Leadership Positioning with Top-Tier Business Media #702

When two, well-known pharmaceutical giants merged their agricultural businesses they created one of the world’s largest agribusinesses. Yet, five years later, this relatively new corporation was not widely covered by U.S. business media or known by U.S. investors. To help raise the visibility and awareness of the company among investors as a leading, forward-looking innovator, G&S implemented a targeted program that included “vision for the future” interviews between top-tier U.S. business media and the company’s executive leadership; business-based messaging around positive sales results, research depth and market share growth; and linking company positioning with key global market trends. Favorable company profiles appeared in Barron’s, BusinessWeek, Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, SmartMoney and other media. Additionally, the volume of company shares traded on the NYSE increased 16 percent during the program’s first year.

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Renewing Industry Credibility, Validation through Hard Line Media Relations #705

A 25-year-old contract research organization servicing pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies underwent financial difficulties that took the company from public to privately held. G&S supported communications efforts that bolstered the company’s scientific legacy and clinical capabilities to shed the negative perception associated with its financial past. After refreshing corporate messages and leading media and presentation training across a few dozen scientists and business development managers, G&S conducted national and international media relations to generate positive publicity in top-tier publications.

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Company Repositioning Unifies Decentralized Brands #701

When the country’s second largest manufacturer of resilient and wood flooring needed to unify its position in the marketplace, it turned to G&S to shape new brand architecture and company positioning that cross multiple divisions and brands. G&S developed executive committee messaging; executed media and presentation training; and created talking points and scripts introducing the new corporate identity to all key internal and external stakeholders through town hall meetings, a customer/distributor road show and extensive media outreach. Formally launched at Surfaces, the flooring industry’s leading trade show, the repositioning program was the talk of the show, garnered extensive media coverage and is helping the company recapture lost market share.

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Issues Management Makes Safety First Call #301

For one of the nation’s largest providers of wireless communications services, G&S was instrumental in helping manage the issues and media response to new legislation surrounding hands free devices while driving. G&S provided the client with a high level of counsel and strategic insight on the issue that resulted in an aggressive outreach effort to key media. The approach paid off. By getting out in front quickly, the client was perceived as a leader on the issue which helped garner significant and positive broadcast and print media attention.

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Managing Through the Silicon Breast Implant Issue #302

G&S worked with this client to handle many of the core issues surrounding the breast implant controversy of the early 1990’s. In addition to providing solid strategic and media counsel, G&S developed key messages, and simultaneously launched customer and employee campaigns highlighting the company’s viability. In addition, G&S also helped this client to create a highly detailed submission to the Food and Drug Administration, in which the company’s role in the incident was correctly and historically framed. As part of this effort, G&S wrote positioning documents to accompany 82 internal memos about the development and testing of silicone breast implants; these internal memos had been subpoenaed by the FDA and were the subject of intense interest by the national news media.

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Establishing Leadership Through Brand Repositioning #304

In the consumers’ mind, style had become a key decision point in choosing faucets and other plumbing fixtures. A leading faucet manufacturer had lost market share because prospective customers viewed its products as high-quality, but lacking style. With new executive leadership in place, the company wanted to quickly reestablish its brand in the marketplace, and position the company as a leading product design innovator. G&S articulated the company’s new leadership and consumer-focused brand messages through a series of executive speeches and interviews with business magazines, national and regional media, trade and shelter publications, and major market daily newspapers, resulting in positive coverage and feature stories in hundreds of media outlets.

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Repositioning a Company, Its Market and Its Technology #305

G&S was instrumental in helping one of its telecommunications network equipment clients break out of a fourth place position in the commodity-oriented market for digital loop carrier (DLC) systems and reposition the company as a true broadband solutions provider with a differentiated and value-added technology. G&S used a multitude of tactics, including the launch of a broadband consortium, trade show management, speaking opportunities, and media and industry analyst relations to drive visibility for this company and its executives in the marketplace, and to garner significant media coverage in the local and national business media, as well as many industry trade publications.

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Creating a Compelling and Cost-Effective Online Annual Report #337

A private investment management firm sought to convey a message of leadership strength, consistency and financial stability by communicating directly with investors, prospective investors, business partners and employees. However, expenses for a high-quality printed report had climbed dramatically over the years, and a negative post-bubble investment climate made it desirable to reduce costs. We responded by recommending an online strategy that enabled the company to tell its story in multiple channels in a new way – and at a dramatically lower cost. An online annual review, launched from the home page, was interspersed with video clips of interviews with corporate leaders. A video featuring the CEO offered perspective on the client's business and core values. The video and online annual report were launched at an employee party, and an email announcement alerted clients and other key stakeholders about the annual report. As a result, the online annual report was a major success. Feedback was universally positive, while costs for the video and the annual report were 40% lower than in prior years. The online annual report now serves as the primary vehicle to communicate business results, while positioning the firm as a leader with key stakeholders.

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Corporate Citizen Lends a Helpful Hand #408

A leading manufacturer of residential and commercial plumbing products had participated in Habitat for Humanity home building projects for many years, contributing thousands of dollars in monetary and in-kind donations. G&S was charged with generating renewed interest and publicity for the company's long-standing relationship with Habitat, and supporting the company's brand repositioning efforts. With Habitat's 25th Anniversary as a backdrop, G&S developed an aggressive media campaign around a “blitz build” and community celebration in Indianapolis, where the company is headquartered. Tactics included media alerts to local TV, radio and print outlets, time-lapse video, op-ed pieces and a guest appearance by a national celebrity. Feature segments were carried by local public television and ABC, CBS and NBC affiliates. Via a placement on the AP wire, the coverage became national in scope, supporting the company's national brand repositioning.

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Association, Civic Alliances Help Establish Classroom Curriculum #412

When your company has a product which if improperly used could pose a fire hazard, what do you do? G&S helped one client launch an educational curriculum for school children conveying crucial fire safety messages. An intrinsic component of this program was community and media outreach. A kick-off event focusing on three participating schools was also held, and media attendance and coverage of each was significant. G&S worked to develop key messages, provide media training, perform media outreach to boost press coverage and create a trade show display poster highlighting the event and the program’s success. Local media coverage at each school and national exposure (BedTimes and Fire Safety Bulletin) was obtained. Local affiliate television networks including CBS and FOX also covered the curriculum’s kick-off.

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Environmental Initiatives Transform Industry #413

A large HVAC manufacturer discovered a marketing opportunity that would not only bring elevated awareness to their new zoning products category, but also take a leadership position in environmentalism through energy efficiency and comfort. To position the client at the forefront of this industry issue, G&S developed an award-winning conference dubbed the Alliance for Energy Efficiency Conference. The conference included a two and one-half day media session for trade and consumer outlets. G&S also reached out to strategic partners and key influencers on the client’s behalf: government sources, influencers such as architects and environmental consultants, and customers such as builders and engineers. G&S also targeted women’s home and remodeling publications with resounding success.

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Dealing with one of the Nation’s Biggest Fears – Protecting Healthcare Information #427

Companies dealing with healthcare information technology are facing a national fear – protecting the privacy of healthcare information. One such company found itself in a quandary when an internal “test” inadvertently generated a real mailing which sent faux billing statements to more than 26,000 people. The result: the media latched onto the story, calling this mailing a fraudulent act. Immediate crisis communication steps were taken, including containing the story by individually contacting media outlets.. Setting up an internal response team to field questions via a designated 800 number helped insure speedy answers to recipient’s questions. Involving the company’s legal experts helped insure messages were appropriately delivered and any potential legal snafus avoided. An apology letter was sent to all 26,000, and corporate executives placed calls to media and key affected customer accounts. While the response cost was substantial, averting any potential customer loss or reputation damage was first and foremost, and handled flawlessly.

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Case Study #605: Local Media Partnership Key to Corporate Social Responsibility Campaign

Seeking to regain exposure in consumer media and to boost its image as a responsible, caring corporate citizen, an international HVAC manufacturing turned to G&S for support of its corporate social responsibility campaign. With much of the country in the midst of an oppressive heat wave, several G&S offices throughout the U.S. worked together to help donate more than 1,700 air conditioning units to low-income families, senior citizens, people with disabilities, residents with pre-existing health problems and families with chronically ill children. Partnering with local media to deliver the units in seven markets across the county helped create strong media coverage, including 48 broadcasts on major networks reaching 2.3 million viewers. Additionally, the company received numerous accolades as a generous partner in multiple communities.

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