Kaplow News and Events

Calling All Knitters!

kdrive — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 17:50:44 +0000

by Mandy Hjellming

Every other Thursday night, a group of enthusiastic Kaplow employees gathers after work for conversation and knitting.

The Kaplow Knitting Club was founded by two veteran knitters, Senior Vice Presidents Stephanie Schwab and Danielle Arceneaux, who wanted to share their knowledge with excited, ready-to-learn beginners. The group enjoys teaching, learning, and challenging themselves with new projects.

Stephanie simultaneously juggles a variety of projects including slippers, an e-reader cover, and a sweater. Danielle is making way on fingerless gloves, while Senior Vice President Joanne Amorese, Strategies Coordinator Mandy Hjellming, and Jill Golden focus on winter essentials: hats and scarves.

We can’t wait to see what they make next!

Steve Garfield at Kaplow

kdrive — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 19:01:29 +0000

By Juliana Jacobs

This past Wednesday, Kaplow had the pleasure of hosting Steve Garfield, one of the first video bloggers and a leading figure in the social media video space. Steve is the author of Get Seen: Online Video Secrets to Building Your Business and has worked with top companies including AT&T, Nokia and Kodak. Steve has also worked with media outlets such as CBS, NBC and PBS.

Steve led a company-wide discussion on the endless possibilities of video and illustrated the medium’s ability to positively supplement brand messaging. He showed the Kaplow team how to use video to increase consumer awareness and drive sales, confirming Kaplow’s belief that video is crucial for our clients in 2010.

Steve also gave Kaplow employees a more in-depth and interactive understanding of video use during three workshops. In these seminars, Steve demonstrated how to shoot casual videos using a handheld camera and clarified the process of uploading them to the web. Kaplow hopes to invite Steve back and to host additional influential speakers in the future!

To find out more about Steve Garfield, browse his website: Stevegarfield.com

Brand Building the Digital Way

kdrive — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 15:40:42 +0000

by Mandy Hjellming

At Kaplow, we strive to help our clients directly reach their consumers and change their brand’s conversation. Thus, we expanded our services to include video production and multi-media development.

Leading this new division is Dana Glaser, Vice President of Media Strategies at Kaplow. Glaser is an Emmy Award-winning former TODAY show producer.

Our services include concepting, storyboarding, research, script development and writing, videography/photography, graphic design, editing and cross platform distribution. Each video is customized with the intention of repurposing it for established media, social media and internal client corporate use.

We can produce:

- How-to videos
- Unscripted vlogs or casual videos
- Multi-media news releases
- Trade show videos
- Highlights or sizzle reels
- B-roll packages

Interested in learning more about our video production services? Contact Dana Glaser at 212.221.1713.

Save the Children Foundation in Haiti

kdrive — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 18:48:52 +0000

By Juliana Jacobs

“I continue to be proud of the Kaplow employees because of their concern about issues around the world and their willingness to take action to make a difference.” Evan Jacobs, CFO

In wake of the devastating earthquake in Haiti, Kaplow will be making a generous donation to the Save the Children Foundation to assist in their humanitarian relief. Kaplow will also match each employee’s donation dollar for dollar.

Save the Children strives to provide aid to impoverished children, many of which do not even have access to clean drinking water. Through its steadfast dedication, this organization has reached over 50 countries and given more than 10 million children the chance for an education.

Save the Children has been working in Haiti since the mid ‘80s and is committed to helping the victims of this week’s horrific earthquake.

Kaplow employees are rallying together to lend support and will continue to give back to those affected by the Haiti disaster.

“Our mission is to create lasting, positive change in the lives of children in need. With your support, Save the Children will ensure that children in need grow up safe, educated and healthy, and better able to attain their rights.”

Kaplow Participates in PRWeek’s Digital Roundtable

kdrive — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 22:01:00 +0000

by Mandy Hjellming

Kaplow was thrilled to be invited to participate in PRWeek’s Digital Roundtable on January 14. Stephanie Schwab, Senior Vice President of K:drive, represented Kaplow at the invitation-only event, which will be covered in the March issue of PRWeek and on their website.

The morning kicked off with a casual keynote from Bill Evans of Fleishman Hillard, which was followed by a Q&A with Adam Brown from Coca-Cola, led by PRWeek’s Erica Iacono. The intimate roundtable conversation then dove deep into the emerging trends of digital PR, with perspectives shared from brands and agencies. Look for the March issue of PRWeek for more details!

Kaplow Named Finalist for the 2010 PRWeek Awards

kdrive — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 17:02:55 +0000

By Mandy Hjellming

Kaplow has been selected as a finalist for the 2010 PRWeek Awards in the Best Use of Audio/Visual category for its work with Skype.

Over 70 of the most-respected PR professionals in the industry gathered in December to judge hundreds of entries and named Kaplow’s project entitled Skype on TV: The Biggest News in A/V since the Satellite Truck as a top entry.

Not long ago, if a television news program wanted to show video of a reporter or guest on location, they sent out a satellite truck, paid up to $10,000 and waited for the truck to arrive, set up, and try to hit the satellite. Kaplow and Skype realized that Skype’s free broadcast-quality video calling was a perfect audio/video solution for broadcasters. Skype’s face-to-face video calling allows producers to show video and talk with reporters and guests from wherever they are in the world. In addition to the hundreds of local network news affiliates now utilizing Skype, other well-known TV programs that are using Skype include “Good Morning America,” “I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here,” “Miss Universe Pageant,” “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?,” “CNN’s Larry King Live,” “E! News,” and “Fox and Friends.” Many programs have weekly and even daily Skype reports. “The TODAY Show” airs a half hour segment entitled “Money 911” every Wednesday, where viewers sit in their kitchens and living rooms and ask NBC’s financial experts for advice via Skype.

“A PRWeek Award is not easy to win, nor should it be. It is the highest accolade in the public relations industry, given each year to the best corporate, nonprofit, agency, and education teams, and the work that they produce. A PRWeek Award is a unique symbol of achievement and leadership, and immediately sets the winner apart from others” – Julia Hood, Publishing Director, PRWeek

This most recent accolade will join the list with Kaplow’s past PRWeek honors:

- 2009 PRWeek Award Finalist: Promotional Event of the Year, Target’s Bullseye Bodegas

- 2009 PRWeek Award Finalist: Best Use of Broadcast Program, Spin Master Bugsville Butterfly Treehouse

- 2008 PRWeek Award Winner: Global Campaign of the Year, Blue Planet Run Foundation

Winners will be announced at the PRWeek Awards dinner in March.

Diaper Duty

kdrive — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 15:24:15 +0000

by Juliana Jacobs

“Kaplow and Baby Buggy have been teaming up for over 6 years with donations throughout the year and especially during the holiday season. Kaplow feels it is important to provide essential infant needs given the difficult economic times families with children face each day.”
-Tom Tinneny, Kaplow Office Services Manager

Kaplow certainly started the New Year off on the right foot! This holiday season, Kaplow partnered with Baby Buggy, a non- profit charity that provides underprivileged families with essential clothing and products for their young children. Started by Jessica Seinfeld in 2001, Baby Buggy has gained an extensive support network to give back to the community and ensure that disadvantaged families continue to receive the help they need.

Without hesitation, members of the Kaplow family generously participated in this donation. The reception desk was flooded with bottles, front carriers, bibs, diapers and blankets- items that most people take so for granted. With this joint contribution, we were able to make a meaningful donation to the charity. In the future, Kaplow plans to partner with similar organizations, which reach out to needy families, especially children. We look forward to giving back to the community in 2010!

“Our primary goal at Baby Buggy is to ensure that all parents and families in the 5 boroughs of New York City have the means to provide clothing and gear for their infants and young children.” - Jessica Seinfeld

Liz Kaplow named Woman of Distinction by Girl Scouts of America

kdrive — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:26:04 +0000

Liz Kaplow, President and CEO Kaplow Communications, received a 2009 Women of Distinction award from the Girl Scouts of America this week. The Girl Scout Council of Greater New York hosted the 17th Annual Women of Distinction breakfast where they honored several remarkable women and gathered to celebrate Girl Scouting. At the awards ceremony, Liz Kaplow announced that Kaplow will host an exciting summer internship program entitled “Lessons BY Living.” The program will give qualified Girl Scouts opportunity to experience Public Relations and Communications first-hand and will offer life lessons on how changing conversations can often mean changing lives.

The Woman of Distinction title was bestowed upon eight distinguished women who have made outstanding accomplishments to their fields and exemplify the values of the Girl Scout Promise and Law. A Future Woman of Distinction award was given to an outstanding Girl Scout from Troop 2665 in Brooklyn, New York. Ambassador Girl Scout Nitiya Walker was honored at the event and named a Future Woman of Distinction for her contributions to her community through the Girl Scouting program. Nitiya, a senior at Edward R. Murrow High School, earned a Girl Scout Gold Award – the highest honor in Girl Scouting achieved by only 6% of girl Scouts nationwide. She arranged an empowerment weekend, entitled “One Star Lets Another Shine,” where 23 adolescent girls aged 13 to 18 gathered together to discuss self-esteem, personal care, teen dating and lifestyle decisions. After completing the project, she remarked: “I feel truly humbled because I went into the project trying to help others, but I learned the greatest lessons of all.”

Several of the Women of Distinction shared the great lessons they learned through the Girl Scouting program. Liz was honored along side other remarkable women including: Kathy Brand, Community Leader; Vita M. Harris, Chief Strategy Officer, Draftfcb; Nancy Hill, President 4A’s; Meredith Moore, Directo of Global Diversity Weil, Gotshal 7 Manges LLP; Myrtle Potter, President and CEO Myrtle Potter and Company, LLC and Myrtle Potter Media; Valerie Salembier, Senior VP/Publisher, Harper’s Bazaar Magazine and Susan M. Schor, Ph.D, Facilitating Leader and Chief Culture Officer, Eileen Fisher. Each of these women approaches their careers and lives with a confidence, gumption and gusto instilled in them through their years in the Girl Scouts.

When accepting her award, Liz shared some words of wisdom with the amazing women present, “Just do the best you can – but be present. Be 100 percent present, for the people in your life. And most importantly, like the values of the Girl Scouts, approach life with courage, confidence and character.”

We applaud you, Liz.

Kaplow Employee Explores Social Media Landscape

kdrive — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 17:40:15 +0000

Kaplow has added a significant new force to its already robust group of practices with the introduction of the Technology and Emerging Media group. Kaplow’s own Chaim Haas, an industry expert in technology and social media, will lead this new division for Kaplow. As Senior Vice President of Kaplow’s Technology and Emerging Media practice group, Chaim will continue his work with Skype, and will lead a team working with a digital media company and a digital news service covering stories vital to local communities.

His deep understanding of social media has already been noticed by other industry experts. A new book by Emmy Award-winning former CBS News reporter David E Henderson “Making News in the Digital Era,” features some of Chaim’s thoughts on the changing media landscape and the practice of public relations. He remarks, “the ways of communication – be they traditional journalists, online journalists, bloggers or direct to consumer – are converging, and we must be able to do each one of these things exceptionally well.” He stresses the importance of the online space, noting that “reporters follow bloggers for story ideas just as consumers follow bloggers for information. Everyone is actively in the conversation.” (A full excerpt from the book can be found here.)

Congratulations, Chaim, on these two major achievements.

Algonquin 3.0: Don’t Write Them Off

kdrive — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 18:53:55 +0000

Just a few doors down from the Kaplow office, at the Algonquin Hotel, thought leaders met for a panel discussion on Tuesday to discuss the changing shape of the media landscape. The panelists were joined by Kaplow clients, friends of the agency, influencers, and high profile journalists.

During the panel discussion entitled, Don’t Write Them Off, Television, Newspapers, Magazines, Radio Reinvented, Sree Sreenivasan, professor at Columbia Journalism School and social media guru, noted that in order to stay relevant today’s journalist must connect with audiences using an approach one of his colleagues has coined “tradigital.” He defined tradigital as a traditional journalist with a digital overlay. He also optimistically reported that the Columbia School of Journalism has seen a 40% rise in applications, even while the industry undergoes a drastic change.

Jean Chatzky, Financial Editor, TODAY Show is a tradigital journalist who has adapted a number of different platforms. In addition to her role on television, she writes a weekly newspaper column for the Daily News, monthly articles for More magazine and also participates in social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. She says she enjoys taking a multi-faceted approach to her work as it gives her the opportunity to “take a story that [she] is working on and incubate it, if it needs time to gather the right sources and put the package together.” On the flipside, if she has a breaking news story, she also has the ability to share that story right away using the internet.

Lesley Jane Seymour, Editor in Chief of More magazine, believes that the cluttered world of fashion magazines may consolidate, but as long as quality content remains and magazines offer something transformative, people will continue to purchase them.

Lincoln Millstein, senior VP-digital media at Hearst Newspapers, echoes Lesley’s confident attitude about the future of newspapers, noting that the doom and gloom story has been “oversold and overtold.” When it comes to newspapers building revenue, he suggests that media work “together as an industry” and follow the model provided by cable television, creating an environment where people solely gain access to content through subscriptions. He also notes that consumers view their news stories as a commodity, and “they will not pay for a commodity that is not highly differentiated.”

Alan Levy, Founder and CEO of BlogTalk Radio, stressed that “audiences are no longer sitting in front of tv or reading the paper… they are everywhere.” In order to stay relevant, the industry must make content available everywhere.

A Kaplow client asked the panelists about the role of the PR professional as the industry shifts, each of the panelists offered some of their insight on how the PR industry can continue to effectively deliver their message.

The optimism inherently present in the discussion’s title was reinforced by the remarks of everyone present. To hear the entire discussion, check out BlogTalkRadio.