MBE Night 2024 & Compass PR

MBE Night 2024
February 22
The Westin Annapolis | 5 pm – 9 pm
100 Westgate Circle, Annapolis, MD 21401
Minority Business Enterprise Night is an exciting opportunity to:

  • Engage in thought-provoking discussions led by industry experts and business leaders.
  • Gain insights into legislation and procurement opportunities
  • Network with legislators, state agency officials, business leaders, and community groups

In our third consecutive year overseeing MBE Night in Annapolis, Compass PR has continued to manage branding and media relations. The event, which attracts participation from over 700 businesses statewide, and features key state officials, including Governor Wes Moore, Chair of Legislative Black Caucus, Jheanelle Wilkins, and Comptroller Brooke Lierman, to name a few. Our responsibilities encompass developing the website, designing and implementing print and digital signage, producing program collateral, and orchestrating media coordination.

The orchestration of media coverage is a key component of our responsibilities, strategically positioning MBE Night in the public eye. This involves fostering relationships with media outlets, arranging interviews, and facilitating press coverage to maximize the event’s reach and impact.

Read what AFRO had to say about the event in 2023.

Have an event that you need to tackle? Don’t know where to start?
Contact Addison today!

Patch-Thru Phone Calls

Both Delaware & Maryland legislative sessions started last week!

An important advocacy tool to influence public opinion is implementing phone campaigns. We find that clients are successful when we develop campaigns to mobilize constituents to support or oppose policies heard before state, local, and federal governments.

Compass Public Relations has the ability to target specific demographics to send a specific message.

How it works:
We can help frame a message for or against legislation and then facilitate targeting key legislators who may play a decision-making role on such issues. Then dozens – or even hundreds – of live constituent phone calls are generated into legislators’ offices.
Compass PR consultants often work in tandem with lobbyists in employing such calls to advance or defeat legislation pending in Delaware, Maryland or at the local level.

Think this tool can help you? Contact us to get started!
compass@compassadvocacy.com

Business Branding

Discover a distinctive approach to business branding with Compass Public Relations, where strategic thinking meets immersive execution. Our public relations firm takes a strategic and immersive approach in understanding our client’s needs and their target audiences to steer brand identity, design, and development. Compass Public Relations specialists’ creative services range from designing websites and developing presentation decks to coordinating headshots for your team.

BRAND & WEB DESIGN PROCESS
  1. Discovery Session (1-2 Hours) – Unpacking who you are
Engage in in-depth discussions to outline your goals, brand mission, key elements and identify intended users.
  1. User Experience + Content (1-2 weeks) – Mapping it out
Design wireframes to map out the user journey and unpack what content is needed to clearly communicate products and services offered.
  1. Visual Design (1-2 weeks) – Making it look nice
Incorporate key brand elements and translate wireframes into a mockup design of the website.
  1. Development (2-4 weeks) – Bringing it to life
Utilize mockups to develop a fully responsive website using an advanced website design platform.
  1. Launch + Onboarding (1-2 hours) – Taking it live

Ensure all elements are functionable and provide training to empower you to make changes and take control of your site.


 

At Compass Public Relations, we are not just a service; we are your partners in establishing and executing a brand that is uniquely yours. Let us navigate the journey of shaping your business identity and ensuring it stands out in the digital landscape.

Transform your brand with Compass Public Relations – Your Success, Our Mission!

Cinderella Had a Ball… So Can You!

Planning an event can feel overwhelming but let Compass Public Relations Firm break it down for you in just 6 easy steps:

 

Step 1: Set Goals
Take some time when brainstorming plans for your event to set goals or intentions. These can be helpful to refer to when making decisions down the line. Your goal could be to create a space for people to network or to celebrate an accomplishment. When working with a public relations firm, goals will help define the event.
 

Step 2: Plan Your Location

Finding a good venue is important for the atmosphere of your event. Not only are components like adequate space and appropriate decorations important but also try to think about your location from the perspective of a guest. Is there enough signage so they can find exactly where to go? Does the location accommodate parking? Are there accessibility options if your guests need it? A public relations specialist can help plan your event location keeping all the details in mind so that your event can go off without a hitch!

 

 

Step 3: Plan Speakers

If you plan to have anyone outside of your group speak, make sure they are scheduled in advance! If you have a person in mind they need to ensure their schedule allows/knows what the message needs to be in order to answer any questions guests may have. Public relations firms will bake speaker research and logistics into the event to ensure all runs seamlessly. This helps with overall event organization and management, but if the speaker has a good experience they are more likely to return to a future event.

 

 

Step 4: Promote Your Event

Sending out paper invitations can feel daunting. Try and use other ways to get the word out about your event. Social media can be a great tool for guests attending to share the event in order to encourage others to come.
Key Tip– Events sneak up on people, especially if they are planned far in advance. Consider reminder emails or text messages to give guests a heads-up that you are looking forward to seeing them.

 

 

Step 5: Execute Your Event

The day has come to execute the event. Get lot’s of rest and promote on social media up until start time! Make sure the music is set and the bathrooms are clean, put on a big smile and enjoy!

 

 

Step 6: Prepare For Post-Event
To best plan for after the event, it is sometimes good to go back and look at your goals. You may want to put together social media campaign strategy and gather content for promoting an annual event. Maybe there were things that did not work that might have helped the event be more successful. Keep track!
Compass Public Relations Firm is here to help you plan and execute all types of events and any other public relations services for your organization. Session is quickly approaching, get started today!

Brace Yourselves: Session Is Coming

Get ready as the Maryland General Assembly kicks off on January 10, 2024, following the Delaware General Assembly on January 9, 2024. While January might seem distant, strategic advocacy demands early preparation and planning to ensure your team is ready to make an impact as soon as the cannons fire. Explore coalition building, patch-though phone calls, emails, and polling with Compass. 

Let Compass Advocacy help you forge impactful coalition building strategies today!

Choose your weapon to fight for your cause this Session:
Patch-through phone calls (“PTP Calls”) are an important grassroots advocacy tool. Under a PTP Calls program, targeted legislators would receive phone calls from their constituents advocating for/against a bill/amendment/policy. Compass Advocacy can orchestrate Patch-through phone calls programs to amplify your voice.
Compass Public Relations specializes in designing and executing impactful email campaigns. These email campaigns enable individuals to send compelling emails to legislators, advocating for specific positions on critical issues. We help craft messages, build persuasive arguments, and create materials to amplify your message across various channels.
Understanding public opinion is critical – as public sentiment can have a significant impact on real policy decisions. Polling helps to garner a deeper understanding of the public’s thoughts, opinions, and beliefs on specific topics or issues. Compass Public Relations Firm will help design your questionnaire, collect the data, and provide valuable insight into the responses.
A coalition is the “joining of forces” between two or more independent organizations with shared interests. Coalitions are a great way to gather influence over specific subject matter because they can exert more power than a single organization alone. However, building and maintaining a coalition can feel like a daunting task. Compass has the expertise to guide you through the process of building and maintaining coalitions with shared interests, ensuring collective strength in advocating for your cause.

 

If your organization is looking for a public relations firm, let Compass Advocacy guide you towards effective coalition building strategies that will leave a lasting impact on the decisions that matter most. Contact us today!

Patch Thru Phone Calls: What and How

 

Patch- through phone calls (PTP Calls) are an important grassroots advocacy tool. It is a simple way to connect individuals to the elected officials that represent them to advocate for issues or policies of all kinds.

Compass PR has executed PTP Calls on behalf of clients since 2019 with great success, contact us to start the conversation before Session 2024!

 

https://mailchi.mp/compassadvocacy/compass-pr-navigator-july-9085352

Building a Coalition

A coalition is the “joining of forces” between two or more independent organizations with shared interests. Coalitions are a great way to garner influence over specific subject matter because they can exert more power than a single organization alone. However, building and maintaining a coalition can feel like a daunting task.

Here are 6 steps toward creating sustainable coalitions:

Identify the coalition’s mission: Start by identifying a common goal or issue that brings potential members together. This can be a shared interest, a common problem, or a specific objective that can be better achieved through collective action.

 

Engage potential members: Identify individuals or organizations that share a common interest in the coalition’s mission. Reach out to them to gauge their interest, emphasizing the value of collaboration.

 

Ongoing recruitment: Coalition building is an ongoing process that requires active engagement and recruitment. By continuously adding to your membership base, the coalition broadens its expertise, increases influence and power, and expands resources and opportunities. Ongoing recruitment sustains momentum towards the coalition’s shared goal.

 

Strategy sessions: Once the coalition has a membership base, hosting strategy sessions can help members align goals and strategies. It’s imperative that each member knows their defined role in the coalition. Strategy sessions offer a space to build relationships and trust with other members, share knowledge and expertise, facilitate goal alignment, and create actionable plans.

 

Host regular meetings: Regularly scheduled meetings allow coalition members the opportunity to communicate, exchange information, and collectively make decisions. Bringing members together provides a platform for open dialogues and the exploration of differing viewpoints. Regular meetings also allow members to take an active role in monitoring the progress of the coalition.

 

Take action: There are many ways in which coalitions can take action toward their goals- whether it’s advocating for legal reform, mobilizing supporters, conducting community outreach, or legislatively! Engage in government advocacy efforts by mobilizing supporters, hosting lobby days, or creating awareness campaigns.

 


Overall, forming a coalition requires overcoming various challenges, including building trust and managing several interests. Coalitions are imperative for increasing political leverage and power towards a common goal. By amplifying individual voices through collaboration, coalitions can increase the chances of influencing policy outcomes and/or achieving shared goals.

Shaping Public Opinion

Compass Public Relations can help your business/association/coalition frame a message specifically for your target audience. This messaging is critical in shaping public opinion and understanding of the issues that you care about most. We work closely with our clients to tell their stories to policymakers and media outlets. We can frame the messaging, develop the arguments and create graphics and materials to deliver your message across many platforms.

During the 2023 Session, we worked with the National Alliance on Mental Illness in Maryland (NAMI – MD), to deploy Advocacy Action Alerts, which enabled constituents to contact their legislators on key issues being considered before the General Assembly. We developed messaging and integrated an advocacy outreach system through five targeted campaigns.

The result: Over 2,900 emails were sent to Maryland General Assembly Members urging support of critical legislation that would impact mental health in the state.

May 2023 PR Navigator

Spruce Up Your Brand This Spring!

It’s that thyme of year! As the temperature gets warmer and flowers start to bloom, it’s hard to miss the energy of spring coming our way. The universe decided spring was the time to re-plant our most successful business practices and we can’t help but agree! It’s time to take stalk of your life! Spring can be the perfect time to update your business and personal branding materials. You should update your website, clean out any old or wilted social media posts, or even change your Facebook status (ok, bloomer).

Compass Public Relations can help you revisit your logo and branding materials to give them a bright new look once and floral. Our team members take pride in taking the time to understand your business market and can help target your brand identity to be competitive in your plot. Helping your business rose to the occasion is always our priority. Lettuce do our best so you don’t have to, even if these puns are getting unbeleafable. Happy Spring!

 

April 2023 PR Navigator

Ready to Begin?
Let’s Chat
Contact Us
Website by WHITE64