SAN FRANCISCO, September 15, 2022 -- Highwire PR, a premier communications partner for leading technology and healthcare companies, announced today that it has secured strategic investment from Shamrock Capital, a Los Angeles-based investment firm specializing in media, entertainment, communications and related sectors. The partnership will fuel Highwire’s growth and expansion of its integrated communications and digital marketing services.
In PR, we talk a lot about the “death of things” (DoT, I should probably trademark that). Email is dead! Press releases are dead! Fill in the blank legacy technology – DEAD. I’m getting a bit morbid here, but despite all of these changes in the way we do PR, there’s one thing that will never die: the trade show.
I’d be willing to guess every PR professional has been asked by a client, “Does this announcement call for a press release or a blog post?” It seems like a simple question, but there’s actually several factors to consider in determining which content will best support the goals of the announcement. Taking a step back to compare the two can reveal some under-appreciated benefits of both.
The coronavirus pandemic has caused a number of disruptions in the world of tech industry events – and next week’s now virtual Black Hat is no exception. In response, businesses are getting creative and rethinking their approaches to the usual networking, presentations and panels we see at in-person conferences. This week, Highwire’s Security Practice is hosting a series of virtual panels titled “On The Record: Cyber Edition” featuring a lineup of executives from top clients to highlight some of the key topics we’ll see at this year’s virtual Black Hat.
As we close out the first half of 2021, Highwire is taking a moment to pause, reflect, and celebrate our successes over the past year. Over the course of 2020, we grew digital revenue by 100% and overall revenue by 24%. We added new clients likeBespoken Spirits, Hitachi ABB,Qualtrics, and Omada Health in verticals across digital healthcare, fintech, and security. And now we’re especially proud to announce new additions to the Highwire leadership team that will anchor the direction of the agency as we grow.
Over a year into the Covid-19 pandemic, and on the heels of national catastrophes like SolarWinds, Microsoft Exchange, and most recently, the Colonial Pipeline cyberattack, the first (and hopefully last) fully virtualRSA Conference 2021 kicked off with no shortage of novel cybersecurity concerns to address.
Still holding on? 2020 was jarring and fast/ slow in all the wrong ways. To help you navigate turns still ahead, we asked the Highwire team for macro-landscape 2021 predictions.
The PR industry has not made enough progress on Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging (DIBs) initiatives in the past few years. A PRWeek study sheds light on the disparity: A mere 13% of PR agency board/C-suite members are non-white, while 24% of the workforce is non-white. The Black Lives Matter movement following George Floyd’s death encouraged agencies to think critically about how they can support and uplift Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) voices in their communities and diversify their workforce.
The Depart of Justice filed an antitrust lawsuit against Google for maintaining an illegal monopoly over search and search advertising on Tuesday morning.
Earlier this month, I was lucky to attend the STAT Health Tech Summit to hear from experts on what’s trending in the digital health space — especially following and preceding some high profile digital health announcements like Livongo and TeleDoc’s merger and Amwell’s IPO.
I recently connected with tech reporter extraordinaire (and one of my personal favorite people to work with), Jessica Hardcastle, the managing editor of SDxCentral covering next-generation data centers, security, and software-defined storage. We chatted about what she’s been working on during COVID-19 and how the pandemic has shaped her coverage.
Women’s Equality Day was designated in 1973 as a day to commemorate the passing of the 19th amendment but also to call attention to women’s continuing efforts toward full equality. Women’s Equality Day was the culmination of a massive peaceful civil rights movement by women, beginning at Seneca Falls in 1848, and though we as women have made incredible progress to be where we are today — we still have a long way to go. This commemorative day is even more poignant in 2020, as the nation reflects on significant groups of people who have been left out of this type of celebratory history.
The coronavirus has wreaked havoc on communities, health systems and economies across the globe, causing immeasurable damage wherever it has hit. It has, however, also created some opportunities for technologists to invest their creativity and innovation towards developing positive solutions to the myriad challenges left in its wake.
How do you make the most powerful impression as you prepare for a financing round or IPO? By illuminating your company’s successes, its strong financial future, and the C-suite of visionaries behind the brand. Even in times of crisis or economic recession, focusing on the power of a strategic, IR/PR communications approach should always be a top priority.
When I first learned about Highwire, I was drawn to the amazing office culture and one of Highwire’s core values – collaboration. Fast forward to my start date –which was one week after shelter-in-place orders had just been announced due to COVID-19 — and I had to rewire and adjust to working from home, all while onboarding and learning the ropes of my new remote internship. I was nervous to “e-introduce” myself to people I had never met and had a lot of questions without being certain who I should ask.
The coronavirus pandemic has caused a number of disruptions in the world of tech industry events – and next week’s now virtual Black Hat is no exception. In response, businesses are getting creative and rethinking their approaches to the usual networking, presentations and panels we see at in-person conferences. This week, Highwire’s Security Practice is hosting a series of virtual panels titled “On The Record: Cyber Edition” featuring a lineup of executives from top clients to highlight some of the key topics we’ll see at this year’s virtual Black Hat.
Black Hat is going fully virtual this year, which means attendees will miss out on the late night networking at parties and hallway conversations on the latest major research and industry rumors (but maybe not the swarm of grasshoppers that took over Vegas last year). With companies no longer able to tap into the in-person networking opportunities with potential customers and media, the need to get creative to engage with your core audience has never been more important.
During the past three months while adhering to state/local/federal directives on how best to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, citizens around the globe have been faced with many challenges and new normals. In the field of marketing and communications we’ve been used to face-to-face, personalized engagements whether it be in the office, meeting onsite with clients and partners or at industry events. We’ve also been used to changing news cycles and have adjusted our plans accordingly, but this pandemic has forced us to rethink our strategies and approaches.
Picture this: It’s the winter of 1996. Gene Kelly has just died, Happy Gilmore is newly in theaters, Tupac just released the groundbreaking All Eyez on Me album, and yours truly is about to be six months old. But February of 1996 was also an impactful month for policy that would go on to affect the course of the internet forever.
With the current media climate, it’s more important than ever to understand reporters’ news beats to make sure the precarious reporter to PR professional relationship remains mutually beneficial. I had the privilege of speaking to a long-time media friendly of Highwire, Kelly Jackson Higgins, Executive Editor at Dark Reading. Kelly has been a member of the Dark Reading team for almost 15 years covering security, and was recently selected as one of the Top 10 Cybersecurity journalists in the U.S.
This morning we announced that Highwire has acquired digital consultancy, Wonderscript. James Beechinor-Collins (JBC) and James Holland, founder and co-founder of Wonderscript, have joined Highwire to lead our digital offering, bringing the wider Wonderscript team together with Highwire’s existing digital strategists and specialists.
Whether you’re Gen Z, a Millennial or even Gen X, chances are you’ve heard of TikTok. It’s the latest social media app that’s taking over and everyone wants to be a part of it.
Last month, Peter McCormack shared his thoughts on how to Scale Your PR Team from Startup to IPOin a recent Highwire blog. But when you are a growth-stage company, everything must scale, including communications. A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to host a webinar with Insight Partners and share my knowledge of how growth-stage companies can do just that.
While we love our west coast headquarters, we have a special place in our heart for the East Coast and especially for our two offices here in NYC and Boston. Both cities have a lot to offer tech companies — whether they are startups or big, established companies.
While communications strategies have changed dramatically over the years, industry analysts remain an important part of a technology company’s marketing mix. Analysts provide a third-party view of a company’s innovation and approach to their respective market. Since they are close to technology buyers, they understand how vendor marketing messages will resonate with buyers. Highwire PR offers advice on the very latest technology analyst relations best practices, based on our work for clients and a conversation with Beth Hespe, Corporate Communications Manager at Ixia, a seasoned pro with her hands in both AR and PR.
Each year, The Mass Technology Leadership Council (MassTLC) assesses the technology market’s impact on the New England economy. Based on the findings and the group’s ongoing work in support of the region’s tech industry, MassTLC is uniquely qualified to speak to the vibrancy of the innovation economy.
Disclaimer: This blog post was edited on February 9, 2021 to reflect an updated review on new product features from Muck Rack. Scroll to the end to see our updated opinion.
Rob Kuznia recently made headlines for taking a job in public relations. Normally this wouldn’t be newsworthy – there are tons of us PR folk – but there’s a catch: Kuznia made the move from journalism, and what’s more, he’s a Pulitzer Prize-winner.
In PR, we talk a lot about the “death of things” (DoT, I should probably trademark that). Email is dead! Press releases are dead! Fill in the blank legacy technology – DEAD. I’m getting a bit morbid here, but despite all of these changes in the way we do PR, there’s one thing that will never die: the trade show.
I’d be willing to guess every PR professional has been asked by a client, “Does this announcement call for a press release or a blog post?” It seems like a simple question, but there’s actually several factors to consider in determining which content will best support the goals of the announcement. Taking a step back to compare the two can reveal some under-appreciated benefits of both. 
The PR industry has not made enough progress on Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging (DIBs) initiatives in the past few years. A 
With the current media climate, it’s more important than ever to understand reporters’ news beats to make sure the precarious reporter to PR professional relationship remains mutually beneficial. I had the privilege of speaking to a long-time media friendly of Highwire, Kelly Jackson Higgins, Executive Editor at Dark Reading. Kelly has been a member of the Dark Reading team for almost 15 years covering security, and was recently selected as one of the Top 10 Cybersecurity journalists in the U.S. 
