Utah News Clips

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I've heard this phrase many times, and each time it strikes me as a riddle. Is there more to this question than the words convey? When it comes to your name, personally, the words of your name tend to take on the personality of the man or woman behind the name, not the other way around. Similarly, the name of a company or service says much about what they do...or at least it should.

At Utah News Clips we've been providing broadcast monitoring services for almost 30 years. However, since May of 2009 we have become a complete news monitoring and media analysis service. In the first 26 years we provided just what our name implied, broadcast news clips from the Utah area only. After purchasing the company in 2009, I added in the full scope of print, web, and social media monitoring to compliment our comprehensive TV/Radio monitoring. Additionally, we are now a leading provider of media measurement and analysis services.

Beyond what we do, news monitoring and analysis, our region and client base has also expanded. No longer limited to primarily the Utah region for clients, we are now serving clients across the country. What this all means is that Utah News Clips has quickly transformed into a service that can provide all the services clients need in Utah and beyond. For this reason you will begin seeing some new names coming from us. First and foremost we have brought on Chad Carpenter to power our sales and client relations effort. Chad has extensive experience in demonstrating the value of a service, which we believe will help bring our solutions to a wider range of clients. Secondly, over the next several months you will see a gradual transformation on how our brand reflects our services.

Like our primary competitors, Cision and Critical Mention, our branding and marketing will begin to better reflect the true personality of our company. We will always be a Utah company, headquartered in Salt Lake City, and staffed with Utah residents, but more information from us will reflect our expanded services and region. Again, we are still the only company with a full staff on the ground in Utah, ready to serve any need, but we need to get the word out that there is more to us than just Utah news clips. Your help in spreading that word is certainly welcomed.

Yes, we have many #newtools, but the #samerules of service apply now as much as ever. Our Core Values are:
-Deliver consistent Quality
-Always Accountable
-Surpass Client Expectations
-Honest & Direct Communication
-Maximize each team member’s strengths

I believe that it is our attention to the above values that have so strongly driven our growth in the past two years and I look forward to a very long relationship with all of our clients. Please leave a comment if you have any suggestions or feedback on what service means to your brand. We're also interested in all feedback as we begin the process of re-branding Utah News Clips.

Comments (1)

Looking back over the past week I see a couple lessons to be learned from the bankruptcy of VMS. Many things will be said by competitors, and some past employees, but here are my takeaways.

First, the Video Monitoring Services team, VMS employees caught in the bankruptcy, are great people. I'm glad to see quality services like cision hiring some of these employees. Soon we hope to also be working with former VMS staff. These people were clearly dedicated to their jobs and serving their clients.

Second, don't believe all that you read...especially in advertising. Whether a blog or an ad, some lofty claims are being made. Phrases like "biggest", "best", and "only" are hollow terms that don't tell you a thing about the level of service and support you can expect from a news monitoring service. I encourage you to speak with Amber Smith in our office, but also do your homework. What vendor is best situated to provide the service and support you need? Technology is a tool, the people serving you can make the difference.

Finally, if you are a former VMS client the best thing you can do is interview prospective monitors. If you are a local or regional organization, there is undoubtedly a monitoring service better located to serve your needs. Local and regional monitors know what news is important to you. They know your city, state, issues, problems, etc. Our news data service has 40 offices ready to customize and serve your needs.

Use the wonderful search of Google to locate news monitoring services that may be better positioned to provide what you need. Yes, I think Utah News Clips is one of the best news monitors in the world. I would not be able to fake passion for what I do if I did not truly believe in the team I work with and the client missions we serve. We make your news our business...period.

Please let me know your thoughts, or share your experiences. Communication is what we do.

By now most have heard the biggest broadcast monitoring news in the last 35 years. The father of TV news monitoring, Video Monitoring Services, has file Chapter 7 bankruptcy. As they move to liquidate the assets of this once great company, all VMS clients are scrambling to find a service offering a similar balance of real-time reports, access to broadcast news segments, and true customer support.

As I've mentioned elsewhere, VMS did not close because of their service. Some competitors, obviously looking to grab clients by stepping on the grave of VMS, have eluded to a notion that VMS was out of touch. Just because they started the broadcast monitoring industry doesn't mean they fell behind in terms of tools, innovation, and attention to customer service. As of noon on 8/26/11, the time VMS closed forever, VMS had as powerful a set of client tools and remained focus on fulfilling every need of their clients. In fact, I stand by the notion that VMS was the company that every other broadcast monitor bench-marked themselves.

Yes, Utah News Clips has updated all their services over the past two years to compete with any national service available in the news monitoring space. Yes, Utah News Clips has been helping former VMS clients get on-board quickly so they have their news monitoring reports today. And yes, Utah News Clips sees innovation as the key to success. But as we look back on what happened to VMS I think it is important to see all that they did right. If it were not for the attention VMS gave to development, fulfillment, and customer service, they would not have been the "company to beat". In the end, it appears that a shift in management may have contributed to a loss of direction for VMS. Management structure is where we differ.

I own Utah News Clips. I am also an owner in Universal Information Services, a family business. Together these companies have lead our industry for over 20 years as innovators of news monitoring and analysis services. Our approach is very simple, we have built all the services our clients need, and the tools our competitors offer, but we also provide true customer service. True customer service is something you can't find in those who offer only an online platform for monitoring your news. Absent in the SaaS (software-as-a-service) companies is your immediate ability to reach a live person who knows your account, get on the spot training when you need it, and the ability to have someone to "just make it happen" if you're in a crisis management situation.

Today we will be working diligently to help those clients who no longer can use VMS. Our service team will continue to provide any callers with immediate attention and have their news flowing within 24 hours. We can do this because we know there are only two things that matter: Your ability to get the news you need and access to a vendor who can help you anytime you need it. Please call us if you need a company that works very much the way VMS did...and you need help now. (801) 463-0101

Utah News Clips is here to help with all your nationwide news monitoring and broadcast clip needs. We are here to help.

Comments (2)

The conference season has been in full swing over the past 30 days, as if it ever really slows down, and we have three great reasons you should make conference attendance a regular part of your business and new media education.

First, if you at all have a passion for your job or what you are pursuing, then continuing education must be a part of that path you follow to success. Nearly every industry, and variation within industries, has some form of a meeting where you can learn new tricks, rub elbows with peers, and hear from experts in your field. My news monitoring and media analysis industry has no less than five opportunities per year. I can attend PRSA, IABC, NDS, and even Rotary conferences...and many others. All of these opportunities allow you to further yourself in your position. Whether CEO or intern, gaining new perspectives is an essential part of fully realizing your potential. Here are a few resources I use to find helpful conferences in my areas of interest.

http://mashable.com/category/events/

http://www.prsa.org/Conferences/

http://www.bigomaha.com/ (don’t let the name fool you, this may be the most important conference you ever attend)

Second, if your success depends on your own creativity, then attending industry meetings and conferences allows you to get outside of your own head. At Universal Information Services my primary role is to envision, create, and deploy new services for our clients. I have implemented all of Universal’s TV and Radio monitoring, media analysis, and web monitoring services…but only through the insight I’ve gained from my pears throughout the industry. Developing services in a vacuum can be a dangerous path to believing all that you dream up is of great value to others. Interacting with competitive and cooperative peers exposes you to ideas that help keep your own mind in check and accelerates your own development.

Third, the ability to connect the dots may be the greatest benefit to attending conferences. I refer to connecting the dots as the ability to hear new ideas at meetings and conferences, but hearing them in a way that connects with a seemingly unrelated concept you may have rattling around in your head. This is critical to innovation. I use The Action Method, developed by Scott Belsky’s mind at Behance, to help me manage my ideas and visions This should be mandatory training for anyone with a creative thought.

Leave your comments on what conferences you have found the most beneficial. I’m always looking for better ways to get outside my head and connect the dots. Many of these fun ideas are found in our new site.

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