Our Promise to You

Blending mar­ket­ing exper­tise, busi­ness acu­men, and famil­iar­ity with what it’s like to oper­ate in both uni­ver­sity and non-​​profit sec­tors, Comma brings clar­ity to your brand, increases your vis­i­bil­ity, and makes your mar­ket­ing more effective.

Our Vision

Comma wel­comes the day when every busi­ness val­ues peo­ple and planet, as well as profit, mak­ing our world a health­ier place to live, work, and play.

Our Culture

VALUE at Comma, we
View peo­ple, planet, and profit as inter-​​related busi­ness con­cepts
Appre­ci­ate and fos­ter fun, cre­ative dia­logue with clients and col­leagues
Lead with integrity
Use clear processes when serv­ing our clients and work­ing together
Embrace our role as your mar­ket­ing partner

Our Structure

We’re “vir­tual.” Our work group per­forms our tasks under dif­fer­ent roofs, but you expe­ri­ence seam­less ser­vice. Learn a bit about the mem­bers of our team: Libbie Hough, Alison Duncan, Deb Hepp, Lesley Lammers, Lyn Jackson, Maria Mauriello, and Thomas Duncan.

Our Story

Libbie Hough launched Communication Matters in 2001 and offered copy­writ­ing ser­vices to non-​​profits, small busi­nesses, and university-​​based clients in the Chapel Hill area. It wasn’t long before she broad­ened ser­vices to include mar­ket­ing com­mu­ni­ca­tions plan­ning and implementation.

Interested in the con­cept of doing well by doing good, Libbie joined Green Plus, a triple bot­tom line edu­ca­tion and cer­ti­fi­ca­tion pro­gram of the Institute for Sustainable Development in Durham, NC.

In January 2011, Communication Matters received full cer­ti­fi­ca­tion from Green Plus and in the same year, was rec­og­nized as the program’s 2011 Sole Proprietor of the Year.

After 10 years oper­at­ing Communication Matters, Libbie seized an oppor­tu­nity to broaden ser­vices and repo­si­tion her firm.

Our New Name

Comma reflects the company’s writ­ing roots and is a great play on words. Using this punc­tu­a­tion mark can be tricky, yet it pro­vides clar­ity, as it fur­nishes direc­tion on how to move for­ward. We believe that novel, val­ues– and purpose-​​driven mar­ket­ing strate­gies can have the same effect on your busi­ness. Comma is also a clever nick­name for Communication Matters.