CooperKatz & Company, Inc., a mid-sized New York City public relations firm, more famously known as the employer of Steve Rubel of Micro Persuasion, today launched a new service to help corporations monitor, analyze, plan for and respond to issues that might bubble up from blogs.

The service is the first in a series of planned introductions under a new agency practice called, oddly enough: “Micro Persuasion” that will be led by Steve Rubel, VP, Client Services. Micro Persuasion capabilities will not only help companies address corporate issues and concerns but also capitalize on the vast opportunities that blogs and other new channels afford to engage key audiences in a transparent dialogue. Micro Persuasion counsel will be infused into the agency’s existing PR services, but can also be purchased as a stand-alone service.

“Thanks to weblogs and other inexpensive online publishing tools, individual voices are more influential than ever in the marketplace,” said Andy Cooper, an agency principal. “Corporations need to pay attention to this online commentary as well as engage in a one-to-one dialogue with its ‘authors.’ We see an opportunity to create a new kind of service that helps companies listen, prepare and manage issues - as well as their overall reputation - in this emerging era of citizen’s media. When you couple our experience with online privacy, product recalls, litigation, strikes, mergers and acquisitions and controversial marketing categories with our knowledge of blogs and consumer-generated media, we feel we have a unique expertise that will be quite compelling.”