Kowa Pharmaceuticals America & Eli Lilly with Makovsky Win “The Best of the Best”

NBC 4 New York’s David Ushery receives first Big Apple Award for Excellence in Journalism

Public relations and communications professionals gathered at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel last night for its Annual Big Apple Awards Gala. David Ushery attended the event as the first ever award recipient of the Big Apple Award for Excellence in Journalism for his work in the industry including his current role as anchor/reporter, NBC 4 New York and host of The Debrief with David Ushery. Held annually, the awards gala presented by the New York Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA-NY,www.prsany.org) recognizes excellence in public relations.

The event brought together more than 20 professionals to highlight outstanding strategies, tactics, results and individuals in the public relations and communications field. Attendees gathered to educate, celebrate and reward practitioners with some of the industry’s highest honors.

“This was a fabulous night,” said Lea-Ann Germinder, APR, president of Germinder and Associates and this year’s president of PRSA-NY. “We had a wonderful program, in a wonderful location, to honor the best and brightest practices and professionals in the New York public relations community.”

Kowa Pharmaceuticals America and Eli Lilly and Company with Makovsky accepted the Best of the Best Big Apple Award for its “USAGE Survey: Taking on America’s Number One Killer” program. The award for Best Use of Research, Measurement and Evaluation, sponsored by the Institute for Public Relations, was presented to TogoRun with Bristol-Myers Squibb for the “SHE: The Untold Story of HIV” campaign.

Three individuals were honored with special awards for their contributions, leadership and accomplishments:

• Paul J. Gennaro, senior vice president-- corporate communications and chief communications officer of AECOM, was awarded the most prestigious individual award, The John W. Hill Award. He earned it for his demonstration of the “trilogy” of leadership skills -- integrity and truth, soundness of policies and decisions viewed in the public interest and honest facts. This award was sponsored by Hill + Knowlton Strategies.
• The Philip Dorf Award for PRSA-NY members who have an outstanding record of mentorship was presented to David M. Grant, founder and president of the LVM Group. This award was sponsored by the Dorf Family.
• Emmanuel Tchividjian, senior vice president, executive director & chief ethics officer at Ruder Finn, was awarded The President’s Award, honoring him for his commitment and contributions to the PRSA-NY Chapter.

The 2013 Big Apple Awards competition was open to all public relations professionals in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut for programs created in 2012 and implemented throughout the United States. For a campaign or program element to be eligible, most of the actual work had to be done by professionals in the tri-state area. All of the campaigns and program elements were judged by a panel of 55 judges comprised of experienced, senior level public relations practitioners, representing a broad range of disciplines. The complete list of 41 winners (39 plus the Best of the Best and Best Use of Research) go to www.prsany.org

About PRSA-NY’s Big Apple Awards

The New York Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America established the Big Apple Awards program in 1988 to encourage excellence in public relations. Superior communications programs solve problems, change opinions and create opportunities. The Big Apple Awards program seeks to recognize communications professionals who have achieved the standards of excellence.

About PRSA-NY

The Public Relations Society of America, New York City Chapter, (www.prsa.org) is one of the founding chapters of the PRSA, the world’s largest professional organization for public relations practitioners. Founded in 1948, PRSA-NY is the third largest PRSA local chapter in the United States. The Chapter serves the interests of public relations professionals working in business and industry, counseling firms, government, associations, hospitals, schools, professional services firms and nonprofit organizations. Chapter board and committee members are volunteer public relations professionals who work in the New York metropolitan area.

By Deborah Radman, APR, Editorial Director, CommPRO.biz

Parties, BBQs, family outings, white clothes and a day off work, Memorial Day is a time to remember the more than 1 million men and women who died while serving in the U.S. Armed Forces.  As a federal holiday, many people enjoy the day off of work. Many families have traditions of heading to the beach, picnicking or spending time with family. Perhaps this is why Memorial Day has also become known as the "unofficial start to summer."

So while you have a little down time this holiday weekend, CommPRO wanted to give you a recap of some of the best content during May.  The month began with the news that the SEC issued additional interpretive guidance on how public companies could use social media in disclosing material financial information to the market and investors overall.  Obviously, this was an important issue and we at CommPRO knew interest among our readership would be high as they sought clarification and greater understanding as to what the SEC’s guidance would mean.  To serve the needs of our community, CommPRO, in conjunction with our partner Onstream Media, held a live event on April 24th, entitled, “The SEC and Social Media:Where Do We Go From Here?”  The event was sponsored by Akamai and was produced by the AXA Equitable Production Group. In case you missed the event, you can see a replay here:  http://www.webcaster4.com/Webcast/Page/10/1347 

CommPRO contributor Susan Young shared Seth Godin's thoughts on social media marketing, creativity, and business relationships. He was the guest on a webinar organized by Vocus, a provider of cloud marketing software.   Godin says the Energy, Industrial, and Mass Media revolutions have given way to the “revolution of our time, the revolution of connection.”

A sobering, thought-provoking post about “Why Your New Agency Might Be Lying To You” presented a no-nonsense verbalization of what we’ve all known for a long time:  agency people are people pleasers.  To win business we often tell clients what they want to hear, doing us both a grave disservice.  As PR advisors we need to be strategic partners who are aligned with the business objectives of our clients.  We need to be client-focused service providers, not people pleasers. We need to elevate our staff to execute flawlessly and measure every step of the way. And, we need to focus on eliminating waste by streamlining processes from the outset of a client relationship.

After a trip overseas from which he returned reinvigorated, Mr. Magazine™ (aka Samir Husni) reminds us that magazines printed in ink on paper are everywhere.  “…, they are about everything, but above all they add ‘soul’ to the ‘body’ of paper. Magazines are one of the best forms of ‘living’ technology ever created. They are not just ink on paper; they are living, moving, and breathing objects of desire, my desire and everyone else’s desires,” Husni says.  His perspective is hopeful about the future of the medium.

May also was the month when NBA star, Jason Collins, came out, making it easier for current and future players to lead an openly gay life if they choose to do so. The fact that he only told his twin brother that he was gay last summer demonstrates what a wrenching personal decision this was.  But it is an enormously positive statement about our society and changing values that rather than put Jason Collins at risk, his “decision” increases his odds of remaining in the NBA, dramatically increases his earning power and opens up doors to career opportunities.

One of our best performing posts ever, was a two-part series by Toronto-based Judy Gombita, about “Making Honest B2B Endorsements Through Social PR.”  Combined, this two-part series registered over 10,000 readers and stimulated so much traffic on the CommPRO site that we had to expand our server capabilities.  Take a look at what Judy has to say about how to stay socially tuned in the B2B realm, and explore what you can do as an organizational communicator to increase your social capital parity profile with the vendors, suppliers, service or membership organizations that benefit from their relationship with you and your implicit championing.

There is so much more in today’s issue:  from how marketers and advertisers are using video and the good, bad and ugly about using celebrity spokespeople to allegations about the death of corporate social responsibility and tips for writing effective cover letters in today’s job search environment.

CommPro is committed to creating content that you can use, learn from and feel challenged by.  Let us hear from you….it’s time to TalkBack and help us help you.  We want to bring you the stories and perspectives that are not always covered by other IMC industry media or even mainstream news outlets – tell us what you think. Write for us.  Debate and take issue with the POVs we present.  Tell us how you see the future and how you are feeling and thinking about these issues and, remember, we want CommPRO to be about your “voice”.  See you in CommPRO. Soon.

By Susan Young, Get in Front Communications, Inc.

Want to learn from one of the best social media marketers and business leaders? Seth Godin has shared his thoughts on social media marketing, creativity, and business relationships. He was the guest on a webinar organized by Vocus, a provider of cloud marketing software.  

Godin says the Energy, Industrial, and Mass Media revolutions have given way to the “revolution of our time, the revolution of connection.”

Here are 12 takeaways on the human connection in digital marketing: 

1. “The only asset you can build on the Internet is the connection to people. Connection, the idea that someone knows you, trusts you, and works with you, is not new. It’s 1,000 years old, but it’s new because the people marketing Burger King and Procter and Gamble in 1980 didn’t have this ability to hear back from customers.”
2. “Highlight and cater to small groups of people who care desperately. “
3. “Marketing and advertising are not the same things. Marketing is making a product or service that’s worth talking about it. Marketing is about telling a story that spreads and resonates with people. We need to think deeply about feelings.”
4. “The essence of marketing today is to tell a story to people who want to hear it, in a way that resonates with them so they are likely to either respond or connect to you, or tell their friends.”
5. “Don’t yell to the masses; whisper to a few. People will choose to talk about it. Give away your ideas. When your ideas are widespread and you are trusted, you don’t have trouble making a living.”
6. “If you’re not ranked first, second, or third on search pages, you’re invisible.”
7. “What products are you going to make that are worth talking about?”
8. “Permission marketing is real permission—the privilege, not the right but the privilege—of delivering personal, anticipated, and  relevant stories to people who want to get them. Not to everyone, not by spam or exploiting your company’s privacy policies. But instead by earning one person at a time; it’s the privilege of showing up. Here’s the measure: If the recipient thinks it’s spam, then it’s spam…Here’s how you know if you have the privilege: ‘Would we miss you if you were gone?’”  
9. “The Internet takes word-of-mouth and leverages it by a factor of 1,000…every single day.”
10. “Remarkable means worth making a remark about.  Not you making a remark because you work for the company. It’s about people making a remark because they choose to, they want to, because they can.” 
11. “We can’t sell everything to everyone. The market has fractured. Instead of radically shifting the way the media has, most companies and charities have only shifted a little. The fast-growing public or private companies who have made a huge impact in the last five years (e-Bay, Instagram, Facebook, and Amazon), are built around connecting tribes. Connecting people who share a passion and interest. All human beings want to feel like we are a part of something.”
12. “If we expect to build connections, we have to expect to be generous. There are no secrets or shortcuts. No one wants to connect to the selfish person.”

Nos. 5 and 8 are among my favorites. Which points can you relate to? Which ones do you need to improve?

[author] About the Author: Susan Young is an award-winning news, social media, PR, and communications professional with 26 years of experience.  Her new book, "The Badass Book of Social Media and Business Communication" [Kindle Edition] was recently released.  She works with organizations that want to use digital platforms to increase their visibility, credibility, and revenues. Susan’s company, Get in Front Communications, provides consulting and coaching on all things communication. Her latest accomplishment: Being named one of the ’75 Badass Women on Twitter.’(@sueyoungmedia) [/author]  ..

Forgive me for that rather unfortunate headline; however, that’s the best I could come up with as I’m distracted by thoughts of the impending long weekend. Regardless of how trite the headline might be, I believe it contains quite a bit of truth as IR professionals continue to debate the place social media holds in the investor communications arsenal. 

We at CommPRO.biz have long recognized the power, reach and immediacy of social media and its various applications to marketing communications.  The CommPRO site has featured commentary, tips and techniques on its use via contributions from some of the industry’s leading minds. 

In early April, the SEC issued additional interpretive guidance on how public companies could use social media in disclosing material financial information to the market and investors overall.  Obviously, this was an important issue and we at CommPRO knew interest among our readership would be high as they sought clarification and greater understanding as to what the SEC’s guidance would mean. 

To serve the needs of our community, CommPRO, in conjunction with its partner Onstream Media, held a live event on April 24th, entitled, “The SEC and Social Media:  Where Do We Go From Here?”  The event was sponsored by Akamai and was produced by the AXA Equitable Production Group.  A “star panel” debated the issues and the live audience included corporate communications executives and members of the media including a reporter from The Wall Street Journal. In case you missed the event, you can see a replay here:  http://www.webcaster4.com/Webcast/Page/10/1347  

Our event was successful… Why?  It fostered additional discussion as well as the sharing of knowledge as evidenced by the coverage the event received by the media and by various bloggers.  See The Wall Street Journal  http://blogs.wsj.com/cfo/2013/04/30/companies-go-slow-on-social-media-disclosures/ and IR Magazine’s post here:  http://www.insideinvestorrelations.com/articles/social-media/19448/newswire-schism-over-secs-netflix-report/ 

Meaningful journalism encourages dialogue and CommPRO takes great pride in presenting a variety of voices and perspectives and delivers them across many channels.  

If you’re interested in learning how institutional investors view social media take a look at this post by theIRapp™ (http://www.commpro.biz/mobile-ir/a-single-app-solution-for-ir-mobile-engagement/)  For insights into how the use of social media and IR will progress take a look at a post by Proactive Capital Group CEO Jeff Ramson (http://www.commpro.biz/sm-ir/the-sec-and-social-media-not-so-fast/).  Those of us in the communications profession might also be interested in what NYSE’s position is on the use of social media.  One of our panelists from the April 24^th event, Judy McLevey of the NYSE Euronext, weighed in on the matter in this blog: http://www.commpro.biz/investor-relations/iro-dilemma-to-tweet-or-not-to-tweet/  Another panelist from the event, Cathy Baron Tamraz, BusinessWire chairman and CEO, also shared her insights on what good corporate disclosure should be when she penned this blog:  http://www.commpro.biz/investor-relations/common-sense-vs-nonsense-what-thomas-paine-can-teach-us-about-disclosure/.

Recently, we conducted a number of on-camera interviews with various communications professionals for their thoughts on how social media fits into investor relations programs.  Vinny Jindal, CEO & Co-founder of Stockr, a social media site dedicated to the financial markets, weighed in during this interview:  http://www.commpro.biz/investor-relations/video-interview-vinny-jindal-ceo-co-founder-stockr-on-social-media-the-secs-latest-ruling/.  MarketWired chief Michael Nowlan offered insights into how to use social media for investor relations in this interview:  http://www.commpro.biz/investor-relations/video-interview/ while Onstream chief Randy Selman provided an overview of how his company can help companies deliver their messages to the investment community during this interview http://www.commpro.biz/investor-relations/video-interview-randy-s-selman-president-ceo-onstream-media-on-social-media-and-the-secs-recent-ruling/  Finally, for the perspective from an IR counselor, we direct you to the interview conducted with another panelist Jeff Corbin, CEO of KCSA, which can be found here:  http://www.commpro.biz/investor-relations/video-interview-jeff-corbin-ceo-kcsa-strategic-communications-on-social-media-the-secs-recent-ruling/

It is clear that there will be more discussions as we work to harness the power of social media in the world of investor relations.  We at CommPRO will continue to provide a variety of forums and platforms to air all points of view and provide insights into all of the matters that impact the practice of communications.