WASHINGTON, DC: Ketchum has bolstered its DC tech practice with up to dollars 2 million in new accounts, including five dot-coms.
WASHINGTON, DC: Ketchum has bolstered its DC tech practice with up
to dollars 2 million in new accounts, including five dot-coms.
Among the new clients are Buyline.com, myWebOS.com and
SmallBusinessDepot.com.
Another client, the privately owned software company SAS Institute,
upped its existing contract with the firm, awarding it dollars 1 million
over a three-year period to increase its visibility in the Federal
marketplace.
’It used to be that PR was not a consideration until down the road,’
said Bonnie Lieb, VP/group manager of Ketchum’s tech practice. ’Now, the
hi-tech industry realizes the importance of getting name recognition and
brand awareness quickly.’
Ketchum started building its hi-tech practice in the Washington area in
the mid-1990s when the Internet was just starting to take off. Indeed,
the DC region has emerged as a player in the hi-tech PR world.
O’Keeffe & Co. founder Stephen O’Keeffe believes both large and small PR
firms have reason to be optimistic, suggesting that PR is becoming the
weapon of choice in the DC’s hi-tech corridor. ’PR is a way to position
yourself as a thought-leader and firms of all sizes are in the mix,’ he
explained.
Smaller agencies contend they bond well with tech start-ups, as both
share the qualities of being young, comparatively hip and
entrepreneurial.
