Writing for content marketing—project examples that show a range of content experience.
Book Project
Corporate History: A coffee table style book published in October 2019 by Documentary Media
150 Years a Pioneer: The Unlikely Story of Baker Boyer, Walla Walla, and the Region
by Thomas P. Skeen with Kelly Black
WHEN A NEAR-PENNILESS Dr. Dorsey S. Baker headed west in his mid-20s with a wagon train in 1848 to carve out his future, he came with the skills of a physician, merchant, and farmer, the spirit of an entrepreneur, and the mind of a visionary. Those traits coalesced in Baker as a community builder in Walla Walla, wherein 1869, he founded Baker Boyer Bank and later built the state’s first railroad. This book is a celebration of Baker and the 150th anniversary of his community bank—the oldest bank in the Pacific Northwest. More significantly, it is a celebration of the rural region Baker and six generations of his descendants, along with the community at large, helped establish and thrive in southeast Washington. It’s about something locals call “the Walla Walla Way,” a legacy of mutual collaboration and innovation that has created a vibrant, nurturing climate for businesses, education, agriculture, philanthropy, the arts, and world-class wines. This book provides a glimpse, across the generations, of how Walla Walla has gained national recognition as one of the best small towns in America.
Campaign
Messaging
for Baker Boyer
Developed anniversary messaging for Baker Boyer’s 150th celebration campaign. The messaging ran on a range of deliverables including a wine label, print collateral, client gifts, web pages, digital and print advertisements, and a four-page glossy newspaper insert.
Earned media as part of promotional campaigns for events.
Words and Wine series launch campaign
City of Walla Walla
An A2 placement preview article in the Walla Walla Union Bulletin as part of a campaign to launch the Words and Wine series secured capacity attendance for the event.
Big Idea Talks promotion campaign
Washington State Poet Laureate I Walla Walla Public Library
As part of a campaign to promote Washington State Poet Laureates speaking at the Big Idea Talks series at the Walla Walla Public Library. This article secured A2 placement in the local newspaper and featured Tod Marshall.
Red Badge Project recruitment campaign
The Red Badge Project | Walla Walla Public Library
This article ran as the lead front page story in the Walla Walla Union Bulletin as part of a series of articles to promote The Red Badge Project workshops in Walla Walla for veterans suffering from PTSD.
Q&A
Unleash the power of a Q&A to initiate a conversation with your audience.
Whether focusing on Art and Culture or Financial Planning and the Stock Market, Q&A articles connect your audience with your people to build trust and add value.
Storytelling is at the heart of good content.
By Kelly Black
A little folly and a whole lot of garlic.
Christmas 2009 found Ralph Edwards, of Folly Farm in Cove, holding a magnificent head of Thai Fire garlic. It was a gift from a friend.
The taste was incredible.
The ground had not yet frozen; Ralph, a horticulturist by training, planted 5 cloves.
“Those five cloves gave me these great big, beautiful heads of garlic,” said Ralph. “I said, ‘Wow, that was easy. Let’s do that again!’”
That was the beginning of the end: this fall the garlic-growing duo harvested 1,096 cloves.
Valor in Combat
By Kelly Black
Bittersweet.
The Bronze Star, the Navy Commendation, two Purple Hearts: the medals are bittersweet to Bob Moxley.
In six months of intensive fighting in the jungles of Vietnam, Moxley earned numerous medals for valor in combat.
“I look at all those medals and all I see is death and pain,” said Moxley.
Christmas morning 1968 eighteen year old Moxley landed near the demilitarized zone in Vietnam. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion 9th Marines, nicknamed, “The Walking Dead.”
A man leaving said to him, “You’re a dead man. Nobody makes it out of there.”
The Walking Dead had a 72 percent casualty rate.
“I was just a kid,” said Moxley.
Good content unpacks issues.
Creek Project Aims to Improve Fish Habitat
By Kelly Black
Local, State and Federal agencies are partnering to construct a $3.8 million bank restoration project along 4-½ miles of Catherine Creek to aid salmon recovery in the Grande Ronde Basin.
The project will not only benefit the fish, but also six local landowners who were losing pasture, fencing and even calves to the creek during high water events.
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“The district tries to marry on-farm improvements along creeks with fish projects,” said Craig Schellsmidt, the district manager for the conservation district. “We found there was an 80-percent mortality rate of salmon between spawning grounds and when they leave the valley.”
Less than a 50-percent mortality rate would be more natural according to Allen Childs, a fish habitat biologist from the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, a partner on the project.
“This reach is one of our highest priority reaches for Chinook spawning and rearing,” said Childs. “This is really just the first phase of a multiphase effort to increase the ability of this system to produce fish. It is a really important summer and winter rearing habitat for juvenile Chinook.”
Way Below the Surface—drilling into the basalt aquifer
By Kelly Black
A large rig is drilling 3,000 to 4,000 feet down into the basalt in search of water for Rudd Farms, which is about 7 miles northeast of La Grande.
“It will be the deepest irrigation well in Oregon,” said Brett Rudd of Rudd Farms.
Depending on the well and how it was designed, deep wells through the basalt can cost anywhere from $1 to $3 million, according to Robert Stadeli, Business Development Manager at drilling company Boart Longyear.
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Rudd hopes to recoup costs of installing the well within seven years.
“Of course, this depends on the weather, the market and the Chinese,” Rudd said.
The Chinese are one of the world’s biggest buyers for corn, wheat and soybean.
“If I get water, it should triple production on dry land farming,” said Rudd
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Some in the community have expressed concern about tapping into what they call an ancient aquifer deep in the Columbia River Basalt.
According to a 1985 U.S. Geological Survey report, pumping from the Columbia River Basalt for irrigation in Morrow and Umatilla counties resulted in regional level water decline.
“At the heart of each project is a well-developed content strategy designed to reach target audiences utilizing appropriate mediums and channels. ”