P/B Welcomes Hannah Smith, a senior at the University of Central Florida as our newest Graphic Arts Intern. We couldn’t have asked for a more talented and professional student to spend the Fall with us.

Hannah is already working closely with Greg Trippe, our art director and Dan McDonald, our creative director to dive head first into the animated world of graphic arts. We’re excited to have Hannah in the office where we can learn from each other.

Hannah is not only hard at work studying at UCF and learning at PB, she’s recently engaged and planning a wedding! Somehow, with such a full plate, she still is able to lend herself to learning more about her craft and the business world behind graphic arts.

Interested in the Patterson/Bach Intern Program? Know a student who wants to intern in public relations, marketing, advertising or graphic arts? Email hannah@pat-bach.com (Hannah DeBevoise, Assistant Account Executive) to learn more!

Hannah DeBevoise joined as assistant account executive at Patterson/Bach in April. Here at P/B, Hannah works with a diverse roster of clients providing media relations, social media management, writing and editing services, to name a few.

Hannah previously worked with the media relations team at Florida Hospital where her responsibilities included assisting with public relations research, writing, media relations, and social media management. She is a graduate of Stetson University with a bachelor of arts in communication studies and journalism.

She enjoys browsing local farmers markets, visiting historical locations, and tasting all sorts of new foods.

CenterState Bank has launched a thorough customer feedback program developed and supported by Patterson/Bach. The localized program ties into CenterState’s “We Believe in You” campaign, highlighting positive relationships built through community banking.

CenterState branches will display feedback forms in custom, localized holders featuring the Bank’s community presidents and feedback mantra, “We Believe in Listening to You.” The feedback form’s goals are to reinforce excellent customer service among team members who receive positive feedback, as well as working to improve areas of the community banking experience. CenterState desires to continue working hard to always make its customers’ banking experiences better.

Contact P/B if your company is in need of a successful and positive customer communication campaign by calling 407-645-1880.

As a P/B intern, our team expects top-notch performance day in and day out, and we offer a unique opportunity to work hand-in-hand with some of our industry’s most accomplished professionals. Our Fall 2011 intern, Anthony Rouhana, was the definition of an ideal intern with quick wit, engaging ideas, professionalism, and most importantly a recognizable passion for marketing. It is with great pleasure and support that P/B congratulates Anthony as he has been hired as a full-time marketing coordinator.

“Interning at a full-service agency gave me insight into all aspects of a campaign, from creative concept to execution and measurement. Being a part of international media buys, social media campaigns, and public relations outreach served as a powerful opportunity to gather real-world experience in my field. My six months at Patterson/Bach Communications reinforced my college education and helped me develop the skills I am using today as a marketing coordinator.”

Patterson/Bach is currently interviewing motivated and interested candidates for Summer and Fall 2012 internships. If you or someone you know is interested, please send a cover letter, resume, and three writing samples to erin@pat-bach.com.

P/B has been selected by H. J. High Construction, an iconic Orlando company, to provide public relations services, including media relations and social media management, among others.

“We selected Patterson/Bach based on their innovative approach to public relations and experience in the architecture and construction industry,” says Robert High, president, H. J. High Construction. “We also feel their philosophy on strategic planning and development will bring great value to H. J. High.”

Since 1936, H.J. High Construction has been a leader in Florida’s construction marketplace and dedicated to building only the highest quality buildings that inspire, educate and further people’s lives while enhancing their communities. H.J. High Construction specializes in general contracting, pre-construction services, design-build, construction management and preventative maintenance services for education, industrial, commercial, and religious facilities. For more information, visit www.HJHigh.com.

Patterson/Bach is kicking off its P/B Gives Back Challenge, a social media contest, scheduled to run April 9 – May 11. The contest challenges Facebook followers to answer a series of trivia questions for a chance to select a Central Florida nonprofit organization to receive one free service from a menu of select Patterson/Bach advertising, marketing, or public relations offerings.

“The contest idea is similar to a game of Jeopardy,” says Tim Bach, president, Patterson/Bach Communications. “To prepare, followers should brush up on the history of advertising, public relations, and marketing.”

The contest is open to everyone, including employees and volunteers of Central Florida nonprofits. To enter the contest, simply “like” Patterson/Bach’s Facebook fan page and go to our “Trivia” tab each week until the contest ends May 11. The more questions answered correctly, the better your chance to win.

The Facebook follower who answers the most questions correctly by the end of the month-long contest will have the opportunity to nominate a deserving Central Florida nonprofit organization to receive a free advertising, marketing, or public relations service. The nominated organization will be contacted and offered the choice of one service, free of charge, from a select list of offerings, including a custom Facebook page, creative development of an advertisement or logo, social media activity review and recommendations, one press release with distribution to Orlando-based media, or one 30-minute public relations consulting session!

What’s the ROI for your social media effort? That’s the million-dollar question every business and organization would like to answer. It can be difficult to measure whether or not the time and resources spent on developing, building, and maintaining two-way communication actually produces quantifiable results for your organization. Here’s what you need to know…

First, understand what you are tracking and why. Do you want more people exposed to your message, product, or service; therefore, the number of likes or followers is important? Do you seek to increase audience engagement so more people have a greater understanding of your product or service, so comments and re-tweets are important? Are referrals and testimonials critical to your organization, so re-posts, check-ins, or pins are most important? Are you monitoring upticks in all areas during a promotion with specific start and end dates? Making sure you align your social media goals with your business goals helps you define what to track and why.

Second, identify the best methods to track the social media metrics you’ve chosen. This might require a third-party social media analytics resource, of which there are many with a range of costs, but it might not. For example, if you just want to track followers and interaction from posts, there are free sources that might be all you need. Ultimately, social media measurement is possible to fit within your budget, so you can be sure that whether your organization is at the level of social media novice, veteran, or somewhere in between, you are sure to measure ROI with an understanding of the most effective ways to do so.

At Patterson/Bach, we’re dedicated to finding the best and most cost-efficient ways to track your social media success, and sometimes that doesn’t mean spending big bucks!

Call Patterson/Bach for your social media needs at 407-645-1880.

Now you might expect me to follow-up with an assessment of the changing figurative “face” of the industry, but this is a literal reference to the rapid changes of the faces I knew for so long and now they are no longer. I feel as though I don’t know anyone in media anymore, and after nearly 15 years of managing media relations for dozens of clients in diverse industries, that’s hard to believe. There was a time when you could name a publication and the beat, and I could tell you the name of the reporter and probably his/hers dog’s name. The last five years, however, have shown me “times they are a’ changing.” And I was reminded of this even more so recently during a string of head-shaking events (and that’s shaking side to side in an “I-can’t-believe-this-insanity” sort of way, not up and down in an “I-agree-with-this-insanity-and-I’m-liking-these-changes” sort of way):
1. We researched every expensive third-party vendor that provides media contact database services to dig into how they research, aggregate, and KEEP UP TO DATE their media contact information, and not one has a better mouse trap than another, so we’ll stick with the one we have (not naming names) because it’s better than nothing, but ultimately we’re really doing their job for them as we constantly submit new contact information we identify, which helps make their database current, and I’m sure their others clients are doing the same. Maybe we should just all get together and develop a media contact sharing site, where PR professionals constantly submit new media contact information as we learn about changes, we maintain it as a community of professionals, and there’s no $5k-$10k cost to our agencies annually.
2. I called on an assistant editor with a well-known and still reasonably respected publication to pitch him on an incredibly relevant, timely issue for an upcoming edition of his publication specific to the affected geographic area – a no brainer, right? Only to be told the specific issue would be mostly charts and graphs (no doubt compiled by an unpaid intern) and published as high-level, valuable content to readers – with little to no editorial and certainly no thorough, insightful discussion of the elephant in the room. Where’s an investigative journalist when you need one?
3. I contacted some outlets around the state that had outdated contact information in our database system (did I mention already that we do their job for them?), and 70% no longer have a human who answers the main line and, get this, 50% do not have a human who answers the NEWS ROOM phone – seriously, I feel as though I’m in the Twilight Zone. So, I guess I’ll leave a message with my breaking news.
4. Of the people I do get to answer the phone, 75% of them don’t know who the reporter is for the beat I’m seeking, and these, mind you, are not international news outlets. So, I’ll hold while he/she asks the one other person who’s working in the news room, so he/she can come back and tell me the name of the poor person who’s covering 19 beats or the generic email to send all news so it can be farmed out to an intern or recent grad who’s never covered this beat before, then post the story online so we have no idea who wrote it, his/her background or how to contact him/her – just call the general phone number and leave a message for the person with no name.
5. Lastly, and I saved the best for last, is the assignment desk manager who never fails to be the rudest person you’ll ever speak to by phone who also has the nerve to tell you they make things up and call areas of town whatever they want, because basically, “what are you going to do about it?” – well, with the rapid decline of journalists and some accountability, I guess I’ll get back to listening to elevator music while I wait to leave a message with my breaking news.

P/B was selected by Pittcon to provide public relations services to promote its upcoming Conference & Expo in Orlando, Fla., at the Orange County Convention Center March 11-15.

P/B has been chosen to help increase awareness of the Conference known as the world’s largest annual laboratory science conference and exposition. Pittcon hosts an estimated 1,000 exhibitors and attendees from more than 90 countries; offers more than 2,000 presentations; and receives international attention as new discoveries are unveiled.

P/B ranked first by Sarasota County among multiple companies vying for a contract to provide a combination of services, from interactive and strategic planning to marketing and public relations.

“Even in difficult economic times, the fact that we continue to win new accounts reflects our continued success for our existing client roster,” says Tim Bach, president of Patterson/Bach.

Sarasota County (www.scgov.net) selected P/B for marketing, public relations, advertising, social media and interactive services for a three-year contract to increase awareness and understanding among its constituents about important programs and services, positioning the County as a vital community asset.