Tag Archive for: agency

A Kids Book About, a GreenRoom Client, About Takes Home Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies Designation

Part of any strong PR and digital program is identifying relevant awards to not only validate a product or service but also advance a brand strategically whether from a funding or CSR perspective or continually raising the brand’s profile in the eyes of the media. With many pay-to-play programs masquerading as awards, it is critical for the PR team to have a strong knowledge of the ones that carry the cache and the ones to politely decline.

GreenRoom client A Kids Book About was just awarded the number 3 spot on Fast Company’s 2021 Most Innovative Company List for the North America category. It’s a massive validation for the barely two-year-old company that is disrupting not only the direct-to-consumer publishing model but the kinds of stories that parents can share with their children that include topics such as racism, money management, body image, and bullying, to name a few.

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Highlighting the brand’s unique innovative products, mission-driven brand purpose, and diversity-focused growth efforts, the agency was able to work closely with the A Kids Book About Team to form a narrative that turned heads at the venerable business publication. For A Kids Book About, winning this award offers new recognition as a transformative brand striving to shape society for the better. It fosters industry credibility ability for this emerging brand, serving as an invaluable tool to set A Kids Book About apart from the competition and an important driver for growth-focused funding initiatives.

GreenRoom’s deep knowledge of a brand’s ethos, goals, and unique offerings gives us a considerable edge when evaluating relevant honors for our brands. With that in mind, we approach each award submission process focused on the end goal of driving visibility, recognition, and never tire of sharing in the thrill of assisting brands in becoming category leaders.


CES 2018 and Beyond

CES 2018 Trade Show Collage

Images from GreenRoom and its clients during CES 2018 and the PGA Merchandise Show, both industry trade shows.

Each January brings the first of many industry trade shows in the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Brands across a wide spectrum of vertical markets participate, and many clients say that the show (and its allied events such as Pepcom) can be incredibly impactful to attract media attention, drive brand awareness, and develop relationships with partners and consumers for the year ahead.

Planning for industry trade shows and events such as these can be challenging; how to select which shows offer the best opportunities to execute communications strategy, budgeting for them successfully (both in terms of dollars allocated and internal resources dedicated), and building media calendars for public relations/ leveraging digital and social media content into success at the trade show itself.

One great example of this is utilizing an industry event or trade show to promote new partnerships. At the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, we aided our client Blast Motion in the announcement of an exclusive deal with golf giant TaylorMade. With all the biggest names in golf media attending the show, this provided a platform to amplify the news in the right place at the right time. The GreenRoom team has a strong track record in developing successful strategies for such industry events, and helping clients manage participation to maximum effect.

Following each event, leveraging media and industry contacts into high-profile coverage and dynamic relationships often overwhelms internal teams focused on a number of deliverables. Here, too, we find that having a team of professionals, such as a communications agency, at your command expands the amount of time and energy brands have to plan for future events on the calendar. This can drive media coverage and sales opportunities throughout the year, resulting in met or exceeded marketing goals, all while engaging consumers and building a community of brand ambassadors.

Letter to Future Public Relations Practitioners

So you want to work in Public Relations? Great, but do you really know what that entails? As someone who has a few years under his belt, let me tell you.

Public Relations practitioners are tasked with much more than media relations or writing a speech for an executive. Clients hire PR practitioners not only to garner their company valuable media coverage but to also be a trusted advisor to their company.  That means at all days and hours you must be ready to help guide your client through any situation, good or bad.  All it takes is one bad news story, tweet, Instagram post, Facebook post, etc. to set off a chain of events that can ruin a company or person’s reputation.

A major key to success in the industry is that you have to know what your clients’ goals are. Without that, you cannot be successful.

Clients come from all over the world and that is one of the most exciting and challenging parts of the job. In this industry, I’ve interacted with people from every continent in the world (besides Antarctica), and each client has different goals for their company. For example, one client may be focused on broadcast coverage and featuring one company spokesperson whereas another may be a family run business that is more interested in being featured in business publications highlighting them as a family.

Knowing what media outlets can move the needle for your clients, what their sales goals are and what messaging they want conveyed to the public are all examples of goals that both the client and PR practitioner need to align on.

In today’s data driven age, having a free flowing information channel with your client can help to refine your PR program to yield better results. Sharing statistics and analytics with your client helps track sales and other trends. For example, I worked with a client that makes a fitness product. They found out from their sales and social media analytics that the majority of consumers purchasing the product were female. That information is crucial as a practitioner. You can use that to pivot your marketing strategy and target more of a female demographic.

Being a PR practitioner can be challenging and stressful because you have to expect the unexpected. If it was easy, wouldn’t everyone be doing it?

Now I hope I didn’t scare you away. Anything can happen at any time but that is also part of the fun! In first couple of years in the industry, I’ve been able to do some amazing things.

Here are a few of the highlights for me:

  • CES 2016-This January, I worked at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas or as I’d prefer to call it, “The Super Bowl of Tech.” Spending a week out there with a variety of clients was an extremely beneficial experience. The show had almost 200,000 in attendance and was even more massive in person. I was able to learn a lot and have fun (it is Las Vegas after all!)
  • Media Training Athletes-During my time at Florida State University as an intern with a sports-focused agency, I had the privilege of helping media train NCAA athletes from multiple Division 1 schools. Like I said before in today’s digital and social age, this is HUGE for any university.
  • New York Media Tour-I’m getting ready to go to New York to do a media tour on behalf of multiple different clients of the agency. I’ll be meeting with influential journalists from publications including The Wall Street Journal, CNET, Sports Illustrated, SELF and Golf Digest and talking about their editorial calendars and how I can be of help.

Public Relations is an evolving landscape and an integral part of any successful business. To be a successful PR practitioner, it takes a good personality, motivation, passion, patience and skill. If this sounds like something you are up for, go for it with all you’ve got because anything’s possible!

Air-Popped Productivity

We’re potluck fanatics and go crazy over a good productivity tip, so these “5 Wacky Things You Can Eat to Boost Productivity” piece from Inc.com is right up our alley.

Article below and here. Credit: Inc.com

5 Wacky Things You Can Eat to Boost Productivity
Think yogurt, eggs, bananas, spinach, and walnuts are top notch? They sure are, but add these 5 ingredients to your daily menu and you might boost productivity even more!
BY JANINE POPICK
CMO, Dasheroo; founder, VerticalResponse

GreenRoom Agency Productivity
IMAGE: Getty Images

As an entrepreneur, you know that there’s no time for a break. It’s go-go-go all the time. Those who achieve the greatest success know what it takes to remain productive.

There are are a ton of ways to boost productivity, from a morning workout to a diet change. It’s hard for some to believe, but what you eat will have a positive or negative affect on your productivity.

With a direct impact on cognitive performance, the food choices you make at breakfast or lunch will either propel you to great heights or hold you back for the rest of the day.

You may be familiar with “common” foods that boost productivity, such as eggs, yogurt, bananas, spinach, and walnuts. But did you know there are some things you can eat you might not associate with being super productive? Here are some ideas:

1. Air-popped Popcorn
It may not be wacky in the sense that you have never heard of it, but most people don’t associate popcorn with productivity.

When compared to chips, popcorn is a better pick thanks to its energy boosting capabilities and health benefits (fewer calories). As long as you avoid loads of butter and salt, this makes for a great pick-me-up snack. Put some sriracha on it to spice it up. Added health benefit? Sriracha is made from chili peppers, they boost endorphins which helps make you happier. Bonus #2, chili peppers also spike serotonin, a mood and memory enhancer.

Plus it just makes your environment smell yummy!

2. Quinoa Salad
Quinoa is defined as “a species of the goosefoot genus, a grain crop grown primarily for its edible seeds.”

What the heck does that mean? If you don’t know anything about quinoa, here is your opportunity to learn more. With a solid eight grams of protein per cup, this is a top snack for those times when you need more energy. Here are some quinoa recipes to experiment with.

Grab a quinoa salad for lunch and see how the rest of the day works for you.

3. Sweet Potato Smoothie
Say what? Stick with me for a second.

Sweet potatoes are a great source of collagen which is essential to helping us cope with stress. They taste sweet but they have natural sugars that help give a balanced and regular source of energy.

And although it might not sound as appealing when compared to a sweet berry alternative, this type of smoothie could be just what you need.

Throw a medium baked sweet potato into a blender, along with banana and a teaspoon (or two) of cocoa powder. Add a few ice cubes to cool it down and start your blender. Within seconds, you will have a smoothie that keeps you running at max efficiency all day. Best yet, it tastes good too!

4. Dry-Roasted Edamame
A healthy snack considered wacky by many, dry-roasted edamame contains plenty of fiber, protein, and antioxidants.

The nice thing about this snack is that it can be popped into your mouth on the go. A piece of chocolate or chips may sound more appealing, but that’s only because you have yet to try a handful of dry-roasted edamame.

5. Pepitas
There is more to these green pumpkin seed kernels than a cool name.

Known as one of the world’s healthiest foods, pepitas are packed full of protein, iron, and magnesium. When you combine the health benefits with the delicious taste, you have a snack that will call your name all day long.

By adding these five wacky foods to your diet, you can boost productivity while lessening the likelihood ofmissing valuable time due to an illness, or snacking on unhealthy foods. A true win-win!

PUBLISHED ON: MAR 3, 2016

The Evolution of a Startup: Steps to Growing up as a Brand

the evolution of a start up- steps to

Defining a startup can be challenging; is it based on company size, yearly or quarterly growth or projected income? While most people define a startup as a company in the early stages of its operation, there are no hard and fast rules of the definition.

We see a lot of startups in the consumer goods industry; everything from the small 2 man operation to larger teams with well over 100+ employees.  While there is a place and time to be defined as a startup, as public relations professionals and brand consultants, there comes a time when we have to encourage the companies we support to evolve.

We know growth can be tough, especially for companies, but eventually every company will be faced with pertinent decisions about their future. To prepare for those moments, we have a few tips to prime your company for the transition from startup to the growth phase and ultimately transform into an established company.

Media Programs

Of course, this is our agency’s bread and butter. By developing core media programs that include company profiles and executive interviews that not only demonstrate thought leadership, but company growth, can be a determining factor when legitimizing a business or organization. The media not only creates a framework for discussion, but provides a platform for a brands’ message to be told to a wider, interested body of consumers and investors. The agency shapes and molds the message with the media to help accelerate a company into the forefront of consumer’s attention.

Effective media relations also give companies the chance to be seen by retailers and buyers. The agency pinpoints publications with readerships in key retail markets ensuring the product is seen by decision makers and buyers.  Not only do retail partnerships create a steady stream of income, but provide a wider distribution of messaging which can help accelerate a company on all fronts.

Creative Assets

Media relations isn’t the be-all and end-all for transitioning a company from startup to established. It takes a holistic approach. Everything from the look and feel of the company website to formal headshots and expertly crafted executive bios, no detail should be overlooked when entering the competitive space of Corporate America. Adding a creative edge with polished assets can create the perception of an established company even if the startup hasn’t quite reached established level yet.

Guidance

Your PR representative should not only be a brand ambassador with the media, but provide guidance and direction during the entire growth process. PR representatives should seek and cultivate opportunities for brand growth by encouraging participation in mentor or accelerator programs, panel discussions and speaking engagements. Further, PR representatives should provide continuous brand counsel during these programs ensuring the brand’s message is being formed effectively and appropriately.

With the knowledge and know how from your public relations team, the agency can be a driving force for brand growth. Sam Cooke said it best, “It’s been a long time coming, but I know a change gon’ come”, and if executed properly, those changes can effectively move a company from startup to established.