I’ve been paying attention to the things that command attention, both of myself and others, and I’ve made a list of 21 techniques that work. This list is far from all of them I’m sure, but it should be enough to get you started …
1. Be wrong
The world is full of people trying to do the right things. It’s become so common that many of us are bored by it. We long for someone that’s willing to do the wrong thing, say the wrong thing, be the wrong thing. If you have the courage to be that person, you’ll find lots of people paying attention to you.
2. Be right
You can also gain attention by being right … but only if you’re more right than everyone else. Run a mile faster than anyone else, explain your topic more clearly than anyone else, be funnier than everyone else. Embody perfection, and people will take notice.
3. Communicate what others can’t
As writers, we take ideas from our heads and put them on the page. Sometimes we forget how difficult that is for some people and how valuable that makes us. Lots of people would give anything to be able to say what they mean. But they can’t. So, they turn to songs, books, and art that communicate for them. Be a producer of those things, and you’ll never lose their attention.
4. Do something
Everybody online is trying to say something important, but very few are trying to do something important. If you want attention, dare not to just give advice to others, but to live that advice yourself. Then publish it to the open web.
5. Surprise people
Chip and Dan Heath, authors of Made to Stick, say that one of the best ways to set yourself apart is to break people’s “guessing machines.” Take a surprising position, making outlandish analogy, or otherwise do the opposite of what you normally do. As long as it’s unexpected, people will stop and pay attention.
Workplaces aren’t what they used to be — and that’s a good thing! Though professional attire is a must in virtually any workplace, what constitutes professional attire can vary wildly depending on profession, employer, and even location. Even in more conservative workplaces, like a law or business office, some degree of relaxed or casual attire is permitted on certain days or during certain times of year.
This is usually the case in the summer when the heat makes traditional professional attire unbearably warm. Despite the fact that you’re unlikely to wear heavy clothes on a casual Friday, such days still require a wardrobe mindful of what’s appropriate in the workplace. Here are some dos and don’ts that apply to most casual dress days:
DON’T wear sweats, pajamas, or lounge wear.
Just because you’re dressing casually doesn’t mean you should ignore what your clothes say about you and your work. One of the main reasons professional attire exists is to instill confidence in one’s appearance; professional attire is often designed to make you look your best. Wearing sweats, pajamas, or lounge clothes would only serve to make you look lazy in the eyes of others. These kinds of clothes, by design, do not fit especially well and are not typically meant to be worn to the office. A good rule of thumb is to never wear anything to work that you would wear in bed or lounging on the couch at home.
DO wear jeans.
Jeans are an excellent alternative to slacks or dress pants, which are typical in professional attire. Be mindful of the sort of jeans you wear though. Choosing a dark wash of jeans, as opposed to a lighter wash, looks more professional since the darker color mimics dress pants. Distressed jeans, jeans with holes in them or those covered in paint splatter are generally unacceptable as they look messy. Fit is important too. Very baggy or skinny jeans are not going to cut it; boot cut or straight-legged jeans are going to be the most professional option.
Want to have the best workday ever? Day after day? It’s not as difficult as you think.
These 10 tweaks to your everyday behavior will virtually guarantee you a day that’s not just enjoyable but allows you to get more done than you ever thought possible.
1. Start with 15 minutes of positive input.
It’s easier to achieve and maintain a positive attitude if you have a “library” of positive thoughts in your head, so you can draw upon them if the day doesn’t go exactly as you’d prefer. Start each day by reading (or listening to) an inspirational book to ensure that you have just such a resource at hand.
2. Tie your work to your life’s goals.
Always remember that there’s a deeper reason why you go to work and why you chose your current role. Maybe it’s to support your family, to change the world in some way, to help your customers, to make a difference: Whatever the deeper motivation, remind yourself that this workday–today–is the opportunity to accomplish part of that deeper and more important goal.
3. Use your commute wisely.
Most people waste their commute time listening to the news or (worse, especially if they’re driving) making calls, texting, or answering emails. In fact, your commute time is the perfect time to get yourself pumped up for the day, and there’s no better way to do this than to listen to music that truly inspires you and gets you in the right mood. Don’t depend on a DJ: Make your own mixes!
4. Stick a smile on your face.
It’s likely, if you followed the first three steps, that you’ll already be smiling. If not, stick a smile on your face anyway.
It doesn’t matter if it feels fake: Research has shown that even the most forced of smiles genuinely reduces stress and makes you happier. Does this mean you should be grinning like the Joker in the Batman comics? Well, yes, if that’s the best you can do. But something a bit more relaxed might be less alarming to co-workers.
5. Express a positive mood.
When most people are asked social greetings–questions such as “How are you?” or “What’s up?”–they typically say something neutral (“I’m OK”) or negative, like “Hangin’ in there.” That kind of talk programs your brain for failure.
Instead, if anyone inquires, say something positive and enthusiastic, like: “Fantastic!” or “I’m having a wonderful day!” It’s true that there are some people whom this annoys–but these are people you should be avoiding anyway.
Gordon MacKenzie was interviewed by John Gerstner for the August, 1991 issue of IABC Communication World. MacKenzie, now deceased, was then “Creative Paradox” of Hallmark Cards, Kansas City, Missouri. For more insight into the mind of Gordon MacKenzie, get his cult classic Orbiting the Giant Hairball: A Corporate Fool’s Guide to Surviving with Grace published in 1998.
What other employee in the corporate US has a den instead of an office, a room that is a melange of art, antiques, sculpture, cartoons and bric-a-brac, including a roll-top desk, drawing table and a wonderfully painted chair with wings hanging from the ceiling? Who else could seriously describe their job as, “inviting fellow employees to come out on the thin ice with me.” Who else has the job title creative paradox?”
Gordon MacKenzie certainly is one. As the only official creative paradox at Hallmark Cards in Kansas City, Mo., he is also perhaps the only creativity consultant in the US who is working to subvert corporate stultification from the inside. His title may be an inside joke, but it is a serious one.
“Large organizations are like giant hairballs,” he says, with a characteristic twinkle. Every decision adds another hair. There is existence but no life in a hairball. You have to expend creative energy to avoid getting all tangled up.”
When MacKenzie isn’t stirring up corporate creativity at Hallmark, he’s out on the lecture circuit, using overything from mirth to meditation to put audiences as large as several hundred people into a kind of surreal, creative trance.
After which he asks the audience to write a poem based on a randomly chosen noun and adjective. The brave ones volunteer to read their creations aloud. Many of the Poems are amazingly heartfelt and moving.
“Everyone has a masterpiece within him from birth,” says MacKenzie afterward. “When we are young, society draws pale blue lines, as if your life were a paint-by-numbers kit. The message is: If you stay in the lines your life will be a masterpiece. That’s a lie. You have to constantly battle to be nobody but yourself. If you go to your grave without painting your masterpiece, it will not get painted.”
MacKenzie is a small man prone to big, hearty laughs, especially after similarly deep and insightful digressions. (“I’m really babbling now,” he chides himself.) He also has the somewhat disconcerting habit of occasionally blowing air as he speaks. “I do it to stay in touch and keep from shutting down,” he says.
Interviewed at Hallmark, in what he insists on calling “My Room,” MacKenzie dances around the subject of corporate creativity like a dervish … reading a poem from “The Awakened Eye” by Frederik Frank … talking freely about his recovery from alcoholism … confiding that it took him 20 years to find the courage to do a pirouette in the hallowed halls of Hallmark,
MacKenzie believes in letting go, having fun, enjoying the “ecstasy of living.” As if to prove the point, he happily and without hesitation agreed to pose for the camera while wading in the company reflecting pool.
“I wish I had your job,” a fellow employee teased as MacKenzie was testing the corporate waters. MacKenzie just flashed a huge grin.
JOHN GERSTNER: Why are most corporate environments so sterile, so corporate?
GORDON MACKENZIE: My guess is it’s control. Large organizations feel a deep need to control, and that extends to the physical environment.
JOHN GERSTNER: Do you think this desire to control is sinister?
GORDON MACKENZIE: No, I think it’s just a responsibility to the customer and to shareholders to try and deliver the best possible product. To do that entails a certain need for predictability, and to get that one is often drawn into a need for over, controlling the situation. I understand creativity to be a manifestation of the unconscious. We can’t know ahead of time what’s going to come up. It seems to me the way around this is to let creativity flow and pick through it to find the things that can be exploited for positive gain. We tend not to do that.
JOHN GERSTNER: Why?
GORDON MACKENZIE: Our society is threatened by people having too much access to that limitless creativity within our unconscious, because it might raise uncomfortable questions and there is stuff in there that looks insane. Therefore, society discourages creativity in an incredible variety of ways.
JOHN GERSTNER: This must be a very unusual corporation.
GORDON MACKENZIE: Remarkable.
JOHN GERSTNER: How do you mesh with the accountants at Hallmark?
GM: I don’t think we understand each other. I think a lot of us are reluctant to understand each other. So we mesh with a lack of mutual understanding to a certain degree.
JOHN GERSTNER: Healthy misunderstanding?
GORDON MACKENZIE: Tolerance. Knowing at some level that we need each other, but wishing that we didn’t. (Laugh.)
JOHN GERSTNER: Tell me about your job at Hallmark. Creative paradox?
GORDON MACKENZIE: I don’t have a job description. I’m doing it right now. My job is to put myself out in front of you or whoever and risk to grow. Really to risk and stretch and walk out on some thin ice and say, “I wonder if I can stand here.”
I try to do this with workshops and brainstorming sessions where I try to offer some non-ordinary ways for people to get at the limitless resources that they have inside of them. Creativity, more than anything else, is gaining access to what we already have.
JOHN GERSTNER: Do you think there is a penalty for exhibiting creativity as you do inside a corporation?
GORDON MACKENZIE: Could we say “price” instead of “penalty?” Yes, there’s a price, but there’s a price for everything. It comes down to what each of us as individuals will honor. How much courage will we find to honor the things that we cherish? If I cherish personal freedom, but I don’t have the courage to pay the price of having that freedom … because there will be a price for it … then I will live in a kind of frustration, a wimpy world that longs for the freedom but isn’t willing to suffer the pain to get it. We can end up wishing our life away. If we can find the courage to confront an issue that is causing chronic dull pain, we can get through and beyond it.
JOHN GERSTNER: So if out of fear, you wore the business suit to work instead of the T-shirt, you would suffer that dull chronic pain.
GORDON MACKENZIE: Yes, a sense of loss, a little death.
JOHN GERSTNER: That you weren’t being true to yourself?
GM: Yes, not being true to the creative, childlike spirit that is inside me and everyone. Unable, as Frederik Frank, an artist and author, puts it in one of his poems, “to discover one’s own little song and dare to sing it in all variations, unsuited as it may be for mass communication.” Every time we choose not to sing our own little song, it’s a little death.
JOHN GERSTNER: Do you think the people you meet in corporations are stifled, or unhappy, or do you have any sense of that?
GORDON MACKENZIE: One of the things I have learned from my therapist is not to make judgments about other people’s life situation. There’s no such thing as “immaculate perception,” he says. But I know many working people are shut down, frustrated, and locked in a desperate situation they don’t know how to get out of.
JOHN GERSTNER: In a box?
GORDON MACKENZIE: Building one and having it built. It is a communal effort in which the resident of the box is an active participant.
JOHN GERSTNER: How do you get in touch with the muse when you’re in a hectic business environment where creativity may be viewed as more of a luxury than a priority?
GORDON MACKENZIE: Creativity is an essential, not a luxury. As soon as it’s seen as a luxury, it goes to the bottom of the corporation’s list of priorities. Ecstasy of living is an essential. I was late for this interview this morning. The reason I was late was because I was with some people and it was working. We were having some authenticity. And there was an energy there that deserved not to be interrupted. I miss airplanes a lot for this reason. So I pay a price.
JOHN GERSTNER: Discipline … where does that fit in when tapping into your creativity? There’s such a rush today to do what you have to do.
GORDON MACKENZIE: Can I share with you something else I learned in therapy? When you use you talk, you’re telling me what I have to do. And we do that too much in our society. When we say you, you, you all the time, somebody else owns it. When are we going to look after ourselves and say I need to do such-and-such, instead of saying you need to do such-and-such? If I can say “I” more, then maybe I will take more responsibility for where I am, for my frustrations, and for the things that are limiting who I can be. But as long as I say you, it’s someone else’s problem, and I can continue to be a victim, which is not very demanding.
JOHN GERSTNER: What advice can you offer on helping people become more creative and true to themselves inside an organization?
GORDON MACKENZIE: Learn to let go. Search for every way possible to let go, and find the courage to be yourself. This may mean maintaining a support network … a group of people you work with with whom you can truly share your deepest fears. People you can be intimate with spiritually and emotionally. People you can trust.
JOHN GERSTNER: In other words, take off the mask, whether it’s physical or mental.
GORDON MACKENZIE: Yes, the change in physical appearance will simply happen on its own when it’s ready. I think the dress for success syndrome is superficial manipulation and plays to dishonesty. If I have a need to change the way I express who I am, that change will surface, and I won’t need any instruction or hints from any publication or workshop or person.
JOHN GERSTNER: But appearance is very important, isn’t it? If you look at the board of directors of any large company, every one will be wearing a white shirt and dark suit … even the females.
GORDON MACKENZIE: Sure, but now we’re talking about conforming, adapting, and being appropriate … we’re not talking about creativity. If the goal is to reach the board of directors, there will be manipulation, cleverness, skillful politics, right moves, but creativity will not be a primary ingredient. If I set my mind on a reward and focus on that reward, the path to it will not be an authentic path. If I focus on the path, there will be rewards that I would never have dreamed of.
JOHN GERSTNER: Does this mean one shouldn’t have goals?
GORDON MACKENZIE: I hope I haven’t said should or shouldn’t. I have goals. I’ve started to write a book on what we’re talking about. I want to travel to Morocco. I want to reduce my compulsion to control other people and situations. My goal is to be not attached to outcome.
JOHN GERSTNER: In other words, just be free form?
GORDON MACKENZIE: Yeah. This has been a delightful interview, thanks in part to your willingness to let go of your questions. I was just reading this book called “Free Play.” It’s about improvisation. The author talks about somebody going to make a speech. If that person goes to a podium and delivers a written speech, everyone will have the low-energy experience of being read to. But if the speaker will write the speech, go before the group and throw his notes away, everybody knows he is coming from a place that is risky and improvising, but is not unprepared-and the energy will be high. My sense is you’ve decided to conduct this interview in the latter style. You have come prepared but you have not been shackled by your preparation. I celebrate that.
JOHN GERSTNER: So if you want to be creative inside a bureaucratic organization, you should .. let go … you said?
GORDON MACKENZIE: Do I sense you are trying to distill this down to a recipe? I would caution against that. My sense is that this article will not have answers, but will have hints of places to look within oneself. Most of us look for steps one and two. The pitfall in this is that it leads us away from the essence of creativity which is not a how-to process. It’s a letting go, a hanging loose.
I will share with you that it took me 20 years before I dared to skip down the halls of Hallmark. “Anticipatory grief ” kept me from skipping. I am mindful that I kept myself from it, but I try not to be judgmental of myself.
There’s a real difference between mindfulness and judging. judging keeps you from letting go. Instead of judging, how about being mindful of where the employee is, what the employee’s magic is, and what the employee’s blocks are that are keeping that magic from manifesting itself?
JOHN GERSTNER: That sounds wonderful if it could happen.
GORDON MACKENZIE: It is happening. Can you imagine a conversation like this, and a writer seriously thinking about writing an article-if in fact you are still seriously thinking about it-10 years ago? Where would you get it published? Maybe the Whole Earth Catalog. But not for a mainstream “legitimate” publication.
No way.
JOHN GERSTNER: Is this a typical business day?
GORDON MACKENZIE: What is a normal business day? I have … I wonder what abnormal means .. I want to look it up. I love to look up words in the dictionary. Even though I think I know the language, I don’t. Abnormal: “Deviating from the normal, the standard or a type, markedly irregular or unusual.” All my days are abnormal.
Isn’t it funny that my connotation of abnormal is that it is not OK? So there could be people in this corporation who think I behave in an abnormal way, and they might have a negative connotation of that, as I do.
My job title is creative paradox. Here’s a definition of paradox: “A statement contrary to common belief. A statement that seems contradictory, unbelievable, or absurd, but that may actually be true in fact. A statement that is self-contradictory in fact and hence false. Something inconsistent with common experience or having contradictory qualities. A person who is inconsistent or contradictory in character or behavior. The synonyms are: contradiction, enigma, mystery, absurdity, ambiguity.”
All of these things are connected to creativity. And this is connected to abnormal, unusual. Wouldn’t it be wonderful … I think it would anyway … if paradox was recognized as normal?
Since stress is all about the future, the real cure for stress is to live in the present. Here are some suggestions for doing this:
1. Meditate or pray every day.
When done correctly, meditation and prayer place your thoughts in the present. When you’re focused on your breathing, the energy flowing through your body, or the presence of God in your life, there’s no opening for stress to get inside you. These activities not only create a respite from stress, they help train your mind to remain “mindful.”
2. Set aside a daily time to plan.
Achieving goals is impossible without planning–and planning, by its very nature, involves imagining the future, including possible setbacks and problems. Limit your “future thinking” to a set time every day–and then spend the rest of your time executing the steps in your daily plan.
3. Detach yourself from results.
Though it’s true the business world is all about getting good results, such results are usually achieved through the execution of a well-thought-out plan. Therefore, once you’ve made a plan, put your attention on the steps, not on the outcome. Until events prove otherwise, trust that you’ve created (and are now executing) the best plan possible.
4. Observe what’s working (and what’s not).
As you take action, note which actions seem to be leading toward your goals and which seem to be leading you further away. Rather than getting stressed about your “failures” while they’re happening, use these notes to adjust your plan during your next planning session.
Do these steps take some practice and discipline? Absolutely. But the benefit–a largely stress-free working life–are well worth the effort.
No, you won’t do better work by procrastinating. And you will not have more time next week. In fact, leaving things unfinished makes you stupid. Here’s what works:
- Make specific plans. Just setting a date and a time when you’re going to do something makes you more likely to follow through. Or write down the steps necessary to do the work.
- Use short, painless dashes of effort. Just have at it for five minutes and feel free to watch the clock. Chances are you’ll realize it’s not so bad.
- Rewarding yourself for doing things you don’t want to do can be a powerful motivator.
- Use “precommitment devices” to make sure you follow through. Stickk is a good one.
- Asking yourself whether you intend on doing something is a more powerful motivator than telling yourself you will do it.
- Understand the secrets to willpower, breaking bad habits, productivity, and achieving goals.
Here are nine daily tasks you probably can eliminate from your workday to help you stay focused and be more productive.
1. Stop overloading your to-do list. You might feel the need to write down everything you need to accomplish each day, but resist making an impossible list of daily tasks, says Peter Turla, a time-management consultant in Dallas. Compiling a lengthy list of things you need to accomplish might seem productive, but you could be doing more harm than good. “It results in too many items at the end of the day that are not completed,” says Turla. “That will make you feel stressed out, inadequate and unfocused.” Instead, create a manageable list of essential tasks that should be finished on a given day–and save the rest for later.
Related: 4 Ways to Weed Out Rotten Clients and Grow Your Business
2. Stop having open-ended meetings. Figure out your priorities before you call a meeting and make them clear to all the attendees, says Doug Sundheim, a New York consultant and executive coach. Too many small-business owners waste half the meeting just getting to what they really want to talk about. Sundheim suggests putting three priority topics at the top of your agenda to avoid getting sidetracked by other issues.
3. Stop answering repetitive questions. If you find yourself answering the same question from clients or employees frequently, you’re wasting time, says Peggy Duncan, a personal productivity trainer in Atlanta. Instead, put together an FAQ on your website or create instructional videos that people can access via links at the bottom of your emails. “Figure out better ways to answer [questions] without your having to be involved,” she says.
Related: How to Give Employees Independence Without Losing Control
4. Stop taking the same follow-up approach if people ignore you. If you’ve sent someone an email and the recipient hasn’t responded, don’t keep firing off more emails. Try communicating in another way–calling, sending a text or visiting in person if it’s appropriate, says Jan Yager, author of Work Less, Do More (Sterling, 2008). Too many business owners get bogged down communicating with people inefficiently, she says.
Our society places a premium on intelligence. While we’re in school, we have it drummed into our heads that book learning and a high IQ are the necessary tools for success. Honors and attention are bestowed on the academic achievers while the majority of the people are relegated to the ever inflating ‘average’ tag. When we finally get out into the real world, it doesn’t take long to notice that being an academic high flyer doesn’t necessarily guarantee a successful or happy life.
So fine, grades and diplomas don’t guarantee success and we all know other people who weren’t the best students in school but who have found great success in their chosen career and have a wide circle of valued friends and acquaintances. We’ve all met highly intelligent people who have limited social skills. Why is this? Is something else at play?
Researchers have studied this paradox and in the past decade have begun to question the correlation between IQ, success, and happiness. They’ve found another type of intelligence, one that has to do with emotions, may be a more important determiner of overall success in life.
IQ vs. EQ
The term “emotional intelligence” first received widespread attention in a 1995 best-selling book by psychologist Daniel Goldman titled Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ. Emotional intelligence refers to the ability to recognize, understand and manage your emotions and the emotions of others.
… if I were hiring a “Universal PR professional” to guide strategic communications in 2013 and beyond, here are some of my best practice tips to shape that PR person’s role:
- Be proactive and don’t wait to be asked. Today, we are looking for people who will raise their hands to get involved. For example, with the development of a social media policy, training initiatives and governance (new responsibilities that require PR to participate). You should never wait for someone to give you the assignment, especially if you identify an area in your department or company that needs support. Propose new ideas, do the research, and offer your assistance. The initiative you take will make you stand out among all the rest.
- Start with good communication on the inside. Take the time to discover how to be more efficient and productive with your teams. Make suggestions beyond simply using email communication on how to finish your projects on time and under budget. Use social collaboration tools on the inside of your company for better internal communications and then take the time to educate your peers on new ways to work together to increase overall productivity.
- Test technology … always. Don’t be behind the curve, instead stay ahead for advancement. Be ready to answer those leadership questions asking “why” and “how” your brand should participate in new social communities. Take the time to “Tech Test” in different areas including collaborative platforms, applications, monitoring software, influence tools, etc., which will make you a more valuable asset to your organization.
- Listen to be heard and to be relevant. Gathering customer intelligence is the best way to internalize information and then use it to communicate with meaning, through offline and new media channels. Since I started in PR, I was always told to listen first to solve problems. This is much more apparent today, as a result of social media. By truly “listening,” we can help people and build stronger relationships with our constituents.
- You are always on! Social media doesn’t sleep, so your organization’s readiness is key. Creating the social media crisis plan (integrated into an overall crisis plan) requires knowledge and skills. It’s imperative for you to build a system that catches negative sentiment early on before it escalates, and to put processes and people in place for different levels of escalation through new media
Read full article by Deirdre Breakenridge on PR 2.0 Strategies
In turbulent times, it’s hard enough to deal with external problems. But too often people and companies exacerbate their troubles by their own actions. Self-defeating behaviors can make any situation worse. Put these five on the what-not-to-do list.
Demanding a bigger share of a shrinking pie
Leaders defeat themselves when they seek gain when others suffer, for example, raising prices in a time of high unemployment when consumers have less to spend, to ensure profits when sales are down. McDonald’s raised prices three percent in early 2012 and by the third quarter, faced the first drop in same-store sales in nine years. The executive responsible for that strategy was replaced.
At bankrupt Hostess Brands, bakery workers refused to make concessions (though the Teamsters did), thereby forcing the company to liquidate, eliminating 18,000 jobs. By trying to grab too much, the bakery union could lose everything.
This happens to executives too. A manager in a retail company demanded a promotion during the recession, because he was “indispensable,” he said. The CEO, who had cut her own pay to save jobs, fired him instead. Greed makes a bad situation worse.
Getting angry
Anger and blame are unproductive emotions. Post-U.S. election, defeated Mitt Romney blamed his defeat on “gifts” that “bought” the votes of young people, women, African-Americans, and Latinos for President Obama. Losing the Presidency is a big defeat, but Romney further defeated future electoral prospects with public bitterness and insults. History might remember the bitterness, not his gracious concession speech.
Anger hurts companies too, especially if misplaced. Years after a tragic explosion on an oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010 in which 11 people lost their lives, BP was back in the news with a record fine and criminal charges. Former CEO Tony Hayward defeated himself and damaged the company in the public mind by issuing bitter statements about how unfair this was.
Angry words leave a long trail. An employee in another company who threw a temper tantrum over a denied proposal was surprised that this episode was still recalled two years later, overwhelming his accomplishments. He was the first terminated in a reorganization. Bitterness turns everything sour.
Giving in to mission creep
Sometimes self-perpetuated decline occurs more slowly, through taking core strengths for granted while chasing the greener grass. I can’t say that this is happening to Google, a company I admire, but I do see potholes ahead — although driverless cars are an extension of mapping software close to Google’s core strength in search. But should Google expand its territory to be a device maker and communications network provider, building a fiber-optics and mobile network? This could be mission creep. Perhaps Google should focus on improving Googling.
Read full article via Harvard Business Review
With his team, Saku Tuominen, founder and creative director at the Idealist Group in Finland, interviewed and followed 1,500 workers at Finnish and global firms to study how people feel and respond to issues in the workplace. Tuominen’s findings are easy to understand — 40 percent of those surveyed said their inboxes are out of control, 60 percent noted that they attend too many meetings, and 70 percent don’t plan their weeks in advance. Overall, employees said they lacked a sense of meaning, control, and achievement in the workplace. Sound familiar?
Based on the study and the insights of Teresa Amabile, a professor at Harvard Business School, Tuominen recommends new approaches to changing our work processes that all tap into our unconscious:
- Think about one question/idea that needs insight and keep this thought in your subconscious mind.
- Clear your conscious mind by using this two-step system: move your thought(s) from your mind to a list and then clear your list when you have a short break (if your meeting is canceled, for instance, or your flight is delayed).
- Plan your week and month by listing three priorities you would like to accomplish.
- Make certain you have at least four consecutive, uninterrupted hours a day dedicated to the three priorities you identified.
This last point is key. Tuominen deduced that if you can schedule four hours with continuous flow and concentration, you could accomplish a lot and improve the quality of your thinking. As Tuominen aptly states, “you can’t manage people if you can’t manage yourself.”
In the October 5 edition of the New York Times, Julie Bosman wrote that the “curiously strong” Altoid mints were facing possible branding issues in the company’s move to “shutter the factory in Bridgend, Wales and transfer production to its plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee.”
One might say that was a curiously strong move on the part of owners Wm. Wrigley and Co., since the candy had been marketed with its old world British origins since being introduced to the U.S. in 1918. The antique looking metal tins include the words “Made in Great Britain.” Even the online encyclopedia Wikipedia is out-of-step, noting: “Altoids are produced in Britain by Callard & Bowser-Suchard.” Wikipedia shows that “The history of Altoids actually dates back to the reign of King George III. The brand was created by a London-based Smith & Company in the 1780s but eventually became part of the Callard & Bowser company in the 1800s.”
Some brand and identity folks say that this is a shift in how Altoids defines itself, with them going after a reputation as being a very different breath changer, rather than an old candy dating back to King George. For those of you who don’t know, Altoid ads began as early as 1920, touting the confection as “an antidote to poisons in the stomach. One or two taken after meals will stop poisonous fementation.” http://www.altoids.com/index.aspx?area=about
Others think the shift in Altoids production won’t matter. Still others say, it’s only the mint flavors that have stayed in the UK and all other flavors are exported to the U.S. and other places, anyway.
If one peruses the Altoids web site, it’s all about fun and prominently displays a contest regarding the “Tin Million Uses/One Metal Box” for the Altoids’ tin. And the last line on the home page reads that they are still made in Great Britain. Hmmmmm…
For the person studying related image risks of products moving to the U.S. from the far corners of the world, Bosman’s article is worth looking up. She analyzes similar moves by Lowenbrau toMiller Brewing Co. to Labatt, Jaguar to Ford Motor Co., Saturn to GM, Foster’s to Molson and more. These cases might be fun for you public relations professors such as myself out there.
Bosman also notes at least two successes, however — BMW’s connection to German engineering, and Armani’s connection to Italian fashion. Does it really matter when you really love a brand? After all, what do you really know, or care about, the origins of Kikkoman soy sauce or Haagen-Dazs ice cream?
The February 7, 2005 issue of PR Week included an article on Peppercom’s $27 million campaign to promote SUV safety. To kick off their efforts, they introduced a mascot who they called ESUVEE. The firm claims to want to “draw the attention of 18- to 34-year-old men” by using the hairy beast that looks something like a buffalo. He isn’t a cutesy cartoon type by any stretch of the imagination. He’s a foot scraping, macho Beauty and the Beast-type character and he growls too! He’s 16 feet long, 11 feet wide and 10 feet tall. This campaign, which includes many traditional campaign elements, hopes to draw visitors to esuvee.com and teach them something about SUV safety that they didn’t already know.
If you head to the site, you can play an interactive challenge course game. The theme of the site is all about riding an SUV correctly and safely. They use the ESUVEE animal in sort of a bucking bronco, rodeo type setting, while a “cowhand” gives the safety pitch. The beast really gets around. Esuvee visited the Boats, Books, and Brushes festival in New London, CT, in September, accompanied by the Connecticut Attorney General. And the Attorney General GOT some attention. The kickoff news release posted on the Esuvee web site includes this language: “The Campaign highlights critical tips for driving SUVs that can mean the difference between life and death: check your tire pressure monthly, don’t overload your SUV, always wear your seatbelt, try to avoid abrupt maneuvers, and don’t speed. ‘Driving SUVs like ordinary cars invites disaster. Awareness of SUV safety – especially stopping rollovers – can mean survival to countless Americans,’ said Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal. ‘Smart drivers can save lives with some simple steps: avoid speeding, sudden maneuvers, and overloading. Our education campaign targets young men, who may be most vulnerable and most difficult to reach. If you think this message is hype, look at the numbers – thousands of young Americans killed in rollover crashes every year.’” Not everyone is happy with the campaign. The SUV Owners of America advocacy group thinks the “safety campaign paints an unfair picture of the vehicles.” The huge beast is their nemesis. Micha Lindemans writes that in Greek mythology, “Nemesis is the goddess of divine justice and vengeance. Her anger is directed toward human transgression of the natural, right order of things and of the arrogance causing it. Nemesis pursues the insolent and the wicked with inflexible vengeance…” Nemesis. Encyclopedia Mythica. Retrieved November 09, 2005, from Encyclopedia Mythica Online. But opposition or not, the campaign is making the noise it intended. Run a quick search for ESUVEE in Google or Yahoo and many blogs pop up using words such as “brilliant” and “fantastic.” The word “Esuvee” even made Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia. The PR Week article notes that the “integrated effort is funded by settlement money from Ford, which was sued by state two years ago for using dangerous Firestone tires.” It’s a project of the States Attorneys General. Who would have thought an elected job could be so much fun?! |
The release reads in part, “The growth in home high-speed internet adoption, after growing quickly in the past several years, has slowed down and is poised to slow even further, according to a new report released by the Pew Internet & American Life Project.”
The May 2005 survey “is built around several national random digit dial telephone surveys of Americans (age 18 and older) conducted by Pew Internet and American Life Project.”
Here are a few of the facts and comments from the report: “53% of home internet users have high-speed connections at home, up from 50% in 2004 – a small and not statistically significant increase. This compares unfavorably with growth rates over a comparable time frame a year earlier. In May 2004, 42% of home internet users had high speed connections, 20% over the 35% home high speed penetration figure for November, 2003…
“By 2005…Years of online experience no longer has any significant impact on the intensity of internet use, while having a home broadband connection is a much stronger predictor of the number of online activities that a user does on a typical day…
“The Project’s May 2005 data show there is a smaller pool of dial-up users now compared to 2002 and today’s dial-up users are less likely to be heavy users of the internet. Pew data has shown consistently a pattern whereby people start out their online lives as dial-up users, do more on the internet as they gain more experience, and eventually switch to broadband as they become more dependent on the internet for information, entertainment, and communication.”
For those of us in PR who are trying to capture information and attention from certain target audiences at home using the internet, this is one important swath of the user landscape to consider. While it would be a guess on my part and generalization at minimum, I would suspect that the audiences you are trying to engage will likely have high speed connections. In this report, that person would be described as a “heavy user.” In PR, we’re looking for “heavy users.”
We’ve all experienced the frustration of trying to participate in a survey or buy a product or browse information in dial-up mode. Hands are thrown up in frustration and the users simply disconnect. The experienced PR professional using the web, wants the users to remain engaged, visit for long periods, and enjoy the experience. I, for one, am keeping an eye on these trends regarding usage. How about you?
For the full report, please see: http://www.pewinternet.org/PPF/r/164/report_display.asp
You can sign up to receive free Pew research alerts at: http://www.pewinternet.org/signup.asp
Pew Internet & American Life Project
1615 L Street, NW
Suite 700
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202.419.4500
Fax: 202.419.4505
Did you happen to catch the Mary Thompson piece on CNBC business news on December 23 talking about the Starbucks campaign where they were using “unconventional and surprising ways to connect with consumers…” ???? Maybe it is guerrilla marketing at its best but she reported about Starbucks giving out 100 $5 gift certificates to people they saw being good Samaritans on the street. The people would tell the driver of a vehicle that he had left his coffee on the roof. “Happy Holiday’s from Starbucks!” the good Samaritans were told, before they realized the cup had been permanently affixed.
Staged, yes. But it got attention on the street, started a flurry of talk, was furiously blogged about, and was caught over and again by the mainstream media.
And they apparently always have folks smelling their coffee, because “positive, memorable aromas make people smile,” she reported. She ended by saying, “Tongues are wagging inside and outside this coffee klatch.”
So, do you think these tactics help or hurt a business image?
I discovered a free white paper called “The Future of PR,” published in July 2005. The report focus is “How to garner more coverage and stay way ahead of the competition.”
How do you use technology in your media relations? Most of us have used email and various web services. But Vocus writes that this just isn’t enough.
“A key component of PR in the new age of digital communications is a centralized system for managing all your media contacts, correspondence, activities, news distribution, news monitoring and measurement.” Their white paper lists several key capabilities critical to the future of PR. I teach public relations on the graduate and undergraduate levels at UMUC and students are always asking me what’s coming next!
Much of what’s in this free Vocus white paper isn’t found in most textbooks (Shel Holtz has a few good ones) for our future practitioners. One that especially appeals to me is what Vocus calls “customer relationship management (CRM) for PR.”
The Vocus paper reads: “In recent years, CRM has become a hot business buzzword. Countless CRM applications now exist to help companies manage their sales and customer contacts. In PR, effective relationship management is just as essential, but many professionals still use basic email applications or EXCEL files to manager their many contacts and activities.
Without a history of all activities, interaction and communication with journalists in one location –- accessible by both you and your colleagues — your productivity and professionalism can suffer.” See http://www.vocus.com.
Since last year’s students liked the exercise, students in the Spring 2006 Journalism 331 class, Public Relations Techniques, at the University of Maryland University College were asked what PR programs deserved top honors in their eyes. Here are some interesting case overviews from that class.
Student Nghi Nguyen touted the social responsibility and community relations efforts by McDonald’s and particularly “its involvement with the World Children’s Day event every year. McDonald would join force with musicians to raise money for children around the world.” Nghi made the point that while the company — with others — is being constantly being tied to child and adult obesity in the world, they really do a great deal to help poverty in the world and its effect on children. The discussion that ensued with classmates generated nothing but positive comments about Ronald McDonald Charities and Ronald McDonald House.
Fast forward to sports. Student Nikki Taber hails from Detroit and pointed out to her classmates that the City’s reputation has been less than stellar, thanks to portrayals such as Eminem’s movie “Eight Mile.” However, things all changed when Detroit hosted this year’s Super Bowl. Beyond the success of the event itself, it was an opportunity to “report great things about Detroit.” Nikki described the efforts this way: “The Detroit Regional Chamber hosted a media party before the Super Bowl in an effort to introduce journalists, and media professionals from the sports, entertainment and business industries to Detroit. The event took place at Detroit’s Fox Theatre, and Detroit Regional Chamber President and CEO, Richard E. Blouse Jr. touted what was great about the city.” One attendee said, “The image painted of Detroit was one of rebirth, rebuilding, and that Detroit was the place to be.” Among other events, Detroit held a snow festival downtown the week leading up to the Super. Nikki said, “We had NO snow, they had to make it and truck it in. Then we got crazy heavy snow, and everyone was scared things would get bad, but it turned to be great. Detroit has never been better looking, at least not in my lifetime!” One of Nikki’s classmates, Jason Mcdonald offered the Detroit Super Bowl website http://www.sbxl.org. There, he said, a reader could find an article from the Detroit Free Press. “The article is about Roger Penske and his desire to continue the improvements made for the Super Bowl. He feels that getting ready for the Super Bowl was a milestone to make the city better and that everyone needs to keep moving ahead with improvement initiatives. It appears that this PR campaign is not over.
Student Tanya Ramey had kudos for the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health for launching The Heart Truth, a national awareness campaign for women about heart disease. The Heart Truth is behind the National Wear Red Day (this year observed on February 3rd.) Tanya wrote: “National Wear Red Day is held on the first Friday in February and was first observed in 2004. On this day, women and men across the country are encouraged to wear red to alert women about their risk of heart disease. The NHLBI makes it easy for anyone to participate by providing suggestions and materials such as brochures, banners, fact sheets, and radio/print public service announcements that will aid in promoting awareness. They are available for downloading at http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/hearttruth/. Heart disease is the #1 killer of American women. While the campaign’s (Ogilvy PR) aim is primarily targeted at women ages 40 to 60, heart disease can start at any age. The sooner a female is aware of that fact, the sooner she can take action to improve her health and quality of life. I don’t believe it is a coincidence that I received an e-mail today that read: Following a low-fat diet late in life fails to lower the risk of cancer and heart disease in older women, a large government study finds.”
Student Melissa Austria, feels that organizations that use fundraising to help promote their businesses but also help the community deserve an award for best practice!
This sort of persuasive public relations can help create a bond or relationship with the public or community. She used the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina as an example. She wrote: “During my internship at Fox News, we had a chef come in from a restaurant from Tysons II. He cooked an appetizer as well as a main meal but he also told us that the restaurant would be donating money to Katrina victims that weekend. The money would help victims by providing them with clothes and their children would be given school supplies. In Virginia Beach, my friend told my that he would be working at a nightclub and they would also be raising money for the Katrina victims. This helped attract more people to the club and brought the public together.” Marketing for a cause. Now, not all of her classmates agreed. Some felt this was an example of charity and not persuasive PR and opted instead to laud the efforts of organizations that brought true relief to the region. I say, there’s room for both. The fundraising of smaller organizations such as these, perhaps frustrated as to how they might help, was often funneled through the larger organizations delivering direct relief, such as the Red Cross.
Student Jason Mcdonald went straight to his textbook,“Effective Public Communications, Ninth Edition” by Cutlip, Center and Broom to find his nominee for Best Practice. “In the text (pp. 88-90), the authors write about the beginnings of America and some of the successful and persuasive public relations campaigns conducted by our founders,” Jason wrote. “The authors detail six techniques (now common in public relations strategies) that John Adams and his fellow revolutionaries used to convince their compatriots that revolution and separation from England were necessary:
1. They developed organizations to conduct effective public relations campaigns (Sons of Liberty and the Committees of Correspondence).
2. They used symbols to represent ideals designed to trigger patriotic and revolutionary emotions (the Liberty Tree).
3. They used slogans (“Taxation without representation is tyranny”).
4. They staged events to gain attention for their causes (the Boston Tea Party).
5. They ensured that their side of a story was in the public before the other side to gain acceptance (the Boston Massacre).
6. They saturated the community through their communication channels to instill new ideas in those who received their messages.”
Jason continued: “All of these were pivotal in turning the hearts and minds of other Americans against the British Crown to gain liberty. Imagine that anyone who agreed with the revolutionary propagandists was a traitor to the crown and risked their honor, fortune, security and life for subscribing to the traitorous ideals proposed by our founders. Yet, our founders were persuasive enough with their techniques that many joined the revolutionary cause.”
Student Luann Stubbs nominatedPopulation Connection and, specifically, their award-winning “dot” video. She wrote: “This group has been in existence for about 40 years, initially as ZPG, (Zero Population Growth), and aims to educate and influence people on the connection between our many social, economic, and environmental problems and overpopulation. The group changed their name in May 2002…They concentrate their efforts on education, information dissemination, and lobbying. The group seems to be highly ethical (you can view their complete financial statement and even their tax return from their web site http://www.populationconnection.org), with an all-volunteer board of directors. They have resources for teachers, advocates, campus activists, and journalists, including an email address and phone number. Educational, promotional, and training materials are available. The web site also offers fact sheets and current world and U.S. population figures. A legislative guide and action network is another important part of the website, as part of their attempt to educate and persuade politicians and the general public to limit population growth. But I believe by far their most persuasive material is their ‘dot’ video, that illustrates the growth of world population using a world map and dots of population added over a time progression.”
Student Amy Henry nominated the Declare Yourself campaign, meant to persuade young people to vote in the 2004 elections. This campaign won a PRSA Silver Anvil Award from in 2005. Amy wrote: “I am nominating this campaign because it brilliantly utilized all forms of media to try to empower, educate, and motivate their target public. The project was a partnership between entertainment, media, technology, and education to stress the importance of voting and civic involvement. Some of their efforts included a Declaration of Independence Road Trip (a 50-city tour that included a multi-media exhibit explaining the document’s significance); a live spoken word tour of multi-ethnic artists; a TV special and concert tour with popular musicians; slick PSA’s featuring well known actors, fashion icons, intellectuals, and musicians; a web site that provided voter registration forms, absentee ballots, a polling place locator and political news; a 20-minute film starring comedy actors to be shown to high school seniors during school-complete with a discussion guide for teachers; voter education booklets; and newspaper inserts for high schools.
Student Kristin Wasilewski also picked a campaign related to getting out the vote. She wrote that the Foundation of Women Executives in Public Relations presents The Crystal Obelisk Awards for Social Responsibility annually. In 2005, the award for profit campaign under $100,000 was Ben & Jerry’s partnered campaign with Rock the Vote. This campaign was used to persuade young Americans to register to vote in the 2004 Presidential election. Included in the campaign was a chance to name the new Ben & Jerry’s ice cream flavor. After young Americans registered to vote, they would also be registered to vote for the name of the new flavor. The voters registered at the New Hampshire primary and also at Ben & Jerry’s annual Free Cone Day. The results of this campaign included over 365,000 people voting on the final flavor name, and Primary Berry Graham getting the nod. http://www.wepr.org/awards_winners.asp
Student Allison Martyn selected two local campaigns. The first was a small local contracting company called Wichita Roofing and Remodeling. It’s a 13-year old company and pretty well established in the Wichita area. However, it was nothing unusual or special until October 2005, when they were chosen to be the contractor for a local project on ‘Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.’ Wow, what amazing publicity they received! Of course the project was huge news here and filled the local newspaper and TV news, as expected What I’ve been impressed with is what they’ve done since then. They sponsored a watch party at a local theater the night the episode aired, they invested in some commercials highlighting their involvement in the show, and
they are planning a huge presentation at the Wichita Home & Garden show next weekend. They took the media attention they got from the show and have really kept it going. Now everyone knows who they are.
“The second is another local company, a car dealership called Davis Moore. They have several locations and sell both new and used vehicles of many different makes. What is unusual about them is they don’t spend their budget on advertising. Instead, they run a public safety campaign. They run a lot of commercials, but they are all about vehicle safety — buckling up, proper
installation of child seats, the importance of following the speed limits. A local child was killed when he leaned on a rocker-style window switch in a parked car and the window closed on his neck. They started a fund for the family and petition to automakers to eliminate the rocker-style switches that can be dangerous to children. As a result they have painted themselves as a community-oriented friendly car dealer that you should trust. Their name is synonymous with safety in most people’s minds, a key factor when purchasing your next family car!”
Cornelia Carter-Sykes, Manager, Pew Internet, Pew Research Center (202-419-4513), sent a message to colleagues that The Pew Internet & American Life Project has recently released two new Reports. The Pew Internet & American Life Project is a non-profit initiative of the Pew Research Center, funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts to explore the impact of the internet on children, families, communities, health care, schools, the work place, and civic/political life. The Project is non-partisan and does not advocate for any policy outcomes.
From a public relations perspective, I believe these PEW findings are very enlightening for the professional continuing to or intending to use the internet as a PR tool.
The first report is: “The Internet’s Growing Role in Life’s Major Moments – April 19, 2006.” Cornelia’s note reads: “Our surveys show that 45 percent of internet users, or about 60 million Americans, say that the internet helped them make big decisions or negotiate their way through major episodes in their lives in the previous two years.”
Read the full report.
Data Memo: Internet Penetration and Impact – April 26, 2006
Cornelia added: “Over time, internet users have become more likely to note big improvements in their ability to shop and the way they pursue their hobbies and interests. A majority of internet users also consistently report that the internet helps them to do their job and improves the way the get information about health care.”
She continued: “While the share of internet users who report positive impacts has grown, the sheer size of the internet population also continues to increase. Surveys fielded in 2006 show that internet penetration among adults in the U.S. has hit an all-time high. While the percentage of Americans who say they use the internet has continued to fluctuate slightly, our latest survey, fielded February 15 – April 6, 2006 shows that fully 73% of respondents (about 147 million adults) are internet users, up from 66% (about 133 million adults) in our January 2005 survey. And the share of Americans who have broadband connections at home has now reached 42% (about 84 million), up from 29% (about 59 million) in January 2005.”
Read the full memo.
My buddy, my pal, communicator guru Shel Holtz, was a guest in my grad school PR classroom last week. He empathyzed with one practitioner/student who just can’t seem to relate to her organization’s IT folks.
Shel likened this to when we all worked with printers (what’s a printer, you say?). Shel said it was “common for communicators to know what it meant when a printer said, ‘going four-up, two-over-four, with touch plates and perfect binding.’ We should be equally adept and understanding what IT — the printers of the digital age — are saying.” Awwwww…and you thought you could hire out for those skills.
Do you agree with Shel? Advice for those pulling kicking and screaming into the IT world???
Barbara Puffer, Puffer Public Relations Strategies
Comments
RE: Knowing Our IT Collaborators |
Painful as it has been at times, I can’t imagine working on the Web in any fashion without knowing something about the technology. By that I don’t mean just learning the latest geek-speak… terms like 100%zero (the chance of your project succeeding) and IMpause (the annoying silence on the other end of the phone as the person you’re talking to pauses to answer an Instant Message). I have learned over time that IT folks are to be coddled and carefully courted so they will do the really hard technical stuff you invariably encounter. But if your every move on the Web means asking, begging, cajoling and then waiting for some poor IT person to execute your grand text change, you’re in for a very frustrating life. I chose to buy and learn Dreamweaver and I use it every day (in fact I’m tying into it now). I see text in one panel, and html code in the panel above. It’s truly html for dummies. Dreamweaver and some small Christmas gifts to my favorite IT folks gets me by. Now, could you pass me the Java? |
Gerstner’s comments are deere I think John means that perhaps I need Dreamworks for a Christmas gift. Alas, I was learning some elementary HTML over the last few years in my teaching life, and now they added some great new technology where the HTML is all embedded in their screens…I’ll be lazy again. I totally agree…one had better know the basics…throwing you a life raft when you’re drowning is really no good if you can’t haul yourself up onto the raft…at some point you’ll just get too tired treading water and holding onto the side. I hope some others dive into this topic.
BarbaraP
Bausch and Lomb has some savvy PR folks cranking out the message these days. As a contact lens wearer myself, I was very surprised to find this:
Important message about ReNu(R)
in my email inbox.
May 15, 2006 |
|
CEO: Safety is Our No. 1 Priority | |
Chairman & CEO Ron Zarrella announces Bausch & Lomb is permanently taking MoistureLoc contact lens solution off the global market immediately. Runs: 2:10 |
How’d they know where to find me? Oh, I remember. I ordered that new lens solution over the web — the one that is being tied to eye fungus and is all over the news. Well, here’s what the B & L Chairman and CEO Ron Zarella told me personally in my email.
Dear loyal ReNu consumer,
As indicated in our previous email, we stopped selling our MoistureLoc® formulation more than a month ago. Despite exhaustive testing, we are unable to eliminate the possibility of a link to an apparent increase of a rare eye infection. Therefore, we will not reintroduce the MoistureLoc® formula. Follow this link to view a video message from Bausch & Lomb CEO, Ron Zarrella. Our goal is to provide you with the most reliable information so that you have a clear understanding of how this situation affects you and the Bausch & Lomb ReNu solutions you use. |
|||||||||||
We want to make following your eye care professional’s recommendations easier. That’s why we created the Bausch & Lomb Wear&Care™ Program. This program provides you with the information and products you need for healthy contact lens wear, and best of all it’s FREE — so get started today.
If you have not yet requested your coupon for a FREE 12-oz. bottle of ReNu MultiPlus solution, please follow this link. So, this is terrific… a streaming video message straight from the CEO and they created this Wear and Care “club” (healthy contact lens care program) just for consumers such as ME! Wow! They’ve got my attention. They are giving me lots of free eye stuff. Thank you for your understanding and continued support. Then, I’m watching television the same night and there is Mr. Zarella giving the same video message I’d just heard on my computer that afternoon. My first reaction was, “Hey, I know that guy!” You can read this message by visiting a pdf document on their website at http://www.bausch.com/5_15_message.pdf A quick Google news search on May 18, shows all of this reaction to the B & L issue. It will be interesting to follow this case and see what editorials pop up later on. It’s a classic PR case in the making, for sure. Tricia Bishop is covering this for the Baltimore Sun. A sampling of other coverage is linked below.
MORE NEWS ON THIS CASE POSTED AUGUST 7, 2006 One Wall Street Journal article by Sylvia Pagan Westphal, boasting line graph entitled “Eye Sore,” reveals that studies showed as long as nine years ago that there might be problems related to serious fungal eye infections in the U.S. and Asia because of multi-purpose solutions. The author claims that then the manufacturers downplayed concerns, blaming problems not on the product, but on how it was being used. So, do you think the company has an obligation to push proper lens care more fervently than it already did back then? Where does personal responsibility come into play? Okay, so what else is new with this case? The August 1 issue of the Wall Street Journal includes a compelling story by Zacahry M.Seward, headlined “Contact Lens Wearers Seek Solutions.” Great pun in the headline, there. The subhead reads: “As infection worries widen, dorctors offer some safey tips; a hydrogen-peroxide solution.” So, as the science confuses more than resolves the infection issues, doctors are recommending a return to the old days. Much is made about personal efforts and hygiene to keep these lenses CLEAN. Isn’t that common sense? The American Optometric Association weighs in: “We’re seeing much more vigilance, and patients are asking what they can do to prevent these infections.” While the Bausch & Lomb incident created some alarm, most wearers simply switched brands without waiting to understand that it’s not Bausch & Lomb that’s at issue — it’s multi-purpose solutions and cleaning habits. The case continues to unfold. |
I may be sticking my neck out here, but this is an interesting organization from a PR perspective.
According to their website, adorned with the photo shown here, “Turtle Transit is creating and introducing new dimensions of extreme outdoor advertising through a seamless blending of leading edge technologies. This includes interactive opportunities and 3D graphics that revolutionize out-of-home communications.”
Okay, so this is advertising, maybe marketing, you say. Sure, I agree. But the company is making loud PR noise. I believe there is a thin line between PR and advertising when you 1) have a creative organization to sell, and, 2) use the advertising to grab audience attention first, and then build awareness. The tentacles reach far into the image management of the organization.
Have you seen these Turtle Transit vehicles? An article written in 2002, included the fact that the company was inspired by the Oscar Mayer Weiner-mobile.
In Fortune Small Business magazine in April, they noted that owner James Riseborough brought in “$2 million last year by transforming ordinary cars and trucks into promotion vehicles. Monster.com was the company’s first customer.” You couldn’t ask for a better or more colorful one-page magazine feature subtitled “Start Up.”
Find Turtle Transit in:
http://www.fleet-central.com/bf/t_inside.cfm?action=news_pick&storyID=23315
Company Turns Fleets into 3D Promotions
April 26, 2006
“Marketing company Turtle Transit http://www.turtletransit.com turns ordinary cars and trucks into giant noses, coffee cups, turtles and monsters. The Lancaster, Mass.-based company made $2 million last year, according to a report in Fortune Small Business. Company founder James Riseborough wanted to take vinyl vehicle wraps into the next dimension. So his staff of 11 creates sculpted 3-D advertising using foam, fiberglass, auto paint and engineering plastics…”
OR HOW ABOUT THIS MAGAZINE PIECE?
http://www.creativemag.com/onlweekly112805.html
“The NASCAR Street Tour provides a new avenue to build awareness of our sport, drive television tune-in and ultimately help attract new fans,” said Roger VanDerSnick, V.P. of Marketing for NASCAR… The NASCAR Street Tour vehicles were designed by Turtle Transit…”
AND, THIS…
http://www.medialifemagazine.com/News2005/jul05/jul11/1_mon/news5monday.html — July, 2005,
“Your client scooting about the town — On a Segway and drawing attention from the crowds,” by Kathy Prentice.
YES, TURTLE TRANSIT DECKS OUT SEGWAYS, TOO!
Stick Your Neck Out: Turtle Transit takes its marketing to the streets to show off.
Entrepreneur magazine – January 2002, by April Pennington
OR THIS ONE:
“Extreme ad agency startup Turtle Transit sought to raise eyebrows in its native Boston this …”
promomagazine.com/news/marketing_june_2/index.html
In any case, this company’s media stories must be fun to pitch.