10 to 1 News

10 to 1 Public Relations Recognized as Agency of the Year

by Erica

10 to 1 Public Relations Recognized as Agency of the Year

This time of year usually has our team busy, submitting dozens of award nominations for clients. Awards can help boost an organization’s reputation with third-party credibility and our team nominates clients in various local, industry, and national awards. 

Seeing the value for our clients, we also apply for several awards for ourselves.

Our team is proud to share that 10 to 1 Public Relations was recognized with three Titan awards. The first recognizes 10 to 1 PR as PR Agency of the Year. The second two awards recognize 10 to 1 Public Relations’ expertise in public relations campaigns. 

As a firm focused on creating the highest caliber PR campaigns and results for our clients, it’s especially rewarding when independent third-party organizations recognize our strategy creation and implementation efforts as among the best they’ve seen compared to our industry peers.

Josh Weiss President and Founder of 10 to 1 PR

According to the awards organization:

TITAN Business Awards’ mission is to acknowledge the achievements of both entrepreneurs and organizations worldwide, the award aims to provide recognition for all who are over-shadowed, as well as established, organizations around the world.

Here’s a recap of the winning campaigns that were recognized:  

Gold Winner: “10 to 1 PR for Agency of the Year” – PR & Communications – PR Agency of the Year

For more than a decade, 10 to 1 Public Relations has offered public relations services that are targeted, compelling, and achieve clients’ goals. In today’s flood of non-stop communications across a multitude of channels, it’s tough to get noticed – much less get results. In 2023 our team secured more than 9000 stories for clients. At 10 to 1 Public Relations, our creative plans and messages are distinctive and memorable. We develop original, highly relevant approaches to storytelling that break through the noise and grab the attention of media outlets, and, more importantly, our clients’ target audiences. We believe it’s much more beneficial for a company to dominate industry and local media coverage with multiple different story placements over time rather than solely focusing on a placement in a well-known mainstream media outlet. Like drips out of a faucet, we can collect the water and utilize it however chosen to create the greatest benefit. The more water collected steadily over time, the bigger the impact.

Gold Winner: “Garnering attention for semiconductor company expansion” – PR & Communications – Technology / Science

A global semiconductor equipment supplier, ASM, was planning a new North American headquarters in Scottsdale, Arizona, due to the growth the industry has experienced. The global semiconductor industry is expected to double to $1 trillion by 2030, with U.S. semiconductor revenue amounting to $75 billion in 2022 alone. ASM is not as large as some of the ‘household names’ in the semiconductor industry, like Intel, and so they wanted to be better known within the industry and draw attention to their North American HQ expansion. Our team developed a public relations campaign to share this news with local, national, and industry media. Our team generated over 100 Arizona and United States media features for the announcement and had over a dozen reporters show up on the site of the event. Major top-tier national features include Reuters, Bloomberg and Wall Street Journal. National industry features include Semiconductor Digest, Computer World, Silicon Semiconductor Magazine, Semiconductor Engineering, Tech Switch and others.

Gold Winner: “Bolstering the reputation of a career in construction” – PR & Communications – Construction

10 to 1 PR provides traditional public relations services to boost brand awareness for the nation’s largest employee-owned electrical contractor, Rosendin. The construction company is known for building large-scale commercial projects including SoFi Stadium, The Westin Anaheim, data centers for top tech giants, educational facilities, hospitals, and some of the biggest renewable energy facilities in the country. Our team set out in 2023 to position Rosendin as an industry leader that offered career opportunities in a technology-forward company that valued safety. We reshaped the narrative around construction career opportunities by focusing on the individuals who come together for shared success, targeting young people and their parents to change their perception of the industry.

10 to 1 Blog

Celebrating Women’s History Month by Honoring the Women Who Made Us (AKA Our Moms)

by Erica

Celebrating Women’s History Month by Honoring the Women Who Made Us (AKA Our Moms)

To celebrate Women’s History Month our team members each took a few minutes to write a summary describing women who inspire them in their daily lives and why. The survey results showed that every team member found inspiration from their mom. Moms influence people’s daily lives, and it’s the women of our family histories who ultimately helped shape our futures.

Drawing inspiration from mothers has a direct correlation to Women’s History Month, as it is an acknowledgment of the influence that women have on each other and how that influence is carried through generations. Below are some of our team member’s brief explanations as to why their mom inspires them and why they look to their mothers as role models. 

Madeleine Williamson

My mom is my biggest role model. One of the greatest lessons she taught me is how to set goals and how to work to accomplish them. Watching her determination to try new things and challenge herself with new adventures has always inspired and motivated me to pursue my own goals. Currently, she is helping me train for my first marathon and is so supportive that she decided that she will train too and run it with me. 

Lauren Dietrick

Two women in my life who inspire me are my mom and my sister. Their compassion, strength, and positivity inspire me to show up as the best version of myself. They are the first people I call when I need anything, from advice on adulting to unpacking the latest episodes of the shows we are watching.

Jamie Killin

My mom is my greatest role model – she is a semi-retired aeronautical engineer who grew in her career during the 1980s and 1990s when there were few female engineers, and continued to excel in her career even while balancing the demands of being a wife and mother. Not only is she skilled in her trade, she was a great manager and is the first person I go to when I need advice on how to be a better leader. Most importantly, she is a loving wife, a generous friend, a caretaker for her aunt, and a great Mom who’s never too busy to help me prune my roses, figure out my taxes or talk wedding planning. I just wish I would have inherited her math skills!

Rachael Clifford

A role model in my life is my mom. She is a hard worker who cares deeply for her family. She inspires me to practice empathy toward others and has helped me better understand the importance of fostering a positive environment and supporting those around me. 

10 to 1 Blog

How to prepare employees for a deepfake attack

by Erica

How to prepare employees for a deepfake attack

As technology advances AI has brought forth new challenges for businesses. Most recently the threat of deepfake attacks, AI-generated photos, images or audio files has increased, causing business leaders and employees to raise concerns about how to mitigate risk, protect themselves, and guard their businesses.

Below are three steps business leaders can take to prepare employees for a deepfake attack. 

Be Transparent

Before a crisis happens, business leaders must prepare employees for potential risks. If a crisis hits, employees are most often the first ones who have to communicate with angry or scared customers– calming their fears and resolving their problems. Be transparent with your employees and let them know potential risks or threats that a deepfake attacker might take advantage of before it happens. 

Examples of deepfake attacks can include the inappropriate use of AI-generated images or the spread of a fictional video on social media. A deepfake attack on a construction company can look very different than one on a dentist’s office. Employees are a company’s front line of defense. It’s crucial to be transparent, clear and upfront about company practices and threats.

Create Steps for Workers to Follow

Most companies already have a crisis playbook to guide them through incidents. If your company does not have a protocol in place for employees to follow in case a crisis hits, start building one immediately. When preparing for deepfake attacks, protocol should include educating employees on how to identify a potential deepfake. In addition, employees should know what to do if they suspect a piece of media is fake. Make the step-by-step guide short and easy to follow. If a crisis hits this protocol will help employees navigate the first 24 hours of a crisis until upper management can step in to provide more direction. 

Schedule Trainings

Before a crisis company leaders should hold group meetings with employees to get everyone on board with key messaging and proper crisis protocol.  Incorporate crisis messaging into monthly talks and urge company leaders to visit with employees to ensure understanding. Work with your company’s IT team to educate employees on how to identify if the media is a deepfake or not, similar to how companies conduct training on how to identify phishing emails or other scams. 

Other Strategies

Other strategies for preparing employees for deepfake crises include preparing a crisis playbook and preserving media connections. Take action now and safeguard your business against deepfakes. Take a look at our free guide on how to prepare for a deepfake crisis. 

10 to 1 Blog

Stop the Spread: Monitoring for Misinformation Will Save Your Business

by Erica

Stop the Spread: Monitoring for Misinformation Will Save Your Business

Monitoring the internet for news mentions, customer reviews, and social media posts is a crucial part of maintaining a business’s reputation. 

Businesses need to stay aware of what is being spread on the internet to mitigate risk, maintain trust and credibility, and support customer relations. Recognizing the spread of misinformation is key to building a strong defense against digital deception. It’s important to react to misinformation quickly and efficiently as misinformation can cause major business repercussions such as loss of customers and long-term reputation damage. 

With the rise of digital deception, it is more important than ever for businesses to preserve their image to retain and gain customers. Reputation management through monitoring for misinformation safeguards trust and credibility for companies and is a key component of long-term success. 

One strategy businesses can use to mitigate the risk of misinformation is to create an online space where customers can find and connect with your brand, such as websites or social channels or a website. If customers know the key messaging and tone of a brand they are less likely to confuse it with misinformation. In addition to creating an online space where customers can recognize a brand, maintaining that space is also crucial. Businesses should prioritize monitoring for misinformation while creating reliable messaging and sustaining engagement with customers.

Other strategies for maintaining reputation include preparing a crisis playbook and preserving media connections. Take action now and safeguard your business against deepfakes. Take a look at our free guide on how to prepare for a deepfake crisis. 

10 to 1 Blog

How the 10 to 1 PR Team Celebrated Winter Break

by Erica

How the 10 to 1 PR Team Celebrated Winter Break

At 10 to 1 Public Relations, we close our office between Christmas and New Year’s Day to give our team a well-deserved break after working diligently for our clients all year long. (Of course, we were on call to assist clients in need during that week in case of an emergency, of which there were a couple that we swiftly handled.)

We asked the team to report on what they were up to over the break, here is a snapshot of what a few of them shared:

Madeleine

Over winter break I flew to Santa Clara, California to celebrate my mom’s 50th birthday. While I was there I visited Wilder Ranch State Park, a relaxing area known for its beautiful hiking trails and and seal watching spots.

Madeleine Williamson, Sr. PR Coordinator

Rachael

I went on a hike and saw a coyote.

Rachael Clifford, Sr. PR Executive

Jamie

Over break I did a lot of home projects including having turf installed in the yard. My dog Piper was so excited!

Jamie Killin, Account Supervisor

Josh

I spent the holidays working hard for all our clients to resolve crises and coordinate interviews.

Josh Weiss, President

Erica

I went to visit the Christmas markets in Strasbourg, France, with my in-laws.

Erica Fetherston, Vice President

Joanne

I had an amazing time with my family celebrating Christmas and my daughter’s birthday on Christmas Eve.

Joanne Sgro-Killworth, Account Supervisor

Laura

Introduced my niece to conveyor belt sushi- she introduced me to mochi ice cream.

Laura Slawny, Vice President

Lauren

Went to watch some St. Louis hockey with my family and saw the Blues win an exciting game against the Dallas Stars!

Lauren Dietrick, Sr. PR Coordinator

Carolina

Had fun helping my nieces and nephews with their gingerbread houses, it was very competitive.

Carolina Llamas, Sr. PR Coordinator

4 Ways to Preserve Your Business’s Image in the Age of Digital Deception

by Erica

4 Ways to Preserve Your Business’s Image in the Age of Digital Deception

Digital deception is increasing and with today’s evolving digital landscape, leaders may be worried about maintaining their business’s image. It’s harder than ever for businesses to create trust and build relationships with customers, but with a little effort you can share your story the way it was meant to be told. 

Here are four ways to preserve your business’s image in the age of digital deception. 

1. Consistent Messaging 

Messaging is how customers will recognize your company’s brand. If messaging is inconsistent, your target audience could become confused, ultimately leading to a decrease in customer traffic and a loss of trustworthiness. Make sure that messaging is consistent across all channels of communication, internally and externally, to ensure that customers can find your company, recognize your brand, and trust your products or services. In addition, it’s important to remember that consistent messaging should align with your brand’s mission, values, and key principles. 

2. Crisis Management Planning

Creating a crisis playbook is a crucial part of preparing your business for unforeseen crises. Incidents such as data breaches, natural disasters, the spread of damaging viral videos and more can have a lasting impact on a company’s reputation. Having a well-planned crisis management plan in the form of a crisis playbook will allow you and your employees to respond to crises in a timely manner, reducing reputational damage and keeping customer and employee trust. 

3. Media Relations

Building relationships with media such as reporters and editors will help ensure that your brand’s story is being told accurately. Making an effort to build a relationship with local or industry media will allow your company to be part of the media narrative that impacts the industry, local community, and more. 

4. Monitoring Online Reputation 

Monitoring the internet for news mentions, customer reviews, and social media posts is an important part of maintaining your business’s reputation. Creating an online space where customers can find and connect with your brand such as websites or social channels is a key aspect of creating a brand. Maintaining that space is crucial for sustaining engagement with customers and reliable messaging. 

With the rise of misinformation and digital deception, it is more important than ever for businesses to preserve their image. Building a strong defense against digital deception includes preparing a crisis playbook, monitoring online presence, sharing consistent messaging, and preserving media connections. Reputation management safeguards trust and credibility for companies and is a key component of long-term success. 

10 to 1 News

10 to 1 Public Relations Wins Its Third “PR Agency of the Year” Award in 2023

by Erica

10 to 1 Public Relations Wins Its Third “PR Agency of the Year” Award in 2023

Scottsdale-based 10 to 1 Public Relations (10to1PR), a strategic communications firm servicing clients in various industries across the country, has won its third PR Agency of the Year award of 2023. The most recent was awarded at PRSA Phoenix’s annual Copper Anvil Awards held on October 12, 2023, where the company earned six additional awards for successful public relations campaigns and tactics on behalf of its clients including media relations, corporate social responsibility, community relations, internal communications, public affairs, and special events.

Earlier this year, 10to1PR was named PR Agency of the Year by the International Titan Awards, and Mid-Sized PR Agency of the Year by the Bulldog PR Awards which recognizes the top PR agencies across North America. 

“It’s a tribute to our talented staff that their efforts have earned three unique PR Agency of the Year awards within the same year including an international organization, a major national industry award, and now this Phoenix area local award. This further motivates us to continue expanding our reach to serve more clients on a national scale, demonstrating our commitment to delivering strategic communications that exceed our client’s expectations.”

Josh Weiss, President and Founder of 10 to 1 Public Relations

10to1PR was selected as the Agency of the Year due to its overwhelming list of accomplishments on behalf of its clients and its impressive growth in the last few years. 

Other high-profile awards earned by 10to1PR in 2023 include being named to the Inc 5000 America’s Fastest Growing Private Companies List; several awards from Clutch.co; the American Marketing Association Phoenix Chapter’s Spectrum Awards; the Hermes Creative Awards, and others.          

10 to 1 Blog

These Types of Deepfakes Can Affect Your Business

by Erica

These Types of Deepfakes Can Affect Your Business

With the advancement of AI technology, businesses are seeing the emergence of new challenges and threats. A threat that has risen to the top of business leaders’ list of concerns is the threat of deepfakes. Deepfakes include the manipulation of videos, audio clips, photos, and other content for the purpose of misleading an audience or manipulating others into believing fake content is real. 

The spread of misleading content can significantly damage a brand’s reputation and trust, causing a major loss of business. If you’re a business leader, you should be on the lookout for the following types of deepfakes and how they can affect your business.

Deepfakes and Financial Fraud

Financial fraud can be attempted through someone using a deepfake to appear as a trustworthy representative within an office. An example of financial deepfake fraud could be a voicemail left on an employee’s phone that sounds like their CEO or HR representative asking the employee to email over banking information for payroll reasons. However, in reality, the voice message is a deepfake, it’s an AI-generated message created to mimic a trustworthy person. This type of fraud is dangerous because an employee who has a lot on their plate or who is unaware of the threat of deepfakes might not think twice about confirming whether the request is legitimate.

Deepfakes and Impersonation 

Impersonation is one of the most common types of deepfake fraud. Using AI tools, almost anyone can impersonate someone as long as they have access to photos, video, or voice recordings of them. Examples include the creation of an Instagram account mimicking the CEO of the company. The account may post photos of the CEO committing inappropriate actions, sharing extreme beliefs, or voicing unpopular opinions for the purpose of ruining the reputation of the CEO, brand or company. Impersonation is very dangerous for a business and can result in detrimental business loss and reputational damage, even if caught quickly.

Deepfake Impacts By Association 

Sometimes, damage to a business’s reputation won’t be the main goal of a deepfake. However, many businesses in today’s world of viral videos and internet controversy will receive backlash through association. For example, an AI-generated video of a celebrity behaving inappropriately at a public event wearing a hat with the logo of a business could appear funny to viewers at first, but when spread can cause major repercussions. As viewers dive deeper into the video they can acknowledge the celebrity’s hat and the business it represents. This is just one simple example of how a business can be pulled into a crisis, incidents where businesses deal with repercussions because of association happen all the time and leaders need to be ready. 

Deepfakes and News 

Deepfake fraud in the form of a news story can spread far fast. It is arguably one of the hardest crises for businesses to stop once started. For many reasons, creators of this type of fraud spread illegitimate content appearing in the form of news articles or updates. Deepfakes like this can be dangerous as news outlets will sometimes pick up stories others have published, resulting in false information being shared. For example, an AI-generated video of an employee protesting in an extreme way is shared online and then shared via social media. Social media users may not realize the content is a deepfake and continue sharing. The video was fake from the start and users may eventually realize that, but now it is too late.

Ways to Combat Deepfake Fraud

Businesses need to be prepared for the threat of deepfakes and deepfake fraud. Some ways businesses can prepare for this challenge is by making sure employees are aware of the threat of deepfakes and are educated on how to tell if a piece of content might be deepfake fraud. In addition, businesses can increase digital security, keep media identification tools on hand, and create internal business strategies on what to do if a threat ever happens.

At 10 to 1 PR, we have secured agreements with highly reputable deepfake detection software companies capable of conducting immediate reviews of content in addition to creatine strategies and crisis playbooks for businesses to help prepare for the threat of deepfakes. We also have connections to AI Deepfake industry experts willing to provide their personal insights to the media and the public, exposing the deception.

Take action now and safeguard your business against deepfakes. Take a look at our free guide for how to prepare for a deepfake crisis. 

10 to 1 News

Erica Fetherston Promoted to Vice President at 10 to 1 Public Relations

by Erica

Erica Fetherston Promoted to Vice President at 10 to 1 Public Relations

Erica Fetherston

Scottsdale-based strategic communications firm 10 to 1 Public Relations announced the promotion of Erica Fetherston to Vice President.

Fetherston first joined 10 to 1 Public Relations in 2018 as a PR Executive and has been repeatedly promoted due to her talent in creating and executing strategic communications plans and PR campaigns that deliver results for clients in various industries. She also plays a key role in developing and implementing policies and procedures to optimize efficiencies for the growing firm and inspiring and mentoring her co-workers. Most recently, she held the title of Director.

“Erica’s talent is on display every day generating results for our clients and serving as a mentor and role model for other members of our team,” said Josh Weiss, President and Founder of 10 to 1 Public Relations. “Erica has played a direct role in our firm’s growth and success in recent several years and we’re excited for her leadership within our company to continue in the years to come.”

“It has been a rewarding experience to be a part of 10 to 1 Public Relations’ continued success, both for our clients and internally for our highly talented team. I appreciate that I have been offered so many opportunities to challenge myself professionally, and I look forward to this leadership role at one of the preeminent PR agencies in the Valley.”

Erica Fetherston, Vice President, 10 to 1 Public relations

Fetherston also currently serves as Immediate Past President of the local Public Relations Society of America chapter, and is one of a dozen international members of the current IPREX Emerging Leaders Academy.  10 to 1 Public Relations has experienced exceptional growth in the last five years, nearly tripling its client list and quadrupling its staff. The firm has seen demand from businesses and organizations in various industries due to its consistent success in generating thousands of media features and bolstering the reputations of its clients year after year. 10 to 1 Public Relations works with clients in various industries, including finance, health and wellness, professional services, real estate, manufacturing, construction, technology, transportation, government service, nonprofit, and others.

10 to 1 News

10 to 1 Public Relations Named PR Agency of the Year in International Competition

by Erica

10 to 1 Public Relations Named PR Agency of the Year in International Competition

Also Wins Top Award in Crisis Management Category

Scottsdale-based strategic communications firm 10 to 1 Public Relations was recognized by the 2023 Bulldog PR Awards, the only international PR awards program judged exclusively by journalists, as the Midsize Agency of the Year. 10 to 1 PR was also awarded the top recognition in the Best Crisis Management category.

“We saw so many excellent examples of PR pros elevating their clients’ messages and using their platforms for good. I think more than anything, they showed the true value of a PR practitioner,” said Christopher Elliott, author, consumer advocate, nationally syndicated columnist, and veteran Bulldog PR Awards judge, in the 2023 Bulldog PR Awards press release.

“These awards are special to our firm because they are judged by the people that we work with every day: journalists from across the country. As a traditional public relations firm focused on protecting and elevating the reputations of our clients, we thank the Bulldog PR Awards for honoring our team’s work over the last year.”

Josh Weiss, President and Founder of 10 to 1 Public Relations.

10 to 1 PR has experienced exceptional growth in the last five years, nearly tripling its client list and quadrupling its staff. The firm has seen demand from businesses and organizations in various industries due to its consistent success in generating thousands of earned media features and bolstering the reputations of its clients year after year. 10 to 1 PR works with clients in various industries, including finance, health and wellness, professional services, real estate, manufacturing, construction, technology, transportation, government service, nonprofit, and others.

Bulldog Reporter has been providing news, best practices, and insights to PR and communications professionals since 1980. Filled with insights on topics critical to PR pros and communicators, including media relations, crisis communications, influencer marketing, and more, the Bulldog Reporter email newsletter offers compelling and relevant articles, plus timely updates about journalist moves and agency news.