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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.

Supporting Delta-Q Charge the Lithium Battery Industry

For nearly four years, Communiqué PR has been working with Delta-Q Technologies (Delta-Q) to help achieve its communications objectives and raise awareness of its battery-charging solutions for electric-drive vehicles and machines.

From industrial floor cleaners to sport and utility vehicles, Delta-Q continues to transform the battery-charging market by providing solutions that allow original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and battery management system (BMS) manufacturers to seamlessly integrate charging systems into equipment (powered by both lead-acid and lithium-ion batteries).

This month has been an exciting and busy time for Delta-Q! We announced that Haulotte North America (HNA) selected Delta-Q’s IC650 battery charger for its towable telescope trailer boom lift line. We conducted media outreach to secure in-person meetings for Delta-Q executives while attending the GIE+EXPO in Kentucky. Last but not least, we announced the expansion of Delta-Q’s ICL Series with the release of its new ICL900 lithium battery charger.

To support these announcements we shared the news with contacts in Delta-Q’s key segments, including aerial work platforms, floor care machines, golf cars, lift trucks, power sports, and utility and transportation. Following are the results we secured just this month on behalf of Delta-Q:

Delta-Q/Haulotte Coverage

ICL900 Coverage

As lithium-ion batteries continue to make their way into the industrial industries, Delta-Q responds, providing both the product and professional expertise to help OEMs and BMS manufacturers better understand the uncharted territory and integrate reliable solutions.

If you’re interested in reading about past announcements and the results Communiqué secured on behalf of Delta-Q, check out the blog posts below!

Delta-Q Supports Lithium Powertrain System Development with Lithium Charger Development Kit

Helping Delta-Q “Lead the Charge in Innovation”

 

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In Defense of Fun Fun Fun in the Workplace

While it seems counterintuitive, the idea of “fun” in the workplace is actually pretty divisive.

There’s always at least one overly enthusiastic member of an office “Fun Committee” who is just a little too excited about organizing the next happy hour, or potluck, or ping pong tournament (“Cake in the break room for Karen’s birthday!!!!!”).

Then there are the people that audibly grumble about workplace activities every single time and wouldn’t be caught dead at an office happy hour or potluck (“We just want to do our work in peace, please!”).

Throughout my career I’ve been on both sides of the office fun debate, but as the current chair of Communiqué PR’s “Fun Fun Fun Committee,” I find myself increasingly in favor of fun at work, and not just because I like eating cake and taking breaks.

After all, most of us spend at least a third of our lives at work so why shouldn’t we be enjoying ourselves while also being productive? Does it have to be an either/or debate? Virgin Group’s Richard Branson has said, “Fun is at the core of the way I like to do business, and it has been key to everything I’ve done from the outset.”

Indeed, studies have shown that fun at work has a multitude of benefits in terms of building employee morale, bolstering team dynamics and relieving stress:

Fun helps retain and recruit talent

 

Forbes notes in a February 2017 article “Benefits of Fun in the Workplace” that “many millennials are drawn to positive work atmospheres; in fact, 60 percent of 2015 graduates reported that they rather would work for a company with a ‘positive social atmosphere’ even if it meant a lower paycheck.”

Consider that a workplace’s culture has a huge influence in the employees that it attracts and retains. Unproductive, frivolous or unprofessional “fun” activities can be the downfall of organizations (as hard-partying tech companies like Zenefits and others have found out), but if organized in alignment with a company’s culture and values, team activities can boost employee morale and a business’ bottom line.

Fun keeps employees engaged

No matter what industry you’re working in, it’s important that you’re operating at the top of your game. However, stressful, high-performing work environments often go hand in hand with employee burnout and disengagement. The Forbes article notes, “In different studies conducted by Gallup and the Queen’s School of Business, disengaged workers had 49 percent more accidents and 37 percent higher absenteeism. Moreover, healthcare costs at high-stress companies are 46 percent higher.”

A positive, fun work environment can help bolster client relationships

As the American Express Open Forum article, “6 Reason to Have More Fun at Work,” notes, “Happy, enthusiastic employees foster enthusiastic customers. Enthusiasm is infectious. People like it. A happier staff that has more fun is a staff that can sell your business to the outside world.”

But look, I get that not everyone wants to – or is able to – participate in office foosball tournaments and birthday gatherings. Every work environment has meetings, deadlines and deliverables that need to be completed; work can’t grind to a halt on a daily basis in the interest of fun breaks.

The key is that – just like in your personal life – you can’t force fun on people. And in a work situation, fun can’t be mandatory. The BBC has an insightful story (“We Are Not Amused: The Tyranny of Forced Fun at Work”) about the downside to forced fun:  “When participating in forced fun becomes a requirement, employees can become resentful of needing to step away from tight deadlines in order to do what feels less important. Others simply don’t want to spend what can feel like unnecessary time with work colleagues they already see more than 40 hours a week at the office. And frankly, for some people, forced participation is just not enjoyable no matter how you look at it.”

The occasional happy hour might not be a cure-all for disengaged, stressed out and unhappy employees. But organizing team activities that help create emotional connections within the organization, that foster a culture where employees can conduct meaningful work while offering recognition or rewards, are a solid first step in that direction.

Plus, there’s usually cake!

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Measuring the Value of PR

In our data-driven world, it’s a challenge to show dollar-for-dollar the value of PR as it is a bit less tangible than other services. Ultimately all clients want to know whether the money, time and energy that went into a campaign changed consumer behavior and, more importantly, generated profit. To prove your campaign’s ROI, you need to report on meaningful metrics that relate directly to business goals and objectives.

To ensure PR efforts are purposeful and deliver value for clients, it’s important to clearly define the goals and objectives, agree on measurement, determine what success looks like and report on the results. Consider the following tips when you measure your next campaign.

Outline Goals and Objectives

Ultimately, your PR efforts should support your client’s business objectives. Why are you investing time and resources into a particular campaign? What do you hope to get out of it? Who are you targeting? What is the intended message? Don’t stop asking questions until you have a strong understanding of how it maps to business objectives.

Many companies are looking for a silver bullet to achieve their communication goals. Moving the needle and making an impact requires a sustained commitment. Predictable, consistent and, of course, interesting communication is the key to building trust and long-lasting relationships with your audiences.

Agree on Measurement

Once you’ve defined your goals, how exactly do you demonstrate your ROI for them? Choose the right metrics. It’s vital to clearly define your metrics and KPIs on the forefront, and determine how to quantify and benchmark progress over time. Check out Cision’s Metrics That Inform vs. Metrics that Prove: A Guide for Content Marketers for more tips on matching measurement and goals.

For marketing people, advertising is easier to wrap their heads around. In advertising, leads and quantifiable metrics, click-through-rates and page views provide a direct correlation to how people are moving through the sales funnel. With public relations, it’s a bit less tangible.

Interestingly, Forbes columnist Robert Wynne cites a study conducted by the L.A. Times about editorial content sections and advertising in the paper. The multi-year study found that editorial content is at least 10 times more valuable than advertising, 60 times more valuable if the story is on a front section and 100 times more valuable on the front page of the paper. Generally speaking, earned media has more credibility because it was independently verified by a trusted third party, rather than purchased.

Furthermore, there is a general awareness that grabbing consumers’ attention is getting harder and more frustrating across nearly all types of media. People are avoiding print ads, skipping through TV commercials and cutting cable subscriptions. Reaching consumers online is getting tougher too, between the rising use of ad blockers and scams in which fake, computer-generated web traffic lures in ad dollars. As a result, companies are rewriting their marketing playbooks and rethinking the value of PR.

Define Success

To prove your campaign was successful, you’ll need to set a baseline for each metric you report on. To set a baseline, it is best to think about the results of previous campaigns and determine your average results. If this is the first time you are measuring the results of a campaign, determine a baseline using industry standards and consider benchmarking against competition.

Analyze and Merchandise Results

Once your campaign is over and you have your hands on all the data, how do you cohesively demonstrate your success? Present one, comprehensive report that highlights results and tells your campaign’s story. Some best practices include:

  • Start with an introduction that outlines the purpose of your campaign and the goals you wanted to achieve.
  • Organize the report in sections that show the diversity of activity. For example, outline developing materials, earned media outreach, social media engagement, etc.
  • Conclude with lessons learned and ideas to optimize future campaigns.

Take the lessons learned and immediately establish a follow-up plan while the campaign’s fresh in your mind. Then, consider conducting an A/B test with your next campaign to optimize how you connect with your audience.

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The Importance of Investigative Journalism

As we can see from this week’s CBS “60 Minutes” segment The Whistleblower and the Washington Post’s article The Drug Industry’s Triumph Over the DEA, investigative journalism continues to have a significant impact on public perception and people’s careers. Hopefully it will also have an impact on future laws.

In case you missed it, the Washington Post and the CBS newsmagazine both did stories on Oct. 15, 2017 about Tom Marino’s role helping drug distributors pass a pharmaceutical-friendly law that allowed drug makers to distribute more painkillers to places that were already in the midst of the opioid crisis. This law also simultaneously curtailed the Drug Enforcement Agency’s  efforts. Finally, to add insult to injury, Marino was paid $100,000 from the pharmaceutical lobby for his egregious work advocating for this law.

After these stories broke there was widespread outrage around Marino’s role as the chief architect and sponsor behind the law, as well as his nomination to be the drug czar. He had been nominated by President Trump to be the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. On Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2017 he withdrew from consideration.

This story is especially important because we’ve lost more than 200,000 lives to the opioid epidemic. This is a staggering number of people and the ripple of effect of these deaths will be far reaching for many decades to come. Families have been destroyed. Children are often the biggest victims, losing parents to death or growing up in a chaotic environment where one or both parent’s top priority is drug-seeking.  (For more on this, NBC has done a couple of powerful recent stories.)

Other big investigative stories in 2017 that hopefully will impact change include:

Clearly, investigative reporting is expensive and time consuming, however, as we can see it is important and can impact change. Newspaper advertising revenue and operating budgets may have declined, but these stories still need to be told. While some may deride the news media, these stories are powerful examples of how they continue to play a role in keeping the American public informed and hold government officials, executives and board of directors accountable.

For more on investigative journalism, please check out these articles

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Social Media During Natural Disasters

With the flurry of recent hurricanes – Harvey, Irma and Maria – many people are still facing the harsh reality of their aftermath. It’s nearly impossible to prepare for weather of this magnitude, which is why these hurricanes were especially dangerous. Scientists and researchers feared that these storms would be some of the most powerful ever recorded – and they were. Houston received the most rain ever recorded in the U.S. during a storm.  Despite the massive damage, however, there is a positive takeaway: social media proved to be an effective platform in support of hurricane rescue and relief. 

Social Media SOS

With power out, cell towers overloaded, and flood waters stranding people in cars or homes, many people turned to social media for help. And fortunately for them, many courageous citizen rescuers with large trucks or small watercraft flocked to their aid. The brave locals who stepped up undoubtedly saved many lives, which was vital given that government search and rescue teams had limited resources.

People’s use of Nextdoor, a private social media tool for people in specific neighborhoods also skyrocketed. During Harvey, Nextdoor’s usage went up nearly 500 percent. Via Nextdoor, users shared more community- or neighborhood-specific information. In addition, many people requested essentials such as blankets, food and water. They also used Nextdoor to inquire about prices of items like gas or groceries.

Many local agencies also used Facebook and Twitter to post real-time updates such as flood maps, evacuation orders and routes, or information on when search and rescue teams would be in a particular area. For those without access to radio or television, social media connected them to important news and information. On September 14, 2017, Facebook activated its crisis response safety check feature, which allows users to check in and let their friends know they’re safe. This feature also enables people to see if other friends in the area are safe as well.

Relief Campaigns

Social media also continues to be an effective place to help people fundraise. For example, NFL star JJ Watt created a social media campaign to raise money for the city of Houston via his foundation. Heartbroken over the events that devastated his city, Watt hoped to raise $200,000. He and his foundation far exceeded this goal by raising more than $37 million. This is a great example of how star power, combined with social media, helped raise money for those in need.

According to experts, when people create fundraising campaigns on GoFundMe or YouCaring they should consider sharing them first with their friends and family. Not only are friends and family more likely to make a donation, they may also be willing to share the campaign with their networks. In fact, GoFundMe points out on its website that people who share a GoFundMe campaign on Facebook may see donations increase by as much as 350 percent.

Business Contributions to Relief Efforts

Many businesses chipped in to raise money or offer aid as well. For instance, Uber provided free rides to people headed to hurricane shelters and Airbnb offered free short-term housing to those who were, and are still, displaced by the storm.

Closer to home, the Seattle Mariners held two fundraising events at home games. Representatives from the team asked fans to donate, and promised to match donations up to $25,000 per game. Volunteers from the Red Cross collected the donations. In a separate donation, the Mariners also pledged $100,000 to the Red Cross for Hurricane Harvey.

Undoubtedly, social media will continue to evolve, but clearly it is an important communication tool during crisis situations. When the next natural disaster hits, we are likely to see new uses of social media by both victims and those rushing to aid them. Finally, when preparing an emergency kit, it is probably an excellent idea to make sure you have a hand-crank charger for your smartphone so you can stay powered up even when there is no electricity.

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Spaceflight Reaches Two Impressive Milestones in One Week

Last week was an eventful one for our client, Spaceflight Industries, announcing two important milestones for the company’s satellite rideshare and mission management service, Spaceflight.

Spaceflight’s SHERPA vehicle, a hosted payload and in-space transportation solution designed to take smallsats to orbit

The first announcement revealed that Spaceflight had been awarded its first contract from NASA Kennedy Space Center Contract (KSC) for launch and integration services. The multi-year contract covers launch services for a maximum of 24 payloads in 2018, with options to provide launch services for up to 24 additional payloads in both 2019 and 2020.

Not only was this announcement impressive from an economic perspective with the potential total contract valued at more than $5 million, but it also made an important statement, validating Spaceflight’s unique rideshare model. Spaceflight has been serving the commercial sector with great success for nearly seven years, having launched 112 satellites to date, and this contract illustrated that government agencies can benefit from the innovative commercial space industry as well.

In addition to the new contract, Spaceflight also made large strides in the development of its SSO-A Integrated Payload Stack. SSO-A is the first-ever dedicated rideshare launch and this structure will ensure that the payloads and spacecraft subsystems, from nearly 50 government and commercial organizations, will withstand the turbulence and vibrations of launch.

A series of third-party tests subjected Spaceflight’s nearly 20-foot satellite rideshare structure to low-level vibration to excite the core structure. These tests allowed engineers to calculate flight environments that the structure, avionics and customer spacecraft will be exposed to during the launch.

Curt Blake, president of Spaceflight, noted that this was the most complex launch the company had ever designed. Blake said, “Because we’re breaking ground with such a historic mission, we need to ensure the payloads and spacecraft subsystems will withstand the turbulence and vibrations of launch. It’s a tremendous accomplishment for our team and testament to our integration expertise.”

After distributing the releases via the wire and to our press list, we secured the following coverage.

Spaceflight Awarded First NASA Contract for Launch of U-Class Payloads

Spaceflight Successfully Completes Modal Survey for SSO-A Spacecraft

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