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

Posted on by
Reply

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).

Filling in the Blanks

Posted on by
Reply

If you learn anything in public relations, it’s that when you leave a communication vacuum, people fill it with their own information. And the information they are left to fill in is not often flattering. So, you would think the big airlines could apply that lesson to their customer service. Apparently not.

Edgar Barany / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA

I had settled in on my Delta flight back from New Orleans, connecting in Atlanta en route to Newark. Just before take off, the pilot tells us that because there was significant turbulence when the plan arrived at Louis Armstrong Airport, they needed to do a physical inspection. In just a few minutes we’d be on our way.

A few minutes later, he breaks the bad news. A mechanic has to perform the inspection and they do not have anyone in the Big Easy to do the job. They are flying in someone from Atlanta or Minneapolis to do the job, and it will be “a few hours.”

Once we begin to consider the implication of an airline not having a mechanic at an airport to do an inspection, we deplane en masse and head to the Sky Club, bar, ticket counter or wait at the gate to rebook our connections.

Fast forward to “a few hours” later and they announce we will be boarding at 1:55 p.m. At 1:55, a flight attendant strolls out of the gate, so I inquire. He sheepishly tells me they have been told nothing by Delta but their schedule says 4 p.m. I share my new information with my new airport friends and lead a line at the counter to rebook my rebooked connection.

My airport friends and I tried to laugh, but for those sitting and waiting with no information, it was anger, disgust and murmurs of “Delta sucks.” All the $25 food vouchers and apologies by the faultless flight crew could not help.

Delta left their worried, anxious customers in the dark for over an hour. Their crew and airport staff lacked both the information and authority to advise and mitigate the fallout among angry passengers. A few communications basics could have helped:

  • Know your audience is tired, worried and anxious, so communicate frequently.
  • Be forthright (we wouldn’t board at 1:55) and honest as circumstances developed (we might be leaving as late as 4 p.m., but hopefully sooner)
  • Acknowledge what we experienced (inconvenience, frustration) so we knew they cared.

People understand mistakes, but when left in the dark they fill in the blanks – and it’s not an image an airline or anyone else wants.

C’mon Delta, you have the resources to do better.

Photo credit: Edgar Barany / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA

Disconnecting from the Digital World

Posted on by
Reply

Disconnecting from the digital world can be challenging. It’s extremely difficult for some people to “let go” of their work in today’s digital age, but it’s well worth taking time to disconnect every so often.

Recently, I took a few days off and disconnected completely. No  emails, social media, or mobile devices. It’s strange – at first – to let go of everything completely. But it’s also refreshing.

RambergMediaImages / Foter.com / CC BY-SA

Why it’s good to “unplug” from the digital world every so often

  • It’s healthy. Being constantly connected to your phone, laptop, etc., can take a toll on your health and make you feel run-down. It’s vital to take time just for yourself.
  • Taking some time for yourself is a good way to decompress and evaluate your personal life.
  • You have time to take time to do what matters most to you such as spending time with family and friends, partaking in a new activity, etc.
  • You feel refreshed and stress-free.
  • You can jump back into the digital chaos afterward with a fresh perspective and renewed energy.

And you don’t have to take my word for it. Tony Schwartz, president and CEO of The Energy Project, wrote about his experience after disconnecting for nine days.

“By the end of nine days, I felt empowered and enriched. With my brain quieter, I was able to take back control of my attention. In the process, I rediscovered some deeper part of myself.” (HBR)

Plan on disconnecting? Have a plan!

Before you disconnect completely, be sure to make a plan and coordinate with colleagues to ensure nothing is overlooked while you’re unavailable. Here’s what to consider before you embrace the unplugged life:

  • Set away messages on your work phone and email, or have a colleague monitor your emails.
  • Make sure you’re covered on the social media end. Just because you’re on vacation doesn’t mean your accounts go dark. Coordinate with an employee to monitor your accounts and ensure there is a plan for most eventualities.
  • Inform clients if you’re going away for an extended period of time and give them an alternate contact person.
  • Change the message on your personal cell phone (yes, work can find you there too). Note that you’ve disconnected and share when you’ll be back among the digital denizens.

Have you ever completely disconnected? If not, maybe you should consider it. If you have disconnected, please share your thoughts here on the value of going unplugged.

Photo credit: RambergMediaImages / Foter / CC BY-SA

Glatfelter Service Center Honored in 2013 HDI CSAT Elite 50

Posted on by
Reply

York, Pa. — May 22, 2013— The Service Center at Glatfelter Insurance Group has been recognized as #17 out of the top 50 support centers in the 2013 HDI CSAT Elite 50 – and is the top ranked service center in the insurance sector. HDI is the world’s largest professional association and certification body for technical service and support professionals.

“Providing service beyond the expectations of our clients is one the founding pillars of Glatfelter Insurance Group,” said Wayne Umland, CIO of Glatfelter Insurance Group. “This honor from HDI is a testament to the dedication, professionalism and knowledge of all the associates in our Service Center.”

HDI uses the HDI Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) Service to track and trend customer satisfaction ratings from year to year. Based solely on the data collected over a twelve-month period, participating technical service and support centers are identified as leaders in the industry. The 50 support centers with the highest scores are then recognized by HDI as members of the HDI CSAT Elite 50. Teams that qualify for the HDI CSAT Elite 50 ranking are recognized at the HDI Annual Conference & Expo, where they are lauded as industry leaders in front of their peers and other organizations.

Support teams can qualify for the HDI CSAT Elite 50 ranking each year, as long as they have received a minimum of 500 survey responses over a six-month period. The support centers’ overall customer satisfaction ratings are based on 12 months of data, to allow for accurate trending.

About Glatfelter Insurance Group
Founded in 1951, Glatfelter Insurance Group (www.glatfelters.com) is an all-lines, full-service insurance broker marketing property, casualty, life, accident and health insurance products and risk management services on both a retail and wholesale/specialty basis throughout the United States. The company is headquartered in York, Pa., with five marketing offices across the country and a network of more than 4,500 independent agents and brokers. An employee-owned company, Glatfelter has more than 500 associates serving the insurance needs of more than 30,000 clients in all 50 states, placing it among the top 25 privately owned insurance brokers in the U.S.

About HDI
HDI is the professional association and certification body for the technical service and support industry. Facilitating collaboration and networking, HDI hosts acclaimed conferences and events, produces renowned publications and research, and certifies and trains thousands of professionals each year. HDI also connects solution providers with practitioners through industry partnerships and marketing services.

Guided by an international panel of industry experts and practitioners, HDI serves a community of more than 120,000 technical service and support professionals and is the premier resource for best practices and emerging trends. For more information about HDI, visit http://www.ThinkHDI.com or call 800.248.5667.

AAMGA Proposes Expansion of Membership Ranks: Association Seeks to Lead Broader Wholesale Insurance Market

Posted on by
Reply

The board of directors of the American Association of Managing General Agents (AAMGA) today announced it has voted to expand membership to bring all wholesale insurance practitioners who meet membership requirements under a single umbrella. The board made the announcement to members on May 10. Members will vote on bylaw changes that allow for the proposed membership expansion, and include the Association’s new name: the American Association of Wholesale Insurance Professionals.

In addition to managing general agents, national and international insurance companies, business services and state stamping offices, the proposal would add qualifying brokers, managing general underwriters, program administrators, program managers, aggregators and other insurance entities operating on a wholesale basis to the Association.

“We will become a stronger Association that serves as the single, reliable source for the entire wholesale distribution market and, in the process, yield ongoing and long-term benefits and value to existing and future members,” said R.C. Chaffin, AAMGA board president. “The board encourages members to vote in favor of these new opportunities once the bylaw amendments are sent out in June.”

The proposed change follows a two-year strategic review instituted by the board that highlighted opportunities for the Association, and its members, to better adapt to a changing insurance market.

“The wholesale insurance market has undergone dramatic changes in the last decade,” said Bernd G. Heinze, Esq., AAMGA executive director. “We’ve seen an expansion of the wholesale distribution system with new market participants and an increase by those professionals into more specialty lines of business. We want our Association to be ahead of the changes. The Board believes it is better for us to lead rather than follow, a fact that has always been core to our identity.”

Noting three other membership expansions in the Association’s 87-year history, Heinze said the proposed changes will add value to the Association’s membership by better representing the realities of the wholesale insurance market, strengthening the Association with increased membership and expanding business and educational opportunities.

Under the proposed changes, membership standards will include board approval, required minimums for written annual premium, time spent transacting and writing business on a wholesale basis, three recommendations from existing members and compliance with the Code of Ethics. The board proposal will be discussed at the AAMGA annual meeting, May 19-22, 2013 in New Orleans. Balloting on bylaw amendments by the members will follow.

About AAMGA

The AAMGA is the international, professional trade Association representing the wholesale insurance marketplace. Currently, members in 50 states write a combined $20.6 billion in admitted and excess and surplus lines annual premium domestically and internationally. Other members include U.S. and international risk bearing and non-risk bearing members (insurance, reinsurance, retrocessional, captive, Lloyd’s and London market brokers), business services members and each of the state surplus and stamping line offices.

KidsPeace Launches Online Resource for Foster Care Teens

Posted on by
Reply

New portal goes live for National Foster Care Awareness Month with anonymous counseling to aid teens with unique issues

To kick off National Foster Care Awareness Month next month, KidsPeace today launched a new web portal to provide foster care teens with a dedicated online resource to discuss and cope with issues relevant to their unique experiences. The portal, www.teencentral.net/fostercare, provides information, advice, gaming interaction, peer support and access to counseling services for children ages 11-18 displaced from their familiar environments and social support.

“Foster care children often feel alienated at home and at school, and need a place where people will understand them and their issues,” said Julius Licata, Ph.D., director of TeenCentral.Net. “What makes our new foster care portal so unique is children can share their questions and concerns and they will get an answer in 24 hours from a master’s or doctorate level counselor. There are no other teen sites offering timely responses from professional counselors who also are familiar with the myriad of foster care issues.”

According to Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS), there are more than 400,000 foster care children in the U.S. Of those, more than 100,000 children wait to be adopted. The Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute reports nearly 30,000 youth “age out” of foster care without the emotional or financial support to succeed. Of those, nearly 40 percent had been homeless or “couch surfed,” nearly 60 percent of young men were convicted of a crime and only 48 percent were employed.

The portal offers a fun and intuitive environment that looks like that of a typical teen’s room, complete with a virtual computer desk. From here, using colorful and fun buttons, virtual plants, clickable light switches, a computer and bookshelves teens can flip through pages of information, message boards and helpful resources. They can share stories or ask questions, and receive helpful feedback and answers from KidsPeace counselors.

Users log in to the portal and are identified publicly only by fictitious user names. Other features include a game called Robot Reduction, stories from other teens, searchable topics related to foster care teens and tips for creating a “Life Book” about themselves.

A teen herself, Rachel Wyatt, who is also Miss America’s Outstanding Teen for 2013, signed on as a spokesperson for TeenCentral.net after reviewing the new foster care portal. One of the issues Wyatt is championing during her tenure as Miss America’s Outstanding Teen is community involvement.

“For foster teens, I imagine developing a sense of community or place offers unique challenges,” said Wyatt. “Given the many issues most teens face, having a safe place you can identify with and where you can ask questions is important. For foster children displaced from their home and school environments, I think this online community is a wonderful step in the right direction and I’m proud to support the efforts of KidsPeace.”

In 1998, KidsPeace helped pioneer online support services for teens by launching TeenCentral.Net to provide a safe and accessible place for kids. The site is free, anonymous and allows teens to log on, submit their stories and receive professional counseling within 24 hours, along with advice from their peers. The foster care portal is the first of several new channels designed to serve the needs of specific teen groups.

About KidsPeace

For 130 years, KidsPeace has been building on its expertise to give hope, help and healing to children, families and communities throughout the United States. Through its comprehensive range of residential treatment programs; accredited educational services; unique psychiatric hospital and foster care and community-­‐based programs, KidsPeace is dedicated to helping people connect, transform and overcome their challenges to ensure a stable future, transition to adulthood and gain independence. Since its doors opened in 1882, more than 200,000 children have participated in one of the multitude of programs KidsPeace offers. For additional resources or more information on how to get involved, become a foster parent or make a donation, please visit http://www.kidspeace.org. Follow us at http://www.facebook.com/kidspeace.org or on Twitter @KidsPeace.

Summer Flex Hours in the PR industry

Posted on by
Reply

Spring is here, and employees have one thing on their minds: summer schedules. Some companies offer summer flex hours that may include half days on Fridays, longer work days during a 4-day period with a full day off during the week, etc. There are many benefits to a flexible schedule, but there are also a few downfalls to consider.

hjhipster / Beach Photos / CC BY-NC

Benefits of a flex schedule

  • More time to accomplish personal tasks. Flex schedules benefit employees by allowing them to have more time to get things done.
  • Rewards for employees. Flexible schedules can act as a rewards program for employees.
  • Employees may take less time off. Flex hours allow employees to get an early start on the weekend without taking a full day off.
  • More refreshed. Having a few extra hours may help employees feel renewed and ready to dive into the next project or task.
  • An increase in productivity. Read about how one city added a flexible work schedule increasing productivity.

Negative aspects of a flex schedule

  • Clients may not approve. Clients may not have a flexible schedule and may not be open to your company having one.
  • Looming deadlines. Deadlines still need to be met.
  • The PR world never closes. The digital world does not shut down. Emails, phone calls and comments on social media platforms still need to be answered in a timely manner.

Tips for incorporating flex hours

  • Let clients know well in advance.
  • Get clients input on a flexible work schedule.
  • Make yourself available when needed.
  • Set up a schedule for employees so they know exactly when you’ll be in the office.

Does your company offer summer flex hours?

Photo credit: hjhipster / Foter / CC BY-NC

Three Crisis Communications Mistakes Companies Make

Posted on by
Reply
morner / Foter / CC BY-NC-SA

In the shadow of the Boston Marathon tragedy, it’s painfully apparent – if it wasn’t before – that crisis scenarios are part of our collective new normal. From threats of terrorism and senseless acts of violence, to economic chaos and world events, crisis events can easy overtake the best-laid plans of any business.

At these times, there is a balance to be struck between business operations and consideration of outside events. Customers don’t want to be marketed to and reporters don’t want your new product press release in times of crisis. In addition, your own employees – even many miles removed from events – might struggle to cope with news from towns like Boston, Aurora, Colo., Sandy Hook, Conn., West, Texas, and others.

What do you say or do as a business owner or manager? Your response in such times must be genuine, sensitive to events and true to the culture of your organization. There is no one-size-fits-all communication solution.

However there are three things you should not do in a crisis. Don’t:

  1. Continue Your Social Media Strategy as Planned. The moment you start receiving breaking news alerts via smartphone apps, email or after watching the news, you need to assess the impact of your planned social messaging. Think about how your messages might be received against the backdrop of what is happening in the news. In most situations, you should pull your planned content immediately and take a wait-and-see approach for at least the first 30 minutes of the news event. This means deleting or rescheduling posts in HootSuite, TweetDeck and other social dashboards.
  2. Assume It’s Not a Big Deal for Your Brand. Gather your public relations and marketing teams to evaluate next steps. Create a plan for what your external messaging (including social media) needs to look like in the first hours and, in some cases, the next several days after a national or global event. Poor planning can lead to significant customer backlashes and damage your brand. You need only look at American Apparel, GAP and others whose early social media efforts during Hurricane Sandy not only failed, but angered customers by appearing insensitive to those in Sandy’s path.
  3. Ignore Your Crisis Communications Plan. If you have a Crisis Communications Plan, use it. This valuable tool will detail a methodical strategy and tactics for handling relevant crisis situations. Don’t try to wing it in the middle of a crisis. You’re more likely to miss something, and the risks can be enormous. If your plan is out of date or, worse, if it doesn’t exist, set a goal for updating or creating one and use the current scenario as a case study (for better or worse) to help guide your Crisis Communications Plan development later.

While you cannot plan for every eventuality, a good Crisis Communications Plan will best ensure your brand is protected while also being sensitive to events outside of your control.

Photo credit: morner / Foter / CC BY-NC-SA

Four spring cleaning tasks for writers

Posted on by
Reply

You’ve been writing all day, right? Writing press releases. Writing carefully worded emails. Writing white papers and proposals and to-do lists and text messages and secret prayers to the gods of media coverage (and then apology letters to PETA about the Sacrificial Goat Incident).

Amir Kuckovic / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA

When you spend most of your waking moments stringing together words and phrases, not every strand will be unique and stunning. Perhaps Thesaurus.com is the only browser tab that never you never close. Maybe you are leaning on weak link-bait phrases, like my headline (hey, you clicked on it).

In other words, your writing has gotten stale, lackluster and rote.

Recently, I noticed this in my writing. I was editing a white paper I had written, and found one phrase repeated over and over at the beginning of sentences: “that means.” It was an unnecessary, lazy and boring transition, but there it was, again and again.

I had the good sense (for once) to understand this as a wake-up call. I took a closer look at the next few pieces I wrote and took steps to refresh my writing. This is what worked for me. Maybe it’ll work for you, too:

  • Pick out the stale bits. When editing, look for areas of your writing that aren’t terribly effective. Like me, have your transitions gotten lazy? Does it seem like your vocabulary has shrunk? Name the problem(s).
  • Refresh your reading. In many ways, you write what you read. What are you reading for work? If you go back every day to the same two blogs, you are limiting potential growth in your vocabulary and writing style. What are you reading at home? The books and magazines we read for fun inform our writing just as much as the “serious” stuff.
  • Go back to basics. Listen, you don’t actually outgrow outlining and organized note-taking. We all just think we do. You might even want to try drafting with pen and paper, just this once. As I see it, writing by hand slows down your writing process and can help you be more thoughtful about word choice and sentence length.
  • Reacquaint yourself with clients. Going back to basics can also mean going back to the beginning with your clients. If your writing about or for them has become imprecise or not particularly compelling, you may want to look back at strategy documents created when you started working with them. Make sure you understand their mission and goals — these are easy to lose sight of.

I’m curious about what other people do to solve this vague and slippery problem. Do you have any good resources, tips or advice? Share them in the comments or on Twitter (tweet @kimballpr or @sammkimball).

Photo credit: Amir Kuckovic / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-SA