Nothing Like Learning from a Pro

One of the things we pride ourselves on at Griffin Communications Group is our commitment to developing the “marketing talent of tomorrow.”  So, when we got the opportunity to pass along our knowledge to journalism students at the University of Kansas, we jumped.

Our CEO and President, Gwen Griffin, just returned from a two-day trip to Lawrence, Kansas where she spoke to a number of classes.  It was a fabulous chance for these students to deviate from their traditional lecture to hear first-hand from a veteran like Gwen about life as an agency owner and the real world of communications.

 

Three of Gwen’s lectures focused on the following:

• Strategic Messaging – what it is in the agency world; why it’s the most important foundation for any client campaign infused with examples of actual client work
• Principles of PR – the role of PR in society; types of PR- what it is and what it isn’t; tips on how to develop a successful PR campaign
• Social Media – emergence of new media and what it means for journalism today; the importance of social networking strategies and tactics; showcased examples of strong new media campaigns.

Gwen also spoke to students in David Guth’s “Strategic Campaigns” class, who are using one of our clients, the Coalition for Space Exploration, as the basis for their semester project. 

 

The Coalition is a group of space industry businesses and advocacy groups that work together to educate the public on the value and benefits of space exploration.  With President Obama’s new “Educate to Innovate” initiative, there is a strong national push to help encourage youth to consider science and technology careers. 

This is a perfect opportunity for the Coalition to create a youth outreach campaign!  And, it’s perfect for the KU crew.  Who better to help us than eager college students, who can better relate to this younger targeted age group than us “40-50-somethings?”  A partnership is born.

Over the next semester, the KU students will help us reach out to junior-high and high-school students across America and inspire them to think about a future in the space business.  Based on the research they collect, the students will develop and present an integrated marketing campaign for this target audience, complete with creative concepts.

 

“I am excited about this collaborative opportunity and the fact that it directly supports what this Administration is trying to do with its STEM education emphasis,” said Gwen Griffin.  “Visiting with the students and answering their questions in a face-to-face setting was ideal. I was so impressed with the caliber of their questions.  Having a real project is the best learning experience there is.  I’m certain they will produce dynamic results that the Coalition can implement on their behalf this summer.”

We’ll keep you posted on the process in the coming months.  In the meantime, thanks to everyone at KU for helping make it possible.

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!