By Cortney Piper, President
The past year at Piper Communications has been one of the most memorable in the firm’s history. Before this holiday season, I wanted to thank our partners and clients for choosing to work with us and share a few highlights from 2023.
Piper: 2023 year in review
We were able to work on projects for 21 clients across a range of industries — advanced mobility, solar energy and composites manufacturing, to name a few.
One of Piper Communications’ core values is being a trusted member of our clients’ teams. This year, we celebrated many multi-year milestones working with our clients, including:
- 11 years of the Tennessee Advanced Energy Business Council
- 10 years with the Innov865 Alliance
- Eight years with the University of Tennessee Research Foundation
- Six years with the International Foodservice Distributors Association
- Four years with Wärtsilä and Three Roots Capital
I am also thankful we welcomed several new clients this year. We have enjoyed working with IACMI, Chroma Energy Group, TEAM TN, and the Baker School. I look forward to working with them and more new clients in 2024 and beyond.
We welcomed three new team members to tackle our ever-growing project list, bringing our team headcount to 13. Brittany Crocker joined as our media relations, engagement and content manager earlier this year. While she is on military leave, we brought on Crystal Bentley to lend her expertise as our public relations manager. Our newest team member, Project Assistant Sarah Johnson, began this past fall.
At Piper, we are results-driven problem solvers who get stuff done for our clients. Period. And in 2023, we did quite a lot. Here is a small snapshot of our work in public relations, marketing, events and strategic partnerships.
Public relations
Piper is your go-to public relations partner. We’ve:
- Distributed 126 press releases & media alerts
- Pitched and placed 693 pieces of earned media coverage, resulting in 32M estimated views and 13K social engagements
Marketing
With the evolving nature of marketing and branding, we expanded our digital marketing and media presence in 2023. Across all client work, some notable stats include:
- Sent 160+ marketing emails to 9.1K+ subscribers, resulting in 11.5K clicks
- Posted 3.3K+ times on social media channels
- Released nine podcast episodes
- Produced six videos (with 17 more in the works)
Events
With several years of event planning and management, we organized more events than ever before. From the biggest Opportunities in Energy to a three-day inaugural Southeast Energy Policy Forum, we loved helping our clients get the results they wanted. I’m proud to say we:
- Supported or planned 20 events with 2.2K+ registrants
Strategic partnerships
Piper has a solid track record in forming and operating successful strategic partnerships. Among other accomplishments, the Tennessee Advanced Energy Business Council joined TEAM TN and earned a seat on the Tennessee Valley Authority’s IRP Committee. Additionally, we:
- Welcomed 21 new members to the Tennessee Advanced Energy Business Council
- Oversaw the Energy Network, involving 54 mentors and 17 startups that have raised $54 million and created or retained over 140 jobs
- Formed seven new sponsorship partners for Innov865 Week 2023
- Managed 38 pitcher applications or nominations for Startup Day 2023
We’ve had a lot of wins this year and experienced a tremendous amount of growth. I look forward to what 2024 brings for Piper Communications.