Celera Systems (SalesStation) hosted their first client conference on September 25-27, 2018, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. SunStar was privileged to attend.
The highlight of the event was speaker Sal Giunta, first living Medal of Honor recipient since the Vietnam War, and author of the book, Living With Honor. Sal shared the critical importance of what being a team member means, based on his military training and combat experience. He was inspirational and a great representative our our country's military.
Below, we share some brief notes from the PR panel discussion, which kicked off day two.
PR 101:
“You can’t control what reporters write, but you can control what you say,” offered Jody Lowe, President and Managing Director, The Lowe Group, panelist.
We couldn’t agree more. Being in control of your message is one of the key principles covered in our own Messaging/Media Training workshops.
Both Jody and the other PR firm representative on the panel, Dan Sondhelm, CEO, Sondhelm Partners, stressed creating meaningful content and having it at the ready. Both also recommended building a plan for all your press and, wherever possible, having a message that ties to current news.
Speakers felt the lines are blurring between paid and earned media.
Paid and earned media can reach different audiences, such as podcast listeners versus Wall Street Journal readers. Despite the differences, there are great opportunities to work both into a successful strategy.
Audio conversations with Portfolio Managers were deemed valuable when added to your website. And, a reminder, Morningstar may video your portfolio manager if you are covered by them. Those videos are then typically available for your use.
Identify your audience - and what they need
Celera client Saturna's panelist talked about thier plan to increase adoption of responsible investing. Identifying that one of the largest hurdles to growth was understanding impact investing, they created educational materials, videos, and National "lunch & learns" with their competitors to help advisors get the tools they needed.
Low cost low effort solution
An attendee offered a simple, low cost, low effort tip: have all firm employees add a line to their digital signatures directing people to a podcast, video or recent news item.
Congratulations to Celera Systems on a great first conference! Celera’s SalesStation’s mutual fund reporting and sales tracking tools provide asset management executives, sales managers, and wholesalers with a link to business-critical information that identifies high potential distribution opportunities. Learn more.
And thank you to Jody for the shout out to Kathryn Morrison and the great work she has been doing in the PR space for over two decades!