Our Process

All of our communication planning and activity is centered on our clients' corporate goals and their time frame for accomplishing those goals.

We immediately review the client's business and marketing plans, as well as existing corporate and product presentations, to understand how they are currently positioning themselves, what their current key messages are, who the competition is, how they differentiate themselves, and how they expect to win. Recognizing that effective communication occurs at many levels -- employees, partners, suppliers, customers, trade and business press, analysts, and other industry influencers -- we then work with our clients to develop a PR strategy and plan designed to reach all audiences with the right message at the right time.

Among the first activities with our retainer clients are usually the following:

• Develop positioning and key messages
• Develop list of key influencers and key publications
• Create a one-page marketing plan
• Develop an editorial calendar
• Perform a communication audit
• Develop a 12-month communication plan

For day-to-day project management, we are always available by phone and email. Even though we regularly communicate with our clients, we hold formal quarterly review meetings during which we discuss the past quarter's activities (communication of key messages, measurement goals, etc.), make any needed adjustments in messaging, and refine the plan for upcoming quarters.

Writing Process

Cayenne takes writing seriously — both the writing process and the written product itself, whether it is a press release, technical article, backgrounder, website content, or short bio. Everything we write accomplishes its stated purpose and communicates the right message to the right audience, in the right language, at the right time.

By using our well-tested, systematic approaches to press releases, articles and story ideas, we have developed a strong track record of success in meeting clients' communication goals.

Measurement Process

We measure our success and our clients' success by the degree to which we meet each project's goal. Before we begin work with a client, we discuss with them their goals and expectations. What is important to management? Each client's goals are different.

PR success for a client that wants to be acquired might be measured in terms of the "multiple" at which the company was acquired, or the timing of the acquisition, or by the quality of the acquirer. A company that wants to be a leader in their area of expertise may measure PR success by number and frequency of mentions in the media, or by the degree to which the message they want articulated has been understood and reproduced by the press, or by the number of key messages mentioned in their target media.

Despite what many people say, PR is measurable. One has to start by defining goals before finding out whether they've been achieved. With specific measurables in place, we are able to evaluate the effect of PR dollars spent when we review the year's results. We work with each client to discover the best metrics we should use to evaluate our PR success.