By Hazel Butters

June 18th, 2013

Around the technology world in 80 days: Day #1: London, UK

Around the technology world in 80 days: Day #1: London, UK

Yesterday we promised you a trip around the technology world in 80 days, and today we’ve set out on our travels and arrived in London!

No longer the bustling centre of the British Empire that it was in Verne and Fogg’s day, London still remains a thriving city of diversity, and one of the world’s pivotal hubs of finance, culture, politics, education, arts, science, entertainment and of course technology.

Over the last 2,000 years or so, London has been the birthplace of far too many notable fathers and mothers of technology to mention (including Prompt London!). But if we were to assemble a select crowd of notable historical figures to send us off on our travels, we would definitely have to make room for Michael Faraday, Charles Babbage, Alan Turing, Ada Lovelace, Edmond Halley, Jonathan Ive, Tim Berners-Lee and many, many ‘plus ones’. And let’s not forget all the notable technologists travelling from the rest of the UK, including Frank Whittle, Robert Watson-Watt, John Logie Baird, George Stephenson, Percy Shaw, Christopher Cockerell, Thomas Wedgewood, Joseph Swan, Alan Blumenlein, Alexander Graham Bell and more than enough fellow geniuses to pack out the platform at Liverpool Street station.

So, with the electric motor, trains, cat’s eyes, jet engines, photography, stereophonic sound, light bulbs, radar, iPods, television, telephones, computing and the world wide web pretty much covered before our first embarkation, it’s definitely time to brush over the UK’s other technology luminaries in order to leave a few discoveries for our other destinations.

Like Phileas Fogg, we’re proud of our London roots, but we expect to find other countries contending some of the UK’s claims during our expedition.

Next stop – the Netherlands!

By Jessica Branco, Prompt PR Boston

June 12th, 2013

Prompt Boston attends Mass Innovation Night, #MIN51

Prompt Boston attends Mass Innovation Night, #MIN51

As a group of technology-savvy PR consultants, we’re fortunate to be located in a city full of innovation. With offices in Kendall Square, right across the river from the heart of Boston, we regularly brush shoulders with innovative individuals, start-ups and groups who are looking to launch a new idea into the marketplace that could completely change the way we think and act.

One event in the area that does a phenomenal job of gathering such innovators together is Mass Innovation Nights (MIN). Launched in April 2009, the monthly event showcases ten companies, and the community turns out to visit vendor booths, promote the products via social media and sit in on pitch presentations. In the last two years alone, MIN has helped launch more than 475 products and connect many job seekers with hiring managers.

Last night, Prompt Boston attended the 51^st MIN at the Microsoft New England Research and Development Center (better known as the NERD Center). As soon as we entered and put on our flashing #MIN51 pin, which read ‘I helped launch 500 new products!’, we got the chance to learn more about some up-and-coming local innovators, including:

-       Agency Spotter: This integrated platform makes finding a creative agency a quick and easy process. Simply enter the type of agency you are looking for, and voila! In minutes, a refined search appears, taking the search process “from months to minutes”.

-       Delightfully: If you’re an online shopper and like sending e-gifts, this interactive webpage is just for you. Think of Delightfully as digital gift wrapping, where you can compile your favorite photos and content to present a customized e-gift.

-       Equiso Smart TV: This thumb-sized device plugs into TV screens and projectors to create a smart, interactive viewing experience. From Angry Birds, to Pandora and Pinterest, the Equiso Smart TV gives viewers access to 700,000 apps in the Google Play Store – right on a large HD TV screen.

-       Fuzzycover: Want a fun, creative way to protect your tablet, e-reader, iPhone and spiral bound notebook? Fuzzycover’s protective covers are the perfect solution, and are available in animal prints, cool colors, fuzzy or leather-bound material.

The event also featured delicious drink samples from Izze, and was topped off with Equiso Smart TV receiving the most votes as the best product at MIN51. It was a night full of innovation, networking and support for local start-ups, and we hope to relive it all again next month.

For more information on Mass Innovation Nights, be sure to visit the website here or read founder Bobbie Carlton’s round-up of the event on MIN’s blog. For those on Twitter, be sure to read all of the event’s tweets by searching #MIN51 or read the corresponding Storify piece here.

By Helpful Hints, Prompt Technology PR

June 10th, 2013

Technology PR recap: The software testing industry

Technology PR recap: The software testing industry

The final entry in Prompt’s blog series,

Prompt Technology PR Snapshot: Software Testing 

Over the past six weeks, we hope you’ve learned a lot about the software testing industry, and ways to maximize your PR efforts. We’ve walked you through the various types of press, including IT publications, business journals, and newspaper journalists. Even if it seems near impossible, there is a way to make it into your favorite publication – all it takes is the right angle.

As your company’s spokesperson, it’s your duty to protect your business’s reputational frontline and reach target audiences. Through PR, media and analyst relations, these goals are achieved, along with boosting sales revenue and industry thought leadership.

So, whether you’re a well-known global company, or a small software testing start-up, reaching the press follows the same tips as discussed in our blog over the past month. In case you missed it, Prompt has compiled them all into one free, handy download – all you need to do is fill out the form below.

Ultimately software testing makes a significant and concrete difference to customer confidence, corporate reputation and that all important bottom line. And PR should be doing just that for you too.

To speak to one of our PR consultants, please contact us today. In a short time, our expert team can discuss your specific situation and some activities that will get you traction in relevant press as a software testing thought leader.

By PromptLondon

May 31st, 2013

Remembering London’s colourful past

Remembering London’s colourful past

Londoner Claude Friese-Greene was the inventor of an additive colour film process called Biocolour, or the Fries-Green Colour Process. In 1927 he filmed one of the first coloured motion pictures ever made, documenting London life when the city wasn’t just capital of England, but remained the centre an enduring British Empire accounting for more than a fifth of the world’s population.

This remarkable film captures a snapshot of hatted Londoners enjoying the sights, sounds and smells of the city between the wars. Interstitial captions point out that more than ‘4000 motor busses’ now patrol London’s streets, and that “more than one American has offered to buy our Tower and erect it on Palm Beach as a bungalow!”

By exposing alternate frames of black and white film through a different-coloured filter, then staining the resulting prints either red or green, Friese-Greene was able to project an illusion of genuine colour. The British Film Institute (BFI) has now used the very latest computer techniques to clean up the nostalgic film and reduce flickering so it can be enjoyed by a modern audience.

The results, which we first viewed courtesy of PetaPixel, are fascinating for anyone like us here at Prompt London who work in the city daily, and still walk the same streets, only with very different views. Still, some things haven’t changed – Petticoat Lane market is still impossibly busy, Hyde Park and St. James look just as inviting on a sunny afternoon, and we’re still winning Cricket test matches!

By Media Team

May 29th, 2013

Prompt Communications wins Equiso public relations account

Prompt Communications wins Equiso public relations account

By Media Team

May 22nd, 2013

Prompt Communications appointed by Integralis to drive US media relations

Prompt Communications appointed by Integralis to drive US media relations

 Prompt leads North American public relations program for a leading provider of IT security and information risk management solutions 

Boston, MA – Prompt Communications, a transatlantic public relations and digital communications agency with experience in the high-tech, sustainability and healthcare markets, has been selected by Integralis Inc. to lead its North American media outreach program.

Headquartered in Ismaning, Germany, Integralis offers IT security and information risk management solutions to clients around the world. Integralis provides a complete end-to-end security solution that incorporates initial assessments, policy planning and hands-on deployment with 24×7 management and support.

The company has a rich portfolio of managed security, business infrastructure, consulting and technology integration services, combining to reduce overall business costs and risk. Integralis solutions address the needs of customers spanning every vertical sector, focusing on multinational enterprise clients. 

Heather Antoinetti, director of marketing for Integralis said: “As a global provider of IT security services with a growing presence in North America, we wanted a communications agency that both specialized in high-tech and had a dynamic presence in the US and overseas. Prompt has a proven track record in these areas, and we look forward to expanding our brand presence and thought leadership through a US-based public relations campaign built around quality press outreach and rich customer relationships.”

Prompt’s CEO Hazel Butters said: “Prompt is thrilled to partner with Integralis to further its brand reputation in North America and beyond. Integralis delivers end-to-end offerings that provide enterprises in every sector with intelligent ways to manage risk. Inevitable trends in cloud, social, mobile and BYOD technology models are challenging all modern businesses to meet new and intricate security challenges with smarter solutions. It is our pleasure to be appointed by a company that addresses the complex risks associated with fresh trends in every market.”

About Integralis

Integralis provides IT Security and Information Risk Management solutions on a global basis. The company delivers a portfolio of managed security, business infrastructure, consulting and technology integration services. Integralis’ solutions help organizations lower IT costs and increase the depth of security protection, compliance and service availability. Integralis is headquartered in Ismaning, Germany and part of the NTT Communications Group, owned by NTT (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation), one of the largest telecommunications companies in the world. www.integralis.com

About Prompt Communications

Prompt is a communications agency that enables marketers to increase their sales and marketing effectiveness.  Specializing in innovative markets including sustainability, technology and healthcare, Prompt helps its clients communicate authentically with core audiences online and offline through PR, media relations, copywriting, market and industry analysis, social media, video content and customer reference programs. Founded in 2002, Prompt has US offices in Boston and San Francisco, and European offices in London. Prompt’s current and former clients include Adeptra, Adobe Systems Incorporated, Corizon, Dell|Compellent, Foviance,  GenSight, Grouptree, IBM, Ipswitch File Transfer, jovoto, KANA, Oracle Corporation, smartFOCUS and Webtide. www.prompt-communications.com

By Helpful Hints, Prompt Technology PR

May 6th, 2013

Meet the software testing press

Meet the software testing press

Part two of six in our new blog series,

Prompt PR Snapshot: Software Testing

As a group of public relations and copywriting professionals, we are enthusiastic about our work in the technology industry, especially when it comes to software testing. Whether we’re writing press releases, ringing top-tier testing journalists, or simply picking up the latest issue of SD Times, the fast-paced software testing market is something that excites us – and even more exciting is the role PR can potentially play in it.

Last week, we noted that your software testing firm does, in fact, need PR, so it’s only right that our second edition of our ‘Prompt PR Snapshot: Software Testing’ will begin with a coverage tutorial, taking you on a journey through the world of the software testing and specialist press.  When committing to a targeted media relations program, you’ll need to know who to target, and how to capture their attention.

The idea of specialized press often leads professionals to believe that they will simply be handed their media opportunities on a silver platter. Unfortunately, the truth is that no matter how relevant your high tech firm is to the software testing publication you’re hoping to appear in, you’re still going to have to try for that coverage.

Here are some considerations to make the uphill battle a bit more bearable. When reaching out to aforementioned specialist press, be sure to:

- Remain as up-to-date and relevant as you can: Editors and readers alike need to know that you truly understand the challenges facing software testing employees, and are providing information that will realistically better their practices. Learn as much as you can about the organizations implementing your services and their employees’ needs.

- Offer only your most knowledgeable, confident spokesperson: Each editorial opportunity is different, but one thing remains the same – the editors are looking for an insightful spokesperson, one that is capable of being a though leader within the sector. With this in mind, choose your spokesperson carefully each time a briefing is secured. Professionals featured must be able to handle any questions thrown their way, and therefore, they should be an expert on the topic at hand.

- Fit the mold: Software testing press is most keen to see collateral in the form of customer case studies, controversial opinion pieces, authoritative thought leadership pieces, hard news or analysis. Approach the journalist equipped with one of these angles from the beginning and set yourself apart from the competition.

- Keep an open mind: Remember that these publications and their readership come from many different backgrounds. Customer successes and case studies can hone in on any market, so dig deep and find the best one in your arsenal.

Popular software testing titles in the US, UK, France and Germany to keep in mind for targeted media outreach include: Professional Tester, TEST Magazine, SD Times, Software Test Professionals, Programmez!, and ITSecCIty.de. The topics generally covered by these specialist publications are the following:

Join us next week for an in-depth look at how to land yourself a spot in the top-tier IT press, including Computer Weekly, Computing, Computerworld, Information Week, and TechWorld.

To discuss your specific situation, targets and how to gain valuable traction with relevant press as a software testing thought leader, please email agile@prompt-communications.com. We look forward to hearing from you.

By PromptBoston

May 3rd, 2013

Innovation Nation: Celebrating a proud pioneering tradition

Innovation Nation: Celebrating a proud pioneering tradition

Massachusetts, and the twin cities of Boston and Cambridge in particular, has been a thriving hotbed of innovation and pioneering spirit since its very foundation. From Harvard intellectuals to ground-breaking glass and ink industrialists, from the earliest computing visionaries to modern green tech and life science visionaries, innovation has always been second nature in this part of the world.

To celebrate the vibrancy, optimism and can-do determination of business and individuals that still thrives in the area today, Prompt Communications has decided to produce a series of short videos showcasing the rich talents of start-ups operating out of the Cambridge Innovation Center.

We’re interviewing truly inspiring, innovative businesses at CIC, and can’t wait to share the passion and enthusiasm they have for their products and markets with you. We’ll reveal what makes the people behind these organizations tick, what fuels their ideas, and how they became so ambitious and driven to succeed.

Join us as we showcase our nation’s greatest innovations, and celebrate the proud pioneering spirit of some of the most exciting businesses in operation today.

By Jessica Branco, Prompt PR Boston

May 2nd, 2013

Prompt interviews….

Prompt interviews….

Peter Ryder, co-author of Crowdstorm: The Future of Innovation, Ideas, and Problem Solving

Here at Prompt we’re all committed PR and comms advocates, so we relish any innovative ideas designed to shake up markets, capture the attention of investors and prospects, and make a company stand out from even the toughest competitors.

While many companies still look inwardly for ideas and feedback from their own colleagues, growing numbers of successful innovations are now being driven by crowdsourcing; turning to the public for contributions in the form of thoughts, funding or critique.

This week, we caught up with Peter Ryder, a friend of Prompt and co-author of Crowdstorm: The Future of Innovation, Ideas, and Problem Solving. In this ‘Prompt interviews’ session, Jessica Branco of the Prompt Boston team caught up with Peter to discuss the opportunities, benefits and challenges of crowdsourcing, and to hear further details about his new book. It was also a chance to discuss why so many organizations from startups to Fortune 500 firms are now turning to crowdsourcing to share the wisdom of thousands of outsiders in uncovering new ideas and innovations.

Prompt Boston: Can you please tell us more about your background, and how you became interested in crowdsourcing?

Peter Ryder: I worked for many years as a consultant at Accenture, Computer Sciences Corporation and Deloitte Consulting helping clients improve their operations and their relationships with their customers by rethinking their processes and enabling these process changes through technology.  I saw how organizations often sub-optimized their business by relying on assumptions that were no longer completely valid.  Testing underlying assumptions was a first step to rethinking approaches to unlocking value. In 2010 I became President of jovoto, Inc., a start-up that connects companies who are looking for ideas with creative talent anywhere who have ideas.  At that time, a number of companies were beginning to look seriously at crowdsourcing.  With Web 2.0 really kicking in the mid to late 2000s massively reduced transaction costs tested why an organization needed to hire full time employees for all tasks — some jobs might be done by multiple people with expertise and perspective not found in the organization.  Organizations like P&G, GE and LEGO were exploring how to access talent anywhere to help them work on some of their pressing challenges more rapidly.  And new start-up companies like Quirky were building crowds into the very fabric of their business models. At jovoto, we worked on what processes, community management and technology needed to be in place for our customers to find innovative ideas using external talent.   But we were also seeing a morphing of crowdsourcing from a simple focus on getting ideas from external talent to organizations developing more complex interactions with crowds asking them to do multiple tasks, not only selecting ideas but engaging with communities to get feedback on ideas and helping them select ideas.  And, it was this interesting dynamic that led to writing the book.

What are the key benefits of crowdsourcing an idea, service or product?

What has been the most eye opening for companies with regards to benefits is that getting good ideas for a service or product is just the beginning.  Of course outcomes are key: If your Super Bowl ad is ranked in the top 10 ads, by multiple metrics, many years in a row, your ad has succeeded; If your product is selling successfully and winning design awards, your design has succeeded. And if you find new partners that result in value-creating partnerships, you have succeeded in your business development efforts. In each of these cases, we found examples resulting from crowdstorming. These outcomes come from Pepsi, Quirky (a consumer electronics startup) and GE Ecomagination. But an additional benefit comes from providing a mechanism for evaluating ideas.  Balanced with expert evaluation, you can ask crowds to help you vet the most promising ideas.  LEGO gets lots of ideas from the crowd for new products.  But it requires 10,000 votes from the LEGO community before the internal LEGO team will consider it for production. Finally, by posting a challenge to a crowd an organization can start a broad conversation that helps it pre-market a new product or service by turning idea creation into a conversation and a media event.

What is your advice to marketers who haven’t crowdsourced yet?

Do a little homework; look at some of the work that the organizations above have done.  It is not necessary to start at Super Bowl scale.  Choose a small project to test how your organization reacts to leveraging external talent.  In the book we talk about the processes and some of the best approaches for doing crowdstorm projects; it is important to become familiar with these and see how they apply to your organization.  If you feel like your organization would benefit from leveraging the skills of one of the many providers who are supporting crowdstorming, engage with them and tap into their experience, approaches and technology. Like any new approach, this requires that there is commitment from someone in the organization who can directly benefit from the outcome – make sure that sponsorship is in place.  Finally, marketing departments who have existing relationships with traditional creative providers can weave them into the project if they choose.  There are a number of different points where their expertise can help – from designing the brief to evaluating results.

How should marketers initially approach crowdsourcing?

As I said, education and sponsorship are critical to success.  Determine the scope of the project you initially want to work on.  Something well defined where the outcome can be measured or compared to a traditional approach can be helpful.  For example, when Victorinox designed a new limited edition of Swiss Army knives using crowdstorming, they benchmarked sales of the new product against previous launches. They fixed as many variables as they could and found that the crowdstormed limited edition knife resulted in a 20% increase in sales.  Marketers can also source a new campaign from a traditional provider and evaluate it against the same campaign sourced through crowdstorming as a test – the evaluation can come from experts and crowds in order to benchmark.  There are many ways to get going.

Crowdstorm: The Future of Innovation, Ideas, and Problem Solving is now available at all major bookstores and Amazon.com. The book covers all topics of crowdsourcing, including patterns (search pattern, collaborative pattern), processes, recruitment, creative problem solving techniques, management of crowds, social media, analytics, evaluation and much more.

By Helpful Hints, Prompt Technology PR

April 29th, 2013

Software testing and the PR opportunity

Software testing and the PR opportunity

Part one of six in our new blog series,

Prompt PR Snapshot: Software Testing

As a transatlantic PR and copywriting firm, we’ve worked with high tech clients spanning the globe, from Boston start-ups to key players like Dell and Oracle. Since 2005, we’ve worked with Sogeti UK, one the UK’s leading provider of software testing services, to deliver a powerful media outreach programme, securing coverage in popular titles like Computerworld, ComputerWeekly, Tech World and TEST Magazine.

From our experience in working with high tech clients, in particular the software testing industry, we’ve compiled a Prompt blog series highlighting key tips when reaching out to various types of press covering the sector. Consider this your weekly inside scoop when it comes to PR and software testing, compiled from our media relations expertise dating back to 2002.

Why software testing needs PR

If you manage, market or work for a software testing or quality assurance firm, then you are on the reputational frontline. Your customers operate in increasingly competitive markets and know that the quality and speed of software delivery can be the difference between success and failure. They depend on you to make their businesses work, because when technology fails and transactions stop, business processes halt and customers get frustrated. And when today’s customers get angry, they talk about it online; on blogs, Facebook and Twitter.

Your opportunity to comment

Business managers are painfully aware of the need to ‘get up to speed’ with testing tools, applications and processes that are of critical strategic importance. This is the opportunity for you to educate, inform, prove, and even entertain – with fresh ideas, expert insights, real authority, fun and enthusiasm for your business.

The media opportunity

Prompt has worked with the media in the US, the UK, France and Germany. These are the countries where our clients operate, where we employ consultants to work in local languages, and where we know the press. We regularly work with all areas of the media in these territories to protect and reflect our clients’ objectives and interests. Join us next week, as we take our first look into some of the different print and online influencers that we advise and target for software testing vendors. We’ll start our series off with the specialist press, which includes the SD Times, Programmez! and Professional Tester.

To discuss your specific situation, targets and activities that will get you traction with relevant press as a software testing thought leader, please email agile@prompt-communications.com. We look forward to hearing from you.