We help our clients stand out among the competition, building long-term relationships that lead to lasting success. Our clients are our best referral sources. That's why we're selective about the company we keep.
Encore Clients
Encore's diverse client base spans a variety of industries and sizes, from small privately held companies to Fortune 500 corporations. Here is a partial list of clients we have served:
AeroMexico
Alto Technology Resources
American Cancer Society
American Red Cross
Anadarko
Barr Air Patrol
Boeing NASA Systems
Burlington Resources
Chamberlain Hrdlicka
Chelsea Catering Company
Colliers, Appelt & Womack
ConneXt
Consolidated Graphics
Continental Airlines
Education Foundation of Harris County
Energy Solutions International
Entrust
Falcon Gas Storage Company
FCA Corp.
FEA Energy Consulting
Fleming & Associates
Fort Bend Physical Therapy
Forum Energy Technologies
IBM
LNG Solutions Group
NorTex Midstream Partners
Mann Eye Institute & Laser Center
Mills Shirley
MORGAN
OpenLink
OpenSpirit
Palletized Trucking
Palmer Drug Abuse Program
Paradigm
Pavilion Technologies
Peregrine Midstream Partners
Personal Physician Group
Pinnacle Financial Strategies
Quorum Business Solutions
Ranger Steel
Sapient
Service Corporation International
Severn Trent Environmental Services
SkyVision
Southern Co.
Strategic Decisions Group
SunGard
Sybase
Tenet Healthcare Corporation
The City of Meadows Place
The Clearinghouse
The Energy Authority
The Hospice at the Texas Medical Center
The Law Firm of Alton C. Todd
Vinson & Elkins
Vynckier Enclosure Systems
Ziff Energy Group
Case Study: Falcon Gas Storage Company, Inc.
Falcon Gas Storage Company initially hired Encore Communications to develop and distribute a press release announcing the newly formed natural gas storage company's first development project. That started an ongoing professional relationship that continued for nearly a decade and expanded into marketing, article placement, advertising, speaking engagements, trade show sponsorships and extensive media relations services. Encore still represents the founders who sold their interest in Falcon and started a new midstream gas storage venture.
Objective: Increase Falcon's visibility and credibility in the Energy industry and among the media with a coordinated, consistent strategic marketing and public relations campaign.
Implementation: When Falcon was formed, company founders had not established a strategy to increase the company's visibility. They had no plan for marketing or PR and no staff to implement one. Encore worked closely with Falcon to establish a corporate identity, branding Falcon as "the largest privately held gas storage company in North Texas." This was incorporated in all marketing and public relations materials, and picked up by the media from press releases, evolving to "one of the largest independent gas storage companies in the United States" as the company grew. Simultaneously, Encore implemented byline article placement, publicity, and advertising campaigns that resulted in numerous articles mentioning Falcon and at least 20 byline articles in the first three years alone. In addition to ongoing press releases, Encore pitched stories and secured interviews with key media for Falcon senior management, who Encore had established as experts in their field. Even when Falcon was forced to curtail advertising dollars during an industry downturn, Encore maintained media goodwill, continued placing articles, and secured conference speaking engagements without paid sponsorships. With article reprints, Encore helped Falcon build credibility and cost-effectively market to prospective customers through direct mail campaigns and the website.
Results: Encore Communications put Falcon Gas Storage on the media map. In just eight years during one of the worst market disruptions in the North American merchant energy business, Encore's marketing and public relations initiatives helped Falcon grow from a small start-up with an initial $5 million equity investment into one of the largest independent gas storage companies in the United States with a total enterprise value of over $750 million.
Case Study: AeroMexico
AeroMexico had been an Encore Communications client for nearly two years when one of its aircraft crashed in Reynosa, Mexico, just across the border from Texas. Encore provided media relations and marketing services for AeroMexico’s U.S. division, based in Houston, and was on call for potential crisis situations. Prior to Encore's involvement, the airline had little visibility in the U.S., and what presence it had was largely negative, centered on the perception that AeroMexico was substandard and unsafe. With Encore’s help, that perception had changed and its media relationships were positive. The accident threatened to erode all the progress that had been made to date.
Objective: Coordinate with the client in Houston, at AeroMexico’s headquarters in Mexico City, and on the ground in Reynosa to determine the facts, develop and distribute responses, coordinate communications, and mitigate potential damaging publicity.
Implementation: The client notified Carole Minor around 9:00 p.m. on the Friday of a holiday weekend that an accident had occurred four hours earlier. AeroMexico executives had just arrived at the scene from Mexico City and details were sketchy. Preliminary reports indicated that all crew and passengers were safe, but at least five people had died on the ground. Unfortunately, the holiday and inclement weather delayed notification in the US, and some emergency personnel and passengers gave interviews to media arriving at the scene before Encore could intervene. The first news release hit the wire at 9:45 p.m., an update followed around 1:45 a.m. after more details were confirmed, and an in-depth release was issued around 5:00 p.m. The last new information emerged on Sunday via a final news release, which announced that AeroMexico’s website would contain further developments. Throughout the weekend crisis, Carole Minor and the Encore team provided strategic counsel and direction, developed news updates, monitored coverage, conducted media interviews, and coordinated with the airline.
Results: Despite initial inaccurate media reports exaggerating the situation and the potential of full-fledged news coverage due to Reynosa’s proximity to the U.S., the accident was a non-story in the US when business resumed after the Monday holiday. AeroMexico attributed this to continuous factual dissemination of information during the holiday weekend and Encore’s strategic positioning.
Case Study: Equitable Bag Company
The local legal counsel for Equitable Bag Company in New York City retained Encore Communications to provide crisis management services for its client's paper mill in Orange, Texas, which had lost business allegedly because a former executive and a customer violated “confidential proprietary and trade secret information” agreements. Equitable filed suit against the duo and was preparing to close the Orange plant, lay off all 80 employees, and consolidate manufacturing and distribution operations with an existing facility in Kentucky.
Objective: Work with both the client and local legal counsel to mitigate damaging publicity, retain existing customers, and preserve the company’s longstanding reputation in the community.
Implementation: From the outset, it was imperative to move quickly to tell the company’s side of the story, which was complicated by the litigation in progress and the sensitive issues involved. The former customer named in the suit had become a competitor with the proprietary information provided by the former executive. Communicating this to remaining customers without compromising the case was critical, especially with the looming announcement of the plant's closing, which was bad news for both the affected Orange employees and this small community. Equitable did not have local media relationships established and needed Encore to lay the groundwork for fair pre-trial media coverage. Through a series of strategy sessions with Equitable and local counsel, Encore analyzed the situation and developed a communications approach and messages for each target audience. In addition to providing media training to local company spokespersons, Encore developed a proactive media relations campaign and scripted all meetings with Orange employees, community leaders, customers, newspaper editorial boards and broadcast media.
Results: Leading up to the trial, media coverage was balanced, with the local daily even running an editorial against “unfair competition.” Equitable retained its existing customers and community good will after the plant closed. The case eventually settled in the client’s favor before going to trial. Equitable attributed this unexpected development in large part to the balanced treatment received in the media and in the community.
Case Study: Kemp, Smith, Duncan & Hammond
In the 1990s, Kemp, Smith, Duncan & Hammond – then the largest and oldest law firm in El Paso – and two of its senior partners were indicted in state district court as part of a widespread criminal case, stemming from the collapse of several insurance companies and a savings and loan that cost many people their life savings. Others indicted included a prominent local financier, leading El Paso businesspeople and the city’s electric utility.
Objective: Provide crisis management planning, implementation and counsel for Kemp Smith.
Implementation: After assessing the extent of the damage done by the indictments to the firm’s public image, Carole Minor immediately set out to contain the damage, first developing a strategic communications plan and a crisis communications action plan. This was followed by creating a rumor control system, designing a client contact program, drafting position papers on potential crisis situations arising from the suit, and establishing contacts with members of the media outside El Paso who were covering the case. The crisis communications team soon expanded its scope to include ongoing communications and marketing consultation, media training for firm spokespersons, media reports and public perception monitoring, and strategy development to position the firm for the future.
Results: Working closely with Kemp Smith’s defense team – attorneys from three outside law firms in Austin, Dallas and El Paso – Carole managed to mitigate damaging publicity outside El Paso and keep mention of the firm’s name to a minimum. During the period prior to the trial, we provided Kemp Smith with timely analyses and recommendations as developments occurred. The firm and its two senior partners were acquitted. During the eight-day trial, Carole coordinated all communications with the media and was instrumental in obtaining favorable publicity for the firm.