With Memorial Day behind us, summer has finally arrived, bringing a refreshing and relaxed atmosphere for everyone! While we may notice fewer significant announcements as people take a well-deserved break, this slower pace is an excellent opportunity to reflect, recharge and prepare for exciting new initiatives. Let’s fully embrace this vibrant season and make the most of our time together! Here are some ways to maximize PR pitching during the quieter summer months.

Differentiate Yourself This Summer

As fall approaches, reporters often experience an increased workload. Many short-lead reporters take advantage of the slower summer months to prepare important stories. In the summer, reporters have more time to review pitches. Publications such as daily newspapers, broadcast outlets and online platforms may not be actively seeking pitches, giving you an opportunity to distinguish yourself.

Connect the Meaningful Dots

Build meaningful connections! If your organization experiences a quieter summer, seize this wonderful opportunity to deepen your relationships with reporters. Take time to explore key journalists’ work and familiarize yourself with their areas of focus. Engage with them on social media by sharing valuable content, joining their discussions, and offering your unique perspectives. By highlighting your expertise, you can position yourself as a go-to resource for their future stories. Let’s make the most of this season and connect!

Elevate Your Online Presence

This summer is the perfect time to boost your online visibility. Build meaningful connections with reporters and direct them to your website and content channels to showcase your unique voice and expertise. Keep your content fresh with engaging blog posts and videos and maintain an active social media presence. While the summer pace may seem relaxed, it’s a fantastic chance to nurture media relationships and align your content with what reporters truly care about. Let’s make this season a rewarding opportunity for growth and connection!

Summer Is the Time to Embrace Innovation For Autumn and the Holiday Season

While it might feel early, fall and winter are just around the corner, and it’s the perfect time to connect! Many long-lead publications are gearing up for their end-of-year stories, with a 3- to 6-month lead time. This summer presents a fantastic opportunity to pitch your innovative ideas. Check out their editorial calendars in the media kits — they’re a valuable resource to align your pitches with their upcoming content!

In branding, there are many processes that agencies adopt. The foundation of the models that agencies use are often centered on a brand vision or promise. After your brand’s vision and promise comes the personality or character that your brand uses to express itself, as if it were a person. Remember that inconsistency in delivering on the promise dilutes customer or client faith in the competency in your organization. Thirdly, your brand needs positioning. Call me and I’ll be happy to share more detail about this important part of the exercise.

Affiliating With Your Brand

Lastly comes the brand affiliation. What do your clients or customers want others to think about them because they are affiliated with your brand? Affiliation is key and starts with your internal team. After all, they are the closest to your brand. So if you have recently rebranded, and your current marketing partner isn’t telling you to start engaging your internal team first, you should think again about your brand’s priorities.

Branding is Alchemy

These important marketing exercises can seem like a magical process of transformation for a company. An alchemy of sorts. Successful branding makes everything you do make sense, and gives you a clear path of where to go next. So who are we to fight the alchemy?

In order to deliver consistent messaging, business leaders and owners need to remember a few things when they rebrand. First of all, you, dear business owner, cannot create your brand in a vacuum. Context matters. The market matters. And, again, we say this often as a reminder of how to come away from a brand exercise with strong results.

The Three Cs of the Branding Process

Of course, difficult conversations sometimes happen during this process. And, on the Porch, we are here for it. We believe in and practice these three pillars in our marketing: Conviction, connection and consistency. We’ve talked about these before. And we will talk about them again, and again. Because building your brand around these pillars works.

Conviction

We know business owners and leaders have conviction about their company and their brand. It’s the passion, the energy and the will to be successful. It’s a growth mindset. When you are convicted about your brand and absolute about a growth mindset, the magic will happen. When we work with companies, we talk on their conviction as our own. We want the success to happen as much as they do.

Connection

Connection is about building a space where communication is genuine with branding and connection to your audience. It’s about reaching your customers and clients on a 1-to-1 basis. Meeting their needs. Solving their problems.

Remember, you are not your customer or your client. Your personal preferences may not be the needs of your customer. One of the hardest things to do for a business owner is to step out of their own shoes into the shoes of their customers and clients. Recognize and meet their needs. Don’t talk at them, talk with them. Connect.

Consistency

Consistency is where we see sometimes really strong business fall short. The business leaders want to jump in and get hands on. Maybe they LOVE the creative side of the business so they want to design their own logo, letterhead, website etc. And, the result in our several plus years of experience, is that this is a disaster.

I myself love the creative side of the business; however, I am not a graphic designer, so I let the trained professionals do their job. If you’re a business owner thinking about consistency yet trying to do parts of the branding process that are out of your wheelhouse, question yourself: Is this the right way for me to spend my time?

Growing Your Brand

On the Porch, we are so grateful for business leaders and owners who are open to defining their look and their voice with us. We love working with owners and leaders who want to grow their brand beyond their comfort zone, realizing business success comes from this eye-opening, defining process. Together we can accomplish great things throughout the branding process and into all the marketing work beyond that!

This month, we are welcoming Peyton Gray, our newest intern rocker, to the team. So as we always do, we asked her a few questions to get to know her better! She’s a student at The University of Texas in Austin majoring in journalism. Peyton is passionate about thoughtful communication, creative collaboration and building meaningful connections through media and storytelling. We love that!

What is the biggest misconception about marketing today?

I think a common myth is that good products will sell themselves and success will happen immediately, which I believe overlooks human behavior and crowded markets. Marketing is even more important today than it ever has been because brands must work to intentionally capture their audience and build trust. 

What advice would Peyton Gray give to her younger self?

If I could talk to my younger self, I would tell her that everything works out, even if it doesn’t happen exactly how you planned it!

What is one of the biggest lessons you’ve learned so far at school?

College has taught me how important it is to build a strong community. Finding people you can relax, study, work and have fun with creates a space where you not only survive but begin to thrive. 

What does good brand strategy look like?

A good brand strategy begins with a steady and strong brand identity. Using this as an anchor, a brand can establish a clear presence and cohesive image. 

If you could be anywhere in the world right now where would it be?

I would be in Paris, France! I visited the summer after my senior year of high school with my mom and was lucky enough to return for the Paris Olympics the following year — I am already planning my trip back after I graduate and CAN’T WAIT!

If you could go to dinner with one person living or dead who would it be?

I would have dinner with Princess Diana. Aside from the fact that I think she is absolutely the most elegant woman of all time, I really admire her strong character and love for those around her.

If you could describe Peyton Gray in three words what would they be?

I would describe myself as optimistic, determined and creative.

Tell us about a major milestone in your life?

One major milestone in my life was leading the recruitment of a pledge class of 95 members into my sorority at UT.  I learned so much about leadership, relationship building, analytics and teamwork all while making 95 freshmen comfortable and confident in a new place! 

From your perspective, how does Front Porch Marketing differentiate itself from other marketing companies?

What drew me into Front Porch Marketing, and what I believe sets the company apart, is how personable and intentional each member of the team is. Even in my interview I could tell how much each member was valued and supported, making me eager to join and get started. Front Porch is collaborative, intentional and genuinely people-oriented. 

Stepping onto the “Front Porch” for the first time, I knew I was entering a space dedicated to storytelling and strategy. But as I look back on my internship, I realize that the most impactful lessons didn’t come from a textbook; they came from watching how brands live and breathe in the real world. As well as personal branding and connection.

Marketing isn’t just about the “what” it’s about the “who” and the “why.” Reflecting on my time here, three things stand out as the foundation of everything I’ve learned: the intentionality of branding, the depth of brand loyalty, and the necessity of knowing your audience. 

Branding: More Than Just a Logo 

During my time at Front Porch, I’ve seen firsthand that a brand is a promise. It’s the consistent thread that runs through every social media post, every email, and every client interaction. A brand isn’t a static image; it is a living reputation. 

I’ve learned that successful branding requires: 

• Vulnerability: Being honest about a brand’s journey. 

• Consistency: Delivering the same message across every touchpoint. 

• Clarity: Knowing exactly what strengths and weaknesses you solve for your client. 

When a brand is built with intention, it stops being a service and starts being a solution.

The Weight of Branding and Loyalty 

We often talk about “getting” customers, but my internship taught me the importance of “keeping” them. Brand loyalty is the difference between a one-time transaction and a lifelong advocate. I’ve observed that the most successful clients we work with are those who don’t take their community for granted. 

Loyalty is earned in the quiet moments: when a brand responds to a difficult situation with grace, or when they choose quality over a quick fix. During my time here at Front Porch, I’ve realized that people don’t just stay loyal to a product; they stay loyal to how a brand makes them feel. When you stay true to your brand promise, your audience rewards you with the most valuable currency in marketing: trust. 

The Art of Connection to your Audience 

If branding is the “voice,” then the audience is the “listener.” One of my biggest takeaways from Front Porch is that you cannot speak effectively if you haven’t first listened. 

True audience connection involves: 

• Data with Soul: Looking beyond the numbers to see the people behind the clicks. 

• Empathy: Understanding the daily challenges and joys of the consumer. 

• Evolution: Recognizing that as your audience grows and changes, your strategy must as well. 

Marketing is a two-way conversation. My internship here at Front Porch has shown me that the “lucky” brands are just the ones that have done the hard work of truly understanding the person on the other side of the screen. Personal branding needs the priority of connection and loyalty.

Final Reflections on Branding and Connection 

As I wrap up this chapter, I’m leaving with a new perspective on how businesses connect with the world. Authentic marketing doesn’t shout at the crowd; it speaks to the individual. 

The “Front Porch” philosophy isn’t just about business; it’s about building a space where communication is genuine with branding and connection to your audience. These are the lessons that will guide me long after I’ve left the porch.