INK PUBLIC RELATIONS

Speaking of visually telling a story, check out this SlashGear video of our client Tech21′s CEO Jason Roberts explaining the technology behind impactology and the line of Tech21 cases:

He uses real language (and I’m sure there is plenty of tech jargon he could have thrown in there). He uses analogies we can all understand. He shares examples of how the tech’s been used before (in a rocket, how cool is that) AND he visually shows examples of how the tech does what it says it will do – protects, his finger in this case. Pretty impressive stuff all the way around.

Oh and the other thing that’s impressive? The team making the magic happen, and with less than the time it takes to properly form a habit (they say that takes two weeks, btw) – Kari, Allison, Jennifer and Jessica. Nice job ladies!

We have had a lot of news to get out there lately. In fact, if I never hear the word “pitch” again it will be too soon. Alas, that’s a big part of our job and I’ll be pitching away again just as soon as I hit post. One thing has stood out to me in this latest cycle of media frenzy: it’s not about the relationships you have, it’s about telling a good story.

Most people reading this will say “well duh, Starr.” But think about it. When a prospective client comes to us they always want to know what media relationships we have, and the more names we drop – Walt Mossberg, Ed Baig, David Pogue, Eric Zeman, Sascha Segan (I could go on and on, trust me) – the higher we go on the consideration list. But I promise you, we wouldn’t have those relationships if we didn’t feed them with good stories, and if we didn’t know when a story wasn’t good enough. In that sense, to me, it’s not as important what relationships we currently have as it is if we know how to build relationships with the right people. If I send a crappy story to Walt I can tell you it doesn’t matter how often we’ve talked in the past, he’s not going to respond. It’s that simple.

So the better question for prospective clients to ask would be “Do you know how to build relationships?” Yep, we do. It’s all about telling good stories.

What you need to get your story written:

- Something big, different, new, unique, timely; bonus points for integrating contention (Note: this is the part clients usually feel they have nailed – “new product!” “new way of doing this old thing!” “new company launch!” I would agree they have the beginning, but it’s usually not fully baked. Still, they tend to fall down on the below points much faster than in this area.)

- That something needs to be relevant to the person AND THE PUBLICATION being pitched (it’s all about the audience of the pub, truly). For instance, there are very few coverage possibilities for enterprise IT products (databases, storage) in business publications right now, unless you’re going public, are backed by industry heavyweights and/or have changed the face of IT as we know it. If that shoe doesn’t fit, don’t wear it. Your customers probably aren’t in that audience anyway. It’s our job to find the right places to pitch your story – it’s your job to trust us that we know what we’re talking about.

- Clear, real language needs to be used all over the place – jargon is a story killer, 100%. (Heed the LOLcat.)

- Analogies, examples, and people that will be references for you or your product are a MUST.

- Clients need to be on the same page with what the story is, and they need to deliver in the interview (we can help with our prep and media training, but at the end of the day you have to be able to tell your story)

- Visuals are a requirement. Every company needs to understand how to tell their story visually.

Any elements you would add? Let me know in the comments. And don’t just take my word for it – tons of reporters will give you this very same advice, including Ben Parr at Mashable who wrote this blog post on the subject last fall. (Ben, had to steal the pic you used for the post too – nothing wrong with spreading around a little LOLcat. )

*UPDATE:  We are no longer accepting applications for this position.  Please feel free to send Adrienne your resume for possible future opportunities.*

INK PR Job Opening: Senior Account Executive

Years of Experience: 3-4

INK PR is now interviewing for the position of Senior Account Executive. This team member will join a small group of energetic public relations specialists at the Austin-based boutique communications agency and immediately dive into PR in the technology industry.

There is a lot of love at INK PR – for what we do, for the clients we work with and for each other. We’re still a relatively young (8 years) and small (you make 11) company with a growing reputation for personalized client service, top-notch media relations (800 journalists voted INK best small tech agency for PRSourceCode Top Communicators 2010 award) and PR programs that exhibit the perfect blend of strategic counsel, creativity and common sense (finalist for PR News’ 2011 Small Agency of the Year).

We work hard – very hard – but we also value work/life balance and enjoy ourselves along the way.  We offer a comprehensive and highly competitive benefits package and pride ourselves on our all-around awesome work environment and company culture.  If wearing jeans to work, holding meetings outside on the INK poolside patio, and embracing “INK Summer Fridays” with early office closings throughout the summer sound good to you, please read on to see if you might be a good fit for INK.

Primary responsibilities:
-Manage day-to-day client relations as the main point of contact
-Maintain and demonstrate a deep understanding of clients and their industries
-Implement innovative social media strategies for your clients, INK and yourself
-Manage and implement high-level media and analyst plans and relationships
-Write and edit plans, messaging documents, pitches, press releases, blogs and bylines
-Develop and manage account budgets and invoices

Qualifications:
-Bachelor’s degree, preferably in PR, communications, journalism, English, marketing, or a related discipline
-Three to four years of post-graduate experience in the public relations industry
-Demonstrated ability to establish and maintain strong client and team relationships
-Possess a love for storytelling and an ability to effectively communicate in writing, in person and visually
-An eye for design and an ability to work in Illustrator and InDesign is a big plus
-Demonstrated expertise in branding and social media platforms and programs

For consideration, please send the following materials to Adrienne Huebner at work@ink-pr.com:
-Cover letter highlighting your accomplishments and why you want to work at INK
-Resume
-Writing samples that demonstrate your creative and/or strategic writing abilities

*UPDATE:  We are no longer accepting applications for this position.  Please feel free to send Adrienne your resume for possible future opportunities.*

Learn more about INK:

www.ink-pr.com
www.facebook.com/inkpublicrelations
www.twitter.com/INK_PR
www.pinterest.com/inkpr

Could this be your new work home?

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy asked newscaster Edward Murrow to join his administration as the Head of the US Information Agency. The newscaster’s response – “If you want me to be there on the crash-landings, I better be there on the takeoff.”  Murrow raised a great point and one that guided PRSA Austin’s Monthly Luncheon yesterday afternoon – A good crisis communication plan needs to be developed at the get-go, not in the midst of a crisis situation.

The hour was spent listening to panelists Russ Rhea of Hahn, Texas and Sarah Russ from Phillips & Company present case studies on individual client crisis situations and give detailed explanations on what constitutes a good crisis communication strategy. Of everything that Sarah and Russ discussed during their panel, the following three points are the ones INK thinks most valuable for any client facing a crisis:

- At the center of every good crisis communications plan is a strong company spokesperson.  Make sure that you select someone who can convey your company’s messages with confidence and will appear both open and empathetic to your audience (and be sure that the selected spokesperson receives regular media training to prepare for any last-minute situation).

- Communication is critical during a crisis. Even if you do not have all the answers, it is important to let people know that you will keep them informed, as the information is available.  Remember, your audiences will get their information from somewhere – it’s better coming from you.

- Whether in crisis mode or not, always be honest and transparent with your communications plan.  Having an existing reputation as an honest company will give the public more trust in your ability to handle a crisis.

 In my experience, I’ve seen that every company faces a crisis at sometime (although some are bigger than others).  Rather than thinking it will never happen to you, expecting a crisis and preparing for every situation will help minimize the damage if and when that time comes.

Well, we did it. We made it through another SXSW—the whole shebang. Beyond the marathon of intellectual inspiration, music discovery and free food, I’d have to say my favorite part was the photo booth we put together for INK’s Green Room sponsorship.

Three criteria are crucial to the success of a photo booth

1. The camera. Smilebooth’s innovative technology produces high quality photos.

2. The props. Leslie Blevins contributed her craft, creativity and sleeping time to make our unbelievably spectacular props and backdrop.

3. The people. The heart of a photograph is the subject, so we thank all who participated.

We have closely analyzed each and every photo from the week, narrowing them down to a handful of favorites based on the following criteria: facial expression, body language, use of space, use of props and creativity and/or weirdness. We are pleased to present each of the following photos with a special recognition.

Award: Best Life Advice

Award: Best Interpretation of Props

Award: Best Shameless Plug

Award: Most Likely to be an INK Client (Gemalto)

Award: Most Adorable Nerd

Award: Best Representation of Austin

Award: Most Air (we have a tie!)

Award: Best Unified Theme

Award: Best Interpretation of a Deer in Headlights

Award: Best Accessorizing with Props (how well does that bow tie go with those glasses?)

See all the photos from the week on INK’s Facebook page. What do you think of the booth? Do you have a favorite photo or prop?

It’s SXSW eve. For some, that means prep for parties, travel, anticipation of who they’ll see and what they’ll do. For INK, it means prep for clients, travel (of the 15-30 minute variety – gotta love it when the best thing happening is in your own backyard), and anticipation of what we’ll learn and how our clients will do. We’ve got a lot going on this year, for our clients and the SXSWi speaker pool at large. For the second year running we’re hosting a fun and stress-free getaway in the speaker ready room (more on that tomorrow from @karihernandez). And as if calming down thousands of stressed out speakers wasn’t enough, we’re also excited for the many ways three of our clients are making their own bold statements throughout the show:

@CSID: this team owns SXSW panels on Monday. If you want to know about voice verification, cloud security and breach preparedness, these are your panels.

@Gemalto_NA: stop by the lounge for coffee, happy hour, and a few podcasts in between; panels on Sat will tune you in to mobile payment and digital security.

@Tabbedout: party much? Pay with Tabbedout at the Interactive Opening Party at the Belmont Friday night. Then go check out more on mobile payment at founder Rick Orr’s panel on Tuesday.

The INK team will be taking this opportunity to soak up as much of the SXSWi experience as possible. Beyond supporting our clients’ events, you can find us listening and learning at sessions throughout the show, and mingling at parties and events throughout the week. If you see one of us, be bold and say hi – let’s have a beer, and share a story or two.

We do great work around here. We should highlight it more. So, here’s a little story for your Thursday afternoon: 

Client CSID is an authority on all things online identity fraud related. INK thinks they should talk about these things more and position themselves as thought leaders in the space. Helen, account manager on our CSID team, took the bull by the horns on this recommendation and wrote three abstracts for panels at SXSWi. All three were chosen (via the gauntlet known as the “SXSW panel picker”). That’s pretty cool. 

And then there’s this from today:

Check out the share numbers of the blurb – 4446 on Facebook, 1386 on Twitter and 41 on Google+. Pretty sweet, and a good indication of a nice turn out at this panel.

It’s the idea – and the initiative – that just keeps on giving. Go Helen! 

Volunteer.

To some, it’s a scary word. To others, it is what life’s all about. To me, it’s a way to dive into in my community, to befriend new personalities, to learn and to donate my resources.

A few months ago I decided it was time to start volunteering here in Austin. After poking around and weighing my options, I decided to get involved with the HOPE Farmers Market, an ideal combination of Sunday Fun-day, food, music, art and creative people.

My first time helping at HOPE I hung around the merchandise station to sell posters, t-shirts and water bottles. I had a great time chatting up strangers about HOPE’s parent organization, mission and artwork. I even ended up buying a few posters for myself (which look fantastic in my apartment, I might add).

A week later the volunteer coordinator approached me with the question, “Do you have a smartphone?” “Yes.” “Okay, great. I’ll make you a Facebook admin for our page.”

It was brilliant! The PR and media flack in me was thrilled that I could bring my professional skills and resources to the table. After all, I spend much of my day discussing social media strategies for clients anyway, and I enjoy breaking out my DSLR for freelance photography projects—why not incorporate these skills into my volunteer work?

Since then I’ve been using my phone to update HOPE’s Facebook directly from the market, posting photos and videos of vendors, market-goers and live music. I’ve been taking photos with my DSLR camera for use on Facebook, the HOPE blog and even local ads for the market. And just last weekend we put together HOPE’s first ever market photo booth, complete with veggie props and burlap. Next on my list are website and blog recommendations.

Applying professional skills to personal interests. Is this volunteering of the modern world? As it turns out, I’m not the only HOPE volunteer with the idea. Young bike connoisseurs have established a pop-up fix up shop at the market, a part-time caterer runs the tasting booth and cooking demos (pictured below bottom), and the owner of an Austin landscaping company facilitates the community compost (pictured below top).

Maybe we’ll soon see award-winning chefs behind soup kitchen counters and urban architects building playgrounds. What skills can you offer your community?

Join me at the HOPE Farmers Market – Sundays 11 AM – 3 PM, Pine Street Station at E. 5th and Waller St., Austin, TX.

INK Public Relations is now interviewing for the position of account executive or senior account executive. This team member will join a small group of energetic public relations specialists at the Austin-based boutique communications agency and immediately dive into PR in the technology industry.

Role Responsibilities: This new team member will provide day-to-day tactical implementation of all account activities, working closely with senior team members to execute on clients’ strategic PR plans and initiatives.

Required Skills and Experience: The ideal candidate will have three to five years of PR or related communications experience in the technology industry and demonstrate strong project management abilities, writing skills, and a knack for client service. Candidates should also be self-starters who thrive on working in a team environment.

Interested applicants should send resume and cover letter to Adrienne Huebner at work@ink-pr.com.