http://keym0906.ngengarage.com/ en simon.keymer@keymergroup.com Copyright 2010 2010-08-31T21:22:43+00:00 http://www.keymerpr.com/blog/simon-quoted-in-press-on-crisis-management/ http://www.keymerpr.com/blog/simon-quoted-in-press-on-crisis-management/#When:17:54:37Z One of our core competencies has always been crisis planning and handling. Here is an article from the Jacksonville Business Journal quoting Simon and proving our expertise in this area. Strategies, May 25-31, 2007, Page 19 In Case of Emergency… As hurricane season approaches, crisis planning is best offense
 By Dolly Penland, Correspondent The theft of critical inventory, the death of a key manager, a natural disaster – all companies, large or small, will face a crisis at some point, but those with crisis management plans in place can handle whatever life throws at them better than companies that do not. A 1997 Oxford University study found that while all catastrophes have an initial negative impact on a company’s value, those that manage a successful recovery from a crisis actually gained an average of 5 percent in net stock as opposed to corporations with an ineffective response to a large-scale emergency. Those companies lost an average of 15 percent in net stock value in the months following the crisis. Small businesses are especially vulnerable to sudden upheavals. “The kinds of clients we work with are robust enough to rebound, but if [smaller companies] don’t handle a crisis effectively, you can lose everything for the sake of a little planning,” said Simon Keymer, CEO of the public relations firm, The Keymer Group. “You might lose your entire livelihood.” The institute for Crisis Management reports that natural disasters, white-collar crime, class-action lawsuits, labor issues and mismanagement are the top causes of crisis. Poor management is responsible for more than half of serious problems at companies of all sizes, with employees – at 28 percent – and outside forces – at 19 percent – causing the remainder in 2005. “Whether it’s a natural disaster or a man-caused disaster, recovery still involves the same steps,” said Doug Wilder, president of coaching firm, Wilder Business Success. “If you have a plan, you can quickly find out what [needs to be done to] salvage the situation and try to make it better.” Wilder speaks from experience. In 2001, fire raged through his home and home office. “After that, we worked out of the La Quinta hotel,” he said. Being able to work under any condition is important to recovering from a crisis. “It’s fascinating because everything that was important the day before was no longer important after the fire, yet I still had to focus on my business” despite circumstances. The foundation of any crisis plan is solid communication. That means being able to reach and be reached by employees, customers, vendors, suppliers, bankers, accountants, insurance agents and even the public, if need be. Patsy Underwood, president of Atlantic Laser Office Products, lost everything in 1996 when a fire razed her business. She credits good communication with keeping her business going. “We made deliveries the day after the fire,” she said. “We didn’t miss a beat.” Underwood said it is critical to work with professionals who understand your business, to not only help it run better in good times, but when problems arise. “We had excellent professionals who helped us recover,” quickly. She added it is critical to have all the company’s data backed-up and stored off-site. An emergency reserve account isn’t a bad idea either. Any crisis plan should include several detailed potential scenarios. “It should be very specific on what happens and who does what,” said Zelda Fraden, president of Fraden’s Produce, which was slammed by a tornado caused by Tropical Storm Bonnie in 2004. The company was making scheduled deliveries the day after the storm. “In an emergency, sometimes people panic and they don’t know what to do,” Fraden said. “If you have a written plan, everyone already knows what their responsibilities are. Have your staff help write that plan.” Once a plan is in place, simulations can ensure things run smoothly in an actual crisis. “It’s like a fire drill,” Keymer said. For clients, “we can do everything, even hiring actors as hostile media; we try to be as realistic as possible. But it can be done at the desk, just to make sure the information goes to the right people. It doesn’t have to take a whole morning. They don’t have to take their eye off running their business. It’s just making sure everyone understands their priorities and how they act together as a team.” Should disaster strike, don’t be afraid to ask for help from family, friends and even competitors. “We had an incredible outpouring of assistance,” Fraden said. “Our competitors allowed us to stay in their facilities as long as we needed. Establish good relationships with your competitors and practice the Golden Rule.” Fraden’s Produce turned its crisis into an opportunity for growth. “We didn’t lose any customers and we’re now in a fantastic facility with room to grow, and we have expanded what we do,” Fraden said. “We feel lucky that we have survived and thrived.” Atlantic Laser has also not only rebounded, but continues to grow as well. For Underwood, the most important element of a recovery is a positive attitude. “We adopted the tag line of ‘We’re all fired up,’” she said. “My daughter, Lisa Moore, our marketing director, [re]-designed our logo with flames coming up through it. You have to laugh and suck it up and move on.” ##### articles 2007-05-31T17:54:37+00:00 http://www.keymerpr.com/blog/product-launch/ http://www.keymerpr.com/blog/product-launch/#When:17:46:30Z The Press Release below announces our work in launching the CulinaryPrep™, a home-kitchen appliance that applies a patented process to remove dangerous impurities such as E. coli and salmonella from food. During the launch phase we were thrilled to be able to secure media coverage on shows such as the CBS Early Show, *The Big Idea with Donnie Deutsch” and various other TV stations. The story of the launch was covered in our trade newspaper PR Week Find out more about the CulinaryPrep™. Creative Culinary Marketing Solutions Retains Keymer Group Mission to promote breakthrough kitchen appliance that removes dangerous impurities from food Jacksonville, FL February 11, 2008 — Keymer Group Strategic Communications (KG) today announced that it has been selected by Atlanta-based, Creative Culinary Marketing Solutions (CCMS) to assist in the launch and promotion of CulinaryPrep™, an innovative food-safety appliance. CulinaryPrep™ is the only home-kitchen appliance available today that applies a patented process to remove dangerous impurities such as E.Coli, salmonella, and listeria from food, giving families direct control over the safety of the food they eat. The unit can be purchased through retailers: Frontgate and Cabelas or online at www.culinaryprep.com. KG will carry out media outreach to raise awareness of the product and ultimately drive sales. Jeff Schroeder, President of CCMS, the marketing and sales arm for Creative Culinary Solutions said, “We are excited about working with the Keymer Group as we launch this breakthrough product. With their expertise and knowledge of our target audiences we know that our message will be heard widely and families will know that there is a solution to the serious food-safety issue in this country.” CEO and founder of the Keymer Group, Simon Keymer, said, “We are thrilled to add CCMS to our portfolio of clients. Working for such an innovative firm in launching a timely product is something we are very proud of.” About the Keymer Group Strategic Communications:

 The Keymer Group (KG) is a strategic communications consulting firm specializing in Public Affairs, Corporate Communications and Crisis Management. The firm has offices in Jacksonville, FL and Washington, D.C., and serves clients in the USA, Europe, and worldwide. KG was founded as a firm to challenge the bigger agencies by providing top quality services without the internal pressures that can detract from a true focus on clients. This manifests itself in a solid commitment to personal service, high levels of responsiveness to client requests and concerns, realistic reporting and measures of effect, and fair pricing with no hidden surprises. More information is available at www.keymergroup.com.

 Creative Culinary Marketing Solutions (CCMS): Creative Culinary Marketing Solutions is the marketing and sales arm for Creative Culinary Solutions. It is a specialist marketing agency dedicated to bringing innovative kitchen and food safety appliances to market for the benefit of American consumers. The agency was founded in 2007 and is based in Atlanta, Georgia. ##### press-releases 2008-02-11T17:46:30+00:00 http://www.keymerpr.com/blog/article-in-accountancyage/ http://www.keymerpr.com/blog/article-in-accountancyage/#When:17:36:40Z Immediately prior to the November 2008 Presidential election, Simon was asked to put our experience and expertise in financial services issues to work as a guest columnist for Accountancy Age, a trade magazine for accountants and financial staff in the United Kingdom. The full text of the article is below or you can link to it here. AccountancyAge, 30 Oct 2008 US election special: a mandate to reform and regulate Simon Keymer explains why a former chairman of the federal reserve will help Obama Two weeks ago, democratic pundit James Carville delivered a verdict on the 2008 presidential election. The man who is nowadays known as much for his partisan rhetoric and Cajun accent as for running Bill Clinton’s successful 1992 campaign, said that, barring some unforeseen circumstance, Senator McCain could ‘…call the dogs in, wet the fire and leave the house. The hunt’s over’. If Carville’s prediction comes true, then it is certain the New Year will see the accounting profession facing a US regime with a clear mandate to reform and regulate. Predicting accurately the form this will take is more difficult. This is partly due to senator Obama’s meagre voting record – of his three years in the Senate, more than one has been spent campaigning for president. His platform too, gives little indication of his attitudes to accounting issues, or indeed to wider corporate governance, less some populist efforts to curb CEO pay. The difficulty inherent in predicting an Obama administration’s behaviour can be illustrated by taking the example of US GAAP convergence with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Senator Obama has appointed Paul Volcker, former Federal Reserve chairman as one of his top economic advisers, and it is expected that he will play a role in any administration. Volcker is a man who has unequivocally expressed an ‘interest in encouraging international convergence to a single set of global accounting standards’. One would imagine that this would be a clear indication that convergence, or outright adoption of IFRS, would continue unimpeded under president Obama. Other indicators, however, point elsewhere. Most expect Obama to make good on promises to move toward a more protectionist position, rejecting what could be seen as international interference. This, allied to the dangers of IFRS being seen as de-regulatory, could slow the process. Some dismiss charges of a protectionist mindset in the Obama camp, and it is true that some of the more strident ‘USA first’ language has been toned down since the need to appeal to the democratic base in the primaries ended. The broader point remains, however. The potential for a democratic controlled congress pressuring a democratic president to dispense with free-trade orthodoxy has implications for the profession that go further than IFRS, extending to the US-UK tax treaty, the debate surrounding auditor consolidation, and, indeed, on efforts to manage the extra-territoriality ramifications of Sarbanes Oxley. For accountants seeking a ray of sunshine in all this, it is possible that a democratic administration may shy away from the prevailing republican notion that the Wall Street meltdown would not have been nearly so bad were it not for the influence of mark-to-market accounting. Unfortunately, even that possibility is likely to fall foul of the likelihood that president Obama and his top-dollar advisers will find their room to manoeuvre significantly limited by the reality of economic circumstance. Simon Keymer is the lead consultant and CEO of the Keymer Group, an issues management consulting firm specialising in financial services, based in Washington DC ##### articles 2008-10-30T17:36:40+00:00 http://www.keymerpr.com/blog/an-old-friend-visits/ http://www.keymerpr.com/blog/an-old-friend-visits/#When:06:36:38Z Jim Bantham, formerly of the State Government Relations team at Citi came to town on a flying visit. Kristen and I took him to lunch at The Brick: company-news 2009-06-29T06:36:38+00:00 http://www.keymerpr.com/blog/in-praise-of-ngen-works/ http://www.keymerpr.com/blog/in-praise-of-ngen-works/#When:17:18:39Z I have long admired nGen Works- a digital design and internet services company operating, like us, out of North Florida. When I finally got to meet Carl Smith and the team, I realized that our firms had even more in common than our home base, particularly in terms of national and international experience. Even before I had a chance to study their work, I thought they would be a good fit for our new website. And so it proved. These guys have been producing some of the best online work I have ever seen. As for our site, I am over the moon with the look and feel, as well as its amazing functionality. Now, I am delighted to announce that we are to have the opportunity to do something for them. We will be working for nGen Works in the area of corporate communications, helping them raise their profile and prestige among their target audiences, shore up their brand, and burnish further their already gleaming reputation. We’re looking forward to doing some good work on their behalf. Follow nGen Works on Twitter company-news 2009-07-29T17:18:39+00:00 http://www.keymerpr.com/blog/why-rebrand/ http://www.keymerpr.com/blog/why-rebrand/#When:17:19:55Z Everyone has an opinion on when rebranding a company is a good idea, and when it is not. The smart ones recognize that, done properly, a corporate rebranding exercise can provide a catch-all solution to multiple business challenges. I am going to lay aside the tired examples of a thousand marketing seminars – BP, Firestone, New Coke etc. Instead I want to concentrate on our less sensational reasons for a rebrand. Our business challenges stemmed from the way I had started the agency. Back in 2005, as soon as we were up and running I immediately immersed myself in client service. In my spare time, I put in place the rudiments of a corporate identity, deliberately avoiding huge expenditures of treasure (which was limited) and time (which I preferred to spend with my clients). I knew that I would want to change things, further down the line. After three busy years, I was able to look around and take stock. Though a global recession had not allowed us to grow at the rate my most optimistic daydreams had envisioned, we had built an agency and a reputation, serving clients that we cherished in the US and abroad. I realized, however, that to maximize our competitiveness in the down economy, now was the time to take decisive action. Now was the time to kick things up a notch, to refresh our brand and more accurately express the post start-up nature of our agency. A number of specific factors added to the urgency: While maintaining a strong public affairs practice, we had expanded the number of clients in marketing support and corporate communications, drawing on existing strengths with analysts and business media while developing new areas of expertise. Over time we had become more than simply “the issues management people”. We needed to express this better. In common with our more savvy industry colleagues, we have had a steep learning curve as web communications have become ever more crucial in all our campaigns. We have developed significant expertise and a solid track record in this area. We needed our identity to reflect this. The look and feel of our website and marketing materials (our corporate identity) though good enough for a start-up, needed more polish – a more mature look. Likewise, I wanted to get away from our start-up name The Keymer Group. I wanted to simplify things. Keymer seemed the right thing to call us. An unusual name with…. ahem…. personal significance*. There were other factors, but these were the main ones. Of course many out there (the disciples of Malcolm Gladwell…yawn…) will point out that we have not really ‘rebranded’, we have simply tweaked the name of the firm, created a new corporate identity and rewritten our marketing materials. To a significant degree, they are right. The point to take away, however, is that all of these changes allow us to express better our unchanged brand promise – the one thing I did spend significant time on when I founded the business: “Keymer will provide smart, innovative communications consulting and execution to clients in the US, in Europe and elsewhere, while maintaining a true focus on clients, personal service and attention to detail.” So there you have it. I’d love to get your feedback. Email me or leave comments – tell me what you like and don’t like. We can take it – we’re grown up, now…. *(Aside: You should know that while many in England boast that their families are so old that they came over from Normandy with William the Conqueror in 1066 AD, the Keymers were there to meet them when they arrived. I trust there will be no “brand ramifications” from the fact that the name itself is popularly meant to mean “dweller by the cow pasture” in a form of Anglo-Saxon…..) company-news 2009-07-29T17:19:55+00:00 http://www.keymerpr.com/blog/visit-to-the-city-of-brotherly-love/ http://www.keymerpr.com/blog/visit-to-the-city-of-brotherly-love/#When:12:00:05Z This year, the National Conference of State Legislatures’ Legislative Summit was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. I had the privilege of going with a client to the event. It turns out there’s much more to Philadelphia than just Philly cheese steaks and the Liberty Bell. During the three days we had there we went to sessions, walked the trade show floor and rubbed elbows with state legislators from all over the US. The most interesting session had to be one on Consumer Credit and Getting Out of Debt. Credit and debit card use has exploded in recent years, creating a $960 billion industry. The panelists discussed new legislation designed to regulate the industry more tightly and the pitfalls of over-reaching regulation. On the trade show floor you see booths for almost any group you can imagine, from the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) to the American Association for Nude Recreation. Who knew? (I did make sure I got a few brochures and some swag from that booth!) Seriously though, the booths are always impressive, and it is fascinating to see what businesses and associations are doing to get their messages across to state legislators, many of whom will be voting on pieces of legislation that will affect their causes in some way during the upcoming legislative session. At a time when the economy is the number one stressor for most businesses, it was exciting to be at an event where the mood was positive. I look forward to next year when NCSL will be holding their Legislative Summit in good ole’ Louisville, KY… company-news 2009-08-03T12:00:05+00:00 http://www.keymerpr.com/blog/the-way-we-share-information-has-fundamentally-changed/ http://www.keymerpr.com/blog/the-way-we-share-information-has-fundamentally-changed/#When:11:31:28Z Last week I was honored to address the Communications Committee of the American Financial Services Association (AFSA) on the challenges and opportunities associated with new and emerging technologies. The committee is made up of senior communications practitioners from firms such as Wells Fargo, Ford Motor Credit, HSBC etc. all of whom have faced significant challenges in the last couple of years and are now grappling with the prospect of widespread regulatory reform. I used two case studies to illustrate my points on issues management and wider communications. I thought readers might like to see them: #1 was from Ford itself: “…Ford has got a lot to be proud of in this area. It has a head of social media in Scott Monty who has proved time and time again the value of the medium. Incidentally, he has 27,000 followers on Twitter. Compared with Ford itself – 13,000 or so. In this example, Monty was alerted to online criticism of Ford’s legal efforts to shut down a fan website “therangerstation.com” The criticism began as a blog post, spread to twitter and eventually resulted in over 1000 direct customer complaints. Monty didn’t wait to ascertain the facts, posting to his blog and his Ford and personal Twitter feeds that he was investigating it and frequent updating his followers – some of whom he could be pretty sure would forward or retweet the information to their followers. Within hours, he reported that Ford’s lawyers believed the site was selling counterfeit goods with Ford’s logo. He persuaded Ford’s lawyer’s to withdraw the shut-down request if the site halted the sales. By the end of the day, Monty was able to Tweet that the situation had been resolved. This action actually resulted in plaudits from the rangerstation.com. They even posted a very positive blog post, which must have gone some way to rehabilitating the brand with the complainants. This result came about because Ford, through Scott Monty, was monitoring the conversation. Using social media in this way, routinely, or in a crisis can sometimes yield surprising results.” #2, from Southwest Airlines, illustrated this point: “Last month, a Southwest airlines flight from Nashville to Baltimore made an emergency landing in Charleston W.Va.. Southwest’s dedicated emerging media team immediately took to the information superhighway to gauge customer reactions. To their surprise and delight, they found that comments were mostly positive and focused on the professional way in which aircrew handled the situation. This immediately shifted the company’s communications strategy from crisis mode to a celebration of the way in which staff and customers had worked together in an exemplary fashion. A net win for Southwest.” We also spoke some about CEO weblogs. I’ll post separately on this subject. No doubt much, much more on new and emerging technology in the months to come…… company-news 2009-08-18T11:31:28+00:00 http://www.keymerpr.com/blog/exploring-ceo-weblogs/ http://www.keymerpr.com/blog/exploring-ceo-weblogs/#When:11:59:16Z For a long time now, we’ve been aware that the CEO weblog (blog) can be an important part of a strategic social media effort. We looked into some of the best CEO blogs out there and thought we’d list a few of them for you here. Take a look, learn from these and see how you may best utilize a CEO blog at your company: Public Companies: Jonathan Schwartz, Jonathan’s Blog — CEO of Sun Microsystems Bill Marriott, On the Move — CEO of Marriott International Mike Critelli, Open Mike — Executive Chairman of Pitney Bowes Robert Lutz, Fast Lane — GM Vice Chairman David Neeleman, Flight Log — Chairman of JetBlue Airways Michael Hyatt, From Where I Sit — CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers Closely Held Companies: Mark Cuban, Blog Maverick — Internet entrepreneur and owner of the Dallas Mavericks and Landmark Theaters Paul Levy, Running a Hospital — CEO of Deaconess Beth Israel Hospital in Boston Bob Parsons, Hot Points — CEO of GoDaddy.com Source: Wall Street Journal interesting-links 2009-08-21T11:59:16+00:00 http://www.keymerpr.com/blog/jacksonville-public-relations/ http://www.keymerpr.com/blog/jacksonville-public-relations/#When:13:02:53Z At Keymer, the nature of our business means that our professional focus is often on clients and events far from our Jacksonville base. This year, to balance this, we made the decision to actively engage with our local community. The Jacksonville public relations industry seemed a good place to begin. We are members of both the North Florida Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and the First Coast Chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC). Over the last year we have made a real effort to support both these groups and our membership has given us countless new opportunities and many new friends. In June we sponsored keynote speaker Peter Shankman at the PRVille PRSA conference in Jacksonville. For those who don’t know Peter, he is the visionary behind the Help a Reporter Out (HARO) email service which, to use the vernacular, connects hacks with flacks. We wanted to sponsor Peter because we see his services as a tangible expression of something we have come to believe very strongly – that new and emerging technology has fundamentally changed the way in which we share information. In public relations this means that the tools we use to wield influence, build reputations and support brands have been transformed forever. It’s pretty obvious that Peter caught on to this way earlier than most. On top of this, I have had the honor of speaking at both IABC and PRSA over the last few months. With the recession front-of-mind, I chose to speak to IABC on Allocating Marketing Spend in a Down Economy, stressing the need to maintain flexibility, pay closer attention to measures of effect and look to new and emerging media to take up some of the slack. At PRSA I dusted off and updated a presentation on Winning New Business, originally for junior and mid-level agency staff but redrafted to apply to freelancers too. I was grateful for smart and vocal audiences at both which made for truly interactive sessions. In addition to our Jacksonville public relations groups, we regularly attend the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce (mainly the Government Affairs Committee) and the Professional & Businessmen’s Association of Jacksonville, where a brief presentation on our entry in the 2009 BABE Rally met with barely disguised astonishment…. We’ve got a lot out of these new interactions, extending beyond new contacts and the promise of new business. For me, personally, Jacksonville has a special significance. There is no place on earth where I have lived longer, I bought a house here, started a business here and had a child here. Keymer itself has been headquartered in Jacksonville for four years, but has always had a foot in Washington and one eye on places as far apart as Alaska and London. Our efforts this year have wrought a subtle change – Keymer has always been based in Jacksonville, but increasingly Jacksonville feels like Keymer’s home. (SK) company-news 2009-10-21T13:02:53+00:00