Accounting firm Freed Maxick & Battaglia CPAs is running a mobile campaign to educate C-level executives and business professionals about the New York State Excelsior Jobs Program, which provides job creation and investment incentives to companies in the high-tech, bio-tech, pharmaceutical, green-tech, financial services, agribusiness and manufacturing sectors.

The firm has launched a mobile Web site that provides industry and eligibility information about the program, including its four refundable tax credits. The site is accessible via smartphones at http://www.freedmaxickmobile.com and promoted through the use of quick response codes used in the firm’s traditional print and direct marketing campaigns, as well as on site at seminars.

“The strategy of our mobile initiative is to educate C-level executives and business professionals about the issues that affect them most,” said Emily Alexandria Burns, emarketing and communications specialist at Freed Maxick & Battaglia CPAs, Buffalo, NY. “We aim to make access to important issue-driven information easy and available on the go.

“With our first mobile campaign, we are highlighting the New York State Excelsior Jobs Program, and later on this year, we will tackle issues such as the federal R&D tax credit, energy and green-related tax and international tax topics,” she said. “Part of our overall marketing strategy for the last few years has included the utilization of digital tools such as the social media platforms, and now we broaden our reach by including mobile technology.

“We feel all of these tools are crucial to our success, allowing us to keep up with information as it becomes available, service our client needs and the ability to stay competitive.”

Freed Maxick & Battaglia CPAs provides assurance, tax and consulting services. It claims to be one of the largest public accounting firms in western New York and one of the 100 largest CPA firms in the United States.

The firm contracted with the Philipson Group, based in Rochester, NY, to create the mobile site and to consult about the usage of QR codes. 

QR codes drive CFOs to the mobile Web
The QR codes, when scanned with a smartphone’s camera, lets users get more information about New York State’s new program.

The mobile site promotes the services that Freed Maxick provides to help companies claim these new tax credits.

Users have various options to connect with the firm—calling its office directly, submitting questions about the program via their mobile device, subscribing to the firm’s tax newsletter or connecting via social media channels such as Facebook and LinkedIn.

Freed Maxick’s 2011 mobile initiatives also include campaigns for the federal R&D tax credit, energy and green-related tax and international tax.  

The firm’s target demographic includes C-level executives and business professionals—however, it also hopes to reach the specific industry groups that these issues affect.

“Marketing outreach is also planned to reach out to some of our local chambers of commerce, so as to make sure that we alert the many member businesses of these timely topics, and let them know our firm is here to help them navigate through new programs and tax incentives,” Ms. Burns said.

“The mobile site allows users an easy way to access information that affects them, and then reach out to Freed Maxick immediately, so they can capitalize on programs or tax credits that may benefit them,” she said. “This all happens in real time, on the go.”

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