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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.

Assessing Risk in Business

In business, we often make decisions without as much as the information as we’d like or need.

When Colleen and I outgrew our office space on the top of Queen Anne, we had to find a new location. In a rapidly growing city, this was not easy, and there is no crystal ball for projecting our firm’s growth or the stability of the economy. Finding a building and assessing the risk of signing a five-year lease was our responsibility.

That’s why I was intrigued by Carl Richards’ article about feedback loops, confidence and humans’ tendency to form self-serving bias. In case you’re unfamiliar with the term, a self-serving bias is formed when a person takes credit when they achieve desired outcomes and assign blame to another place when things go poorly.

Richards’ article was focused particularly on how overconfidence impacts investing, but I think this story also contains some important reminders for business leaders and managers. Here are some of my take-aways:

  • When you assess risk, don’t just rely on your own experience or feedback loop. You should consider external factors that may play a significant role in the outcome. In the lease example, the health of the economy may play a factor on our ability to grow or the pace of our growth, which may have a direct correlation on how much office space we need.
  • Albeit an imperfect science, assessing risk is important. Managers may want to institute formal processes in their organizations around this when making significant decisions. This might be a process as simple as listing all the possible consequences and assigning a probability to them. 
  • It’s also vital to consider the worst consequence and consider whether you can live with it. Richards uses an example of assessing avalanche risk when backcountry skiing. One consequence of an avalanche on a slope you’re skiing is death or serious injury. Being mindful of this may completely change your decision – or maybe influence taking up backcountry skiing at all. Similarly in business there are likely many risks that wouldn’t be taken if people thought about the absolute worst-case scenario before moving forward. 

The next time you’re faced with an important, yet risky, decision, I hope some of these ideas are helpful. If you have interesting examples of risk assessment done well, or even examples when things have gone awry, we’d love to learn about them.

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A Recap of Business Wire’s Meet the Media

On Sept. 5, 2019, I attended Business Wire’s Meet the Media luncheon to connect with journalists based in Seattle to learn more about how to effectively engage with them. The event had an impressive lineup of journalists from various media outlets, including broadcast journalists, managing editors, reporters and business editors.

The luncheon was structured similar to speed dating. Each journalist sat at an assigned table and attendees had three 15-minute sessions to ask questions. As there were more journalists than sessions, I met with journalists I hadn’t worked with as closely and whose outlets had varying target audiences.

Below is an overview of each of the sessions and my key takeaways.

Rami Grunbaum, The Seattle Times

My first session was with Rami Grunbaum, the business editor at the Seattle Times. Rami shared that the digital publication of the Seattle Times has become a focus for the publication and that the unique visitors per month (UVPM) continues to see impressive growth. Also, the Seattle Times has become the second largest publication on the West Coast, behind the Los Angeles Times. Rami did indicate that, while there is a digital focus, it doesn’t influence or change the stories they’ll cover in the business section.

Key Takeaway:

For the Seattle Times’ business section, large enterprise business stories are effective, especially those that focus on trends impacting the region. When I asked what trends were most interesting to him, Rami informed me that he believes real estate will be an important one to monitor.

Patranya Bhoolsuwan, KIRO News

Next, I spoke with Patranya Bhoolsuwan, an anchor and reporter with KIRO News. Recently, we’ve supported multiple clients with broadcast stories, and I was eager to speak directly with a broadcast journalist to determine if there were any new approaches or ideas that we had not previously leveraged. Patranya shared that when she evaluates a story, she wants to see diversity, personal perspectives/angles, and hard-hitting news. And, of course, an interesting visual element always helps. Additionally, because broadcast news moves so quickly, she encouraged us to be more aggressive in our pitching efforts.

Key Takeaway:

Patranya mentioned that following her career in journalism, she may consider offering media training services. When asked what she thought the most valuable piece of advice for on-camera interviews would be, she said, “Don’t look at the camera and stick to your message.”

Karen Weise, The New York Times

Finally, my last session was with Karen Weise, a technology reporter for the New York Times based in Seattle. Karen joined the New York Times about a year ago and largely (almost exclusively) focuses on Amazon. While no one in this session was tied to Amazon, she still offered interesting information about the outlet at large and the tech trends she finds interesting. She said as she continues to settle into her role with the publication, she would like to expand her beat to cover business-to-business and startup technology. While this is not currently a part of her beat, she is still open to receiving the news.

Key Takeaway:

While Karen’s beat is Amazon, she said that she is open to covering stories about bigger themes that relate to Amazon, such as workforce, e-commerce, etc. Another important takeaway not exclusive to Karen, but worth sharing, is that the New York Times almost never covers funding, unless it’s an exorbitant amount.

There was one common theme across all my sessions with the journalists: If you pitch them and the story isn’t quite the right fit for them, but they believe it will be for a colleague, they’ll likely pass it on. So, while finding the right reporter is key, it really comes down to having a strong story that meets the needs of the publication. If you target the wrong person, but have the elements for a compelling story, they’ll work with you to get in contact with the right journalist.

Thank you to Business Wire for hosting a valuable event, and thank you to the journalists who took time out of their day to share these insights!

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Infographic: Tips for Writing Irresistible Headlines

As PR pros, we’ve all had writer’s block when it comes to developing an attention-grabbing headline. As content marketing efforts have increased dramatically, so has the importance of writing catchy, clickable headlines.

Whether it’s for an op-ed, blog post, email blast or press release, the title of your piece needs to grab the reader’s attention and entice them to continue reading (I’ll let you be the judge on whether I accomplished that feat today).

There are several aspects that make for an effective headline, including the four “u” rule by the American Writers and Artists Association. More than anything, you need an interesting story. Even the greatest headline writer in the world will fail with a boring or confusing story. That’s because the best headlines aren’t necessarily the ones that make people click — they’re the ones that promise great stories and then fulfill that promise. While challenging, the process of writing good headlines can make your story ideas better.

Which is why I was thrilled when I came across a recent PR Daily article titled, Infographic: How to write irresistible headlines, from A-Z, outlining a whole alphabet’s worth of headline-writing tips and tricks.

PR Daily’s editor, Robby Brumberg, highlights a handful of helpful takeaways from the extensive infographic of which I also believe are some of the most helpful ideas included in the infographic.

“Posing a question … remains one of the best ways to engage the reader.”

I find myself clicking headlines if they ask a question on a current topic and promise to answer it. It has always served as a teaser for me. But if this technique is used without providing answers, it can deter readers. It’s best practice to make sure this is only used if you are answering the question and providing some direction.

“What’s in it for your audience? What does she or he have to gain if they carry on reading? In the headline, tout a substantial benefit that a reader can pluck from your piece.”

My best advice is to keep it simple, clear and to the point. A good headline lets readers know the content has value and isn’t just clickbait (because it isn’t, right?). Headlines should convey that readers will either learn something new, glean impactful advice or be entertained and moved by the words coming next. Answer the question, “What’s in it for me?”

Nike’s campaign for its Black History Month collection is a prime example that utilizes just the word “EQUALITY.” The word means so much to people and piques interest for broad engagement.

“Decisions are based on emotions”

Brumberg suggests that you “hit your readers directly in their pain points. Use visceral language that stirs emotions and lets your passion for your subject shine through in the headline.” Consumers are inundated with headlines and advertisements on multiple platforms, so their attention span is increasingly limited. The New York Times’ behind-the-scenes experiment of testing which headlines resonated with readers found that the headlines with the most success are clear, powerful, and written in a conversational tone.

Brumberg’s article is a helpful one-stop shop full of resources and ideas to get the creative juices flowing when developing your next headline. It’s one bookmark every PR pro should have saved on their browser.

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BitTitan Empowers MSPs to Reach New Business Heights With Rollout of New Products

It’s been a busy summer for the folks at BitTitan.

The global leader in managed services automation launched two major and innovative products in the cloud services market, enabling MSPs and IT professionals to provide new cloud-migration services to customers and further grow their businesses.

On July 9, BitTitan unveiled Microsoft Teams migration capabilities to MigrationWiz, its industry-leading SaaS solution for mailbox, document and public-folder migrations. The new migration capabilities allow IT professionals to migrate instances of Teams as well as the individual components within that instance, including Teams, Channels, Conversations, Permissions and Files. These features are among the first of their kind, as a clear path for tenant-to-tenant Teams migration had not previously been established.

Media outlets took notice, as the news was published in more than a dozen trade publications. Two contributed articles about MigrationWiz Teams migrations also ran, which were authored by Mark Kirstein, BitTitan’s vice president of products.

BitTitan wasn’t done. On July 15, BitTitan debuted Voleer at Microsoft Inspire 2019 in Las Vegas. A new IT automation platform, Voleer centralizes and automates the day-to-day IT needs for engineers and administrators, helping them package and sell new services and grow revenue.

The Voleer announcement was covered by trade outlets and resulted in eight published articles.

Two significant product launches has certainly made for an exciting summer, but BitTitan has more to unveil with its innovative new products, as it continues to rollout updates and new features through the end of the year. At Communiqué PR, we couldn’t be more thrilled to partner with such a dynamic and forward-thinking company that continues to look ahead at delivering the next big solution to shake up the cloud-migration market.

Microsoft Teams

Voleer

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Snapshot of YTD Results for Schnitzer West: Real Estate Investment, Development and Property Management Leader

When thinking about Seattle or the Puget Sound region, what words come to mind? Thriving tech industry? Music hub? Craft beer and coffee capital? In addition to these vital descriptors, Seattle is home to a booming real-estate market.

While the residential market appears to be cooling, according to Zillow; it’s a different story with the commercial real estate market. Seattle is often referred to as a Renaissance city for commercial real estate investments with more than 6.4 million square feet of space slated to come to market in 2019, according to a study by commercial real estate blog Commercial Café. The upward investment in commercial real estate is a result of Seattle’s dynamic job market and an example of how the region’s growing workforce is impacting the economy.

Our longstanding client Schnitzer West, a premier vertically integrated real estate investment firm, is a significant player in the commercial real estate market in the Seattle/Bellevue region as well as in Denver.

Since the company’s inception in 1997, Schnitzer West has developed more than 7.8 million square feet of property in Seattle, and Denver. The company also acquired and repositions developments and to date, manages nearly 4 million square feet of office, flex and industrial buildings in these markets.

This has been an exciting year for the 22 year-old-company with four notable sales and/or acquisitions: two in the Puget Sound region and two in Denver. Below is an overview of these announcements and the coverage we secured to build awareness of Schnitzer West’s expertise developing and repositioning office space to meet the unique needs of today’s workforce.

Swift Real Estate Partners Acquires Bellevue 520 Corridor from Schnitzer West and RMA

In August, Schnitzer West announced the sale of Bellevue 520 Corridor Office Portfolio (520 Portfolio) comprised of Bel Kirk 520 and Centra Office Park to Swift Real Estate Partners. Schnitzer West and RMA sold the 520 Portfolio for $59.3 million. Bellevue is a dynamic and growing submarket in the Puget Sound region, according to Bellevue’s Downtown Association, there was nearly 1.5 million square feet of office space developed in Downtown Bellevue from 2017 to 2018.

Vanbarton Group Purchases Seattle’s 901 Fifth Avenue Office Tower from Investcorp and Schnitzer West for $305 Million

Earlier this summer, Vanbarton Group a privately owned, vertically integrated real estate investment and advisory firm purchased 901 Fifth Avenue from Schnitzer West and Investcorp for $305 million. The 100 percent occupied office tower is a 541,190-square foot, 41-story Class-A building in Seattle’s central business district.

Schnitzer West Acquires New Mixed-use Property in Denver’s Flourishing Central Business District 

In April, Schnitzer West announced the purchase of a parcel of land located at 3615 Delgany St., in the River North Art District (RiNo) of the Central Business District (CBD) of Denver. The acquisition of the Delgany property is an example of the role Schnitzer West is playing to help build a business presence in RiNo district that will support those living and working in the district and greater region.

Schnitzer West Acquires Two Properties in Southeast Denver Area

In Q1 2019, Schnitzer West announced the purchase of two properties in the Denver area: Peakview Place in Centennial, Colorado and 115 Inverness in Englewood, Colorado. Both properties are ideally positioned in transit-oriented locations within Denver’s southeast suburban (SES) submarket, which is Denver’s largest office market. This purchase demonstrates another example of Schnitzer West’s commitment to bringing the Denver workforce office space that best supports their needs.

We are excited to continue partnering with Schnitzer West and raise awareness around the role they are playing in strengthening the Puget Sound and Denver business districts. As the job market in these regions continues to evolve, Schnitzer West will continue to innovate its development and design strategies to support the needs of businesses and exceed the workforce’s expectations. 

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Recommended Reading: Essentialism – The Disciplined Pursuit of Less

Earlier this month I was at a gathering talking with a long-time business colleague. He shared that when he recently agreed to join a company’s board of directors, he requested that everyone on that board read the book “Essentialism – The Disciplined Pursuit of Less.”

In a society that seems to be about doing more, FOMO (fear of missing out), and stating how busy we are as a badge of honor – the appeal of “pursuing less” is super attractive but seems incongruent to professional success and business growth. Yet author Greg McKeown makes the case in the first chapter that “[essentialism] is not about how to get more things done; it’s about how to get the right things done.”

McKeown shares a personal story, which led to his own discovery of the lesson that “if you don’t prioritize your life someone else will.”

And, by prioritizing energy and resources on the right things, while deliberately eliminating the non-essentials, we define a path where we can “enjoy the journey, not just the destination.” The idea is to focus on the one thing that provides the highest level of contribution and eliminates the noise and distractions in order to pursue success.

Identifying and focusing on one thing seems daunting; however, McKeown guides readers on how to “discern the trivial many from the vital few,” and then “how to cut out the trivial many.” The final section focuses on execution and the ways we can “make the vital few things almost effortless.”

If you find yourself stretched too thin, resentful of something you committed to do, or are feeling busy but not productive, I encourage you to read “Essentialism” and consider, as McKeown wisely offers, “the relentless pursuit of less but better.”

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