“Steve Lubetkin was podcasting when you were scratching on cave walls. With seven years in the field, he is the “go-to” guy for questions about audio and video podcasting with a string of awards to show for his work,”  the Business Journal noted in citing Steve’s work.

The top projects were chosen by a panel comprised of independent judges and Business Journal staff based on how creatively the projects leverage social media to accomplish a business purpose. Winners will also be profiled in a special supplement on March 23 and honored at a cocktail reception on April 5 at National Mechanics in Old City. At the cocktail event, special awards will be revealed for Overall Excellence, Community Service, and People’s Choice, the later of which will be determined by an online reader poll starting March 23.

PRSA Philadelphia held a luncheon to honor holders of the "Accredited in Public Relations" (APR) credential, featuring a panel of chapter members who are APRs and members of the PRSA College of Fellows. From left, John Moscatelli, APR, Fellow, PRSA; Anne Sceia Klein, APR, Fellow, PRSA; Steve Lubetkin, APR, Fellow, PRSA; and Anthony Fulginiti, APR, Fellow, PRSA, who served as panel moderator. Photo courtesy Jerry Klein, Anne Klein Communications Group. Used by permission.

UPDATED 10/30/2011: Steve Lubetkin, managing partner of Lubetkin Global Communications joined other members of the PRSA College of Fellows at PRSA Philly on Thursday, October 27  in recognizing and welcoming newly accredited members of the Philadelphia chapter. Steve and the other Fellows served on a panel discussing corporate and organizational trends in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

The luncheon at the Union League Club in Philadelphia featured a panel discussion moderated by Anthony J. Fulginiti, APR, Fellow PRSA, Professor of Public Relations at Rowan University and included two other Philadelphia chapter fellows:

Anne Sceia Klein, APR, Fellow PRSA, President, Anne Klein Communications Group
John Moscatelli, APR, Fellow PRSA, Former COO, Anne Klein Communications Group

Manchester Township, New Jersey, USA - Thursday November 3, 2011: Members of the production team assembled with the 2011 JASPER Award presented to PROFIT Communications and Lubetkin Global Communications for the 10-minute documentary video about The Pines at Whiting Continuing Care Retirement Community. The firms received the award from the Jersey Shore Public Relations and Advertising Association. From left: Steve Lubetkin of Lubetkin Global Communications; Deborah L. Israel, president and ceo, PROFIT Communications; Charity Roszel; Bill Janson, president, The Pines at Whiting; Mary Jane Ousley; and Paulette Kaufman, director of sales and marketing, The Pines at Whiting.

Cherry Hill, NJ-based Lubetkin Global Communications has won two 2011 JASPER Awards for its video productions from the Jersey Shore Public Relations and Advertising Association (JSPRAA).  The awards are the third and fourth JASPERs the firm has won for its audio and video podcast productions.

The firm won a Silver JASPER Award in the Television/Video Documentary (10-30 minutes) category for its video documentary produced for The Pines at Whiting, a continuing care retirement community in the Whiting section of Manchester Township, Ocean County.

In collaboration with PROFIT Communications of Blue Bell, PA, Lubetkin Communications interviewed residents at the retirement community, who explained in their own words why prospective new residents should seriously consider moving to the community while they can enjoy activities and amenities there, rather than waiting until a health crisis forces them to choose a nursing care facility under emergency circumstances. The 11-minute video has been viewed more than 1,000 times. It can be seen on The Pines at Whiting’s website at http://thepinesatwhiting.org/, or on Lubetkin Communications website at http://wp.me/p10SEo-Nt.

Click here to view the embedded video.

“The interviews we conducted of both new and longtime residents succeeded in capturing a very real snapshot of the dilemma facing today’s senior adults relative to how long do they wait to make changes in their living arrangements, and how best to make these decisions…independently or as a family. Their openness and honesty was very touching and struck those emotional chords,” explained PROFIT President Debbie Israel.

Lubetkin Communications also won a Silver JASPER Award in the Television/Video TV Special Programming category for its promotional video prepared on behalf of the 2011 American Transplant Congress, a joint event of the American Society of Transplant Surgeons and the American Society of Transplantation held in Philadelphia earlier this year. The video, viewed online more than 350 times, featured sights and sounds of Philadelphia interspersed with information about the medical conference, designed to create enthusiasm for the event and its location. The video, produced on behalf of Mt. Laurel-based Association Headquarters, which manages the medical conference for the two organizations, can be viewed on the Lubetkin Communications website at http://wp.me/p10SEo-RK.

Click here to view the embedded video.

“The video Lubetkin Global Communications produced helped promote the sights and sounds of Philadelphia to the medical and healthcare professionals who are prospective attendees for the Congress, generating both excitement for the historic and cultural opportunities Philadelphia offers as well as the high caliber scientific presentations that are also important to our conference-goers,” said Linda Woody, communications manager at Association Headquarters, which managed the American Transplant Congress.

The JASPER awards were presented to Lubetkin Global Communications at JSPRAA’s awards dinner at the Robert B. Meyner Reception Center at the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, Monmouth County, on October 14.

“We’re absolutely thrilled to be recognized for a third and fourth time by our peers in the advertising and public relations communities for our content creation work with clients and partners — especially for meaningful projects like these two,” said Lubetkin. “The Internet’s ability to serve as a broadcast platform for audio and video programs means the video documentary format can move far beyond the traditional TV screen or movie theater, making these productions highly accessible — and easily affordable — for organizations of all sizes to tell their stories to interested worldwide audiences.”

In 2008, Lubetkin Communications/Professional Podcasts won a Silver JASPER Award for podcast audio programs it produced for NAPL, a global printing and graphic communications trade association, and in 2009 it shared a Silver JASPER Award with Take This Journey, another Cherry Hill-based video firm, for a video documentary, “Touching People’s Lives,” for the Samost Jewish Family & Children’s Service of Southern New Jersey.

About JSPRAA

In existence since 1965, the Jersey Shore Public Relations & Advertising Association has grown into the Central New Jersey area’s largest communications association, with members from the advertising, graphic design, marketing, and public relations professions. It established the JASPER Awards in 1974 to honor excellence in communications. More information is at http://www.jspraa.org/.

Rising Sun Lodge No. 15, F. & A.M., the largest Masonic Lodge in New Jersey, meets regularly on the first and third Wednesday evenings of each month at Haddonfield Masonic Temple, on Kings Highway. Primarily representing the communities of Haddonfield, Haddon Heights, Haddon Township, and Cherry Hill, Rising Sun Lodge draws members from throughout South-Central Jersey, from Philadelphia to the shore, and from Trenton to Vineland. Rising Sun Lodge can be reached via the internet at risingsunlodge.org, by e-mail at secRSL15@aol.com, or by telephone at 856-428-4193.

Howard Yermish, left, and Sandy Spadaro pose with Howard's iPad2 featuring Steve Lubetkin. Hey, someone had to make the photograph!

Steve Lubetkin, managing partner of Lubetkin Global Communications and its award-winning podcast production arm, Professional Podcasts, will join Sandy Spadaro of SS Marketing Solutions and Howard Yermish of HowardYermish.com LLC as a panelist on the Philadelphia Business Journal’s “Social Media Crash Course,” on July 28 at the Enterprise Center on the campus of Burlington County College from 8 a.m. to noon.

Learn how to harness the power of social networking and integrate it into your marketing plan. Steve will discuss “Creating Video, Audio, and Photos for the Internet.”

Joining Steve on the panel, and their topics, are:

Sun National Bank President and CEO Thomas X. Geisel

Graduates from central New Jersey high schools holding commencement ceremonies at the Sun National Bank Arena in Trenton will receive video congratulations from Sun National Bank President and CEO Thomas X. Geisel. Professional Podcasts produced the high-definition video message that will play over the arena’s large-screen video projection system during graduation ceremonies at the facility.

We recorded the message in the bank’s board room at its executive offices in Mt. Laurel, NJ, earlier this month.

Sun National Bank has embraced the use of social media technologies like web audio and video more than any other banks in New Jersey. Sun was the first commercial bank in the state to employ podcasting to promote its home mortgage expertise when Professional Podcasts recorded an audio podcast about Sun’s in-house mortgage subsidiary, Sun Home Loans, in 2006.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Sony Vegas, one of many podcasting tools mentioned in our new white paper

Professional Podcasts has published a new white paper describing many of the hardware and software tools and production equipment we use to produce audio and video programs for our clients, with important and useful web links to sites that sell these tools.

The white paper is available free to visitors who fill out our mailing list registration form. Registrants will receive the white paper in Acrobat PDF format within 24 hours after signing up.

CHERRY HILL, NJ – March 3, 2011 –

The video will be used as part of conversations with prospective residents about their own lifestyle decisions, and is available for viewing on the Pines at Whiting’s Web site, www.thepinesatwhiting.org. Professional Podcasts worked closely on the project with The Pines at Whiting’s communications consultant, Deborah Israel, President, PROFIT Communications.

Click here to view the embedded video.

“Many senior adults postpone consideration of their living arrangements until it is too late for them to take an active role in the decision,” said Bill Janson, President / CEO of Keswick Pines. “We think that prospective residents who hear these real experiences from members of our community will be encouraged to think realistically about their own living arrangements before they are confronted with a health crisis or another issue that forces them and their families to make a rushed decision.”

“Our objective from the onset was to create a moving and meaningful video for The Pines at Whiting from the perspective of existing residents who made the decision to call this retirement community their home.” said PROFIT President, Deborah Israel. “What we found is that all of the seniors interviewed recognized the importance of ‘don’t wait before it’s too late,’ in making this major decision, and were eager to convey this sensitive message to prospective residents of The Pines,” added Israel.

“We were pleased to work with The Pines at Whiting to produce this video,” said Steve Lubetkin, managing partner of Professional Podcasts. “Documentary videos like this have become an increasingly important way to help organizations of all kinds engage with members of their communities by explaining their missions in ways that can’t be accomplished through words and still photos.”

About The Pines at Whiting

Keswick Pines, a 501(c)3 not-for-profit corporation provides residential and health care services to senior adults. The corporation was formed in 1989 and the first senior adult retirement community was opened in 1995. Originally known as Keswick Pines, the continuing care retirement community began to do business as “The Pines at Whiting” in January 2007.

About PROFIT Communications

PROFIT Communications, Blue Bell, PA, is an award-winning, boutique public relations company with a unique approach to providing PR/Marketing Communications and sales-focused services and solutions. Combining more than 30 years of communications expertise with savvy business acumen, PROFIT’s collaborators become a trusted member of each client team.  PROFIT specializes in:  strategic planning, PR, media relations, writing & editing, graphic design & art direction, email marketing communications, Web site development/design, social media and project metrics.  The PROFIT Team is committed to excellence in everything they do.  For more information please call 215-628-3640 or visit PROFIT online at www.profitcommunications.com.

About Professional Podcasts LLC/Lubetkin Communications

Professional Podcasts LLC produces audio, video, e-learning, and other multimedia content for businesses and professional organizations. Since 2005, Professional Podcasts has been counseling clients about the effective use of social media, like podcasts and blogs (online journals) as tools that facilitate two-way communications with customers, employees, and others. Professional Podcasts shared a 2009 JASPER Award from the Jersey Shore Public Relations & Advertising Association with Take This Journey LLC for a video they produced for Samost Jewish Family and Children’s Services. Professional Podcasts previously won a 2008 JASPER for its audio podcasts for a trade association, and a 2010 Astra Award from the New Jersey Communications, Advertising and Marketing Association for podcasts produced for ACE Group, a global business-to-business insurer/reinsurer.

Professional Podcasts has produced high-quality audio and video podcasts for Constellation Energy; Walmart Stores; the National Association of Realtors; Amboy Bank; the American Cancer Society, the American Institute of CPCU/Insurance Institute of America; the CCIM Institute; Sun National Bank; the Rutgers University School of Business Administration’s popular Quarterly Business Outlook Seminar, NAPL, a graphic communications trade association; NJBankers, a trade association representing major banks in New Jersey, Leadership NJ; the Public Relations Society of America. The firm also produces its own podcasts focusing on public relations, computer technology, bond ratings, and interviews with book authors.  More information and links to podcasts are available at http://www.professionalpodcasts.com/.

Zoom R-24 multitrack audio recording workstation

Cherry Hill-based Professional Podcasts LLC, the award-winning video and multimedia production subsidiary of Lubetkin Communications LLC, now has the capability to produce multitrack audio recordings of up to 24 channels, and up to eight channels of audio recorded live.

The firm has acquired a Zoom R-24 multitrack digital audio workstation, a highly portable audio control panel that records digital audio on a tiny SDHC card, for further processing in Professional Podcasts’ studios. The Zoom professional audio workstation can record eight channels of audio simultaneously, making it ideal for live recordings of seminar panels involving multiple speakers as participants. Professional Podcasts also expects to leverage the new recording workstation to expand its service offering into multitrack recordings for musicians and performers.

“Our recent client engagements have increasingly demanded the ability to isolate audio recordings from multiple speakers at seminar panels and conferences, and other clients frequently ask us to record podcast interview sessions involving more than three voices,” noted Steve Lubetkin, Managing Partner of Professional Podcasts. “Two channel recorders limit our ability to isolate each speaker’s voice. The Zoom R-24 is a powerful tool that lets us place each speaker’s audio on a separate track, offering dramatic new post-production flexibility to enhance the finished recordings. In addition, the multitrack capabilities of the Zoom R-24 will permit us to expand our audio podcasting capabilities so that we can offer studio-style recording and post-production services to musicians, bands, and other performance organizations.”