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A Vintage Year Closes and a New Year Begins

2010 was an excellent year for Zer0 to 5ive and our clients.  We won the Silver Anvil for the second year in a row in B2B Integrated Communications, we won the Big Apple Award of Excellence for one of the best campaigns out of a NY agency and we won the Web Marketing Associations award for Best B2B website.  We also successfully launched multiple products and services where our marketing and PR programs drove measurable business leads and revenues for our clients.   We are grateful for the trust, collaboration, friendship and latitude they gave us over the year!

In 2010, we also saw a more focused approach to vertical market penetration by our clients, a greater emphasis on content generation than ever before and a healthy explosion of top-tier national news coverage driven by trends, metrics, out-of-the-box stories and the willingness of our clients to assert their point of views.

Many of our clients continued to struggle with the opportunities, challenges and logistics of social media and the constant attention it requires.  At the same time, trade shows and conferences – both industry and corporate – regained a new sense of importance in several sectors, including telecommunications, financial services, healthcare and education technology.

One month into 2011 and we are well underway with a sense of purpose and all the excitement that a new year holds.  Here’s what I see as The Big 5 for the year ahead:

  1. Greater integration of PR and marketing as strategic communications becomes the mantra with more and more content needed for media, marketing, lead generation, SEO, thought leadership and customer education.  Plus, a greater focus on video and alternatives to PDFs
  2. Greater involvement with, and attention to, industry and media influencers who are rising above the fray and having an impact on sales
  3. Benchmarking against key competitors and industry leaders as a focus on sales, growth and leadership continues
  4. Excitement around “the big idea” and a growing willingness to break through the clutter with non-traditional approaches
  5. Connection to the consumer, even by B2B companies, to drive greater customer impact and media attention