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The Articulate Amazing Race

The Articulate Account Foundation and Account Execution teams participated in the PRSA New York Amazing Race yesterday afternoon. Yes, yesterday afternoon in the heat and humidity of Manhattan.

Courtney, Margot, Isa, Bess and I traveled through midtown looking for various landmarks relating to media. While I can’t say that we completed all of the 25 or so tasks assigned to us during the scavenger hunt, we did learn a few things:

• People immediately assume you’re a tourist group when you’re all wearing the same t-shirt.
• When you preface a request with “I know this is strange, but it’s for a scavenger hunt,” you’ll typically get what you’re asking for.
• There is a Jamba Juice in the Time Warner Center. (Thanks Isa!)
• I am terrible at taking arm’s length pictures with my iPhone.

While we did not win the Amazing Race, it was a good way to spend a summer afternoon together, learning more about your coworkers than is discussed on a daily basis in our cubicles.

We did manage to get one decent, although slightly blurry, photo. Many thanks to the worker at the newsstand in the Conde Nast building for taking this picture with us, and earning us a few points!

By Ashleigh B. Egan

Beauty and the Beast: The Marriage of Image, Content and the Future of Media

“Blogs are often called the ugly stepchild of the media,” said Tina Brown, editor in chief of the popular news aggregator site The Daily Beast, at a recent media relations conference. “But they aren’t. You just have to look for quality.”

Brown herself is an expert at marrying content with images: She was editor of The New Yorker from 1992 to 1998, where she brought the prolific portrait photographer Richard Avedon on staff, launched Talk Magazine, a brief but star-studded monthly glossy and wrote the New York Times bestseller The Diana Chronicles on the late Princess Diana.

It would be hard to argue with Tina’s perspective that the web has always been designed by nerds, not with the visual instincts of an editor. At least not until now, that is. Using The Daily Beast as a reference point, Brown points out that blogs now have both the beauty and the brawn to elbow out traditional media. This is all well and good in an age where having the right information at your fingertips – regardless of who printed it first – is what’s most important to an audience. (One great example Brown mentioned during her talk: Does it really matter to a reader that Rolling Stone broke the story of the recent McChrystal scandal instead of TIME?)

For those of you like me, who worry not just about how our news is distributed but what those trends are doing to the failing ecosystem of print media, Brown has a challenging question. “Are some of the wounds newspapers and magazines currently suffering from self-inflicted? If a publication is owned by a major media conglomerate that squeezes the money out of editorial, then who is at fault?”

It’s hard to say. And while I’m not sure there’s a happy ending in the future of print media, we can be certain of one thing: the bloom is off the rose.

By Isa Loundon

Apple: A Dream Client, or a Tempest in a Teacup?

The iPhone 4 was released last week. Maybe you've heard of it-it's a new phone created by a small California start-up called Apple?  I hear they’re up and coming in the stock market these days.

Unless you’re in self-imposed exile in the deepest reaches of Antarctica (in which case, you’re most likely not reading this blog, but I digress), you’ve heard about the newest version of Apple’s “game-changing” iPhone.  Though I’m still attached to my rusty, trusty 3GS, I popped into the Upper West Side store (past the line of devoted followers that was snaking around the block, all waiting to get a new iPhone in their hot little hands) to check it out, and I have to say, it’s no slouch of a mobile device.  With a front-facing camera for video chat, a gorgeous screen with incredible resolution, and other little tweaks to improve its aesthetics, the iPhone 4 is pretty sweet.

If you’ve heard of the iPhone 4, you’ve mostly likely caught wind of that tiny little antenna problem that cropped up after its release.  After the iPhone became generally available, online message boards were flooded as Apple users angrily complained that their sleek new devices had poor reception and would randomly drop calls. 

What would Apple do?  This was the phone that was supposed to “change everything.  Again.”  Like many others, I’ve always been fascinated by Apple’s marketing and advertising strategies.  I won’t lie – the FaceTime video that Apple created, which has already racked up 1.8 million hits, had me clutching a Kleenex.  I wondered if something as a mass recall was imminent: after all, Apple had practically sold the iPhone 4 as an essential component of everyday life.  If you listened to Apple’s spin, it seemed like without the iPhone, the average American would be nothing, a shell of a person: peanut butter without jelly, salt without pepper, Tom Cruise without Scientology.

So I was rather shocked when Apple brought in the big guns, and Steve Jobs himself told consumers to do…absolutely nothing.  In an email to an iPhone 4 user, the notoriously blunt CEO certainly didn’t sugarcoat the issue, and told consumers to “just avoid holding it that way” or to use a case to prevent connectivity issues.

I slapped my head in amazement.  Had Steve Jobs just told the general public that by holding the phone in order to use it, as a phone, that they were doing something wrong?  I was ready to camp out in my apartment, thinking that the iPhone 4 consumers were ready to take to the streets with torches and pitchforks.  But besides the fact that accessory makers winged a hallelujah to the sky for Steve’s product endorsement, the rest of the public actually seemed…puzzled.  It seemed that users weren’t as angry or frustrated as they were bewildered by Apple’s response.  Somehow, Jobs had successfully diffused much of the vitriol that users had previously displayed immediately after the phone’s release. 

Though not everyone can get away with such an abrasive response, I realized that the CEO’s complete and utter confidence in his product and his willingness to directly address the issue served Apple well. 

We’re fortunate at Articulate to work with clients who know their products and brands inside and out, and while we provide lean communications services to reinforce their messaging and positioning, they give us great material to use.  It’s refreshing, efficient and fulfilling to work with folks who deliver that same level of industry know-how and conviction in their solutions and offerings.

Now, if Apple could just make a device that would vet ed-cal opportunities, I’d be all set.  And hey, Apple?  If you need a stellar PR firm, give Articulate a call.

By Courtney Hart

BP Struggling to Contain the Oil Spill Damage, both to the Environment and their Brand

Recently, I read a report that BP, in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico, was spending $10,000 per day for advertisements on several search engines for terms such as “oil spill” and “gulf spill.” This was an attempt to ensure that their website, outlining their response, would be at the top of the results page for people seeking more information on the developing story. While it is not an uncommon practice for companies to purchase ads on search engines for terms that describe their services or offerings, I found it interesting to see this tactic used in crisis communications in an effort to have greater influence over a conversation.

The strategy is an interesting one, innovative yet questionable in its ethics from my standpoint. On the one hand, it is a primary focus of PR to ensure that a company stays deeply involved in the discussion surrounding it and its industry. This has been a problem for BP since the explosion and subsequent oil spill began in April. Their PR efforts have struggled to find a voice, perpetually drowned out by the constant (but in my view, deserved) scrutiny from the media. By purchasing advertisements on search engines for related terms, BP is trying to force its perspective into the forefront in an effort to salvage its brand. In that sense, it is simply good crisis PR strategy.

However, the move can also be seen as BP trying to deceive the public and control the news that people are receiving. This feeling of mistrust is well-founded, as through this disaster BP has not always appeared entirely forthright to the public. The worry of BP deceiving people is also real, as some studies report that many people have a hard time distinguishing paid advertisements from unpaid search results. So, since some individuals may mistake BP’s voice for that of third parties; therein lies the questionable ethics.

Regardless of what one thinks concerning the ethics of the matter, this aspect of BP’s PR strategy offers two big lessons that all companies can learn from, even though they may likely never face a crisis situation such as the one at hand. First, it is vital that companies stay involved in industry conversations. In this case the method is debatable, but for most companies this can be achieved through proactive media campaigns, thought leadership, analyst relations, etc. Second, this situation shows the importance of SEO. With so many people getting their news and information from search engines, being a top return for relevant search queries is essential and proper SEO can help in achieving this goal.

By Bess Hammitt

Summer Party 2010 Photos

As promised, we now have some great photos from the Articulate summer party to share with the world:

http://davidgg.zenfolio.com/p342447588

Many thanks to our photographer, David Gardiner Garcia, and for everyone who came to the party!

Articulate Summer Party: The True Start of Summer

Last night was great for many reasons. It did not rain (contrary to Al Roker’s prediction), I had no problem getting a cab on the way home and the latest season of Top Chef started. However, my favorite reason is that last night was the Articulate Communications summer party. Every year, we bring together our employees, clients and friends of Articulate for a bash on the roof deck of 230 Fifth.

This was my first year attending the Articulate summer party, and I was not disappointed! With a staggering attendance of 145 (our most well-attended summer party ever!), we got to spend some social time with one another, without being separated by cubicle walls. We shared apps and drinks with clients and their loved ones, saw old friends from the industry, and I even ran into a fellow NYU master’s alumnus.

Why do we hold these parties every year? Yes, it’s fun to go to dress up, go to a nice venue and socialize. But, the real reason is so we can get to know our clients and potential future clients at a deeper level. There’s a certain surface-level relationship that you can have via e-mail and weekly update calls.  The real relationship begins when we escape our office and have some face-to-face time. We begin to understand one another even better once we move past the purely work relationship and venture into a social environment.

We care about our clients as both professionals and as people. It’s just as great to share some really good coverage as it is to hear that a client has gotten married or had a baby. As our relationships grow, we begin to see how each other ticks and we can work better professionally. Balancing work and play is important to us at Articulate, and if we can have fun while getting to know our clients better, then it’s a win-win!

So thank you to everyone who attended and made this year’s party a success! Pictures are coming soon!

By Ashleigh B. Egan

Growing by Leaps and Bounds – and Babies!

In 2010, I am proud to say Articulate is growing.  So far, we’re on target to be up 50 percent over 2009, and it speaks to the great team we’ve got here and the long-standing relationships we’ve built along the way.  But there is another metric for growth of which that I’m perhaps even prouder:  The growth of the Articulate family.

It’s hard for a small business to not feel like a family sometimes – the good and the bad, the comfortable relationships and the dysfunction, we’ve got it all.  But the birth announcements and Christmas card greetings on the Articulate refrigerator are my favorite reminders of the family we’ve built.

• Megan Garnett’s daughter Siena, just born this February – her mom’s return to work last month was not a moment too soon.
• Bonnie Biggee’s third child and first daughter, Paige, born in March – sons Ryan and Ethan and dog-bro Leo are all smiles, and we’re still trying to coerce Bonnie into moving back to Manhattan from the wilds of Connecticut.
• Shulamit Gershenson’s son Eitan and daughter Gaia, all moving to Florida – though it’s hard to imagine Shulamit there.
• Jennifer Buchhalter’s son Harrison and daughter Marley – Mom Jen is going like gangbusters internally at Cisco up in Boston.

Articulate the business is healthy and happy (most of the time!), and I’m delighted to report the same thing for all the Articulate babies!

Our new Articulate addition, already making an appearance on the blog, Siena:

 

By Laura Grimmer

Social Media and Small Businesses

While social media adoption is on the rise, many small business-to-business companies still view it as a marketing vehicle reserved for large consumer brands or too vast a medium to be tackled effectively by a small entity. A recent study by the Center for Media Research and the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business looked at the relationship between social media and small businesses and found that the technology adoption rates in the U.S. have doubled in the past year from 12 to 24 percent and that one in five small business owners are integrating social media into their business processes.

 

With economic uncertainty causing executives to tighten marketing budgets, social media can be a highly effective and cost friendly marketing tactic and customer service tool used by all businesses.  In fact, 45% of the small businesses surveyed in the University of Maryland study believe their social media initiatives will pay-off financially in 12 months or less.

 

At Articulate Communications we encourage clients to embrace social media as a fully integrated component of their strategic communications program.  If social media is adopted with a targeted, strategic approach aimed at delivering the right message, to the right audience and the right time, a small business-to-business company can see immediate return.  Here’s how:

 

·         Low cost – It’s free to join LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, etc.  Social media is filled with inexpensive or free tools that marketers and public relations practitioners can use to engage with key constituents, energize the client user-base and promote product and corporate news.  The manpower required to write 140 character Tweets or post a question to a LinkedIn group are minimal – even on a small business budget.

 

·         Improve customer service and encourage word-of-mouth referrals -- Happy, vocal customers are always an effective sales tool.  By cultivating these relationships online and establishing a two-way dialogue with customers, businesses can shrink the emotional distance between the company and the consumer.  By actively listening, observing and participating in social networks, companies can not only use social tools to sell directly to consumers but to help consumers sell to each other by turning their most active customers into advocates and encouraging them to take action i.e., product reviews, shared stories, general word-of-mouth activity.

 

·         Engagement with target journalists and analysts – Journalists and industry analysts who follow your company are probably entrenched in social media – in fact, most media outlets today feature blogs penned by beat reporters and columnists. Companies can gain valuable insight into their market and competition through monitoring what journalist and analysts are saying.  Further, PR practitioners are given a direct view into the story development process.  Often, journalists will use social media tools like Twitter to solicit expert commentary and secure interview subjects.    

 

In today’s 24-hour news cycle, journalists don’t have time to seek, schedule and then wait for interviews to happen. They need real-time sound bytes and commentary when news breaks and are increasingly turning to blogs and micro-blogging sites to gathering this information.  For this reason, it’s important for companies to realize the importance of establishing a corporate blog as a primary thought-leadership tool, and for PR counsel to use the blog to support media outreach efforts and press release activity. 

 

·         Dissemination of news and events – Want to distribute a new white paper? Educate users on a new product upgrade? Tout new Web content? Drive Webinar attendance? For announcements that might not warrant a traditional press release, social networks offer a venue to promote corporate and marketing activity and distribute information users crave. 

 

By embracing social media, companies can meet their near and long-term business goals by keeping costs low and focusing on where social media tools and tactics can add the most value.

 

Is Silicon Valley the New Wall Street?

After more than two years of public fury aimed at Wall Street for pension funds lost and homes foreclosed, the tide is shifting to the opposite side of the country; the newest focus of the public’s outcry appears to be Silicon Valley. From loud questioning of Facebook’s privacy rules to the pending criminal charges that Google is facing in Germany, and U.S. Congressional mumblings about beefing up the Electronic Communications Privacy Act of 1986, it’s clear the public’s ire has found a new target.

This current wave of disapproval and uproar does not have the same fire as when Lehman collapsed and TARP funds were approved. That may be because these privacy issues have not had the same wide spread and disastrous financial effects, but it can also be attributed to how the industry has responded to the situation.

It seems technology companies have learned a thing or two from the finance industry’s recent public image whipping. Companies like Facebook are getting out in front of these issues, taking responsibility, and making changes for all to see (read more about CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s recent press conference here). At the same time, Google and Microsoft have joined privacy advocates to lobby for stronger laws to raise the standards around the personal information that both the government and corporations can have access to (read more here). 

It is too late for Silicon Valley to avoid the public’s anger, but so far they have differentiated themselves from Wall Street with proactive responses, making much needed changes and positioning themselves as part of the solution.  

By Alexandra Ames

Why PR awards mean more than shiny trophies and handshakes

The first few months have been busy from an awards standpoint at Articulate. So far this year we have been named a finalist for The Holmes Report SABRE Awards, a Small Business Commerce Association (SBCA) “Best of Business” award winner, a Hermes Creative Awards gold winner and a finalist for the PRSA Big Apple Awards.

What do these honors mean to us? Are they just some shiny trophies and certificates to display in the front of the office (the Hermes award in particular is quite majestic), or do they mean more?

Yes, the awards do help to justify and celebrate the good work that we like to think we do at Articulate. But they also serve as a learning experience for us. With each award ceremony that we attend or finalist list that we receive, we are learning more about the other agencies in our field and how they work to excel and take our profession to the next level. Are we competitive? Of course. But we also like to learn from our wins, and even more from our losses.

Take for example this year’s SABRE awards. Articulate was named a finalist for our work with Antenna Software. The winner in our category of “technology: software” was Golin Harris for their work on the Nintendo Wii. While we do not work in the consumer space, it’s interesting to look deeper into these winning campaigns, learning some strategies that they have followed that perhaps we could adapt to our own use.

It’s always nice to get a pat on the back for a job well done, but if you don’t learn from those who did a better job then you are doing yourself, and your clients, a disservice. Representatives from Articulate will attend the PRSA Big Apple Awards on May 27, where we are a finalist in the “marketing business-to-business” category. While we are excited at the possibility of winning, we’re just as excited to meet some of our fellow finalists in the industry and hearing more about their campaigns and successes. While we’re on a mission to learn more, keep your fingers crossed for us on May 27!

By Ashleigh B. Egan