional digital marketing. We put ourselves in your shoes and make decisions with the thought and care as if your business was our business. We make your goals our goals and we become an invaluable partner and trusted advisor.

Our team of specialists are at your disposal. We have experts in search engine optimization, content strategy, paid campaign management, social media marketing, website design, development, and conversion optimization. Leverage our expertise and take your business to the next level. Get 3 Free Hours of strategy and consulting work!

Silver Sponsors

PDX American Marketing Association The Portland Chapter of the American Marketing Association serves as the resource for local creatives, entrepreneurs, freelancers and innovative professionals to connect, learn, and improve their marketing skills through valuable professional development opportunities, non profit collaboration, creative networking events, and monthly luncheons.

Redfin is a customer-first real estate brokerage that represents people buying and selling homes. Founded and run by technologists, Redfin has a team of experienced, full-service real estate agents who are advocates, not salespeople, earning customer-satisfaction bonuses, not commissions. Redfin also offers online tools that make the entire process of buying or selling a home easier and more fun.

Industrious is a leading force in the coworking industry, providing five-star service, best-in-class workplace management and stunning design for companies and enterprises across its national footprint of 45+ locations. Our mission is to make you proud and excited to come to work, and to deliver a hospitality-focused workspace that is sophisticated, beautiful, and most importantly… yours. If you’re looking for a better work environment or on the search for your business’ next home, be sure to visit www.industriousoffice.com/portland to schedule a tour of our beautiful Pioneer Square location opening in September!

Getaround empowers people to instantly rent and drive great cars shared by people in their city. Cars can be rented by the hour, or the day, with insurance and 24/7 roadside assistance included. By using the Getaround app, people skip the lines and paperwork at traditional rental car counters, and the hassle of buying and maintaining a car. Powered by Getaround ConnectTM, the patented connected car technology, Getaround creates a fun and safe carsharing experience without the need to meet the car owner, carry an access card, or coordinate picking up a car key.

The Portland Business Alliance is Greater Portland’s Chamber of Commerce. With more than 1,700 member companies, representing 325,000 business people in Multnomah, Washington and Clackamas counties in Oregon and Clark County in Washington, the Alliance is the region’s leading business organization. The Alliance advocates for its members at all levels of government, connects its members with other established and start-up businesses through events and offers professional development opportunities to connect and foster growth in the business community. Follow Portland Business Alliance on Twitter at @PDX_BizAlliance.

PDX Pipeline is Portland’s top events website as well as an extensive Portland online jobs board. Our newly redesigned website offers quick and easy access to event listings through a new, customizable calendar, as well as an improved mobile website experience. PDX Pipeline and @PDXJobs can increase your event attendance, grow your business and find the right people to make your business a success. 

Become a Sponsor!

Your company can be a sponsor of this fun summer event! View the Summer Networking Party Sponsorship Opportunities or email the SEMpdx Sponsorship Team for details.

Co-Hosts

pdxMindShare was founded by Kent Lewis, president & founder of Anvil, in 1999 as a way for career-minded individuals of Portland to connect. It initially began as a networking event and evolved to include a career-focused workshop. Expert speakers are brought in each month to help attendees learn ways to be successful professionally whether it’s to find a new job, secure a promotion or change careers. Topics include optimizing your online brand, maximizing your LinkedIn profile and tips for interviewing in addition to much more. The networking component is a great way for professionals to connect and grow their networks in addition to meeting potential employers. Everyone is welcome and events are free of charge!

IABC Oregon-Columbia: the connection for business communications professionals The Oregon-Columbia chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators. The organization offers professional development and networking opportunities that advance your strategic value as a communications professional within your organization. IABC Oregon-Columbia members are business communications professionals in Oregon and Southwest Washington, in roles that include: Marketing communications, Corporate communications, Employee communications, Communications agencies, Public Relations.

Mac’s list: When Mac’s List  began, it didn’t have a name. It wasn’t a company. It was just one person who wanted to serve his professional network and help people find work that mattered to them.Back in 2001, Mac Prichard started emailing job openings to a few dozen friends and colleagues. He wanted to keep in touch and share great work opportunities that he had found. Today, Mac’s List has grown to an online community of over 45,000 people. But our goals remain the same: to help people discover meaningful work opportunities in Portland, Oregon, and beyond.

The key to building an ecosystem is giving everyone a way to engage. NorthBank helps new entrepreneurs and early-stage startups with a simple membership to keep them connected and give them discounts. Membership also entitles you to discounts to the informative events we host every month. Then as you build momentum and are serious about getting started, we have programs that can prep you for launching your startup, or groom you for investment or scale for success.

OSU PACE  offers a wide array of professional certificate programs. Their programs are designed with your busy schedule in mind and give you skills to succeed in your current field or prepare a new career. SEMpdx is also proud to offer a 2x scholarhip for either their Advanced Digital Marketing Certificate or their Digital Brand Strategies Certificate. Apply today!

Portland Ad Fed is the oldest ad club in the US. They are constantly evolving to keep Portland’s creative, media and marketing community moving forward and visible,
not just in our region, but around the world as well. Their mission is to connect and inspire Portland’s creative, media and marketing community with rewarding and enjoyable educational, social and networking opportunities.

SEMPO is the largest nonprofit trade organization in the world serving the search and digital marketing industry and marketing professionals engaged in it. The SEMPO Cities initiative launched in 2015 and replaced legacy SEMPO Local Groups and serves as the local presence engaging search marketers in local communities globally. SEMPO Cities was formed and continues to serve to build awareness and education around search at the local level through learning and networking events. Local networking is an excellent way to learn more about the industry and its latest developments, and to have a sense of community with other professionals in your area.

The Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS) is a community of marketing and business development professionals working to secure profitable business relationships for their A/E/C companies. Through networking, business intelligence, and research, SMPS members gain a competitive advantage in positioning their firms successfully in the marketplace. SMPS offers members professional development, leadership opportunities, and marketing resources to advance their careers. Today, SMPS represents a dynamic network of nearly 6,000 marketing and business development professionals from architectural, engineering, planning, interior design, construction, and specialty consulting firms located throughout the United States and Canada.

Refreshments

No drink tickets again this year. All 6 taps of craft beer are hosted, thanks to our sponsor the Growler Guys. And bottled water is always free.

• Craft beer sponsored by the Growlers Guys – here’s the Tap List (subject to change):
  • pFriem Hazy IPA
  • Boneyard Incredible Pulp
  • Boulder Chocolate Shake
  • Chuckanut Mexican Lager
  • Wild Ride Let’s Get Hazy
  • Breakside Pilsner
• Oregon wine from Acrobat Winery sponsored by Foley Family Wines:
  • Acrobat Oregon Pinot Noir
  • Acrobat Oregon Rose of Pinot Noir
• Appetizers:
  • Pizza from Sizzle Pie
  • Sandwiches from Jimmy Johns
  • Food Carts at the Square will have their food for sale if you want additional options

Games

Join your fellow rooftop attendees in some games, including giant Jenga, giant Connect 4, and Cornhole.

Door Prizes

• A pass to SEMpdx’s Engage Conference with exciting, new 2-day format, March 7-8, 2019
• A pass to the Swivel Conference in Bend, Oregon – October 8-9, 2018
• A pass to the Portland Creative Conference – September 28, 2018
• Passes to an event of the International Association of Business Communicators – Oregon Columbia Chapter (IABC)
• Donated by Logical Position – Google Home
• Donated by Industrious – Free 1 month pass to the new Industrious co-working space in PDX (to be redeemed between October 2018 and January 2019)
• Donated by Getaround – $100 in free driving credit

Parking & Transit

SEMpdx urges all attendees to be safe and take public transit or rideshare to and from this event.
There is street parking available around the venue for $2.00/hour until 7:00, and multiple pay lots all around our event. Streetcar stops are 4-5 blocks west on SW 10th and 11th Avenues, MAX stops are on 3 sides of the Square at SW 6th Avenue, SW Morrison and SW Yamhill, and bus stops are on SW 5th and SW 6th Avenues. And don’t forget about Uber and Lyft!

Coverage of Previous Events

• Richard Guerrero’s Flickr photo album
• Portland Society Page coverage
• KGW TV’s Live at 7 coverage

Original video by Nathan Issacs – 7G Media

Tickets

21 & Over Only Please

Summer Networking Party tickets are $20 Early Bird, $30 Standard, or $40 Day of Event. Ticket sales are final; there are no refunds.

The post August 16, 2018 – SEMpdx 10th Annual Summer Networking Party – Presented by Logical Position appeared first on SEMpdx.

Join SEMpdx and our local partners pdxMindShare, Mac’s List, IABC, OEN, and AMA after work on Tuesday, December 6, 2016 to celebrate the holiday season by eating, drinking, and partaking in good conversation. Light appetizers will be provided. There will be a no-host bar.

When

Tuesday, December 6th, 5:30pm – 9:00pm

Where

Spirit of 77
500 NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd,
Portland, OR 97232 (view map)

Extra special thanks to Brandon Bowden and the awesome team at Spirit of 77. They donated all of the food for our event, and took great care of us all night. Thank you so much!

Cost

FREE to All, RSVP Below!

Sponsors

Digital & Print Advertising Solutions – More targeted results, within your reach! Oregonian Media Group offers a full suite of digital and print advertising solutions to generate more leads, build your brand and increase sales. Connect with the audience that’s right for your business, wherever they are. With over 3.9M unique visitors, and 25M page views per month, OregonLive.com can deliver this audience. Combine that with the Pulitzer award-winning, The Oregonian, and you have the largest, most trusted media company in Oregon. We make it easy to reach the customers your business needs to grow.

Become a sponsor of this great event! Contact the SEMpdx Sponsorship Team.

Parking & Transit

Very limited free parking in the shared lot, but plenty of metered street parking around the venue. Portland Streetcar stops are 1-2 blocks away (CL Line), MAX stops are 1/4 mile north at the Oregon Convention Center, and the #6 bus runs on MLK Jr. Blvd. & Grand Avenue. And don’t forget about Uber and Lyft!

Tickets

The post December 2016 – Holiday Networking Party appeared first on SEMpdx.

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NOTE: October’s event is the 2nd Wednesday of the month, due to a conflict with the Bend WebCAM/Swivel Conference in Bend, OR.

Please join us on Wednesday, October 14, in the Heritage Room at BridgePort BrewPub as we welcome Marcus Tober from Searchmetrics, who will be presenting The Most Important Ranking Factors for Mobile Search Now and in the Future.

Synopsis

Why are mobile search ranking factors important and what make them different to Desktop Search? Based on his research, Marcus will share with us what are the key factors to succeed in mobile, and show examples to illustrate what you need to do achieve great results. Learn how to optimize content and pages for a successful mobile site.

This is not a monologue session which means there is a lot of time during the presentation to ask questions!

Key Takeaways

• Learn how and why mobile and desktop search are delivering different results and how they developed over the last years

• Get examples and best practices to optimize your mobile website according to most recent ranking factors

• That includes ranking factors for content, technical requirements like site speed and user engagement

Speaker Bio

Marcus Tober is the founder and CTO of Searchmetrics. Marcus also founded Ecards and More, one of the largest German online greeting card companies. When Marcus sold a majority share of the company in 2008 to Rocket Internet, it had as many as 180,000 unique visitors per day and generated up to 30 million impressions—results driven primarily by SEO. Now called Bonnyprints, it is one of Europe’s fastest growing online destinations for print products.

When Marcus began in earnest to develop search analytics software, search engine optimization was a little like panning for gold in the Hudson River – an unruly race between a handful of pioneers. In order to take his work to the next level, he devised a number of tools with which he assembled his own and others’ SEO projects into a dynamic, up-to-date database. With his comprehensive approach and an eye for detail, he quickly became one of the leading minds in the nascent field of search engine optimization. In 2005, Marcus founded his first SEO company which became Searchmetrics in 2007 and rapidly evolved the company to become a market leader in search analytics software.

At Searchmetrics, Marcus drives the ongoing improvement and development of their software while his team of highly skilled specialists guarantees the exceptional standard of data and innovation on which Searchmetrics was founded. A self-described Big Data and stats geek, Marcus is frequently asked to comment on trends in the industry. Every time Google makes a significant change to its algorithm—think Panda—or upsets the apple cart with ideas like secure search, Marcus is in demand. And he doesn’t mind ruffling some feathers with his opinions.

Follow Marcus on Twitter at @marcustober.

Date and Time

Wednesday, October 14, 2015
5:00 pm to 7:00 pm. Presentation starts at 5:30pm

Location

BridgePort BrewPub’s Heritage Room — see map
1313 NW Marshall Street
Portland, OR 97209

Parking & Transit

There is street parking available around the venue ($1.60/hour until 7PM), a pay lot across the street in the Safeway building (enter on NW 14th), and several pay lots 2-3 blocks away, under the 405 freeway. 2 hours of free street parking is available anywhere west of the 405. Streetcar stops are 1 block north or south, and the nearest bus stop is 6 blocks away on NW 14th & Glisan (route 77). And don’t forget about Uber and Lyft!

Tickets

The post October 2015 – Mobile Ranking Factors with Marcus Tober appeared first on SEMpdx.

1) Tell us a little about yourself
I’m from South Dakota. I’ve been involved in many different business throughout my career. I owned a pheasant ranch. I worked in the in print industry for many years. Most recently, I was Vice President and CMO of Kodak. These days I’m speaking all over the globe, appearing on TV shows, I’ve written the best-selling book, “The Mirror Test” and am working on a second book. And I consult with a variety of great companies as well. I have two children, Tyler and Lindsey. I’m married to a great woman, Tami.

2) What’s the thing you’re most proud of from your time at Kodak?
We took a company that was selling a product that no one wanted–film–and we turned it around. What Kodak had to offer was about hearts and minds–we had the only product people would run into a burning building to save. We made memories. So we took a company that made film and turned it into a company that makes and preserves memories.

3) What prompted you to write your book, “The Mirror Test”?
I watched so many companies and business people fail. Heck, I’ve failed a time or two myself. And that’s when it became clear to me that anyone in business needs to ask the tough questions, know their conditions of satisfaction and be willing to create tension and drive change–all of that in order to grow and succeed. I felt this book was a message that everyone needed to hear.

4) What’s more fun, being a cowboy or hunting for pheasant?
Well I’m passionate about both, but ultimately the “cowboy” part is really who I am, and it impacts how I operate in business and in life.

5) If you could tell companies one thing about how to engage with their customers, what would you tell them?
With social media everything has changed. It’s not about ears and eyeballs anymore, it’s about hearts and minds. Companies need to be radically transparent, listen to their customers and deliver a relevant and timely message. If you don’t do these things, you won’t be fogging the mirror.

The post Jeffrey Hayzlett – Bird Hunter, Cowboy, Celebrity CMO appeared first on SEMpdx.