Hacks and Flacks

66 – International Comms and PR with Pete Hendrick of Octopus Group

Manny Veiga — Thu, 19 Dec 2019 13:00:00 +0000

Brands today are trying to reach buyers and influence audiences all around the world. When the time comes to run an international PR campaign in Europe, APAC, or elsewhere, where should a brand turn?

At March, global PR has been in our DNA since the very beginning, which is also why we’re a longstanding member of ION, a global network of more than 40 agencies in countries around the world. It was launched by Octopus Group, a UK-based agency, and on this episode, Octopus Group co-founder Pete Hendrick covers the formation of ION, its role in helping brands reach global scale, and the market-by-market differences brands encounter when running international PR campaigns in Europe.

65 – The Company You Keep

Manny Veiga — Thu, 21 Nov 2019 13:00:00 +0000

As the old saying goes, you are judged by the company you keep. That’s true for many businesses today, including PR agencies. Those companies are being asked, sometimes by their own employees, to distance themselves from problematic people or organizations. March founders Martin Jones and Cheryl Gale discuss this issue through the lens of PR agencies. Should agencies move on from a client if their employees aren’t comfortable with it? And how much of a say should employees have in the work the agency takes on?

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64 – Lessons in Corporate Event Planning from the Affectiva Summit

Manny Veiga — Tue, 05 Nov 2019 13:00:00 +0000

In October 2019, March supported our client Affectiva at their third Emotion AI summit, which explored a human-centric approach to AI with leaders from across the industry. In this episode, we talk with Affectiva Events Manager Ashleen Bershad and March Account Supervisor Hailey Melamut to discuss the ins and outs of corporate event planning. They share tips on how to stay on-schedule and on-budget, maximize your event ROI with content, and talk about the pivotal role PR and comms agency can play in supporting a client event.

63 – ‘The Moment of Lift’ and Empowering Women in PR

Manny Veiga — Mon, 07 Oct 2019 11:00:00 +0000

A new bestseller from philanthropist and entrepreneur Melinda Gates tackles issues of gender equality and women’s empowermnet. Her book “The Moment of Lift: How Empowering Women Changes the World,” proposes that if you want to lift an entire society – all genders – you need to invest in women.

On this episode of Hacks and Flacks, Account Supervisor Kylle Sullivan and Senior Account Executive Bill Moody recap the major themes from the book and also discuss the issue of gender equality through the lens of the tech and PR industries.

We also hear from Cheryl Gale, co-founder and president of March, on the unique paradox facing many women in PR: despite the fact that women make up between 60 to 80 percent of the PR workforce, only 20 percent of the senior leadership positions at PR agencies are held by women.

Overbooked continues in Q4: Every quarter, we’ll select a book with a technology innovation theme to read together, and we’ll be announcing our next selection soon. If you have any ideas or recommendations on great books to read, tweet us @MarchComms.

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62 – Link building and PR: Applying SEO Strategy to PR Outreach

Manny Veiga — Thu, 26 Sep 2019 11:00:00 +0000

Link building – the practice of securing backlinks to your website from other sites that have more authority – is a classic SEO practice. But it’s typically a practice reserved for digital marketers or content managers. What do PR professionals need to know about it, and should they be more involved?

After all, when done well, the practice of link building mirrors the day-to-day of many PR pros. It involves research, outreach, and relationship building. And, backlinks from news sites offer some of the best SEO value on the web.

In this episode, Ashton Meisner of Directive Consulting, a search engine marketing agency, explains why PR professionals are the right people for the job when it comes to securing quality backlinks from reputable websites, and offers gives tips on how to apply a little bit of SEO strategy to your media outreach.

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61 – Planning An Effective Content Strategy for Events

Manny Veiga — Wed, 28 Aug 2019 20:18:58 +0000

Going to a trade show? Putting on your first corporate event? Well, then you must have a well-thought content strategy already planned out… right? If the answer is no, this podcast is for you. We talk to content marketing expert Robert Rose, Chief Strategy Officer at The Content Advisory, to get his tips on how to plan and execute on an effective content strategy for events.

As he explains, most companies don’t leverage their events for the ongoing content that they can provide. He’s got advice on how to create great material before, during and after a show, including some lessons learned from putting on the Content Marketing Institute’s annual Content Marketing World show.

show notes

69% of B2B companies plan to increase their budget for in-person events this year https://welcome.bizzabo.com/b2b-tech-trends-2019
76% of B2B marketers think events are their most successful top-of-the-funnel demand gen tactic. http://view.ceros.com/g3-communications/dg093-surv/p/1
WhatPods

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60 – GasBuddy’s Mike DiLorenzo on Brand Villains and Heroes

Manny Veiga — Thu, 01 Aug 2019 11:00:00 +0000

Summertime is the season for beach trips and blockbusters. It’s also one of the busiest times of the marketing year for GasBuddy, the leading provider of real-time gas prices on mobile and the web. On this week’s Hacks and Flacks we ask GasBuddy CMO Mike DiLorenzo how his team leverages seasonality in their marketing strategy. He also talks data-driven PR and marketing, and the benefit of having a clearly defined “brand villian” to position your company against in the minds of consumers.

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59 – ‘Bad Blood’: PR in the Age of Hype

Manny Veiga — Thu, 27 Jun 2019 19:19:19 +0000

The story behind Theranos became a media sensation, with books, podcasts, documentaries and, soon, a movie all charting the highs and lows of the much-hyped health tech “unicorn” that falsely promised to change the way blood is tested.

But on this episode, March’s Rebecca Ferrick and Angelica Bishop explain why Theranos also offers a cautionary tale for journalists, PR, and marketing pros about the line between hype and deception. We’re covering Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup, as the latest selection of the Overbooked book club.

Overbooked will keep on rolling in Q3: Every quarter, we’ll select a book with a technology innovation theme to read together, and we’ll be announcing our next selection soon. If you have any ideas or recommendations on great books to read, tweet us @MarchComms.

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58 – The Wellness Tech Movement: What PR and Marketing Pros Need to Know

Manny Veiga — Mon, 10 Jun 2019 22:47:35 +0000

The wellness tech industry encompasses much more than fitness bands and apps. There’s lots of innovation happening in the way consumers monitor and improve their nutrition, sleep, mental health, and even plan for end-of-life care. On this week’s Hacks and Flacks we talk to March’s resident wellness tech experts, Kalyn Schieffer and Kelsey Johnson, to understand how this industry is evolving and the things tech PR and marketing professionals need to know to help well-tech brands tell their story.

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57 – Brews and Blogs at Bone Up Brewing Company

Manny Veiga — Thu, 02 May 2019 22:20:56 +0000

The principles of good marketing – know your customer, build a brand, find creative ways to tell your story – apply in any business, including brewing. To find out how craft breweries stand out in an increasingly competitive space, Manny and guest host Lizzy Snell talked to Liz and Jared Kiraly, the owners of Bone Up Brewing Company in Everett, Massachusetts. They tell the story behind Bone Up, their quirky mascot Horatio, and how Liz applied her design and marketing background toward creating a fun, social beer brand.

Subscribe to Bone Up’s blog at boneup.beer/blog