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Jan 28 2011

Putting the Good Back in Convenience: 3 Sizzling-Hot Topics in Child Nutrition

January 28, 2011 – 9:15 am

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By Emily Valentine (@ebvalentine)

I’ve always been fascinated by food trends, so when I was offered the opportunity to attend the Child Nutrition Industry Conference (CNIC) in Seattle last week, I ate it up with a spoon.

The conference is one sponsored every year by the School Nutrition Association (SNA) and attended by a slew of passionate professionals representing every touch point in the school food chain: manufacturers, distributors, government and procurement agencies, commodity groups, foodservice directors, registered dietitians, chefs and PR people like me.

There were very few food-related trends that were not addressed at the 2011 conference (gluten allergies, produce vending machines, school gardens and farm-to-school programs, to name just a few), but in all my inter-session conversations with fellow attendees, three key topics kept bubbling to the surface:

1) Salad Bar Wars – In an era where fresh fruits and veggies are increasingly emphasized as keys to a healthy diet, and food safety/traceability is a growing concern, school salad bars have become the proxy turf for a battle between impassioned idealists and headstrong pragmatists.

The former party argues that self-serve salad bars “put the good back in convenience,” but the latter says what you gain in convenience, you lose in control (over portion size, sanitation, etc.). Advocates say kids are more likely to munch on celery sticks if they don’t have to wait in the lunch line to get them, while skeptics say they’ll likely choose croutons and ranch dressing over the green stuff, and they’ll be sneezing and coughing their way down the bar.

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2) Salt is the New Sugar – A hot topic of debate at the CNIC were the school food sodium stipulations outlined in the recently passed Child Nutrition Reauthorization. Everyone seemed to agree that the strict new standards will pose significant challenges. Manufacturers are now tasked with developing super-duper-low-sodium products that don’t taste like cardboard; foodservice directors have to convince kids whose palates have been sharpened on fast food that the comparatively tasteless food at school is worth waiting in line for; and dietitians grapple with the sad truth that, no matter how well we control kids’ salt intake at school, all that goes down the drain when mom and dad serve McDonald’s for breakfast and Burger King for dinner.

3) Brands as Teaching Tools – Everyone also agreed that Americans are in desperate need of nutrition education. We need it in school cafeterias and classrooms, but we also need it to carry over into more American homes. Creating awareness is the first step to affecting any significant change, and with all the mixed messages and misinformation swirling around out there about nutrition, it’s going to take a movement the size of Michelle Obama’s campaign to break through the clutter.

 As a marketer, I was pleasantly surprised to hear a panel of school nutrition directors at the CNIC emphasize the important role branding can play in this sort of education. Branded food products, they said, enhance their ability to connect with kids and parents alike, and to teach them which products are smart ones to look for at the supermarket. The average American might not take the time to read nutrition labels before making a food purchase, but a strong brand icon (like Kashi’s green emblem or Whole Foods’ leafy logo) can instantly communicate all the information consumers need (and want) to know.
If the Healthy Hunger-Free Kids Act isn’t enough motivation for food manufacturers to formulate more nutritious products, Wal-mart’s new pledge to put healthier food on American tables sure will be. In addition to changing the nutritional profile of its own brand, the retail behemoth is calling on all food brands to get in line. While, in the short term, this will pose as many challenges to food manufacturers as the Child Nutrition Reauthorization does, it has potential to do much good in the long run. I’d like to think it will even help American schools rise to meet higher nutritional standards.
As Janet Helm (@janethelm), chief food and nutrition strategist at Weber Shandwick, recently wrote on Nutrition Unplugged, “We can do all the educating we want, but people need healthier options to choose from, and they need the healthy options to be affordable … to truly change the way America eats, we need to tackle the issue from several angles.”
I’d love to hear your thoughts on all of the above. What opportunities do you see for marketers and other members of the school food chain to collaborate in the coming years?

 

Photo courtesies: TEDblog, The Slow Cook

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AddThis Social Bookmark Button By Emily Valentine | Posted in Digital Marketing, Healthcare, Wine, Food & Nutrition | Tagged , , , , , | Comments (3)
Jan 27 2011

Why Brands Need to Pay Attention to Minority Consumers Part 1

January 27, 2011 – 2:11 pm

By Toni Carey (@toni_carey)Latina Laptop

 

 

 

 

 

 

The past two weeks have been newsworthy for minorities and marketing:

  • Intel signed on will.i.am, front man of the Black Eyed Peas, for product collaboration
  • Vibe Magazine, an urban music publication, announced it will sponsor NASCAR driver Darrell Wallace, Jr., as well as run extensive editorial coverage of NASCAR’s Driver for Diversity program
  • The Huffington Post announced it will partner with BET (Black Entertainment Television) co-founder Shelia Johnson to launch a section geared towards African-Americans

It seems mainstream America is finally realizing the influence of the growing minority population and they should. After all, in 2009, there were an estimated 41.8 million blacks in the United States (13.6 percent of the total U.S. population). That number is expected to grow to 65.7 million by 2050, constituting 15 percent of the nation’s population. In addition, Hispanics have become the largest ethnic or race minority with a population of 48.4 million (16 percent of the nation’s total population). This number is projected to grow to 132.8 million by 2050, making it 30 percent of the nation’s population.

The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that minorities, collectively, are projected to make up 54 percent of the U.S. population by 2050. You can’t ignore that consumer demands will shift with this growth. But it’s just not about the number of minorities; it’s about their economic impact and their ability to influence technology and popular culture.

In a recent report by the Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia Terry College of Business, the combined buying power (disposable income) of racial minorities will rise from $1.6 trillion in 2010 to $2.1 trillion in 2015, accounting for 15 percent of the nation’s buying power. Hispanic buying power is expected to grow 50 percent in the next five years to $1.5 trillion in 2015, topping the rate of growth of all other racial and ethnic groups and overall buying power. Although unemployment among African-American has increased greatly, over the next five years their buying power will increase from $957 billion to $1.2 trillion, primarily because 30 percent of the population are 18 years or younger who are notorious for setting the trends in the marketplace.african-american-businessman-smartphone

But there are other factors coming into play. Minorities are educated and they have money to spend, with 1.5 million blacks and 935,000 Hispanic 25 and older having an advanced degree. Minorities are also quickly adopting technology at a dramatic rate. According to a Pew poll released in 2010, whites are outpacing blacks and Latinos in broadbrand access, but it doesn’t mean they’re not online. In fact, black and Latinos are outpacing whites in mobile and social media usage.

  •  51 percent of Hispanics and 46 percent of blacks use their phone to access the Internet compared to 33% of whites.
  • 47 percent of Latinos and 41 percent of blacks use their phones for –email compared to 30 percent of whites.
  • When using social media sites via phone, 36 percent of Latinos and 33 percent of blacks do so compared to 19 percent of whites.
  • 25 percent of Twitter users are black
  • 11 percent of Facebook users are black
  • Hispanics increased their Facebook usage has increased dramatically since 2006, jumping from 3 percent to 9 percent

Marketing StrategyIt doesn’t take long to realize that minorities have a huge stake in the consumer market, however approximately 50 percent of U.S. advertisers don’t include Latinos in their marketing efforts. It seems that companies are having a hard time understanding how to reach and engage minorities. And for good reason. Minorities aren’t using technology in the traditional sense and certainly don’t respond to advertising tactics or messages geared toward the masses. In, “Why Brands Need to Pay Attention to Minority Consumers Part 2,” we’ll explore the best ways to reach minorities and effective means to do so.

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AddThis Social Bookmark Button By tcarey | Posted in Digital Marketing | Comments (2)
Jan 26 2011

Wine Communication at a Crossroads as Millennials Turn to the Grape

January 26, 2011 – 11:15 am

THE BOOZE BIN

By Pia Mara Finkell (@piamara)

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This will likely not inspire any Oprah-style “aha! moments,” but there are a lot of millennials out there and statistically speaking, if they’re old enough to drink, they’re probably drinking wine.

This wee fact has not gone without notice amongst us wine PR hacks. The only way to get more blitzed in a buzzword drinking game during any given wine trade show than taking a shot every time someone said “social media,” is if “millennial” was the grown-up version of Peewee’s secret-word-of-the-day. AHHH!

 

Depending on what age delimitations you use (the agreed upon upper limit ranges between adults currently 29 through 32), there are approximately 70 to 80 million millennials, around the same size or just slightly larger than that of their Baby Boomer parents. Just for sheer size alone, let alone their buying and consumption habits, it is only common sense to look to this Echo-Boomer generation as the future of the wine industry.

Younger Generations Drive New Growth_Wine Market Council During the sixth annual Wine Market Council wine trends conference that took place yesterday in NYC, WMC President John Gillespie discussed the 17 consecutive years of growth of wine consumption in the U.S., despite two recessions, driven largely by the millennial generation. According to John, 51% of millennials are “core wine drinkers,” defined as someone who drinks wine at least once a week on average, up from only 37% five years ago. Not to be forgotten, GenXers are throwing back their fair share, with 62% as core wine drinkers vs. 41% in 2005.

So, what’s the best approach to market and communicate with this influential group of wine drinkers? Vino2011A big week for the wine industry, Italian Wine Week ran an interesting seminar yesterday that broached this subject, entitled “What Emily Post Can Teach You About Social Media, Millennial App-titude and Geo-Marketing.” Ahh, what a delicious buzzword bonanza! I’ll cover this more thoroughly next week, but one major topic of discussion during this wine social media (AHHH!) conference was the importance of authenticity, accessibility and transparency in communicating and marketing to millennials (AHHH!).

On that note, I’ll leave you with a great quote from Tyler Coleman of Dr. Vino, who was a speaker on another panel during this week-long trade show. Speaking about the changing landscape of wine communications as the panel’s “new media expert,” Tyler left us with these thoughtful words:

“We’re at a crossroads for the way we talk about wine. The new era…is going to be much more inclusive with much more emphasis on discussion rather than just handing down knowledge and scores.”

“There will be voices that emerge that will have a great deal of authority, but that authority will have to be worn a lot more lightly than it has in the past.”

“There is going to be a lot more voices. It is going to be a more lively discussion, maybe harder to follow, but also maybe more fun. There will be more people to engage.”

Speak the truth, Tyler.

 

Photos courtesy of the Wine Business, Wine Market Council, Millenier and Fermentation.

Video courtesy of AddisonGr’s channel on YouTube…and Pee Wee Herman, of course.

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AddThis Social Bookmark Button By Pia Mara Finkell | Posted in Wine, Food & Nutrition | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (5)
Jan 25 2011

Sleep Sweet Prince

January 25, 2011 – 7:00 am

By Mike Mulvihill

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Life is unfair, unjust, downright merciless.  I learned Monday that an old friend lost her young son, Liam, to Neuroblastoma, a deadly form of pediatric cancer. He was just six years old.

 Diagnosed when he was two, Liam’s family learned quickly that Neuroblastoma is a cancer only about 30 percent of children survive. They were shocked to hear the reason for such terrible odds was directly related to how little money was being spent on research by both the government and the pharmaceutical industry. Pediatric cancer is the leading cause of death by disease for children under the age of 18.

 Liam and his family fought as hard as any I’ve ever known to try and beat his disease. And they started a program, Cookies for Cancer, to help raise research funds and awareness to help others with all forms of pediatric cancer.  If you read this blog, I hope it will move you to support this organization and all the families it touches. 

 I know of no words, no salve for my friend’s pain. I have experienced the loss of close family members after long illnesses. I know the depth of that pain. But I can’t imagine what it would be like to lose my son or my daughter. No parent should ever have to bear such a load.

 One of my friend’s many supporters posted this fitting Shakespeare verse on Facebook:

Now cracks a noble heart. Good-night, sweet prince;

And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest.

–Hamlet, V, ii

Now go hug your kids, give your significant other a long kiss , call your mom and dad up just to say you love them. Rejoice in the life you have while there is life to rejoice. And give your time and resources to help the world around you.

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AddThis Social Bookmark Button By Mike Mulvihill | Posted in Digital Marketing | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments (6)
Jan 24 2011

Ten Things to Include in Your Social Media Policy

January 24, 2011 – 3:18 pm

By Priya Ramesh (@newpr)

“I haven’t slept well in days, thanks to my boss.” (Tweet when your boss is following you on Twitter)

“I am at the pool.” (Facebook update while on sick leave)

social-media-causes-u-to-lose-ur-jobCases of employee firings for social media missteps like the above have been on the rise. Most recently, a woman from Connecticut was fired shortly after she posted some inappropriate remarks regarding her boss on Facebook. According to a 2009 study by Internet security firm Proofpoint, 8 percent of companies with more than 1,000 employees have fired someone for social media actions — a figure that is double what was reported in 2008. Let’s be honest, we all know that Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are probably the most visited sites during working hours and I am curious if someone has done any research on how much time is spent on social networks by employees versus productive working hours?

While you definitely don’t want to stifle engagement, relationship building, lead generation, community involvement through social media, you need to however establish a Social Media Policy in house which serves as a basic guideline to what’s construed meaningful versus harmful to your company’s brand or reputation. A simple social media guideline that’s included in the Employee Handbook and well publicized within the organization can help you avoid a lot of heartburn over negative sentiments being created by your own employees online. Here’s a good start to your company’s Social Media policy from CRT/tanaka:

  • Be conversational, participate on social networks in a meaningful way and refrain from saying anything that might hurt your employer’s, customers’ and in some cases even competitors’ reputation.
  • Everything that you post online is visible by all. You do not have permission to share any information that compromises [Company X] policy, management positions and customer information. 
  • Please refrain from posting items that could reflect negatively on the company’s reputation including comments or other posts about drug or alcohol abuse, profanity, off-color or sexual humor, and other inappropriate conduct.
  • Respect the law, including those laws governing defamation, discrimination, harassment, and copyright and fair use.
  • Don’t use the company logo, unless specifically authorized to do so.
  • Don’t reference staff, members, partners or vendors without their approval.
  • If you publish content to any website outside and it has something to do with work you do or subjects associated with [Company X], use a disclaimer such as this: “The views expressed here are my own and don’t necessarily represent my company’s positions, strategies, or opinions.” 
  • Ensure that your social networking conduct is consistent with the all policies contained in the Employee Handbook/HR guidelines.
  • Make sure that your online activities do not interfere with your job performance.
  • If you see something that questions your company’s credibility or any customer complaints, alert your PR/social media/marketing team that’s responsible for responding back. DO NOT feel like you need to respond to negative comments online.

Here are some additional resources to help you establish a Social Media Policy that encourages good, meaningful dialogue while safeguarding your brand reputation online.

 http://www.inc.com/guides/2010/05/writing-a-social-media-policy_pagen_2.html 

http://socialmediatoday.com/ralphpaglia/141903/social-media-employee-policy-examples-over-100-companies-and-organizations

 http://mashable.com/2009/06/02/social-media-policy-musts/

 

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AddThis Social Bookmark Button By Priya Ramesh | Posted in Digital Marketing, PR Industry Trends | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments (6)
Jan 21 2011

Got Passion?

January 21, 2011 – 11:52 am

 

 

By Brona Cosgrave (@bronacos)

 

Recently a tweet from Jacqueline Church (aka LDGourmet) caught my eye. Promoted by a friend’s comment, she had drafted a “PR Client’s Bill of Rights” and posted to her blog a while ago. Her tweet announced its reposting. The list of client’s rights is comprehensive and in my view accurate. Simple reminders to us all in the business. They include:

1.You have the right to measurable results or at least deliverables that can be met.

2. You have the right to be represented professionally.

3. You have the right to be represented by someone that actually knows your food, your book, your product.

4.You have the right to expect your PR professional to understand social media.

5. You have the right to expect your PR person to tailor their communications to the audience.

6. You have the right to a PR person that will not inconvenience the people with whom you are trying to build good relationships.

7. You have the right to a PR professional who will be smart about working for you.

8. You have the right to a PR professional that accurately and completely represents what s/he claims to represent.

If your PR team is meeting these eight criteria, then you are in good hands. However, for truly excellent client service, I mean world-class service, I think two more should be added to the list.

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9. You have the right to be represented by someone who shares your passion and enthusiasm. Recently a RFP landed on my desk that read “…If our product is cooked on Top Chef or Rachel Ray or written about in Food & Wine or Nation’s Restaurant News, it’s a race to see who can email whom the fastest to impart the news—my account executive or me.”  If your client gushes about their products then so should you, but it can’t be faked.

I’ve been lucky to have worked at a couple of agencies where the my colleagues are passionate foodies as well as food marketing professionals. Lewis & Neale  is one of those agencies. We live and breath food in so many ways, be it cooking up a new dish at home or sampling a new ingredient at a restaurant, our test kitchen (that’s where the water cooler lives!) chatter is always about someone’s latest culinary experience. And we don’t keep it to ourselves – we share it all with our clients and they give back too. I now have a new roasted salmon verde recipe to try courtesy of a client. It makes for a lively dynamic work place, and I know we do better work because of it. So, if you’re not remotely titillated about your clients’ products, then may I suggest you get off that account.

10. You have the right to work with a PR team that is fun! Come on, let’s face it, life is short, we all spend a lot of time at work, so shouldn’t you have some fun while you’re at it? You should look forward to spending time with your account team. Your agency should not only inspire you but also bring some wholehearted joie de vie to the table. If your PR team does not do this, then you’re missing out!

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AddThis Social Bookmark Button By Brona | Posted in Digital Marketing | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments (3)
Jan 20 2011

Emotional Baggage Marketing – Let’s Unpack

January 20, 2011 – 12:23 pm

By April Sciacchitano (@aprilcs)

Everyone seems to come away with a triscadecaphobia diagnosis...

At these prices, no one seemed to mind another triscadecaphobia diagnosis...

It’s the middle of January, and you’ve probably noticed the dwindling number of New Year’s resolutioners at your gym. Even people who “resolve” to be healthy have trouble making it stick. Why? There are real emotions at play when it comes to health decisions and regimens. Marketers need to understand these emotions to find a meaningful way to reach people.

From buying a new pair of running shoes to selecting a doctor and everything in between, people often need a push to make healthy choices. Here’s some of the emotional baggage people are carrying that impairs their ability to make healthy decisions, including making your brand part of their wellness routine.

 

They feel overwhelmed.

Despite good intentions, good health habits often don’t last because making the change is more work than the norm.

What you can do: Get into the system.

Where there’s desire and no follow through, a system is failing. A Dumb Little Man post explains that this is why you lose your keys all the time: “You lock the car (fine), unlock the front door (fine), put the keys in your coat pocket (fail!)” Habits are systematic. When you get into a consumers’ system and identify the breakdown, you can direct the new path. 

An example of a system that works: When your dentist schedules your next appointment for you, it requires more effort to cancel than to keep the appointment. This system helps people default to healthy behavior.

 

They feel nostalgic.

Health marketers are up against food that has rightfully earned the words “soul” and “comfort.”  These foods bring people together, remind them of home and make them feel good.  

What you can do: Tap into memories to help people make healthy decisions.

Michael Pollan gives 64 simple principles for healthy eating in Food Rules: An Eater’s Manual. He offers tips for that cross cultures – often coming from mom and grandma. Instead of fighting tradition, create positive associations with healthy choices. Mom may not have packed the healthiest lunch, but she would be proud that you met your fitness goal. 

 

They feel nothing.

Did this one make your heart sink? Being healthy simply isn’t on everyone’s bucket list. But health marketers can beat this.

What you can do: Use the powers of peer pressure… for good!   

According to a study published in the journal PLoS Computational Biology, your friend’s weight impacts your own. Having four obese friends was enough to double your chances of being obese. Identify social checks and balances, and how you can influence them. When it comes to education and programs, make it shareable and social. Connecting with others can enforce or change behavior.

What other emotional baggage keeps your prospective customers from lining up for your products or services?

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AddThis Social Bookmark Button By April Sciacchitano | Posted in Healthcare, PR Industry Trends | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments (1)
Jan 19 2011

A Love Note to Hendrick’s Gin, From One Eccentric to Another

January 19, 2011 – 8:00 am

THE BOOZE BIN

By Cassandra Bianco (@cnbianco)

Hendrick's Gin

In a recent interview, Hendrick’s Gin ambassador Jim Ryan said that for marketing success, it’s key to have crystal clear identity. Hendrick’s certainly defines whimsy, the peculiar and cleverness. The campaign’s psychographic branding is a refreshing take to the mainstream “party hard” and “sexy lifestyle” brand campaigns. The product stands out not just from other gins, but the whole liquor market.

It’s tough not to be enamored by the spirit’s delightful website, created by Philadelphia design firm Quaker City Mercantile. Eccentric illustrations and charmingly named sections like “A Treasury of Tipples,” and “Wondrous Affairs and Occasions,” express the brand’s unique language— an especially strong branding tool (think Starbucks menu items.) The website’s Unusual Times blog is a daily snapshot of the peculiar, where quirky posts vary from “cactus music” to old-school housewife work out videos.

In December, Jim helped develop the concept for the Hendrick’s Gin “Enchanted Forest of Curiosities,” an experiential pop-up space in New York City that hosted numerous events, comedic acts and musical performances with media partners including New York magazine, Eater.com and The Onion.

Jim illustrated that orchestrating a memorable experience is integral to foster brand loyalty. Hendrick’s marketing strategy focuses heavily on intimate events; tastings are sometimes no more than 20 people. The campaign regularly partners with The Dandies and Quaintrelles, a Washington, DC based social group, which hosts vintage-inspired, stylish events in partnership with charity causes. Recent Hendrick’s Gin events include the Tweed Ride and the Seersucker Social. Jim said a New York City Tweed Ride is in the works too.

Hendrick’s Gin also staged multi-city croquet tournaments, and dress code on invitations urged guests to “don your best railroad tycoon, Upton-Sinclair inspired, Baroque, Rococo, Victorian, or Edwardian garb.” Croquet players sipped flower-and-fruit-filled punch in teacups with martini-glass stems, listened to live jazz, enjoyed delicate patisserie, and winning guests received prop-cucumber trophies.

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When the product is top-notch quality, and the design is beautiful, all that’s needed is the Don Draper approach: lateral thinking for an outside-the-box strategy, (gin) cocktails in-hand.

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AddThis Social Bookmark Button By Cassandra Bianco | Posted in PR Industry Trends, Wine, Food & Nutrition | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (6)
Jan 18 2011

Wrong Headed Public Incentives

January 18, 2011 – 7:00 am

By Mike Mulvihill

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Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley just announced plans to introduce legislation that would require large utilities in his state (such as Pepco and Baltimore Gas & Electric) to buy wind power under long-term energy contracts. The legislation is designed to attract investors by providing public financing to fund the state’s embryonic wind energy industry. The involvement of utilities would ensure investors there is long-term demand at locked-in prices for the renewable power generation they build.  

The offshore wind farm would encompass 300 turbines that could satisfy about 30 percent of Maryland’s energy needs, according to the O’Malley administration. He says the wind farm, which spans 206-square-miles in the Atlantic, would employ 4,000 temporary manufacturing and construction jobs, as well as 800 permanent positions.

At least two other states–Delaware and New Jersey–already have similar incentives for offshore wind development. Maryland has a renewable portfolio standard (RPS) requiring utilities to acquire 20 percent of their power from renewable sources by 2022. However, offshore wind is currently much more expensive to develop than other forms of renewable energy, which is why Atlantic Coast states are boosting incentives for the industry. Currently there are 24 states plus the District of Columbia that have RPS quotas in place.

These targets, usually 10 percent to 25 percent of all power transmitted, range as high as 40 percent with a deadline of just six years from now (2017) in Maine to 33 percent in California by 2030.Together these states account for more than half of the electricity sales in the United States. In addition, five other states (North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia and Vermont) have nonbinding goals for adoption of renewable energy goals.

As of right now, renewable energy accounts for about 3 percent of total U.S. energy output. Some claim the adoption of public incentives to develop renewable energy source would drive down energy costs for consumers. I don’t see how.

 In an article entitled Renewable Irony in the Huffington Post by Richard Schmalensee and Robert Stavins, they note that, “Those who believe that renewable electricity standards would create a huge number of green jobs have forgotten the lesson of Detroit: a large domestic market does not guarantee a healthy domestic industry. At the end of 2008, for instance, the U.S. led the world in installed wind generation capacity, but half of new installations that year were accounted for by imports. And a recent Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory study of the impacts of the economic stimulus package incentives for renewable electricity investments estimated that about 40 percent of the (gross) jobs created by new wind-energy investments were outside the United States, where many wind turbines are manufactured.” They note the better route is to excel at creating and producing renewable energy technology.

And as nascent power sources, aka wind and solar, come online, all but a few of these power sources will be more expensive per kilowatt than traditional generation (coal, natural gas and nuclear). As a result, consumers and business will pay more for their energy as they continue to slake a thirst for electricity that increases year after year. Remember, most of us buy our power from regulated monopolies, which while regulated by their respective states, are allowed to build a minimum profit into their approved electric rates. As the cost of electricity rises, our electric bills increase proportionately.

More renewable energy is good. But how we get there without sapping consumer spending in a recovering economy is a dilemma. Government incentives to bring renewable generation sources online make our electric bills look better, but we’re still footing the tab. What we need are new technologies that make renewable power cheaper to produce. Perhaps that’s where our elected official should be focusing our incentives?

Photo courtesy ABC News

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AddThis Social Bookmark Button By Mike Mulvihill | Posted in Digital Marketing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (0)
Jan 17 2011

Five Leadership Lessons from Martin Luther King Jr.

January 17, 2011 – 3:07 pm

By Priya Ramesh (@newpr)

Today we won’t talk about social media, PR or marketing but instead I would like to dedicate this post to one of the greatest visionary leaders the world has ever seen, Martin Luther King Jr. At 33, Martin Luther King was leading the civil rights movement, at 34 he stirred the nation with his “I have a dream” speech and at 35 he was recognized with the Nobel Peace Prize. We could spend our entire lives discussing Martin Luther King’s leadership traits but if we were to highlight some of his key qualities that you, me, everyone can imbibe in our daily lives, let’s start with these:

Be a transformer not just a task master: There are leaders who make good task masters, get the job done and believe in exercising control over their team (Authoritarian). There are those that see the big picture and believe in overall growth of the team and themselves (Evolutionary). The ones that take a hands-off approach to managing and would rather delegate everything to the team and not be held accountable are what we call Background leaders. Martin Luther King was a TRANSFORMATIONAL leader, a visionary that dares to question the status-quo and takes the risk to venture into un-chartered territories. There is a big difference between leaders/managers that strive to make things better and constantly question the norm to attain higher goals versus those that are happy repeating the daily grind. Which one are you?

Be a visionary and dare to follow that vision: At a time when African Americans had to sit on designated seats on the bus, King dreamt of an America that would rise above color and creed. I am sure he faced the wrath of countless naysayers who thought that was Utopian and would never ever happen and look where we are today? The ability to DREAM and follow that VISION is a powerful attribute and history shows that some of the great leaders were even greater visionaries. If King didn’t dream of equal civic rights, we wouldn’t be living in a society where cultural differences are celebrated; if Steve Jobs were to listen to us and only build computers, we wouldn’t have revolutionary innovation like the iPhone. As marketers, PR, social media experts, everything involved in the business of BIG IDEAS, we must try to be visionaries and if we can’t then at the least encourage that thought process.

Be an effective communicator to build a movement: To this day when I listen to Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech, I am filled with a sense of emotion that inspires me to “Stop complaining and Do something productive.” That’s the power of effective communication. Understand not all of us can be great public speakers but we can definitely work on message delivery. Do you remember that manager that had all the fancy degrees in Marketing but failed miserably in getting his team to dream big and achieve higher results? Yes we all have had one of those in our career but then I also remember the ones that were so good at persuading us to go that extra mile. King’s oratorical skills surely served as an ignition to build the Civil Rights movement. We as leaders within our organization can learn from that to be persuasive communicators that bring in a sense of excitement to projects versus a dull outlook.

Be inspired and inspire to pursue new directions: One of my favorite Martin Luther King quotes is, “If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep moving forward.” In order to move forward no matter what the situation, one needs a perennial source of inspiration and a good leader is who has the ability to be inspired and also inspire his/her followers. I remember someone saying this to me a while back, “An inspirational leader is someone who asks you to go to hell and you actually look forward to the trip.” Inspiration is the fuel that re-starts the engine when the going gets tough. Do you feel enthused and inspired to go to work every day? Does your team feel energized and motivated to do more around you? If yes, then you are an inspirational leader.

Be willing to walk the talk: Martin Luther King travelled over six millions miles and gave over 2,500 speeches to fight for civil rights. That’s called literally walking the talk. The vision, the great speech, the inspiration would all fall flat if at the end of the day, as a leader you can’t walk the talk. Big dreams, big innovation, big campaigns and big ideas also rely on big execution. The willingness and ability to wear the execution hat and get your hands dirty is a great validation that my leader can walk the talk. I hope as we all advance in our careers and do more of what we call strategic work, we also retain the ability to execute on tactics. Your team respects you that much more when you can demonstrate the walk followed by the talk.

If “leadership” and Martin Luther King are two of your favorite topics, you might enjoy this playlist from TedTalks http://blog.ted.com/2011/01/16/martin-luther-king-jr-as-leader-a-tedtalks-playlist/.

What is one leadership characteristic you consider most useful?

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AddThis Social Bookmark Button By Priya Ramesh | Posted in Digital Marketing | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments (3)