Mobility PR’s own Melissa Burns was recently interviewed by PRSourceCode’s tech PR blog The Decoder, which highlights all things in tech PR, including the guys and gals that make the industry tick.
Melissa gave The Decoder insight into the tech PR world, how she achieved her professional goals working her way from account coordinator up the ranks to account director, before starting MoPR with three partners. The Decoder also revealed her pet peeves and her love for coffee (which I can safely say we share here at the Lake Oswego office).
Those starting out in PR should take specific note of Melissa’s response to the question “What is one thing that you know now that you wish you had known when you first started in PR?”
The people looking to hire you to do PR may not even know what public relations is or why they need it. This was startling to me when I first started out. In school you learn all about how to plan and execute PR programs and campaigns, but they don’t teach you how to sell the value of PR to a potential client who doesn’t know what PR is. Successfully articulating the value of a good PR program in terms that a potential client could understand was something I learned quickly and it made a big difference in my career. When I’m evaluating a potential hire for our agency I ask applicants to sell me on why a company needs PR. I’ve found that the best “PR salespersons” make the best employees because they are typically able to see the big picture; understanding not only how to do PR, but why to do it, and they understand that one size does not fit all. With this in mind they are able to make recommendations for strategies and tactics that are exactly what a specific client needs rather than what the client thinks they need.
Melissa has successfully launched numerous mobile technologies, from mobile browsers to in-flight Wi-Fi to VoIP apps, winning her recognition from the Business Marketing Association, League of American Communications Professionals, Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals and the Public Relations Society of America, among others.
Perhaps I am biased but I feel very lucky to have such an inspiring and motivated mentor.
As always, keep an eye here for more from Melissa as well as the entire MoPR team. To read Melissa’s interview on The Decoder, please click here.
Five months ago we introduced the MoPR 500, an “index” of mobility industry stocks. We selected companies across a broad swath of the mobility industry, and “buying” one share of each, we assembled a list of stocks we could purchase for $500; hence the MoPR 500. We were inspired to create this index by forecasts of the stock market’s impending doom. Certainly a lot of what was forecasted as played out. But five months later, how are our mobility stocks doing?
We began at the close of market October 3, 2008 with an index value of $500.49. At Friday’s market close (March 6, 2009) the MoPR 500 was valued at $358.82, a loss of 28.31 percent.
For some context, at the close of the market on October 3, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) was valued at $10,325.38. On March 6 the DJIA was valued at $6,626.94, or a loss of 35.82 percent. As we watched the ups and mostly downs of the market these past five months, we observed that our mobility index usually though modestly outperformed the DJIA.
Of our 27 mobility stocks, 26 went down in value. Standing alone was Broadcom (NASDAQ: BCRM). On October 3, a share of Broadcom was worth $16.63, and last Friday it closed at $16.97. Only a 2.04 percent gain, but in this volatile market, who wouldn’t take that? For the most part, Broadcom has traded consistently over $16 per share over the past five months. Perhaps part of the stock’s appeal is that Broadcom recently introduced multimedia chipset technology for mobile phones.
The next four best performing stocks in the top of the of MoPR 500 are:
Sybase (NYSE: SY), purchased for $28.76 and trading last at $26.48 for a loss of 7.93 percent.
Syniverse (NYSE: SVR), purchased for $16.11 and trading last at $14.14 for a loss of 12.23 percent.
Verizon (NYSE: VZ), purchased for $31.24 and trading last at $27.28 for a loss of 12.68 percent.
Neustar (NYSE: NSR), purchased for $18.83 and trading last at $15.63 for a loss of 16.99 percent.
It’s sad when three of the best five performers have double digit losses, but these losses are about half the average loss for the index and about a third of the loss of the DJIA.
Four of the five worst performing stocks comprising the bottom of the MoPR 500 cost about $3.00 per share. At such a low initial value, every cent lost makes the stock drop more percentage-wise. The sole exception was Clearwire, purchased for $9.92 per share. Clearwire is in the midst of a much-watched consumer WiMax service roll out.
The five worst performing stocks of the MoPR 500 are:
Powerwave (NASDAQ: PWAV), purchased for $3.32 and trading last at $0.25 for a loss of 92.50 percent.
Nortel Networks (NYSE: NT), purchased for $2.08 and trading last at $0.32 for a loss of 84.62 percent.
UTStarcom (NASDAQ: UTSI), purchased for $2.88 and trading last at $0.70 for a loss of 75.69 percent.
Clearwire (NASDAQ: CLWR), purchased for $9.92 and trading last at $2.82 for a loss of 71.57 percent.
Alcatel Lucent (NYSE: ALU), purchased for $3.54 and trading last at $1.16 for a loss of 67.23 percent.
You’ve watched the debates and heard the ads, and time is running out to decide and cast your ballot: Who is the best mobility PR agency?
Mobility PR has been nominated in the “Public Relations Firm: Mobile & Wireless Technology” category of the MobileVillage Mobile Star Awards, which means we’re up for Mobile & Wireless PR Agency of year, and we need your vote.
The October 20 voting deadline is fast approaching for the Mobile Star Awards which recognize the top mobile products, achievements and thought leaders as chosen by readers of MobileVillage’s free e-newsletter Go Mobile.
Go Mobile is packed with the web’s top mobile/wireless enterprise news and is delivered approximately every three weeks. The most important trends and news are compiled into a clear concise list of article links so that you do not need to constantly scan multiple news sources for the stories that impact the mobile enterprise industry the most.
This award was tailor-made for Mobility Public Relations as our agency does nothing other than deliver award winning PR programs and results for mobile and wireless technology companies. We hope you agree, and will show us with your vote!
To vote for us and also receive the Go Mobile newsletter for free, please follow these easy steps.
1) Simply go here and sign up for the free Go Mobile newsletter if you don’t already receive it. Once you are subscribed to the newsletter you are eligible to vote.
2) Go here and “Click Here to Vote Now,” find the “Wireless & Mobile Technology PR Firm” category towards the bottom of the list, click on us and submit! (Only one vote per email address.)
It’s that easy and takes less than two minutes! And it’s a win/win. You get to vote for your favorite PR firm and you get a valuable newsletter on the mobile space.
We thank you in advance for your vote and your support!
