ShopTalk

Celebrating Small Victories in a Troubled Economy

 Without question, these are challenging times for many small businesses.  As we chart the course for our agency, we regularly watch industry and trend reports, which help us assess the marketplace and our place in it.  But it’s a challenge when there seems to be such conflicting data being reported.

 

Take, for instance, last week’s Small Business Attitudes & Outlook survey conducted by Constant Contact and today’s Business Roundtable survey.  Last week’s survey, as reported in the Washington Business Journal, reported that despite the recession, 70 percent of small businesses anticipate moderate to significant growth in 2009.  http://tinyurl.com/n26l6w  Contrast that with today’s Business Roundtable survey, which suggests that 49% of business heads at some of the country’s largest enterprises are expecting to cut jobs with 46% expecting declines in sales, http://www.cnbc.com/id/31505953, and you simply don't know where this economy is headed.

 

While we remain guarded in our assessment of the economy and the business climate, we are pleased to be among the small businesses that are growing despite the times.  Last month at C.Fox Communications, we welcomed two exceptional additions to our staff, to assist us in serving our growing roster of clients.

 

Tina McCormack joins us as Senior PR Associate. She brings a strong background in brand policy, strategic planning, and public relations and previously worked as Director of Communications at Starlight Mid-Atlantic.  Julie Feldman comes to us as PR Associate from the University of Maryland. She has been an intern with C.Fox Communications for the past three years.

 

While one PR agency’s hiring of two staff members in no way signals broad economic recovery, we’re happy to celebrate the small victories and provide some tiny evidence of life out there in a down economy.

 

ThinkWeek – Spur Creativity and Sustainability as a Business

In the early 1980’s Microsoft founder Bill Gates implemented something called ThinkWeek at his company.  At Microsoft, ThinkWeek was and still is about giving employees a formal way to suggest thoughtful ideas and perspectives on new products or enhancements to existing products that could propel the company forward as a leader in the coming months and years.

Companies large and small have used similar structures to stimulate new ideas for years.  The approaches vary from the more liberal - allowing employees up to 10% of their time to think of and work on new products and services, to the more basic employee suggestion box.   

While not every business may not be able to devote a week or 10% of employee time to new ideas or they may want more structure than a simple suggestion box, finding ways to help re-invent even the smallest of businesses is an important part of sustainability.  In our business, we spend time at each of our weekly staff meetings specifically focused on getting better as an agency.  A staff member will prepare in advance and lead discussion on current issues, news or topics within the public relations and marketing industries.  The discussion keeps us fresh, current and instills a mindset of continual thinking on how we can use or build on what we’ve discussed to help one or more of our clients.       

It’s an investment of time and resources, but even if no breakthrough idea comes out of the session, the time spent goes a long way toward building out a culture of collaboration and creative thinking, which is never a bad thing for our agency or our customers.  

 

From the Headlines: "Crash Course in Dealing with Trauma"

Last month, Brian and I went to the D.C. premier of "Breaking News, Breaking Down", a documentary by our friend and former WUSA 9 Anchor Mike Walter.  The film focuses on how journalists are often covering breaking news, but how we, as viewers, rarely stop to think about how those experiences might actually be breaking them down personally. 

Mike was at the scene of the Pentagon on September 11 (and may not have been if he didn't get stuck in traffic earlier that morning), and his personal story in recounting that experience is really very moving (as are the many other journalists who tell their stories throughout the film.) 

Mike's film premiered in D.C. to a full crowd, and he's now been traveling the world showing it to a variety of audiences.  Here's a great recent review of the film, from the Australian premier: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,,25530540-7582,00.html?from=public_rss

In our industry, things move fast, and deadlines loom large.  We don't often get the time to slow down and learn about the backgrounds of the journalists we interact with (other than what we read in their columns.)  Because of that,  I am so glad that Mike told his story, and is inspiring other journalists to do the same.  It really is a long overdue look at what journalists deal with every day on the job, and offers a sincere and compassionate tale of how many of the journalists featured in this film are turning their tragedies into triumph.

Take a look at Mike's trailer here: http://www.breakingnewsbreakingdown.com/ and let us know what you think. 

Bringing Sunshine to a Worthy Non-Profit

One of our clients is a special organization here in Maryland called Hearts & Homes for Youth. The non-profit serves troubled and at-risk youth, and since its founding in 1964, has

served over 30,000 boys and girls throughout Maryland who are neglected, abused, abandoned, homeless or otherwise at risk.  

 

The group is one of many non profits here in Maryland that has been impacted by the down economy and a loss in fundraising dollars. But in a creative approach to engaging donors—existing and new—Hearts & Homes was fortunate enough to become the recipient of a $150,000 challenge grant from Doris Buffet, philanthropist and sister of billionaire investor Warren Buffett.   

 

Here’s what I love about this story:  Ms. Buffett pledged to donate the money with one catch: Hearts & Homes would need to match every dollar of the Buffett challenge in the course of a 5 month period – a tall order for any organization.  But, the non-profit did in fact match that grant, and so last Friday, members of the Hearts & Homes Board of Directors, as well as a number of the organization’s donors came together to celebrate their accomplishment and meet with Doris personally. The entire $300,000 donation will go towards enhancing Hearts & Homes’ multitude of programs and services.

 

Ms. Buffett believes that each of her grants is considered an “investment and a call to action for individuals to do their part to help change lives.”  Some of her grants are quite small, others top the million dollar mark, but her philosophy for giving remains the same.  She understands that great progress can be made with a relatively small investment, and that by “challenging” her beneficiaries to fundraise a portion of the money themselves, she is empowering organizations to make a difference; she is pushing them to succeed.

 

In hearing Ms. Buffett speak, I was reminded why we do what we do every day at C.Fox Communications.   Our focus as a PR and Marketing agency has always been on representing mission-driven organizations, because, like Doris, we invest ourselves in the organizations we represent.  We can’t tell a powerful story without personally believing in the good works that our clients do. And in that respect, I consider myself one of the luckiest PR professionals around because every day, I work with amazing, inspiring individuals.  We know how powerful communications can be, especially for a small non-profit organization or business just starting out, and so if our investment in their work can make a difference to their bottom line, then we’ve succeeded. 

Brand – Control What You Can

This past Monday, the state of Wisconsin unveiled its new logo (see below) and corresponding slogan: ‘Live Like You Mean it’, as two of the first elements of its new ‘Originality Rules’ brand positioning campaign.

 

The state’s brand manager (kudos to Wisconsin for having one) has been quoted as saying the new slogan (which was formally ‘Life’s So Good’) and logo were developed for $50,000 by Wisconsin agency, Red Brown Kle.

Now put aside the curious font.  Put aside that good, quantitative research to help ensure receptiveness of the slogan and logo would run close to $50,000 - alone.  Put aside the Facebook group calling for its demise.  Put aside the ‘keg stand’ logo design parodies that have popped up online.  Those issues are significant but there’s a more fundamental flaw to this branding effort. 

If the brand of Wisconsin is supposed to now embody where ‘Originality Rules’ (a respectable, versatile brand positioning) why do the first brand elements to be unveiled have nothing to do with it?  The brand attributes around which to build a logo and slogan for a positioning like ‘Originality Rules’ would be things like – unique, creative, innovative, leader, pioneer, novel, respect, pride.  The slogan ‘Live Like You Mean It’ takes a decidedly more serious, dictatorial tone and suggests that people may not have been living the “right way” all along.  It speaks more to improvement, change and correction than anything associated with the ‘Originality Rules’ brand positioning.  The slogan itself isn’t even original given its use by Bacardi from 2003 to 2007 and numerous self-help authors.

The logo struggles to connect with the brand positioning too.  The hand-standing character speaks more about different, unusual and carefree than original and it misses the opportunity for a recognizable, visual representation of Wisconsin’s originality. 

No doubt branding a state is a large undertaking with very specific challenges - some that many businesses won’t ever have to contend with.  Developing brands takes time and patience to allow them to evolve and gain traction.  However, if care is taken to define brand positioning upfront and care is taken to align branding elements with that brand position, the chances of a successful brand will increase dramatically.  Control what you can.

Tracking Your Every Post

In the PR industry, a key part of any campaign is focused on monetizing the value of press hits that an agency is able to secure for a client.  It’s quite powerful to show clients, especially those who have long been used to traditional advertising channels, not only how far their money can go in PR, but how each and every one of those third party validators can add to the positive power of an organization’s brand.

 

Years ago, calculating the PR value of a campaign was as simple as pulling circulation numbers for newspapers and listenership or viewership numbers for broadcast outlets.  In no time, an agency could show a client how their story touched millions of potential consumers. But the landscape of PR has changed dramatically. Sadly, many major newspapers have been hit directly by the economic downturn, and are either folding completely or becoming solely digital.  According to a recent PR Week White Paper, consumers are continuing to turn to broadcast outlets for their news, but there is an unprecedented number of people now using search engines for their primary source of news.   Add to that the explosive growth of mainstream bloggers and microbloggers on Facebook (175 million users) and Twitter (5 million+ users), and it’s clear that focusing your efforts on yesterday’s tactics really won't cut it anymore.

 

Now, the focus is on making an organization’s web site and press releases as search engine-friendly as possible, allowing potential consumers to click through to their site – and then pass that same link along to their network of friends – all at the click of a mouse.

 

With this shift in the media world, an enormous part of determining the advertising value of a PR campaign is now based on tracking the online conversation of a client’s brand – including Facebook and Twitter mentions.  We use a number of strategies to track real-time conversations of our client’s brands, including one terrific site called IceRocket.com.  The search tool allows the user to track any online conversation, including posts on Blogs, Facebook, Twitter and Myspace through their “Big Buzz” search engine.  Blake Rhodes, CEO of IceRocket, says that BigBuzz is “offering the best real-time search options out there” and I’d have to agree.  It’s an incredibly powerful (and free) tool, and can offer a quick glimpse at how deeply your product or service has penetrated the online conversation. 

 

PR toolkits are expanding, that’s for sure, and a good online tracking tool should have a permanent place in yours.

Find a Buddy

We learned it when we were young. 

“It’s safer when you go in groups.”

Several of our clients are finding it appealing to do business in this economic environment by finding a buddy.  Service companies are joining with others in the same industry to offer complimentary services that create a more complete end product.  Retailers selling vastly different products are finding unexpected similarities that help their products stand out when promoted together.     

When businesses work together on short, focused campaigns, they can fill in weakness gaps and strengthen their offerings.  They can sometimes provide more services for less money.  They can extend their brands, placing them in front of consumers that never would have seen their products and services otherwise.  Marketing budgets and other resources can be combined to increase reach and impressions.  Working together in short bursts lets businesses stay safe but more importantly, helps them stay active and front-of-mind in an otherwise frightening marketplace.

Can it be scary?  Sure it can.  Not being in total control of a campaign can take some getting used to.  Can it fail?  Yes.  The right buddy and the proper execution are critical.  Could it deliver better response rates, produce more qualified leads and improve sales?  It just might and you could learn a little bit from your buddy in the process.

So businesses need to think over their individual situation and ask themselves a few questions: 

• Could a working relationship with another organization make sense for my business?

• Is there a business I interact with that could be a prospect for an alliance? 

• Can I devote the time and effort to work with another business for a short period of time?

• Could my business develop a short list of collaborative go-to-market ideas?

• Is there something in the go-to-market ideas for my prospective business ally?

If there are at least a few yes answers in there, the next step is find a buddy.

Back to the Basics

Enlightenment can hit in the oddest of places.

 

The dentist’s chair for example.  I was at the dentist earlier this week, chatting it up with the owner of the practice, who is a small business owner like myself.  I asked how her business was faring, and she said, thankfully, that she hadn’t seen too much slow down in business as of yet. 

 

“The recession is hurting a lot of my counterparts much worse- those who focused on cosmetic dentistry and teeth whitening. But people still need their teeth cleaned, so I think we’re safe, at least in the short term.” 

 

“So it’s back to basics, then, huh?”

 

“You got it,” she said. “Fill and drill, baby. It’s all about fill and drill.”

 

And that was it.  For weeks, I’ve been trying to wrap my head around how we as a country, as business owners and as individuals are going to come out of this recession on stronger footing than we had started.   And in actuality, it’s no more complicated than that. We just need to go back to the basics. 

 

Michelle Singletary’s article in today’s Washington Post, a review of Dave Kansas’ new book—“The Wall Street Journal Guide to the End of Wall Street as we know it”— drives home the same message.  “Thrift has to make a comeback…Prudence and planning in terms of our investments, whether they be stocks or homes [or small businesses, in our case and in the case of many of our clients] will help us survive chaos.  We can’t live on borrowed time or thrive indefinitely on borrowed money.”

 

So, let’s find a way to get back to the basics, in our own lives, and in our own businesses.  This recession will not last forever, so let’s start thinking now about how we’re not only going to survive it, but emerge from it…through a return to business fundamentals and by providing services that individuals and companies will always need.