More than 150 paddleboarders are expected to participate on Saturday.

For the third year, B2 Communications is helping Paddle Against Cancer raise funds to benefit Moffitt Cancer Center and support one of our clients. Gene Evans, a senior vice president at USAmeriBank and a Stage 4 kidney cancer survivor, was inspired to create the paddleboarding event as a way to give back to Moffitt and offer support for other cancer survivors.

Last year’s event raised $21,000 for Moffitt, after raising $17,000 the previous year.

Evans was diagnosed with Stage 4 kidney cancer in May 2009, and has recovered from four surgeries – including one to remove a tumor on his spine and another to remove one of his kidneys.

Statistics show that the five-year survival rate for Stage 4 kidney cancer is 8 percent. Evans, however, is a four-year survivor in excellent shape, and he attributes his successful fight to his positive attitude and active lifestyle, which includes paddleboarding.

More than 150 stand-up paddleboarders are expected to follow a three- or seven-mile route around Treasure Island for the cause. Participants are asked to make a minimum donation of $30, while a pool party following the paddle is free and open to the public.

To pay the $30 to participate in the paddle, or to support Paddle Against Cancer with a general donation, visit Moffitt.org/Giving and click “Donate Now.” Then, select “Individual Gifts” and choose “Paddle Against Cancer” from the “Support a Specific Program or Fund” dropdown.

The paddle begins at The Club at Treasure Island, at 400 Treasure Island Causeway, at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, May 25. The after-party will be from noon to 4 p.m.

She most recently worked with Tampa-based Obesity Action Coalition, a national nonprofit. As outreach coordinator, Stephanie developed and managed the Coalition’s social media, helped run the publication process for the organization’s magazine, and produced three monthly e-newsletters.

Stephanie graduated from the University of South Florida with a B.A. in public relations and previously interned with St. Petersburg Free Clinic. She is a member of the Tampa Bay chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA).

In only two months, Stephanie has already proven to be a key member of the team. As one example, she took the lead on developing Facebook contests and content for the Tampa Bay Championship (the region’s PGA TOUR event). Her efforts resulted in increased engagement and 20% increase in page likes in only two weeks.

The story outlined some of the drivers behind changing our name from Bayview Public Relations to B2 Communications (or, as we sometimes say, Bayview 2.0) in December 2012. The new name better reflects our geographic growth beyond Florida, with several clients in several other states and more clients reaching nationally, as well as our expansion beyond what is typically thought of as traditional public relations work.

The TBBJ feature also discussed the trend of specialty PR and marketing agencies successfully partnering with agencies with other specialties to offer specifically tailored communications programs for clients. For example, B2 often works with clients to identify and coordinate with other agencies that are a good fit for such needs as website design, video production, or search engine marketing.

As for the outlook for B2’s future, principal Jesse Landis sums up our formula for success: “If clients are happy, we are going to grow.”

To see the TBBJ story, click here.

His tips included:

• Know your value proposition – How do you help your customers? Describe it in a tangible way that isn’t bragging, but tells someone why you are good at what you do.
• Perfect your “elevator speech” – Describe what you do and how you help your customers in 3 sentences or less.
• Target your marketing and PR – Some possible channels: targeted web advertising; a content-rich, helpful, topical blog; communications that engage your prospect database, and “lunch n’ learn” events for customers and top prospects.
• Leverage your industry and community involvement – Is your company’s outside involvement leading to more business? Evaluate everything you do.
• Build your credibility, which helps turn leads into sales - When a prospect hears about your company and looks you up on the Internet, what does that prospect find? A quality website is a must and the starting point, but work to also have good third-party content on the web about your company.

The co-presenter, Rick Gallegos of Rick J. Gallegos & Associates, spoke about creating a richer, more satisfying life. He went over what he called a “balance wheel,” which helps in evaluating someone’s current priorities and in establishing future goals.

A division of the St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce, Leadership St. Pete^® (LSP) – one of the oldest leadership programs in the country – is “a dynamic, intensive, interactive, six-month experience designed to promote and enhance community leadership through an in-depth introduction to social, economic, business and political issues in the St. Petersburg area,” (per program materials).

The mission is to “identify, recruit and develop leaders who represent the diversity of our city and who will assume future leadership roles in our community.”

To see the full class roster and for more info:
- Tampa Bay Business Journal coverage is here.
- The full release from St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce is here.

Landis has provided professional communications services to several banks in multiple states, such as Bayview clients USAmeriBank and Aliant Bank, which are featured prominently in the column.

The piece touches on such topics as:

• Sponsoring or hosting events
• Creating relationships with news media
• Crafting guest columns positioning bank leaders as experts
• Empowering employees to serve as effective brand ambassadors

The magazine is available electronically here (article is pages 16 to 21).

For the past few months, we’ve been working with Zeno Office Solutions on its unique billboard concept (designed by Schifino Lee) that made its way from Tampa to Miami and now Orlando, where it will spend six months on I-4. The billboard advertises Zeno’s ‘Penny a Print’ service with 120,000 pennies glued by hand to the board.

Local and national media covered the Orlando installation, including Orlando’s Local 6 and Orlando Business Journal, and national websites Huffington Post, Hispanic Business, and The Consumerist.

(This is on top of substantial previous coverage, such as the national website Media Life).

In addition to managing and completing tasks with tenacious execution and follow-through, this PR professional should have the ability to contribute to strategic thinking and recognize opportunities for clients, involving news media, social media, industry relations, and community relations, to name a few.

Our agency moves quickly and efficiently, and this requires the ability to juggle multiple tasks, complete high-quality work and bring a high level of organizational skills. Of course, this junior-level position will not be expected to do all of this without coaching and help from Bayview’s principals and staff.

Responsibilities:

• Researching media contacts, background information, opportunities and more.
• Writing media materials in AP style.
• Proactively pitching news media and following-through on media relations efforts.
• Communicating results and reporting on clients’ media coverage and monthly activities.
• Assisting with various other communications projects, including presentations, proposals, social media, event planning, award nominations, and more.

Qualifications:

• 1-3 years of experience in public relations, communications or journalism (applicable internships with meaningful responsibilities and results count). PR agency experience preferred.
• Must have excellent writing skills.
• Must have extremely strong organizational and client relations skills.
• Must have solid grasp of key computer applications (i.e. Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint).
• Understanding of MyMediaInfo and BurrellesLuce (or similar programs) a plus.
• Must have solid understanding of social media.
• Must be able to multi-task and quickly understand direction and priorities.

The ideal candidate will have a level of confidence and maturity, along with a desire to learn.

To apply: 
Email your resume and writing samples to Info@BayviewPR.com. No phone calls please.

From left to right: Kyle Parks of Bayview PR, Mallory Anderson of Renaissance Montgomery Hotel, Rhea Ingram, Dean of the Auburn University-Montgomery School of Business, and Paul Klein of LWT.

Approximately 100 students, faculty and local businesspeople attended to learn tips such as:

• Understanding the difference in social media for business versus personal use,
• Knowing your audience, what they’re interested in, and whether they use social media, and tying your strategy to that;
• And perhaps most important, the need to have first-rate customer service, so a company can handle negative customer experiences (and related social media posts) quickly and well.

Joining Kyle on the speakers’ panel were local social media experts Paul Klein and Mallory Anderson. Paul directs strategy and business development at LWT, a full-service marketing agency in Montgomery that specializes in interactive, advertising, social media, content creation, and strategic planning for clients across the Southeast. Mallory is the eCommerce and Marketing Coordinator for the Renaissance Montgomery Hotel.

The event was sponsored by Aliant Bank, a Bayview client since June 2010.

To download the event handout (with 10 tips) as a PDF, please click here.

What the heck do we do all day? Here are a few recent highlights of things we had a hand in, all to help our clients get attention for the cool things they do:

• Tampa Bay’s long-established GTE Federal Credit Union rebranded last month as GTE Financial. We helped garner media coverage in 10+ local outlets (like the Tampa Bay Times) and all major national trades (like Credit Union Times). GTE gained more new members in August than any other month of a 70-year history, and doubled a membership record set earlier this year.

• A friend-of-the-firm, The Facility, was featured for the better part of a morning on FOX13’s Good Day Tampa Bay, with four live segments plus a heavy round of teasers. Stories were also in the Tampa Tribune and Patch.

• Project client Zeno Office Solutions was featured in another round of coverage for its 120,000-penny billboard, this time in Miami, including Miami Herald’s business section cover, a couple online pubs, and a couple TV stations.

• National renewable financing company Seminole Financial Services (who has financed 30+ projects, worth $200+ million dollars) was featured in the Tampa Bay Business Journal for filling a need in the renewable industry, financing projects such as this vineyard-based solar farm.

And we’re just getting rolling with a few new clients, like Paramedics Plus and M3 Accounting – look for successes on them and others in the near future.