Since 2006 we've been successfully supporting Exigen Services' (formerly StartSoft Development Labs) US PR push.  In fact a hit in eWeek at the beginning of the campaign resulted in a number of leads.  Since then we've been working to position Exigen Services as a next generation application outsourcing provider through research with Forrester and hard core media relations.  Recently we built a network of agencies for Exigen Services in the UK, Germany, Sweden, Russia, Latvia and Lithuania.  We are managing the strategy, process and output.  It's going extremely well and we're all off to London for a global PR agency summit in June.  Eric is particularly excited about going to London!  Having built out Cisco's EMEA PR agency network back in late 90s it's good to know some things change and some things stay the same.  Partnering with the Globalcom network (Spreckley in the UK, Globalcom in Germany and Infocomp in Sweden) has been productive and good fun.  Thanks team.  Our other networks include ION (Octopus' Network) and Bandwidth (Band & Brown's network) where we share a handful of clients with each network.

What have we done for them so far? Built key relationships with media / analysts, raised the issue of WLAN security to (IN)Security Magazine's and Security Matters' readers, and informed Best Security Tips', Dark Reading's audience about key solutions from NCP (far more than this of course, like the review eWeek is conducting and the full tech briefing John Girard of Gartner has requested).

Security isn't new to the team - with a combined experience representing McAfee, Verdasys, @Stake (now a Symantec company), Texas Instruments RFid Systems, Caveo Technology, PDA Defense, and many others.

So our practice is officially off the ground and the team is excited about the challenges ahead.

"Get Published" Competition, sponsored by Cognisco: www.cognisco.com

Are you studying industrial and organizational psychology, occupational psychology, organizational behavior or organizational management?

Do you want to get some extra exposure for your dissertation or class research project?

Cognisco, a global market leader in online employee assessment solutions with offices in New York and London, has launched its Get Published competition to undergraduate and graduate university students.

Cognisco is interested in student research about one of the following main topic areas:

• Employee understanding and competence in their role.
• The advantages and disadvantages of evaluating employee performance.
• How learning and training can be assessed effectively.

All entries will be judged by a distinguished committee including Cognisco's in-house team of organizational psychologists and experts, top university professors, and corporate HR executives.

Winners will get their research published on the Cognisco website. A grand prize will be given to the person whose research is downloaded the most.

For a full list of topic areas or to download the entry form and brochure with the competition requirements, visit http://www.cognisco.com/published.asp or join our Get Published discussion group on Facebook.

Competition Closes: May 31, 2008
Winners Announced: June 9, 2008
Download Period: June 10 - July 26, 2008
Grand Prize Winner Announced: July 30, 2008

Cash Prize: $1,500 to ten first prize winners; An additional $3,000 to the grand prize winner who has the highest number of downloads.

Contact Stephanie Rubino / Lillian Dunlap
(617) 475-1574 / (617) 401-2611
cognisco@marchpr.com

Cognisco is a global market-leader in online assessment and learning solutions working with clients such as Bank of America, Johnson & Johnson, Shell, Xerox and Daihatsu. Cognisco provides custom-built online assessments that measure employee knowledge, understanding and competence in order to increase employee performance and reduce business risk.

www.cognisco.com

 Cory Doctorow, co-author of the popular blog Boing Boing, talks to InformationWeek about what it takes to get posted on a blog.  One of the best ways to gain publicity and generate buzz is to tell these bloggers what you are doing.   

Doctorow discusses the dos and don'ts of the blogosphere.  And since Boing Boing is "pretty darn popular" (one of the five most popular blogs according to Technorati), you might want to pay attention:

• Link, don't stink: If you want bloggers to write about you, it must be on the Web. Cory mentions that this could be a soccer tournament, a protest march or your upcoming TV show. (You will find my co-worker's Blog in my Favorites list, check it out, great way to catch up on American Idol if you've missed a performance) Avoid flash, PDF files and streams, they just annoy the bloggers.
• Graphically Speaking: It's a good idea to offer high-resolution graphics and images on your website, that way the blogger can play art director and crop images as desired. Including your URL on the bottom of these images also makes it easy for bloggers to reference back to the website.
• Privacy, Please: Don't upset the bloggers...there is no legal right to control who gets to link to your website. "The lawyer who advised you to put up a "linking policy" describing the "terms and conditions" under which the world is allowed to link to your site is an idiot who owes you your money back. Standing on your lawn, shaking your fist at the airplane flying overhead and shouting "Get out of my sky" makes you look like a dork -- so does threatening text about linking to you."
• Live By the Rules: When submitting a suggestion to a blogger, pay attention to how they would like to receive information. Some sites have email addresses while others have submission forms. Remember, bloggers live and breathe the internet, avoid misfired suggestions.
• "Fair Use" Realm: Almost all information on blogs (90%) is potentially illegal under copyright law. Creative Commons is a nonprofit effort to create a series of standard, universal copyright licenses. "If you want people to talk about your stuff online (and online "talking about stuff" is basically the same thing as "copying stuff") a Creative Commons license is de rigeur."

One of our key clients, Tideway Systems, has recently been named "Best Application Dependency Mapping (ADM) Tool" by Network Computing magazine. 

To view the full article, please visit:

http://www.networkcomputing.com/immersion/soa-ws/showArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=MTHFAMHRVCL5YQSNDLOSKH0CJUNN2JVN?articleID=206901425

Based on thoroughly modern video game engines, Antics enables home users to create 3D animated scenes and sequences in a real-time, point-and-click style rendering environment. The latest release of the software, V3, is available with two product options.

In lay-man's terms, Antics means that you no longer have to have a degree from MIT, be employed as a full-time graphic designer or have a spare wad of hundred dollar bills lying around to make professional-quality 3D animation. In fact, Antics recently ran an open competition to make the best medical-themed 3D animated short film using Antics. The competition was judged by Hollywood producer Jim Rygiel - check out his winning entry in the Antics Cinema.

The Antics launch has been getting some early attention from places like the Animation World Network, The Hollywood Reporter and DesignerToday, and review interest has been coming from the likes of MicroFilmMaker, DV Magazine, American Cinematographer, Smart Computing and Maximum PC.

Very cool.

We are looking for a motivated, undergraduate student in the Boston area to join our exciting team of PR professionals.

Why should you choose March to expand your public relations and marketing industry knowledge?  Let me give you my perspective having been the first to join March fresh out of college myself.

I've been with March Communications for four years now and can't begin to mention all of the ins and outs of public relations I've learned along the way.  I actually started as a March intern back in 2004 working remotely from college.  After graduating from Marist College in upstate New York with a degree in communications, I relocated to Boston to begin my career at March later that Summer. 

Working with managing partners, Martin Jones and Cheryl Gale, has provided me with a solid foundation of tactical and creative PR.  Their backgrounds of working with London-based agencies gives March a global, outside the box view of public relations.  About two years into my career at March, I was traveling to trade shows in Miami and Las Vegas, assisting with clients' needs and hosting media/analyst interviews.  I was even part of an exchange program and traveled to London to experience how the media works across the pond. 

One of the things I like best about March is the ability to multitask and experience all aspects of PR.  A typical day for me involves writing (press releases, bylines, case studies), pitching (email and phone), researching the media for new and exciting opportunities and client management (webinars, trade show management, etc).  There is never a lack of variety within the agency.  We are also actively encouraged to get involved in new business and to suggest new systems and ideas that will improve the workings of the agency and the services we provide clients.

After looking back to my early days at March, I am extremely impressed with my progress and enhancements as a PR professional.  I've established great relationships with the media, analysts and clients and look forward to more great experiences at March Communications.  Our hardworking, yet easy going environment, makes March a great place to pursue a career in public relations.  For more information on available internships, please send me your resume.  We look forward to working with aspiring communications professionals in the Boston area. 

We are regularly approached by emerging companies, often European-based, that are interested in finding out more about high tech PR and marketing opportunities in the U.S.

PR is an affordable option and can be used to quickly and effectively deliver an initial market profile and thought leadership position.

Here are our thoughts on the key things companies should consider before embarking on a PR campaign.  These are the first things we consider when meeting new companies - and they are what you should expect to be asked by any self-respecting technology PR agency that you approach.

1. What exactly do you want to achieve?  Be clear about what you are hoping to achieve in three, six and twelve months.  A good agency will be able to tell you whether you are being realistic.

2. Get your messaging straight.  Make sure you understand what you want to say and how it differs from your competitors.  A good agency help you to develop your key messages and work with you to validate each one, both in terms of the market and the competition.

3. Develop a press release calendar.  Dig deep and put as many potential corporate, customer and partner announcements in the calendar.  A good agency will use this to determine the overal longer term campaign direction and make sure that you are pitched correctly at the beginning.

4. Use wire distribution services to guarantee a certain level of exposure for every announcement.  They are relatively cheap and they serve a dual purpose of exposure and feeding journalists information.  They can also be invaluable for search engine positioning and keyword association.

5. Develop a tiered list of media of targets starting with the key trade and specialist press and working up to the business press. Be realistic. A good agency will advise on the liklihood of getting coverage in the major league press, but you have to have something for them to work with. 

6.  Add a press section to your website and use it to clearly set out your message and to list the steady stream of news emanating from your company.

7. Monitor your competitors' key media activity.  Look at what the press are saying about them and what they are saying about themselves.  Track industry trends and the information you glean from your customers.  Set up a process for pumping this information directly into your communication's program.

Starting with a solid foundation from which to build your PR program is key.  These seven suggestions will help you to make sure you engage the right agency and to develop a brief to which they will be able to effectively respond.

Some time in the offing, here at last is a space for March to give our unique perspectives on the technology PR, high tech PR and tech marketing industry and the key issues facing our clients from a communications and business point of view.

We have called it PR NonSense.