Horn Group PR combines insight, imagination and results.
It’s about engaging in a discussion, not sending a message.
Strategy and Messaging
Great communications requires both strategy and flawless execution. Whether a detailed roadmap or rapid response to breaking news, clients rely on our counsel for insight and swift decision-making. We provide strategy on all fronts including branding and positioning, news and launches, quarterly earnings and material announcements, crisis communications, crowding the competition, blogging and social media marketing.
Media & Influencer Relations
Your sphere of influencers includes media, analysts, bloggers and pundits. While each has their own role in the sphere of influence, the rules of engagement for each are the same: relevance and relationships. Part well-honed intuition and part strategy, we run proactive campaigns and create compelling news that presents both business and technical stories in the way that best resonates with readers in the moment.
We know that reporters are under more pressure than ever because they are on the hook not only for daily or weekly stories but also for multiple forms of content. We’ll help you grab their interest with clear, concise and compelling communications via hype-free pitches and press releases, clever infographics, and compelling video.
Our industry focus gives us something few large agencies can offer: long-standing relationships with trade, business and vertical media. In fact, journalists have ranked Horn Group as a top agency five years in a row, in PRSourceCode’s annual Top Tech Communicators survey.
We also have a long history with the analyst community – we’ve run analyst programs for almost all of our clients, represented some of the top analyst firms themselves, and subscribed to the services of the top influencers. Being on "both sides of the fence" has given us a deep understanding of each firm's focus and direction.
Media Training & Presentation Coaching
Horn Group VoicePower is award-winning media training and presentation coaching that gives spokespeople the skills they need to engage their audience and communicate persuasively. Designed for both media spokespeople and sales teams, VoicePower includes hands-on interview and Q&A coaching that is customized for each executive. The training is conducted by agency partners who often invite local journalists for mock interviews and on-camera role-play. Participants walk away with new confidence in their personal delivery style, their ability to engage in credible and compelling conversation and their ease with tough interviews on-camera or off.
Company & Product Launches
There are many ways to launch a new company, product or service. For an emerging growth company, a launch is the market debut – setting the stage for audience awareness, category placement and target market penetration. For a global public company, a launch can help it surpass the competition, re-position itself in a new area, or turn around existing perceptions.
Horn Group provides clients with strategy and execution on all aspects of a tightly integrated launch – planning, messages, news value, spokespeople, timing with other marketing and sales programs like the website, video, events, customer references, supporting materials and public disclosure requirements.
For many, a launch is an evolving process that grows as you roll out new iterations of your service, as buzz about your company swells, and as traffic to your website increases. While for others, a launch may be a grand celebration open to the public that combines offline and online programs. Regardless, we design innovative and actionable launch plans that will get you noticed.
Social Media Programs
We view social media as a business strategy – not simply a set of new tools. Unlike traditional corporate communication, which is hierarchical, social media brings customers, prospects, industry-watchers and others into an open conversation at all levels, from product strategy and development to service and brand. The broadcast approach to communicating no longer works; People want to discover news and information on their own.
Horn Group approaches social media by looking at your business objectives first and assessing cultural readiness to engage in this two-way medium, matching the tools to fit the goals. We've established a model that allows you to associate social media with specific business drivers like customer experience, innovation and financial performance. Even if you start small, you can design programs that solve real business problems and deliver meaningful results.
Our social media offering includes monitoring and listening programs, boot camp training for executives, blog strategy, community strategy, issues management and influencer relations. Our award winning interactive design team designs and develops social newsrooms, corporate blogs, widgets and customer communities. And we help companies create authentic and provocative digital content like video, motion graphics and presentations.
Speaking & Events
Industry visibility, product awareness, networking and sales leads, executive thought-leadership: these are just a few outcomes of an executive speaker bureau. But an invitation to speak at an event is not an opportunity for a one-way presentation. This is the age of Conference 2.0 where the audience has influence equal to the presenters and moderators. Horn Group coaches clients on developing a commanding presence, preparing for panel moderation or participation, and what to expect from audience participation and immediate feedback in the form of microblogging.
In addition to the most current event databases and in-house research, we bring a wealth of contacts with conference coordinators and event managers to secure high-profile placements for both large public and small private companies. Often, we prepare video abstracts in our studio that stand out from the masses. We draw on relationships with executives, customers, board members and other industry influencers to increase visibility with event decision-makers. Once a speaking slot has been secured, we act as a liaison to manage deadlines and logistics. We work closely with speakers to shape and refine presentation materials, prep speakers, and manage onsite follow-up.
Customer Programs
The only way to truly substantiate product claims is through the voice of a real customer. As references are more difficult than ever to secure for small and large companies alike, we develop customer programs that support marketing objectives, but that are also effective within the limitations of a client's organization. This can mean leveraging our contacts and expertise with Fortune 500 PR departments to secure a home-run quote for a press release; developing incentive programs and supporting materials to entice and educate customers (or sales teams) on the reference process; identifying a handful of smaller customers with a good story that will be on-call for the media; or pairing a one-time media reference with the right publication for maximum impact.
Events & Trade Shows
Events are often included as part of a larger thought leadership campaign. We have experience managing events from multi-country product launches and high profile press conferences to more intimate round table dinners and trade show hospitality receptions. The agency also hosts its own series of industry events to provide clients direct access to our powerful network of contacts. Once a quarter we invite client executives to mingle with business press, potential partners and industry influencers.
Awards & Reviews Programs
Most agencies relegate reviews and awards programs to the most junior staff. At Horn Group, we work closely with clients to get the right content up front to shape fiasco-free reviews and winning award entries that showcase company, product and executive achievements.
Global PR Support
Horn Group founded the Oriella PR Network with our partner Brands2Life in 2006 to provide global PR support to international companies. Best know for its annual Digital Journalism Study, Oriella is an alliance of 15 communications agencies in 20 countries around the world. Our partnership was built upon a set of best practices and close working relationships not offered by other global networks. Partners in the Oriella PR Network have worked successfully on dozens of client projects - in some case for many years. Oriella partners exist in major and secondary markets throughout The Americas, Europe and Asia/Pacific.
Measurement & Analytics
Horn Group delivers more than press releases and column inches. We’ve developed a custom metrics dashboard that combines real-time data and analytics with the added value of personal insight and actionable recommendations from your account team. We provide competitive share-of-voice analysis to track audience penetration and fine tune marketing strategy. We monitor and report on what's being said about clients and their markets across all channels from media to social networks to forums and communities. Quarterly, we do reviews with our clients to make sure we are on track and to benchmark results in the right way to meet everyone's needs.