News
April 5, 2019
KNOXVILLE, Tenn.— April 1, 2019 – April brings not only warmer weather back to the Tennessee Valley, but also the annual [Knoxville] By Design (KBD) celebration. The month-long series of events is part of National Architecture Week, a time dedicated to celebrating the impact that […]
April 1, 2019
Messaging is where effective marketing usually begins. A company can employ just the right mix of outreach strategies and tactics, but if the underlying messages being put forth by those marketing methods are not attention-getting, compelling, and most of all, true, you are probably wasting […]
March 19, 2019
FITZGERALD NAMED SENIOR ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE VETERAN COMMUNICATOR JOINS EAST TENNESSEE’S PREMIER AGENCY Knoxville, Tenn. – Ackermann Marketing & PR today announced that Brian Fitzgerald has been hired as a Senior Account Executive. In his new role, Fitzgerald will provide Ackermann’s portfolio of clients with strategic […]
February 21, 2019
Make it personal, take the slow road for clients The prioritization of speed over personalization grossly underestimates the power of human interaction and the importance of face-to-face communication in building and nurturing important relationships. If the entire point of your business is simply to accomplish […]
February 6, 2019
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – October 10, 2018 – The University of Tennessee College of Social Work is celebrating its 10th year of online Master of Social Work Education. The UTCSW developed one of the first accredited online MSW programs in the country. While other online programs […]
February 6, 2019
Smokin’ Oak Wood-Fired Pizza to Open in Greater Denver Area St. Petersburg, Florida – November 13, 2018 – Smokin’ Oak Wood-Fired Pizza, a fast-casual pizza franchise based in St. Petersburg, Fl., announced today that the company has signed an Area Development Agreement for the greater Denver […]
February 6, 2019
Fast-casual pizza franchise to open two locations in Grand Junction St. Petersburg, Fl. – Smokin’ Oak Wood-Fired Pizza, a fast-casual pizza franchise based in St. Petersburg, FL., is expanding to Grand Junction, Colorado, with two new stores planned to open in 2019. Grand Junction residents, Bob […]
February 6, 2019
Ackermann Marketing & PR consults with business leaders, non-profits and individuals to determine the best ways to lead organizations, launch new products, resolve culture challenges and minimize crises. My role as a consultant to these clients, friends and peers offers a firsthand look at strengths and weaknesses of […]
January 31, 2019
Starting a new year is a great time to assess what has and hasn’t worked in your marketing programs, and to push the re-set button on out-moded ideas and tired tactics. Whether you work for a corporation or an agency, there are common threads that […]
January 3, 2019
As this year draws to a close, we’re reminded not only of memorable moments, but also of the warp-speed world in which we live. Adaptability and an adventurous spirit are certainly critical skills in terms of understanding and effectively utilizing the constantly changing ways in […]
December 3, 2018
(This is the second of a two-part column on this topic, the previous one having appeared in the Knoxville News-Sentinel on Sunday, November 11, 2018.) Millennials are aged 21 – 36 years old (born between 1982 and 1997) and are playing an increasingly pivotal role […]
October 30, 2018
Millennials – there are a lot of them, and their influence on how companies sell their products and services is substantial. So, if your business doesn’t have a research-based strategy in this regard, you could be missing out on some important opportunities to expand or […]
October 15, 2018
Being the mighty band of true creatives that we are, one aspect of the job that we particularly enjoy is working with a client who puts our creative muscles to work developing branding/identity/design and logo concepts. Recently we were given the latitude to develop the […]
October 8, 2018
People who know me well may stifle a giggle when I tout the benefits of preparedness. This is because I am known to be a tad compulsive and overly prepared. However, in defense of my tendencies in this regard, I find that it really does […]
September 7, 2018
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – August 29, 2018 – Blühen Botanicals, a new hemp processing company, announced plans today to open a hemp processing facility by the end of 2018 in Knoxville, Tenn. The company’s founders aim to make Blühen Botanicals the largest hemp biomass processing and […]
August 28, 2018
From the August 2018 Issue of Knox.Biz We all love social media and the numerous digital tools at our disposal these days . . . except when we don’t! And one of those times can be when our business receives a very public negative review […]
August 20, 2018
From the August, 19 2018 Knoxville News-Sentinel Depending upon the particular marketplace that your company operates in, it is tempting to narrow your communications focus to only those customers and prospects that you already know you should be talking to. Most companies have a defined […]
July 23, 2018
We’re hearing a lot these days about the difficulties that businesses are having in recruiting sharp new employees. With the unemployment rate being relatively low, the competition for top talent has increased dramatically as of late. Therefore, it is more critical than ever for employers […]
July 13, 2018
Sevierville, Tenn. – SmartBank announced today plans to open a fourth Sevier County branch. The new branch will be located at 710 Dolly Parton Parkway, Sevierville, Tenn. According to Billy Carroll, SmartBank President and CEO, the existing building will be renovated to reflect the SmartBank […]
June 25, 2018
Reputation and trust are intrinsically intertwined in business. Companies cannot maintain their positive reputations if a strong bond of trust does not exist with their customers and constituents. It sometimes takes years to build that level of trust, but one “untrustworthy incident” can tear down […]
May 29, 2018
In case you missed Cathy’s contributed Knoxville News-Sentinel column from over Memorial Day weekend, you can read the full version below: There has been a lot said and written in the past few months about both the benefits and the “evils” of how much we […]
May 3, 2018
Knoxville, Tenn. – May 3, 2018 – Hoffmann Group USA announced today it has been named a 2018 Hermes Creative Platinum Award winner. The global tooling company earned its second platinum marketing award in a 6-month span for its work with marketing partner Ackermann Marketing […]
April 23, 2018
In case you missed it, here’s a look at Cathy’s most recent Knoxville News-Sentinel column from Sunday, April 22: What do customers want more than anything else from the people and the companies they choose to do business with? I believe they want to be […]
April 2, 2018
In case you missed it, here’s a look at Cathy’s most recent Knoxville News-Sentinel column from Sunday, April 1: Stop the Power Point presentations and voluminous slide decks. What better place to take a little nap than in still another tedious meeting where someone is […]
March 19, 2018
Extraordinary event demands unparalleled space to showcase huge Titanic ship built by a 10-year-old boy from Iceland with autism MEDIA ALERT: Meet Brynjar Karl Bigisson during media conference at 10 a.m. on Monday, April 16 at Titanic Museum Attraction – Pigeon Forge. This event will […]
March 7, 2018
We’re all really in sales in one way or another, right? Here’s Cathy’s take on what makes some people good at it – from the Sunday, March 4 News-Sentinel. I had an interesting conversation recently with a sharp young woman who was exploring a career […]
March 7, 2018
Chicago, Ill. – March 1, 2018 – Secant Healthcare Inc., a Chicago based global healthcare solutions company, announced the first glimpse of its unique Blockchain Data Integrity initiative. This thought-leading initiative is seeking to deliver a unique, targeted approach to data integrity and transformation in the […]
February 16, 2018
Guest Blog by Ashley Humphrey, Director of Marketing & Communications at Hoffmann Group USA When many think of the manufacturing industry, they envision a male-dominated, warehouse environment that many women wouldn’t want to explore. However, the current manufacturing landscape in the country is beginning to provide […]
January 26, 2018
Guest Blog by Caleb Fristoe, Program Manager for CodeTN at Great Schools Partnership The Push Chances are over the last three years, you’ve heard or read in passing about the urgent need for increased secondary STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) education in American schools. Or […]
January 18, 2018
Now that the dust has settled, we’ve all started correcting ourselves when we write ‘2017’ instead of ‘2018’ (oh wait, that didn’t actually happen since nobody writes). We’ve deleted all the emails we received over the holidays (if it’s important, you’ll find out soon enough) […]