ABOUT CASCADE
Big agency strategy.
Boutique soul.
Since 2001, Cascade Communications has been the team that ambitious companies call when they're ready to tell their story well — not just loudly, but precisely, with the kind of strategic depth that moves markets.
We are veterans, not interns. Every person on your account brings 20+ years of real agency, newsroom, and brand experience. No learning curves. No hand-holding your budget through someone else's apprenticeship.
What we've built for clients spans industries, stages, and continents — from introducing the Appletini to a nation that didn't know it needed one, to retiring the original Maytag Repairman and launching his successor, to taking pre-revenue startups from zero to Wall Street Journal cover stories, to helping second-generation business owners claim the brands their families built.
Ask us about any of it. It's an interesting story.
OUT STORY
Boutique by choice.
Powerful by design.
Cascade started as a PR agency with a simple premise: great storytelling is the most powerful business growth tool in existence. After 14 years as a PR-first agency, we evolved into what our clients actually needed — a fully integrated partner who could build the brand, tell the story, and make sure the world found it.
Today, Cascade360 connects PR, brand design, website design, SEO, content, video, and social into one unified strategy — because siloed tactics produce siloed results. Every service we build feeds every other service. PR generates credibility that boosts SEO. SEO surfaces the stories PR earns. Design makes every channel work harder. It compounds.
We're a virtual agency — not because we're cutting corners, but because we always have been. It lets us staff every account with the best veteran talent in the industry, wherever they are. You get a deep bench of specialists who know your business inside and out, without the overhead of a brick-and-mortar agency baked into your invoice.
Cascade is headquartered in Chicagoland and serves clients across Chicago, Northwest Indiana, the U.S., and internationally.
2001
founded in Chicago area - still here, still leading
100s
of brands built, launched, and grown
Billions
of media impressions globally.
12+
B2C and B2B industries served from startup to corporate
WHAT WE STAND FOR
We don't just say our values.
We operate by them.
Partnerships Over Transactions
We don't take clients — we take on partners. We stay deeply engaged in your business, your industry, and your growth long after the initial campaign launches.
Always Learning, Always Evolving
The media landscape, search algorithms, and buyer behavior change constantly. We stay on the leading edge so our clients always benefit from what's working now — not what worked five years ago.
Ethics Without Exception
We're former journalists. We believe in truth, accuracy, and integrity in everything we create and every relationship we build — with our clients, with media, and with their audiences.
MEET OUR FOUNDER
Jennifer Fortney,
Founder
PR & Integrated Marketing Strategist · Author · Speaker
Jennifer built Cascade since 2001 on the belief that startups and small businesses deserved the same caliber of strategic marketing as the Fortune 1000.
A former broadcast journalist and Director of Promotions who went on to help shape and execute campaigns for Jim Beam, Red Bull, Maytag, SC Johnson, and Harley-Davidson, she has spent 25+ years at the intersection of storytelling, brand strategy, and business growth.
Jennifer is a Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses alumna, a published author, a former PR instructor at SCORE Chicago, and a member of AMA Chicago. Jennifer holds a Journalism–Business Communications degree from the University of Kansas and is actively involved in every client engagement.
"There are few industries we haven't played in — and that breadth of experience is exactly what lets us bring fresh thinking to every client's challenge."
OUR TEAM
Veterans on your account.
Every time.
Today's technology lets us staff accounts with the best talent in the business from anywhere. We were virtual before it was a thing.
Every team member is handpicked for their expertise, their ethics, and their proven track record. No interns learning on your dime.
These are our leaders.
WHY WERE DIFFERENT
What you won't find
at any other agency.
01
Journalists who became marketers
Our PR team came from newsrooms — WGN-TV, broadcast, and major market outlets. We know how editors think, what they need, and why they say yes. That perspective is built into every pitch we write.
03
A founder who answers
Jennifer is involved in every client engagement. Not managing from a distance — actually involved. When you have a question, a crisis, or a new opportunity, you get a response from someone who knows your business.
02
Integration that actually integrates
We don't offer eight services that share a website. We build one strategy where PR feeds SEO, SEO feeds content, content feeds social, and all of it feeds your bottom line. The whole is exponentially greater than the sum of its parts.
04
Built for discovery in the AI era
Search has changed. AI tools now answer questions that used to require a Google search — and if your brand isn't structured to be found by those systems, you're invisible in a critical discovery channel. We build for both.
GET THE BOOK
Be a Media Magnet:
A Bootstrapper's Guide to PR
Ever wonder how so many small businesses and startups attract media attention? This book solves the mystery of PR — written by a former journalist and acclaimed PR and marketing veteran who has secured billions of impressions for clients. Learn how to uncover your compelling story, the strategies that generate real coverage, build lasting credibility, and grow your business.
Your brand at a pivotal moment?
Cascade Compass is built for this.
Not sure if you need a full rebrand or a refresh?
Our strategic brand navigation program works for any business ready to get clarity on where their brand stands, where it needs to go, and what it takes to get there — whatever stage you're at.
Must Love Annimals
We treasure our many Chief Morale Officers. You can expect them to make an appearance on calls from time to time. If you love animals, you're our people.
Paisley
Riley
Wrigley