Contact:

Jennifer Schwegman, KC Associates

651.247.6640

jennifer@kc-associates.com

 

 

Minneapolis, March 8, 2007— KC Associates, LLC, the only Twin Cities marketing services and public relations agency exclusively for B2B information technology (IT) companies, today announced that Tom Pick has joined the group as a marketing executive. He is responsible for helping clients grow revenues using integrated marketing programs and for expanding the group’s portfolio of web marketing services.

Pick has more than 15 years of experience in traditional marketing and web marketing in the IT industry. Prior to joining KC Associates (KCA), Pick was director of corporate communications at reinsurance intermediary Collins Associates, where he developed and implemented an integrated marketing strategy that included web marketing, sales collateral, PR and event marketing programs. Before joining Collins, Pick spent nine years with the manufacturing software company SoftBrands (formerly Fourth Shift), managing competitive and market intelligence, analyst relations, PR, and web marketing. He began his career with Printware, a pioneer in digital prepress technology.

Pick’s work in online and interactive marketing and blogging has earned national recognition, including Summit Marketing Effectiveness and Yahoo! Big Idea Chair awards. He has written extensively on web marketing and social networking topics for online and print publications such as MarketingSherpa and Practical eCommerce magazine.

“I knew KCA from their business strategy and marketing consulting work at Fourth Shift,” said Pick. “I’d worked with a number of agencies, but none that brought the depth of knowledge and understanding of the unique B2B marketing challenges many IT companies face. Joining the group enables me to leverage my online marketing skills within the context of integrated market development for some of the most exciting IT companies in the area.”

KCA Principal Kirsten Chapman commented, “Tom’s deep online marketing experience beefs up an area of KCA that’s quickly become a critical element of nearly all our clients’ marketing plans. In addition to helping clients manage and execute integrated go-to-market programs, he’ll be involved with nearly every client for web marketing.”

KC Associates web marketing programs enhance the value of its integrated marketing services by leveraging white papers, case studies and PR activities with Web 2.0 technologies and social networking to drive increased brand visibility and lead generation. Programs range from search engine optimization and online advertising through interactive PR and actionable web analytics.

About KC Associates
Since 1988, KC Associates (www.kc-associates.com) has provided marketing and PR consulting and communications services for IT companies, including applications and systems software, IT services, storage, networking, communications and hardware devices. Unlike traditional firms and agencies, KC Associates is a virtual organization comprised of nearly 20 seasoned information technology-specific marketing and PR professionals, each with 10 or more years’ experience in the IT industry. KC Associates’ services span the entire market development spectrum—from go-to-market planning and product marketing consulting to reasonably-priced marketing communications, PR and lead generation.

Clients have included service organizations such as Apex IT, Analysts International, Magenic Technologies, and industry research firm IDC (Framingham, Mass.); software firms, including Wolters Kluwer (Bankers Systems), SoftBrands (Fourth Shift), Lawson, and ShowCase; and hardware companies such as CNT, Ciprico, NetEx and Lucent Technologies (Hyannis, Mass.).