Selling Happiness: Boomers Look for Youthfulness, Optimism and Social Consciousness

I once had an editor that said, “I know I’m old. I just don’t want to be reminded of it all the time.” He made the comment in reference to the under-45 mission our magazine had tacitly adopted, which manifested itself in the photographs and language we used throughout the pages. Fresh-out-of college young ladies were shown planting flowers, just-married young couples walked parks together with toddler in tow, and the use of “cool” and “hot” in story headlines became ubiquitous.

Thing is, my editor’s philosophy was supported by hard research garnered through reader surveys and studies. Younger readers, predictably, wanted to see their peers in the magazine. However, interestingly enough, those same studies uncovered that older readers had no objection to seeing a younger, modern, and trendier stories and photos. Furthermore, they actually preferred this spin.

A recent study by the Geppetto Group reports that those in the Boomer generation are still looking for uplifting mechanisms and are even “identifying” with youthfulness when selecting brands. As well, adults beyond adolescent age want to see that companies are socially conscious through green efforts and sustainability. Far beyond advertising, however, public relations can be a primary engine for conveying freshness, optimism, and social responsibility in a brand.

For instance, a company that hires a PR firm to build its social media will be seen as
youthful and in-tune with the day. As well, it will be seen as socially conscious, by taking an electronic, non-paper route to reach their audience. Public relations firms often guide companies into strategic philanthropy so that the company is seen in the public eye as community-invested, in-touch, and reachable.

I once set up a story for an elder care company with a local newspaper. The photography
for the story was as strategic as the pitch. Although the article focused on a company
that goes into the homes of elderly, often ill, adults, I made sure that there were younger people photographed with the elderly so that there was a component of life and vitality to the article.

In keeping with the findings in the Geppetto Group study, public relations firms would do well to explore and identify a fresh mindset for their clients in order to reach a maturing audience who is looking to stay vibrant.

How to STOP annoying reporters and START building relationships

By Mickie Kennedy

Want to get your press release or important story in the paper?

Don’t do what many of your peers do—pitch all the livelong day and not interact with a reporter like he or she is a human being. Instead, focus on developing a relationship with your local journalists. You may be surprised at the results.

Here are 10 tips to help you get in their good graces.

1. Don’t pitch (at least not all the time). Pitching is obviously a necessary part of your job, but reserve it for the end of your conversation.

2. Reference their work. Want someone to feel important? Talk about what’s important to him or her. For journalists, it’s their past stories and columns. You don’t have to memorize every word, but rest assured a little reference to past work will make them smile—and remember your name.

3. Talk to them like humans. Reporters are very busy, so don’t flood their inboxes with inane banter. However, once in a while when you do talk to them, don’t just stick to business. Ask about their kid’s school play, or whether that big story they were working on panned out. And remember, no jargon.

4. Learn their schedule. Speaking of being busy, learn what times and days it’s best to talk. This includes knowing when to call and when to email. Not only will they appreciate that you took the time, you also stand a chance to actually get a hold of them when you need to.

5. Lend a hand. Offering help when he or she needs it makes a reporter’s life much easier. This can include anything from being a source to helping find facts about your industry for a story. When the time comes to fill in a story for the paper, they’ll come to you.

6. Comment on their stories. Another way to help reporters get their stories noticed is to comment on them. This can create a dialogue between the two of you, and even a real rapport. If their site is relevant to your followers, share it on Facebook and Twitter.

7. Be on call. If you’re actively helping out a reporter, remember to be on call. You’ve always expected them to answer the phone at suppertime and at 7 a.m., so do the same for them. If they call on your vacation, answer the phone!

8. Write a story for them. Want to really get on their good side? Don’t just send a press release for your story, go ahead and write the whole thing. This way there’s a big chunk of work that’s already done. Make sure you follow the style of their publication.

9. Speak clearly and concisely. When a reporter does contact you, don’t ramble on at a thousand miles an hour. Make sure you know what you want to say, and say it with clarity and conciseness. Don’t give them an excuse to dump the story because they need to call you back for clarification on a few points.

10. Be Nice! Above all, be civil and polite. You’re busy, the reporter is busy—everyone is busy. It’s no reason to be rude. Even if the person on the other end seems harried, remaining calm and nice on your end usually does them in. Keep in mind the old saying about catching more flies with honey than with vinegar!

This article previously appeared in PR Fuel, a service of eReleases.com Press Release Distribution.com.

What Public Relations Can Learn From Real Estate

Driving by the “for sale” signs in the front yards of properties on the market barely yields a passing glance these days, due to the sheer volume and mundane appearance of the signs. Even those who are aggressively looking will resort to online MLS listings before entering a house simply based on a sign in the yard. A new cable series, “Selling New York,” details the extravagant strategies that real estate agents of the Upper East Side, who are more like public relations and marketing agents, employ in order to promote a property and get potential buyers inside. The tactics go far beyond those 8 x 8 cardboard signs posting a realtor’s basic info.

These agents sometimes hire five-star chefs to provide hors d'œuvrs, as agents representing buyers walk around. They sometimes rent furniture by the latest designers to stage the area in a way that makes potential buyers feel like they’re already at home. In effect, once they get potential buyers inside the properties, the spaces themselves do the talking, and the real estate agents are able to close a deal.

In keeping, public relations firms nowadays have to employ modern tactics to get clients into their doors. For many, those “for sale” signs are no longer effective, as the market has become flooded with so many pitches that look and feel the same. Power point presentations are becoming flashier, web sites are becoming more interactive and social media has become the tool of choice to capture the attention of potential clients. Business cards, which will still always be a staple of basic business transactions, have gone digital—potential clients are impressed when just a bump of a phone yields an electronic contact card that is automatically saved to their handheld.

Take a look at how you’re selling your public relations products. Are you leaving it up to the “for sale” sign, or are you selling your prime property in style?

Tuning in to Opportunity: How Companies can use online videos as the new TV

Tuning in to Opportunity: How Companies can use online videos as the new TV

Think about the amount of time each day you spend listening to a radio. Next, think of the time each day you spend watching TV. Finally, think about the time you spend in front of your computer each day. In each of these scenarios, the time growth is exponential. You may not have noticed, companies and organizations have been carefully watching the technology trends and have made a point of incorporating online videos into their efforts to reach you, the audience. In fact, EMarketer.com predicts that in five years, B2B firms alone will spend 20 percent of their annual budgets on social media, which includes communication through online videos.

Far beyond simply being engines for online ads, companies, nonprofits, even politicians and celebrities are posting online videos as public relations tools to reach a people who are quickly trading in their television remotes for iPads.

Does this mean that television is fading and going the way of hard copy newspapers or those radio broadcasts you used to tune into on the weekends? Not at all. It simply means that television, as well as those same newspapers and radio programs, are learning to utilize new methods for reaching patrons.

According to a recent study by Nielsen, online video usage in the U.S. is up considerably from the same time last year. Results showed that time spent viewing video on personal computers, Macs, and laptops from home and work locations increased by 45 percent in January 2011. The study showed that this year, viewers streamed 28 percent more video and spent 45 percent more time watching.

Among favorite sites to tune in were MSN, Windows Live and Bing, which were the fastest-growing video brand month-over-month, increasing 26.1 percent. Furthermore, top online video brands used by unique viewers in February 2011, included AOL Media Network, YouTube and Facebook.

If the audience is allocating more time to online video, then, logically, they are spending less time utilizing other media. So, how can companies incorporate online videos into public relations campaigns? Look at BP after last year’s Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill or Toyota after the massive recall. The companies not only ran spots for television, radio, and newspaper, but also invested a great deal of time, money, and effort in posting their public relations message all over the internet via online videos that were crafted to patch up their reputations and sell the repaired image to the online viewer.

This year, look for even more companies and organizations to tap into online viewership in even more creative ways. In this society of instant access, these online videos will be tweeted, texted, instant messaged, and so on. The message will be accessible from anywhere and will penetrate everywhere.

IPhone’s PR Glitch: Is there an App for Good PR?

If we’ve preached it once, we’ve preached it a thousand times. No company is immune to crisis. All companies, large and small, should have a solid crisis communications plan. Why are we reiterating this? Well, take a look at Apple in recent days. Web reports say that their techno trophy—the iPhone—has been experiencing an application glitch since New Year’s Day. The alarm feature has not being going off properly, which according to Yahoo News, has left users “fuming” (and likely late to meetings, flights, etc.). According to CBSSports.com, three NBA stars were “victims” of the glitch, causing one player to completely miss a practice and two others to be late.

What a way to start the new year. Way back in November of 2010, CNN reported that Apple told its customers to manually adjust their alarm clocks for Daylight Saving Time, because the alarm app did not automatically do this. Was this the cause of the problem? Who knows? Answering tech questions is beyond our expertise, but we can speak to the PR problem that has resulted from the glitch.

Here’s the thing. The application glitch itself is not what causing the Apple’s PR problem—it’s reportedly the way Apple is handling the problem. CNN.com reported that thousands of users took to social media outlets to rant and rave about their dissatisfaction with the product. Users who missed meetings and appointments due to the problem made Twitter and Facebook their sounding board because they felt that Apple was not listening to them.

Apple apparently did not offer an explanation for New Year’s alarm problem, but told customers the phone would be fixed by that Monday. Offering as much information as possible within legal and corporate guidelines is imperative to customer satisfaction in a situation like this. Communication with the customer is essential—especially if communication tools are one of the products your business sells. Apple will do well to learn from this mistake and create a hotline or special service line for customers who experience application glitches in the future. After all, the iPhone is supposed to have you talking, but not like this.

What’s Decorating Your Corporate Tree?

A symbol of the holiday season, Christmas trees are ubiquitous this time of year. With decorations ranging from colored lights to monochromatic themes to earth-friendly and sport- inspired decorations, one just doesn’t seem complete without lights, ornaments, and of course, a bright star on top.

Abstractly, a Christmas tree is shaped like a pyramid—a wider bottom yields more decorations than the top. However, it’s that top star that is the showpiece of the display. Accordingly, a public relations plan takes into account each layer, making sure levels building up to the apex are balanced and support the top star.

A strong PR plan builds up strong base layers: charitable giving, media placements, strategic planning, and crisis management. Each of these components is an “ornament” of sorts that adds aesthetic and functional value to the tree.

Remember Charlie Brown’s Christmas tree? It was sickly. It wasn’t that Charlie Brown didn’t follow the proper steps of finding a Christmas tree, it was that he chose a tree lacking structure and stability—the necessary components to be sustainable. So when he placed the single ornament on top of the tree, it caused the entire tree to droop toward the ground.

Likewise, a corporation without a public relations plan to address all of its needs lacks fullness and stability. A healthy corporation will make sure it has a crisis communication plan, brand management, and all the public relations components essential to healthy and luminous corporate image.

By building up a strong base, the tree topper—an organization’s image—will be able to shine brightly.

Do you Manage your Brand?

If you say you don’t have a brand, think again. What people think about you—i.e. your reputation—is your brand. It’s the single idea your business occupies in people’s minds. What matters is whether or not you manage the brand, and given the recession, consumers are looking more closely at who is selling them what. It’s a market formula shift to economics and values.

Even mega brands must continually control their reputation. Consider Coca-Cola, which is still deemed the most valuable brand by Interbrand in its Best Global Brands 2010 Report.

Coke took a risk with the holiday Coca-Cola Polar Bear in 1993. It was dramatically different, but the animation copied human behavior.


"That's really what we were trying to do – create a character that's innocent, fun and reflects the best attributes we like to call 'human'," said creator Ken Stewart. "The bears are cute, mischievous, playful and filled with fun." (http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/heritage/ cokelore_polarbears.html)

Coke mixed it up a bit but kept in theme with the long-time sentiment of a Coke and a smile.

Furthermore, people have brands, too. Martha Stewart and Oprah are mega brands, but they are personal brands. Every person has a personal brand, online and offline, and if you don’t manage your personal brand, well, think Tom Cruise and Mel Gibson.

Let us know if you need help with your brand. Positioning can make all the difference in the world.