Blogging Out

Ken Lee from Bulgaria

noreply@blogger.com (Giedrius CP) — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 18:03:00 +0000

While Lithuania stumbles over its efforts to draft the nation's branding strategy or choose a logo for the country, Bulgaria has its own hero.

Three weeks ago I received a short email from a friend in the US saying You may have already seen this and a link to a YouTube video. I'm not a big fan of email jokes but sometimes I do click on the links that my friends promise to be funny, interesting or impressive.

When I first clicked on this one, the video had already been watched some 400,000 times. Three weeks later the number of times the video has been viewed is well over 4 million! A marketer's dream to generate such attention and traffic... The girl in the video became an international star overnight... I wonder how many people has this video made think about Bulgaria, i.e. how many people have learned about the country for the first time?

Have a look at this video and don't take it too seriously. It's a short (1:14 min.) snapshot of Music Idol, a TV amateur song contest, in Bulgaria. Make sure you watch up to the final seconds! Tomorrow, 1 April, is a Fool's Day.:)

Holiday. Celebrate!

noreply@blogger.com (Giedrius CP) — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 15:13:00 +0000

Lithuanian politicians are interesting folk. Their decisions are sometimes beyond common sense. For example, as regards public holidays and turning them into extended weekends.

It's been a law for a while that when a public holiday falls on a weekend, an additional day off is given as compensation for the "lost" day off. It sounds like an attractive (populistic?) law and most people should be pleased with it. However, purely from the business perspective such additional days off mean lost business income and consequently lost tax revenues for the state. Business losses due to such idle days are estimated at millions of litas.

Don't get me wrong - I do like holidays but sometimes such prolonged weekends are a nightmare for a marketer. If you consider launching a marketing campaign, calendar weeks that consist of only three working days are lost weeks. Unless you trade in Easter bunnies, then this March is an out-of-business month. It's been calculated that this present month of March has as many as 13 days off in Lithuania. Almost half the month! It's impossible to squeeze in a marketing campaign and run it effectively.

By the way, some public holidays always fall on the weekend because they are a weekend-type holiday by nature (e.g. Mother's Day, which is the first Sunday of May). In Lithuania, this is also compensated by an additional day off on Monday. I heard that this particular compensation may be called off.

Today (Tuesday) is a public holiday, the Day of Restoration of Lithuania's independence, and we've had a four-day long weekend (Monday as a working day has been moved to the coming Saturday). Go and celebrate! Because the state tells so.

Radio Ga-Ga

noreply@blogger.com (Giedrius CP) — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 18:12:00 +0000

Research is key in any profession and marketing is no exception. Ideally, any step should be based on experience and research. Provided it is done the right way.

In the middle of a working day my mobile phone rang.

- Is this Giedrius CP?
- Yes.
- I'm calling from research company X. Would you be available for a brief interview on radio usage?
- How long would it take?
- 6 minutes.
- OK, shoot your questions.

Sometimes I'm the good guy and agree to take part in a survey, just out of professional curiosity. The girl was reading a zillion of questions and multiple-choice answers very fast.

- Which radio station do you listen to most: A, B, C or D?
- A.
- Which radio station do you turn to for business news first: A, B, C or D?
- B.
- Which radio station would you rate as least unbiased: A, B, C or D?
- C.
- Which radio station would you..........: A, B, C or D?
- None.

A couple of times I asked the interviewer to repeat the answers as she obviously had way too many questions on her list. Soon I got tired.

- How much are there left? I think we've run out of time...
- There are just two final questions.

Of course, there were more than two questions to be answered.:) Anyway, the girl did a good job. When the interview was over, my mobile showed 7 minutes and 20 seconds as the duration of the call. I was pleased with myself (didn't turn the interviewer away) and her (did her job quite well).

BUT! I was also grinning - the questionnaire lacked one key (opening?) question: WHAT RADIO STATION DO YOU LISTEN TO MOST? Because it's neither radio station A (that obviously commissioned the survey), B, C or D.

Because it's a niche radio station, Jazz FM.

Nothing unique

noreply@blogger.com (Giedrius CP) — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 18:24:00 +0000

Lithuanians tend to be overly patriotic and sincerely believe that the country has a lot of unique features. Unique sand dunes of the Curonian Spit, unique amber, unique passion for singing (Eurovision?) or basketball. To be honest, nothing is unique, not even the national scandals.

You may remember my earlier post on the competition to choose a logo for the country and the scandal surrounding it. Well, the competition has been finally cancelled and it might be relaunched some time soon. In this respect, I even started to believe that the situation was of no precedent and unique. I was wrong.

In 2012, London will host the Olympic Games, which is a big deal. This entails an influx of visitors and their cash to the city, not to mention newly-built infrastructure. Last June the logo for the 2012 London Olympics was unveiled and caused a whole lot of public debate, criticism, and even online petitions.

Six months later, in January this year I still read an article in the FT about the logo and the opposition against it. It's interesting how an emblem can cause so much reaction, comments and discussions.

The rationale behind choosing the graffiti-style logo for the 2012 London Olympics (pictured below) is the ambition to engage the multi-cultural young audience in Britain. "...to create a Games for everyone, where everyone is invited to take part", as the official 2012 London Olympics website says.

The style and colours of the logo are a matter of taste. But I especially liked the commotion around the logo and how, for example, the media accept the new product. A quote from the same FT article:

Martin Lambie-Nairn, chairman of the Lambie-Nairn firm, which has rebranded UK broadcasters Channel 4 and the BBC, thinks the Olympic launch was always likely to be controversial, particularly to a UK media critical of the rising cost of the games. “Launching brand identities to journalists is always very dangerous,” he says. “You show something for three minutes, and people go, ‘Is that it?’ The only thing the media is really interested in is the cost.”

If you are interested to read more about the 2012 London Olympics logo, here's an interesting column by Tyler Brûlé, editor-in-chief of Monocle.

Monocle

noreply@blogger.com (Giedrius CP) — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 20:30:00 +0000

With the close of each calendar year, a number of people like to look back and compile their TOP10's of things that they consider as best that happened to them over those last 12 months. Top experiences, movies, books, achievements, etc. My last year's revelation was Monocle.

Monocle is a new international magazine that was launched in 2007. I spotted it last summer and it won me instantly. I was impressed by a perfect combination of quality content and stylish format. It's a well-branded magazine that publishes good stuff with an international perspective. It has offices in London, Tokyo, New York, Sydney and Zurich, which ensures a cosmopolitan range of topics. From A (affairs) to B (business) to C (culture) to D (design) and E (edits).

Smart style, smart writing and smart positioning. I enjoy reading Monocle and tell my friends about it. It's been great pleasure indeed.

I was told that its editor-in-chief was the founder of another prominent magazine, Wallpaper. Hence, special attention to the style and format of Monocle? Plus, in print and online, writers and photographers are dispatched to over 50 countries for every issue to deliver stories on forgotten states, alluring political figures, emerging brands, fresh forces in popular culture and inspiring design solutions.

Read and enjoy! And congrats to the Monocle's team on their one-year anniversary!

Recyclers of useless information

noreply@blogger.com (Giedrius CP) — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 17:03:00 +0000

There's a constant debate on the quality of what we read in the newspapers or see on the TV. Which is the cause and which is the result: the media publish low-brow contents because that's what the majority of consumers are interested in or - the consumers say - we read/view this low quality stuff because that's all that we get to see in papers and on TV? Modern media have become recyclers of useless information.

I came across a very interesting article in the Daily Telegraph on the quality of British media and inter-relation of celebrities and tabloids. And paparazzi, who intrude on the personal life of individuals who may be famous figures in politics, sports or showbiz. I was struck by the open self-criticism of the journalist who focused on the British tabloids:

"...On this crowded little island [Britain], seething with paparazzi and sinking beneath celebrity magazines, a famous person's every move – from the acquisition of a new girlfriend to a trip to the local store – is diligently reported, recorded, published, and then communally sifted for meaning. We have become world-class recyclers of useless information."

It's interesting to read that reportedly the Brits considered the Americans obsessed with "celebrity news" but, according to the columnist, the UK media are no better:

"...In recent months, Hugh Grant has hurled a Tupperware container of baked beans at a pestering photographer. In Los Angeles last week, the actor Pierce Brosnan, who seems the most level-headed of men, allegedly attacked a photographer who took pictures of him and his children leaving a restaurant."

That's the reality of big markets such as the US and UK. But the same is happening, only on a smaller scale, in other countries too.

Do we really need this kind of information???

WHO ARE YOU WEARING http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6OyIujULUk

Broadsheet vs crapsheet

noreply@blogger.com (Giedrius CP) — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 13:46:00 +0000

A number of people have asked why "quality" papers publish graphic images of crime and violence on their front pages. The answer is very simple.

The competitive information environment has led to the so-called phenomenon of consumer attention deficit. People pay less attention to marketing messages, adverts and promotional slogans. This means that it's harder, more than ever, to catch the readers'/viewers' (i.e. any consumers') attention. Falling readership means that editors and publishers must desperately take steps to get a fraction of attention from readers.

Therefore, unfortunately, national papers publish pictures and headlines which should be the realm of tabloid media. The convergence of quality papers and tabloids is evident. Take alone the format: when the group that controls The Sun, the British tabloid paper, bought The Times, a quality paper, the latter has "shrunk" from the broad format to a smaller one. But that's not the only reason I prefer The Daily Telegraph or The Financial Times.:)

The distinction of quality papers and tabloids in smaller markets such as Lithuania is even less significant...

What papers do you read, if any?

Papers. Photo by Giedrius CP.

Anniversary

noreply@blogger.com (Giedrius CP) — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 14:49:00 +0000

One year. Is it a long or a short period of time in a blogger's life? I started this blog, Blogging Out, a year ago and would like to share some of my blogging experiences over the year, i.e. about my readers and the blog itself.

Over one year since November 2006, I've written 22 posts on this blog. It's not a lot and in this respect I'm not a "true" blogger. But it was exactly my plan - to write no more than 2-3 posts per month. I believe in "less is more". :)

This blog has been visited over 2,000 times, from all over the world (that's the benefit of the internet:). And I really appreciate my readers and especially their comments. In total, readers have posted 33 comments on this blog.

I've noticed that it's not very common to post a comment. A number of you whom I meet in person have confessed that "I wanted to write a comment but then decided that I will tell you everything in person when we meet." And it's a great pleasure to know that you read the blog, at least sometimes.

The internet and IT technologies change the way we communicate and live our lives. It should facilitate communication, eliminate distances and make our life easier. This blog is also a way of keeping in touch with friends and colleagues. The biggest challenge is to find time for running the blog. And not the topics. What topics would you like to see covered on this blog?

Beware of the dog! London, November 2006. Photo by Giedrius CP.

I like Chopin

noreply@blogger.com (Giedrius CP) — Sun, 28 Oct 2007 17:57:00 +0000

The web space keeps on surprising me. It houses a wealth of information, some of which dates back to previous centuries. For example, classical music.

You may know a website called YouTube. It's an online video portal that allows internet users to watch, upload and share video clips worldwide. It contains thousands of videos ranging from nonsensical clips taken by a mobile phone to decent, professionally shot videos.

Until recently I thought that YouTube contained only pop-music clips or similar representations of pop culture. Well, it was a nice surprise when I came across beautiful pieces of classical music. Seriously, it was a revelation for me how elite art makes a very progressive effort to market itself in the modern society. A combination of the internet and Chopin struck me.

Just like this piece by composer Sergey Rachmaninov:

Performing: Kasparas Uinskas, a Lithuanian pianist

No alcohol today!

noreply@blogger.com (Giedrius CP) — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 14:07:00 +0000

Alcohol is illegal in Lithuania. Well, it was - for one day - on 1 September. The Government decided to pass this law to counter alcohol consumption by young people by forbidding it on the starting day of the school year.

A month ago, on the plane back to Vilnius I was reading the Lithuanian newspapers to see what's going on or what I may have missed while being away. There was a piece of news that the Government had decided to ban alcohol on 1 September and thus make sure that students start the new school year in a more soaber state.

I didn't care much about this news as I thought it was just another ridiculous decision by Lithuanian politicians. I may have disregarded this absurd move at all if not the scene I witnessed on that "alcohol-free" day.

You may imagine that on the evening of 31 August (Friday) there were more drunk people on the streets of Vilnius than usual: everyone tried to make the most of the last hours before midnight after which noone was able to buy alcohol legally.

On 1 September (Saturday) afternoon I was having lunch at a Lithuanian restaurant. At the neighbouring table, a couple of Japanese tourists were silently studying the menu for some (virtually!) 30 minutes.

Finally, the waitress came to their table to take the order and in her not-so-refined English asked: "Are you ready?". The couple looked at each other and the man started by pointing at something on the menu.

"No alcohol today!", said the waitress coarsely and unfortunately this was all she was able to say to the tourists.

The Japanese couple looked at each other again, very puzzled. They obviously couldn't make it why they can't get a pint of Lithuanian beer at a restaurant.

I was watching them and could hardly help laughing. That was the point when I understood in full how absurd this alcohol ban was.

I sincerely believe in the good intentions of the Government but sometimes (too often?) its decisions go far beyond common sense.

Don't Do's in a Swiss hill escalator, Zurich, June 2007. Photo by Giedrius CP

Tree or no tree

noreply@blogger.com (Giedrius CP) — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 18:18:00 +0000

A number of public procurement competitions in relation to the branding of Lithuania have taken place over the last few years and unfortunately most of them failed. The most recent one, designed to choose a logo for Lithuania, has turned into an international scandal.

Earlier this year the Lithuanian Tourism Development Agency announced a competition to develop a logo, a visual symbol, for the country. Advertising and communications companies participated in this competition and suggested their versions of the country logo.

The trouble began when the purchasing agency announced the winner of the competition. A local ad agency with international affiliation came up with a green tree with the word LIETUVA ("Lithuania") written below. I'd say, the visual solution provided by the agency is a matter of taste. But within a week it appeared that the tree is absurdly similar to the logo of the Canadian town of London.

The local media started a heated debate whether it is appropriate to choose a logo for Lithuania that is undoubtedly similar to London's symbol, whether it is a clear case of plagiarism or simply a coincidence, whether to avoid any confusion and legal implications the purchasing agency should disqualify the winner and pick the project suggested by the "second best" participant in the competition.

Some experts defended the drawyers of the tree others spoke of a clearly unethical case.

Finally, the municipality of the Canadian town of London was contacted and informed of the situation to get their view on the trees.

The Canadian officials said that they objected to Lithuania using a logo similar to their town's symbol. The response from the Lithuanian side was: we will check with the lawyers if there are any legal implications if the Canadian opinion is disregarded.

I once again feel pity for Lithuania, its public servants' inability to do their job right, and the fact that we still don't have a proper branding strategy for the country. Some of our neighbours have gone far beyond us in this field.

Why not pick the second-place winner in this competition and avoid all the hassle, not to mention the legal costs?

Trees in Lithuania and Canada. Picture from Verslo Zinios daily

Secret service goes online

noreply@blogger.com (Giedrius CP) — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 20:16:00 +0000

A number of people have been asking me about the business value of blogging, social networking sites and other online tools. Last week The Financial Times ran a front-page story which shows that not only businesses but also the public sector understand the benefits of digital communications: US intelligence agencies will launch a portal modelled on social networking sites!

No, government secrets will not be available to the general public. The US intelligence units plan to have an internal communications tool similar in its architecture to Facebook and MySpace, the two most popular social networking websites. This is an obvious acknowledgement that social sites have business application even in such areas as secret service.

The Financial Times reports that the new tool, A-Space, (AgentSpace? AnalystSpace?) will help share information among all the 16 US intelligence agencies. It will be a kind of MySpace for secret service officers. No doubt, this move is not greeted by all spies and secret agents as it involves the risk of sensible information being taken over by counter-intelligence and disclosure of undercover agents. Well, these guys should know better in what kind of business they are and what risks that involves. :)

Interestingly, the chief executives of MySpace and Facebook have been invited to participate at a conference in September to discuss the new system to be launched by the American intelligence in December.

I'd like to participate at such a conference. At least to meet the two guys, not to mention the curiosity of seeing American 007's in flesh. :)

Scottish police info box, Edinburgh, April 2007. Photo by Giedrius CP

Ideavirus

noreply@blogger.com (Giedrius CP) — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 14:39:00 +0000

Everything starts from a thought or an idea. Any human action is usually conceived in one's brain and only then implemented. The way ideas travel sometimes makes us wonder.

Have you ever had this feeling that ideas "float" in the air? You may have met people who are considering the same ideas, projects and ventures as you? I'm amazed how different people may have the same ideas.

On a brief visit to New York City last summer, I spotted a strange figure in the Financial District. It was a monstrous rat that a group of people were marching around (pictured below). It turned out to be protesters who were unhappy about the way their employer treated them (low pay, long working hours?) and they campaigned in front of the offices of the ill-behaving company. That looked like an interesting way of attracting public attention to the issue.

A year or so ago a debt collection company in Lithuania used the character of a rabbit to draw public (and media) attention to companies that did not pay their bills in due time. A person dressed like a rabbit with a board signed "I'm indebted" stood by the offices of companies that wouldn't settle their accounts with suppliers.

The two campaigns - the American rat for bad employers and the Lithuanian rabbit for serial debtors - look very similar in terms of the PR tools employed. Ideas indeed travel in mysterious ways.

Rat in New York City, July 2006. Photo by Erlendas G.

First life, second life

noreply@blogger.com (Giedrius CP) — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 20:52:00 +0000

I am amazed how computer-literate my teenage nieces are. Each time I meet them and ask them about the use of PC and the internet, I realise that we represent two totally different generations - "digital natives" (them) and "digital aliens" (me).

The way these two generations use e-tools and perceive two realities - online and offline - are extremely different. As a rule, "digital natives" view both realities as almost equivalent. They connect, chat and communicate with each other online extensively and these activities (the virtual world) have become an inseparable part of their lives. Meanwhile, for "digital aliens" like myself, online tools are merely a means to agree on the place and time of meeting with friends and colleagues in the real world.

The habits of "digital aliens" however change towards increasing digitalisation. Social-networking websites become popular not only with teenagers but with grown-ups too. For personal contacts and use, you may sign up with MySpace, the biggest social site, or Facebook, the second largest but apparently currently the "hottest" social network. There are a number of other social networks on the web, either of national reach or "multinationals".

Social networks may also be used for business purposes. The Economist, the business weekly, confirms that such websites do have business uses, including marketing opportunities. For example, I use LinkedIn, an online network for professionals, which has over 10 million users.

You may ask: why should one "waste" time on any of those social networks? Well, first, it is a fast and cost-effective way of maintaining contacts with your friends or colleagues, who may not necessarily be reachable by car.:) Second, it's a means of making new business contacts. I've used LinkedIn for such purposes and it has worked for me.

Of course, if you spend too much time online and get the feeling that the whole afternoon or evening has disappared, it's time for you to ask yourself: "Do I have a fulfilling first life?".

Manhattan network, New York City, July 2006. Photo by Giedrius CP

When theory and practice don't meet

noreply@blogger.com (Giedrius CP) — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 17:52:00 +0000

Marketing professors at my business school used to say that it's easier and less costly to retain an existing customer than to attract a new one. Marketing textbooks would tell you the same thing. However, the reality in Lithuania is quite the opposite. At least in the mobile communications business. And I wonder why.

I had been a loyal and long-term customer of the largest mobile operator before I asked for some special treats when changing my status from a private customer to a corporate one last autumn. And then I realised (with a big surprise!) that, in terms of choosing a product or service provider, loyalty doesn't pay in Lithuania. The customer care officer of the mobile operator told me that they weren't able to offer me any preferential call rates or other benefits as gratitude for me being their loyal and always-pay-the-bill-on-time customer.

The sales person was indeed trying to come up with something that would make me feel that the mobile company appreciated me as an old customer. They had a very complicated system ("loyalty programme", they call it) which, unfortunately, was of no use to me. Finally, I got tired and asked her if I came to her as a new customer and asked for a new phone number, would I be entitled to some special rates? She said: "Yes".

At the time I thought "How ridiculous" and decided to end up the complication and signed up as a corporate customer for another 2 years (I wanted to keep the same phone number that I had been using for some years).

A month later I went to the second largest mobile operator and asked what they could offer me. I was a new customer to them. And "disloyal" to their competitor.:)

I signed up with them, kept my old phone number and (!) started benefiting from lower phone bills. Plus, they covered my contractual obligations (for terminating the contract earlier than in 2 years' time) to the previous mobile phone company.

Oh, I love beeing a new customer! I can tell that the account manager at my current phone company does indeed care for my needs. And I buy more from them.

I know people who have phone numbers from all the main three mobile operators in Lithuania. At the end of the contract term they threaten to leave the operator and thus they get some benefits for extending the contract. I can't be bothered to carry three mobile phones or use three different numbers (although I have a Lithuanian number and a UK number, but that's a different matter).

I feel it's about time to change my bank as I no longer receive the VIP treatment I've been used to.

FCUK (French Connection UK), Edinburgh, April 2007. Photo by Giedrius CP

We will Skype you

noreply@blogger.com (Giedrius CP) — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 15:09:00 +0000

I've never been an IT-minded person. But it's amazing how IT communications can change one's lifestyle: over the last 7 months my work and leisure time has been heavily digitalised. I've become quite a web animal and use a variety of online tools to communicate and keep in touch for both personal and business purposes.

Moreover, I've become a kind of blogging ambassador. I made presentations on the business case of blogging already twice - in Lithuania and in Belgium. The speed of IT communications seems to speed up human activity and radically change modern life and society.

A few years ago, when I was with the global business advisory firm, more and more of my friends turned to using MSN Messenger, an instant messaging service. At first I was surprised that they could afford to chat over MSN and do some work, simultaneously (I most probably wasn't good at multi-tasking). But later on I felt left out - it seemed like everyone would connect via MSN during the office hours to discuss evening plans or exchange news of the day.

At some point I decided to catch up with my friends and... install the MSN Messenger on the office computer (although I wasn't sure it was the right thing to do). I followed rather simple installation instructions and - here I am! - I have the magic software on my work PC. I was pleased with myself - installed the thing correctly with no external help!:)

It all looked ok until I tried to sign in. I tried once, it didn't work. I tried twice, it didn't work. I restarted the computer, but it still didn't work. MSN was there, looked perfectly ok but didn't work. Then I decided to turn for help to the firm's IT department...

When the IT guy heard what my IT issue was, he smiled at me and said: "You may uninstall it. Because it won't work. Because the servers wouldn't allow." He was a nice guy and didn't tell me off that it was against the strict IT policy of the firm to install and use such software.

I now use a number of e-tools extensively but sensibly, ie try not to abuse them. They help save time and - no less importantly - money! The way they eliminate physical distances and enable us communicate in various forms (voice, chat, live video), continues to surprise me.

Do you Skype? Get in touch with me: giedriuscp.

Smart business casual. © Skype

Thank you for smoking

noreply@blogger.com (Giedrius CP) — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 19:12:00 +0000

Every profession has its own list of favourite films where the main character comes from that profession. PR people also have a must-see list of movies.

The "classic" films that every PR professional would name include Wagg the Dog or West Wing, the TV series. They show how powerful and important - and sometimes glamorous - the PR profession (spin-doctors!) may be. I'd like to name one film that showed a PR officer as a very smart guy. The movie is called Thank You for Smoking.

The main character, a family man, is a spokesman for a major tobacco corporation. As you may imagine he faces the dilemma of personal and professional duties. He seeks to raise his son into a good man but he must also be loyal to his (evil!) employer, the tobacco company. Facing a cancer-ridden teenager in a wheelchair or an aggressive mother activist on a live TV show is peanuts to him. The show ends in his favour and not in those who are supposedly victims of tobacco conglomerates. The biggest challenge is to face a room full of his son's classmates at school...

The school has this bring-your-father-to-school-to-tell-about-his-job tradition. The PR guy's son is too embarrassed to invite his father to school to tell about his "tobacco advocacy" job in front of the boy's peers. However, one day it's his turn to bring his father and the poor boy asks his father to do this parental duty...

The PR guy takes his both responsibilities - to his family and his employer - very seriously. So he does go to school to talk about his job to his son's classmates...

When it's time for a questions & answers session, one school-boy raises his hand and shoots a straightforward question: "My Mom says smoking kills people. How can you work for such a company?"

After a moment of uncomfortable silence, the PR man starts:
- Tell me, young man, is your Mom a doctor?
- No,- replies the boy.
- Is she a medical scientist?
- No.
- Well, boys and girls, here's a lesson for you all: always trust only a reliable source of information!

The PR guy is a responsible person. And he does his best to make his son proud of him. He made me proud of him too. Because he dealt with tough situations smartly and because we're in the same - PR - business.

Thank you for smoking. Roma, September 2006. Photo by Erlendas G.

A hobby

noreply@blogger.com (Giedrius CP) — Wed, 30 May 2007 11:36:00 +0000

Fishing, skiing and knitting - these were the kind of hobbies I was aware of until this month. A couple of weeks ago, while watching the evening TV news, I learnt about a new hobby that people may have.

Watching the national TV news may be quite an educating experience. One evening I turned the TV on and had my dinner with the news as a background noise. At some point there was a report on a diversity campaign that gained too much attention and opposition from the officials. To put it in a nutshell, two buses painted in rainbow (i.e. gay) colours were supposed to ride the streets of Vilnius and Kaunas, the second largest city in Lithuania. But the "gay buses" never left the garages: in Kaunas the bus "broke down" while the Vilnius bus company simply opposed the idea. The TV reporter asked Vilnius Mayor to comment on the "bus scandal". His reply was something like "People shouldn't expose their hobbies but should rather keep them to themselves." This made my eyebrows rise.

At first I wasn't sure if I heard what I heard (rushed to blame my attention deficit:). But when the Mayor tried to expand and referred to the same "hobby" again, it became crystal clear that to him being gay is a hobby.

Well, he may not have come up with a better euphemism if he needed one but clearly he needs PR advice and media training.:) Not to mention a general education "refresher" course. I was wondering - what the former, PR-minded, Mayor of Vilnius would have said in this situation?

Now beware if someone asks you or tells you about hobbies and make sure you understand well what they mean... Do you have a hobby? :)

People with hobbies. Elektrenai, May 2007. Photo by Asta G.

CSR = PR?

noreply@blogger.com (Giedrius CP) — Sun, 13 May 2007 20:10:00 +0000

It's no news that both every person and every company are part of society. They can't live or operate in isolation from the rest, at least in most cases. So how much individuals and businesses owe to the society? Maybe the main and only responsibility of profit-seeking companies is to make money?

The subject of corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been more and more discussed over the last couple of years in Lithuania. International organisations, such as the UNDP, promote CSR among local businesses and encourage them to become ambassadors of CSR principles. It's all very welcome. However, in the initial stages of its awareness and implementation, CSR is sometimes understood as simply part of a company's public relations (PR) programme.

Be it as it may, CSR and PR are closely interrelated. Just like anything within an organisation is relevant to PR. If company management want to maximise the effects of their efforts, decisions, etc., they must employ proper communication. Every action must be supported by communication/PR in order to avoid potential misunderstandings, minimise adverse effects and gain public support.

Adhering to ethical business principles, respecting human rights in the workplace, addressing environmental issues and supporting those in need are the fundamental principles of CSR. Where does PR fit in here?

There are a few companies in Lithuania that eagerly participate in public events and show how socially responsible they are. I've listened to presentations where company managers pride themselves in their CSR programmes. Sometimes I get a strange feeling that - judging from those presentations and the pathos in which they are made - CSR is just PR: we care about our employees' welfare, about the environment, we don't tolerate corruption, etc. Where's that dividing line between CSR and PR?

Some four years ago when I worked for a professional services firm, we, the marketing team together with our advertising agency, produced next year's branded calendars with drawings by children from a child-care home. Each month of the year was illustrated by a drawing done by a disadvantaged child. We wanted to acknowledge authors of each drawing, however, the children were too embarrassed and we were asked not to put their names on the calendar. In return for the drawings, we provided one-off financial support to the institution and brought those kids chocolates for Christmas. We also said on the calendar that the firm provided support to the child-care home and invited others (clients and business contacts) to do so too (details of the institution were given on the calendar).

In the beginning I wasn't sure if acknowledging the firm's support to the child-care home on the calendars that were sent to clients was an appropriate thing to do. But my account manager from the ad agency persuaded me: why should anyone be ashamed of the good things that they do? It's a good thing to DO good things so why should it be a bad thing to SAY that one has done a good thing?

On 22 May, I will attend an interesting seminar where these issues will be discussed by a CSR and PR expert in more detail: www.vcc.lt/en/csr_en

Lewis, US, July 2006. Photo by Giedrius CP

Choosing your neighbours

noreply@blogger.com (Giedrius CP) — Tue, 01 May 2007 21:29:00 +0000

Some people say that life is a series of choices. Every day is a marathon of choices: we choose what to wear, where to go, what to say, what to do. That's an interesting - although not incorrect - view on life. Yes, we make myriads of choices but can we choose everything? Certainly, there are some things that we cannot choose.

We cannot choose our parents, for example. But what about our neighbours?

To continue the story on luxury shops in Vilnius, I'd like to show you two outlets that rub shoulders - or rather shop windows - in the very heart of the Old Town. I don't need to introduce the label on the left (see the picture below). The one on the right is a grocery store of a Lithuanian retail chain. It runs supermarkets and no luxury shops.

My question is does the luxury shop (and its posh customers!) feel comfortable about such neighbourhood? And can it - or did it have a choice to - do something about it? I believe it can and it did. But let me know your opinion.

Vilnius, April 2007. Photo by Gediminas Zilinskas

Luxury sale

noreply@blogger.com (Giedrius CP) — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 18:28:00 +0000

It's about time for bad marketing cases. Vilnius has a number of luxury label shops, especially in the Old Town. Some people say that they are simply money-laundering outlets. I don't know whether it's true or not but a couple of weeks ago I saw a marketing tag on a fancy dress shop window that made me laugh out loud.

Its was just two words written in a "luxurious" font. And the promotional slogan said: "Luxury Sale"!.. Unbelievable. That's something that hit me as an example of lack of common sense, not to mention marketing knowledge or insights.:)

Needless to say, luxury goods and sale discounts do not fit together. Or am I wrong? Maybe not as a week later the "sale" was gone. Wonder why?..

Vilnius, April 2007. Photo by Gediminas Zilinskas

Congratulations! You're one of the few people

noreply@blogger.com (Giedrius CP) — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 08:05:00 +0000

When I went to Paris for the New Year's celebration, I noticed a series of close-up portraitures on outdoor billboards all over the city centre. It intrigued as the bus stops and other stands were decorated with faces of the young and beautiful. Men and women. And no text to explain the idea of the faces. Except for the two lines printed in a tiny font. Awkwardly placed on the models' eyes.

To read the two lines, you had to come up close to the faces. The text in French read: "Congratulations, you're one of the few people who have the courage to come close to HIV-infected people."

I was bewildered - the idea of this social advertising campaign is 100% smart. And it does get the message across. You read the lines once and then you understand what's behind all those faces throughout Paris when you see them again. A series of faces, a variety of looks. The authors of this campaign deserve the highest praise!

Paris, December 2006

Rules of attraction

noreply@blogger.com (Giedrius CP) — Sun, 25 Mar 2007 19:24:00 +0000

Finding and recruiting new talent is a great challenge and a hot issue for most companies. Vilnius Conference Centre (VCC) - the company I run - is different, which is very pleasing. It was launched less than 4 weeks ago but there is already a list of candidates who would be interested to work for VCC. We haven't been actively looking for new people but they found us.

I worked at an international firm with a strong corporate brand and culture for quite a few years. Therefore, it seems only natural to build VCC on a similar set of standards.

I have come up with a list of things that should serve as a basis for VCC corporate culture. It is just the initial phase of its development and I would like to present it for your trial (blogging out:).

VCC Values, Rules and Guidelines

1. VCC is a smart company and employs smart people, runs smart projects and works with smart clients.

2. VCC is open, dynamic and flexible.

3. VCC core values are:
- High professonal standards
- Enthusiasm
- Positive attitude
- Effective and efficient teamwork
- Partnership-based relationships with all stakeholders: employees, clients, suppliers, competitors, etc.

4. We never say No or Never, we say We have to think and come back with an answer.

This list is not exhaustive, it is a constant "work-in-progress". Let me have your comments and ideas!

Photo by Gediminas Zilinskas, March 2007, Vilnius

A smart VCC start

noreply@blogger.com (Giedrius CP) — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 20:53:00 +0000

The 1st of March was an important date. Not because it was an official start of spring, at least in Lithuania. It was also the launch day of a new company and its project. The venture I've been working on, together with partners, for three full and busy months. Finally, it's up and running!

You probably know smart phones, smart cards, smart cars. Why can't there be a smart company? Vilnius Conference Centre (http://www.vcc.lt/) is built on this concept. It will run smart projects, employ smart people and - hopefully - have smart clients. Is this idea too far-fetched? Well, I don't think so. I would argue that it's a great (smart!:) idea.

Just like the Smart (car) rented for the launch party and the first phase of the marketing campaign, VCC is a dynamic, flexible and open company. It's also based on a team of two, just like the Smart FortTwo (see pictures below). It makes people smile and stay positive and well-disposed. I'm driving this car to get to the VCC office and around town and it feels as if you spread the good vibe around you. It's amazing!

Visit the VCC website and its blog, leave your comment there. It'll be interesting to hear your feedback, opinions and thoughts. Blog it out! :)

A few snapshots of the launch party on 1 March:

Photos by Gediminas Zilinskas

The importance of planning

noreply@blogger.com (Giedrius CP) — Sun, 04 Feb 2007 21:56:00 +0000

There are two kinds of people: those who hate plans and those who are fans of plans. I belong to the latter category. I am a strong believer in plans, or rather in the process of planning itself, and enjoy planning immensely! I am not talking about the pretentious plan-based economies back in Soviet times. Planning makes life easier.

My friends sometimes make fun of me as I am a passionate planner. Be it a holiday or a business project, a plan is a must for me. Otherwise, how would you make the most of it? :) Yes, sometimes there needs to be a plan-free holiday. But "no plan" is already a plan!..

It is a wide-spread belief that plans/planning is a limitation. That it puts an end to creativity, flexibility, etc. I totally disagree. The nature of plans is such that they are a constant "work-in-progress", i.e. once you have an initial plan ("a framework") you can work on it further, change it as needed, streamline it and finally have a near-perfect plan for action.

In his book "Screw It, Let's Do It", Richard Branson (the founder of Virgin Group, in case you don't know:) said: "I always tell people that if they want to do anything well, they must plan and prepare." And it's absolutely true. His achievements will only prove this simple statement.

I'm in the process of preparation and planning. In four weeks, a new company and its project will be officially launched. Keep an eye on this blog and you might be among the first to find out!

Outdoor press conference venue of White House, Washington D.C.
Photo by Giedrius CP, July 2006