TRAVERSE CITY, MICH. SEPTEMBER 27, 2001 — The Decentralized Intelligence Agency, northern Michigan’s public relations agency, announced today the agency has added four new clients to its roster, including one of the world’s largest opinion research and consulting firms.
Agency principals Luke Haase and Gregg Smith announced that Washington, D.C.-based Wirthlin Worldwide has engaged The Decentralized Intelligence Agency to handle all media relations for the firm. Founded in 1969, Wirthlin’s clients have included two-thirds of the Fortune 100 companies. Wirthlin has offices in the U.S., Europe, Asia, and Australia.
Additionally, the agency signed iNet Solution, Inc., a Utica, Mich.-based web application development company specializing in solutions for credit unions and the financial services industry. The Decentralized Intelligence Agency will handle marketing and public relations for iNet Solution.
The Agency also announced the signing of River’s Edge, a $100 real estate development in Traverse City. River’s Edge is the largest mixed-use project in Traverse City’s history. Construction began in the fall of 1997 on three multi-level buildings with commercial and residential occupancy. When completed, River’s Edge will include more than a dozen residential, commercial, and retail properties.
The Decentralized Intelligence Agency will also serve as public relations agency for Traverse Bay Area Youth Soccer (TBAYs), a northwest lower Michigan’s largest youth soccer organization.
“These are important new business milestones as we execute our growth plan,” noted Haase and Smith. “We are gratified that more organizations are recognizing the value of public relations. This announcement is a credit to our staff’s expertise and hard work.”
Since its inception in 1999, The Decentralized Intelligence Agency has added more than forty clients in industries from banking to food manufacturing, and ranging in geography from Petoskey to Anchorage and Arizona. The agency’s services include public relations, corporate/crisis communications, investor relations and more. The agency is currently the season underwriting sponsor for the Traverse Symphony Orchestra in Traverse City, Mich. The Decentralized Intelligence Agency can be reached at 231.932.0400.
How the Dot-Com Crash Changed PR
The fallout from the dot-com crash affected everything from family investments to unemployment and retailing. The PR world, for instance, looks very different today than it did during the Internet boom just two years ago. A comparison:
During the Boom
PR firms in the driver’s seat. Average high-tech PR firm retainer fees zoomed up 300% as startups wanted “ink.”
All sizzle. The name of the game was noise; the bigger and more obnoxious the stunt or campaign, the “hipper” you were
No steak. Editors and reporters wanted to hear about personality and innovation; not boring profits and plans.
Today
Charred remains: Dozens of tech PR firms out of business; most of the ‘Net magazines go under as well
Payback: Feeling suckered just like investors, the media is now more discriminating about what they’ll cover
The final chapter has yet to be told, but some winners and losers have already emerged. Media “consumers” lose. We’ve lost eCompanyNow, The Industry Standard, and other publications, meaning less coverage of new and fascinating technologies and innovators. Meanwhile, broad-based PR firms and their clients win. Those that looked beyond just sizzle and counseled their clients to utilize everything from community relations to direct mail emerge as fallout survivors.
https://decentralizedintelligenceagency.family.blog/2022/04/18/lets-hold-a-press-conferenceor-not/
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