INK PUBLIC RELATIONS

Our more diligent readers may have noticed some new faces at Fresh INK that have yet to be formally introduced. Many apologies for my tardiness and no, your eyes do not deceive you – INK is growing! And they said it couldn’t be done, not in “this” economy. Well folks, apparently if you have the right stuff – the stuff your clients want, the stuff that keeps them coming back for more – then yes, you can.

The Power of Five is now the Power of Seven – Adrienne Huebner, Julie Zellman and Jennifer Lopez (yes, we call her JLo on occasion – no, you cannot) – have added to the INK team in innumerable ways:

Adrienne is fast becoming the glue that holds us all together – or is it the glue that holds Kari and my heads in place? Either one, it’s important and we love her for it. While she’s not pictured here, her handiwork is – it’s super cool and convenient to have a part-time office manager whose real job is photographer. To see more of her very cool style, check out her website and blog (and say hi to Georgia while you’re there!).

Julie Zellman joined us fresh out of the University of Texas’ PR Honors program, but not without tons of prior and relevant internship experience. Julie is the real deal, a PR go-getter with the know-how and enthusiasm to get the job done. She’s brought a fresh perspective to how we do things around here (and since we haven’t hired in 4 years, that’s a good thing!) by reaffirming our belief that there’s always a better way; and also confirmed, through one internship experience at a large PR agency – that many of the things we do at INK are absolutely the best way to do them (I’m talking to you LARGE PR AGENCY and your ridiculous practice of having interns cold call reporters!).

Jennifer Lopez could not be more different from that “other” JLo. Sure, she’s cute and a (ballet) dancer, but a diva – no. Joining us from the Environmental Defense Fund where she helped shape public opinion about the pressing environmental issues of the day, Jennifer’s bubbly personality and clean energy know-how have been a perfect fit with the INK team. Her leadership in this area will be counted on greatly as we move towards expanding our clean energy practice.

So please say a warm welcome to our new INKers the next time you have the opportunity. We’re excited to have them here and see where INK goes next!

I recently plunged into the waters of social media with the launch of a Facebook page for long time client, magicJack. A few weeks in and all is going well. We are rapidly growing our fan base and have a heavy amount of interaction on the page week over week. Looking back, I can’t believe I ever questioned the value such a tactic would provide for magicJack. We are reaching a key audience of the company’s, the young professional and college student demographic, in the most powerful and direct way to date and having a lot of fun (from an internal perspective) in the process. It just goes to show that you never know what you will find when you start testing these resources out for yourself. This reflection reminded me of how reticent I was to use Facebook for personal use, initially.

I am from a very small town. I became convinced that I would not want to revisit my past for the world to see on Facebook. Afterall, I would surely receive requests from old flames (can they use Facebook in prison?), old friends (armed with evidence of why I should be in prison) and tagged photos (I didn’t know they made ropers and Wranglers for clowns). Of course, the requests did come and I accepted and ohhhhh…how the hunted became the hunter. My old friends’ status updates are so much better than those of my newer peers. Instead of “I am at Starbuck’s …YUM GUYS!” I get updates that read, “I am sitting out in the yard waiting to SHOOT THAT SQUIRELL!…%*^&^**!” Instead of vacation pictures from Cancun, my old school Facebook friends post pictures of their family vacation at Walt Disney World posing with Mickey whom they have holding the hometown paper with headline reading “Another Meth Bust!” I gotta say…that kind of originality has me coming back for more and just reaffirms that originality and transparency spell success in the social media world.

And just to show you don’t have to be from a small town to be original (or haunted by your past), here is  a picture of my husband in his youth. This proves you can be from London, listen to the coolest most underground music and still wind up regretting fashion sense and haircut choices many years later. But one thing remains true – people appreciate originality and a little something different.  When you are out there competing for attention in the social media world, don’t be afraid to let your freak flag fly.

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING COMPLETELY DIFFERENT:

After working with ACCIONA Energy over the last year, I was thrilled to be able to visit my first wind farm.  Of course, I’ve seen turbines spinning in the distance in Texas and I’ve written descriptions of how they work and sent pictures of other ACCIONA wind farms like Tatanka to trade and local media.  But I’d never walked right up underneath one and I’d certainly never been inside a turbine.  I’d also never been to Oklahoma, even after living my whole life in a neighboring state and talking a lot of smack about OU.

INKer Blair Poloskey (Oklahoma-born I might add) and I flew up to Oklahoma City and drove the nearly two hours out to Elk City in the Western part of the state where the wind blows strong and the oil and gas culture is welcoming this new and plentiful energy resource with open arms. ACCIONA’s Red Hills Wind Farm – which would be formally dedicated the next day — is located in Roger Mills and Custer Counties on nearly 5,000 acres.  The 82 turbines that make up the farm create enough clean energy to power 40,000 homes and offset 294K tons of C02 emissions annually.  ACCIONA’s VP of Development in the Central Region Tom Hiester, who spoke later in the week at Oklahoma’s Wind Commerce conference (note: we are doing a series of excerpts from this speech on the new ACCIONA NA – Take Action! Facebook fan page, called Oklahoma the “mother lode” of wind energy.  If DOE estimates are correct, Oklahoma has the potential to produce 725 billion kWh/year from wind which would surpass the oil and natural gas production of Oklahoma (oil is 60 million barrels per year; natural gas is 275 million barrels of oil equivalent per year).  This is more energy than Oklahoma can consume, creating a new export product for the state and one that may be in high demand by the Southeast US if a national RES (renewable energy standard) is passed.  How do they reach that potential? Tom says supporting national legislation to enforce an RES and significant investment in transmission lines are critical.

The Red Hills dedication festivities included an address from speakers like ACCIONA CEO Peter Duprey and  Oklahoma Secretary of Commerce and Tourism Natalie Shirley, an annual scholarship award of $5000 to the local school district, a great BBQ lunch and an open house for the public that involved bus tours of the wind farm and games and crafts for kids on wind energy from a great organization called KidWind.  After local media had completed interviews and left the event, Blair and I hopped one of the first buses and explored the truly beautiful wind farm. We went inside the turbine which includes control equipment and a lift to take employees (unfortunately not us) to the top of the turbine. As you can see from this picture, the turbines are truly magnificent, especially when you look straight up at them.  I felt the same kind of awe that I experienced when visiting the Redwoods in California.  These are beautiful, but huge structures.

The weather certainly could have been better but all in all it was a great day.  In the midst of snatching chairs out of the rain and stomping around in puddles, the Red Hills dedication event did just what it needed to do: thank the landowners, state and local government and overall community for their support and enthusiasm, and motivate the people of Oklahoma to continue to embrace wind energy in the state.  The dedication ceremony was followed by an impromptu duet of “Oklahoma,” the state song from the well-known musical, performed by none other than the local state representative Purcy Walker.  Go Oklahoma!  I never thought I’d say that.

We received a RFP for a very cool Austin company this week. As with most prospective (and current, for that matter) clients these days, the company would like recommendations on social media campaigns (as it should). The more I explore and work within this area, the more I’m convinced that when you get down to it, social media is a set of tools that helps companies 1) communicate (something they may not be doing at all or not much) with their key audiences, 2) BETTER. Hmm, sounds an awful lot like public relations to me – communicating with key audiences. For that second part – the better – that’s why they hire INK.

My favorite thing about social media? The ability to have conversations that you never would have before, at least not in this lifetime. That’s really what we’re talking about here – communication has come full circle, from talking one-on-one in the cave, to one-to-few at the church, to one-to-many in the town square, to many-to-many via newspaper, TV and the Internet (yes, I skipped a few iterations in there – you get the picture), and now, we have the ability to go one-to-one again, but – here’s the cool part – WITH PEOPLE WE’VE NEVER MET, BUT WITH WHOM WE SHARE AN INTEREST. How cool is that?

At the beginning of the year, I – like many other business owners – took stock of our expenses and analyzed various ways to get more for less. Telecom expenses seemed a natural area to examine. After all, we had contracts in place for over 4 years at our current location and surely prices had gone down – and quality up – in that time. At first blush, that appeared to be the case. Switching from TWTelecom to Time Warner Business Class would save us money and provide us with higher bandwidth – great, right? Um, yes – unless as a business we actually want to receive phone calls. Callers beware – if we’re on another line, we can’t see that you’re calling nor will you be directed to our voice mail. The caller ID call waiting and voice mail services I take for granted on my home phone line are non-existent at work, where I need them most.

Ultimately, this is completely unacceptable. Efforts thus far to rectify the situation have also been unacceptable to this point. Vendors are playing the “it’s not my fault, it’s their fault” blame game and I am not amused. Hopefully, Time Warner will come through and let me out of the voice side of the contract based on a total fail in the quality of service area. I’m not going to hold my breath though. After all, Time Warner doesn’t have a stellar reputation around Austin and it’s for reasons like this.

Two lessons learned – the hard way – in this one: 1) brand reputation does count for something (people “hate” Time Warner for a reason), and 2) you usually get what you pay for.

Have something to share about Time Warner? Prove me wrong and tell me everything’s going to be okay. Or share your sad story here – misery loves company.

What do you do when you have secured coverage for your client in newspapers across the country via the Associated Press; scored hits in top-tier publications such as USA Today, CNN.com, San Jose Mercury News, BusinessWeek, Forbes.com and MSNBC; achieved visibility on broadcast outlets nationwide and garnered prestigious industry awards from the likes of PC Magazine? You take it to the streets. In search of reaching untapped audiences via non-traditional PR methods, INK is recruiting a few good foot soldiers to join the magicJack army.

Your mission will be to raise awareness of our client’s namesake device via a guerilla marketing campaign. By stretching the limits of creativity, you will execute “anything but ordinary” tactics to raise awareness of the magicJack among key audiences (young, hip, cool types). How fun is that? And at the end of it all, you get to put lots of “hot buzzwords” (social media, viral marketing, blogosphere, etc.) on your resume. Check out the job description below and send the resumes in!

But first, check out this classic clip from the Bill Murray classic, Stripes. When I think of creativity and the Army…it’s Stripes.

Stripes
I love it when he says, “RAAAAZLE DAAAAAZLE”!

INK PR – magicJack army
The magicJack army is an internship program at Austin-based INK Public Relations (www.ink-pr.com which will raise the noise level around the magicJack communication device in ways that traditional PR methods could not. Interns will be chosen based on their creativity, independence, and understanding of marketing communications to participate in a summer program.

Job Description
8 to 10 hours a week
Conduct guerilla marketing plan with guidance and preparation help from INK PR
Contribute to campaign with individual ideas for stunts, tactics and outreach
Implement campaign and monitor results
Conduct local events and stunts to raise awareness of magicJack among key audiences
Provide detailed documentation of all aspects of campaign

Job Requirements
8 to 10 hours per week
Ideal candidate will be a Jr. or Sr. at the University of Texas, Austin with a desire to establish hands-on experience within the field of Marketing/PR
Preferred College: Communications or Business
Interest/experience with marketing/PR a plus
Candidate must be self-motivated and willing to set and meet personal deadlines and work with little direct supervision
Candidate will be creative with excellent verbal and written communication skills
Excellent organizational skills, attention to detail, high energy level and ability to manage and monitor multiple projects/deadlines required

Interested applicants please submit resume to Adrienne Huebner at adrienne@ink-pr.com

There are not many things I consider more fun than celebrating milestones. My friends and family will confirm that it’s not a birthDAY in my world, but rather a fun-filled fiesta month of celebration. And with a thriving company and new daughter, there is always cause for celebration.

Professionally, my baby, INK, turned 5 on January 12. Not being one to let milestones go by without a celebration, the whole team enjoyed a wonderful sushi dinner at Nobu at CES in Las Vegas – and continued the celebration with an outstanding trip to that largest consumer electronics show in the world on behalf of our clients the Bluetooth SIG and magicJack.

The INK team at CES 2009 in Vegas, celebrating 5 years of amazing miletones.

Personally, my baby, Georgia, will turn one on May 22. I’ve been planning her party this weekend and also clapping all day long as she practices that other big milestone she just passed – walking.

These are the big ones – the birthdays, anniversaries, and big moments in life that mark a step closer to independence. But these big ones have me thinking of the “small” ones too. What about the day that reporter at the Wall Street Journal said “Yes, I’d love to speak to your client, that’s a great idea”; or the time your client said, “You’re right, that’s exactly how we should tackle this campaign.” Or when your colleague gets recognized by the an industry guru for being great at what she does. These are all important milestones too and should be celebrated.

If you pay attention, I bet you could find at least one milestone a day that means you’re growing, learning, achieving. Now that’s cause for celebration. Go ahead, think about it and share one here. We’re happy to raise a glass.

As any good Type A personality will relate, I need to get all my little duckies in a row when I set out to accomplish something. If I venture into unfamiliar territory, I believe in seeking out an expert to guide me to  my destination.

Upon taking in a stray mutt that played me for a chump by morphing from forlorn, terrified stray to hell hound that was too crazy for the devil himself, I enlisted the help of the “Dog Father,” Lee Mannix. Among dogs, dog trainers and men, Lee is, in one word… ALPHA. Any dog with too much drive that finds its canine-self cast in the silhouette of Lee’s sizable, cowboy hat donning shadow will sit down and shut up (and do just about anything else he says). Lee is the owner of the Lee Mannix Center for Canine Behavior and a nationally recognized expert in dog behavior and aggression issues. I witnessed him make an angel out of my devil dog, command an entire field of about 20 dogs to lie down at one time (an accident occurring when he happened to raise his voice – they all just respected him that much) and even make my hubby (possessed of the gift of the gab thanks to his Irish heritage) speechless. Now my dog, who was once on maximum security lockdown is a free woman and will soon enter her first agility competition.

No longer chasing men’s naughty bits, Lucky is relaxed, well-behaved and a force of reckoning on the agility course.

When I made the decision to take up running, I did not hesitate to put my other dogs (the ones that wear sneakers) under the direction of Austin’s best running coach, Gilbert Tuhabonye. Gilbert, a former NCAA All-American, leads the immensely successful Gilbert’s Gazelles training program for runners of all levels. No matter what stage you are at, Gilbert will make you stronger. He got me in shape to run my first marathon with a 3:33:03 time qualifying me to run the Boston Marathon in 2010.

INK takes the same approach to our work. We have developed a valuable network of experts and tools to ensure we do our job better, for us and our clients. By working with top notch producers of multimedia assets such as Webbed Feet for video and images as well as industry experts like Sam Whitmore’s Media Survey on emerging media trends; and employing coverage tracking from Critical Mention and Meltwater, and intelligence tools from Cision and Factiva, we have the weapons in our arsenal to deliver the breadth of services expected of a large PR firm while providing the level of deep attention and expertise of a small dedicated PR agency. If you don’t think we do it, just ask. I bet we do or know who to talk to get it done…(very well, I might add).

What about you? Who helps you get the job done?

Thanks to Gilbert and the support of my fellow, Gazelles, I crossed the Austin Marathon finish line with a smile and hope to do the same in Boston next year.

Two hours – a good chunk of time to make a point, or twenty.

I’m talking with the Central Texas PRSA chapter tomorrow morning in Waco on the topic of social media and will try to keep my points in that 1-20 range (I’m kidding – I’m a PR purist – of course there will only be 3 key messages ).

What do I have to say on social media you might ask? After all, I only joined twitter last November, my Facebook friends are those people I actually personally know and blogging is a fairly new tool in my arsenal as well. While all of that is true, it doesn’t make my experience any less valuable. I’m not a “social media expert” (nor do I want to be) – I’m a PR expert and use social media technology to do what I’ve always done – communicate with my (and my clients’) key audiences. From that perspective, I’ve got lots of fun stuff to share on how these great tools have made those conversations richer and made me more effective in my profession. I dig PR, I dig what these tools are doing for PR, and I dig sharing what I’ve learned with new people. And if all goes well, I bet I learn a little something along the way too.

Watch out Waco, me and my (less than) 20 points are on the way!

If you’ve got a tip, trick or trend you’d like me to share with the audience…you know what to do (use that little white box right there, yep, right there below this post…)

Alright faithful readers – I am on vacation. And in a deal with my Husband, I have promised to cut my ties (no Blackberry, no twitter, no Facebook, certainly no email) for the entirety of our time in Germany. He had to give up fantasy baseball – it is going to be a fabulous little vacation.

I am interested to see what happens while I am gone – I am looking at this as an experiment. I will update everyone when I get back.

Till then, peace out.