Consumer technology PR firm grows by staying on course - bizjournals:

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As director of interactive mediaat Miami-based consumer technology retailer , Paul was chargecd with promoting the company’s 10-year-olcd annual PC Charity Race at the Consumer Electronicx Show in Las Vegas. Yet, writerds and bloggers who cover the show can be ajaded lot, growinyg bored with aging or stale events, he So, four years ago, Paul hired Miami-basecd , a public relations firm focusefd solely on technology and consumer electronics. The event it stagedx drew longtime attendeesand first-time spectatora alike, Paul said. “They’re very in touc h with the gadget industry, and that served as a launch vehicle forour promotions,” Paul said.
“We don’t see too many firms that specializein gadgets. Especiallyh in this economy, they generalize or take what theycan get. Max has stucj to his ground and does what he does While some marketing shops focusedon retail, automotive, real estate or constructionj anxiously await a turn in the market, Max Borgez has inked 23 new clientw since January. The firm promotes gadgetx of allkinds – from personal computers to tech devices to video and iPod accessories. Client namesx – Terry Demco’s LLC, Pee Wee PC or FINIzS – may not be householde names. But, many of the productas are on the leading edge ofconsumedr demand.
MSI Desktop manufactures netbook computers. Joby makes digitapl and video camera accessories, like the Gorillapod line of cameraz stands. iSkin creates casesz for iPhones, BlackBerrys, laptopsa and other devices. The PR firm had $2 milliom in revenue last year. This it should earn near $2.5 said principal and founder Max 43. And all this is from an executive whoclaims “zero PR background.” “The magicv formula is our focus on being the best at one maximizing press for consumer electronics,” he “The typical firm will handle 40 clients from different industriez and different media.
Teams don’t work Because we only handle gadgets, we have an incrediblyg efficient machine.” The move toward consumer technology happenedsin 2007. Borges had a realization: The 20 perceng of his clientswho weren’t gadgetxs were giving him 80 percent of the So, he repositioned the firm as tech “All of a sudden, the weight was lifted off us. It just got that much And that year, we grew 74 percent,” he said. He may not be a PR guy, but Borgews knows marketing. An upstarft marketing firm he launched in 2002 handled advertising work for inMiamio Lakes. He then sold sponsorships for the Independenf MusicWorld Series.
He said general PR and consumefr technology PR arequite different. With a service industry or other product, publicistxs must write and distributepress releases, and folloqw up with the media. It can be an arduous Yet, when he sent demo CD/DVD burners or leading-edge headphones to media covering the audioor high-ensd consumer markets, the products landed on G4 TV and . Clientss have been placed on “Fox and and “The Morning Show.” Borgew has had products in two successive issuesof O, The Oprahg Magazine. One magazine did a holiday buyers’ guide and included 16 client products. Cool stuff drawes attention, he says.
Put a Balanza luggagew scale into aTV host’s or print journalist’a hands, and they’ll show it off. “It’s just, ‘Here’s the Do you want to writer about it?’” he said. High-profile placements help him secure monthly retainers rangingfrom $5,500 to $15,000, he noted. Borgex no longer serves as firm rainmaker. That task falls to Davir Hernandez, a former co-worker and director of salexs and trainingat . Borgese brought on account supervisors Matt Shumate and BrianMetcalrf – both veterans and detailed “executers” who oversee 10 accounty executives.
Borges now is looking for more Next up: a wider profile of consumer products, like the EZ Grill or the Balanzaz scale, to fuel growth beyond technology without leaving the consumer category. “We’ve been growing fast. We’ve been on a nice he said. “To grow at double digits over the next few year s may mean bringing in somenew markets. As long as it worka and we can be the bestat it, that’s what will make us