Examining ‘smart’ habits for better writing

November 26, 2013 BG&A Staff
By: Laura Hale Brockway, PR Daily I recently attended a presentation called Maximizing Mental Agility by Dr. Art Markman, a cognitive scientist and author of the book “Smart Thinking.” Markman describes “smart thinking” as the...

How cross-agency collaboration can enhance your marketing

November 25, 2013 BG&A Staff
By Suzanne Mannion, PR Daily Marketing and brand managers across all industries have a longer to-do list than ever before. Consider the addition of social media, Web and content marketing, and SEO to their responsibilities—not to mention traditional tasks such as advertising and media relations. Imagine today’s marketing pros as orchestra conductors: How can they choose the right musicians and then manage the talent to create beautiful music? Obviously there’s the option of using an internal team, but often those employees get distracted with internal matters and lose sight of proactive marketing campaigns. Furthermore, you can’t necessarily compile a team with expertise in all relevant areas. (Just imagine the recruiting and payroll needs.) An alternative is enlisting multiple specialized agencies. Small firms are comfortable collaborating with a variety of partners. They don’t structure themselves to be everything to everyone, so small firms frequently team up with other agencies to offer multi-dimensional programs. Brand managers like to keep in mind that this option is far more cost-effective than hiring a large, full-service (often global) firm, not to mention a great way to receive more attention and better service from seasoned executives. Following are five tips for managing and motivating a collaborative cross-agency effort for best results:  • Choose agencies willing to coordinate with others. Though it’s hard to fathom that a small, specialized firm doesn’t already regularly work collaboratively with other agencies, some are better at this than others. When determining which to hire, ask the reps at each firm about their multi-agency success stories. If you already work with one firm, you might want to tap into its existing network of specialists. • Communicate your needs. Give the agencies a brief that outlines clear business objectives, pertinent information about the brand DNA, existing marketing efforts, and goals for each agency. For increased accountability, take the time to define success, including deliverables for each company. • Establish the process. In order to get the most out of each agency, make sure you define a clear process for how you’d like the companies’ teams to work together. You should clarify the roles, expectations, and responsibilities of each agency. Further, you might assign an executive from one agency to lead the team. • Set-up team tools. Nowadays the “cloud” enables multiple agencies to easily coordinate efforts. Tap into Google Docs, Dropbox, Skype meetings, your company’s intranet, and other online resources. Once set up, the team leader should create a timeline outlining deliverables for each participant. • Reward collaboration. Agencies should be rewarded for great work. Bring the team together to celebrate successes. Be sensitive about equally acknowledging the contributions of each agency, assuming all players are doing a great job. The teams should know that their respective piece of the business is protected, and when you present a safety net, also offer a reason to jump higher. As more and more executives leave large agencies to create small, specialized companies, multi-agency collaborations will become even more popular. If you do your due diligence, this approach should not create more work for you; rather, it should result in superior, cost-effective results.

6 marketing terms having a ‘moment’

November 22, 2013 BG&A Staff
By Emily Cretella, PR Daily When we marketers love something, we love it to death. (QR codes, anyone?) This is especially true with buzzwords. When a word or phrase resonates with our audiences, you bet we’re going to use the heck out of it. Blame it on our hypersensitivity to SEO, our obsession with metaphors, or too much Dr. Seuss as children. Whatever the reason, new buzzwords are always taking flight. Here are marketing’s current golden words. Read ’em, write ’em, share ’em. But please, don’t overdo ’em. 1. Epic. Blame (or applaud) Content Marketing Institute’s Joe Pulizzi for this word’s well, epic, resurgence. His book, “Epic Content Marketing” and its overarching content philosophy—“how to tell a different story, break through the clutter, and win more customers by marketing less”—have made the word “epic” the ultimate measuring stick for content produced by both content marketers and inbound marketers. I mean, who doesn’t want their writing to be “of heroic or impressive proportions”? 2. Storytelling. Everyone is storytelling these days. Marketers love to talk about telling brand stories online and on social media—but are they the right stories? It takes more than calling refurbished sales communications “stories” to be a brand storyteller. Nevertheless, I’m happy brands are embracing storytelling as a strategy. The term emphasizes conversation and the communal aspect of sharing stories with friends and followers. It’s a step toward more open, honest brand communications. 3. Inbound. Don’t get on the bad side of an inbound aficionado. Inbound marketers are straight-up passionate about the power of inbound marketing—as they should be. Hubspot defines inbound marketing as “creating quality content that pulls people toward your company and product, where they naturally want to be. By aligning the content you publish with your customer’s interests, you naturally attract inbound traffic that you can then convert, close and delight over time.” Sounds awesome, right? That’s because it is. 4. Content.  “Create content.” “Curate content.” “Content is king.” Yes, we’re all excited about the importance of high-quality, consistent content. I have my fingers crossed that the term “content” stays in the moment and doesn’t cross over into buzzword territory. In my opinion, content is too important to be thrown around as a blanket term that covers all communication. Content matters because of itscontent. Quality over quantity. Insights over highlights. Creative over common. (I would say that, right? I’m a content marketer.) [RELATED: Learn how to create content that sticks for the long haul at our December NYC summit.] 5. Buyer personas.  Though the concept is totally important, I loathe the term. Buyer persona is a highly impersonal term that simply means “an archetype; a composite picture of the real people who buy, or might buy, products like the ones you market, based on what you’ve learned in direct interviews with real buyers” (as defined on Content Marketing Institute). It’s crucial that you understand your buyer personas when developing your strategies—whether they are for content marketing or traditional marketing. But can’t we come up with another term? Ideas, anyone? 6. Rock star.  As a marketing nerd myself, I’m allowed to say this: Nerds love calling themselves rock stars. Or gurus. Or ninjas. Or superheroes. It’s as if we’re letting people know: “What you’re seeing here—this is the Clark Kent to my Superman. Just wait until I take off these glasses…” I’ve seen tons of e-books and articles with titles like “How to be a Content Marketing Rock Star” or “5 Tips to Create Rock Star Marketing Plans.” Let’s face it folks, we’re awesome and all, but we’re no Mick Jagger. Now it’s your turn. What marketing words do you hate to love, or love to hate?

The Focus of Good Crisis Management Is Always Long-Term

November 21, 2013 BG&A Staff
By Melissa Agnes, Crisis and Issues Management Everything about good crisis management is long-term. From the focus of planning and strategy development straight through to the results. It always needs to be about preserving your organization’s reputation and bottom line for the long-term. Unfortunately, too often organizations faced with a crisis think in the short-term. This mistake is so easily made when you find yourself under-prepared and in the heat of the moment. It’s too easy to get caught up, let emotion sink in and put crisis management strategies in-place that only provide or focus on short-term results. A bandaid of sorts, rather than a real, long-term fix. So how do you prevent yourself and your team from making this unrecoverable mistake? The answer is one that I’m sure you already know: By being prepared in advance with a crisis management plan and adequate training; and By partnering with a third-party crisis management firm that has experience and is able to stay objective – with your organization’s long-term success as their only focus. As we see time and time again, being prepared has so many advantages – and your organization’s long-term success is the most important of them. You wouldn’t want to find your organization in an unsalvageable situation resembling that of… let’s see… MMA Railway, Mayor Rob Ford, Carnival Cruise, Susan G. Komen and the list goes on and on. These were once powerful organizations that are now struggling to keep their head and once-good name above water. Why? Because they failed to think, plan and manage their crises with long-term success as their goal. Don’t let your organization fall victim to short-sightedness or under-preparedness. You’re better than that.

PR nightmares that aren’t such a big deal

November 20, 2013 BG&A Staff
By Mickie Kennedy, PR Daily You wake up in the morning and check your phone—uh-oh, from the million-and-one messages, there must be trouble. Undoubtedly something scandalous was done or said last night while you were asleep. Is it worth even going into the office today to fix it, or should you just shut down the business and flee to Bolivia? No need to panic. These days, there are actually only a few PR scenarios that should elicit such a dire response. As long as you’ve conducted good public relations up to this point, the following “nightmares” really are just that: a scary dream you can wake up from. Someone said something ridiculous  This one happens all the time: A CEO or other representative of a brand or company goes on a TV show (see Lululemon) or is caught out at dinner and says something horrific. That person’s remarks cause a chain reaction of social media outrage, news reports, and calls to dismantle the company. The thing about these disasters is they are easily forgotten if you follow the proper steps. If the employee or representative said something along the lines of “Hitler was right,” it’s probably best to just let that person go and apologize to the world. If it’s something less heinous than that or was simply taken out of context, make sure to apologize, but also explain what the situation was. Though some may not believe you or might not be assuaged, this simple act will go a long way in placating most of the angry people. Product broke or hurt someone  This one is all about having a solid business plan. Remember the poisoned Tylenol crisis back in the ’80s? If handled improperly, it could’ve been a PR nightmare for Johnson & Johnson. However, instead of risking anything, it pulled its entire stock—31 million bottles—and introduced the safety seals you see today. Tylenol didn’t vanish. Things happen, and people understand this. The only thing they won’t deem acceptable is if they feel that you’re being irresponsible. Not pulling their entire stock could have seemed irresponsible to Tylenol consumers and the public at large, so J&J did the right thing. As long as you’re sincerely trying to fix the problem and you apologize profusely (and do your best to make it up to any injured parties), you should be fine. Just make sure you take all the accusations seriously. Mix-up between social media accounts  You’re looking at your Twitter feed when suddenly one of your favorite brands, Super Serious National Bank, tweets out “time to get wasted breh!” You experience a period of cognitive dissonance during which you try to justify why a bank would be talking about getting wasted. Eventually you realize it was just a huge error on the operator’s end. This happens occasionally; on rare occasions, something truly awful is said. For example, if the above tweet had been sent by the Betty Ford Clinic, that would not be a good day for that social media operator. Something similar happened to the Red Cross a few years back. The PR pro who ran its Twitter feed accidentally tweeted about their evening out and what kind of beer they were drinking. Luckily the PR manager apologized and made light of the situation, so there was no harm. It actually led to more blood donations and an endorsement from the beer mentioned in the tweet. Honestly, just keeping your head is a big part of saving a situation from becoming a nightmare. Having a plan in place also helps. What’s the biggest PR nightmare you’ve overcome, and how did you do it? Please let us know in the comments.

Sprint Offers up to $300 Buyback Credit with Phone Recycling Event on America Recycles Day

November 12, 2013 BG&A Staff
Sprint thanks Los Angeles with a Turkey Giveaway and buyback credit to support Phone Recycling Program WHO:      Anyone with an old phone can participate in this recycling event WHAT:    In recognition of America Recycles Day and in celebration of Sprint’s continuing 3G and 4G LTE network upgrades in the Los Angeles area, Sprint will be hosting a phone recycling event at its Panorama City Sprint store.  The first 50 individuals who recycle a phone will receive a gift card – redeemable at a local grocery store – for a free turkey! (Note: up to $20 value). Sprint will offer a minimum of $20 (one day only) and up to $300 instant savings with any phone traded-in (up to five phones can be traded-in in a calendar year), in any condition, from any carrier as part of the Sprint Buyback program. WHEN:     America Recycles Day, Friday, Nov. 15 (Noon to 3 p.m.) WHERE:   Sprint Store 8500 Van Nuys Blvd Panorama City, CA WHY: As Sprint builds its all-new 3G and 4G LTE network, Sprint would like to show its appreciation to Los Angeles.  In the spirit of Thanksgiving, Sprint is offering a gift card for a free turkey to anyone who brings in an old phone to recycle on Nov. 15, America Recycles Day. Sprint’s recycling program has helped avoid millions of wireless devices from entering the waste stream and collected more than 40 million devices to date. More than 90 percent of the devices collected are reused. Any equipment not reused is recycled. Reuse and recycling helps to conserve resources, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prevent air and water pollution.

5 Crisis Management Questions You Absolutely Need to Answer

November 12, 2013 BG&A Staff
by Melissa Agnes What is the difference between an issue and a crisis; how do each apply to your organization; and if/when faced with either one, does your frontline know how to react, how to respond and/or how to escalate the situation internally? Where do each of your different stakeholder groups “hangout” online, and are you prepared to leverage those channels and platforms as needed in a crisis? Are you, your frontline and/or your crisis team able and empowered to respond to a negative issue or a crisis within 15 minutes from it developing an online presence? Does your team understand how to utilize the search engines to help amplify and enhance your organization’s crisis management? Have you incorporated social media, the search engines and your organization’s online reputation management into your corporate crisis management plan? If you’ve answered “no” or “I’m not sure” to any of the above questions, you’re not alone. However, just because you aren’t alone doesn’t mean that you aren’t uniquely at risk. Although there are so many more questions that I could’ve added to this list, my mission is not to scare you but rather to help inspire some thought and, hopefully, some action. Risks that threaten the good name of your organization are lingering around every corner The goal is not to fear these risks but to identify them, assess them and then be ready for them. By answering the above 5 questions you should have a good idea of whether or not your organization and your teams are ready. I hope that they are. However, if they’re not, they can be. All it takes is the decision to do something about it.

How to make publicity important, but not the top priority

November 11, 2013 BG&A Staff
By Matt Braun I’ll admit it, I like fast food. Have since I was a kid. When I was a single, young professional, it seemed a lot more convenient to swing by a drive-thru to get a burger or taco than go home, cook, clean, etc. It’s a habit I have kept for some time and have slowly worked to wean away from—both from a sophistication standpoint of simply enjoying better foods with better company and also a health standpoint. (In case you didn’t know, not the best food in the world comes through a window.) I’ve come to appreciate the journey toward healthful eating and what goes into good food. Publicity solutions that communication experts provide to clients are like fast food. Have something to announce? Write a press release. Have something that really isn’t newsworthy but you have to meet your quota to make your client happy? Write a press release. When you write a press release, make sure you put it out on the wire and pitch every reporter you know, because it’s news, right? Unfortunately, this is a mindset I see way too often in the world of communications. Whether it’s because we are afraid to push back on client demands (internal or external), are lazy, or just don’t know any better, we settle for the old “we need a press release” strategy. I’m here to tell you it’s not good. As professional communicators, our job is to provide counsel to clients—counsel in terms of what topics have news value, what topics are better used on maybe a self-publishing platform, and what topics simply should be kept in the drawer. We should think ourselves as message chefs who know when to sprinkle a bit in this channel, a bit over there, and when to make a full-course meal instead. That’s why our clients should turn to us, and if you have the conversation with clients on this topic, they’ll thank you later. To be an effective communications professional you must understand that what we can provide—multi-channel communication vehicles—can help support real business needs. Need more people to know about your new product? Launch a YouTube-based video series that you also promote via social ads and tie into in-store video that also can be announced via a press release. Clients pay agencies (and even internal employees) good money to think. Don’t settle for a drive-by solution. Instead, carefully think through how a well-orchestrated program can help your client shine. It’s the kind of feast they won’t forget and will keep coming back to you for. Matt Braun is the director of public relations at digital marketing and branding agency Hanson Dodge Creative. 

Change happens to you and because of you

November 8, 2013 BG&A Staff
Change happens to you and because of you by @briansolis I’ve come to learn that having opinions, insights, and standing for something is as taxing as it is rewarding. Like you, I am inspired by what surrounds me, by history and by the possibilities that open up as a result of my experiences. But, it is not easy. And, I suppose it’s not supposed to be. I too feel challenged by what I should say versus what has already been said, yet also shaped by what should not be vocalized. I’ve come to learn however, that the relationship between self expression and inner monologue defines one’s character. It is what’s is said and what is not said that defines impressions and ultimately the perceptions of who we are and for what it is we stand or hope to achieve. Satisfaction or dissatisfaction with oneself is trumped by our ability to learn and teach together. My personal and professional struggles are often tied to emotional rigors that spin me through cycles of vision, validation, vindication, vulnerability and vanity. These 5 V’s either pull me to learn, participate and teach or push me into a  realm of either complacency or uncertainty, both of which result into creative stillness. These 5 V’s however coalesce and produce different results based on the measure we apply to our own actions, reactions and inactions. Impressions are linked to expressions and ultimately they are ours to define. If you’re not provocative in some way, how can you possibly stand out to inspire someone else? This is a time for you to choose what it is you do with the inevitable reactions of encouragement, criticism, or resentment you will receive as you discover, share and grow. Take from each experience and move in a direction where you invest and receive value that inspires you and those around you. This is a time to be your own hero…to both inspire and be inspired. “The impact of your work is the result of the balance you place on reacting to, learning from, and transcending teachers, critics and supporters.” Change happens to you and because of you. It is what perpetually happens next that defines your character and ultimately your legacy. This is your time.  

The One Key Difference Between Massive Success and A Face Plant

November 7, 2013 BG&A Staff
The One Key Difference Between Massive Success and A Face Plant via @LinkedInToday Following last week’s article on “The 7 Things I Learned When I Got Fired (Again),” I have received a number of questions about what drove the difference between successes and my front-page-of-the-newspaper firings. It wasn’t my work ethic: I’ve worked like a fiend in every job I’ve had (in one year-end review, I was even told to try to hide it a bit). It wasn’t results: my business was the most-ahead-of-budget-I'd-ever-been when Bank of America sent me home. It wasn’t changes in my personality: that was set in stone at about the age of 6, I’m afraid. It was a having a sponsor. This is a topic that Sylvia Hewlett at the Center for Talent Innovation has written about extensively, and for me it rings dead-on true. When I started at Sanford Bernstein, one senior colleague took a real interest in my work: he read my research, corrected it, coached me on presentations, critiqued me afterwards, talked me up to clients, and advocated for me to receive promotions….and was vocal to management when his advice was not taken. But the relationship was not simply one way; after some time, I could also review his research, debate recommendations with him and recommend his work to clients. I know this cut years off of my career trajectory because I could compare myself to (equally hard-working and certainly smarter) colleagues who started at about the same time I did, but were a couple of years behind in their success. Last week, I shared my experience at Bank of America. The CEO who brought me in had committed to act as my “sponsor,” though he didn’t use those exact words. He told me he would stay for two years in his job, during which he would help ensure my smooth transition into the company. But he announced his retirement less than two months later. The difference between when he was at the company and after he left, for me, was palpable. Ok, so how do you get one of these magical sponsors? How do you turn a by-definition-less-involved mentor into a sponsor? As with all relationships, there is no easy answer. One way to start is to ask for feedback ALL THE TIME; the resulting give-and-take can form the first steps to a sponsorship relationship, as the sponsor becomes invested in your success and gains trust in you. For women in particular, proactively asking for feedback is crucial, because research has shown senior men are less willing to give women feedback (and, yes, it’s because they’re nervous we will cry….and, no, I’m not making this up.) Two more pieces of advice: Ideally, you will have sponsors both inside and outside of your existing company. While I didn’t have a sponsor inside of Bank of America, I had a number of them outside of the company. Thus, when I was bounced out, I had people who were there to provide guidance and, very importantly, new business opportunities. It was through one of these contacts that I came to buy 85 Broads, itself a professional woman’s network. (Yes, I felt so strongly about the importance of these types of connections, and their positive impact on one's business success, that I bought a professional woman’s network…..) And the second piece of advice on this is: don’t wait. There are always more urgent things on the to-do list than to spend time on your network or cultivate sponsors. But, as a friend of mine reminded me last week, waiting to work on your network until you need it is a lot like waiting to save for retirement until you’re 65-years-old. A day late and a dollar short.  
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