Capelin Communications

Boston, July 2010 – The Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS) honored Capelin Communications with a First Place Marketing Communications Award for social media for the popular “Sound Advice with Joan Capelin” podcast series. This was the first time the category was recognized, signaling that use of all the new tools that use the internet for business marketing can be useful to professional service firms.

The SMPS National Marketing Awards program is the longest-standing awards competition to recognize excellence in marketing communications by professional services firms in the design and building industry. 

“Sound Advice with Joan Capelin” focuses on the specific question of what to do in a recession.  Interviews feature a cross-section of well-known design and construction professionals and consultants.  “Their advice is priceless, not to mention very useful,” Joan noted.  “Best as we can tell, between listeners on the website and iTunes, discussion via various social media, and coverage by print media, the 20 ‘Sound Advice’ podcasts have reached a quarter-million people.”

Delighted to be recognized for this new public relations specialty, Joan stated that “We didn’t create the podcast series to market Capelin Communications, but rather to use our experience and authority to help our injured industry and reach as many people afflicted by the recession as possible with excellent information.”

Founder and president of a public relations firm that concentrates on the design, building, and real estate industries, Joan previously was the recipient of the Marketing Achievement Award, the highest award SMPS gives to an individual.  One of the organization’s founding generation, she is also an SMPS Fellow.

To listen to any “Sound Advice” with Joan Capelin podcasts, and to see the names and bios of the guests interviewed, please visit http://capelin.com/sound-advice-podcast/.  To receive the full-page description about the award submission, please contact capstone@capelin.com. 

Joan Capelin holds an inscribed crystal shaft that denotes First Place for Social Media after the awards gala at the Build Business national conference of the Society for Marketing Professional Services. Celebrating with her is Ronald Worth, SMPS’ chief executive officer. Photograph taken by Frank Monkiewicz

Letter writing is an essential business skill, but not everyone understands the basics of writing reference letters, such as those that introduce a job candidate or nominate someone for a specific honor.  In her February 2010 column for the SMPS Marketer, “Please, Mr. Postman…,”  Joan Capelin provides hints for both letter writers and seekers.  “You will need the right people to write for you,” she insists, “but they must also advise how they know you.”

Joan discusses how to set the context and tone for a letter of reference as well as basic formatting rules that many people tend to forget.  She suggests including personal anecdotes that strengthen the message of the letter but warns about regurgitating the candidate’s resume.  

Joan recommends that letter seekers follow up with their writers to stay on target for the due date. “There is no harm in moving it up a week or two,” she remarks.

At some point, nearly every PR professional faces the daunting task of writing an obituary for an organization’s executive. Joan Capelin wrote a wryly entitled article, “Last Writes,” for the Public Relations Society of America’s (PRSA) monthly publication Tactics to address this sensitive subject.

“An obituary is more than just an announcement,” Joan writes; it is also a way to “remember the life and communicate the deep sense of loss for both those who hardly knew the deceased to those who knew him or her intimately.”  The writer must consider the remaining family members, professional legacies, philanthropic connections, and – a critical focus – the viability of the organization left behind.

Joan offers many obituary-writing suggestions, including how to quickly research the salient information and why to alert key members of the media as soon as you can.  “This will avoid the publication of incorrect accounts, particularly since, once posted on the Internet, errors proliferate,” she explains.