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November 29, 2005
A longer needle. Is that all it takes to cure what ails us?
At a Radiological Society of North America meeting today, doctors debated the medical necessity of affixing longer needles to their syringes when administering vaccines or other intramuscular injections to obese patients. This unsightly epidemic has spread, it seems, to the point where a good two-thirds of an injection failed to reach muscle tissue.
This study focused mostly on injections aimed at one’s posterior –– when perhaps researchers should have aimed higher and focused on the fat that threatens to keep real news from reaching our brains.
Just a little more than a week ago, a local television network ladled gravy between the collective ears of the metro area with the announcement it was going to change the format of one of its morning programs from something less “newsy” and more “infotainment.” Companies, special interests, experts, spice salespersons, all will have the opportunity to appear on this show when it debuts, provided they pony up the dollars. In more coarse words, viewers will be treated to 26 minutes of pay-for-play.
My inner news prude screams, “Outrageous! A cardinal sin of the airwaves, usually saved for voids on cable.” As I drew a breath to protest, I stopped. Then I watched “Good Night, and Good Luck.” This brief film that retraces the steps of a network news team to take on an unpopular subject reminded me that, really, isn’t money the thing that has driven most of what we call newsworthy? Maybe not out in the open, but certainly in a number of closed-door meetings.
Have news viewers become so laden with this mental fat that this concept will take off? It may have already, in other markets. Viewers have done little to discourage this. At the end of a burdensome day, most of us would crave a bit of fluff; we asked, and the networks (and their sponsors) have gladly provided.
Our news appetites are supplemented more and more by the empty calories of information that entertains more than it informs. What does this mean for real, ugly news that reporters or networks may not want to pursue? Mary Poppins’ patented spoonful of sugar won’t help.
Looks like we might need a longer needle ourselves.
Sarah Voigt
Posted by Sarah Voigt at 9:07 AM | Comments (0)
November 22, 2005
Fishing for Effective Publicity
Everything I've ever learned about effective publicity came from fishing with my Dad. Want to generate more valuable publicity (and catch more fish)? Keep these basic tenets in mind...
1. Know what you're fishing for
2. The bait matters
3. Take note of the conditions
4. Catching a lunker takes patience -- and it may not taste very good
5. Pray for a little bit of luck -- and be prepared when you get it
Okay a little bit more detail:
1. Know what you're fishing for. The novice angler will bait a hook and drop it in the water, expecting a wide range of fish to swim by and literally jump into the boat. A lot of companies view publicity in the same way -- drop a news release on the wire and wait for reporters to come running. In reality, the best anglers -- and best publicity professionals -- build a strategy around one species of fish, and go after that fish with an approach tailored specificially for it.
2. The bait matters. You can bait your hook with a worm, but you're not likely to catch a trophy marlin. The same goes for publicity. If you don't have news that's worthy of the Wall Street Journal, then you're just wasting your time and your money. Ultimately, it's not YOU who decides if the bait is worthwhile -- it's the fish.
3. Take note of the conditions. The best anglers recognize that the right conditions are critical to success. The weather, the barometric pressure, water temperature and flow, amount of natural food, time of day and even time of year have a major impact on fishing success. Environmental conditions also affect publicity success in much the same way. If you're not paying attention to the surrounding conditions -- political climate, competitive environment, time of day/year, and other news taking place -- you're not going to be successful.
4. Catching a lunker takes patience -- and it may not taste very good. Pound for pound, the best freshwater fighting fish include the trout, smallmouth bass and bluegill. They're not the biggest, but they're definitely enjoyable to catch (and to eat). I've been in a boat where one angler, had a really great time catching a mess of crappies while the other angler (me), beat the water to a froth trying to catch a big northern pike. At the end of the day, who had the better trip? In publicity, management often pressures us to go after and land the "big fish," whether it be the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, CNN, Forbes, or some other "big outlet." In some cases, it's the right strategy. In other cases, it's time wasted chasing the big guy when there are other more effective ways to reach an important target. Oh yeah, and some times when you do land the big one, it doesn't really have that much impact.
5. Pray for a little bit of luck -- and be prepared when you get it. You can strategize and accessorize all you want, but the most experienced angler and the novice, both need a little bit of luck. The biggest bass I've ever seen caught was by a 5-year-old kid on a pond while he was fishing for perch. When fishing with a big group, I put my money on the newbie to catch either the biggest or the most fish. Why? Because when it boils down to it, that newbie has just as much chance of having a fish swim by his bait as the most experienced veteran -- and he's surrounded by others who know how to fish and will help him when he gets one on the line. Luck plays into publicity as well, and as in life, that luck favors the prepared. There will come a time when the Wall Street Journal, Forbes or Fortune opportunity will present itself. It may come when you least expect it, and you need to be prepared when it happens to take full advantage of it.
Time to go...I hear the bluegills are biting on the lake behind my house...
Posted by Matt Kucharski at 1:57 PM | Comments (0)
November 16, 2005
Biting the Hand
CEOs come in all shapes and sizes, all colors and flavors, but one thing is common among them: communicating using new channels (read: technology) scares the pinstripes off their suits.
So it’s no surprise that survey after survey casts CEOs as a cautious lot when it comes to using blogs to communicate. But what’s concerning about the C-level view on blogs is the notion that, despite trepidation, blogs might be a good way to quickly communicate new ideas (read: self promotion).
Some C-folk have tried it and are generally accepted as early adopters of blogs for corporate gain. General Motors’ Vice Chairman Bob Lutz is a regular contributor to FastLane, GM’s executive-to-consumer blog. I’m not fond of product blogs, including FastLane (though as a former Opel owner, I went misty when I saw the new Opels).
I’m troubled by the fact that it’s called a blog. It looks like a blog, maybe even smells like a blog. It allows for comments. But let’s not be mistaken. It is not a blog. It is opinion pieces and news releases with one big corporation telling us how great it is. And there’s nothing wrong with that – as long as it is crystal clear.
Surveys like the one just conducted by PR Week/Burson-Marsteller and Milward Brown miss the point. Of course CEOs are going to say it’s great to talk about the company’s new ideas by using a blog. Hey, great, one more way to blow our horn. Unless the blog is clearly identified as a marketing tool and not a traditional blog that encourages two-way conversation, it’s not really a blog.
Marketing guru Seth Godin says blogs work when they are based on:
• Candor
• Urgency
• Timeliness
• Pithiness
• Controversy
Then he says “Does this sound like a CEO to you?” and “Save the fluff for the annual report.” Through this lens, FastLane isn’t a blog.
I wonder if the PRWeek/Burson-Marsteller survey asked this question: As a CEO/executive, are you willing to receive honest and harsh criticism in an open, public forum, and are you ready to answer critics?
Though FastLane isn’t really a blog, it does answer that question. Its redeeming quality is self-proclaimed, and it’s the perfect CEO blog role:
“The FastLane blog is all about the cars and trucks. GM leaders discuss all aspects of our vehicles. We look forward to hearing your ideas.”
No fog there.
Posted by Rich Sharp at 8:59 AM | Comments (0)
November 10, 2005
Next generation of leaders and entrepreneurs will know their marketing.
First let me get the bragging over with: my daughter was just elected president of her high school’s DECA program (Go Polars!). Of course, she’s got an unfair advantage – her old man. (This is a smiley-free zone.) Anyway, what a great program! DECA is basically regular high school and college curriculum that’s all about marketing, management and entrepreneurship; plus it’s competitive, like mock trial or the debate team. They’re writing and delivering speeches, creating ad campaigns, developing PR plans and pitching products. They take it very seriously. It’s like having your kid in another sport. Okay . . . it’s more like a cult.
Kids these days! Many of the top students are in DECA, even if their aspirations are med school or engineering. They already know that a surgeon or a rocketeer will do even better and go farther if they know how to present and market their stuff. You’ll actually see football jocks co-mingling with chemistry geeks and high-fiving each other. (Someone could get hurt!) For us PR types, it will mean a new generation of communications- and marketing-savvy management.
And they’re not just aiming for that all-inclusive-A. They put their hearts into it. The Minnesota awards event is like a young entrepreneurs rock fest. You’ve never seen so many young adults dressed in suits and dresses cheering for their team members and schools. Makes our local PRSA awards event look pretty tame.
Now, as a word-welder with a single E degree (English), I’m all for liberal arts, but man I wish my high school had DECA when I was there. Parents, if your kids aren’t already there, consider encouraging them to get into the program . . . and then get involved yourselves. Agencies and businesses should consider supporting the local or national programs; it’s a good way to meet tomorrow’s elite. These are kids who know how to compete, think on their feet and work with a hybrid team of schmoozers, geeks and geniuses. Sound like business?
Bob Brin
Posted by Bob Brin at 11:38 AM | Comments (0)
November 4, 2005
Cooper Populi
Part of our job is to monitor the comings and goings of media types, so it was an interesting Thursday as we witnessed the departure of CNN’s Aaron Brown and the insertion of Anderson Cooper into Brown’s “Newsnight” slot. Set aside, for the moment, the insincerity of the move on CNN’s part. And also set aside Cooper’s obvious talent for telling a story. What this move signals is that we have ourselves a popularity contest.
Sure, we’re not naïve. We understand the game. Some of us have been in front of or behind the camera for a living. But this isn’t Lou Gehrig coming in for Wally Pipp. Cooper has decent chops. But Brown was becoming Cronkite-like.
Of course you need more than a journalism degree to succeed in television news. A pretty face doesn’t hurt any. But when the head of your news organization says one reason for the switch is that Cooper is a recurring character on “Saturday Night Live” and how that makes him “known,” you wonder where the journalism degree disappeared to (assuming the guy is a journalist and not an MBA disguised as a journalist).
As a public relations firm, we need to have a solid understanding not only of the change, but the thinking behind the change. If we do, we have a much better opportunity to develop strategies and plans that allow us to tell our clients’ stories. How is Cooper’s storytelling different from Brown’s? What kind of news does a producer feed Cooper that she wouldn’t feed Brown? What are Cooper’s hot buttons? What pressure does CNN face to produce product that appeals to prospective advertisers and viewers – and fend off FOX News?
If I was Cooper, I wouldn’t get too comfortable.
Posted by Rich Sharp at 1:40 PM | Comments (0)
