Crème De La Crème: Madison Alexander PR, Inc., a Boutique High Technology Full Service Communications Agency, Continues to Rise Above and Beyond

“We are a results-oriented PR firm; we track earned coverage, we never rest on our laurels, we always have irons in the fire for our clients. We are an idea machine.”

When it comes to communicating the credibility of your brand to the world, PR (Public Relations) is very simply, hands down, the best channel. Contrary to what most people think, PR is one of the most cost-effective methods of raising brand awareness for your business and, in essence, increasing sales.

Product placements in popular magazines, newspapers, trade journals, and social media outlets or radio/TV stations help cement brands as trusted authorities within their categories.

Madison Alexander PR, Inc. (MA PR) is a boutique technology communications consultancy that specializes in public relations, analyst relations, marketing communications and social media services for technology companies. The agency caters to start-ups to mid-size technology firms in security, networking, cloud computing, enterprise software, SaaS, managed services, search technologies, and technology platforms that solve business problems.

MA PR was established in 2004 and is based in SouthernCalifornia. The firm has additional officesin Boston, Silicon Valley, South Florida and has international partners in the Asia Pacific Rim, Latin America, and  Europe.

Dan Chmielewski, Madison Alexander PR, Inc. CEO, spoke exclusively to The Silicon Review. Below is an excerpt.

Why was the company set up? And how did you expand your company and its offerings over the years?

The company fills a void for start-up and smaller technology companies, mostly in cybersecurity, to provide senior PR representation to help them grow to the next level. PR is a relationship business and we have developed great relationships with the media by delivering on what we promise when we pitch. MA PR does not have minimum monthly retainers and has a team approach to accounts allowing senior, experienced PR representation that generates coverage, awards, and speaking ops.

There is nothing more important for a successful small business than a well-defined mission and vision statements. Can you explain your M&V statements in brief?

The professionals at MA PR who pitch your business will also service your account. There’s no bait and switch. Additionally, we won’t take on new clients that compete with existing clients; the notion of ‘firewalls’ between account teams for handling clients who compete against each other in the same market is, quite frankly, not realistic, and we don’t do that. We service a small group of clients that benefit from our complete focus and attention. We build account teams of public relations, marketing communications, web/graphics, and social media professionals based on the needs of the client.

Strategically and tactically, we understand the business of B2B and B2C security technology better than most agencies. We provide detailed context for developing a campaign including industry initiatives for technology frameworks and issues advocacy; launching a product, company, or new business unit; managing a product review; crisis communications situations; and helping an executive deliver a great interview—all based on what we know about how messaging and media work in the technology space. A solid understanding of the editorial process is critical to our success, and helping clients understand this process ensures that our combined efforts are extremely effective and generate results. Our team has significant newsroom experience so we can put on our “editor’s hat” to help a client clarify their message.

Madison Alexander PR strives to maintain a high ethical standard, including our professional relationships with editors, analysts and influencers. Their respect for Madison Alexander PR extends to all of our clients because of this.

MA PR is well established in IT PR, analyst relations and social media, and considers these technology disciplines our core competency. Our excellent reputation with key industry influencers and strong track record of success and achievement is earned by delivering on what we promise — powerful news angles and resources to help reporters put together a good story.

Additionally, as the first US-based representative of the CodeRed Network of global PR firms with an IT security focus (by invitation only – http://www.coderedsecuritypr.com/), MA PR collaborates with accomplished international agencies for targeted  international communications when the need arises.

MA PR has placed clients in trade and general market/business media. In addition to all of the major channel and technology trade publications and blogs, the agency has placed stories in BusinessWeek, Barron’s, NBC News, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Fox Business News, CNBC, CNN FN, The Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, Investor’s Business Daily, Krebs on Security, ReCode, TechCrunch, Mashable, SC Magazine, publications in Internet Security Media Group, IDG, UBM, TechTarget, the Today Show and The Washington Post.

What are the factors that make your brand stand out from the competition?

PR is a relationship business; it makes sense to build an experienced team. Our relationships with influencers are positive so when we pitch a new company, they do pay attention and offer feedback the client needs to hear.

We are a results-oriented PR firm; we track earned coverage, we never rest on our laurels, we always have irons in the fire for our clients.  We are an idea machine.

Is your company a leader or a follower?

My company is a leader when it comes to gauging how a newsroom reacts to a pitch and the anticipated coverage. We have no problem telling a client their announcement isn’t going to garner widespread coverage, but we lead them to where they need to go outside of the realm of traditional PR. We are a leader in turning clients into technology thought leaders.

“Earning trust and respect of consumers is through consistent focus on delivering high quality in all of our actions.” How do you interpret this statement?

Trust takes a long time to build and can be destroyed in an instant.We work hard towards developing long-term trust with the public we work with so they can count on the information we pitch.

As a question on sustainability, where do you see your company a couple of years from now?

Our clients are loyal, and we’re loyal to them in return; hopefully, we continue to do great work for them.We are not trying to be the biggest agency, but focus on being one of the best.

Dan Chmielewski: A Brief Background

A creative and experienced high technology public relations and marketing communications professional, Dan is one of a shrinking number of industry professionals with actual newsroom experience, having worked as a radio news director and anchor with stations in New York, and as a freelance newspaper reporter and magazine contributor. Newsroom experience is one of the things that sets Dan — and Madison Alexander PR — apart from the competition.

With more than 25 years of experience, Dan has spent most his career working in IT security, enterprise networking, IT software, and Internet platform technologies at large corporations such as 3Com and Data General, and working on large accounts at agencies with clients such as Lotus Development, Mitsubishi Mobile Computing, and Legent. In addition, Dan has worked with start-ups like Gradient Technologies and Moss Software, and held senior management positions with technology firms in New York, Boston and Southern California.

“Trust takes a long time to build and can be destroyed in an instant. We work hard towards developing long-term trust with the public we work with so they can count on the information we pitch.”