Celebrities were among the earliest influencers, especially famous entertainers who enthralled fans and swayed consumers in person or print, over the air or on a screen. But that was eons before social media grew pervasive and reverse-engineered the process, changing life for generations born after the Internet shrunk the world. 

Nowadays, fame and celebrity aren’t prerequisites for mass persuasion; renown can grow as individuals become influencers on social media, helping brands connect to targeted slices of cyberspace. 

One hallmark trait of storytelling is research. Generally, journalists take a deep dive into the topic, issue or incident. While marketers lean into analyzing personas and targeted audiences when they conduct market research, the outcome is the same – to craft a compelling narrative. 

An important research tool to provide strategy and insights is focus groups. In the past five years, the SRB team conducted market research for our public health, energy and utilities and higher education business verticals. This blog is to unpack several tips you can use.

President George H.W. Bush inspired a national service movement in his 1989 inaugural address when he compared America’s many clubs and volunteer organizations to “a thousand points of light." He did not specifically mention employee-volunteer programs then, but three decades later, those company-sponsored initiatives are clearly sparklers in the nation’s firmament of generosity. 

WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 5, 2024)– The Washington Association of Black Journalists (WABJ) recently honored SRB Communications’ legendary founder, president and CEO, by establishing an award in her name. Street Sense Media received the inaugural Dr. Sheila Brooks Community Impact Award during a recent awards gala at Howard University.

After leaving a job as a television news producer in 1990, Sheila D. Brooks started her own company producing news stories and documentaries. She converted a bedroom into an office at the house where she lived in New Carrollton, drummed up three small contracts, hired an assistant and persuaded a bank to give her a loan.

“I applied to four banks and three turned me down,” Brooks recalled. “The fourth bank wanted me to hand over everything except my firstborn child for collateral.” She agreed to the terms, took the five-year loan, and paid it off in two-and-a-half years.