NRF in NYC: KG’s Highlights for 2013 Attendees

It’s that time of year again…NRF is just around the corner! While some of you are seasoned NRF vets like ourselves, we know that a few tips on coffee shops, lunch hot spots and popular sights might be useful for the newbies! New York City in January can be brutal, but this city truly never sleeps, so we’ve got just the stuff to pull you out of the cold stupor of winters in the Empire City and have a great time at NRF!

See the Theatre!

The KG Team always tries to see a Broadway show every time we head to NRF. It’s an experience only found in New York City. If you get to the city a couple days before the conference begins, settle in and hit the musicals! See Wicked at the Gershwin Theatre or Phantom of the Opera at the Majestic Theatre on January 11 – it can start off your week in NYC with a bang! Stomp, Chicago the Musical, Rock of Ages and Mamma Mia! are other popular Broadway shows running during the conference!

NRF Networking – Beyond the Conference!

NRF is a great venue for meeting new people and making fresh connections. Make networking more fun by attending some company parties held during the conference! We’ve got a few suggestions on the best events to schmooze and booze:

  • Retail Touchpoints party. This event is hosted by the team at Retail Touchpoints and is geared for retailers.  The RTP always picks a great location! Last year the event was at Bobby Flay’s Bar American – yum!
  • Rock N Roll Retail. This event is hosted by RIS News and is a great way to unwind after busy days at the convention!
  • Super Saturday. Hosted by RetailROI, this event brings in analysts to give industry insights to retailers.
  • Retail Insider’s party. Cathy Hotka of Cathy Hotka & Associates hosts an annual Retail Insider’s party for retailers and industry analysts. This is usually an invitation-only event but a great one if you can make it!
  • Gartner Sunrise Breakfast. For retail executives only, this event hosts analysts from Gartner to speak on strategy research and industry best practices.

Check out this list of more NRF networking events to put on your calendar!

Caffeinate!

Since we don’t want to get involved in NYC’s best pizza debate, we’ll stick with something we know – coffee. We love teasing our president, Jeff, about his massive coffee consumption at NRF, but when you realize just how much energy you need to survive a crazy week of early mornings and late nights, access to a good cup o’ joe is no laughing matter! If you’re looking for more than a Starbucks frap, check out these local NYC java gems:

  • Abraco – “This place serves serious coffee” says Adam from A Life Worth Eating. Its espresso concoctions are equal to some of the top roasters in town, but if you’re on the run (headed to the next item on your NRF agenda!) Adam recommends grabbing a quick drip coffee- “guaranteed to be good”!
  • Joe the Art of Coffee – “Joe is perhaps the best all-around coffee shop in New York City” according to Eater New York blogger Greg Morabito.

Eat, Drink and Be Merry – Even after the Holidays!

If you’re looking for quality cuisine, NYC has it covered. While we can’t attempt to offer suggestions for every delicious dive in the city, we can send you a few recommendations we’ve discovered thanks to some NYC native bloggers as well as some finds of our own!

  • Nice Green Bo. A must-try for any fan of Chinese food, according to NYC fashion blogger Taylor Morgan. “It’s a local hole in the wall that is amazing! They are famous for their dumplings but everything is good!”
  • City Sandwich. Tons of variety and if you can’t get away from the convention center, order online!
  • Shake Shack. This is a Must-Do for any NYC visitor! The legendary long lines are worth the wait for a good burger and fries with a shake on the side.
  • ‘witchcraft. The “top notch” Great Pumpkin Sandwich crowns this awesome sub menu, according to Gothamist blogger Jen Carlson.
  • Not to mention the food trucks! Check out these top five food trucks in NYC and if you’ve got a hankering for some vegan breakfast goodies, check out the Cinnamon Snail!
  • Market Table. KG had the good fortune of stumbling across this little eatery in 2011. The menu has an upscale, foodie feel, without the extraordinarily large NYC price tag. Everything we ordered was delicious, from roast lamb to spaetzel pork, and the wine list was also excellent.

If you’ve got time for touring…

We know you’ll be busy at the conference for most of your time in New York City, but if you plan to build in some downtime, check out these fun sights!

  • Union Square. According to Taylor Morgan, there’s a great farmer’s market and shopping in this area. She also recommends hitting the Coffee Shop diner for some pancakes!
  • 9/11 Memorial. An important site to make time for while visiting New York City, recommended by Lonely Planet blogger Jason Castellani.
  • 14th & 9th Avenue. We thought this suggestion might be a cool way to see something different in NYC! Suggested again by Taylor Morgan, this area has Chelsea Market and the Highline, “which is an old train track turn beautiful walking path/garden that is raised above ground level. Very cool.”
  • Staten Island Ferry. This is an easy (and free!) way to see a few of the sites without paying for a formal tour. Another great suggestion from Castellani.

The Mobile (Presidential) Election of 2012

mobile-pres-election-blog-imageAs originally posted on The Mobile Retail Blog http://www.themobileretailblog.com/social-media/the-mobile-presidential-election-of-2012/

It’s hard to imagine that in a little over two weeks, our country will have elected (or re-elected) a new president. What a difference four years makes. For example, just here at the Ketner Group, the team has definitely gone through its share of changes and life-changing moments – we’ve had one new baby, two marriages, two cross-country moves to California and Texas, and have bought seven new cars!

Other things have changed, too, especially on the technology front. Thinking back to the 2008 election, or what is known as “The Social Media” election, Facebook and Twitter were a key factor into President Obama’s election win.  In fact, it was his campaign team who pioneered the use of social media for organizing, fundraising, and communicating his 2008 White House bid. And boy did it work! Continue reading

Valley Apparel installs NGC’s ERP, Shop Floor Control tool

New Generation Computing Inc (NGC Software) announced that Valley Apparel, a U.S. manufacturer of high-end outerwear for the U.S. military, has gone live with the latest versions of NGC’s ERP and Shop Floor Control software.

Valley Apparel, headquartered in Knoxville, Tennessee, is a U.S. government contractor that provides rugged, high-end outerwear and tactical gear for the United States Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps.

The Scariest Thing You’ll See This Halloween… AP Style Mistakes!

Sure. Zombies and ghosts can give you chills, but nothing makes you squirm like a misplaced comma or the double space between sentences. We know deadlines and full schedules dictate most of our days, but making time to review the latest AP Stylebook might be just what you need to polish up your nearly-flawless writing skills!

The team at Ketner Group decided to highlight which mistakes we make the most and which common errors make our hair stand on end.

KG’s Most Common Mistakes

  • Using “their” Instead of “its.” – Jeff’s our biggest offender on this one!
  • The Double Space Two-Step – As Catherine would say! It’s a tough change, but we’re all in this together.
  • Too Many Commas – Caitlin has become a little comma happy recently – this article in PR Daily is a great read for tips on comma usage!
  • Misspelled Words – Brittany’s a Grammar Hammer, but “occasion” and “fulfillment” give her some spelling trouble every now and then.

That AP Rule We Just Can’t Ever Remember…

  • Texas vs. TX – This one still gives Catherine and Jeff a rough time! “Always Texas, not TX!” Catherine suggests double checking your AP style book to confirm the states for new clients.
  • Now Where to Put This Footnote… – Inside or outside the period? Inside or outside the quotation? Brittany struggles with these questions daily. The rule: if footnoting an entire sentence, place the footnote after the period. If footnoting a single word or phrase, place the footnote directly after it and before a period.
  • When Do I Hyphenate? – Compound modifiers can be confusing and once you’ve fallen into the sticky trap it can be impossible to get out. Caitlin often uses two or more words to express a single concept, but not without deliberation!

The AP Rule That Haunts Us

  • Its vs. It’s – This is one of Jeff’s ultimate pet peeves. His helpful tip is to say “it is” out loud every time you write “it’s.”
  • Capitalizing Everything! – Catherine cringes when she sees titles capitalized in press release quotes. “Not Everything Is That Important, People!”
  • The Double Space Two-Step, Again – We all grew up doing it, but times have changed and it is no longer correct according to AP style. Caitlin’s been cracking down on this one!
  • Homonym Mix Ups – Typing all day for a living can warrant the occasional mistake, but the misuse of “to” and “too” drives Brittany batty! She’s watching you, People of Facebook. “Conversely, catching a ‘who versus whom’ or ‘less versus fewer’ mistake makes me feel like an editing rockstar,” she says. You most certainly hold Rockstar Editor status at KG, Brittany!

Moral of the horror story: refresh your AP style memory! Set aside a time for the whole office to go over common mistakes and have team members mention other errors to be aware of that you might miss in your review. Taking an hour today can save you more than a few hours of edits in the future!

Halloween: In Need of Good PR?

madeleine-halloweenIs it just me, or is the Halloween industry in need of a branding facelift?  When I was a kid, it never occurred to me that this “holiday of sorts” was the cause for so much controversy between differing religious groups, let alone the fact that Halloween’s roots come from ancient pagans who believed that October 31 was the day that the boundaries between the worlds of the living and the dead overlapped and the deceased would come back to life and cause havoc such as sickness or damaged crops. (Thus ancient Celtics would wear masks to scare away any spirits.) I come from a Christian family, but my parents were not the ultra-conservative type, and so my brother and I always dressed up for Halloween, participated in Halloween parties at school and always went trick or treating in our safe suburban neighborhood in Lubbock, Texas.

Nowadays, however, Halloween as a “holiday” has a much different look and the industry has literally exploded right before our eyes.  In doing research for this blog, I found a stat from BIGResearch that in 2005 (the year my daughter was born) consumers spent almost $3.30 billion.  For 2012, figures are estimated to top $8 billion– spending of course on costumes, decorations, and candy. So, if you look at the Halloween from a figures standpoint, the industry has done, well, pretty dang amazing! Continue reading

W-R-I-T-E: An Acrostic Method to Writing About Something You Don’t Understand

Every PR or media professional has been there. We’ve all been assigned that writing piece that’s guaranteed to scramble your brain. Like a kid who hates dodge ball hiding from the ‘choose your team’ line-up, you shrank in your seat or went silent on your phone line hoping that the arduous task wouldn’t fall to you. But just as the dodge ball-hating kid needs to play for a grade, you need to write for a living.

Now that the challenging writing assignment is yours, let’s talk about some ways that could make it easier for you to formulate an intelligent collection of thoughts about a subject about which you honestly know nothing. It’s been a while since I’ve used the Acrostic method to make a point, so let’s use WRITE to spell out a workable method to successfully writing this madness.

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W
Who is your audience? I know this sounds basic, but it’s an important step we writers sometimes skip when launching into an article. You should really stop to identify for whom you’re writing so that (1) you know how to position the information and (2, and most helpfully) you can understand which sources could help you better comprehend the topic. Many people in your audience most likely have written content on the topic, as well. This brings us to our next letter.

R
Research, research, research. Clients love to give us the go-ahead on writing bylines and other pieces, but rarely have time to instruct us on the subject matter. When a client’s industry is highly technical or difficult to understand, this could be a nightmare. Therefore, work in time to do a deep-dive research session. Many times, this requires moving beyond reading through the material your client sent and finding handfuls of other articles written by professionals in the industry. Recently, I had to write a blog post about a highly-detailed, business profitability best practice. I spent about an hour just researching the topic before I even wrote one word.

I
Intelligent sources. When you obviously can’t speak as the expert, find experts who can. This goes hand-in-hand with research. Researching sparks great ideas, but if these ideas aren’t your own, quote them. This is a great way to get a point across fairly, and add credibility to your article. Continue reading

Analyst Relations: The “R” is for Relationship

Clients frequently ask our opinion on analyst relations. Which firms do we recommend? Who are the top analysts in a particular space? How often should they brief with analysts? Should they become paying clients?

We can’t answer all these questions in a short blog post. But we’ve been fortunate to work with a number of clients that understand the value of analyst relations, and in the process, we’ve seen what works – and what doesn’t – in analyst relations.

Here are several principles that Ketner Group stresses to our clients. We use these as some of our guidelines in helping our clients develop appropriate analyst relations programs.

Remember, it’s a relationship. Analyst relations are first and foremost about building relationships – and like any relationship, you’ll get out of it what you put into it. Relationships between analysts and technology vendors are mutually beneficial. Analysts need to know about the key vendors in the spaces that they cover, and vendors, in turn, depend upon the analysts to help get the word out to the market. But like all relationships, analyst relations take time and nurturing.

Know the analysts and leverage their strengths. It’s essential for vendors to develop relationships with the leading analysts that cover their technology – not only to be included in key reports but also because large enterprises often turn to retailers to get their advice when they’re considering a major technology initiative. Analysts can be especially valuable as strategic partners, offering insight on product direction and positioning, the competitive landscape, possible partners or acquisition targets, and messaging.

However, to “go deep” with analysts, vendors will need to develop paying relationships. And if your company is considering that, you’ll want to carefully consider everything that entails (which leads to our next point).

Be realistic about the commitments. Becoming a paying client of the right analyst firm can pay for itself many times over, if vendors are willing to commit time and resources. However, that leads squarely back to the first point – you’ll get out of it what you put into it. Are you willing to do regular briefings, talk honestly about the challenges your company faces, accept tough feedback, and invest in periodic analyst days, so your top analysts really know your technology and direction? Are your key executives willing to commit their time and energy to nurturing key analyst relationships? Continue reading

Reshoring Can Save Companies Millions, Houston Firm Says

If you have been following manufacturing news lately, you probably have become familiar with the word “reshoring” indicating that U.S. manufacturing companies are moving overseas production back onto national soil. Different reports have cited the increased cost of international labor, unfavorable currency exchange rates and decreased product quality as reasons for reshoring, but rarely is a number given for exactly how much money companies are saving by moving their production back to America.

Goodbye Summer 2012-See you in Rio in 2016!

Summer is fleeting—even with the seemingly relentless heat of a Texas September, it’s undeniable that the days grow shorter and the mornings cooler, and the school zone lights blink their warnings during morning commutes.

The trouble with the end of summer is how fast the busyness of the fall and holiday season sneak up on you, even as you try to savor the last of the peaches and mourn the retirement of easy sundresses (just me?). It’s a fast and furious ride from here—a slew of fall birthdays (did you know more people are born in September than any other month?), big college football weekends, and then it’s straight on to Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas/Hanukkah, and New Year’s.

All of this is my way of saying that summer completely slipped away from me, without my permission, and in my denial that it is—officially—fall, I never posted part II of KG’s Olympic Love Fest.

 We’ve made no bones here on the blog about how much we love the Summer Olympics at Ketner Group. I mean, some of us might love it more than others, but we all love a good excuse to have a little party and hang out together.

Thanks to NBC’s first-ever live streaming of the Olympics, the team realized how hard it would be to avoid spoilers if we waited until after work to watch the highly edited highlights of the day’s events in prime time. This was unacceptable (to some  of us.) We then had the genius idea to set up a spare monitor in the conference room and hunker down for group work sessions while the Olympics were on in the background. Of course, one thing led to another, and the next thing you know, our group work sessions were complete with a daily rotation of hot tea, English muffins (perhaps a stretch authentic-wise), finger sandwiches, crumpets, scones, and bangers and mash.

We even found I had an Olympic doppelganger, Team USA swimmer Lauren Perdue.

Naturally I had to tweet at her because making a copycat picture isn’t weird enough by itself, and basically I’m famous now.

That first week of the Olympics was the most fun we’ve had at work in ages. Sometimes team bonding has a reputation for being forced and trite, but this was the real deal—pure team building gold. But, I had to leave a good thing, because I was on my way to London for the second week of the Olympics! (I think you can guess whether I am one of the KGers who really loves the games!)

My husband and I had the great fortune of seeing three events before we continued on to Europe. We saw Team GB’s greatest night of athletics ever (Americans call it track and field) (my bff Kate Middleton & her husband Prince William were there, too!), gymnastics individual finals (Gabby Douglas!) and men’s beach volleyball quarterfinals. We had fantastic seats at each event and had the absolute best time. I can’t believe we really got to go. But the real highlight of the Olympics for me was meeting Team USA gymnasts Jonathan Orozco and Jake Dalton.

And just for the record, if the athletes from my alma mater, the University of Texas at Austin, competed as a country, UT would have ranked in a tie for 13th place among all nations in the number of gold medals earned and tied for 18th in the number of total medals won.

U-S-A! Hook ‘em! Ketner Group!