NEW YORK/PORTLAND, Ore. (Aug. 23, 2010) –LANE PR, an independently owned, national public relations agency, celebrates its 20th anniversary this summer. President and founder Wendy Lane founded LANE PR in 1990.  The 30-person firm has offices in New York City and Portland, Ore.  LANE PR serves clients in the business-to-business, consumer, healthcare, financial services and technology sectors. Growing steadily during the past 20 years, in 2010 the firm expects to achieve 30 percent growth above the previous year.

“Public relations has become an integral part of corporate marketing programs, and LANE PR’s growth reflects how important it is to connect with and engage companies’ employees, customers and stakeholders in meaningful ways,” said Lane. “I’ve seen tremendous evolution in public relations during the past 20 years. On behalf of the entire LANE PR team, I would like to thank past and current clients, the media and our supporters, all of whom have contributed to the agency’s ongoing success.”

LANE PR’s 20 Year Formula for Growth
The agency has created growth and opportunities by driving business and sales success for clients with strategic public relations. LANE PR’s seasoned management team, which has worked together for more than 10 years, has been pivotal to the agency’s success, leading the development of strong client service systems designed to build success for clients. More recently, LANE PR expanded its formula for growth by strengthening its focus on investor relations (IR) service offerings as part of the firm’s integrated communications approach.  In addition, the agency’s 20-year commitment to integrating new technology has largely involved eschewing trends and instead taking a strategic approach to incorporating social media and other new technologies into its service offerings, a strategy that has been instrumental in the agency’s ongoing success.

About LANE PR  
LANE PR is an independent firm specializing in public relations-driven marketing strategies with offices in New York City and Portland, Ore.  Founded in 1990, LANE PR provides integrated marketing communications and public relations for a host of industries, including technology, business-to-business, financial services, healthcare and consumer clients.  The agency has won several awards during its 20 years, including the 2008 PRSA Bronze Anvil Award for outstanding public relations tactics and the 2008 Gold Bulldog Award for Excellence in Media Relations. For more information about LANE PR, visit www.lanepr.com.

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Last week Baruch College in New York City hosted a panel of leaders from NASDAQ, NYSE and NIRI (National Investor Relations Institute) for a discussion aimed at investor relations officers and how they should begin preparing for implementation of the Dodd-Frank Act — arguably the most significant piece of financial legislation to be passed since the great depression.

The 60 minute format only allowed for 23 pages of the 2300+ word document to be covered. The discussion focused on section 951 on Governance and Disclosure.

Highlights:

• Say-on-pay.  At least once every three years (could be as frequent as every year) shareholders will be asked to approve the executive compensation included in the proxy.  This basically makes it much easier for shareholders to show dissent on executive pay.  Effective in 2011.

• Golden parachute.  Any executive compensation payable based on a transaction (proposed acquisition, merger, consolidation or sale of the company) is subject to a vote in context of that transaction (exception being if it is already subject to annual say-on-pay vote).  In other words, shareholders must separately approve this executive pay package. This will be effective six months after the legislation is enacted.

Macro question: Would a change in control of Congress this November alter any of this?  

The majority don’t think so. Even if Republicans take control of the House in November that would likely not significantly impact the bill and its implementation. While there could be technical corrections, and there are already some of those in progress, it would be difficult to make significant changes to Dodd-Frank.

The video recording of the event is available here.

I hope for this to be a series of blog posts as we continue to make sense of the 500+ rules stemming from this bill.

NEW YORK (Aug. 2, 2010) –  LANE PR, an independent firm specializing in public relations-driven marketing strategies, has strengthened its focus on investor relations (IR) service offerings as part of the firm’s integrated communications approach to help clients achieve success. 

“As LANE PR celebrates 20 years of public relations excellence this year, we are planning for both the agency’s and our clients’ success in the years ahead,” said Wendy Lane, president of LANE PR. “We recognize that a critical component of our clients’ business success is their relationship and communication with investors, particularly as capital markets remain tightened.”

LANE PR has provided clients with investor relations services for more than seven years ranging from annual reports, road show preparation, quarterly earnings releases to shareholder letters.  The agency has strengthened its focus on IR with membership in the National Investor Relations Institute (NIRI), the largest professional investor relations association in the world, joining chapters in Seattle and New York. Additionally, LANE PR employees are participating in continuing education through University of California Irvine’s online investor relations curriculum.

“Today’s volatile markets present a challenging environment for organizations to achieve sustained growth. With LANE PR’s experience with strategic communication programs and  working directly with financial media, we can help clients attract and retain investors and enhance company value in the marketplace,” said Amber Roberts, a director at LANE PR and head of the agency’s New York office.

Investor Relations
For nearly a decade, LANE PR has provided IR services to numerous clients as part of its integrated communications campaigns. The agency’s IR and financial PR business has grown to approximately one-third of annual billings and has landed LANE PR among the top 20 PR firms nationwide in this specialty:  for 2009, O’Dwyer’s ranked the agency 17th in financial PR and IR.

As a member of NIRI’s New York and Seattle chapters, LANE PR keeps current with changing rules and regulations affecting IR and folds pertinent developments into its comprehensive strategies. In addition to representing companies in the financial services  industry – such as Umpqua Bank, Thoma Bravo and Paulson Investment Company Inc. – LANE PR has provided IR services to consumer and business-to-business organizations.

About LANE PR  
LANE PR is an independent firm specializing in public relations-driven marketing strategies with offices in New York and Portland, Ore.  Founded in 1990 by Wendy Lane, LANE PR provides integrated marketing strategies and public relations for a diverse industry group, including technology, business-to-business, financial services, healthcare and consumer.  The agency has won several awards during its 20 years, including the 2008 PRSA Bronze Anvil Award for outstanding public relations tactics and the 2008 Gold Bulldog Award for excellence in media relations. For more information about LANE PR, visit www.lanepr.com.

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