Field Notes Inside an Integrated Communications Agency

One thing that defines Capstrat is that we always try to be a step ahead in what’s next in the communications industry. Our expertise in public affairs defined us early on. Today, as power in the financial sector shifts from Wall Street to Washington, D.C., our clients can benefit from those political insights.

We explored the power of the Internet early on. Instead of going out and acquiring a digital firm, we built our group from the ground up, and today organizations ranging from start-ups to Fortune 500 companies look to Capstrat to help them navigate the online world.

Now Capstrat is one of seven agencies sponsoring the NEXT Conference, presented in conjunction with PR Week magazine’s 10th anniversary. On November 19 at New York’s New World Stages, we’ll look into the future with a day-long seminar about what’s next in public relations.

I’m scheduled to lead a roundtable discussion on the future of digital public affairs. Leaders from agencies such as Ogilvy Worldwide, Edelman, Porter Novelli, Ketchum, Weber Shandwick and Waggner Edstrom will lead discussions during the day.

Here’s why this is important. Think about just three years ago – 2005. Capstrat didn’t have a User Experience Designer. We didn’t have an Engagement Marketing Group. In fact, we had about half as many employees as we have today.

I submit that the reason we’ve doubled in size in the past three to four years is that we’re unwilling to serve clients today the same way we did in 2005. If we were, we’d be left behind.

We always want to be a step ahead. Not 10 steps ahead; that can be frustrating for clients, most of whom just need our help for today’s nettlesome problems.

We always want to be focused in on our clients’ “today” needs. But we also have to be mindful of what tomorrow is going to look like, too. I’m looking forward to catching at glimpse of it at PR Week’s NEXT conference on November 19.

After months of long and hard work, Eaton (a power management company) launched www.youpowerthrough.com. The Web site is one of many pieces that we have been building to create a diverse campaign speaking to end-users (clients) and resellers (sales).

The grandeur of this launch is the magnitude of knowledge gathered, learned and regurgitated into innovative and fresh collateral, all in a short few months. Trade shows table clothes, t-shirts, banner ads, print ads and emails are a few of the pieces we have launched. Its amazing to see how quickly folks here got over the learning curve and became experts on really foreign subject matter. However, we did have some help from some our office heroes, Donna and Rob, who loaned their server expertise. And in Rob’s case, his stunning good looks for a few print ads.

Our goal when creating the site was to construct a memorable and different brand experience that focuses on Eaton’s unique and witty brand personality. By creating an easy-to-navigate web experience, it allows users to power through the content. We wanted to ensure that users got what they needed to take the next step without getting lost in the details. We also included a strong call to action that will encourage users to request more information or sign-up to become a reseller.

Congrats to the Eaton Team!

Recently I explored the Capstrat Intranet and found some amazing things.

Things like how to submit an expense report, how to book travel, how to get lunch. The Step Ahead Guide is there. It is a great resource for all things Capstrat.

I had wondered why we needed the Intranet when everything that is there is also on our network (somewhere). But I became a believer when I recently had to roll out the new contract templates. The Interactive Team got the forms posted on the Intranet. So, instead of going to the F drive and remembering F/Capstrat/Contracts/2008/Capstrat contract templates, everyone now can just go to the intranet. And, they can download the form and not ruin the template by saving over it with their changes. Just go to forms and templates under the training and learning section and enjoy!

When I heard of power outages, I always thought of the weather or maybe a vehicle accident as possible causes. The idea of a rambling raccoon, wandering squirrel, little bird or flyaway balloon causing an entire blackout seemed wacky. But it happens - a lot!

Our client, Eaton, approached us about building a widget for their Web site to track blackouts across the nation. They were logging the blackout data - their causes, duration, people affected, etc. We were tasked with displaying this data in a smart, interactive way, convincing us all that we should be prepared for the unexpected.

Our team did a phenomenal job of working through the various options for displaying the data. The UX designers, designers, strategists and client thought through every tiny detail and circumstance. And the result is powerful (pun intended).

Check it out: Eaton Blackout Tracker

What if the whole world could vote in the November election? Here's how a global electoral college might look if the election were today:

GLOBAL ELECTORAL COLLEGE

Of course you have to take this juicy little morsel with a grain of salt. I'm guessing the readership of theeconomist.com is not entirely representative of the larger global population. Still, even taken at face value - this is staggeringly one-sided.

Also - neato infographic...