InsidEPR

When will Green IT Simply be a Part of Smart Business?

By Fran Lowe

We’ve been talking in a concerted way about Green IT for at least half of the last decade, and much longer if you were an early adopter of Green or a proponent of sustainable business. We’re all aware of IT industry giants like Google, IBM, GE and SAP who realized the immediate benefits of going Green by becoming more efficient in the way they operate.

Early adopters also realize that becoming more efficient - using less energy in their data centers or using recycled water in their cooling towers -  is just the fringed edge of Green IT. Going green has given these early adopters and leaders a measurable business advantage as they’ve continued to leverage a sustainable mindset and Green IT to develop and sell green technology products and services to enterprises worldwide. Their success has been spurred on by their  marketing efforts around Green, which in turn has built brand value for these companies and encouraged the adoption of Green technology by a growing number of customers. There are, of course, many "degrees" of  being green or engaging in sustainable activities. In the world of data centers, for example, obtaining a large percentage of energy from renewable or "non-coal” resources is being seen as an important next step.

Next-generation IT that brings together big data, cloud, virtualization and software-centric networking is increasingly more energy efficient by its very nature. Scale drives efficiency whether we’re talking about using the cloud to reduce the net energy usage of business computing or the fast-growing wholesale data center industry that is delivering power and cooling efficiencies that save millions of dollars for large scale customers. Leaner, more flexible and resilient computing is another way of expressing Green IT.

The interconnectedness of these technology trends is driving the ever greater need for companies of all sizes to adopt technology frameworks that are interconnected and able to measure and track results. The IT sector is more aware than ever of the environmental and financial impact of increased power consumption, data center cooling issues and e-waste from IT operations. By adopting and integrating green and sustainable targets, they will be better able to manage the environmental impacts of their computing assets and facilities from the get-go.

When Green is finally just the smart way of operating and doing business, by which I mean doing business in a way that ensures an enterprise will be able to flourish and persist over the long-term, we will likely no longer be talking about Green IT.

I’ve no idea when that is - but hope it’s sooner than I think.

 

Friday in the Bay: Warriors is where it’s at!

By Roya Pakfetrat

Basketball fans in the Bay Area are said to be some of the best in the nation. No matter how good or bad our Golden State Warriors are playing, we are always loyal and true to our team. Attending a Warriors game at the local (a 5 minute drive from our office) Oracle Arena, sometimes referred to as the “roaricle,” is always a good time because we (the fans) always show up with an unrelenting desire to cheer our team to victory.

At the arena, there is never a dull moment – from screaming, dancing and singing fans to the Flying W’s and the Warrior Girls – you can’t have a bad time even if you try! Last Friday I went to the Warriors/Pacers game and although a bad call prevented a win for the Warriors, the fans (including myself) stood up and cheered until the very last second of the game. We made sure “our boys” knew we thought they had it in them.

It might not have been the best outcome but like I said, we will always stick by our Golden State Warriors – through good times and bad. Check out some of my pictures from the game and see for yourself why we are proud to spend our Fridays in the Bay! #LetsGoWarriors

Make your own slideshow with music at Animoto.

Prepare Your Communications for an Equity Event

By Jeannette Bitz

2012 is here and as we enter into the new year, experts from seemingly every sector are looking into their crystal balls and revealing their “predictions” for the upcoming year.

For those compiling their “top 10 IPO lists,” there are the clear standouts - Facebook and Yelp - but also quite a bit of uncertainty amidst fluctuating market conditions.  However, there is a sense of optimism among analysts and many believe that we will see an increase in the number of IPOs and acquisitions throughout 2012. In fact if 2012 is anything like 2011, organizations may elect to get acquired versus going through the IPO process. Dow Jones VentureSource this month released its analysis of the number of venture capital-backed companies that exited in 2011. According to the report, the number of exits by acquisitions far exceeded the number of exits by IPO by the largest amount since 1992, when Dow Jones VentureSource first began to produce exit data.

Either exit strategy requires a well-thought out communications plan. For companies that are considering an IPO or preparing to be acquired, it is important to emphasize the importance of maintaining visibility throughout the process - from the months leading up to the filing or acquisition, throughout the quiet period in the case of an IPO, and after the transaction or event has occurred. Most organizations have never undertaken this type of effort and may not realize the pivotal role that a PR agency can and should play in guiding them through the process.

One of the most important pieces of advice we offer our clients is to make sure the communications efforts continue to move forward. Even during a quiet period, companies must avoid placing their marketing and PR programs on auto-pilot, or even worse, shutting them down altogether. Although there will always be cautious lawyers on hand to pull back the reins, the reality is that a company can continue with most of its planned PR activities, such as issuing press releases or launching products, as long as it had already been engaging in these activities in the past.

Once you start thinking about an IPO or other equity event is the time to make sure your PR and marketing efforts are in high-gear and focused on building your profile with prospects, customers, investors, and the media, to establish a business-as-usual level of outbound communications.
Here are five general guidelines that companies can leverage to continue to build momentum while preparing for an equity event:

1. Stay the course. Continue planned communications strategy, product launches, press releases, and editorial opportunities.
2. Simplify your story. Re-tool your messaging to make it easy for investors or prospective buyers to comprehend and relate to.
3. Analyze your PR strategy. Focus on the activities that will get you noticed, such as thought leadership pieces and placement in trend stories.
4. Refresh your marketing materials and other assets, such as sales collateral, corporate identity, website, newsletters, and direct marketing campaigns.
5. Develop and expand social media strategy. Implement or expand social media strategy, creating an integrated marketing matrix that ties in key initiatives with social media campaigns.

It is important to know that your company will emerge from the IPO or acquisition as a substantially more significant company - from both a size and revenue perspective - with a greater burden of accountability. By putting a communications framework in place, your PR agency partner can help your organization extend the goodwill earned during the IPO or acquisition far into the future.

Fridays in the Bay: How ‘bout them 49ers!

By Mike Tomlinson

What a great time to be a sports fan in the San Francisco Bay. In 2010, the Giants win the World Series. Now one year later, our 49ers—who went 6-10 in the regular season last year under Mike Singletary and looked like a complete mess—are headed (fingers crossed) to the Super Bowl after an amazing turnaround effort by new head coach Jim Harbaugh. Who the heck saw that coming!?

It definitely wasn’t an easy journey. Our QB Alex Smith was doubted by all the big shots throughout most of the season. Not to mention the early season parking lot ruckus between San Francisco 49ers fans and Oakland Raiders fans that had doubters already chalking up the season as a failure, reinforcing the negative image the outside world has of our Bay area fans—but hey, at least we can own up to it.

One must look no further than the infamous Black Hole at the Raiders games to be stricken to the core with pure terror, but its all part of what makes the Bay such a great place to be for sports. We do get passionate about our teams! Just blame it on our high standards. In the land of Al Davis and Joe Montana, we leave our legendary teams little room for failure.

Now, with Jim Harbaugh’s brother John coaching the tough-nosed and playoff game-winning Baltimore Ravens, the only thing that could top this great season would be to see the ‘Niners take down the Ravens in a brother versus brother Super HarBowl! But whether they do or not, for Jim Harbaugh (a Stanford veteran with Bay area blood in his veins) to have turned this team around in only one season isn’t just remarkable, or incredible, or amazing.

It’s purely magical—and that kind of magic is what the Bay is all about.

 

Go Augment Yourself

By Mike Tomlinson

If there’s one thing we can take away from this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES), it’s that mobility is king. All computing is moving to mobile devices, but the coolest developments stem from bridging this mobile computing world with our natural movements and choices as human beings. I’m of course talking about Augmented Reality (AR)!

The big news during CES week came from Israeli optics manufacturer Lumus, who revealed a consumerized version of see-through visual displays which are currently used by military organizations around the world. Just think of its applications beyond the obvious military purposes—surgeons with these unusual looking spectacles will be using augmented reality to back them up during major surgeries. Pilots will use augmented reality to assist with complicated navigation during severe weather. But if that doesn’t sound like ‘Minority Report’ enough to you, know this - glass manufacturer Corning has developed a completely transparent glass electronic display, opening the door in the near future to our own cars overlaying important information and warnings onto our windshields as we drive about town. Even Google is getting into smart cars with AR-- but more on that in my next blog post.

We have barely touched the surface of consumerized augmented reality even though some companies are ahead of the curve and have started using AR as an extension of their marketing and sales divisions. IKEA has integrated augmented reality into their socially-oriented sales approach, allowing users to download an app that, when pointed at their living room, will overlay any of IKEA’s products onto the screen. This gives would be buyers an idea for which IKEA furniture would look best in that room. Amazon announced last year the development of Amazon Flow, a mobile AR app that scans barcodes and provides reviews, videos and prices for what it was you scanned. Just last week, Japanese electronics company Omron announced an app that will instantaneously translate text from one language to another, simply by pointing your phone’s camera at what you need translated (Chinese food, anyone?).

And soon, Google’s Goggles app will be able to visually identify any object you place within its frame of view and retrieve information about that object from the internet. The possibilities are endless, and it’s a great time to be an augmented reality proponent (and to have millions of dollars to invest into fledgling AR companies). Yet, with each advancement made in AR, more questions and complications come with it. In my next blog post, I’ll dive into the challenges in augmenting our own lives to exist in a growing digital world, reflecting the gray areas that rise up from the competing demands of these dual realities. Stay tuned!

Friday in the Bay: New York Times thinks you should visit Oakland

By Caitlin Mattias

First, an introduction – we at Engage PR think the Bay Area is a pretty unique place and just about everyone has heard about the hippie, hipster or techie culture prevalent here. Whether you discard gadgets like yesterday’s Wall Street Journal or up-cycle regularly in your urban garden, there’s a place for you in the sometimes urban, sometimes suburban oasis that is San Francisco and the East Bay. In the new weekly “Friday in the Bay” posts, we’ll share the shocking, amusing and down-right ridiculous things that make northern California the place we call home. Enjoy!

Oakland is a scant bridge away from San Francisco, yet it’s widely considered the ugly sister of the Bay Area. No longer! From urban wineries to cultural centers to Michelin-starred restaurants, it’s about time Oakland is recognized for the wonderful place it is.

The New York Times placed Oakland #5 on the list of “45 Places to Go in 2012”—between #4 London and #6 Tokyo. Not too shabby for this port town. The Times calls out Oakland’s burgeoning restaurant scene, hip nightlife and music venues as major reasons why you should pencil in a trip to our neck of the woods. We heartily agree.

Moving clients from tactical to strategic is a two-way street

By Jeannette Bitz

As we enter into the new year, some food for thought on how to begin thinking and planning more strategically...

It's easy to complain about clients that seem firmly set in tactical mode. We're also all aware of clients who have let an agency go because of its lack of strategic insight or inability to drive a successful PR program.

Clients seek PR support because they have a business challenge or a goal in mind, but it is sometimes presented in tactical terms and short time frames. For example, the client wants to launch a product next month, secure an industry award, or garner more coverage than competitors. Or the client may just want you to handle media relations and speaking opportunities. As PR counselors, we need to guide their thinking:

• Ask questions that will help client executives think in larger terms about overall business and marketing goals.
• Establish expectations for PR and educate clients on the role PR plays in contributing to sales and business success. Be upfront and honest about what is and is not achievable.
• Be objective, while showing that we understand the client's technology and industry, that we know market conditions and the competitive landscape, and that we can respond creatively to communications opportunities and challenges.
• Show we understand how PR fits within the larger marketing mix and amplifies and extends other channels. This is critical to building agency credibility and hence the client's willingness to seek out and accept PR counsel.
• Demonstrate a systematic approach to PR planning and goal-setting. Gaining client buy-in to a PR plan that identifies measurable goals and objectives by audience, and that links key strategies and tactics to them, is critical to success.
• Maintain the agreed-upon PR plan as a living document, regularly reviewing and updating it according to results-to-date and changing realities.
• Refer continuously to the PR plan to focus both client and agency on what is or is not a strategic use of time or budget. The agency should spend its time on projects of greatest strategic impact, not on seductive but low-value opportunities or standalone tactics.

Ultimately, being a strategic partner in achieving results and managing resources is the best way to ensure that clients also behave strategically.