New Persuasion

Missionaries Can Teach Communicators a Few Things

If communicators want to learn some lessons on reaching new audiences, they could study what modern day missionaries are up to.  Not to say I completely agree with their mission - to me, it seems disrespectful of local religions to come in and say that you've got the best one yet.  But I do admire their persistence and their wide use of communication tools, both old and new.

From the Washington Post article:

Using technological devices ranging from simple cassette tapes to solar-powered audio players and an iPod-like gadget called the Bible Stick, Christian groups are spending hundreds of millions of dollars a year to make one of the world's oldest books accessible in remote corners of the planet...Complete versions of the Bible can now be downloaded onto cellphones in parts of Africa. To reach those who can't read -- nearly one-fifth of the world's population, according to the United Nations -- Christian groups are rapidly increasing production of audio and video versions.

Jill Fallon, over at Business of Life, writes about the movie that's been seen by 5 billion people.  Star Wars?  E.T.?  Titanic?  Nope.  The Jesus Film - no, it's not Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ - it's the 1979 version, filmed on location in the Holy Land, starring a no-name cast.  It's also, according to The Washington Post, been translated into more than 1,000 languages.  Where did this movie come from?  The BBC says:

"[It's] the work of an American evangelical organisation, Campus Crusade. Funded by its supporters and well-wishers, it sends teams around the world, even where they are not particularly welcome. There they record new translations of the film, organise screenings to inquisitive crowds in improvised cinemas, and distribute copies to whoever they can."

Because of their zeal, missionaries leave no stone unturned in their effort to bring their message to everyone in the world - communicators should pay attention.

Supporting the competition

It is very rare that a company encourages a customer to support a competitor.  However, upon reading this recent email in my inbox, I found Yahoo Photos to be doing just that.

"Dear Yahoo! Photos user,

"For some time now, we've supported two great photo sharing services: Yahoo! Photos and Flickr. But even good things come to an end, and we've decided to close Yahoo! Photos to focus all our efforts on Flickr — the award-winning photo sharing community that TIME Magazine has called "completely addictive."

Until then, we are offering you the opportunity to move to another photo sharing service (Flickr, KODAK Gallery, Shutterfly, Snapfish, or Photobucket). We're making the transfer real simple, and with a couple clicks we'll automatically move your photos to Flickr or wherever you want them. You can also download your original-resolution photos back to your computer, or buy an archive CD from our featured partner (for users of the New Yahoo! Photos only). All you need to do is tell us what to do with your photos before we close, after which any photos remaining on Yahoo! Photos will be deleted and no longer accessible.

I am a Snapfish user and had actually forgotten I had old photos in my Yahoo Photos account.   My first reaction was dread.  I assumed Yahoo would make transferring to Flickr easier since they also own them but transferring anywhere else would be a hassle, time-consuming and difficult.  I put the transfer off for a few days and then transferred them to Snapfish.  And, guess what? It was easy and really did only take a few clicks of the mouse to transfer everything.  What a novel idea- a company putting a consumer's time and interests above their own product and bottom line.

Yahoo got it.  When they decided to shut down their Photos section, they probably knew they would lose customers but to them it was better to concentrate on one product (Flickr) and do it right, rather than be spread too thin and lessen the quality of the products.  So even though I don't use Flickr, I still support Yahoo and their efforts.  And who knows, I may even give Flickr a try sometime.

Small Changes Can Make a Big Difference

Everyone knows that kids are easily persuaded.  It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure this out, and people that may or may not be parents already know this.  It seems like the last people to realize this are companies which market to kids.  Actually, it makes more sense to say that companies know everything there is to know about the young consumer market.  They just use what they know in a different way than many nutritionists and parents would probably agree with. 

I think that in America we are always skeptical.  We always think that there is a catch and that we are going to be taken advantage of.  We question what we read and what we hear and what we see.  We are always wanting to do our own research and ask people we know for advice instead of trusting a salesperson with their own agenda.  Basically, we have huge trust issues.  I think this is semi-depressing-- but in the end, I'm okay with this because the only person that will always be around to look out for me is...me. 

The New York Times did a great piece on companies marketing food ads to children.  The article focuses specifically on Kellogg's because of the organization's announcement that "it would phase out advertising to children under age 12 unless the foods meet specific nutrition guidelines for calories, sugar, fat and sodium."  Apparently, "Kellogg also announced that it would stop using licensed characters or branded toys to promote foods unless the products meet the nutrition guidelines."  These changes are going to take place over the next year and a half and will apply to approximately half of the products Kellogg markets to kids around the globe (this includes some of my personal favorites: Apple Jacks, Froot Loops, and the ever-tasty Pop-Tarts).

What are these standards? 

Well, for Kellogg's they are food products with:

• No more than 200 calories
• No trans fat
• No more than 2 grams of saturated fat
• No more than 230 milligrams of sodium
• No more than 12 grams of sugar

This is a great thing, but lets keep in mind this was all decided AFTER "threats of a lawsuit by two advocacy groups for children."  Funny how suddenly everyone scrambles to do the right thing when the bottom line is put in jeopardy. 

One thing I'm glad to hear about is that Kellogg isn't the only food company trying to changes its ways.  The New York Times article makes mention of Disney only allowing its characters to be used in food advertising if the products "complied with nutritional standards," as well as Kraft Foods halting advertising to products "to children under 12 that don't meet nutrition guidelines." 

I think that this is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the future of food advertising to children.  I feel that America as a nation is starting to understand the reasons behind our unhealthiness and we are beginning to realize the steps we need to take to start healthier habits.  One thing that we are really finding out is that good habits are established early-- and we need to teach our children about the proper ways to take care of themselves while they are very young.  This move by food companies shows that our expectations are changing.  We want the products we buy to work with us-- not against us. 

The typical consumer-company relationship that once existed is now morphing into something that many of us are more comfortable with.  I can't wait to see what is defined as "healthy" 20 years from now, and I feel that we will look back on these small decisions and see them as big turning points for the consumer.

American Idol's Lessons for Communicators

Note:  This column by Dan McGinn first appeared in the March 2007 issue of the DC Communicator:

American Idol is an entertainment juggernaut. In the first season the Fox show had a weekly audience of 12.7 million and a total of 111 million votes were cast.  By season five, the audience had grown to 30.6 million a week and 578 million total votes.  Taylor Hicks, last season’s winner, got more votes (63.4 million) than George Bush did in the 2004 presidential election (just over 62 million).  American Idol has generated more than six million radio plays in the U.S. and Canada.  And last week, 12 former American Idol contestants are on the charts or close to making it on.  So why should we, as communicators, care?  Because the phenomenal success of this show can teach us important lessons of effective communication:

1.  Inclusion
On American Idol, inclusion is the heart of the show.  Anyone can audition and possibly become the new idol. Once contestants are selected, anyone with a phone can vote and play a part in determining the outcome.   From start to finish, the audience is included and needed.  I am an essential ingredient in the success of this show. 

For communicators and their clients, it is important to think of their audience, their target market, their consumers – not as a separate entity, but as part of the team.  What can you do to make them feel more included in your efforts?  You can always start by asking them just that.  But often, that’s where our efforts end.  We get feedback, ponder it, and carry on as before.  What American Idol does is let its audience know your feedback is what determines what this show becomes. 

2.  Personal Stories
American Idol is only partially about talent.  It’s also about the personal stories of the contestants.  Each singer’s individual story gives me something to think about and possibly identify with.  These contestants are on a tough journey, with tough judges, and I can relate to the ups and downs they are going through.  The personal connections I make as I watch the show also lead me to follow my favorites even after they’ve been cut.  Viewed this way, it’s easy to see why so many were thrilled when American Idol loser Jennifer Hudson became an Oscar winner this year.  American Idol is really about the heartbreaks of those cut along the way. 

As much as possible, communicators need to tell the personal stories of their clients or even their customers.  It’s not about ‘messaging’ – it’s about storytelling.  We need to make personal, emotional connections with people if we’re to succeed in communicating effectively.

3.  That's Entertainment:  Let's be honest - it's fun to watch.  It's fun to love or hate the contestants and the judges.  It's fun to fight with your friends and family members over your favorites.  It's never boring. 

We communicators have to remember to eliminate the boring and remember the fun.  And if we can't do fun, maybe we should at least try for interesting.

Made to Stick Sticks With You

I just read the book Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die by Chip Heath and Dan Heath (brothers) and then I read on Rajesh Jain's weblog, emergic , that Guy Kawasaki did an interview with the two authors.

As the Heath brothers explain in Guy's interview:

We spent lots of time researching sticky ideas—ideas that people understand, remember, and that change the way people think or behave... We found there were six principles that link sticky ideas of all kinds. Sticky ideas won’t always have all six, but the more, the merrier. For example, JFK’s idea to “put a man on the moon in a decade” had all six of them:

1. Simple - A single, clear mission.
2. Unexpected - A man on the moon? It seemed like science fiction at the time.
3. Concrete - Success was defined so clearly—no one could quibble about man, moon, or decade.
4. Credible - This was the President of the U.S. talking.
5. Emotional - It appealed to the aspirations and pioneering instincts of an entire nation.
6. Story - An astronaut overcomes great obstacles to achieve an amazing goal.

I bought this book for work after reading this review by John Moore at Brand Autopsy.  He glowed about it.  Then I started reading it and almost wept with happiness.  Here were two guys that talked regular and explained things even the most simple-minded of us could understand.  And they give lots of examples. I bought another copy (with my own money) so I could mark it up, write all over it and keep it for myself.

You can read more on the Made to Stick Blog. 

Buy the Book.  Read the Book.  Mark-up the Book.  The book will stick with you.

Scoble, Social Media and Traditional PR

Brian Solis and Alison McNeil of PR 2.0 interviewed Robert Scoble at the recent From Social Media to Corporate Media conference.  They talked about:

"... how social media tools can benefit corporate media (advertising, marketing and PR) and improve overall customer, press, and influencer relations along the way."

Here's what Scoble had to say:

Most important point -  PR professionals were trained to deal with the mainstream press.  Why?  Because they had the power to reach people.  Now there's a need for a new style PR person who knows how stories start and spread across the Internet.  One blogger can post, and it gets amplified by others until it has spread around the world.

But it's not simply a case of new PR vs. old PR.

There is a need for both traditional and non-traditional forms of press relations.  As a firm believer in the Social Media Press Release (I've used them twice now) - I also know that the traditional release will be used for some time to come.  What I like about the SMPR is that it's quicker and more informal.  Solis quotes Todd Defren:

"It’s important to understand that the Social Media News Release is not intended as a replacement for the traditional news release. It’s an evolution. The SMNR’s core function is simply to allow creators of news to leverage the Web familiarity that is now ingrained in consumer audiences. With 50+ percent of consumers now creating and sharing content online (Pew Research), it just makes sense to democratize access to corporate news and multimedia assets to anyone (reporters, bloggers, laypeople) who might be interested, and, to create a forum for community and context that – to date – has been unavailable via old-world press releases.”

Chevy and Livin' Large

First off I have to tell you that Chevy and GM are clients of The McGinn Group and I sometimes work with these clients (when I'm not writing this blog or reading or thinking or otherwise trying to get out of client work).  And I will say that I was involved  in trying to get bloggers to write about this campaign. 

Chevy's had their problems with consumer generated media - the Tahoe campaign anyone, anyone?  Though Chevy folk shudder when you bring this up, I have to say that I think they earned respect and brownie points for keeping the negative ads up on the site.  And what I like about Chevy is that they keep trying.  (I get knocked down, but I get up again...)  They've got their Super Bowl commercial thing going on with college students, and this week they're running a different sort of campus challenge centered around the Chevy Aveo. 

I love this challenge - 7 teams at 7 colleges are living in their aveo for a week (I know, shades of that guy living in his Nissan Sentra - but Chevy's been working on this for a long time so we'll never know who had the idea first).  They can only leave the car for classes and what Chevy politely  calls "bio-breaks" - what,  no Johnny on the Spot?

I'll give you my reasons (not in order of importance but in order they pop into my head):

• The website is cool.  It's modern yet retro - how do graphic designers do that?
• The students are running the campaign.  The student teams have to perform tasks and challenges and try to get as many people to vote for them as possible.  Chevy's put the campaign in their hands. 
• It's CGM/New Media- these students are writing blogs for the website, and there are webcams in and out of the cars to catch the action 24/7.  From Boston University's Jamie and Allison's blog this morning:

OH MY GOD!

Everyone GO LOOK AT THE FRONT PAGE OF THE BOSTON METRO!!  There's a HUGE picture of us on the FRONT PAGE under the headline "GIRLS GONE WILD."  :)  The picture is from the Daily Challenge yesterday when everyone put their hands on the car.  IT'S SO FUNNY, GO LOOK!!

• It's live, It's real, it's entertaining - I mean the Northwestern University students got the drumline to come over and perform - most excellent.
• It has a good cause element built in -  the students on each campus are also trying to generate publicity for their favorite causes - like HIV/AIDS Awareness - and the team from USC (if they win) plans to cash in their cars and donate the  money to the Adom Partnership, for children in Africa.
• It's Local - Chevy is working with the Public Relations Student Society of America and their campus chapters to ensure that each team tailored their efforts to their local community.  Great idea.

Fun, funny, at times moving - it's a great campaign. Kind of blends pr, advertising and marketing.  Look in and vote for your favorites is all I can say.  I'm personally rooting for Gerald & Evita  from Howard University, since it's in D.C. and that's my town.

And here's the video that Dolce and Anna from USC made to get into the contest:

Edelman and the Definition of Blogging

Richard Edelman outlines what he's doing to make sure there are no more flogs from his PR firm:

• We are undertaking a thorough audit around the world to ensure we apply best practice guidelines to every program in every market and specialty area.
• We are requiring that all employees attend an Edelman University class on ethics in social media, hosted by members of me2revolution team as well as external experts. This will take place before the end of next week.
• We are establishing a 24/7 hotline so our me2revolution team can review, provide counsel and apply best practice guidelines on social media programs before their implementation. This ensures that programs adhere to the WOMMA guidelines or best-in-class standards around the world.
• We are creating ethics materials that will be distributed to each office and all new hires.

So, they're trying - but they might have saved themselves a lot of trouble if they had read this September post from IBM's Irving Wladawsky-Berger:

"I think that the key difference between a blog and other kinds of web sites is their personal nature.  In your blog, you are making the implicit promise that you are personally writing the content and that you are writing about subjects you care about in your own voice and style.  Which leads to another important aspect of blogs - they should be conversational and informal enough to let your voice, style and personality come through.

In other words, the essence of blogging is authenticity. In your blog, you are essentially sharing what is in your head, your feelings and opinions, with others out there.  If you feel strongly for or against political candidates, then it makes sense to write about them in your blog.  However, if you really don't care, or are a paid campaign worker posing as someone who cares, that is not OK.

If you like or dislike a company and its products and services, sharing your opinion with others is good.  But if you really have no opinion and are writing about the company just because you work for the company, its competitors or a marketing agency engaged by either, I would consider that bad blogging behavior."

He's right.

(Read the roundup of the Wal-Mart/Edelman troubles here on Constantin Basturea's PR Meets the WWW blog)

Red Rover and Customer Relationships

Pete Blackshaw at Consumer Generated Media has a great post today, and a related article , about how today's companies need to "open up":

"Take the idea of opening up literally: open the brand door and put out a friendly welcome mat. Make every consumer who knocks on the door feel important and empowered. Co-create a response in the form of an answer, an acknowledgment, a thank you, a solution, or, in some cases, a form of compensation for their willingness to share their ideas and suggestions with you. Do this even if there's a wee bit of incremental cost in making the effort. Trust me, it's more efficient than the way we throw paid media at consumers, and it targets efficiently against influencers.

"...we must reengineer the way we think about existing listening pipes, whether we call it "contact us," customer service, the call center, online chat, or even the "tell me what you think" button. Marketers consistently give this short shrift or punt it over to the attention-reduction operations department, almost as though consumer empowerment begins and ends with a marketing campaign. We should start to think about consumer affairs as new centerpiece of marketing."

Consumer affairs as the centerpiece of marketing?  You better believe it.  Building friendships and family with customers IS where the advertising, public relations and marketing money should be spent.  Period.

Lots of companies are making it possible for consumers to participate - but once the consumer participates, who at the company is listening and doing something with it?  Companies have yet to realize how valuable this customer participation is.  It's like saying "Red Rover, Red Rover, send your cgm over!" and then never ever letting the cgm breakthrough and be part of the team.  Not a very fun game when it's played that way.

Using the Social Media Press Release

So last week my firm sent out a press release for the Chevy Super Bowl College Ad Challenge. We used the Social Media Press Release template developed by Todd Defren and Shift Communications.  We looked at as many examples as we could find.  I have to say that Chevrolet was very open about doing this and a traditional press release was sent out at the same time.

I think it accomplished all Top 5 Principles of the Social Media News Release that were outlined by Todd Defren on his PR Squared blog, with an additional two added by Brian Solis:

1. Democratize "Access" - The content (words, multimedia, links) need to be available to all comers.
2. Ensure "Accuracy" - First off, given the electronic (and thus easily transfigured) nature of the Social Media News Release, we need to be thinking about some sort of "trustmark" scheme.
3. Embrace "Context"  -  Research and provide links to background information on your subject.  Don't shy away from competitor information.
4. Build "Community" - We need to make it easy for anyone who views the Social Media News Release to: comment on its content; re-mix its multimedia elements for use in blogs, on YouTube, and in the online versions of traditional print publications; bookmark it using Social Media tools, etc.
5. Be "Findable" - Optimize your release so search engines see you and find you.
6. Write intelligently
7. Eliminate the Hyperbole - Leave the spin to the reporter.

I left Todd a comment on his blog mentioning we used his template.  And next thing I know they're talking about it on The New Media Release Podcast  with Chris Heuer, Tom Foremski, Brian Solis, and Shel Holtz.  It was an honor.  They mentioned we need to use del.icio.us tags for the release.  I will do it next time (I just have to figure out how).  Step by step, inch by inch. 

The qualities I like best about the release are these:

1. Visual - pictures are included
2. Short "microchunks" of information for bloggers/reporters to pick and choose from.  (Although PR Web did not let me publish this way - I wrote it this way - I still have to find out why.)
3. Background information at your fingertips - one of the blogs I sent the release to did one post about the release and another based on some of the background information I sent him. 

This is the future.  Gotta learn more.

Listen and Respond to Customers

Lots of talk these days about good old-fashioned manners.

Steve Cody at Rep Man asks the question: Why is politeness becoming the exception, rather than the rule?  He goes on:

According to an AP-Ipsos poll released last October, 70 percent of Americans think their fellow Americans are ruder and less polite then they were 30 years ago. I have no doubt this is true and see it demonstrated in multiple ways every day (from the sarcastic train conductor and obnoxiously loud fellow passenger to clients who fire you by e-mail and prospects who string you along meeting after meeting).

And Guy Kawasaki over at Signum sine tinnitu says companies need to:

1. Find out what's being said about them by customers on the Internet.
2. Respond to unhappy customers.
3. Respond to happy customers.

The key words here are listen and respond.

Some companies are doing this.  Take Service Unititled's experience with Headsets.com:

Mike Faith, the CEO of Headsets.com discovered Service Untitled and I exchanged a few emails with him since his comment at Service Untitled spoke with him this afternoon. He is an interesting guy to talk to and I noticed a few things:

• First of all, he took the time to A) comment on Service Untitled, B) respond to my email, and C) talk to me. Very few companies will do any of those.
• He uses Google News to monitor the web for updates on Headsets.com, which is how he discovered Service Untitled. Mike said that if a customer or an article is written, they either thank them (assuming the write up was a good one) or try and resolve issues (if there was a problem).This technique isn’t new or revolutionary, but it’s not done as often as you think it would.

Listen and Respond.  Good business, good manners.

Lego Knows Their Customers

  Jake McKee writes about The Power of One on his Community Guy blog (thanks to Church of the Customer blog for the link).  Jake attended Brickfest 2006 - where lego enthusiasts gather - here in D.C. last weekend.  And he left there impressed with Lego's efforts towards it's customers.

• There were 30 LEGO employees there and 400 attendees - not a bad ratio.
• LEGO announced production of a train set that is based solely on fan designs. The box will contain parts and instructions enough to create 30 different models. Each of these (plus the other 50 that weren't chosen to be in the box) will be posted for individual purchase on LEGO Factory.
• There were open meetings between employees - some upper management - and fans. 
• One woman asked the CEO how she could help get more lego products in Singapore, and told him that she represented a whole community of LEGO fans willing to help.  She had already been turned down cold by the local LEGO office.  The CEO told her:  "I'm actually going to be in Singapore next week. Would you be able to join me when I meet with that office so we can work it out?" The audience went wild. By the end of the event, they had arranged a meeting time. The CEO, the leadership of LEGO Singapore, and a fan.

LEGO gets that their products are about their customers.  And they've given their customers a place at the table, and even let them in the kitchen.  This is the way companies must learn to operate today.  Surrender some control, maintain your connections, stay open - and you'll sell your product.

Advertising and Public Relations Continue to Merge

Andrea Learned at Learned on Women posts about this article she saw in a local Vermont paper - (click on the picture to see a bigger version) she thought it was a wonderful way for a person to advertise her services without advertising her services:

"...this profile offered up so many different, personal, facts/interests of this woman that you either identified with her, or not - but you had a lot of opportunity to find some connection.

If people, especially women, are looking for a realtor, they are going to love that they feel like they "know" this woman a bit, and that they have common interests.  While they wouldn't spend more than 1/2 second glancing at a typical realtor's classified ad, this profile will likely draw them in a lot more.  A.. reader/real estate prospect won't necessarily walk away thinking: "I'm going to call that woman right now," but they will remember her face and an element of her story, and file it away for future reference..."

Here's another great example of how public relations and advertising are becoming the same thing.  The way to a customer's heart is telling your story, sharing who you are and letting them make connections back to you.  It's not what a great realtor you are - let's face it - there's lots of good realtors out there - it's who you are and making people feel comfortable working with you. 

Learned mentions that realtors have always been good at humanizing their business, but lots of other industries could take a clue from this.

Customer Feedback

If you can stand it (not sure I can), one last post re BlogHer.  I think Maria Niles at Fizz from Consumer Pop summed up the whole GM/BlogHer effort best - writing Why I might buy a Saturn:

I learned about Saturns when I wrote a paper on the company for a labor-management relations class I took in college.  I fell in love with the idea and the execution - taking the best bits from car makers around the world, getting out of the hidebound Detroit mentality both in practice and in geography, empowering the workers to stop the line when they thought necessary and, best of all, no haggle pricing.  My first Saturn was amazing.  The quality was fantastic, it held its value for resale and we early-adopter Saturn owners did the knowing-nod thing whenever we passed on the road.  I always called it my hip suburban soccer mom car even though I was a decidedly urban singleton.  The styling was just so quirky-ugly that it's cool looking that it stood out while the car retained its roominess and functionality.

But then the styling didn't change.  And the quality declined.  And they stopped building them on the special Saturn line and became just another GM car.  The L-series drove nice enough when I considered buying a third Saturn but it got solid black circles in Consumer Reports.  Kiss of death.

When GM announced the new direction with the Sky and Aura focusing on performance and insisting that the only thing consumers cared about from Saturn was the no haggle pricing I swore I would never buy another Saturn (the only GM car I would consider).  GM, especially with the Pontiac brand, is doing a great job of launching sexy cars.  But it is not enough.  And claiming that consumers don't know about and don't care about the other stuff is evidence of doing a poor job of listening to and understanding consumers and insulting them to boot.

...But GM gave me a chance to change my mind and give them another chance.  I want my next car to be a small SUV hybrid.  I have been considering the Ford Escape/Mercury Mariner.  The Toyota Highlander is a bit big and the Lexus was priced too high and engineered for performance rather than fuel savings.  I've also thought about the non-hybrid Honda Element and Toyota Rav-4.  If I keep waiting, though, there will probably be hybrid versions of those soon enough.  And, yes I know, biodiesel but not until you don't have to make your own fuel and your car won't stink of old french fries or pot stickers.

Saturn was at BlogHer, though.  With cars to drive, including the Vue Hybrid.  Saturn didn't wait until I wised up to their revamped strategy and decided to forgive and forget.  They came to me.  I didn't have to brave the gauntlet of going to a car dealership and "what will it take to get you into a car today, honey?" (because no haggle does not mean no pressure).  I got to drive a Vue in a pressure-free way that allowed me to be open minded and admit that it was a sweet ride - nicer than the Escape Hybrid, in fact.  And the no-haggle pricing means that I won't have the experience I did at a Ford dealership where they insisted that they had to charge $5,000 over full MSRP.  I told them to give me a call when they would take just MSRP.  I haven't heard back in almost a year, now.

Even if I hadn't been to BlogHer or had a chance to drive, the reports from the bloggers I read would have swayed me to reconsider.  Smart Saturn, smart.

Enough said - here's the other video I made from interviews re the Saturn Vue Hybrid:

BlogHer and GM

So I attended the BlogHer conference '06 - I was originally going as a regular attendee, but then GM Blogs decided to sponsor the conference (I wish it was my idea) and because they are a client I was also there to help out. 

GM brought in some 15 cars - mostly Saturns - for the women bloggers to test drive. In my amateur fashion, I videotaped lots of interviews with the ladies when they finished their test drive.  Their reactions were mostly positive, some critical, but almost all agreed that GM did it right.  (The video will be up on GM's FYI blog later this week.)

As a woman, what I appreciated about the test drives was that it was so low key, zero pressure.  I showed my driver's license and was given the keys to a new Saturn Vue Green Line  - a hybrid.  I also drove the new Cadillac Escalade.  Now I would never go in a Cadillac dealership and drive that car, but it was there (and like Wayne Campbell of Wayne's World, "It will be mine, oh yes, it will be mine.")  I returned the cars and went about my merry way.  I couldn't help but think this is the way to advertise.  Bring the cars to people and let them experience the cars firsthand.  It was totally fun. 

I completely agree with anonymous blogger, DrumsNWhistles, when she writes:

Since I got home tonight, there have probably been over 100 commercials broadcast on the TV on in the background.

I don’t remember one of them. Not the product, the sponsor, nothing, nada. I do, however, remember the sponsors of Blogher 2006, because they made their products relevant. Until Friday, the only car I was considering to replace one of our ancient jalopies was a Toyota Prius. Post-Blogher, Saturns are very much a part of my horizons, because GM got it exactly right. Give us the keys, let us test drive it, and if we like it we’ll buy it, talk about it, recommend it to our friends, give word of mouth/blog the power it deserves. They really got it right and they deserve many positive BlogHer mentions. I hope they sell a ton of Sky cars, and hope even more one of them is sold to me. GM/Saturn gets my vote as the sponsor who got it the mostest. They rocked.

This is mouth-to-mouth advertising at its best - it's the future.

The Ten PR Commandments

I work for a public relations firm.  But I admit I don't do a lot of hands-on public relations (other than writing this blog).   I've been a journalist, a tv producer, and a writer - but lately my thoughts are full of what public relations is and is becoming.  So I thought I'd give you my 10 PRs of PR.

1. PRinciples - have some, don't sell out to the highest bidder
2. PRecision - fine tune your message, your conversation - the long tail of audiences is just beginning.  Know who you're talking to.
3. PReach - not to the public, but to your clients, don't just try to improve their image, try to improve their behavior, challenge them to be better.  (thanks to Esther Dyson and the Horn Group weblog for the thought)
4. PRessure - yourself everyday to do the best job you can.  Listen to others.  You actually can learn a lot with your mouth shut.
5. PRess, PRint & PRose - respect journalists (from old and new media) and their craft.  Include them, be open with them.
6. PReserve - your client's story by publishing it yourself
7. PRepare - your client for the 24/7 world of communications.  Educate them in new media. 
8. PResentation - increasingly, PR folk have to explain or interpret complicated issues. So give today's sophisticated person all the information they need to make a decision or come to a conclusion.  Embrace the negative, don't ignore it.
9. PRaise - your employees -  you'll always let them know when they fail. Why not do the same when they succeed, or just do a damn good job?
10. PRactice - practice, practice all of the above.  You'll be ready for game day.

Feel free to rip apart at will.