Congratulations 2011 VBM Rising Star Winners!

Posted on 04. Nov, 2011 by

You may have found us because of this ad in the Vermont Business Magazine 2011 Rising Star program:

Regardless, we’re happy you’re here. If you have no idea what a VBM Rising Star is – meet the class of 2011. They are all stand out people and ones to watch on the Vermont business landscape. My congratulations to you all!

Meet Our Summer Interns: Hilary Greene

Posted on 29. Jul, 2011 by

This summer we have seven new additions to our PMG family! Our interns are special to us, that’s why we want to feature them in our blog. Each week we will add a profile of an intern so you can get a sense of who they are and what they are doing here at PMG. Feel free to ask them questions and leave feedback. These interns are ready and excited to share what they have learned so far!

PMGer: Hilary Greene

On Twitter: @hilaryfay

Position at PMG: Intern with PMG associate Iza Socha

Background? My name is Hilary Greene and I am entering my last semester at Champlain College to attain a business/marketing degree. I am a transfer student and have spent most of my college years in Colorado and Utah enjoying the outdoors.

Why are you doing this internship? I am thrilled to have the opportunity to do my internship at PMG this summer to gain first-hand experience that will compliment my current marketing program at Champlain College, which I will complete in December of this year!

What do you expect to gain from this internship? This internship has already provided me with a better understanding of the public relations world; I have little PR background since I am a marketing major. In addition, this internship has allowed me to witness the power of using social media tools as marketing and PR techniques and the outstanding benefits that they can provide for many different types of companies.

What are your views on PMG? PMG, People Making Good, is a great company and I could not be happier about doing my internship here. Their name, PMG, tells all…they truly are, good people – making good. (They might as well change their name to G-PMG!) As a Vermonter, I appreciate the work that they contribute to the community and genuine support of their clients that are socially responsible.

What have you learned so far? Thus far, I have learned a lot of new things and have been able to apply my education from Champlain in a professional environment. Some exciting projects that I have been involved with at PMG include;

  • Organizing a Tweet-Up
  • Drafting Twitter messaging
  • Writing editorial calendars
  • Editing video footage
  • Writing a variety of blog posts using WordPress
  • And; researching different brands, markets and trends

What’s it like working with your mentor? My mentor, Iza Socha, is fantastic and is the Social Media Manager at PMG. She is very talented and open to sharing new concepts with me; she knows all the new trends! It is really fun working with her and she guides me in the right direction to complete finished work that both of us are proud of.

Do you have any tips for future interns on PR, writing press releases, pitches, etc.? My advice for any intern would be to be fully appreciative of the opportunity and learn as much as you can! It helps to stay knowledgeable about new trends because these days, it seems like techniques and applications change and improve constantly.

Consider Your Audience

Posted on 14. Jul, 2011 by

I had the pleasure of speaking at the Burlington Business Association event this morning. The theme of the event was “Marketing in the New Media World: The Best of the Old With the New”. I was part of a panel of speakers which included data and measurement master, Gahlord Dewald of Thoughtfaucet, Alex Martin of WCAX-TV and Kathy Soulia of FreePress Media — both who talked about how their clients are considering the mix of available media.

When prepping for this morning, time was certainly a consideration; I was given five minutes to talk about the “big picture”. I decided to focus on demographics with a keen eye on generations and what types of media they are consuming or will consume.

Here are the slides that I used which outline the generations:

BBA Presents “Marketing in the New Media World: The Best of the Old with the New”

WOW. Five minutes went REALLY fast.

My goal was to breakdown each generation and discuss which channels (old and new) that marketers could consider, starting with the Greatest Generation and ending with the Alpha Generation (born 2010 to early 2020s). Sadly time would not allow for a deep dive, but the net/net is that the only generation that is not using social channels right now is the Greatest Generation. And while the Silent Generation is using some channels, they are mostly there to keep up with their children and grandchildren – so they are not as susceptible to marketing messages.

Lastly, in the Q&A I mentioned the brilliant direct marketing campaign that AT&T did (and all other phone companies fell into step with – remember MCI?!) of mailing people checks. I misspoke: the agency that developed that concept was Digitas of Boston, not Hill Holiday (thanks to Ken for the correction). The point that I was trying to make still is valid though: if you are going to send email blasts and you want people to read them, give them an offer and be consistent in providing an offer so people feel incented to read your news.

What to Do When Your Hashtag Gets ‘Jacked

Posted on 15. Mar, 2011 by

#WTH?! The Burlington, Vermont Twitter hashtag, known as #BTV, has been usurped. I’d even go as far as saying it has been hijacked. By a television station. Half a world away. In Bahrain.

First it stated slowly, a couple tweets a day. And as the action in Bahrain heated up, well, so did the tweets. It has been interesting to watch, really. And has provided me with an education about what is going on in this small country in the Persian Gulf. Now, I truly do empathize with the people going through civil unrest in Bahrain and the protests surrounding that. In fact, the New York Times says, “It is one of the most politically volatile countries in the Gulf, and one of the most strategically important for the United States, which bases its Fifth Fleet there.”

Here’s the rub: people in Burlington have been using this hashtag for local news, happenings and to communicate with our neighbors online for some time – even before I joined Twitter more than two years ago. It’s our local airport code. Now, with things getting volatile in Bahrain, there are more people using the #BTV hashtag to talk about the unrest and it is really hard to sort through looking for local news important to those in the Vermont community known as #BTV.

I know, what you’re thinking… Nicole: you live in a beautiful lake-side-mountain community where you are not experiencing political protests that could determine your everyday reality.

And to that, I say: You’re right! But, I would still say “hand over” the tag!

Here’s why:
I believe if you chose to use social media tools, you should do so responsibly. Part of that is educating yourself on how to use the tool and the etiquette of engagement. Sure, there will be gaffes from time to time (I have been known for a few), but by and large it all works well. So, how was Bahrain Television to know if the #BTV tag was up for use? Well, they could have done a a couple of things:

  • Check the activity on the tag by looking at it within the stream. If there are frequent posts, it clearly is in use. If not, go for it!
  • Visit WTHashtag and see if it is registered as anything. (I visited this link many, many months ago and actually registered #BTV with the description of the community.)

There are people in Burlington taking to the Twitisphere suggesting that we ditch our use of “#btv” and move over to “#bvt”. I don’t agree with that – and not just because I am stubborn (though I am). I think that eventually, the stream will become less active as that country (hopefully) becomes at peace. To me, giving up use of #btv sounds like The University of Vermont should call Virginia Tech and let them know that they can not use “VT” any longer as their school’s logo or initials, as it is the initials of our state, and therefore should be used for the University of VT. The other factor here is that others are using the tag #Bahrain, it is only the commercial entity – a television station – that started the use of #btv.

Here’s what I am going to do: I plan to still use #btv when I tweet locally. And if I have space, I am going to add #vt to the tweet. Sure, I will check the #bvt tag to see what is happening, but chances are I am just going to build a list of the people that I follow who I know live or work in the BTV area and check that more often. I built a similar list for the Vermonters that I follow.

The other option? For Burlington, Vermont we could use #winning. I don’t think Mr. Sheen would mind. Do you?

Fancy Foods!

Posted on 07. Jul, 2008 by

We left Burlington last week for New York City and the NSAFT Fancy Food Show. 

Who knew trade shows could actually be fun?!  We had a great time working with our exhibiting clients, Bove’s of Vermont and Vermont Smoke and Cure.  We also had a great time wandering the tradeshow floor, meeting with new clients, checking out the competition, and tasting things we did not know existed!

We debuted our USB Press Kits for our clients at the show and they were WILDLY popular.  We could not keep up with the demand!  Press people that we chatted with all loved them and other vendors and PR peeps were taking notes. 

As nice as it was to go to NYC, it is always a pleasure to return to Vermont… and not a moment to soon as we gear up for a busy week!

Hoping you and yours had a great Fourth of July,

Nicole