Strategic Communications

Over the past six months, have any of you heard members of our team refer vaguely (almost secretively) to a nonprofit organization we've been working with? 🤔🤫 We're excited to finally share the official launch! 🎉 The announcement of this new foundation is so much more than a single news interview. This has been close to a year of strategic counsel, internal communications, board communications, and community relations, before we even got to the media relations piece. Our non-profit communications experts Virgie Townsend and Kelly C. Gaggin, Ph.D., APR, Fellow PRSA, along with our local community/media expert Alice Maggiore, have been working closely with Chedy Hampson, Liam Kirst and Heather Morris from the from the very beginning. We absolutely love partnering with individuals and organizations who are passionate about starting a new initiative, then helping them build and launch something in the most strategic way for long-term success. 🌟 Check out the South Side Community Growth Foundation page and the interview with Michelle Breidenbach at the The Post-Standard/syracuse.com below 👇 #Syracuse #PR #PublicRelations #Business #Strategy #Nonprofit #Communications

PR and Marketing often operate in silos, and shockingly, sometimes in competition. But when they collaborate, the results can take organizations to the next level. 🚀🌟   Our VP of Client Strategy and Business Development Virgie Townsend shares key insights on how to unlock this potential:   👉 Unite PR and Marketing for Maximum Impact: Positive news stories earned by the PR team carry extra credibility. Use those professionally produced (and free!) stories in digital, social, and email marketing.   👉 Share Data, Share Success: Both PR and Marketing love data that shows results, but this data is rarely shared. Start cross-sharing data so both sides can better understand the effectiveness of their campaigns and adjust for future success.   👉 Integrate, Don’t Consolidate: Consolidating the two fields can be just as bad as siloing them. Respect marketing and PR professionals’ unique skillsets and bring them together strategically to make brand magic.   Check out all of Virgie’s tips here: https://lnkd.in/ePsEUneX   #PublicRelations #PR #Marketing #Communications #Business #Strategy #Syracuse

The sights, the sounds, the smells… and the media! There’s something special about news stories at The Great New York State Fair 🎡 Our Director of PR Alice Maggiore was on-site today with Renewal By Andersen of Central New York for a special interview with NewsChannel 9 WSYR’s Bridge Street about supporting veterans and veteran organizations. And perfectly timed, as today is Armed Forces Day at The Fair! Check out the full interview here: https://lnkd.in/eNjkcHGG

It’s Opening Day of The Great NYS Fair! 🎡Local PR pros know what that means… If your news isn’t Fair-related, don’t bother pitching it for the next 2 weeks 😆 With our team’s focus on CNY, we typically advise our clients to have low expectations during this time for media coverage of anything happening outside of The Fair. But if your organization IS doing something at The Fair, that’s another story! 🎥🎤📺📰 We’re excited for the fair-related stories we’re pitching to local media while reporters and our clients are on-site at the Fairgrounds. And for our clients who aren’t doing anything at The Fair this year, we’re in fall planning mode! This also means some of our team will get to spend time working on-site at The Fair over the next two weeks 😉 Gotta love those work perks! While we value all of our local media partners equally, this video from Bridge Street co-hosts Erik and Iris was too great not to share! #Syracuse #CNY #PR #PublicRelations #Strategy #Communications 

When life gives us lemons, we make lemonade 🍋🥤 And the lemonade in Skaneateles is extra delicious in the summer! We had a client video shoot in Skaneateles cancelled at the last minute, so we took some time to catch up over a team lunch at another one of our former clients in Skaneateles, The Sherwood Inn. 🌞⛵ #Skaneateles #CNY #PR #PublicRelations #TeamWorkMakesTheDreamWork

Our CNY-focused PR team has been working with NewsChannel 9 WSYR’s “Bridge Street” daytime talk show for 15+ years, promoting local organizations, events, and important topics that our community cares about. #AllThingsLocal Throughout this time, we’ve had the honor and privilege to work with Kaylea Nixon, Sistina Giordano, TeNesha Murphy, Iris St. Meran, Steve Infanti, Erik Columbia, and of course, though it all, the incomparable Tim Fox 😊 Thank you to these hosts and producers for being wonderful storytelling partners! We’ll see you at The Fair later this month 🎡 and we look forward to working on many more stories together 📺👀 #Syracuse #CNY #Storytelling #News #TV #PR #PublicRelations #Communications https://lnkd.in/ewmEZdPS

As July comes to a close, we have been celebrating a big milestone: Crystal DeStefano, APR’s 10-year anniversary as president of Strategic Communications! 🎉 Reflecting on the principles set by our company’s founder Michael Meath 20 years ago, we have upheld a reputation for providing trusted business and communications counsel to CEOs and leaders. Under Crystal’s leadership, our team has grown our services around this core mission. Over this past decade, we've helped more than 40 CNY organizations secure literally THOUSANDS of news stories in Syracuse, across New York State, and even nationally. 📰📺📻 We’ve been so fortunate to work with amazing organizations like the Central New York Community Foundation, Drakos Clinical Dynamics, the Fred L. Emerson Foundation, Inc., Loretto, the Marriott Syracuse Downtown's historic restoration and reopening, National Grid, NBT Bank, Onondaga Historical Association, St. Joseph's Health, United Way of Central New York, Upstate Medical University, local school districts and higher ed institutions like Onondaga Community College, local arts organizations, and many more! But our team provides so much more than news coverage for our clients. 🌟 What sets us apart is: ➡️ Strategic Focus on Clients' Whole Business: We go beyond traditional PR to offer holistic strategies that consider every aspect of our clients' operations. ➡️ Concierge-Level Service: Our team delivers personalized support to individual leaders at our clients' organizations, ensuring solutions that are not only effective for the organization but also tailored to help its leaders navigate opportunities and challenges. ➡️ Strong Personal Relationships: We maintain robust connections with members of the news media as well as business community leaders, enhancing our ability to make meaningful connections and accomplish our clients’ goals. ➡️ Local Expertise: Our dedicated focus on Syracuse and CNY brings unmatched expertise and opportunities to our clients in the region. Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this incredible 10-year milestone for our company president, as well as everyone who continues to share our passion and commitment to this region. 🙏 Here's to the next decade of success and growth! 💪📈 #StrategicCommunications #PR #PublicRelations #Anniversary #Business #Strategy #Leadership #Syracuse #CNY

Thank you for this Spotlight 🔦 CenterState CEO! We have seen a LOT of change in #PublicRelations, as well as in #Syracuse and #CNY, over the past 20 years. We're so proud to have grown our team and our services to support our clients' evolving needs 😊 #Business #Strategy #Communications #PR

In this #digital age, being hyperconnected presents opportunities and challenges. Our ever-evolving digital landscape and 24/7 #news environment means every interaction is under a microscope and that we’re all just one moment – and a good internet connection – away from being the subject of a positive story or viral escapade. As #PR professionals we are hyperaware of the challenges and opportunities each side of that coin presents. And that’s why we rely on the 🪄✨magic of media training 🪄✨to preserve as many reputations as possible, and be proactive in the event that our clients are tested. When it comes to #MediaTraining, we find many people tend to get distracted with imagery of reporters, microphones, and cameras. But media training is less like preparing for a high-stakes trial 👩⚖️ and more about learning how to effectively communicate. Our Alice Maggiore makes a case to shift perspective by breaking the importance of media training down simply: If we can speak comfortably and confidently to members of the media, we can speak to anyone. 🎤 As seen in this week’s Central New York Business Journal, when organizations master the art of #storytelling learned through media training, they become persuasive marketers positioned to gain an edge over peers, along with several other benefits. Read more ⬇️ to learn how media training boosts credibility, builds brand recognition, and establishes your organization as a reliable information source and #ThoughtLeader in your #expertise areas… and how our team can help you achieve your #communications goals! https://lnkd.in/enCUQeU5

When you find a partner who “gets it” – and delivers – you can achieve great things 🌟 We’ve been working with Katrina Crocker, Juliet Mal, Ahmeed Turner, and the rest of the team at the Central New York Community Foundation for 10+ years, sharing stories of the people and programs making positive change in Central New York. Our latest efforts have focused on celebrating the Say Yes Syracuse 15th anniversary! 🏫🎒 Can you believe it’s been 15 years?! The program has transformed more than 6,000 lives by awarding nearly $15 million in scholarships to students right here in Syracuse – making college dreams a reality 🎓 Our president Crystal DeStefano, APR DeStefano was actually (and continues to be) close family friends with one of the first graduates in 2009 – so this has been especially meaningful to us! Telling the stories of Say Yes alumni who chose to build their careers right here in Syracuse after college has been inspiring for us as a team and the community. Thank you to Iris St. Meran and NewsChannel 9 WSYR for sharing this story (link below) ⬇️ Join us in congratulating the CNYCF and Say Yes Syracuse teams for their commitment to ensuring college is an option for those who seek it! 🎉 https://lnkd.in/eiF97we4 #PR #PublicRelations #Communications #Strategy #CNY #Syracuse #Anniversary #Nonprofit