Welcome!

Front Porch Marketing is proud to support Ursuline Academy of Dallas for six years. Ursuline seeks to provide opportunity and a welcoming environment for students of widely varied ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds. Front Porch Marketing meets the mission of Ursuline by providing opportunities for students to grow in a mentoring environment and experience first-hand what marketing looks like in a professional setting. From start to finish, interns are able to learn how to conduct research studies, create content, prepare branding documents, meet clients face-to-face, and more.

This summer, we have the opportunity to work alongside Ann Kurian and Sofia Arce, two rising seniors at Ursuline. We are excited to be mentoring the next generation of businesswomen and extend a warm welcome to our newest interns for the 2021 summer.

Ann Kurian

Ann is a rising senior at Ursuline Academy and currently plays the flute for the Jesuit Ursuline Ranger band. She has plans to be a marketing major and promote products for companies that she believes in. She is excited to meet clients and learn about the world of marketing. Additionally, her interests include creating or supporting products that are environmentally friendly and making the world a better place for others.

To start prompting her inquisitive mindset, we asked her some questions to which she brought a fresh take on. Some examples being:

Welcome to the FPM team Ann!

Sofia Arce

Sofia Arce is a rising senior at Ursuline Academy. With hopes of going into business in the future, she looks forward to expanding her knowledge of marketing by using her organization skills, attention to detail, and diligence. Sofia is very involved in and outside of school with activities such as playing on the basketball team, being an Ursuline Academy ambassador, participating in Global Advisory Council, and much more. Moreover, she has a passion for creativity and enjoys mentoring others.

To gain some fresh insight, we also asked Sofia what her thoughts were about the marketing field in today’s society and life advice. Some examples being:

1. What does good marketing look like?

Good marketing accurately reflects the business and caters to the client’s target audience in a way that is effective and engaging. Marketing also uses strategies that draw people in, in order to spike curiosity in a business and in services/products.

2. How does FPM differentiate itself from other marketing companies?

FPM is made up of people with such diverse backgrounds and experiences. This makes for many points of view and approaches to a situation. The team at FPM is driven to helping a business succeed. It’s evident that they have a culmination of knowledge about marketing, communications, branding, digital media etc. It is important to have a tight-knit team and Front Porch Marketing definitely possesses one. It is clear that they value their clients and will help them market their business in creative and helpful ways.

3. What is the best piece of life advice you have ever received?

The best piece of life advice I have ever received is that there is always going to be somebody better than me. Granted, it might sound harsh, but it has helped me realize that comparing myself to others is a waste of time. This is due in part because burning myself out to meet unrealistic expectations is useless. I should instead focus on being the best person I can be by using my talents and strengthening them to be unique.

4. What are your goals for FPM?

My goals for FPM are to take my interest in marketing and learn everything I can about how to execute it successfully. Without a doubt, I am looking forward to learning more about the professional world and broadening my horizons. 

Welcome to the team Sofia!

In Conclusion

These two bright ladies are going to be great additions to the Front Porch Marketing team. We cannot wait to continue mentoring the next generation and empowering the women in our lives. Here is to year six of supporting Ursuline Academy of Dallas and to the brilliant minds of women everywhere!

From day one of my FPM internship, I quickly realized the importance of active learning and most importantly active application. The world of marketing thrums on the excitement of people bringing new ideas to life and sharing them with others. It’s only natural that this excitement creates a lively and dynamic environment where you learn lessons as quickly as you apply them.

Along this journey of active learning and active application, I was able to stretch myself in new ways. From trying to figure out how to prioritize your tasks to navigating uncharted waters, I give you – the ultimate list of lessons.

Top 5 Ultimate Lessons Learned

Ultimate Lesson #1

Don’t be afraid to ask questions! Whether you get a job in the business world or take your neighbor’s dog on a walk, everything is a learning journey. When you don’t know what a certain word or task means, ask for example pieces. Once you see examples, you’ll be able to tweak your work as you go. By being open about your confusion, you’ll be able to get more clarity and open the channel of communication with your team.

Ultimate Lesson #2

Embrace your mistakes! No one is perfect – we are all human. Although we strive for perfection, the only way to get better is to learn from your mistakes. Aim for a more efficient and effective thought process the next time you get a task you have trouble with. Undoubtedly, practice makes perfect!

Ultimate Lesson #3

Communication is key! A million and one things happen throughout the day and you can’t expect everyone to know what you are doing, nor can you assume that once you are done with your task that there isn’t more to be done. When you effectively communicate throughout the day with your team members, everyone is able to be on the same page. As a result, better teamwork is able to unfold.

Ultimate Lesson #4

Time management is KEY! When you are delegated multiple tasks with multiple deadlines, it’s imperative to write down a to-do list. Write the list from most important to least important and work your way down to increase efficiency. By creating this list, you’ll be able to track your progress throughout the day and create a drafted timesheet. At the end of the day, a completed list can give you the best feeling of accomplishment.

Ultimate Lesson #5

If you’re on time you’re 10 minutes late! When there is a time set for a meeting, client call, or even deadline, always aim to be present, poised, and punctual. Show initiative by being early. You’ll need those extra minutes for a bathroom break that would have overwise left your client awkwardly waiting for you at the front or needed when you attempt to submit a project right on the deadline but then your computer dies. Without a doubt, you never know what may happen so it is always best to be prepared with a pocket of time.

Conclusion

From being a senior at Baylor University to being an intern at Front Porch Marketing, I’ve used these pockets of wisdom in many facets of my life. These lessons have served me in more ways than one and now my hope is that they will serve you. May you flourish in all of your future endeavors!

The term “Pick Six” has long been associated with big success:

• In horse racing, Pick Six is a wager in which a bettor picks one horse in each of six races, leading to a big payout.
• In football, Pick Six refers to an interception (pick) being returned for a touchdown.
• In lottery terms, Pick Six refers to the big payout that occurs when six regular numbers are picked.
• In wrestling, Pick Six is a ranking system used by the Ring of Honor to determine championship contenders.

Big. Successes.

And so, in honor of our sixth year in business, we on the Porch formulated our own Pick Six … for business success, big success!

1. We’re picking Brand Architecture. It’s so important. When was the last time you really evaluated your brand? Is it due to be re-visited? We can help you look at it in a fresh way to ensure you are capitalizing on what makes you unique.
2. Number two on our list of picks: What have we been up to on the Porch? We had an extremely rewarding experience (and an absolute blast) at the PowerGen Trade Show in Orlando with our rocking client, TodoModo. Check out our blog about the experience!
3. Number three involves talking, and lots of it. What have we been talkin’ about? Maximizing your marketing! We spoke about that very thing at the Arlington Board of Realtors‘ Meeting January 27th.
4. What we are off our rocker about? The Super Bowl! The Atlanta Falcons and the New England Patriots will face off in this colossal battle February 5th and we know what we will be serving at our soiree: The Barefoot Contessa’s Parmesan and Chipotle Popcorn, a chili bar (seriously genius idea – thank you Food & Wine Magazine) and Iron Skillet Peach Crisp. A Texas menu if we’ve ever heard one.
5. Highlights from the Porch Team bring us to our number five pick. Our rocking’ interns, Grace and Rachel, have been an impressive breath of fresh air around here – and we are enjoying watching them weigh their next steps, as their graduation dates are rapidly approaching!
6. And our final pick: The power of the referral in gaining new clients. We are continually amazed and humbled that our Porch family continues to grow through marketing and referrals. Thank you for all you do to keep our Porch rocking!

Please keep those many referrals coming. We are so grateful. Join us on the Porch via Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn. Subscribe to our blog here.

Thanks, friends, for riding the sixes with us. Here’s to another wildly successful year!

Have you heard? This year marks our five year anniversary of doing business on the Porch! And in honor of this milestone, we are keeping the “Five Train” rolling! So hop on board, we’re sharing five things we LOVE to do each and every day! 

So how DO we love to spend our time?

1. Branding – And more branding. It’s the cornerstone for every bit of marketing we do, branding is everything. We love taking clients through our thoughtful brand architecture development process, just as we did recently for Spa in the City. Getting clients started off on the right foot, with the right message, is a great passion of ours!
2. Marketing Plans – After the branding process has been completed, development of a creative and thorough marketing plan follows. Front Porch Marketing’s most recent plan development for The Younity Group was a completely rewarding exercise.
3. Email Marketing – Helping our clients reach their customer base with content-rich, targeted email marketing is critical to their success. Our client partnership with PeopleResults has yielded a highly successful email marketing program. See their latest email blast.
4. Social Media – An integral part of any marketing plan, social media is where we truly rock. Maximizing our client’s presence across multiple social media channels is downright fun. Take a look at The GEM‘s Facebook page for proof of our social media love affair!
5. Mentoring Future Marketing Rock Stars – Such as Sarah Kreuger, our Kid Rocker. Sarah spent the summer as one of our interns, and we loved having her on board. Check out her absolutely brilliant blog, “The Presentation: Marketing to the College-Bound Generation” – this girl just gets it!

We LOVE branding. We LOVE marketing plans. We LOVE our clients. We LOVE our business. We LOVE rocking’ it! Thanks for taking the ride with us!

And last, but not least, we would love for you to join us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter.