Jun 17
We are proud to announce that Zer0 to 5ive has been awarded the Silver Anvil Award of Excellence for the 2012 World Risk Day Campaign, created for our client, Active Risk. The Silver Anvil is one of the most prestigious awards in public relations.
Our Client’s Challenge
When it comes to risk management, most companies focus on project risk, utilizing Excel spreadsheets and a siloed approach to compliance. The result is billions of dollars lost every year through mismanaged risks and missed opportunities. Active Risk, a provider of Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) software, enables companies to take an enterprise view of their risk, transforming risk into opportunity. The challenge was how to get executives to think about risk as a strategic imperative, rather than a tactical program. Headquartered in London, Active Risk also wanted to build awareness in the U.S.
Our Winning Solution
Zer0 to 5ive worked with Active Risk to create and launch World Risk Day – a full day dedicated to promoting the advantages of ERM with participants from around the world. Promotions included an integrated campaign of public relations, social media and email and content marketing. The campaign delivered widespread trade and business coverage of enterprise risk management, more than 1,200 event participants, hundreds of U.S. leads and a secured thought leadership position for Active Risk.
A huge THANK YOU to the team at Active Risk for being such as great partner on the execution of this project. We look forward to many more successful World Risk Days in the future!
Contact us if you would like us to send you a copy of our two-page submission.
May 10
It’s been a great week for the Zer0 to 5ive team! On Tuesday, we found out that our founder and co-CEO, Michelle Pujadas, was named as one of Philadelphia SmartCEO’s 25 Powerhouse Women Leaders!
A panel of Greater Philadelphia business leaders sorted through hundreds of nominees to eventually choose this year’s 25 winners – all of whom will be honored at the 2013 Brava! Awards on July 24th for their accomplishments in business and their dedication to the community.
If you don’t know much about Michelle, here’s a quick rundown. With more than 25 years of marketing and communications experience, Michelle founded Zer0 to 5ive in 1999. She loves working with our clients and has experience in every facet of marketing and brand development, from PR to creative and everything in between. A former Captain in the Army (who also went to Airborne School and commanded a unit during the first Gulf War) and a marathon runner turned some-time yogi, Michelle certainly embodies what it means to be a “powerhouse,” both in and out of the office!
The entire Zer0 to 5ive team extends our congratulations to Michelle on this impressive accomplishment (does this mean a company lunch?!)!
Want to learn more about Zer0 to 5ive and our dynamic and award-winning team? Follow us on Twitter @Zer0to5ive and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/Zer0to5ive.
Apr 25
A web developer’s life is often burdened with the task of writing thousands upon thousands of lines of code and sometimes, it’s nice to have little shortcuts to ease up some of the load. Below are five tools that I have found to be incredibly helpful for streamlining the process.
1. Blind Text Generator
Need filler text for that page design? This dummy text generator has the standard Lorem Ipsum, as well as passages from Cicero, Werther, and my favorite, Kafka! What makes Blind Text Generator different from other dummy text sites is its ability to automatically add tags, which saves you the trouble when coding HTML mockups.
2. Border Radius
Rounded corners are a feature introduced with CSS3, eliminating the need to use graphics to round out divs and other containers. The CSS code for rounded corners is a bit complex and requires several versions to cover all the major browsers. Border Radius not only allows you to preview the corners, but also generates all the code for you.
3. ColorZilla
ColorZilla ia a browser plugin for Firefox and Chrome that enables you to use an “eyedropper” anywhere on the web. The hex code automatically copies to your clipboard whenever you pick a color, making it easy to paste into Photoshop or your HTML editor. ColorZilla also comes with a built-in color browser for quick reference and a shortcut link to a code generator for background gradients.
4. Pixel to EM
EM is the unit of measurement that ensures every browser and device displays text size consistently. Just as the title says, this tool is a pixel-to-EM converter that translates a pixel measurement to EM for you. It also provides a chart with the most common sizes and percentages. No more fancy equations!
5. WordOff
Sometimes, when you copy text from a Word document or existing webpage and paste it into a WYSISYG editor (like WordPress), an annoying thing happens where snippets of unwanted HTML tags appear in the code and you end up with the meticulous chore of hunting for and deleting each one. Paste the messy code into WordOff and it will remove the tags for you.
Post by Jen Tabangcura
Zer0 to 5ive Developer
Apr 18
When someone asks me for advice on pitching reporters, I always think back to an article by Business Insider’s Alyson Shontell outlining some best practices of pitching via e-mail. Back when it was first published, I immediately thought it should be mandatory reading for PR people so I saved it in my files to re-read again (and again). I still find the information to be of value, so I thought I’d share some of my key take-aways.
Start off with a bang: Unless you have a rapport with the reporter, your email title and first sentence are the two most important parts of your pitch. You need to be concise while providing enough information; creative and intriguing while still getting the point across. Make sure to include information that will be most interesting and relevant to that specific reporter – if it’s the VC and not the start-up name that you include in your e-mail title, so be it. If you get the reporter to read your full pitch based on the first line and title alone, consider it a win.
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Apr 11
From my experience, the number one way to make a web design and development project go smoothly is by having a good process in place. In an environment such as a client-focused agency, having a proven, thought-out process not only makes things run seamlessly for those working on the project, but it also reassures the client that their project is organized and the nuances of their unique project will be well-considered.
Here at Zer0 to 5ive, we have a very well defined, five-step process for web design and development. Each part of the process is not only individually important, but also creates a finished product that is a polished sum of its parts. The process is linear and cumulative. Once step 1 is complete, we move to step 2, and so forth. Probably the most notable step is the one that includes discovery and planning. These foundational items set the tone for the project and everything going forward is built from there.
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Mar 22
It’s widely known that word of mouth and recommendations from peers are among the most powerful marketing tools in marketing. And for good reason: a compelling case study talks about your product from a customer’s perspective, which helps prospects create a vision of how your product can help them meet their objectives as well.
However, case studies can be challenging to write, particularly if you have busy customers with little time for interviews and approvals. That’s why it’s important to have a well-honed approach to case study development.
At Zer0 to 5ive, we’ve written hundreds of case studies over the years, and from that experience, we’re offering up 5 of our favorite writing tips that will help you make your next case study a work of art.
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Mar 15
Now more than ever, having an active presence on Twitter is vital to giving your brand a voice and interacting with those in your industry. Whatever (positive) news is happening within your company, your Twitter followers should know about it.
You can no longer rely on folks reading your press release, reading your HTML emails or visiting your website to get the latest information. Why? The reason is pure and simple – time. Time is money, and folks just don’t have enough of it.
However, if you’re going to spend time spreading the word through the Twittersphere, you also need to work on building up your follower list. After all, you can have the most interesting tweets out there, but if you have 20 followers, then why spend the time?
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Mar 08
How important is the culture of a company? Well, according to one of the most successful CEOs today, it’s exceedingly important. Warren Buffett, business magnate, investor, and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, wrote in an annual letter to company shareholders, “culture, more than rule books, determines how an organization behaves.”
Company culture is defined as the personality of a company. It outlines the mission, values, ethics, expectations, goals, and work environment. From top executives to newly hired employees, a company should be connected by a common culture. For Google, fueling employees with complimentary breakfast, lunch, and dinner is an important element in their culture. The organization has about 25 themed cafes at its Mountain View, California location, offering employees free food at a cost to Google of around $7,500 per person, per year, as estimated by Business Insider.
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Feb 15
I recently attended a networking luncheon event at the Publicity Club of New York, the oldest ongoing organization for public relations professionals in the country. The topic? Technology, Startups & Entrepreneurs. I was interested to learn how the reporters on the panel like to be approached by folks like us (be polite and friendly!) and was able to gain some valuable tips that will aid in future pitching.
The event was hosted by Peter Himler and featured an exciting panel of tech journalists from publications including Business Insider, Mashable, VentureBeat, and GigaOM. The packed room buzzed with industry banter and shortly after arriving, Alyson Shontell, Samantha Murphy, Devindra Hardawar, Manoush Zomorodi, and Ki Mae Heussner took their seats at the front of the room and were introduced by Peter.
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