Intel 10.0

10 suggestions for 10 banned PR words

oldschooleditor@hotmail.com (old school editor) — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 01:43:00 +0000

Thanks, Mary Lou, for prompting a constructive reply to Robin Wauters' critique of hackneyed PR phrases. Humbly, I submit…

Instead of LEADING / LEADER, how about a provable, specific, quantitative term or unique identifier (“New York Times best selling,” “#1 synthetic motor oil,” etc.)?

Regarding the use of BEST / MOST / FASTEST / LARGEST / BIGGEST / etc., take Robin’s hint. Be able to prove it (source it!), and don’t super-niche it.

Instead of INNOVATIVE / INNOVATION, a simple “new design” might work, and you will spend at least a paragraph to describe exactly how it is new (as in never been done before).

Instead of REVOLUTIONARY, you might want to dial it down a notch and go with “ground-breaking,” which suggests you’re building something new, right?

Most of my “AWARD-WINNING” releases are posted to the respective organization’s website, for the record. Industry-specific outlets usually pick up such announcements, which are less than news, but more than information.

Unless you actually cause an outage (usually not a good thing), the use of DISRUPTIVE / DISRUPTION should be avoided. Robin’s right. If your product/service really shakes things up, you’ll be too busy answering the phone and e-mails to take time for press releases.

OK, I will try to avoid using CUTTING / BLEEDING EDGE in any of my writing or seminars. I will try.

Instead of NEXT-GENERATION, Robin prefers “updated version.” That works for me. Also, be careful of the term “2.0.” It’s swiftly reaching “overuse” status.

Is there another kind of PARTNERSHIP that is not STRATEGIC? Save nine letters and drop the word. (Hmmm… I’m going to have to look at my slogan for Chavis Crew Communications, “strategic content for websites and media relations.”

Seriously, SYNERGY is one of the great business-speak terms of the Information Age. It sounds scientific, organic, like some previously mysterious force is at work forming a great new discovery. Mergers are usually just that. And you’ll need a paragraph to explain why the deal makes sense. If it takes more than a few sentences, it might be too complicated to succeed, and reporters have a nose for that sort of thing.

As always, the above rules can be broken if necessary. If you’ve the goods, tell the story, and tell it well. Contact Chavis Crew Communications for truly innovative, synergistic copy.

Ban these words from your PR...

oldschooleditor@hotmail.com (old school editor) — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 04:23:00 +0000

I found this blog post from Robin Wauters irresistible: “10 words I would love to see banned from press releases.”

You can probably guess what they are. A change in the public relations industry is upon us. Over-saturated writers and editors are busting every hyperbole they spot, so anyone seriously interested in coverage had better deliver the goods.

Journalists, editors, producers and bloggers insist, so publicists must show them.

As a committed subscriber to The Cluetrain Manifesto , I continually remind myself that the world is crying out for authentic conversation, human-to-human interaction, truth (or in the absence of truth, at the very least, honest discussion).

There is no substitute.

10 things I just learned about social media

oldschooleditor@hotmail.com (old school editor) — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 01:02:00 +0000

Here’s how social media moves from on line to "real world": a techie friend told me about www.MeetUp.com, a monthly gathering around new technologies. A new Denver company put on a free panel on “Social Media,” and promoted it through a MeetUp post. I RSVPed, and spent the morning in downtown Denver getting schooled on several aspects of social media. Every client asks me about it, and the phenomenon has changed radically in the last year. Innovations are coming down the pike at a breathless pace. Thanks www.RedDoor.biz!

It behooves us all to keep up and stay sharp, so here are “10 things I just learned about social media.”

1. Effective social media is trusted communications between people who know each other. (Ari Newman, http://filtrbox.com)
2. “Twintern” – a new trend of hiring college students to manage Twitter posts, which makes one wonder, who’s speaking for your organization? (Jamie Dicken, http://brickfish.com)
3. Match your unique social approaches to your unique audience. (Crosby Noricks, www.reddoor.biz)
4. The same way e-mail changed the interoffice memo of the 80s, social media is changing e-mail. (Newman)
5. Keeping score is more than just tracking numbers of fans. You have to capture the value of individual conversations. (Noricks)
6. Two days is too long to wait to get back to someone with a question on your social media space. (Noricks)
7. Re-Tweeting is the new e-mail forward. (Newman)
8. You can’t afford not to do social media. (Adrian Glasenapp, http://newbelgium.com)
9. The link-shortening services are popular, not just to save you characters (in the Twitter 140-character space), but because they offer metrics to measure clicks. (Newman)
10. There is a cultural shift around social media. Companies are spreading knowledge, insights, responsibility and ownership of social media across departments. (Dirk Shaw, http://vignette.com)

There was so much more, but by the time we talk, things will have changed again. Which of the above “strikes” you?

U2, Prince camp on late night TV

oldschooleditor@hotmail.com (old school editor) — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 22:10:00 +0000

Prince just finished a three-night engagement on NBC’s Tonight Show. U2 just did five straight nights on the CBS Late Show a couple of weeks ago. Record companies are pulling out all the stops to get eyes and ears on their product. It’s a battle for dollars in an age of file sharing and online music sales-one-track-at-a-time.

It’s a smart move for the TV networks too. They’re offering a unique platform for top music acts, and it lends to their credibility as well. Think the networks are all washed up? Not so fast.

Here’s what the rest of us can get out of these high profile engagements.
1) Partnerships work. Fighting over domain is the most fruitless kind of fearful, desperate act – the dying grasp of someone who has run out of ideas. Find partners. Create partnerships. (I’m trying really hard here to avoid the word “synergy.”) The fact is that collaborations with people that bring different but complimentary assets to the table are essential in this tough economy.

Plus, your customers win by gaining product from two great creators, not just one.

2) New technologies are not always the answer. What’s more simple than a four-piece combo (albeit the “greatest rock band in the world”)? What’s new about an 80-90s disco icon recycling old funk beats in strange make-up? Everything, because artists like Prince constant hit the “refresh” button on their styles.

Do what you do best, keep it fresh, and find new outlets that get your best work in front of customers in a fresh way.

3) New technologies are also part of the solution. I missed the third night of the Prince/JayLeno event live, but I found it on YouTube (of course). And Prince’s new album, while available in Target stores on Sunday, was available on line days earlier. Just because the top musicians are on TV, it doesn’t mean they’ve abandoned the brave new world of the Internet. That’s were most of their customers hang out. Apple passed Wal-Mart in music sales a year ago (April 2008) according to online tech mag arstechnica.com. In the not-too-distant future, music sales will “tip” to on line.

How can you engage your customers where they hang out? I want to help you figure it out. Give me a ring.

TV preview bait and switch

oldschooleditor@hotmail.com (old school editor) — Sun, 08 Mar 2009 03:54:00 +0000

I have just experienced Television Preview first hand. It is as bad, or worse than the bloggers suggest. Their classic bait and switch event should go down in the annals of corporate malfeasance.

From their invitation letter: “You have been selected to participate in a survey whose findings will directly influence what you see on television in the future.” Who could resist the chance to “evaluate not-yet released television material that is being considered for nationwide broadcast.” Guess what? The only “material” being considered that night was product satisfaction. Hundreds and hundreds of products.

Television Preview is not about TV shows. It is entirely, 100% about PRODUCTS. Twice we scanned 20 pages of consumer products and picked our favorites. They say they will give away six crates of stuff (worth $250.00!), to be delivered later.

Page after page of survey questions probed our favorite breakfast cereal, adhesive bandage, deodorant, toilet tissue, paper towel, ink pen, pickle, oatmeal, … and a curious new personal hygiene product called the “wet wipe.” It went on forever.

The TV pilot episodes we thought we were reviewing included commercials, and they showed a spot for Hyundai’s new “Assurance” program (recession-timed, Hyundai will buy your car back if you get laid off). We commented on our impressions of the commercial and the product. The two best commercials of the night were the got milk?/Pillsbury Russian family commercial, and the Holiday Inn Express “rapper.” LOL! (But they didn’t even ask about those commercials.)

About the previews we came to see, they were both produced in 1997, and were doomed to failure. “Soul Mates” starring Kim Raver (the awesome Audrey Raines of “24-Day 6”) was a reincarnation love/crime story that played like a bad mini-series too bad even for the Lifetime channel. There’s no evidence it ever aired.

Also on the double bill, a sitcom called “Dads” starring Rue McClanahan and C. Thomas Howell (also in “24-Day 5”). Wisecracking child actors, goofy, inept dads, a lust interest, plus the ever-present laugh track. I wrote on my survey “Thumbs up, I guess” in hopes of more dad-positive TV. This show never aired.

On one hand, I wish I had done more research before blowing the evening for my wife and 20-something son. On the other hand, I’m glad I didn’t know any better and walked in like a naïve member of the consuming public. Yup, that’s me!

I wanted to make it a family event and take my 15-year old, but the cutoff age was 16 so we left him at home with a new Spongebob video. Lucky fellow! As my grousing over three wasted hours got worse, he said, “It’s not that bad. At least you didn’t lose any money. It’s like watching two hours of bad YouTube videos and the button doesn’t work.”

Kansas City’s entertainment weekly Pitch caught on five years ago, summing up the experience: “Most attendees have figured out by now that there's a catch, and if this is it, they can live with it.”

A few other endorsements:
“Misleading, stupid” – OneEyedMan, June 25, 2007

“Awful! … so sad.” – swaite, Nov. 22, 2008

“I hope they go out of business.” – Jeffrey, Dec. 5, 2008

Here are our choices: shut down this operation by exposing their lies (what are the chances?), or persuade them to convert into becoming a legitimate research firm.

Invest two hours of your own to attend Television Preview and skew the stats. Rave over the pilots and let’s resurrect them from the obscurity of focus group hell. There is a movement to get clips of these pilots on to YouTube.

I have little hope in the latter option. A short open later to the “director” follows.

Dear G.B. Edwards (director of Television Preview):

Thank you for the invitation to your TV show screening. I was so honored, and so foolish. From the invitation letter: “… if the material you evaluate is later telecast, you can rightly conclude that your opinion was considered before that decision was made.” That was an outright lie and the worst kind of bait and switch!

I urge you to stop the deception. Instead, go whole hog toward commercials. Show the latest, the best, the worst, the funniest. Preview upcoming campaigns. Hire a local comedian to host the show. A Vaudeville act or Catskillian type comic would surely entertain the mostly senior crowd. Give away goodie bags to the entire audience on the way out. Promote American products!

You can convert your endless, dreadful night of opinion-mining into something that approaches fun. Such an event would still interest people willing to share their opinions.

A sucker is born every minute, so it’s doubtful you will convert at my suggestion. I pray you repent for your sins.

Will Conan win America?

oldschooleditor@hotmail.com (old school editor) — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 21:39:00 +0000

Wednesday night I'm up late watching Conan during his final week in the late, late slot. He's been removing something from his set each night, giving it away to someone in the audience. A strange, funny, sentimental move that is very watchable.

I couldn't turn away as he attacked one of the formerly permanent music stands. He chose the sledge hammer and pounded it, then rocked it back and forth, and pulled it off its mooring on the stage, music sheet, mic, wires and all. He returned the music sheet to the trombone player. (Trombone player looks at Conan as if to say, "what do you want me to do with that?" As if the music sheet was itself damaged - and when they went to music, he had to share mic and music stand with the sax player.)

Then he grabbed an axe and chopped the mic cables right on the stage. I'm shocked at this point, knowing that he's leaving permanent damage on the NBC stage. He finally hefts the battered fixture up the steps and lays it across two audience members at the top of the seats.

Huffing and puffing, he returns to his mark on the stage, throws back his shock of red hair and says, "Wow. That was totally not planned. Ooh. That can't be good. (shot of the permanent damage on the floor) Look. The producer is not happy. OK, we'll be right back with (guest)." (go to music. shot again of damaged floor, instant replay of Conan removing bandstand).

Brilliant. Insane. Great TV. Too bad for the NBC carpenter who has to fix this mess.

Slate columnist Ben Mathis-Lilley says Conan will make the transition and hold the late night slot against Letterman and ABC's Nightline.

I'm just talking about entertainment. If there's any value in it at all, we must get a handle on the "inspiration of the moment."

Big 3 automakers - Isolated at Fawlty Towers

oldschooleditor@hotmail.com (old school editor) — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 01:06:00 +0000

I love private air travel. Nothing speeds my day along like being driven to the airfield, boarding my own jet, and taking off, only to be whisked away to my meeting or dinner upon arrival. First class commercial travel is the next best thing, but it doesn’t really come close – all that wasted time in security and the unwashed masses and whatnot.

Driving cross-country is an entirely different experience. One gas tank at a time, I get to see cities, ‘burbs, hamlets and countryside speed by outside my climate controlled window. Pull over at a rest stop. Slip the card in the slot, wrench off the cap, slam in the nozzle, squeeze off another 20 gallons, hit the head and I’m off for another 400 miles.

America’s Big 3 auto executives had no such decision to make. It never even occurred to them that they might want to drive to beg Congress/the American taxpayers for a few billion dollars to hold them over. Instead, eack CEO took his own corporate jet to the hearings at the U.S. Capitol.
Auto executives, banking executives, Wall Street magnates, and other corner office holders are so isolated from what we call “normal life,” that they are missing in whole or in large part the way the rest of us see things. I can imagine these executives’ shock as the media descended upon the news that private planes were S-O-P. These unusual times prompted no review, no second thought. The outgoing Congress of 2008 set the tone, and every high-leverage, high-risk operator in the Dow-Jones Industrials is bellying up to the taxpayers’ bar.
To blame: the chief communications officers of GM, Ford and Chrysler, and the institutional “let them eat cake” culture that has infected American capitalism. As they were planning for these Congressional hearings, someone, anyone should have bravely strode into the executive wing and said, “You know, those other two guys are probably going to fly their jet to DC. We should drive our hybrid.”

That would have been the PR coup of the year. Instead, we all enjoyed watching them stumble into the PR gaffe of the year.

Should you care to re-cap the embarrassing mess from mid-November 2008: http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/Wallstreet/Story?id=6285739&page=1

A month later, the auto execs returned to Congress, having done their homework and with their tail between their legs. And guess what, they drove! Ford’s Alan Mulally rode from Dearborn to Washington, D.C. in a Ford Escape hybrid. GM’s Rick Wagoner (and entourage) are said to have driven a Chevy Malibu and Cobalt (both hybrids) and an alt-fuel Buick Lucerne. Chrysler’s Robert Nardelli cruised down in an Aspen SUV hybrid.

Heidi N. Moore’s blog in the WSJ’s Deal Journal of Dec. 2, 2008 makes the point smartly: “…while these supplicants may have learned their lessons about how to put on a great show of acting penitent, it isn’t clear that real penitence–or real change–is yet the order of the day.”
--------------------
Yes, this story is months old, but I needed to post what I’ve been saying, for your perusal. Why this story still matters: on one hand America is coming to grips with hard-earned (?) bonuses on Wall Street, on the other hand a $500k salary cap for corporations on the government dole. Banks and financial firms can no longer hold corporate meetings under the lights of the Vegas Strip. The fallout has not yet settled.

I don’t need to tell you that things have changed. But somebody needs to tell our captains of industry. They need solid, ethically based PR counsel. Chavis Crew Communications is for hire.

Telling your story to men in the 21st century

oldschooleditor@hotmail.com (old school editor) — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 21:25:00 +0000

Notes from Dangerous Man Day 2009: Tell Your Story - Communicating To Men In The 21st Century
(http://dangerousman.org/)

Class description: Remember UHF, rotary phones, the radio dial, and the postage stamp? Learn to tell your story in the brave new world of social networks, blogs, e-blasts, and more with communications maven Steve Chavis.

PREMISE: experience in traditional forms of mass media do not matter as much as facility and flexibility with new forms of media, including social networks. Some basic discipline, however, still apply.

OLD PRACTICES THAT STILL MATTER:
the 5 W’s: Who, what, where, when, why

A verse from King David: “…promotion comes neither from the east nor from the west nor from the south. But God is the Judge; He puts down one and exalts another.” Psalm 75:6,7

COMMUNICATING TO MEN

Promise Keepers’ 6 ASPECTS OF THE MASCULINE CONTEXT
1. ISOLATION. (distance = safety).
2. BOTTOM LINE – men communicate via questions.
3. DESIRE TO WIN, men are goal or “challenge” oriented.
4. COMPARTMENTALIZE - men focus on either logic or emotions
5. ORDER - rules over relationships.
6. ANGER – men need safe place to express emotions.
(Source: http://www.promisekeepers.org)

RULES FOR CONTENT
Know your mission – honed to a “matchstick” version or 20-second elevator speech

Keep it LOCAL and UNIQUE (specific to your calling or niche)

Practice message discipline -- In any communications, avoid too many images, too many messages.
“We succeed only as we identify in life, or in war, or in anything else, a single overriding objective, and make all other considerations bend to that one objective.” President Dwight Eisenhower, April 2, 1957

Call for action: give your audience easy, specific ways to get involved, do something.

WHAT’S NEW IN CONTENT?
Readers are looking for more personal revelations

Shorter messages and more often

Human language (Cluetrain Manifesto – Thesis #4, see HANDOUT, inside)
-Jargon is out, “insider” language is out, Christian-ese is out
-Dilbert / corporate speak is out, PR doublespeak is out
-Respect your audience – find the feeling is mutual

Note the transition from quality (excellence) to authenticity (transparency, humanness).

For a free copy of the E-book Communications Attitude – a study of Proverbs 15, e-mail chaviscrew@msn.com.

NEW AVENUES (Looking for immediate ROI?)
The future is now! Adaptation is key. The pace of technological and societal change has accelerated. Commit a portion of your time to study where things are going.

Today, the watchword is VIRALITY.
From technology guru Tim O’Reilly (http://timoreilly.com)/... Note the way YouTube.com shifted the online media game by offering embed codes that allow anyone to post the videos at their own sites, and not require all visitors to come to YouTube.com (and their advertisers). It was a clear choice, and it has made YouTube far more prevalent in cyberspace.

(from Steve) Also note the way Adobe introduced their reader. The reading software (and other products) are free to everyone, and we love access to all those documents and articles on line as PDF files. But if you want to create PDF files (and other types of media files), you have to buy the creator software.

These new technology corporations understand virality. Project your product and make it easy to use. Content producers will always pay the price to reach large audiences. Are you willing to give away half of what you do, in order to see the other half go global? (Why is it that business is so much better at giving things away than the Body of Christ?)

Think about your audience. Understand your men. Observe. Survey. Ask. That will help shape which strategies you pursue with greatest return.

SOCIAL NETWORKS
http://myspace.com/

-Internet users between the ages of 35-54 now account for 40.6% of the MySpace visitor base, an 8.2% increase during 2006.
-Peaked in June 2007 with 7% of all Internet visits
-“Struggling societies” (lower income)
-4% more women visitors than Facebook

http://facebook.com/

-More affluent “affluent suburbia”
-Growing to 1% of all Internet visits

http://twitter.com/

-1.2 million visitors per month
-A weekday event, with weekend use dropping to half its weekday rate
-10% more likely to be male than the average internet user
-25-44 year old segments have found more value in Twitter and started to ramp up usage.

How many people can you reasonably be expected to keep up with?
Dunbar’s Number - the theory of anthropologist Robin Dunbar popularlized in Malcolm Gladwell’s book The Tipping Point (Back Bay Books, 2002. http://malcolmgladwell.com/)
-Theoretical cognitive limit to the number of people with whom you can maintain stable social relationships – 150 as an upper limit.
-The larger the group, the more rules, limits, parameters.
-Drawn from size of the human neocortex, village size and migration, and behavior of non-human primates
-A different theory called the Bernard – Killworth number is 230.
-A guy in NY has 693 MySpace friends, but is creating strict rules about who he will accept, and promises to write 12 friends a day and eventually rotate through all of them.

BLOG FORMATS
-http://blogger.com/ for e-blogger / Google
-http://typepad.com/ – Wes Roberts, Rick Kingham
-Keep it short – keep it current (unlike this blog)

E-MAIL CAMPAIGNS
-Obama's amazing success built on the work of John Edwards in 2004,
-raised gobs of $$,
-sent messages aimed at their region, one message for states that border Mexico, a different message for Michigan
-mybarackobama.com – “Houdini Project” real time reporting on election, crossing off names within 30 mins. of their vote, to cull the call lists.
-Announce the VP pick via text message

-3.5 million Facebook friends

YOUR WEBSITE
News, photos, - KEEP IT CURRENT
Use natural, intuitive flow to your pages

RSS
RSS – Longmont FYI
By e-mail address

SHARE! SHARE! SHARE!
http://facebook.com/

http://myspace.com/

http://blinklist.com/

http://buzz.yahoo.com/

http://stumbleupon.com/

http://technorati.com/

http://twitter.com/

From the “95 Theses” in The Cluetrain Manifesto
Levine, Rick, Locke, C., Searls, D., Weinberger, D. The Cluetrain Manifesto. Cambridge, MA. Perseus Books, 2000. (http://www.cluetrain.com/)

1. Markets are conversations.

4. Whether delivering information, opinions, perspectives, dissenting arguments or humorous asides, the human voice is typically open, natural, uncontrived.

18. Companies that don’t realize their markets are now networked person-to-person, getting smarter as a result and deeply joined in conversation are missing their best opportunity.

21. Companies need to lighten up and take themselves less seriously. They need to get a sense of humor.

22. Getting a sense of humor does not mean putting some jokes on the corporate web site. Rather, it requires big values, a little humility, straight talk, and a genuine point of view.

38. Human communities are based on discourse – on human speech about human concerns.

50. Today, the org chart is hyperlinked, not hierarchical. Respect for hands-on knowledge wins over respect for abstract authority.

62. Markets do not want to talk to flacks and hucksters. They want to participate in the conversations going on behind the corporate firewall.

78. You want us to pay? We want you to pay attention.

91. Our allegiance is to ourselves – our friends, our new allies and acquaintances, even our sparring partners. Companies that have no part in this world, also have no future.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Gladwell, Malcolm. The Tipping Point. Boston. Back Bay Books, 2002. (http://malcolmgladwell.com/)

Levine, Rick, Locke, C., Searls, D., Weinberger, D. The Cluetrain Manifesto. Cambridge, MA. Perseus Books, 2000. (http://www.cluetrain.com/)

Tancer, Bill, “MySpace v. Facebook: Competing Addictions.” Time.com. 2007, New York. http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1675244,00.html

Moskalyuk, Alex, “Age Demographics of MySpace visitors.” ZDNet.com. 2006
http://blogs.zdnet.com/ITFacts/?p=11967

Freiert, Max, “Twitter Traffic Explosion: Who’s behind it all?” Compete.com. 2008.
http://blog.compete.com/2008/05/15/twitter-traffic-growth-usage-demographics/

SOURCES AND RESOURCES
http://blog.techsoup.org/node/170 (the technology place for non-profits)

http://www.toprankblog.com/ TopRank’s internet marketing blog on the intersection of digital PR, social and search engine marketing.

http://timoreilly.com/

http://chaviscrew.blogspot.com/ (Steve’s business communications blog)

http://theoldschoolblog.blogspot.com/ (Steve’s personal blog commentary)

MEN’S MINISTRY WEBSITES (from my bookmarks)

http://achosengeneration.org/
http://churchformen.org/
http://www.cmnworld.com/
http://dangerousman.org/
http://www.edcole.org/
http://encouragementopray.org/
http://www.exodusglobalalliance.org/index.php
http://www.ironsharpensiron.net/
http://johnteshblog.typepad.com/john_tesh_blog/
http://maninthemirror.com/
http://www.markedmenforchrist.org/
http://www.mensfraternity.com/
http://ncmm.org/
http://www.newcanaansociety.com/
http://promisekeepers.org/
http://www.purelifeministries.org/index.cfm
http://www.ransomedheart.com/
http://rickkingham.wordpress.com/
http://www.titanicsociety.com/home.asp

(For a presentation to your group, organization, men’s ministry, or business, please contact me at chaviscrew@msn.com.)

Friending, tweeting, and other new behaviors

oldschooleditor@hotmail.com (old school editor) — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 00:08:00 +0000

My first blog post of 2009 is on the matter of social media. One month not long ago MySpace captured an amazing 7-8% of all Internet visits. Facebook is coming on strong, jumping to a full 1% of all Internet visits. Twitter is coming on strong too, and marketers are paying attention to the little 140-character personal updates.

Why do people care so much about mundane personal matters and “shout outs”?

These social networks are a way to interact personally in an increasingly impersonal computer age. A “high touch” reaction to a high tech world. A book from nearly a decade ago, The Cluetrain Manifesto, highlights the importance of a “human voice” in corporate communications. Enough with the jargon and corporate-speak!

Back in December 19, 2008, new media guru Tim O’Reilly was a guest on NPR’s “Talk of the Nation – Science Friday.” It’s worth 23 minutes to get a better handle on the future of social media.

Coming next, notes from my workshop at Dangerous Man Day on communicating to men in the 21st century.

So you want to send out a press release?

oldschooleditor@hotmail.com (old school editor) — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 06:48:00 +0000

So you want to send out a press release? It sounds like a good enough idea.

“People should know about this product.”

“We need to get the word out, get some buzz.”

“We must raise awareness about this important issue, and publicize our work to solve this problem.”

“It’s time to educate the public!”

These are all solid, worthy motivations to crank out the release and hit “send.” But none of them constitute good enough reasons to distribute a press release (more accurately, a “news release”).

It the strictest sense, a news release announces news to media organizations, in hopes that they will report on your announcement. Not to overcomplicate what should be a simple process, but it’s harder than it looks to get coverage. Read on for a breakdown of what’s involved in an effective news release strategy.

The definition of news
News is “new.” Whatever you’re talking about hasn’t happened before, or lately. News is “now.” It is out of the ordinary. Most early journalism textbooks describe the “man bites dog” story. (Dogs bite men every day.) News is the extraordinary, tragic, or sensational. (Think flashing lights and sirens.) If not the “first time ever,” news is the “most,” the highest, strongest, or the longest. News might even be the least, the overlooked, the “best kept secret,” or about the innocent and weakest among us.

News is never common, mundane, ordinary or “as expected.” Find the superlatives in your story, or keep working until you do something (or discover something) that stands out. Only bother to write a news release about something that is truly “news worthy.

The content of the release
You’ve heard of the “5 Ws and an H?” The who, what, where, when, why and how are elemental and elementary to any news release. Be prepared to spell out the details of your announcement. And you might be surprised to discover that the things you take for granted are notable to people who don’t live with your issues every day.

The climate of the newsroom
Most people have no idea how competitive the newsroom atmosphere is. No matter the size of the media outlet, the editor’s inbox is overflowing with news releases. Not only are you competing with all the other providers and suppliers in your field, you are competing with national events, local weather, the big crime story, fires and accidents, and the enterprising ideas that the editors and reporters themselves are developing.

Your subject line is critical. Your lead paragraph must capture the attention and imagination of the editor. Your release must demonstrate that you have the credibility and capacity to help the reporters tell a compelling story for their audiences. The reporters themselves are competing with each other, and with other news organizations. I’m not saying your story cannot compete. I’m just saying that in most cases, you’ve got to hustle to get noticed.

The contacts you are pursuing
Not all reporters or media outlets care about your story, no matter how important you think it is. Discern the outlets and the reporters that have previously shown some interest in your issue. At large, daily general news operations, finding the reporter that is sensitive to your side of the story is even more important. Specialty media outlets may provide coverage more often and in more detail. So specialize! Niche marketing is still “in.”

The follow-up
After you send out your release, it is essential to follow up with a phone call. What are you asking for? An interview, a story, a listing, ink, air time, a photograph. And by asking for such coverage, you are also inviting scrutiny. News subjects feel picked on when reporters call “only during controversies.” The break-through comes when you provide a story that is newsworthy during positive times.

Ideally, you will become a credible resource upon whom the reporter can call when looking for background, perspective or other related contacts.

The results
Regardless of all the high profile, high dollar, whiz-bang advertising strategies you might engage, nothing beats word-of-mouth endorsements. News coverage is a form of word of mouth, but on a grander scale. The impartial opinion of an outsider carries with it a nice aura of credibility. And well placed, such articles and coverage can help you advance your cause.

So, once you decide that you really want to “go public” and pursue coverage by the news media, strap in. The publicity game is a wild one.

Chavis Crew Communications would love to help you plan and execute your campaign. Drop us a line at chaviscrew@msn.com.

Good press relations - McCain or Obama?

oldschooleditor@hotmail.com (old school editor) — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 03:06:00 +0000

(photo by Associated Press)
CBS reporter Dean Reynolds offers some important insights on the respective press operations of candidates McCain and Obama.

McCain - mostly on time, with daily schedules printed out to help national reporters plan their coverage. But usually only does one event per day. That makes it much easier to plan and accommodate reporters’ needs.

Obama – mostly behind “schedule,” but most days feel like they’re winging it, waiting for long stretches in the motorcade while the campaign figures out when the candidate will be on the move. And no written schedules.

On the campaign plane, Reynolds says McCain is friendly and outgoing with reporters. Obama does news conferences, but rarely banters with the “boys on the bus.”

McCain’s plane is clean. Obama’s plane is smelly. Eewww!

And while McCain’s events are better planned and his press aides seem knowledgeable and helpful to reporters, Obama’s team, described as “improvisational,” is overworked, under-informed, and not so motivated to cater to the needs of the press.

True, the major TV network types like Reynolds find it hard to accept that the world does not revolve around them. Still, he points out that those dinosaur evening news shows still bring in tens of millions of viewers nightly.

Dean Reynolds covered Obama for most of 2008, until spending a few days on McCain’s “Straight Talk Express” recently. That’s a good editorial move by the managers at CBS, keeping its reporters from getting too cozy (familiar) with one side’s staff.

The differences might be the effect of McCain’s experience on the stump. He’s been politicking since Obama was in NYC as a Columbia undergrad. Barack’s groundbreaking campaign is still the front runner, and they may not have time to organize the details as they crash through battleground states.

Replies to Reynolds’ column say Obama’s got the media in his pocket (“doe-eyed girls for Obama”), so he doesn’t have to care about them. The reporter warns, “in politics, what goes around, comes around.” Good media relations is based on facts, access and a basic human skill called courtesy.

Digital tracking by The Numerati

oldschooleditor@hotmail.com (old school editor) — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 01:31:00 +0000

NPR’s Fresh Air program had a fascinating discussion on the role of digital information in our lives, and how much information we leave behind in our daily lives. What websites you visit, what you buy at the grocery store or Borders, and if you’re GPS-equipped, where your car is at any given moment. Privacy freaks are getting no sleep at all these days.

“The Numerati” is the sinister name given to the technophiles who mine all this data for clues to our habits and preferences. Business Week senior writer Stephen Baker (he also writes blogspotting.net) has a new book on the nature of all this digital spying.

After watching the movie Will Smith in “Enemy of the State” and Sandra Bullock in “The Net” (and knowing that Hollywood is years behind real NSA technology), I’ve pretty much given up any illusion that I have any real privacy left. In this tabloid, pay-you-for-a-scoop-on-your-mom era, I have no secrets that I trust will stay secret. For the right price, some hacker can expose my entire life. You won’t have to worry about me running for office.

Having given in to the Eye in the Sky, I’m actually OK with the grocer spitting out a coupon at checkout for something I actually want. When they start calling me at home addressing me by my first name, then I’ll complain. I kind of want to pretend that strangers do not know all about me (the same way I answer the phone with a nonchalant “hello,” when I already know from Caller ID whose calling).

Baker’s book points out that marketers do not fully know how to use all the data that’s available. They’ll figure it out eventually. The question is, what are you doing to find out more about your customers and prospects. What do they want? When, and in what color? The winners of the information game will have the first shot at a sale. But please have the decency to allow your customer to think his life is still mostly private.

Why podcasting works

oldschooleditor@hotmail.com (old school editor) — Tue, 13 May 2008 17:40:00 +0000

Take it from a 30-year radio veteran (me), people like to listen to interesting conversation. And if your podcasting, you're chasing the right people.

A 2006 profile of podcast users from Edison Media Research:

11% of the survey indicated that they had ever listened to a podcast as defined (and 21% of persons age 12-17 have done so).

Podcast listeners are very well educated, have higher than average household incomes, and represent a very attractive advertising target for both online AND local retailers.

While podcast listeners are much more likely to block unwelcome advertising than the general public, they are no less likely to click on relevant advertising than other Internet consumers.

Edison updated their report in 2007 here.

More and more tools are available to help you tell your story to your website visitors, in quick, easy, downloadable packets. Best of all, your conversations are original and framed the way you want. Let's go podcasting!

10 billion online videos watched in Feb. '08, up 66%

oldschooleditor@hotmail.com (old school editor) — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 19:29:00 +0000

I noticed it a couple of years ago, when my then-5th grader walked away from evening TV to the other side of the room, where the family computer lives. There, for an hour or more (if we let him), he would surf the internet for videos of his favorite animations, and stupid cat tricks. Rarely will he watch evening TV these days, and that's OK with me.

I'm converting slowly too. I used CBS.com's video stream to catch up on their drama "Jericho".)

The trend is settling in to mainstream America, and it has establishment media scrambling. From CNET.com/MSN.com...
"All that time you waste at the office watching stupid cat videos on YouTube adds up: Numbers released by ComScore on Wednesday indicate that U.S. Web users watched more than 10 billion online videos during the month of February. That's a 66 percent gain from the previous year."

Trade you a prime time sitcom for a webisode? How will you adapt to this trend in your marketing plan?

Bad week for PR guy Mark Penn

oldschooleditor@hotmail.com (old school editor) — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 15:16:00 +0000

(salon.com/AP/Jerry Lai/burson-marsteller)
Talk about “can’t win for losing…” Mark Penn was rolling large as chief strategist for the Hillary Clinton campaign. He was one of those spokespeople made available to the media after a debate to offer “perspective.” Everyone outside the profession calls it “spin.” This was done under the handle of his personal research firm, Penn, Schoen and Berland Associates. Penn also worked on the Clinton ’96 re-election bid, and Hillary Clinton’s senate campaign. Penn’s Wikipedia entry is loaded with juicy tidbits about other work with the Bloomberg NYC mayoral run, election monitoring of Hugo Chavez election in Venezuela, work with Tony Blair, and others. This guy is busy.

Penn’s other gig, as CEO of PR giant Burson-Marsteller, was to represent the South American nation Columbia in their attempt to win passage of a new free trade agreement, which Senator Clinton opposes, by the way. B-M is one of the largest communications firms on the planet.

So Penn’s meeting with Columbia last week raised a stir. Penn apologized for meeting with Columbia. Feeling disrespected, Columbia fired Burson-Marsteller. And then, under pressure from unions who oppose the Columbian free trade deal, the Clinton campaign fired Penn. Penn’s personal company (PSB) continues to do polling for the Clinton campaign. The fallout in the blogosphere:

Politico.com says Sen. Clinton’s message will not change.

The liberal Huffington Post says Clinton loyalists have long simmered over Penn’s strategy to sacrifice caucus states, B-M's corporate clientele, and his sometimes public arguments with other Clinton staffers.

The conservative hotair.com says Penn offered research and advice, basically a “locked feedback loop” that just reinforced whatever his research revealed.

And now, a word on conflict of interest from the Public Relations Society of America Code of Ethics:
A member shall:
· Act in the best interests of the client or employer, even subordinating the member's personal interests.
· Avoid actions and circumstances that may appear to compromise good business judgment or create a conflict between personal and professional interests.
· Disclose promptly any existing or potential conflict of interest to affected clients or organizations.
· Encourage clients and customers to determine if a conflict exists after notifying all affected parties.

It’s hard to keep all these competing interests sorted out when you’re a multi-national conglomerate. Success can be its own enemy. Perhaps you would be better served by a smaller, more dedicated firm… like Chavis Crew Communications.

Lasers, not floodlights - sharpening your attack

oldschooleditor@hotmail.com (old school editor) — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 17:16:00 +0000

Three current marketing trends point to more specialization in marketing, and a reduced reliance on mass marketing. From a column by Gerald Bagg, CEO of ad agency Quigley-Simpson:

3. The splintering of social networks: Watch for dominant MySpace and Facebook social networking sites to lose ground to more specialized, specific offerings like LinkedIn, Badoo and Quepasa.com.
4. Fragmenting of streaming video: Streaming video will likely follow the predicted path of the social networks. While YouTube is the largest of these video sites currently, we're seeing tailored secular video sites pop up almost daily.
5. Narrowcasting vs. broadcasting: Targeting audiences through media mix models, and combining technology with that, allowing marketers to conduct more sophisticated analysis of what media generates the most results from a particular audience, will become more widely used.

Generic appeals in my inbox bug me to no end. But I have a high tolerance for messages from people I like, companies I use, and lists I sign up for.

Thanks to www.garydfoster.com for this lead from DMNews.
http://www.dmnews.com/Eight-direct-response-trends-in-08/article/104179/

Church Marketing Sucks.

oldschooleditor@hotmail.com (old school editor) — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 21:53:00 +0000

Ooh. Edgy. Offensive. Angry. Funny. So totally true. So what?

The sacred sub-sector of the non-profit world has its work cut out for it. Consider:

the ripped-off red and white swirl logo that read “Things go better with Jesus,”
the hulking Jesus doing push ups with the cross (and the weight of the world) on his back in the name of “God’s Gym,”
the big F-150 pick-up truck grill with the caption, "Built Lord Tough."

Christian marketing is all over the map. Unfortunately, much of it can be labeled “cheesy.” Worst of all, it’s not taken seriously.

Whatever your message to the public at large, the worse response to a general, mainstream media message is apathy. Getting ignored proves that you wasted whatever time and money you invested.

Tied for third place is the hearty “Amen” from the already converted, and the indignant cry of “Wrong!” from the opponents, both with little in the way of follow-up and follow-through.

The second most desirable response to a general market communications campaign is the protest, demands for a retraction, a letter campaign, pickets. A real outcry extends the reach of your original message to exponentially more than would have received the message otherwise. I’ve seen pickets and demonstrations do wonders (make million$$) for the people they were trying to shut down.

The winner for any marketing message fired out into the atmosphere for the general public is the considered response by the unaffiliated and undecided. The second look. The “maybe I’ll try it.” Watch how the political campaigns sprint for the middle after their nominations are secure.

That’s the position most churches find themselves in. Declining in attendance, marginalized by the media, mocked by the educational and scientific establishment, churches have a lot of ground to make up with people who don’t hate church. They don’t love church either. They are kinda-sorta you know, just busy doing other stuff. Enter the blog “Church Marketing Sucks.”

Given what they think is a “timeless message,” and “good news for the whole world,” churches have the potential to build a pretty good reputation at the grassroots. Media images, sex scandals and mega churches aside, what can a small to mid-sized congregation do to communicate its positive, feel-good message to its nonchalant neighbors?

Check out the serious and fun-filled folks who post at Church Marketing Sucks. Recent posts include a gallery of marketing poster art, dispatches from a Compassion project with orphans in Uganda, and a poll on love/dating/sex sermons. It's an excellent forum for taking this sector up a few notches in quality and effectiveness. We can only pray.

http://churchmarketingsucks.com/

All out interactive: fun with your contact form

oldschooleditor@hotmail.com (old school editor) — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 20:15:00 +0000

The more interactive web communications becomes, the more your website will have to connect and engage your visitors.

Writer Edward Pistachio was super-effective at this by putting a puzzle at the top of his "contact" page. Solve the puzzle, win the privilege of contacting the writer.

It's a perfect strategy if you're wanting to raise the quality of your contacts (and maybe make a repeat visitor out of him).

Read more at: http://blog.wired.com/underwire/2008/02/writer-makes-a.html
Edward Pistachio's website: http://o.rang.es

(Parental advisory: Pistachio's prose is vulgar at times. I hope you're not easily offended.)

Doritos goes “deep branding” - music and marketing

oldschooleditor@hotmail.com (old school editor) — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 19:38:00 +0000

(written Monday morning after Super Bowl XLII)

At a friend’s Super Bowl party, one ad stuck out, mostly because it’s the one that got a reaction from his 18 year old daughter. “Who is that,” she asked, wondering about the strangely passionate and peaceful music video that ran right after the first quarter.

It was Kina Grannis, 22-year old songwriter and winner of the Doritos “Crash the Super Bowl” music contest. Seriously... exposure on THE SUPER BOWL! Instant awareness to 90 million plus, and the curious will follow up. Oh yeah, a contract with Interscope Records was part of the grand prize.

When I got back home, I found a story on the Doritos campaign in the Wall St. Journal. This morning, I googled her name. A few thoughts:

On her website, she says "thanks" and that she'll be busy for a few days. (I'm thinking she's being wined and dined in LA today, first class flights, limos, hotel suite, lots of sucking up... kinda cool...)

She's got good graphic support. Most of her website is down, and she has no shows scheduled right now.

The myspace page is poppin'! 4 songs to listen to, and lots of love from lots of people. The 4 songs she has are strong, very well produced. I'm at 196724 plays. Check back tomorrow. I wonder what it was before last night. And she's a very good writer. Which is to say (a few things about kick-starting a music career):

1) The music is central, starting with the composition. Cover songs mean nothing to an artist trying to break in. Build your career around original work. How deep is the well? How many songs do you have in there anyway?

2) Presentation = production. Good arrangements and recording are almost equal to the audience. We're in the media age - get it? People have to hear the work, ENGAGE with the work. One of Kina's songs on her myspace page sounds like it was recorded over the phone. Interesting. Cute. Penetrating. Good production is worth whatever you have to spend on it. Don't scrimp on this one.

3) Get out there. Kina's support and fan base love comes from being in a community (was S. Cal., now Austin), playing in front of people, being nice to people, random acts of kindness. Collaborations. etc. Which is to say, if you want a public career, you will have to be OUT (to the limits of your soul, integrity, creative output - out-ness can be overdone too, so be careful).

A few thoughts about the Doritos campaign (as documented by Betsy McKay in the Wall St. Journal, 2/1/08)...

CONTENT
Doritos sales dipped in the early part of the decade, so Frito-Lay/Pepsico shifted direction. So a brand that's been around for 42 years isn't afraid to change its look. That's easy when your target is teens and young adults.

Jay Leno and Miss USA out. "Name that flavor" online contest, Stephen Colbert, and edgy on line music competition in.

Wisely, Doritos didn't lower itself to creating a jingle-contest. All we know about Gen-Y and Mosaics says they hate hype and bad pitches. The campaign director - 32 year old Rudy Wilson, avid video gamer who plays Guitar Hero in his office. (did you notice the background to Tom Petty's concert had arrows moving along guitar strings, very "Guitar Hero"-ish.)

The angle worked for me: bring "original music with a 'bold, intense' image, because they 'bring a passion' to their music, Ms. Mukherjee (Frito-Lay VP-marketing) says."

TIMING
While the online music competition wasn't launched until later October, it caught on fast with the music industry and bloggers.

The concept took months to set up. It was not a "last-minute" idea rushed to the web. Today's fast-paced media world (easy-to-update social networking sites, digital video production) offers flexibility, and the ability to respond to market conditions, but nothing beats a well-executed idea with all the parts and players in position.

ROI
The Doritos music video got high and low marks from critics and viewers. (InformationWeek.com's Alexander Wolfe raved. Slate panned it.) But in the communications world, two things matter: getting noticed (for good or bad), and moving merchandise. I guess it depends on how much you value the squishy notion of "branding."

Sales have turned since F-L tuned it’s approach. WSJ reports a 6.4% rise in sales in 2007. The price tag for the music video - $5M (which comes to a mere .3% of Doritos’ U.S. gross revenues of $1.7B).

When I'm at the chip aisle, I' tend to buy generic, unless there is some emotional, subjective "feeling" toward the cooler, more expensive chip. Kina Grannis won't make me hungry for chips, but her music might create a physiological response, over-riding my budget and allowing me to enjoy the premium brand.

Hedging its bet, FoxSports.com put the Doritos “giant mouse” spot in its “Ten Best” for 2008 Super Bowl ads. It got out loud laughs (LOLs) from our crew too. So there you have it. “Deep branding” for younger, edgier set. Guffaws for us guys with da brats and beer bellies.

(photos by little grey-flickr, kinagrannis.com)

Ads in Transition

oldschooleditor@hotmail.com (old school editor) — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 04:12:00 +0000

The Wall Street Journal gives us a wonderful case study in the relative economics of revenues from banner ads and premium (paid) subscriptions.

(I tend to watch Rupert Murdoch pretty closely. His billions give him a bit o’ financial credibility.)

Mr. Murdoch is $5B lighter after adding the WSJ to his media stable. (The guy buys media the way Jay Leno buys cars!) At the Journal, his Rupert-ness promised to beef up the Journal's ad-sales effort and to lift its circulation. (Don’t read “print circulation” – that would fly in the face of terminal forecasts for all print outlets.)

On one side, free content (breaking news alerts, opinion, personal finance, lifestyle, as well as some videos, blogs, podcasts and other interactive elements). Note that those visiting the non-paid side spend less time on the site. Visitors who link to the WSJ from Google News get can see their article for free, but WSJ hopes readers will like what they see and pony up for a subscription.

On the other side, where subscriptions could be as high as $119, advertisers also pay a premium to reach the more committed visitors. The Journal itself reports $60M in subscription revenue last year.

Here’s the dilemma: the Journal would have to double or triple its monthly visitors to earn as much in ad dollars as it does in subscriptions. So the Dow Jones publishers continue to carefully adjust the balance of free and paid content, with incentives and attractions all around. Consumers are constantly valuing and reassessing their budget for information tools.

I’m feeling your pain Rupert.

SOURCE: “WSJ.com to Retain Subscription Component” by Emily Steel, January 25, 2008, Wall St. Journal, http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB120119406286813757.html

Introducing "Intel 10.0"

oldschooleditor@hotmail.com (old school editor) — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 03:45:00 +0000

Introducing Intel 10.0 – Earth-shaping facts and perspective on business, internet communications and media relations from Chavis Crew Communications...

First, a few facts:

Top 3 media for triggering an online search are: magazines, reading an article on the product and TV.

Top newspaper websites in unique visitors (Dec. 2007, Nielsen Online)
1. NYTimes.com, 17.2 million
2. USAToday.com, 9.9 million
3. washingtonPost.com, 8.5 million
4. Newsday.com, 6.5 million
5. Wall Street Journal Online, 5.4 million

Magazines go on line only, abandon paper and ink editions CCM Magazine ceases print edition. Salem Communications will publish its last print issue 4/08. Late in 2007, Strang Communications moved its publications New Man and Spirit-Led Woman to on-line only editions.
-------------
Of course, facts are not enough, but who has time to keep up with all the trends in business, internet communications and media relations? The communications landscape is changing. A few subtle, seismic shifts at a time, islands are appearing and shorelines are being redrawn. Old monuments are being washed away, replaced by new landforms. The end result is akin to a 10.0 earthquake, but occuring in little increments.

This blog is established to give you a couple of quick updates, an occasional pithy quote, some analysis, and a few links so you can find out more. Quick information you can use. Perspective to give you an advantage. Effective intelligence. Call this blog "Intel 10.0."

Business guru Ram Charan’s latest book targets the pure practice of selling in the 21st century. What the Customer Wants You to Know (2007, Portfolio) points sales managers back to the basic practice of a customer-driven approach. In the Wall St. Journal (Jan. 28, ’08), Charan says, “(salespeople) should find out what the customer needs, which will be a combination of products and services and thought leadership.”

I believe that thought leadership will make the difference for you in a competitive, erratic and hyper-paced marketplace. “Wisdom and understanding” are prize possessions in this info-glutted age. I’m dedicated to helping you succeed by sifting information that can make a difference and getting it to you here in this blog, so that you consider it, ponder the possibilities, and take action.

I’m aiming for at least one update per week, more if breaking news requires it. I hope you’ll subscribe.