One year later BDM generated an average of 57 press articles per month, taking high positions in rankings and being one of the first-choice experts for journalists. Beskidzki Brokerage House S.A. (BDM S.A.) is one of few non-banking Brokerage Houses operating in Poland without corporate marketing support and an extended communications department. BDM’s 15 years of experience, very good opinion among clients, reliability and service professionalism did not translate into a positive image of BDM in the media and the business environment. In short, BDM was a very good product in poor packaging.
We kicked off our cooperation at a very difficult time for the financial services market. In August 2007, the Warsaw Stock Exchange began sensing the first signals of decline which discouraged less experienced investors from further investments in stocks. The situation worsened with time, causing individual investors to back out of the WSE which automatically undermined trust in Brokerage Houses.

• During the initial months of cooperation we maximized the intensity of our work with the media, and today, six months later, the majority of information coming out of the press office are reactive responses to questions from journalists.
• We selected a group of key media comprised of business media, dailies, opinion weeklies and electronic business media.
• Our message was that BDM is an expert in rational, effective and modern management of investments in securities and an organization that offers high quality service. BDM is an expert that transforms knowledge of the market and its trends supported by expert knowledge and experience into business success for clients.
• The agency also decided that the messages should carry signals to various target groups. For example, a series of communications about the implementation of the EU MIFID was designed to promote BDM to the industry as a leader of change, inform the business environment about the knowledge and experience of the Brokerage House’s employees, and reinforce the individual client’s conviction that the organization is committed to meeting the highest standards of service.
• The strategy was built around preparing BDM speakers to meet the media, initiating interviews with experts, building media interest in BDM’s activities and transforming the website into a client- and journalist-friendly tool
• These activities were designed to establish BDM as an expert in the targeted media.
• The communications strategy assumed that BDM will be one of the top five brokerage houses in terms of media coverage.

• The Agency reviewed the concept of creative content to determine the definition of creative content in the difficult market segment of financial services at a time of global downturn and loss of confidence in financial institutions. The agency also deliberated on how to increase and maintain the trust of the business environment and investors. Based on interviews with experts and journalists from professional media the agency determined that creative content should focus on various aspects of presenting and reinforcing BDM’s image as an expert organization that employs valuable specialists familiar with all aspects of the capital market in Poland and Europe.
• The first and most important step in the strategy was to establish a press office. The office was operated by the agency with the support of BDM’s experts.
• Initially, all activities aimed at informing journalists about the offering and activities of BDM and creating interest in the company.
• After one year, nearly half of the press office’s work is reactive. Today, journalists take initiative to obtain comments, quotes and materials prepared by BDM’s experts.
• Issue Identification Management The press office responds to journalist queries on an ongoing basis and prepares expert comments and press releases. At the same time, we continue to indentify important macroeconomic topics, develop materials ahead of time and broadly distribute them to the media. The agency also identifies communications contexts to actively place BDM’s experts in the media.
• The agency also recommended active participation in events involving the Warsaw Stock Exchange – BDM S.A.’s natural area of activity. Already in the very beginning of our cooperation and the establishment of NewConnect (August 30, 2007), we made use of the presence of BDM S.A.’s president Jacek Rachel at the new market’s opening ceremony to place 7 interviews in the press and electronic media. This was a very strong entre with emphasis on BDM’s status as a national-scale business.
• Within 12 months of cooperation we had organized around 10 exclusive interviews with BDM’s President of the Board Jacek Rachel.
• BDM experts gave exclusive interviews or comments to all selected media.
• The next stage was the media training for selected BDM employees and experts. The participants were trained both in working with the press and electronic media. We conducted professional camera training combined with responding to and behaving in crisis situations. BDM experts appearing in the media speak confidently in front of the camera (both in recorded and live programs) and are not afraid of “tough” questions.
• BDM’s experts appear on television not only to comment on the companies they work for or the services offered by the brokerage house but also on micro- and macroeconomic issues important to the stock market and the economy as a whole.
• In the course of our cooperation, BDM embraced the new international MIFi Directive - a new, multi-planed platform for business communication. BDM’s subscription to the Directive positions the company as a leader in the business environment. For individual customers this is yet another sign that BDM is a trustworthy partner committed to the highest standards. BDM’s decision was widely communicated in the media and contributed to strengthening the company’s position.
• The Agency recommended and implemented action involving the companies introduced by BDM to the WSE and the NewConnect market. These communications informed individual customers which companies were about to be floated and possibly worth investing in. BDM’s business environment received information about BDM’s successful IPOs, i.e. about the company’s experience and professionalism.
• The Agency also assumed responsibility for the client’s website and made it more dynamic and interactive. The site is now regularly updated with information directly concerning the client as well as macroeconomic data, analyses and comments supplemented by a consultant chat function.
• The Agency recommended that BDM take part in rankings of brokerage houses which was carried out successfully, with BDM taking higher positions in subsequent editions.
• Despite the confidence crisis in the financial services sector, the agency built and strengthened BDM’s leadership position both among companies planning to float on the WSE or NC markets, and with individual customers. The level of confidence is reflected in BDM’s ranking positions.
• The agency regularly organized brainstorming sessions to seek and anticipate topics that are unusual from a financial institution’s traditional point of view. The agency initiated an educational mission, responding to reader questions and commenting ongoing economic developments with a focus on their impact on everyday life.
• The Agency established an “expert emergency hotline” that journalists can call around the clock. Timeliness and accuracy are the press office’s distinguishing qualities.