Petfinder.com recently asked their community of pet parents if they included their favorite feline or puppy pal in their wedding, Pets in Weddings. The response was so great that CooperKatz identified an emerging trend and alerted the media of the great wedding moments. The June 24, USA Today article “Puppy love: More pets partake in even formal weddings” featured brides who adopted from Petfinder.com and were married with their pets by their side. Both the online and print edition of the article featured wedding photos of four-legged friends in their latest doggy formal attire.

Matthew Wollin joins the CooperKatz team as a summer intern. Welcome Matthew!

Petfinder.com Loves to LOL! To promote Adopt-A-Shelter-Cat-Month in June, CooperKatz initiated a partnership between Petfinder.com and Icanhazcheeseburger.com. The two-week program launched June 15. Petfinder.com Web site visitors were encouraged to visit any adoptable cat page on Petfinder.com, click on the cheeseburger icon below the photo, caption the photo in their best LOLCats language and then share the link with their kitteh-loving friends. The images were posted on Icanhazcheeseburger.com. Some of the captioned kittehs can be seen here, here and here. The partnership was featured on Atomictown.com, Brandfreak.com, Los Angeles Time’s LA Unleashed and The Baltimore Sun’s Unleashed.

With summer travel a timely topic in the news, CooperKatz worked closely with travel and pet reporters to announce the Petfinder.com “Top Five Most Pet Friendly Airlines of 2009.” Counting down, the most pet friendly airlines include: (5) United Airlines, (4) American Airlines, (3) Airtran, (2) Jet Blue and the number one airline was Continental. The list was highlighted on MSNBC.com and in The Washington Post. The rankings were also featured in a number of blogs including Animal Crazy at OrlandoSentinal.com, Tails of the City at SFgate.com, and Creature Feature at blogs.Augusta.com.

Jeffrey Lewis joins the CooperKatz team as a summer intern. Welcome Jeff!

New 4500 square foot, interactive Amway Welcome Center, designed and developed by CooperKatz, Whirlwind Creative and a core team from Amway, opens in Ada, Michigan on Amway’s 50th anniversary.

CooperKatz is pleased to acknowledge the contributions of a key employee with a promotion:

• Megan Burke to Account Executive

Congratulations Megan!

CooperKatz joins Public Relations Global Network (PRGN), an international organization of leading independently owned public relations agencies working together to serve clients with local knowledge and global reach. With the induction of CooperKatz, The Harrell Group from Dallas and GroundFloor Media from Denver at the Network’s April meeting in Sao Paulo, Brazil, the network now consists of 40 member agencies operating on six continents worldwide.

Petfinder.com is making large paw prints in the media on how the economy is impacting animal welfare. In recent weeks, CooperKatz worked closely with both pet and news reporters to announce the 2009 Pets and Economy Survey findings. The survey found 84 percent of shelters and rescue groups are reporting pet surrenders because of the economic downturn, foreclosures and / or job losses. Seventy-four percent said that they have seen an increase in pets being given away or abandoned since this time last year due to these economic difficulties.

The survey findings were highlighted in the San Francisco Chronicle on April 20, 2009 and on ABC 7 Morning News in San Francisco on April 10, 2009. Petfinder.com co-founder Betsy Saul also wrote for The Huffington Post on April 22, 2009 discussing the economy’s impact on pets.

Despite both a challenging economy and an extremely competitive space, online advertising network and technology provider Collective Media recently secured $20 million in growth equity funding from Accel Partners. To highlight the deal and showcase the company’s strong growth trajectory, CooperKatz reached out to financial, advertising and technology writers, securing a broad range of coverage in outlets such as PaidContent, VentureBeat, TechCrunch, Contentinople, VentureWireClickZ, TheDeal.com, MediaPost, CNETNews, Private Equity Hub, Digital Media Wire and more.

Petfinder.com was featured in more than 40 media outlets when the Obama family welcomed its much-anticipated puppy into the White House. On April 14, 2009, CooperKatz secured an Associated Press article highlighting advice from Petfinder.com’s co-founder Betsy Saul on training the new puppy, which received widespread coverage in top national and regional outlets such as MSNBC.com, ABCNews.go.com and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Other notable coverage for Petfinder.com in regards to the new puppy included an article on People.com and an opinion editorial in USA Today.

Grinnell College Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Seth Allen has been sharing his expertise on how families can make the best financial aid decisions and pay for college in a difficult economic environment. Commentary from Mr. Allen has recently appeared in The New York Times and U.S. News & World Report. Mr. Allen has also written several pieces on financial aid for About.com’s College Admissions site and has published an article, “Cost Calculus Gets Trickier," on Forbes.com.

The New York Times Magazine profiled Zipcar in its March 8, 2009 edition. “Share My Ride” is an in-depth piece on the company and the category, including historical details of Zipcar’s founding and steps CEO Scott Griffith took to mainstream the business. CooperKatz worked closely with the reporter to shape the story, conduct interviews with Zipcar executives and profile NYC-based members. CooperKatz also coordinated a photo shoot that spanned two weeks and followed “Zipsters” from NYC to New Jersey.

Zipcar was featured in the San Francisco Chronicle for its efforts in helping Bay Area non-profits survive a slump in donations by reaching out to local charities and letting them drive Zipcars for free. The business front page article highlights Zipcar’s approach to engaging with and giving back to the community, and cites the many Bay Area non-profits Zipcar is working with, including the Imagine Bus Project, Meals on Wheels, Friends of the Urban Forest, Big Brothers Big Sisters and 826 Valencia. CooperKatz worked closely with the Chronicle to introduce them to Zipcar’s program, and to connect them with participating non-profits.

The Partnership for a Drug-Free America was featured in People Magazine’s “Back From the Edge,” where Congresswoman Mary Bono Mack and her son Chesare shared their own story of how addiction and recovery can affect a family. CooperKatz worked closely with the Partnership, the Congresswoman and People Magazine over the last few months to secure a three-page story in the February 19, 2009 issue. The article provides parents with a safe place to find accurate information about drug and alcohol issues on the Partnership’s Web resource, www.drugfree.org.

Following the article’s release, CooperKatz secured a national morning show segment on CBS' The Early Show highlighting the Congresswoman’s personal story. The segment brought awareness to addiction as a national health issue, and Congresswoman Bono Mack recommended that parents take action and seek out help from a knowledgeable resource – The Partnership for a Drug-Free America.

To support a new partnership between Zipcar and the City of Seattle, and to promote the opening of a new Zipcar office, CooperKatz provided strategy and proactive media outreach, resulting in coverage with all major Seattle media outlets, including all four TV affiliates, numerous blogs and this story in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Zipcar’s partnership with Seattle provides car sharing access to the City’s 10,500 employees, further supporting Mayor Nickels’ innovative environmental agenda and commute trip reduction (CTR) program.

CooperKatz helped the Mount Sinai School of Medicine launch the National Children’s Study in Queens, one of the first sites for this massive longitudinal research initiative, which will examine the effects of environmental conditions on children’s health. The engagement started with a strategy session to determine messaging, after which CooperKatz developed local recruitment materials including a new logo (pictured), posters, public service announcements and community brochures. In conjunction with her annual State of the Borough Address, the Honorable Helen Marshall announced the landmark Study on January 13, 2009, and CooperKatz has since secured several placements in highly-relevant local and ethnic community outlets, including New York 1, W-ABC, Queens Public Television, The New York Daily News, The Queens Tribune, The Queen Chronicle, The Nexus of Queens, El Correo, Sher-E-Panjab and Thikana.

Kicking off the New Year, CooperKatz secured an impressive Q & A for Steve Pasierb, president and CEO of The Partnership for a Drug-Free America, with BusinessWeek’s senior writer, Cathy Arnst. The piece titled “Keeping Your Teens Off Drugs,” was featured on the BusinessWeek blog Working Parents, where there is a broad discussion of the issues and day-to-day concerns of working parents.

The Partnership’s new web portal Time to Act was highlighted as a resource for those parents that suspect or know their child is abusing drugs or alcohol. The portal launched this January to support parents during a very difficult time of detection and early intervention.

With all eyes on the economy, CooperKatz helped the Noblis Center for Health Innovation publicize its new Economic Impact Study, making a big splash in the media. In just a few days, the team secured placements in top mainstream and healthcare publications including Forbes.com, USA Today, CBS Radio News, Healthcare Finance News and Healthcare-Informatics. The study found that hospitals and health systems across the United States are cutting back on both capital spending and unprofitable healthcare services as a result of the economic crisis. Conducted through in-depth interviews at the end of 2008, the Economic Impact Study was designed to assess the impact of the national economic crisis on the financial health of hospitals and health systems.

For the second straight year, CooperKatz partnered with Amway Global to produce and stage its Achievers recognition meetings. The meetings, staged in two consecutive waves, honored 6,000 top performing Amway Global Independent Business Owners (IBOs) and were held from December 5 - 13 at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. The assignment included agenda development and content flow; graphic production; creation and construction of an elegant three-stage set; talent negotiation and contracting and on-site staging of all main ballroom programs. Show highlights included unique reveals of the top IBO honorees by world renowned illusionist, Jeff McBride; business meeting participation by the acapella group, Mosaic; and an ear and eye-popping performance by featured talent, Grammy nominated star of the Broadway Musical Movin’ Out, Michael Cavanaugh. Each session included a welcome reception featuring famous Las Vegas Look-alikes, Guitar Hero Stations and an engaging DJ; two fast-paced, engaging business meeting sessions; and an energetic, rock-the-house, final night gala.

Jason Vinoles joins the CooperKatz team as Senior Account Executive. Welcome Jason!

Sharada Maddox joins the CooperKatz team as Account Coordinator. Welcome Sharada!

Jason Powell joins the CooperKatz team as Account Executive. Welcome Jason!

CooperKatz celebrated its 12th producing and publicizing the Association of National Advertisers’ signature event, the ANA Annual Conference. The event drew the largest number of participants ever – more than 1,200 – and generated significant media coverage, with over 100 stories appearing in outlets such as Advertising Age, Adweek, BusinessWeek, MediaPost and The New York Times.

Understanding that the financial crisis many sectors including education, CooperKatz secured Grinnell College, a small liberal arts college in Iowa a place in the national conversation. CK positioned Grinnell’s President, Russell Osgood, as an expert on how financial aid, tuition and other campus projects may change as a result of the downturn. Reporters from a range of high-level publications spoke with President Osgood, securing a presence for Grinnell in both trade (The Chronicle of Higher Education, Inside Higher Education) and top-tier outlets (Associated Press, Bloomberg News Service, TIME Magazine and The Wall Street Journal).

CooperKatz worked with its long-time client the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) to publicize the organization’s response to the potential Yahoo-Google partnership. As the first major trade organization to come out against the alignment, the ANA demonstrated its industry leadership within both the advertising and general business communities. Comments from CEO Bob Liodice appeared in over 500 outlets, including Advertising Age, Associated Press, Bloomberg.com, Dow Jones, Marketwatch, MediaPost, MSNBC, New York Times, Reuters, The Wall Street Journal and WIRED.

CooperKatz helped The Partnership for a Drug-Free America, and its partner Major League Baseball (MLB) launch a new microsite that focuses on educating teens on the dangers of illegal steroids and other performance enhancing substances (PES). The site also provides parents, caregivers and coaches effective tools to guide conversations with teens at-risk, helping them drive home the message that it’s not worth risking your health, and possibly your life, just to get ahead in sports.

CooperKatz is pleased to acknowledge the contributions of three key employees with promotions:

• Meredith Topalanchik to Director, Client Services
• Jorge Lavina to Account Supervisor
• Lori Silbert to Senior Account Executive

Congratulations Meredith, Jorge and Lori!

Amy Lee joins the CooperKatz team as Account Coordinator. Welcome Amy!

CooperKatz Principal Andy Cooper was quoted in the August 29th issue of Advertising Age, providing his perspective on the timing and effectiveness of the Republication VP announcement:

Andy Cooper, principal of CooperKatz & Co., gives Mr. McCain credit for building the anticipation and shocking everyone with his choice, but said his choice of timing was poor. "By waiting until Friday," Mr. Cooper said in an e-mail, "the McCain camp basically let the Obama news cycle play out—hardly an ambush technique."

CooperKatz recently partnered with the digital agency and internal interactive team of client Coldwell Banker to develop and launch “Housetrology” – an entertaining online quiz that asks potential home buyers, “What’s your House Sign?” Are you an “Urbanist”? A “Ranchero”? A “Colonialista”? Encouraging consumers to think beyond numbers-driven home buying variables like costs and square footage, "Housetrology" explores the emotional “intangibles” that underlie every home purchase. Designed as a way to engage consumers, Coldwell Banker sales associates and members of the press via social media and traditional public relations outreach, CooperKatz worked with Coldwell Banker and its partners to launch versions of the quiz for both Facebook and ColdwellBanker.com. As of the end of August, over 2,100 people have taken the quiz via Facebook, and it is driving incremental traffic to the corporate Web site. Coldwell Banker also tapped the expertise of family psychologist Dr. Ruth Peters and surveyed people across the country to see how emotional factors play into the home selection process – a PR push that has garnered over 25 mainstream media articles and blog posts to date.

CooperKatz’s Jorge Lavina Honored as “Top Tech Communicator”

Results of the 2008 PRSourceCode Top Tech Communicators Study are in. And the third-annual survey of more than 300 IT and business journalists names CooperKatz senior account executive, Jorge Lavina, to the list!

Check it out here: http://www.prsourcecode.com/top-tech-indiv-2008.asp.

All of us at CooperKatz are thrilled by the news! Kudos, Jorge!!

CooperKatz execs took center stage in two recent PR industry trade publication Q&As:

• President/COO Anne Green was featured as a July ’08 Bulldog Reporter “Thought Leader,” offering her perspective on keys to PR agency success in a slow economy.
• Principal Ralph Katz provided an in-depth look at the power of creative facilitation for meetings and brainstorms in the August 20th issue of The Firm Voice, a publication of The Council of Public Relations Firms.

CooperKatz is pleased to acknowledge the contributions of two key employees with promotions:

• Katy Layton to Account Executive
• Maria Martinez to Account Executive

Congratulations Katy and Maria!

CooperKatz wins the Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits business through a competitive RFP process. CooperKatz presented a combination of traditional and social media ideas and will align its program with new initiatives the chain plans for the remainder of 2008.

Financial institutions currently face the highest levels of economic and political uncertainty in more than a decade. The overspent consumer is exhausted while the growing liquidity crunch stands poised to further cripple the investment ecosystem. TowerGroup held its 2008 Financial Services Business & Technology Conference and Exhibition, themed “Charting Your Course for Success,” in the context of this challenging environment.

The CooperKatz team promoted this important annual gathering of over 600 financial services professionals with pre-conference press announcements, outreach to secure attendance by top trade and general business reporters and on-site support. CooperKatz secured attendance at the event (including several on-site press meetings) with a variety of publications including Reuters, ABA Banking Journal, American Banker, Global Investment Technology, Securities Industry News and Wall Street & Technology. The team also secured a live appearance for Rob Hegarty on CNBC’s “Closing Bell” during the conference’s final day to discuss market trends.

Continuing to focus on the trend of how the challenging economy is affecting pets and pet adoptions, CooperKatz and Petfinder.com secured two significant news stories to raise awareness of this issue. Yahoo! News, CNN.com and The Daily Buzz all aired a broadcast segment featuring an interview with Petfinder.com co-founder Betsy Saul discussing the ongoing economic problem. In addition an informative article from the Associated Press also explored how social services are being impacted by the downward turn.

Zipcar, along with car sharing in general, is facing what CEO Scott Griffith calls, “the perfect storm” right now – with high gas prices, a looming recession and summer travel plans leaving Americans searching for alternative forms of transportation. CooperKatz has been leveraging this mounting interest in the industry with the media. This has resulted in substantive profiles about Zipcar from the Associated Press, CNN’s “The Next Big Thing,” and now, the "Best in Business" column of the June 16th issue of US News and World Report.

The article, "Zipcar Redefines the Rental Car" is an in-depth look at the company, and includes a sidebar that goes through just how the company achieved such a high level of success.

CooperKatz developed and launched significantly enhanced online content for the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ Insure U public education campaign. The refreshed Web site, designed by the NAIC, now addresses consumer information needs in four expanded life situations: domestic partners, single parents, grandparents raising grandchildren and members of the military, in addition to tips and considerations associated with four original life stages: young singles, young families, established families and seniors.

At the launch event, held at the San Francisco Marriott on June 3, 2008, the NAIC presented results of national consumer research, commissioned by CooperKatz, on the expanded life situations. Twenty NAIC state commissioners attended the event, which attracted journalists from the San Francisco Chronicle and KCBS (radio) as well as members of local community organizations. To keep with the university theme, a San Francisco State University Fraternity Step Team kicked off the proceedings, which also featured student-created documentary films focusing on each of the expanded life situations. The short films are available at Insure U-TV .

Aaron Gavin and Zayna Ghacham join the CooperKatz team as summer interns. Welcome Aaron and Zayna!

To underscore the central role and rights of music creators, CooperKatz conceived and assisted its client ASCAP (the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers) in the development of The 'Bill of Rights for Songwriters and Composers.' Since its launch in April, nearly 8,000 people have signed up to support the initiative, including the following music luminaries: Lionel Richie, Stacy "Fergie" Ferguson, Justin Timberlake, Desmond Child, Jackson Browne, Steve Miller, Marilyn Bergman, Alan Bergman, Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller, Quincy Jones, Tony Bennett, Chamillionaire, Keri Hilson, Johnta Austin and John Rzeznik.

ASCAP eventually plans to share the signatures collected with key legislators in Washington to ensure that everyone who has a stake in determining the future of music recognizes the importance of protecting creators' rights.

CooperKatz has been named the ‘Best Agency of the Year’ in its size category (under $5 million fee income) by The Holmes Report, which described the honor this way:

Burson-Marsteller veterans Andy Cooper and Ralph Katz have built their firm steadily over the past 12 years, placing more emphasis on client service than new business—a preference validated by longstanding relationships with key clients such as the Association of National Advertisers (12 years), TowerGroup (eight years) and Virgin Mobile (six years). Having said that, 2007 was a good year for growth, with a couple of high-profile new business wins — Coldwell Banker and Zipcar — contributing to better than 30 percent growth and fee income of $4 million. The firm also continued to expand its digital and social networking capabilities through its Cogence practice.

CooperKatz & Company has expanded its senior management ranks with the hiring of Camille Priselac as manager, client services. Priselac joins the firm from Chevron Corporation, where most recently she served as communications specialist, Richmond refinery policy, government and public affairs. Her media experience includes serving as chief spokesperson for Tier-1 television, print and radio interviews including CNN, Reuters and the Wall Street Journal. Her portfolio also includes extensive hands-on experience in crisis planning, response and training.

Welcome Camille!

CooperKatz is pleased to acknowledge the contributions of six key employees with promotions:

• Jason Wallace to Manager, Creative Services
• Jasmine Lyons to Account Supervisor
• Kathleen Reynolds to Account Supervisor
• Thea Linscott to Senior Account Executive
• Nick Sowards to Senior Account Executive
• Michael Katz to Assistant Producer / Designer

Congratulations!

CooperKatz & Company has moved!

Thanks to the support of our clients, and increasing national recognition of our strategic and creative capabilities, CooperKatz has outgrown our space at 708 Third Avenue in Manhattan. As of March 17, 2008, our new home is 12 blocks south at 205 Lexington Avenue.

Our new address is:  205 Lexington Avenue, 5th Floor, New York, NY 10016

This is an exciting moment in our 12-year history. Our move to larger space positions us well for continued growth across all of our disciplines: public relations, creative services and social media.

Please come visit us soon in our new digs!

Megan Burke joins the CooperKatz team as Account Coordinator. Welcome Megan!

CooperKatz had two major placements for Zipcar in March 2008. The first landed CEO Scott Griffith on the cover of Inc. Magazine. The accompanying story highlighted the company’s success in building the largest car sharing company in the world. This comprehensive look at Zipcar touted Griffith’s leadership as part of a seven-step recipe for growth from a cool start-up to a $100 million success story. CooperKatz worked closely with the reporter and photo editor for Inc., setting up day-long visits to Zipcar’s corporate offices; photo sessions involving students, cars and Griffith; and multiple interviews with key company executives.

The second placement appeared in Fast Company, which also cited Griffith’s business strategies as vital to the company’s success. This story took another deep dive into what makes Zipcar work and what the company – and the car sharing industry in general – can be expected to do in the future. Both of these articles underscored Zipcar’s core message: that car sharing is a convenient, cost-effective alternative to car ownership for urban dwellers and businesses nationwide.

CooperKatz and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) created a public service announcement (PSA) that educates consumers about vital issues they should consider prior to purchasing a long-term care policy. The PSA, titled “Playing the Long-Term Care Game,” explains that planning for long-term care is not a game. This PSA is part of Insure U, the NAIC’s award-winning public-education program that helps consumers get smart about their insurance needs at different stages of their lives.

CooperKatz secured a major hit in The San Francisco Chronicle for Coldwell Banker Real Estate, LLC and its 3rd Annual My Home: The American Dream contest. The nationwide competition, in collaboration with Scholastic, invited students to share their personal stories – through images and words – about how their houses or apartments are not just structures in which they live, but homes where dreams are shared and memories made.

CooperKatz enhanced the newsworthiness of this story by conducting a national survey of adults to glean their thoughts on what makes a house a home. The comparison of the adults’ vs. the childrens' perspectives, combined with the announcement of the grand prize winners, shined a refreshing and positive light on the real estate industry and Coldwell Banker’s role in helping consumers to fulfill their vision of the American Dream.

With a sizeable increase in home foreclosures across the nation, CooperKatz and Petfinder.com identified a troubling, but under-recognized trend: pet abandonment. Families affected by foreclosure must often quickly leave their homes or move to a location that does not accept pets, forcing them to make a heartbreaking decision.

To raise awareness of this issue and offer a solution, CooperKatz secured an informative segment on WCBS/New York. The powerful broadcast piece, which aired twice, offered guidance for pet owners and highlighted Petfinder.com’s ability to connect those in need with animal welfare organizations in their area.