Bayview Public Relations

When we tell people we’ve moved the office to downtown St. Pete, responses typically fall under one of two general categories:

1. Awesome
2. St. Pete? (Half-grimace). Really?

Some perceive Tampa and St. Petersburg as different galaxies. But we promise there are no asteroid belts or even customs checks between the two. And besides being not-that-far, it’s probably one of the more scenic commutes in the country.

Others believe that St. Pete can’t possibly offer a comparable caliber of sophistication, style, or successful business as Tampa. But those that spend time in St. Pete – living, working, visiting – know the ‘God’s-waiting-room’ stigma is, well, dead: these days, the median age in the ‘Burg is younger than 40.

St. Pete’s art and culture already get national attention, and now we’ve got the new Chihuly Collection at the Morean Arts Gallery, expansion of the Museum of Fine Arts, and the upcoming opening of the new Dalí museum. It’s not all high-brow entertainment either – St. Pete nightlife offers fist-pumping good times, whatever you’re looking for, PUSH Ultra Lounge, World of Beer, Jannus Live – and hey the Rays are going to the playoffs.

And as home of such major businesses as HSN, Jabil, Catalina Marketing, Dermazone Solutions, Draper Laboratory, SRI International, Plasma-Therm, Raymond James, and the St. Petersburg Times, to name a few, Florida’s fourth-largest city (yup, fourth largest) boasts some notable economic activity.

Don’t believe us? Come on over, we’ll head out to Beach Drive, The Garden, Central Ave Oyster Bar, Ringside Café, Three Birds Tavern, or Kahuna’s, among hundreds of other options, to show you more of what St. Pete has to offer.

St. Pete and Tampa, along with the rest of the Tampa Bay area, are strongest as a team, with each individual area bringing unique and valuable attributes to the table. The best way for our region to continue to compete alongside other leading areas of the country is to be allied, to be connected, and be supportive.

We’ll miss clocking in at our old Tampa digs, but we’ll still be visiting our friends there often. And we’ll enjoy sharing our new home with those friends (along with the ones we haven’t met yet). Remember, that blue bay between Tampa and St. Pete doesn’t divide us, it connects us.

With the addition of several new clients, Bayview Public Relations is growing with a new employee and new office space.

Leah Saunders has joined the agency as Account Coordinator. She comes most recently from Tampa-based UDR, and has experience with the Tampa office of Fry Hammond Barr, along with Vantage Communications and Create Magazine, both in Orlando. She holds a B.A. in advertising and public relations from the University of Central Florida. She can be reached at Leah@BayviewPR.com or at x104.

In line with this growth, Bayview has relocated our office space to downtown St. Petersburg. Our new address is 25 Second Street North, Suite 220, St. Petersburg, FL 33701 – across the street from the recently renovated Jannus Live. We can still be reached by phone at 813.251.2800, but can also be reached at 727.895.5030.

Bayview Public Relations has joined Maddux NewsWire and Tampa Downtown Partnership in partnering with IKEA Tampa to present the Live @ FIVE series, a monthly series designed for attendees to learn (or refresh) skills necessary for personal and professional development.

Hosted by IKEA Tampa on the third Thursday of each month, each session begins with informal networking at 5 p.m. , followed by a topic-specific program from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. The events are held in the IKEA Tampa Community Room in the restaurant on the 2nd level.

The next event on Thursday, September 16 is “So Tell Me About Sustainability” presented by Bryan Roberts, owner of EcoTech Construction and EcoBuild Systems, and Rudy Arnauts, founder of the Campus TV educational collaborative platform. During Live @ FIVE, Roberts will share a variety of sustainable solutions in community design, and Arnauts will lead a discussion in justifying the financial aspects of a green project and describing challenges and benefits associated with lending for green building projects. Learn more and register at IKEA Tampa’s website.

Upcoming IKEA Tampa events include:

• “Moving sales with mobile marketing” on October 21
• “Getting published: Working with the media” on November 18
• “Mind your manners: Seal the deal with a business meal” on December 16
• “New organization strategies for the new year” on January 15

Register for the September 16 event or sign up to be notified of upcoming events on IKEA Tampa’s website.

Three local businesses have recently chosen Bayview Public Relations to reach their goals.

The Tampa office of Fisher & Phillips, a national labor and employment law firm, has selected Bayview to help increase the office’s business through strategic messaging, media relations, grassroots outreach and community relations. With more than 225 attorneys in 23 offices, Fisher & Phillips is one of the largest U.S. law firms to concentrate its practice exclusively on representation of employers in labor and employment matters.

The Strand, a luxury condominium under construction in Clearwater, has retained Bayview to assist in selling units through strategic messaging, media relations, grassroots outreach and community relations. The Strand is being developed by Espacio USA, Inc., the Americas arm of Madrid-based Inmobiliaria Espacio, an international real estate development leader within Group Villar Mir.

33 Hope, a Christian-based book, film and social network, has chosen Bayview to help raise awareness and promote a launch event on July 29 in Tampa. The book, Thirty Three: The Story of Hope, tells how Christianity got its start after the crucifixion and serves as the central content for the 33 Hope project.

We welcome these additions to the Bayview family and look forward to working with each over the coming months to help move their needles.

Bayview Public Relations recently launched its Facebook page where we’ll provide updates on our agency, our clients, and the industry, including media coverage, event announcements, blog posts, and case studies, along with other pages we like. Check us out at Facebook.com/BayviewPR.

The University of Tampa’s John Sykes College of Business recently invited Kyle Parks, Principal & President of Bayview Public Relations, to join its Advisory Council.

The Advisory Council provides advice, opinions, and ideas as the business school works to create a quality environment for business education while increasing its own visibility.

The Advisory Council consists of 25 business leaders from around the Tampa Bay area, including such recognizable businesspeople as Rick Thomas, president and CFO of Thomas Financial Group, and Dennis W. Zank, president of Raymond James & Associates.

The Princeton Review has recognized the John H. Sykes College of Business as one of “The Best 301 Business Schools” in the world.  The facility is equipped with state-of-the-art resources, combined with quality faculty members, many of whom have significant real-world experience in the business world.

Wayne Westerlind is an intern at Bayview Public Relations for the Spring 2010 semester. He is currently a junior at The University of Tampa studying public relations.

We’re proud to be featured today in one of our favorite publications, the Tampa Bay Business Journal. Check it out here: Newly formed Bayview a result of changes in marketing and PR.