Workshops

In an era of belt tightening and budget slashing, how do leading organizations continue to train their executives, prepare for crises and outthink the competition? The answer is Peppercom’s “Workshops.” Our workshops are brief, but intensive, dives into leading internal and external best practices that will arm and motivate your employees to fight the good fight, regardless of your budget constraints. Our tried and true seminars include:

Humor in the Workplace: How many times have you sat through deadly presentations? Worse, how many times have you or a colleague given deadly presentations?

Through stand-up comedy techniques, this workshop teaches storytelling, quick thinking and reacting on your feet, and properly reading and engaging an audience, all critical skills of effective business presentations. New York-based comedian Clayton Fletcher along with managing partner and co-founder of Peppercom Steve Cody, who, himself, is a part-time professional comedian, demonstrate the different forms of comedy, tape the sessions and provide individual critiques of each person’s own 5-minute stand-up comedy routine. The focus is not on what jokes do I tell, but what story would I like to share with my audience? Participants do not prepare for the workshop in advance; the objective is to have them learn on the spot, and – believe it or not – every person so far has made his/her audience laugh!

In these tough economic times, holding on to current clients and bringing in new business is more critical than ever before. Breaking the ice at client or new business meetings and breaking through in a presentation could be key differentiators between you and your competitors. Peppercom’s Stand-Up Comedy workshop also boosts employee morale and team building while uncovering talented presenters you didn’t even know existed in your company. And, most importantly, the Stand-Up Comedy workshop brings back the *F* word to the workplace. Yes, the *F* word. Every time a person is summoned to the “stage” to perform, he or she invariably says, “It’s my turn? Oh, FUN!”

Click here to see how even an Advertising Age reporter got in on the fun…and benefits!

Pain-Based Selling 2.0: Is there a gap between your marketing communications program and sales departments? Do you communicate one set of messages while the sales force says something completely different? Do your salespeople really know what’s keeping their customers and prospects up at night? Our Pain-based selling workshops uncover and close those gaps as well as prepare your sales force for the realities of selling in a social media-driven world. We partner with a leading sales trainer to offer a blended workshop that will have an immediate, positive impact on the relationship between sales and marketing within your organization and help your sales force close more important deals.

CrisisRx: Are you prepared for to manage your way through any type of crisis that might befall your organization? Have your line managers simulated an actual crisis? Do they know their roles and responsibilities if the worst should happen? Our CrisisRx half-day and full-day crisis workshops involve everyone from the CEO and CFO to the risk and human resources managers. We simulate a crisis that might actually sideswipe your organization (i.e. anything from a cyber hacking or hostage-taking situation to a product recall or plant closing). We “force” your senior management team to react in real-time to a mock crisis, evaluate their actions, identify the gaps and provide you with a roadmap for the future, as well as a detailed crisis plan based on internal processes that are efficient and work. An immediate investment in CrisisRx might be just the ticket to avoid becoming the Bear Stearns, General Motors or AIG of your industry.

Buzz Building: How do you build buzz for your product, service or company? How do you become THE hot topic of conversation among influencers in your category? Most importantly, how do you plant the seeds that will bear fruit down the road (i.e. customers actually recommending your product, service or organization to their circle of influencers)? Our interactive, buzz building workshops accomplish those goals. We work with your marketers to first understand how buzz is created. We then share best practices from the very best brands. Finally, we work with your teams to brainstorm new and different ways to elevate your brand and make it THE talk of the virtual and offline worlds.

Media Training 2.0: Sure, your executives have been trained how to “win” a traditional print or broadcast interview. But, do you know the nuances of social media? How would you counsel your chief executive when a leading industry blogger asks for a discussion? What about best practices for webinars and podcasts? The traditional media world has been upended by social media. Our half-day media training 2.0 media training workshops will prepare you and your senior managers for everything from a Wall Street Journal editorial board briefing to a roundtable with “mommy bloggers.”

Executive Leadership Forum (ELF): Your senior executive team may be adept at selling their wares to top prospects and briefing industry analysts on why your stock dipped last quarter, but do they understand the nuances of internal communications? Do they understand best practices for open and honest communications during a downturn? Most importantly, do they know the steps necessary to be seen as real leaders to employees? Our Executive Leadership Forum will immerse your executives in the post economic meltdown realities of internal communications. We’ll discuss best practices and tailor a program that makes sense for your individual culture. Re-assuring and motivating the survivors within your organization is a dual responsibility: that of the CEO and that of the corporation’s communications staff. A half-day or full-day workshop with senior executives and communications managers will ensure the message sent is the one received by your employees.

Strategic Brand Licensing: Brand clients are under pressure to grow their brands at the same time their budgets are being cut (e.g., “do more with less”). Strategic licensing is a powerful tool to extend brand equities into new product categories through third-party manufacturers, extricating inventory and incremental budget risk, while generating new revenue through royalties. New category extensions through licensing can increase brand awareness, reinforce a brand position, strengthen consumer loyalty, and grow revenue. But, such extensions must be cautious in strategy and execution - without cannibalizing the core brand, or create an adverse halo effect. This workshop - offered by Brand² Squared Licensing, a division of Peppercom - takes clients through a) How to assess viability of a brand in new category extensions through licensing; b) How to develop a licensing strategy and generate cross-functional consensus around the tactic; c) How to identify best-in-class 3rd party manufacturers and ensure they adhere to qualifications that define your organization; and d) How to maintain these manufacturers as ambassadors and revenue generators for your brand. Click here to see the recent PR Week coverage of Brand² Squared Licensing and its work with clients.

Art of Activation - Sponsorships to Tradeshows: Doing events for events’ sake just doesn’t work anymore, in fact it never really did. But how can your team make your events, tradeshows and sponsorships go even further? What are the key elements to activation to address business goals? How can companies add legs to tradeshows beyond the show floor? What digital and traditional elements work to create a true experiential event? And, how can you measure all of this is a way that addresses your objectives and bottom-line?

Our Art of Activation Workshop: Conducted by our experiential division Peppercommotions – will immerse your team in a true brand building events experience that can fit today’s demands and budgets. We will review activation best practices from opportunity evaluation to actual execution. Your team will be provided with the checklists and measurement tools they need to execute an effective experience. From staff training to core messaging to unique activation triggers, we will help you and your team prepare for tough issues in today’s economic environment, and enable your brand to rise above and beyond the clutter.

Taking a Spreadable Approach to Social Media: As companies develop their strategy for digital marketing and social media, conversations are often focused on creating content that’s sticky or campaigns that will “go viral.” Our workshop looks at why these two mindsets can plague digital strategy from the outset and ultimately leave a brand’s social media initiatives set up to fail. Instead, we propose an alternative way to think about and create social media: developing “spreadable media.” We will share best practices, lessons learned and a tested strategy from case studies, research and our work in the field. The session will go through how to create content that speaks to audiences where they are at online, in the language that speaks to them, on the issues they care about, and in ways that map back to your brand’s authentic voice. In particular, we will walk you through our four-step strategy for developing a digital presence and lead your team in talking through how this process can be adapted for the culture and needs of your brand.

Communicating Across Media: Creating a Consistent Message Your Audience Will Want to Spread
As broadcast and print media undergo dramatic shifts alongside the growing prominence of digital platforms, companies are often reacting to new marketing needs with one-off "quick fixes." Strategic thinking is needed about how a brand should build its communication across multiple media formats rather than communicating individually in each medium. This workshop focuses on how to create a consistent and strong story that is told across multiple media forms in ways that leverage the strengths of each medium. Our trainers look at best and worst practices. They also discuss the required planning and internal communication to create a more streamlined brand message. The session will challenge you to think more deeply about how to become a "transmedia" storyteller for your brand. You will leave better armed to shape your strategy based on what each medium provides for your communication needs.