Category Archives: Company News

Hotel reputation management in the age of the instant review

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Yelp, TripAdvisor, Hotels.com… The web has given travelers have so many ways to evaluate, select, book and review hotels. How do hotels manage their reputations proactively and honestly?


Hotels must actively manage their online reputations.
Unique Hotels Group / Foter / CC BY-SA 2.0

Our president Gary Kimball has some advice, which he shares with Hotel Business Review:

Hotels should look at how they are allocating their precious marketing and public relations dollars. This means comparing the value of social media buzz to advertising and print and broadcast media coverage. A review in a popular blog or traditional media like The New York Times or Travel + Leisure can do wonders in building awareness. But those readers may still seek online reviews before making decisions.

Read more at HotelExecutive.com.

Health Care Council of Lehigh Valley Chooses Kimball Communications

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Collective of five hospital systems hires PR agency for strategic communications project

EASTON, Pa. — The Health Care Council of Lehigh Valley (HCC), consisting of Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Hospital, KidsPeace Mental Health Network, Lehigh Valley Health Network, Sacred Heart HealthCare System, St. Luke’s University Health Network,
and the Dorothy Rider Pool Health Care Trust, has hired Kimball Communications to develop a strategic communications plan related to the group’s recently completed Joint Community Health Needs Assessment. The assessment was required as a provision of the U.S. Affordable Care Act.

The 18-year-old Lehigh Valley agency will work with HCC to create a communications framework to best serve the goals of the assessment. Those goals include coordinating the resources of the five health systems around pressing community health needs and identifying the most effective means of informing and educating those communities.

“Communicating the findings of the Health Needs Assessment is of critical importance to our region,” explained Ron Dendas, a spokesperson for the Dorothy Rider Pool Health Care Trust, which is funding the communications project. “Bringing an agency like Kimball Communications in to identify resources, streamline communication among our partners and ensure our communities are reached is vital to the success of this joint effort. This will allow HCC to focus on better health, while Kimball Communications focuses on the most effective means to reach our communities.”

“For nearly two decades our agency has worked in health care communications, and our team is honored HCC selected us as their partner,” said Gary Kimball, president of Kimball Communications. “HCC’s work will play a key role in promoting a stronger, healthier Lehigh Valley, and Kimball Communications is eager to help in that effort.”

About Kimball Communications
Kimball Communications (www.kimballpr.com) is a results-driven, public relations agency dedicated to serving the individual public relations needs of every client. Founded in 1995, the agency provides innovative public relations and social media solutions to a national client base. Visit us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/kimballpr) or on Twitter (@kimballpr).

Natural Products/Health Foods Division Launched at Expo East

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Kimball Communications today announced the launch of a new natural products/healthy foods division, a move designed to clearly define Kimball’s specialization in this growing industry.

With a formal launch planned for Jan. 1, 2014, Kimball began discussions this week with clients at Natural Products Expo East in Baltimore.

“The natural products space is still an emerging market and public relations and social media are ideal strategies for companies to build trust and brand loyalty among consumers,” said Rod Hughes, vice president at Kimball Communications. “Natural products are almost never impulse purchases. They are selected with great intention, so coverage by the media can be the third-party endorsement consumers are looking for when evaluating purchases.”

Social media is also an effective way for natural product consumers to share their stories – and an opportunity for companies to put their brand story in the hands of the consumer, Hughes said.

“When Rod Hughes joined us a year and a half ago he brought very valuable natural products experience and public relations success with brands that are now nationally known,” said agency president Gary Kimball. “Expo East is a perfect time for us to launch a natural products division.

“Public relations gets beyond labels and gives brands the opportunity to talk about unique ingredients or certifications that distinguish the brand while also educating consumers about the healthy product marketplace,” Kimball said. “This engenders trust and loyalty because natural product consumers do lots of research before they buy. It also helps build a distribution network by demonstrating to retailers a brand is in the public eye.

About Kimball Communications

Kimball Communications is a results-driven, public relations agency with offices in Easton, Pa. and Charleston, S.C., dedicated to serving the individual public relations needs of every client. Founded in 1995, the agency provides innovative public relations and social media solutions to a variety of clients. Visit us on Facebook or on Twitter.

Lehigh Valley Manufacturer Turns to Kimball Communications 
for Public Relations, Social Media Services

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Ecopax, a leading manufacturer of single-use takeout containers based in the Lehigh Valley, has hired Kimball Communications to handle its public relations efforts as well as to develop a strategy for Ecopax to enter the social media space.

“Technology, lean manufacturing practices and productivity innovation have converged to create what is now a really dynamic period in U.S. manufacturing,” said Gary Kimball, president of Kimball Communications. “Our goal is to partner with Ecopax to help educate consumers and tell the story of this inventive Pennsylvania manufacturer.”

Formed in 2007, Ecopax employs approximately 75 employees and offers a diverse product line of foam, paper and plastic containers customized to meet the needs of the food service and consumer industries. Using its propriety, closed-loop system, Ecopax ensures 100 percent of its materials are used to produce consumer-ready products. In just five years, Ecopax has captured substantial market share among national chains, distribution and retail market segments. The core strength of Ecopax is its ability to increase customers’ supply chain efficiency through product customization.

“Because we live in a world that is increasingly on-the-go, Americans demand safe, affordable and sanitary food packaging options – at coffee shops, salad bars, take-out restaurants and grocery stores. Our diverse product line offers ideal solutions to these needs, and we look forward to working with the team at Kimball Communications to share our story,” said Christina Wong, vice president of operations for Ecopax.

About Kimball Communications
Kimball Communications is a results-driven, public relations agency with offices in Easton, Pa. and Charleston, S.C., dedicated to serving the individual public relations needs of every client. Founded in 1995, the agency provides innovative public relations and social media solutions to a variety of clients. Visit us on Facebook or on Twitter.

Kimball Communications Adds Men’s Hair Care, 
Manufacturing and Trade Association Clients

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Public relations seen as viable, affordable post-recession marketing says agency president

Announcing the addition of three new clients to its roster today, Kimball Communications president Gary Kimball says the Lehigh Valley public relations agency’s string of new business wins is further evidence, in part, that businesses are looking to public relations as a central element of their post-recession marketing plans.

“For many small to mid-size organizations, the Great Recession ended the days of budgets dedicated exclusively to advertising,” said Gary Kimball, president of Kimball Communications. “What we’re seeing now is a better and more diversified marketing mix. This includes a reduced emphasis on paid media or ads, smarter use of owned and shared media, which ranges from newsletters to social media, and a growing appreciation for earned media or public relations.”

Three companies subscribing to Kimball’s assessment of marketing that recently signed with the agency include:

  • Shaving Grace Barbers, a chain of tonsorial parlors headquartered in Philadelphia offering an old-school barbershop experience with a few modern, achievable luxuries for today’s sophisticated male. Kimball Communications will handle the chain’s public relations work and serve as an advisor for the company’s social media efforts.
  • Easton Lean Tools, a new brand of ergonomic products designed to improve the lives and productivity of manufacturing workers from Innovative Office Products. The Easton, Pa.-based manufacturer hired Kimball Communications to assess its social media opportunities and lead its ongoing public relations efforts as it launches a series of new products.
  • The American Association of Managing General Agents (AAMGA), an international, professional trade association representing the wholesale insurance marketplace. Based in King of Prussia, Pa., AAMGA has engaged Kimball Communications to advise its Board of Directors on a range of internal and external communications matters.

About Kimball Communications
Kimball Communications (www.kimballpr.com) is a results-driven, public relations agency with offices in Easton, Pa. and Charleston, S.C., dedicated to serving the individual public relations needs of every client. Founded in 1995, the agency provides innovative public relations and social media solutions to a variety of clients. Visit us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/kimballpr) or on Twitter (@kimballpr).