Metzger Associates Celebrates 20 Years

BOULDER, CO, April 16, 2011 (Press-News.org) BOULDER, Colo. - (April 14, 2011) - Metzger Associates, one of the nation's first high-tech public relations agencies - and one of the last left thriving after the decline of traditional media - celebrates its 20th anniversary by continuing its evolution as a fully integrated digital communications firm.
"We've survived and thrived by continuously adapting to new opportunities and setting best-practice standards at every stage of the communications revolution," said CEO John Metzger. "We remain on the cutting edge of integrating public relations, website development, social media, search and the ongoing transformation of traditional media to directly serve our clients and measure the results. On our 20th anniversary, we've defined the state of the art once again as a fully integrated digital communications firm."

Integrating Content, Social Media, Web Development and SEO
Buyers, sellers and investors connect today through a combination of traditional media, word-of-mouth, and the words that connect people online through search terms and social media communities.
"We've focused our practice on today's definition of integrated communications, where story, search strategy, trending analysis and other research come together to multiply our clients' media coverage exponentially," said Justin Rosenthal, who joined the firm last year in the new position of Digital Marketing Director. "By mixing the message with the math, we're delivering a holistic fusion of services including news and story distribution, creative writing and design, website development, SEO strategy, and the analytics and research to measure the results."
One of the keys to the Metzger business strategy is integration. Public relations, social media and search are no longer "silos." Instead, the company cross-trains professionals and integrates teams so all elements are carefully considered as part of a complete strategy throughout the communication lifecycle.
"Now more than ever, Google and the other leading search engines demand quality content that delivers on what the search engine optimization tactics advertise," said Metzger Associates President Doyle Albee, who implemented one of the marketing industry's first integrated social media practices at the firm in 2005. "We're working to connect all the dots so our clients' stories are both found and clearly delivered."

Key Strategies for Higher ROI
Metzger Associates has created several new positions not found in typical public relations agencies including Community Managers, Digital Marketing Directors and Analytics Specialists in order to fully deliver this hybrid communications strategy.
"As a fully integrated digital marketing firm, we've brought together a team of strategists, writers, designers and coders that you won't find anywhere else," said Rosenthal. "When clients spread these requirements over several providers, each company brings a hidden agenda to maximize their portion of the budget. We prefer to provide the right mix of services to each client based on their individual needs and constantly adjust our service mix based on market feedback."
"The days of unquantifiable PR retainers and over-produced, over-priced websites are over," said Metzger. "With this hybrid strategy, we've created a fusion of culture and talent to ensure the message and the math work together. Our clients' stories now roll from their own websites to social media and to third-party opinion leaders - be they journalists, analysts, bloggers or the thousands of engaged conversationalists across town and around the world."
The one constant for Metzger Associates has been "media relations." "We've always been experts at using the media to build relationships for our clients," said Albee. "Twenty years ago the media was controlled by a relative handful of newspapers, magazines, TV and radio networks and their gatekeepers. Today, media has exploded to literally millions of two-way conversational outlets."

About Metzger Associates
From creating the world's first websites to implementing the first social media programs, Metzger Associates has led the evolution of public relations, investor relations, marketing and creative services through the Digital Age. The agency develops and executes communications strategies for clients ranging from the Fortune 500 to venture-backed start-ups with the right mix of traditional media relations and cutting-edge new media techniques. Based in Boulder, and now celebrating its 20th year, Metzger Associates has offices in San Jose, Las Vegas and Kansas City. For more information, please visit http://www.metzger.com