We Communicate Powerful Messages to Demanding Markets comvort Annual Meeting in Hamburg October 4 - 7, 2012 Workshop Looking for Synergy Effects: B2B Public Relations Competence in Our Network

Who we are and what we do Full service communication agency with B2B focus  professional competence in technology and IT  founded in 1986, owner managed  staff: 13 permanent and 4 freelancers  member of international networks and business associations  consulting, PR & Marketing for national & international companies Tailor-made services  branding, reputation management, (image-)positioning, thought leadership campaigns  PR, media work, marketing, sales support  online-PR and online marketing, social media campaigns  corporate publishing, copywriting, website consulting

Full-Service Planning and Implementation Sales support and marketing services  sales support: flyers, image brochures  customer mailings  customer and employee magazines and newsletters  event planning and organisation  lead generation programs  executive letters Professional media work  personal contacts with journalists of trade, daily and financial press  issue management, agenda setting, storytelling  press events, interviews, press tours  online and social media campaigns  web content  outstanding text quality Consulting & planning  positioning  image development and branding  market and target group analysis  communication strategy  defining PR measures  activity and budget planning Core expertise: high-tech/IT PR and marketing

Content for different communication activities  PR strategies and activities  sales support  customer advocacy program  marketing flyers  mailings  corporate publishing  lead generation  social media Taking Advantage: The Synergy Effects of Content Marketing

Our Current Customers Actano Project Management Software and Services AKI Print Management ECA International International HR Solutions European Commission Various projects Master Climate Solutions Microfin Sourcing and Outsourcing Panaya ERP Testing Rumsauer High-tech Gardening Equipment SAS Business Intelligence SoftconCIS Procurement Controlling Solutions Teldat Network and PBX Solutions Trina Solar PV Panels and Solutions TÜV SÜD Product Service TÜV SÜD Management Service Versant Extreme Database Performance Würth Phoenix IT Consulting and Solutions

B2B — B2C: The Big Difference What is…...Business-to- Consumer (B2C) PR? …Business-to- Business (B2B) PR? PR for decision-makers and users in companies, clearly defined target groups / target markets users ≠ decision-makers, importance of decision-making- process within the company user = decision-maker PR for private consumers, usually very large target groups emotional approach rational approach

B2B Communication: Structures & Processes Successful communication with B2B target markets Strucures of the specific industry sectors Decision-makers‘ information behaviour Decision-making processes in companies Decision-makers in companies

Adapting Messages to Objectives Image Building Sales Support Recruiting, HRM Investor Relations Product PR Corporate PR and employee matters Corporate PR, Product PR focussing on financial news Why do I want to communicate? Corporate PR

Adapting Messages to Target Groups Who is interested in what? Who are supporters/doubters? Benefits for each target group (example: CRM-Software) Managing director Controlling IT department HR; trade unions; data protection department Specialised department Investment security, stability, image Return on investment, rentability innovative, low- maintenance, compatible Data privacy User-friendly, increasing sales

Communication Facing Radical Change – Web 2.0 Transformer Web 2.0  everybody can publish  everybody can comment  everybody can create opinion  dialogue and participation instead of monologue Consequences  extreme acceleration  less possibility to control communication  large variety of communication channels  high transparency, „the web doesn‘t forget“  no more defined boundaries between marketing, PR and advertising

PR & B2B: comvort Business Opportunities Public Relations and Business-to-Business Communication: Big opportunities to increase business!  Who are the PR and B2B professionals within the comvort network?  We should know each other  We can build PR and B2B sub-networks within the comvort network  We should exchange special know-how and experiences regarding communications, technologies and industries  Other types of agencies within comvort (advertising, design, etc.) should know the PR and B2B professionals to use these expertise and professionalism for special PR and B2B projects

Let’s get started !  How can we strengthen PR and B2B agencies’ cooperation?  How can we bring awareness about PR and B2B communication issues among comvort agencies?  Which structures and processes can be implemented to gain new PR and B2B customers?  Which structures and processes might help to work on national and international PR and B2B projects?  Which tools can we use to promote our PR and B2B competence within the network (Annual Meeting, Infocast, Facebook private group, s, conference calls, microsite, PR guide, B2B guide)?  Which tools can we use to promote our PR and B2B competence to the relevant markets, to existing customers and potential customers (mailings, newsletters)? PR & B2B: comvort Action Items

Dr. Annegret Haffa, Dr. Horst Hoefflin, Munich, Burgauerstr. 117 Dr. Haffa & Partner GmbH We love to build a strong PR and B2B community within our comvort network! Your ideas are welcome!