Suddenly the hall bursts into activity while folks attempt to reschedule their travel plans.

Stay Tuned.

Some great people have stopped by the booth to discuss how marketing communications can assist them to grow their businesses.  Including

Revenue Spark - Interesting Group Connect Renewable Companies with Financing

CEIL – Center for Environmental Innovation and Leadership

EcoGen – Thermal Energy

Rock Advisory Group – Growth Strategy

Big thanks to Sarah Linder and her crew from the Freeman Exhibit Company for some last minute help.

Overall, it was very exciting to see our booth come alive and we were open for business by 5pm just in time for the opening reception. We met some great people and learned about some really interesting technologies.

We took a quick lap around the floor and snapped pictures of some of the booths while they were still being built…take a look

Check out some of these people we met tonight (take a look at their sites and learn a little about them):

Jeff Serfass – Technology Transition Corp.

David Resnick – Baseload Energy

Kathryn D. Lindquist – Taylor-DeJongh

Doug Long – Magellan Professional Solutions

]]> http://www.calypsocom.com/2010/02/03/opening-night/feed/ 0 http://www.calypsocom.com/2010/02/02/psnh/ http://www.calypsocom.com/2010/02/02/psnh/#comments Wed, 03 Feb 2010 04:41:09 +0000 admin http://www.calypsocom.com/?p=958 Calypso Conducts Key Stakeholder Survey for PSNH; Provides Data for Effective Reputation Management

THINK
As the leading electric utility in the State of New Hampshire, Public Service New Hampshire (PSNH) knows that the company’s reputation is critical to its success. To enable PSNH to better manage its image and reputation among key constituents, PSNH engaged Calypso Communications to conduct a comprehensive opinion survey to measure its image and reputation on a variety of metrics. Third-party implementation of the survey assures confidentiality, providing data that is impartial and more accurate.
CREATE
The survey of key stakeholders, conducted by Calypso on a bi-annual basis, includes elected officials, municipality representatives, top customers, civic and business leaders, and environmental organizations. A total of (number) surveys are conducted through a combination of personal meetings, telephone interviews, and written questionnaires. Questions focus on such areas as customer service, economic development, environmental stewardship, corporate citizenship, communications and reputation, advertising awareness, and electricity supply. Results are tabulated and analyzed, providing a benchmark comparison that pinpoints areas of strength, as well as those that need improvement.

DELIVER
Calypso provides PSNH with a comprehensive statistical analysis and report on survey data. Responses also are compiled and presented in a qualitative report, with a representative sampling of verbatim responses. By indicating the percent change for each question over a two-year period, this benchmark comparison

THINK
Utilities, Inc., the holding company for regulated utilities providing water and waste water services to 300,000 customers in 17 states, required an interactive and customer-friendly website that would raise brand awareness and create an overarching image of an environmentally responsible and compliance driven organization while conveying its commitment to customer service. The company chose Calypso to conceive, design, write, and develop a site that is user-centric and search-engine friendly for a variety of audiences including customers, employees, media, investors, and other stakeholders.
CREATE
The Calypso design and editorial team conducted research and interviews with Utilities, Inc. leadership to develop the website content, functionality, and design. Calypso designed and wrote the new website for the organization’s primary community and governmental readership. The goal: to create a website with a compelling and engaging look and feel that reflects the unique qualities of Utilities Inc. and its products.
DELIVER
Calypso created a dynamic, enticing and professional web presence for Utilities, Inc. that effectively tells the company’s story with a balance of visual appeal and functionality.

THINK
Next Solar, S.A., a vertically integrated, environmentally responsible solar panel manufacturer with a groundbreaking technology, needed to accurately communicate its competitive advantage and burgeoning leadership position in a highly fragmented and saturated space. The scope of the project began with the task of making the argument to keep the current corporate name or conceive a new one to set Next Solar apart from its competitors, first in Europe, then in the Middle East, the United States, and Asia. In Europe alone, over four hundred names are registered to companies in the solar industry.
CREATE
Calypso developed a messaging platform to identify the key differentiators of Next Solar, conducted a thorough communications analysis of the competitive space, and researched case studies to solidify a case for changing Next Solar’s name. These strategies combined with interviews with key Next Solar executives defined an attribute base by which possible names could be measured. Numerous creative brainstorming sessions resulted in a name that not only sounded innovative but met all the branding criteria to ensure smooth identity development.
DELIVER
In order to build a comprehensive brand identity around the newly dubbed Heliosphera, Calypso refined messaging for use in the company’s marketing collateral, created a new tagline, designed a corporate logo, and wrote a graphics standards manual detailing the proper use of the branding elements for multiple purposes and across any medium. The resulting brand identity of Heliosphera is unique in its messaging, its global appeal across divergent international audiences, and its look.

“The energy industry is ripe for crises that are not always limited to traditional fossil fuel power generation,” said Kevin Stickney, Calypso founder. “While many mistakenly avoid or deflect these situations, a crisis can be an unplanned opportunity to communicate key messages, strategic strengths, and corporate values.”

To ease communication efforts while handling a crisis, Stickney recommends establishing a management plan well ahead of a potential situation. Some basic tips include:

1. Prepare in advance. A crisis is like a heart attack; the way you live beforehand is better protection than the way you respond afterwards. Do your homework, have a plan, designate a team… don’t wait for the tingling left arm.
2. Respect perception. While a local labor issue, pollution infraction, or pricing change may strike you as insignificant, your customers, employees, and investors may think otherwise. A crisis is often based on a perception… and it’s seldom yours.
3. Be early. Be honest. Be open. Designate someone to say something. Not always easy or intuitive for plant operators, it’s critical to be concerned, engaged, and responsive. That doesn’t mean you to need to have – or provide – any answers. Leave the disappearing act to pro golfers and politicians.
4. Deliver your messages. For every question about what went wrong, there’s a corollary to what went right; without diminishing the importance of the event, get to these points quickly. Express concern and commitment – then move to the technologies, track record, policies, and people that define your firm’s usual standards and its typical success.
5. Communicate in arrears. Break down what went wrong, who was impacted, why certain questions were asked, how issues were handled, and where improvements can be made. And make them. In advance. Most important, establish a culture of communicating, in the good times, with those who will need or want answers during any type of crisis.

Kevin Stickney has 30 years’ executive-level experience in managing complex public affairs issues involving waste-to-energy, environmental technology, and a range of other industries. He is an expert in national and international media relations strategies and comprehensive employee, investor, and marketing communications programs for legislative, labor, and regulatory matters; technology and manufacturing sectors; service sector businesses, and capital project business development. Stickney has provided consulting and crisis communications and media training services worldwide, from Europe, Asia, and Australia to North America including Mexico, Canada, and the United States.

“There are no real secrets to effective, efficient, and responsible crisis management, just a few truths,” said Stickney. “Crises will occur in your business, your stakeholders will be affected, and your company’s reputation will change as a result. Those who take the initiative to prepare are often those who emerge from a crisis unscathed.”

THINK
NEFCO is a rapidly emerging North American biosolids leader, with significant geographic and service expansion throughout the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. Calypso was approached by New England Fertilizer Company, aka NEFCO, because it wanted to revitalize its company name, logo, and brand identity as a key component to enlarging and energizing its business development efforts. Calypso understood NEFCO’s immediate needs to reinvigorate its business, raise the company’s visibility through the development of a strategic branding initiative, and advance the reach and impact of its corporate persona to drive the company to a nationwide industry leadership position. Our strategy was to harness previous company successes and demonstrate how this experience – coupled with new technologies, strategic alliances, and other initiatives – will move the company forward.

CREATE
Calypso assisted NEFCO by creating a messaging platform that positions and characterizes NEFCO in a clear, compelling, and consistent manner for use in all strategic marketing communications and as the foundation for all creative executions. Positioning statement, value propositions and core messages were developed after a branding research phase that explored the company’s current reputation and self-beliefs alongside that of the competition. A comprehensive naming exploration phase resulted in the decision to use a well-known acronym for the company in place of a corporate name change.

DELIVER
Upon the adoption of the new corporate naming and messaging, Calypso conceived a memorable, nationally relevant tagline for the corporate name NEFCO and created a new brandmark including the logo symbol and logotype that reflects the look and feel of the company. A comprehensive manual of brandmark guidelines was developed to ensure that internal and external marketers of NEFCO are complying with the new graphical and messaging standards. Calypso developed a cohesive set of corporate identity materials such as corporate stationary, business cards, and presentation template. Prior to the adoption of the new logo, Calypso crafted a transitional trade show booth and brochure. A new website is currently under development.