No February Postings ?

I was quiet in blog-world last month, probably with good reason.

Home life took precedence. On January 31, I went over to check my father’s house, the home I’d grew up in. I’m the caretaker during his Florida winters. The pipes had burst sometime in between my previous visit on the prior Thursday, before a massive thunder/lightning/windstorm and an arctic chill. The cascading waters short-circuited the furnaces, so as I arrived, I saw frosted windows (never a good sign), wood floors buckling under glazed ice. The following days were spent with plumbers, oil people, insurance adjusters, repair people, etc.

Having learned that repair people only give arrival estimates, I had to work client meetings and schedules around “we’ll be there sometime 9am-noon”. The old house has no wi-fi, and phone service had been suspended, so much of my work took place evenings and weekends.

As house got under control, I decided to fly to FL for a week to provide some dad-care and work on my tan. Coldest winter on record in Marco Island, FL, but I managed to get outside daily and enhance the tan.

Anyways, at work, we provided counsel to: a former broadcast colleague who is out-of-work and wrote his resume and cover letters; fine-tuned a travel itinerary for a client; wrote several newsletter copies, and worked with some new clients. We also became more adept at social network marketing with Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter (mgauerbach).

My January Revamp: Networked

I initially questioned the validity of social media for anything other than...well connecting. This last Fall, I had three clients with projects that might be promoted through Facebook, Linked-In, and Twitter. All told, our marketing via social media was successful and more cost-effective than some other traditional marketing methods.

So, after recommending clients utilize social media for marketing, I’ve spent a good part of January working on Facebook, Linked-In, and, yes, Twitter.

I’m easy to find on the networks.

On Facebook, I’m Mark G. Auerbach. I started using Facebook to bring my Northfield Mount Hermon class together. As Class Secretary, it was a good way to reconnect. Within a couple of months, we had a class group. I also use FB for personal use only, so I’ve gone out of my way to appear only interested in caffeine, lying in the sun, and showtunes.

On Linked In, I’m Mark G. Auerbach. I’m using Linked In to reconnect with colleagues, and make new contacts that can help me maintain and grow the business. Some of the forums are terrific. I find it odd, though, that there's no specific place for a middle initial, so I chuckle when it says "Mark G says this" or "Mark G recommends this"

On Twitter, I’m mgauerbach. I’m too much of a neophyte to evaluate its success and too busy to tweet.

For those exploring social media, I recommend: Marketingbuddy’s Blog: Bringing Social Media Marketing to the average Joe or Jane. http://marketingbuddy.wordpress.com/

Donna Abelli, a Western Massachusetts-based graphic designer and marketing consultant, has started a new blog for marketeers, public relations, and business people, which makes it easy to understand social media from Facebook to Linked-In. Social marketing media plans are essential to doing good business, and they’re here to stay. A little knowledge here goes a long way.

Mark G Auerbach Public Relations: The 2009 Recap

In some ways, 2009 was a challenging year for my company, Mark G Auerbach Public Relations. We parted company with a client we'd done work for in excess of 22 years--public radio station WFCR; saw other clients go under or cut back, and found it more difficult to manage cash-flow. Challenge enthuses me, but it would be nice if market conditions improve before next summer's pool/tan season.

On the plus side, we added some new clients and projects, including:

***Mike Thornton Agency in Washington, DC:. Mike and I co-produced an almost sold out performance of the Capitol Steps in Northampton, MA (my first-ever event production independent of a client). Mike, a member of The Capitol Steps and a talented DC-based jazz and big band singer, hired us to promote Capitol Steps performances in Orlando, FL; Lebanon, NH; Albany, NY; and Cambridge/Boston, MA and two jazz performances in the metropolitan Washington, DC area.

***"Says You!", the public radio quiz show carried on over 100 stations coast-to-coast. We linked "Says You!" and our other client, Cross-Culture Journeys, together to produce an April 2010 Holland and Belgium small ship cruise during tulip time.

***PACE Theatre in Easthampton, MA, a small non-profit group which presented the musical "Falsettos" at The Academy of Music Theatre in Northampton, MA. We coordinated their marketing and public relations for the two-week performance run.

***A series of smaller projects including: a ghost-writing project for singer interested in developing a club act, copywriting and media-buying services for another marketing agency; resume and cover-writing projects for job-seekers, and more. I continued to serve on the Northfield Mount Hermon School's NMH Magazine Editorial Board (and act as class secretary with two other classmates). I also taught a public relations seminar for my collegue Brenda Garton's communications class at Western New England College.

We got into social media with Linked-In (where I hopefully look smart and savvy) and succumbed to the allure of Facebook (where I appear under-caffeinated). Find me on both under the name Mark G. Auerbach. I was actually able to use both to promote client programs and activities.

I like New Years. It offers a chance to close some doors, a chance to open others, and an opportunity to thank and appreciate colleagues, friends, and vendors who helped to make the old year possible. Thank you. Happy New Year.

Additional Press for The Capitol Steps

The Cambridge Performances (November 28)

***Boston Globe (11/05/09) "Mark Your Calendars": http://www.boston.com/ae/events/articles/2009/11/05/mark_your_calendar/

***Boston Globe (11/27/09): Weekend
http://www.boston.com/ae/theater_arts/articles/2009/11/27/a_capitol_idea/

***Panorama Boston Guide: http://www.bostonguide.com/current_events/current_event.aspx?event=comedy

Lebanon, NH Performance (November 15)

***Hanover NH Chamber of Commerce: http://hanoverchamber.org/calendar/show_event.php?id=546&o=2&c=1&m=11&a=19&y=2009&w=1

Northampton, MA Performance (November 14)

***Westfield on Weekends: http://www.westfieldonweekends.org/events/index.php?com=detail&eID=23591&month=11&year=2009

Capitol Steps / Lebanon. A Rave Review

From Kerry Trotter at the Valley News:

http://www.vnews.com/11162009/6164381.htm

Capitol Steps / Northampton. Successful performance!

The MGAPR/Mike Thornton Agency co-producing venture of "The Capitol Steps" Obama Mia Tour performance in Northampton, our first independent production since our WFCR days, was a success. Mike and I had co-produced The Capitol Steps for seven seasons at Mount Holyoke as a WFCR benefit. We'd both worked together on other Capitol Steps performances (he as producer, me as publicist) in Vermont, Cambridge, and Orlando. This was our first shot doing it on our own.

The Academy of Music Theatre in Northampton was the ideal venue. Theatre director Debra J'Anthony and general manager Matt Meers were great to work with, as was Mark Florence at the Northampton Box-Office. Communication Angle provided great marketing materials. We also had great support from our sponsors, The Valley Advocate, Daily Hampshire Gazette, and 88.5FM/WFCR and 640AM/WNNZ.

I always like to thank the people behind the scenes who make collaborations successful, so an appreciative shout-out to: Patty Desroches, Mark Iacuessa, Vanessa Cerillo, Chris Daly, and Michael Kusek.

Some of the great media features generated here:

***Amherst Bulletin and Daily Hampshire Gazette interview with Elaina Newport, co-founder of The Capitol Steps: http://www.amherstbulletin.com/story/id/159796/
***Springfield Sunday Republican interview with Bari Biern, a member of The Capitol Steps: http://www.masslive.com/springfield/republican/index.ssf?/base/news-25/1257495358325930.xml&coll=1

Recent Publicity for Mark G Auerbach Public Relations Clients

We're doing PR for The Mike Thornton Agency for the Capitol Steps tour (we're co-producing the Northampton performance with Mike)


Albany, NY (The Egg, October 17)

***Empire Page: http://www.empirepage.com/2009/10/8/the-capitol-steps-bring-their-political-musical-satire-obama-mia-to-albany-s-egg-on-saturday-october-17
***Bennington VT Banner: http://www.benningtonbanner.com/entertainment/ci_13564225
***WAMC Website: http://www.wamcarts.org/capstepsategg.html
***Albany CBS6: http://events.cbs6albany.com/albany-ny/events/show/88306824-the-capitol-steps

Cambridge/Boston, MA (Sanders Theatre, November 28 at 5PM & 8PM)

***Culture Mob: http://culturemob.com/events/6049035-the-capitol-steps-the-obama-mia-tour-ma-cambridge-mid-cambridge-02138-sanders-theatre
***Sonic Living Blog: http://sonicliving.com/event/1464843

Lebanon, NH (Lebanon Opera House, November 15 at 7:30PM)

***Eventful.com: http://eventful.com/lebanon_nh/events/the-capitol-steps-/E0-001-025639568-9
***New Hampshire.com: http://calendar.newhampshire.com/calendar/venues/Lebanon_Opera_House/14.aspx
***Leave No Trace Blog: http://leavenotracecabin.com/leavenotracecabin/blog/
***The Laker Guide: http://www.thelaker.com/whatsup/november.html

Northampton, MA (Academy of Music. November 14 at 8PM)

***Mass Live (Springfield Republican) Listings: http://www.masslive.com/events/index.ssf?/cgi-bin/mae.cgi/mass/events/results_advanced.ata?start=70&domain=event&search=advanced&city=Northampton&date=&pov=&x=44&y=12
***Mass Live 2: (Springfield Republican)-Northampton events: http://mass.live.advance.net/events/index.ssf?/cgi-bin/mae.cgi/mass/events/results_advanced.ata?start=80&domain=event&search=advanced&city=Northampton&date=&pov=&x=44&y=12
***Linked In (Springfield area listings): http://events.linkedin.com/springfield-massachusetts
***Facebook: http://af-za.facebook.com/event.php?eid=157079621489&index=1