What's new at Pierce Communications?

Plenty.

Since our founding in 2003, Pierce Communications has grown into one of the Capital Region's leading public relations and public affairs firms.  Our clients have been instrumental in spurring this growth.  By creating partnership relationships, we have built long term interactions with many leading local, statewide and national organizations.

Check out our blog for the most up to date news (or, as up to date as we can be...).

In 2008, as we celebrated our fifth year in the Capital Region, our work for the United Way of the Greater Capital Region was recognized with an inaugural Empire Award for Public Relations programs for non-profits by the Capital Region chapter of the Public Relations Society of America.  Our work on Price Chopper's Fabulous Fourth and Fireworks also received an honorable mention.  Jo Ann LeSage Nelson was honored as the area's Public Relations Practitioner of the Year.

Five years.  It's been quite a ride.  We're growing, but never losing our focus.  We're busy as heck, but still having fun.  We're doing great work for really great people, but we still stop every day to laugh ... frequently at ourselves.

Earlier this year, Penny Vavura joined the firm as a Senior Counselor.  Penny brings many years of agency, non-profit and cultural institution experience to the firm.  She's also really good with baklava.

In February of 2006, Jo Ann LeSage Nelson joined Pierce Communications as our new Vice President of Client Services.  Here's a press release commemorating the occasion and an article in the Capital District Business Review.

Corporate and Non-Profit Relationships

Working for corporate clients like Price Chopper, Seton Health and the Albany Parking Authority, we have raised awareness in local media, developed new and targeted materials and helped improve community relationships.  Following are a few recent examples:

  • For Seton Health, we continue to find unique stories of interest to the media which has helped raise the visibility of Seton Health and St. Mary's Hospital (in Troy).  Check out this recent (May 2005) Capital News 9 story as an example.  Or, this story about St. Mary's use of green light lasers in prostate surgery.

  • In 2005, we helped the Albany Parking Authority launch its highly innovative and successful CashKey system (a debit card like system for downtown Albany's parking meters) with a PSA featuring Mayor Jennings and a media relations blitz.  The campaign has been so well received that the system has already been expanded three times.

  • In January of 2006, we helped To Life!, a Capital region based breast cancer awareness and education organization, introduce its unique boutique to Saratoga audiences with partner Saratoga Hospital's Mollie Wilmot Radiation Oncology Center.

Issue Campaigns

Pierce Communications has helped a number of constituent groups with public issue campaigns, designed to raise visibility about an issue or piece of legislation.  Utilizing grassroots campaigns, media relations, community relations, advocacy advertising and collateral materials, we provide a one-stop resource for local, statewide and national organizations.  Here are a few recent examples:

  • In 2004, the Food Industry Alliance of New York State hired Pierce Communications to develop and implement a campaign to convince the New York State legislature to allow wine sales in food stores.  The Time for Wine campaign was a huge success, generating editorial endorsements across the state (including, among others, the Buffalo News, Rochester Democrat & Chronicle, Binghamton Press & Sun Bulletin, Schenectady Daily Gazette, New York Daily News and Long Island Newsday).  Radio and print ads were developed and run across the state.  Here's an example of a print ad that ran in some statewide papers and one that ran in the Legislative Gazette in Albany.  The campaign also included in-store materials (signs and bag stuffers) which were placed in food stores around the state.  Beckmann Creative provided design services on this campaign.  The legislation still languishes in Albany but the Time for Wine campaign has helped it move to the legislative front burner.

  • Working with local advertising agency, Creative Matters, we developed and implemented a program for the New York State Hospitality and Tourism Association, urging its members and the public to "Get On Board" and support legislation which fully fund New York's tourism marketing efforts.  To date, the campaign has generated more than 2,000 communications to legislators through the NYSH&TA website alone.