Month: January 2017

5 steps to become an industry thought leader | eNews from OWC

Posted on January 31, 2017 by - eNewsletter, OWC News

Thought leaders are people whose views on a subject are authoritative and influential.  They write white papers, conduct research, analyze data and offer opinion and commentary.  Their expertise enhances the reputation of any organization — obtaining new customers, engaging existing ones and bringing the media data they can use in stories.
Download PDF of this issue: 5 steps to become an industry thought leader
Take advantage of this gateway to media and influencers.  Develop a thought leadership campaign to showcase what you know.
Step 1: Content Creation … white papers, studies, surveys and reports
Research and data are at the core of an effective thought leadership campaign.  It could start with a research paper.  For example, our firm worked with the USC Marshall School of Business and Professor Linda Hagen this month to get media attention for her study on portion control and weight.  The findings have been posted online by the Journal of Marketing Research, “Rejecting Responsibility: Low Physical Involvement in Obtaining Food Promotes Unhealthy Eating,” and will appear in print in an upcoming issue.
Step 2: Pitch media and influencers
Share thought leadership materials with media and influencers and offer interviews with the expert.  OWC has secured stories in Forbes, “4 Tips To Help You Keep Your Resolution To Eat Healthier And Lose Weight,” and The Wall Street Journal, “To Avoid Unhealthy Snacks, Science Says Serve Yourself” about Hagen’s report.  We use the print stories to reach out to television and radio.  Target bloggers and influencers on LinkedIn and Twitter to spread the word to their audiences.
Step 3: Keep it going
Thought leaders report regularly.  Build a following by publishing quarterly or semi-annually to create anticipation for the next report.  OWC works with EY to position partners as thought leaders on venture capital and IPOs throughout the West Coast on a quarterly basis.  Partners are routinely quoted in the Los Angeles Times, San Diego Union-Tribune, Seattle Times, business journals and on radio and television.
Step 4: Speaking increases your value
Thought leaders are also sought-after speakers.  Speaking, according to Warren Buffett, increases your value by 50 percent.  Speaking brings new customers, referrals and insight.  Thought leadership content can be repurposed for webinars, panel discussions, industry conferences or even within your own organization at other offices or to a sales team.  Alumni groups host webinars and want to spotlight alumni who have become thought leaders within your own organization.
Step 5: Bylines/guest articles fine-tune messaging
The content created can be used for bylined articles for industry trade publications, blogs and newsletters — all published under the thought leader’s name.  Give readers information they don’t know and knowledge they can’t buy.  A recent byline placed by OWC in The Accountant focuses on BEPS, the most comprehensive change in international taxation history.  Write what you know, and share all articles on social media and in the company’s eNewsletter.
As thought leaders on thought leadership, we’re here to brainstorm ideas that will drive revenue for your business.

This Wall Street Journal article reports on a USC Marshall study, expanding its reach and optimizing online searches.

Nominations now open for EY Entrepreneur Of The Year

Posted on January 26, 2017 by - Client News

Olmstead Williams Communications is proud to be a sponsor for the 31st EY Entrepreneur Of The Year® Awards. Nominations are now open throughout the Greater Los Angeles area. Anyone can nominate any entrepreneur they admire or even self-nominate.
Now in its 31st year, Entrepreneur Of The Year honors successful entrepreneurs in more than 145 cities in 60 countries and remains one of the preeminent competitive awards in the world for entrepreneurs and leaders of high-growth companies. The Entrepreneur Of The Year Awards are part of EY’s work in identifying and supporting business leaders who demonstrate extraordinary success in areas such as innovation, financial performance and personal commitment.
Since its inception, the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year program has recognized more than 9,000 executives who were estimated to have created over 14 million jobs in 2015 alone, based on the recently released Harvard Business Review report, The Entrepreneur’s Purpose. Broken down further, the 2016 class of winners from Greater Los Angeles collectively created 2,200 jobs, increased their workforce by 33% and grew their revenues by 39% over the last two years.
The Greater Los Angeles program includes entrepreneurial leaders from as far north as San Luis Obispo and as far south as Long Beach and the border of Orange County. It also includes Las Vegas, Nevada, and Hawaii. Prior winners from Greater Los Angeles include John Kilroy, Kilroy Realty Corporation; Chris DeWolfe, SGN; David Overton, The Cheesecake Factory Incorporated; Robert Friedman, Summit Entertainment LLC; Don W. Chang, Forever 21, Inc.; and Brandon J. Beck and Marc Merrill, Riot Games.
Award winners are selected in a number of industry categories by a panel of independent regional judges. The awards will be presented at a 750-person black-tie Awards Gala on Thursday, June 15, 2017, at The Beverly Hilton hotel in Beverly Hills, California. This video highlights feedback from the 2016 finalists and winners and shares the excitement on stage at the Awards Gala.
Awards criteria and judging process
Award winners are selected in a number of industry categories by a panel of independent regional judges, including previous winners of the award, leading CEOs and private capital investors and other regional business leaders. Entrepreneurs eligible for consideration include not only company founders, but also leaders of multi-generation family businesses and transformational public and private company CEOs. The nominee’s company must be at least two years old.  Entrepreneurs may self-nominate or they can be nominated by their peers or other business leaders. There is no fee to apply.
To access the application and find out more about the program, please visit ey.com/us/eoy/greaterla. The deadline for applications is Friday, March 10, 2017.
Feel free to email eoygla@ey.com with any questions.
Join the conversation on social media by following EY @EY_EOYUS and using #EOYGLA

Reader’s Digest highlights USC Marshall study on easy way to stay fit

Posted on January 26, 2017 by - Client News

A USC Marshall study led by Dr. Linda Hagen shows that, in order to ease the process of staying fit, it’s best to serve yourself instead of having others serve for you. In Hagen’s research, which will be published in the Journal of Marketing Research later this year, the team found that when participants served their own unhealthy foods, they were more likely to either skip them altogether or take skimpy portions compared to when they grabbed pre-filled cups, pre-sliced cake, or pre-set sizes of frozen yogurt.
“Our research shows that for unhealthy—but not for healthy—food, consumers are more likely to indulge and have larger portions when they are less involved in serving the food, like when another person serves it for them or when it’s already pre-plated,” says study co-author Linda Hagen, assistant professor of marketing at the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California. “They’re less likely to indulge and will choose smaller portions when they have to serve themselves.”
Read the full article: Want to Eat Less Junk Food? This Science-Backed Trick Works Every Time (Reader’s Digest)

LA Times sits down with TaskUs CEO Bryce Maddock to talk start-up success strategies

Posted on January 16, 2017 by - Client News

The Los Angeles Times sat down with Bryce Maddock, co-founder and chief executive of TaskUs, a Santa Monica company that describes itself as “a progressive, new-age outsourcer” that handles customer service, call-center operations and other functions for start-ups as well as established firms. TaskUs has undergone an explosive growth in recent years, as revenue reached $80 million in 2016.
“Part of the ‘police force’ that is keeping pornography, offensive images and harassment off Tinder is us,” Maddock says. “We also do customer service and order placement for over half of the food delivery start-ups.”
Read the full article: TaskUs co-founder Bryce Maddock provides helping hands for tech start-ups (The Los Angeles Times)
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OWC's Williams to speak on crisis management and social media

Posted on January 12, 2017 by - OWC News

Olmstead Williams Communications’ CEO and President Tracy Williams will speak on the panel “How to Lead Your Organization’s Social Media Messaging in a Crisis” as part of PR News’ two-day Digital Summit & Crisis Management Boot Camp at the oceanfront Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort and Spa on Feb. 23. The panel will explore ways to lead employees and senior leaders safely through media firestorms and social media scrutiny.
The summit will be a two-day immersion in brand-building digital communications and crisis management. Attendees will learn how to effectively mitigate a crisis situation by developing cross-departmental teams, build and maintain strong relationships with media to get a company’s message heard, and hear in-depth case studies on how crisis plans were developed.
 
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Wall Street Journal features USC healthy eating study

Posted on January 9, 2017 by - Client News

USC Marshall’s Linda Hagen spoke with the Wall Street Journal about her recent study that shows that simply serving yourself can curb unhealthy indulgence. People who choose their own piece of cake—or, even better, cut it themselves—eat less of it.
Those are the findings of five experiments with a total of over 800 participants by Dr. Hagen and two co-authors, to be published later this year in the Journal of Marketing Research. The experiments found that the less involved people are in serving unhealthy foods, the more likely they are to eat them—and to eat larger portions.
“If they’re served by someone else, they can outsource responsibility to someone else,” says Dr. Linda Hagen, assistant professor of marketing at the University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business. “But if they serve themselves, they have to accept responsibility and that makes them feel bad.”
Read the full article: Want to Avoid Munching on Unhealthy Foods? Serve Yourself (Wall Street Journal)

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USC Marshall’s Linda Hagen has tips for a healthier year

Posted on January 6, 2017 by - Client News

Linda Hagen, an assistant professor of marketing at the USC Marshall School of Business, and her coauthors conducted five experiments to test how serving yourself or having someone else serve you could affect how much you eat. The experiments also tested whether the nature of the food, i.e. “healthy” or “unhealthy,” made any difference (the scientists, acknowledging that such labels are subjective, polled college students to determine which foods were which).
“These results suggest that how much physical involvement is required to help oneself to food (less vs. more) may have quite a powerful effect,” the researchers wrote.
Read more: 4 Tips to Help You Keep Your Resolution To Eat Healthier and Lose Weight (Forbes)