Weaver Stephens

Erica Stephens is always pleased to have her love of NPR validated. One of the first things I tell a young person trying to break into media relations is “Listen to NPR.” Get your recommended daily allowance of National Public Radio (WABE 90.1 in Atlanta), and you are virtually guaranteed to be the most well-informed person in the room. The successful practice of B2B public relations depends heavily on one’s ability to link world and industry events to corporate strategic messaging. NPR delivers an incredibly diverse mix of industry specific news, global events, economic analysis, political punditry and pop culture tidbits.

But why take it from me? Josh Catone’s article “Why NPR is the Future of Mainstream Media” on Mashable.com explores how NPR continues to grow while other news outlets struggle. According to Catone, NPR’s 26.4 million weekly listeners are 11 times more than the daily circulation of USA Today, and greater than 9 times more than the prime time viewership of the #1 cable news channel in the US, Fox News. They have 860 local stations in their member network and operate 38 news bureaus around the world — 18 in foreign markets, which is greater than any other news gathering organization. NPR’s amazing growth over the past 10 years prompted FastCompany magazine in March to call NPR the “most successful hybrid of old and new media,” and wonder if NPR could be the savior of the news industry.

Now, tune-in to your local NPR station!

Erica Uncategorized

According to the Wall Street Journal, “Wal-Mart Stores Inc. plans to hire five public relations firms to promote its products. The nation’s largest retailer plans to put the firms on retainer and then have them bid on individual projects, an effort by the notoriously frugal retailer to contain costs.” A few years ago I read The Wal-Mart Effect by Charles Fishman, so this strategy sounds very familiar — and a little scary. Wal-Mart is notorious for whittling their suppliers to the bone.

Ann Zimmerman writes: “This strategy is becoming more common in the advertising industry as businesses attempt to rein in marketing budgets and spur creativity with a competitive ‘jump ball.’ The PR agencies will promote products in five key categories: food, apparel, electronics, financial services and its Web site, Walmart.com. Wal-Mart said the multimillion-dollar annual budget would be split among the agencies under the contract, divided by assignment.”

Two thoughts come to mind: 1) Boutique agencies are always battling for the “jump ball.” As a boutique firm that works primarily for closely-held businesses, we operate within small (by Wal-Mart standards), closely monitored retainers. ROI is a daily benchmark for us. 2) It will be interesting to learn two or three years from now how creative types respond to the relentless price pressure that Wal-Mart puts on its other suppliers.

Technorati Tags: price pressure, retainer, ROI, Wal-Mart

Erica Industry News price pressure, retainer, ROI, Wal-Mart

With increasing frequency, my colleagues and I find ourselves deliberating over the fate of the print publications we follow as professionals and media consumers. It’s a sad state of affairs, to be sure. This week I ran across a blog that offers fodder for our morbid new obsession: http://www.magazinedeathpool.com/magazine_death_pool/

Technorati Tags: magazines

Erica Industry News magazines

With the global economy foremost on everyone’s mind, outsourcing, domestic job creation and, most recently, a trend toward in-shoring, have become increasingly popular media topics. Two clients of Weaver Stephens Group are taking thought leadership roles in these areas.

Joe Barna, founder and CEO of CDE Services Inc., is featured in the February 2009 issue of Outsourcing magazine: “Obama and Outsourcing: Has Change arrived? Probably not much.” by Alan G. Downe. CDE Services Inc. is an Atlanta-based company that repairs and manufactures point of sales and office equipment. CDE designs and manufactures its own plastics, lenses, keypads, overlays and other components, with much of the work outsourced to its facility in Shanghai, China. 

And Dan Berman, chairman and CEO of PharmaCentra, an Atlanta-based marketing and services firm that provides customizable health care management programs for the pharmaceutical industry, is taking an active role in promoting rural job creation by co-hosting trade missions with the Georgia Department of Economic Development for Atlanta business owners. Dan is also speaking to industry and community groups about his own experience with rural economic development.

PharmaCentra’s Americus operations center opened in October 2008; the Swainsboro center opened June 2007. The expansions were part of PharmaCentra’s rural contact center model, which provides the company with high quality employees and brings careers to rural communities – including 150 new jobs in Americus and 60 to Swainsboro.

Expect to hear more from Dan and Joe in 2009.

Technorati Tags: economic development, inshoring, media topics, outsourcing, thought leadership

Erica PR & Marketing Tactics economic development, inshoring, media topics, outsourcing, thought leadership

Last year a client of ours, White Horse Advisors, commissioned a national survey of closely-held business owners. The survey, titled “America’s Entrepreneurialist Generation: Exit Planning and the Baby Boomer Age Wave,” was conducted in cooperation with Vistage International. In support of our outreach efforts, we launched a microsite where visitors can download the survey results.

This week I received a call from my client: “What did you guys do,” he asked. Traffic to the microsite had spiked and scores of people were suddenly downloading the survey. (We knew this because we receive an email notification every time a person registers to receive the survey results.)

The floodgates had opened thanks to a single, small (but obviously well-read) industry web site, The National Center for Employee Ownership, which posted a story about the survey to its news feed. Within hours, scores of people clicked-through to the microsite in order to download the full survey results.

A single drop in the vast Internet ocean had created a nice wave of interest for our client. Behold the power of online marketing.

Technorati Tags: microsite, online marketing, Vistage, White Horse Advisors

Erica PR & Marketing Tactics microsite, online marketing, Vistage, White Horse Advisors

Slogging away in the trenches got you down? Not getting the props you deserve? What you need is a Red Pencil on your bookshelf. Or maybe you just need to party the night away with best and brightest in Atlanta marketing.

That’s right, it’s time for the Atlanta Marketing Association’s AMY Awards. The late entry deadline has been EXTENDED to FEBRUARY 13.

The 2009 AMY Awards gala will be held on Thursday, March 19 from 5:30 p.m. to 9:45 p.m. in the Egyptian Ballroom at the Fox Theatre.

The AMY Awards celebrates results-driven marketing programs and honors leaders who drive and inspire their teams to excellence and achievement. The awards honor programs and campaigns in 10 different marketing categories, representing an array of marketing disciplines — from branding and advertising to social media and search marketing. Additionally, Marketer of the Year Awards will be presented to an outstanding agency and an outstanding corporate individual.

Technorati Tags: Atlanta Marketing Association, marketing

Erica Industry News, PR & Marketing Tactics Atlanta Marketing Association, marketing

I was discussing with a colleague an article that ran in the International Herald Tribune on January 30. The title was “Clients losing patience with U.S. law firms’ billable hours”. One paragraph in particular caught my attention: “The system of billing by the hour has been firmly in place since the 1960s; keeping track of time spent provided a rationale for the amount charged. In earlier, perhaps more trusting times, firms stated a price ‘for services rendered,’ without explanation.”

On the same day, I talked with an independent practitioner about his difficulty in managing retainer clients. Some of his clients required work that far exceeded their pre-arranged monthly retainer. Others required much less time, and the clients rightfully questioned the return they were getting for their investment.

With companies managing budgets and scrutinizing results like never before, both clients and service providers benefit from transparent, detailed time reporting and billing. It helps service providers manage productivity sapping issues like scope creep (i.e. when a minor web page update morphs into a web site overhaul). And it provides clients with the necessary justification for their investment.

And frankly, it just doesn’t make sense to do business any other way. Even when we take on projects that have a finite budget and timeline, we use time tracking and detailed reporting to manage our scope of work and demonstrate value to clients. For our retainer clients, we use real-time reports to prioritize activities and manage long term and short term projects — as well as to stay within our budget and avoid surprises. As a client, you have the right to know exactly how your time (and money) is being invested. We use a monthly subscription service called ClickTime Web Timesheet. Whether your team is working together in the office or in separate remote locations, everyone can log hours in real-time.

Technorati Tags: billable hour, billing, retainer

Erica PR & Marketing Tactics billable hour, billing, retainer

One of the most powerful tools in business-to-business public relations and marketing is the client case study. A truly compelling case study should:

• Name the client (a blinded case study is adequate for marketing but lacks credibility for media relations purposes)
• Demonstrate measurable return on investment
• Provide value to the reader in the form of best practices, tips or advice
• Be written in journalistic style, not laden with marketing jargon and self-serving messages

Client case studies – for all the potential value they hold – are also very time consuming and labor intensive. But a solid case study is the most powerful evidence of your value to your clients. Client case studies are like marketing testimonials on steroids. And when the story is told in an objective and journalistic style, the media relations value can be equally as high.

In late 2008, Weaver Stephens Group produced a client case study for Atlanta-based Pathbuilders. The case study showcased the work they did for their client, LeasePlan USA. The content developed for the case study was so compelling that it led to a Wall Street Journal article, two industry award nominations and one award – not to mention that both companies now have a powerful marketing tool can be used over and over for years to come.

Tips and tricks:

1. Avoid wasting your time and money by getting approval from everyone in your client’s organization before you get started. State clearly what you intend to use the case study for (e.g. to formulate media pitches and as content for marketing).
2. Start with the results and work your way back through the story.
3. Identify base practices that provide the reader with value beyond the story itself.
4. Avoid marketing jargon. A well-done case study should read like an objective editorial piece.

Technorati Tags: business-to-business public relations, case study, media pitches

Erica PR & Marketing Tactics business-to-business public relations, case study, media pitches