Public relations writing

• News releases
• Communications plans
• Newsletters
• Speeches

• Advertisements
• Direct mail
• Brochures
• Newsletters

• Plain-language editing
• New media
• Training
• Trivia

Note: Some of these items are draft versions. Typos you may find in some of them would have been corrected in the final versions. Also, of course, some of the final versions may vary somewhat from these drafts, especially where speeches are concerned.

NEWS RELEASES

It's hard to get your message out to the media. Editors are bombarded with dozens -- sometimes hundreds -- of news releases every day. By using Cornerstone, you can make your message heard above the din. We combine direct-mail principles with PR tactics so that your releases are part of an overall media strategy.

Samples of Cornerstone's news releases

• The cost of driving (Canadian Automobile Association). By using direct-mail principles, I was able to get this release into nearly 100 newspapers.
• Web site launch (Canadian Real Estate Association). This was another success story, especially since it is basically another "Hi, we're on the Net, too," release.
• Shrinking the cost of an executive search. We worked with a New York City PR firm to write this release for one of its clients, an executive search firm.
• Award-winning Web site (Bed & Breakfast Canada Online). The story suggestions at the end appear to have led to some coverage in the Globe and Mail!
• Profiles of scientists. These profiles were attached to a media release for the Medical Research Council, and required us to work out a great deal of terminology.
• Backgrounder on safety. This article, on personal floatation devices, was aimed at fashion and weekend sections of newspapers.

• The Edge on PR. Our newsletter always includes items about PR and media relations. This is an archive of some of the articles. Lots of information on tips and trends. Of particular note is our advice on getting accurate media coverage and on meeting editorial boards.
• For organizations, check out either the Canadian Public Relations Society or the International Association of Business Communicators .

Click here for more info, or a free consultation. Click here for a quote.

COMMUNICATIONS PLANS

As an accredited PR practitioner with a university degree in the field, Paul is uniquely qualified to help you communicate more strategically.

Samples of Cornerstone's communications plans

• Public consultation. We've taken out some of the specifics for reasons of confidentiality.
• Tourism (St. Lawrence Parks). The proposal here was included in a bid to do the PR and marketing work for the St. Lawrence Parks Commission. In the end, the Commission decided to do its own plan internally.

• The Edge on PR. Our newsletter always includes items about PR and media relations. This is an archive of some of the articles. Lots of information on tips and trends. In particular, read this piece on integrated marketing communications and this one on relationship marketing .
• For organizations, check out either the Canadian Public Relations Society or the International Association of Business Communicators .

Click here for more info, or a free consultation. Click here for a quote .

NEWSLETTERS

You know that you need a newsletter to reach your clients or employees. But who has the time to take care of the endless details? We do. We will build a dependable team of writers, designers, translators and printers so that you can get top-drawer results without top-drawer hassles. Newsletters are a key vehicle for keeping your message in front of your most important audiences.

Our newsletters are designed for today's busy readers. Ask us for samples. And don't forget to ask for your free subscription to Cornerstone's own newsletter. Called The Edge, it features the latest tips and techniques for busy communicators.

For most of these samples, we also have print versions that show how we co-ordinated design and translation to create projects that really work.

Samples of Cornerstone's newsletters

• DialLog (Canadian Telemarketing Association). This newsletter doubled as a brochure and envelope stuffer.
• Business @ the Board. For the Ottawa-Carleton Board of Trade, we have adopted a "news you can use" approach that makes the dull board news more palatable to the key audience.
• Catalyst (Deloitte & Touche Consulting Group). The articles here try to offer "news you can use" about what is often a dry topic. Notice the subtle promotional aspects.
• United Way. We did this newsletter at a reduced rate for United Way/Centraide.
• Withers & Co. (New York City). We work with the Global Marketing Group to prepare issues of "There's no place like home," a Q&A style newsletter for clients of Withers & Co., a mortgage brokerage firm.
• Vox: the CPRS Faxletter . We do this newsletter free for the Canadian Public Relations Society. It is faxed to members and includes short bits of information about what CPRS is doing, as well as news of interest to PR people. 
• Ngoma This newsletter for CODE is meant for a very literate audience, and includes information of interest to it, as well as the usual information about how CODE is using its resources.
• CORCAN Electronica  One of our bigger projects is producing a printed and electronic version of the CORCAN newsletter. As time goes by, the electronic version will take advantage of more of the Web technology, including hyperlinks to related material on the site and to e-mail addresses for writers and for people mentioned in stories.
• Firearms newsletter. This very sensitive newsletter promotes the government's gun control agenda, but goes out to gun owners opposed to the bill.

• The Edge on newsletters: This is an archive of some of the articles we've written about newsletters. Lots of information on tips and trends, including advice on marketing with newsletters.

Click here for more info, or a free consultation. Click here for a quote.

SPEECHES

When you're standing up nervously before a crowd of people, it helps when you can count on a professionally written speech. We work with high-powered clients to create speeches that match their personalities, their objectives and their audiences. Most speeches fail because they are written like official policy papers. But Cornerstone knows how to write for the ear as well as the eye, a specialized skill that even many of the best print writers have trouble with. (Ask us for our free tip sheet, Eight Tips for Leaving Audiences Awestruck).

Samples of Cornerstone's speeches

• Speech for Prime Minister Jean Chrétien on labour market issues. Sadly, this was not delivered as written, but it was a thrill for us nonetheless.
• Communication and trust, written for the Canadian Real Estate Association. It also nicely encapsulates communications theory and how it leads to good public relations.
• Annual meeting speech, written for the Canadian Automobile Association. This is what I call a "fight speech," designed to keep spirits high. The icebreaker about the Gettysburg Address is also a personal favourite.
• Innovation in the public service, written for Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. I like this one because it uses the story of Post-It notes to show that innovation isn't just high-tech.
• Young entrepreneurs: This speech, written for a Liberal MP, covers one of my favourite topics, while simultaneously debunking the myths about "Generation X."
• Transportation and telecommunication industries in Atlantic Canada, written for the Business Development Bank of Canada. One of our favourites, this speech opens with an evocative story.
• Business inspirations: A collection of stories about how some businesses became huge successes, almost in spite of themselves. The actual speech was longer, and integrated examples relevant to the organization, but these have been removed.
• Crown Life speech . Written for an AGM, this speech uses lots of anecdotes and analogies to show the forces changing the insurance business.

• The Edge on speechwriting: The only item here is "why speeches fail: eight tips for leaving audiences awestruck."
• Bartlett's Quotations: For quotations, this version of " Familiar Quotations" is from 1901, but it is still valuable if you want quotes by topic.

Click here for more info, or a free consultation. Click here for a quote.

MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS

In a world where PR has to have a bottom line, "marketing communications" is becoming ever more important. At this writing, Cornerstone is the only Ottawa firm represented in the Ottawa chapters of both the Canadian Public Relations Society and the American Marketing Society.

This means that we can combine the best of two disciplines. Our news releases, for example, use techniques borrowed from direct mail to get the attention of increasingly harried editors. Although Cornerstone is not officially an advertising agency, we have written ads for a range of clients, not to mention brochures, direct mail and other marketing materials.

ADVERTISEMENTS

Samples of Cornerstone's ads

• The genius of re-engineering (Deloitte & Touche Consulting Group). We used Galileo as a metaphor for "thinking outside the box." Just as Galileo "re-engineered" astronomy, DTCG can re-engineer your business.
• Going the distance ... for you. We came up with the slogan as well, which is used for a company that sells walkers and other items for the mobility-impaired.

• The Edge on advertising: Our newsletter is full of info on tips and trends in advertising, including these short items on advertising and the raw data on effective advertising.

Click here for more info, or a free consultation. Click here for a quote.

DIRECT MAIL

Samples of Cornerstone's direct mail work

• Bed & Breakfast Online!. We're quite proud of this one, especially since it helped double the service's membership!
• The Spotted Blowfish magazine. We wrote this at a reduced rate for a non-profit magazine looking for sponsors.
• The Canadian Real Estate Association. The CREA newspaper wanted to sell ad space in a special issue. I rewrote this piece and it made a difference. At one point, the editor worried about overbooking!
• Deloitte & Touche Consulting Group. We also produce a newsletter that is sent free to DTCG's target audience. This piece was designed to turn readers into buyers.
• Imacon. We did this letter for a high-tech group as part of a subcontract with another marketing company.
• ISO 9000. This teaser letter promoted a book that helps associations achieve ISO 9000.

• The Edge on direct mail: We often look at tips and trends in direct mail in our newsletter, including these bits and bytes about direct mail and this direct mail case study.

Click here for more info, or a free consultation. Click here for a quote.

BROCHURES

Samples of Cornerstone's brochures

• PPRC. We wrote brochure copy for Performance Plus Rehabilitative Care, a local medical services firm.
• Allegra Printing. We were asked to simply edit this brochure on digital printing, but we recast it to emphasize benefits to the user over features of the product.
• HCH. This was a project for a New York company with an unusual service!
• Creatrix Graphic Design. The toughest part about this job was separating Creatrix from its many competitors.
• ATIO. This brochure went to clients of ATIO members, and shows that these clients can trust an ATIO translator.
• Newport. A firm in California approached us for a brochure for its very specific audience.

• The Edge on brochures: See this case study in brochures that really sell.

Click here for more info, or a free consultation. Click here for a quote.

PLAIN-LANGUAGE EDITING

You finally have that report back from the printer. A lot is riding on your words, and now you're beginning to wonder whether you really meant complement instead of compliment, or if your readers will truly understand what you've written.

Grammar mistakes, spelling errors, leaden sentences...all of these are not only embarrassing, but actually make it less likely that readers will act on your message. You can count on Cornerstone to put your message in the kind of plain English that your readers will understand. In fact, Laura has such extensive editing experience that she teaches classes on editing at the Algonquin Training Centre. (Ask us for our free quiz on commonly misused words.)

Samples of Cornerstone's editing

• For obvious reasons, uploading an edited product would be meaningless without the original, against which one can compare. And we're reluctant to expose a client's original, unedited copy to world view. Ironically, however, plain-language editing is at least 50 per cent of our business!

• The Edge on editing : We make up for the lack of samples with the many articles reprinted here from our newsletter, including a list of the eight enemies of clear writing, and a survey of Canadian dictionaries.
• Write Better, Right Now: Our book on effective writing tips and easy-to-understand grammar rules has an online cousin, with sample chapters on persuasive writing and capital letters, plus bonus chapters look at Canadian English and at place names.

Click here for more info, or a free consultation. Click here for a quote.

NEW MEDIA

We know how to use new technologies, such as the Internet and CD-ROMs, to our clients' best advantage.

Samples of Cornerstone's new media work

• CORCAN Electronica. One of our bigger projects is producing a printed and electronic version of the CORCAN newsletter. As time goes by, the electronic version will take advantage of more of the Web technology, including hyperlinks to related material on the site and to e-mail addresses for writers and for people mentioned in stories.
• Canadian Organization for Development through Education (CODE): We created the original Web site as a pro bono project. (Note that the site has changed somewhat since we produced it.)
• Cornerstone's trivia game: Our own site is completely home-made. And it's picking up a regular audience, too.

• The Edge on new media: Our newsletter actively follows the changing trends in new media, including a case study in moving a publication to the intranet, and a heretical look at Web page design

Click here for more info, or a free consultation. Click here for a quote.

TRAINING

We teach courses in editing at the Algonquin Training Centre. For details, please call (613) 232-0090 or send an e-mail message to atcregstr@algonquinc.on.ca.

We are also available to provide customized, on-site training to your employees. Among other topics, we can deliver workshops on

• speech writing;
• effective editing skills; and
• newsletter writing, editing and production.

For information on our customized, on-site training, please e-mail us at paquet@web.net

TRIVIA

Here are just a few of the ways that trivia can build business and generate buzz:

• makes your Web site a regular destination for surfers;
• builds interest in corporate newsletters and community newspapers;
• entertains patrons waiting for service;
• provides content for contests; and
• educates consumers, children and other audiences.

Cornerstone has written trivia for Prodigy, for an online games company, for community newspapers, for Iogen and for a Canadian federal agency. We have also donated questions to a school and to a cancer charity. Check out this week's game, visit our trivia archive or play one of these classic games.

• Big Business: ever wonder what "Xerox" means?
• The Golden Age of Hollywood: they just don't make 'em like that any more
• Canadian Place Names: strange but true factoids about our home and native land
• Writers and Their Messed-Up Lives: who shot his wife doing a William Tell impression?
• On the Radio: a little bit country, but a lotta rock and roll
• Toys and Games: what do you remember about the toys you grew up with?

• The Edge on trivia : How trivia improves your Web site and a look at how Paul qualified for Jeopardy!