Services

At Bellevue, we start with one simple yet fundamental rule: listen to the client. An effective communications strategy must speak to the audience that the client wants to reach. We develop realistic, measurable, and quantifiable communications strategies that support your business or organizational activities. Our communications plans offer innovative solutions to meet these challenges, and they reflect careful consideration of the most effective ways to reach the target audience.

From concept to confirmation, Bellevue offers media placement strategies that get results. Our professionals have good working relationships with reporters and editors across all media outlets in the Greater Philadelphia region, and we can put them to work to ensure that the press gets the facts and the opportunity to hear your story. We counsel clients on what to expect when a reporter calls, and we provide the kind of background information clients need to engage the press with confidence on any issue.

Controversial projects often share at least one common problem: how to deal with community reaction to the proposal. People are passionate when it comes to issues that affect their neighborhood or cause, and sending the wrong message at the wrong time can have disastrous results. At Bellevue, we have the experience and skills to develop “community” public relations that help clients effectively manage their message so that local groups understand and support your mission.

When an issue warrants a news conference, event, or major announcement to attract publicity, it takes special – and professional – planning to make the most of the opportunity. We work with you on every phase of the news conference or special event: picking the right time and place, selecting the right participants and the proper audience, developing interesting themes or topics to attract interest, drafting written remarks, preparing useful press kits, following-up with reporters, and anticipating the questions they are likely to ask.

Bellevue can help you plan and execute events ranging from small corporate meetings to large-scale rallies with hundreds of participants. We’ll handle both the PR and the logistics to produce a seamless event. Capabilities include managing detailed schedules and timelines, securing needed equipment, assisting in product and sponsorship procurement, and lining up VIP speakers.

To maximize the publicity opportunity on particularly complex or controversial issues, we devote considerable attention to follow-up calls – and when necessary, visits – with local editorial boards and columnists to explain the significance of the issue at hand. Many of our team members come directly from jobs in broadcast news and print journalism, giving us a distinct advantage when it comes to story placement. We possess the staff capacity and professional reputation that allow us to effectively reach your desired audience and promote your message.

High profile executives and organizations often do not choose to be in the public spotlight – it simply happens, and quickly. In the glare of the spotlight, Bellevue can guide you through the pivotal task of dealing effectively and forthrightly with the press to limit adverse publicity and minimizing the threat to your reputation or your organization’s future. We have decades of experience handling emergencies and disasters for leaders and organizations in the public, private, and non-profit sectors. We work around the clock with our clients to help them manage sensitive public issues and communicate effectively with stakeholders during crises. For problems large or small, Bellevue can provide unique and tailored solutions that will keep your company moving forward.

The best way to survive a crisis is to prevent it from happening in the first place. Bellevue can audit your organization’s communications capabilities so that you can be prepared in advance of any anticipated crisis. This includes interviewing key executives, researching what is being said about your organization by third parties (including the media, shareholders, analysts and consumers), and determining whether or not your key messages are getting through to the most important stakeholders. Bellevue also conducts intensive media crisis training to sharpen your organization’s crisis handling skills, using realistic scenarios or even customizing a simulated crisis to test your ability to respond in a timely and effective manner.

From a communications standpoint, what happens inside the organization is as important as what the outside world learns about you. In good times and bad, it’s essential to keep your employees informed about the organization’s opportunities and challenges. Bellevue can work with you to develop more effective internal communications, and can help you determine how best to convey these messages, whether by face-to-face meetings or through an e-mail distributed to your employees.

In litigation, the court of public opinion represents critically important challenges and opportunities alike. At Bellevue, we have the expertise and experience to partner with attorneys in navigating the media landscape when your case is in the news. We also work directly with attorneys’ clients to help steer them through the often unwanted publicity.

The use of social media (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other platforms) has grown exponentially in a few short years. Once considered niche marketing, communication through social media platforms has quickly become a full-time obligation for many companies and organizations. Social media can be one of the most cost-effective ways to engage with current and new clients. But if it’s not used correctly, it can reflect poorly on an organization. Bellevue’s professionals understand the immense power of social media in reaching both the public and reporters. Our services include creation of social media accounts, building and engaging a base of followers, content creation strategies and implementation, story pitching through social media, and micro-targeted advertising designed to give you the best return on your investment.

First impressions matter, and for many people, the website provides the first impression of your organization. Bellevue will work with you to develop content and messaging that reflects the image and mission of your organization. We understand that reporters will use your website as a resource when developing stories and conducting research. We can help ensure that your website reflects the image you want to project – to the public, your customers, and to the news media – as part of a comprehensive communications strategy that includes email marketing, social media, and press releases.

In the midst of a crisis, the internet can become a hotbed of negativity, concerns, and questions. It also provides a platform for an organization to inform and respond to its customers and the public in real-time. Facebook, Twitter, and independent blogs can do more to drive perceptions about your reputation than any earned media. Bellevue helps executives and organizations engage their constituents online, through a stringent monitoring process followed by a strategy for you to join the public conversation. Additionally, one of the most important crisis management tools to emerge in the last decade has been Search Engine Optimization (SEO). A comprehensive SEO strategy for your online presence is vital to protecting and restoring your reputation during and following a crisis.

Press interviews are an important part of developing a company’s message, and there is no substitute for preparation. Bellevue can work with you to sharpen the skills required to conduct on-camera interviews successfully. Through our interactive media training sessions, we will work with you to develop and deliver a clear and concise message, critique on-camera mock interviews, prepare you for tough questions, and build the confidence that is an essential element of every good interview.

When the situation demands rapid distribution of your message, Bellevue can generate high-volume communications via social media, e-mail, telephone, or mail to influence key public officials or a community on a particular issue. We have extensive experience in both traditional and new media strategies, and can generate a correspondence plan that is tailored to reach your desired audience directly. The correspondence we generate shares one distinguishing characteristic: high quality. Our messages are designed to be personal, factual, and concise – in other words, the kind of communication that counts.