My Perspective

Do an act of kindness for my birthday

noreply@blogger.com (Wendy Kauffman) — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 02:40:00 +0000

Please help me celebrate a milestone by doing an act of kindness at onegirlsfootprint.com.

All you need to do is something kind for someone else. Go to onegirlsfootprint.com. Enter your name, initials or even post under anonymous. Write a sentence about what you did. Press submit.

More details in this interview.

Marketing Fundraisers

noreply@blogger.com (Wendy Kauffman) — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 14:03:00 +0000

June seems like its fundraising season with a walk/run/ride each week. Kids with special needs, cancer research, diabetes...they are all good event backed by excellent causes that take the better part of year to plan and execute.

Often this is the one day charities have to gain their media coverage and community support that spreads awareness of their message and gains critical financial support.

But what if it rains that day and the community doesn't come out? What if there is a competing news story and media don't cover the event? Putting all PR eggs into one day's basket is too dangerous.

Find something that gives the community a reason to connect before the event day and media something to cover. This Global TV story and CBC News story are great examples of what the Zareinu Moveathon did to generate awareness of their upcoming events (Full disclosure: We run the marketing for this client).

Most fundraisers rely on a network on volunteers and supporters of the cause. The most successful events turn these important natural ambassadors into fundraisers. This article from NetWitsThinkTank, an online resource for nonprofits, provides great tips on how organizations can best implement this important shift from supporter to fundraiser.

Dear 16-Year-Old Me

noreply@blogger.com (Wendy Kauffman) — Sun, 08 May 2011 12:03:00 +0000

A video worth watching and forwarding.

Elections and Twitter: The problem with laws witten in 1930

noreply@blogger.com (Wendy Kauffman) — Wed, 04 May 2011 11:17:00 +0000

Our politicians were slow adopters of social media but they embraced it eventually and many Canadians rely on these communities as their primary source of news. But when online and broadcast media went dark during the required blackout period set by Elections Canada, just over 2,000 tweets were posted containing election results.

The Election Canada law was written in 1930 and is the only thing "stopping" people from tweeting about results in Atlantic Canada before polls close to its west.

I love this section of an Ottawa Citizen article about what Elections Canada will no doubt need to figure out before our next election.

So posting results on a website is taboo, but Elections Canada says it is OK to share them by email, phone call or even a Facebook message. Still sounds like transmitting to me. But it is forbidden to post the results to your Facebook profile or on your Twitter feed.

My question for Elections Canada is: What if your Facebook profile settings are private, or your Twitter account is locked, and only your chosen friends can see your updates? How is that really any different from email, where you self-select recipients of your message? What if you only have 10 Facebook friends? Does that really still count as transmitting according to Elections Canada? How many Twitter followers or Facebook friends do you need to have in order for it to count? Ten? Twenty? One hundred?

ONE GIRL’S FOOTPRINT: A marketing experiment to celebrate a milestone and individual acts of kindness -

noreply@blogger.com (Wendy Kauffman) — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 00:52:00 +0000

Wow! What a first day. Last night I launched a massive social marketing experiment. Here is the text from my About This Idea page that I hope will entice readers to participate. I'll keep you posted on my progress or follow along using the Home Page.

I am turning 40 on July 29. [Insert big breath sound]. Indeed, it is a milestone and one that has created cause for much reflection on what I’ve accomplished to date and what there is left to do. What will define the next 40 years of my life and beyond? How do I want to be remembered by others ultimately and what impact can I have on the world? Big philosophical thoughts with an unlikely success rate if thought of in these terms.

Redefine. I’m not looking to be Mother Theresa. I am, however, curious about the impact one person of modest means and an average size network can have on society. I would like to prove the impact that day-to-day small acts of kindness can have not just on a person, community or city, but on the world. Still lofty, but more realistic.

Solution. As people ask how they can help in celebrating this milestone, my answer is for them to do an act of kindness and record their action on this website. Capturing how many people, how many countries and how many acts of kindness will measure the project’s success.

Like all measurement, you need to start with a definition of success. Hmm. What are my SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely)? In 4 months, reach over 4,000 people, in 4 countries, influencing a minimum of 4,000 acts of kindness. Get the 4 theme in for my 40th…. ? Well, the Attainable and Realistic part is questionable but let’s give it a try.

I hope you’ll participate in this birthday wish and be part of this crazy experiment and journey with me.

PS - For more of my marketing thoughts and comments, visit My Perspective PPS - A shameless plug for Brown & Cohen Communications & Public Affairs Inc. if you are looking for a great PR firm
PPPS - Feel free to leave a comment about this experiment or a birthday wish in the comment section below

Social Media Explained

noreply@blogger.com (Wendy Kauffman) — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 13:19:00 +0000

Love this summary of social media. Have a look if you are confused about the difference between emerging (and less emerging) platforms. At a glance it will all fall into place.

Retail Sector Continues to Embrace Social Media

noreply@blogger.com (Wendy Kauffman) — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 15:14:00 +0000

Facebook ‘pop up’ stores latest social media trend is a must-read article in the Toronto Star for retailers who still are without a social media strategy.

Facebook's coverage of the Egypt uprising

noreply@blogger.com (Wendy Kauffman) — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 13:01:00 +0000

I have been out of on-the-ground news coverage for the past 11 years and now focusing largely on how to get our clients in the news. But covering news remains in my blood, especially the Middle East. Six years of covering violent outbreaks, assassinations, elections, terrorism of all shapes and sizes, peace agreement made,broken, made and broken again.

There is the political perspective, the economic perspective, the man-on-the-street's perspective, the protester's perspective. Then there are the news gems: the human interest stories that bring us into the lives of one person that enables people oceans away to see the conflict through one lens of hope or courage.

As I reflect on those days, now every time I check in for a news fix, how did we cover the news with what now seems like such limited technology? Faxes and heavy cell phones. Email, but only on computers back at the office. No wireless access from the field, handheld or otherwise. I remind myself: this was barely over a decade ago.

Today, Twitter and Facebook are not only the strongest mobilizing forces for protesters, they are the fastest news service. (Not sure how I feel about this, but that's another blog entry.)

Today was one more morning that I logged on to Facebook to review random people's groups for my news well before reaching for The Globe and Mail.

I use Facebook Search, type in "Egypt protests" and up comes all the information I need. Admittedly, the best sites in terms of popularity are in Arabic and I am sure these sites are significantly more interesting than the ones in English that I am able to read. The posted photos however tell stories in themselves and are universally understood.

When my kids read about these events in their high school history classes what will they learn? This was the first time the Internet was actually shut down, not just censored. Despite this, the power of social media was used as a mobilizing force for the first time in this way. The networks of social media erased country borders and civil unrest and the courage to speak out spread from country to country in one of the hottest political regions in the world.

Marketing Takes Investment: Not even flash mobs happen in a flash

noreply@blogger.com (Wendy Kauffman) — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 13:17:00 +0000

A unique thank you to customers increased Alphabet Photography's website hits by 800%from the year before and broke YouTube records. Looks like customers said a big 'your welcome' to their food court stunt designed to spread holiday cheer this past November.

Warning to businesses reading this who would like to try this themselves:

Nothing comes without work, effort, resources and time: This seemingly effortless and random stunt, in fact took eight weeks of preparation according to reports. Planting the organist, choir rehearsals, and meeting with mall management regularly.

A common assumption is that once something is on YouTube it automatically goes viral. Social media campaigns must be pushed out with the same effort as traditional marketing campaigns. This campaign started by sending their video out to their email database as well as their large Facebook group. Then, media started picking up the story. Without these push elements, there would not have been the same success.

Congratulations Alphabet Photography and thanks for also spreading new Marketing Cheer.

Alex and Luke - A social media road trip

noreply@blogger.com (Wendy Kauffman) — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 11:39:00 +0000

I love this idea:

Alex and Luke set out from Toronto to see what would happen if they used the power of social media to explore North America.

Without a route or any predetermined idea of what they will see or do, they call on the communities behind the most popular social media websites to tell them where to go and what to see.

Their goal is to travel through every state, province and territory while documenting and sharing the experience through web videos and other Internet content available on their website.

They explore the gap between real-time relationships and online relationships. It is a true modern day road trip that collects and shares the travel experience with others.

To connect with online communities, regular polls are held on their home page. People connect in the following ways:

- Twitter: Where people vote and make suggestions (1,304 followers at my last visit);
- YouTube: Where people can vote and watch videos (2,241 channel views at my last visit);
- Gowalla: Where people can check in on destinations visited (383 stamps, 21 pins, 85 friends at my last visit); and
- Facebook Fan Page: Where people can interact with Alex and Luke and other followers (1,782 fans at my last visit).

YouTube and Twitter is loving Old Spice

noreply@blogger.com (Wendy Kauffman) — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 23:49:00 +0000

Thanks @MattMcNama for sharing the recent frenzy on Twitter and YouTube about Old Spice....

I’m sure you’ve seen the Old Spice commercials that aired during last year’s Super Bowl, but I thought I would send you some of last week’s viral videos. They are a fantastic example of branded entertainment extending beyond the TV and onto the Internet.

http://realbusiness.co.uk/sales_and_marketing/old_spice_smashes_socialmedia_records
People on Twitter sent tweets to the Old Spice man, and the Old Spice man responded almost immediately with YouTube videos. It was a huge success and has made the character the most recognizable “branded entertainment character.”

Super Bowl commercial:

One of the many Twitter/YouTube videos posted within a few day period in response to tweeted questions:

Marketing Through Events

noreply@blogger.com (Wendy Kauffman) — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 11:11:00 +0000

I was at a great fundraiser last week put on by the Credit Valley Hospital Foundation's Young Ambassadors. At this hip event in an art gallery in Mississauga, guests were invited to an all you can eat, drink and dance party.

I could go on about all the wonderful components of this truly great event, but as a marketer the Barefoot Wine table caught my eye. Staffed by two energetic young people I was introduced to a great Pinot Grigio (there were many other wines but this was my choice)that sells in the LCBO for only $10 and a great new marketing concept!

They explained that Barefoot Wine spends its money on making their wine rather than its marketing. Thus the tagline, Great wine without the attitude. Their foremost way of getting the word out about their products is through charity events were people can come and taste their wine.

I tried to find a Canadian website and only found a sparse Facebook group and an U.S. website that is designed as a community with an emphasis on people committed to beach clean up.

I wish them luck with their grassroots marketing initiative and look forward to seeing them at more charity events.

Jesus Christ: A marketing mentor

noreply@blogger.com (Wendy Kauffman) — Wed, 26 May 2010 10:45:00 +0000

Being Jewish, I never really gave much thought to Jesus Christ other than in an historical sense. Reading Rick Warren's The Purpose Driven Church: Growth Without Compromising Your Message & Mission, I am now of the belief that we can add Jesus as one of history's first marketing specialists (or marketing evangelists!).

Warren's book, which talks about how to grow a church through marketing and grassroots programs, is applicable to any organization looking to develop their identity (purpose) and expand within a defined community.

Warren uses examples from the New Testament throughout the book to make many of his points. While Warren alludes to Jesus as a great marketer, it is not the main focus of his book but one which is of great appeal. Here are just a few points to consider on Jesus' techniques:

- Mass marketing to targeted groups: Jesus attracted large crowds by sharing good news (the Gospel) and using it as an attractive power. The original version of a press conference or town hall meeting?

- Message development: His messaging was brought down to the level of the common people making sure he was understood. He did not "dumb down" his message, he respected his audience's intelligence taking time to understand the group and speak to them accordingly.

- Spokesperson training: Jesus was careful to stay on message even in crowds. Staying on point is important in safeguarding the truth.

- Clear & measurable objectives: The New Testament is full of references about Jesus' uncompromising request for 'fruitfulness' and examples of judgement for being 'unfruitful'. Growth equals fruitfulness. Failure to grow through complacency or self-absorption was no excuse and came with consequence.

- Employee engagement: How far will employees go beyond their job description is a very general way to measure employee engagement. Jesus got this. Matthew was just one example of a "good faithful servant". Faithful servants take on risk for the cause and usually are successful as a result. This was recognized and referred to as "faithful" versus "lazy" as passive, fearful, non-fruit baring servants were called.

These are just a few examples but they give food for thought and perhaps a good idea for a research paper for a marketing student looking for a juicy topic.....

Statistics Businesses Should Consider Before they Plan their PR Strategy

noreply@blogger.com (Wendy Kauffman) — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 11:30:00 +0000

Thank you Adam Singer from The Future Buzz for this information. Note: the original post, Architecting a Social Web Marketing and PR Strategy, includes much more information, helpful case studies as well all the sources for the statistics below.

The social areas of the web are growing fast. Consider just a few stats:

- 400 million active Facebook users
- 50 million Tweets per day
- 133 million blogs (creating 900,000 blog posts every 24 hours)
- around 77% of Internet users read blogs

While the above numbers show the scale of the consumer driven web – B2B influence also lives here. According to a Forrester Research report of business buyers:

- 91% read blogs, watch user generated video, participate in other social media
- 55% of decision-makers are in social networks
- 43% are creating media (blogs, uploading videos or articles, etc.)

Consumers and prospects are already here. Marketing dollars care catching up, fast:
- $55 billion - number of dollars marketers will spend on interactive (display, mobile, email, social, search) channels by 2014 - representing a compound annual growth rate of 34%.

Media influence, too:

- 89% of reporters use blogs,
- 65% use social networking sites,
- 52% use microblogging sites according to a national study by GW University.

Nestle suffers Facebook backlash

noreply@blogger.com (Wendy Kauffman) — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 15:28:00 +0000

The following is an excerpt from March 19, 2010 story by Emily Bryson York and Kunur Patel for Advertising Age with files from Marketing.

Nestlé is enduring a hard lesson in social media marketing this week thanks to Greenpeace.

The company has been embroiled in a debate over its use of palm oil, among other things. The issue arose again this week when Greenpeace produced a graphic commercial spoof that went viral. Greenpeace claims Nestlé is sourcing palm oil from an Indonesian company guilty of deforestation practices that are endangering orangutan. The video showed a man opening a Kit Kat wrapper but instead of biting into the chocolate bar he sinks his teeth into the finger of an orangutan that bleeds down the man's chin.
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Building Hype Before a Big Annoucement

noreply@blogger.com (Wendy Kauffman) — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 14:46:00 +0000

It's working. Adam Giambrone's I'm Ready video alerting the public to his upcoming announcement to run for Mayor has gone viral. Comments are positive and negative but what's most important is that everyone's talking- Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and the media....

Well Done Acura 2000!

noreply@blogger.com (Wendy Kauffman) — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 13:19:00 +0000

We were in the boardroom having an internal staff meeting when a courier arrives with an enormous fruit and flower basket. It was for Kim Cohen, our CEO. Kim had recently bought a new car and this was her dealership saying thank you. Wouldn't you tell a friend about this?

The Big Money Facebook

noreply@blogger.com (Wendy Kauffman) — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 13:29:00 +0000

The Big Money Facebook 50, a ranking of the brands that are currently making the best use of Facebook. If you are in retail or food services this slideshow is a must-see.

(Thanks Melinda Van Patter - justmelinda - for posting this on Twitter)

Social Media Release vs. Traditional Press Release

noreply@blogger.com (Wendy Kauffman) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 12:53:00 +0000

Despite the increasing use of social media releases(SMR)I find most often businesses still aren't aware of the term let alone how or when the communication method should be used. Here is a high level overview which may shed some light.

THE TRADITIONAL MEDIA RELEASE: A traditional media (press)release leads with news (what's new/different/timely)about your organization/product/issue and is designed to show journalists the merits of a potential news story. It's written as a print article would be with the most relevant information at the top and more objective in tone.

THE SOCIAL MEDIA RELEASE: A SMR leads with the most common Internet search terms and has the direct purpose of driving traffic back to your website. The title is also based on common search terms. Features of an SMR can include:

Key terms (called anchor texts): Terms/word combinations that are commonly entered in search engines such as Google and are hyperlinked back to their original source, or better, to a place on your own website.

Viral in nature: The ability to share, discuss or comment directly on the release or sites such as Twitter, Digg, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc. are build in.

Photos and videos: Photos and videos with a caption can be embedded directly rather than sent as links or attachments. These too can be linked directly back to your website or a dedicated YouTube channel for further promotion.

RSS feeds: SMRs can be distributed to websites and blogs via RSS feeds. Depending on the content of the release and the key terms used, different websites will automatically select certain stories from these RSS feeds and feature them on their site.

Here are two SMR examples Brown & Cohen Communications & Public Affairs created using Marketwire's service for SwiftJet and Manchu WOK.

It is usually quite clear when one media release strategy should be used over the other: Is there a strong news hook for your release that is going to be attractive to print and broadcast media? Or, is this just important information that you would like people to know when they search the net? Sometimes the answer is both, and in these cases we often write both versions.

Social Media Revolution: Is social media a fad? Or is it the biggest shift since the Industrial Revolution?

noreply@blogger.com (Wendy Kauffman) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 12:33:00 +0000

Thank you Gord Woit of MapMobility Corp for pointing out this must see video.

Please watch if you have any doubts whether social media should be part of your marketing mix.

Client Relations vs. Social Media

noreply@blogger.com (Wendy Kauffman) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 11:30:00 +0000

My colleague, Kendra Dubyk, and I were working on a client's PR plan for the upcoming year. We laid out several strategies including a heavy focus on media relations, some in-store promotion and a creative way to connect with the local community. The external campaign was then supported by some internal communication ideas to simultaneously keep our best marketing foot soldiers, the employees, engaged and pumped about the business.

A social media strategy, however, was glaringly missing. I, the person who promotes social media strategies so often in this very blog, was chicken! Our client is quite risk adverse. As with most businesses, much of their success is dependent on positive customer opinion, word of mouth and brand image.

How would the client react to potential negative online chatter about their products? How would we then justify having suggested this strategic direction? My desire for ongoing positive client relations was taking over my campaign suggestions. Then, Kendra put it all in context.

"Whether or not we develop a social media campaign has nothing to do with whether people are, or are not, going to talk about them online. People who have negative comments are already posting them. Not having a campaign of our own in this space only means we are choosing to ignore it."

The absence of a formal social media campaign would only mean omitting the opportunity to add additional positive messaging and discussion. It made the plan.

Stephen Harper Gives Voters Someone to Love?

noreply@blogger.com (Wendy Kauffman) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 15:23:00 +0000

Maybe not enough to win back certain voters from his budget cuts to the arts, but definitely enough to make him resonate with a much wider group who needs to see their Prime Minister as warmer and more personable before the next election.

Two thumbs up Prime Minister Harper.

Click here for the full video of Stephen Harper making a surprise appearance at the National Arts Centre gala and singing With a Little Help from My Friends.

A slightly shorter version is here on YouTube:

noreply@blogger.com (Wendy Kauffman) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 11:54:00 +0000

My daughter, now in grade two, is running for student council. This is very exciting given that I work in public affairs and, naturally, I've emotionally skipped ahead a few elections.

I decided going to Carolyn Bennett's corn roast last night would be a great opportunity for her to learn about the different levels of government, local community building, speeches and how to connect with your local constituent.

We met Carolyn Bennett MP, Eric Hoskins MPP, Councillor Joe Mihevc and school trustee Josh Matlow - the full spectrum of where she can take this passion should it last past grade three.

She prepared a question for Carolyn Bennett before we went: Do you come up with your ideas by yourself, with your community, or both?

Carolyn's answer was perfect. "Both. But you should test your ideas first on your community. If they don't like them they are probably not very good."

(Eric Hoskins also gave a valiant answer to this question with tremendous patience for which I am a little embarrassed about, because my daughter was more interested in her corn than listening to the answer of our newest MPP!)

President Obama on David Letterman

noreply@blogger.com (Wendy Kauffman) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 11:35:00 +0000

A perfect answer to a touchy question delivered with relaxed body language and humour. Brilliant.

Obama's top 5 PR tricks

noreply@blogger.com (Wendy Kauffman) — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 12:12:00 +0000

A worthwhile read for those of us who help create and follow political campaigns:

Obama's top 5 PR tricks