Showing posts with label digital media. Show all posts
Showing posts with label digital media. Show all posts

Monday, January 24, 2011

A Recipe for Success - Make Your Own News

Any company working with a public relations agency knows that keeping your name consistently on the minds of reporters and editors is a vital part of scoring meaningful media placements.

Despite technological advances, PR is still a relationship business. PR pros follow up with phone calls and emails, and are almost like ambassadors for various companies and organizations, getting the media to essentially like who you are and what you do. A good PR person ensures that in times of breaking news, your company is who that reporter thinks of first when they need a comment, a photo or video footage to complement their story angle.

But in times when you don’t have a new product, service or event to promote, PR pros serve as the idea factory you need to create news where it seems none exists. Here are two examples of creating news where CMA has been successful in the past.

Operation Kill-A-Watt (OKW)
CMA collaborated with client Public Energy Solutions, an energy services company that performs energy audits and lighting retrofits in the tri-state area, to create this initiative subsidized by Con Edison. In certain zip codes of New York City, building owners were eligible to receive free Compact Florescent Lamp (CFL) upgrades, ultimately lowering the strain on the city’s power grid and saving owners hundreds of dollars in energy costs. The public relations program to raise OKW awareness reached over 5 million New Yorkers and resulted in nearly 20,000 building upgrades over the course of two years.


Member Advocacy Initiatives
The National Association of Independent Broker/Dealers (NAIBD) is composed of the Main Street broker/dealers who are most likely to help the aging boomer plan for retirement than interact with the high stakes investments of Wall Street. New regulations from the government threatened to lump NAIBD members in with Wall Street big-wigs and unfairly label them as potential Madoff-like threats. Before the regulations were finalized, CMA worked with NAIBD’s Member Advocacy Committee to create a stir within the financial media to publicize the association’s proactive quest to include revisions to the law (what is now the Dodd-Frank Act). The governing bodies now have discretion over broker/dealer audits before initiating them – helping to save members thousands in unnecessary audit fees. In this case, the “squeaky wheel” got the attention it needed to effect change through the power of the financial industry media.

A few other initiatives are currently in the works for CMA clients. How can we help you raise awareness for your company or organization through PR?

Kaitlin Friedmann
PR Manager
kfriedmann@cmasolutions.com

Friday, September 3, 2010

CMA Completes Extensive Website Projects

CMA recently completed website projects for several new clients including Pasquito Builders, Windsor Dermatology, Interior Image and Super Chic.



For the Hopewell, New Jersey based Pasquito Builders CMA helped to increase the company’s regional visibility and strengthen its new project development efforts through the creation of its new website: www.PasquitoBuilders.com. The website features a comprehensive services section, testimonial section, newsroom and gallery of recent projects.



For the 25 year old medical dermatology practice in East Windsor, New Jersey, Windsor Dermatology, CMA determined through its proprietary Marketecture™ process that one of the best ways to achieve greater regional visibility and an expanded patient base would be with a newly-designed website: www.WindsorDermatology.com. CMA expanded and streamlined the content, created and enhanced graphic design, and added Flash photos to the homepage. In addition, CMA provided a completely new brand campaign including logos, brochures, advertising, public relations and social media.



Serving New Jersey, the greater Philadelphia and metropolitan New York areas, Interior Image provides custom interior design/build solutions. CMA designed their website www.YourInteriorImage.com to include website copy with keywords to grab target audience attention and enhance search engine optimization (SEO), news and testimonials sections, a photo gallery with navigation as well as a featured projects section on the homepage.



Sailing from Barnegat Light Yacht Basin, Barnegat Light, New Jersey, the Super Chic is a 56 foot charter boat providing participants with a memorable fishing experience. CMA created a new website for Super Chic: www.SuperChicCharters.com, which features information on dates and fees for various trip opportunities, a monthly “When to Fish Chart,” allowing customers to view the best times during the season to book their trips, and trip details written by the ship’s captain.

Let CMA utilize our cutting edge digital communications to enhance the visibility of your business in the marketplace.

Erin Higgins
Director of Marketing Services
ehiggins@cmasolutions.com

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

The Future of Media

There’s no doubt about it, the newspaper industry is changing. According to an article from the Business Insider, 105 newspapers shuttered in 2009, while 10,000 newspaper jobs were lost in the same year. These numbers expose a scary reality, as individuals continue to evaluate how they prefer to receive news and information. Maybe it’s a generational preference. I know my parents still look forward to receiving the latest issue of their local newspaper at their doorstep every morning, while I prefer to read all the breaking news and feature articles online, giving me the ability to receive information quickly, specifically select what I’m interested in reading about and share those stories with others instantaneously.

No matter what your generational preference, newspapers and magazines are continuing to shift toward using a digital platform, as seen with The New York Times’ recent announcement that they will charge readers for access to certain sections of its website. The outlets in which we receive information are changing, and so should your public relations and marketing strategies.

Consider the changing rate of the press release. Many newspapers and magazines now enable you to simply post the news yourself on its websites, enabling your message to be picked up instantly on search engines. Still, create a press release headline that stands out and includes keywords that are of direct interest to customers. Our PR team has begun including links within the body of the press release that lead customers back to relevant website pages. All these seeds planted throughout this online network help boost search engine optimization (SEO), leading customers to take action.

Also consider incorporating social media into your public relations strategy. Think about targeting media contacts who utilize social networking sites including Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and blogs that are appropriate to your target audience. This will help increase visibility for your client throughout a new outlet and further enhance their SEO.

The same digital shift holds true for advertising and marketing. According to senior analyst at eMarketer, Deborah Aho Williamson, advertising will not be the primary revenue driver in the years to come. She indicated that everything is going to become more social. This shift has already started to unfold with companies investing significant time in increasing their SEO and utilizing online advertising including banner ads and pay-per-click programs.

No matter what medium you choose, CMA’s marketing and communications staff can help you create a communication strategy appropriate to your targeted market and audience, helping to enhance your brand and position you ahead of your competition.

Give us a call to start the conversation.

Kaitlin Friedmann
PR Manager
kfriedmann@cmasolutions.com