The Trusty Provider Thursday Rundown

Posted on October 29, 2026 by brent

Happy Halloween Eve Eve! As you make final preparations for the big night, hopefully I can “mask” some of your costume stresses by offering five random topics for you to enjoy. So before the trick-or-treaters arrive, quickly read these random ramblings…

All The Halloween Costumes – I thought I would start things out with some nostalgia. Take a look at the different costumes my children have worn for Halloween over the years. This first collage contains nine out of the 10 costumes that Sloan has donned throughout her life. Sorry, the app I used to generate only allowed for nine spots so the witch costume she wore for Halloween 2022 was omitted…

All of Sloan’s Halloween costumes from 2017-2026 except for the witch costume she wore in 2022.

When it comes to Beau, I have costume representation for all seven Halloweens he has been on this earth (2020-2026)…

All of the Halloween costumes that Beau has worn throughout his life (2020-2026).

Oldie But Goodie – I have shared this graphic titled “How Kids Judge The Halloween Candy You Give Out” multiple times throughout the years and I couldn’t resist doing it again this year. We have already purchased our trick-or-treat candy at the Reser household and I can confirm that we fall into “The Trusty Provider” category for Halloween 2026. One of these days we aspire to achieve “The Legend” status. Back in 2013, I wrote about the best houses to trick-or-treat at.

This chart is golden.

Voted – We did our civic duty. Over the weekend the election ballots delivered to our house were filled out by Sid and me. I dropped them off the next morning at a ballot box in Cheney. It took only a few hours before I received a text message informing me that my ballot was received and my signature verified. However your state/county handles voting, make sure your voice is heard, friends!

I pose for a shameless selfie seconds before dropping ballots into the ballot box located at the Cheney Library.

Secret Ingredient – Sure, it was probably intended just for students, but I couldn’t resist crashing the “EWU Cake Mystery Ingredient” event. On Monday, flyers were distributed on campus and I vowed to my team members that I would stop by. As you can imagine, I held true to my word and strolled into Tawanka 122 on Wednesday afternoon. Despite my best coaxing of the student behind the table, she wouldn’t tell me the secret ingredient but said I could stop by at a follow up event on Nov. 18. Doubtful. Based on my superb taste buds, I think I tasted carrot cake and that the secret ingredient was baby food.

I had a slice of mystery cake at a student-run Eastern Washington University event on Wednesday.

Halloween Throwback – Let’s end with my favorite Halloween photo of Sid and me. This was taken in 2015 when we were still young and cool enough to dress up for Halloween. I threw on a crazed clown costume while Sid absolutely nailed it as Wednesday Addams. To this day, I still can’t believe my wife allowed me to go out like that.

I am a big fan of costumes! In this photo from Halloween 2015, I dressed up as an evil clown and Sidney was Wednesday from the Addams Family.

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Have a fantastic and safe Halloween, everyone. Remember, October 31 won’t fall on a Saturday again until 2037 so enjoy it! Don’t Blink.

Splint Thursday Rundown

Posted on September 24, 2026 by brent

Friday Eve has arrived once again and that means I need to write about five random topics. So excuse me while I flex my finger muscles so I can pound out my latest Thursday Rundown. Here we go…

Fair Food – The Reser family made its traditional visit to the Spokane Interstate Fair this past weekend. We browsed the booths, jumped on the rides, mingled with friends, and of course ate some food! This year it was a little disappointing for yours truly because the fair didn’t offer the deep fried pizza I scarfed down the past several years. I made do and opted for the grande burrito. However, I think my wife and children “out ordered” me with their corn dogs and curly fries.

Some photos from our time at the 2026 Spokane Interstate Fair, including the food we ate.

Slight Scare – On Sunday night at our Young Families Catholic group, Beau accidentally ran over his hand while riding a floor scooter. He was in pain the rest of the evening but thankfully he had a regularly scheduled doctor appointment the next morning. When the doctor saw his hand, she put it in a splint and sent Beau to the radiologist for x-rays. There was a fear that he had fractured it. Much to the relief of us all, we received confirmation the next day that no bones were fractured during the incident. We are all thankful!

Fortunately, Beau’s hand isn’t broken and he can resume his soccer activities even though he still must wear his splint.

First Day of Academic Year – Yesterday marked the start of my third academic year at Eastern Washington University with the kickoff of the Fall 2026 quarter. Prior to yesterday’s first day, EWU’s Pass Through the Pillars tradition commenced on Tuesday. All first-year students walked though the landmark pillars at the entrance to our university as they entered our beautiful campus. As they did this, the EWU community (me included) formed a walkway to properly welcome our new students. When these Eags graduate, they will ceremoniously walk through the pillars once again, this time exiting campus by going through the opposite way.

A photo I snapped on Tuesday during the Pass Through the Pillars tradition at EWU.

Best Fast Food Burger – The recent article from Delish about the top fast food burgers resonated with me for a specific reason: only plain cheeseburgers at each location were evaluated. My whole life I have eaten burgers with only the meat, cheese, and bun so I loved the approach. I didn’t find the results too surprising (#1 = Shake Shack | #2 – Five Guys | #3 – Burger King | #4 – Sonic | #5 – Wendy’s | #6 – McDonald’s). For the bottom half, McDonald’s is McDonald’s and I probably had the worst burger of my life at Wendy’s this past summer. I really enjoy the charbroiled taste of Burger King cheeseburgers and no one can argue with a Five Guys cheeseburger. However, even though I had the chance a couple times recently at airports, I have not had a Shake Shack burger. Obviously I need to try one.

Burger King makes a pretty good hamburger these days and deserved placement in the top half of the list.

Happy Punctuation Day – Supposedly today is Punctuation Day so it is super important to adhere to one of the most prominent components of grammar…so remember to properly use your periods and commas, folks. Speaking of grammar, about 11 years ago I wrote about how I am held accountable when it comes to my blog. The moment either my brother or sister spots a grammatical error in Don’t Blink they will text the family text thread and put me on notice! Their “service” continues to this day. I hope they are properly celebrating Punctuation Day.

My sister will point out my spelling errors. Most of them come when I type too quickly and make a basic typo and overlook it. This conversation was from 2o15 but 11 years later she still points out any errors I might make.

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Please pray for Sidney and me this weekend. We will be delivering another Engaged Encounter retreat. Hopefully we can effectively convey to the engaged couples who will be attending how crucial it is to have a God-centered marriage. Don’t Blink.

Keeping Us In Our Seats

Posted on September 8, 2026 by brent

This past weekend, I took Sloan and Beau to the Eastern Washington University football home opener. They experienced The Inferno for the first time and obviously gave the Eagles a little luck as the good guys defeated the University of Northern Iowa, 34-24.

The kids pose for a photo with me at the EWU vs. Northern Iowa football game at Roos Field on Sept. 5, 2026.

We rode the Spokane Transit Authority (STA) double decker bus to Cheney, went tailgating, purchased concessions, cheered loud, and saw Swoop. However, even with all that fun, I didn’t know how long we would last at the stadium.

Beau and Sloan admire a rainbow at the EWU vs. Northern Iowa game.

The decision to attend the game was a spur of the moment deal and we battled rain multiple times throughout the contest. We were also in the end zone cheap seats and my kids don’t exactly understand the rules of football. So I figured they would probably be ready to bounce at halftime despite all the fun stuff that was transpiring around us.

I was wrong. We stayed until the very end and there was one big reason why…

The McDonald’s McCafe promotion.

Although my kids don’t understand the finer rules of football, they understood one thing very well: If the EWU football team scored at least 28 points and won, everyone in the stadium would receive a coupon for a free medium McDonald’s refresher drink or craft soda.

A look at the coupon that was up for grabs if Eastern scored 28 points and won.

Game on!

Throughout the game, Sloan and Beau kept their eyes fixated on the scoreboard and cheered enthusiastically for the Eagles to score touchdown after touchdown. They asked me countless times what combination of scoring needed to occur for EWU to reach the 28-point benchmark and the likelihood of it happening. As the game entered the second half—and then the fourth quarter—the desired outcome seemed within reach and the kids started to become both excited and antsy.

Sloan and Beau were fired up about the chance of winning a free drink from McDonald’s.

Their enthusiasm and obsession were familiar to me as I traveled down memory lane. I remembered my childhood years serving as a ball boy for Gonzaga and the Wendy’s three-point promotion that was offered at the time. If the Zags nailed 9 three-pointers, everyone left the gym with a coupon for a Wendy’s quarter pounder cheeseburger. The tension and excitement whenever the team reached 8 three-pointers was so much fun as you could always depend on a player throwing up an ill-advised three-pointer in hopes of sending everyone home happy. I remember some very joyful post-game moments stopping at a Wendy’s restaurant with my dad and brother after the benchmark was hit.

Later on in my life, I became even better acquainted with the mania these promotions produce when I worked at the University of Montana. As a marketing staffer in the athletic department, I oversaw the distribution of coupons for our “Wendy’s Chili is free when the Griz score 73” promo. If the men’s basketball team reached 73 points or more, those in attendance at Dahlberg Arena would receive a coupon for a cup of Wendy’s chili on their way out. My interns at the time had some crazy stories of fans making sure they received their chili coupon…it was like we were handing out $100 bills.

These are the Wendy’s chili card we would pass out when I worked for the University of Montana.

So when Sloan and Beau based their well-being off whether EWU reached 28 points on Saturday night, I totally got it. These types of promotions truly engage fans because who doesn’t love getting something free? Even if it is as trivial as a cup of chili or a medium soft drink.

As we left Roos Field, stadium workers handed McDonald’s free drink coupons to my smiling kids. There was no doubt that I would need to make a stop on the way home.

Sloan and Beau proudly hold the coupons they received outside Roos Field.

When we arrived at the McDonald’s restaurant in downtown Spokane, I made sure the kids knew ahead of time what they were going to order. Sloan got the mango pineapple refresher, Beau chose the strawberry watermelon refresher, and I traded in my coupon for a Sprite berry blast soda for Sid. Although the employee took a hard look at our coupons as we were the first people to redeem them at that restaurant, we received our free drinks.

Ahh the sweet taste of victory. We made a stop at McDonald’s after the game so the kids could cash in their coupons for McDonald’s refresher drinks.

As organizations and universities face the age-old challenge of keeping fans in seats for the entirety of a game, the trick of offering an incentive for team performance can do nothing but help. Trust me, I have seen this tactic work to perfection for multiple generations. Don’t Blink.

Hatched: Two Years at EWU

Posted on August 1, 2026 by brent

My second anniversary blog post is dedicated to Shelley Stickelmeyer. She served as our marketing project manager for more than a decade and was instrumental to not just the success of University Relations but to EWU in general. On a personal level, she helped me so much with my onboarding and was invaluable every single day I had the pleasure of working with her. Shelley retired in December 2025.

I have a whiteboard in my office behind my desk. Often it will have a shoot schedule, marketing metrics, or birthday message written on it. However, this past week a simple sentence in red dry erase marker was scrawled across it: I love my job.

That message, along with the cheer card positioned right next to it (PROUD TO BE AN EAG), described my thoughts perfectly as my second work anniversary at Eastern Washington University drew near.

When I left the office for the weekend, I didn’t erase the message. I wanted to make sure it still stayed on the whiteboard through Saturday, Aug. 1. Even though I wouldn’t be in the office for my actual work anniversary, the sentiment needed to remain even if the door was shut and the lights turned off.

That’s just the symbolic, corny person that I am.

Quite simply, I love my job.

A Year Defined By A Proposal

When isn’t a new employee “new” anymore? I think a good rule of thumb is after that first year. After my initial 365 days as an Eag trying to prove and endear myself to the EWU community, I went big at the beginning of Year 2. Backed by my boss, I wrote a proposal to President Shari McMahan for marketing funding to accelerate our brand evolution efforts as the region’s polytechnic.

Perhaps you aren’t “new” anywhere when Swoop jumps into your arms (photo courtesy of Luke Kenneally)

I swung for the fences and President McMahan responded with the resources needed to truly market our brand. With the budget intact and a talented team ready to do the work necessary to achieve results, we bulldozed forward to put EWU on the streets, inside living rooms, and blowing up screens like never before.

From a comprehensive billboard strategy to a sustained commercial blitz to well-placed print ads to a massive digital rollout, our awareness numbers from our Spring 2026 brand perception study smashed those from Spring 2025. However, I will remember my second year at EWU for more than just the strategic and successful brand campaign we launched.

During my second year at EWU, we were everywhere…including on billboards.

Meaningful Work

Although building the institutional brand should and will always be the top priority of any university marketing department, most don’t stop there—and that is certainly the case for my EWU team. During this second year, we were busy each day serving the Eastern community. We managed numerous marketing campaigns for academic programs, partnered with our admissions team to deliver them the applications they needed, marketed the third party recognition heaped upon EWU, and provided our Alumni Office the marketing support required to reach thousands and thousands of Eagle grads.

We also showed up each day to provide the marketing services needed by our campus. From design jobs to logo approval to video packages to photo albums to web work to sponsorship requests, our weekly production meeting to go over new and current projects was never dull.

Among all the work my team completed over the past 52 weeks, I do have a few favorite projects that will always pleasantly bring me back to my second year…

The River Park Square takeover we did put us in front of downtown Spokane during one of the busiest times of the year. Ryan Gaard, our graphic design supervisor, created something that was red, bold, and 100% EASTERN.

Our marketing team worked hard to take over the south and north entrances at River Park Square. This photo shows the south side from across the street.

I don’t know how we did it with the short timeframe we had, but we pulled off a Super Bowl commercial. When the dust settled on Championship Sunday, we had an alumnus playing on each Super Bowl team (Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots). Needless to say, we had to do something special. Working on an insane deadline, our ad incorporated both players and drove home Eagle Pride!

The 2026 Super Bowl commercial that I enjoyed the most was the one we did! This is the opening screen for the spot we created in a very short period of time.

And finally, I would be remiss not to include our award-winning holiday video. I convened our first planning meeting in September not knowing how we would top our 2024 holiday video. We did.

After a pretty intense process to identify a theme for our holiday video, President Shari McMahan chose an idea pitched by Amy Bradberry called “The Future Is Bright.” It would win a gold award in the Educational Advertising Awards.

Hatched

Believe it or not, a job isn’t always about the work. Sometimes you have to explain the work. Although execution is the most important part of the job, being able to explain, analyze, and defend it is also key.

I spoke in front of a lot of different groups during my second year at EWU. This photo shows me speaking at the FY27 EWU Alumni Board Association Meeting.

The word I have used to describe my second year at EWU is hatched. I truly feel like I had the opportunity to hatch from my Eagle egg and fly. And when I type “fly,” I mean standing up in front of the Eastern community and describing how my team’s work is making a positive impact in the state and beyond.

I presented to students from Jessica Boyer’s Intro to PR class in November 2025.

I found myself in conference rooms and attentive Zoom calls a lot this past year. Some of the presentations I delivered were to Faculty Senate, EWU Associate Vice Presidents, and the EWU Alumni Association (twice!). And even though those groups are important and prestigious, I think some of my more memorable talks from my second year were to much different audiences. Having the chance to address an EWU public relations class and then seizing the opportunity to recognize the work of my team in an all-University Advancement meeting brought me the most joy.

I enjoyed speaking to all groups this past year but the chances I had to engage directly with students made me happy.

The Team

Speaking of my team, I have reached the most important part of my second year reflection. It isn’t by accident that the word joy appeared in the sentence I wrote above about sharing the successes of my team. The seven people who comprise our marketing unit radiate joy. They are fun, caring, and intelligent.

I have a talented team at Eastern Washington University.

They are also very talented. Like, seriously talented. And throw hardworking in there, too. As mentioned, I reached for the moon with the proposal I sent the president. Her acceptance dramatically changed the potential of our marketing efforts…but I had bit off a lot. It was my team’s job to chew. And chew they did. The extensive brand work they undertook (ad development, website building, content creation, etc.) was on top of everything else we did the previous year. They approached this mammoth undertaking with positivity and a ready-to-work mindset. They crushed it.

Carrying Christmas trees was just scratching the surface of all my team did this year 😉. Digital Supervisor Ginny Baxter lends me a hand while Amy Bradberry (communications team) walks behind to pick up any ornaments that might fall off (photo courtesy of EWU/Luke Kenneally).

But we couldn’t have done it without the two other teams working alongside us in University Relations. Our communications unit and alumni unit provided us additional talent, support, and encouragement to promote Eastern Washington University the way it deserves. When we all weren’t working our tails off together in our Hargreaves Hall offices, we were bonding outside of it. This past year we labored to make apple cider, hit the lanes for a bowling competition, and celebrated the holidays with an ornament exchange.

I really enjoy my University Relations team at Eastern Washington University. This was our infamous bowling outing.

On top of our fulltime professional team, I can’t forget about our student-workers and the value they bring to University Relations. We were able to sustain funding for the three student-workers I hired my first year PLUS add two more students this past year. Throughout the Spring 2026 quarter our Hargreaves Hall main suite was bustling with students as they occupied all open workstations. The energy they brought was contagious and appreciated by all.

A handful of our EWU University Relations student-workers. In addition to the five students I hired, we also had an Alumni Relations student-worker and a graduate assistant communications write (photo courtesy of Linn Parish).

I know I am biased, but University Relations is the place to be at EWU.

Our designers deserve a lot more than free ice cream but it is a start. I enjoyed a sweet treat with Ryan Gaard and Emily Ausere during a quick break from work. Ryan and Emily worked so incredibly hard this past year.

Wins

At first, one might think that “winning” in marketing is subjective. However, we do have literal wins from this past year. They come in the form of gold and silver honors from the largest higher ed awards competition. We received recognition for everything from our holiday video to radio ads to a social media video to a newspaper advertisement series. You know, stuff that pretty much runs the gauntlet of marketing.

A few of the Educational Advertising Awards my team won this past year.

Data is also another way to notch victories. Our efforts to promote our polytechnic identity paid off when our 2026 brand perception survey numbers topped those of 2025. The academic program marketing campaigns we spearheaded also generated results in the form of leads and enrollments. In a particularly proud moment, a new academic program will be able to start this fall thanks to the targeted campaign we launched to promote it. My team’s goal to work with Admissions to increase undergraduate applications was also realized.

My team conducts a photo shoot to promote our brand new Law Enforcement Leadership & Practice degree. Luke Kenneally takes photos while senior graphic designer Emily Ausere art directs. She would later take the images Luke shot and use them to make engaging digital ads. Thanks to our assistance, the program received enough enrollees and will launch this fall.

But honestly, the biggest win of all—at least in my book—is that I am working a job with people who care. They care about Eastern’s mission but they also care about life beyond campus. I have an incredible boss, Eric Limburg, who I still feel indebted to two years later for hiring me. I work under the leadership of Dr. Shari McMahan, by far my most favorite university president I have ever served. My fellow directors in University Relations, Kelsey Hatch-Brecek (alumni) and Linn Parish (communications), form a bond of encouragement that is rooted in support of one another. And then of course I have the seven best professionals taking our marketing team to new heights. I would say all of that is a pretty decisive win.

I work for an employer that recognizes life extends beyond campus. I appreciate the opportunity to include my family in many EWU-sponsored events. This is Sid and me at the 2026 EWU Alumni Awards.

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Please don’t take the “wins” above to mean that I am undefeated or that there is nothing to work on. Going into my third year there are plenty of challenges awaiting. We need to take our brand positioning from the awareness stage to the understanding stage. We need to promote more academic programs. We need to convert more applications into enrollments. We need to get more Eagle gear into stores, find additional ways for EWU to get involved in the community, and do a better job of telling the state that our institution offers the absolute best value in Washington.

Sloan and I carry the EWU title sponsor banner at the 2026 Jr. Lilac Parade. The encouragement from leadership to allow us make time for family and even include loved ones in Eastern activities is one of the many reasons why I love working here. (Photo credit: Amy Bradberry)

But for today that can wait.

On this second anniversary of my employment with EWU I am just going to be thankful. Thankful for a job that pays my bills, challenges me, allows me to march in parades with my daughter, encourages me to travel with my family to Seattle, instills pride whenever I wear Eagle Red, and empowers me to be the best version of myself. Forgive me for saying it, but I have truly hatched. Bring on Year 3.

Go Eags! Don’t Blink.

Volcano Thursday Rundown

Posted on July 2, 2026 by brent

Happy Independence Day Eve Eve! As you prepare to celebrate America’s 250th birthday, I hope you read the latest Don’t Blink entry from a blog that has been around for 6% of those years.

Outdoor Movie – We did something last night for the first time this summer: We went to an outdoor movie. I took the kids to the Pavilion in Riverfront Park to watch “Captain America.” Doing these things is quickly becoming a tradition for my family. After years of skepticism and lukewarmness toward outdoor movies, I took Sloan and Beau to a whole bunch of them last year and even wrote this blog post about my new attitude toward them. We ushered in the outdoor movie season by drinking Zip’s milkshakes while we (more like “me” as all the kids wanted to do was run around 😂) watched the film.

Beau sits under the Riverfront Park Pavilion drinking his Zip’s milkshake while “Captain America” plays.

Volcano of Fries – In my Hoopfest post, I mentioned that since my bracket only had 10 teams in it, we had some time to enjoy the event away from our court. One thing we did was get food in Riverfront Park. On Sunday, our entire family was fed by what was called a “Volcano of Fries.” The idea was that in the middle of the “volcano” you could fill it with lava (ketchup, nacho cheese, etc.)…but we stuck with just plain potatoes. Lava or no lava, it was so good!

Sidney holds the plate of volcano fries at Hoopfest before we dug in.

Can’t Take Him Home – On a recent evening walk around the neighborhood, we encountered three cats at different points during our stroll. By the time we stopped to pet the third one, Beau had a question: Can we take this kitty home to be our pet? The photo below is Sidney actually explaining to Beau that the car actually belongs to someone else and it wouldn’t be right for us to keep him at our home. Ah, the innocence.

The exact moment when Sidney had to educate Beau on why we couldn’t just take the cat home as our own.

One of My Favorites – This photo was taken in a grocery store parking lot of all places but it is one of my favorites. Even though it was snapped in a sea of asphalt, the gorgeous sunset accented by my beautiful wife and kids never fails to make me smile. It was taken on this date (July 2) four years ago.

This photo was taken in the Yoke’s parking lot on Argonne and Montgomery in Spokane Valley on July 2, 2022.

EWU University Relations Student-Workers – One of the early things I was allowed to do when I arrived at EWU was to build our University Relations student intern program. I oversaw the hiring of three student-workers in 2025 and five student-workers in 2026. These EWU students bring a lot to our department via their talent but what I appreciate most is the energy they radiate on a daily basis. At the end of the spring quarter we had a small “thank you” gathering for our awesome and motivated young people.

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Thank you for taking the time to read! I am officially on the Fourth of July holiday weekend and I can’t wait for what is in store. I hope you get tomorrow off as well. God bless America. Don’t Blink.

A Bold Statement in Downtown Spokane

Posted on June 15, 2026 by brent

Much in the same way that playing professional sports can be over-romanticized, so can being a professional marketer. Similar to the life of a major leaguer not always being about grand slams and perfect games, my role as a marketing director isn’t always about placing giant billboards in Times Square or running commercials during the Super Bowl (although I have done that 😉). An average major leaguer is typically more focused on doing the little things right like not making an error or laying down a sacrifice bunt. As a marketer for a university, I also take the low key approach of mastering the fundamentals and doing my best to be strategic as our marketing efforts are pushed in less prominent but more targeted placements.

However, just like any average MLB player will have his day in the sun to show off, that opportunity is also afforded to your typical marketing director as well.

And let me tell you, I am pretty proud of what I get to currently show off in downtown Spokane…

Our marketing team recently worked hard to take over the south and north entrances at River Park Square. This photo shows the south side from across the street.

Last week our EWU brand showcase was installed on Spokane’s signature shopping center and entertainment complex. River Park Square is a gorgeous building that attracts people from across the region looking to shop at high end stores, catch a movie, dine at one of its many restaurants, or just hang out in a brightly-lit energetic space. Located smack-dab in downtown Spokane flanking the streets of Spokane Falls Blvd. and Main, it holds the same iconic notoriety and prestige as Riverfront Park.

Thanks to the talents of our EWU marketing team, we created an engaging design that incorporates our students, current branding, and recent honors.

It also has some very impactful and attractive advertising space.

I have said before that at EWU we have a digital-first mindset when it comes to our marketing strategy. However, we will always invest in powerful out-of-home opportunities that are impactful and help us reach key audiences. With this philosophy in mind, we took over River Park Square’s north and south main entrances with Eagle Red!

A look at the left side of the south entrance. We used one of our nursing students or this portion.

With a lot of real estate available via the building’s gorgeous glass windows, we designed a concept that utilized bold visuals of our students, key storytelling concepts of our region’s polytechnic brand positioning, and our most recent slate of honors/awards. With the brilliant photography of Chris Thompson combined with the thoughtful design work of Ryan Gaard, we created something that looked great on paper and even better when it was installed on River Park Square itself.

We used a biology student to fill the right hand side of the south entrance,

The combination of student photos, our brand promise, and recent awards packs a strong message in a high-traffic area. Our timing is strategic with June and July very busy months in downtown Spokane. Later this month, hundreds of thousands of people—many of them prospective students and their parents—will flock to the streets for Hoopfest. EWU will be ready for them.

We also took over the north entrance as well. Although we didn’t have as much real estate as the south side, we still made the space count. We used a dental hygiene student for this placement.

And we are ready for you, too. If you do live in the Inland Northwest region, you have about three weeks to see it. Our advertising will run through July 8.

A look from the right side of the EWU River Park Square north entrance placement.

This latest activation by my marketing team was met with pride from Eag Nation and admiration from counterparts and competitors at other higher ed institutions. Of course, none of it would be possible without the confidence and funding from President Shari McMahan. What an opportunity she has given us! As we continue to tell EWU’s story in the most effective way possible, we are committed and driven to prove that President McMahan’s investment in marketing is just what our institution needs. Don’t Blink.

Rosa’s Thursday Rundown

Posted on May 14, 2026 by brent

I hope the beginning of my latest Thursday Rundown finds you well. If you are new to Don’t Blink, each Thursday I write briefly (debatable) about five random topics. If this format sounds acceptable to you, please continue reading for your enjoyment and pleasure…

First Communion TBT – The night before Sloan’s First Communion, I went through my old photo album and showed my daughter some photos from my own First Communion. I also showed her the program from my First Communion mass. Instead of telling me I look “funky” as she seems to do every single day, she reacted to the photos by saying verbatim, “You were low-key kinda cute.”

This was me moments before we got in the car to attend my First Communion mass.

Fruity Pebbles Candy – I am always on the lookout for new and interesting treats so when I saw Fruity Pebbles Candy at Dollar Tree this past weekend, I couldn’t resist. The verdict? They tasted exactly like Fruity Pebbles (seriously)! However, the taste of nostalgia and fruitiness quickly dissipated and I was done with them after eating the contents of a quarter of the box. My kids couldn’t even eat much more than me.

This candy definitely tasted like Fruity Pebbles.

Bowling Fun – Each quarter, our University Relations team takes a break from the office to spend some quality time together doing something fun off-site. This past Friday we found ourselves at Rosa’s for pizza and bowling. Even though I have gone on record stating that I am not a huge fan of bowling, I had a great time with my colleagues. Perhaps part of it was that I actually bowled well. I don’t know how I managed it, but I posted scores in the 130s and 140s as I won all three games we played (to be fair, just three other University Relations staffers bowled with me 😂). Even though not everyone bowled, everyone had a great time. I am lucky to work with such awesome people!

I really enjoy my University Relations team at Eastern Washington University. This was some of us last week at Rosa’s Pizza in Cheney.

Bringing Hacky Back – There was a major article in the New York Times this week (along with other publications) about the comeback of hacky sack. Gen Z has become obsessed with the hobby and all of a sudden stores across the country that used to sell two hacky sacks a month are selling 30 in a day. Many of these media reports site that hacky sack was a fad and “The Thing” to do in the 1990s. I find that funny because I was a die-hard “hacky sacker” in the early 2000s when I was in middle school…no wonder why I wasn’t a cool kid 😂. But yes, I LOVED hacky sack for a certain period in my life and to this day I still maintain some of the coordination needed to play it. I even wrote about my obsession with the hobby in a blog post from three years ago. I am thrilled to see hacky sack make a comeback with a new generation.

That’s me, wearing my Gap t-shirt and jean shorts, playing some hack sack probably 25 years ago.

Carry That Banner – As part of my role as EWU’s marketing director, I oversee sponsorships. For the second year in a row, we were the title sponsor for the Jr. Lilac Parade. Because of our designation as the top sponsor, Eastern Washington University led off the parade. With President McMahan riding in the car as the grand marshal and the cheer squad/Swoop energizing the crowd, someone needed to carry the banner. I gladly stepped up to help but it was a two-person job so I enlisted some assistance 😉. What a joy it was to bring Sloan with me so she could get a small taste of what her daddy does. At the same time, she got to go behind the scenes of a parade and chat more with her new BFF…President McMahan.

Sloan and I carry the EWU title sponsor banner at the 2026 Jr. Lilac Parade. (Photo credit: Amy Bradberry)

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That will wrap things up for tonight. However, I am not done for the week. I will publish a blog post about an embarrassing moment tomorrow morning…so stay tuned. Don’t Blink.

Housemaid Thursday Rundown

Posted on March 19, 2026 by brent

How is your bracket doing? If it isn’t busted yet and you are intently watching the NCAA Tournament games tonight, hopefully you can take a few minutes during a timeout to read my latest Thursday Rundown. Because I don’t want you to miss a moment of the action, I will try to breeze through tonight’s topics…

Educational Advertising Awards – I was stoked when I received word this month that my team won multiple national awards for our work. Our recognition stretched across many different categories as Eastern Washington University took home six different honors—including two gold awards. As I said in the story that was written about the accomplishments, this recognition not only affirms the work we have done but it also motivates us to continue to do it. Our University Relations team is killing it!

I have a talented team at Eastern Washington University and it was great to see them receive the recognition they deserve.

Sloan’s Birthday Recap – What a nice birthday celebration it was for Sloan. She chose Five Guys as her birthday dinner and insisted we eat it at home. She then opened gifts as Uncle Glen, Aunt Carrie, and Olivia cheered her on. Sloan then blew out the candles on her purple unicorn-themed birthday cake.

Sloan had a really nice 9th birthday. This is her with her unicorn cake.

St. Patrick’s Day Parade 2026 – To be honest, I didn’t think we would be attending Spokane’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade this year. The forecast the night before wasn’t looking favorable and we have just been so busy lately. But when the sun was shining this past Saturday for a parade that didn’t start until noon, I made the choice to take Sloan and Beau downtown. We picked out a front row spot toward the end of the parade route and really enjoyed a couple hours of bagpipes, candy, and community fun.

The weather was great for the 2026 Spokane St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

Good Luck, Jeremy Lagoo – My favorite local meteorologist announced this week that he was stepping away from news. Jeremy Lagoo started at KREM about the same time that we arrived in Spokane. I always appreciated his loose and eccentric style but at the same time respected the fantastic job he did at explaining weather concepts and patterns. We met Jeremy a couple times at the annual Bloomsday tradeshow and he was always so fun and engaging with the kids. I wish Mr. Lagoo nothing but the best in his next chapter!

Despite pleas from Sloan and Beau, they couldn’t get KREM 2 meteorologist Jeremy LaGoo to change his rainy forecast for Bloomsday in 2024. I am going to miss Jeremy!

Housemaid – Sidney and I paid the $9.99 rental fee to watch the Sydney Sweeney/Amanda Seyfried psychological thriller. I don’t know if it was worth it and I am certainly glad we didn’t see it in theaters but “Housemaid” wasn’t bad. However, it was graphic in spots that didn’t sit well with my stomach. Not to brag, but I saw most of the plot twists coming. If you want a film with some solid performances and a decent flow, “Housemaid” is a safe pick but I would wait until you don’t have to pay anything to watch it.

It won’t be the end of the world if you don’t see “Housemaid” but it did keep our attention.

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Okay, back to the basketball! Thanks for taking some time to read my blog and I hope you have a nice weekend. Wish us luck, we have a birthday party to execute on Saturday for a certain 9-year-old girl. Don’t Blink.

The Best Super Bowl Commercial Ever.

Posted on February 23, 2026 by brent

Tap here to watch EWU’s Super Bowl commercial

When I wrote my Super Bowl LX review, I scrutinized the commercials. However, except for a brief mention, I didn’t say much about the ad that meant the most to me during the big game.

Perhaps my relative silence was due to conflict of interest because the commercial I watched/appreciated the most was that of my employer. I am referring to the Eastern Washington University spot that ran three times during the Super Bowl broadcast.

The Super Bowl commercial that I enjoyed the most was the one we did! This is the opening screen for the spot we created in a very short period of time.

This academic year at EWU has been special because our university president accepted a marketing proposal my team submitted. Because of her willingness to move forward with the plan, our marketing program was significantly funded with the resources needed to do some pretty cool things. While our brand marketing strategy is digital-first, that doesn’t mean we turn a blind eye to traditional advertising. And because we haven’t lost faith in the power of traditional advertising, we did just about the coolest things you can do with it—we decided to run an ad during the Super Bowl.

Thanks to our decision to pay for a lot of TV inventory up front in the early fall, we were allotted local spots to run during the Super Bowl. The plan was to run our brand anthem commercial during our moment in the sun but then something remarkable happened that scraped those plans.

When Championship Sunday concluded and the teams for the Super Bowl were decided, there was something that had any Eastern Washington University fan beaming from ear-to-ear: The Seattle Seahawks (Cooper Kupp) and New England Patriots (Efton Chism III) each had an EWU alumnus playing on their teams.

Our University Relations and athletics departments did everything possible to celebrate/market that two Eagles were playing in the Super Bowl. From flyers to stories to website banners to a watch party, we had it covered.

But what about that Super Bowl spot?

We knew creating an entirely new spot that was Super Bowl-worthy in less than two weeks would be extremely difficult. So we decided to hedge our bets. Our team worked with our marketing agency to create a social media video that was focused on our brand identity as the region’s polytechnic while infusing Cooper and Efton to make our hands-on promise quite literal. Although the plan was to use it solely on social media, we knew it might have greater potential.

Our spot was 100% on-brand with our identity as “the region’s polytechnic” but at the same time it infused the timeliness of two of our alumni playing in the Super Bowl.

When the video was finished, there was no doubt it was too good for just social. Working with our media buyer, we were able to swap out our brand anthem commercial for our new Super Bowl masterpiece.

The spot premiered during pre-game just moments before kickoff. It was then shown during the actual game at the beginning of the fourth quarter. It then had an encore showing as the Seattle Seahawks celebrated with the Lombardi Trophy.

Another screenshot from the commercials shows the point when Efton Chism III was introduced.

The reaction to the commercial was overwhelming pride. The EWU community was amazed just by the fact that we pulled off a Super Bowl spot in the first place. But to make it timely and aligned with our brand positioning as the region’s polytechnic? There was no doubt about it…we had scored a touchdown.

Even though it was just broadcast locally, running an ad during the Super Bowl was probably one of the most exciting things I have done in my career. Thanks to my talented team and our partners at idfive for making it happen. Don’t Blink.

My Super Bowl LX Review

Posted on February 9, 2026 by brent

Okay, I am sitting in my favorite armchair (not really, but you get the point) and ready to dish out my hot takes regarding Super Bowl LX. For the TENTH time I am back to offer my unsolicited and annoying commentary on the game action, national anthem, halftime show, and commercials from football’s grandest night. Without further ado, let’s get started with this year’s analysis…

The Game: From a personal perspective, the game couldn’t have been better. As a lifelong Seattle fan, watching the Seahawks capture their second Super Bowl was sweet. From an objective standpoint? To paraphrase one of this year’s commercials, it was meh. Although the Seahawks did turn in a dominant defensive performance, the Patriots played sloppy as they made many errors that had nothing to do with Seattle’s “D.” Watching the two teams play nearly to the half with no penalties was nice but this definitely wasn’t a hard-hitting defensive battle played by two equally-matched squads. The Seahawks were in total control the whole time.

I was ecstatic that the Seattle Seahawks won Super Bowl LX but the game itself from an objective standpoint was very average.

The Anthem: I thought Charlie Puth did a decent job. He performed the song a little on the slow side but he did it with honor. The background vocals and band complemented Charlie at the beginning but then drowned him out a bit in the middle. By the time he arrived at the last quarter of the national anthem, Puth managed to bring it together and delivered a solid finale. Definitely won’t go down in the books as an especially memorable rendition but he did avoid any gaffes.

I thought Charlie Puth did a solid job performing the national anthem at Super Bowl LX.

The Commercials: Besides the overload of AI spots, I thought the rest of the commercial crop was pretty balanced with a good mix of funny and emotional spots. If there is one thing that stood out to me, it is how much a spot can be enhanced with well-placed and powerful music. From Michelob using “Eye of the Tiger” during the Kurt Russell ski training montage to Enya’s “Only Time” in the NFL prostate cancer PSA to the Backstreet Boys T-Mobile commercial, using familiar and critically-acclaimed music at the perfect time can increase the likability and recall of advertising. Advertisers might have to pay a whole bunch of money in licensing fees but I am sure the ROI is worth it 😉.

The Michelob Super Bowl LX ad with Kurt Russell used the familiarity of “Eye of the Tiger” to make it stand out.

When it comes to last night’s most impactful commercials, I always like to recognize the spots that either did something super creative or extended their brand beyond the allotted 30 seconds. I thought the Lay’s “freshest bag” QR stunt was genius. A giveaway CTA with a bold promise will always engage an audience (and win you lots of data). I was amused by Coinbase’s spot that simply played “Everybody” by the Backstreet Boys while the lyrics appeared on a blue screen. I smiled as those around me had “WTF” reactions as the lyrics were displayed. No doubt, when the advertiser was revealed at the end, everyone was talking about Coinbase. And then the Liquid I.V. commercial with the singing toilets also received an “attaboy” from me. After an original concept of commodes performing in unison, the screen flashed with “TAKE A LOOK AT YOUR PEE | YELLOW?” There is no doubt in my mind that everyone was silently assessing the current color of their urine.

The Lay’s commercial was successful because it had an engaging call to action that viewers could complete in their living rooms.

My personal favorite commercials from Super Bowl LX? Well it was our Eastern Washington University spot of course! But when it comes to national placements, I have three: The Pepsi polar bear commercial was great. It was the ultimate flex at Coca-Cola, it included a major viral moment from the summer, and it also incorporated music in an impactful way (“I Want to Break Free” by Queen). The Rocket Mortgage commercial was the spot that resonated with me the most. As a family that has moved to several new homes and neighborhoods over the past 10 years, the kindness of new neighbors can mean so much. And finally the NFL “belief is a superpower” commercial was so inspirational and so cute that it was the one spot that truly captured my heart. I give the Super Bowl LX commercials an A.

The Pepsi commercial with the polar bears was my favorite spot of Super Bowl LX.

The Halftime Show: I have said this in past reviews and I will say it again regarding this year’s Bad Bunny halftime show: the bookers and organizers must have done something right because I didn’t like it. The stage sets were cool and the energy seemed to be there but the musical content, crotch grabbing, and booty shaking just didn’t do it for me. Not being able to sing along to anything that was performed nor feeling the least bit of inspiration also contributed to my lackluster reaction. I do feel this particular show will age well because the colors were vibrant and it looked fantastic on TV but even the cameos by Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin couldn’t make me feel connected and impressed by the show.

The Bad Bunny Super Bowl LX halftime performance won’t go down as my favorite.

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To be completely honest, I write this annual blog post just so I will have my talking points straight when I chat with my EWU colleagues about the game this morning 😂. Nah, I also do this yearly entry because it is fun to write about…especially the marketing aspects. Congrats on your NFL title, Seahawks! Don’t Blink.

Past Super Bowl Commentary
Super Bowl LIX
Super Bowl LVIII
Super Bowl LVII
Super Bowl LVI
Super Bowl LV
Super Bowl LII
Super Bowl LI
Super Bowl 50
Super Bowl XLIX

Don't Blink

By Brent Reser

Tag Archives: Eastern Washington University