September 2010 / Sarasota — Local public relations and communications consultant, Mary Catherine Coolidge, was part of the design and content development team that won first place in the 2010 National Communications Awards program of the Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS). The award was given in July to EYP Architecture & Engineering, a New York-based firm, in the Internal Communications category for the company’s recently developed employee Intranet site. Coolidge served as project coordinator and lead content developer during the year-long process of concept and design for the innovative site — a dynamic news and resource-sharing Intranet designed to help the firm’s 350+ staff stay connected throughout seven offices nationwide.

“Employee Intranet sites can bring businesses and organizations, especially those with multiple offices and locations, into the 21st-century,” Coolidge says. “The old-style, printed employee newsletter is time-intensive and expensive; Intranets allow firm leaders to keep in daily contact with employees about corporate initiatives and successes in a medium that resembles the hard news sites we all use everyday on the Internet.”

Such sites are becoming an increasingly popular choice among large and medium-sized businesses and organizations for communicating with their employees, Coolidge says. “Even smaller entities can benefit from employee Intranets which help build company loyalty and connectivity by giving employees a place to get to know one another and share professional and personal news.” Ongoing for EYP, Coolidge develops daily site content, manages a team of office “reporters”, and plans the year-round editorial calendar.

In June, Coolidge was interviewed in the June issue of ZweigWhite’s Marketing Now about her role in developing the EYP Intranet site, which SMPS jurors commended for its “amazing and measurable results,” and described as “extremely comprehensive.” The story appeared on page 5; click here to read: 222-MKN-Color

In the greater Sarasota area, Coolidge serves the public relations and communications needs of businesses, individuals, churches, arts organizations, and sports groups.