News & Opinion

By Robert Brownlie, Associate Account Executive, Bob Gold & Associates    In a 2020 study, 88 percent of B2B decision makers believed that thought leadership was effective in enhancing their perceptions of an organization but only 17 percent thought that what they were reading was good or excellent. This leaves ample room for your business to develop compelling content to improve your company’s reputation.   Brands should always be developing compelling narratives in the media to reach new people and build credibility with existing customers. And even when there is no new product, hire or company developments to announce, there is always a thriving news cycle and a plethora of journalists who may be receptive to an intuitive byline, blog or contributed piece from your in-house industry experts.   For those looking to build their brand and publicly demonstrate their business’s innovative thoughts to potential customers, here are a few tips to follow for increased exposure. Get Familiar with the Media Landscape To develop meaningful media strategies, teams should perform a detailed audit of the reporters, editors, bloggers, podcasters, and influencers active in the industry verticals they are trying to reach. This will help determine the best publications and web platforms to build relationships with.   On a high-level, you will want to develop personas of the types of influencers that reach your target customers. Then, you will want to search via Google, PR platforms and other tools to get a general sense of the media most closely aligned with your areas of expertise and target market. You may also want to research competitors in the space to see who is covering them.   Once you have identified target trades and other outlets suitable for your goals, it is useful to go beyond building a media list and become immersed in the media landscape. This should include signing up for relevant newsletters, reading similar articles, listening to webcasts and getting familiar with the trade shows and events in an industry as well. Find How to Contribute Once you’ve identified which reporters are on the beats related to your business, you will then want to learn how you can contribute. By following newsletters, recent articles and reporter query services like HARO, you can become updated on the opportunities that are out there, what is trending in the space, and which members of your executive team would be best suited as a spokesperson.   For instance, you may find that a CTO may offer new insights to reporters covering technology, while a CMO would be best for those looking for product insights and a CEO would be best for those writing about leadership and broad social impacts. If you’re targeting a large trade outlet, this may mean separate outreach to different reporters covering these various beats.   Remember, your goal is to provide influencers with useful information or story angles, and you’ll want to provide this information to them efficiently. Journalists are busy and often on deadline. Be clear about what is newsworthy and why. So, it is crucial to be aware of the correct resources from your company in order to develop targeted outreach that is useful. Tell Compelling Vendor-neutral Stories PR and marketing professionals should delineate earned media from ad or sponsored content. Unless a reporter specifically asks for news about products, as some may do during a trade show, they will most likely be interested in vendor-neutral stories. This means there is a balancing act to navigate between making sure the key messages developed by marketing are gaining exposure, while also making sure content is not overly advertorial.   The good news is that sometimes making this bridge is not so difficult. After all, key messages are developed to serve customers who the trade media are trying to keep informed. The trick is to determine what unique insight can be developed from these messages and to make those insights applicable to the various industry verticals your trying to gain recognition in.   If you’re skilled in this endeavor, there will be a minimal commitment from higher ups but a big pay off as key value points develop into stories that the media can use for bylines, commentary and a plethora of other applications. Watch the News Closely In the 2020 US Vice Presidential debate, a fly landed on the Vice President’s head for over two minutes. The incident sparked a Twitter maelstrom and even brought the movie star of “The Fly,” Jeff Goldblum, into the spotlight. Imagine if this happened and you were representing an exterminating business! Or better yet, an expert in fly biology.   The point is, keeping in tune with the news and acting quickly when there is an opportunity for your business to provide expert commentary is crucial. PR and marketing professionals should monitor annual events like Black Friday or World Intellectual Property Day,  industry tradeshows and even  local community events or performances. It’s also important to look for the unexpected. For instance, if you represent a cybersecurity solutions provider, perhaps there was a data breach that reporters may be rushing to cover, and you have an expert opinion to contribute.   Monitoring the news with Google Alerts, email notifications and various other internet searches can result in significant coverage and should be implemented in most PR programs. Start Building Thought Leadership Now   When you proactively bring your brand to the media in a way that is useful, informative, and engaging you can take your marketing to the next level. And when you do have a news release to announce a new product, service or newsworthy company shift, the news will be propelled much farther, with greater impact and web traffic boosting capabilities, due to your previous media interactions. So, if you’re not building a media presence now, what’s stopping you?    

Forbes, October 27, 2020 Forbes and Statista partnered on a list of the 200 best PR firms in America.   Meet America’s Best PR Agencies 2021 Like many public relations firms during this volatile year, Edelman has had a busy fall. Earlier this month, the Chicago-based PR powerhouse announced a new division called Edelman Data & Intelligence, and next month, it plans to debut a new production studio called The Blue Room for creating short-form content, according to CEO Richard Edelman. On top of that, the company has been producing more research than normal for itself and clients to help navigate everything from the Covid-19 crisis, racial injustice and economic uncertainty—churning out eight rather than the usual two reports and with plans for at least six in 2021. AMERICA'S BEST PR AGENCIES LISTING See why Bob Gold & Associates continues to rank highly by our clients by viewing our case studies and results.

By Bob Gold, Principal   Some publishers just sell. But there are those who innovate and challenge for positive change. Kevin Gray is smart, connective, and incredibly thoughtful in everything he does. His work at Questex is significantly growing all the Fierce brands. Here is "Words to Lift By" for Kevin Gray.   [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0PBujrNjGE&t=2s[/embed]   For more information regarding our service offering in awards & recognition, conference sponsorships and trade advertising, and owned and paid media please contact us.

By Bob Gold, Principal   I want to honor someone I have known for more than 14 years. He is super, talented, incredibly handsome, a strong reporter and editor, and a creative publisher formerly of Cablefax and Studio Daily. I'm of course talking about everyone's friend, Mike Grebb. So here are my Words to Lift By for the guy I hold in such high esteem.   [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2lpEQCcU_U[/embed]   For more information regarding our service offering in awards & recognition, conference sponsorships and trade advertising, and owned and paid media please contact us.

By Bob Gold, Principal   Heroes are all around us. Kaitlyn Webb is one of my heroes. As a key employee at Bob Gold & Associates, she brings an entrepreneur's spirit to every task. Her willingness to tackle each assignment from social media to media relations is exemplary. Here is “Words to Lift By” a poem for Kaitlyn Webb.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6bRlN7HvhMs For more information regarding our incredible team, please click here. Explore our service offering in public relations, content creation, and digital marketing strategy, or contact us for a discussion around your specific communication needs.

The selected leaders are considered the best in their specific fields. WASHINGTON, DC - September 21, 2020 – Clutch, a leading market research firm based in Washington, DC announced the 500 Leader Award winners from California.   While Silicon Valley continues to be a global tech hub, the industry is thriving across the state. Los Angeles holds the spot for the city with the second-highest tech employment(link is external) in the country.   In order to select Leader Award winners, Clutch looks into each company’s industry expertise and ability to deliver. This includes their services offered, social media presence, and brand reputation.   Read through the leaders here.

Bob Gold & Associates has been selected as one of the top Public Relations Agencies in PRNEWS' Agency Elite Top 100 - the only guide dedicated to the most innovative PR & communications firms in the business.   BG&A has launched or grown more than 20 TV sports networks, numerous streaming services, many major cable TV operators, vendors and associations. We've most recently expanded our services and capabilities to offer Online Reputation Management and Bankruptcy & Crisis Communications.   The latter is led by Bob Gold and longtime litigation communications expert, Paul Jacobson of Denver-based SilversJacobson. Additionally, BG&A has expanded the WIN PR Group, which offers technology businesses global reach through a partnership of like-minded, owner-managed agencies.

By Bob Gold, Principal   Tell a Clear Story That Assuages Fears and Provides Hope   There’s no question that filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy is a difficult challenge. However, with a sound communications strategy executed by a knowledgeable PR agency or comms professional, you can emerge with your brand intact and strong customer and vendor relations, positioning your company to successfully move forward.   First off, bankruptcy communications are done hand in hand with the legal team. It must start there. It is also not unusual for PR pros to have to serve as expert witnesses in the court. Importantly, the legal team needs to trust the PR team and vice versa, because most lawyers believe all communications should be reserved for the court, and PR pros, on the other hand, believe that transparent and clear information will improve outcomes and set the company up for success. However, these two groups must work together smoothly, or both will be fighting a battle that is unnecessary and fruitless.   Secondly, when planning your bankruptcy communications strategy take a deep dive to completely understand the situation from every perspective. Ask questions of the company leadership and understand what led to the bankruptcy, ask more questions, meet with the attorneys and all leadership who are involved in the saving of the company.   Thirdly, know it is crucial that a set of master documents is prepared, and that everyone from attorneys to key staff are in alignment on the key messaging, communications roadmap, and timeline. This is not a situation to be taken lightly. The company is literally in deep litigation with its debtors. Many times, executives take their eye off the business while trying to save the company in court. This must be avoided at all costs. At the end of the day, the PR team’s role is to be reassuring, calm, and suggest the way forward with a strong commitment to ensuring consistent internal and external communications.   Fourth, know that the same communication is not applicable to everyone affected. There are multiple strands to a good bankruptcy communications strategy that includes external information for shareholders, customers, and vendors; internal messaging for staff at all levels and especially those in sales and customer service and, of course, good outreach to relevant trade and business press.   Each audience should be communicated with in a clear and appropriate manner. For instance, customers and vendors should receive direct letters from the CEO and when appropriate informational decks and e-brochures should be initiated to help tell the story.   For employees, especially public facing staff including sales and customer service, documents including FAQs, escalation protocols, and clear policies around social media and emails are imperative. Importantly you need to keep a steady watch on internal communications, so ALL employees are singing from the same hymnal. It is well worth the extra effort to ensure that they are on board with and understand the key messaging.   For news, industry and business media, you’ll want a rollout plan consisting of news releases to be issued on a wire service, executive bylines and briefings for all relevant reporters, and publications when the time is right.   I believe that ALL business is the business of relationships. Rebuilding trust requires having the same resonating message come from at least three separate sources/channels in close timing so that the message “sticks” with intended audiences. One-off messaging is simply and easily forgotten.   Bankruptcy is a process. Because there are many kinds of bankruptcies that all fall under similar codes – most consumers are confused by the term. And while it can be liquidation, in most instances it is the company and organization saying, “we will make new financial decisions and begin a new model to maintain the business.”   Because of COVID-19, we are expecting the largest number of bankruptcies in history, even surpassing the Great Depression. It is also anticipated that numerous municipalities, county, and state governments will face bankruptcy, in addition to non-profits, cultural institutions, and of course for-profit businesses of all sizes. Courts will be overloaded, media will become overwhelmed with news announcements unable to report on any claims under a certain size, and many, many folks will be let down, frustrated and depressed.    The only way forward is for public relations professional to provide important services that allow the company to tell a clear story, assuage fears, and help provide hope in the form of reasonable exit strategies that are easy to understand.

O'Dwyer's has been conducting its PR firm rankings for 49 years. Rankings measure counseling and media contact services, not advertising or production expenses.    See the complete list of Public Relations Agencies here. See all Bob Gold & Associates awards & highlights here.