Zer0 to 5ive

Zer0 to 5ive has been awarded the recognition of an Official Honoree in the 14^th Annual Webby Awards for its work on the Omnyx website.

The Webby Awards is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet. Established in 1996 during the Web’s infancy, the Webbys are presented by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, which includes an Executive 750-member body of leading Web experts, business figures, luminaries, visionaries and creative celebrities, and Associate Members who are former Webby Award Winners and Nominees and other Internet professionals.  Awards recognized sites and teams that demonstrated a standard of excellence.

Of the nearly 10,000 entries submitted to the 14th Annual Webby Awards, fewer than 10% were distinguished as an Official Honoree.

Visit http://www.omnyx.com to see the award-winning site!

Zer0 to 5ive’s Marcello Figallo, principal-creative director, and MaryBeth Sheppard, principal, were quoted in the BtoB magazine article, “Making Sites More Social.”

The article discusses the newfound importance of social media integration to a website’s success, but warns that the use of social media should be carefully strategized and maintained.

“Companies should use social media [in a way] that makes sense for the goals of their websites,” said Marcello Figallo, principal-creative director at Zer0 to 5ive Media. “When you’re setting out to build a site, you must have a perspective of what visitors are going to get out of visiting it.” For example, Figallo said, if the company’s goal is to get people to spend more time on its website, then its social strategy should focus on keeping them there as opposed to a plan that might send them to other sites via social media links.

“The potential for integrating social media into a website is enormous, particularly when a company sets up a really great social media program and follows through with it,” said Marybeth Sheppard, principal at Zer0 to 5ive Media. “A website is definitely not a “set-it-and-forget-it’ kind of medium. That’s really critical with social media; it’s not short-term. Don’t [start a social media program] just because some execs thought it was a good idea. It needs to be maintained.”

Check out the full article, featuring advice from industry experts, here. What do you think companies should consider when implementing social media tools on their websites?

Follow MaryBeth (@MB_Sheppard) and Marcello (@Zer0to5ive) on Twitter and share your thoughts!

The sheer size of the prospect universe for most companies is daunting, and pursuing unqualified leads is expensive, time consuming and ineffective.

Thankfully, marketers can help sales narrow their focus by implementing initiatives, such as webinar campaigns, that generate inbound inquiries from interested prospects.

Successful webinar campaigns can:

• Strengthen corporate/executive thought-leadership positioning
• Educate target audiences on key industry and value drivers
• Increase traction with existing prospects
• Identify and deliver new qualified leads to the sales team

At Zer0 to 5ive, we have been leveraging webinars to help our clients generate leads for nearly a decade. As a result, we have identified a set of best practices to help ensure your webinar is a success:

• Preparation: Create a plan that includes objectives, strategies, campaign theme, target audiences, participants and all the other tactical details to support the strategies. As a rule of thumb, Zer0 to 5ive allows 4 – 6 weeks prior to the first email drop for proper planning and coordination.

• Content: The single most important aspect of a webinar is the actual content of the presentation. Content must be compelling, relevant and significant to the audience, enabling them to gain new, valuable information, without coming across as a sales pitch. Consider engaging third-party sources, such as partners, customers or industry analysts, to provide added credibility.

• Promotion: Promote the key value proposition or takeaways; if your content is really of value, the audience will come. It is also important to remember that promotion is a team effort, and coordination from the marketing, sales and public relations team members is necessary. Consider all methods of promotion, from social media to more traditional methods.

• Lead Identification: The goal of webinar campaigns is to capture leads, which makes the registration form critical. Be sure to use a registration system that allows you to customize the form so you can capture all the information you feel is pertinent. Be sure that you have a method set up in advance to transfer the leads to your corporate sales database for ongoing targeting.

• Event Management: Webex has all the features and functionality you need for a truly interactive webinar and, in our experience, it is the most reliable. Technology issues cannot get in the way; be sure to have a system in place that you are comfortable with and know how to use.

• Follow up: This is key in terms of lead generation, as leads are turned over to the sales team. There needs to be a plan in place for follow up by the sales team within a specific time period. Also, be sure to provide attendees with follow-up materials they can use to educate other internal colleagues.

MaryBeth Sheppard
Zer0 to 5ive Principal
Twitter: @MB_Sheppard
Image courtesy of iStockPhoto/JLGutierrez

Whether you are dealing with a product failure or recall, a lawsuit or a crime committed by an employee – all crises have in common the potential to damage the reputation of your Company (or your client’s company). You rarely see them coming. But, the good news is that there are things you can do to be prepared and minimize the damage.

With this in mind, we’ve put together a short list of tips:

Have a Plan

With the immediate nature of today’s news cycle, the first hour is the most important in any crisis. It is critical for companies to be prepared before a crisis hits, with a crisis communications plan.

At a minimum, the plan should include:

• List of potential crisis scenarios relevant to the Company
• Appropriate steps that must be taken, with a timeline
• Protocol for communications (who will be the spokesperson, what are the steps)
• List of crisis communications team members (internal legal counsel and head of corp. communications are mandatory)
• List of communications targets, including employees, media, local community, board members, etc.
• List of communications channels available and which will be used

Get the Facts and Prepare Your Response

Quickly gather information on the situation from all available sources and draft the materials you will need to respond. Do your best to understand what the key concerns are and how you can address those concerns directly. Determine what will be kept confidential and what will be shared.

Create the materials you will need:

• Detailed Q&A
• Media statement or press release
• Key messages/talking points documents for spokespersons

Be sure that your response addresses the following key questions:

• What happened?
• How did it happen?
• What is the current situation?
• What was your initial response?
• What is your long-term response?

Respond Swiftly and with Sincerity

With your spokespeople and response in place, it’s time to communicate to your targets, which may entail one or all of the following:

• Issue a communication to your board, customers, partners
• Issue a memo to employees
• Issue a press release or a statement
• Grant interviews to the media
• Post information on website and let media know of its existence
• Communicate through your Company’s available social media channels

Be sure to provide updated information as often as possible. If answers are not immediately available, it is important to highlight the actions being taken to obtain these answers. Always tell the truth and never speculate.

Remember that is it often the response to the crisis, rather than the crisis itself, that determines perception. So, in the unfortunate case of a crisis, a little planning can go a long way toward a positive outcome to a crisis situation.

Post by Jen Moritz
Zer0 to 5ive Managing Principal
Twitter: @j_moritz
Image courtesy of iStockPhoto

When you’re in PR, the unexpected can always happen. We’ve all been there. But, at Zer0 to 5ive, we’ve found that unexpected events can result in great opportunities – if you’re flexible.

Last June, we secured an interview for our client to discuss a first-of-its-kind product with an award-winning online media outlet known for its coverage of financial markets and economic and industry trends.

The interview couldn’t have gone better. Our client and the host had great rapport, and the clip was scheduled to post that evening — until we got an email from the interview host:

“We lost the interview.“

Losing a taped interview is a rare occasion. However, instead of lamenting our loss, we recognized the situation as an opportunity to strengthen our relationship with the host and our client.

Not only did the host offer to re-tape at our client’s convenience, but he also offered to wait until our client could share additional news.

To fast-forward six months later, our client was in New York City to ring the NASDAQ bell. We had interviews scheduled with two national outlets, only to find out hours before the tapings that both reporters came down with the flu. Not wanting to lose the opportunity for a face-to-face interview while our client was in NY, we immediately emailed our contact.

Our contact graciously scheduled an interview with the client, covering a number of noteworthy topics. Our client was happy, and the host expressed his interest in receiving future pitches from us.

So, how did we benefit at Zer0 to 5ive? We now have a great relationship with a nationally recognized outlet and the reporters there.

So next time you encounter the unexpected, don’t panic – look for the opportunity.

Post by Michael Levey
Zer0 to 5ive senior strategist
Twitter: @mikelevey
Image courtesy of iStockPhoto/alexsl

2010 was an excellent year for Zer0 to 5ive and our clients.  We won the Silver Anvil for the second year in a row in B2B Integrated Communications, we won the Big Apple Award of Excellence for one of the best campaigns out of a NY agency and we won the Web Marketing Associations award for Best B2B website.  We also successfully launched multiple products and services where our marketing and PR programs drove measurable business leads and revenues for our clients.   We are grateful for the trust, collaboration, friendship and latitude they gave us over the year!

In 2010, we also saw a more focused approach to vertical market penetration by our clients, a greater emphasis on content generation than ever before and a healthy explosion of top-tier national news coverage driven by trends, metrics, out-of-the-box stories and the willingness of our clients to assert their point of views.

Many of our clients continued to struggle with the opportunities, challenges and logistics of social media and the constant attention it requires.  At the same time, trade shows and conferences – both industry and corporate – regained a new sense of importance in several sectors, including telecommunications, financial services, healthcare and education technology.

One month into 2011 and we are well underway with a sense of purpose and all the excitement that a new year holds.  Here’s what I see as The Big 5 for the year ahead:

1. Greater integration of PR and marketing as strategic communications becomes the mantra with more and more content needed for media, marketing, lead generation, SEO, thought leadership and customer education.  Plus, a greater focus on video and alternatives to PDFs
2. Greater involvement with, and attention to, industry and media influencers who are rising above the fray and having an impact on sales
3. Benchmarking against key competitors and industry leaders as a focus on sales, growth and leadership continues
4. Excitement around “the big idea” and a growing willingness to break through the clutter with non-traditional approaches
5. Connection to the consumer, even by B2B companies, to drive greater customer impact and media attention

Earlier this year, we worked with Airclic to reposition the company as it transformed itself into a SaaS-based mobile logistics products provider. This included developing a new logo, product architecture, corporate and product positioning and messaging, and brand identity. We also took the opportunity to create a new website for Airclic (www.airclic.com) that reflected its updated brand.

It didn’t take long before the site started turning heads. Since the launch, traffic has increased by nearly 20 percent each month, the time spent on the site has increased by nearly 20 percent and the bounce rate has decreased by more than 5 percent. The total page views have also increased, and website visitors have a 70 percent conversion rate.

Each year, Crain’s BtoB, the industry-leading marketing publication, compiles a list of the “10 Great Websites”. This year, we’re proud to be a part of that list with Airclic.com. The site was recognized along with industry leaders Accenture, iStockphoto, SAS and Tyco for its clean design, seamless interactivity and ability to engage visitors with social media, blogs, live chat and live call functionalities.

“The execution of the design is clean and the interactivity is seamless. The site’s vast content is organized by industry to help simplify meeting the users’ needs. The site actively uses social media and technology to engage users on various levels. Not only does it offer a blog, RSS feed, site search and LinkedIn group but it also offers both live chat and live call to allow users to interact with the site on multiple levels.”
- Bill Rice, president, Web Marketing Association

Every August, I feel the end-of-summer blues and come Labor Day, I am over them – energized by the Fall sprint for sales, lead gen, brand building and awareness. I love the adrenaline that comes with taking a tally of the year so far, but knowing that there are four great months left to make an impact. Have you ever wondered why there are so many conferences, trade shows and new product launches in the Fall – it’s because this is a great time to re-engage – and our prospects and customers are ready to pay attention. There is electricity in the air.

Last summer, we launched the award-winning Popmoney payments service for CashEdge, but it was the momentum and marketing support that we rolled out last Fall that really made the difference – webinars, HTML emails, ongoing media relations, speaking opportunities, online engagement, demos, etc. The result was literally hundreds of leads, top-tier media coverage and the buzz that comes with the engagement and awareness of an entire industry that was ready to engage and pay attention.

This September, we are preparing for the launch of a major innovation in healthcare, the launch of a new brand for a client, a new day in cash handling, new solutions for food safety and the ongoing drum beat of HIV/AIDs awareness and testing.

I can feel the excitement in the air and the sense of urgency ramp up as business closes its doors on the summer, customers and prospects send their kids back to school and Fall begins.

by

Nicole Maziarz

Being a graphic designer, there are many essential tools that I can’t live without. Outside of a computer, design software (Adobe Creative Suite), books (always filled with valuable literature and great sources of inspiration), pencils sketchpads, printer, and scanner, here are a list of “must have” tools for today’s graphic designer:

Lorem Ipsum
http://www.lipsum.com/
This dummy text is great to use in a design when the final copy hasn’t yet been approved by the client. It can give your internal team and client’s alike a good idea of what the finished product will look like even when the content is still in development. This can help speed up the client approval process.

Smashing Magazine
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/
This site is filled with great articles, design tools and tips,  from today’s most innovative designers. Whether you are looking for a specific CSS3 question or just some inspiration, this site can be super handy. Be sure to favorite this site to stay up-to-date on today’s best design practices.

Psdtuts
http://psd.tutsplus.com/
If you want to practice and improve your Photoshop skills, this site/blog has incredible tutorials that take you step-by-step in creating great graphics. The site is filled with detailed tutorials, free guides and more. Designers should be constantly improving their Photoshop skills and this site can be a fantastic tutor.

Art Directors Tool Kit
http://www.code-line.com/software/artdirectorstoolkit5/
Just recently, my creative director introduced me to this amazing design tool. It was so helpful and saved me a great deal of time when searching Pantone swatches for color palettes I was creating for a new logo design.  It includes swatch libraries, layout tools and many other solutions for all the hurdles designers are expected to leap each day.

These tools can help you grow as a designer, share this with your team  and creative coworkers today and stay tuned for more tips on making the most of your creative projects.

Nicole is a Graphic Designer at Zer0 to 5ive

Zer0 to 5ive recently added another award to our extensive list of accolades. This time it was the industry coveted PRSA Silver Anvil! Considered the icon of best public relations practices, the Silver Anvil is awarded annually to organizations that meet the highest standards of performance in the industry. Symbolizing the forging of public opinion, the Silver Anvil recognizes successful programs that incorporate sound research, planning, execution and evaluation.

0to5 won this year’s Silver Anvil in Integrated Communications in recognition of their work on CashEdge.Inc’s innovative “Popmoney” campaign.

The campaign was a tremendous success exceeding all goals and ultimately resulting in tremendous media coverage, seven new customers and a pipeline of hundreds of prospects. The campaign achieved more than 250+ million media impressions, including more than 150 articles, 25 interviews, 5,000+ release postings, 85+ tweets and retweets.

Our special thanks goes out to CashEdge Inc. and everyone who helped make this campaign such a smashing success!

By the Zer0 to 5ive Team