The Global Excellence Awards from Info Security Products Guide

A Maryland-based business leader with extensive experience in cybersecurity, marketing, and product positioning, Wayne Schepens has served as managing director of LaunchTech Communications since 2015. In this role, he oversees a company that assists tech and cyber brands to enhance their visibility and credibility among potential customers. Recently, Wayne Schepens and LaunchTech announced that the company was named Agency of the Year for Cyber and Info Security in the 2020 Global Excellence Awards program.

Now in its second decade, the Global Excellence Awards program is presented by the Info Security Products Guide (ISPG). With categories highlighting top companies, products, and people, the awards cover all facets of cybersecurity and information technology and stand out among the top recognitions in the IT field.

The Agency of the Year for Cyber and Info Security award highlights the work of the world's top IT marketing and public relations firms. ISPG also presents Global Excellence Awards in related categories, including Communications or PR Team-Department of the Year and Achievement of the Year in Video, Commercial, Advertising, and Short-Film.

All the winners of the 16th annual Global Excellence Awards were announced in early March 2020. The Grand, Gold, Silver, and/or Bronze winners in each award category have been invited to attend the 2020 Global Excellence Awards Dinner and Ceremony, which will be held Monday, October 19 in San Francisco.

Nominations for the 17th annual Global Excellence Awards are currently open and will be accepted through December 20, 2020. More information about the awards and the nominating process is available at www.infosecurityproductsguide.com/global-excellence-awards.

Creating a Sales Deck That Closes Corporate Deals

Sales professional
Photo by LinkedIn Sales Navigator on Unsplash

A long-standing presence in the Maryland entrepreneurial community, Wayne Schepens serves as managing director of the PR and marketing agency LaunchTech Communications, where he delivers results-focused services for established and emerging technology companies. Recently, Wayne Schepens wrote an article for the LaunchTech website titled “Perfecting Your Sales Deck.”

The article describes an all-too-common situation that can occur when you find and connect with an outstanding prospect. After consulting with decision-makers, you stand in a corporate conference room delivering a sales pitch that seems virtually guaranteed to result in an engagement. With the meeting seemingly just a formality, you present an overly wordy sales deck that includes old visuals from 2018. At this moment, you lose your audience.

With businesses moving rapidly through quarterly cycles, you need to keep on top of your current successes and convey them accurately in your sales deck. The company profile that you present to the world must reflect recent accomplishments.

Companies such as LaunchTech Communications maintain a commitment to actively and effectively revisiting messaging and crafting it for today’s business environment. A key aspect of this approach involves designing messaging that allows emerging ventures and cybersecurity providers to break through the “noise” and draw attention for their merits.

After you formulate the right message and aesthetic for the sales deck, creating quarterly messaging updates designed to boost your bottom line will prove much easier.

TEDCO Entrepreneurial Expo Offers Opportunities to Learn and Network

Networking
Photo by HIVAN ARVIZU @soyhivan on Unsplash

Held at The Hotel at the University of Maryland in October, the TEDCO Entrepreneurial Expo brought together more than 900 entrepreneurs, legislators, business owners, and venture capitalists for a one-day event that provided learning and networking opportunities. In addition to workshops and roundtable discussions, the event featured a variety of speakers and panelists who discussed topics such as building a startup, boosting cyber sales and obtaining financing, and dealing with legal issues.

At the event, Wayne Schepens moderated a roundtable discussion on “Cracking the Code to Cyber Sales,” along with several other panelists. Mr. Schepens leverages over two decades of experience in the cybersecurity industry as the managing director of LaunchTech Communications in Baltimore, Maryland, where he advises clients on strategies to drive growth in competitive marketplaces. Wayne Schepens served as a subject matter expert and moderator at the 2019 TEDCO Entrepreneurial Expo, where he discussed the power of effective networking and the importance of building professional relationships and leveraging your network.

The event also included a keynote presentation by the managing director of AllegisCyber Capital about growing startups in Maryland and a lecture by the director of Hatchery Ventures on the effects of technology developed to assist with daily challenges. For additional information on the event, visit expo.tedco.md.

Top 8 Communications Tactics for 2020

With each new year comes company leaders’ reignited enthusiasm for collaborative and integrated communications and public relations. When it’s time to present your 2020 communications plan be sure to include these key trends and tips which cover social media planning, public relations, email marketing strategy and crisis communications best practices. 

Public Relations

Build your corporate resume with third-party validation 

You could scream from the rooftops, “My company is the best!” but that’s about as good as having your mom vouch for you. Comments in news articles and awards wins are just two ways to show that others (with authority) trust that your opinion and work is valuable. Third-party validation leads to the growth of thought leadership which helps grease the wheel when converting a lead into a customer. 

Get comfortable with public speaking

As our society’s attention spans continue to shrink, easy to consume audio and video are becoming ever more integral for an effective communications strategy. Public speaking, whether for a podcast recording or a panel, is not everyone’s cup of tea. That being said, it’s something that can be practiced and perfected, and it should be. 

Social Media

Social media profile selectivity

Social media for businesses is only as strong as the quality of content published. If you have limited resources for social, pick, and focus on, two key platforms that are popular with your target audience. For tech and cybersecurity companies, Twitter and LinkedIn are solid places to start. 

Use polls to crowdsource 

Whether you’re planning your next webinar topic and want to get an idea of what people would be most interested in hearing about or if you’re looking to prioritize new product updates, social media polls are a free way to crowdsource opinions. Twitter, Facebook and Instagram (in Stories) are the main platforms that offer this feature. 

Email Marketing

Consistently stay in front of your audience

Everyone’s inboxes are inundated with messages these days. The last thing you need is for valuable prospects to associate your brand name with spam. Sticking to 2-3 marketing emails per month will keep you top of mind without going overboard. Share company updates, helpful information, and resources – use emails to show your value without being overtly sales-y.

Be authentic

Emails are a form of owned media that allows your company to showcase the faces behind the magic. Share pictures from team events, employee spotlights or new hires to put names and faces to your brand. 

Crisis Communications

HAVE A PLAN

You have likely heard that a crisis is no longer a matter of if, but when. It’s true. Just like in the world of cybersecurity where a cyberattack of some sort is inevitable, having a company crisis is to be expected. Have a contingency plan in place for everything from a data breach to a disruption of services. Communicating your plan across internal teams and stakeholders will make the crisis a little less stressful. 

Loop in your PR team immediately

Your company could handle a crisis with impressive grace but if you fail to take control of your public narrative before the media catches wind of it, you’re going to be left feeling like a celebrity reading a story about themselves on Page 6. By having a PR professional in the room when you’re making crisis-time decisions, appropriate messaging can be crafted for public distribution with accurate and approved information. 

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Many businesses in the emerging tech and cybersecurity industries are pressed for time and don’t have the bandwidth to handle communications initiatives cohesively and consistently. If this is the case for your business, it would be beneficial to engage with a vendor such as LaunchTech Communications to plan, coordinate and execute communications efforts to boost your brand’s share of voice and brand awareness.

TOP 3 REASONS CMOS NEED PR PROS

Three Effective Fielding Drills for Baseball Players

The recipient of a master's degree in civil engineering from Virginia Tech, Wayne Schepens possesses more than 20 years of experience in cybersecurity and serves as the managing director of LaunchTech Communications. A former collegiate baseball player, Wayne Schepens maintains involvement in the sport through his role as the coach of a junior varsity high school team. 

Fielding the ball is an integral part of playing baseball. Here are three drills that coaches can use to help:

1. Distance throw - Have players line up at the end of a series of cones 10 yards apart and extending to the outfield fence. Each player throws three to five balls and earns points for the balls that land in the target area between cones. This drill should improve both throwing power and accuracy. 

2. Backhand drill - Emphasizing positioning, this drill has the coach roll a ball to the side of a player so the player can scoop it up with the glove in a backhand position. The player should then throw the ball to the nearest base. 

3. Double-play flips - Best for second base players and shortstops, this drill begins with the coach or another player hitting a ground ball to the middle of the diamond. The player closest to the ball should catch it and then flip it to the other player, who should be covering second base.

The Importance of Active and Transparent Crisis Management and PR

Based in Baltimore, Wayne Schepens serves as the managing director of LaunchTech Communications, a public relations and marketing agency with a focus on emerging technologies. In January 2019, Wayne Schepens sat on a panel of experts for the American Marketing Association Baltimore chapter's two-part blog series titled “Communications Tips from the PR Pros: Crisis and Reputation Management.”

The discussion, which involved several public relations and marketing executives, centered on a society in which fake news and instant news notifications, as well as a distrust of politicians and corporations, has created an acute need for creative PR strategies. This is particularly the case in situations requiring crisis communication and brand management that will quickly steady companies that find themselves on shaky ground in the eyes of the public.

As Mr. Schepens describes it, his company LaunchTech works primarily in the cybersecurity sphere, with clients forwarding urgent requests for help in educating the public in a credible manner when crisis situations occur. He emphasized the importance of transparency and a proactive approach. By staying sincere and responsive in addressing the issue at hand, rather than reacting defensively, companies will be viewed as operating in good faith, he said.