Marketing Buzz or Bust? How to Decide if a Sponsorship Makes Sense for Your Client or Business Marketing…By Gina F. Rubel, Esq., Laura Powers, and Amanda Walsh of Furia Rubel Communications, Inc. It can be overwhelming for business owners to cut through the tremendous amount of sponsorship and miscellaneous advertising opportunities for various professional organizations, nonprofit events or trade shows.
How does one decide, in a strategic way, which opportunities are the best fit for the business?
Gina F. Rubel, Esq.’s book Everyday Public Relations for Lawyers outlines some strategic questions to consider when thinking about where to spend marketing dollars for events and sponsorships:
Going Green, SRI, ESG – Whatever You Call It, Investors Now Demand Sustainability Corporate Comm…By Peter A. Soyka, President of Soyka & Co. Although investor relations and other senior corporate officials are generally unaccustomed to receiving questions about their firm’s sustainability position and performance, they can expect this to change. Investors and the analysts that serve them are increasingly turning their attention to an array of issues that extend beyond the conventional focus on the financials and perceived key business drivers. In fact, during the past five years or so, a growing movement spawned by the Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) community has taken shape that focuses squarely on a number of key environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues.
Dialing for Dollars and Sense: 10 Ways to Take the Hurt Out of Quarterly Conference Calls IR Therefore I Am…By Gene Marbach When the news is good – such as when a company beats consensus estimates – the quarterly conference call is typically a victory lap for the CEO and his team. Analysts offer their congratulations on the quarter’s performance and the whole affair becomes somewhat of a lovefest. That certainly is something that makes investor relations officers happy. What happens when things go wrong?
There is No Silver Bullet: It’s Time to Focus on the Simple Truths of PR Measurement By Mark Weiner, CEO of PRIME Research for The Prime Research PR ROI Channel If you are hoping for a silver-bullet solution to solving the challenge of proving the value of PR, you may be disappointed. On the other hand, you may also share a sigh of relief knowing that even “experts” debate best practices for measuring and evaluating PR performance. Today, tomorrow, next week and next month at conferences around the world, there will be no shortage of opinion and no easy solutions. A variety of approaches are constantly being discussed, debated and demonstrated, centering on two themes:
Mr. Loeb, 48, takes over immediately for Charles Lankester, who will leave the agency to pursue other opportunities, the company said in a press release. He will report to Edelman Global Practices president and CEO Alan VanderMolen.
Mr. Loeb. joined Edelman in 2009 as executive vice president of U.S. crisis and issues practice, and director of the Chicago crisis and issues management unit.
In addition to overseeing client services, Mr. Loeb developed a digital “nervous system” product and helped clients improve how they plan for, respond to and assess crisis communications …
Wanted at Goldman: Social Media PR Pro Crain’s New York Business If you think getting paid to tweet or update a Facebook page would be a fabulous way to make a living and are interested in helping a prominent Wall Street firm overcome some first-rate PR fiascos, Goldman Sachs would like to hear from you. The bank is looking to hire a “social media community manager,” according to a posting on its site. The successful applicant will “establish a positive online presence for Goldman Sachs as well … integrate our messaging into the online community in a compelling and valuable way for participants.” In other words, the job is about helping change the public image of the bank memorably coined the Vampire Squid into something bit more cuddly. The employment opportunity comes as Goldman tries to remake its public image …
Prospective tourists are getting a taste of America’s landscape, population and culture in a campaign to try and save its declining tourism industry.
The print, web and video ads released on Tuesday were created by Brand USA, a partnership of government agencies and private companies. The consortium was developed to act like the tourism ministries of countries such as Ireland, Italy or Israel. It’s the first time that the U.S. has marketed itself as a tourist destination to people living in other countries …
60 Percent of Businesses Say Social Media Marketing Improves Customer Service Brafton A report from thinkJar and Sword Ciboodle suggests customer service is among the areas most likely to benefit from active use of Facebook, Twitter and other platforms. According to the study, 60% of companies in the U.S. and the U.K. are using social in part to improve their customer service. If found that 60% of companies polled are using both Facebook and Twitter to answer questions from customers and address feedback. 85% use at least one of the two channels.
Larger companies that field a substantial number of queries from customers have found that social can help alleviate the strain of call centers or other parts of the business dedicated to customer service. 40% said they have been using social media marketing as part of customer service for at least two years, while 53% said they have implemented it in the last two years …
Facebook Roadshow Scheduled for May 7; Trading Likely to Begin May 18 Reuters The roadshow for Facebook Inc’s initial public offering is scheduled to start on Monday, meaning the company’s shares should begin trading on May 18, a source familiar with the process said on Tuesday.
Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who has mostly operated in the background during Facebook’s journey to public markets, will be involved in the roadshow, another source said.
IPO roadshows, in which company management present their strategy to prospective investors, typically last two weeks. If the roadshow goes particularly well, shares sometimes start trading a few days earlier …
IROs on the Go: Orex Engages Jennings in Lead Investor Relations Role The Street Orex Minerals announced that it has engaged Jada Jennings as a Senior Communications & Investor Relations Consultant pursuant to an agreement dated May 1st, 2012 (the “Agreement”). Ms. Jennings will be based out of the Vancouver head office, and will report to Gary Cope, President.
Ms. Jennings has more than 16 years of corporate communications, media and public relations experience, both in-house and as a consultant. In accordance with the Agreement, she will be responsible for implementing day-to-day strategic communications and media relations efforts for the Company, in addition to spearheading ongoing investor relations initiatives to increase shareholder and retail/institutional market awareness of the Company and its projects …
In Case You Missed It: Spirit Airlines’ Refusal to Refund Vet’s Ticket Earns It an “F” in PR Fox Business Ever wonder why OWS despise corporations? Here’s the answer: Spirit Airlines and lawyers. Spirit, of course, is the airline that has been blistered in the media for refusing a dying Vietnam veteran a $197 ticket refund, because his doctor forbade him to fly. The 76-year-old esophageal cancer sufferer, Jerry Meekins, bought a ticket on Spirit to fly from Clearwater, Fla. to visit his daughter in Atlantic City ‚Äö√Ñ√∂‚àö√ë‚àö¬® perhaps for the last time. But then his doctor nixed the trip. And Spirit nixed the refund. Meekins went public with his plight. And Spirit CEO Ben Baldanza, like most CEOs, no doubt must have turned to his lawyers for benevolent counsel. The lawyers’must have offered the predictable advice: “Spirit has a non-refundable ticket policy. Refunding Mr. Meekins’ ticket would set a dangerous precedent.” …
Crisis Communications: Herbalife Scrambles as Einhorn Questions Drops Shares 20% The Wall Street Journal Herbalife Ltd.’s typically mundane quarterly earnings call suddenly became more interesting when a noted U.S. hedge-fund manager played research analyst and began questioning the sales accounting at the maker of nutrition and weight-loss products. The result removed 20% of Herbalife’s market value and left company executives scrambling to defend the business. While Herbalife observers said the odd public exchange didn’t reveal any new information, the conversation spooked investors because of Einhorn’s reputation …
FTC Turns to Twitter: US to Review Online Marketing of Beer, Spirits and Wine Kansas City Star In an ambitious venture, the Federal Trade Commission is requiring 14 major alcoholic beverage producers to release information about their Internet and digital marketing efforts. The parent companies for storied wineries including Kendall-Jackson, Robert Mondavi and Beaulieu Vineyard, as well as the likes of Anheuser-Busch and Bacardi, are all being tapped for precious data likely to shape future advertising rules.
“The industry is innovating quickly,” Johns Hopkins University public health specialist David Jernigan said in an interview Tuesday, while “the pace of regulation and monitoring” has lagged.
Director of the Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth at the university’s Bloomberg School of Public Health, Jernigan said the new study “can shine a bright light” on industry marketing that’s rapidly evolving to exploit new technologies …
New Online Ad Forecast: 12% Growth for 2012 Mediapost Just as gadget-crazed as consumers, advertisers are expected to accelerate their nontraditional media spends through 2012. MagnaGlobal now expects spending on Internet media (including national and local) to grow by 12.2%, this year. That’s up from the Interpublic unit’s previous forecasts of 10.9%, and, if correct, will represent $35.6 billion and a 20.2% market share. Letang expects mobile-related online ad revenues to grow by 53% in 2012, to reach $2.4 bil. With $1.6 billion in 2011, mobile advertising already represents 5% of online advertising, and 1% of total domestic advertising …
