by admin | Sep 11, 2019 | News
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., September 11, 2019 Amendola Communications, a nationally recognized, award-winning healthcare and health IT public relations and marketing agency, has promoted Marcia Rhodes to the position of Vice President, the agency announced today. The promotion is the latest in a steady progression of responsibility for Rhodes, who originally joined the agency in 2013 as Regional Managing Director before being promoted to National Managing Director. In each position, Rhodes held many integral roles in client relations, operations and human resources.
As one of only two Vice Presidents in an agency that leans toward a flat hierarchy, Rhodes will continue to lead many of the agency’s client accounts, conduct media training and continue to build out the operational and human resources infrastructure that has made the agency a textbook example of the 21st century workplace flexible, nimble and tech-enabled, with strongly collaborative teams located throughout the country. Rhodes will also spearhead new recruitment programs to support the agency’s rapid expansion into digital marketing, analytics and event management.
“Marcia leads by example in everything she does, whether it’s working tirelessly to amplify our clients’ national and trade media coverage; onboarding new Amendola hires with her typical warmth and thoroughness; or making sure that our remote teams have the most up-to-date tools and processes they need for client success. Additionally, she is a highly respected mentor to numerous Amendola employees,” said Jodi Amendola, CEO of Amendola.
She added, “Marcia has taken on the well-deserved role of Vice President with her usual commitment to excellence. I can’t overstate how much she has helped to shape Amendola’s ideal culture to become the agency it is today; one that is known for high-performance, harmony and intellectual curiosity.”
Rhodes is a recognized public relations and marketing communications leader who has honed her skills over more than two decades. She has served in PR executive leadership roles in companies that, in addition to six years at Amendola, include WorldatWork, Six Sigma Academy, and Accenture, where she worked for 11 years.
Not only is Rhodes skilled in securing broad media coverage and coveted awards and speaking slots for Amendola clients, her own insights have been featured in publications that include the Wall Street Journal, Chicago Sun-Times, San Jose Mercury News, Columbus Dispatch, The Houston Chronicle, The Arizona Republic, Phoenix Business Journal and several trade publications.
“This is such an exciting time for Amendola; our agency is growing as we continue to add the most innovative companies in healthcare to our client portfolio. It is a joy to recruit the best PR and marketing talent and set them up for success with what I believe is the most flexible, supportive and dynamic agency in the industry,” said Rhodes.
Amendola has a policy of promoting from within whenever possible. To nurture future leaders in the agency, employees are encouraged to regularly learn new skills and take on new responsibilities. Amendola also has a strong culture of mentoring and teamwork that further contributes to professional development. Each employee is assigned a “champion” or mentor, and teamwide collaboration is a feature of every client account.
Rhodes earned a M.A. in International Communications from the University of Washington and a B.A. in Broadcast Journalism from the University of the Philippines. She has been honored by the League of American Communications Professionals (for web site development and a client testimonial video) and by the International Association of Business Communicators (for newsletter writing).
by admin | Jul 23, 2019 | News
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., July 23, 2019 Amendola Communications, a nationally recognized, award-winning healthcare and health IT public relations and marketing agency, has announced it has been selected as the public relations and media relations partner for HMS, a leading healthcare technology company that helps healthcare organizations reduce costs and improve health outcomes.
Amendola will utilize a broad range of integrated PR, media relations and content development services to drive greater industry awareness of HMS’ innovative technology, analytics and engagement solutions that save public and commercial payers, as well as employers and at-risk healthcare providers, billions of dollars annually while helping consumers lead healthier lives. Chiefly, Amendola will be driving brand awareness of the HMS’ population health management solutions through earned thought leadership content, media outreach campaigns, conference speaking opportunities, as well as strategic PR counsel and planning.
“We need a savvy and skilled partner to hit the ground running as we expand our fast-growing population health management suite as well as our industry leading coordination of benefits and payment integrity solutions,” said HMS Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer Maria Perrin. “Amendola’s decades-long healthcare and health technology expertise and experience is impressive, but what excites us the most is the proven results they’ve delivered for clients across a wide range of trade, national and local media, as well as through social platforms. Amendola is a perfect partner to help us generate the type of awareness and growth we’re pursuing in the highly competitive healthcare market.”
“HMS is an established health tech leader with an impressive track record of saving billions of dollars for their customers, while helping to improve health outcomes for consumers,” said Jodi Amendola, CEO of Amendola Communications. “That’s why we are excited to partner with them as they expand their footprint in the growing population health management market segment with solutions that are both unique and drive real results.”
Founded in 1974, HMS is based in Irving, Texas, with more than 2,500 employees in 25-plus offices across the country. HMS’ customer base includes more than 40 state Medicaid programs and more than 325 health plans, including 23 of the top 25 health plans nationally based on membership. Customers also include more than 150 private employers, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Department of Veterans Affairs, pharmacy benefit managers and risk-bearing provider organizations, including independent practice associations, hospital systems, ACOs and specialty care organizations. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of HMS Holdings Corp., traded on NASDAQ (ticker: HMSY), and certified by HITRUST.
Amendola will promote HMS through numerous PR and content development programs, supported by Amendola’s top-tier industry and media relations. The agency will work with HMS to deliver to federal, state and commercial payers and risk-bearing provider organizations a broad range of targeted content, drawing on Amendola’s deep industry knowledge and diverse media relationships in healthcare, business and consumer media. Amendola also will be responsible for driving coverage of HMS’ leaders and highlighting how analytics can identify, stratify and guide members and patients toward healthier and adherent behaviors and away from adverse events, emergency department utilization and hospitalizations.
About HMS
HMS advances the healthcare system by helping healthcare organizations reduce costs and improve health outcomes. Through our industry-leading technology, analytics and engagement solutions, we save billions of dollars annually while helping consumers lead healthier lives. HMS provides a broad range of coordination of benefits, payment integrity, care management and consumer engagement solutions that help move the healthcare system forward.
Media Contact:
Marcia Rhodes
Amendola Communications
mrhodes@acmarketingpr.com
by admin | Apr 16, 2019 | News
Healthcare PR agency to expand Holon’s reach through media relations and marketing
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., April 16, 2019 – Amendola, a nationally recognized, award-winning healthcare and technology public relations and marketing firm, announced today that Holon Solutions has chosen Amendola as its primary agency of record. This partnership for media relations and PR will support Holon as they work to bring true interoperability to the healthcare space.
Holon Solutions, based in Alpharetta, Georgia, is leading the industry in data liberation, leveraging technology to surface data from any electronic health record (EHR) or third-party solution and bring those insights directly to the point of care.
Julie Mann, Chief Commercial Officer, Holon Solutions noted that Amendola’s work with other health IT leaders made for a natural partnership: “Holon’s technology works with virtually any EHR or data repository, unlocking data to support providers as they work to bring better care to patients. Because of the experience Amendola has working in this space, they genuinely understand the importance of bringing an interoperability standard to the industry. We’re excited to have their help as we work to spread our message and expand the adoption of our vendor-agnostic solution.”
“Holon Solutions is solving an important problem that has been plaguing the healthcare space for far too long. Their technology genuinely has a positive impact on patient care through improved data access,” said agency CEO Jodi Amendola. “We are pleased to help them expand their industry presence through advanced public relations. I genuinely believe in the Holon mission. It’s an honor to work with them, as they strive to free patient data from disparate systems that hinder effective analytics.”
As part of a comprehensive media relations plan, Amendola will secure placements that highlight the interoperability crisis and how Holon’s technology is solving the problem. In addition, a larger communications strategy will include press releases, contributed content, speaking engagements, and potential awards as Holon’s leadership and customers are positioned as industry thought leaders. Amendola will also be working with Holon to expand its marketing efforts, helping the company to reach new customers in need of data liberation that supports value-based care initiatives.
About Holon Solutions
Holon Solutions is a healthcare information technology company that liberates the data to liberate the care, putting the right information in front of the right people at the right time through our reimagined interoperability platform. Holon empowers risk-bearing organizations to optimize patient outcomes and financial performance by surfacing actionable, patient-specific insights directly to the point of care. Holon’s agnostic platform CollaborNet® surfaces contextual insights within the provider workflow, seamlessly shares clinical data from health plans and vendors, and automates documentation exchange and referrals across health communities independent of the technologies in play. Our team of innovators is focused on removing the administrative burden from clinicians through our patented, sensor-based solutions. We are grateful to be recognized by Healthcare Informatics as the “2018 Innovator of the Year for Value-Based Care.”
For more information about how Holon helps healthcare organizations fulfill the promise of value-based care, visit www.holonsolutions.com.
by Administrator | Sep 12, 2018 | Blog
For several years now we all have lived in luxury, enjoying free content on the Internet that’s paid for through ads and data mining, with no paywall to contend with. But, as many prominent media outlets have noted, things are beginning to change.
Back in the early days of the Internet (and in the print media era of old), we as consumers paid for the content we wanted to read and watch. With the advent of Adblock Plus not to mention a reduction in advertising budgets many news websites and online magazines are going back to subscription business models, unable to maintain profits with optional “premium” services and banner ads alone.
What does this mean for those of us in media relations? It means we’re going to have to set expectations for our clients, educating them on the state of the media. Because like it or not, it does seem more paywalls are popping up, which means public relations and marketing plans have no choice but to adapt.
On its face, things may appear dire it’s hard to share content on social media and on a personal blog when a link appears behind a paywall. But, there are some positive takeaways to the coming “subscription era” of Internet journalism that could mean more meaningful placements, better quality leads, and superior content than what we’re getting now in the “free and open” era of Internet publication.
Subscribers Read and Readers are Your Target Audience
I’m a bit of a hipster. So, I still subscribe to a few print magazines. Since I don’t like my money to go to waste, I actually read those magazines, sometimes even cover-to-cover. I also subscribe to a couple newspapers online, and I check them every day, reading the content that’s relevant to me and subscribing directly to the RSS feeds of columns and writers I like the most.
The takeaway here is this: Those who pay for content are more likely to actually read it. Studies have shown most people don’t read the content on their social media feed, often sharing links without even clicking on them. I’ll argue that this is a product of the free content era, wherein the overabundance of choice has rendered us all lost in a sea of noise. While it may be nice to get a social media share or a link click, ultimately what does that really mean in terms of educating the public on your business, thought leaders, and relevant news?
If you ask me, the answer might be “not much.” Too often our metrics for success are superficial, measured in total number of social media shares, clicks, and engagements, even if those engagements are largely the result of bots and humans users who act like bots. But, if someone subscribes to a publication, they are more likely to actually do some reading, because they have a financial stake in supporting that content. That means more meaningful social media shares and readers who actually do you guessed it some reading. This translates to real discussion and genuine interest, not just some generic comment and a quick share that’s aimed at strictly producing numbers.
If someone subscribes to an online (or print) magazine, that means they are genuinely interested in the topic. Ideally, when it comes to a media interview or byline that you want read, your target audience is interested. The subscription era means more quality readers, even if the quantity of superficial shares and clicks is reduced.
Building Meaningful Relationships
It’s an unspoken truth of media relations backs need to be scratched, and sometimes your thoughtful expert source means less than the source from a company who bought an ad. It’s not fair and, quite frankly, it reduces the quality of the content journalists produce, but that’s the reality of for-profit media. Ads are how publications stay in business, at least for now.
As advertising budgets begin to dry up across the board, the “pay-for-play” approach to journalism is harder to navigate for companies looking to get coverage, particularly for smaller startups who are still working to expand and turn a profit.
A positive outcome to a subscription business model means ads will no longer determine who gets an interview, since the primary source of revenue would ideally be subscriptions. Further, “sponsored content” will no longer be a path to regular byline publication. Like in the days of old, sources will be judged based more on merits, and journalists will begin, once again, to seek the stories that are most interesting to them and their readers.
Much as how the subscription model means an increase in quality readers, the same holds true for the content journalists produce. For those in media relations, that means we can build meaningful relationships with journalists for the mutual benefit of providing sources, who in turn get their name and message into stories that are far more genuine than those produced under the guise of advertising.
While free content will likely persist long into the future, the trend seems to be that the best publications are going to put themselves behind a paywall before too long. This will bring challenges, particularly when it comes to sharing content on company blogs and in social media feeds. In time, content producers and social media users will undoubtedly adapt to these changes and find workarounds, since sharing is the key to more exposure. I think this problem will ultimately solve itself, though admittedly things won’t be as straightforward as they are presently.
Sure, it may seem strange now to imagine an Internet where all content isn’t free, but it’s coming. And there are positive aspects to this transformation that could benefit everyone involved in the media placement chain, from thought leaders to journalists and those of us in between. One thing is for certain, it’s best to embrace this future instead of combatting it because those who are prepared will be best equipped to navigate the changing landscape and find success. One thing is for certain: Subscription models do not signal the end of journalism, which means media relations will continue to play an important role in earning placements.
by Matt Schlossberg | Sep 5, 2018 | Blog
Nothing fills me with existential dread like sitting down to write a media pitch.
Give me the sweet relief of an 800-word byline ghostwritten under a soul-crushing deadline. Bury me under the gigabyte of bone-dry peer-reviewed research I need to complete an immensely complex white paper. Let me spend eight hours hacking through a labyrinthine approval process just to get sign off on 400-word “new hire” press release.
Anything I do in the PR world is easier than convincing a stressed out and overworked journalist with a trigger finger on the junk file that my story is worth telling and doing it in under 100 very concise and very compelling words.
Below are what I believe to be the essentials of a good pitch, broken out by its main components. Following this advice is not going to guarantee a media hit for your client, but it will dramatically increase your chances.
The Subject Line. It’s true that many maybe even most pitches live or die based on the subject line, but that doesn’t mean you should panic and resort to dumb gimmicks in a bid to win a journalist’s attention. Expending way too many precious words to support a style of writing funny, hyperbolic or scare-quotes clever you can’t pull off wastes everyone’s time.
Think of it this way: The subject line is your pitch reduced to its simplest form. For that reason, I prefer to write my subject lines last. Good pitch writing usually leaves a lot of tasty leftovers that just couldn’t be fit into the final revision an interesting turn of phrase and a good word choice or two that didn’t make the cut can usually be repurposed into an effective Subject Line. If you feel you are really rusty, cut-and-paste your entire pitch, then slowly whittle it to its most essential elements.
The Opening Sentence. When I was a journalist, I was often surprised at the amount of “throat-clearing” in the pitches I received. I’m not a captive audience, dude! Into the trash you go!
If you have done your due diligence carefully researching the outlets and reporters that would be a good fit for your story you can avoid kicking off your story roughly 30 seconds after the newly formed Earth cooled.
Strategies will vary based on the story you are trying to tell, but I have had the most luck just telling the reporter what I want and why they should care: “Hey, [JOURNALIST], I’ve read your coverage on [TOPIC.] This [STORY] for [THESE REASONS] would be useful to your readers.”
If it sounds prosaic, that’s because it is. But by eliminating the throat-clearing, you can simply and honestly convey a.) your knowledge of the reporter; b.) your familiarity with how they have covered their beat; and c.) why your story is relevant to that coverage.
The Body. Most posts filed in the “pitching advice” genre emphasize the importance of brevity. And they’re right! Unfortunately, this can be taken to an extreme. A good pitch will offer a solid framework that the reporter can use to build the rest of the story. Use you pitch to cover the journalistic bases who, what, when, where, why and how. Add relevant links to your pitch to your sources LinkedIn profiles, evidence supporting your pitch idea and/or interesting industry trends, for example. Statistics relevant to a pitch help to ground it in reality. If you’re speaking about an end-user, be sure to provide specific numbers on the improvements they saw from using a solution. The more specifics, the better.
The Closer. A pitch should contain a clear call to action near the end, asking a reporter to specifically consider an interview or byline. A reporter may not be ready for this story right now, but politely ask them to keep you in mind for the future. Second, don’t be afraid to briefly offer to help a reporter with their coverage now and into the future. Many opportunities arise from relationship-building that starts with a single pitch. Lastly, always thank a reporter for their time.
Final Advice
Almost as important as knowing how to write a good pitch is to know when you don’t have anything to pitch. Not everything a client does is a story or warrants legitimate coverage.
This is where client management comes into play. Capturing inbound interview requests the sweet, sweet nectar of media relations is a long and painstaking process of developing a trusted relationship mostly over electronic devices.
Pitching writing is both an art and science which is part of the reason why creating them can be frustrating. Bad pitches are the kudzu of the public relations world, choking out good stories beneath an oppressive monoculture of bad faith and even worse writing. The problem is so pervasive that entire websites and Twitter feeds are dedicated to terrible pitches. However, devoting your energies to the right components of a pitch will ensure a greater level of success.
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