Inside Access - October 2007

October 2007

Our brand promise to our clients is simple; we drive business results through targeted public relations. With Inside Access, we highlight relevant examples of how we do this for clients on a daily basis; in this edition we showcase recent work we’ve done for Google, Trend Micro and Piaggio, and we acknowledge a new client, digital SIDEBAR, which is poised to introduce exciting new user engagement technology into mobile marketing (stay tuned!) I encourage your feedback.

Susan G. Butenhoff, President & CEO
sbutenhoff@accesspr.com

Average Tenure of Access Senior Management: 8 Years

Spotlight on Access Brand Equity

Establishing trust and credibiliity for Google with the SMB market

Our Work With…

Gaining mindshare, traction and results in a new space

When Access first started working with Google in 2006, the firm was asked to build a communications plan to support a new initiative: to engage more small business advertisers. To accomplish this, we needed to position Google as having expertise in small business marketing, establishing the intimacy and comfort essential to earning the trust of the small business community. The plan was simple but highly effective: Access media trained and then scheduled a New York media tour for executives from Google’s online sales organization, highlighted by a visit with Fortune Small Business. It was there that we seeded the concept of Google’s participation in FSB’s monthly small business makeover stories. After nearly a year of consistent follow-up with the reporter, brainstorming around who would be the most objective, impactful, and informative marketing expert within the organization, and then media training the selected Google business consultant, the result was high profile inclusion in this cover story, featuring an in-depth look at the consultant’s counsel with a Reno small business.

Success in the Market

The Italian Job

Strategy

Cyber criminals infected 10,000+ Italian Web sites – tourism, automotive, entertainment, government – with a powerful strain of malware. Trend Micro security experts spotted the breach, issued a warning to the global Internet community. Access worked with Trend Micro to coordinate media response, dubbed the “Italian job” attack, to outflank competition.

Execution

Within minutes of the story breaking, Access sent details of the Italian Job, background on executives, and worked to convince reporters at wire services, platinum and trade media outlets, that this story was the news of the day.

Results

Trend Micro visibility skyrocketed. Access managed 12+ interviews in the first hours: headlines in worldwide Reuters and IDG news, coverage in CNET News.com, Washington Post, FOXNews, Wired News and ZDNet; Trend Micro expert quotes in US and foreign trade press, and online outlets, including: Computerworld, eWeek, Informatics, InfoWorld, InternetNews.com, Network World, PC Advisor, TechWorld, SC Magazine, SearchSecurity.com and UNUNet.

Success in the Media

Access Steers Piaggio into The New York Times

A parking space for that? Fuhgeddaboudit!!

Scooter owners looking for a parking space in Manhattan are rebuffed by garage owners and operators at every turn so Access client Piaggio Group, US importer of the iconic Vespa scooter, decided to offer some comfort to Vespa owners. The company paid for two full months’ worth of parking in lots and garages around Manhattan. Taking quick advantage of this marketing decision, the Access team crafted relevant storylines and, drawing on extensive traditional and on-line media contacts, pursued local and national coverage. Access also executed on a successful grass roots outreach, engaging the New York Scooter Club membership to drive further awareness and word of mouth. Outcomes included this terrific piece in The New York Times, together with coverage in the New York Daily News and across ten lifestyle blogs with strong key demographic readership. All this culminated in a national broadcast feature that ran on August 6 on ABC News.

Commentary

A 2.0 History Lesson

The open-source reference works Wikipedia has tempted PR practitioners to rewrite history. Since 2002, individuals from organizations as diverse as Wal-Mart and ExxonMobil have been anonymously editing entries to cast their subjects in a more favorable light. Then along came "disruptive technologist" Virgil Griffith with his WikiScanner gizmo.

In the latest installment of her blog, Access Communications founder Susan Butenhoff explains why you are money ahead to play it straight with Wikipedia.

Read Full Blog

New Client Showcase

Access Knows Mobile Marketing

Access has begun working with Los Angeles-based digital SIDEBAR, a technology-enabled media company with a patent-pending solution that links wireless carriers, content providers, marketers and consumers. The company has developed an ASP-based ecosystem that combines media, marketing and technology expertise, designed to deliver the first true end-to-end solution for wireless operators. The company begins a Windows Mobile beta test with a tier one wireless operator next month and is currently in advanced discussions with a leading European operator to roll out the service later this year.

It's All About Measurement

Three Problems with Measurement Software

Insight from our resident PR Measurist

In talking to clients about why they should invest in building an internal competency for PR measurement, I often run across the idea that "there must be software out there that can do this better." There is software out there, but it doesn't really solve the problem, and often creates new problems that are harder to resolve. The three major problems with automated reporting tools:

Suspect Data
Fake Analysis
Non-Actionable Information

Read Full Blog

To learn more about Access or to ask a question, please email Jill Hernstat or call 415.844.6221.

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