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Greetings!
 Great coverage last week of former Governor Bruce Sundlun's 90th birthday party at PPAC. One of the highlights for me was seeing our old staff together, a tight-knit team hand-picked by Sundlun, many of whom remain committed to public service. It was quite a group, including a U.S. Senator (Sheldon Whitehouse), the lieutenant governor (Elizabeth Roberts), two judges (Judy Savage and David Cruise), the state's new economic development director (Keith Stokes), and the city council president in Pawtucket (Henry Kinch, Jr.). Others, like Barbara Cottam and Scott Wolf, have gone on to great things in the private sector.
Reconnecting with the old team reminded me how important it is to have top-notch people, committed to service, working in government. We were lucky to have Sundlun as Governor then, and we are lucky to have this group continuing his legacy of constructive, forward-looking leadership today.
Best,
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"Op Eds," the Old Reliable
| Speaking of Governor Sundlun, a number of people mentioned the commentary piece I wrote a while back highlighting the Governor's many accomplishments and his place in history. A lot has changed in the public relations business, even in the past 18 months, but the tried and true commentary piece - or 'op ed,' short for 'opinion editorial' - still works just as well today as it did when we started almost 20 years ago. An 'op ed,' usually between 600 and 800 words long, is a great way to tell your story or convey a point of view. Even better, op eds - like this one we recently worked on with Quonset's Steven King for the New England Real Estate Journal - can be linked to social media, and on your website. They can also be "repurposed" as blog entries, and encourage dialogue between you and those you are trying to reach. |
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Is Your Newsletter a Dinosaur?
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 How can you spend a lot less money and reach a wider audience with relevant, up-to-date information? We answered that question for The R.I. Society of CPAs by suggesting they eliminate the printed version of their quarterly What Counts newsletter, moving it exclusively on-line.
"The new on-line edition of What Counts has been a big win all around for the Society," said Bob Mancini, the RISCPA's Executive Director. "Printing costs are now zero, the number and length of stories is much more flexible and the information is fresh."
The Society alerts readers that a new edition has been published with an e-mail reminder (see it here) that lets members click through to the story they want to read first.
"The response has been terrific," Mancini said. "It's also very useful to know how many people are reading What Counts, and what stories draw the most readers."
What Counts advertisers also benefit, Mancini added, with on-line ads that click right through to the advertisers' websites.
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Telling Your Story at Year's End
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 The beginning of a new year gives us a chance to highlight one more vehicle we use to tell our clients' stories: the Annual Progress Report. Keeping these reports simple, yet comprehensive, visually interesting and adaptable for alternative media uses is important. Take a look at reports we just finished for two of our clients - the Quonset Development Corporation and Button Hole Short Course and Teaching Center. And a final note - both organizations kept printed copies (and costs) to a minimum by referring readers to their websites to view the documents on-line.
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