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Topaz Partners Keeps Climbing
Greetings from Topaz Partners! Welcome to the second edition of our newsletter, which is designed to provide updates on our agency and clients and offer information of interest to public relations, corporate communications, marketing and other business professionals.
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Join us June 26th for a cocktail reception at The Bay Tower restaurant in downtown Boston and help us celebrate our one-year anniversary. We will kick the evening off at 5:30pm and wrap up when our last guest says "good night!" We are inviting all of our clients and colleagues to join us for this special celebration as Topaz Partners enters its second year. Save the date...you will receive an invitation soon.
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Topaz Partners has wrapped up its first year in business with great results including new clients, more staff and an updated website!
Since the beginning of the year, Topaz has begun work with a number of clients including AcquisitionWorks, Inc., Acteon Technologies, CCBN, CyberPatrol, Ipsum Networks, Massachusetts Software and Internet Council, Riemer & Braunstein, SKY Computers, Tecnomatix and Videré Conferencing.
We also recently announced the addition of five new public relations professionals to our staff. The new members of "Team Topaz" are Matt Landry, Diane Reid, Ian Stanton, Todd Van Hoosear and Kevin Whalen. The new staff members bring a combined total of over 35 years of experience in technology, telecommunications, manufacturing, community development and public affairs. We are pleased to have them aboard!
Be sure to check out our recently updated and expanded site, read up on our team and see what work we are doing. You will find news releases on the newest clients and team members mentioned above.
Please visit our newsroom...
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The Benefits of By-Lined Articles
Welcome to the first installment of our "Textbook Topaz" column, which is designed to share advice and spotlight helpful products and services with our readers. In this issue, we will focus on "The Benefits of By-Lined Articles."
Bylined Articles Help Put You and Your Product or Service on the Map
Bylined articles are often one of the most overlooked facets of public relations - yet when implemented they often become a part of the PR program that makes the biggest impact.
These types of articles also give a PR person a great amount of control over the printed word which is incredibly attractive to a PR professional. You can do everything possible to something quite foreign to PR professionals. You can do everything possible to shape a story and ensure that the company’s products and strategies are well received by the reporter, but ultimately the story is in the hands of that reporter and the reality is the story may not turn out the way you wished. A bylined article takes those worries away as you are in the driver’s seat and know in advanced exactly what’s going to be printed.
The first thing you should do when writing a bylined is to identify a topic. Look around the company to see what the executives, researchers and developers are talking about, writing about or focusing on. Often the best story ideas are rooted in materials that are already in existence. Begin to look at whitepapers, internal market research and executive speeches in new ways. These types of documents should spark some ideas that can be turned into a compelling bylined article.
Now that you have the idea, the next step is to try and place the story. There are two ways to go about this and each publication is different, so you will need to do a little homework. Many publications have specific rules for contribution. Some accept open ended submissions and others ask that you develop stories on a predefined topic. It is often best to contact the publication, pitch your story idea, and gain a verbal go-ahead before you spend the time drafting an article.
It’s time now to begin developing key messages and an outline the article. Gather up any whitepapers, presentations, or any written materials on your topic that you can find. It’s highly unlikely that any of these materials will be “ready-to-go” for a byline, but they should prove helpful in developing an outline. The outline should include the information you currently have on the
Once an outline is developed you will have a better understanding of what type of information you still need to complete the story. If necessary interview an engineer or an executive just as if you were a reporter asking them questions on a specific topic. Have questions prepared going into the interview so you are sure to get the information you need. Remember that these executives and engineers are busy people and that you probably won’t get more than one opportunity to “interview” them for a byline article. Be prepared.
Now it’s time to start drafting the article. Some publications have guidelines so be sure to double check those guidelines before you start writing. Bylines by nature are expected to be objective and that often limits you from writing about a specific company or product. This seems a bit difficult, but try to remember your objective or theme and focus on the key messages you want to.
Don’t think your job is done once a byline has been written and submitted to a publication. Be creative in leveraging the work by looking for ways to publish the story on the company website or us it in future marketing and sales literature.
At first glance, they seem like a lot of work for little return. Bylines are expected to be objective and that often limits the author from writing about their specific company or product. So why bother if you can’t mention your products or company specifically? Isn’t it an awful lot of work for little return?
The truth is there are many advantages and opportunities that many public relations people and executives fail to see
- New Voice: A bylined article is very different than a news story. It provides an opening for the company to show their personality and demonstrate their complete understanding of the marketplace while providing a unique opportunity to position the company executives as thought leaders
- Control: With any other type of PR, the result is always a bit ambiguous. A good PR professional does everything possible to shape a story and ensure that the company’s products and strategies are well received by the reporter. But ultimately, the story is in the hands of the reporter and the reality is the story might not turn out the way you wished. A bylined article takes those worries away as you are in the driver’s seat and know in advance exactly what’s going to be printed
- Leverage What You Already Have: This works in two ways. First, look around the company to determine if the story you are developing is already in existence. It’s not likely that the story will be ready to go, but it is highly likely that you can pull the heart of your byline from documents already in existence. Begin to look at whitepapers, internal market research and executive speeches in new ways. Often, the very points you wish to write about are already put down on paper somewhere. Conversely, don’t think your job is done once a byline has been written and submitted to a publication. Be creative in leveraging the work by looking for ways to publish the story on the company website or us it in future marketing and sales literature.
- Good Economic Choice: Creating a bylined article involves nothing more than time. I know what you are thinking – time is money, and I understand. However in these tough economic times every piece of communication must count and this is a great, inexpensive way to keep your company and your industry top of mind
- New Audience: It’s a fact that different types of people read different types of stories. Those that read news are different from those who read trend stories. A bylined is a different type of story and therefore helps you reach a different type of audience often made up of thought leaders and decision makers
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Webcasting from CCBN
For corporate communications professionals, webcasting has become a necessary part of their communications program. According to a recent National Investor Relation Institute (NIRI) survey, 92 percent of all quarterly conference calls are now being webcast. In addition, Corporate Communications Broadcast Network (CCBN) own statistics speak to the increasing popularity and power of webcasting. CCBN provides audio and video webcasts for thousands of companies on a live and archived basis. In a typical quarter, CCBN webcasts over 4,000 corporate conference calls and in 2002, they conducted over 15,000 webcasts.
Companies are now utilizing webcasting technology for a variety of business communications needs including conference presentations, analyst and investor meetings, annual shareholder meetings, corporate announcements, product launches and press conferences. And with advances in webcasting technology, these events have become more compelling, relevant and valuable to employees, customers, partners and shareholders.
Webcasting has become a mainstay for corporate communications - it's easy to implement quickly and affordably and can be accompanied by supporting presentation materials to illustrate important points. Using webcasting technology not only helps to position a company as tech savvy, but it's also an efficient and effective way to communicate corporate messages to a wide audience.
“Webcasts were perfect for USP because our subject matter was very detailed and visual, and we could use this approach to take the media through presentations that provide the necessary background,” says Sherrie Borden, PR director for the U.S. Pharmacopeia. “In addition, our use of webcasting helped portray USP as an organization at the forefront of the convergence of medicine and technology.”
“The topic of medication errors naturally raised a lot of questions from journalists,” says Erin Gifford, account supervisor at PR firm Environics. “With CCBN’s Q&A functionality during the webcast, reporters were able to get their questions answered on-the-spot and file their stories immediately rather than having to set up individual briefings after the fact. Fast, effective response to the news agenda is vital, and the webcast format made our announcement more appealing to journalists.”
Based on the successful experience in IR, other departments are also hopping on the webcasting bandwagon. According to the Yankee Group, 47 percent of large enterprises will use streaming media by the end of the year. The primary areas for this type of "enterprise webcasting" are in sales, marketing, public relations and employee training applications.
For more information on CCBN’s webcasting services please visit http://www.ccbn.com/products/webcasting.asp
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ANSYS Inc.
In this new section of the Topaz newsletter we will showcase a different client every issue to highlight how companies are putting public relations to work to support their business. We're kicking off this feature with a focus on Canonsburg, PA based ANSYS, Inc., the world's leading provider of engineering simulation software and a client since the summer of 2001.
Many designers -- especially in the automotive, aerospace and electronics industries -- rely on ANSYS software to determine that their designs are accurate. Some of the world's largest companies rely on ANSYS - Ford, GM, John Deere, Honeywell and Caterpillar are all long-time customers.
ANSYS was looking for a public relations agency that understood their market and had contacts with the media in their vertical market spaces. Topaz Partners was charged with developing a comprehensive media and analyst relations program focusing on the automotive, aerospace, design, manufacturing and electrical industries. In addition to this media and analyst relations outreach, Topaz researched and secured executive visibility at various vertical industry trade shows as well as provided investor relations counsel in the form of shareholder communications.
With Topaz Partners’ help, ANSYS has increased its visibility in its target markets, garnering attention from the financial community with a steady stream of positive press releases, new customers, and new products announcements.
http://www.ansys.com
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Liz Erk
Our employee spotlight this issue focuses on Liz Erk, Topaz's longest serving employee.
Liz has built a public relations career in agency, corporate, and independent sectors. Working with a broad range of industries, Liz has provided public relations support for clients such as SurfControl, HiddenMind, Mobilocity, ONI Systems, CoManage Corp., Hewlett Packard, Ascential Software and Citrix Systems. Liz has extensive experience securing editorial coverage for her clients in print and online publications such as The New York Times, U.S. News and World Report, Network World, The Wall Street Journal, CNN.com and eWeek. She has also arranged speaking engagements at shows such as ISPCON, Supercomm, CTIA Wireless, and COMDEX. Before joining the Topaz Partners team, Liz worked at Allied Advertising, The Weber Group, Miller/Shandwick Technologies, and ExpoInternational. Additionally, Liz has done PR and Marketing for Healthworks Fitness Centers for Women, where she used to work as a Personal Trainer.
Liz graduated from Northeastern University with a Bachelors of Science degree in Arts & Sciences; her concentration in Advertising and Public Relations. While at Northeastern, Liz rowed four years on the women’s Crew team and earned three Varsity letters.
When Liz isn’t at Topaz Partners she’s typically outdoors running, biking, chasing her six cats or rowing with her crew team, The Boston Bay Blades. Recently Liz’s team brought home two gold medals at The Stonewall Regatta in Washington, DC. Liz also spends time volunteering at The Second Chance Shelter for Cats in Jamaica Plain.
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