Content Development

Press Releases, Media Kits Assessment and Development
It is important to have two versions of your press kit: a traditional paper-based kit and an electronic kit accessible on your website. We have designed many press kits to convey our clients' positioning, and we can evaluate your press releases, press kits, and pitch angles to ensure they are compelling and effective for trade and business audiences. And we have written countless press releases, media alerts, fact sheets, etc., getting the facts, messages and strategy right and delivering them on time. Our Announcement Scorecard™ and VC Announcement Scorecard™ services identify press release components – such as a client's business strategy and key messages – that business reporters need; the questionnaires ensure that whether we write a press release or design a media kit, that your strategy is communicated accurately and consistently.
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Website Content Assessment and Development
We can develop, write and design your website, including corporate backgrounders, fact sheets, management bios, product and services overviews, customer testimonials, Q&As or FAQs, and opt-in e-mail newsletters. And we have evaluated multiple clients' websites to ensure that appropriate information is available, easy-to-find and that the site's overall look-and-feel communicates key messages consistently with information from other channels. Surprisingly, this type of assessment is often overlooked, in favor of "cool" imagery. And sometimes, as was found in a recent study by Internet usability guru Jakob Neilsen, sites leave out basic information such as press officers' contact information (even on press releases posted on the site), making it difficult for reporters to contact the company.

We also make recommendations about using the latest technology and approaches – including using RSS feeds, blogs, Twitter, and podcasts – to reaching customers, business partners, employees and other key audiences.
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Bylined Articles
By addressing issues important to customers, partners, investors or your community, bylined articles can shape public or industry perception and position your company as a thought-leader. Newspaper Op-Ed pages (because they appear on the page opposite the editorial page) can be an important place for companies to communicate opinions about key issues and ideas, typically about public policy. Some magazines, particularly industry-specific trade publications, also publish contributed opinion articles.

Our editorial board has written and placed more than 100 Op-Ed articles in approximately two dozen major newspapers, including: The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The New York Times Magazine, New York Daily News, Chicago Tribune, Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle and Houston Chronicle.

We have also written and placed bylined articles in targeted publications such as Advance for Health Information Executives, Advance for Managers of Respiratory Care, Advanced Manufacturing, Business Trends Quarterly, HR.com, IT Audit, MRO Management, Outsourcing Russia, SandHillGroup, Sensors Magazine, Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance Journal, ParentGuide News, and New England Bride that position our clients as thought-leaders (tied to their business objectives).

We know how to write compelling and timely Op-Ed and opinion articles, know which newspapers or magazines might be interested and know the appropriate guidelines for submission (such as length, residency requirements for local newspapers), style and approach. Our articles are well written, on message and on time.
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Executive Speech Writing
Delivering a speech in front of large audiences can be a terrifying experience for some, but writing a speech shouldn't be. Our editorial board has written numerous speeches that capture the vision and personality of CEOs and senior managers – even the Vatican Librarian. We interview the speakers throughout the process to get their insight and vision, which ensures the messages are on target; we also ask questions to elicit details about any appropriate personal anecdotes that add the flavor to the presentation. We also help develop the collateral materials for the presentation – whether internal meetings, keynote speeches or panel discussions – including multimedia, PowerPoint slides and leave-behinds.
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Case Studies and White Papers
Reporters are often interested in three things: customers, customers, customers. And prospective customers are interested in two things: price and does it work in similar customer settings. Customer case studies and white papers are great ways to package information about customers and successful implementations, ROI studies, new processes, etc.

Our team has experience writing compelling case studies and white papers for large companies such as IBM and 3M; midsize companies such as Avistar, Luxoft, Mantas and Reveleus, Longview Solutions; and emerging companies such as Bradford Networks, Whitebirch Software and RAE Internet. Our case studies cover topics such as network management, ergonomics, corporate finance, and academic institutions fighting spam.
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Blogs and Podcasts
We have developed and executed plans for corporate blogs, helping senior executives create effective blogs that enable them to communicate on key issues and to build stronger relationships with customers, employees and other key targets. While blogs must be written by the executives themselves, we can help edit blogs to ensure consistency and grammar. We also write and produce podcasts that serve as a marketing and branding tool, which can be especially effective as part of a thought leadership program.

Pocasts serve as an additional method to communicate messages used in bylined articles and presentations as well as client and employee newsletters. Podcasts can be posted on intranets, on the company website and uploaded to iTunes and other podcast aggregators.

Blogs and podcasts can also augment announcements and other communication tactics, especially when clients have complex messages that could benefit from additional discussion possible in a blog or podcast (as opposed to a page-and-a-half press release). Check out a sample podcast here.
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Video News Releases
To get your story on TV, you need compelling visual images and broadcast-quality production values, particularly when considering whether to produce a video news release (VNR), the equivalent of a paper-based news release that combines narration and footage to tell a complete story, or B-roll, which often consists of video footage of establishing shots of a company (i.e., corporate logo in front of headquarters), its products, customers using the product, without narration. The benefit of a VNR is telling the story exactly as you want it; the benefit of B-roll is it is cheaper and allows newsrooms to edit the story to fit their needs and format. VNRs and B-rolls can be distributed by satellite or courier to provide news directors with a visual background upon which to tell your story.

Our team of broadcast experts have written, produced and supervised compelling VNRs and B-roll that get picked up by national and local news programs. To commemorate the 20th anniversary of well known consumer office product, we needed more than a taped "talking head" interview with its inventor. We filmed MOS ("man on the street") interviews combined with footage from a movie in which the product played a key plot point, and product shots to secure national coverage, notably including CBS "Sunday Morning." The VNR received honorable mention by PR Week in the "VNR of the Year" category. To celebrate the first MBA student to graduate after taking all her coursework via distance education Mind Extension University, we filmed interviews with her advisor (whom she had only talked to by phone), the student herself, and her on-campus graduation ceremony, scoring ABC "Evening News" and local stations across the country.

(Recently we have seen the rise of for-pay television programs, which offer you a spot on their "program" in exchange for a hefty fee – significantly more than it would cost you to produce a VNR on your own – and the video footage from their shoot, but air overnight on small local stations. Our advice: avoid them. These "programs" are rarely worthwhile in themselves, are rarely watched by viewers important to you, and the footage typically is horrible.)
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