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PR Pulse
Often, marketing and media activities need to change course to support an organization’s overall business and marketing strategies. This includes aligning PR with corporate goals as a company enters new vertical markets and/or places more emphasis on specific lines of business that target new buyers.
We recently helped microlearning platform Axonify promote their learning and training offerings to learning and development executives in the retail industry. Introducing a retail client success story helped the organization garner top media coverage, including:
FierceRetail
Retail TouchPoints
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My Two Cents
Taking a Risk: Hippo Mania
by Jennifer MacLeid Qotb, Principal
 Prior to 2017, the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens had a rough few years. With the shooting of adult male gorilla Harambe and questions surrounding the death of a baby giraffe, the zoo had endured significant negative publicity.
So it was a huge risk for the zoo to embark on a full scale PR and social media campaign documenting the birth of a female baby hippo who arrived six weeks early. Fiona was the youngest hippo ever born and her chances of survival were low. Despite this, the zoo decided to publicly share her journey - celebrating milestones and asking for prayers when there seemed to be little hope.
Despite many twists and turns, Fiona celebrated her first birthday this month and has become an international viral media darling. Hailed as the "Best Thing to Happen in 2017” from ABC News and appearances on The Tonight Show, she has become a bona fide brand.
Fiona now consistently garners millions of views on her “Fiona Show” YouTube videos and the zoo enjoyed a record 20 percent increase in zoo attendance in 2017. People from all over the world come to see the Fiona effect. I, for one, am a huge fan and so proud of my local zoo for taking on this incredible yet risky journey.
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 Happy 2018 to you and yours. We kicked off the new year
with two new clients. The agency will be leading public relations programs  for both microlearning platform
Axonify, based in Waterloo, Ontario, and higher education software provider Terra Dotta
in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Additionally, we are celebrating our five-year anniversary serving client HALO Recognition, a leading employee recognition, rewards and incentive provider. Young & Associates’ media relations program has helped the organization communicate an acquisition and name change, among other news, as well as secure key thought leadership opportunities and cover story media coverage.
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Marketing Minute
When There's A Lull: Getting Media Traction During Slow News Times
It can be challenging to keep key media engaged if your organization struggles to generate a steady pipeline of newsworthy announcements. However, there are ways to keep the momentum going. With the right mix of relevant touchpoints and topic strategies, companies can keep the media fires stoked even in slow news times. Here are some key tips:
1) Offer Contrarian Comments
If you have a new slant on a stale topic, don’t be afraid to go against the grain. Offer your take, but be sure to back it up with solid points and examples.
2) Cover Conference Topics
If you’re attending an industry conference, proactively offer viewpoints to on-site journalists that relate to key presentation topics. This raises your chances of being included in a story that is likely already planned based on the conference agenda.
3) Showcase Best Practices with Client Stories
Even if there’s no news-driven activity within your organization, media are always interested in client examples. Take the opportunity to showcase a client success story (with the client’s permission, of course) that demonstrates your organization’s best practice approaches.
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Expertly guiding our technology clients through integrated public relations stratgies that produce results is Young & Associates' mission. With a 30+ year track record of delivering stellar PR and media programs to technology companies globally, our creative and tenacious team enables clients to engage audiences.
For more information, visit www.yapr.com or find us on Twitter at @youngassociates.
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