Equis Corporation (1997– 2006)
Description
One of the most dynamic and effective multi-office firms in the world, Equis focuses on its core mission: to deliver excellent, conflict-free services to corporate users of real estate space.
Competing in the refined world of established giants – such as Studley, Staubach, CBRE, Jones Lang LaSalle, Cushman & Wakefield, Grubb & Ellis, CRESA, and Trammel Crowe -- Equis differs in several significant ways. The conflict free, integrated real estate services Equis provides have an added value far beyond the performance of a transaction. The firm fosters organic growth, without acquisition, franchising, or affiliations. All executives are trained in high standards of performance.
Goals:
Use broad-based communications to create a leadership position for Equis in order to:
- Focus on long-term, conflict-free expertise in managing corporate real estate
- Differentiate the company’s unique positioning as a provider of services—such as corporate portfolio management, project services, corporate finance, global site selection and management, space utilization, and transactional skills
- Support ongoing growth and expansion of regional offices
- Heighten presence as a major player in the global corporate services arena
How We Met Those Goals:
Our strategy was to generate substantive positive publicity about Equis in national, local business and real estate media. This involved an ongoing dialog with the media:
- Regular dissemination of press releases on Equis’ regional office expansion and appointments of key executives, as well as noteworthy lease deals and awards achieved by these offices
- Major by-lined articles authored by Michael Silver and other executives, focusing on issues ranging from Sarbanes Oxley compliance in real estate, evolution of corporate real estate services, centralization of corporate real estate and managing non-profit real estate, to disposition of office space in a down market and the effect of Enron’s synthetic lease revelations on off-balance-sheet leasing
- Develop Michael Silver as an industry thought leader
- Arranging interviews for key Equis executives in the U.S. and abroad as experienced and reliable story sources, with insightful and provocative views on trends and changes in the commercial real estate and brokerage industries, including national and regional market forecasts and analyses, how to decrease rent obligations, lease restructuring and extension, space optimization and disposition, and subleasing
- Developing/pitching story angles on interesting and unique services of the company, such as net sales leaseback alternatives
- Merchandise Equis’ success stories in working for large corporate clients
Results
Our program generated voluminous national and regional coverage of new deals, hires, and offices, interviews, profiles, bylined articles and arrangement of speaking appearances.
These efforts resulted in national media coverage: Wall Street Journal , Fortune, USA Today, CFO, New York Times, Barron’s, Bloomberg Business News, CoStar, Commercial Property News, Real Estate Forum, National Real Estate Investor, Corporate Real Estate Strategies, Corporate Real Estate Leader, Site Selection, GlobeStreet.com, and SIOR’s The Professional Report.
Similarly, results abounded in all pertinent regional media, including: Arizona Republic, Boston Globe, Charlotte Observer, Chicago Sun Times, Crain’s New York Business, Crain’s Chicago Business, Crain’s Detroit Business, Dallas Morning News, Dallas Business Journal, Houston Chronicle, Indianapolis Business Journal, Los Angeles Times, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Minnesota Real Estate Journal, Real Estate Chicago, San Francisco Business Times, San Francisco Chronicle,.
Additionally, efforts to heighten Equis’ global presence resulted in stories that ran in the U.S. and overseas about:
Additionally, efforts to heighten Equis’ global presence resulted in stories that ran in the U.S. and overseas about:
- New heads of Singapore and India offices
- Completion of major leasing and site selection projects for Motorola/India
- Equis’ deals in Hungary
- Booming real estate in India for which we secured an interview with Business Week
In March, 2004, Equis asked Zlokower Company to expand its public relations program and quickly move forward on a series of activities designed to jumpstart a broader, more comprehensive program. In response, Zlokower created an infrastructure to better track, analyze, and supervise the PR operation, increased interaction with regional offices, and sought additional ways to enhance national media and speaking coverage.
In 2004, Equis appointed a vice president of marketing who, after an intensive review process, elected to continue Zlokower as her public relations firm. Zlokower performed at a high level for Equis until 2006 when the company was acquired by UGL of Australia. Our last major result was a ground-breaking article in Wall Street Journal which covered the acquisition and featured Equis as a leader amidst giants in the tenant representative sector of the commercial real estate industry.