Announcing BurnessDigital
By Alex Field, September 8, 2010
At Burness, we use the word “impact” a lot. It’s what drives us; it’s what turns the lights on every day from Bethesda to Nairobi. And for the last 24 years, we’ve been fortunate to work with hundreds of nonprofits for which impact is goal No. 1. Each is driven, in its own way, to improve people’s lives.
While the goal of creating impact and advancing social change for nonprofits has remained constant throughout these years, our approach to telling their stories and bringing attention to their causes has evolved.
It’s not news that the world of communications is shifting, that online innovations are driving a revolution in media, or that social networks are defining the next generation of advocacy, politics, and news. We’ve all heard this because new, “disruptive” technologies make waves, unseat gatekeepers, and tip the balance of power. For many organizations, tried-and-true strategies suddenly seem worn out, in need of a little something extra – or even something completely different.
I’m struck every day by the creativity and boldness of organizations big and small working to drive the change they want to see in the world. For our team at Burness, it’s a genuinely exciting time to be pursuing impact online alongside our nonprofit partners.
Announcing BurnessDigital
Today, we’re expanding and enriching our digital practice by announcing the launch of BurnessDigital, a new division within Burness dedicated to online work.
BurnessDigital is new, but we’ve been crafting online strategy for several years: we have told the stories of exceptional nonprofits in videos, brought attention to their ideas with social media campaigns and dynamic websites, and worked to “move the needle” by crafting online strategies that advance their communications goals. This launch is the next step in the evolution of our communications approach.
Our team combines public relations and digital media experience with a deep understanding of the issues to provide creative, integrated, effective online communications support. Our approach is simple: integrate cutting-edge, online technologies and people who know how to use them with Burness’ stable of skilled writers, publicists, message experts, and strategists.
We’re here to help you explore how digital communications can amplify your voice. What if instead of writing op-eds and pitching stories to reach a narrow audience of influential advocates and policymakers, you captured that audience for yourself—and for the long term—by creating a blog with compelling news and insights about your issue?
Or, if instead of counting only on media to cover your launch event for the results of a new, important study, what if you engaged audiences across the country with live streaming video from the venue, a dynamic website to showcase the data, and a question-and-answer session on Twitter with the lead researchers?
These strategies don’t need to replace traditional communications activity. In fact, they shouldn’t: sound offline communications can multiply online impact, and vice versa. But savvy digital strategy is already changing the world. With BurnessDigital, we’re expanding our capacity to help you navigate this space, seize its opportunities and, ultimately, create lasting impact.
Alex Field is the Manager of BurnessDigital.
You can learn more about BurnessDigital by emailing digital@burness.com or calling us at 301.652.1558.
