NOVITA PR NEOCON 2021 BROADER DESIGN PITCH

Update May 12: We wanted to send along an update on our NeoCon pitch plan. We’ve had great calls with several NeoCon manufacturers to get their take and are also using them as a resource for supporting collateral. Overall, we’ve received a lot of great positive feedback and have developed relevant, timely angles. The manufacturers we’ve been speaking to have given us the most feedback and strongest insight into the workplace category. Because of this and given that “return to workplace” stories are getting a lot of traction right now, we’ve been focusing on our long-lead, broadcast pitches around that vertical and around the first pitch listed farther down below (“Employee Expectations Have Changed: How the $12.83 Billion Commercial Interiors Industry is Designing for Mental Health, Inclusivity and More). In addition, we’ve been monitoring recent stories around the subject and we’re directly responding to these. Below are the recent pitches. We will be pitching the other angles in the upcoming weeks, as well as print + digital, and are reaching out to gather more intel on the other verticals so we can properly target those. We can provide more updates as we go.

PITCHES SENT • CBS Sunday News • CBS News • NBC Nightly News • NBC News • PBS Newshour • Fox Business Network • CNN Business • America This Morning • BBC News • ABC News Turning Point • ABC News Nightline • Direct Response Pitches: • “Back to the Office (Maybe)” - CBS Sunday News this Morning with Susan Spencer on May 2 • Sent our pitch to Susan Spencer and several producers at CBS News in response to this with the angle that we could help secure additional segments that show the backstory of the industry behind making “back to work” inclusive, and creating effective environments that will give the workforce the supportive surroundings they need to return at least in a hybrid manner. • “‘Hybrid’ Return-to-Office Models Could Create Subcaste of Workers” - CBS Moneywatch on May 6 • Sent pitch in response with the angle that perhaps the solution is offering more supportive workspaces for all to encourage more people to return to the office, albeit in a more hybrid way. Companies want to show the value of being in the office and accounting for mental health and wellness is important to that. • “Returning To The Workplace: What We Know About Changes, Vaccinations” - NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt on April 6 • Sent pitch in response with the angle showing the backstory of how the commercial interiors industry has been addressing the workforce’s needs even pre-pandemic, and what these future workspaces will look like. • “Bank Bosses are Hoping to Leave Remote Work in the Past” - Bloomberg News/Bloomberg Surveillance May 4 • Sent pitch in response with the angle that perhaps the solution is offering more supportive workspaces for all to encourage more people to return to the office, albeit in a more hybrid way. Companies want to show the value of being in the office and accounting for mental health and wellness is important to that. • “Will Workers Return to Re-Imagined Offices Post Pandemic?” - PBS Newshour on March 14 • Sent pitch in response to this story, which framed this moment as “a revolution in how we work.” But, mental health factors and inclusivity have been something the commercial interiors industry has been working on for several years and we can offer an inside look. • “What to Expect When You’re Back at Your Desk” - ABC News GMA, April • Sent pitch in response, offering answers to what is the ideal space and need for flexibility and inclusivity and how companies can entice people to come back to the office.

OVERARCHING PITCH OVERVIEW

Pitch Targets:

Broadcast: CBS Sunday News This Morning, NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt, Bloomberg Daybreak Americas, PBS Newshour, America This Morning, Fox Business Network, CNN Business, CNBC, BBC News, ABC News, Weekend Mornings with Fox2 (Deirdre knows anchor)

Print/Digital: NY Times, WSJ, Chicago Tribune, Business Insider, Fast Company, Forbes, CNBC Make it: Work, The Atlantic, Time, Newsweek, Inc., Wired, Huffington Post, Bloomberg, Bloomberg Businessweek, Curbed, Chicago Sun Times, NY Magazine Intelligencer, AP, NPR, The Economist, Fortune, USA Today, Smithsonian

Podcast: Business of Home, Archispeak, The Observatory, 99% Invisible, This American Life, Freakonomics, The New Yorker Radio Hour, Economist Radio, PBS Newshour/America Interrupted

Timing: We have created several pitches that can be teased out as either a one-part (on-site in October) or two-part series. If journalists are interested in a two-part, this would be a “behind- the-scenes” type piece as we lead up to the show, e.g. offering access to manufacturers’ factories to give an insider look at production and/or R+D teams at work, as well as project site visits with top firms. The second part would be the in-person NeoCon event where we can illustrate the industry coming together, feature relevant programming, and showcase solutions launching at the show that fit within the pitch theme.

Pitch Angles:

• Employee Expectations Have Changed: How the $12.83 Billion Commercial Interiors Industry is Designing for Mental Health, Inclusivity and More.

• From Manufacturing to Market: How these Leading American Brands are Pioneering New Solutions for the Offices, Schools and Hospitals of Tomorrow

• Materials Matter - Manufacturers Share What’s Next

• Design Thinking & Collaboration in the Post-Pandemic Workplace

• How Do We Design for Future Public Spaces? Incorporating Physical, Environmental, Psychological

Sources: NeoCon, BIFMA, Manufacturers, Designers, Industry Experts