With many leaders embarking on planning for the coming year, I thought it might be helpful to explore the optimal team structure for corporate communications. It is worth thinking about the structure of the communications department because beyond laying out the reporting structure, it can have a huge impact on workflow, workloads and collaboration. And these things can in turn [...]
One of the most sought-after skills in the business world today is “critical thinking.” The Wall Street Journal reported that mentions of critical thinking in job posts on the career-search site Indeed.com have doubled since 2009. Critical thinking also ranked first on the “Most Important Skills for Next Gen Leaders” in a 2016 survey from Executive Development Associates, Inc. (EDA), [...]
The “About Us” page is one of the most important pages – and often most visited – on any company’s website. For most businesses, the messaging is first created at the early stages of the website’s design and most likely has not been reviewed since. However, while you may not be paying attention to it, potential customers are. It is [...]
The recent UN climate report, published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), demonstrates a dire necessity for organizations worldwide to take a stand against climate change and mitigate further climate-related damage. The UN’s IPCC is the world’s leading authority on climate science, and its recent report confirms the undeniable tie between human activity and climate change—as well as [...]
Differentiating your company and its products and services from the competition can be critical to the success of your business. Consider wireless service providers. AT&T Wireless, Verizon, T-Mobile and Sprint work hard to differentiate their service based on price, network coverage and their selection of phones. As you work to thoroughly analyze your competitors’ product and key messages, and develop [...]
Communiqué PR has had the opportunity to work with Flowroute, now part of Intrado, for more than five years. Throughout these years we have supported a variety of company announcements including solution updates, new partnerships, as well as its acquisition in 2018. We also continue a regular proactive pitching campaign where Flowroute’s executives share best practices for decision makers around [...]
A good company name defines who the company is and what it offers. The name sets the tone for the business and cues people in on what it does. Sound important? Absolutely, and that’s why it’s critical for businesses to choose a name that’s impactful and easy to remember, but also conveys what the company does. Choosing a name is [...]
Last month, we collaborated with Delta-Q Technologies (Delta-Q) to launch its new partner program, "Charged by Delta-Q.” The program is a battery compatibility initiative to help original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) identify and deploy quality power systems in their equipment. Delta-Q created this program to increase collaboration among battery manufacturers and OEMs. The program provides OEMs with a library of power [...]
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 [...]
If the stock market has got you down, consider this: The conceptualization and launch of new companies, as well as the contraction and consolidation of existing businesses, are tenets of “economic dynamism,” a concept that illustrates the ebb and flow of financial progress needed for economic stability and progress. In a nutshell, fluctuations are necessary for growth. Yet with the [...]
In today’s digital world, PR pros are offered an array of avenues to help voice their client’s message and shape public opinion. Comment sections are among these channels, but pose an interesting dilemma. Comment sections have become the playground for “trolls,” or negative commenters. These “trolls” pose a risk of defaming the efforts of PR pros. So the question remains: [...]
Recently, we’ve been preparing announcements for several of our clients attending upcoming industry trade shows. In fact, we’ve developed and executed strategies to support attendance at conferences across different industries all around the country, including ProMat 2017 in Chicago, ShopTalk in Las Vegas and Enterprise Connect in Orlando. As we’ve been knee-deep in planning, we thought it would be helpful [...]
"As long as any business depends on its customers, their concerns, at whatever level, should also be the concerns of the business." This quote from Forbes magazine succinctly describes the philosophy behind corporate social responsibility, or CSR. Proponents of CSR laud its capacity to combine success in business with sustainable practices. Yet despite these positive associations, CSR is often criticized [...]
BlackSky Global is a satellite imaging company and the newest startup in Seattle’s burgeoning space industry. In June, the company announced its plan to deploy a 60-satellite imaging constellation to provide high-resolution images of the globe in near-real time. The company’s “satellite imaging as a service” business model provides cost-effective access to images from space to businesses, organizations, and governments [...]
Anyone who hasn’t been hiding under a rock knows that social media is not just for consumers anymore. While many companies have jumped on the social media bandwagon, a few still have not committed just yet. For those outstanding companies, getting started on Facebook can seem like a daunting task. If you find yourself in this category, here are a [...]
Recently I had the opportunity to do some in-depth research on how to launch a promotion on Facebook to help one of our clients meet its business and communications objectives. As I was discovering the various intricacies, guidelines and best practices, I thought it would be useful to develop and share a check list that can be used by any [...]
We are fortunate in the Northwest to be at the forefront of the mobile industry. Not only is the greater-Seattle area home to industry giants such as T-Mobile, Clearwire, AT&T Wireless and Microsoft, there are also numerous smaller companies that are fueling the growth and driving innovation in the mobile market. The upcoming Mobile Breakfast Series: Startup Nation being held [...]
At the end of every year, media outlets and blogs around the world curate powerful image galleries or compose stories that cause us to pause and reflect back on the year’s top events and headlines. From turmoil in the global economy and tragic natural disasters that hit Japan and Missouri, to global uprisings like the “Arab Spring” and the Occupy [...]
The use of the serial, or Oxford, comma has been a long debated topic. For those unfamiliar with the debate over this “rule,” an example with a serial comma follows: I have traveled to Seattle, San Francisco, and Dallas. Whereas, a serial comma omitted looks as follows: I have traveled to Seattle, San Francisco and Dallas. The Associated Press (AP) [...]
Image credit: BlackSky Technology Inc. BlackSky Technology Inc. (“BlackSky”), a leading technology platform providing real-time geospatial intelligence and global monitoring, recently announced the completion of its merger with Osprey Technology Acquisition Corp. and is now a publicly traded company (NYSE: “BKSY”). To memorialize the completion of the business combination, BlackSky had the distinct pleasure of ringing the opening bell at [...]
Should PR Pros Be Engaging in Comment Sections Online?