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.
We are looking for one more intern to join our team for the summer. This paid intern will join another intern working directly with senior members of the Communiqué PR team.
Interns at Communiqué PR are active members of a designated account team. Our interns acquire “hands-on” public relations experience, gaining exposure to areas such as: media relations, press material development, media list building, etc. We prefer candidates who have had prior public relations internship experience.
Ideal candidates are college students entering their senior year in Fall 2010 majoring in public relations, journalism, communications, business administration, marketing, English or related field.
The candidate must be comfortable with Microsoft Windows and Office (esp. Excel, Word, & PowerPoint), social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, and be articulate, proactive, energetic, and eager to learn.
Desired skills:
- Self-starter who can work independently with minimum supervision as well as collaboratively in a team environment
- Good communication skills – both oral and written
- Organized and efficient
- Articulate and thoughtful
- Friendly and personable
- Energetic and enthusiastic
- Willingness and eagerness to learn
- Consistent, regular and punctual attendance
- Proficient in Microsoft Windows and Office (Outlook, Excel, Word, PowerPoint) as well as Facebook and Twitter
Please send a resume and cover letter to opportunities@communiquepr.com.
The right images can go a long way toward impacting the placement and pick up of stories. I was reminded of this today as I read the Seattle Times. I am a loyal subscriber, and while my husband and many other friends enjoy consuming the news online, I still enjoy sitting at the dining table flipping through the paper with my coffee.
This morning as I scanned the business section of the Seattle Times, a photo of a guy on a bike mixing a frappuccino immediately caught my eye. The caption for the photo reads, “Ian Cranna, Starbucks director of blended beverages, pedals a custom Frappuccino while Gita Stiritz secures the lid Monday.”
The photo accompanied a story focused on Starbucks’ plans to reinvigorate demand for its iced frappuccino by allowing consumers to concoct their own blends. By allowing people to customize these drinks, Starbucks hopes to drive more sales.
It was an interesting article and well placed front and center on the business section. After reading the article, I couldn’t help thinking about the impact photography has on story placement – images can often drive people to read a story and help convey powerful messages. For instance, when you look at this image, you get the sense that while Starbucks’ employees may be serious about coffee drinks; they’re not above having a bit of fun.
Kudos to the person who was the brainchild behind the event and bike blender photo opportunity. I am certain it impacted placement and drove interest in this story. The lesson here: don’t forget about photography when you make your next big announcement.
As print newspapers around the world are merging or moving to online-only versions, eBay founder and Hawaii resident, Pierre Omidyar is looking to develop the next generation of online news.
According to a story we heard on April 22 on NPR, Omidyar is creating a subscription-only online news website for residents of Honolulu, called the Civil Beat.
The Civil Beat, which is expected to officially launch tomorrow, May 4, will be significantly different than traditional newspapers because it will rely heavily on social networking.
The goal of the Civil Beat is to engage the community in reading and commenting on the news. In addition, the journalists will leverage social media as they’re working on their stories. They’ll tweet and blog as they’re gathering information as well as share their perspectives around the experience of reporting.
Finally, how the news is aggregated will be different. The site will have topic pages, which are devoted to a particular subject such as Honolulu’s passenger rail project. The benefit to the reader will be that content around this topic will be continually updated and they’ll be able to refer back to the page for the living story.
It sounds interesting to me, but clearly the monthly subscription fee is not cheap. At $19.99 a month, people are going to need to derive significant value from the site. Otherwise, I just don’t see this being a sustainable model.
Nonetheless, it will be fascinating to see what happens with this site as newspapers continue to adapt and social media continues to grow in popularity. Clearly, people value NPR’s member stations enough to donate money during the semiannual pledge so maybe this will work.
Please let us know what you think. Would you be willing to pay a monthly fee to engage in this marketplace of news with reporters, neighbors and others in your community?
We all know about the benefits that social media provides both consumer and business-to-business (B2B) companies. It can help raise visibility of a company, provide a powerful channel to engage with target audiences and can help create brand loyalty. But what if you’re a new company or an organization just starting to build a presence via social networks? How do you quickly build awareness and increase your following to make the investment in social media worthwhile?
While there are a variety of ways to grow your fan base and increase engagement, social media contests are a fantastic option to consider to accomplish this goal. Contests can be cost-effective and easily executed with limited resources and can lead to some amazing results.
We recently completed a project in which we executed two Facebook contests to help a company increase its Facebook fans, drive viral buzz surrounding its website and encourage target audiences to try its service.
Our first Facebook campaign began in mid-March. We partnered with the client to encourage target audiences to become fans by offering to send each person a complimentary iTunes song while simultaneously entering them into a random drawing to win an iPod Touch. The monetary investment for the prizes was manageable and the response was incredible. Through this campaign, we made excellent traction and more than doubled the company’s Facebook fan base.
After the success of this initial campaign we executed a second Facebook campaign in which we leveraged friend referrals to continue to increase the company’s fan base. Fans and current customers were asked to refer their friends to become Facebook fans. The person with the most referrals received a grand prize. In addition, a daily winner was selected via a random drawing. The company gave out prizes to the daily winners including an Amazon gift card, iTunes gift card, flat screen TV and a flip camera.
Consider these results:
- Over the course of one week, the company saw a 300 percent growth in its Facebook fan base.
- The company garnered positive comments via its Facebook fan page from consumers about how they benefitted from the company’s service and how much they enjoyed participating in the contest. In fact, 123 people posted comments on the company’s page about the two contests.
- Since these two contests, new fans have been engaging regularly on the Facebook fan page driving viral buzz around the client’s products. These contests also provided an open channel for the company to secure feedback from consumers.
One final example, Communiqué PR launched a Twitter contest back in February to help celebrate the firm’s sixth anniversary. The objective was to see if we could leverage social media contests to increase brand awareness and facilitate deeper engagement with our followers. The contest ultimately helped drive traffic to our website traffic as well as drove sales for Colleen and Jennifer’s book, “Strategic Public Relations.”
For more tips for executing a successful social media campaign, please contact us.
Offering a reporter an exclusive story is a time-honored agreement in which a company or PR firm offers a piece of noteworthy news or interview exclusively to one publication or media outlet to publish. But with the current shift in the media landscape coupled with the rise of social media significantly increasing the demand for real-time information, are exclusives still relevant?
In my 10 plus years in PR, I’ve offered many exclusives to select reporters with whom I’ve had long-term trusted relationships. However, today’s media climate is vastly different and reporters are under enormous pressure to keep up with the insatiable need for on-demand news and information. It makes me wonder if an exclusive story is an attractive commodity as it once was. If so, have the rules surrounding securing exclusive stories with media changed?
The verdict? Exclusives are alive and well as are the best practices in securing these gems.
Eric Fischgrund, a senior account executive with Beckerman says offering an exclusive to a reporter requires a great deal of trust with that individual. “Technically, no phone call or e-mail exchange is ‘off the record.’ PR professionals should do their due diligence with the reporters that they are considering, and work hard to identify a reporter with a proven track record of honoring such a commitment.”
Fischgrund has successfully pitched and secured exclusive stories in variety of publications including Reuters, GreenTech and The New York Daily News.
Exclusives not only have the potential to benefit an organization, a truly newsworthy exclusive can also benefit a reporter or news organization.
“Exclusives are very much still relevant, at least in my ultra-competitive financial services news world,” said Lori Pizzani, an independent financial reporter. “A news organization could potentially win recognition and praise if I can run with an exclusive piece of news or an interview. That can then translate into additional subscriptions, revenue and ad sales for the publisher and/or recognition of the quality reporting.”
So what are the keys to successfully securing an exclusive story?
- Build a trusted network of reporters – It’s important to know who you’re working with (both on the PR side as well as media). Do they have a track record for honoring embargos and exclusives? Are they transparent about information they will or will not disclose? Are they respectful of deadlines and embargo dates?
- Make sure you have a newsworthy story – Make sure the story you are pitching is compelling enough and has the necessary elements to help the reporter bring the story to life. What may be newsworthy for one company isn’t particularly newsworthy within the broader spectrum of news.
- Be transparent with the terms of the agreement – Honoring an exclusive or an embargo is an important commitment for both PR professionals and reporters. Failure to respect such an agreement usually results in a negative way for both parties. Be transparent and outline the terms of the exclusive including what information you will and will not be able to offer, embargo dates and times, etc. In today’s world, it is essential you agree on the specific time (e.g. 9 p.m. Eastern Time) that the story will be published.
I’m glad to know that exclusives are still relevant in today’s media climate as I think they can be a fantastic way to drive meaningful coverage for a company or service. In addition, exclusives can be a great way to build long-term relationships with media.
Back in February we told you about a new cookbook we helped launch called “Discover Cooking with Lavender” by Seattle-based author Kathy Gehrt. The book takes readers on a culinary adventure into the world of lavender and features 75 unique recipes spanning seasonings, drinks, savory dishes and sweets.
To help create buzz and drive sales of the book, we developed a three-pronged strategy. The first was to drive reviews of the book with influential foodie bloggers. Second, was to develop and distribute a press release to traditional media (both local and national) covering food and gardening to seed feature stories about how to incorporate lavender into everyday cooking. Lastly, we set out to secure speaking engagements and in-store appearances at local culinary stores, book shops and nurseries.
Since the launch, we’re proud to report that “Discover Cooking with Lavender” has been well-received by media, food bloggers and retailers. Some of the results we’ve secured to date include:
- Reviews in EricRiveraCooks, SeattlePI.com, EatWild.com and FoodConnections.com
- Feature in 425 Magazine (May/June issue)
- Inclusion in feature story on lavender in Central Coast Magazine (May/June issue)
- Recipes to be featured in Northwest Woman (May/June issue)
- Inclusion in feature story on lavender in The Oregonian (early May)
- Cooking segment on lavender for NW Fusion (Portland’s top rated lifestyle TV show)
In addition, we’ve also sparked interest with 10 prominent food bloggers who have agreed to try a recipe from the book and review it for their blogs.
Lastly, we coordinated speaking engagements and cooking demos at local stores for Kathy at cook shops, book stores, nurseries and wineries such as Mrs. Cook’s, Swanson’s Nursery, Sky Nursery, Ravenna Gardens, Dish it Up!, Fremont Place Books, Poggi Bonsi, Columbia Winery and the Sequim Lavender Festival just to name a few. These events are open to the public and we encourage you to click here to get the latest on where you can find Kathy.