Entire Site
Austin PR Firm Launches Web 2.0 Communications Site
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Cynthia A. Baker, Accolades Public Relations
ofc. (512) 795.2353
cel. (512) 586.8278
cynthia@accoladespr.com
Austin PR Firm Launches Web 2.0 Communications site
Blending social media with traditional public relations
Austin, Texas - June 17, 2008 - Austin-based Accolades PR, a results-oriented communications firm committed to progressive strategies in public relations and marketing communications, announced today the launch of its new Web site with PR 2.0 capabilities, including a social media newsroom. Accolades Public Relations utilizes Web 2.0 tools to offer a new kind of PR firm where clients’ needs drive solutions - whether in media exposure or Web visibility.
The experienced team practices a blend of traditional public relations along with optimized PR and social media. When search engine tactics are properly applied to press releases, they often appear in top Google News, AOL News and Yahoo! News search results for about a month. Such Web visibility leverages traditional public relations efforts for more traffic and online visibility.
“The world of public relations is evolving,” states Cynthia Baker, President of Accolades PR. “More journalists are searching for their news online. Traditional public relations efforts are still the foundation of a strong public campaign, but social media and search engine optimized PR should be considered as part of the solution when a client’s goals are first analyzed.”
Recently a report from Outsell stated that press releases have leapfrogged over trade publications to become the top news source of knowledge workers. The implication for both business-to-business and consumer public relations clients is to provide a full press kit on the corporate Web site for journalists and to use the forces of search engine optimization (SEO) to extend the life of a press release on the Web.
“Our strategies are based on determining the mix of publicity that will best provide exposure for our clients,” adds Baker. “We target national and regional business publications, trade publications as well as digital media - the balance is key for many clients.”
The agency currently represents interactive marketing, advertising, insurance, franchise, and financial clients. The mission of Accolades is to set the standard in what carefully executed pubic relations and communication strategies can do for sales, lead generation and the bottom line of ROI.
MULTIMEDIA:
CYNTHIA BAKER PHOTO
ACCOLADES PR CAPABILITIESAbout Accolades Public Relations: Austin-based Accolades PR is a results-oriented communications firm committed to progressive strategies in public relations and marketing. The agency focuses on building and protecting its clients’ most valuable asset – their brand. With expertise in brand management, media relations, corporate communications, product launches and special events, the firm’s capabilities encompass a variety of practice areas. As a team, Accolades PR delivers more than 45 years of experience in garnering media exposure and developing effective marketing campaigns. Accolades’ mission is to set the standard in what carefully executed public relations and communications strategies can do for sales, lead generation and the bottom line of ROI.
More information on the firm and its unique service offerings is available at www.accoladespr.com
TECHNORATI TAGS:
Technorati Tags: accolades public relations, accolades pr, cynthia baker, Austin public relations, Optimized PR, PR 2.0, Social Media
del.icio.us Accounts:
Share This
Published by admin on June 19th, 2008 tagged Accolades News, Austin PR, News, Optimized PR, Public Relations, Social Media | Comment now »
Accolades PR Moderates Panel at Interactive Austin 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Beth Ranson, Accolades Public Relations
ofc. (512) 795.2353
cell (512) 619.5904
beth@accoladespr.com
June 19, 2008 - Accolades Public Relations is participating today in the first ever Interactive Austin 2008 event, “Putting Social Commerce to Work,” a regional forum to discover how to integrate social media, Web 2.0 tools and digital media into the corporate marketing plan to improve profitability. The sold-out event, which is being hosted by Business District Magazine, is educating Central Texas businesses on the power of social commerce.
Accolades PR, a leader in providing their clients with exceptional public relations, branding strategies, and optimized public relations, is excited to be a part of this forum as they are on the forefront of utilizing social commerce within their own and their clients’ public relations strategies. Accolades PR has a proven track record in social media with regional and national clients, such as FG SQUARED, US Insurance Online, Mercury Mambo, CACH Capital Management, Yum Brands, Inc., St. Jacques, and RefreshWeb.
“In a time when many fear recession, social commerce is putting companies on an even playing field and the companies that aren’t getting on board will find themselves falling behind the competition,” said Cynthia Baker, President & Founder of Accolades PR. “Interactive Austin was established to educate companies on the advantages of social commerce and how to harness its power for profitability.” Baker is a Panel Moderator at today’s event and will lead an informative discussion on how marketing and PR have had to evolve to incorporate social commerce.
The conference is the first of its kind in Austin and will highlight the social media and interactive professionals in the Central Texas area. The one-day conference is being held at the JJ Pickle Research Campus and includes keynote speakers Steve Guengerich, Chief Learning Officer, nGeneraTM Corporation, formerly BSG Alliance; and Pete Hayes, VP of Corporate Marketing & Communications, AMD.
Representatives from Accolades PR, AMD, Apogee Search, Austin American-Statesman, AvenueA/Razorfish, BazaarVoice, BusinessWire, DexterityMedia, Digital Voodoo, Every Dot Connects, GigaOM, MashBrain, Mercury Mambo, Mosasaur Marketing & Technology Consulting, nGeneraTM, Tom Parish Inc., PIPO Management Consulting, Pluck, Polycot Associates, ProAce Technologies Services, RefreshWeb, Small World Labs and Social Media Power will be providing thought leadership at the conference.
For more event information, visit www.InteractiveAustin2008.com
MULTIMEDIA:
About Accolades PR: Austin-based Accolades PR is a results-oriented communications firm committed to progressive strategies in public relations and marketing. The agency focuses on building and protecting its clients’ most valuable asset – their brand. With expertise in brand management, media relations, corporate communications, product launches and special events, the firm’s capabilities encompass a variety of practice areas. As a team, Accolades PR delivers more than 45 years of experience in garnering media exposure and developing effective marketing campaigns. Accolades’ mission is to set the standard in what carefully executed public relations and communication strategies can do for sales, lead generation and the bottom line of ROI.
More information on the firm is available at www.AccoladesPR.com.
TECHNORATI:
Technorati tags: Cynthia Baker, Accolades PR, Panel Moderator, Interactive Austin 2008, Social Commerce, Social Media, Social Interaction, Interactive, Austin, Public Relations
Share This
Published by beth on June 19th, 2008 tagged Accolades News, Interactive Austin, News | Comment now »
President Bush Selects CACH Founder as Special Envoy to the OIC, Sada Cumber to Serve as U.S. Representative to Islamic Conference
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Cynthia A. Baker, Accolades Public Relations
ofc. (512) 795.2353
cell (512) 586.8278
cynthia@accoladespr.com
February 29, 2008 - CACH Capital Management, LLC, announced today that the firm’s founder, Sada Cumber, has been appointed by President George W. Bush to be the Special Envoy to the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC). Mr. Cumber will assume his duties effective March 3, 2008.
Sada is appointed as the chief U.S. representative to the global Islamic community at a time when sovereign wealth funds of many Muslim countries have been pouring into the United States. Cumber’s background at CACH Capital will give him a keener insight into how such economic integration affects the political and cultural relationship between the U.S. and the Muslim world.
Mr. Cumber will serve as the American representative to the OIC and strive to “promote mutual understanding and dialogue between the United States and Muslim communities around the world.”
Former Texas Secretary of State Geoffrey S. Connor, CACH Chairman; Michael J. Hundley, President and CEO of CACH; and Al Amlani, CTO, founded the wealth management firm along with Mr. Cumber. The remaining three founders along with the executive team will manage the company in Mr. Cumber’s absence.
“Sada and his wife Muntaz are dear friends, and I couldn’t be happier for them,” states Connor. “The nation is fortunate that Sada Cumber is willing to serve in this important position.”
Prior to his appointment, Mr. Cumber’s litany of successes include founding 11 technology companies and most recently, CACH Capital Management, a wealth management firm based in Austin, Texas. His business acumen, expertise in global strategy and political insights make him a powerful corporate leader.
“I know Sada as an insightful, fair-minded and decisive leader who will make an excellent liaison to the OIC,” comments Hundley. “Although he has been an American citizen since 1986, Sada was born in Pakistan. He understands the Islamic community as well as the common political, economic and social concerns that could join the American and Muslim cultures.”
Mr. Cumber served on numerous boards of Texas-based and international organizations, including the Board of Directors of the Texas Economic Development Board (a $300 million fund), the Texas Emerging Technology Fund (a $200 million fund), the 15th World Congress on Information Technology, the Texas Business Council and the Governor’s Task Force on Higher Education. Until recently, Mr. Cumber also served as the Honorary Consul of the Republic of Malta in Austin.
Mr. Cumber has been asked to promote effective dialogue among the world’s religious communities. He has served on the Board of Directors for the Texas Foundation of Religious Studies and the Advisory Council for the College of Fine Arts at the University of Texas.
Sada Cumber is the first U.S. ambassador to the intergovernmental organization, which promotes Muslim solidarity in social and political affairs.
MULTIMEDIA:
About CACH Capital Management, LLC: CACH Capital Management, LLC, a Texas-based global wealth management firm, sets the new standard in wealth management, managed portfolios, global hedge funds and business advisory services. CACH maintains a sharp focus on disciplined investing to achieve high levels of performance for its clients, which include institutions, mid-market businesses and high-net-worth individuals. The firm has established an impressive track record of performance in both private and public endeavors benefiting their investors and clients.
Each CACH team member has been selected for the specialized expertise he brings to the firm. The human capital of CACH Capital represents over 50 years of investment experience and over 100 years of combined expertise in the business, legal and financial fields. All CACH Capital members share an intense commitment to accountability, communication and transparency to the firm’s clients. www.CACHCapital.com
TECHNORATI:
Technorati tags: Sada Cumber, CACH, Ambassador, President Bush, OIC, Organizationn of the Islamic Conference, Islam, Muslim, Wealth management, Sovereign Wealth Funds
Share This
Published by admin on March 4th, 2008 tagged CACH Capital, News, OIC, Sada Cumber, Sovereign Wealth Funds, Wealth management | Comment now »
St. Jacques Expands Thought Leadership in Franchise Marketing
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Cynthia A. Baker, Accolades Public Relations
ofc. (512) 795.2353
cell (512) 586.8278
cynthia@accoladespr.com
St. Jacques Expands Thought Leadership in Franchise Marketing
Morristown, NJ – St. Jacques Franchise Brand Marketing, an advertising agency that specializes in growing the reputations and corporate images of respected franchise organizations, today announced that it has hired Sally Facinelli to become Vice President of Business Development.
In her new role, Facinelli will be responsible for expanding the agency’s reputation, identifying new clients, and actively representing St. Jacques before the franchising community. Facinelli has effectively opened a West Coast business development office for St. Jacques.
“With their Big 30 Benchmark Report on Franchise Marketing, St. Jacques introduced a new level of expertise to the unique demands of marketing franchise organizations,†Facinelli says. “My job is to extend that thought leadership throughout the franchising community.â€
Facinelli’s franchise roots run deep. In her three-and-a-half years with Aussie Pet Mobile, where she rose to the position of Vice President of Franchise Development, Facinelli guided the organization from 13 franchises to more than 250. At IFX International, Inc., Facinelli became Director of Operations, responsible for management, training, customer development and support. Throughout her career, she has been actively involved with the IFA, serving as Ambassador for new franchisors and suppliers, as a member of the IFA Technology Committee, and as Co-Chair of the San Diego Women in Franchising Network. She is a Certified Franchise Executive (CFE).
“Sally’s authentic passion for service and her impressive achievements in franchising,†states St. Jacques President and Creative Director, Philip St. Jacques, “make her the ideal representative for our agency. She embodies all the qualities we want to bring to our clients: enthusiasm, intelligence, experience and most of all - a real desire to see our customers succeed.â€
Facinelli adds, “I knew St. Jacques was the right place to be because of the way Philip and Michael [St. Jacques, co-founder and President, Client Relationships] talk about their business as a way of helping people. Together, we want to help franchisors address their unique marketing, brand building and advertising needs to drive system growth.â€
St. Jacques Franchise Brand Marketing was founded in 1991 to meet the special communications demands of franchisors and franchisees. Headquartered in Morristown, New Jersey, the agency serves brands such as ADP, CENTURY 21, Yum!, Artuzzi’s and many others.
MULTIMEDIA:
DOWNLOAD PDF 
About St. Jacques Franchise Brand Marketing:
St. Jacques has over 15 years of experience in creating and executing integrated marketing programs for some of the largest and most respected franchise organizations in the world. St. Jacques’ core competencies are in supporting organic growth, lead generation, event marketing, franchise training, market share growth, sales alliance marketing and internal communications, St. Jacques professionals have more than 11 years of direct, client-side franchise marketing experience between them in financial services, hospitality, travel, business and real estate brands.
For more information, please visit www.franchisefame.com
Share This
Published by admin on August 31st, 2007 tagged Client News, News | Comment now »
Outside look shows PR’s role in marketing gaining respect
The confluence of two facts - that the PR industry, as a whole, cares very much about its reputation and that PR is increasingly required to join forces with its sister disciplines in integrated work - led us to take a new tack with this year’s Reputation of PR feature.
While in previous years we had looked at the reputation of the industry through the eyes of the media and the general public, we instead polled senior executives from these sister disciplines to get their view on PR’s role in the marketing mix.
The PR industry should be proud of the results. The people interviewed were not the CEOs of small ad firms with small clients, nor were they CMOs from niche brands that relied on PR to eke out meager marketing dollars. When John Osborn, president and CEO of BBDO New York, told PRWeek that PR “is a really important driver that can either bring credibility or not to everything that we do,” we got a momentary glimpse into the pressures that ad agencies are under to no longer work in a creative vacuum.
As ever, there is a slightly contrarian view. Paul Woolmington, a highly creative media brain who’s been in the industry for longer than most people knew that creative media brains existed, does agree that PR is an increasingly important force in the disintermediated world. But he criticizes the industry as being insular and as being slow to embrace the consumer-controlled co-creation environment.
Woolmington sits in the comparatively luxurious position of helming the US office of Naked Communications, one of an elite team of small, creative media strategy shops that have recently gained presence and attention. Many PR pros and firms would rightly dispute his second assertion, if not the first. But importantly, he adds that this “insularity” criticism is also aimed at ad agencies, as well as many other disciplines.
While it’s clear that strides have been made in integrating these separate disciplines, the structure of the marketing agency world fundamentally pits one type of agency - and discipline - against another. Marketing’s finest creative minds from all disciplines are working hard to define and occupy the “gray area.” But in clients’ eyes, there’s little difference between the brawl of yesteryear - PR, ad, and promotion agencies lining up outside their doors, each saying its discipline is the most effective - and the brawl of today - PR, ad, and promotion agencies lining up outside the client’s door, each saying it’s the best at providing the discipline-neutral strategies that clients seek.
There is little doubt that PR is better understood and respected by marketers today. But it’s important to fight the right fight. It’s advertising whose relevance is being called into question, not PR. To shake off criticisms of being insular (whether or not other disciplines are subject to the same charge), the task is not to prove that PR is best. It’s to prove the power that the PR industry’s expertise has to bring to a holistic client solution that paves the most effective way to the consumer. That much has not changed, nor should it ever.
Share This
Published by graham on August 21st, 2007 tagged Industry News, News | Comment now »
Branding and Positioning
We strategize to make you the top dog in your industry. Read the rest of this entry »Share This
Published by admin on August 13th, 2007 tagged Austin PR, Client News, Events, Front Page, Industry News, News, Optimized PR, Public Relations, Social Media | Comment now »
Corporate Identity
We will tell you what you need to do to get your corporate identity in shape.
Public relations is all about defining your corporate identity and reinforcing it to the public. A company needs to own a place in the mind of its potential customers that differentiates it from its competitors. A clearly articulated value proposition used consistently through repetition will gain mindshare with your target audiences.
A strong brand can become your company’s most valuable asset. Our team assists companies in clearly defining who they are now and who they want to be. We help companies to find their brand strategy, to manage it, and to stay true to it throughout marketing and public relations efforts.