BeeP Blog

This week seemed like a good opportunity to take some pause and look at the brouhaha over SOPA. Not since the 1998 Digital Millenium Copyright Act (a battle won by the entertainment industry) have I noticed an outpouring of concern over freedom of the web (domestically, anyway) as over the past few weeks with the SOPA/PIPA legislation.  From a communications perspective, the SOPA/PIPA debate has been hugely interesting, and points to new vs. old approaches to PR, the importance of audience connection, and how essential it is to find the right message.

At the crux of it all on the entertainment side, as the Wall Street Journal recently described, was the messaging problem on behalf of the entertainment industry – something admitted to even by the lobbyists themselves.  Why? Maybe in part because the RIAA and MPAA relied on a message of American jobs; and how this put American innovation at risk – a message that, as it turns out, didn’t pull the public heartstrings or extend so far as to draw sympathy to those with a reputation for squeezing profits from artists and suing single moms millions for filesharing.

The original SOPA ad:

Over the last two years, the RIAA and MPAA have had their sights on something like this, putting millions into traditional beltway PR: lobbyists, press releases, status quo, looking to Internet control as a jobs issue, some wedge to give better copyright control.

The entertainment industry put $279.5 million into beltway lobbying- piddly compared with the Silicon Valley crowd, who put in $29.3m over the same period.  For all that effort they may have courted their D.C. influencers, but that support didn’t help against a surging public outcry.

What took them years to build up, the web-based grassroots movement fought against in a matter of days with an outpouring of information and opinion on the same medium that they defended – through YouTube videos, Net celebrities, and email campaigns.  Instead of “jobs”, the opposition spoke of liberty, freedom of expression, and even a concern for the security of the Internet itself.  These messages are both universal and extremely personal – ones in which nearly everyone has some stake.

As a result, 13 million people participated in the protest on the 18th. 50,000 websites went dark. Congress received 3 million emails concerning SOPA and the loss of Internet freedoms.  A tremendous outpouring of support that ultimately helped break the momentum behind the bill.

Rather than an acknowledgement of their miscalculation, the industry complained that that they lacked a big enough mouthpiece and couldn’t control the communications cycle (a spooky complaint coming from the incumbent owners of broadcast media and distribution, one that sounds an awful lot like a push for censorship).

The next battle is already heating up, and I’ll be watching to see whether ACTA supporters recalculate, or pursue PR as usual.

Here at the shop, we recently put to bed a content development and management project on behalf of a client.  Here’s the story.

Impec Group, a green facilities management firm, wanted to completely rebrand themselves in a narrow six-week window before a major industry trade show. As part of a rebranding team, Blue Practice was brought on to create web and marketing collateral to ready the new Impec site for the show. We had about a month to create all the written content for two-dozen web pages, three customer case studies and a brochure with three separate sales inserts.

We rolled up our collective sleeves and got to work by first developing a very aggressive timeline and coordinating with Impec and the other stakeholders on the project. To help speed our execution, we scaled from content generation to project management, quickly grasping that all the involved participants needed a voice in the final content. In addition to managing edit rounds, we ensured the project’s success by coordinating activities with Impec and our very talented marketing partners Crowded Ocean in the rebranding campaign.

The website and brochures were completed ahead of schedule and were well received. Many of Impec’s current and former customers complimented them on the professional and “big player” look and feel of the marketing materials. Impec also generated several new business leads at the show and credited the rebranding effort as a big part of that success.

Looking back, we’re very pleased with the new look and feel for Impec, and are proud to have been a part of this important milestone in their company’s history!

Tim introduces Mayor Lee at Greenstart

Yesterday was a tremendously exciting day for us, as we got to help kick off the Greenstart program – the first accelerator program dedicated to cleantech.  There was a packed house at the company’s new office at 22 Battery St., and we were especially thrilled that San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee came out to help us cut the ribbon.

Greenstart supports fast cleantech companies – startups that can generate revenue in 6 months or less – with mentorship, resources and introductions to capital investors.  In an industry that’s so often filled with long-term and cap-heavy investments, working with a group that’s as impatient as we are to get cleantech off the ground is incredibly fulfilling.

We not only got to kick off the program, but officially introduce the first four companies to join the accelerator: SmarterShade, a proprietary technology for smart glass that allows varying levels of light to enter through a window based on user controls; Sylvatex, maker of SmartFuel, a cost-saving, renewable diesel fuel; Tenrehte Technologies, maker of PICOwatt, a WiFi enabled smart plug designed to address the real‐time energy monitoring and control market; and Wa.tt, a free energy monitoring tool that brings together information from multiple energy accounts, automatically categorizes energy transactions, and helps manage energy use.

Already we’ve had a tremendous outpouring of attention to the event, here’s just a sample of the coverage that hit simultaneous to our event:

A New Cleantech Accelerator, Greenstart, Reveals its Inaugural Class
By Ariel Schwartz
For Fast Company

Ex-Automotive Executives Select Start-Ups for Green Incubator
By Josie Garthwaite
For New York Times

Incubator Provides a New Boost for Clean Tech Startups
By Sarah Laskow
For Good Magazine

Greenstart will make you wish you had a cleantech startup
By Matt Lynley
For VentureBeat

Clean-tech ‘accelerator’ Greenstart opens in S.F.
By Carolyn Said
For the San Francisco Chronicle

The office itself is really beautiful, and our friend Kimberly Rider did a fantastic job with the interior.  It features:

• Newly manufactured sustainable products The lobby entry floors are American Naturals collection of glazed porcelain tiles produced with Dynamic HD Imaging for a rustic look. The tiles are made with 71% recycled content and are GREENGUARD certified to be low-emitting. The main space flooring is made with Enviro-Cork, an environmentally-friendly choice for flooring, as cork renews after it is harvested from the tree. When harvested correctly, the Cork Oak tree is left completely unharmed in the harvesting process. Herman Miller SAYL Task Chairs (slated to arrive in October) are Cradle to Cradle CertifiedCM Silver and 93% recyclable.
• Vintage furnishings salvaged materials The Greenstart office was furnished with a specific focus on vintage furnishing and salvaged materials. The desks and conference tables are custom-made locally by Kevin Slagle Design Build in Oakland. The desks were made from fallen Redwood trees from property in Piedmont and the conference tables were made with White Oak from reclaimed sources. Furniture in the office is almost entirely vintage, breathing a second life into items that may have otherwise been destined for landfill.
• Energy efficiency The office boasts Energy Star appliances as well as energy efficient LED lighting.
• Indoor Air Quality The interior walls were painted with low-VOC paint from Kelly Moore and all desks and conference tables were stained and sealed with zero-VOC stains and finishes. The Herman Miller SAYL Task Chairs (slated to arrive in October) also produce zero air emissions (VOCs).

Mayor Lee cuts the ribbon