MATRIX MarCom - Focused, Effective Communications

New Post

2011-04-24T21:55:00.003-04:00

Greetings Matrix-MarCom followers. Haven't posted anything since January 2008. Matrix-MarCom is the name I've used for freelance marketing communications work. Been doing the corporate thing since January 2008, so I've pretty much "parked" this blog, but I'm thinking about cranking it back up solely as a an opinion blog.

If I pick up any readers, I might make it a regular thing. Gotta come up with some interesting topics, though. Stay tuned.

Phil

Amy Matthews Profile & Two Other Articles in Cast Polymer Connection Are Published

2008-01-25T19:18:00.000-05:00

The Winter issue of ICPA's Cast Polymer Connection magazine is out, with the cover story (seen on left) from MATRIX MarCom. Details of the issue can be found on an earlier post.

Cast Polymer Connection is the official publication of the International Cast Polymer Alliance (ICPA) of the American Composites Manufacturers Association (ACMA).

The profile takes a look at Matthews' career as host of DIY shows such as SWEAT EQUITY, BATHROOM RENOVATIONS and TEN THINGS YOU MUST KNOW.

For the CPC audience, the story delves into Matthews' experience in working with cast polymer materials such as cultured marble and solid surface and her views on home renovations, the strengths of cast polymer products and what she believes most homeowners are looking for these days.

The same CPC issue is home to MATRIX' article on "Using the Internet for Business Advantage." Details of that story can be found on an earlier post in this blog.

And, finally, MATRIX client Affluent Consulting's article, the R&D Payoff also appears in the Winter issue of Cast Polymer Connection. As noted earlier in this blog, this article appeared in the February issue of COMPOSITES MANUFACTURING magazine.

This article was pitched and placed by MATRIX MarCom.

Article from Affluent Consulting Published in Composites Manufacturing Magazine

2008-01-22T21:41:00.000-05:00

An article by Affluent Consulting's Stephfan Nurse, "The R&D Payoff," appears in the February issue of Composites Manufacturing (CM) magazine. CM is the official magazine of the American Composites Manufacturers Association (ACMA).

Pitched and placed by MATRIX MarCom President Phil Bridges, Nurse's article explains the Federal R&D Tax Credit program and how many, if not most composites fabricators are eligible for the program, but fail to take advantage of it. Affluent Consulting specializes in helping mid-sized companies document their R&D expenses.

"The R&D Payoff" article can be previewed on Composites Manufacturing's website at www.CMmagazineOnline.org (during February '08).

For a complete copy of the article or the program itself, contact Affluent Consulting at (813) 486-9492 or via e-mail at info@affluent-consulting.com. Visit their website at www.Affluent-Consulting.com.

Article Published in JEC Composites Magazine

2008-01-19T20:10:00.000-05:00

An article from MATRIX MarCom has been published in the January / February issue of JEC Composites magazine.

"Making the Most of Exhibiting at Industry Trade Shows" is a tutorial for companies exhibiting at industry trade shows. Full details of the article are found in an earlier post on this blog.

MATRIX MarCom Profiles DIY Network's Amy Matthews for Cover Story

2008-01-02T15:30:00.002-05:00

An article from MATRIX MarCom profiling Amy Matthews, host of three home improvement shows on the DIY Network, will appear in the Winter issue of Cast Polymer Connection magazine as the issue's cover story.

Cast Polymer Connection is the official publication of the International Cast Polymer Alliance (ICPA) of the American Composites Manufacturers Association (ACMA).

The profile takes a look at Matthews' career as host of DIY shows such as SWEAT EQUITY, BATHROOM RENOVATIONS and TEN THINGS YOU MUST KNOW.

For the CPC audience, the story delves into Matthews' experience in working with cast polymer materials such as cultured marble and solid surface and her views on home renovations, the strengths of cast polymer products and what she believes most homeowners are looking for these days.

Using the Internet for Business Advantage, Article from MATRIX MarCom to be Published

2007-12-15T16:46:00.002-05:00

"Using the Internet for Business Advantage" is the title of an article from MATRIX MarCom which will appear in Winter issue of Cast Polymer Connection magazine.

The story details the basics of leveraging the internet to promote businesses within the cast polymer industry, producers of cultured marble and solid surface products.

Topics range from securing a website domain and creating an electronic showroom to "pay-per-click" advertising, monitoring website traffic and using email addresses specific to individual promotions and advertising campaigns.

Cast Polymer Connection magazine is the official publication of the International Cast Polymer Alliance (ICPA) of the American Composites Manufacturers Association (ACMA).

MATRIX MarCom Article to Appear in JEC Composites Magazine

2007-12-03T17:08:00.002-05:00

An article authored from MATRIX MarCom will appear in the January / February issue (No. 38) of JEC Composites magazine.

The story, entitled, "Make the Most of Exhibiting at Industry Trade Shows," is a tutorial on successful planning and implementation for companies exhibiting at trade fairs / shows. The story will place an emphasis on setting goals for each show and building a plan for success around those goals. Areas of interest covered in the article include:

Keeping Graphics Simple

Sending Your Best People

Capturing Leads & Following Up

Using CDs vs. Printed Materials

Using Multi-media

The Importance of On-Site Guides

Affluent Consulting to Help Composites Companies Get R&D Tax Credits

2007-11-06T17:33:00.000-05:00

Affluent Consulting of Odessa, FL is focusing its expertise in helping companies take full advantage of federal and state research and development (R&D) tax credits on the U.S. composites industry.

After Affluent Consulting personnel attended the recent COMPOSITES & POLYCON show in Tampa, FL, the company recognized the potential tax savings for which many composites businesses are eligible, but may be failing to take advantage of.

Affluent works with companies such as composites fabricators and suppliers to the industry to help them recover research and development expenditures. “Through our diligence and commitment, we find and document costs that are very often missed by many CPA firms,” said Stephfan Nurse of Affluent Consulting.

Through intimate knowledge of the Internal Revenue Code and careful examination of treatises, case law, regulations, and rulings, Affluent Consulting professionals will help U.S. composites industry companies uncover and capture all qualifying research.

TAX CREDITS FOR INNOVATION

The Federal R&D Tax Credit Program has been in existence since 1981, but was utilized by only the most technologically sophisticated companies until 2001. That year, U.S. tax laws were redefined to create lucrative new incentives for companies who continued to innovate, allowing a much greater number of companies to qualify for the R&D tax credit.

Nearly seven years later, most eligible companies still do not take full advantage of this opportunity and continue to pay billions of dollars to the U.S. government even though their R&D efforts qualify them for these substantial, annual credits.

UNCLAIMED R&D CREDITS

Nurse says the roadblocks to claiming these R&D tax credits are lack of awareness and the time required to document a company’s eligibility for them.

“Many companies fail to take advantage of the R&D tax credit because of ambiguous and difficult to interpret statutory and regulatory descriptions of what R&D is,” he explains. “In the tax world, R&D is defined much more broadly than in the world of science. Qualifying research includes much more than just new product development. Expenditures taken to improve existing products as well as to develop or improve processes also qualify. Basically, a company’s day to day operations may qualify them for this benefit.”

The experts at Affluent Consulting conduct thorough R&D tax credit studies for clients utilizing a four-phased approach:

Phase 1 – Preliminary Identification
Phase 2 – Qualitative Assessment
Phase 3 – Quantitative Assessment
Phase 4 – Reporting

STUDIES 3-4 YEARS RETROACTIVE

Nurse points out that fabricators and suppliers should also note that typical R&D Tax Credit studies Affluent Consulting performs are retroactive for up to four tax years, in accordance with U.S. tax laws. “Because our studies are retroactive for multiple years, they can result in a tax credit for our clients in excess of six figures,” Nurse says.

FREE CONSULTATIONS FOR COMPOSITES COMPANIES

Affluent Consulting is offering composites suppliers and fabricators free, no obligation consultations as it begins serving the industry. During this preliminary assessment, the goal is to determine if there are any activities conducted by composites companies that qualify as R&D as defined by the Internal Revenue Code.

After Affluent Consulting ascertains that certain activities qualify, they determine a realistic tax credit estimate based on high-level information provided by client companies. Only after the preliminary consultation and client approval does Affluent continue with an R&D tax credit study.

QUALIFYING ACTIVITIES

Due to the strong emphasis on innovation through research and development within the composites industry, there are many activities and expenditures which will qualify companies for the R&D tax credit. Among these activities some examples include:

Process Improvements developed for fabrication techniques;
Custom or “In-House” Software Development specific to a company’s internal needs;
New Materials Evaluation & Selection including resins, gel coats, reinforcements & more
Physical Testing to evaluate composite part performance in end-user applications.

DOCUMENTATION & AMENDED RETURNS

The final aspect of the reporting phase includes preparation of the required amended federal income tax returns and the R&D study which serves as documentation supporting the R&D tax credits claimed.

The financial benefits of conducting R&D tax credit studies are immense and may include:

Significant Federal Tax Credits from the US Government
Additional Tax Savings in Future Years
Increased Cash Flow for Companies
Lower Effective Tax Rates
Obtaining a Methodology for use in Future Years to Secure Potential R&D Tax Credits

Nurse says over $8 billion in R&D tax credits are awarded annually to qualified companies in the United States. Yet, the IRS estimates that a mere 20% of companies who qualify have taken advantage of this program which was designed to encourage innovation.

Working with Affluent Consulting is a no-lose proposition. “We work on contingency based on the amount of qualifying expenditures we identify for clients,” Nurse explains. “Composites companies can only gain from talking to us.”

For more information on the Federal R&D Tax Credit Program or to schedule a free consultation, contact Affluent Consulting at (813) 486-9492 or via at info@affluent-consulting.com

Their website is at www.Affluent-Consulting.com.

Phil Bridges Delivers Advertising Presentation at Composites Convention

2007-10-27T16:49:00.000-04:00

MATRIX MarCom President Phil Bridges delivered a presentation on Thursday, October 18th at COMPOSITES & POLYCON, the largest composites convention and trade show in North America.

The convention ran from October 17-19 at the Tampa Convention Center in Tampa, Florida. It is sponsored by the American Composites Manufacture's Association (ACMA) with over 4,000 attendees.

Bridges spoke for nearly an hour on the topic of "Maximizing Your Advertising Dollars with Industry Trade Publications."

The presentation, available from MATRIX MarCom in either PDF or PowerPoint formats, covered a wide variety of topics especially helpful for business owners, marketing managers operating in a business-to-business environment by sending an e-mail request to phil.bridges@hotmail.com or calling (919) 833-7407.

Topics covered in Bridges' presentation included:

Logistics of Advertising in Trade Publications

Frequency of Placement

Value Added” Services

BPA Audits & Comparing Publications

Ad Development

Maintaining a Consistent Look

“Image” vs. “Product / Service” Ads

Developing Your Message

Saying What You Do

Art vs. Communicating

Internet Tie-Ins

This was Bridges' third presentation for the ACMA at one of the organization's regional or national trade shows. He has also authoredT the annual U.S. Composites Industry Overview cover story for the ACMA's magazine Composites Manufacturing (CM) on three occasions. That story, which is published each January, takes a look at how the industry is likely to fare each calendar year.

MATRIX MarCom serves a variety of clients, but has a special focus on serving suppliers, distributors and fabricators within the composites industry.

FEMA's Fake Press Conference Backfires

2007-10-26T17:00:00.000-04:00

Even as a beginner public information specialist in state government, I knew better than to stage a fake press conference. Apparently, the folks at FEMA didn't get the memo.

In case you haven't heard, the same people who brought you the Katrina response called a press conference Tuesday (10/23) to provide an update on progress fighting the Southern California wildfires. So far so good.

Problem was, the press conference was SO hastily called, that news agencies received only 15 minutes notice before it began. As a result, no one showed up in person. No one.

The "no show" aspect really wasn't a big deal (in hindsight), but apparently the FEMA PR team (or their political overseers) was worried about the lack of on-site press. So, they had FEMA employees pose as reporters and ask questions.

CAUTION: Train wreck approaching.

Even though no media showed up on-site, there was a live video feed (provided by FEMA) and a conference call connection for off-site reporters to use for listening in. The conference call was "listen only," so any reporters who connected, could not ask questions. And, some of the networks (such as Fox & MSNBC) carried the FEMA video feed live.

To avoid the appearance of a poorly attended briefing, FEMA employees acted as stand ins. If that had been the only thing they did, there would have been no story. Lots of people pack rooms for press conferences.

Unfortunately, the fake FEMA reporters felt the need to ask questions.

Ouch.

QUESTION: Why couldn't the agency have had FEMA Vice Admiral Harvey Johnson simply introduce himself and provide a "briefing" (where officials update interested parties on a situation)?

ANSWER: They could have. They should have. But, they didn't.

The Washington Post recognized the ruse for what it was right away, and reported on the fake press conference Tuesday night. What really gave it away was the softball questions being lobbed at Johnson, such as, "Are you happy with FEMA's response so far?"

Really biting, 60 Minutes material there.

Listen, I've been there when press conference attendance was sparse. Not on a "national" stage as with FEMA, but with a cabinet-level secretary in state government.

We had a press conference one time, and only one reporter . . . a RADIO reporter, showed up. It was a little uncomfortable (especially AFTER the event), but it happens. As it turned out, the reporter, from WPTF AM in Raleigh, NC, asked very good questions and did a very good story which came across very well. (I have a thing for radio since I worked in it for four years in the early '80s.)

Once again, a government agency gets itself into hot water, or at least an embarrassment, not because of an actual flub in policy or execution of policy, but for the cover up. Well, maybe not a Watergate-type cover-up, but at least a whitewashing.

FEMA staff were hung out to dry on this one as the White House threw them under the bus.

White House Spokesperson Dana Perino said,

"It is not a practice that we would employ here at the White House or that we — we certainly don’t condone it. We didn’t know about it beforehand. … It’s not something I would have condoned. … FEMA is responsible."

No ambiguity there.

If FEMA had only delivered the informational update and moved on, end of story. Instead, we have another negative FEMA story which gives everyone the chance to refer back to all of the missteps the agency made after Katrina.

LESSON TO LEARN: If your press conference / media briefing is poorly attended, don't EVER try to fake it for the sake of creating a good photo op. If you absolutely feel the need to add bodies to a room, or outside briefing, never, ever let the non-media personnel ask questions.

The image you save may be your own.

MATRIX MarCom Open For Business

2007-09-14T13:14:00.002-04:00

MATRIX MarCom
With over 20 years of communications experience ranging from work for small and medium businesses to larger, global corporations and government agencies, MATRIX MarCom provides a full compliment of public relations, advertising, business writing and other marketing communication services.

MATRIX serves local and national companies, trade associations, non-profit organizations and government agencies.

Services Provided by MATRIX MarCom:

Public Relations
Advertising
Literature Development
Brand Management
Employee Communications
Speech Writing
Copy Writing
Newsletter Development
Presentation Development
Marketing Plan Development & Implementation
Crisis Communications

Clients benefit from rich and varied background across a variety of disciplines and organizations.

There are many companies, associations and organizations operating today with a significant need for coordinated marketing communications programs that don’t have the resources to dedicate personnel to this function. This is where MATRIX MarCom comes in.

For larger organizations, MATRIX MarCom works with communications and marketing managers to provide the essential tools necessary for successful, integrated communications programs.

Composites Industry Focus

Because of its experience in the composites industry, working with composites industry suppliers, distributors and fabricators is a focus for MATRIX MarCom.

In composites, a "matrix" is a material in which reinforcing fiber of a composite is embedded. The choice of this name is to communicate a background in the industry to clients and potential clients of MATRIX MarCom, but it is a name which should resonate with non-composites companies as well.

MATRIX MarCom has published and placed articles in composites trade publications, newsletters and websites around the globe regions and managed trade show performance in each of them as well.

To learn how MATRIX Mar Com can provide your company or organization with the marketing communications and public relations support you need, send an email to info@matrix-marcom.com.