With the economic downturn, layoffs, H1N1, massive changes in the media, and the growth of social networking impacting our world, 2009 proved to be a challenging year for many of us. At Communiqué PR, we looked at the uncertainty and adverse business climate as an opportunity to be even more focused in our efforts for our clients.
Many of our clients had limited marketing dollars and needed us to demonstrate clear return on investment (ROI). Fortunately, the Communiqué team loves a challenge and is adept at securing results that help clients move product, sell services and grow brands, even in the midst of a fierce recession.
As we look back on 2009, some of the high points included the following:
- We added the following nine clients to the Communiqué roster: Aveso Displays, Dashwire, Digonex Technologies, Isilon Systems, Mobile On, OnRequest Images, SAM Medical Products, Tecplot Inc. and Veratect Corporation.
- Veratect Corporation came to us in April to help get the word out about its role in detecting the first outbreak of H1N1. The interest in Veratectís story was staggering. We worked with journalists from all over the world placing more than 150 articles with ABC National Radio, the Associated Press, BBC, Financial Times, MSNBC, USA Today, Washington Post, Wired and many more.
- Aveso Displays, headquartered in Fridley, Minn., makes flexible display solutions which are being integrated into an array of products – including bank cards. To support the companyís business objectives, we secured more than 10 briefings with industry analysts who follow the security and/or banking industry. We also placed contributed articles in Electronic Design, Bank Systems & Technology, ECN and Wireless Design.
- Coverage highlights for Tecplot Inc., a developer of CFD software, included articles in USA Today, The Gazette, CFD Review, Puget Sound Business Journal, Desktop Engineering, Aviation Week and Red Orbit.
- In the summer of 2009, we took on a project for SAM Medical Products, a company in Portland, Ore. Specifically, we assisted the company with the introduction of its dual-purpose CELOX Trauma Gauze and secured coverage in Popular Science, EMS Responder, Journal of Emergency Service, Portland Business Journal as well as several other publications.
- For OnRequest Images, a provider of custom photography, we focused on the placement of contributed articles. CEO Carla Stratfold contributed articles to the following publications: Atlanta Journal Constitution; Media Postís Marketing Daily, AMA Marketing New Blog, and The Advertiser. In 2010, we anticipate three additional articles will appear in Pharmaceutical Representative, Pharma Magazine and Pharma Marketing News.
- Digonex Technologies, an Indianapolis-based pricing software developer, came to us in March looking to drive awareness around their technology and establish themselves as a thought leader in dynamic pricing. Our efforts primarily focused on targeted, proactive outreach with a series of buddy e-mails and bylined articles. As a result of our efforts we secured coverage with Publisherís Weekly, Red Herring, Reuters, NPR, TicketNews.com and Billboard.
- Seattle-based Attachmate had several successful product launches this year including a new family of products called FileXpress, which is targeted at the managed file transfer market. We secured coverage in technology publications such as Network World, IT Jungle and IBM Systems Magazine. In addition, we continue to help the company maintain strong relationships with key industry analysts from Gartner, IDC and Forrester.
- We helped launch the open beta of BuildAnApp, a do-it-yourself mobile application development solution for one of our newest clients, Mobile On. We were able to create some early buzz for the company with key placements in MocoNews.com, PC World and Wall Street Journal. Weíre excited to officially launch the company in 2010 and continue to provide counsel on social media activities.
Internal Milestones for the year included the following:
- In April we celebrated the publication of our book ’Strategic Public Relations: 10 Principles to Harness the Power of PR. The book continues to get positive reviews on Amazon and has recently been selected as required reading for a course on public relations. It was also reviewed in 2009 by PR Week: Costco Connection; University of Puget Soundís alumni magazine, Arches; and in the Oregon Quarterly.
- We participated in numerous speaking engagements throughout the year. A few of them included:
- Communicators Conference – The Changing Media Landscape and the Impact on Todayís Communications Professionals, May 6, 2009
- PR Works Show (Small Planet Radio), May 7, 2009
- Perkins Coie Madrona Twitter Conference 2009, May 13, 2009
- Business Wire Luncheon – The Changing Media Landscape, Jun. 4, 2009
- American Marketing Association, – Twitterphoria: Adding Twitter Power to Your Marketing Mix, Sept. 9, 2009
- Law Seminar International Social Media Law – Social Media Marketing: Anticipating Legal and Public Relations Issues to Maximize Benefit and Minimize Risk, Sept. 11, 2009
- Tacoma – Pierce County Chamber of Commerce – The Power of PR, Sept. 22, 2009
- Northwest Environmental Business Council, Social Media & Your Business, Oct. 7, 2009
- Tacoma – Pierce County Chamber EXPO Workshop, Oct. 20, 2009
- We wrote more than 111 blog posts and began using Twitter to drive traffic to our Web site as well as to clientsí online content and journalistsí articles.
- We joined the Council of PR Firms, an organization formed in 1998 with the goal of creating the first national association and a mission of advancing the business of public relations. More than 100 of Americaís leading PR firms are members.
- Lastly, we initiated the redesign of the Communiqué PR Web site. In October we began work with Susan Giordano and the team at GKD, a Seattle-based firm specializing in corporate branding, custom Web site design and product packaging.
As we look toward 2010, we want to thank those of you with whom we had the opportunity to work. We feel blessed to have a wonderful group of clients with compelling stories to tell, strong relationships with journalists around the country and world, and many other supporters.