Greentarget

February 10, 2021 by Greentarget

Greentarget secured more than 40 media placements for RBC Global Asset Management’s Responsible Investing Survey in outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Chief Investment Officer, Financial Times and The Globe and Mail.
The report was viewed over 5,500 times on the survey microsite.
Social media posts about the report garnered over 225,000 impressions.

Challenge

As responsible investing continues to gain traction among investors, one big question remains: What is its material impact on the risk and return outcomes of investment portfolios?

RBC Global Asset Management (GAM), an established leader in responsible investing, firmly believes not only that institutional advisors can realize better long-term performance with environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors integrated into their investment processes – but that active managers who understand ESG will have a competitive advantage.

RBC GAM’s leadership thus saw this continued uncertainty as an opportunity to both elevate its brand and help educate its institutional audience.

Solution

Greentarget and RBC GAM conducted a survey of institutional asset owners, financial advisors and pension consultants to research the current state of responsible investing. The survey results would educate industry stakeholders, empowering them to make more informed decisions about integrating ESG into their investment processes

To that end, RBC GAM’s marketing team worked with its vice president of corporate governance and responsible investing as well as several senior portfolio managers to craft the survey questions. Nearly 800 financial industry professionals from the U.S., Europe and Asia participated, and their responses revealed a compelling divergence of views about the value of ESG on investment performance.

Greentarget and RBC GAM’s subject matter experts analyzed the results. Greentarget’s content team edited the survey report and a blog post series that highlighted specific topics from the survey.

From there, Greentarget’s media relations team went to work promoting the report through earned media.

Impact

Greentarget’s media relations team secured over 40 pieces of news coverage and 131 million impressions on the survey results. Placements included top-tier business publications like The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg and Financial Times.

The survey report itself was viewed more than 5,500 times on the company’s microsite, which was built exclusively for the survey launch. Meanwhile, RBC GAM’s global responsible investment website, microsite and ESG videos were viewed by over 3,500 people during the campaign.

Paid and organic LinkedIn and Twitter posts garnered over 225,000 impressions and over 2,000 click-throughs.

As a result of Greentarget and RBC GAM’s joint efforts, the survey report and promotional campaign won the Public Relations Society of America’s Silver Anvil Award in the B2B Integrated Communications category.

More importantly, the institutional investor audience now sees RBC GAM as an even stronger thought leader in the rapidly growing responsible investing space.

January 25, 2021 by Greentarget

By Amanda Go

As a Northeastern University sophomore in pre-pandemic life, I – like many other college students – was naturally brimming with questions of “What if?” What if I study abroad next semester? What if I secure an internship across the country? What if I stay in Boston the whole year, looking to grasp that still-elusive notion of “independence”?

When COVID-19 hit in March, it felt like the pandemic had stolen all my plans. I moved from my city apartment back to my hometown in suburban Connecticut, and over the subsequent months of stay-at-home orders, online classes and a canceled summer study abroad and internship, those questions of “What if?” dwindled.

Looking toward the fall, my potential opportunities seemed to further decline. Rather than doing the internship that typically comprises half a Northeastern academic year, I prepared to enroll in more online classes – until a last-minute search in my school’s career database yielded a job posting that piqued my interest.

By July, that posting turned into reality when I began my virtual public relations internship with Greentarget. Over the next six months, I learned that living and working remotely from my hometown did not diminish possibility or opportunity – that, with the right company culture and mindset, I could pursue “what ifs” as great and ambitious during a pandemic as any time prior.

Navigating a Virtual PR Internship During a Pandemic

The first days of my internship largely consisted of learning about Greentarget and the PR industry, meeting my colleagues via Microsoft Teams and completing practice assignments. Despite taking numerous PR classes in college, I realized PR in the classroom was vastly different than in practice. After initially struggling to grasp the practical uses of a media list or even remember everyone’s names, I quickly became nervous. After reading complex legal news (a definite first) to familiarize myself with topics pertinent to GT’s client base, I felt under-qualified.

Though my confidence surely increased over time, to say it was constant after those first few days, or perhaps even those first few months, would be a stretch. I made multiple mistakes, from overlooking an email and taking another intern’s assignment, to missing articles on a coverage summary, to using the wrong “your” in a pitch. Working alone in my house, states away from my colleagues – and thus unable to quickly resolve these issues in person – it was easy for me to catastrophize each one.

During my early months, I sent multiple emails and Teams messages – whether frantically apologizing for a barely late assignment or warily asking for help with a complicated research project – that I now look back on with a sort of comical nostalgia. Turns out that while I thought I’d be met with hostility or annoyance, I was consistently met with openness and reassurance. I soon saw that despite working virtually, I was surrounded by teammates, from fellow interns to senior executives, who wanted to support me and see me succeed, who encouraged asking even the smallest and silliest questions and who viewed errors with patience and understanding and as opportunities to learn. Thankfully, I can now reflect on all my little mistakes and laugh, knowing they were (contrary to my beliefs at the time) not the end of the world.

It’s only a slight exaggeration to say I understood the inclusive and caring nature of Greentarget’s culture before understanding the full uses of a media list. Through weekly staff meetings that often incorporated discussions about favorite restaurants, albums or places traveled; intern meetings that allowed my voice to be heard; and one-on-ones with teammates who never hesitated to offer project help or to just chat, I was constantly surprised at how connected I felt to my colleagues. GT even made the effort to host virtual events like escape rooms, meditation and yoga, a bartending class and even a concert from G. Love. I realized that contributing to a company that valued its employees was far more important than whether I was working virtually or in person – and that a strong culture not only could transcend this distance but was crucial to making remote work enjoyable and fulfilling.

Embracing the Unexpected

Over the following months, largely due to the immense support around me, I cultivated an unyielding attitude of positivity and tenacity that allowed big “what ifs” to resurface. What if I secure this byline in Bloomberg? What if I place this quote in Law360? Gradually, I saw myself make fewer mistakes, complete assignments with more poise and efficiency and answer more questions than I asked in the interns’ group chat. One month I was fangirling over my first response from a New York Times reporter (literally, as if from the Queen herself), and a few months later I was presenting my own PR plan addressing corporate responses to racism. As interns before me left and others joined, I realized I’d become a resource to new team members, contributing to the cycle of support that threads through GT.

Put simply, my first full-time internship was not what I expected. I didn’t expect to coordinate and sit in on interviews with CNBC reporters while drinking a green tea from the café I’ve loved since middle school. I didn’t expect to draft press releases for clients while sitting at a desk that was once covered in AP exam and SAT prep books. Above all, I didn’t expect a virtual internship during a global pandemic to be so impactful.

Through working full time while managing the trials and tribulations of living at home – shared workspaces with four family members, video meetings with my barking dog and especially the hurricane that took out our Wi-Fi for days and knocked a tree onto my car (got to love New England weather) – I learned how to not only welcome uncertainty but thrive in it. I learned that when things don’t go according to plan, and they never do, adaptability is a must. Prior to this internship, I always imagined experiences like the quintessential study abroad as the greatest catalysts for growth in college – but as I near the end of my time with GT, I see that living and working remotely from my hometown, a place I’ve known for 20 years, has, ironically enough, made me grow more than ever.

This January, I’ll return to Boston for classes after 10 months of living at home and six months of a pandemic internship. Although I soon may begin to feel the first inklings of normalcy, I’ll always carry with me what I’ve learned through my virtual experience with GT – from small bits of knowledge like using Ctrl+K to insert a link to the bold truths that big things can happen from anywhere, learning can happen from anywhere and connections and mentorships can flourish from anywhere. The only prerequisites are a proper community of support (in person or virtual) and an adaptable mindset.

Last year, I believed the pandemic was robbing me of opportunity. Today, I realize it gave me one: an unforgettable first full-time internship that otherwise may not have crossed my path.

December 18, 2020 by Greentarget

Companies across the country are investing in data and how to harness it, yet some continue to struggle with using that data to tell their story. That means they’re missing the opportunity to create transparency within their organization and, most notably, the chance to exercise their authority through the contextual awareness their data can bring.

In this episode, host Aaron Schoenherr and Narrative Science President Nick Beil discuss going beyond the dashboard and into data, the relationship between transparency and authority and data overload in the age of COVID.

Episode Highlights

1:17 – Nick provides his background and introduces his company, Narrative Science.

2:32 – Nick discusses if hard data or the stories behind those numbers carries more authority.

4:10 – An in-depth example of how contextual data is more powerful than data on its own, particularly within the COVID-19 pandemic.

8:09 – Analysis of how busy executives prefer to receive their data.

10:25 – Aaron and Nick discuss the relationship between transparency and authority, and the role trust plays.

14:00 – Nick gives examples of industries that are ahead of the curve with their data strategy and highlights which industries are lagging.

16:55 – Nick provides insight into how he gets organizations that are behind the curve to reconsider their data strategy.

19:02 – Discussion about potential data overload amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

20:50 – Aaron and Nick discuss organizations and leaders who have demonstrated true authority during the pandemic.

Subscribe to Authority Figures on Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.

December 10, 2020 by Greentarget

The professional services marketer who sets out to develop a content strategy is likely to find the process frustrating, the execution lackluster and the results disappointing.

The process of creating a content strategy can be a nightmare in consensus-driven partnerships. Strategy requires setting limits, which can invite the fury of practice groups that aren’t identified as priorities. Most law firm leaders aren’t going to go there. Marketers who do manage to create a strategy are likely to find strategic elements like governance and promotional schedules completely ineffectual when dealing with partners and their impenetrable calendars.

Instead of putting yourself through that agony, try stripping your content strategy down to the essentials. Create a basic, realistic plan to produce content with strategic value – and put your energy and resources into content that establishes the firm’s authority and ultimately helps it win new business.

Four Elements of a Better Professional Services Content Strategy

A plan with the following four elements represents a strong framework for most professional services firms:

Authorities: Which subject matter experts you want to amplify
Audiences: Who your authorities are trying to influence – and what they need to know
Formats: Client alerts, bylines, LinkedIn posts – whatever will be the most effective vehicle engaging those audiences
Schedule: How many pieces do you want to publish, in what time frame?

Note that a content plan like this won’t cover all the content your firm produces. It should be designed for only the firm’s most strategic and valuable content – perspectives that open doors. Client alerts from non-priority industry groups, bylines lawyers write without telling you about it, blogs of low-margin practice groups – all of these things should be optimized with efficient editing and targeted promotion. That frees the marketing team to direct its editorial, creative and budgetary resources at the content most likely to generate new business.

Here’s a closer look at the four critical elements of a feasible content plan.

Authorities: Impact players With Something to Say

Choosing which of your firm’s advisers deserve the most marketing resources comes down to knowing where the firm has the greatest opportunities to grab new revenue.

Ideally, the decision derives from firm-level business strategy set by leadership. Firm leaders who identify priority practice or industry areas, or create annual strategy documents that identify key growth areas, make the decision for you.

Marketers who don’t have firm strategies to guide them will most likely have to sit down with leadership to identify which professionals or groups merit the team’s strongest support.

We’re not advising anyone to simply anoint the biggest rainmakers as your authorities. The advisers you’ll want to work with are those who are willing to invest the time and, most importantly, willing to deliver the goods: the insights and perspectives that will ensure they are not just heard, but heeded.

Audiences: Finding a POV

What do your target audiences need to know that they’re not getting elsewhere? The answer will provide the first critical element of your content plan.

Traditionally, we rely on the advisers to tell us what their clients and prospects need to know. That’s fine – they should know – but it’s also imprecise. A cybersecurity consultant might tell you her clients want insights on privacy rules in California – because a single client asked her about it that morning. Or because the client they care most about raised the topic. Or because they think their clients should care about it – probably just because it’s what they want to say.

To paint a more accurate, objective picture of the audience’s needs, we use technology tools that assess search data, which we view as a proxy for audience need. To get an even more complete picture, we use voice of the client research. At the very least, a thorough review of the media landscape will tell you what’s already being said, and what’s not; juxtapose that with your expert’s view of the audience need to figure out which unmet needs you can fill.

Formats: Follow the Data and Focus on What’s Inside

Don’t make this more complicated than it needs to be. Our research tells us that the folks in the C-suite, especially in-house lawyers, mostly want written content, especially articles. They want brevity in client alerts and depth in research reports.

Consider repeatable, standardized forms that will be easy to replicate. For instance, a series of short (less than 400 words) pieces, by multiple attorneys, framing the pressing issues in an industry with strategic value to the firm can help showcase the breadth and depth of the firm’s authority. A magazine-style approach that quotes the firm’s experts – but doesn’t ask them to write or even put their byline on anything – can expedite production and establish the firm’s value as a resource.

Editorial Calendars: Creating Reasonable Constraints

An editorial calendar with columns covering every stage of production, publishing, distribution and measurement will be useless if you have no way of enforcing deadlines with partners – whose schedules are already packed and who will always prioritize client work over marketing (as they should). But you need to create some constraints, if only to give yourself and your team some urgency. Just keep it simple.

Decide how many pieces you believe you should publish and in what time frame (weekly? monthly?).

Neither decision should be all that complicated. Consider the audience need, the depth of insights your advisers have to offer and the pace of the news around the issue you’re addressing. You want to produce enough content to establish your adviser’s authority, and you want to ensure your insights address the issues your audience cares about now, before the issue evolves or all of your competitors have already written about it.

Content That Rises Above the Noise

Your content plan won’t get you anywhere if you’re not creating content that will rise above the noise. Creating a simple, feasible plan allows you to spend more time ensuring your content will connect with audiences, establish the firm’s authority and open the door to client development.

To accomplish that, focus on four qualities: relevance, novelty, urgency and utility. If you’ve done the audience research, you’ve got the first three at your fingertips. You know which insights will impact readers’ businesses (relevance), which ones they’re not getting anywhere else (novelty) and which ones they need today (urgency).

The fourth, and most critical, component has to come from your advisers. Utility is what separates authoritative content – the stuff that moves clients to pick up the phone and call your firm – from all the other content out there.

To get at it, focus on pushing your advisers to answer this question: What do I need to do to navigate or address this issue today? Then take the answer and build your content around it, starting with the headline. Getting to utility isn’t always as easy as asking a question, but it’s worth holding out until you get to it. Readers want it above all else.

If this all sounds oversimplified, it’s supposed to be. We’d all love to have sophisticated content strategies – they work for companies that can execute on them. But marketers at lots of businesses, especially in professional services, face a different reality. And while that reality will often frustrate their efforts to execute on content strategy – or even to develop the strategies at all – it doesn’t have to prevent them from creating effective content.

December 2, 2020 by Greentarget

Incumbent law firms have advantage in the battle for clients’ attention, but substantive content creates openings for challenger firms

Chicago, December 2, 2020 – By bringing in-person client interactions to a virtual halt, the COVID-19 pandemic has triggered a digital content explosion as law firms compete for the attention of clients and prospects. A new study of in-house counsel shows that providing substantive, actionable guidance remains the best way to rise above the noise, preserve existing client relationships, and win new ones.

These findings are detailed in the report, “How to Win and Protect Client Relationships in the Age of Remote Engagement,” released today by strategic communications firm Greentarget, legal consultancy Zeughauser Group, and B2B branding agency Right Hat. The August 2020 survey of 75 in-house lawyers, including 37 general counsel, offers important guidance for law firms anticipating an extended period of remote outreach.

The survey’s top findings include:

Stick to Substance: 53 percent of respondents say they most want communications from outside counsel that relay substantive legal or business information. And substantive legal or business information is also most likely to generate a response from in-house counsel, especially for incumbent firms. For challenger firms, content that provides actionable guidance is the best route to sparking a conversation.
Incumbent Firms Beware! 68 percent of in-house counsel say communication from existing outside counsel is of greatest value, but 31 percent say they place great value on communications from firms introduced to them by friends or colleagues. This suggests a clear opening for challenger firms with the right connections and approach.
Pick Up the Phone – to Call or Text: Amid the age of digital communication, in-house lawyers most prefer the simplicity and intimacy of a telephone call or text. Picking up the phone affords outside counsel the chance to check in on a client personally before raising an emerging business or legal issue.
Stay Relevant to Be Read or Shared: More than half of in-house lawyers surveyed are willing to give communications from existing law firms (56 percent) and unfamiliar law firms (50 percent) at least a perfunctory read for relevance. Twenty-eight percent go further, saying that they appreciate good content sent from both types of firms, and they forward these communications to peers when appropriate.
Perspective Wanted on Pressing Legal and Business Issues: 69 percent of in-house counsel say they want content on COVID-19’s impact on the economy and their businesses; nearly as many (65 percent) want content on business and legal topics not related to COVID-19. When we asked in-house counsel to name issues they’d like to hear about from firms, diversity, equity and inclusion topped the list.
Forget Zoom Cocktail Hours: Seeking to fill the vacuum created by the inability to entertain clients, some firms have gotten creative with virtual social events. But virtual entertainment has little appeal for most in-house lawyers; 51 percent of respondents say they simply are not interested, and 40 percent say that they don’t want to engage with law firms in this manner.

“Establishing authority on business issues was challenging even before COVID-19, but the pandemic has forced lawyers and law firms to accelerate their digital literacy,” said John Corey, Greentarget’s founding partner. “At a time when it’s never been easier to project a message to the masses, it is more difficult than ever to really be heard. Leading with substantive, actionable content shows both clients and prospects you have a keen understanding of their challenges – and the insights to help solve them.”

“While the tools we are using to reach clients and prospects may be changing, best practices are not. Effective marketing and business development during the pandemic are still rooted in developing strong relationships with clients – relationships predicated on helping them make good decisions in real time,” said Zeughauser Group partner Norm Rubenstein. “And it’s clear that clients want trusted advisors now more than ever.”

Added Elonide Semmes, president, Right Hat LLC, “Law firms not only need to scrutinize their communications to ensure they contain actionable guidance that is scannable and easy to understand. They need to make sure that their communications feature clear, straightforward business language and compelling design that pulls the reader right to the most important content.”

What Law Firms Should Do

The report concludes with a series of recommendations for breaking through in the age of information overload, particularly given the increased flow of digital communication clients are receiving during the pandemic.

These recommendations start by reminding outside counsel that phone calls and texts are a welcome alternative to email; that evaluating content for its relevance, urgency, novelty and utility will distinguish it from the bulk of what clients are receiving; that all communication to clients and prospects should be customized; that incumbent law firms should avoid complacency; that investing in prospects can differentiate a firm seeking to develop a new relationship, and that bigger and bolder thought leadership projects – like research reports and podcasting – can show clients that a law firm is sensitive to their preferences and priorities.

A full version of the report is available here. For more information, contact Lisa Seidenberg at lseidenberg@greentarget.com or (312) 252-4108.

About Greentarget

Greentarget is a strategic public relations firm that helps leading law firms, accounting firms, management consulting, real estate and financial services organizations create unique positions of authority through skillful participation in the conversations that matter most to their key stakeholders. With 60 professionals in Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and London, Greentarget combines earned media, research and market intelligence, content and publishing, digital strategy and amplification, and special situations counsel to help clients grow market share, attract leading talent and achieve a higher purpose. For more information, visit www.greentarget.com.

About Zeughauser Group

Zeughauser Group is the firm of choice for legal industry leaders seeking to increase competitive advantage and profitability, enhance market position, and strengthen organizational culture. With partners who have served as former generals counsel and as law firm chairs, managing partners, and chief marketing officers, Zeughauser Group advises clients on strategic planning and growth initiatives, including mergers and acquisitions; on best practices in marketing, branding, and business development; on client feedback programs; and on law firm management and governance, including organizational models and their assessments. For more information, visit www.consultzg.com.

About Right Hat

Right Hat is a leading B2B branding agency that helps law firms develop powerful go-to-market strategies. We are passionate about helping firms inspire buyers to want to learn more. We collaborate closely with our clients to deliver bold ideas and stunning websites, ad campaigns, thought leadership programs and business development tools. For more information, visit www.righthat.com.