Pierce Mattie Public Relations New York

Pierce Mattie recently attended the WeddingChannel Wedding Couture show back in October where he saw some ordinary wedding products dressed up to be amazing show pieces thanks to the crystals from Swarovski Crystal Lized.

Ordinary petite fours and truffles can be extraordinary when befitted with sparkling Swarovski crystals, which makes it a doubly nice treat for your guests!

Continue reading this post on our Jewelry PR blog

With the current state of the economy, companies may be questioning the value of PR and how publicity can directly translate into increased sales. I understand this and all too often our industry sees clients cutting PR from their budgets when it is the one thing that is most important in an economic downturn. The economy has caused the priorities of public relations to begin a seismic shift and our main focus is no longer solely about consumer awareness, but now includes the added challenge of positively impacting the bottom line. For the industry to remain afloat here are some public relations strategies we implement here at Pierce Mattie PR that we've found to be successful:

Located on Main Street in Concord, Massachusetts, Cynthia Cosmetics & More recently opened its doors to "Bring out your inner Goddess..." I recently took the opportunity to interview Cyndi King to learn more about her and her beauty company:

Pierce Mattie: Tell us more about Cynthia Cosmetics & More.

Cyndi King: We offer authentic mineral makeup, chirally correct skin care and the art of Joan Terrell Smith in the historic Grist Mill of Concord MA. Refill, reuse, recycle is at the heart of the makeup studio philosophy located above Main Streets Market & Café tucked in with Nesting and The Muse’s Window at the top of the stairs. Cynthia Cosmetics & More offers 10% off your purchase when presented with old conventional, traditional makeup or skin care products for recycling. All of our product packaging is recyclable and many are made with the ability to re-fill and re-use the bottle, brush or container that contains the product. Proceeds from the sale of the Revitalash lash conditioner and the Clarisonic professional skin care brush system go to cancer research.

Pierce Mattie: Concord Massachusetts is known for its great literature that comes from that town. It is the biggest little place in America. Are you going to plan anything like; A Book & a Makeover? Or having any book readings at your store while consumers talk shop on lip gloss and sunscreen?

Cyndi King: Absolutely! Our local book store is independently owned; most of the historic Concord shopping district is inhabited by independent businesses. My greatest wish is that when Diane Ranger releases her biography that she does so here in Concord at Cynthia Cosmetics & More! I plan to offer a reading area focused on wellness, skin care and cosmetics education. I feature the art work of Joan Terrell Smith, a locally born, award winning artist, now living in France. More of her work will be on display during the Art Walk in Concord on Saturday, May 16th, 2009. www.joanterrellsmith.com

The holiday season -- between Christmas and Valentine's Day -- is the most popular time of year for engagements with approximately 35-40 percent (550,000-650,000) couples getting engaged to be married over the next 12 to 18 months, according to The Wedding Report, with an estimated 2.2 million weddings projected in 2010*, more than 1.1 million brides will discover their unique bridal style as they plan every moment of their celebration. Get Married offers these brides a sneak peek of the top 10 bridal trends for 2010. From runway fashions and edible passions to techie automations and color saturations, the new bridal trends are all about personalization and expressing your unique bridal style.

"Bringing your unique wedding inspirations to life is as exciting as it is essential when creating the 'wow'-factor," said Stacie Francombe, founder and CEO of Get Married, a tri-media wedding lifestyle platform for passionate brides. "We encourage brides to be bold and adventurous, infusing the elements and styles that excite them in life in this momentous lifecycle occasion."

Following is a look at the top 10 bridal trends for 2010 as determined by Get Married's editorial and production teams as well as leading industry experts:

Despite what you may have heard, the publishing industry is not dead. In fact, four new media groups are capitalizing on the industry, as their start-ups are profitable in this economy. Even more interesting is that these groups are all headed by four former CurtCo Media executives.

3 Digit Media, LLC is the only one of these groups to be headed by a woman. Carla Blanco launched 3 Digit Media in 2003 after the success of publishing “805 Living,” a Los Angeles lifestyle magazine and self-proclaimed “go-to guide for living the good life” in the area code. She co-founded the company with Lynne Andujar. While revenue has been down in the recession, the niche focusing of this group, which recently began publishing “805 Weddings,” will ultimately make it a stand-out in the economy.

Coram Publishing, headed by Arthur Coldwells, focuses on the advantages of print media, including capitalizing on advertisement revenue. “Ultimate Motorcycling” is the group’s primary source of revenue with over 50,000 readers. The former CurtCo magazine (“Robb Report Motorcycling”), it was acquired by Coldwells in 2008. The zine targets upscale motorcyclists, who are primarily baby-boomers. And on a positive note, Coldwells believes that after the recession magazines will see a huge boost. A promising statement for the journalist of the future.

Good customer service has always been the sure fire way to land the best publicity on earth. When economic times were good, many companies bypassed emphasis on this principle and strictly built value based on which publications featured their products. Certainly if they had a showcase of magazine hits here and broadcast hits there, that certainly was enough to make people buy (and repeat buy), enough to make people trust and enough to get people talking about their brand...right?

Maybe this was the way before, but in a want-it-now generation coupled with a troubled economy, there is a shift back to the "old school" principles of listening to what your customers want, then delivering. Or in other words, putting the customer first again. And honestly, I for one, love retro business standards. We could argue that the fervor around social media + business along with the demise of our economic stability created the perfect storm. 

Wedding planning is an exciting process, but the long-awaited day of “I dos” doesn’t come without a little bit of legwork and a considerable amount of stress. From invitations to cake tastings, brides are faced with endless choices and, usually, a not-so-endless budget.

There’s a huge market for wedding planning today. Shows like Say Yes To The Dress, Bridezillas, and Bethenny Getting Married make it almost impossible for us to draw our eyes away from the tube. Watching the rollercoaster ride that is wedding planning is positively riveting, and brides-to-be now have a new outlet for addiction: bestselling author Susan Wigg’s new memoir, How I Planned Your Wedding.

The fictional author has been writing about love for some time, but this tale is much closer to home for the mother turned wedding planner. In How I Planned Your Wedding, Wiggs and her daughter Elizabeth Wiggs Maas recount their hell-and-high-water journey planning a dream wedding.

The digital age may only be in its infancy still, but there is no denying that it is here and that there are things that will soon be considered relics just like cassette players, VCR's, landline phones and the US Postal Service. We've been talking about the debacle that the publishing industry has been in for several years now as print magazines shutter with the growth of social media, which really propelled digital to the next level. Anyone who wonders when the bubble will burst surely haven't seen my kid's curious faces when we get a magazine or toy flyer in the mail.

"Why do you get these mom?"
"To read them."
"But can't you just go online and do that?" they respond quizzically.

While many of us still enjoy the tangibility of being able to physically touch and turn the pages of our favorite magazines, convenience has trumped this as we want the ability to bring something up on our mobile phone or tablet at our beckon call. You certainly don't overhear conversations like, "Did you see our beauty client in this month's A+ magazine? Here, I brought the magazine with me," as the PR associate pulls it from their handbag. No, instead they are pulling out their iPad and at the touch of a finger, bringing up the bookmarked page in under 30 seconds.

Now, Time Inc., the largest magazine publisher in the US, has hired Laura Lang, a well respected thought leader in the digital space, to help the magazines under their name make that transition from print to digital all while maintaining the integrity of its brand and delivering measurable results back to its advertisers. If there has been one major thing that social media and digital publishing has provided that print cannot--it's actually showing the correlation between exposure and sales. In PR clients scream ROI like it's going out of style, yet they demand to be in X, Y and Z publication because their competitors are without really knowing if there is value behind it beyond image. If there is anything that coverage online has generated, it's the client having the ability to visually see the click throughs and how many sales were driven because of it. The demand is growing and while print still may be where many brands would like to hang their hat, they also like the measurability of the digital space. I believe Lang can do this for Time Inc. and maintain and grow it for another 80 years.

What are your thoughts? Tweet us @PierceMattiePR.

When you think of dresses, flowers, cake, dancing, friends and family all together what comes to mind? Need a hint? It is custom that two people say the words “I do” before puckering up. A wedding of course! And with wedding season quickly approaching it is only appropriate that new helpful tips and advice are being put on the market to ensure a flawless day.

Weddings are full of beautiful flowers, delicious food, and a night full of the best music and dance moves. Thankfully a photographer is there to capture all the best memories from the day. The photographer’s main focus is to capture the guests having a great time and to catch those beautiful newlywed moments between the new couple. With all these photographs being snapped everyone wants to look their best from heir head to their toes, especially the bridal party and the bride.

To help the bridal party and bride attain their gorgeous look for the day, and avoid one more expense at the salon, Gorgeous Wedding Hairstyles by Eric Mayost has recently been published. This book is full of beautiful pictures with step-by-step instructions for hairstyles that are easy for anyone to duplicate. From classic and elegant styles to more modern looks, Gorgeous Wedding Hairstyles has a look for every member of the bridal party to look their best on the special day.

What do you think will be the wedding hair trends this wedding season? Let us know @PierceMattiePR