WOODBURY, NY — The Public Relations and Marketing Group (PRMG) is proud to announce that Long Island Business News (LIBN) has recognized the PRMG marketing team as one of the honorees for the Excellence in Communication Awards. The PRMG marketing team members — Vanessa Bishop, Senior Account Executive; Raymond Medina, Web Developer; Candice Votke, Communications Assistant; Laura Larson, Creative Director; and Hannah Perez, Web Development Director — were presented with the award during a special ceremony at the Crest Hollow Country Club on March 24.

During the event, LIBN honored 44 industry professionals and organizations for their excellence in marketing, communications, public relations, website and graphic design. The team works collectively to increase the visibility of its clients in an effort to increase profitability or, in the case of non-profits, their viability. In doing so, they achieve their second goal, which is to increase the awareness of their own brand in an effort to grow the company.

Ms. Bishop is tasked with managing the day-to-day contact with each of the agency’s professional, hospitality, and non-profit clients, in addition to content creation for newsletters, social media, press releases and more. Mr. Medina assists with implementing and updating websites and digital advertising, but also oversees the SEO services and the development of the clients’ email marketing. Ms. Votke’s primary role was to assist the senior staff members with various tasks — especially in areas such as social media, newsletter development and blogging. She is now an Account Executive, in charge of the agency’s law firm clients. Ms. Perez oversees the agency’s Web Development staff and is charged with developing and implementing new websites (for new and existing clients alike), in addition to assigning projects, fielding technical inquiries and helping with email marketing. In her role as Creative Director, Ms. Larson is responsible for every graphic design request — from standard print items, such as business cards and letterhead, to full-on digital creations such as websites and e-newsletter templates.

Now in its 14th year, The Public Relations and Marketing Group is a full-service public relations agency providing media relations, publicity, advertising, website hosting and design, social media, search engine optimization (SEO), video production, crisis management and community and government relations to businesses, organizations and individuals throughout Long Island and the New York metro area. For more information call 1-855-PRMG-123 or visit www.theprmg.com.

 

About PRMG

Founded in 2002, The Public Relations and Marketing Group, LLC (PRMG) is a full-service public relations and marketing agency based in Patchogue, New York. PRMG is dedicated to helping businesses, professionals, non-profit organizations, government entities, attorneys and law firms leverage their time, talents and resources by using effective public relations and marketing techniques, as well as advertising, graphic design, website design and development, digital video production, website search optimization and social media. PRMG has launched a variety of website-based entities, including PR4Lawyers, Dining Out Long Island and New York Lawyer Pages. For more information, 1-855-PRMG-123 (1-855-776-4123), or visit www.theprmg.com.

WOODBURY, NY — The Public Relations and Marketing Group (PRMG) proudly announces that Long Island Business News (LIBN) recently recognized Hank Russell, Public Relations Director, PRMG, as one of the”50 Around 50” honorees for his continued success in the field of marketing and communications. Mr. Russell was presented with an award for this accomplishment during a ceremony at the Crest Hollow Country Club on September 29.

During the event, LIBN honored 50 accomplished local business leaders around the age of 50 who set an example in their field through their longevity, integrity, motivation and wisdom. A key member of the marketing and communications firm, Mr. Russell received the award in recognition of his outstanding leadership and achievement in the field of public relations.

As PRMG’s Public Relations Director, Mr. Russell crafts and oversees press releases, media advisories, captions and media availabilities. He serves as a liaison between clients and media outlets, arranging press conferences and print, TV and radio interviews for the firm’s large variety of clientele. Since 2008, when he joined The PRMG, Mr. Russell has secured major media coverage for several clients, including Gershow Recycling, The Law Office of Frederick K. Brewington, School-Business Partnerships of Long Island (SBPLI), Alzheimer’s Disease Resource Center, Inc. and The Cochran Firm. He is presently responsible for overseeing the public relations and campaign initiatives for Suffolk County Executive Republican candidate Jim O’Connor.

Mr. Russell earned his Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication at St. Bonaventure University, where he worked as a sportswriter and columnist for the college’s weekly newspaper in addition to contributing to the university’s literary magazine and yearbook. Before joining PRMG, he spent two years reporting on political issues for Suffolk Life, was a poetry editor for The North Atlantic Review and freelanced for many scientific and medical imaging magazines. He has more than 15 years’ experience as a writer, editor and proofreader.

Now in its 13th year, The Public Relations and Marketing Group is a full-service public relations agency providing media relations, publicity, advertising, website hosting and design, social media, search engine optimization (SEO), video production, crisis management and community and government relations to businesses, organizations and individuals throughout Long Island and the New York metro area. For more information call 1-855-PRMG-123 or visit www.theprmg.com.

About PRMG

Founded in 2002, The Public Relations and Marketing Group, LLC (PRMG) is a full-service public relations and marketing agency based in Patchogue, New York. PRMG is dedicated to helping businesses, professionals, non-profit organizations, government entities, attorneys and law firms leverage their time, talents and resources by using effective public relations and marketing techniques, as well as advertising, graphic design, website design and development, digital video production, website search optimization and social media. PRMG has launched a variety of website-based entities, including PR4Lawyers, Dining Out Long Island and New York Lawyer Pages. For more information, 1-855-PRMG-123 (1-855-776-4123), or visit www.theprmg.com.

(Patchogue, New York) — The Affordable Care Act (ACA) websites endured a shockingly dysfunctional debut on October 1 with several technological problems that ultimately forced the website to crash for countless Americans.

 

Healthcare.gov, which was created to allow citizens to apply for health insurance coverage through a simple application, executed enrollment problems, insurance cancellations and infringed on the privacy of the public. The problems that the ACA website encountered included:

 

• Data center shutdown: The insurance marketplaces that are based online lost connection to their datacenters and caused blackouts.
• Crashes: When citizens visit healthcare.gov, they are being directed to another page that does not load and is causing an outrage.
• Accounts in purgatory: Many accounts were not properly authenticated which prevented flow between various system components.
• Human error: The design team did not address obvious problems with the website prior to the launch.

 

According to many potential enrollees, they could not navigate past the “create account” tab due to a message that informed them about high traffic. “These complications could have easily been avoided if the proper steps were taken prior to the website launch,” says Steve Gerbino, PRMGWebsite Designer and Developer. “The web developers should have taken more time to conduct crucial tests in order to view the site’s vulnerability and ensure that it would be ready to handle the increased traffic on its launch date.”

 

Some of Mr. Gerbino’s tips for launching an innovative website competently include:

 

• Unit testing: Making sure the website works properly as whole, not just certain aspects of the site.
• Quality assurance measures/metrics: Web programmers should constantly test the website for bugs and continue testing even if the website is working perfectly.
• End-to-end testing: Test for weaknesses within the website and ask yourself questions about user-friendliness.
• Stress Testing: Stress test the website by watching how it will act in extreme conditions such as web traffic and arbitrary outages.
• Better planning: Make sure what you’re asking for in the website is manageable. Consult plans with a web designer and make sure you have the money to launch the website smoothly and successfully.

 

Poor planning and lack of testing resulted in the failure of the initial ObamaCare websites. Furthermore, Healthcare.gov is now enduring poor publicity which is affecting the public’s attitude towards the new health care plan.

 

“It is essential to ensure that the website is perfect by executing an organized plan and constantly testing, even minutes before a debut,” Mr. Gerbino adds. “If the public is unhappy with your website, your organization or company will suffer. Take the time to make sure a website is executed the correct way. It’s never worth sacrificing skilled labor for a cheaper budget or rushing to launch a website when it hasn’t been tested properly.”

 

For more information on PRMG and website development, please call (631) 207-1057 or email:johnzaher@theprmg.com or visit www.theprmg.com.

 

 

About PRMG

Founded in 2002, The Public Relations and Marketing Group, LLC (PRMG) is a full-service public relations and marketing agency based in Patchogue, New York. PRMG is dedicated to helping businesses, professionals, non-profit organizations, government entities, attorneys and law firms leverage their time, talents and resources by using effective public relations and marketing techniques, as well as advertising, graphic design, website design and development, digital video production, website search optimization and social media. PRMG has launched a variety of website-based entities, including Long Island Policy Forum, PatMedNews, Dining Out Long Island and New York Lawyer Pages. For more information, call (631) 207-1057 or visit www.theprmg.com.