View full e-kit: KSPR e-kit
The company press kit has been such a mainstay of traditional public relations. For a new company, new product, or launch event, the press kit was almost always the first tangible collateral piece created as a primary means of communicating to external audiences, the who, what and why. Although the traditional press kit has gone the way of the landline telephone, the press kit (e-kit) continues to be an important way for companies to communicate brand, vision and mission.
The way we access and view them has moved primarily into digital format. There are exceptions by industry of course. The interior design space still relies heavily on a beautiful, hardbound presentation that can show the magnitude and detail behind a designer’s work. The press kit we developed for Baxter Design Group was a beautiful, visual and tactile experience designed to be an extension of their very high-end work. We had an editor at a major design book thank us for sending her the press kit, calling it a “treat.” When we followed up with her to confirm a project feature opportunity, she let us know that it (press kit) was so beautifully designed and logical, it made her job “easy” and she couldn’t wait to work with us!
But this is the exception. How many of us have been in newsrooms and editor offices and witnessed piles upon piles of un-opened press kit mailers? Also, many more companies are responding to their own eco-initiatives and consumer sentiment by forgoing excessive collateral marketing materials that may look and feel wasteful.
It occurred to me end of last year that we should probably create our own company e-kit. I think a website is still a powerful vehicle to tell a company story, but I find that few people look beyond the home page (unless it’s a great shopping or news site). We partnered with The Design Boutique’s (www.thedesignboutique.com) Laney Silverman. She is a SF based graphic designer we’ve worked with before. When creating a branded piece, it’s crucial to partner with people who understand and share your taste level. Goes back to “speaking the same language.” This has been my PR mantra from the very beginning.
Some general tips before engaging a graphic designer: 1. get 2-3 bids 2. review their portfolio and look for works that are similar to your design vision and 3. clearly understand the scope of project service (ie who does copy editing, how many rounds of editing, how many design layouts to choose from, timing and what final deliverables will look like, among other details). If you think it’s a big project with lots of editing and layers of approval, you may want to negotiate a project fee verses an hourly designer rate.
So, after much inspired writing, design and round upon round of content and copy edits, we completed our first Kimberly Strenk PR, Inc., e-kit. We welcome your feedback and hope you enjoy it.
Best,
Kimberly
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