As 2008 comes to an end, we want to reflect on the highlights for the firm and our clients from this past year. It’s been a fantastic year filled with several client successes as well as personal successes. Despite the recent economic downturn, we have much to be thankful for and celebrate.

Throughout the year, our clients made some exciting announcements including new rounds of funding, product launches and new office openings to name a few. Communiqué PR was proud to develop and implement many successful PR campaigns on our clients’ behalf. Some of this year’s highlights include:

One of Communiqué’s newest clients, Attachmate, announced the availability of Verastream Host Integrator 6.6. This launch was an opportunity to re-engage Attachmate with both media and analysts. As a result of our outreach efforts, we successfully booked 12 press and analyst meetings and secured eight pieces of unique coverage in publications including IT Jungle, Integration Developer News and SOA World Magazine.

Skytap, formerly known as Illumita, announced the availability of Skytap Virtual Lab, which is available as an on-demand service over the Web. Communiqué garnered great coverage about the solution in InfoWorld, ZDnet.com, IDG News Service, Seattle Post-Intelligencer and Seattle Times.

In August, SNAPin Software was acquired by Nuance Communications. Communiqué is proud to have been an instrumental partner in helping SNAPin grow its position in the industry. This acquisition was a huge milestone for the company and garnered attention from the WashingtonPost.com, Reuters.com and the Seattle Times. Communiqué also placed two byline articles for SNAPin, in Telecommunications Online and Contact Management.

Big Fish Games, the world’s leading online destination for games and interactive entertainment, also made some big announcements this year. In September, the company closed $83.3 million in common stock financing. We were able to secure coverage with The New York Times, Washington Post, Seattle Post-Intelligencer and Puget Sound Business Journal as well as many other key business outlets. The company also announced the release of Mystery Case Files: Return to Ravenhearst and secured positive reviews from USA Today, GamePro and Game Informer.

In September, Communiqué began to work with Alaska Airlines to help the company prepare for the launch its in-flight Internet service, which will provide convenience to business travelers and an enhanced in-flight experience for leisure passengers. In preparation for the announcement, Communiqué coordinated several industry analyst briefings to secure third-party support for the service set to launch in 2009.

Most recently, Communiqué worked with Big Canvas, a creative developer of photo applications for the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch, to drive downloads of its OilCanvas iPhone application. As a result of our aggressive outreach, we secured interviews with BusinessWeek, mocoNews.net, InformationWeek and the Los Angeles Times. And just today we learned that the OilCanvas application is the #8 free app on the photography category on U.S. Apple store at this moment.

Some of the agency’s internal milestones during the year were as follows:

To kick off 2008, Communiqué PR celebrated its four-year anniversary in February. The celebration was not only a time for reflecting on the stellar business results we’ve helped achieve for our clients, but also a time to look ahead and set new goals as we entered into our fifth year.

In April, Communiqué PR’s founders Jennifer Gehrt and Colleen Moffitt continued to establish themselves as thought leaders in the PR industry through interviews with both PRWeek and Workingpr.com. Jennifer and Colleen provided insight on current industry trends, best practices and how PR has changed over the past 15 to 20 years. Both articles offer a great perspective on how to establish a company’s credibility and illustrate Communiqué PR’s philosophy and commitment to producing great results on behalf of our clients.

On June 12, Jennifer participated in a Business Wire luncheon titled, “The Importance of PR During a Recession.” The presentation focused on the competitive advantage PR provides during a recession, selling PR to key stakeholders, selecting your team wisely and strategically implementing PR tactics to stretch your PR dollars.

One of the biggest accomplishments of the year was the completion of Jennifer and Colleen’s book titled, “Strategic Public Relations: 10 Principles to Harness the Power of PR.” The book makes the case for the importance of leveraging PR for maximum impact and details the crucial role PR plays in helping a company meet both its business and communication objectives the book is set for release in early 2009.

Thank you to everyone that made 2008 such a success for Communiqué Public Relations. As we kick off 2009, we’ll continue to focus on fostering our existing relationships while forging new ones. Most importantly, we look forward to continuing to innovate, evolve and create excellence for our clients.

We wish you all continued success in 2009.

Happy New Year from the Communiqué PR team.