Tag Archives: Communications

Guerrilla Marketing: Do YOU Deserve to Die?

Posted on June 29, 2012 by Sara| 1 Comment

Guerrilla marketing often aims to offend people in order to gain their attention.  It’s not for every organization, but it can work.  Officials at the Lung Cancer Alliance seem to have a good understanding of the concept.  The group recently launched a campaign that includes posters saying things like: “The tattooed deserve to die” and “Cat lovers deserve to die.”

What the..? Hey! I love cats!

 

Upon visiting the group’s website, you see a countdown clock until the big reveal of a mysterious disease that doesn’t discriminate: lung cancer.  The clock has been removed and replaced with:

“Many people believe that if you have lung cancer you did something to deserve it. It sounds absurd, but it’s true. Lung cancer doesn’t discriminate and neither should you.  Help put an end to the stigma and the disease.”

The American Lung Association has always been the top dog when it comes raising awareness/funding for lung cancer research.  But this guerilla marketing campaign really put the small Lung Cancer Alliance on the map.  I had honestly never heard of the group until recently.  Many angry comments posted across social media sites prompted me to check it out.

Well done.  I see what you did there, Lung Cancer Alliance.  You let the ticked off people do your dirty work for you.  Here are some excerpts from the Lung Cancer Alliance Facebook page:

 

Some would argue for the end of this campaign. It’s certainly not appropriate for all issues or groups.  But for a small, cash-strapped non-profit trying to raise awareness about a deadly disease, I applaud the effort.

 

@saraalisia

 

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Posted in Marketing/Communications, Public Relations, We Like

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Hopefully, We’ll All Make These Changes

Posted on June 14, 2012 by Jon| Leave a comment

Someecards.com

Most media and public relations people look to the Associated Press Stylebook as the final arbiter of word usage, terms, punctuation and other rules regarding how we write our news, photo captions and the like. I always keep one inches away from my keyboard.

So when the AP provides an annual update to its stylebook, it’s a big event to those who use it daily. The 2012 edition was recently released. And, as usual, it set off at least one debate between traditional and more colloquial language advocates.

The commotion was over the acceptance of the word “hopefully” to mean “it is hoped.”  Most of us use it this way on a routine basis as in “Hopefully, the next Congress will be more congenial than the current one.” Grammarians are upset since hopefully is an adverb and doesn’t modify a verb in that sentence. But English is a living language that regularly incorporates changes in use, new words and spellings on a regular basis. The AP editors just reflect our evolving culture.

A few of the other 270 changes to the stylebook that I like are the addition of fracking, modified tweets and Velcro. I know Velcro’s a brand name, but what else do you call those ubiquitous hook and loop fasteners?

In any case, if you do the external writing for your organization or employ an outside agency, make sure to stay up-to-date with the AP Stylebook.  Editors expect it.  And every year there are new surprises.

– JD

Twitter: @Jdaum

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Posted in Public Relations

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Stop the Madness: Spray and Pray

Posted on June 6, 2012 by Sara| Leave a comment


As a general rule, before I pick up the phone to pitch a media contact, I know their name, have researched the outlet, skimmed through recent stories the journalist has written and have an idea of why they would want to hear my pitch in the first place.  This ladies and gentlemen, is the art of romancing the media.

It’s surprising how many PR professionals still operate with the old “spray and pray” method, thinking that quantity pitching rules over quality pitching.

In fact, I just read a great white paper by Cision When in Doubt that outlines the very reasons why we PR pros shouldn’t do that.  The most important lesson you can learn in this industry is to research everything you possibly can about the outlet/beat of the person you’re pitching.  In all honesty, those that skip this huge step really do damage to themselves and the company they represent. They also do big disservice to industry as a whole.

It just gives PR a bad name. We want the media to see us as a valuable resource, not as annoying spammers.  I’m sure it would be maddening for a real estate reporter to continuously get pitched to cover the latest beauty product.

Researching the details is more time consuming, but the paybacks are better quality and even quantity coverage.

Aside from doing research before you send anything to or contact the media I have a couple of suggestions I’ve picked up from my experiences for when I pitch and follow up on the phone:

  • Check out editorial calendars.  These can be a gold mine.  Even if they aren’t interested in covering your news now, it could be perfect for them at a later date.  Follow up.
  • When you call to follow up, instead of going straight to your pitch, introduce yourself and ask what they are working on. It could be in connection to what you’re pitching. Use your discretion if they sound hurried. By being natural, conversational and not just pushing your pitch, you earn their ear and respect.
  • But be ready to deliver the main points of your pitch in less than 20 seconds.   More often than not you will run into an editor that has no time for nonsense.  Prepare for that.

Of course don’t leave out social media as another avenue for media outreach. It offers valuable insights into what journalists’ are writing about and their interests.

Above all, know that if you continue to spray and pray, it may take a few reporters giving you a piece of their minds before you never again forget to research before you reach out.

@saraalisia

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Posted in Daum Weigle, Marketing/Communications, Public Relations

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Let Me Totally Eliminate Any Confused Misunderstandings with Some True Facts

Posted on April 11, 2012 by Jon| Leave a comment

Most of us are inundated daily with too much information.  It comes from our email, Twitter, Facebook, RSS feeds, blogs or text messages.  If you’re like me, most of what comes into your computer or mobile device is junk.

I do receive a few nuggets that I want or need to read, I appreciate those writers that use the fewest words to create a clear message.  Brevity is a virtue.

I recently read an interesting column from the publisher of PR Daily about circumlocution — the use of many words when one will do.

Here are a few examples:

Rather than using “in advance of,” try the word “before”

“With the exception of” can be adequately replaced by “except”

The thought behind “at this point in time” is more articulately stated using the word “now”

I have a few pet peeves of my own, not all reducing the number, but also the length – or even necessity – of some words.

“On a regular basis” is a long way of writing “regularly”

Why use “approximately” when “about” does the job using eight fewer letters?

Does the word “actually” have any serious value?

If you use Twitter, with its 140-character limit, you understand the need for brevity.  Take that same attitude into all of your electronic communications.  Your readers will appreciate it.

Do you have a few of your own pet peeves to share?

– JD

Follow me on Twitter @jdaum

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Identity Crisis: Kraft Rebrands, Chooses a Name Most American’s Can’t Pronounce

Posted on March 23, 2012 by Marrissa| 2 Comments

Mondelēz – the new brand name soon-to-replace the historic Kraft brand, is a bit of a mouthful.

In case you’re wondering how to pronounce the new brand name to be slapped on Kraft Foods’ global snacks business later this year, the company says it should be pronounced “Mohn-dah-LEEZ.” That little squiggly line above the last ‘e,’ that’s a macron – and it’s supposed to make sure you pronounce the new brand name with an “eez” instead of an “ayse.” Got that?!

Let’s go beyond the obvious recognition challenges that come with changing your brand’s name from a monosyllabic, five-letter word (Kraft), to a made-up word with three syllables and a macron, a macron! As a college-educated English major, I have no clue how a macron functions – forget the vast majority of Americans that have no idea what sound a squiggly line is supposed to help them pronounce.

Diane Brady at Businessweek raised a great point regarding the rebrand – most journalists (the people who’ll be covering your products and news, Kraft) don’t even have a macron on their keyboard (or know what it is without grabbing a dictionary). That’s a problem, because most news coverage of the new branding is already failing to include the symbol that’s so integral to the new name.

Apparently Kraft spent several weeks searching for a new name before deciding on Mondelēz. Maybe they should have spent several months looking for something newer, fresher and easier to pronounce instead?

Rebranding a multi-national company famous for producing household favorites such as Cadbury, Ritz crackers, Oreo and Chips Ahoy! cookies is no easy task. It’s also something that shouldn’t be taken lightly – we’re sure Kraft, I mean Mondelēz, has done it’s market research, but we just can’t see Mondelēz Macaroni & Cheese becoming a household name any time soon.

- Marrissa (Twitter: @marrissam)

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Posted in Marketing/Communications, Weekly Win

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Getting Social in Security

Posted on March 9, 2012 by Cindy| Leave a comment

Marketing for the security industry has always had its challenges. After all, what company really wants to talk extensively about its security? Talk with any marketing, public relations or media person in the industry and he or she will tell you that one of the most difficult things is to get customers to talk openly about their security systems.

Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons/Nan Palmero

Now, add social media to the marketing mix. We are talking about Facebook, Twitter, blogs and all the other social platforms vying for attention these days. Social media is meant to be just that – “social.” It is meant to frequently and openly communicate about a company, its products, solutions, people, events and expertise. So, it might seem that social media and the reticent world of security are not a good fit, but it would be a mistake for any tech-savvy company today to ignore its potential marketing power.

Social media is a way of showing your customers, investors, vendors and employees just who you are. It gives them a peek behind the scene, builds brand awareness and sets your company up as an industry leader.

I recently wrote about how we helped a large security systems integrator expand its digital media presence and take advantage of new marketing platforms. Whether your company is involved in security or any other high technology business looking at taking on or expanding a social media program you’ll want to read this article on SecurityInfoWatch.com. It’s a good roadmap that highlights the benefits of implementing a strong social media program and provides some valuable tips help you get started.

- Cindy

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Posted in Daum Weigle, Marketing/Communications, Public Relations, Social Media

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How Connected Are We?

Posted on November 23, 2011 by Justin| 1 Comment

4.74 degrees of Kevin Bacon.

It may sound odd but that’s the new title of everyone’s favorite trivia game.  Or at least that’s technically what it should be.

Scientists at Facebook and the University of Milan recently released the average number of acquaintances separating any two people in the world – 4.74. The original “six degrees” number that we have come to know was from a 1967 study.

Over time, studies have updated the findings but this is the first that has drastically shrunk the number. In 2008, Microsoft found that the average number was 6.6. Yet that was only based on the actual exchange of messages, not who you know and identify as a friend.

So this new 4.74 number presents a new dialogue.

Is the idea of a friend evolving with the growth of social media and better communication tools or are people becoming less aware of what a friend actually is? Probably a little of both.

The Facebook study was based on who people are “friends” with on Facebook. Therefore, those users that friend people without ever meeting them are skewing the study towards the low end.

Nevertheless, the number is a telling indicator that social media is changing how often we connect with others and how easy it is to meet new people.

-@Justin_Nunez

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Posted in Daum Weigle, Marketing/Communications, Social Media

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