Public Relations Capabilities of

September 26, 2012 © Bridge Global Strategies 2012

Startupsfor

• A good reputation: o It’s like money in the bank - it takes a long time to earn, but it

can disappear very quicklyo It sticks to a company or a product for a while after it is no

longer deserved (so does a bad reputation) o It enhances profitability by attracting investors,

employees and customers• Bridge Global Strategies’ prime focus is helping companies

build and maintain good reputations, both at the corporate and product levels

The Value of a Good Reputation

Who We Are

• A boutique PR firm with particular expertise working with start-ups and companies from overseas

• Based in New York City, but working with clients from all over the U.S. and the world

• We help raise corporate and product visibility, awareness & sales

• We develop PR strategies that are appropriate, realistic, effective and affordable for a market newcomer

• We are entrepreneurs; a lot of our work is for other entrepreneurs

Our Clients• Our clients have included:

– Tech startups CoreMatrix, ecobee and Worktopia – International biopharma association

New York Pharma Forum– Healthcare organizations such as the

LV Presad Eye Institute– Online retailers Mabel’s Labels and Admiral Road– Luxury hotel chains Nikko Hotels International,

Okura Hotels & Resorts and urban resort Hotel Chinzanso Tokyo

– Bio-venture companies Transparent, Inc. and AnGes MG– Secret Fire Games, creator of The Secret Fire– Top Asian Business Schools (CEIBS, Indian School of

Business, Nanyang Univ. Business School, Hong Kong Univ. of Science & Technology Business School)

– Professional service firms RMi (healthcare marketing) and Verde Group (research & management consulting firm)

Secret Fire Games

What We Do: Our Key Services• Communications to launch or re-position

companies, their services and products• Programs to build and manage corporate

reputations• Strategies and programs to build brand visibility

and/or increase sales of products/services• A full arsenal of communications tools to carry

out these strategies and programs– From media relations to events to marketing materials

What Differentiates Us• Big agency know-how and experience; small

agency service, creativity and results– Don’t have to sacrifice resources for quarterly results– Employees and clients are our most important

consideration, not shareholders

What Differentiates Us

• Senior professionals actually work on your account – not just show up for meetings

• Amazing client retention demonstrates the quality of our service

22 years! 15 years 19 years

Small and Hands-on, ButWith a North American & Global Network

• Best of large and small agencies: senior level service, with a North American-wide and a global network (something usually found only with big multinational agencies)– Bridge was a founder of Public Relations Boutiques

International (PRBI); Lucy Siegel, CEO of Bridge, was founding president

– This network provides Bridge with “arms and legs” on the ground where we need them to help us help you, from Minneapolis to Moscow, San Francisco to São Paulo

– For more information on PRBI, visit www.prboutiques.com

Grabs, SwitzerlandBrighton, EnglandMoira, Northern IrelandMunich, GermanyMoscow, RussiaSao Paulo, BrazilBuenos Aires, ArgentinaDubai, U.A.E.Johannesburg, South AfricaKuala Lumpur, MalaysiaSeoul, Republic of Korea

BostonNew York (2 firms)Roseland, N.J.Philadelphia, Penn.Washington, D.C.Kansas City, Kan.PittsburghChicagoMinneapolisHoustonPhoenix (2 firms)Aspen, Colo.Los AngelesSan FranciscoPortland, Ore.SeattleTorontoVancouver

Industry Experience

• Academic Institutions• Appliances and Housewares• Broadcast Media• Consumer Electronics• Financial Services• Food• Games• Governmental Organizations• Healthcare• Information Services• Insurance• Internet retailers• Internet technology solutions

• Industrial/Manufacturing• Non-Profit Organizations• Office Equipment• Consumer Packaged Goods• Consumer Services• Professional Services Firms• Scientific Instruments• Software• Telecommunications• Trade & Professional

Associations• Travel and Hospitality• Travel technology

What We Do for Start-up Companies

• Help build your company’s reputation and visibility with your key constituents– First we help develop communications strategies & the tactics

to implement them– We help you shape the story you want to tell– We also focus on visibility with “gatekeepers” – those who can

introduce you to many end customers – We can arrange industry analyst meetings with firms that

follow and develop reports about companies in your industry – When you’re ready, we will introduce “big” business media

(Wall Street Journal, CNBC, Inc., etc.) to tell your business story• We help position the company as a “challenger brand” • We help you become – or get credit for being – a

thought leader

Challenger Brands• They have something truly different to offer• They aren’t using a template, they’re originalists• Their employees are excited about the future• Their leaders are risk-takers, but realistic• They have a great story to tell• They may be small, but the big guys are watching them

Thought Leadership• Entrepreneurs need a leadership “voice” to develop

a challenger brand• Any company can have one, not just the industry

leaders• The CEO is important in moving towards thought

leadership, but can’t make the company a visionary one alone; as the company grows, others in management must support the effort

• Entrepreneurial companies need a strategy to move towards this goal

Case Studies

ecobee: Green $$$ Made Easy?• ecobee hired Bridge in September, 2008 to

help make its corporate and product debut• We worked with ecobee on a PR strategy

for the company and its ecobee Smart Thermostat. We divided the PR campaign into phases:– Announcement phase with pre-orders– “Product available” announcement– Trade shows to get to know trade media– Consumer media/reviewers– Business media and analysts last

• Set goals for measuring success• Produced press materials • In consumer PR phase, arranged product

reviews, reaching out to traditional consumer media

• Launched second product in early 2010• Launched third product in early 2012

Helped launch ecobee’s third product, new Smart Si Thermostat in 2012

ecobee: Early Media Results (First 6 Months)

• U.S. articles written on/in:• 107 North American blogs• 12 Overseas blogs• 18 newspapers & magazines• 3 TV shows

• Audience impressions: over 140,000,000• U.S. coverage included:

• Engadget• Gizmodo• CNet• Treehugger• Good Clean Tech (PC Magazine blog)• Crunchgear

• CPM = 28 cents • At least 3 X this number of media impressions achieved after 18

months!

CEO Stuart Lombard with ecobee’s original Smart Thermostat

• Technorati• Ubergizmo• Josh Spear• NBC TV Chicago• Business Week TV• New York Post• London Times

Launched New Mutual Fund at Start of “The Great Recession”

• Startup investment firm Structured Investment Management’s innovative mutual fund was approved by SEC just as Lehman Bros. fell

• With market in chaos, journalists ignored news of new mutual funds • We paused PR to conserve budget, waiting for media to return to

routine coverage; but crisis worsened and spread worldwide• Worked with company to start building thought leadership; used time

to achieve greater visibility for company and fund• Arranged several opportunities for CEO to comment on the financial

crisis on Fox Business News and CNBC. He was able talk about the new fund on air

• As the media slowly returned to covering routine news, we were able to arrange interviews with trade media, BusinessWeek TV, Smart Money, Kiplinger’s, Louis Rukeyser’s Mutual Fund Report and Money Magazine

– The product was supposed to be first of its type on the market but unexpectedly, Reynolds launched its hand-held vacuum sealer earlier, with wider retail distribution and at a third of the price

– Linens ‘n Things, Pack Mate’s key retail partner, went into Chapter 11 and didn’t provide promised retail promotion

• We sent product samples to media and used multiple pitch angles with many types of journalists

• Despite formidable obstacles, the campaign – PR only - achieved 22 million impressions, at a CPM of 6 cents

North American Vacu-Seal Launch (Averting Disaster!)

• Bridge worked with Canadian affiliate High View Communications to launch “Vacu-Seal by Pack Mate,” a hand-held kitchen vacuum sealer

• Unexpected problems interfered with the launch:

Admiral Road’s Cause Marketing Program

• Bridge helped Admiral Road, a Canadian manufacturer of children’s fleece products, to enter the U.S. market

• We suggested a cause marketing program as a way to inject some news value into announcement of a few new products

• The new products were personalized fleece blankets for babies and kids decorated with monkeys, zebras and giraffes

• Bridge positioned the new products as a new line, and named it the Admiral Road “Baby Safari” line

• Bridge arranged a cause marketing sponsorship for Admiral Road with the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF)

• Announced the new “Baby Safari” line to the media; stressed donation of a percent of sales to AWF

• Admiral Road was included on the AWF web site as a sponsor (a million unique visitors/month), with a link to the AR site

• This strategy provided a news hook for media coverage and attracted new animal-loving customers

• Cause marketing relationship lasted for more than five years

Crisis Management ExperienceOur staff has helped to save companies large and small from crises ranging from boycotts to bankruptcies:•Korean economic crisis

– Provided issues management and media relations counseling to bolster a top Korean conglomerate’s financial viability and U.S. image during collapsed economy in Korea

• False rumors – Developed internal and external communications strategies to stop rumors of foreign

company’s U.S. market withdrawal and sale; media trained senior executives and conducted aggressive media outreach

• Greenmailing– Counseled corporate management on media relations involving a greenmailer who

tried to use the media to manipulate the company’s board of directors; conducted aggressive media outreach to discredit the greenmailer

•HIV-Contaminated Plasma– When a drug company’s HIV-tainted blood products caused a massive crisis, we

developed a crisis management and communications strategy, provided counsel to the CEO, and set the direction for media relations and internal communications. As a result, we were able to help the company wind down media attention and stabilize its business environment

Lucy SiegelPresident & CEO

Lucy’s experience spans almost every area of PR: communications positioning, issues and crises, corporate media relations, executive speeches, internal communications, merger communications and a wide range of other matters related to corporate reputation. She is also proficient as a marketing public relations counselor, helping clients position and sell their products and services, both in consumer and B2B industries.She started her career in journalism and then moved to PR at Equitable Life, where she directed communications for the group health and pension asset management businessesShe then moved to Tokyo where she worked for Cosmo Public Relations, which appointed her its first non-Japanese board member. After returning to New York, she launched and headed a subsidiary for Cosmo before opening her own firm, which she ran for seven years until it was acquired. It is now part of Publicis in New York. Prior to founding Bridge Global Strategies LLC, Lucy spent seven years at Publicis, where she co-directed public relations in the agency’s New York headquarters, managing the PR staff and overseeing all PR clients. Lucy has served in many industry leadership roles, including as an officer of the Public Relations Society of America’s New York Chapter, Women Executives in Communications and the organization she helped found, PR Boutiques International. She is a graduate of Connecticut College in New London, Ct., with a major in government.

Thank you for taking time to learn about us!

www.bridgeny.comBlog:

http://bridgebuzz.bridgeny.com

Lucy SiegelPresident & CEO

lsiegel@bridgeny.comBridge Global Strategies LLC16 West 36th Street, 10th Fl.

New York, NY 10018212-583-1043