Makovsky Strategies

Rebuilding the Financial Services Industry’s Reputation: Where are we now?

Layoffs, bailouts, negative headlines and scandals damaged the public's perception of the entire industry.
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Public Opinion and the Promise of Natural Gas: A Corporate Solution

Scattered throughout the continental United States lies a clean and abundant energy resource: natural gas. It's estimated that our domestic reserves could meet our needs for a century.
It’s Time for Advertising to Take a Lesson (Gasp!) from Public Relations

Advertising learn something from public relations? Are you kidding?
Effective Communications Play Key Role in Management Succession Programs

In the first few weeks of 2009, a number of corporate CEOs were sent packing. Seagate, Tyson Foods, and Borders Group were just some of the companies that announced changes at the top.
Superman vs. Spider-Man

Let's say Superman and Spider-Man got mad at each other and decided to duke it out in the street. Who would win?
Everyone’s a Health Reporter: Tips for Increasing Media Accuracy

As newsroom staffs shrink, specialty beats like science are the hardest hit. The facts are clear: regions once bastions of health reporting have seen dailies such as the Star Ledger, Boston Globe and even The Wall Street Journal jettison staff.
Financial Reform: The PR and IR Impact

To help prepare for this new era, we have briefly outlined key provisions with the greatest communications impact, and then reviewed what public relations and investor relations executives should consider doing now to respond.
Gift Giving Ban: Boon or Bust for Communicators?

Can benign "branded" pens unduly influence prescribing patterns? Does free lunch make physicians consider one medical product over another?
IR Executives: How to Capitalize On a Changing Environment

There are a number of distinct changes occurring in the investment world of late, changes that present both opportunities as well as challenges for Investor Relations Officers.
Litigation Public Relations: The Essential Tool in Combating the Litigation Explosion

Today, the average U.S. company is fighting 37 simultaneous domestic lawsuits, an activity that consumes more than 40% of their legal budget.
Our Customers are Saying What???

Chances are your customers, employees and even investors are talking about you. And since your job is managing the company's reputation, your mind may be running in every direction regarding how you will handle all this.
Research: Are You Asking the Right Questions?

Say research to public relations people and they think - well, you don't know what they think because we use the term in so many ways. "Measurement" and "metrics" come to mind. But if that's the only focus, it may explain why so many professionals talk about research more than they do it.
The Emerging Front in Crisis Communications

Sometimes, virtually overnight, what was normal practice "then" can become unacceptable "now"—like corporate jets and the auto industry, or bonuses and investment banking. When public attitudes are in flux, or transformed by momentous events, business leaders need to be especially careful to keep in sync, lest they run the risk of serious PR crises.
The New Imperatives of Wealth Management

As investors re-enter financial markets, advisors will face greater demand for transparency and risk management. The good news: Investors are cautiously re-engaging with financial markets. The challenge is that they are returning with a set of new attitudes and demands—forged by the fires of the Great Recession.
The “Heart” of Chapter 11: How to Rebrand the Company Before, During and After Bankruptcy Filing

Bankruptcies are booming. In 2009, they were up 50%, with more than 200 big companies in a broad range of industries filing for Chapter 11 protection.
In the Crosshairs of Short Sellers

Recently, the SEC issued final rules on shareholder proxy access, whereby share- holders will be able to require a public company to include director nominees proposed by shareholders in the compa- ny's proxy materials.
Is your website paying for itself?

So your website has been up and running for a while now, and all in all, it looks pretty good. But now's the time to ask the tough questions: How well does it work as a marketing tool? How many leads has it pulled in? How many prospects has it converted?
Sarbanes-Oxley, the Web and Social Media

Immediacy and dialogue are just two of the most important benefits of social media and the Internet, benefits that public companies have increasingly come to appreciate.
Advisors: How to meet the Planning Challenges of the Great Wealth Transfer

It’s been estimated that in 40 years, a staggering $40 trillion (yes, trillion) in wealth will pass from one generation to the next.
Reverse-Payments Ban Dropped: What's at Stake for Pharma and Consumers

Pharmaceutical companies that seek to guard intellectual property much like any major industry — from music to technology — are now being attacked as limiting fair competition.
Communicating in the Age of Twitter

Social networking is changing the way and frequency in which people share and hunt for information, especially health and investor news.
Digital Dale Carnegie

His teachings, when applied to your website, provide a blueprint for transforming it into a powerful online selling presence.
Does Your Company Need a Reg. FD Refresher Course?

Regulation FD has been in place since 1999 and, as most investor relations professionals know, it was adopted to address the problem of selective disclosures of material...
Revitalizing the Utility-Customer Relationship

For utility customers, the energy marketplace has a dizzying array of new buzzwords and acronyms. Smart grid, RPS, ADR, AMI, EV, HAN, IHD, TOU, CPP and...
BP: Lessons in Crisis Public Relations

For British Petroleum, that reckoning includes loss of life, revenue and a CEO’s job, in addition to environmental damage. But high on that list is also the loss of...
Upcoming Proxy Season: Fasten Your Seat Belts

The coming proxy season promises to be an interesting one. Investors — both professionals as well as individuals — have become increasingly incensed...
Social Media is the New Customer Service

Facebook. Twitter. Blogs. If you feel like these words have materialized - uninvited into your job description, you're right. You have a million-dollar CRM...
2011 Proxy Season: The Gathering Storm?

Recently, the SEC issued final rules on shareholder proxy access, whereby shareholders will be able to require a public company to include director nominees proposed by shareholders in the company's proxy materials.
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