At PKE we work hard to provide that exquisite balance of stability and innovation – we have to keep the tried and true while having the courage to try something new.

So as we embark on our 2012 adventure, here is what is happening at PKE to keep us fresh, energetic and ready for a creative, productive and exciting New Year:

New Marketing & PR Coordinator

Kate Walter

We recently welcomed Kate Walter to our firm — she brings great PR and marketing experience, warmth and sincerity, vitality and an openness to new ideas.  Kate has already developed strong media relationships and has successfully pitched and placed several stories on our clients’ behalf.  Plus, Kate has begun developing strategic social media plans for our clients who are new to that arena – she is helping us make the social media aspect a seamless part of our overall planning. We are looking forward to even more fabulous things to come!

New Technology

As part of our plan for continuous improvement, we have adopted new web-based software to provide our clients with even more accurate and thorough month-end reporting.  We want to make sure our clients understand the value we are providing and that we are doing the most that we can with their dollars.

We have also added on new options for media distribution and media tracking to increase exposure of our clients’ news — we are also linking those articles back to social media to complete the circle and to generate consistent messages.

New Literature

At PKE, we are committed to being Lifelong Learners – to that end, we are reading voraciously.  Not only important new books that address public relations, marketing and social media, but also those that deal directly with our clients’ industries.  The Big Thirst, for example, by well-known author Charles Fishman, teaches us about how our lives are integrally entwined with water and how we must focus on this crucial resource to avoid disastrous consequences.  This book has had an incredible influence on one of our clients who is building a sustainable community - and if it impacts him, it impacts us.

New Ideas

Another effort at keeping it fresh requires us to strive for self-improvement in all areas of our lives.  To be at our best, we have re-committed to another year of running longer, working on our yoga practices, reading for pleasure, eating healthfully, and nurturing our family and personal relationships.  While all that may sound a bit self-indulgent, we know that it makes us more creative, positive and valuable to our clients in the long run!

To all of our friends, clients and readers — all the best for a wonderful 2012!

Deliciously handcrafted by Royal Palm Chocolates

One of the best parts about being a PR professional is getting to know a wonderful variety of people and discovering their passions along the way.  Over the past few weeks, I have devoted a lot of time to “new client immersion” with Royal Palm Chocolates of Naples, Fla., owners Philip and Stephanie Fincher and their strategic manager, Sam Hernandez.  How to describe this experience?  In a word: sweet!

To get educated on the world of fine Belgian chocolate and the artistry that goes into creating these confections, I spent some time last week with Philip Fincher who shared information about combining just the right amounts of specially imported ingredients, as well as the finer points of temperature and how it affects the final, scrumptious results. His demonstration revealed the perfect blend of precision and creativity as he spoke about innovative recipes and tantalizing flavors while measuring to the exact iota. Daughter Brittany pitched in, already an able apprentice on her way to becoming a fine chocolatier in her own right.

A former attorney, Philip, Stephanie and their family took a huge leap to fulfill his lifelong passion.  Once he decided to leave the practice of law, Philip attended the renowned Ewald Notter’s School of Pastry Arts where he graduated at the top of his class.  Next, Philip landed a coveted position in the pastry kitchen of the 5-Star and 5-Diamond Ritz Carlton Beach Resort in Naples. When the opportunity arose for the Finchers to open their own chocolate shop, Royal Palm Chocolates was born.

Since then, they have moved forward with a clear vision and an incredible passion for what they do.  In only two years, the company has garnered local and national acclaim for creativity, adventurous flavor combinations and “true” chocolate taste that comes through in every bite.  They have expanded from retail to include corporate gifting, the bridal industry and major special events.

A fabulous selection includes more than 23 gourmet flavors enhanced by fruity fillings, smooth liqueurs, exotic spices and more, with no added preservatives. One can also indulge in delicate chocolate wafer cookies or a delicious array of milk and dark chocolate bark. The entire staff has an impeccable eye for detail that extends from the distinctive chocolate creations to gorgeously designed jewel box packaging. To put it simply, they are doing everything right.

Royal Palm Chocolates...absolutely delicious and beautifully packaged!

One of the best aspects of my daily PR life is growing and nurturing client relationships with those who are so dedicated to quality and excellence in everything they do – their work inspires me to be better too.  And one or two chocolates along the way makes the experience even sweeter!

To continue the conversation, visit my site at pkecreative.com.

The latest trend on campus!

Less than five years ago, gel and acrylic nails were in. From there, false nails faded out and natural nails with plain polish came back. This trend in itself has changed. Going from red to black to white young girls were constantly inspired. Originally, Hard Candy polish started the innovation with their bold color palettes around 1995.  Additionally, girls got the idea of plain white polish from Lauren “ LC” Conrad on MTV’s hit reality series, The Hills.  When black nails were suddenly in, I thought that they were gothic until I tried the usually dull color and loved it. It’s interesting to see how quickly my perception changed. After the French manicure fell off, reverse French and designs quickly replaced the old craze.

Currently, for all of you fashionistas and trendsetters, there is a new way to wear you nail polish. OPI recently came out with a shatter polish from their Katy Perry Collection. All you need is any regular polish and this magic in a bottle. At first glance, it’s ordinary black polish. However, after one coat is applied over another color, parts of the black start to turn clear, revealing the color underneath and forming the scattered pattern.  Whether you decided to shatter all of your nails or just your ring finger, it’s a unique way to express the new nail fetish. For those of you who have gone through all of these trends, this is a way to get away from the ordinary red and plain black and really make a statement with ease.

Buying College Textbooks on a College Budget

Guest blog by Marie Kennedy

You can save nearly 50 percent or more on textbooks!

At the beginning of each semester, you may find yourself standing in long lines at your campus’ bookstore impatiently waiting to buy overpriced textbooks. You will finally arrive at the cash register only to discover that you’re about to spend this month’s rent money on four textbooks. But there’s no need to crack open that piggy bank and dump out your savings just yet. With the right amount of patience and time, you could be saving nearly 50 percent or more on textbooks and even get some money back if you wish to sell them. Here are a few tips to follow when wanting to save money during textbook season.

Consult with your Professor

Email your professor before the semester starts, and ask if he or she plans on using the required reading material for the course. Sometimes the required reading material is not personally chosen by the professor, causing your $150 textbook to stay closed the entire semester. If your professor disregards the textbook and tells you not to worry about buying it, you could save a decent amount of money.

By selling your textbooks, you may earn a considerable amount of money back.

You may also ask your professor if you could purchase an older edition of the required textbook. Older editions are significantly cheaper than the current one, and the material hardly changes. Because of this, some professors will even encourage you to purchase an older edition. You just have to contact them prior to the semester in order to receive such information.

Bye-Bye, Bookstore

A new book at the bookstore may be $120; the used version will be about $95; and it will cost you $75 to rent it. Fortunately, you can possibly find the same book on Amazon in a like-new used condition for the price of the bookstore’s rental or used version.

It’s never smart to buy a brand-new book at the bookstore because more than likely you’ll never get even a quarter of what you paid for it. A used book seems like a decent option; however, you can end up with a rainbow of highlighting inside the book or sloppy notes scribbled along the pages. Considering the price, rental books are sometimes the best option, but you can’t sell them back. A like-new book from Amazon, however, can be sold, allowing you to make a considerable amount of money back, sometimes making a profit. Keep in mind that like-new books hardly ever have writing or highlighting inside, making them more sellable to future buyers.

Buy Early, Sell Later

Order and purchase your textbooks at least three weeks before the semester starts for two reasons: First, you want to make sure you receive them on time before classes begin. And textbook prices usually increase, even on Amazon, as soon as the semester begins; therefore, you want to buy early while prices are low.

When prices are incredibly low, you want to buy, but when prices increase at the start of a semester, you want to sell. You may be able to sell your textbook for more than what you paid for it, or you could compete with other sellers who have increased their prices, and sell your books for less. You’ll be selling them fast and still make some money back.

Sell, Sell, Sell

Keep your books posted even if you don’t sell them right away. Even if a new edition of the book comes out, there may still be people out there who prefer the edition you have. It’s important to check on your posted books often and possibly change the price accordingly in order to get a buyer.

And don’t worry about not knowing how to ship a book. Amazon is extremely user friendly and properly guides you. When you’re ready to go to the post office to ship a book, tell the cashier you’ll be sending it ‘media mail.’ Media mail service is a cost-efficient way to mail books and other types of media. This will put a few extra bucks back into your pockets just as the rest of these textbook tips will. Happy textbook season!

New Business Relationships

The best part of our business is building relationships

Even in the face of a challenging economy, we recognize that the key to a thriving, vibrant, evolving business environment is creating new relationships.  Yes, we love our existing clients for being the foundation of our firm, but garnering new clients is what keeps us growing.  In 2010, we were fortunate to welcome five new significant  and diverse clients — inspiring us to be even better and reach new heights for ALL of our clients in 2011.

Enhancing the Team

New staff members add vibrancy & new talent!

Adding a new member to your team will keep you energized – plus, training and mentoring a new person can bring the existing staff closer together. To continue to provide quick, responsive service, we hired one new staff member in 2010 and will build our team as we need to, but we have learned that we all do better when we are “hands-on,” not removed from the daily client and media contact. Practice smart growth, but stay connected!

Being Part of the Community

Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure SW Florida: 2010 & 2011 PR Chairs

We love living and working in an area where being part of the community is so important.  We live among some of the most giving people I have ever encountered — people who donate time, money and heart to help others where they are needed most. Whether your community is large or small, working to improve the lives of others is fulfilling –both personally and professionally.

Inspiring Fresh Ideas

We love to learn and share new ideas!

With years of collective marketing and public relations experience, it might be easier for us to rely on what we already know, and what has always worked before. But as lifelong learners, we strive to learn more about what is relevant for our clients in their businesses and in the world. It’s so important to keep in touch, connect with newsmakers and experts, and allow your mind to open to new ways of thinking. Try and think of at least one fresh new idea to jumpstart your business in 2011.

Keep your mind open to new ways of thinking!

For us, even though we are trained in traditional marketing and PR tenets, we also allow our imaginations to take flight with all that’s new in technology and digital communications. We will continue to expand our writing services to encompass our clients’ blogs, web content and even their social media posts — they rely on us to tie these links all back to their overall vision for their businesses. And that’s just one example.

What did you do in 2010 that you plan to do even better in 2011? Please send us your feedback!

Those of us in the field of public relations are trained from early on about the importance of creating a thorough, specific crisis communication plan. In most cases we file it away, secure in the fact that it’s there if we need it.  For me, that was yesterday. The beauty of a well thought out crisis communication plan? It actually works.

Leaving out names to protect the innocent, no sooner had I completed a crisis plan for a new client than a crisis occurred: a key employee walked off the job without notice. She was the only full time person licensed to manage one of the major functions of this organization and without a replacement, the regulatory agencies warned they would shut down the business within the next two days. To complicate matters, this same employee called the media about the impending shut down and two TV stations got right on it.  We had five hours to get control of the situation until the 6 p.m. news. What to do? Refer to our newly minted, trusty crisis plan, of course.

Within two hours, we appointed a spokesperson, drafted a statement for the media, coached the client, contacted the media with a response and set a time with the reporters for an update. The result? While the news stories ran as scheduled, the facts were presented fairly and the points we made in the statement were mentioned right up front.  The positive, timely communication with the media allowed the story to be reported accurately with little drama and minimal impact.

Here were the lessons learned:

1. By planning calmly and rationally in advance, we were prepared for the worst.

2. We had an immediate plan to put into action – no time was wasted.

3. Because we were so calm and organized, the client was too – and that made a huge difference in the outcome.

I highly recommend preparing a thorough crisis communication plan for your client’s or organization’s peace of mind – and yours as well! To learn more, visit my website.

Like me, you have probably attended a host of social media workshops and seminars and as a result, have been motivated to bring those exciting options to the workplace. Yes, this has inspired me to encourage my clients to get on board and to update online communications for my own business. But I view these tools as enhancements to the rich, diverse world of communications and public relations, not replacements — and I value local media even more during these challenging times. Here are five reasons why:
RELATIONSHIPS
Last week while watching our local NBC TV affiliate, I caught my friend/client’s son who is a rising basketball star as the sports reporter focused on a high school tournament.

It may sound trivial, but when I called my client the following day to discuss business, the mere mention that I had seen her son on TV just delighted her. And the fact that we shared a few moments of “proud Mom time” as a prelude to our business conversation goes a long way in cementing our relationship just a little bit more.  It’s good business but not all business — I am excited for her and for her son’s accomplishments.  That’s what relationship building is all about, and it’s important.

REPUTATION

While the standard headshot and three lines of text announcing a new hire or an employee’s promotion are not exactly “breaking news,” when your client does business in a small to medium sized market, it is one way to announce that your firm is growing, that your employees are achieving and that you are holding strong in your industry.

People actually read these items and whether they are looking for someone they know, or perhaps for themselves, they are taking notice and filing away these tiny bits of information. Over the long run, these small steady bits add up to help build a company’s reputation. Hometown newspapers like the Fort Myers News Press and Florida Weekly, and business publications like Gulfshore Business understand the value of local business news, and the value of relationships.

COMMUNITY

If you’re looking for your friend’s race time in the neighborhood 5K or checking for the locale of an upcoming charity gala, one obvious source is your community newspaper.  And after the gala, you might even get a glimpse of yourself in the society pages.

Along the same lines your local radio station, rather than a satellite channel, will offer commentary on Friday night’s happy hour at the local downtown watering hole. Just fluff?  Not at all — these are the things that bind a small community together.

BUSINESS

When local media reports on people and organizations you know, whom you can relate to, whom you see on a daily basis, this can affect the way you go about your business.  Depending on the positive or negative reporting, you might make the decision to seek out or to avoid that business as a potential client or vendor. You might admire the good charitable work a business is doing in the community, or you might develop a loyalty to a particular organization because local news has kept you apprised of their achievements. If you are a non-profit, you might discover through local news that a particular business might be the perfect fit for a sponsorship for your upcoming event.

A local feature story could serve as the entry to conversation with someone you’ve been meaning to communicate with but didn’t know how to start. All in all, good local media can lead the way to good local business.

ROOTS

We live in a transitional society where friends, neighbors and co-workers move fluidly either to new jobs or new communities. Social media helps us keep up to date with those long distance relationships, whereas local media can provide much-needed stability.

Watching or reading about the annual tomato festival, seeing your affiliate TV anchors MC’ing at local events and reading your banker’s weekly financial column establish a sense of place where local people are doing local things. It’s great when community reporters show up to cover grand openings, charity functions and other events — they live here too and have also made their community a priority.

So while I certainly would not discount the vastly significant and growing importance of social media to marketing and public relations for business, I still hold local media in the highest regard. Valuing and nurturing those relationships make local business stronger in the long run. If you want to continue a discussion on local media, social media, marketing or public relations, please contact me.