Gearheads: The Sterling Communications Blog

PR Toolkit: Your Inner Scout - What to have with you at a tradeshow

I recently spent two days at the Intersolar North America tradeshow in San Francisco for our solar infrastructure client, Unirac. As is par for the course with any event, preparedness means expecting the unexpected.  Here is a list I’ve put together of items that should be in every PR practitioner’s tradeshow toolkit to ensure everything runs smoothly.

Really, Netflix… really?

Sometimes making a decision and apologizing for it later can really backfire on you. Sometimes, it really IS better to ask permission first.

This concept really hit home for me when Netflix came out with its surprise announcement that it would be separating its streaming and DVD rental services, and thereby abandoning the $9.99 monthly fee in favor of two $7.99 fees. 

So, in my usual manner of veiled condescension, I ask this question: Really, Netflix… really?

Take Me Out to the Ball Game … With Caution

With the recent death of baseball fan Shannon Stone, followed only four days later by another fan, Keith Carmickle, dangling over the railing at Chase Field and nearly falling himself, baseball is becoming the most dangerous sport … for spectators, that is.

I wondered what the social media universe had to say about these recent events, so I tracked the top trending dates around baseball spectator safety using Attensity’s social media analysis solution, Attensity360 (full disclosure: Attensity is a client of ours).

If it Ain't Broke...

Revealed yesterday by the New York Post, as part of DC Comics’ “relaunching” of its entire line of superhero characters in September, Superman himself is going to be a little more casual than most of us are used to. The man of steel is set to nix his trademark blue spandex, red underwear and flowin g cape for a short red cape, blue t-shirt and... jeans? I’m not a huge comic fan, but even I balked a bit at the sacrilege.

This image makeover made me think of some other infamous rebranding efforts that were met with negative reaction, despite intentions to “freshen up” the company’s image:

Sterling San Francisco: Up and Running!

Last week, we reached an exciting milestone here at Sterling Communications: we opened a new San Francisco office in a fabulous location right around the corner from Union Square.  Now, in addition to our Seattle office and Los Gatos, Calif., headquarters, we have a gleaming new office space in San Francisco at 575 Sutter Street. (There’s just something about the smell of freshly painted walls that I simply adore!)

This is not the first time we’ve had space in San Francisco; we’d had a formal office in the city (that’s San Francisco, not New York) from 1999-2009. We decided to go the “virtual office” route up there in 2009 for several reasons: 1) our lease was up and our Taiwan-based landlord was out of tune with the local market; 2) given our adoption of IP technology, laptops and virtual networks, the transition would be relatively seamless; 3) our employees up there were game to work remotely for a 1-2 year period. (Some folks find the thought of working in pajamas is simply irresistible – and there were frequent trips to our Los Gatos office when they needed a fix of “face time” or needed to hold a big group meeting!) Frankly, as an integrated communications agency that specializes in the high-tech industry, it seemed fitting that we give the virtual office a try.

Here’s what we found:

My 7-Step PR Checklist for Trade Show Preparation

We’ve been gearing up for the upcoming co-located Intersolar and SEMICON trade shows, taking place at San Francisco’s Moscone Center this week, July 12-14. I’ve spent a lot of time reviewing the websites of exhibiting companies and it’s got me thinking about the steps companies can take in advance of the show to help achieve a bigger PR bang.

1. Determine your show news well in advance. Start developing your press releases at least three months out. That may not be realistic, but at least get a discussion going so you’re not playing catch-up. You’ll need to know what your news is if you want to interest the press in scheduling a booth visit. Moreover, show award deadlines are often three to five months in advance.

Can Google+ Out-Facebook Facebook?

In my opinion? No.

On the heels of an “awesome” Facebook announcement yesterday (which turned out to be Skype integration – something MySpace announced back in 2007) and with a week of Google-plussing under my belt, I decided to take a look at Google’s latest attempt at social networking.

First blush: meh.

While it’s a vast improvement over Buzz, which managed to tromp on privacy, be annoying and then flat line – and it’s less confusing than Wave, which was trumpeted as an e-mail killer but just ended up being discombobulating and overwhelming -- it’s still… just one more thing.

And I’m not the only one who thinks so.

Pitching in the 21st Century

The days of hammering the phones to book meetings with reporters may not be long gone just yet, but they are dwindling. While the Internet and email have made our lives easier, they have also given us more ways to approach the media. Pitching reporters through email is nothing new, and today, most journalists and PR practitioners prefer this method of contact. However, most recently there has been a new way of pitching, that some reporters are starting to lean toward: social media.

Social media has quickly evolved from a personal activity to a great business tool, and people are using it to promote companies and to contact others. Reporters are hopping on that bandwagon as well. Some are starting to use Twitter as a way of connecting with others to source their articles and most use it as a place to post their stories, giving them a wider distribution. Pitching reporters on Twitter is a lot quicker, since you only have 140 characters to work with (this also helps you to be concise!). However, to do so you usually need to have a working relationship with them. Other social media outlets such as Facebook have been off limits to pitching, for the most part; mostly because many reporters save them for personal use.