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February 27, 2008
Starbucks and the "Communicative Act"
Lots of PR and marketing pundits talking about Starbucks' decision to close its stores nationwide for a mandatory retraining session. Some argue it's a stunt. Others call it an outward effort to improve flagging quality. Whatever your opinion, it's a great example of a "communicative act" -- an act that in and of itself is meant to communicate a position or direction.
Whether it's a stupid act or not remains up for debate.
Posted by Matt Kucharski at 1:00 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 22, 2008
What they write about you in the virtual bathroom stall
Our crisis/critical issues practice leader Paul Omodt forwarded an interesting article in the February 18 issue of Newsweek. It's about companies who help people minimize the negative things said about them in Google (and other engine) searches. Can't help think of grade school and all the things kids would write about each other on the wall of the bathroom stall. (For the record, I do not eat boogers. Anymore.)
Setting all Senator Larry Craig jokes aside, these new firms are actually practicing a fundamental social media strategy grounded in strategic public relations. A mix of company news (key word optimized of course), blog entries, feature article placements and good old fashioned thought leadership interviews with the media all work cumulatively to increase the amount of positive and minimize the negative. It's even to start BEFORE the offending posts appear -- in which case they never make it to the top of the listings.
Trying to track down the offending author and getting the post removed often backfires. Having a sustained, long-term program highlighting positive company performance is more than an ounce of prevention.
Anyone have a Scotch-Brite pad and some Comet?
Posted by Matt Kucharski at 3:20 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Thought Leadership at the US Postal Service?
Just received a new magazine in the mail called DELIVER -- A MAGAZINE FOR MARKETERS. Kind of interesting -- stories on cutting edge consumer campaigns, health care marketing, possibility of "Do Not Mail" legislation, etc.
Then I noticed that the magazine had no advertising -- only a logo on the back cover for the US Postal Service. It's basically a thought leadership advertorial exploring how marketers can better use direct mail for their programs.
Does anyone else find it ironic that you can read the magazine online at www.delivermagazine.com?
Posted by Matt Kucharski at 2:21 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
It wasn't Padilla!
Sigh. Every field has its bad apples. Here's an example from our friend Gary Schwitzer at the University of Minnesota. Transparency is a good thing, but this is a little TOO transparent...
Public Relations Ethics
A brief diversion from our usual discussion of health news on this site - but one that gives insight into how news is sometimes made.....
"A friend in a news organization passed along this note received from a public relations person:
ABOUT THE MIAMI BEACH DANCE FESTIVAL
Special Note: The Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau will cover airfare and hotel for journalists coming to Miami if they agree to do a tourism-oriented story. Anyone feel like warming up in Miami?
We all know this sometimes happens. But sometimes you have to see the sausage being made in order to make you think about what you're eating. Think about this the next time you see warm-weather location fluff pieces in the middle of winter. Always think about who paid the piper. "
Posted by Matt Kucharski at 10:04 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 16, 2008
Social Media News Room by GM Europe is Classic Library
A hammer and chisel does not make one a sculptor. Social media news rooms are catching on and they'll soon be standard fare, but let's not get so enamored with the tools that we forget our craft of storytelling. Here's one from GM Europe. It has all the bells and whistles: sharing links, a tag cloud, photos parked on Flickr, videos planted in YouTube, a blogroll, etc. But stand back and squint at it and it's still a library. That's the classic limitation of online news rooms. They tell the site visitor "Here you'll find stacks and stacks of stuff. Now, you piece together our story." PR folks all too often miss the point that they're story tellers, not document distribution services. So why leave the drama to the marketing sections of the Web site? In the online world, you have to pull people into your story. Your online press room is like a 3D press kit. Use some graphics and grabber copy to get attention. Sure, not every news release is a big event, but any organization has a few main story lines. Think about approaching your news room in a way that you OWN those stories. For example, GM Europe did a cool Hummer-as-a-giant-toy marketing stunt outside a Toys R Us. Why not serve up that story right from the home page of the news room? Walk down the hall and talk to the direct marketers or interactive folks in your office and have them help you deliver the news in a more compelling way. Bring the exciting stuff to the surface, not clicks away on YouTube.
Posted by Bob Brin at 9:49 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 5, 2008
Taglines and Soulmates
I think I'm going to create a new Web site. It'll do for taglines (and corporate and product names) what eHarmony and Match.com do for mate-seeking (or so I've been told).
Think about it...you plug in your company profile, key differentiators, history, mission/vision/values, geography and other important "attributes" and out pops a list of available candidates ranked by how well they "match" you.
Absurd? Probably. But the similarities between finding a well-suited tagline and finding a well-suited mate are pretty significant. Here's what I mean...
- You've got to know yourself before you search. Emotionally immature people have a hard time finding a good long-term mate. Similarly, companies that can't get a handle on who they are and where they're headed will bounce from tagline to tagline in a never-ending quest of trial-and-error. Sort of like the girl I had a crush on in junior high.
- Know what you're looking for. Mothers are famous for telling their daughters that there are men you date, and men you marry. You need to clearly define what it is you want out of your tagline and what criteria are most important to you, and then BE SURE TO EVALUATE against those critera. Make sure you bring it home to the parents as well.
- You never know where you'll meet him/her. Don't let "the creatives" be the only ones to brainstorm on potential options. That's like seeking your mate solely through clubbing it on Friday nights. It might happen, but it's a bit limiting. Your next tagline is just as likely to come from an idea generated by an engaged employee or key customer as it is to come from your marketing department or your agency.
- Deciding if it's "the one." I think we'd all agree that Nike's "Just Do It" is the Keira Knightly of taglines (hey, it's MY blog posting - pick your own!) Some people spend their lives looking for the perfect soul mate, knowing it's "out there somewhere." They're content to pass on ones that are solid, but don't get the heart racing. Others, however, take a more realistic approach -- recognizing that there are likely to be several good options -- all of them flawed, but many of them workable. Ask my wife. If you have your heart set on finding "the one," then you need to be prepared to be disappointed, because chances are when you find it, it'll already be taken.
Summary: Know yourself, know what you want, be open to options, and don't fall in love with just one idea. You'll be more apt to find a tagline that's a suitable mate for your company. Gotta go. Keira's calling.
Posted by Matt Kucharski at 9:29 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 4, 2008
Super Bowl Ads Running on Idol
I actually found the Super Bowl game more entertaining last night than the ads. And I don't watch football. It could have been the satisfaction of seeing Randy Moss run patterns just for exercise. Or maybe it was seeing Brady go home with only a super model. I laughed and cried myself to sleep.
There was some good rodent and reptile humor. I liked the Bridgestone ads with screaming squirrels and other wildlife (Alice Cooper and Richard Simmons) caught in the headlights. Unfortunately, no creatures were harmed in the making of those commercials. Sobe ran some lizard ads that I kept expecting to be by Geico. The best of this pack was the brilliant consumer-generated Doritos commercial finalist where a guy baits a mouse trap with a bit of a Dorito and then waits while listening to opera only to be attacked by a guy in a mouse suit. That ad was beyond humorous; it spoke to the angst of Dorito-eating, football-watching males everywhere who can't stand the idea of torturing animals with opera. Overall, Doritos takes the cheese with its consumer-created commercial and music contests. But otherwise, there wasn't much that was ground breaking except for the Super Bowl being one long American Idol commercial. I'd call that heart breaking in a way that only Tom Petty could mend.
Posted by Bob Brin at 8:12 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
