Insights for Leaders Navigating
Visibility, Credibility, and Growth.
From media strategy to reputation management, we explore the trends shaping public perception and share the approaches that drive measurable results for growing brands.
Earlier this month, Communiqué PR had the opportunity to help Richmond Capital Partners announce the acquisition of Irvine, Calif.-based Smartlabs, which also included $7.3 million in funding for the internet of Things (IoT) company.
Smartlabs is the parent company of Insteon and Smarthome, and is the world’s leading authority on electronic home improvement and automation. According to a report published by Business Intelligence, by 2020 the U.S. residential market will have 193 million devices in connected homes with almost 50 percent of those devices in Smartlabs’ core electrical, lighting and sensor market. The global smart electrical control market is expected to grow to $10.8 billion over the next five years.
“There are two incredibly interesting IoT spaces in technology today—the car and the home,” said Rob Lilleness, who will assume the role of chairman and CEO for Smartlabs. “Over the next five to 10 years, it is inevitable that a large portion of electrical nodes in the home will be ‘smart’ and addressable via the internet. With Insteon’s patented dual-mesh technology that communicates both wirelessly and via the home’s own electrical wiring, Smartlabs has the most reliable and scalable technology for electrical control and communication, which is critical to meet consumers’ expectations.”
The Seattle-based investment firm turned to Communiqué PR to drive editorial coverage around the news. We worked closely with Richmond Capital Partners to provide counsel around the timing and strategy for the announcement, and then developed key messaging for its target audiences, and drafted the press release. Communiqué PR also developed an email pitch for targeted journalists to secure briefings with Richmond Capital Partners around the transaction, and conducted outreach to local and industry publications.
Below is a list of the coverage to date about the transaction:
- Seattle startup vet Rob Lilleness acquires Smartlabs, investing $7.3M in the home automation company – GeekWire, 6/13/17
- Irvine’s Smartlabs Acquired – Orange County Business Journal, 6/13/17
- Cash infusion could bring Smartlabs more recognition – Los Angeles Times, 6/13/17
- Serial Seattle tech exec buys 25-year-old Irvine IoT company – L.A. Biz, 6/13/17
- Seattle tech veteran buys first IoT company with new investment firm – Puget Sound Business Journal, 6/13/17
- Smartlabs to open Seattle office after it’s acquired by Richmond Capital – Seattle Times, 6/14/17
- Smartlabs Acquired By Richmond Capital Partners, Raises $7.3M – SoCal Tech, 6/14/17
- Internet of Things News of the Week, June 16, 2017 – Stacey on IoT, 6/16/17
- Insteon, Smartlabs Acquired; New CEO Wants to Make Powerline Great Again for Home Automation – CEPro, 6/19/17
We congratulate the teams at Richmond Capital Partners as well as Smartlabs, including Rob Lilleness, and look forward to their continued success in the fast-growing automation and IOT sectors!
In its simplest form, a brand advocate is someone or something that acts in favor of a brand or product and is responsible for spreading positive word-of-mouth messages about the brand to others.
If you stumbled upon this post in a wandering Google search or with little knowledge of PR, let’s just say that the definition of brand advocacy holds strong parallels with the definition of public relations: “Public relations is a strategic communication process that builds mutually beneficial relationships between organizations and their publics.”
Although a company’s brand manager and PR manger have different titles, their day-to-day roles and responsibilities strive to achieve many of the same objectives, one major parallel being the strategic pursuit for third-party validation and acclaim.
PR professionals develop plans and conduct media outreach to engage with third-party journalists, analysts and industry influencers. Very similarly, brand advocates are a company’s third-party target that increases brand exposure and spreads positive coverage about the specific product or announcement at hand.
So are PR professionals brand advocates in disguise?
Not quite. Although the question seems simple, it can be more complex when pulling back the different layers of each profession’s purpose. For example, there are tiers or day-to-day activities of brand advocates that do not apply to the roles of a company’s PR team (i.e., sponsored social media posts, discounted products, trunk shows, etc.). After evaluating these layers more closely, you’ll uncover that brand advocates are more often than not the online influencers or paid-customers-turned-ambassador –or-advocate. Despite the road to their official title as brand advocates, these individuals are our friends.
A helpful Meltwater article shares a comprehensive rundown on how PR impacts and benefits from brand advocacy. The article assesses the typical sales funnel and identifies where PR plays a role in the customer purchase decision. Two that hold high authority include “awareness” and the shift from “consideration to loyalty.”
Awareness. Knowledge or awareness of a product or service is one of the first steps of a purchase decision. If your competitor has an overwhelmingly large amount of positive word-of-mouth support, it can be difficult to stay in the running with little to no public validation. PR efforts help spread your messages and raise awareness of your product to the right audience, even if your competitors are also in the conversation.
Consideration to Loyalty. Reputation management and corporate image are two chief responsibilities of a company’s PR team. As consideration moves to loyalty, a company’s reputation also becomes a determinant in the purchase decision. Take the #DeleteUber incident for example – even loyal Uber riders were upset with the company’s actions and chose to cut ties in order to disassociate from Uber’s corporate image.
Whether you wear the hat of a brand manager or PR professional, exploring and getting to know your company’s brand advocates can help move the needle on targeted marketing campaigns and successful reputation management.
Is your company interested in conducting targeted brand ambassador outreach? We’d love to learn more about your objectives!
Being born in the early ‘90s, I grew up in the thick of the digital revolution. In the words of thought leader Marc Prensky, I am a “digital native.” Throughout my childhood, I was immersed in the rapidly expanding technological landscape that exploded in the mid ‘80s and has yet to slow down. It is an exciting time, as innovation after innovation improves our quality of life and communications technology makes the world increasingly connected. The list of benefits are endless, but it is important to realize that our digital age comes with its own unique challenges and that all of this tech may not be all it’s cracked up to be.
The drawbacks of the digital age read like the warning label on a prescription drug: The Digital Age – side effects may include but are not limited to insomnia, reduced creativity, increased stress, loss of intimacy, shortened attention span, information overload, reduced productivity, dry eyes, narcissism, loss of empathy…the list goes on. The issue is that these problems have only recently started coming to light. Technology advanced so quickly, the research on adverse effects is only just beginning to catch up – and the results are worrying.
Luckily, there is a way to mitigate the side effects of digital addiction: a digital detox. Scary, I know, but it can really make a difference. If you had told 18-year-old me to ditch digital for 24 hours, I would have laughed you out the door. Thankfully, I am now both older and wiser, and I was forced to take a mobile break due to an unfortunate incident involving my phone and a canoe. I spent two weeks smartphone-free as I waited for my replacement to come in the mail and found the entire experience to be surprisingly liberating. I read two books. I had full uninterrupted conversations with my friends. My homework took me half the time it usually did. There was a noticeable difference in the way I interacted with people and projects, and it was honestly for the better. Since then, I have set aside chunks of time each week to unplug and it is incredibly refreshing.
I am not the only one to realize the benefits of a technology break either. Pop star Ed Sheeren hasn’t had a cell phone for over a year, his reasoning being that the constant flood of messages was emotionally draining and he felt increasingly disconnected from people. Padmasree Warrior, current CEO of NIO, sets aside every Saturday to completely unplug after realizing that she was constantly working, even on the weekends, and it was killing her creativity. Digital detox camps, like Camp Grounded, have become increasingly popular as they allow adults to step off the grid for a full weekend. Studies are showing that ditching your electronics for an extended period of time can improve your relationships, productivity and your physical and mental health.
The great thing about doing a digital detox is that you can tailor it to fit seamlessly into your life. You can take one whole day off a week, or a month. You can take a whole week of once a year. If you have trouble sleeping, you can unplug a few hours before bed each night to relax. You can ban phones and laptops from your work meetings or schedule an hour of uninterrupted work time in every day. You could have screen-free family dinners. It’s all about finding a way to unplug that most benefits you, so why not give it a try?
It is no secret that social media has become a key conduit to how consumers, business and even politicians, interact with one another.
We live in an era of the 24/7 news cycle. The vast majority of consumers use social media outlets, like Facebook and Twitter, to read, share and comment on breaking news because they are right at their fingertips. The instantaneous nature of social media creates many opportunities to quickly share news (and your opinions about that news) with a variety of different target audiences. However, this also means that there’s a small window of time that your news or commentary could be relevant.
Creating compelling content and staying top of mind in a short news cycle can be a challenge. Below are three tips to consider before sharing your news on social channels.
Tip #1: Stay up-to-date on the news in your space
It is important to be well-read and up to speed on current events in your industry and the world-at-large, before publishing your news or commentary on social media.
Timing is everything. On July 20, 2012, an NRA-affiliated magazine, American Rifleman, tweeted: “Good morning, shooters. Happy Friday! Weekend plans?” around the same time details about the tragic shooting that occurred in Aurora, Colo. were being released.
Unfortunately, nothing ever truly goes away once it is posted to the internet.
Tip #2: Tailor your content to each platform
Social media has become a necessary promotional platform for many organizations; it is an effective and powerful medium providing users access to millions of individuals around the world. Publishing tailored content on different social media accounts such as Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat can be an effective strategy to quickly connect with a diverse population.
Given the variety of audiences for each of those platforms, figuring out what exactly to post on each site can be a challenge. Having an understanding of the content and social media your clients use is an important factor to consider to ensure your use of social media is valuable and moving the needle. It’s important to be relevant but always remember to stay true to the organization’s core values and brand.
In our blog post, How Different Social Media Platforms Can Benefit your Business, Hannah Hughes explains, in detail, how each platform is set up and how to use them to your advantage.
As the number of social and community-focused sites and apps continue to rise, PR professionals must become proficient in not only using them as consumers, but utilizing them for their clients. When Snapchat first became popular, it was used for photo-messaging between users. Snapchat can now be used to promote businesses, events, and even cities by using Geofilters.
Tip #3: Critical thinking is critical
It is important to think critically about how your target audiences may view and react to your posts. Overlooking this could result in a crisis scenario brought on by messaging that misses the mark, or cringe-worthy content.
We, as public relations professionals, must remain a few steps ahead of the public when it comes to trends and public sentiment, and learn to counsel our clients about how their social media content and presence may be interpreted by all audiences.
The Ultimate Cheatsheet for Critical Thinking may help you decipher this method by asking you questions like, “Why is this relevant to me/others?” If you can answer these questions, you are on the right track.
Food for thought:
Social media has revolutionized the way we as individuals and professionals communicate with each other. In turn, it has transformed the way we approach creating new public relations and marketing campaigns. Understanding how to utilize these tools is not only important, but has become a must-have in order to stay top of mind among target audiences.
Our client, Spaceflight Industries, recently announced that it has purchased an Electron rocket from New Zealand-based Rocket Lab. Spaceflight, the launch service and mission management arm of Spaceflight Industries, built its business on the concept of ridesharing. Rideshare consists of procuring available capacity on existing launches and assisting satellite providers in securing the excess capacity for a fraction of the cost.
After seeing a large demand for access to space from smallsat providers, Spaceflight looked for innovative choices to offer routine, low-cost options for payloads to reach orbit. The result was dedicated rideshare launches. The recent purchase of the Electron rocket is the second rocket that Spaceflight purchased, the first being a SpaceX Falcon 9 in the fall of 2015.
Spaceflight’s dedicated rideshare service is a unique method to reach space that stands to make a large impact on the smallsat industry by removing many of the hurdles that satellites providers face when attempting to access space. So when distributing this news, it was critical that it demonstrate the expansion of the service. When getting the news to reporters, Communiqué made a point to highlight the positive response the first mission received and offered supporting facts to support the statement. For example, the first dedicated rideshare mission is at 90 percent capacity. We also chose to highlight how this launch would service a unique group of satellite developers looking to reach 45 to 60 degrees on orbit.
The response to the news was very positive and many of the space industry journalists, as well as several technology and local publications, covered the news. Below is a list of the coverage Spaceflight secured from this announcement.
- Gaining Even More Rideshare Launch Frequencies… Spaceflight Purchases a Rocket Lab Electron—SatNews, 5/17/17
- Spaceflight Purchases Electron Rocket from Rocket Lab—Via Satellite, 5/17/17
- Spaceflight buys Rocket Lab Electron launch for a small satellite sampler—GeekWire, 5/17/17
- Rocket Lab Readies First flight of Electron Booster—Leonard David Blog, 5/17/17
- Spaceflight Purchases an Electron Rocket from Rocket Lab—Parabolic Arc, 5/17/17
- Spaceflight Purchases an Electron Rocket from Rocket Lab for More Frequent, Affordable Rideshare to Space—SpaceRef, 5/17/17
- Spaceflight purchases Electron launch for medium-inclination payloads—SpaceNews, 5/18/17
- Spaceflight Purchases Electron Launch from Rocket Lab—Space.com, 5/18/17
- Spaceflight buys Electron Rocket from Rocket Lab—Space Daily, 5/18/17
- Rocket Lab signs up new customer as launch window gets closer—Hawke’s Bay Today, 5/18/17
- Electron counting down—The Gisborne Herald, 5/18/17
- Spaceflight Industries Purchases Dedicated Electron Rocket—Spaceflight Insider, 5/19/17
- Rocket Lab to provide Electron launch vehicle for new Spaceflight mission—Aerospace-Technology.com, 5/19/17
- Week in Review: Remembering the Seattle of Chris Cornell and Grunge—Xconomy, 5/19/17
- Rocket Lab Launches Its First Rocket Into Space—Forbes, 5/25/17
Once again, CareerCast has put out its Most Stressful Jobs list and its Worst Jobs list, and the rankings continue to be grim for those of us employed as PR executives and journalists.
Newspaper reporters and broadcasters ranked no. 1 on the Worst Jobs of 2017 list (so, congrats?), which is based on criteria such as income, outlook, environmental factors, stress and physical demands. Surprisingly, reporters outranked jobs that included enlisted military personnel, pest control workers and firefighters when it came to having the worst jobs.
“Both of these industries [broadcasting and newspapers] have felt the years-long squeeze of diminishing job prospects, due to declining advertising revenue that has impacted the newspaper, radio and television industries,” said Kyle Kensing, online content editor for CareerCast.
Then there are the PR executives who are consistently ranked on the Most Stressful Jobs list because we tend to manage crises in the public eye and under extreme deadlines or pressure.
There are countless stress management tips I could offer, but thriving (not just surviving) in a stressful field like PR or journalism requires more than just attention to work-life balance, or a positive attitude. It requires a keen and realistic sense of perspective about your role as a team member, a manager, and a strategic advisor to your clients.
For example, below are some do’s and don’ts about keeping perspective in PR (and many of the other stressful jobs identified by CareerCast):
Do accept that you can’t control everything.
There are so many factors outside of our control that make PR stressful. The reality is that you can’t plan for every scenario. Competitors scoop your big story. Reporters choose not to include your client in an article. Your CEO goes off-message – way off message – in an interview. Your much-anticipated product launch falls short of expectations.
The good news is that you can – and should – plan ahead. Have a plan in place both for major campaigns and for worst-case crisis scenarios, and make sure that the key stakeholders have reviewed and signed off on them. Have messaging and talking points available for a variety of situations “just in case.” And go in knowing that, in a crisis or stressful situation, there are going to be areas you can’t control.
Do realize that you can’t do everything all at once.
In a stressful situation – whether it’s a full-blown crisis or just a giant stack of deadlines – break down your tasks into smaller, manageable pieces. If your head is spinning and you’re not sure where to begin, prioritize your tasks and set deadlines accordingly. What can you do by the end of the day, or by noon today, or in the next hour, or in the next 15 minutes? Each interval makes it more time-sensitive and also limits what can be accomplished in each block of time.
Don’t lose sight of the big picture.
Especially for PR executives, where our main role is one of a strategic advisor around communications, stop and consider whether your actions – both immediate and long-term – align with the overall business goals and objectives for your client or company. It’s easy to lose sight of the bigger picture in the effort to diffuse a crisis or tense situation. Make sure that messaging, strategies and tactics all support the broader objectives, and whether those broader objectives need to be updated from time-to-time.
Don’t forget that, while PR is often not life or death, it can be in a crisis
This one I hear (and say) a lot, and it’s a good reminder that, unlike other jobs on the Most Stressful list (enlisted military personnel, firefighters, police officers, etc.), for the most part with PR, there aren’t actual lives at stake. As an important side note: This isn’t always true for reporters and broadcasters, by the way, and 115 journalists did lose their lives doing their jobs in 2016.
The key here is that while the majority of PR executives (knock on wood) may not have to manage a massive crisis scenario, there clearly are situations where people have died, been severely injured, or have had their livelihoods impacted unexpectedly.
A true PR crisis can cost a company billions of dollars or disrupt an entire industry. This isn’t meant to scare off PR executives necessarily, but it should emphasize the importance of advanced planning, acting as a strategic advisor, managing deadlines efficiently and keeping a healthy perspective day-to-day.
What other “Do’s and Don’t’s” would you share to help PR executives and journalists manage their stressful jobs? Do you agree that a newspaper reporter deserves the no. 1 Worst Job of 2017? Tell us why or why not in the comments below!