Kudos to Doodle 4 Google

One of my favorite examples of Internet marketing is "Doodle 4 Google". This fun Google campaign gets points for keeping their brand image naturally fresh by giving away brand ownership to the consumer and supporting the great cause of education and the creative self expression of children.

Doodles are known as the decorative changes that are made to the Google logo to celebrate holidays, anniversaries, and the lives of famous artists and scientists. Whether it is the beginning of Spring, Albert Einstein's birthday, or the 50th anniversary of understanding DNA, doodles on the Google homepage have made searching on Google more fun and enjoyable for its users worldwide. Many users excitedly anticipate the release of each new doodle and collect them!

This year Google is inviting U.S. kids to exercise their creative imaginations around the theme, "What I’d like to do someday…" One lucky student artist will take home a $15,000 college scholarship and $25,000 technology grant for their school. The judges for this years contest include actress Whoopi Goldberg and Jim Davis, Creator, "Garfield" Comic Strip. This year’s contest partners are the Whitney Museum of American Art, Boys & Girls Clubs of America and Girl Scouts of the USA.

As Google puts it, "Having a little bit of fun with the corporate logo by redesigning it from time to time is unheard of at many companies but at Google, it is a part of the brand. While the doodle is primarily a fun way for the company to recognize events and notable people, it also illustrates the creative and innovative personality of the company itself."

Revolutioning the Music Scene?

So one thing I have noticed has been a huge trend, is the way the music industry has used internet marketing heavily to promote artists. And in the spirit of advertising, I will make a plug for a friends band, Ivan and Alyosha. Not just to give them a shameless plug, but because its through their increased marketing efforts that I realized how incredibly powerful and useful their advertising had become.
They used to just send out emails to whoever signed up for their email lists notifying them of upcoming shows. But then I started getting hit from all directions. Twitter updates, facebook messages and events, email blasts that had actual formated graphics, youtube videos, websites promoting tours and raising travel funds.
The following is true of indie music in general, but in Seattle specifically, people love to have 'their bands'. Bands that are not neccessarily mainstream yet, so they feel like they are one of the rare people discovering them, they almost have a personal investment in the band. And with the use of word of mouth marketing and advertising on things like facebook, twitter, and email campaigns for their CD releases and upcoming shows, people are exetremely willing, and actually excited to tell people about 'their bands'. So internet marketing and all digital media has really given a huge job to indie music.

http://ivanandalyosha.com/media

http://www.facebook.com/ivanandalyosha?ref=ts

Ignighter

Fast growing dating site business model is decided by internet. Ignighter is a unique dating site for twentysomethings that are interested in going on large group dates. They allow you to forget the traditional awkward and uncomforable blind dates and focus on doing fun activities with friends. Ignighters inital target market was the US and they actively promoted at universities and by hosting parties. Business seemed okay but a few years in the business owners started seeing a trend amoung new customers in Southeast Asia and India. After some time they realized the reasoning. Many cultures have different dating habits and when it comes to people in these regions one often sees restrictions put on men and women interacting with the opposite sex without supervision. Ignighter quickly changed their internet marketing approach and has seen as many new users sign up in one week in India as an entire year in the US. Most of their promoting is now through facebook with 2M users.

www.ignighter.com

Constantly Connected

E-mailing marketing is not an easy task for the average Joe Marketing Director with no graphic designing background. With the help of this effective tool, Constantcontact.com, sending out mass e-mails to previous and future customers has become something that shouldn't scare people anymore. A free 30 day trial had me hooked and coming back for the paid subscribtion, attending seminars to better my skills, and creating some beautiful (and rather helpful) marketing pieces that have been emailed out to any address I can get my hands on. With templates, pictures, and a tracking page, it has literally changed my e-mails from looking tacky and unprofessional to masterpieces that I print to keep in a porfolio. It can show who opens the email, if they subscribe or click onto other links on the page, as well as allowing people to remove themselves from my mailing list if they wish. I can send out information about all the promotions happening around the restaraunt, as well as informing people about the happening around the neighborhood. The team that works behind the scenes is exceptionally helpful, and at anytime I have a question, they are available nearly around the clock to help me though. If anyone is in need of an outstanding e-mail marketing took, I hightly recomment Constantcontact.com for any of your promotional needs.

Toddlers

At this moment for me there are two web sites that I really love and they have just the right info for me.

1. Baby Center: since I was pregnant they send me every Thursday news about the development of my baby. Even now I search for any topic related with my LO and have the comments from other moms that have the same situation. I share this information with my hubby so we can learn more about the new milestones of our son. Other great thing about BC are the coupons for baby stuff that they send me for diapers, wipes, etc.

www.babycenter.com


2. Red Tricycle Seattle: with my toddler running all over the place and rainy days I need extra help to find some indoor activities that are safe and fun for him. I love their contest via Facebook and they also have the "Happy Mom Monday Tip" with great info.

www.redtri.com/seattle

Groupon madness!

Groupon! www.groupon.com I don’t know anyone who haven't heard of Groupon. It’s become viral! It’s a great marketing opportunity for businesses and way to increase their future foot traffic. People really respond to deals that are over 50% discount, who wouldn’t? However, for a business’s standpoint, (especially smaller to medium size) there is no cap on how much would be sold to help protect the business from too much loss – Groupon wouldn’t want it any other way – according to a small café in Portland (Possie’s café) who agreed to get advertised on Groupon which was featured on March 9^th 2010. Although they met new customers, the business lost nearly $8,000 with their Groupon campaign (http://www.marketingpilgrim.com/2010/09/groupon-gone-wrong-one-customers-sad-tale.html) Groupon CEO Andrew Mason had stated that the companies do have caps. Perhaps, Possie’s café didn’t fight or negotiated enough on the uptake, or perhaps the Groupon advertising deal (%loss vs gain) wasn’t quite clear enough.

So, if Groupon approaches your business to be part of their network, make sure you understand what you’re getting into and learned from Possie’s cafés story. Though this Groupon retrospect almost put me on borderline boycotting Groupon, I’ve learned something and that is, like the sad tale link above, stated in the end, fight for everything!

Suffice it to say, I am not boycotting Groupon, in fact I like Groupon, it’s effective and have bought many of their featured groupons in the past. It is a service mail advertising, I’m religious about opening up my email from Groupon to check out everyday deals – sadly enough it’s sometimes exciting!

Two Million Feet and Climbing EH!!!

A couple of years ago a friend forwarded a youtube link of a Canadian backcountry skier named Greg Hill based in Revelstoke British Columbia, which is in the heart of the Selkirk Mountains and IMHO some of the most epic backcountry skiing in the world. 

I was hooked and have been following his exploits for several years.  Last year he climbed and skied 2 million vertical feet in one year traveling to South America during the summer to chase the endless winter, an amazing accomplishment. 

During his quest for 2 million feet, one of his equipment sponsors, backcountry.com came up with a great contest to guess his total vertical feet climbed each week as he approached his goal with the chance to win great backcountry ski gear.  Needless to say I was hooked, it was a great lifestyle related marketing campaign using web based video and pictures to connect all of us desk chair jockey's wishing we were out there!

http://www.greghill.ca/  I recommend watching the video clip titled Mt. Steele at bottom of the home page.

IHOP- free pancakes today! :)

I was browsing through some Facebook pages for this homework and I came across IHOP. I found out that it's National Pancake Day today, so you get free pancakes!

They promote their food and events on their Facebook page, just like other restaurants. But, what caught my attention is the store locator application on their facebook page. I always see store locator tabs on websites, but never on a social media site. That alone made me think this is a good example of internet marketing. They're not just advertising their deals; they're also giving their customers a call to action. It's a good strategy since after seeing their promotions, people would want to eat at IHOP. The store locator application makes it easier and more convenient for customers.

http://www.facebook.com/IHOP

Gilt Groupe!

Check out Gilt.com. It's a designer discount website for women, men...recently they added Jetsetter, which gives great deals on travel and its a personal recommendation from the employees at Gilt. Great deals, very smart concept, and everyone is crazy for it.

http://www.gilt.com/sale/women

Local deal sites rock!

• Dozen artisan cupcakes? yes
• One month fitness studio membership? yes
• Wine tasting? yes
• Amazon gift certificate? yes
• Trapeze lessons? yes

From the practical to the whimsical, I have bought it all on sites like groupon, living social and tippr. It’s soooo nice when I open my morning’s email & start the daily grind, a little email will pop up offering an escape. I am open to the idea of anything at 7:30 am. Why not? It gives me 5 minutes of diversion before starting my day. It’s like window shopping black Friday deals every morning.

I think it’s very smart these sites email their deals early in the day (usually between 7-9 AM), because that is generally when many working professionals start their days. Marketers who send their messages super early (4-6 AM), presumably with the idea they’ll be first in my inbox, get their messages buried. Between 7-9 AM I’m not in my full swing yet & distracted and sometimes I’m even sleepy enough to buy something without thinking on it.

One area these sites might want to explore is partnering with local grocery & drug stores, offering $20 off purchases of $65, that type of thing. With these sites, I’ve tried many retailers I would not have otherwise, and have become a repeat customer. It might be a good way for stores like Metropolitan Market or Pharmaca, that are perceived as pricier than other retailers but offer very good quality, to attract a new market segment.

Big, Strong Amazon

I despaired of coming up with a single winner until it occurred to me that I almost always buy more than I anticipated shopping with Amazon. They have offers like free shipping if you just purchase one more little thing. They suggest loads of products similar to the one I just put in my cart. They dangle tempting books to add to my list. Honestly, I can't think of a single additional spot on line, Facebook included (although they try their hardest to target me with wrinkle cream) that succeeds in making me buy.

Sports and Food Anyone...

Some friends of mine recently started their own collective blog which started out as a group of passionate writers doing what they do best, writing about what they know...Sports and Food.
They started out spreading the news about their new endeavor by reaching out to friends and family through Facebook and Twitter highlighting the hot spots to watch local sports and enjoy some tasty treats and beverages while doing so.

The stories then evolved into personal interviews with pro athletes and local business owners. The site SportsandFood.com gained quite a following over a short period of time. Because of all the interest and chatter they've struck a loose partnership with ESPN. While they are not getting any revenue from this partnership presently they are getting national exposure which is helping their appeal to potential advertisers. They've also been linked to Yahoo, the Washington Post and the Today Show.

Over the next few months SportsandFood.com will be re-launching their site with sponsorships and advertisements. What started as some information between friends talking about sports, local hot spots, and dives where groups can meet up to watch the big game has blossomed into the next site that everyone will be discussing over beers at your local watering hole.

I guess this goes to show that the power of social media can truly empower any idea and turn it into a money maker.

http://www.sportsandfood.com/
http://espn.go.com/espn/page2/index?id=6167117

Conexion Marketing is a local Hispanic marketing business run by Lauri Jordana, a well-known business owner in the local Hispanic community, that has nicely carved out a niche for herself and seen it grow, in many ways thanks to her personal efforts.


I had known Lauri Jordana for some time now, because of my own links to the Hispanic community and because of my personal interest in marketing to Hispanics. Lauri has done a fantastic job by helping gather research on Hispanic consumers in the Seattle area. I had seen her ability to continue expanding her network via her more recent efforts on Twitter and via her personal blog.


She is not only a frequent Twitter contributor, but has used this tool to spread the word about local events, Latino issues, and Hispanic marketing to a large audience who follows her because of the consistency of her message.


www.twitter.com/LauriJordana

http://noesmuytipico.blogspot.com

Toyota Auto-Biography

On the Toyota USA Facebook page they created Auto-biography. This allows Toyota car owners to go on and share their story about their car, create their own Auto-biography. It could be about a road trip, how long they've had the car, the name you gave it etc. They even encourage you to include a few animations/illustrations and it might be picked to be featured on the Facebook page. They currently have 16 featured and some of the auto-biographies have been featured in Toyota TV commercials.

Toyota has done a great job with this marketing campaign. It has the customer do the marketing for them. It has created a community for the Toyota owner and allows them to share their story with the world, they are "bringing auto-biographies to life." It makes it personal and fun but also provides lots of consumer reviews on their Facebook page . It has made it easy and given customers a reason to talk about their cars and experiences.

http://www.facebook.com/toyota?v=app_134501369897299

Blogging can be good for business

One company that I follow the blog for is Seattle Boudoir Photography (more because they are a client and I happen to love the photographer). However, after re-doing their website, and really learning what social media can do for them, they are starting to really blog about what is going on. Recently they posted the following: Seattle Boudoir Photography

As far as marketing goes, it's a great collaboration between them and 2 other companies, targeting women in an area that women actually care about. Not only did SBP blog about it, they also posted it on their facebook page with links to the other companies involved, as well as the other two companies linking back to SBP.

Facebook got me to create a little art

Once upon a time I was an artist. But these days I use all the usual excuses to explain why I'm not being creative - time, money and space (charcoal really is messy).

But one day last fall, the Art House Co-op asked their current artists to post on FB that they were participating in the Sketchbook Project. I saw the post, clicked on the link, and within 5 minutes had paid the $20 to participate. The Co-op had found a project that appealed to professional arts and soccer moms: Fill out a small, inexpensive sketchbook with any medium within 5 months and mail it in.

The project had the write amount of direction and free-reign, the price and audience was right and the price was affordable, but high enough that I would follow through since I had invested money in this thing. I have seen no other ads for this company or the project, aside from that one FB post.

http://arthousecoop.com/projects/sketchbookproject

Red Robin Cooks Up Something Different

Over the past two months Red Robin has been running a promotion involving viewers sending in comically altered photos of themselves worshipping Red Robin products, all in pursuit of three prizes of $660 in burgers. This contest, centered around the micro site http://www.obeytheegg.com/ and spread through blogs and Facebook, intended to teach and reinforce their brand identity and show Red Robin's national reach.

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It's telling that the three winners of the contest were from different parts of the country. Red Robin wanted to underscore their presence in markets all across the US. They also wanted to exhibit that they are a burger innovator. The micro site prominently asserts that the Royal Red Robin Burger was the first to have an egg on it in 1973. They underscore that fact by putting a crown on the "royal" egg and making the tag line about obeying it. Instead of past campaigns where 2 or more burgers were rolled out and the emphasis was on choice and tailoring the burger to your need, this campaign seeks to shift demand toward one signature burger that is identified with the chain, chasing the "Big Mac" effect.

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It's also interesting to note that two out of three of the winning photos were of babies. It points to the fact that Red Robin continues to position themselves as a destination for families, especially young ones with plenty of years of buying potential.

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Overall, for the outlay and the cost of promoting it across several blogs with $15 gift cards (who then promoted it on Facebook and Twitter) it looks like an excellent message. They did not seek mainstream news coverage, keeping it kitschy, and patrons who submitted pictures now have the pleasure of seeing themselves on a Red Robin website, further reinforcing brand loyalty with their core segment.

Old Spice Guy

Old Spice has tweeted more than 100 YouTube videos with personal messages from the Old Spice Guy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5KIYhXa_8E

Brilliant.

Watch at least one. And check out the Tech Crunch article with links to more.

LivingSocial-Great Timing - Great Deals

Not so long ago I couldn't stand coupons - email promotions and nonstop direct marketing. As soon as I got them in the mail or saw them in my inbox I immediatley marked them as spam and deleted them without compassion or even looking at the content of the message. I'm sure some of those might have been valuable but the constant advertisements and promotions saturated my inbox and my tolerance to any kind of internet marketing.

And then came Living Social. Even though I tried to stay away from any kind of internet marketing - given my previous experience - Living Social (and Groupon as well) made their way into my liking. How??? Great targeting - great deals - and great understanding of my very peculiar interests.

At the beginning I was a little skeptical. I figured: "...if I sign up, I'll probably get nonstop emails for deals I won't be interested in me and when I try to unsubscribe I bet it'll be a burden, and my email address will be in the hands of data base builders who will share my personal information and will put it to bad use..." but as the Groundswell book authors best describe it: "eventually, everybody will join...it's a human need to stay connected and jump in". And so I did. And I'm glad I did. The more deals you get, the best they get to know what you are interested in, and the better deals you get.

Well done, Living Social/Groupon. Kudos for great internet marketing.

www.livingsocial

Groupon - Deal-of-the-day!!!

Groupon is a deal-of-the-day website that is localized to major geographic markets worldwide. Currently Groupon serves more than 150 markets in North America and 100 markets in Europe, Asia and South America and has 35 million registered users (including me!).

I joined Groupon last year and so far I have had an excellent experience with the products/services that they sell. The best part is that when I find a great deal, I am able to share it with my friends with a simple click that gives me the option of sharing/posting the deal through Facebook, Tweeter, Blogging or by email. In addition, if 5 people buy the deal through my link, I earn rewards towards my next purchase. I think this is a great example of internet marketing.

When I was looking for an exotic getaway to celebrate my anniversary, I received a Groupon deal that included a night at a boutique hotel, an upscale breakfast, valet parking and a bottle of champaign and strawberries dipped in chocolate upon arrival. This was simply perfect for me not only since it was delivered to my inbox at the right time, but also at a very attractive and basically irresistible price. After purchasing it, I shared the deal with some of my friends and a couple of them also bought it.

Another time I bought a deal that included a winter getaway at a cute hotel near Leavenworth, breakfast and snowshoeing gear for $89. I bought it right away by the time I was ready to pick my dates I realized that the hotel was pretty much booked for the rest of the season except during weekdays. Since traveling for pleasure during the week was not an option, I contacted Groupon via email to let them know I was not able to use my coupon and wanted to know what my options were. The next morning I had a response from them confirming that my credit card had been refunded for the entire purchase and they apologized for the inconvenience. I thought that was excellent customer service and have bought many more deals since then.

Groupon is a website I love and I am happy to recommend it to my friends and family. Check it out: http://www.groupon.com/seattle/

Ikea invents facebook tag marketing

The Swedish furniture maker Ikea invented a new form of Internet marketing in 2009 on Facebook. It has already been imitated many times over - but they were the first.

This is one of the coolest, simplest marketing programs ever executed online. The idea came from store manager Gordon Gustavsson in Malmo, Sweden.

Just about everyone I know likes this idea. It gives people a chance to win Ikea furniture simply by tagging photos with their names. You get to "stake your claim" via tagging. What a deviously simple way to repurpose one of the functions of Facebook for your own company! And it was done in good taste as well.

Here's a link. The video pretty much explains it all.

http://www.vanksen.com/blog/ikea-invents-facebook-tag-marketing/

In the Competitive World of Cosmetic Surgery

I am not sure how many of you are interested in the world of cosmetic surgeries and procedures but thought you may find this website interesting along with my a few of my comments.

The competition is fierce in this industry. After the downturn in the economy the industry as a whole experienced a slide sweeping decline in profits. Consumers no longer had the disposable income to spend on themselves. We saw an the increase in the number of providers offering these services along with a decrease in the number of consumers seeking these services. With the increase in social media physicians have found them selves in a position to change the way they market to their patients. Those that make the change will survive and those who do not will have to close their doors.

I am providing a link to a website that I came across recently. In my opinion they have done an amazing job with the feel of the site. Very professional, tasteful, informative, easy to maneuver through the site to find your information, and many options to contact the office. They have added some amazing technology to the site. If you get a chance check out the 3D Procedure Animation. What they have done at the end of the video is interesting as well. They have added information on a very popular financing service used in this industry. Another way of attempting to capture that consumer.

http://www.bostoncosmeticsurgerycenter.com/

I'm Gonna be All Over that Shuffleboard Court...

My husband and I are crazy Seinfeld fans. Even though we've seen every episode countless times, at the close of each day we still congregate on the couch to watch the reruns.

At one point, I must have written something about Seinfeld on my Facebook page (Who am I kidding; my guy and I banter back and forth in Seinfeld speak, often). I'm sure I even "liked" Seinfeld's fan page. These actions tipped off an advertiser, and soon ads for Seinfeld t-shirt ads began showing up on my Facebook feed.

It happened enough times that I was both concerned for what else Facebook knew about me - and also intrigued.

A couple of Christmases ago, when looking for a good gift idea for my husband, I clicked on one of those ads, selected a Vandelay Industries shirt for him and a Del Boca Vista for myself.

They arrived promptly and sent smiles all around. Both are favorite shirts in our collections.

So, yeah - Facebook and its advertisers targeted me. Perfectly. I imagine the click-through/conversion rates of these ads is through the roof. I also imagine the same company has shirts for every other TV show - Friends, Twin Peaks, even ALF - and targets to those fans.

As a consumer, it's scary to think what Facebook and its advertisers know about me. But as a marketer, I'm convinced this is a brilliant execution of targeted marketing.

Splattered on the Front of a Porsche

OK, so this is actually pretty cool and smart, I think: to say "thank you" to their one million followers on Facebook, Porsche made a car with every single Facebook friend's name on it.

http://www.porsche.com/microsite/facebook/international.aspx

When you go to the microsite, first it loads up the video (meanwhile making you wait as it cleverly counts to 1,000,000--annoying, but since I have to wait for the video to load anyway, it might as well reinforce the message), then you watch a video of the names being applied to a GT3R hybrid car.

I thought this was clever because it reinforces the elite-ishness of the brand. Not just anyone can appreciate a Porsche (I certainly can't), and not just anyone can afford one (though I doubt most of the 1,000,000 on there can either), and it's really an in-group thing which only those with discernment and an understanding of quality and performance can either own or even aspire to own (which I don't).

I don't like Porsches, but then they're not talking to me. I think their target audience would find this really pretty nifty. Though they wouldn't use the word "nifty."

And you can find your name! If you were one of the first million Facebook followers, likers, Fans or whatever we're calling them today, your name is on there. If you sit through the video, you can see the finished car and use the magnifying glass tool to scope out the car for your name. Which is cool. I'll give up my cynical, sour-grapes pose long enough to give them that: it's pretty cool.

A Well-Integrated Experience

As a bit of current affairs nut, I spend quite a bit of time surfing around for news. I like getting my news both from websites as well as Twitter. As is well documented, the media tends to put its spin on each story based on its agenda. As such, I find it kind of amusing as well as informative, to surf around the different media outlets to see what their headlines and messaging look like when it comes to a big story. Taking the recent news that came out of Egypt…I spent time on CNN, Foxnews, Al-Jazeera, Haaretz.com, The Economist, Huffington Post, trying to gather as much information as possible so that I could make my own conclusions. This included reading blogs on the sites (where available) as well as reading comments left with the stories.

This pattern of mine, which I’m sure plenty of others follow, has exposed me to the web presence of the media industry. It has allowed me to make my conclusion around which companies have well-integrated web + social media platforms, and which companies do not. The ones that do will continue to prosper and get ahead of their competitors, while those that do not, need to improve in this space or face falling further behind.

Turning our attention to the scope of this blog: “Blog about a good example of Internet marketing either through a website, blog, Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter and include a link” I think that to answer this as it pertains to the media industry, one needs to first answer the following questions (I’m using company to refer to the website, etc.):

• Which company has the most well-integrated platform?
• Which company is most active in the use of social media?
• Which company has the most active followers?
• Which company seeks out and use its followers content?

With the above questions answered (at least in my mind) it’s time to determine how to measure “good Internet marketing” when it comes to a web media outlet. The two metrics that are top of mind are: Size of active audience and ability to “market” your message. Based on this criteria, for me the winner is CNN. Whether I’m on cnn.com, or m.cnn.com, or Twitter – the look and feel as well as the message is integrated. What I think ultimately sets CNN apart is its push for their audience’s input – be it blogs, be it pictures, tweets from where news is breaking. Especially powerful is CNN’s iReport, a Blogging site who’s content comes directly from people like you and I: http://ireport.cnn.com/

Same Old Song

Back when I was singing, in an acappella group and later as a band leader, I really wanted to get people at our gigs. I tried posters, postcards, email and personal invites, but appearing in print was always the ultimate thrill. Our biggest success occurred totally by chance when Mixed Company, our band of singers, was featured on the front page of the New York Times. We happened to be in the right place at the right time that day--caroling in Leavenworth, America's favorite Christmas Village, when the reporter snapped his shot.

For the most part, getting in the newspaper has taken concerted effort. Yet I did not achieve big results. I tried to maintain good relationships with the appropriate editors, sent them timely press releases, left nice black and white photos on file. The problem is, your run of the mill concerts become just that. To make a story big, you either need to be really famous or present something unusual and newsworthy. This point of view paid off when I started the "Salmon Band" a group created to educate people about natural resources. We made the front page of the Leavenworth Echo the week we debuted ! Apparently I had figured out a way to give the media something more than the same old song.

Media buddies

I have worked for years planning dance events for local dance organizations Savoy Swing Club and Burn Blue. I had written press release that had very little yield in the general press...usually a small blurb in the events section....Date, time, place; not enough information to entice anyone who wasn't coming to attend unless boredom and drive wanted to act on this piddly pubic relations blurb. I could spend hours on a press release or just jot down the facts in a matter of minuets yielding the same results.

Until I got to know the media.

Getting settled in Seattle and joining events targeted at Public Relations and marketing networks changed all of that.  Engaging with people whose job it is to let people know about what's happening, enjoy finding out what is happening...Establishing relationships is key. If they feel like your ideas fit their demographics and assignment; they are usually more then happy to interview with you and share your story with their audience.  Since then I can call or email my friends at Seattle Met Magazine and other sources and at least get a response...Sometimes I will get an interview or review of my event.

Relationships make PR less of a beggars game and more of a way to get the word out to the community.

Crisis covered by the news media: BP oil spill

When I think of a crisis recently covered by the news media, I immediately think of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill (also referred as the BP oil spill) in the Gulf of Mexico.

As stated on some of the materials we read for class, true crises have several dimensions in common, any one of which, if handled poorly, can disrupt or perhaps destroy best efforts at managing any remaining opportunities to resolve the situation and recover or retain reputation. Failure to respond and communicate in ways that meet community standards and expectations will result in a series of negative outcomes.

I remember how for several weeks, every morning on my way to work I listened to NPR and the main topic was the oil spill. It was heartbreaking to hear the testimonies of local fisherman, business owners and other members of the community who were affected by the disaster.

I recall hearing a report where the locals were frustrated with the complexities of filing a claim with BP for financial compensation. Also, I feel like the images we were getting from the oil spill got old very quickly, they were repetitive and very frustrating.

While writing this blog, I searched “oil spill bp” and came across an interesting website hosted by BP, devoted to addressing their response overview, pictures, supporting materials, contacts, internal investigation, etc. I think it is good that this website exists but found it a bit ironic that the tabs at the top of the page and the main text is in green font, green = clean, natural, environment, non-toxic. Really?

Spill Management & Media Management

As part of my job as an environmental consultant there are certain projects that require the development a formal public participation plan as part of the cleanup process for a contaminated property.  This effort usually requires working with the regulatory agencies to develop and implement a plan and roll it out to the public.  On occasion some projects such as spill reponses can require interaction with the media and public on a short-term basis with little or no time to prepare a formal media plan.  Obviously for companies or industries that deal with hazardous chemicals it is important to have formalized plans to address the spill itself.  However, many companies do not have formalized media plans in place to address public concerns as a spill is dealt with.  It is an important consideration for any company and can aid significantly in maintaining good public relations with stakeholders as the cleanup process is completed.  Attached is a link to an article I wrote following our companies involvement in a fuel tanker roll-over a number of years ago in Issaquah.

http://www.farallonconsulting.com/244_140/BePreparedWithASpillManagementPlan.htm

Securing Media Coverage

In working for a PR agency, securing media coverage was most often the top priority for our clients. For the most part, you need a compelling (news) story. In addition, you need to know who the right targets are for this story - Which publication and what specific journalist would be interested in this story? Most importantly, why would their audience be interested?

From my experience, the best media coverage came from those journalists who had the opportunity to build a relationship with me and my client. It's when you take the time to really understand what type of stories a journalist writes about, pitching them the right angle, and providing the journalist with relevant information on a consistent basis. It also means that you provide them with opportunities to develop that relationship, such as offering them pre-briefs (an interview before the news is issued), meeting them in person at tradeshows or inviting them to special events.

I've had the opportunity to secure a top tier media tour for a large technology company, which included interviews with The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg and Financial Times. It was considered a huge "win" from the client and agency perspective. However, we didn't have real news and it was our client's first time meeting with these top tier journalists. As a result, there was little if any media coverage, despite the impressive tour.

In order to secure media coverage with those key journalists in the future, we would need to feed them interesting stories, relevant news related to current trends, or any information to keep our client top of mind. The key is to find ways to build that relationship with the journalist so you can count on them to write about you when the timing is right.

Accidental PR

I have to do PR for my work. I love to do PR for the volunteer, non-profit groups I'm associated with. There's little pressure--they don't expect much--and when we actually cadge a mention, everyone's so grateful.

Back when the Seattle Times still had local editions, Sherry Grindeland had a local people and events column in the Eastside version. I'd developed a relationship with her, I'd send her a bit about a fundraiser for the high school football team, or a family event at our preschool. I found that if I was polite and found a humorous slant, she'd pick up the piece.

Our church was installing a new priest. After the service, we were going to have a BBQ picnic catered by one of those companies that brings a big smoker trailed behind a truck. The service went veryvery long, and about half way through, tendrils of fragrant smoke began to waft through the church. It was divine torture.

Suffice it to say that the receiving line went very quickly--people couldn't wait to get some brisket! (The new priest apparently felt welcomed anyway--it's been almost 10 years, and he's still with us.) I wrote Sherry and she used it as her lead the next week. Everyone was thrilled.

But now for the rest of the story.

The new priest's mom was a devotee of the Paul Harvey radio show. The next weekend, sitting in her kitchen in Wisconsin, she was stunned to hear the story of her son's installation in that unmistakable Harvey cadence. The show had picked up the piece from the Grindeland column. We played a tape of the story in church the next week. It was the first time--and last time--I received a round of applause for PR work.

I'm fairly certain that was the widest distribution of any press release I've written. I'd love to say I planned that, but let's call it accidental PR, which can sometimes be the best kind.

Intern labor

I have not had a huge amount of experience trying to get media coverage, but I have been a part of a corporate scheme to portray themselves in a positive light for the media. I had an internship for Chevron Oronite (a small part of Chevron Corporation that makes the additives to the lubricaants) and week 2 of the internship I was told that my superior had signed me up to be part of "Intern Week." This seminar was 3 full days of speakers, meetings, and information overload about why our future at Chevron was important to the company. At the conclusion of the second day, they told us to dress in jeans the following day because we were going to be heading out on an "activity." Leaving the seminar that day I was on top of the world, looking forward to spending the next day getting paid, off on an adventure on Chevron's dime. And here's what happened...

We were all given blue Chevron logo'ed t-shirts, loaded onto buses, taken to the Oakland hills, and told that for the next 3 hours we would be taking part in a comunity outreach program in which we would shovel, plow, dig, and clear away an acre of brush that caused fire danger to the surrounding area. Now don't get me wrong, I am a huge supporter of community service and doing things for the good of the world and the community, but this was presented to us as an "adventure!" Once off the buses, we worked with our tools, all while being filmed and interviewed by the camera crews of the media stations that Chevron had informed of their Community Service Program. It must have been big news to these stations because later that evening I saw myself and many of the other interns on the 5 o'clock news being explained to the public as "all the wonderful things Chevron does to support it's local environment."

BP's PR Efforts Around the Oil Spill: Slick or Sullied?

Last April, in the days following the massive rig fire/oil spill in the gulf, BP found itself at the helm of a big decision: how to address the issue, publicly.

On paper, BP did things right. They issued press releases almost immediately, pushed resources/investigations, and used tested emotional tactics (expressing sorrow, regret, sympathy to the victims; providing concrete evidence of how they were reacting to the spill with specific #s of gallons spilled, # of cleanup vessels, etc.) to showcase their accountability and attempt to regain trust.

As an example, CEO Tony Hayward said: "Our concern and thoughts are with the rig personnel and their families. We are also very focused on providing every possible assistance in the effort to deal with the consequences of the incident." And, "We are determined to fight this spill on all fronts, in the deep waters of the gulf, in the shallow waters and, should it be necessary, on the shore."

Hayward was "putting BP on our side. Trying to engage us against this enemy — the spill — is probably one of the better ways to manage this much bad news. It's clever framing," said Adam Hanft, an expert on marketing and business strategy whose firm, Hanft Projects, has advised several Fortune 500 companies. (Quote from this LA Times article.)

BP's PR department handled things well - in print. And yet, CEO Hayward was publicly lambasted for being "evasive" and even patronizing.

As a Telegraph editor says, "But never mind whether BP was recklessly, perhaps even criminally negligent; it is hard to recall a more catastrophically mishandled public relations response to a crisis than the one we are witnessing."

In the wake of the disaster, nearly a year later, BP's image remains sullied by the incident.

So, what could they have done better? Was it CEO Hayward's fault? Did the massive scale of the spill thwart BP's efforts, so that even if they reacted properly, they nonetheless would suffer longterm consequences?

Who? Who are you?

Getting media coverage has been one of my biggest challenges since I've been working at the credit union. Twice I've been reasonably successful; the rest of the time, marginally so or really not at all. I've discovered there are three key elements, of which at least two have to be in place to get any press attention:

1. a compelling story: We got nice press coverage by The Seattle Times when we donated and planted five fruit trees at a neighborhood p-patch. Nice story, great picture. It was a good community event with lots of neighborhood people coming out to "help." (oy. a story for another time) Other events we've done just lacked the uniqueness of that one, and press attention has been non-existent for those.

2. good timing: We had the great good fortune to have my press release show up at the Times when they had a nice, fat gap on the front page of their Community section. Our free Shredathon was a complete circus, thanks to them printing our announcement, and we ended up having to call in a second truck. The next year, we didn't get the press attention, and the second truck drove away, 1/3 full and depressed, you could just tell.

3. good relationships with the media people. Absent the other two, you'd better have this. I find this the most challenging. Cold calling reporters and editors to say, "Hey, I have this modestly interesting event to tell you about; when's a good day for you to print my story?" is uncomfortable for me, at best, impossible at worst. And you can't take the Cowardly Lion way out and email them; a phone call and charmingly irresistible sales pitch are required if the story doesn't really have strong legs of its own. Or so I hear. *sigh*

What truly doesn't work is blasting out a bunch of emails with press releases attached. Media channels are inundated with articles from amateurs, they don't have time to wade through all of it; you greatly increase your chances of rising to the top if you have at the very least ONE of the above. If you have all three, your story is golden.

Mobile Advertising Commentary

Since I have not tried to get media coverage for my firm, I will have to sit out on this week's blogging assignment. But I am curious to hear what others have to say on the topic....

However, I wanted to post a link to a timely editorial comment in this month's Seattle Business, regarding the reinvention of advertising and the mobile phone, not to mention Seattle Business' feature article, "The Mobile Marketing Revolution." Enjoy!

Favorite 2011 Super Bowl Commercial

Volkswagen's Passat Commercial

Belated Branding Post

This question should be so simple, and yet, "what is your favorite brand," has always been a question that stumps me. Even as a kid, I recall not wanting to be like everybody else. I've always prided myself on doing things my own way, developing my own style -- I wanted my brand to be my own, not someone else's. I avoided fashions that had obvious labelling because I didn't want to wear something anyone else was (quite the feat as a teenager in the eighties -- think Esprit sweatshirts or Bennetton rugbies!). I didn't (and still don't) care for perfumes that have identifiable scents (I would prefer to have someone identify a scent with me rather than the other way around). Therefore, I couldn't possibly be loyal to a particular brand, could I?

Or could I? Upon further reflection, it turns out that I am quite loyal to certain brands. I always buy Eclipse gum, Grey Poupon mustard, Tillamook sharp cheddar cheese, Jane Iredale pressed powder, Maybelline mascara, and JCrew dresses, among a host of other branded items. I return to my favorite restaurants and bars, such as Volterra, Cafe Presse, Licorous, and Sambar, and I repeatedly visit favorite vacation spots, such as the San Juans and Kauai. All of these items, experiences, or places manage to provide me exactly what I was lookling for, or better. Consistently.

So I guess I am a creature of habit, and I do have favorite brands! Who knew?

Limited Nuggets

I have actually had a very limited experience with ads, and I am sure there are people here that can add way more insight into that arena than I can. But there are a few things I have learned. In creating an ad, I found that making sure you have a specific target audience in mind and that the means by which you plan on distributing your ad is targeted towards that audience. I ran into an issue with this when we created an good ad, but failed to recognize that it was so specific to a target audience and the distribution was a broad audience. Therefore we ended up paying good money for an quality advertising spot, but since the periodical was distributed to too broad a group, the targeted nature of our article didn’t really provide us a good ROI. Next time I would either pick a more targeted distribution group, or make the ad a bit broader.
The other thing I found important is finding ways to track ROI on advertising. Not that I have found a great way to do it, but working at a smaller company, and advertising space being very expensive, the ability to measure our return becomes increasingly more important, especially when trying to get approval from management. For management who already think that marketing can be a waste of money, the ability to show them measurable gain from advertising would be invaluable.

Shimano - It's Bomb Proof

Forgot to post my favorite brand last week.

My favorite bike component brand is Shimano. I have used their drive train gruppos for decades on my mountain bikes, and more recently on my road and cyclocross bikes.   I have strayed occasionally over the years and tried other brands like SRAM and Campy but have always ended up converting back to Shimano because of the dependibility under the brutal northwest mud and rain conditions.  For me Shimano is the gold standard for one of the most brutal bike racing disciplines known as cyclocross, a northwest cult favorite but words can't explain it like video....
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWGnM_1ViZA&feature=related

Ads without brand

When I was working in Wyeth as Category Management Executive one of my responsibilities was to give recommendations to my clients in order to increase sales and help the consumer to have a great shopping experience. One big opportunity at that moment with Vitamins Category was to educate the consumer about Multivitamins benefits. With Wal-Mart we use their magazine to give more information and tips. At the same time we were running some activities in point of sale to reinforce the information. It’s important to mention that all the information given to Wal-Mart was without any Wyeth Brand (Centrum) but the activities in the stores were 100% Wyeth in order to have better results.

my perspective

While I don't have any experience buying ads, most of my professional experience has been on the creative side of the process. I don't know if I have any gems of wisdom to impart upon you other than to be patient during the process, be consistent with your branding, and if possible limit the number of opinions you reach out for becasue too many "cooks in the kitchen" can prolong the process considerably and dilute the messaging. on most of the projects I've worked on the final product is a far cry from the original brief...so expect lots and lots of changes along the way.

With the Super Bowl coming up this weekend I've been inundated with articles about advertising. This particular article came through this morning and when I skimmed it, it seemd to have some snippets of value. For your reading pleasure, check out the link below:
http://adage.com/superbowl/article?article_id=148546

FYI - WOMMA Event 2/16

I saw this come through my email yesterday. Too bad it's in Mountain View, California - would really like to attend.

Head's up to the PEMCO team - the chief marketing officer (and WOMMA president), Rod Brooks, is presenting!
WOMMA Talkable Brands Exchange
Feb 16
Mountain View, CA
9.45 a.m. - 2.30 p.m.

There's Gold In Them Thar Hills

During the late 90's I consulted with several canadian junior mining companies that were publicly traded on the Canadian Venture exchange.  One of my job duties was to coordinate press releases regarding exploration/drilling results.  Back then there were limited venues to get the word out to promote interest in the companies, basically a couple of national newswire services, several trade publications specific to mining, and your companies web site.  You had to work hard and spend alot of money to spread the news through a cumbersome process to a fairly limited group of investors. Today the same companies can spend a fraction of their budgets and reach many more potential investors with up to date information through the various social and mobile media options such as completely integrated multi-media programs offered by the newswire services. 
http://www.newswire.ca/en/services.cgi

Advertising Nuggets of Wisdom

Hmmm, nuggets of advertising wisdom..... In my current position, I have assisted in the creation of a couple of ad campaigns and have also purchased advertising spots in print media and supported radio programming through underwritings. While the creation side of advertising is a fun and collaborative process, I find myself thinking more about the implementation of the ads. Trying to determine what types of ad spots to purchase or in what markets to purchase them can be a daunting process, especially without having clearly defined objectives or strategies in place.

I suspect my firm is like a lot of small to medium-sized companies which feel the need to advertise, but without dedicated marketing personnel, aren't sure how to go about it. My number one suggestion is, prior to beginning an advertising campaign (creation or dissemination), figure out why your company wants to advertise, what does it hope to accomplish? Then determine who your target audience is and what message you're trying to convey to them. Once that groundwork is in place, you can look at various advertising opportunities and filter them through your objectives to see if the opportunity is a good fit for your company. Without this structure, I find it's difficult to identify opportunities because you don't know what you're looking for.

No budget for no return

I have had very little experience in the actual purchasing of advertising. In my position, I have been given the task of weeding out the scams and picking out the "hopefuls." I have created a full analysis of many of my company's advertsing opportunities and presented them to higher management who then picks their ideal avenue. From print, to radio, commercial, to a "Living Social" like deal, I have taken a close look at their pro's and con's. Unfortunately for me, my company doesn't quite grasp the concept of spending money to make it, so I have struggled having anything approved as far as advertising. This is why my experience has been limited as far as actual purchasing advertising goes.

I have also found that many companies will do most of the printing and advertising for us if we can find some sort of partnership. For example, we were having a promotion surrounding the idea of local micro breweries and once I offered to put the small breweries on our tap system, they immediately signed up to partner their name with ours and cover all of the costs of advertising for the event, their label, and ours. Although this is not an example of me doing the actual purchasing, this is the closest I have gotten to negociating any sort of advertising.

What media is your brand?

I have no experience in buying ads, but as a copywriter I've written hundreds of them. I've seen clients succeed and fail in their advertising adventures. I don't promise to know everything, but I can offer a little advice to those who are interested in buying ad media and advertising their brand.

First, have an ad concept. Secondly, have an advertising budget. Finally, buy the right media for your brand. You want to reach the right people at the right times so that your message actually converts to a sale. The Zipcar ad does this well, because it reaches bus riders who probably do not have a car. Targeted media lets you tailor the message to your audience. You'd be amazed at how nicely you can target the media to your customers, especially if you have a very specific product or good market segmentation. So don't just go with the old "print, radio, TV" plan that ad agencies want to sell you. Targeted media buys can do amazing things.

Be Not Afraid of Radio

UWMarComm2011: Advertising scares me! It typically costs big bu...: "Advertising scares me! It typically costs big bucks, yet when it comes to measuring results, the benefits are elusive. The only advertisi..."

Advertising scares me! It typically costs big bucks, yet when it comes to measuring results, the benefits are elusive. The only advertising that doesn't give me the heebie-jeebies is radio. Having worked on and off air for over a decade I've learned how to make radio advertising successful (rather than a total waste of money). For those of you considering this form of media, here are a few tips.

1. Paint the picture: Radio is theater of the mind; but maybe even more it is theater of the gut. Joe's Grossolgy ad was great because it created pictures for the listener and gave us gut feelings. Tip: DO NOT make lists or give ordinary details. Use your radio time like a theater stage and entertain while you inform.

2. Use directive language: This is true in most advertising, but with radio, if you want action to occur in a short time frame, you must direct people to come enjoy or take advantage of what you are offering NOW!

3. Bargain for airtime: Try to pay less. Most radio companies will negotiate.

4. Know your airtime: The best times to air are M-F "Dayparts". Weekends, evenings and overnights have way less listeners.

5. Be redundant: Stats show you need to air at least 3 times per day, M-F for at least 4 weeks to get results. It is best to commit to radio for at least 4 months if you have an ongoing business.

6. Make 'em laugh: Always consider using humor.

7. Match up: Match your message with a station that grabs your target market. Don't let them sell you ads that will fall on deaf ears.

8. Know thyself: Radio CAN be really effective for certain businesses. For instance, cosmetic dentistry does great with radio. Who knew? You must know your brand and exactly what you want to say about it. Say it creatively, and you can have great success using radio.

Know your product, company and audience

I have found that it’s way more fun to be on the creative side of this industry, it is what I understand. The business side of this industry is a whole other world. It was not until recently that I had to deal with advertising/media sales people and vendors.

A few months ago I had a couple of sales guys in from a prominent radio station to pitch me on buying some radio time. I went in to the meeting confident that this would go quickly because I was sure this was a bad fit for our company. I sat there as the two explained what demographic they reached, how many advertisements we would get and how many people we would touch during the AM/PM rush hours. Then I heard, “we now to go (insert prominent anchor) at the Turner Construction News Desk…” and they just about had me. I’m a news junkie and I thought that was the coolest/greatest sounding idea ever and I could pay these two guys to hear it 75 times a week!

They wrapped up and to their disdain, I wasn’t in full agreement that radio was a fit for us. I explained to them our clients don’t call us because they see our logo or hear our name. I liked their ideas but it’s not often someone cold calls us looking to build an office tower. I explained to them the process of how our business operates and how we plan on reaching our clients. Finally they saw my side of things and agreed, then told me they also offer web advertising!

Long story is that by knowing my product, company and audience I saved not only the price of the radio package, but also the time and resources of the company. While creating our marketing plan, I calculated that the money we saved from the radio idea was able to cover other promotions in magazines, newspapers, web and strategic sponsorships that we know reach our desired audience.

Buying Print Advertising without a 3rd Party

I have purchased print from a prominent Seattle newspaper in the past. Print advertising is costly and not always a positive ROI for the company. My decision to work directly with a graphic artist and also negotiate with the advertiser was an attempt to learn more about the business and save some money at the same time.

My experience was pleasant although it was very time consuming. I had worked with the graphic artist in the past so all I needed to have done was a slight redesign of the ad and the message. Easy enough so I thought. Negotiating a rate with the advertiser takes time, persistence and follow up to ensure that the correct reduced rate I had negotiated was actually the rate we were being charged. Yes I did find some errors in our bill rate.

Every week I would receive a proof prior to the ad going to print. This is where you can find errors with your color scheme. I was surprised to find that it took a couple of revisions sometimes to get the colors exactly right. I also had a few ads run in black and white. Proof the black and white ads as well. I did find that they sometimes had a grey tone to them.

I appreciated the learning experience and would pursue this avenue again. Any revision I asked for was done promptly and was revised until it was perfect. Print is very expensive but can be very successful when done correctly.