DENVER: Quiznos hired Shift Communications as consumer AOR, effective January 2010. The sandwich shop chose Shift out of five agencies that were part of a multiple-round RFP at the end of 2009.

Quiznos is specifically looking to broaden its social media efforts as an integrated part of its PR and communications, Ellen Kramer, EVP of communications for Quiznos, told PRWeek.

“They really came out on top in many ways, primarily because of their social media work and history,” she said of Shift. “Some of the clients that they had, I think, were a good fit for the kind of work we wanted to do.” She declined to name the other agencies involved in the review or the financial details of the account.

As consumer AOR, Shift will work in conjunction with the company’s advertising and digital partners, provide PR and social media strategy, support product launches and events, and work to raise visibility for Quiznos, said Todd Defren, principal at Shift.

The Quiznos win marks the once technology-focused agency’s continued march into consumer PR. The account will be run out of Shift’s San Francisco office by five staffers. The agency already started work on Quiznos’ “Eat Toasty, Be Green” campaign, promoting new, eco-friendly packaging for Quiznos products.

“Quiznos has always been the kind of brand that gets talked about and we wanted to harness that conversation a little bit better,” Kramer said of the brand’s social media work. “I think we need to put it into a more holistic picture and start talking about our company from the consumer perspective in a way that would be more meaningful to them.”

Quiznos previously worked with Crenshaw Communications, on a project basis, and the agency did pitch for the account, Kramer added. Crenshaw did not immediately return requests for comment. Quiznos continues to enlist Coltrin & Associates for b-to-b PR.
“We hadn’t had a consumer AOR with this kind of strategic plan before,” Kramer said, when asked about the length of the new PR contract. “We all entered this relationship thinking this was absolutely a long-term relationship.”

Click to read the whole post (subscription required)…

March 3, 2010

January 22, 2010

December 15, 2009

August 10, 2009

May 6, 2009

May 6, 2009

New Media PR Bootcamp

Wednesday, April 15, 2009 to Thursday, April 16, 2009

Conference location:
Microtek-Chicago
230 W. Monroe Street, Suite 550
Chicago, IL 60606
(312) 236-3811

ON-SITE SEMINAR

Are you ready to learn the ins and outs of blogging, podcasting, RSS, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, online newsrooms and other social media? Get a comprehensive overview of new media through easy-to-follow, step-bystep exercises designed to give digital immigrants hands on experience using new media tools and services, and digital natives a foundation of strategic knowledge to apply social media to organizational communications. Start at square one and get everything you need to develop and deploy new media and social media initiatives that deliver measurable results.

This seminar is offered in a Wi-Fi environment. Attendees bring their own laptop computers and follow along through a series of exercises using popular online social media tools and services. Learn the basics of keyword discovery and use your keywords to set up a new media monitoring dashboard.Launch your own blog, set up and integrate a Flickr account, embed YouTube vidoe clips and learn to install third party widgets. Get practical knowledge on how to leverage these tools for external communications.

You will learn:

When to blog, comment or listen.
The business case for RSS, blogging and podcasting.
How to integrate new media into conventional public relations campaigns.
The basics of search engine optimization (SEO).
Podcast development, production and distribution.
About video-on-demand and webcasts.
About social bookmarking and networking.
How to use Twitter to tracks news and build communities.

INSTRUCTOR

Public relations executive and new media pioneer Eric Schwartzman is founder and chairman of iPressroom, managing director of Schwartzman & Associates, and executive producer of the award-winning PR podcast “On the Record…Online.” He has nearly 20 years of experience as a marketer and a public relations practitioner, specializing in helping clients integrate all aspects of Web-based communications into mainstream public relations, corporate communications and marketing campaigns.

For more information, please go to http://www.prsa.org/.

The 5th Annual New Communications Forum

Monday, April 27th through Wednesday, April 29th, 2009

Conference location:
The San Francisco Marriott
55 Fourth Street
San Francisco, CA 94103

Now celebrating its fifth year, New Communications Forum is the premier conference that brings together thought leaders and decision makers to discuss the impact of social media and emerging communication tools, technologies, and models on PR and corporate communications, marketing and advertising, media and journalism, business, culture and society.

The Forum provides an in-depth, hands-on exploration of the future of communications. In its five year history, it has come to be known as one of the world’s leading conferences focusing on the latest trends in new emerging media and communications platforms.

NewComm Forum is a focused conference specifically designed to teach communications professionals the strategy and tactics to effectively utilize the power of new media and communications tools and trends.

For more information, please go to http://www.newcommforum.com/2009/.

March 30, 2009

February 23, 2009

The 2nd Annual Social Media for Communicators Conference

Wednesday, March 11, 2009 to Friday, March 13, 2009

Conference location:
Encore at Wynn Las Vegas
3131 Las Vegas Blvd. South
Las Vegas, NV 89109

The Social Media Revolution has arrived and it is here to stay.

Whether you’re new to social media or an early adopter—spend three days in the desert with leading social media thinkers, speakers and practitioners and learn how to:

Identify the right social media tools for your organization and avoid costly mistakes

Produce “reality TV-style” videos to capture candid, authentic messages which help your executives connect with employees

Build an online newsroom that will deliver your message and get journalists using your site as a source for news

Seamlessly add the power of social media to your traditional media efforts to effectively communicate during a crisis

Measure the ROI of your social media efforts to get buy-in from your execs

Bridge the gap between your employee publication and intranet—with great writing, photos, podcasts and videos

Finally answer the question: to blog or not to blog

Plus, take advantage of these conference extras: Add to your skills with two pre-conference sessions on videos done right and crafting a social media press release. And, if you’re just getting started in the Web 2.0 world, you can attend an all-day social media boot camp with technology guru Shel Holtz.

Make sure you don’t get left behind!

For more information, please go to http://www.ragan.com/.

February 11, 2009

February 3, 2009
By Todd Defren

Dear CEO,

I am really happy to hear that you’re getting excited by the concept of social media. There’s no question that the principles of social media—in short, embracing a candid and ongoing dialogue with users—constitute an unstoppable trend.

Meanwhile, the tools of social media (blogs, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, etc.) are becoming ever more important components to the marketing mix.

The fact that you want to get personally involved bodes well for your company’s chances of successfully navigating these unknown waters.

I can understand why you, as a CEO, would be interested in “joining the conversation.” It’s an interesting conversation: After all, it’s a conversation about topics of interest to you and to your company, and the people you’ll interact with will self-identify themselves as being interested in what you’ve got to say.

And, for what it’s worth, here’s some more good news: It takes a lot of talent to rise to the CEO spot; you need to be confident, charming, smart, and articulate—and these are excellent qualities in a blogger, too! Done well, your foray into blogging will afford you both personal satisfaction and bottom-line results. So we’re off to a good start.

So, umm, how do you really start? How do you get started blogging, and do it well? Let’s avoid the technical requirements (you’re the CEO, you’ve got people who can figure that stuff out!) Instead, let’s focus on creating the right mindset.

First off, you need to explore your motivations and time commitments before you consider a dual career as a CEO-blogger.

Too many would-be CEO bloggers treat their new toy as little more than a weekly newsletter: a way to broadcast their thoughts, rather than a way to create a dialogue. These execs expect that simply because they are the CEO, people will be magnetically drawn to their words. But then they are crushed to see “Comments: (0)” after each post and their acknowledged industry expertise in the “real world” not reflected in their wan “Technorati Authority” ranking.

And then they give up, pooh-poohing the ballyhooed blogosphere as they munch on sour grapes. Because they couldn’t tame the blogosphere, they lose interest.

Now, all other blog-related projects at the company become suspect—after all, if the CEO couldn’t hack it, who dares think that they could do better? And thus a company loses a golden opportunity to engage with its customers and prospects.

Click to read the whole post…

January 20, 2009

BOSTON, MA -

NEWS FACTS

– SHIFT Communications announced today that it has been selected as the PR Agency of Record for Powered, Inc., an organization that delivers comprehensive ROI-based social marketing programs that drive conversations between consumers and brands. Powered’s customers include companies like HP, iVillage, Atkins, RadioShack and Sony.

– By providing marketers with one source for results-driven online communities, content strategy expertise, robust analytics and strategic program management, Powered has evolved online community development into social marketing, giving its partners everything they need to build rich, long-term relationships with their target audiences.

– SHIFT was chosen for its deep knowledge of and participation in the social media space, placing it in the best position to create greater awareness of Powered and its services.

– The SHIFT team will focus on increasing brand visibility by providing strategic counsel, social media consulting and aggressive media relations execution.

QUOTES

– “With business units converging across the Web, almost all marketers are aware of social marketing, and interest levels in its potential are at an all-time high. However, the actual understanding of the various types of social marketing and community programs is all over the map. Marketers need help determining what will work best for their objectives. We are looking forward to having the SHIFT team help broaden the awareness of social marketing initiatives and making organizations understand the true power behind their customer base.”

– Aaron Strout, VP marketing, Powered, Inc. — click for The Engaged Consumer blog

– “With its impressive client roster, Powered is positioned for recognition in a market — enterprise social media solutions — with no established leaders. We plan to help turn Powered, with its social marketing approach and deep bench of executive talent in the management team, into an acknowledged market leader.”

– Todd Defren, a principal at SHIFT Communications — click for Defren’s LinkedIn profile

Click to read the whole post…

By Aarti Shah
January 5, 2009

NEW YORK: Virgin Mobile has named SHIFT Communications as its AOR. The agency will focus on broadening the company’s message to fit with the current economy, as well as promote its expanded offerings.

Virgin Mobile offers prepaid and pay-as-you-go cell-phone coverage, but the company added post-pay service after it completed its acquisition this past August of Helio, which included its product offerings like Ocean, as well as its almost 200,000 customers.

SHIFT, which was expected to commence work on the account January 1, will assist Virgin Mobile on three major challenges facing the company. Among them is changing the perception of prepaid cell phones in the consumer marketplace, according to Jayne Wallace, VP of corporate communications at Virgin Mobile.

In addition, the agency will be tasked with maximizing Virgin Mobile’s social media opportunities and raising awareness of its post-paid cell-phone offerings.

The company’s previous messaging carried an anti-contract sentiment, but it will now emphasize that consumers can have any wireless service and on their own terms.

“We are developing a new campaign and branding to be broad enough to encompass prepay and post-pay,” Wallace explained. “But prepay is still our bread and butter and we want to let people know that in this economy it’s a great alternative, not just a second-best option.”

Click to read the whole post…

By Todd Defren
December 15, 2008

Peter Kim, the former Forrester analyst, was kind enough to invite me to join several other smart folks in looking ahead to Social Media’s likely evolution in 2009.

“Community and collaboration are wonderful things,” he says. And then I realize that the 14 voices Peter’s lassoed into ginning up their ideas could’ve been 15, if Peter himself had hazarded some predictions! Crazy like a fox, that guy.

Without further ado, with true thanks to Peter, “fourteen great minds on social media have shared thoughts on what 2009 may have in store for us.” Here’s some of what they’re thinking:

“Although it is now cheaper to launch an initiative leveraging Web 2.0 technology - it requires qualified and passionate people to make them successful.” - David Armano
“You may not always start the year as a leader, but you can certainly finish it that way.” - Rohit Bhargava
“Intimacy touches emotion; emotion powers conversation.” - Pete Blackshaw
“Doors are going to close all over the social web. Why? Because the money didn’t come the way people thought it would.” - Chris Brogan
“The tipping point has not only *not* been reached, but could still tilt *away* from Social Media.” - Todd Defren
“There’s a lot of fixing that needs to be done.” - Jason Falls
“Dwindling budgets suddenly make low-cost social media look like the pretty girl at the ball.” - Ann Handley
“We’re going to develop a set of better metrics to help guide, direct and validate ‘commitment’.” - Joseph Jaffe
“The movement is rooted in a desire to have quality, not quantity, as people cocoon in the face of the economic crisis.” - Charlene Li
“After a pre-qualifying wrestling match…” - Ben McConnell
“These will be cumulative events and interactions that will build brand loyalty for the companies that pay attention to them.” - Scott Monty
“The recession will force revenue results out of social technologies.” - Jeremiah Owyang
“Companies that focus on earning love will thrive during hard times, and kick ass when good times return.” - Andy Sernovitz
“Suddenly, being Facebook friends with your mom will seem less ridiculous than following 4,000 strangers on Twitter.” - Greg Verdino

Click to read the whole post…

December 8, 2008

December 8, 2008

By Neville Hobson
November 7, 2008

Content summary: The live call-in episode on BlogTalk Radio. Panel discussion addressed the value public relations professionals bring to startups. The topic was a response to several posts dismissing PR’s worth, suggesting startup CEOs can handle their own public relations (the post by Jason Calacanis served as the focal point of the discussion).

Panelists included Rob Lane, CEO, Overlay TV; Katie Paine, president, K.D. Paine & Partners; Todd Defren, partner, Shift Communications; Sherrilynne Starkie, from Strive Public Relations; and Michael O’Connor Clarke, from ThornleyFallis Public Relations.

Click to listen to FIR Live Now episode…

South by Southwest Interactive Conference

Friday, March 13, 2009 to Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Conference location:
Austin Convention Center
500 E Cesar Chavez Street
Austin, Texas 78701

What is the SXSW Interactive Festival?
The SXSW Interactive Festival offers five days of panels, keynote discussions, Trade Show, and exciting evening events. Attendees benefit from hands-on, how-to training as well as long-term, big-picture analysis in an atmosphere that charges creativity and out-of-the-box thinking. More to the point, coming to SXSW Interactive is a great way to recharge your creativity.Where does the SXSW Interactive Festival occur?
Daytime panel programming (as well as the Trade Show & Exhibition) takes place at the Austin Convention Center (500 E. Cesar Chavez) in downtown Austin. Evening events occur at various nightspots around the city.Who attends this event?
SXSW Interactive appeals to uber-geeks and digital creatives who push the cutting edge of technological change. The event appeals to content developers, web designers, programmers, bloggers, wireless innovators, gamers, tech entrepreneurs, investors, and educators. Even if you are not a technical person, you will benefit from the outside-the-box thinking that thrives at SXSW.
What kind of topics are covered at the event?
Panel topics cover everything from web design, usability, and blogging to wireless innovation and new technology business models. Other panels focus on more general topics that are nonetheless relevant to the digital creatives who attend SXSW Interactive. Discovering new ideas that lead us to a better future is the underlying theme on all of this programming.

For more information, please go to http://sxsw.com/.

By Lisa van der Pool
October 24, 2008

Looking to shave discretionary spending where he can, Jim Joyal, principal at public relations shop Shift Communications LLC, has drawn up a list of more than a dozen spending cuts. Among them, curbing corporate travel, paring back on outsourced IT services and employee expense accounts, shutting down two of the company’s printers to save on toner, encouraging staff to use porcelain mugs rather than paper cups and hosting a “more modest” holiday party this year.

Click here to read the whole article…

October 27, 2008

By Sarah Wurrey
September 26, 2008

For this episode of the Roundtable, my usual co-host Jen Zingsheim was out on vacation, so I needed two special guests to fill her venerable shoes. I am joined by Valeria Maltoni and Doug Haslam. Valeria, whose blog Conversation Agent is one of my favorites, is the director of marketing and communications at Sun Guard Availability Services. Doug, who is joining us on the Roundtable for the second time after serving as one of our first guests several months ago, is an Account Director at Boston’s SHIFT Communications, and blogs at DougHaslam.com (and naturally, Doug’s blog is one of my favorites too!).

Click here to read the whole article…

SAN FRANCISCO: Watercooler recently named Shift Communications its AOR to help raise its profile in the social networking space.

Created in 2007, Watercooler is a platform for sports and TV fans that allows users to access the application from social networking sites, including Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, Hi5, and Friendster, so that the content created with one post is duplicated on all the user’s sites.

Kevin Chou, CEO of Watercooler, said that more than 20 million have downloaded its application or joined its communities, but now it needs to focus on a branding plan.

Click here to read the whole article…

Shooting down a launch. The highest-profile website launch in a long while was last Monday’s unveiling of Cuil.com (pronounced “cool.”) The new search engine was built by former Google and AltaVista engineers, who say it searches three times as many pages as Google. But by the end of the site’s first day, many bloggers and journalists seemed to have found something to dislike, whether it was a prominent site missing from a set of search results or Cuil’s propensity to match photos of one person with Web pages related to someone else. Public relations executive Todd Defren of Boston’s Shift Communications had some advice on how things could have played out differently.

The [PR] agency should have insisted that Cuil slap “BETA” all over the site and any other outbound communication. I checked lots of different sections of the Cuil site, and never saw any hint from the company that they might not be ready for prime time. The messaging is marked by ambition and (in retrospect) arrogance. The agency should have enlisted the search community’s aid. There are plenty of search algorithm experts, [search engine optimization] experts, online marketers, etc., who might be willing to offer free advice for such an ambitious start-up. Taking on Google is a big, hairy, audacious goal: this community could have gotten excited about collaborating on something so audacious. This longer-term, inclusive approach could have cushioned the launch with some built-in compassion for the Cuil engine’s lapses.
www.pr-squared.com

Click here to read the whole article…

“The SEC is taking the right steps to embrace the new tools and services that reach people in addition to wire services. With the recognition of blogs as a viable form of disclosure, under certain circumstances of course, the SEC is officially recognizing Social Media and in a sense, socializing the rules associated with Reg FD.

Perhaps, the most significant change stemming from the new SEC guidance is that Web-based disclosure does not have to appear in a format comparable to paper-based information, unless the Commission’s rules explicitly require it.

This is music to my ears as it finally opens the door for the Social Media Release.

For a few years, Todd Defren, Chris Heuer, and I have not only defended and charted the opportunity for Social Media Releases (SMRs), but also fielded emotionally-charged questions from the financial and IR communities asking about whether or not an SMR would ever meet disclosure requirements for Reg FD, and without it, what good would it ever be…”

Click here to read the whole article…

July 24, 2008

July 2, 2008

June 10, 2008

May 22, 2008

May 14, 2008

May 1, 2008

March 17, 2008

“Mr. Penn, who isn’t looking for a job, got the idea for the social media résumé from Todd Defren of Shift Communications who created the social media press release, a template for a Web 2.0 news release that he made available free to others in the public relations industry.”

Click here to read the whole article…

Todd Defren created a collection of resources and posts for public relations 101. It encompasses social-media tactics, free online services that appeal to small businesses and creating a news release for an online community.

Scott Monty
relationship director, Crayon

Click here to read the whole article…

March 17, 2008

November 2, 2007

October 17, 2007

October 2, 2007

Todd Defren
Principal, Shift Communications

“Let’s screw up intelligently,” Todd Defren dares the industry.

Defren envisions a PR industry that is willing to take risks - and perhaps make some mistakes - to get things right.

I’d like to see us experiment more,” he adds.

And the industry may not have a choice. As media grow increasingly sophisticated, Defren believes bad PR - e-mail blasts, unsolicited attachments, and uninformed press releases - will disappear.

Click here to read the whole article…

August 8, 2007

July 31, 2007

Click here to read the whole article…

Hailed as “the business world’s own Oscars” (New York Post , April 27, 2005), The American Business Awards are the only national, all-encompassing awards program honoring great performances in business.

Click here to read the whole article…

Todd Defren, principal at Shift Communications, said the agency will be conducting traditional and social media programs for all of RealNetwork’s divisions including Rhapsody, RealPlayer, RealArcade, and Technology Products and Services—the company’s mobile division.

“We’re helping develop a blog outreach strategy, blogosphere monitoring, and advising them on how to best respond to comments and bloggers themselves,” Defren said. “We already help them set up the RealPlayer blog for the launch of the newest version of RealPlayer.”

Click here to read the whole article…

June 28, 2007

June 12, 2007

June 12, 2007

Yankee IABC- Boston

Thursday, June 7, 2007 12:00-2:00pm

Location Joe’s American Bar & Grill (Shopper’s World) Framingham

Title: What does a communicator really do?

Topic: Do you get blank stares when you tell people you are a “communicator”? Are challenges in your organization getting tougher all the time? Join your corporate and independent IABC colleagues to discuss the realities of working in organizational communication in today’s competitive business world. Talk about the difficulty of reaching top management. Or what it’s like to become a strategically focused communicator rather than just producing “stuff.” Or where to turn for help with the rapidly expanding technology options. And help the group come to a conclusion about the biggest challenges and most important opportunities for organizational communicators today.

Publicity Club of New England- Boston

Wednesday, May 16, 2007 6:00pm

Location: The Conference Center, One Main Street Cambridge, MA

Title: Increasing Importance of Online Content for Business Media

Topic: It is no longer the case that a person does not find out about major news until the press release crosses the wire and/or the newspaper goes to print. Consumers have access to obtain and consume news basically wherever and whenever they want: television, radio, newspapers, magazines, and the bewildering variety of material available on the Internet through Blogs and social networking. Online content is extremely important for businesses and business media to connect with consumers to deliver targeted messages and quality news in real-time. Additionally, many of the top online stories now navigate the news that is deemed “print worthy.”

So where does your news fit in? Who should really get your first pitch? Join the Publicity Club of New England as we bring you some of the top business news editors in the region to discuss the importance of online content in the business media.

AMA Boston- Boston

Wednesday, May 16, 2007, 8:00-11:00am

Location: Fisher College, Beacon Street, Boston

Title: Wikis and Podcasts and Blogs, Oh My!

Topic: New, easy-to-use tools and technologies allow nonprofit organizations, of all sizes and shapes, to enjoy collaborative efficiencies and online community outreach. Training will include exploration of Wikis, Blogs, Forums, RSS Feeds, Chat, Audio & Video Podcasts, and other emerging Web 2.0 tools and technologies.

PRSA Boston- Boston

Tuesday, May 15, 2007, 6:00-8:30pm

Location: Boston Beer Company/Samuel Adams Brewery

30 Germania Street

Boston (Jamaica Plain neighborhood), MA 02130

Title: Samuel Adams Brewery Share Its Recipes for Product PR Success

Topic: Michelle Sullivan, director of public relations for Boston Beer Company (the makers of Samuel Adams Beer), will pour forth tips, tricks and best practices for product and beverage public relations success.Since joining the Samuel Adams Brewery, Sullivan has lead a number of high profile initiatives, including the product PR launches for Samuel Adams Light and Samuel Adams Utopias, and the multi-year development and implementation of the “Samuel Adams/VH1 Summer Jam,” at which 53 radio stations broadcast live from the brewery. Prior to joining the company, Sullivan worked for a broad range of brands, such as Starbucks, Legal Seafoods, New England Aquarium, Alzheimer’s Association and Warren Tolman for Lt. Governor.

Sullivan will discuss:

A day in the life of a PR executive for a beer company

How Boston Beer Company gets the most from its product launches The secrets to successful eventsHow to find and capitalize on opportunities when competing against larger companiesLessons Sullivan has learned and how you can apply them to your jobs.

Social Media Club- San Francisco

Thursday, May 24, 2007 Location TBA6:00pm - 8:30pm

Social Media Club- Boston
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Massachusetts Room, The Harvard Club, Boston, MA
5:30pm - 8:00pm

Title: (Getting a) Second Life

Topic: Second Life continues to grow as a hub for new types of social media interaction. This session will address how Second Life works, why it matters and what it means. The evening will feature a panel of technologists, developers, media and more sharing their thoughts on this important virtual world.

Social Media Newsroom Presentation

Social Media Newsroom Template

PR 2.0 Essentials Guide

Download the SHIFT Logo

Todd Defren, Principal
Bio | LinkedIn

Parry Headrick
VP of Sales & Marketing
Bio | LinkedIn

Mandy Mladenoff
Managing Director
Bio | LinkedIn

Amy Lyons
Managing Director
Bio | LinkedIn

Cathy Summers
VP of Account Services
Bio | LinkedIn

Derek Lyons
VP of Account Services
Bio | LinkedIn

Click here to read the whole article…

Click here to read the whole article…

…I contacted Todd Defren - since he’s the recognized expert on SMPR templates - and he offered this powerful thought, “It’s important to understand that the Social Media News Release is not intended as a replacement for the traditional news release. It’s an evolution. The SMNR’s core function is simply to allow creators of news to leverage the Web familiarity that is now ingrained in consumer audiences. With 50+ percent of consumers now creating and sharing content online (Pew Research), it just makes sense to democratize access to corporate news and multimedia assets to anyone (reporters, bloggers, laypeople) who might be interested, and, to create a forum for community and context that - to date - has been unavailable via old-world press releases.” Amen.

Click here to read the whole article..