News

Was someone at your company honored on the Rockford Chamber of Commerce’s “40 Under 40″ list? If so, don’t keep the good news to yourself. Sure, it was covered locally, but look further afield to gain additional publicity:

1. Draft a news release about the honor, how the nominees were selected and then detail the accomplishments of your company’s particular honoree.
2. Distribute it to the trade media that cover your industry and any other non-local publication that is appropriate, including the alumni office of the honoree’s college/university/high school and any other organization with which he or she is involved (like a church, professional organization, etc.)
3. Whenever possible, email the release, a headshot and a link to the online version of the story (See sources below)
4. Mailed or faxed releases are OK, but don’t have the advantage of automatically giving the media outlet the option of running the piece with the headshot.

We should all be proud of these accomplished professionals – so let’s talk it up!

40 Under 40 Source Material

• Rockford Chamber of Commerce site
• Melissa Westphal’s story in today’s Register Star)
• A link to the Chamber’s original news release about the list: nr-40-leaders-under-40_announced052808.pdf

PS – kudos to KMK Media Group’s own Pam Maher for her inclusion on the list!

The Columbus Dispatch featured a story recently that highlights a trend across the country – the “staycation.” Does your business offer amenities that cater to the ‘staycationers’ that will be in Rockford this summer?  With the high price of gas, many vacationers will be cutting back on travel and opting instead for spending time and money at home.

Think backyard bliss first of all. What can you offer that would make a backyard better? If your realm of expertise falls under food, swimming, lounging or socializing with friends at a small party, you can bet that there will be an audience this summer for your marketing efforts. 

And what about relaxing? Salons and spas should be catering to those who may be staying in town to save some money on gas, yet who still will want to feel that they got some R&R time this summer.  A spa and hotel package right here in Rockford could be a nice option for a staycation, but there are certainly those who have not thought of this as a good alternative to travel.  With a little marketing effort started soon, the summer could look very different indeed.  Use words like reconnect, home paradise, local leisure and highlight saving money without skipping the vacation feeling.

For more ideas, check out The Outdoor Living Guide from Consumer Reports:

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/home-garden/resource-center/outdoor-living/0705_outdoor-living.htm

Columbus Dispatch article:  http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/business/stories/2008/05/25/stay-home_summer.ART_ART_05-25-08_D1_QCA9F64.html

Just like any business, the media also has its cycles. There are some stories you can always count the local media to cover depending on the time of the year. Smart business owners will examine these cycles and position themselves as experts on the topic to get some coverage in the stories that are bound to come out.

Some suggestions for working with the local media: Be a one-stop shop for time-pressed reporters – think about all the angles of the story and be prepared to talk about it expertly and on the record/on-camera. Offer satisfied customers as additional sources and have a few ideas for what the TV camera or newspaper photographer might be able to “shoot” for the story’s visuals.

Below are topic ideas to get you started thinking for the upcoming summer “media season.”

Spring/Early Summer
New beginnings, vacation plans, picnics, outdoor topics. General stories that are light and fun are well-received during this time of year include:

Summer
As the summer wears on and the heat rises, no one feels like doing much of anything. This is a good time to pitch entertainment stories or other wacky ideas that reporters may not have had time, up until this point, to cover.

• Light business stories (Trend pieces, technology, new products)
• Back-to-School (Supplies, education trends, back-to-school fashions)
• Outdoor activities (Camping, swimming, gardening)
• The heat (Heatstroke, auto maintenance, sunscreen, air conditioning)

Key dates in June, July & August:

• Flag Day (June 14)
• Father’s Day (June 15)
• Junteenth (Jun 19)
• Summer begins (Jun 21)
• Independence Day (Jul 4)
• Parents Day (Jul 27)
• Friendship Day (Aug 3)
• Labor Day (Sept 1)

In an annual survey of 2,000 marketing executives, more than 82% said that their use of email marketing campaigns will increase this year over last year, with 55% saying they expect email to have a higher return on investment (ROI) than other channels. Email is a great solution for small businesses – it literally costs mere pennies per mailing, it is efficient and provides another way for you to converse with your customers, clients and fans. So for those who have not taken the leap yet, here are 5 helpful tips:

1. Pick a Date – Set a calendar and stick to it – don’t wait for “when you have something to say” to send out an email.

2. Less is More – Keep is short and to-the-point….and include information that’s useful to your reader. Don’t just spew boring corporate news

3. Swag, Freebies & Deals – people like free stuff. Be sure to include special offers, freebies, etc., that are available only to your email recipients.

4. Divide & Conquer – once you get the hang of email, start segmenting your lists and offering different things to each segment. Test offers before you send them to everyone.

5. Take it or Leave It – Include “forward to a friend” and “unsubscribe” options in every email you send.

There are simple programs that can manage your mailing lists, your HTML templates and more, so there’s really no excuse for not including email in your marketing mix these days. Want to see some examples? Sign up for the KMK Media email newsletter, NewsBriefs, click here and enter your email address and name in the fields located in the lower right side of the page.

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In the national advertising conversation, broadcast TV is not “sexy.” Broadcast TV is not “buzzy.” Or “flashy.” Or “edgy.” But, when it comes to local news and information, local TV broadcasts and their corresponding websites are used by just over 50% of adults, at least according to a new survey conducted by Nielsen Research on behalf of the Television Bureau of Advertising (TVB). Plus, when it comes to advertising, the survey says the public perceives television ads as the most “influential,” “authoritative,” “exciting,” and “persuasive.”

Source for Local News, Sports and Weather:

Source for Learning about New Products or Brands:

See the complete report here (click on “Media Trends Track” and then “View the Study On-Line” under “Media Comparisons Study 2008″). There’s loads more information, including breakouts comparing the media-usage habits of men and women, their perception of the role of the media in their communities and how they use media outlets’ websites.

Certainly the TVB has a vested interest in showing broadcast TV as the preferred locale in the advertising mix…but I don’t discount their numbers. Mobile advertising, social networking sites and all the rest may be pushing the advertising conversation nationally, but as I’ve said earlier, when it comes to our local market, broadcast TV still seems to be the vehicle that carries the day for local advertisers.

Little is sexier than having your brand being an integral part of an uber-luxurious, hyper-chic world inhabited by Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda…as luxury brands Manolo Blahnik and Jimmy Choo learned. The return of Sex and the City to the big screen has made for a match made in product-placement heaven for some new players – Mercedes Benz, Skyy vodka and Bag, Borrow or Steal among them – according to this recent piece by Ad Age.

That said, there’s lots of tie-ins and cross promotion being done as new brands try and jump on the Sex bandwagon…what do you suppose the image below (part of a print campaign) is advertising? The Movie or a Product?

Don’t discount the power or product placement – do you really think that six-inch heals that cost half a month’s salary would have made it into the national conversation without the cache of Carrie Bradshaw’s personal (albeit fictional) endorsement? I always wondered how a “writer” in New York City with no apparent full-time job could afford that swanky one-bedroom apartment AND those expensive shoes. There’s a lot to be said for escapism, I suppose.

(BTW, the ad above is for Skyy vodka…see the blue bottle superimposed over the building, just under the huge graphic of the movie’s title??)

As if it weren’t enough that buying a domain name for you company’s Web site requires all sorts of linguistic acrobatics, creating an account with popular social networks and other online utilities is starting to be taxing as well. Pages at myspace.com/McDonald’s, GAP, Applebee’s, IBM, Xerox, Microsoft, Sony, iPhone and many others have little to do with the respective brands apart from the page owners’ usernames. Common dictionary words are long gone as well.

You don’t hear about brand squatting much, although there was a blog post last year comparing twittersquatting to the domain name rush of the 1990s. Why is it important to your organization? Three reasons.

1. Convenience. Blendtec Inc.. Their name on MySpace which is MySpace.com/myblendtec is less obvious than /blendtec, which is taken by someone other than the socially successful blender maker.
2. Danger of misrepresentation. It is easy to recognize /billgates and /microsoft as obvious parodies, but hijacking an online brand identity of someone less famous can’t be too hard.
3. Search traffic. Perhaps not a threat to bigger companies, but part of the search traffic for brands with limited online presence and for common words can be derailed to pages on MySpace, videos on YouTube, LinkedIn, etc. I don’t have a good “bad” example off the top of my head, but see how CBS YouTube channel ranks way above many of the network affiliates’ sites. And if you search for “tequila”, MySpace celeb Tila Tequila comes up above many businesses with the word in their names.

How much of an impact has modern marketing had in the 2008 Democratic primary? Plenty. Barack Obama’s campaign has made quantum leaps in terms of “branding” a candidate. From his free-standing “O” logo to the sheer marvel that is his interactive campaign website – check it out at www.barackobama.com – he is changing the landscape both in terms of politics but also in terms of how political campaigns are run.

Here’s an interview that Crain’s Chicago Business did of the guy who created the Obama logo (click picture below). He talks about the elements that were used in the logo and what they mean, how the campaign has adapted it for other uses and even the font they used:

A few weeks ago, we told you about using biometrics to measure consumers’ responses to advertising. Now, it seems the House of Mouse (Disney owns broadcasting behemoths ABC and ESPN) is getting in on the action by constructing their own advertising biometric laboratory in Austin, Tex.

One of the things Disney will be paying particular attention to are the reactions to online and VOD (video on-demand) advertising … in order to prove their effectiveness to the advertisers that keep pouring resources into these channels. Disney execs are no doubt plotting their business-growth course based on non-traditional advertising – Disney CEO Robert Iger is quoted saying his organization this year will gain $1 billion - that’s with a “B” – in online ad revenue by September. If I had a business that brought in one billion dollars in 9 months, I’d build a lab to prove its effectiveness too.

And we know that when the Mouse speaks, the consumer world follows, so expect to hear more about biometrics and seeing Internet advertising become even more mainstream soon.

Small daily newspapers – not unlike our local daily, the Register Star – are actually growing their revenue while national and regional newspapers have been in a slump for years. Why? According to this article, one of the reasons is because local ad dollars are staying with traditional print ad vehicles like the Star.

Instead of following the national trend set by the big guys (like Proctor & Gamble and other huge consumer corporations), who’ve consistently moved their ad dollars to the Internet and other “non-traditional” outlets like video on-demand services, smaller, local advertisers have stuck with local newspapers and television advertising. In our shop, that’s certainly the case.

We know that, long-term, local advertisers will have to be in the Internet and non-traditional space as well…but at the moment at least, that type of advertising just doesn’t get the customers in the door like the other, more traditional, channels do. Which is good news for the Register Star and all of our local  media outlets.

The Webby Awards honor excellence on the Internet, including Web sites, online film and video, mobile Web sites and interactive advertising from around the world. Stephen Colbert and will.i.am earned top honors at this year’s Webby Awards, announced Tuesday.

Colbert, the irreverent host of Comedy Central’s The Colbert Report, was named person of the year thanks to the “innovative way he has used the Internet to interact with fans,” a Webby rep said in a statement. One highlight? During his aborted presidential campaign, the host’s “One Million Strong for Stephen T. Colbert” Facebook group attracted more than 78 members per minute in its first week.

“The Web is essentially improvisational. … The Internet is the shortest, hardest wall against which your voice will echo back,” Colbert said. “It’s a big place, but, boy, you get an echo back really fast.”
- Steven Colbert

Well said, Mr. Colbert. Especially when it comes to marketing and your message, evidenced by Colbert’s attracting 78 members per minute. Just when you thought no one was paying attention, think again. Be prepared when you put content out there because the ‘echo back’ will happen immediately. But for a good picture of who has got it right and to ignite your creativity, take a look at the winners (chosen from 8,000 entries), http://www.webbyawards.com/.

Some of the WEBBY winners:
Blog-Political: Huffington Post
Blog-Cultural: PostSecret
Magazine: National Geographic
Best mobile news site: CNN.com (voted by People’s Voice)
Newspaper: NYTimes.com
Politics: FactCheck.org
Community: Flickr
Weird: Passive-Aggressive Notes (Academy), I Can Has Cheezburger? (Popular Vote)
Social Networking: Flock The Social Web Browser (Academy), Facebook (Popular Vote)
Comedy – Long Form or Series: “Wainy Days”

I was in line at the grocery store the other day and was reminded of a fundamental truth in advertising. People still circle ads with red markers, cut them out, paste them on the fridge, carry them inside wallets, give ads away, put ads on the walls, etc. Naturally, it is in advertisers’ best interests to encourage this behavior because “bookmarking”, a term used to describe the above behavior, gives the ad another chance to do its job, which is why we often see the dotted “cut here” lines around ads.

Fast forward to the future (now)… How will this translate when company’s develop online advertising campaigns? The problem with advertising on the web today is that while the digital medium itself provides almost unlimited mechanisms for archiving, manipulating and retrieving information, most online ads have all the fleeting properties of a TV commercial.

So what are advertisers to do? Our goal is to make it easy for customers to translate electronic ads into redeemable coupons they can use at point-of-sale. For example, we could equip online ads with a clipping mechanism — a small scissor icon that, when clicked, would produce a printer-friendly stand-alone version of the ad with extended information for future reference. Online ad networks could offer a repository of all offers they serve and a link that says “view more offers from this vendor” or “view similar offers”. We could even offer cell phone ads, most cell phones have photo capabilities, companies could send ads to customers via cell phone that could then be scanned at point of purchase.

NBC will charge a record $3 million for a 30-second commercial in the 2009 SuperBowl, which is a 10% increase from the 2008 game. Locally, SuperBowl spots also cost way more than traditional spots…but is it worth it?

Nationally, companies usually get “buzz” after the game on YouTube and the talk shows, which can be beneficial (IF the commericial is a fan favorite, that is). Local advertisers who insert ads during the SuperBowl also can generate positive coverage, but I’m just not convinced that the buzz it may generate locally justifies the premium price point.

Or, put another way, I would probably advise a client that they’re better off buying more spots at a lower price point…unless they have money to burn.

Anyone think differently? What would you advise a business owner to do?

According to a monthly survey by IAG Research and posted last week on Ad Age’s website, Philadelphia Cream Cheese scored the most-recalled new TV ad in March for it’s “1/3 Less Fat Philly Personal Trainer” ad:

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/wy-yeXovPdg" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

UPDATE: Here’s the 2nd most-recalled ad by Cheez-It:

[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/pRw3OB102ro" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]

Rounding out the Top 10 of Most-Recalled spots were commercials by: Target, Lowe’, Volkswagen, Dannon, Travelers Insurance, Cialis, Expedia and Pizza Hut. These were ads whose viewers could recall within 24 hours the brand of an ad they were exposed to during the normal course of viewing TV.

Meanwhile, the most-LIKED commercial was a new one featuring a pink peanut M&M being attacked by squirrels while reading a magazine on a park bench (no luck finding a link to that one yet, however).

See the complete list here.

I get asked all the time, “How do I get <insert event/product/announcement here> covered in the news?” Well, I say, that depends, but the first step is to do a news release.

So, a few tips on what EVERY news release MUST have:

1. Contact information. Seems like a no-brainer, but it’s not. And if you’re not in your office most of the time, then include an alternative way to get in touch with you. Deadlines wait for no man.

2. Date. So the media knows that they’re not dealing with outdated information.

3. An interesting, descriptive headline (and subhead if need be). Make it timely and topical. This is your best chance to getting a reporter’s attention.

4. The 5 Ws. Who, what, where, when, why – give ‘em all their answers up front. If reporters call because of your release, you want it to be for quotes that promote your organization’s mission…not for the address of where the new-product announcement is happening.

5. A reason to care. Editors and reporters can get dozens of releases – sometimes many more – every day. Make your information news-worthy so it grabs their attention. Before you send something, always ask yourself, “who cares?” If you answer, “no one,” rethink and rewrite it so that someone will.

6. Correct grammar & spelling. Proof read – sloppy writing will not win you any friends and just reflects poorly on your organization.

7. Company info. Include a brief description of your company – and your web address! – at the end.

Optional elements could include:

• A quote. Talk to a pertinent employee or customer & include their comments. Got a CEO who’s less than verbose? Write quotes for him/her and get a sign off if you must.

• Statistics, charts, graphs. Good, verifiable data – particularly if it ties in to a current industry or news trend – is like nectar to reporters. Find a nugget of data to tie into your release and you immediately broaden your announcement’s appeal and audience base.

In an future post, I’ll talk distribution and follow-up, two other keys to getting your news covered.