A Few Projects We’ve Worked on:
NW Kids Magazine’s Summer Camp Expo
Summary
One of our most rewarding entrepreneurial ventures was conceiving and launching the NW Kids Magazine Summer Camp Expo in 2011. Identifying a clear market need for a curated, face-to-face connection between families and premier summer camps, we developed and executed a winning event strategy from the ground up. Starting with a dozen tables at Washington Square Mall, the event’s immense popularity—consistently selling out with a waitlist—fueled its growth to host over 30 camps at the OMSI Auditorium. The success of this proven formula led to its expansion into a full portfolio of community Expos, including the Guide to Portland, Birthday Party, and Education & Enrichment Expos.ation & Enrichment Expos.
Result
This project showcased our ability to identify market opportunities, build beloved community events, and scale a successful model into a sustained portfolio.
NW Kids Magazine’s Best Summer Camp
Summary:
We transformed a high-interest seasonal topic into a high-velocity growth engine for NW Kids Magazine. By pivoting from broad “Best Of” lists to a niche-focused, genre-based contest, we deepened community roots and significantly scaled digital engagement. Instead of a generic directory, we launched a targeted “Best Summer Camps” by genre competition. This approach narrowed the focus to specific interests (e.g., STEM, Arts, Sports), allowing for higher intent engagement and more relevant content for families. We orchestrated an integrated 30-day digital sprint, utilizing a structured two-phase rollout:
- Phase 1: Nominations (2 Weeks): Crowdsourcing the local landscape to ensure comprehensive representation.
- Phase 2: Voting (2 Weeks): Driving peak traffic through a competitive voting window.
Result:
The campaign successfully catalyzed audience growth by leveraging user-generated content, effectively empowering local families to act as brand ambassadors. This strategy created a powerful viral synergy; by providing participating camps with the digital tools to mobilize their own networks, we triggered a “ripple effect” that expanded the magazine’s reach exponentially through organic, high-trust channels.
Beyond immediate traffic, the initiative solidified long-term brand authority. We developed custom digital badges for winners and finalists, turning the contest into a permanent PR asset that remains visible on camp websites year-round, further cementing NW Kids Magazine as the definitive regional expert. Ultimately, the project delivered measurable ROI for advertisers and generated record-breaking email sign-ups, driven by the high-value incentive of a sponsored grand prize.
Hubspot CRM Setup
Summary:
Oregon Family Magazine managed a wealth of high-value data—including years of client contacts and prospective lead lists—that remained fragmented across various spreadsheets and disconnected silos. This decentralized structure hindered the sales team’s ability to track long-term lead history, coordinate outreach, and forecast revenue accurately.
- Data Architecture & Migration: We audited and cleaned thousands of legacy records, mapping them into a unified CRM format to ensure a single, accurate “source of truth” for every account.
- Custom Sales Workflows: The system was tailored specifically to the magazine’s unique sales cycle, including custom fields for ad placements, seasonal campaign tracking, and lead-scoring.
- Centralized Accessibility: We eliminated the “spreadsheet shuffle” by providing the sales team with a single dashboard to manage calls, emails, and follow-up reminders in real-time.
Result:
This implementation transformed Oregon Family Magazine’s sales department from a reactive team into a data-driven powerhouse. By centralizing client interactions, the team can now identify upselling opportunities more quickly, reduce lead response times, and maintain stronger, more personalized relationships with their long-term advertisers.