The warm cheer of the holiday season brings a much needed break from the negative noise that’s been prevalent throughout a long year. Attention is scarce these days and it feels like so much content is designed to elicit reaction rather than speak about a topic in an honest, authentic way. Fractured trust and skepticism hangs over today’s media landscape and especially hits close to home for us here at Sterling. It’s also easy to get frustrated with the endless debate over whether or not AI is going to save or destroy so many of the industries in which our clients and partners operate. Perhaps that’s why in our estimation, Oxford’s word of the year for 2025 — “rage bait” — is a fitting choice.
So, communications professionals have a choice to make — accept this dreary paradigm as the new normal, or embrace the positive, fight the good fight, and shine a light on the amazing purpose-driven organizations that are actively working to stand for something meaningful. Refuse to Scrooge!
We love working with clients operating on the front lines of the latest and greatest in technology, but also those engaged in equally important pursuits. The world is bigger and brighter than whatever is trending on X at the moment, and there’s a lot of great news to celebrate beyond the polarized AI-fueled zeitgeist. In the spirit of the holidays, we wanted to take a moment to recognize some of the impactful, mission-driven organizations we’ve worked with that fill our hearts with joy.
Let’s Green CA!
Let’s Green CA! (LGCA) is accelerating solutions to the climate crisis in the Golden State. Through public education, grassroots organizing, research, and leadership training, Let’s Green CA! is dedicated to making California a model of equitable climate action.
When Sterling and LGCA first engaged, Heidi Harmon, the outgoing mayor of San Luis Obispo, had recently joined LGCA as Public Affairs Director. After leading her city to enact one of the most progressive carbon neutrality goals in the country, Harmon gained notoriety among climate activists in California’s Central Coast and had designs on fighting climate change at the state level, but she needed to raise her profile in key regions like Sacramento, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, and Los Angeles.
Sterling developed a plan that centered on securing Harmon media interview and op-ed opportunities, allowing her to tell her story in her own words and showcase an authenticity that would resonate with target audiences. Within an incredibly tight timeframe, Sterling secured 20 media mentions of Heidi and her organization, reaching a statewide audience of nearly 8 million. A particular coup was placing a bylined op-ed with CalMatters, the leading nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom committed to explaining California politics and policy.
United Ways of California
United Ways of California partnered with Sterling to announce the initial rollout of its new Enhanced Care Digital Referral Network (ECDRN) across 11 pioneering United Ways serving 20 California counties. This new technology framework enables the exchange of data more smoothly and efficiently across community-based organizations (CBOs).
Sterling identified the top media outlets in each major town covered by the initial 11 participating United Ways. Without video to illustrate what was essentially an IT story, Sterling focused effort on local print media, particularly outlets offering the chance of syndication. We immediately secured an interview request from the leading daily newspaper in Butte County as well as interest from independent weeklies in Monterey County. A long feature article in the Chico Enterprise Record, “United Way embarks on software upgrades to service referrals,” was syndicated across five local dailies as well as MSN.
Common Sense Privacy
Through automated tools harnessing artificial intelligence (AI) that flag privacy issues and encourage the implementation of best practices, Common Sense Privacy helps companies navigate complex and time-consuming regulations related to consumer data protection. It builds upon the foundation of Common Sense Media, a trusted advocate for consumers, to prioritize the protection of student and user data and manage compliance risks.
Sterling initially collaborated with Common Sense Media to design a brand identity system and to craft compelling messaging that captured the essence of the company’s vision and that would resonate with key stakeholders. This messaging was then woven into key pieces of launch collateral. Sterling also led the development of a dynamic website that effectively communicated the company offerings to its target audience.
After advance outreach to a few key influential media targets, Sterling negotiated an exclusive company profile with Fast Company featuring interviews with both the CEO and the managing partner of lead investor AI Fund — coverage which helped establish the company in the vanguard of startups leveraging AI to help companies manage their own privacy and regulatory risks (as noted in a subsequent STAT article).
San Jose Water
Every Thanksgiving, SJW, the public water utility serving more than a million customers in Silicon Valley, works with local elected officials to donate grocery gift cards for Thanksgiving meals as part of its annual Operation Gobble program. Sterling helps amplify the event each year by bringing local English and Spanish language media outlets to bring awareness to several non-profit organizations that work to ensure residents in the Bay Area can enjoy a Thanksgiving meal. We’ve secured coverage in local daily newspapers, broadcast channels, and spread the word through SJW’s social media channels to highlight this purpose-driven organization doing critically important work in our community.
Miracle Messages
Miracle Messages is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting unhoused neighbors and combating homelessness in America. Sterling partnered with Miracle Messages to schedule and publicize a book talk event at the Santa Cruz Public Libraries and generate community interest in the organization’s mission. The occasion centered around founder Kevin Adler’s recently published book, When We Walk By, which details his personal journey in founding Miracle Messages and his experiences with his uncle, who was homeless and eventually passed away on the streets of Santa Cruz.
Sterling’s strategic approach to the Miracle Messages book talk event not only highlighted Kevin Adler’s personal connection to Santa Cruz but also underscored the organization’s impactful mission in addressing homelessness. By effectively engaging community partners and local media, and leveraging various promotional channels, Sterling successfully increased awareness about Miracle Messages’ mission in Santa Cruz to encourage informed and supportive community engagement in response to homelessness.
Ready to charge into the new year and turn up the volume on your organization’s communications program? Let’s talk.