Back in the Saddle again, as Gene Autry would say

It’s not every day that your company flies you halfway across the country for a weeklong workaday. But if there’s one thing that BOCA isn’t, it’s traditional.

For a full week, BOCA lived together, ate together, and worked together, hitting Texas by storm. Between our day-to-day work, site seeing, team bonding and endless piles of barbecue, we truly had an action-packed week. 

For us members of the SF office, it was a real treat to work alongside our talented Austin team, exchanging ideas and learning from each other, while moving our clients forward in real-time.  Off the clock, we were treated to some good ol' southern hospitality at some local hangouts, including (poorly) attempting the Texas Two-Step at The White Horse honky-tonk. Our favorites included the quaint Rainey St, the hidden gem Salt Lick BBQ and Cellars, and the picturesque view of the river we got from venturing to the top of Mount Bonnell.

Our trip brought us even closer as a team and reminded us that together, we can make an impact that is greater than the sum of its parts. And in many ways, I think that we saw a lot of ourselves in Austin.  Austin is an energetic, diverse, vibrant city, constantly changing and hungry for innovation. We can’t wait BOCA Austin to visit SF!

Taking the Road Less Traveled

By Aimee Rancer

The job title "Public Relations" gets a lot of flak. Labeled by CareerCast as one the most stressful jobs in the workforce at the moment, some people ask "are you out of your mind for working in PR" or think we're constantly pulling out our hair.

While the stress is a reality (minus the hair pulling...thankfully!), I think back to the reasons why my colleagues and I got into the PR field. We knew that we had a knack for communication, a passion for branding, and talents when it came to relaying information. With the high stakes, competitive results-driven atmosphere where clients expect the best, we’re there for the council and communication they need to thrive, not just survive.

BOCA has a few "brand" words we like to use as cornerstones when describing the vibe of our agency:

•    Authentic

•    Creative

•    Passionate 

•    Savvy

As with all of the members of BOCA, I truly am passionate about the work I do. I believe that in order to really, understand how to best advise our clients on strategy and messaging, I have to first truly sink my teeth into their technology and space. We have a wide range of clients, from those that work in the Cloud to those that deal with the components of our everyday handheld electronics. Every day, I research, read, absorb and learn. All of the growing technology and new ideas that I get to learn about makes me thankful to be in Silicon Valley more than ever.

And I’m still thirsty for more.

Picture Credit:

The Black Tie

The Prestigious Information Security RSA Conference in SF

In the new information security age, you’re trained to expect the unexpected. Changes occur in a nanosecond. The RSA Conference in San Francisco, CA is the most all-inclusive forum in information security offering enterprise and technical professionals a place to learn about all those changes. A place where they can go there to learn about the latest trends and technologies, get access to new best practices, and gain insight into the practical and realistic perspectives on the most critical technical and business issues facing you today. This year’s theme is the Rosetta Stone, designed to remember “the Rosetta Stone’s legacy to modern Egyptology and its lasting message on the power of collaboration.”

Our client Narus spearheaded and spoke on yesterday’s panel, “Delivering a Unified and Resilient National Cyber Security Framework.” Moderated by Wall Street Journal reporter Siobhan Gorman, the impressive panel looked at the Obama Administration's concentrated effort to protect the U.S. national infrastructure from cyber threats, and the pitfalls it has encountered thus far in doing so. The panelists discussed how this problem may be solved with cooperation between government and the private sector. Narus CEO Greg Oslan and Cisco CSO John Stewart joined top national security advisors Melissa Hathaway and Bill Crowell for this lively discussion. The panel had about 175 satisfied attendees from major security agencies, defense contractors, governments and large enterprise companies.