When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Blogging
When facing difficult news such as layoffs, many companies used to draft meticulously scripted press releases – if they shared the news at all. But this strategy is fast becoming a recipe for disaster as employees turn to their blogs to voice frustrations and announce corporate layoffs. In a recent New York Times article, Claire […]
Experimental Advertising Techniques and the Economy
With the financial crisis looming ever larger, it is no surprise that some businesses such as AT&T and General Motors are slashing marketing budgets in an effort to stay afloat in this volatile economic environment.According to recent articles, advertising agencies will be among the first shops to feel the impact of the economy as companies […]
Leveraging Newsworthy Trends for Feature Stories
These days, the national media seems to be focused on two stories: the upcoming presidential election and the economic crisis. In the past few months, the media has churned out thousands of stories with hundreds of different angles on each of these topics – everything from how the economy will impact the holidays to how […]
Attachmate Unveils Verastream Host Integrator 6.6
On Sept. 22, one of Communiqué’s newest clients Attachmate announced the availability of Verastream Host Integrator 6.6. Click here to see the full press release. Attachmate’s Verastream Host Integrator 6.6 is a mainframe application integration solution that eliminates the technical complexity and code generation associated with legacy integration, offering IT organizations a low-risk, low-cost approach […]
Search Engine Optimization and Your Press Release
You’ve probably been hearing a lot about the importance of search engine optimization (SEO), the practice of improving the volume and quality of traffic to a particular Web site. You are likely aware that you need to make certain your company’s press releases and other media materials receive high rankings on search engines, such as […]
Social Media: A Critical PR Tool for Companies
The emergence of social media is significantly changing the current media landscape. The days of newspapers, magazines and network news programs have given way to a new generation of information sharing on the Internet. Blogs, social networking sites such as Second Life and Facebook and video-sharing sites like YouTube have changed the way information is […]
Identifying Key Messages
To target unique audiences and journalists, marketing materials and story pitches must be refined. A story idea for a technology publication, for example, will be vastly different from one aimed at a women’s magazine. But tailoring strategies to reach a variety of audiences is only effective when certain key messages about a company or product […]
Coverage Analysis: A Powerful Strategic Tool
“It doesn’t matter what you said, it only matters what they think you said.”This quote underscores the importance of coverage analysis and understanding how your messages are resonating with marketplace audiences. Analyzing media coverage is an often underutilized tool that can help you determine how your messages are being perceived. Armed with this information, you […]
The Importance of Preparing Before an Interview
A recent interview on Hardball provided a painful reminder on how important it is to prepare for a press interview. Texas state senator, Kirk Watson, was interviewed by Chris Matthews regarding his support for presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama. When asked repeatedly to highlight some of Sen. Obama’s legislative accomplishments, Watson tried unsuccessfully to bridge […]
Creating a Press Room
Recently, we provided a client with some suggestions on what kind of content to populate his company’s press room with. Given his company’s Web 2.0 and social-networking focus, we suggested some ideas on how to create an innovative, informative, provocative and interesting online media newsroom. Before you delve into the tactics of creating your online […]