When was the last time YOU went to space?

The benefits of space exploration touch our lives daily.  From cell phones to space-based science and medicine we all experience these benefits each day.  The Coalition for Space Exploration launched the third video in a series designed to educate the public about the benefits of space exploration yesterday. 

Enjoy! And, please share with your friends, family and colleagues. 

Julie

Platinum publicity for Griffin Communications Group

When it comes to award-winning publicity campaigns, forget gold.  Griffin Communications Group dons platinum.  The Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals granted its prestigious 2009 Platinum MarCom Award to the full-service communications firm for its work in educating the public on the value and benefits of human space exploration.

Griffin’s client, the Coalition for Space Exploration (Coalition), wanted to garner national media coverage of NASA’s 50^th anniversary, which took place in October 2008.  Such coverage was critical to the Coalition’s mission of educating audiences of all ages on the continued importance and value of human space exploration. 

The agency conceptualized and implemented a satellite media tour themed “Passing the Torch:  NASA’s 50^th Anniversary” to highlight the administration’s accomplishments over the past five decades and to paint a vision for its future.  The tour featured former Apollo astronaut Capt. Eugene Cernan, the last man to set foot on the Moon, and a young female aerospace engineer currently vying for a seat in the astronaut corps.  Over a six-hour period, the duo appeared together in numerous satellite media interviews.  The effort far surpassed expectations, resulting in 84 placements on radio and television stations throughout the nation that reached 5.7 million people.

“Besides generating these powerful results, we caught NASA’s attention, the Coalition’s most important customer,” said Gwen Griffin, managing director of Griffin Communications Group. “We received several appreciative calls and e-mails from NASA personnel expressing gratitude to the Coalition for hosting such a tremendous media event for the 50^th anniversary.  You can’t put a price tag on that type of acknowledgement.”

In addition to the platinum award, Griffin also took home an honorable mention MarCom Award in the video/film/non-profit category for its “Keep America in Space” public service announcement on behalf of the Coalition.  The inspirational, viral video campaign, which was produced by Space City Films, stressed the true need for continued human space exploration and called upon viewers to spread the word.  Griffin managed the production process and coordinated distribution.

Presenting…Griffin Communications Group

As they say in the media, there’s “breaking news” at Griffin Integrated Marketing!  Starting today, we are changing our name to Griffin Communications Group (Griffin).  This is an exciting time of growth for our agency.

So, what is Griffin Communications Group?  It’s an evolution.  We remain a full-service communications firm that specializes in branding, strategic planning, public affairs, advertising, design, public relations, crisis communications, social media and more.  But, our focus will be different.  We will shift from a generalist agency into a niche firm that concentrates on select global industries, beginning with aerospace.

Our aerospace division will operate as Griffin Aerospace Communications.  We have more than a decade of experience developing strategic communications platforms for government entities, private sector companies and non-profit organizations within the aerospace industry – from civil to commercial to military space.  Plus, our Managing Director Gwen Griffin has a rich career history in the industry that began in 1985.

Just take a look at our current aerospace client roster:  NASA’s Constellation Spacesuit Systems Contract (Oceaneering), the Coalition for Space Exploration, United Space Alliance, Blue Origin, Astrotech/Astrogenetix, Space Florida, The Conrad Foundation and MEI Technologies, Inc.

Our past clients are just as prominent:  NASA Johnson Space Center Technology Transfer Office, Space Alliance Technology Outreach Program, Florida’s Technological Research and Development Authority, World Space Congress 2002, Cimarron, Inc., Space Center Houston and The Challenger Learning Center for Space Science Education.

But, we won’t stop with aerospace.  Under our new strategic plan, Griffin will add two more specialized niche practices in the next 12-24 months.

As we begin this evolution, we remain committed to all of our clients.  Our emphasis on exemplary customer service will not change.  Making sure we provide fresh ideas that generate powerful results remains our top priority.

Any questions, post a comment below, send us an email at info@griffincommgroup.com or give us a call at
(281) 335-0200.  Piqued your interest? Then, make sure to check out our site, become our friend on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

Here’s to the future!

Working hand in hand to keep America in space.

One of our social media-savvy clients, the Coalition for Space Exploration, has embarked on an online video campaign designed to inspire Americans and re-ignite national pride and support for space exploration.  The campaign kicked off this week with the anniversary of the Apollo Moon landing on Monday, July 20.

We worked hand-in-hand with the Coalition to produce and distribute this inspiring micro-cinema or PSA.  Our goal was to harness the power of social media to advocate for space exploration using a visually inspiring and compelling message.  Our distribution plan included a full range of online activities, including partnering with space and science bloggers,  digital postcards, space and science center partnerships, multiple video sharing sites and banner advertising.  Plus, we harnessed the power of social networks, such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, MySpace and LinkedIn.

Social media is changing the way that marketers and advocacy organizations deliver their message.  The traditional days of pushing out a press release are gone—we are now in the Web 2.0 world and dialogue, discussions and partnerships are playing a much larger role than ever before.  This video is a prime example of a new tool to reach out to an engaged audience with high expectations.  It also shows how a visually compelling message can inspire and create a whole new audience of devoted space fans.

Advocating for the U.S. space program is a large undertaking.  It will take all of us, working together.

Feel free to pass the video on, and help us keep America in space.

Griffin Integrated Marketing Takes Home Gold for Media Relations Work

We won two PRSA-Houston 2009 Gold Excalibur Awards

Griffin Integrated Marketing (Griffin) took home two 2009 Gold Excalibur Awards from the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Houston Chapter, both for media relations activities for the Coalition for Space Exploration (Coalition).

The “Passing the Torch: NASA’s 50^th Anniversary” satellite media tour (SMT) won top honors in the SMT category, while “America’s Space Program In Danger by James Lovell” captured first place in the op-ed/bylined article category.  Winners were announced June 18 at Hotel Derek.

(Left to right) Jaime Napoli and Carrie Taylor accepted the Public Relations Society of America awards for media relations activities for the Coalition for Space Exploration work on behalf of Griffin Integrated Marketing.

“Space is Griffin Marketing’s passion; many of our team members grew up around the space program and know its importance and value for our lives here on Earth,” said Gwen Griffin, owner/managing director of the agency.  “It is an honor to represent the Coalition and help them launch initiatives such as the SMT and op-ed to help assure the United States maintains its global leadership in space exploration.”

The Coalition is a group of space industry businesses and advocacy groups that educate and inform the public on the value and benefits of space exploration.  The Coalition commemorated NASA’s 50^th anniversary on Oct. 1, 2008 with an SMT to highlight the agency’s accomplishments over the past five decades, and its vision of the future.  To create the “Passing the Torch” theme, Griffin secured spokesperson Capt. Eugene Cernan, the last person to set foot on the Moon, and Damaris Sarria, a young aerospace engineer who has applied to become an astronaut and chronicles her experiences through her blog.  In the end, the SMT surpassed its goal of viewership by reaching 5.7 million people through 84 placements on radio and television outlets.

Similarly, the Coalition wanted to leverage the 40^th anniversary of Apollo 8 as a means of building public awareness and support of U.S. space exploration.  Griffin capitalized on the San Diego Air & Space Museum celebratory event to place an op-ed written by former astronaut and event speaker James Lovell in the San Diego Union-Tribune and on its Web site.  A press release with excerpts from the op-ed was then issued over the wire, resulting in additional online coverage.  Ultimately, the message reached more than 442,000 individuals, not including online viewers.

We are pleased and honored to win these prestigous awards!  Thanks to our great team for all of their hard work!