Strong Results for Clients Translates into Agency Growth

Boston, MA -- (ReleaseWire) -- 12/13/2006 -- Birnbach Communications, Inc., an independent PR agency providing clients with a portfolio of strategic business communication services, announced it is celebrating the firm's fifth anniversary. The firm will close the year with record revenue, up 35 percent over the prior year. Founded with the commitment to combine the best aspects of large-agency experience with small-agency culture and dedication, the agency's goal is to become its clients' strategic communications partner by generating results to achieve their business objectives. Birnbach's tried-and-tested team of business, journalism and PR professionals work with clients based in Boston, New York, Denver, Atlanta, Russia, Israel, and Canada across a range of industries, including financial software and services, security, technology, healthcare and life sciences, consumer, nonprofit and education.

Birnbach Communications helps clients launch – or re-position – themselves to the market, manage M&A deals communications, leverage key milestones, announce venture capital financing, launch new products and services, increase senior management visibility, and fulfill everyday communications that are never just routine.

"Birnbach Communications is an invaluable partner in providing first-hand knowledge of the U.S. market, helping Luxoft to achieve significant brand recognition within the shortest period," said Julia Simonova, Global Communications Manager, Luxoft, Russia's leading provider of end-to-end information technology services and solutions. "We value their high level of professionalism and responsiveness."

Over the past year, Birnbach Communications added experienced professionals to its team and a half-dozen new clients to its roster including:
- Herndon, VA-based Mantas (www.mantas.com), a leading global compliance and operational risk management solutions firm;
- Denver-based ControlPath (www.controlpath.com), a developer of automated compliance management solutions;
- Westchester, NY-based Couplets.com (www.couplets.com), a growing online social network designed exclusively for couples to meet like-minded "couple friends."

"While signing-on new clients is critical for any agency, even more important is keeping current clients happy. A third of our clients have partnered with us for three or more years and 50 percent have worked with us for over a year – a significant track record for a five-year-old agency, especially one that started when the market bottomed out," said Norman Birnbach, president, Birnbach Communications. "The key to our success is staying laser focused on delivering excellent service and results even as we experience strong growth. For example, over the past year, we boosted client coverage by 60 percent, including cover stories in Business Week and eWeek."

Additionally, during the past year, Birnbach clients received coverage in national media including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Newsweek, Wired, the Associated Press and MarketWatch.com; local media, from the Arizona Republic to the Washington Times, and major markets in between such as the Boston Globe, Boston Herald, Los Angeles Times, Miami Herald, and Philadelphia Inquirer; and trade publications in every practice sector, including CIO, CFO, Baseline, and others.

"Each member of our team averages 20 years of experience in communications and we all chose to leave big agencies and senior titles behind so we could get back into the trenches of creating and executing smart PR strategies and integrated communications programs. We are passionate about PR, and take pride in being knowledgeable, responsive, accountable, ethical, and engaging – qualities critical to maintaining long-term relationships with clients and media alike," Birnbach added. "We look forward to our next five years."

About Birnbach Communications, Inc.
Boston-based Birnbach Communications, Inc., an independent PR agency, provides its clients with a portfolio of strategic business communication services, specializing in national media relations, executive visibility and corporate communications. The agency enables its client base of emerging and mid-size companies to reach customers, investors, venture capital firms, and business partners; launch new products and services; establish new product categories and drive market demand. Founded in 2001 with the commitment to combine the best aspects of large-agency experience with small-agency culture and dedication, Birnbach Communications brings senior-level intelligence and attention based on an understanding of business issues – not just PR issues. Birnbach's team represents more than 140 years of PR, marketing and communications experience across a range of industries, including financial software and services, security, technology, healthcare and life sciences, consumer, nonprofit and education sectors. For more information, visit www.birnbachcom.com.

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm

Financial Services and Compliance Clients Join Growing Practice

Boston, MA -- (ReleaseWire) -- 08/28/2006 -- Birnbach Communications, Inc., announced today that it has added two new financial software companies to its client roster: Mantas, Inc. and ControlPath Inc. The new clients retained the agency for its media relations, executive visibility, and product reviews expertise. The agency also works with clients in the security, technology, healthcare and life sciences, consumer, nonprofit and education sectors.

For Herndon, VA-based Mantas (www.mantas.com), a leading global compliance and operational risk management solutions firm, Birnbach has been conducting ongoing media relations and thought leadership campaigns. The award-winning Mantas Behavior Detection Platform is the industry's most comprehensive solution for detecting risk, enhancing customer relationships and addressing regulatory requirements in the anti-money laundering (AML), trading and broker compliance areas. Mantas customers include top global financial institutions as well as regional and community banks.

"Providing software that can help banks and other financial institutions is more important than ever. Money laundering is a global problem, and Mantas has been successful in signing new customers around the world and developing deep financial services industry expertise," said Barry Vasudevan, Product Marketing Manager, Mantas. "Because Mantas has a small marketing team, we look to Birnbach as an extension. They have helped us sharpen our messages and improve our image with the media."

Denver-based ControlPath (www.controlpath.com) retained the agency to launch the latest version of its flagship product, ControlPath Compliance Suite 3.0, and to handle communications as the company was spun out from its parent, Accuvant, an elite provider of information security and regulatory compliance solutions and services. ControlPath Compliance Suite 3.0 can save enterprises as much as 90 percent over the cost of manual compliance processes by automating the laborious tasks of complying with regulations such as the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA), Federal Information Systems Management Act (FISMA), and Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and numerous standards.

"We knew that it was important for the product that ControlPath be a separate company, and to pick an agency that can help us establish our voice in a very crowded market. As a company, we can focus on solutions that allow companies to dramatically reduce the estimated $7.4 billion presently being spent on labor and services associated with SOX, security and privacy regulations. And the Birnbach team has helped us with our positioning, our press kit, and getting the attention of our key reporters," said Jim Hietala, Director, Product Marketing, ControlPath.

The market for risk management and compliance is substantial; several industry research firms estimate it between $20 and $27 billion.

"Particularly for financial institutions, compliance is a major corporate issue, ranging from regulations like Sarbanes-Oxley in the U.S. and Basel II in Europe to standards like Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), COBIT, and the growing number of anti-money laundering laws. Companies need solutions that can adapt to current and emerging compliance needs. Financial software companies like Mantas and ControlPath are meeting those needs, and are helping executives improve systems and transparency and better manage their risk. For Mantas, that means banks can track and stop sophisticated money laundering schemes while reducing 'false positives' that inconvenience good customers. For ControlPath, that means customers automate compliance procedures across multiple regulations, reducing costs and stress while improving accuracy and productivity," said Norman Birnbach, President, Birnbach Communications, Inc.

About Mantas
Mantas provides its clients with the industry's most advanced solutions for regulatory compliance, loss prevention and revenue generation. Mantas clients recognize greater transparency of their business and make better-informed decisions as a result. Mantas is a global software company with operations in Europe, the Americas and Asia/Pacific. Recognized as a leader in global operational transparency, the company's products are used by more than 5,000 finance professionals in more than 100 countries.

Headquartered in Herndon, VA, the company has offices in London, New York, and Singapore. Mantas is a Safeguard Scientifics, Inc. (NYSE: SFE) partner company. For further information please visit www.mantas.com.

About ControlPath
ControlPath Inc., a leading developer of automated compliance management solutions, helps organizations transform their compliance programs across multiple regulations and standards through automation. The ControlPath Compliance Suite offers the most robust compliance workflow, most powerful organizational modeling capabilities, and most comprehensive solution scope of any product in the market. Corporations in financial, manufacturing, retail, and other industries rely on ControlPath to help develop more effective and less costly compliance programs and processes. Privately held ControlPath is headquartered in Englewood, CO. For more information, call 303-414-3635 or visit www.controlpath.com.

About Birnbach Communications, Inc.
Boston-based Birnbach Communications, Inc. was founded in 2001 with the commitment to combine the best aspects of large-agency experience with small-agency culture and dedication. The agency provides clients with senior-level intelligence and attention based on an understanding of business issues – not just PR issues. Birnbach's tried-and-tested team of business, journalism and PR professionals represent more than 140 years of PR experience across a range of industries, including financial software and services, security, technology, healthcare and life sciences, consumer, nonprofit and education sectors. Birnbach Communications provides a portfolio of strategic business communication services, specializing in national media relations, executive visibility and corporate communications, to a client base of emerging and mid-size companies enabling them to reach customers, investors, Venture Capital firms, and business partners; launch new products and services; establish new product categories and drive market demand. For more information, visit www.birnbachcom.com.

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm

Demonstrates the win-win as nonprofit organizations attract, retain employees

Boston, MA -- (ReleaseWire) -- 08/14/2006 -- Facing an extraordinary leadership deficit projected at more than 640,000 senior positions over the next decade, according to a white paper from the Bridgespan Group, the nonprofit sector needs multiple strategies to attract and retain talent. One opportunity is to develop and implement flexible work arrangements. The August issue of "Leadership Matters" offers best practices and real-life examples of how nonprofits have used various kinds of "flex" arrangements to attract and retain good managers, and benefit their organizations, employees, and beneficiaries.

Once thought of as solely the domain of working mothers, flexible work arrangements are increasingly important to other groups as well, including older workers considering their options for "post-retirement" work. The 2005 MetLife Foundation/Civic Ventures Survey found that 58 percent of Americans age 50 to 70 said the option of part-time work would make them "very likely" to consider taking a job while 67 percent cited "work hours not flexible enough to meet my schedule" as one reason they might not be able to continue to work after "retirement."

Published by Bridgestar, a nonprofit initiative of the Bridgespan Group dedicated to attracting, connecting and supporting senior leaders for the sector, "Leadership Matters" is part of a robust portfolio of offerings to help both nonprofit organizations and senior leaders make meaningful, appropriate matches. Each month "Leadership Matters" picks a different theme designed as a conversation about how to build and sustain effective nonprofit organizations. The newsletter is available to Bridgestar members or, for a complimentary subscription, please email subscribe@bridgestar.org.

According to Laurie Young, co-founder and Principal of Flexible Resources Inc. and co-author of "The End of Work As We Know It," who was interviewed for the current issue, "Flexibility has become increasingly important to many different groups. Working mothers remain the most prominent group when we talk about part-time and flexible arrangements, but fathers are also becoming more likely to want some flexibility, as are both men and women with elder care issues. Generation X employees feel strongly about flexibility – one interesting statistic is that Gen Xers are three times more likely to quit a job due to lack of flexibility than their Boomer counterparts. And the Boomers are starting to think about winding down their careers, but aren't quite ready for full retirement, so part-time or other flexible arrangements are very attractive to this large group of potential employees."

Flexible arrangements can be a huge win-win situation because employers are able to attract and retain a more diverse mix of employees, who tend to be happier, more productive, and more loyal as a result. Additional reasons to adapt flexible arrangements include the impact of a global economy, increased costs of commuting, while technology makes it easy to be productive anywhere and anytime. "The combination of individual needs and economic realities leads to greater willingness to pursue and accept a variety of flexible arrangements," Young adds.

However, embracing flexible arrangements can be challenging for organizations and employees. For example, both need to think about results, not merely 9-to-5 face-time. And it's critical that the arrangements be structured appropriately because all too often part-time employees are paid 80 percent of their salary while maintaining 100 percent of their work and responsibilities.

From an organizational and employees, keys to making flexible arrangements successful include:

1. Start by hiring highly-skilled, self-motivated people with the energy and drive to succeed.
2. Think outside the box. Don't limit yourself to five days a week, 9-to-5.
3. Work hard to clearly articulate roles, deliverables, and expectations on both ends. In other words, measure results, not face-time.
4. Fully utilize technologies that allow for productive off-site and off-hours work.
5. Invest in making sure that everyone – even those who work only a day a week or almost 100 percent in a virtual office – feels connected to the organization, in terms of both mission and people.

"Given the unprecedented leadership deficit in the nonprofit sector, organizations increasingly need to adapt flexible work arrangements. The ability to accommodate their needs will be seen as an extremely attractive proposition for potential employees," says David Simms, Managing Director, Bridgestar. "In fact, at Bridgestar, a significant percentage of our people work a variety of flexible arrangements – including half of our senior leadership team. We have people who work 'virtually' from home; people who work very flexible part-time arrangements; people who work on a contract basis; even people who work on a seasonal basis. By being so flexible, we have been able to recruit extremely talented people to our ranks whom we would not otherwise have been able to attract, and they have made tremendous contributions to building our success. What's worked at Bridgestar can work for other nonprofit organizations."

The current issue of "Leadership Matters" is available at:
http://www.bridgestar.org/Learning/Newsletters/2006/August2006.aspx. Subscriptions are available to all Bridgestar members. For a complimentary subscription, please email subscribe@bridgestar.org.

About Bridgestar
Bridgestar, an initiative of the Bridgespan Group, is a nonprofit organization providing talent-matching services, content, and tools designed to help organizations build strong leadership teams and individuals pursue career paths as nonprofit leaders. Bridgestar's goal is to attract, connect, and support senior talent, leading to greater organizational effectiveness and social impact.

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm

Boston, MA -- (ReleaseWire) -- 05/09/2006 -- Birnbach Communications, Inc., announced today that it has been named public relations agency of record for Couplets.com, an online social network designed exclusively for couples. The agency also works with U.S. and international clients in the software, security, health care, nonprofit, business-to-business and consumer sectors. Key components of the Birnbach/Couplets.com communications program include positioning & messaging and media relations.

As agency of record for Couplets.com (www.couplets.com), Birnbach has developed the client's positioning and press materials, and is aggressively working to raise visibility for the company. For couples in transition – whether newly engaged or married, relocated to a new area, first-time parents, or recently retired – it can be a challenge to find like-minded couples with shared values and interests, especially with busy schedules and lifestyles. Couplets.com's mission is to enable member couples to easily identify and connect with other couples based on shared interests and locations. Couplets.com offers a selection of more than 40 different activities including dining, sports, theatre, and volunteering, and is designed to be fun, easy and safe to use.

Already in the first few weeks, membership has grown significantly, with members in more than 20 states, representing dating, long-term partners, and married couples in their 20s through 60, straight and gay.

"When you're in a relationship, it can be challenging to meet and make new friends that both you and your partner like. You've got his friends and her friends, but you also need people you both enjoy spending time with. I founded Couplets.com because after moving to the suburbs from New York City, my wife and I found we didn't know anyone nearby. And we found that despite all the online social networking sites, there wasn't any serving this need, even though the market is significant, with more than 65 million married or dating couples in the U.S. The tremendous response in the first few weeks has been gratifying," said Jay Chalnick, President, Couplets.com. "Luckily for us, finding a PR agency to partner with was easy. I had worked with Birnbach Communications before, and was impressed with their knowledge, experience, commitment and results. Last year, when we started developing Couplets.com, one of the first calls we made was to partner with them again."

For Birnbach, pairing up with Couplets.com made a lot of sense. "Online social networking has been successful in helping different segments connect, socialize and do business. Our research showed a few other multipurpose sites offered something similar, but they were hit-or-miss in terms of what was posted on them and hard to navigate. We see a clear advantage to Couplets.com because it is designed specifically for couples who want to make new friends. Based on our own experience, and that of friends who have moved to relocated to new states, for example, we think Couplets.com serves a real need for couples," said Norman Birnbach, President, Birnbach Communications, Inc.

About Couplets.com
Couplets.com is an online social network designed exclusively for couples. Couplets.com's mission is to enable member couples to easily identify and connect with other couples based on shared interests and locations. Couplets.com offers a selection of more than 40 different interests, and is designed to be fun, easy and safe to use. Couplets.com is a privately held, privately funded company headquartered in New City, NY. For more information, visit www.couplets.com.

About Birnbach Communications, Inc.
Boston-based Birnbach Communications, Inc., an independent PR agency, provides its clients with a portfolio of strategic business communication services, specializing in national media relations, executive visibility and corporate communications. The agency enables its client base of emerging and mid-size companies to reach customers, investors, venture capital firms, and business partners; launch new products and services; establish new product categories and drive market demand. Founded in 2001 with the commitment to combine the best aspects of large-agency experience with small-agency culture and dedication, Birnbach Communications brings senior-level intelligence and attention based on an understanding of business issues – not just PR issues. Birnbach's tried-and-tested team of business, journalism and PR professionals represent more than 100 years of PR experience across a range of industries, including software, security, health care, nonprofit, business-to-business and consumer. For more information, visit www.birnbachcom.com.

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.releasewire.com/press-releases/release-3.htm