Tomorrow the Legal Marketing Association will kick off its 2012 program with “Connecting Costs to Value: Your Role in Driving Revenue.”  If you are an  attorney, marketing and business development professional, marketing partner, managing partner, practice group leader, or manager from law firms/accounting firms, then you should be there!

Nationally recognized as a leader in law firm business development strategy, special guest presenter Silvia Coulter, will discuss what firms can do to build relationships based on loyalty versus cost of services, client growth cycle and process improvement and its impact on the firm’s revenue.

When: TOMORROW! Tuesday, January 17, 2012 from 5 p.m. -7:30 p.m.

• Registration and networking being at 5 p.m.
• Presentation starts at 5:45 p.m.
• Food, fun and networking at 6:30 p.m.

Where: Berger Singerman; 1450 Brickell Avenue Suite 1900, Miami, FL 33131

Cost: Complimentary for lawyers, legal marketing professionals and LMASE members, $25 for other business professionals or non-members

Please RSVP to Jennifer Clarin, jclarin@boardroompr.com (954) 370-8999 or via SurveyMonkey, http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/YMJ3ZW7.

Hope you can join us!

The holidays created a time for giving. On New Year’s Eve, we reflected on past mistakes and resolved to be better for 2012.

Here at Boardroom, the protocol of the season got us thinking about the protocol of networking. When we network, our objective is simple  — we want something.

But the holidays remind us that relationships, networking ones too, are about a give-and-take exchange. Remembering that spirit of the season, forget about what you can get out of the relationship. Focus on what you have to give.

Here’s a simple tip that can help you revamp your networking strategies, whether on the web or at the next annual New Year’s cocktail party: be interested, not interesting. Yes, keep your business card in tow; but rather than focus on yourself, really listen to the other person.

The best networks are those of mutual benefits where everybody wins. It’s time to tap in! Find out what makes the other person tick. Sincerely inquire on how you can help foster and support their needs.

That’s our New Year’s resolution.

So here’s to making 2012 a time of giving and connecting, whether it be in our networks of co-workers, family or friends.

With the holidays around the corner, most people are looking forward to spending time with their families and unwrapping presents.

However, not everyone gets to enjoy the holiday season with a plethora of gifts. Boardroom Communications client, JAFCO is partnering up with organizations in the community to try and bring some holiday spirit to the children of JAFCO.

“Synagogues, Jewish community centers and private individuals in the tri-county area have signed up to provide toys for Hanukkah for children in our programs,” said Sarah Franco, JAFCO executive director, in a recent article.

With the help of these generous organizations, JAFCO will be able to make Hanukkah wishes come true for more than 350 disadvantaged children.

To read the full article, click here.

The holidays are here! Not only does that mean ’tis the season to be jolly with family and friends, but in the workplace as well.

By peppering your business with a little holiday spirit, you can revamp your brand image and inspire some holiday cheer in your customers.

Take Starbucks.

Its holiday marketing campaign, which debuted in November, features seasonal beverages like the “Peppermint Mocha” and “Gingerbread Latte” served up in special edition holiday cups.  This year, Starbucks has gone one step further with the Starbucks Cup Magic App, which allows coffee-drinkers to animate the action on their coffee cups on their smartphone screens.  The object, says VP-Global Digital Marketing for Starbucks, Alexandra Wheeler, is to both “surprise and delight” customers during this holiday season.

So get in the spirit! Here are some things you can do to make the holiday season a catalyst for your business:

-Deck the halls with boughs of holly! But seriously, some easy, simple decorations can go a long way.  By creating a fun, holiday atmosphere, your employees and customers alike will relish in the spirit of the season.

-Learn the holiday news cycle. To avoid missing out on an opportunity for your product or service in a publication, make sure you’re up to date on the editorial calendars well in advance to see what specific topics the media outlets will focus on during this holiday cycle.

-Wish your social media following a happy holidays. A simple tweet or Facebook post spreading the spirit will bring you back into sight and into mind.  Keeping up a rapport with those in the digital world (and continuing to maintain your online presence) is extremely important, especially now!

So enjoy this holiday season, and take advantage of the opportunity to enact some timely marketing strategies. Fa la la la la, la la la la.

The holidays are a stressful time of year, especially if you have to run around doing last minute gift buying.  C3/CustomerContactChannels recently offered great tips for reducing holiday shopping stress.  These tips were picked up by publications around the country, proving that holiday shopping stresses out more than just Floridians!

Here are their secrets:

Do your homework and ask questions.  Learn the store’s return and exchange policies before you buy something; know which coupons a store will accept and ask about promotional deals before you get to payment.  Read product reviews to maximize the valuable time you have with a busy employee.

Be prepared. Lines may be a mile long, so be courteous to other shoppers.  The cash register is not the place to realize you don’t have your wallet.  If you’re buying over the phone, be prepared with the recipient’s shipping information and your payment details.

Communicate clearly. If you have a problem or complaint, get to the root of the situation immediately and state what went wrong without raising your voice.  Tell a salesperson what you expect to be resolved and what you’d like them to do.  Bring up your brand loyalty as appropriate, but don’t overstate your store experience.

Be solution oriented. Focus on what can be done to resolve a situation.  If a product is out of stock, find out when the store will receive new inventory.  Find productive solutions and recognize that the ideal resolution may not be possible in all cases.  Customer service is a two-way street.

Take a deep breath. Take a moment to think clearly before you escalate a situation. Don’t use profanity at other shoppers or customer service agents.  Be the type of person you would want your grandma to speak with – anger and frustration will get you nowhere.

For more of C3’s shopping tips, click here.

It’s great to generate good news about our clients!  An outstanding event celebrating pioneering Jewish families was created and launched by the Jewish Federation of Broward County.  It was a ‘mitzvah’ to see great media coverage in the Jewish Journal, describing the event, with great photos and quotes.

When there’s a story worth telling, there’s usually someone who will tell it.    This event was a labor of love for the Federation and the families that have made South Florida their home for more than 50 years.   The Jewish Journal did it justice, providing insight and a understanding of what it was like to be Jewish in South Florida those many years ago.

We’re proud of our clients and the good work they do.  We’re proud to reach out to the media with these stories.

Click on the image to read the story.

Bal Harbour Shops was recently featured in the Miami Herald business section. Highlighted for their luxury retailers and exclusive shopping experience, Bal Harbour Shops is one of the country’s top shopping centers.

Bal Harbour operating partner, Matthew Wintman Lanzenby, took this excellent opportunity to speak about the recent changes and expansions Bal Harbour Shops is making. Visitors from around the world will find several new tenants opening their stores at Bal Harbour, including Balenciaga, Breguet, CH Carolina Herrera, Panerai, La Perla and Stella McCartney. And more are on the way including Moncler, Canali and Alexander McQueen.

“Invariably it will be our best year of all time,” Lazenby said. “Some tenants are up as much as 100 percent.”

Since its opening in 1965, Bal Harbour’s sales per square foot have increased every year – only exceptions were in 2001 after the 9-11 attacks and during the recession in 2009.

What’s worse than being a liar? Falsely – and knowingly – accusing someone else of being one.

Completely unconnected yet intrinsically linked, both Penn State and Syracuse universities are under fire for child molestation charges surrounding athletic coaches.  While the charges against former Penn State assistant coach Jerry Sandusky have been hovering publicly over the university for weeks, the allegations against Big Orange’s associate head basketball coach, Bernie Fine, surfaced just Sunday night.

Both universities have done a poor job handling media relations – and both have used possibly the worst public relations move in the books: Accusing the accusers, without a shred of supporting evidence.

When the charges against Fine initially were brought to light, Syracuse Head Coach Jim Boeheim was anything but sympathetic to the three alleged victims who came forward. He called them “liars” in the media and accused them of just being out for the money. Similarly, now-former Penn State University President Graham Spanier implied in his media release that the victims in Sandusky’s case were lying: “I am confident the record will show that these charges are groundless,” he wrote.

Besides being boldly insensitive, it was a big mistake.

In both situations, the price is high for covering-up information and completely disregarding victims’ legitimate allegations. Yet one school is learning from the other’s blunders. While Penn State foot-dragged and cancelled press conferences, Syracuse has been proactive in its crisis communications plan. For that, it should be commended.  In an effort not to repeat the serious lapses of Penn State — and after seeing Spainer lose his job — Syracuse Chancellor Nancy Cantor has taken the right steps to uncover the cover-up.

In a release Sunday night, the school announced upfront and outright, “At the direction of Chancellor Cantor, Bernie Fine’s employment with Syracuse University has been terminated, effective immediately.” No games. No deflections of blame. No cover-ups. And Cantor wants you to know this is under her order.

As a Sports Illustrated column so eloquently explains, “Syracuse is learning a lesson from Penn State, a lesson that every university and major institution needs to learn: When an accusation like this hits you, don’t hit back.  And the best way to protect yourself is not to look like you’re protecting yourself at all.”

And that’s no lie.

Last week’s “Hollywood Welcomes the Stars” event marked another huge success for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Broward County. More than 400 people gathered at the Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa in Hallandale Beach to raise money for after-school programs. In addition to a cocktail party, dinner, and silent and live auction items, attendees also had a chance to mingle with local celebs and enjoy an unpugged performance by Grammy Award Winner, Jon Secada.

Boardroom Account Executives also attended the event after months of preparing. We were able to secure pre- and  post event media coverage while putting the spotlight on the importance of The Boys & Girls Clubs in our communities.

Much already has been written about Steve Jobs – his marketing genius, his control of public relations, his ability to skillfully meld the products he created with a pent-up consumer demand for those products (or so we thought once his products were released).

That was the brilliance of Jobs. To paraphrase something he once said, “It isn’t up to consumers to know what they want. It’s up to us to tell them.”

Steven Jobs was one of those transformative inventors who comes along once every few generations. Perhaps it is a testament to how much he touched so many that – as President Barack Obama commented – so many learned of Jobs’ passing on a device he had invented.

He was also a public relations and marketing mastermind. His retail success came from creating powerful products backed by the buzz that made people feel they must have those devices. Apple’s iMac, iPod, iPad and iPhone wowed audiences when revealed in grand on-stage debuts – with Jobs as the emcee. Journalists were awed, and their articles reflected their amazement.

And we consumers bit – hard.

Apple didn’t need “traditional” consumer electronics marketing. The company consistently avoids major announcement hubs like the Consumer Electronics Show, notes PRdaily. He launched the hype – and sustained it.

Most (dare we say All-But-Apple) cannot afford to sidestep the major events. We bend over backwards to please our patrons, and play the retail merchandising game the way the industry has created it. Yet Jobs’ prowess in product development showed us that the brand dictates the trend – and not vice versa.

By developing one-of-a-kind products with unique messages to match, marrying art and technology in a way we’ve never seen before, Jobs dominated the technology industry. As the article explains, many described Apple products as “funky” and “snazzy,” showing their appreciation for the visual appearance of the tech.

Steve Jobs was quoted once as having said, “The customer is not right, I am.” Masterfully brilliant, unabashed in his view of the world, in every essence of the word, Steve Jobs – in his jeans and black, mock-turtleneck – didn’t just sell us things. He sold us dreams.

And if you were listening, he sold us a new roadmap to successful marketing.