Saturday, 29 June 2013

Public Relations and corporate branding For IT companies


As a company active in the sector you and your business are privy on one hand as to the latest technologies currently available and those which are being developed globally. On the other you know what opportunities there exists in the local and regional market.
South Africa and Africa hold promise regarding the installation and implementation IT service solutions into a wide scope of sectors.
Since many of the solutions both hardware and software are invariably those of global suppliers – brands, there is a diminishing luminescence on the local vendor importance to project's success- this is obviously wrongly assumed.
South African companies design and engineering solutions are amongst the best in the world, yet not being fully recognized for this, Ditto for software development/service companies.

If you are a company of which your service/product/solution is competitive, well designed for its intended market – local or global , yet you are straggling in achieving either the desiered market exposure, your rate of conversions using either or both traditional and or digital media, then a greater focus and optimization of your current marketing resources and asset is in order. 

To the extent that the scope of your business activities encompass, a variety of service solutions, yet may be diverse by virtue of markets , technology requirements, versatile range of clients and their profile developing and executing a cohesive brand for the business is going to be a mainstay of marketing success.

There is much theoretical verbage one can induce into the argument as to why your company would most likely benefit from the services of Public Relations and development of solid and sustainable corporate brand.

Thus It would be more appropriate to elucidate you as to who we are and the scope of services we offer – in particular with regard to company active in the ICT sector, giving you and your company the opportunity to evaluate our abilities to meet and execute the PR and corporate branding your company require in a competitive and successful manner.

Following is a brief about Spindle Communications :

Background

Spindle Communications has been established by Suza Adam some four years ago and is the latest iteration of Southgro IR that has been active in the SA PR an IR market for more than 18 years prior.
Where SIR focus was predominantly on JSE listed companies (more than 60 )and government institutions, as well major industrial conglomerates, Spindle is training is sights on small -mid size companies in the tech intensive sectors, such as ICT, Life Sciences (pharmaceutical, medical devices, diagnostics), industrial processing engineering (mineral beatification, additive manufacturing), cleantech (Renewable energy, recycling and waste management amongst many other sectors.

Services
Spindle services are designed to attain the maximum exposure of a client's product/solution to the widest market sought. Coupled with the use of traditional PR tool sets, Spindle emphasis is to utilize latest media and communication technologies, where such offers the maximum and sustainable reach that could be attained. Whether it is managing moderating social platforms of the company, evaluating advertising campaigns – and its optimization – cost and target audience to study trends in target specific markets and there utilising emergent oportunities. Spindle Communications bespoke range of service are driven by scientific methodologies.
Specialization
Public Relations services would encompass functions of improving your company's corporate brand inter-alia the business, its current status, service qualities, human resource expertise, range of products solutions, insight and foresight of the market sector its active in and numerous other inherent values that ought to be managed and promoted.

Activities
Other than the primary range of services we offer, we engage our clients with potential partners with being foreign companies who's product, technologies may prove beneficial to client.
This is done through certain forums and activities we carry out, which include business social grouping, technical and educational events and additionally investment conferences for specific sectors, such as renewable energy, clean technologies www.viridisafrica.com and www.madiniafrica.com dedicated to mineral beatification engineering. We also arrange and execute business/trade visits to potential partner companies in Israel, USA, Far East, were by each such trip is specifically design to meet with potential partner as per client’s specs

Foresight 

For a South African ICT company, either a start up, or established, Spindle's research driven services ensure that we understand the client needs in a very though manner, thus requiring less occasional briefing from client side. Thorough research on our part also gives us strong predictive view of emerging opportunities and threats the client may encounter, and the measure we would need to employ in order to defeat them.

Our extensive experience in serving technology intensive companies gives us foresight we need in order to be proactive, incisive and decisive when executing a PR plan, constructing your company's corporate brand - one step ahead of competition

Performance
Our relationship with client are established on a well defined and executed agreed upon objectives where such are reduced into a clearly constructed Service Level Agreement entered between Spindle and the client.

Cost
Your company will get more than in would expect to get for less than would anticipate to pay.
That means our services are cost defined per objectives – if not achieved within the cost budget framework we continue until they are attained. To see our pricing schedule, please request a detailed proposal.

For more information visit www.spindlecommunications.com or contact Suza Adam on suza.adam@spindlecommunications.com

Thursday, 14 March 2013

How to capitalise on Infographics

Infographics are taking the PR world by storm largely because of their versatility. When most effective they provide structures for organising, planning and studying information. This can help to reveal connections between information that are not as visible without graphic representation.

Location: Show where something is in the form of a map or another visual representation as opposed to just referring to it. For example different places where the promotions for your new places could be depicted visually showing some kind of link between the places that could lead to a possible marketing spin off.

Comparisons: Visually compare two things by placing them side by side with appropriate enhancing visuals and supporting text. For example show how your latest offering is a step above your previous one by contrasting the two visually.

Highlight important points: Infographics can allow you to show the most important pieces of information by using different colours for example. This can place a great emphasis on stats and numbers making them easier to analyze.

Use animations and drawings: Some things are better and more quickly represented when animations and drawings are made use of. This can also be a great starting point for representing ideas quickly that can be further developed later.

Organise items into groups: Show relationships and connections between certain items by grouping them together. For example if research is being done on the consumers of the organisations products they can be grouped according to their age group or gender etc.

Break things down: Use graphics to break things down into individual components which can help you better explain the “whole” that they form collectively.

Show structure: This is the opposite of breaking things down; you can use graphics to show how an entire system operates or what an entire structure looks like.

Use flow charts: Showing something such as an organisations strategy for example can be done with ease using a flow chart.

Look Away/Cut inside: Show how something is internally by using this method. For example in engineering the internal structure of a building can be 3Dimentionally represented while the outside is still visible.

Friday, 8 March 2013

Investor Relations for Africa

<iframe src="http://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/embed_code/17017951?rel=0" width="427" height="356" frameborder="0" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" scrolling="no" style="border:1px solid #CCC;border-width:1px 1px 0;margin-bottom:5px" allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen> </iframe> <div style="margin-bottom:5px"> <strong> <a href="http://www.slideshare.net/SuzaAdam/spindle-communications-investor-relations-agency" title="Spindle Communications investor relations agency" target="_blank">Spindle Communications investor relations agency</a> </strong> from <strong><a href="http://www.slideshare.net/SuzaAdam" target="_blank">Spindle Communications</a></strong> </div>

Thursday, 7 March 2013

How to maximise your brand's efforts on twitter




Think before you Tweet
 ·        Before you begin to put your brand out there on twitter it is wise to consider who you are targeting. This will allow you to make use of twitter in a way that will be attractive to the people you want your brand to be associated with. Your communication on twitter must then be geared towards your selected audience.

·         Prepare a social media policy which outlines how the company will use and conduct itself on twitter. It should also have certain rules and regulations specific to the organisation's needs on how the organisation will deal with certain issues that could arise on twitter. For example the organisation receiving negative comments from dissatisfied consumers.

·         A consistent look and feel should be maintained on twitter, this can be done by having a distinctive brand personality. This should be visible in the way the organisation conducts itself on twitter and also in the content it shares.

·         Determine audience goals, this is the primary message you want to communicate to your key audiences. This will also allow you to select the most relevant messages and content to put up on twitter.

·         Use twitter as an additional means to drive traffic to your primary website as well as other platforms such as your blog for example. If used strategically the organisation's twitter account could be the vehicle that drives key audiences to other platforms you are interested in interacting with your stakeholders on. 

·         Engage with the media by involving them in your social media activities. Mention a journalist or perhaps a publication when you post interesting content for example. This can be seen as a subtle yet very strategic and effective way to pitch news and get the organisation some publicity.

·         Attract followers by making your twitter account an experience rather than just another organisation that tweets. This can be achieved by making posts engaging and innovative, tell a story that captivates your audience. Involve your audience and create a sense of community and movement.

·         Always measure your social media efforts, this will allow you to calibrate your social media efforts according to your corporate goals. This will promote twitter from a useful tool to something that actually makes a tangible contribution to your organisation's bottom line.

Saturday, 17 November 2012

Mining and Mining Exploration public relations

Spindle Communication has Africa's leading  mining practice. We protect the reputation of our clients and their companies at all stages of the mining cycle by creating and introducing communication strategies which relate with local communities, the people, government regulators and policies and shareholders. As mineral exploration, mine development and mining companies constantly increase their presence in the industry and  communication with stakeholders has always been very important.

In addition to our corporate clients
Spindle Communications  works with Africa's mineral exploration and mining industries to communicate policy and programming and to encourage beneficial relationships between groups such as the Mining Exploration in Africa and communities who will benefit from the economic and social development opportunities that are provided by the mining industry.

Our
team understands the science of mining, the environmental process, and the important role that corporate social responsibility (CSI) plays in gaining and maintaining the social license to operate in the country, Africa and communities.

The 2013 Cape Town Mining Indaba is soon upon us. 

As you know, this event is an opportunity for companies to showcase their accomplishments and business strategies to an international audience comprised of thousands of potential investors, joint-venture partners and the media.

If your company will participate in the 2013 Cape Town Mining Indaba, then reaping the greatest benefits from this premier event will require you to go above and beyond standing at your carefully designed booth handing out business cards and fact sheets. A pre-event marketing and media campaign will help your firm stand out from the crowd and make a lasting impression on the valuable audience in attendance.

 Spindle Communications can develop and execute just such a strategy.

Complementing our comprehensive strategic communications services, Spindle Communications can help you with special event planning, investor presentation development, media releases, marketing material (design, copywriting and printing) and ongoing investor relations and public relations.

P.s. You are welcome to contribute articles on your business or mining projects to our blog, Mining Exploration in Africa, http://africanminingexploration.blogspot.com/. Announcements and press releases can be send to suza.adam @ madiniafrica.com.

If you have a newsworthy story about your mining / mining exploration company, mining house, investment firm, your exploration activities on the continent, new mining licenses, new minerals; discoveries, new mining technologies, new services, new management, or your view about mining legislation, mining investment, world markets, access to finance, projects that need financing, please forward it to Suza Adam at suza.adam @ madiniafrica.com

You are also invited to join our group Mining Exploration in Africa on Linkedin. It has 5 500+ members!

If you are a member of Facebook, you are welcome to join the Mining Exploration in Africa group or Mining Exploration in Africa page.

For more information, please visit www.spindlecommunications.com or email suza.adam @ spindlecommunications.com

Venture capital and private equity public relations

Private equity firm marketing is an art form. The largest private equity firms in Africa attained their status by making the right financial bets, but their marketing capabilities were also instrumental in increasing deal flow and attracting new capital.

Spindle Communications specialises in private equity marketing and venture capital PR. With a strong focus on the private equity industry we offer clients communications counsel developed from more than 20 years of financial and investment communication. We leverage our special industry knowledge and understanding of this unique industry to deliver a public relations program that supports your transactions, enhances your firm's reputation and can assist in the event of a crisis.

A well-thought communications program can help differentiate your firm to critical audiences that include the financial community, Limited Partners and the media. Since your reputation is directly linked to the performance of your portfolio companies, we also work with company management teams to enhance the profile of your investments. This is particularly important when a company has undergone change or is entering new markets.

Corporate reputation has a significant bearing on company valuation. Public relations can also overcome problems of poor reputation.  Spindle Communications works with private equity firms to optimize value from the investee companies. A sound reputation of the investee company helps enhance strategic options for private equity firms and maximize value at milestones.

The public relations program that we provide also assists in managing events like restructurings, M&As, or attracting independent board members.

We offer crisis management services that help companies who are often unprepared and lack the expertise to deal with the challenges of an unexpected crisis. Lastly, our investor relations expertise allow for an IPO communication program in preparing an investee company to go public.



For more information, visit www.spindlecommunications.com or email suza.adam @ spindlecommunications.com