http://s69481.gridserver.com/index.php en dsonnenburg@cooperkatz.com Copyright 2013 2013-06-17T11:25:22+00:00 http://www.cooperkatz.com/comments/ck_beat_the_heat_at_the_wall_street_run_heart_walk/ http://www.cooperkatz.com/comments/ck_beat_the_heat_at_the_wall_street_run_heart_walk/#When:June 17, 2013, 11:25am posted by admin May 30th was a scorcher in New York City: 90 degrees and humid.  But that didn’t stop 18 CooperKatz team members from running or walking their way to the finish line of the American Heart Association’s 2013 Wall Street Run & Heart Walk. The CooperKatz team raised nearly $1000 for the event, which was a three mile run / walk that wove through the Financial District near Wall Street and ended in Battery Park City. The entire team, including eight runners and 10 walkers, had a lot of fun despite the heat. Following a successful family charity walk in October with the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk, CooperKatz wanted to offer another fun way for staff members to raise money for a good cause while also raising their heart rates! The AHA Wall Street Run & Heart Walk was the perfect solution. While we don’t have anything lined up quite yet, we’re looking forward to participating in another fundraising / fitness-focused event in 2013. Keep checking the blog for updates on the latest activities organized by the CooperKatz Wellness Team! Agency News & Updates, Just for Fun, CK Authors, Leslie Stahl, Wellness 2013-06-17T11:25:22+00:00 http://www.cooperkatz.com/comments/Lifestyles-of-the-Rich-and-Famous/ http://www.cooperkatz.com/comments/Lifestyles-of-the-Rich-and-Famous/#When:June 07, 2013, 2:15pm posted by admin There are many preconceptions out there about the lifestyles of the rich and famous.  Yet experts say the game is changing as a recent influx of younger buyers moves into the luxury marketplace. CooperKatz client Coldwell Banker Real Estate hosted a luxury roundtable call that included 11 of the world’s top luxury real estate agents from Coldwell Banker Previews International, providing the media with a first-hand account of luxury market trends across the country. Together, Coldwell Banker and CooperKatz presented unique insights on buyers, sellers and properties in the most in-demand global luxury markets.   The luxury market has been continuing to heat up as wealthy entrepreneurs, business owners and celebrities drive demand in key markets around the world.  An increasing percentage of today’s high-end buyers are in their 30s and 40s, either living the single life or raising young families. Coldwell Banker’s top luxury agents shared the factors that have been motivating buyers and sellers of high-end properties in global markets including Aspen, Paris, Beverly Hills, Malibu, Miami, San Francisco, Seattle and Kelowna, British Columbia, among others.    These experts reported that growth in younger buyers is driving new preferences in luxury properties, including strong public schools (as opposed to just private options) and spaces ideal for children such as spacious mudrooms for dropping shoes, coats and bookbags. In addition, several agents cited other “must have” amenities as an open floor plans, ample outdoor spaces and lots of natural light. Some buyers are even requesting options such as subterranean garages and outdoor livings rooms. In preparation for the roundtable call, CooperKatz conducted interviews with each participating Previews agent to help identify and define these trends. The roundtable attracted reporters from 20 media outlets, including CNNMoney, NBC, Reuters, Wall Street Journal, Luxury Daily, iRealty Times and the San Francisco Chronicle.   As interest in the luxury market grows, buyers will continue to be highly selective in their preferences for a high-end home. And, in turn, Coldwell Banker’s top agents will continue to report on the front lines of the luxury lifestyle.   Real Estate, Client News, Coldwell Banker, Jessica Chen 2013-06-07T14:15:47+00:00 http://www.cooperkatz.com/comments/Anniversary-Campaigns-Worth-Celebrating/ http://www.cooperkatz.com/comments/Anniversary-Campaigns-Worth-Celebrating/#When:June 04, 2013, 9:40am posted by admin Anniversaries encourage us to reflect on the past, relive an important moment in the present and look ahead to the future. Our personal lives are filled with a wide range of anniversaries – both happy and sometimes sad. In business we also mark key milestones. Yet the external PR potential of these celebrations is often left unrealized. Recent studies indicate that the average life expectancy of firms in the S&P 500 is only 15 years. It is also well documented that most small businesses fail in the first five years in operation. So it’s fair to say that if an organization makes it past these milestones, it means something – and presents the perfect opportunity to share with key stakeholders and the media how and why a company has thrived, and the scope of its broader impact.     In celebration of CooperKatz’s own 17th anniversary in May of this year, we thought we’d take a moment to reflect on the advantages of developing an anniversary program and revisit some of our favorite client campaigns.   There are many approaches to celebrating a major corporate or organizational milestone.  Here are three examples of the opportunities afforded by an anniversary campaign:   Reward customers and recognize employees.  Anniversaries lend themselves to both internal and external engagement. It is an ideal moment to thank employees and customers for their continued loyalty, while encouraging increased involvement and driving potential “buyers” to take action. For example, previous CooperKatz client, Petfinder.com, inspired perhaps one of the most fun and memorable anniversary events organized by our team. We conceived and pitched a “TODAY Show” segment that celebrated Petfinder.com’s 10th anniversary by surprising 10 different 10-year-old children with a puppy adopted by their parents through the website. It was a delightful way to call attention to the important work of the company by highlighting the joys of pet adoption for both adopters and animals.   For its 100th anniversary, the Association of National Advertisers showcased the stature and evolution of the marketing industry by creating the “The Marketers Constitution.”  Developed in collaboration with CooperKatz, this document outlined 10 vital tenets embraced by the industry, and then identified and honored “heroes” for each of the tenets at ANA events throughout the year. Throughout the year the ANA also ran 10 “Top Ten” bylines in Advertising Age incorporating anniversary messaging. Doing so allowed the ANA to recognize members and reemphasize its industry leadership.   Educate audiences about your influence on industry and culture. As PR folk, one of our core responsibilities is to help people better understand brands and companies. Anniversaries present the perfect moment in time to revisit a company’s history and uncover its impact on its industry, culture and society as a whole. As Carrier approached the 100th anniversary of the invention of air conditioning, the company wanted to raise public awareness of Willis H. Carrier. So our team established Carrier as “The Father of Cool,” positioning him as an unsung hero of American invention.  The goal was to inform the public of Willis Carrier’s critical role in influencing where individuals live, how buildings operate and how industries have evolved.   More recently, the team built on these awareness-building efforts for the 110th anniversary, employing a national and local media strategy that tailored the meaning of the anniversary to each key audience. Information on the invention was mentioned on The Weather Channel, leading meteorologists across the country to talk about the occasion.  National outlets such The New York Times, “CBS This Morning” and “NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams” highlighted how the product changed our lives; and radio stations in numerous cities discussed local “firsts” such as AC installations in homes and buildings across the nation.    Much like Carrier, CooperKatz client, Otis Elevator Company, leveraged both the 150th and 160th anniversaries of the invention of the safety elevator, to inform the public on how the elevator transformed urban development and city landscapes globally. The CooperKatz team targeted consumers to educate them on how elevator technology changed the way we live and travel every day, as well as architects, building owners and engineers to highlight the technological advancements over the years and how the company is innovating for the future. Through a robust media relations campaign, the team elevated brand awareness and recognition through placements in The New York Times, CNN, WIRED, Scientific American and more.   Spotlight critical current issues. Remember that the announcement of an anniversary alone is not necessarily enough to garner media attention. It is critically important to connect the milestone to a broader issue or trend, to enhance its newsworthiness. The National Fire Protection Association identified a public service opportunity related to the 60th anniversary of its furry friend and mascot, Sparky the Fire Dog ®. The NFPA aimed to use this occasion to enhance its public fire safety education efforts and further engage its network of firefighters. Our team executed a multi-tiered media strategy that included partnering with third-party organizations such as Scholastic, and engaging the firefighter community through a “Voice of Sparky” contest that awarded the winner the opportunity to participate in a radio media tour. The campaign resulted in media coverage that tripled from 2010 to 2011, an increase in Sparky’s Facebook fan base by 184 percent and an expanded reach into markets across the country. For Petfinder’s 15th anniversary, the organization wanted to focus on the numerous adoptable pets in need of homes and to drive potential pet adopters to animal shelters. The team executed the first “Adopt-a-Less-Adoptable Pet Day” that involved blanketing the Internet with information about adoptable pets for a 24-hour period. This was paired with a nationwide “Big Birthday Adoption Event,” an initiative to encourage local shelters and rescue groups to hold simultaneous adoption events in their communities.  The campaign was recognized with a SABRE Award in 2011 for its success in increasing new visits to Petfinder.com from referring sites by 9.9 percent and finding homes for 15,000 pets in three-days of events across 1,500 shelters and animal rescues. While each anniversary is unique, all of these case studies successfully connected the milestone to the public and the news cycle. In order to truly bring an anniversary to life, a campaign will ideally employ internal outreach, traditional media relations, digital / social media strategies and marketing elements.   Don’t make the mistake of assuming an anniversary will be written about simply on the strength of the date alone. Take the time to do your research and provide substantive information about the company.  In doing so, you’ll find an anniversary can be a powerful tool to bolster your reputation, instill pride in your employees, reignite consumer enthusiasm and set you up for many more anniversaries to come.       Agency News & Updates, The Media Landscape, Client News, Carrier, Petfinder, NFPA - Sparky the Fire Dog, Otis Elevator, Kelsey Thompson 2013-06-04T09:40:28+00:00 http://www.cooperkatz.com/comments/Merediths_Musings_Episode_5/ http://www.cooperkatz.com/comments/Merediths_Musings_Episode_5/#When:May 03, 2013, 2:15pm posted by admin Meredith muses about Vine and the increasing number of social media channels impacting our personal and business lives – are the complementing or complicating our work? Social Media, The Industry, Meredith Topalanchik 2013-05-03T14:15:29+00:00 http://www.cooperkatz.com/comments/cooperkatz_ranked_as_one_of_the_best_agencies_to_work_for/ http://www.cooperkatz.com/comments/cooperkatz_ranked_as_one_of_the_best_agencies_to_work_for/#When:May 02, 2013, 2:30pm posted by admin We at CooperKatz are thrilled to once again be named one of the “Best Agencies to Work For,” based on an annual employee survey conducted by The Holmes Report. Two years ago, Holmes Report did a holistic list of the top 30 “Best Agencies to Work For in North America,” regardless of size – and CK came in at #11 overall. Last year – and now this year as well – we secured an Honorable Mention nod in the “Best Small Agency to Work For” category. This award is special to us, because it’s our own employees who cast their votes! Overall, more than 5,000 employees from 60 agencies rated their workplaces in the annual Holmes Report survey. http://www.holmesreport.com/news-info/13341/APCO-Finn-360-And-Revive-Win-Best-Agencies-To-Work-For-Honors.aspx Agency News & Updates, Client Service, Just for Fun, CK Authors, Melissa Connerton, Recruiting and Hiring, The Industry 2013-05-02T14:30:25+00:00 http://www.cooperkatz.com/comments/17-things-we-love-about-ck/ http://www.cooperkatz.com/comments/17-things-we-love-about-ck/#When:May 01, 2013, 1:30pm posted by admin Every CooperKatz team member is different, but there’s one thing we all agree on: CooperKatz is a great place to work.  And we can think of a number of reasons why!  So to celebrate our 17th anniversary this May, here is a selection of 17 elements of both our culture and client work that make us smile – and make us happy to call 205 Lex our home away from home.  For all current and former clients, employees, partners and other “friends of the CK family”…please feel free to use the Comments space below to share anything you’d add to our list!  We still have our very first client, the Association of National Advertisers We really do value the work / life balance We often gather to eat lunch together Over 40 percent of our total staff have been with the agency more than five years Our clients cover a broad range of compelling industries (helps us to hone our chops as Renaissance people!) Every summer, we gather at our founder’s house for a picnic – and we bring along all of our families / significant others We’re really fond of – and good at – making up words (Vespanomics, Smallbizdom, Thin-sourcing…) Ralph Katz takes every one of us out to lunch each year on our anniversary date (we choose the place - and he pays!) We have communal Snuggies in our office closet At our holiday parties, every team member leaves with a special gift, customized and presented to them (we’ve had instruments, hats, customized bottles of wine, toy cars, caricatures, and more!) We have:  conceived the idea of lowering Sir Richard Branson into Times Square on a giant phone, to mark the U.S. launch of Virgin Mobile shut down part of midtown Manhattan for a “Vesparade” – a parade of new and vintage Vespa motorscooters gathered more than 250 print and 30 broadcast media to attend and cover a 5,000 person Town Hall meeting following 9/11, focused on “Listening to the City” found homes for more than 17 million adoptable pets in the U.S., through our work with Petfinder.com They like us enough to put all of our faces – and our thoughts – on our company website We’re dedicated to every CK person’s professional – and personal – growth We commit to having every team member take one day a year to volunteer and give back, as well as hold an annual Skip Lunch, Fight Hunger day and support several select pro bono projects Our Thought Bubble space is great for brainstorms and meetings but also houses a treadmill, popcorn machine and air hockey Every employee is free to take on the most significant role they can handle – even interns. We have two managers who began their careers right here at CK! The principles on which CooperKatz was founded 17 years ago are still very much present in our hallways and our hearts Agency News & Updates, Client Service, Just for Fun, Recruiting and Hiring, The Industry, Melissa Connerton 2013-05-01T13:30:49+00:00 http://www.cooperkatz.com/comments/cks_4th_year_skating_with_the_stars/ http://www.cooperkatz.com/comments/cks_4th_year_skating_with_the_stars/#When:April 17, 2013, 11:30am posted by admin Last week, the CooperKatz (CK) team helped out at the annual Skating with the Stars event benefiting Figure Skating in Harlem (FSH), an organization that offers year-round academic and fitness programs for underserved girls. This is CK’s fourth year participating in the event that takes place at Trump Rink in Central Park.  While CK worked with FSH staff to gather celebrities, coordinate media coverage, manage the press tent, tweet and more, guests glided side-by-side with figure-skating royalty including Johnny Weir, Evan Lysacek, Scott Hamilton, Sarah Hughes and Tara Lipinski. Actress Tamara Tunie, fashion expert Carson Kressley, Olympic gymnast Nastia Liukin and renowned designer Vera Wang were just a few of the celebrities also in attendance. It’s always a rewarding experience to volunteer your time to support a great cause. And this event is no exception. The whole CK team, from those who have volunteered at the event for the last four years to first timers, had a great time helping out. We all left even more proud to work at a company like CK – one that values volunteerism and dedicates both time and expertise to helping an organization that truly deserves it. Just for Fun, CK Authors, Dana Schwartz, Volunteering 2013-04-17T11:30:23+00:00 http://www.cooperkatz.com/comments/Remembering-Andy-Cooper/ http://www.cooperkatz.com/comments/Remembering-Andy-Cooper/#When:March 14, 2013, 3:35pm posted by admin It is with heavy hearts that we mourn the loss of our agency co-founder, dear friend, mentor and PR industry luminary, Andy Cooper.  While Andy lost his battle with cancer at the age of 64, CooperKatz will never be without his guiding presence.  All of us who have worked with Andy over the years – including members of our CooperKatz family who have moved on to other jobs and life adventures – have first-hand knowledge of his creativity, his passion for his work, his incredible advocacy for his clients, his fierce intelligence and his humor.  We know that Andy will be with us still in every brainstorm…every new business pitch…every company gathering…every client win…and every important decision we make as a firm – whether that decision is easy or hard.   Andy Cooper and Ralph Katz first met 42 years ago while in graduate school at Syracuse University.  Andy started his career in public relations in 1975, when he joined Burson-Marsteller in Chicago.  He quickly transferred to Burson’s fast-growing New York City office.  And he encouraged Ralph to join as well, reuniting the two friends in an amazing journey that lasted two decades as they helped to build Burson-Marsteller into a global agency force.   By 1996, Andy was done with a five year tenure as president of the New York office of Burson and had risen to become vice chairman of the company, while Ralph headed the Creative Services practice.  It was their deep and abiding love of the work of public relations – that hands-on commitment to bringing strategic thinking and truly creative solutions to client challenges – that ignited the entrepreneurial spirit (and courage!) required to leave one of the largest agencies in the world to strike out on their own.   Over the nearly 17 years since CooperKatz was founded, Andy and Ralph worked side by side to build this firm into a well known and highly respected force in the PR field.  The quality of our client roster and the deep dedication and tenure of our team members speaks volumes to what they achieved – and is just one testament to the broad legacy that Andy leaves behind.   From all of us in the CooperKatz family, past and present:  Andy, we will miss you each and every day.  Thank you for your support and caring, your insights and perspectives, your commitment and creativity, and yes, even your relentless perfectionism!   Most of all, thank you for making us all better professionals…and better people, too.     Donations in Andy’s Memory   The Weizmann Institute of Science General donations can be made online at www.weizmann-usa.org * If the donation is noted as “In memory of Andy Cooper,” it will be specifically directed to fund brain cancer research   Israel Cancer Research Fund www.icrfonline.org     2013-03-14T15:35:26+00:00 http://www.cooperkatz.com/comments/How-CooperKatz-Became-a-Top-10-Hot-PR-Shop/ http://www.cooperkatz.com/comments/How-CooperKatz-Became-a-Top-10-Hot-PR-Shop/#When:March 01, 2013, 10:27am posted by admin CooperKatz is proud and excited to have been recognized by Ad Age as a ‘red hot,’ independent PR firm. Doug Simon, president and CEO of D S Simon Productions, chatted with Ralph Katz, co-founder and principal of CooperKatz, about this distinction as well as the company’s evolution since being founded in 1996.   Check out the interview here: http://www.vlogviews.com/how-did-cooperkatz-become-one-of-ad-ages-top-10-pr-hot-shops/   Agency News & Updates, Awards, Just for Fun, The Industry, Jamie Bezozo 2013-03-01T10:27:01+00:00 http://www.cooperkatz.com/comments/talking_fiscal_cliff_with_jackson_hewitts_tax_chief1/ http://www.cooperkatz.com/comments/talking_fiscal_cliff_with_jackson_hewitts_tax_chief1/#When:January 24, 2013, 3:00pm posted by admin While taxpayers can (mostly) breathe a sigh of relief now that the fiscal cliff has been averted, the weeks leading to the year-end negotiations were flooded with uncertainty and hype. Top members of the media were scrambling to keep up with each sound bite and rumored deal coming out of Capitol Hill – and were often struggling to interpret the possible impact on average Americans. In the midst of the fiscal cliff whirlwind, CooperKatz helped position long-time client, Jackson Hewitt Tax Service, and its Chief Tax Officer Mark Steber, as a top ‘tax-pert’ on the issue – arranging a series of face-to-face interviews with some of the top consumer news outlets in the country.  Several critical tax policies, including the Bush Administration tax cuts and the Alternative Minimum Tax ‘patch,’ were on the chopping block. For millions of Americans, this could have meant significant tax rate increases and the reduction / elimination of important tax credits and deductions – saddling many with both smaller potential tax refunds and lower take-home pay in 2013. The CooperKatz team positioned Mark Steber as an expert resource to explain what consumers needed to watch for and understand as fiscal cliff negotiations continued late into the year and after a deal was locked. Interviews secured included a range of top-tier outlets, including The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg Radio, The New York Times (with Mark quoted in a front page story), New York 1,  Fox Business Network,  ABC News Now, USA Today, Associated Press and an eight-minute, one-on-one segment with WABC-TV’s Up Close with Diana Williams. Not a bad way to kick off the 2013 tax season! CK Authors, Jessica Chen, Client News, Jackson Hewitt Tax Service 2013-01-24T15:00:01+00:00