The Sights and Sounds of Internet Week NY
A host of us at Horn are attending Internet Week NY this week. Here's a quick snapshot of what we've experienced on-site at the main area. Need oxygen? Demand Media (client) has the set-up for that. It's great for hangovers, I hear. Want some time in the spotlight? Yahoo is making... Read full post »
Cyborgs and Crossroads: Lessons from SXSW
Having spent 4 days at SXSW in soggy Austin earlier this month, I wanted to share some overall takeaways. We Are All Cyborgs Dictionary.com defines a cyborg as "a person whose physiological functioning is aided by or dependent upon a mechanical or electronic device." A common theme to Amber Case and... Read full post »
7 Must-Know Marketing Takeaways from SES San Francisco
Heading into SES San Francisco, our goal was simple: dive deeper into how discrete marketing channels overlap, interact and influence each other. We accomplished that, but more surprising was the overwhelming amount of data supporting the integrated digital communications model. Read full post »
But You're Not A Search Agency: Why We're Going to SES San Francisco
“Why is a communications firm going to a search conference?” Fair question. But a closer look reveals that PR, design, social and search are all undeniably linked as part of the larger digital communications puzzle. Read full post »
What CMOs (Don't) Want From Their Agencies
Last week at our annual company offsite in SF, we hosted a CMO panel to get right to the crux of what it’s like to be a chief marketer – what they really want from us, and what drives them nuts. The panelists were Joelle Kaufman from Clarizen, Natalie McCullough from... Read full post »
20 Thoughts for 20 Years
...I've actually had more than 20 thoughts in 2 decades but here are the ones that have come back the most often as friendly reminders and occasionally, to haunt me. Enjoy. 1. If you don't have a plan, you don't know where you are going. Have, and share a vision, make... Read full post »
"Duck Hunting" with Tom Foremski, Silicon Valley Watcher
This week I'm pleased to share a recent video interview from our Innovator Series with Tom Foremski, Editor of Silicon Valley Watcher. http://vimeo.com/24227420 Horn Group Innovator Series - Tom Foremski, Editor of Silicon Valley Watcher from Horn Group on Vimeo. In this clip, Tom talks about how being a CMO is... Read full post »
Social Media Infiltrates the Newsroom and Optimism Returns to Journalism According to Fourth Annual Oriella Study
This morning, we launched our annual Oriella Digital Journalism Study. This is the fourth time we have carried out the project since launching in 2008 and this year’s study yielded the most interesting results to date. A key trend was the extent to which social media has infiltrated the newsroom. For... Read full post »
Video Interview with Ann Winblad, Hummer Winblad Venture Partners
In this week's Innovator Series interview, I talked with Ann Winblad, Founder and Managing Partner of Hummer Winblad Venture Partners in San Francisco. Horn Group Innovator Series - Ann Winblad, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Hummer Winblad Venture Partners from Horn Group on Vimeo. What I admire about Ann is how... Read full post »
Digital Communications at Its Best
I’m so honored and excited to announce that The Holmes Report today named Horn Group its Technology Agency of the Year. The need for digital communications is bigger now than ever and PR pros must embrace a much broader spectrum of offerings, hire different people, and think differently. All companies (not... Read full post »
Digital Communications: An Agency Model for Today's CMO
Communications today is as alive and interactive as we are ourselves: verbal and visual, connected anywhere and everywhere, and moving fast. Just look at The Daily for iPad. It’s the future of publishing, and by extension, the future of what kind of content we, as communicators, need to deliver. Communications is... Read full post »
One Team, One Dream: Reflecting on Twenty Years in Business
This is our 20th year in business. I figure that deserves at least one good blog post. In1991, we had one mantra: “Pride Passion and Results”. It was our theme, our tagline. Nothing stood in our way. Technology was different then. It was about the beginning of enterprise software and intelligent... Read full post »
Discovery Is Latest Trend in our Consumer Portfolio
Considering Google alone gets 88 billion search queries per month – according to Search Engine Land – it seems we are always looking for something. But what’s the common thread between looking online for an answer, a shopping deal, or the next best mobile app? Discovery. That’s the theme that unites... Read full post »
Horn Group's New iPhone App
Today Horn Group is extremely proud to announce the availability of our very own mobile application for iPhone. We're the first agency of our kind to design an iPhone application that puts important agency news, information and contacts in the hands of its clients, prospects and employees. The application, available for download in the iTunes App Store now, was... Read full post »
Horn Group MIXXing it Up
While Anthony spent some time this week at OMMA, I spent most of mine at the IAB's MIXX Conference & Expo. Horn Group had the exciting opportunity to experience Advertising Week from behind the scenes this year as we worked with the IAB to help support the conference and the MIXX... Read full post »
We Are Interactive Design
We have been working toward this day for quite some time. The day when we as an agency, and specifically we of the Interactive Design team, can proudly strut our stuff for our clients, colleagues and the general public. But what does it mean and why should you care? By launching... Read full post »
Introducing Horn Group ID
This is a big week in our history. We are in essence relaunching our Interactive Design practice (formerly known as Interactive Services) with lots of goodies. I’m really proud of this for a couple of reasons. Back in 2003, we were among the first, maybe even the first, boutique PR agency... Read full post »
Blogs, Apps and Paywalls -- Top Trends from Survey of 774 Journalists
Today the Oriella PR Network published our third annual study looking at the impact of digital media on journalism internationally. It’s our biggest study yet – with almost 775 respondents in 20+ countries across Europe, the US and Latin America taking part. We found that digital media have hit the mainstream... Read full post »
Social Newsroom Launched!
Today we launced a new social newsroom on horngroup.com. It aggregates content, news and industry insights from Horn Group and our clients in a gallery format. We included social commenting functionality on every page to encourage community response and discussion. We're certainly not the first to build a social newsroom --... Read full post »
VideoSchmoozing with Horn Group
This past Tuesday, Horn Group sponsored and managed PR for the second Broadband Video Leadership Evening of the year. The event, organized by VideoNuze editor and television industry expert Will Richmond, took place at the Hudson Theatre in Times Square. Our client, Kyte, sponsored the event with free drink tickets to... Read full post »
Toughing it Out: Tips for Any Manager and CEO
Following is copy from an article that http://www.prweekus.com/ published earlier today. No doubt the first six months of 2009 were some of the toughest times that many of us have ever faced. Layoffs, salary cuts, lost revenue, delinquent clients, cash flow issues, cancelled projects...the list goes on. And if managing your... Read full post »
Happy 18th Birthday Horn Group!
Today is a special day for all of us. I can’t tell you how proud I am of what we have accomplished. We are truly an agency of entrepreneurs. We have out-maneuvered and outlived many a competitor. We have one of the best reputations in the business. We have the best... Read full post »
What Do You Get Out of Attending Conferences or Webinars?
A fellow PR pro asked me the other day, "have you ever really learned anything out of any of those social media or "how to pitch" conferences/panels you’ve attended? The implication was that many of these events just re-hash all the same old stuff. "Email me, never call," says the reporter.... Read full post »
Which Agencies "Get" Social Media? According to ZDNet Readers, Horn Group Does
In a research report released today, ZDNet social media blogger Jennifer Leggio provides a snapshot of the PR agency landscape in terms of which agencies are "best attuned to social media and are developing the most beneficial social programs for their clients." The data, collected over the past several months, includes... Read full post »
AlwaysOn and On and On and Finally Off - Horn Group Does OnMedia 2009!
Is it really over? AlwaysOn OnMedia NYC event concluded last Wednesday, but I think I’m still feeling it. Horn Group worked hard (very hard!) on this conference. Almost the entire PR team in the New York office was in attendance for at least part of it. I was actually there from... Read full post »
Going Green
Okay, this is not about the environment or clean technology. But we are going green...of another kind. We just added a green screen to our SF video production studio. Having a green screen allows us to transport subjects to any backdrop or setting imaginable in post-production. We had fun with it... Read full post »
A Nod from Journalists
We got the good word a few days ago that we've been recognized a Top Tech Communicator for the third year in a row by journalists in PRSourceCode's annual survey. Very cool! PRSourceCode announced the survey results this morning. This is a great one for us since the survey captures the... Read full post »
DFJ East Coast Venture Challenge 2008
On May 15th Horn Group went to Columbia University to attend the 2nd Annual East Coast Venture Challenge, hosted by DFJ Gotham Ventures and Draper Fisher Jurvetson. Teams made up of students from Ivy League schools, NYU and Carnegie Mellon began arriving at 8:30am to present their business plans to DFJ... Read full post »
Horn Group Sponsors mediabistro.com PR Party in NYC
How can you get a large group of PR, media and marketing pros together? A few free drinks can't hurt. Despite the chilly weather, 150 or so people gathered last night at Katra on the Bowery for mediabistro.com's monthly PR party, which this month was sponsored by Horn Group. For more... Read full post »
Horn Group East Kicks Off 2008
Horn Group East kicked off 2008 today amid the Rolling Stones "Let it Bleed" exhibit at the beautiful Morrison Hotel Gallery in Soho. Among the topics discussed throughout the day long session were hot growth areas in 2008, including renewable energy and green technology, how PR and marketing budgets will fare... Read full post »
Kick Ass Positioning
Thanks for joining us last week for the Kick Ass Positioning webinar with Bob Wright from Marketing Arts. Several people have asked for access to a copy of the presentation -- you can find it here on our website. I recommend listening to the audio portion to bring the presentation to... Read full post »
"In a Search Driven World..."
Search and its many related topics have been front and center over here for the past few weeks. We hosted our first webinar about week ago -- SEO4PR -- all about search engine optimization specifically for PR campaigns. Our new friend Greg Jarboe, co-founder of SEO-PR, shared his wisdom and tips... Read full post »
Going Green
Exciting times over here at Horn Group (warning, self-serving post). For those of you who read my personal blog and for any folks who have already picked up the latest PRWeek you have already discovered the exciting news. Horn Group has been chosen as the PR partner for World Energy Solutions.... Read full post »
Journalists Rank Horn Group #1
Here at the Horn Group, we pride ourselves on our relationships with the media. From trade, vertical and business press, to the most widely read bloggers, we spend time developing trusted relationships that center on mutual respect. We've been happy to host many of the top writers and editors in our... Read full post »
Party Favors
We're all a little sleepy today after our successful industry networking party last night at Varnish Fine Arts, just a block away from our San Francisco office. We held the bash in conjunction with the Web 2.0 Expo, and it was co-sponsored by our clients WebEx, Pageflakes and WeeWorld. We were... Read full post »
What's Ahead for Us?
Greetings to all for a healthy, peaceful and prosperous 2007! Here is an update and a look forward as Horn Group enters its 16th year. In 2006, the company grew back to pre-bubble levels and is well on its way to $10mm. In our quest to become a more full-service communications... Read full post »
The Constella Network
I've been busy these past few weeks putting the finishing touches on the Constella Network with my cohort and co-founder Giles Fraser at Brands2Life. And today we launched! Constella is a networ k of 15 indepenent agencies in 20 countries around the globe. Our pitch is that the network gives companies... Read full post »
Agency of a 1000 faces
I'm reviewing our project plans today and I have to admit I'm a little amazed by the diversity of our work these days. For example this month we placed and designed a billboard for BlueRoads on 101 North and are in the process of designing the web UI for one of... Read full post »
Summer Soiree at the Spanish Suite
The San Francisco Horn Group office usually holds its annual industry shindig in the spring, but this year decided the Summer Solstice would be the best time to celebrate the continuing resurgence of the technology industry in the Silicon Valley and beyond. Industry executives, venture capitalists, and media all gathered at... Read full post »
Horn Group Hits 15!
This month marks Horn Group’s 15 year anniversary. Anything in business that lasts for 15 years is worth writing about. So here goes. On June 4, 1991, I borrowed an office at my father’s venture firm and set about serving my two clients: PeopleSoft, then a $5mm, 50-person company, and Rotoflex,... Read full post »
In the Wake of Blake
Reading all the posts about Blake Barbara's career plans (and the fate of the WetFeetPR blog) has given me lots of warm-and-fuzzies. Seeing that much support for any one person just makes you feel good. As an employer you never like to see one of the good ones go, but you've... Read full post »
Caring about Cancer
On May 6th Horn Group’s New York office participated in the annual Revlon Run/Walk for Women’s Cancers. Despite the bad weather predictions and being Cinco De Mayoed out from the night before, the 5k event turned out to be a great success. Outfitted in our gray Horn Group team shirts and... Read full post »
The Digital Defrost at Software 2006
We hosted a lively discussion here at Software 2006 in Santa Clara yesterday. I counted about 55 people at the afternoon session dubbed 'The Digital Defrost: How Blogging and other Social Media are Changing Marketing Communucations'. Sabrina hosted the panel that included Andy Lark, blogger and consultant with Sun PR history;... Read full post »
Toasting Digital Defrost: A New York State of Mind
With 105 media, CEOs and VCs in attendance, this year’s annual industry party, hosted by Horn Group and dubbed The Digital Defrost, was an intellectual and social success. Our hostess Sabrina Horn gathered a group of innovators and friends who offered toasts and musings midway through the party. Standing high on... Read full post »
WebEx In the House
There's a discussion string in the blogosphere right now about webinars vs. podcasts -- see BlueLine and Micro Persuasion. There's no question in my mind that there is room for both in the digital workplace. The one way nature of 'casting' of any kind (broad, pod, video) is perfect for conveying... Read full post »
Shining Under the Blog-Light
Three clients in one important story – this may be a first for the agency. I can think of no better way to start the new year than to see three Horn Group clients listed in Tom Foremski’s IMHO ZDNet blog. It’s no surprise that Greg Gianforte of RightNow is noted... Read full post »
Room to Give to 'Room to Read'
Every year at this time we send holiday cards to our clients and contacts – we usually send real cards by snail mail. For such a simple a gesture it is quite costly – between design, printing and postage it quickly adds up to thousands of dollars. This year we opted... Read full post »
Consumer Tech Update
This time a year ago we decided to expand our client portfolio to include consumer tech companies. It served us well to stay laser focused on enterprise software for the past 15 years – never getting distracted by the boom babies that pulled so many agencies down with them. Now the... Read full post »
Our Advisory Council
Today we announced our Advisory Council for 2006. The group’s mission is to help guide us in our quest for exceptional client service and business practices. This can mean a formal planning session or a simple phone conversation to test ideas among trusted colleagues. Since we formed the group several years... Read full post »
Horn Group Making it Happen
Early this year, Sabrina Horn declared the company motto for 2005: “Make It Happen.” Horn Group New York is doing just this, with the help of new local friends. On August 31, 2005, New York Governor George Pataki signed a bill to give incentives for New York companies to move downtown... Read full post »