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Jun 30 2011

The Other Side of the Pitch: Bloggers Tell All

June 30, 2011 – 4:52 pm

fhbc

By Toni Carey (@toni_carey)

Last weekend, I had the opportunity to attend the first annual Fitness and Health Bloggers Conference in Boulder, Colo., which just happens to be one of the healthiest cities in the nation. As a full-time public relations professional and a part-time fitness and health blogger, I find pitching the media during the day and sifting through media pitches at night gives me a unique perspective and sometimes a headache.

Nonetheless, attending the conference gave me an opportunity to mix and mingle with some key bloggers in the fitness and health industry, as well as learn some new things about social media and how it relates to the health of our country.

Obesity is a very serious (and real) epidemic

One of the highlights of the conference was keynote speaker, Shellie Pfohl, who was appointed by President Barack Obama to serve as Executive Director of the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition, an advisory committee of citizens who are charged with educating, engaging and empowering Americans of all ages, backgrounds and abilities to a live a health and active lifestyle. Pfohl discussed how fitness and health bloggers have a role in America’s fitness, health and nutrition and the opportunities and responsibilities of these individuals. She also gave two of the most staggering statistics I heard during the conference.

  • 1 in three U.S. kids is overweight or obese.
  • 55 percent of children living in poverty are overweight.  

For details about Pfohl’s keynote, check out Theodora Blanchfield from Losing Weight in the City (@tblanchfield) recap that explains why you should care about food deserts and what you can do to bring awareness to these troubling statistics.

Bloggers vs. Journalists: The ongoing debate and other hot topics

I had the privilege of leading a discussion on hot topics in fitness and health blogging. And one of the hottest topics we discussed was ethics and how there seems to be a lot of discussion and confusion about how companies and PR professionals should treat bloggers. In 2009, the Federal Trade Commission announced rules that require bloggers and tweeters to be open about paid endorsements, but where does that very fine line end? Should bloggers be open and honest about products they receive for review? A journalist certainly doesn’t have to be, but are bloggers and journalist held by the same standards and should they be? And most importantly, should bloggers have a code of ethics? If so, who’s the governing body or should bloggers be self-regulated? While there were lots of questions that stemmed from the discussion, most bloggers agreed that it was only a matter of time before the blogosphere would come under some type of regulation.

Three things you shouldn’t say to a blogger

I took a few minutes of my presentation/forum to get a sense of what bloggers really think about public relations professionals and their traditional approach to getting media attention. The feedback: PR people are cliché and boring. And I hate to admit it, but they’re right. So here’s three things you should never say or do when approaching bloggers:

  1. Never say “I love your blog.” If you actually read their blog and are a fan, that’s great but if you just read their first post, it doesn’t count. Trust me, they can tell when you’re lying.
  2. Never say “First ever…” Come on, just think about how many times you’ve used it in a pitch. YOU don’t even believe it.
  3. Never send a press release. Remember, they aren’t journalists so don’t treat them like one. Do your research and then email them and ask what they’d be interested in. Working with these guys takes a little bit of work and you have to be genuine, but it’s well worth it in the end.

i-love-bloggingBloggers are a great resource, so add them to your budget

From the public relations perspective, it’s always interesting to hear companies who not only “get” social media and working with bloggers, but who do it WELL. Jo Rogel (@jo_rogel), social media strategist for Gaiam discussed how bloggers and businesses should build a personal brand online. To put it simply, he asked, “Why would you want to work with me if you don’t know me.” (This one phrase actually needs its own blog post.) Did you know that 88 percent of active blog readers trust information from familiar blogs? Not only that, but there’s ways to reach reporters through bloggers and Forrester research states that “4 percent of online users are responsible for 80 percent of all influence impressions.” But it’s not just about reach, it’s about their influence. Be sure to make them a part of your overall marketing campaign.

And a little note about the conference organizers….

I have to say that this is one of the most educational and fun (yes, you heard me, FUN) conferences that I’ve been to. But not just because I was among my blogger pals, but because Zephyr Adventures, the conference organizer, made sure that each session was not only informative and educational, but that the entire conference experience was engaging (literally). After every other session, we participated in a 20-minute fitness break with Body Dynamics and there were also planned fitness activities and workshops at the beginning of each day. Zephyr Adventures has also up’ed the ante and will host its 2012 Health and Fitness Bloggers Conference at the Anshutz Health & Wellness Center in Denver, Colo., which will give attendees access to 100 of the top health and wellness researchers in the country, new health research and a “consumer research grocery store” and “research restaurant” that test theories of healthy lifestyles related to everyday living.

The 2012 Fitness & Health Bloggers Conference is organized by Zephyr Adventures. Zephyr has run active hiking, biking, and multisport tours around the world for the last 14 years including such trips as hiking on the Inca Trail, bicycling in Tuscany and Umbria, and running an active tour in the area of Yellowstone National Park.

Zephyr is also a creator and organizer of conferences for bloggers. In addition to the Fitness & Health Bloggers Conference, they organize or co-organize the:

They specialize in active tours related to a local area’s food, beer, and wine and only run blogger conferences related to their tours. Zephyr’s owner Allan Wright also blogs regularly on the Zephyr blog.

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Jun 29 2011
 
AddThis Social Bookmark Button By Pia Mara Finkell | Posted in The Booze Bin, Wine, Food & Nutrition | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments (1)

Millennials, Microbrews and Marketing, Oh My!

June 29, 2011 – 8:52 am

THE BOOZE BIN

Guest Post By Colleen Mita

work4beer As a recent graduate of a certain New Hampshire institution with a well-documented affinity for frat basements and Keystone Light, I’m happy to be out in the real world where there is more than one kind of beer on tap. I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t know much about beer, but I know what tastes good to me and what kind of marketing catches my eye. Most of all, I’m willing to try just about anything in the process of determining what kind of beer I like. So yeah, I guess I’m your typical millennial consumer.

What kind of beer gets my attention? After spending my undergraduate career consuming mass-produced light beer with no flavor, I’m looking for something that’s been brewed with care, in small quantities. I’d really like to actually be able to discern flavor nuances while I sip, instead of just tossing it back to avoid the gross taste. Like many of my peers, I’ve become a fan of the microbrew. You can blame Dogfish Head for their amazingly cool integrated marketing campaign that really helped bring independent breweries into the limelight. And in case you were unaware of the current microbrewery trend:

Small Microbreweries“In 1980, 26,470 barrels of craft beer were sold in the US. In 2010, that figure was nearly 10 million” Bloomberg Businessweek April 17, 2011

So, why do microbrews appeal to millennials?

1) We like to feel we are part of a community, while still maintaining our independence. Many microbreweries are actively engaged on social media sites and offer brewery tours, fostering a sense of community. Our independent spirit is preserved by knowing we’re supporting small businesses, not giant beverage conglomerates.

MicroBrew MicroWaste 2) We care about how things are made and where they come from. Coming of age in the era of sustainability and recycling, “green” values are near and dear to our hearts. Microbreweries source local ingredients for their brews, much like Abita’s Satsuma, which uses local Louisiana produce for flavor. Independent breweries are also more apt to create limited-run, seasonal beers, like Starr Hill’s Lucy, keeping with the current trend of seasonality.

 

3) Bottom line: We like our beer (and food) to taste good. Call us beer snobs, call us foodies; we don’t care. Before going out to eat, we look at digital restaurant reviews and menus to see what looks good, right now. We’ve begun doing the same kind of research before picking our tipple o’ the moment. Microbrews offer greater depth of flavor and more interesting food pairings than your average mass-produced brew.

And now, in true millennial fashion, I’m going to head home, crack open a bottle of Harpoon’s UFO, turn on last week’s episode of True Blood and nosh on a panini (made from grass-fed organic beef, vegetables from the farmer’s market, locally made cheese and homemade bread of course!).

Photo Credits: Hipster or Hobo, Grand Rapid Grub and Magpie’s Marbles.

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AddThis Social Bookmark Button By Guest Post | Posted in Wine, Food & Nutrition | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments (5)
Jun 28 2011

Social Media Juggernaut Rolls On

June 28, 2011 – 11:47 am

Juggernaut_a6_3

by Mike Mulvihill

Some days, the marketplace just spews out interesting mile markers about social media and the steroid-infused future of social media (i.e., mobile social media). Here are a few or the more strategically significant tidbits from the past several days:

· Nearly half (43 percent) of all businesses have used social media networks to acquire customers in 2010. According to eMarketer, social networks had the biggest impact for companies operating in developed markets (i.e., Western markets and Japan). More specifically, a significantly higher percentage of companies that used social networks for customer acquisition in the US, the UK, Japan and Canada saw a revenue increase over the previous year versus companies in these same markets that did not use social networks for new business acquisition. Pretty logical given the higher penetration of social media among consumers in these markets, but also very telling about the role social media can and should play in the marketing mix.

· Oh how that little mobile media baby is growing like a weed. Just last year, mobile advertising, weighed in at $2 billion. Now it is forecast to hit $7 billion in 2012 and then $24 billion in 2016 (the same size as the entire online advertising industry is today)! According to the Wireless Federation, experts believe the pieces are falling in place in terms of technology, behavior and the funding. These stats just reinforce an overwhelming body of market research that points to mobile access to social media and the internet as increasingly critical in reaching customers and prospective customers.

· A compilation of 30 great social media stats observed over the past few months from Jeff Esposito at socialmediatoday is a great source for cocktail party chit chat and senior management presentations. For instance 96 percent of Americans use Facebook (Business Insider). For PR folks, 47 percent of journalists will use Twitter as a source for a story (Digital Journalism Study). And, while 89 percent of companies note that social media will become a useful cog in their marketing mix moving forward , 41 percent of the companies report that they have no staff dedicated to social media (Useful Social Media). (That’s not going to work too well, now is it?) Go to the socialmediatoday site for the other 26.

Social media is here and it is growing more important day-by-day. If your company or client isn’t hot on the social media trail, you may just want to hit them over the head with some of these stats.

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AddThis Social Bookmark Button By Mike Mulvihill | Posted in Digital Marketing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (5)
Jun 27 2011

Five Social Media Blunders Made by PR Agencies

June 27, 2011 – 2:13 pm

By Priya Ramesh (@newpr)

[Disclaimer: This is not yet another PR bashing post, I live and breathe PR/social media and Kudos to @GaryVee for clarifying things for us PR pros on @GeoffLivingston's blog http://geofflivingston.com/2011/06/22/gary-vaynerchuk-garyvee-answers-tough-questions/]

social-media-mistakesThis coming Thursday, June 30th is WORLD SOCIAL MEDIA DAY and I am sitting here nodding my head in “no, we are not there yet mode…”  Like you, I am someone who truly believes in human relations as a means to a meaningful end. In its most simplistic form, we Public Relations pros are in it because we “like” people and understand the science and art of “building” relations that positively affect our clients. Whether we do it using paper and pen, iPhones, Facebook or Twitter is secondary to the bigger mission which is to COMMUNICATE. As much as I greatly tout the fact that social media is owned by PR versus Advertising, I also realize we are not there yet in terms of truly leveraging social media. Here are some of the classic blunders we PR agencies make when it comes to integrating “social” with “traditional”

1.       Facebook: CHECK, TWITTER: CHECK, Now let’s go back to hibernation: All that landscaping, new tile design, colorful logos in your social garden is a complete waste if you don’t plan your party for at the least the next few months. If you consider just launching yourself on Twitter and Facebook with your branding and daily updates and tweets a huge accomplishment, you have totally missed the boat. If you are the head of marketing/communications at your company, PLEASE, PLEASE ask your social media folks to plan for a well thought out engagement calendar. No not editorial but ENGAGEMENT CALENDAR meaning what do I tweet or Facebook (soon to be a verb) that is of any value to my audience? Do not just arrive on social networks and forget to keep yourself updated and engaged. You made us like you and follow you. Now give us a reason to want to stay that way. Just three meaningful tweets a day, that’s what McDonald’s does is enough. Look active on social media if not pro-active. If your PR agency isn’t thinking through rules of engagement and quarterly new ideas to keep your content fresh and meaningful, you might want to rethink your social media game plan.

2.       Push content without Pulling your audience:  Yes, free content and thought leadership are AWESOME but I do like to track some metrics behind that great work. Tell me which PR/Marketing professional doesn’t want to see “What did all this social media do for my brand” report? While we spend countless hours churning out great content, we don’t spend half as much time in tracking the outcomes of content generation. In-fact some of us don’t even ask ourselves the most important question, “Why am I hosting a tweet chat or a video contest on YouTube?”  I know I am preaching to the choir here but let’s take a step back and define success for our clients before recommending tactics. A well thought out social media strategy starts with identifying a solid strategy followed by key performance indicators followed by tactical recommendations not the other way around. I agree every single social activity can’t be measured BUT there are tons of free tools out there to see how much you are pushing out versus pulling in.

 3.       Treat SEO, Social and Web as Separate Siloes: This is when I try to keep my blood pressure under control and accentuate the Colgate smile. If your PR agency is doing a website rebranding without integrating it with your SEO ambitions and social media goals, RUN!!!  The three elements are closely integrated. Your blog feeds the Google engine which in turn drives traffic back to your website or any social property that YOU want to promote.  Again start with an online audit first, where do you stand on Google search rankings? What is your online sentiment (which is not who YOU think you are but who your AUDIENCE think you are).  I have seen some companies have multiple vendors with different strategies and tactics to handle SEO, Social and Web separately and they don’t talk to each other. Now if you have the luxury to do that, good for you but some of my clients don’t so we ask that all partners in Web 2.0 strategy connect and work towards a common set of goals.

 4.       Promise the ‘Stars” without knowing which planet they belong to: Sure, I will get you a tweet from Chris Brogan, Guy Kawasaki and Larry King but I don’t even know what they are interested in, leave alone following them on Twitter. I hold myself accountable to this; I don’t take enough time on a periodic basis to see what my “influentials” are up to? Let’s first subscribe, follow and like them and then start identifying possible connection points. PR agencies will promise you a blog mention or a tweet out from big names in social media as though they live right next door to Chris Brogan and Guy Kawasaki. Instead we need to first LISTEN to them, find a win-win situation for both client and your influential to get Mashable kind of attention. Ask your agency a simple question, “What makes you think you will get a #1 blogger to write about my brand that no-one has ever heard of?”

 5.       Viral and Video don’t necessarily go hand-in-hand: Recently at the “Metrics and Measurement” panel at BlogWorld NY, Margot Savell, VP of Digital Measurement at Weber Shandwick made the point, “First of all you can’t create a viral video campaign. We can only create a video campaign with the hope that it will go viral.” I am proud to share CRT/tanaka’s success with the Go Granny video campaign for Network Solutions that we launched during Super Bowl 2011. I am not a big fan of “impressions” but if we were to judge Go Granny by impressions, we garnered over 50M impressions in less than a week especially during the Super Bowl, the biggest media event and most of it just on Twitter. PR agencies can only plan for a video to go viral but setting a realistic expectation with clients that not all videos can go viral is just open and honest communication between an agency and its clients.

My intention here is not to come across as another one of those PR agency bashing blog posts because PR is my passion, my daily bread. I am proud to spend a vast majority of my life doing what I enjoy the most, helping people and brands COMMUNICATE effectively so why not try to get it right when it comes to communicating on SOCIAL MEDIA. I am sure you have your favorite silly, stupid social media moments that you have witnessed, please share it here so we can all learn from you. Thank you!

Image courtesy: http://www.dragonblogger.com/tips-social-networking/.

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AddThis Social Bookmark Button By Priya Ramesh | Posted in PR Industry Trends | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (7)
Jun 24 2011

Content, Content, Content! Tips from the Pros

June 24, 2011 – 11:18 am

By Rosalie Morton (@RosalieMo)

What’s the key to success with social media? According to the pros who spoke at Vocus Users Conference ’11 in Baltimore last week, it’s content. And I have to agree.

The speaker list at the conference was virtually a who’s who of the social media/public relations space. The very entertaining Scott Stratten opened the conference in his characteristically wild style, setting the tone for a fun two days. I had the pleasure of attending sessions by Lee Odden, Valeria Maltoni, Ann Handley, David Meerman Scott and Gini Dietrich. Providing the perfect bookend to Scott’s energetic presentation, Peter Shankman closed the conference and brought down the house.

The overarching theme? Content, content, content.

clip_image002Lee Odden started us off with a look into the ways that SEO and PR work hand in hand. SEO essentially closes the gap between PR and journalists. How do journalists find stories? They use Google. By increasing our SEO, we are increasing our odds of being found. In addition, SEO is the key for online reputation management. You should ensure that the first page of Google results only includes the links that you want your audience to see.

And how do we do this? Content. We have to help our clients demonstrate expertise on their subjects. They should be the authority on their given topic in the online space.

Ann Handley also rocked the content vibe—no surprise, considering we were all given copies of her book entitled, you guessed it, Content Rules. Ann told us, “Good content is the soul who you are.” It should share and tell your story… and when you create good content, it’s shared even further. This is where social media comes in. With good content, you not only reach your network… you reach your network’s network. That’s the goldmine.

David Meerman Scott went a very entertaining route, looking at content with respect to Charlie Sheen and his shenanigans. David focused on the importance of real time content. Look for opportunities to insert your company into the second paragraph of news. For a dead-on example, he looked no further than America’s favorite heiress, Paris Hilton. When she was arrested for cocaine possession in Vegas, Wynn hotels banned her the following Wednesday because her vehicle “reeked of marijuana.” The hotel chain issued a press release, and bam, their press pick-up was enviable (HuffPo, People, CBS News). The moral of the story? It’s important to be real time with your content. If you spend too much time jumping through legal hoops and getting approvals, you may be too late.

So make sure you’re considering SEO, reaching your network’s network and thinking in real time to develop content with true reach.

Thanks, Vocus, for this fantastic line-up of speakers. Hope to see you all next year.

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AddThis Social Bookmark Button By Rosalie Morton | Posted in Digital Marketing, PR Industry Trends | Comments (6)
Jun 23 2011

How to Get Social Media on the 2012 Budget

June 23, 2011 – 7:00 am

By April Sciacchitano (@aprilcs)

How to Get Social Media on the 2012 Budget

Social media is a way to reach customers, and it’s free.  Or so we’ve heard…

Social media managers know that’s not true.  As evidenced by the need for campaign integration, the costs of technology and your own hire, social media requires an investment.  Sure, the job didn’t exist five years ago, but social media managers are settling in – and it’s time to ask for the resources you need to elevate your digital strategy.

Finance department are already planning for the 2012 budget. Here are the items that should be on every social media manager’s wishlist. And remember, if you don’t ask, they won’t throw you a bone.

 1.       Tracking.
You’re tackling business growth one tweet at a time.  Certainly CEOs and marketers can appreciate a good anecdote about your tweets with a customer, but the numbers will carry you over the long term.  They show how you compare to competitors, help you understand what’s effective, and introduce new measures, like sentiment.

Until you can muster the funds for a tool like Radian6, free services like Google Analytics, HootSuite and BlogPulse can give you an idea of where you stand.

 2.       Tools.
Are you bringing in your personal Mac computer to edit video?  Your own Nikon to capture photos?  Are you bootlegging photoshop behind the IT department’s back?? 

You need the tools to create social outputs you were hired to develop. Photo and video breathe life into stories that might otherwise be dull and overlooked.  The equipment can be expensive, so lay out a plan to add these items gradually and upgrade on occasion.

  • Digital Camera
    Look for video-recording capability in addition to great photos.  Add a bundle to this purchase:  a tripod and good microphone.
  • Photoshop
    Don’t skimp here.  Get the real deal to ensure your photos are compatible with the software used by your creative teams.
  • Video Editing
    Windows MovieMaker is free, but investigate other video-editing options to find out what meets your needs.

3.       Toys.
Your cousin “scanned” her contact information into your cell phone at your last family gathering. Overstock.com just launched “o.co” as a shorter URL.  You saw a presentation that zooms in and out that definitely wasn’t PowerPoint, and you’re told there’s game online where people “check in” to a place and reveal their location to strangers. Known as QR codes, .co extensions, Prezi and FourSquare, respectively, social media managers have a lot to investigate. 

Up-and-coming apps and social tools sound far-fetched until you see them in action.  This is why it’s important to ask for a small “exploratory social” budget.  If you have to present a cost-benefit analysis before purchasing a dancing bear app, you’ll never be ahead of the curve. 

4.       Training.
The digital world changes fast.  There are plenty of free ways to stay up on trends, but ultimately, you need to engage with people who are thinking about social as often as you.  Find a way to attend an annual social media conference or work with an agency.  At the very least, create a TweetDeck column of digitally-minded tweeps and hone in on those who are on the pulse.

And remember, don’t be too proud to beg.

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AddThis Social Bookmark Button By April Sciacchitano | Posted in Digital Marketing | Comments (6)
Jun 22 2011

What Makes Millennials Buzz Over Wine

June 22, 2011 – 8:00 am

THE BOOZE BIN

Guest Post By Julie Stas (@Julie_Stas)

wine 2 All this recent buzz about Millennials and yet some marketers still don’t seem understand what makes us buzz. I’m here to clear a few things up about my generation.

We are the game-changers who keep marketers on their toes. We are the DIY adapters who find our footing on any unstable ground. We are the savvy optimists who believe in doing good to make a difference.

As a younger Millennial who relishes in my new found freedom to legally drink alcohol, I’m surprised by some of the bland and unmemorable tactics still employed by various beverage companies. It’s high time for marketers to get up to speed, understand this super-savvy audience and add that extra pizzazz that will catch and retain the attention of the always-evolving Millennials.

Wine Snob Although we may not all be sophisticated wine connoisseurs, we’re learning and fast. Wineries and companies who still don’t take us seriously should pay closer attention – they might just find a trusting and loyal following in the making. Here are some recommendations to engage and stay connected with Millennials, from the perspective of a Millennial:

  • Personalization – We love it. Carving a unique path of our own is what makes us tick. Give us the opportunity to personalize a wine label and we’d rarely pass up the chance to put a friend’s embarrassing picture on the front as a unique birthday present. Here’s one company getting it right.
 
  • Go Digital – We are notorious for our brand experimentation and flexibility. The latest iPhone apps make it easier than ever for us to choose, taste, pair and collect wine. One of my favorite wine pastimes is to put on a “kiss the cook” hat and apron, stir up a mouthwatering meal with friends, and uncork a few favorite bottles to complement our culinary masterpiece. The HelloVino app is my digital wine bible for recommendations to match a special dish, taste or occasion. Not to mention, it’s free! Other honorable mentions: Cor.kz, Pair it, Drync Wine Pro, Wine Wherever and Wine Notes.
 
  • Giving Back – If there is a way to do good while still doing what we want – Millennials are in! We take pride in making a difference, while still holding true to our interests. In our time of blogging, tweeting, stumbling and Facebook-ing, we are a connected collective, and believe one person can make a difference. Our BS-radar is highly honed, and wineries that give back to charity help us trust they’re one of the ‘good guys’ in a sea of scammers, spammers and viruses. Honorable mentions: For every bottle of Flipflop Wine purchased, Soles4Souls, distributes a pair of shoes to someone in need. Also, One Hope Wine donates 50% of their profits to charity.

Photo credits: Chicago Examiner

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Jun 21 2011

Celebrating $22 a gallon gas!

June 21, 2011 – 9:18 am

by Mike Mulvihill

gas_prices_large

Whoopee! A blog post by Inhabitat – Green Design Will Save the World is celebrating independent consulting firm Ernst & Young’s release of a report yesterday predicting the price of solar energy per watt is expected to fall to $1 by 2013, down from $2 in 2009. The report, prepared for the Solar Trade Association, says the price per watt of solar energy is already down to $1.50 in 2011 and should continue to fall in the near future reflecting reductions in the cost of materials and advancements in efficiency.

First of all, I think we should assume the blog post said watt when they meant kilowatt (KW). At $1,000 a KW, solar would be astronomically expensive. Even at the ballyhooed $1 (insert KW), solar would be almost seven times more expensive that the average price per kilowatt in U.S. of 11.2 cents in February 2011 according to U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Celebrating $1 per KW solar is like celebrating $22 per gallon gasoline assuming the base is the national average price for a gallon of regular gas of $3.33 in February 2011 as reported by motorist group AAA . The fact that it went down from $44 a gallon is notable but neither number refelcts a palatable price for anyone but the uber rich greenie.

Realistically, what level of consumer demand can be expected for $1 per KW solar? Unlike gasoline, most of us have no idea how much we pay per KW of electricity. But if our bills were to double or triple, I can guarantee you that nearly all of us would become capable of quoting our current cost per KW. At 11.2 cents per KW, electricity is just not on people’s mind. Asking consumers to pay seven times more for clean solar energy would be a non-starter. So what exactly are these groups celebrating?

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AddThis Social Bookmark Button By Mike Mulvihill | Posted in Digital Marketing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments (2)
Jun 20 2011

HOW TO MAKE YOUR AWARD SUBMISSION A WINNER

June 20, 2011 – 5:00 am

Guest post by Ken Jacobs, principal of Jacobs Communications Consulting (@Kensviews)

clip_image002Having just judged three awards competitions— the PRSA Silver Anvils, PRSA-NY Big Apples and PRSA-NJ Pyramids—I was delighted when Priya asked me to share my thoughts, from a judge’s perspective, on what makes for an award-winning entry.

Here’s a baker’s dozen list of questions that you should ask yourself before sending your entry. I apologize if some of these seem overly basic, but trust me, over the years I’ve reviewed a number of program entries where this list could have made a real difference for those submitting their work.

1. Is this truly game-changing work? We know you worked very hard, but awards are given to identify and honor best practices, for results that are above-and-beyond, for programs that changed the game for you or your client, and yes, for our industry. Very good programs are very good, but they don’t win awards. If your program was very good, revel in that, but save your time and your expense. Don’t enter it into an awards program.

2. Did I show that I understand that one of the objectives of an awards program is to prove that I know what an objective is? Ok, I exaggerate, but just a bit. I still reel when I see entries, from reputable firms, which seem to indicate that they don’t understand that an objective should be measurable, that an objective is the “what” and the strategy’s the “how.” I appreciate that some industry pros have slightly different definitions of goals, objectives and strategies, but I think we can all agree that “generating more media coverage” is not a measurable objective!

3. Are my results connected to my objectives? I’m amazed that I just wrote those words, but I’ve seen countless entries where the goals and results seem to live in different universes. Let me make it simple for you: When you’re writing your results, just copy and paste your objectives into the results section. Then share the appropriate results for each objective. If you’ve laid out measurable objectives, it should be easy to prove that your results achieved them. If some of your objectives weren’t achieved, it’s best for you to acknowledge this, indicate the reason and how this affects your plans going forward. If you over-achieved any objectives, don’t be shy about trumpeting this fact.

4. Does it all connect? If you achieve the measurable objectives that you indicated, will it help solve the business or marketing image you described in the business environment section? Do your strategies truly overcome the challenges you articulated? Will the tactics involve and reach the audiences you’ve identified? Will the coverage likely convey the important messages that you indicated?

5. Did I show the entry to someone not on this account or who didn’t work on this project? It’s absolutely critical that you do so. Even though these pros won’t know the details of your program, they have one critical skill that you don’t: objectivity. They can help you see which parts of your write-up aren’t clear, or what might be confusing to another reader. And wouldn’t you want that insight so you can take corrective action before judges see your work?

6. If I left out the budget, did I explain why? Budgets are often required for programs. If your client or company prohibits you from sharing this critical piece of information, at least provide a budget range. If you’re prohibited from sharing even that, say so. Either way, don’t allow the judges to assume you were hiding a huge budget or were simply being careless.

7. Should I be entering this campaign in a publicity, rather than a public relations, awards program? You don’t need me to remind you that our industry has morphed incredibly in the past few years, and that we’re living in an era of engagement, when (cliché alert) content is king and getting the target to share it is critical. Yet many firms insist on entering publicity programs into public relations awards contests. I’ve nothing against a classic publicity program designed to generate coverage in traditional outlets. But if your program doesn’t reflect state-of-the art execution, channels and tactics, don’t enter it in a public relations awards contest. (And don’t even get me started on the entries whose achievements were primarily the result of advertising efforts.)

8. Did I focus on the entry, not the back-up? When I was entering and winning awards competitions, it was believed that judges were looking for excuses not to review the support binders. While that may or may not be true, all those with whom I’ve ever judged, and certainly the senior judges, focused on the two-page entry. That’s where you convince the judge that your program was truly best-in-class. In my experience, the binder was used as a tie-breaker, or perhaps to determine which campaign gets the award and which gets the honorable mention. But if your entry isn’t executed properly, and according to the rules, your binder won’t make a difference.

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(Photo Credit: Photong)

9. Did I use the checklist? Checklists are provided by the awards sponsors to assure that each entry addresses all key issues. This also makes it easier to judge all submissions from a level playing field. These are requirements, people! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve sat around a table with a group of judges, saying “This seems to be great work, but where’s the budget? Where’s the research? Don’t they understand the meaning of the word ‘required’?” (Yes, after a morning of looking through entries that leave out key data, we judges can be a bit snarky! Now you know.)

10. Did I wow the judges? I’m not talking about a flashy video or a beautifully-designed binder, but an entry that’s well written. I’ve read some entries for programs that might have been absolutely compelling, but were so dryly written I needed two double espressos to get to the end. The reality is judges are reading many entries in a relatively short period of time. Write yours in a way that captures and keeps our attention. And yes, you can have some fun with it. In fact, please do so, at least for this judge!

11. Have I taken the judges ages into account? Ageist you say? Not at all. But most awards judges are around 40 or older, when the eyes start to go. So that 8-pt. type that you’ve used in order to fit all your words onto two pages is not having your desired effect. Instead of using tiny type, take out your red pencil, and slash the copy down to size. And on the same subject, remember that white space is the judges’-and therefore your—friend!

12. Does the data in my binder truly support my two-page entry? Okay, you’ve wowed us with your two page entry. It’s thorough, well-written and yes, compelling. Make sure that your binder proves all the claims you’ve made in your entry, that you’ve shared the findings of the research that led to your strategy, and most important, the data that proves you achieved your objectives.

13. Did I proof? Have I seen more than my share of awards entries with typos? Yess!

Ken Jacobs is the principal of Jacobs Communications Consulting, which helps public relations firms 1) Grow and manage business; 2) Improve client service and enhance client relationships; and 3) Increase staff performance, motivation, loyalty and retention. It does so via training, consulting and coaching. Prior to launching his firm, he spent 25 years in leadership roles with various New York-based public relations agencies. He blogs at Ken’s Views.

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