Sliced Bread

What We Can Do is About What We Care to Know

In talking to a friend and former colleague just today, he was sharing details about his new gig and considering it an opportunity to better shape PR for clients. "Press releases were the default and we all know that isn't the answer." He was excited about the opportunity to really make out-of-the-box ideas happen to get results...outside of the 'here's a new story idea for you to consider.'

Don't we all.

But when we're in the PR house - we're most often forced to play by the house rules - driving coverage. It's a struggle to get out from under it but depending on the end goal, many times, it's so much more effective to go with the alternative (albeit uncomfortable) option.

Sometimes what we need, or need to share, is a swift kick to get us in gear. Like this deck Mashable just (re)released - What the F**k is Social Media: One Year Later.

Especially in light of news today of ESPN limiting the use of social media. -- For which the list of criticisms continues to grow. -- As well as the U.S. Marine Corps' similar, newly adopted restriction. (The information exposure part I get, but for letting loved ones reach out and simply for recruiting policies - maybe they ought to develop a usage policy instead of banning all use.) This ought to be seen by all companies with sense to evolve in changing times* to continue growing business.

What the F**K is Social Media: One Year Later

View more documents from Marta Kagan.

Fact that stands out most because it's true to me: Visiting social sites is now the 4th most popular online activity -- ahead of personal e-mail.

*As in, how all business is and always has been an adaptation of a company's environment - 'changing times' can and should not be exclusive to what is proving-to-no-longer-be-contained-by-the-definition-of-phenomenon of social media.

E-mail Recall? You Mean, "I just realized my pitch sucks"

Hey PR folks!

How many times have you wondered whether or not that media contact is even glancing at your pitch before hitting 'DELETE' ?

I'd like to believe the e-mails I construct shape a well-thought-out story idea that's actually useful to those I'm reaching but for those times in which my attempts fall short, I'd like to think that either:

a) No one ever prints out my message to do this to it.

OR

b) They do, and I unknowingly serve to provide some comic relief as people mock my #pitchfail.

-

Thanks for sharing, CrunchGear.

Online Consumption Must Change Measurement

Reading an article from the NYT, I'm fascinated by how much I don't know about Web ad strategies and what works versus what doesn't.

"Although the recession has slowed its growth, nearly $25 billion will be spent on Web advertising this year." Quite a chunk of change.

As media consuming habits continue to shift, so does the impact certain ad models have on those supposedly watching. Recognizing the potential damage of an ineffective strategy, Walt Disney Company now is placing a heavy new emphasis on advertising research. While focus groups allow us to understand consumer preferences based on what subjects tell us, this approach examines the scientific evidence behind receptiveness to various ad models.

Can't say what my heart rate was, or my skin temperature, but will say one example from Sprint struck out in my book, despite the suck-me-in 60 sec. regular spots. (At any given moment, are 2 billion people really texting about diapers during a business meeting?)

Though just last week, while catching a missed fav summer program episode online, I was put off by the Sprint ad that occupied the preroll space during each break - encouraging me to 'click here' to return to my programming. I think we all know better.

Also fascinating, a recent AdAge piece begging the question, 'how do we right the wrongs of measurement and still figure ROI?' Clicks don't necessarily measure effeciveness of an online ad. Of course they don't! Because a click through doesn't directly point to consumer buys. Same goes for PR - number of impressions was long the easiest way to measure to show value.

While most, if not all PR prof's, have realized that changed some time ago, too many are still applying the same theory to the evolving strategies for clients through digital communications. 'If my client is on Twitter, how do I show return on the initiative? How do I link my client's comments to their e-commerce site so blog readers will buy the product.' You're missing it folks. Clients want to drive sales but while it's the ultimate business goal we need to consider while forming our strategies, we can't structure them in a way for sales to be the immediate result and still expect consumer take-up. It's the conversations that matter.

Compare it to the concern of, 'if I don't see what I get out of corporate social responsibility, how is it worth my time.' It's feel-good relationship-building with your target consumer base - those people who care about the company getting behind the greater good.

What's the secret to getting clients to start actually trusting their agencies, (at least those that get it) that these online activities spark conversation that does eventually leads to action.  While not necessarily immediate, or direct, it is effective if it's done right. Sure it's hard to trust without the numbers to show return. So hasn't it got to be about a change in measurement model - showing the big picture over the long-term to demonstrate real results?

Only Focused on Chapter One

In following the GM bankruptcy matter very closely, the company's Reinvention ad absolutely caught my eye this morning while heading in to work. With the decision taking place just yesterday a.m., I was impressed at how 'together' GM's agencies were in not only recognizing the need for timely action but in implementing.

With pretty compelling, not to mention clever, messages no less.

Not just stating the need for reinvention but actually explaining what that would mean to consumers.

Tweet It Like You Mean It

After recently reading Mullen head creative honcho @edwardboches' post about why CEOs should get on Twitter, this morning I spotted an @link plug in a company's executive announcement and upon checking it out, I started thinking even more than I have been about Twitter as a 'tool.'

Conflict.

My daytime-description requires me to consider how it and other online applications can serve as 'tools' while my non-9-to-5 mind sees it simply as an activity to connect.

Merge. It's both.

True - there are marketing folks out there tweeting for their clients...the must-jump-on-the-bandwagon-regardless-of-how-it's-accomplished method versus the do-it-because-it-fits method. Hint: the second will, (and has proven to) be more valuable in the long run, which seems to be something most of us in the industry have realized by now. For some though, it's not so black and white. There are many, in this case, several of those we counsel, who are still trying to find their online comfort level so we in turn find ourselves on a sliding scale of how to help them be there and feel OK about it.

Getting executives online is smart, but the answer for we whose job it is to encourage is not in how to fake it. If you, Mr. CEO, are thinking about starting a personal Twitter account, use it to be yourself. No one minds a little brand building - it's necessary - but we like it better if it's honest. Reminder, that the first rule in having an online presence is transparency. If it's a clearly corporate account, personalize it, it's more genuine when you do. But so long as your actual face has replaced the o_O standard, and your actual name, (or a version of it) has been @-ified, please, just be real.

It isn't something that should be forced, yet we're starting to see an attempt to do so. The case of the scripted 140 characters. The line here has been blurred for a long time. If ghost writing isn't on the up-and-up, why does PR draft contributed content and simply place an executive's name on the author line? Definitely not a rare occurrence, so technically, isn't 'ghost-tweeting' the same idea? -- Let's recall for a moment, the upset caused by the blogging fiasco involving a well-known PR firm and its giant retail client...

Perhaps here lays the line with companies -- in traditional methods, it didn't much matter who the content was coming from, so long as it appeared credible. Readers only wanted the information. Now, online, they want the information and a touch point, and many cases the relevancy of the information doesn't matter as much as what it means to them. Being able to connect directly to that other person in a real way - be it a friend, colleague or corporate executive.

We've learned it's necessary to understand how best to speak/write in our executive's voice in traditional practices - in theory, one could modify this to blog or microblog using another's voice...except it's so much easier to see through. When an executive has recently appeared on Twitter, does anyone actually believe they immediately understand the jargon, have 100 followers, host Tweetups, etc.? It's a learning experience. Any true #newbie I know is still learning after only 5 updates, despite how much they've heard or read about the Twitter culture - they've got to feel it out for awhile.

Reiterate. Use Twitter because you want to, and then tweet it like you mean it. Don't worry if you look or feel a little silly at first, lost even, it comes with the territory of trying something new.

Got To See a Man About a Pool

"We've got to go see a man about a pool." A wonderfully funny inside joke between me and the brother, which ironically sums up our conversation this morning very well.

During a Sunday morning check in, we got on the topic of a new entrepreneurial venture he has in mind - well formulated in fact. The question was, which I believe to be on the minds of a number of savvy self-starters lately, "how do I get this concept off and running while keeping my day-job."

The threat is very much there, and while we've been convinced that a turn-around is soon to come, hence feeling as though the cliff is a bit further off than it was just months ago, it's still just as likely that any professional can begin tomorrow's 9 to 5 only to find that their desk has been sealed off before the first cup of coffee. Which has the tendency to separate people into two divisions, those who will fight to maintain, and those who will develop a plan of attack in preparation for the worst case scenario while fighting to maintain.

Which takes us to a tangent and not the purpose of this post. Instead, back to the potential side business. Selling pools.

Seems easy enough, although only practical given the right conditions, (Boston weather excluded, of course.) The brother, however, happens to be located in Houston, so a bit more logical a location. The question at hand over coffee this morning was: to hang a banner or post a sign in the neighborhood to attract the primary customer base, and what would be the language? My answer was instead another question - having identified the initial target audience, what is their main objective in choosing to buy a pool? And what will best speak to them based on that desire? More than simply, what will catch their attention while driving down the street. The conclusion we came to was - best to market to these folks in a way that wasn't so in their face. Who wants to see a bright blue banner on the nice new home in the cul-de-sac telling them to buy a pool? More of a disturbance to the neighborhood feel if you ask me... Amidst an overall strategy, what about instead starting by inviting the block over for a family-friendly pool party? Don't just give a testimonial - show one and talk around it. They feel and experience how great it is to have one, and it just so happens the one who can make it happen is the guy down the street they toss a casual 'hello' to every morning while stepping out to grab the paper.

The challenge is to get to the heart of what's behind purchasing decisions when faced with the demands of growing the customer base from zero, especially when taking into consideration an already saturated market, pun intended.

Measure v. Do

As it becomes even more apparent in these budget-cutting times that PR firms must invest the time necessary to demonstrate actual value, how do we also balance that with out-of-the-box, forward-thinking, brand-building strategies to stay ahead of the curve?

Perhaps invest in (or develop) tools to help measure and report - to leave room for the creative minds to do what they do best.

Social Media Instruments

Focusing more intently on thinking about social media strategies that work, I came across an interesting point in a relevant posting.   

Instead of referencing social media as a tool, this new media communications professional/blogger poses that we should instead think of it more as an art. Basically, that any monkey can use a ‘tool’ but only talented artists can play an instrument and make it work beautifully -- a strong metaphor when you consider how much noise there already is in the digital media world.

Others have explored the strategy and success of social media campaigns from conception. Too often we see (and some implement) recommendations that adhere to pedestrian (and overused) steps that simply ensure clients are able to jump onto the social media bandwagon: start a blog, join Twitter, create a Facebook group.

First, not strategic. Second, not necessarily does every company benefit by being in the space. It's crucial to consider if the culture of the company is in a condition to take advantage of social media without becoming stagnant or redundant. Sometimes the best question to start with is if the client will find value in it and if not, will education of social media shift that perception?

A past client situation comes to mind: Our team brought up starting a blog - a few times - knowing the company was full of strong, engaging, creative writers with important things to say. But in our client’s opinion, (who was very aware of what was and wasn’t being talked about in her industry) any blog the company contributed would’ve only been static in the industry conversation. Instead of starting a blog just to have one, the company still won’t go there until they’re confident that they have something meaningful to say that will help them stand out in the medium. And we trusted her.

Before recommending any strategy to the client, shouldn't we evaulate the environment that company is entering specific to their industry and determine the best, if any, approach? Yes, unless we want our client to be the next 'worst example' story.

More than the Strategy You Used Yesterday

In a recent staff meeting, our agency had a brief discussion about what we have to offer to address client needs and wants better than others. Through the new business process, a potential client had articulated to us what most don't, which is exactly what every single company looks for from a PR firm, whether they realize it or not. Simply, (or maybe not always) to recognize each of the company's publics, and based on what is known to work using a variety of tactics, reach each of those publics most effectively, sometimes separately but all with a common end goal. And we all know that regardless of how it's measured, this common goal is most ofetn to grow the company's bottom line.

It's easy to get wrapped up in using the same old tools we always rely on to get the job done instead of considering all options to reach across several mediums, resulting in a mutlifaceted and integrated strategic campaign. Even if it means trying something that hasn't been done before. Especially given the state of the industry and the economy at-large, creative agencies today can't afford not to take risks. We must step, or leap rather, outside the box. And we're recognizing that the thriving agencies are those already operating this way.

As opposed to talking up our qualifications based on what we've seen and done before to reach solutions the same way every time, we should speak to our experience more as practice we can leverage to cater our trade to each specific client to achieve similar, if not better, results. Of course it's crucial to have an understanding of our clients' environments inside and out, but this is the only 'been there done that' message we should be spewing, especially when we're in the game of winning a potential client's first (or in some cases third and fourth) impression.

A request so simple serves as a reminder to how we each as individual professionals should be seeking creativity in every approach and as a team, using our capabilities as a foundation, yes, but always be seeking the next most inventive method.

Virgins & Suicide

Insensitive or ingenious? PRWeek (and everyone else) reports on two recent ad campaigns sparking controversy among consumers, bloggers and the media but are they proving effective in building the brands? Some agree that extreme ideas do rise above the clutter, despite the risk. Others, like a Ruder Finn EVP, says an apology is the right thing in this case.

PepsiMax may have gone a bit far with it's German-run ads, but then again, the message wasn't intended to offend.

After the 'Whopper Freakout' earlier this year, Burger King's agency has, if nothing else, spurred some serious conversation with the Whopper Virgins campaign. What's fascinating is that people are really, really peeved. Step outside the fact that the promotion of fast food is furthering our society's health problems, and the larger criticiscm of the indecency of featuring the indigent, and look purely at the creativity behind the campaign. And it is likely that the Crispin thinkers anticipated this sort of backlash right there in the brainstorm.

We've seen time and again that when it comes to ethics, ad folks tend to play with a different rule book than their PR-counterparts, but I can definitely recognize this campaign for what it is to a creative mind...and that isn't because I'm an 'ignorant American.'