September 26, 2005
Word-of-Mouth Marketing – New Wrapper on an Old Package?
Imagine getting hundreds – or thousands – of passionate, influential young people with good communications skills to buy into your value proposition, study your key messages, go out on your behalf to talk about you to others, and then report back to you on who they talked to and what the feedback was.
Sounds pretty compelling, doesn’t it? That’s what a new breed of companies called word-of-mouth (WOM) marketers is selling.
The fundamentals make sense. After all, the concept of targeting the pioneers, early adopters and influencers in a systematized manner is just good strategy. However, some of these “new” WOM marketing specialists are going as far as implying that expenditures on other forms of communications – advertising, publicity, online, etc. – should be shifted to this new form of “buzz” generation.
A voice of reason in the buzz over buzz marketing (sorry, couldn’t resist) is Anthony Schweizer, business development manager for BzzAgent (www.bzzagent.com). Speaking at the Worldcom Public Relations Group meeting last week, (www.worldcomgroup.com), he acknowledged the need for WOM marketing to be part of the mix, as opposed to a replacement for any current tactic. In fact, the WOM concept is one of the oldest tactics in the book for anyone with experience in grassroots or influencer-based public relations programs.
Whether you think it’s the “next big thing” or just a new wrapper on an old package, WOM marketing ought to be part of many of your communications strategies. To get an overview, check out the Word-of-Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) at www.womma.org.
p.s. – that little example at the start of this posting? I think it’s safe to say it’s the strategy that’s used by pretty much every faith-based organization in existence today…
Posted by Matt Kucharski at 11:28 AM | Comments (0)
September 23, 2005
Down for the Count
Ladies and gentlemen, in this corner, the former news champion of the world, with all the news that’s fit to print, the old…the venerable…The New York Times! (cue boos)
And in this corner, the challenger: shirt un-tucked, hair a mess, Nano in hand…the young…the clever…the Web Savvy! (cue applause)
Brock: Hi, I’m Brock Brockleman and here with me on the mike at ringside is the current news champion of the world, MSNBC.
MSNBC: Yo Brock, it’s great to be here.
Brock: Well, MSNBC, it’s great to have you. Your Web site traffic is always among the tops when disaster strikes, and your network is starting to make gains again. And we can read you on cell phones around the world. Who’d-a thunk it?
MSNBC: Word, Brock. Word.
Brock: Couldn’t have said it better myself. Now, let’s look at the former champ. This week, the Times hid all its columnists online behind a subscription fee of nearly $50 a year. Oh, sure, the rest of the Times is free online. But fifty bucks for a handful of columnists? Are you kidding me?
MSNBC: I’m hip to your kitchen ‘cause I know what you’re cookin’. Can’t believe it myself. But maybe those boys at the Old Gray Lady know what’s up.
Brock: Well, let history be the judge of that. You’re news is all over network television, the Web, cell phones galore, MSN, blah blah blah. You’re nearly ubiquitous.
MSNBC: Hey, that’s one of them $10 words. Back off, man.
Brock: Point well taken, MSNBC. Point well taken. Now, to the challenger. What do you make of this upstart Web Savvy? He’s a rebel, no doubt about that.
MSNBC: You’re whacked, Brock. Savvy gets his news anywhere he can. He’s a man of the people. Do you think this 25-year-old dude wants to read Maureen Dowd? I mean, yeah, she’s got it goin’ on, but seriously? Does she podcast?
Brock: Now, hold on there. You broadcast news on television with NBC’s B-squad. You’ve lagged far behind CNN and your other competitors for years. Aren’t you irrelevant?
MSNBC: Brockizzle shizzle…d’you still measure yourself in spans and cubits? Savvy doesn’t watch me, and I don’t expect him to watch cable news. He’s too busy playing Grand Theft Auto 2, or downloading the latest tunes from Paul Wall, dig?
Brock: Interesting. Very interesting.
Ding!
Brock: There’s the bell for the first round. The Times shuffles left. But we’re looking at the Web Savvy corner, and he’s not moving – he’s just standing there with his arms down. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like it!
MSNBC: No way, man!
Brock: Yes way! The Times closes in and…oh! Savvy reached down to remove his cell phone from his side pants pocket to read the news and whoosh! The Times threw a right and missed! Now Savvy is back up and he’s trying to find his favorite news podcast on his Nano. There, he’s got it. Wait a second…he’s removing his ear buds and is placing them on The Times. The Times goes down! The Times goes down! The referee is on the mat! 10, 9, 8, 7, The Times staggers to his feet, 6, 5, oh no, word comes to The Times that 500 will be laid off, 4, 3, 2, 1, that’s it! He’s out! He’s out! Savvy is your winner!
MSNBC: Wo, like, he never had a chance.
Brock: No MSNBC, he did. But he blew it. And now he will face you for the world championship!
MSNBC: No problemo. We’re home school.
Brock: Word.
Posted by Rich Sharp at 10:00 AM | Comments (0)
September 20, 2005
Why (not) now? or Have we got the Wright stuff?
This blog is a group effort by some gainfully employed, seriously accredited and painfully experienced public relations folks at Padilla Speer Beardsley, which has been around forty-some years. A few of us are even that old. So we thought we'd share our war stories and warts, reflections and perplexions. That being said, the opinions expressed herein do not necessarily represent our lawyer's and are subject to change without notice or regret.
The Lead is about communication's role in propelling business, i.e., gaining the lead and keeping it, which requires leadership . . . article leads . . . and sales leads. We believe strongly in the science of communication (thanks to John Beardsley), but like the Wright brothers, who were early users of the wind tunnel, we're mindful that the real goal of communications in business is to get off the ground before the other guy. Or to fly higher, faster, lighter, etc.
Feel free to add your comments. They will be reviewed and possibly posted. If not, don't take offense (or wax offensive). Our real jobs probably got in the way. We're serious about this, but don't take us too seriously. We don't.
So why the picture of flamingos on the wing? Because flamingos can be amazing and funny. Because getting businesses off the ground and moving ahead is a lot like migration; it's about determination and coordination and sticking together. And because no one bird leads the whole journey.
Posted by Bob Brin at 2:41 PM | Comments (1)
An Open Letter to Michael L. Eskew, Chairman and CEO, UPS, Inc.:
I’m sure you’ve read about Jose Avila, the Arizona resident who built furniture from Federal Express boxes, and how FedEx lawyers are circling him like desert carrion. What a waste! FedEx has missed a tremendous marketing opportunity in ways I will not share since I get paid for that sort of thing.
But for you, I will share, because, in my time, I have used UPS boxes for things other than shipping. Hell, had I known I could build furniture out of your boxes, I would have had a furnished apartment back when, as a recent college graduate, I made $12,000 a year as a reporter at the International Falls Daily Journal.
Fast forward to today. How many other indigent graduates and students are hand-crafting furniture from your shipping boxes? Are you sending UPS lawyers after those people? No, of course not. They use your products (are you listening, FedEx?). So, how do you make this a thing? Find a graduate or student with a room festooned with UPS furniture. Next, build him a web site – very Spartan, something that looks like it was cobbled together in the wee hours. Take pictures. Draft instructions. Send around the Web and make available for all things digital (text messaging, podcasting, ringtones, email, etc.). Then, integrate some guerilla marketing efforts on the ground, add public relations and advertising (online/offline), throw in a contest and bingo! Instant promotion.
I’m available to talk anytime you’re ready, Mr. Eskew. What can we do for Brown?!
Yours truly,
Rich
Posted by Rich Sharp at 12:28 PM | Comments (0)
Will anybody read this stuff??
Okay, so, if you’ve gotten this far, I guess that answers the question. But hey, it’s still a valid point. I mean, we’re constantly bombarded with information – on TV while we get ready in the morning, on the radio on our way to work, on our cell phones, by the messages waiting for us at the office, through e-mail (oh, man, do we EVER get it through e-mail), and on and on…
So the question is, will people REALLY use blogs to seek out additional information to add to the overload? I guess the jury is still out, but hey, I guess we’ll never know unless we give it a shot.
Lots of questions came up when Bob asked us to be the initial posters on Padilla Speer Beardsley’s foray into the blogosphere (what a stupid word!). One of us wanted to know if we could mention clients (we can, but we need to disclose they’re clients). Another wanted to know if we could mention competitors (yes, feel free, if they’re doing something interesting, but be nice). I was wondering if we could drop an f-bomb here and there (apparently not).
The biggest question, thought, came when we discussed topics. Can I talk about the latest issue of “Desperate Housewives?” (Eva Longoriahhhh!)? Can I “dis” the Vikings (longtime Packer fan)? Can I describe what I had for breakfast (egg beaters and wheat toast)?
The answer, we were told, is “whatever we want,” as long as it has some relevance to the field of strategic communications.
That got the wheels spinning (it happens occasionally). I teach an introductory class in public relations at the University of Minnesota (beer money), and during the first lecture, I described how everyone is exposed to public relations and strategic communications on a daily basis (most of us dozens of times a day). In addition, regardless of whether we go into public relations as a career, or choose another path – law, human resources, marketing, accounting, etc. – there’s a need for all of us to understand what role public relations plays in literally every career in our economy. PR is, after all, a tool for management to use in effectively running an organization.
So, here’s my logic. If postings on this blog need to relate to strategic communications, and if strategic communications indeed impacts literally every aspect of society and our economy, well then shouldn’t I be able to write about pretty much anything I want? I mean, if A=B, and B=C, then A=C, right?
At least that’ll be my defense the first time I get a call from our CEO about one of my postings…
Thanks for visiting…lock the door when you leave.
Posted by Matt Kucharski at 11:17 AM | Comments (1)
September 19, 2005
Booyah, Booyah and a Cloud of Dust
Since Mad Money started airing on CNBC in March, a new market-moving force has emerged: Jim Cramer (and his now infamous “booyah” battle cry). Cramer’s hour-long spastic waltz isn’t news. Forbes, Time Magazine, The LA Times, and countless others have written on him extensively. But the increasingly powerful “Cramer Effect”—which is driven by his nightly picks and pans—is moving shares like nothing or no one we’ve seen since the stock jocks of the 1990s.
Take Plum Creek Timber (NYSE: PCL) for example—a company Cramer took a bullish stance on Tuesday (9/13/05) night. The stock closed at $37.30 on 9/13; it opened the next day $.60 higher (on no news) with crazy-high volume.
Booyah. The Cramer effect. This often emotional, occasionally irrational and always entertaining (that’s what TV is) force is something to reckon with if you’re a public entity. Should Cramer wax wacky on your ticker, watch the current share price likely depart in a cloud of dust . . . or smoke.
Posted by Matt Sullivan at 10:30 AM | Comments (0)
September 18, 2005
The Investor Relation-ization of Learning
In doing some work for the good folks at Capella University, this study by Accenture on high performance learning (2004) was required reading. It underscores the need to lead in training/education, market it and communicate the value of the investment and not just to investors. (Accenture's not a client, but we're open to the idea.)
With the following numbers of unusual size (NUSs)(pronounced "nooses" because you can hang yourself quoting big numbers), it says "companies with high-performance learning organizations returned better revenue and profit growth compared to their competitors and industry peers:
- Productivity (as measured by sales per employee) was 27 percent greater
- Revenue growth was 40 percent higher
- Net income growth was 50 percent greater
But I was most interested in the marketing/communication analysis . . .
"The ability to market and communicate the value of learning across the enterprise is one of the newest competencies on the radar screen of learning executives, and this is a trend worth watching. The best learning organizations are using a blended marketing model. This includes a range of electronic methods such as e-mail marketing, a learning website and personalized e-mail newsletters, as well as a variety of print methods. One newer vehicle to communicate value is the Learning Annual Report, currently used by 16 percent of the learning organizations in our survey sample. The Learning Annual Report mirrors the company annual report, stating the major goals of the learning organization in business terms and then recapping the significant accomplishments during the year."
Sort of an Investor Relationization of corporate education -- promotion and accounting for the investment.
Posted by Bob Brin at 3:48 PM | Comments (0)
News as a search engine magnet
Propulsion on the Web is like any energy expenditure. Most of your cost is in getting off the ground and most of the benefit comes at cruise speed. PR and marketing communications requires a significant investment in careful crafting and packaging of words. But then you get maximum acceleration by leveraging the heck out of your content, rather than letting it get locked into a press release or newsletter. Merchandize that content by: . . .
--optimizing individual pages (press releases, newsletter articles, etc.) for the search engines
--creating micro sites for select key words and content
--running pay-per-click ads for your articles on Google and Overture
--using e-notes and e-newsletters
--making it easy for blogs and news sites to pick up your content with RSS feeds
It's the thought that counts; the rest is gravy!
Posted by Bob Brin at 7:43 AM | Comments (0)
September 17, 2005
Have you Technorati'd yourself lately?
You've heard of Googling yourself to see if you're famous on the Web. Inappropriate as it may sound, it's a good idea and very healthy, actually. (I found I'm not as famous as Sergey Brin, but he has an inside advantage.)
Technorati is a Google for blogs. BlogPulse is another sort of search engine for blogs. These will tell you what people are saying about you and your customers and their products and their mothers on the blogs. Or maybe you can't handle the truth . . .
Posted by Bob Brin at 7:23 AM | Comments (0)
September 13, 2005
Yahoo! – You’re No CNN…Or Are You?
Here’s a thought: Remember back in the day when an uppity, outdoorsy fellow named Ted Turner decided television news needed a shot in the arm and started his own network? It was a seismic shift in the way television news was produced and reported. So, fast forward about 30 years.
Google, Yahoo! and MSN are becoming multimedia conglomerates themselves. Who’s to say that both won’t become news media themselves with their own news desks, editors, producers and reporters? Here’s the first salvo from Yahoo!.
It’s only a matter of time before we mention Yahoo!, Google and MSN in the same breath as CNN, NBC and The New York Times. Time to update Bacon’s…and ourselves.
Posted by Rich Sharp at 9:05 AM | Comments (0)
