PR Essentials — Getting Effective PR Coverage

1. Develop a professional website
   Make it easy for PR professionals to find your newsworthy information and to contact you.


2. Write and distribute press releases
   Regularly send out press releases of any newsworthy information through distribution channels and targeted media lists.


3. Establish yourself as an expert in your field
   Two of the best ways to do this are by speaking at conferences or writing articles for trade publications.


4. Develop relationships with the media
   Know which writers (including bloggers) cover your area and make sure they know you. Send them your press releases personally and let them know that you are available to answer their questions.


5. Incorporate social media into your PR campaigns
   In today's PR environment social networks, online expert sources and web-induced stories are changing the nature and speed of public relations; therefore, social network marketing should be incorporated into all of your PR campaigns.


6. Monitor what is being said about you
   Google Alerts, Blogdigger and Technorati are just a few of the free tools available for monitoring what people are saying about your company.

Happy Birthday Charles Darwin

Do you think that Charles Darwin ever imagined what type of effect his Theory of Evolution would have on the world? It was obvious even in his lifetime that Darwin's theory revolutionized the study of biology. But now, 200 years after his birth (and 150 years after he published On the Origin of Species), he is still making newspaper headlines. There are few scientists that can say that! Happy birthday Charles Darwin! I hope that you are still as popular 200 years from now (although hopefully not as controversial).

Here are some of the latest articles published in Science and Nature concerning evolution:

1. A new find pushes origins back 100 million years to an ice-encased Earth. http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2009/204/1


2. Human hunting alters organisms' size and breeding schedule three times faster than natural forces. http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2009/112/3


3. The idea that natural selection acts on groups, as well as individuals, is a source of unending debate. Marek Kohn reports on what the two sides disagree about — and why it matters to them. http://www.nature.com/news/2008/081119/full/456296a.html


4. While not new research, here are 15 wonderfully written examples published by Nature over the past decade or so which illustrate the breadth, depth and power of evolutionary thinking. http://www.nature.com/nature/newspdf/evolutiongems.pdf

Timing PR for Startups

Timing the release of your first PR campaign should be determined by your company’s goals. Typically launching a PR campaign before your product is ready to deliver is a bad idea. Customers can become disappointed and irritated if they try to purchase a product that is not available. This also tends to upset the employees who have direct contact with the disgruntled customers. Additionally, it will tip off the competition to your plans and give them time to prepare for your launch.

However, there are a few situations where an early PR campaign can benefit a startup.

• Some startups want to launch a PR campaign before their product is ready to sell in order to build buzz for a product launch. This should only be done if you can accurately predict when your product will be available and if your competition cannot quickly copy your product.


• Startups trying to obtain financing can benefit from using a PR campaign to catch the attention of venture capitalists, angel investors, or other investing partners.


• Startups in rapidly developing areas can use early PR campaigns to establish themselves as experts in their field.


• Startups with products that have long purchase cycles may want to contact potential customers as early as possible to stay competitive.

The Texas Emerging Technology Fund is Accepting Applications

The Texas Emerging Technology Fund is a $200 million dollar investment fund designed to bring the best scientists and researchers to Texas. It is meant to seed disruptive technologies in the following sectors:

Biotechnology & Life Science
Nanotechnology
Advanced Manufacturing & Technology
Energy
Semiconductors
Aerospace & Defense
Petroleum & Chemical Processes
Information & Computer Technology

The goal of the ETF Commercialization Awards is to grow new small businesses and existing businesses to accelerate new products and services to the marketplace to ensure a vibrant economy for Texas and a global leadership position. For more information about how to apply for pre-seed or seed stage money visit the EFT website at http://www.texasone.us/site/PageServer?pagename=tetf_homepage. Good luck!

New Report Describes How Life Science Companies Can Leverage Social Networking Sites

Today, Red Bridge Marketing released a free whitepaper describing how life science companies can use social networking sites to help meet their corporate goals. Social Network Marketing: The Basics is the first in a series of whitepapers exploring how life science companies can incorporate social media into their marketing activities.

“We live in an exciting time” said Tiffany Smith, Red Bridge Marketing’s co-founder and principal. “Social networking has been growing exponentially the last few years, and companies need to act now to make the most of this direct and inexpensive platform for connecting with customers.”

The whitepaper, Social Network Marketing: The Basics, describes how social networks are altering the way that scientists make purchase decisions. It also details how companies are incorporating social networking into their marketing plans to:

· Increase product and brand awareness
· Increase web traffic
· Improve SEO
· Increase customer loyalty
· Increase success of new product launches

The second paper in the series, Social Network Marketing: Tips for Success will be available in February. For a copy of the whitepapers, contact Red Bridge Marketing at info@redbridgemarketing.com.

Business Plan Competition for Austin-based start-ups

BiGAustin is seeking entries for its BiG IDEA Business Plan Competition. The BiG IDEA Business Plan Competition is a premier platform for identifying and showcasing entrepreneurial talent in Central Texas. The competition challenges business owners to showcase their business ventures.

Top 3 finalists will present their plans to an audience of over 500 people at the April 17, 2009 BiGIDEA Day Luncheon, where the winner is announced. This annual sold out event is attended by bankers, early stage investors, business leaders, small business owners and local media. Finalists and their business operations will benefit from exposure through activities leading up to The BiGIDEA Day. Winners will receive$10K in cash and prizes.
To learn more about the BiG IDEA Business Plan Competition visit: http://www.bigaustin.org/business_plan_competition.htm

BioVentis Consulting, helping biotech companies raise capital

This week we interviewed Afif Ghannoum, a principal at BioVentis Consulting (http://www.bioventisconsulting.com/ ). Afif works with clients to formulate corporate strategies, assess technical consulting needs, and identify possible sources of funding, such as grants and private investment opportunities. He also speaks on topics relating to biotechnology, including "SBIR Grant Basics" and "The Top Ten Legal Issues Facing Biotechnology Companies." Before founding BioVentis, he was an attorney at Squire, Sanders & Dempsey, and Baker Hostetler, two of the largest firms in the country. As a transactional attorney, part of his practice included representing biotechnology companies at various stages of development. His team has been successful in securing multiple "fast-track" SBIR grants, and includes Dr. Mahmoud Ghannoum who has been continuously funded by the NIH since 1995, and is a recipient of the prestigious Bristol-Myers Squibb "Freedom to Discover" award. Dr. Ghannoum also happens to be Afif's father.
Afif can be contacted at afif@bioventisconsulting.com or you can follow him on Twitter http://twitter.com/Afif_Ghannoum

What is BioVentis Consulting's primary focus? While we are a general service biotech consulting firm, our primary focus is identifying possible sources of funding, and assisting clients in securing such funding. That includes preparing grant applications, drafting investor proposals, and creating investor presentations. However, our capabilities definitely extend beyond funding assistance. Our consultants assist clients in many other ways, including pre-clinical invitro and invivo evaluation, biomedical writing and reports, and developing strategies for filing FDA applications.

How does BioVentis Consulting help life science companies get funding? We help life science companies secure funding by taking a multi-faceted approach. Nowadays, companies cannot rely on one single avenue of funding, and must be prepared to have several irons in the fire. That is why we work to identify grants (local, state, and federal) that clients may be eligible for, and private investors that are seeking investment opportunities. Once sources of funding are identified, we also assist clients in creating applications, proposals and presentations in order to pursue and secure such funding.

Who should be applying for the SBIR grants? While all life science companies should at least consider SBIR/STTR grants as an option, SBIR/STTR grants are meant to foster innovation. Therefore companies will have to demonstrate what they are doing is innovative, and also show how the grant money will further that innovation. That is definitely a simplistic overview of the SBIR/STTR grant requirements, but gets to the heart of the SBIR/STTR grants.

Why do you think the time is ripe to apply for grant funding? Just two years ago, all a life science entrepreneur needed was a good idea to get significant funding through private equity and venture capital sources. Those days are long gone. Many of those funding sources are concentrating on investments they already have on their books, and waiting out the economy before aggressively looking at other opportunities. Not to say there is not any venture capital and private equity money out there, there definitely is, but it is certainly harder to get a piece of that pie today than in the past. The time is therefore ripe for companies to assess whether they are eligible to receive funding through grants.

Do you have any advice for people who are thinking about starting a company in the life science industry? Everyone knows that the first thing an entrepreneur should do is put together a solid business plan before starting a company. Any business website will tell you that, and it is definitely sounds advice. However, once that is accomplished, it is imperative that entrepreneurs retain legal counsel from the get-go to ensure they do not make any costly mistakes that are hard to undo later on. This applies doubly for life science companies, which are often founded around a single piece of intellectual property. If appropriate steps are not taken to protect that intellectual property, be it through filing a patent, or drafting a solid licensing agreement, companies can find themselves in a big (and costly) mess down the road.