Public
Relations
Your message matters — get it out there.
Why Does Public Relations Matter?
Third-party endorsement from the media and important influencers plays a critical role in:
Developing Brand
Awareness
Promoting Thought
Leadership
Creating Demand
in the Marketplace
Our Approach
If your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room, public relations is your chance to join important conversations. It’s about being heard and seen for the right reasons. It’s about cultivating awareness and curating esteem. It’s about making your message count.
Through years of experience, in disparate industries and up against tremendous challenges and opportunities alike, CSG® has purpose-built a strategic public relations agency model that goes beyond media impressions to the tangible impression you make.
Content Value Exchange
Success in PR today would be unrecognizable to what worked even a decade ago. With more than 60 percent of reporters laid off in the past 10 years, it’s more difficult than ever to secure media coverage. And with more content at our fingertips every second, it’s a tall order to make that coverage stand out.
Effective modern PR requires trusted reporter and influencer relationships, an eye for a story, a knack for amplification and a lot of persistence. Bring it all together and you have a dynamic strategy that stands up to the communications challenges of the moment. We call it a “content value exchange” — and it’s all about creating a streamlined effort that champions story ideas reporters and influencers will find interesting and extends the life and usefulness of every story.
At the outset of any relationship, CSG works to calendarize and prioritize our PR consulting efforts to create the greatest possible impact from the jump. It starts with the creation and extraction of content and story ideas to be packaged into various forms, including pitches and bylines.
With the insights captured and packaged, we turn to promotion, tapping media and influencer contacts — on the national, local and trade level — to get the message out to all of the right audiences and outlets.
Influencer Relationships
Our industry-focused approach means we have decades of experience developing relationships with key reporters and influencers in each of the industries we serve. Our industry specializations include financial services, health and wellness, education, consumer, sustainability, aerospace and technology.
Today, influencers extend beyond just the media to a landscape that includes bloggers, associations, analysts, podcasts, outspoken consumers and social influencers. For each of our clients, we map out all of the influencers we communicate to and through to achieve your business objectives.
Clients Past & Present
Interested in learning more about our PR services?
Proactive vs. Reactive
There are two faces of pitching: a proactive effort that goes toward making or creating news, and a reactive effort that positions a brand as the go-to source for topics that will best achieve your business objectives.
PROACTIVE
We work with you to establish your subject matter experts as go-to sources for the media whenever they’re working on stories that are relevant to your business objectives. We proactively ideate timely and relevant stories that will generate the most media traction and attention. In this process, we identify stories that hit your target markets regularly and use data research to make informed pitches and outreach. Additionally, we keep you apprised of upcoming media opportunities to ensure your spokespeople and subject matter experts are being offered as a source on relevant topics.
REACTIVE
We continuously monitor for news, media inquiries and other opportunities to reach out to the media, offering commentary that further solidifies your brand’s position as a thought leader.
Additional Tactics
Public relations is broader and more complex than meets the eye. A holistic strategy complements marketing and advertising initiatives across channels and scenarios. In addition to ideation, pitching and influencer relationships, CSG incorporates a variety of tactics to maximize the impact of any PR effort. Studies continue to demonstrate that third-party endorsement plays a critical role in both the decision-making process and in creating brand affinity.
MESSAGING AND MEDIA DELIVERY TRAINING
We help brands develop a messaging “Shark Cage” that keeps spokespeople on message to effectively promote the brand in a positive light. Our media training helps with effective offensive and defensive strategies for getting your message out while protecting the company’s reputation.
CONTRIBUTED CONTENT
Brands have the opportunity to capitalize on the growing demand for quality content in an era of shrinking newsrooms by offering bylined articles to media outlets that reach targeted audiences. We identify topics and publications to pitch and write the articles on your behalf.
CONFERENCES
As part of our PR consulting services, we can also identify and secure speaking opportunities at key industry trade conferences and build a speaking opportunity proposal library to support that effort. CSG can also optimize the conference speaking opportunities by arranging influencer meetings and recording, transcribing and editing presentations for content creation, including articles, videos, bylines and pitches.
COVERAGE OPTIMIZATION
Our work doesn’t stop when positive media coverage is secured — we maximize that coverage across your owned, shared and paid channels. A byline placement becomes a social post and the inspiration for a related blog post. An interview becomes a social media-ready clip and the basis of a speaking pitch. Every bit of coverage is a new opportunity to extend the story.
Measurement Matters
IF A TREE FALLS IN THE FOREST, BUT NO ONE IS THERE TO HEAR IT, DOES IT MAKE A SOUND? ONLY IF YOU HAVE THE RIGHT SET OF TOOLS AND METRICS TO CAPTURE IT.
Public relations has a longstanding reputation of providing lackluster performance metrics and struggling to attribute earned media activity against organizational goals. CSG decided to challenge that reputation and hold itself accountable for achieving business goals through strategic communications. Gone were the days of reporting total circulation or a website’s unique monthly visitors as “impressions” or applying an “earned media value” based on an arbitrary advertising formula. Instead, we tasked ourselves with thoughtful analysis that tells the story of what our PR consulting truly achieves.
With the emergence of industry tools, data and technology, we can measure and attribute the business ROI from all sides to better understand what strikes a chord. Our measurement approach includes:
These data points and more are integrated into real-time interactive dashboards, providing streamlined data manipulation and robust insights to inform the ongoing communications strategy.
Industry Expertise
There’s an old adage that says to write well, you have to write what you know. We believe that logic applies to work as well, and we’ve made it our business to understand the nuances and landscapes of the industries we serve.
Insights. Influencers. Intellect.
Trends. Commentary. Analysis. You’ll find them all here.
Client Testimonials
I worked closely with CSG to implement and execute various PR and communication programs. We consistently achieved or exceed established strategic objectives over the 3+ years I was directly involved with CSG. The CSG team’s drive and initiative ensured our communications and programs were timely, appropriate and well positioned.
Gordon Banks
President of Marketing, FirstBank
CSG is a trusted extension of our marketing team. Over the six years we’ve worked with them, they have been committed to our success. CSG has deeply invested in understanding not only us as a company, but also what makes us unique in our marketplace.
Gabe Krajicek
CEO, KASASA
CSG is truly part of our team, which has allowed us to align our communications efforts to the broader strategic priorities of the firm. This tight partnership has made a tangible difference for Janus.
Robin Beery
Former Executive Vice President, U.S. Distribution, Janus Henderson Investors
CSG has brought world-class clarity and focus to our communications efforts here at New Belgium Brewing over our 10+ year partnership. From new product launches to event support, B2B, and even crisis communications, their team is always ready and more than able to execute at a truly professional level.
Bryan Simpson
PR Director, New Belgium Brewing