News & Opinion

In this era of fast-moving business transformation and tech development – such as AI, IoT and big data – business leaders need to rethink not only how they work but who they work with and how they build a team. To guarantee success, it's time to reframe the talent search.   Just as cloud infrastructure has rapidly changed the way storage is managed and services are deployed, organizations of all types can benefit from a new concept for implementing tech talent, akin to the rapid scalability and flexibility seen in cloud technology — a cloud of people. This begins by breaking down old approaches to hiring, streamlining HR processes to quickly build quality teams at scale and mitigate risk and adopting new tools and workflows to support collaboration from anywhere.   Max Nirenberg, Managing Director North America and CRO for global tech services company Commit recently shared his insights with the HRChat podcast and Forbes on the solutions to the challenges of hiring and retaining top tech talent.  

There are many reasons why public relations is very crucial to a company or a business. Having a trusted and reliable PR partner is often one of the best ways you can improve your business reputation and overall image. If you don’t know where to start, the experts here at Bob Gold & Associates can help! We’ve been providing PR strategies that work for more than two decades so you can trust us to have the expertise and experience you need for your business.   As a matter of fact, our team has been recognized with awards multiple times in the past for our impeccable services. Today, we are pleased to announce we’ve added another honor -- our Clutch award for this year. Our team is proud to be named as one of the top 1000 companies on Clutch’s platform and to stand alongside industry leaders from all over the world.   To be a Clutch leader is such a huge honor for us! For those that don’t know, Clutch is an established platform in the heart of Washington, DC, committed to helping small, mid-market, and enterprise businesses identify and connect with the service providers they need to achieve their goals.   This award wouldn’t be possible without the help of our amazing team. They’ve been passionate about helping our clients reach their goals and it is evident in the amazing feedback and accolades we continue to receive from our clients and from the industry.   Our company is also listed as one of the best PR companies on Visual Object’s website. VO offers a directory of agencies and companies that are on top of their game. Feel free to visit our profile.   Let’s talk! We want to get to know you and how we can support your communications goals in 2022.

Recent research from the Future Today x Variety Intelligence Platform Streaming Study, took an in-depth look at the latest TV viewing behavior and streaming preferences, polling U.S. consumers to identify the emerging trends shaping OTT, advertising, and the broader TV industry.   Data highlights from the report found that the majority of consumers (67.89%) prefer choosing the individual programs they’d like to watch on an on-demand basis, compared to just 12.5% who prefer pre-programmed, linear channels.   Other findings and insights of note: 50.6% of US consumers prefer using ad-supported video services to reduce costs Streaming ads are twice as likely to be relevant to a viewers’ interests than ads seen on cable or broadcast TV 5% of consumers plan to decrease their number of paid subscriptions Of those who have used a free trial in the last 12 months, 41.2% subscribed after the trial ended   “Consumer viewing preferences continue to evolve. Streaming has become the de facto source for watching TV shows and movies, but not all services, platforms and models will thrive in this shifting media landscape,” said Vikrant Mathur, CEO and Co-Founder of Future Today. “Despite some pundits’ expectations, we’re seeing AVOD adoption flourish, and expect this trend will continue to grow for years to come. Our research solidifies that with the right viewing experience, the ad-supported streaming model is ideal for content owners, brands and, most importantly, audiences.”   Helping power VIP+’s analysis throughout the State of Streaming 2021 is exclusive data from third-party firms such as connected TV analytics firm TVision and leading multichannel streaming company Future Today, as well as pollster YouGov and analytics firm Magid.   Read the complete report and analysis from Future Today here.

Leading US-based designer and manufacturer of telecommunications, fiber optic, video and data delivery technologies Blonder Tongue Laboratories, Inc. recently introduced the updated Aircaster AQT8 series of transmodulators – including the Aircaster AQT8-QAM/IP and Aircaster AQT8-IP – a comprehensive and flexible toolset to create custom IP and QAM channel lineups from any ATSC 1.0 off-air or QAM content source.   Featuring an internal active splitter, the Aircaster AQT8 enables users to create a full lineup of up to 64 channels and distribute them to thousands of different locations across a facility, eliminating the need for countless digital converters, external splitters, and legacy one-to-one solutions.   “The Aircaster AQT8 reimagines what off-air rebroadcasting equipment can do in a single compact unit, enabling custom lineups of up to 64 channels, accessible to thousands of residential homes in the case of service operators, or hundreds of rooms and TV sets for hospitality, institutional and SMB use cases. It effortlessly creates and multiplexes a complete digital media service, while eliminating unnecessary fees and equipment.” Said Ted Grauch, President and CEO of Blonder Tongue Laboratories.   This recent product release adds to Blonder Tongue’s growing portfolio of new solutions and innovations, including the NXG Platform and Clearview Transcoder Series, that are specifically designed to augment and streamline IPTV and OTT video distribution.   Read the TV Tech article here.   For more information, please visit: https://www.blondertongue.com/.

  AdTech innovator, QTT, Viamedia’s cloud-based television advertising platform, has launched a marketplace to enable automated activation of data-driven linear video advertising inventory, without changing existing workflows or technologies. QTT Marketplace is an open-platform destination for advertisers and agencies accustomed to digital platforms to directly access a wealth of premium, curated local and national television inventory – and for television inventory owners to tap more directly into the rapidly growing digital ad pool.   Initial TV participants include A+E Networks, FOX, Reelz with Magnite the first participating SSP.   “The last mile to activate linear TV advertising through existing digital platforms is finally here,” said John Piccone, president of QTT.   The launch follows the completion of a family of QTT patents delivering seminal steps in the integration of the pan-device digital and linear television advertising ecosystems.   Read more on Broadcasting & Cable here. Check out the full news release on BusinessWire.

Linden Research, Inc. (“Linden Lab”), the creator of Second Life, and comic book publisher Zenescope Entertainment, in conjunction with leading digital licensing agency, Epik, recently announced they have partnered to bring the dark and twisted Grimm’s Universe to life as the Zenescope Metaverse inside Second Life.   This marks the first time a Zenescope property has been realized inside a virtual world, and the first phase of an on-going partnership with Linden Lab that will introduce new content over time. Zenescope and Second Life are just the latest additions to an ever-growing list of world leading brands, IP owners and game developers in Epik’s partner ecosystem, which includes ViacomCBS, Warner Music, Universal Music Group, Tencent, Garena, and many more.   Fans can interact with and play as some of the classic fairytale characters popularized by Zenescope’s comic books and graphic novels, acting out scenarios and following different storylines within a 3-D online virtual world. Visitors will find plenty of iconic locations and other nods to Zenescope heroes and villains, including Rockman’s Ice Cream shop from Belle’s series, and a fully-playable Goblin Golf course. The immersive world is full of games, hidden surprises, and exclusive virtual collectibles and merchandise found only in Second Life. The Zenescope Metaverse inside Second Life features… familiar Cindy, Belle, and Mad Hatter character costumes and avatars, multiple scenarios and storylines to follow, more than 50 exclusive virtual collectibles and branded merchandise items, including clothing, furnishings, and the fan-favorite Cheshire cat plushie, games and activities like the fully playable Goblin Golf and the Mad Hatter’s Hedge Maze, complete with trophies, a clandestine quest, hidden locations, and other secrets.   For more on this exciting new experience watch Right This Minute interview with Zenescope Co-founder Ralph Tedesco and character Cinderella Monroe

Future Today, the only full-stack streaming solution that packages branded channels and delivers the audiences to watch them, announced the launch of three free streaming services on Rogers Ignite TV and Ignite SmartStream: FilmRise, Fawesome and iFood.tv. In addition, the companies have expanded their partnership whereby Rogers Sports & Media (RSM) will now provide ad sales representation for all of Future Today’s streaming channels across Canada.   “Rogers is a dominant force in shaping the TV viewing experience and leads the way in customer-focused offerings,” said Vikrant Mathur, Founder and CEO, Future Today.   In the last 12 months, Future Today has experienced extraordinary growth and has aggressively expanded its content library to offer more than 225,000 movies, TV shows and episodes with the addition of 15,000 hours of premium content that is currently available on every major streaming platform, including Rogers Ignite TV and Ignite SmartStream, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple, LG, Samsung, Vizio, Xbox, iOS and Android.   Read more from Rapid TV News here.

Availability and speed of internet connectivity for individuals or households can greatly affect the quality of education, healthcare, and economic opportunities they receive, as well as access to critical public services.   The pandemic exacerbated the digital divide and brought this urgent problem to the forefront. Cisco and its public and private sector partners believe now is the time for the industry to get together to solve this complex challenge. Recently, Cisco held two panel sessions with industry leaders and partners to discuss the urgent need to close the digital divide and released Cisco U.S. Municipal Infrastructure Index 2021, a report on the infrastructure priorities and challenges facing U.S. municipal leaders. Read more about Cisco's commitment here. Cisco Rural Broadband Innovation Center: Open for Customers and Partners In June, Cisco announced the opening of their Rural Broadband Innovation Center in North Carolina to demonstrate to service providers how they can improve availability and affordability of internet access. Through the Center, Cisco is committed to bridging the gap between commercial viability of technology solutions offered by service providers and the cost of serving rural Americans.   On Monday July 19, Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins and Senior Vice President and General Manager Cisco Mass-Scale Infrastructure Jonathan Davidson were joined by FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks, Governor Roy Cooper of North Carolina, and TruVista COO and President, Carla French, to share more about the Innovation Center, and discuss how the private sector and government can change the economics of broadband access in the U.S. Throughout the conversation, it became clear that broadband inequity comes down to two factors: access and cost.   Bridging the Digital Divide with Municipalities   On Thursday July 22, Cisco brought together municipal leaders and technology decision-makers who are working to bridge the digital divide in the U.S. and abroad, ensuring that everyone has equal access to a reliable internet connection. Cisco’s Michael Beesley, Vice President and CTO, Mass-Scale Infrastructure Group, moderated a discussion with Antoinette Meier, Director of Mobility and Innovation at San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG), Eugene Mejia, Deputy CTO for Town of Gilbert, Arizona, and Tiago Rodrigues, CEO of the Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA).   The panelists discussed the challenges they face as municipal leaders and technology decision-makers. Antoinette Meier noted that reliable data is difficult to come by, and this data is critical to paint a holistic picture of the problem for leaders to address. Broadband is more than being able to access your favorite websites. Technology has fundamentally changed transportation, healthcare, and education, and data is needed to hold leaders accountable to communities. Every panelist discussed funding hurdles while reiterating that connectivity and access are essential to quality of life.   Private-public partnerships present additional opportunities for collaboration of people and organizations with the same goal. With that in mind, SANDAG and Cisco announced a new partnership focused on bridging the digital divide, supporting the development of SANDAG’s Regional Digital Equity Strategy and Action Plan, which seeks to improve high-speed internet access and adoption in areas where there are gaps. Cisco will support SANDAG as a consultant to help identify barriers to broadband expansion and develop strategies and solutions for addressing these barriers in the form of an actionable roadmap. Watch a replay of the virtual roundtable New Research: Cisco U.S. Municipal Infrastructure Index 2021   Cisco released new research to provide a data-driven look at where broadband infrastructure is being prioritized for municipalities across the country. The study, conducted by Probolsky Research, polled local government executives from cities, counties, towns, and Tribal governments of all sizes, in regions across the U.S. Of those surveyed, 80% said broadband is “critical infrastructure” and placed connectivity improvements and upgrades near the top of their priority project list, underscoring the pressing need to close the digital divide.   So, what’s stopping them? The answer will not surprise you: the primary barrier to reliable broadband connectivity is a lack of funding. More than three quarters of officials are concerned about the high cost of broadband for their residents, and 70% said they have ready-to-go projects just waiting for funding allocation.   Read the full report: Cisco: U.S. Municipal Infrastructure Index 2021

At Bob Gold & Associates, we’re the Gold Standard for data-driven Public Relations and Brand Management.   We recently received reviews on Clutch that demonstrate our excellence. Clutch is a B2B listing resource and reviews platform that evaluates companies based on their quality of work, industry experience, and client reviews. Clutch has become the go-to resource in the B2B space for connecting small, mid-market, and enterprise businesses with the perfect service provider.   Our creative, tech-savvy and award-winning team is highly connected & insightful. We provide uniquely tailored strategies for today’s digital-first world. We are transparent in our work, focusing on data and analysis through a proprietary method we call BG&A Insight™. This approach allows us to meet every client's unique needs and starts by implementing a thorough onboarding process to help create a proactive and personalized media relations campaign that is Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Replicable and Timely.   Bob Gold & Associates Got Another Review on Commit USA One of our latest reviews came from a global tech services firm, Commit USA. We helped their team launch in the North American market, particularly in the US. We provided traditional PR activities to build awareness such as news announcements, story placements, media briefings, and executive bylines. We also assisted their team’s entry onto the Clutch platform, by helping them with their case studies and client reviews. Additionally, we supported their LinkedIn activities including posts.   Our efforts resulted in the client’s successful entry into the US market. They have been able to establish their credibility via Clutch, and we were able to increase their media exposure through targeted story placements and relevant thought leadership in a variety of publications. They praised our team’s professionalism and project management. Commit USA Global Chief Revenue Officer Max Nirenberg said, “We’re impressed by the quality of their work, communication, and delivery. They make it very clear what’s going to happen and when the time comes, they will deliver what they said they would.”   We’re happy and grateful that, with such a glowing review, Max gave us perfect five-star ratings across all metrics!   Reviews on The Royalty Network: We also received a review from music publishing company, The Royalty Network after supporting the company’s efforts in launching a Black Lives Matter empowerment initiative. We had multiple meetings with the client to hash out messaging, and we created strategies and approaches from those discussions. Our efforts led to the successful launch of this inspiring campaign. The client praised our effective workflow, organized project management, and seamless communication. Ultimately, it was our agency’s forward-thinking strategies that left a big impression on the client. With the success of this campaign, we received an overall rating of 4.5-stars!   We thank Commit USA and The Royalty Network for their detailed and honest review of our work. Their positive feedback validates our team’s hard work and affirms our commitment to our clients.   We’re also pleased to announce that Clutch’s sister website the Manifest named us a Top Public Affairs Firm for 2021! The Manifest is a business news and how-to platform that analyzes and compiles industry data. They allow entrepreneurs, SMB owners, and industry managers to find leading agencies within their platform. As such, we’re honored to be recognized by the Manifest as the leading provider in our industry!   Do you need help with PR and marketing? Contact us today, and let’s discuss how we can work together to grow your brand and reach success.   See our Clutch Profile here