Insights for Leaders Navigating
Visibility, Credibility, and Growth.
From media strategy to reputation management, we explore the trends shaping public perception and share the approaches that drive measurable results for growing brands.
In the tightest hiring market in 70 years, college students are expected to do more than just attend lectures and pass exams; they are also expected to fill their resumes from top to bottom with the all-important internship. So how exactly does a student rise above their peers and stand out to potential employers? Case competitions are a key differentiator.
Case competitions can vary tremendously in scope and intensity, from 24 hours to several weeks. Each case lays out a current, real-world business problem. With a group of peers, each team researches and plans a solution based on what they’ve collectively learned in the classroom, internships and any other relevant experience. On the last day of the competition, the team presents its findings and solution to a panel of judges. The top finishers then travel to other universities to compete at the next level, nationally and abroad.
I competed in mini 30-minute case competitions in high school through DECA, but it wasn’t until college that I experienced my first, big case. Recently, I participated in The IKEA Case Competition with a team of several other students. We were given information about a real solar energy company’s current financials, product, global placement and competitor standings. The case required us to do additional research, draw on classroom knowledge and present suggestions to a panel of judges, who play the role of the company’s top corporate executives. We were asked to concentrate on the future of the global energy market, global industry positioning, international expansion strategy and financials.
After 48 hours of research, digging through old class notes, lecture slides and textbooks, consuming mass amounts of coffee, debates over strategy and slaving over the PowerPoint presentation, it was time to present to the judges.
All of our work came down to 10 critical minutes of presentation and another 10 minutes of answering the judges’ questions. We managed to survive and even draw a few smiles and nods from the judges; overall, a rewarding first experience.
Through this experience we learned the importance of good communication and problem-solving in business. The purpose of the exercise is not to see how much you know about the solar energy market or how well you can create a strategy for that particular company. The point is to test a student’s ability to work on a team, look at a company they know little about and conduct useful research, apply business strategy fundamentals and solve a real-world problem.
Likewise, employers need their employees (even entry level employees) to showcase problem-solving skills above all else, NOT academic memorization skill. If my manager needs to hold my hand every hour of every day, then I’m not a valuable employee. She needs to be able to trust my ability to take a task, and use my own judgment and communication skills to figure out the best way to execute. Communication and problem-solving skills are the fundamental skills employers look for. Case competitions help students utilize and develop skills that would otherwise sit idle during lecture.
During my time as an intern at Communiqué PR, I’ve often thought back to the case competition and what I learned. Whether it is how I conduct a phone conference or ask a clarifying question, I think about the way I translate my need for information into clear, concise questions. I want to be valuable to any company, and I strongly believe the skills students further develop through case competitions contribute to their overall value as well as give them an advantage when looking for their first professional position.
This post was authored by Communiqué PR intern, Lindsey Turner.
With 2010 drawing to a close, many organizations have already mapped out their PR efforts for 2011. Planning is a critical element of PR to ensure everyone is in agreement on the upcoming year’s business and communication objectives, as well as the strategies and tactics that will be used to achieve those objectives.
It can take several weeks to plan for an announcement – development and approval of press materials, outreach to media, securing interviews and negotiating placement. As many “long-lead” or monthly publications often publish 30 to 90 days out, planning becomes even more critical. If you haven’t developed your 2011 PR plan, fear not, there’s still time. Consider the following elements to developing a sound PR plan for the coming year.
- Solidify business and communication objectives for the year – This is a paramount first step in determining the appropriate PR strategies and tactics that map back to achieving these objectives. This is also a good time to revisit key messages and target audiences to ensure these are still relevant.
- Brainstorm ideas – Take some time to meet as a team to brainstorm creative ideas. Perhaps this year your organization wants to up level its analyst relations program. Leverage the mindshare in the room to come up with new ideas to achieve this goal. You may even want to invite others not directly working on communications as they can often bring fresh eyes to the table.
- Develop a strategic PR plan that maps out key activities for each quarter – A good PR plan will have each quarter’s activities mapped out; however it’s important to be flexible as the timing for announcements, such as a product launch or partner announcement, may slip. I like to use Excel to develop a grid for each quarter and drop in the key milestones and launches I anticipate will occur within that quarter.
- Determine success metrics – How will you measure success against the strategies you’ve set forth in the PR plan? It’s important to get crystal clear on this and secure buy-in as it creates shared expectations as to the nature of a successful campaign. There are a number of ways to measure success including story placements, share of voice, return on influencers, etc.
- Secure approval on the plan – Once you’ve completed and presented the PR plan, it’s important to secure feedback and approval on the plan. Again, this creates shared expectations on the PR activities that will be implemented within the coming year.
Proper planning can ultimately determine whether or not a PR campaign is a success or a flop. For more information on how to develop a strategic PR plan, send us an e-mail.
Case studies can be an excellent way to shape perceptions about a company’s service, software or products. For instance, consider Serials Solutions, a provider of services for more than 3,000 libraries worldwide.
When I headed off to college in the late 80s, I took a typewriter not a computer. Similarly, the process of conducting research for term papers was very different back then. Today’s students are accustomed to searching for information using Google (or some other search engine), and because of this, expect a Google-like experience when they go to their university libraries to do research.
Serials Solutions has developed unique services to help students and librarians alike. For example, Serials Solutions Summon™ service makes it possible for students to find and access material in their library from a single search box. Serials Solutions’ family of 360 services also provides solutions to librarians that make the discovery, management and access of electronic resources easier as well.
Serials Solutions’ services are critical as many of today’s libraries are subscribing to more and more electronic content. Stanford University’s engineering library, for instance is embracing the “age of bookless libraries” with most of its periodicals moving online.
To help others understand the unique capabilities of Serials Solutions’ services, we recently completed the development of ten case studies. Each case study illustrates the distinct needs of each college and university, provides insight on why the librarians selected Serials Solutions and explains the impact of its services on both researchers and librarians.
The case studies were developed after in-depth interviews with librarians, and careful review and assimilation of our notes. We then wrote first drafts and secured feedback and approvals from all parties.
When completed, the case studies will be published on the Serials Solutions website and will be an excellent tool for the sales force to reference in the field. Additionally, these case studies can serve as background for journalists wanting to better understand how these services are being used, the future of information literacy and how libraries are measuring return on investment from the adoption of Serials Solutions’ services. Finally, they’ll be a good source of content for the Serials Solutions Facebook and Twitter pages.
For more information about Communiqué PR case studies, please take a look at Securing Placements of Case Studies in Vertical Publications.
Every day on my way home from work, I drive by the same auto body shop, Collision One, and every day its sign catches my eye. It’s not because the sign is particularly flashy or that the colors are surprising – it catches my eye because I think the tagline is brilliant. The tagline reads, “Like It Never Happened.”
Simple and easy to read quickly, this tagline sums up the exact feeling its patrons want to experience when they leave the shop. No one wants to be in a fender bender and it’s even less fun to be reminded of the accident by dents and scratches on your car. “Like It Never Happened” lets the consumer know that the company cares about you AND your car, and signals that it takes pride in quality work. That’s a lot of information to derive about a company from just a few words on a sign, isn’t it?
There are many studies that show first impressions are often the most lasting. In a way, I look at a company’s tagline as an opportunity to make its best first impression about its brand. Given this, it’s important that your tagline be appropriate to the type of business you are running; not only that it’s catchy, but that it also conveys a positive feeling to your target consumer. The risk of having a tagline that confuses or puts customers off is very costly as they may simply opt to go to your competitor.
Here are a few other taglines that are getting the job done:
- “Works Like A Dream” – Ambien
- “The Quicker Picker Upper” – Bounty
- “The Happiest Place on Earth” – Disneyland
- “Play. Laugh. Grow.” – Fisher Price
- “American by birth. Rebel by choice.” – Harley Davidson
- “Every Kiss Begins with Kay” – Kay Jewelers
- “What Happens Here, Stays Here” – Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority
- “Hope. Care. Cure” – Seattle Children’s Hospital
Do you have any favorites? I’d love to hear about taglines that have kept you going back to a business year after year.
A few weeks ago, while conducting blogger outreach for a client, I ran up against an interesting dilemma. Several of the bloggers I reached out to had agreed to write about my client’s event, but requested money in the form of a “sponsored post” to do so. Generally the fee was $100-150 a post, which doesn’t sound like much, but coming from a world where “earned media” is the name of the game, I was a little taken aback.
Not exactly sure how sponsored posts play into my position as a PR counselor, I wanted to see what others in the industry had to say about sponsored posts and their value. I found a fascinating article on DaveFleet.com called “Why Paying Bloggers For Posts Changes The Game.”
In the article, Dave discusses three ways that sponsored posts are changing the game:
- Earned media has more credibility. According to Dave, “PR has traditionally played in the ‘earned media’ space,” and “earned media brings with it lots of advantages.” The main advantage is simply that earned media has more credibility thanks to third-party endorsement. Even though bloggers ultimately have the ability to decline a story idea or write on something totally different than what you suggest, I agree with Dave. Speaking from personal experience, when I see sponsored posts I question if the product is REALLY good or not. Says Dave: “You earn coverage; you pay for ads. You can’t have things both ways.”
- The roles change. According to the article, “On the earned media side, the PR person is looking for a win-win situation – they’re looking to win through favorable coverage; meanwhile, they’re looking to provide value to the blogger through content opportunities that fit their needs.” Once a blogger accepts payment for a post, Dave contends, they become a service provider and the PR person is the client. This puts a lot of pressure on the blogger as now there is a real expectation of quality service (i.e., positive coverage of your client organization).
- Bloggers need to compete for budget. With a lagging economy there is competition for marketing expense budgets. As such, PR pros and marketers have found creative ways to maximize the value and results they can earn on a limited budget. Paying for placements in a budget-conscious environment may be difficult.
After reading this article, I can see both the benefits and drawbacks of paid blog posts. However, because earned media has more credibility, I believe in most instances it’s best to develop compelling story ideas and work closely with the bloggers to create a mutually beneficial story without paying them.
We recently started working with The Shops at the Bravern, a stylish shopping center in Bellevue that offers a wide variety of shops and restaurants such as Neiman Marcus, Karen Millen, Tory Burch and local favorites John Howie Steak and Chocopolis.
Our first task was driving awareness for The Bravern’s Christmas tree lighting on Fri., Nov. 19, which also served as the kick-off to its “Enchanted Holidays at The Bravern.” Hosted by KIRO TV’s Jenni Hogan, along with the SeaGals escorting Santa’s sleigh, attendees were treated to carolers, kettle corn and hot cocoa to help kick-off the holiday shopping season in style.
In order to drive awareness and attendance at the event, we developed a media alert and conducted outreach to local print and broadcast media as well fashion, food and mommy bloggers. As a result of our outreach we garnered coverage in several local publications including 425 Magazine, Bellevue Reporter, Downtown Bellevue Network, MOMStart, Red Tricycle. We also secured more than 18 placements in local event calendars.
The tree lighting was only the beginning of a season full of wonderful holiday events at The Bravern. The Bravern has a wide variety of fun holiday activities for the whole family including free pony rides, breakfast with Santa and Mrs. Claus, cookie decorating and photos and letters with Santa. Big kids at heart are invited to partake in “Cool Winter Nights,” a happy hour-inspired evening by the fire sipping cocktails and enjoying nibbles from Wild Ginger. If you are interested in any of these events, feel free to visit The Bravern’s holiday website at http://www.thebravern.com/holiday.
If you’ve never experienced The Bravern, the holidays are a great time to visit, whether it’s shopping for the perfect gift or looking for a unique stress-free holiday experience for the family. Communiqué decided to host our holiday gathering at The Bravern enjoying spa services at Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spas and lunch at Wild Ginger. It was a perfect place to relax and enjoy each other’s company.