Tag: press release

Ketner Group Communications opens office in Nashville

Ketner Group Communications Expands With New Office in Nashville

Posted on | by Ketner Group

Third location of Austin-based PR agency marks the second office launched in 2019, and will be made official with presence at the 36|86 Entrepreneurship Festival

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Aug. 27, 2019 – Ketner Group Communications, a public relations, marketing and communications firm serving clients in the U.S., Canada and the U.K., today announced its continued geographic expansion with the opening of its office in Nashville, Tennessee. As the second satellite office to launch in 2019 – following the announcement in early 2019 of its New York City office opening – Ketner Group’s Nashville presence positions the company to work more closely with the area’s emerging business-to-business (B2B) technology players.   

“There’s a reason why Nashville is listed in Forbes Top 20 for both job growth and business, and it’s because of the emerging technology scene and supportive atmosphere that’s ideal for building game-changing companies,” said Jeff Ketner, president, Ketner Group Communications. “Nashville is a great place for startups and small business owners, with a good deal of support in place for entrepreneurs to accelerate their visions. The city is also attractive to national companies looking to launch new regional headquarters and Nashvillians who are returning to their roots after career stints in Silicon Valley or other tech hubs. In launching our next office location in Nashville, Ketner Group is committed to being a part of the growth, and we’re excited to play a role in telling the compelling stories coming out of these innovative businesses.”

“The growth Nashville has seen in the technology space has been significant in the past five to 10 years, but we are seeing an explosion now that CKE, Nissan and Schneider Electric have opened their U.S. headquarters here, and Amazon has announced a new office with 5,000 high-paying jobs,” said Greg Buzek, founder and president, IHL Group, a Nashville-based retail technology analyst firm. “As a long-time resident, I believe we are uniquely poised for continued growth as a result of our friendly atmosphere, creative pool of talent and sheer geographical space available for business.”

Ketner Group’s Nashville office is led by Kirsty Goodlett, who made her return to the agency earlier this year to begin laying the groundwork for the new location. Goodlett first worked with Ketner Group seven years ago as a client, and later came on board to serve as an Account Manager with Ketner Group for two years. Now as Director of Nashville, Goodlett will continue to lead several key accounts while developing new business relationships in Nashville’s flourishing tech scene.

Tomorrow at the 36|86 Entrepreneurship Festival, hosted by Launch Tennessee, Goodlett will be joined by Lisa Roberts, founder, Great Catch Consulting, and Ben Kurland, co-founder, BillFixers, to speak on a panel titled “How to win press and influence customers.” During this session, Goodlett, Roberts and Kurland will speak from their experience working with startups, entrepreneurs and seasoned tech companies to provide attendees with best practices for generating media pickup, incorporating PR into the overall business strategy, and crafting stories that resonate.

The Power of the Press (Release)

Posted on | by Jeff Ketner

For better or worse, press releases are a staple of every public relations toolkit. Used incorrectly, they can be the bane of an editor’s inbox: when the “news” isn’t really newsworthy, when companies take a shotgun approach to the media list, and when media outlets are bombarded with irrelevant information (does the New York Times really care about your software company’s latest technology partnership?).

Used properly, however, a press release is a powerful communications tool that can help create sales opportunities, drive revenues and much more – all of which is underscored by several client examples from the past few months.

Just before this month’s NRF (National Retail Federation) show, for example, one of our retail technology clients, an NRF exhibitor, received a call from a midsized apparel retailer, requesting a meeting at the show. The impetus? The retailer had just seen a press release announcing that another retailer (one of our client’s customers) had received a major industry award for successfully implementing our client’s software. If our client’s software could provide a competitive advantage, this retailer didn’t want to be left out in the cold. The press release opened a door, the meeting went well, and sales discussions are continuing.

In a similar vein, this fall we announced that a well-known consumer electronics brand had tapped another of our clients for a major technology initiative – and within a few days, our client received an inquiry from another brand looking for a similar solution. That inquiry has led to ongoing sales meetings, and at this point, a deal looks probable. If so, the revenue from that one customer will likely cover the cost of our PR services for many years to come.

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