Lo and behold the return of the Bateman Buzz Meter, our ranking of recent newsworthy events based on PR and Social Media effectiveness. As always, please comment on any current news headlines or PR stunts you think are worthy of the Buzz Meter.

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As the year comes to a close and we reflect back, there’s no denying 2011 has been an incredible year for Bateman Group. The surge we experienced in the fourth quarter; however, has truly been unprecedented. Today, we publicly announced our selection as agency of record by three exceptional companies. These recent additions to our client roster include:

Qualys — Based in Redwood Shores, Calif., Qualys is the leading provider of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) IT security risk and compliance management solutions. Qualys solutions are deployed in a matter of hours anywhere in the world, providing customers an immediate and continuous view of their security and compliance postures.

Antenna Software — Based in Jersey City, N.J., Antenna provides mobile business solutions that enable enterprises to build, deploy and manage applications, websites and content across myriad devices for employees, customers and partners.

Sociable Labs — Based in San Mateo, Calif., Sociable Labs provides on-site social commerce solutions for online retailers to maximize social sharing, referral traffic and conversions.

We’ve worked hard over the years to maintain a client roster notable for its diversity — particularly in terms of geography and market position. These recent wins only enhance this by adding an early-stage startup and two fast-growing market leaders that hail from Redwood City all the way to Jersey City. At the same time, Qualys, Antenna and Sociable Labs will strengthen our sector knowledge in IT security, mobility and social commerce markets, respectively. Today we took another big step in our journey to national prominence.

A warm welcome to all three!

Since opening our Brooklyn office in March of this year, we’ve seen our business on the East Coast expand rapidly — both organic growth as well as from some exciting new clients we will announce shortly.  As a result, we’re seeking candidates for a Senior Associate (Sr. Account Executive) position at the firm. Base salary is competitive and dependent on experience, plus a generous benefits package that includes 100% paid health, vision and dental insurance; 401K plan with company match; state-of-the-art technology including the latest laptops and iPhones; three weeks paid vacation the first year; nine paid sick days; new business referral bonuses; new employee referral bonuses; domestic partnership benefits; etc. Last, but not least, a nurturing working environment that supports life/work balance like no other.

The candidate should reside in the New York Metropolitan Area with an ability to work full-time from our offices near Park Slope in Brooklyn. He/she must able to set priorities and deliver results using excellent written and verbal communications skills. The candidate also should be accustomed to working autonomously under pressure, be extremely self-motivated, proactive and deadline-oriented. Furthermore, Bateman Group looks for people who are passionate about new and emerging technologies and social media, have an excellent client service ethic, proven experience with technology trades and business media and bloggers, a strong team orientation, and would enjoy the opportunity to work closely with agency senior management on their own career growth. Finally, he/she must able to leave their ego at the door, but not their sense of humor.

Responsibilities include:

—     Providing exceptional client service, from strategies to tactics

—     Creative, proactive communications and business development, including social media

—     Driving account activities, positioning ideas to managers and clients, implementing programs and presenting results as they follow

—     Content development including: plans, press releases, corporate backgrounders, customer case studies, speaking abstracts, awards submissions, contributed articles, etc.

—     Executing proactive editorial and social media/blogger influencer outreach programs

—     Contributing to business development initiatives and internal training programs as requested

Senior Associates (SAEs) should possess 3-5 years of related PR and social media communications or related professional experience, and have the following:

—     Pre-existing knowledge of at least one of the following subject matter areas: 1) Enterprise Software, i.e., application development, web content management; 2) Wireless/Mobility Solutions, e.g., mobile apps, broadband wireless switches; 3) Green/Sustainability services and/or other mission or cause-driven businesses.

—     Excellent organizational, communications (written and verbal) and time management skills

—     Established relationships with technology trade press/analyst/blogger communities as well as business press

—     Prior client service experience required; new business experience preferred

Today we publicly announced our selection as agency of record by NatureBridge, a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization headquartered in San Francisco and the largest residential environmental education partner of the National Park Service. NatureBridge currently operates four campuses in Yosemite National Park, Olympic National Park in Washington State, Golden Gate National Park and Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area and each year serves more than 40,000 participants through field science, youth leadership and teacher training programs.

Environmental education is a pre-requisite for a sustainable planet, yet it continues to be misunderstood, underfunded and even ignored. This is especially true in our public schools where, much like the music programs our client Little Kids Rock aims to protect, hands-on nature and science courses taught out in the field are among the first to be cut. In response, NatureBridge has set ambitious goals to expand the program nationwide and inspire even more students in more places to become advocates for the planet.

This win is a key addition to our Green/Sustainability practice formed on Oct. 25, 2010 made up of companies, both for profit and nonprofit, offering products and services designed to protect natural resources and embrace the concepts of environmental integrity and social responsibility. The bi-coastal account team, consisting of myself, Tyler Perry, Shannon Hutto and Kathleen Stuart, will work closely with our fantastic internal contacts Susan Larson and Brea Jones along with a soon to be hired new PR director.

We feel very fortunate to be able to compete for and win accounts where the organization’s mission so closely aligns with causes and issues we as an agency (and individuals) feel so strongly about, namely managing climate change, living a more sustainable lifestyle and protecting the planet for future generations. Welcome aboard NatureBridge!

Today we publicly announced our selection as agency of record by Motista of San Mateo, Calif., an El Dorado Ventures-backed start-up focused on providing CMOs and marketers with a one-of-a-kind on-demand consumer connection intelligence solution.  With this win, we add another client to our growing Marketing Technologies practice made up of companies offering innovative products and services to CMOs and other senior marketers.

To quote our own Bill Bourdon, there’s arguably no other business function being disrupted more by technology right now than marketing. Our work on behalf of current clients such as Baynote and Recyclebank, as well as past clients like Passenger and BrightEdge, has made us acutely aware of the unique pressures experienced by senior marketing executives, regardless of the industry sector. We were immediately blown away by Motista’s vision and unique offering — a web-based application that delivers highly sophisticated consumer connection intelligence specific to brands, segments, competitors and industries and puts it directly into marketers’ hands.

Just by logging in to Motista, marketers can find immediate answers to questions, test and justify hypotheses; in addition to discovering and exploring new ideas — all on-demand, in real-time at the true pace of business. Powerful consumer connection intelligence marketers can start using right away, across all marketing programs, campaigns or strategic challenges, just by logging in. The potential impact of this cannot be overstated.

Unique technology, defensible IP, a real problem to solve — Motista has it all.  This partnership has gelled seamlessly, largely due to the efforts of the stellar team of Bill Bourdon, Lisa Melsted and Rod McLeod working side-by-side with our fantastic marketing contact, Paula Cavagnaro.  Now, if we could just find 30 or 40 more companies just like Motista…

Today, it’s my pleasure to share with you some exciting news — two recent developments that together mark a big step forward in our agency momentum. In a press release issued yesterday, we announced that Recyclebank has retained the firm to serve as the company’s PR agency of record, handling all corporate, partnership and consumer communications, effective immediately.  What began last year as a small retainer to build awareness of the company’s innovative partnership program has now grown to multi-faceted, full-service relationship encompassing communications programs targeting all of the company’s core audiences: consumers, corporations and cities and municipalities nationwide. Under the watchful eye of Tyler Perry, Recyclebank has grown into one of our largest accounts, now serviced by a bi-coastal team of five people and growing.

Which leads me to our second piece of news — Bateman Group also announced today the opening of our new offices in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Park Slope! With Recyclebank as a flagship account, our plan for the Brooklyn office is to focus primarily on working with companies located in the New York Metropolitan area looking for consumer lifestyle and consumer technology PR expertise. The new outpost will also support current Bateman clients located throughout the Eastern U.S., Canada and Western Europe, particularly those accounts where having team members based in a time zone closer to the client’s own is a service requirement.

We’ve always taken care to build a geographically diverse client roster to protect against regional economic slumps. When the recession hit Silicon Valley in late 2008 and leads from Northern California slowed to a trickle, we found great companies eager for our special brand of communications in places like Hamburg, Germany (CoreMedia), Madrid, Spain (Panda Security), Reading, England (The Open Group), Toronto, Canada (Platform Computing) and Stamford, Conn. (Protegrity). Even though today we’re seeing a steady resurgence in business from Silicon Valley, we continue to work towards our goal of becoming one of the most respected agencies nationwide. Our expansion into New York City today represents the first of many important milestones in that quest.

As for Recyclebank, allow me to share one of our first major initiatives as agency of record. We’re spearheading media efforts for Recyclebank’s Earth Month “Green Your Home Challenge”, a nationwide consumer contest running from April 1, 2011 through April 30, 2011 that aims to educate, motivate and inspire people to live more eco-friendly lifestyles. Be sure to check it out!