Our blog’s just like any other, except it’s useful, nice to look at, and fun to read.

2020 has brought a roller coaster of emotions and events. From the global pandemic to polarizing politics, it can be hard to maintain a sense of happiness. Here at Praytell, BEACON has been a haven for Black employees to laugh, cry, and uplift one another both personally and professionally.

Election weeks are stressful — simple as that. With stress over the future of the country, coupled with employees working overtime to create contingency plans for however the election goes, it’s easy for internal communications to get lost in the mix. Given the deeply personal nature of this election for many people and the fact that the results of the presidential race could be inconclusive for a while, this week is sure to take a toll on employees.

Remember “MTV Cribs”? Celebrities would show off their luxurious homes, fancy cars and gold plated toilets. When our in-house work from home expert Jeannie Evanchan asked employees to share their favorite office spaces for an internal training, she was blown away by just how pretty (and inventive) they are—think “Cribs,” but with one-hundredth the budget!

Targeting a market with an estimated $917 billion buying power seems like an obvious business move today, but marketing to the LGBTQ+ community used to be a severe gamble. Just like the movement for equality has evolved, so have marketing efforts. These evolutions coincide with three major stages of the LGBTQ+ movement.

Hispanic Heritage Month honors the contributions of Hispanic Americans in the U.S. It’s an opportunity for us to further educate ourselves and others on where we came from and where we are today. The kickoff of the month (September 15) is significant as it’s the anniversary of independence for Latin American countries including Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, with September 16 marking the celebration of independence for Mexico, and September 18 for Chile. It is a celebration that began in 1968 and has evolved ever since.

It’s no secret the pandemic has impacted our lives in countless ways, including many of the best practices we’ve leveraged as PR professionals for years. Good news, some of the changes haven’t been all that bad. Case in point: media tours. We used to spend days running around a city stressing about travel time between meetings, barely eating and preparing our spokesperson for their 10th meeting of the day when both of us were cross-eyed.

Travis Scott is the “hypest” person alive. Embarrassing adjective! Advertisers, like artists and actors, cannot be deterred by embarrassment; often, they are best served by doubling down on it.

As an agency, we believe we have a unique opportunity to put our voices, skillsets and resources behind initiatives that work towards the common good—and voter turnout and access is one of those issues.

This year, our pro bono initiative Passion Project has evolved to make our services more accessible and expansive in impact. At the peak of the global pandemic, we took it virtual to offer help to those in need while staying safe at home. Not long after, as the Black Lives Matter movement gained nationwide awareness, we expanded our services to nonprofits working to fight systemic injustice. In addition to professional services or outside volunteer hours, we’ve introduced a new VOICE category to encourage the many facets of community activism, whether it’s attending protests, signing petitions, or writing emails to government officials.