I went to Expo West for the first time this year. I wasn’t there as a buyer or seller, I just wanted to see how brands were showing up out in the wild. From my perspective as a brand strategist in the food, beverage, and wellness space, it was a chance to observe how brands…
While SEO can sometimes seem like technical wizardry that should only be navigated by technical experts, this is not what Google wants. Google wants anyone who creates a good business with good content to rank well in it’s algorithm. Highly technical optimizations, while valuable, can have relatively negligible effects, while simple and intuitive changes can…
“Marketing is about values. It’s a complicated and noisy world, and we’re not going to get a chance to get people to remember much about us. No company is. So we have to be really clear about what we want them to know about us.” – Steve Jobs At Murmur we employ what we call…
The Murmur team is comprised many unique talents. Our differences enrich our work and expand our creative capabilities. In celebration of this, we are delighted to feature Strategy Director, Angela Larisch, as part of an ongoing series of Murmur interviews. Tell us a little bit about your career up to the present. What drew you…
Like any creative studio worth its salt, the Murmur team is composed of a diverse spectrum of colorful individuals whose talents and perspectives enrich our work and expand our horizons. As part of a burgeoning series of short interviews, we’ve decided to showcase our people and their perspectives to celebrate their contributions and share their…
Sound on! 🙂 How it Began A branding agency rebranding itself is not unlike a barber cutting their own hair or a director directing themself in a film. It’s a bit of a magic trick. This is not to say that we didn’t succeed. We are in love with our new brand! It was…
This year, Murmur had the pleasure of partnering with Emerging Leaders and hosting our first-ever Emerging Leaders Intern. Through the Emerging Leaders Internship program (ELI) we were introduced to the very talented Sam Daer. Sam joined our team and contributed her many talents to our Strategy Department as our Strategy Intern. The experience was amazing…
As we wrap up 2021, I feel like it’s been a hard year in a series of hard years. But as difficult as things may seem here at Murmur, it’s been a lot harder for others. I feel like this knowledge has been ever-present–a weight many of us lug throughout the day. Because with each…
AofC Shirt campaign One of our Agencies of Change design initiatives is a quarterly Shirt Campaign that is designed by a featured BIPoC artist and raises awareness for a featured nonprofit. Shirts are sold for a limited time and at the end of the campaign, 100% of the shirt proceeds are donated to the featured…
As a certified B Corporation and values-based organization that is beholden to our employees, community, and our environment, it is vital for us to do more than state our support and intentions for social justice, we must also demonstrate progress. As strong supporters of Black Lives Matter and other BIPoC movements, we recognized action above…
When discussing climate change, race needs to become a more regular part of that conversation. Black and Hispanic populations are disproportionately affected by climate change, compared with their white counterparts.
Our DWP Poster Show to benefit Raphael House is less than two weeks away. Join us on Monday, August 3rd for our second annual Agencies of Change event! As part of DWP, we’re hosting a virtual poster show to support Raphael House of Portland. As the poster show approaches, we want to give a special shout-out to our…
We are committed to supporting Black Lives Matter beyond the movement. As we fight to dismantle white supremacy and systemic racism, we also reflect on our role and responsibility as a company and as individuals. We are taking the time to self-educate, listen, and put our thoughts into action to impact long-term change. This is a non-comprehensive…
As an agency, Murmur Creative mourns the loss of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Rayshard Brooks, and countless others. We stand in solidarity with those protesting these murders, fighting to end ongoing police brutality, and working to re-imagine our broken criminal justice system. We recognize the upwelling of pain and outrage across…
With COVID-19 affecting everyone’s lives – safety is the number one priority. We need to support communities offering safety to survivors and families. This year Murmur Creative’s Agencies of Change Poster Show is a fundraiser for Raphael House of Portland and they need our support now more than ever. Raphael House of Portland has provided life-saving shelter and wraparound support for survivors of…
This year, Murmur achieved one of our long-term dreams, joining a stellar group of companies that are striving to make the future brighter through business. What Is a B Corp? B Corporations make a legal commitment to balance purpose with profit. B Corp companies, like Patagonia, Ben & Jerry’s, and New Seasons, must complete a…
What: Food Collection for Parkrose Provides Where: Murmur Office (1300 SE Stark St. Room 210) Why: To Help Families this Holiday Season When: December 9-17 What We’re Doing Parkrose Provides is a program run by the Leadership class at Parkrose High School. Dedicated to providing food and clothing to families in need throughout the year,…
We are back in action after our much needed R&R time at Sou’wester Lodge in Seaview, Washington. It was the perfect weekend retreat to kick off the holiday season – before schedules get really hectic. (PSA: Thanksgiving is this Thursday!) We spent the days exploring the nearby beach towns, hiking nearby trails, and strolling down…
Introduction Since time immemorial (or around 2013) every year at the beginning of August, Portland, Oregon is blessed with the celebration of the culinary triumph that is Burger Week. In its humble first year it offered up a mere 12 burgers from participating local restaurants. Now, as we wrap up the latest week in 2019,…
Murmur’s annual camping trip landed in Lost Lake this year, a pristine camping spot with a breath-taking view of Mount Hood and absolutely no cell phone reception! Given that it was basically impossible to do any work, we resigned ourselves to having a really good time with family and friends. The weather was the best…
In April, we had our first Agencies of Change event and were blown away by all the support from our sponsors, participants, and community. Together we were able to put on an amazing Poster Show during Design Week Portland and raise awareness for Trans Lifeline. Trans Lifeline is a national trans-led nonprofit that provides essential…
Our Design Week Poster Show to benefit Trans Lifeline is next weekend! Remember to join us April 7 for our very first Agencies of Change event! As the poster show approaches, we want to give a special shout-out to our sponsors. We wouldn’t be able to pull this off without you! Event Info When: April…
Join us on April 7th for our first Agencies of Change event! As part of Design Week Portland, we’re hosting a poster show to support Trans Lifeline. And today, we get to announce our poster show participants! Big thanks to these agencies and designers who are creating exciting limited edition posters for this event: Aaron…
We’re so excited to announce that our rebrand for Central City Coffee won Portland’s AMA Max award for Branding! This was a true team effort with a nonprofit whose mission we deeply believe in and we’re thrilled to see the rebrand getting so much positive feedback. This is the third time in the past four…
What: Food Collection for Parkrose Provides Where: Murmur Office Why: To Help Families this Holiday Season When: December 6-19 What We’re Doing Parkrose Provides is a program run by the Leadership class at Parkrose High School. Dedicated to providing food and clothing to families in need throughout the year, the program is ramping up efforts…
The Cobbler’s Dilemma Here at Murmur we’ve got some dirty laundry to air. We’re embarrassed to admit we’ve been running with the same branding since we were a little 5-person operation, almost 5 years ago. We recommend that our clients evaluate their branding every few years to make sure their organization’s visual identity is still…
We’re very excited to welcome our newest edition to the Murmur family, Tory Cunningham! Tory is a designer with a whimsical yet versatile aesthetic. Prior to joining us, Tory worked as a designer at GDSO before he left Louisiana then freelanced in Portland until he found us! In an effort to get to know Tory…
All you need for a good time is great company and cozy accommodations… a keg of Sasquatch beer helps too. The Murmur family spent a weekend on Washington’s Long Beach Peninsula at the bohemian style Sou’wester Lodge. We took over the lodge, some cabins, and the “African Queen” (one of Sou’wester’s awesome trailers). We soaked…
We’re pretty busy around here at Murmur Creative, so we don’t have a lot of time to submit our work for awards. The exception is the American Marketing Association’s MAX awards. Every year, the Portland chapter of the American Marketing Association hosts the AMA MAX Awards to honor creative work from across the Pacific Northwest…
At Murmur Creative, the user experience is paramount. For this reason, we always put extra care into every page of the sites we design—even pages that people rarely see. A perfect example is the 404 page. Mistyping a URL or clicking on a broken link can be a negative user experience. And while we can’t keep…
Miranda is the newest addition to the Murmur team (and boy are we lucky to have her!). She bowled us over in her interview and continues to impress us with her wordsmithery, smarts, and unquenchable thirst for knowledge. Let’s learn a little bit about what makes her tick! So you were an English professor before…
Every summer Murmur heads out into the domestic-wild with our tents and sleeping bags for a weekend of sun, BBQ, family, and no cell phone reception. It’s a wonderful way to reset, relax, and enjoy each other without the deadlines, meetings, and everyday stress of agency life. It’s an opportunity for us to connect, not…
When the folks behind Westmount Wine came to us, they came prepared. Westmount presented us with a 20 page research report which outlined the brand’s target audience (the elusive non-brand loyal outdoor Millenial), its aesthetic (minimalistic, and black and white), and its story (experienced winemaker with a sense of adventure and outdoor zest starts his own label with…
“Your internet provider has a view of your most intimate online activities. Although Google uses encryption to prevent prying eyes from seeing your online searches, your internet provider can see what websites you visit, when you visit them, and how much time you spend there.” —Wired On Thursday, March 23 the US Senate voted 50-48 in…
If you work with bar or restaurant clients like we do, you may know this already: capitalization of wines is super confusing, especially if you’re trying to be consistent across menus. Is it Pinot Noir? Or pinot noir? Or maybe Pinot noir? What’s the right cap case for Chianti or chardonnay, and when should it be used? Do…
Collaborate with a super-fun group of designers, developers, and marketing folks to work on local and national brands. We’re looking to develop a relationship with an experienced freelance web designer with UI/UX chops. We’re a small team and when our plate gets full we’d like the ability to augment our capabilities with a talented freelancer.…
Love Bomb 2017 was one for the books! On Thursday, Febuarary 16–just two days after the official day of love, Feb. 14–we hosted our annual Love Bomb networking and fundraising event at Radio Room for the third year in a row. This year’s proceeds went to our nonprofit of choice, My Voice Music, a Portland educational arts…
Did Murmur Creative reach its 2016 goal of a million dollars? What trials and tribulations did the agency face during the year? What did they learn? What lies ahead for Murmur in 2017? In this Creative Agency Podcast year end review episode, Chris and Andrew Bolton discuss what happened in 2016. They talk about taking on bigger projects, outgrowing…
We’re very excited to welcome Developer Tim Lundy to the Murmur Creative team! Tim is an inventive soul with keen programming skills and a well-developed sense of web aesthetics. Prior to joining us, Tim worked with our team as a freelance developer on Embark Exploration Co.’s breathtaking new website (see it here). We were so…
Right now brands are being told that when it comes to marketing and advertising, sex is out and activism is in. According to an opinion piece recently published in The Guardian, brands “are now attempting to outdo each other with major acts of generosity.” The article underlines Uber’s recent 3 million dollar gift to the ACLU (American…
Murmur Creative was introduced to Eleanor Wilkinson, Zupan’s Markets Director of Marketing, in the Spring of 2016. She was looking for an agency that could capture Zupan’s unique instore shopping experience while making online ordering super easy for users. Zupan’s is sort of an institution around these parts, and although we’ve all been admirers of the…
We’re very excited to welcome Jr. Designer Erin Shorthill to Murmur Creative! Erin is a fantastic talent straight out of Portland State University (she graduated with a Bachelor of Science in graphic design in late 2016). We’re so excited to have her on board and part of our growing team. In an effort to get to…
This is “Part 2” of the story behind our creative agency, Murmur Creative. You can find Part 1 here. In this Creative Agency Podcast, Chris and Andrew Bolton talk about Murmur Creative’s struggles and successes over the first half of 2016. The brothers discuss their “million dollar goal” for the year as well as their predictions…
You’re on it. Your kids are on it. We’re all on Instagram. But does your business or brand need to be on it too? That’s the big question haunting a lot of mini-op retailers, small-budget marketers, and DIY brand advocates these days. Surely, with over 400 million active users, Instagram is a dynamic social media…
As a bright, beluga of a moon rose over the south end of Lost Lake, setting the north end skyline ablaze with evening light, members of our team rowed out to the middle of the lake to take in the colors of dusk. It was the second night of Murmur Creative’s annual camping trip retreat…
On Saturday night, we had the time of our lives. We’d never felt that way before. And we swear, it’s the truth. And we owe it all to youuuuuuu. duuuduuud-nayyyaaa duuuduuud-nayyyaaaaa. But seriously. We had a themed dance party in our office at the Washington High Building in collaboration with Design Week Portland’s opening night.…
1982 was a great year in American history. Gato Del Sol Cougar II won the Kentucky Derby (Laser Light Majestic Light came in second), the world was introduced to Madonna, “Noid” was a legitimate insult, MJ released Thriller (still the best selling album of all time), and E.T., Blade Runner, Fast Times at Ridgemont High,…
Here at Murmur Creative we’re big fans of the podcast Agencies Drinking Beer. After all, it features two of our favorite things in the whole wide world: agency talk and beer! The good folks that host Agencies Drinking Beer hail from Halifax, Canada and also happen to be the creators of a software solution for agencies called…
In early 2016 Murmur Creative launched The Creative Agency Podcast, a podcast conceived to explore how creative agencies work and grow. Having published a handful of successful interviews, we decided to turn the mic on ourselves and share our story. In this episode Chris Bolton interviews his brother, Andrew Bolton, owner of Murmur Creative. Andrew…
No more excuses. Your website impacts how people perceive your business. Most importantly, it affects your bottom line. Investing in your website in 2016 can-and-will improve the profitability of your business. Here’s 10 important ways to improve the effectiveness of your website in 2016 and beyond: 1. Logo Refresh It might seem strange in a…
We’re very excited to announce a brand new Murmur Creative project, The Creative Agency Podcast. The Creative Agency Podcast is a business and marketing podcast that focuses on creative agencies, how they function, grow, fail, and find success. We’ll be interviewing entrepreneurs and professionals who work in the creative industries. Our first batch of episodes will…
We’re very excited to welcome Renee Dimalla to the Murmur team! She’s a fantastic designer, her logo skills are top-notch, and her illustrations are gorgeous. And she’s really nice and great to work with too! We feel pretty darn lucky to have her on board. Want to get to know Renee a little better? So…
Murmur Creative is growing and we’re excited to welcome Ben Bateman to the team. Ben is a WordPress wiz with an analytical brain and a super-friendly disposition. Be sure to say “hi” next time you drop by Murmur HQ. Want to get to know Ben a little better? So do we! So we asked him…
One of the best things about working at Murmur Creative is getting to know so many interesting businesses and the entrepreneurs behind them. Each new client we partner with brings new challenges, learning opportunities, and potential for both personal and professional growth. We’d like to offer a big thank you to all of the clients…
What a par-tay! As you can see in the pictures below, this year’s Love Bomb event was a smashing success. Thanks to everyone who attended for joining Murmur Creative (and all the other amazing businesses and entrepreneurs) who came to network and support a good cause. This year we raised money and awareness for Street…
You probably know Murmur’s account director, the unflappable Mary Nichols. If you don’t, you probably will soon. That’s how Mary works. She’s a marketing and networking powerhouse and that’s exactly what the judges thought at the American Marketing Association’s MAX Awards. We’re proud to announce that Mary Nichols won the 2015 “Master of Marketing” Award…
As of today, recreational marijuana will officially be legal in Oregon. And while Oregonians have been in heated debate over the consequences of ending the prohibition of marijuana, I’d like to address a much more pressing issue: Will there be enough Funyuns? Has anyone even looked into this? Have we all become too complacent with the idea…
We’re proud to announce that Murmur Creative has won the 2015 prize for Best Rebrand by the American Marketing Association’s MAX Awards. We won for our rebrand of the American Lamb Board, a project which included logo design, print materials, a new website, infographics, SEO strategy, and more. This category was the most competitive at…
Is your website mobile friendly? If not, your website could quickly become invisible in mobile search results. Google just launched a major algorithm update. This update will favor websites that are mobile optimized.
SEO is constantly changing. For this reason it’s easy for clients and marketers to get confused about what techniques, strategies, and practices are helpful and worth investing in and which are no longer useful or worthwhile. This infographic does a pretty good job of showing the difference between new SEO and old SEO. Warning: if…
We love infographics. They’re an excellent format for digital storytelling; they’re great for social media sharing; and they will delight and inform your customers.
Wishing everyone a happy holiday season from the crew at Murmur Creative.
Our client, Laughing Planet Cafe is a highly successful healthy burrito shop in Portland, OR. We love their food and quirky humor (especially the brand refresh and totally awesome website we designed for them). We’re often impressed with the bold and often silly marketing campaigns they come up with. One of these being the “Bad Yelp Review…
While SEO is a vast and technical subject, SEO copywriting for the web is not. Once you have the basics you can easily start implementing SEO strategies in everything you write for the web. In fact, this article contains more than enough SEO copywriting tips to get any copywriter started writing search-engine-friendly copy.
Murmur Creative was thrilled for the opportunity to present this marketing and branding presentation to a Brazilian delegation of business owners that visited Portland recently. The delegation was being hosted by Portland’s first lady Nancy Hales. The presentation went well and it was great to meet so many talented and passionate entrepreneurs from Brazil. We…
Exciting News! Murmur Creative is participating in Design Week Portland this year! We are having an open house at our studio in Olympic Mills, so come on by and meet our team. (Check out our Design Week profile here.)
Murmur Supports Marriage Equality in Ripcity At Murmur we believe in equal rights for everyone. We’d like to support our gay friends and relatives with this special Portland-Style equal rights logo. We took the Blazers basketball logo and straightened it out a bit.
There’s a new designer directory in town, and you can get listed for free (we did). It’s the Portland Design Directory. It’s nice to see another resource for designers in the Portland area. Being SEO minded it’s also great to get listed in as many local directories as we can–especially those that are design-related. The directory…