Inspiring Dialogue

Dead Simple Research

I've read a lot about how to promote blogs, PR for social media, and the list goes on.  PR people tend to jump onto anything that's new so not to get stuck, labeled as "generalists" or "traditional PR people" (immediately I'm thinking a cool glass of wine should accompany my keyboard, as if to refine myself akin to smoking an old cigar taking me back to the pre-Internet era).  

It's been a good 6 years since I've really "acted my age," and practiced this craft as I did once, pushing press releases through fax machines twice the size of a server able to stomach terabytes of information today. Though, I owe it to myself, and the craft, to take a step back - as I always lament to our clients - and detail the practical use of PR as a tool that supports marketing, not as a foghorn screaming blind alerts into a cloudy world.  

In this first series on the practical use of PR, I will address research.  It's often overlooked, and quite frankly underestimated as one of the most important facets of the profession.  While the rest of the world points to Google, PR people - in experienced circles - are laden with overly priced half baked solutions or "free to register and use," only for half of an experience when purchased isn't twice as good.

Bacons now Cision used to be thick green soft covered Yellow Pages directories of media outlets and those who write, produce for them.  The books were truly the bibles.  They were divided into outlet type, genre, editors, reporters, producers with detailed information on every page.  The only challenge - not worried about in those days - was that the data got old, fast.  There was no Internet update, just "appendixes" mailed and taped or stapled into the back of the books.

Researching publications was a costly endeavor.  We had dozens of magazine subscriptions, and a pass around rate which would have nearly doubled any circulation count, if all of the agencies participated in BPD reports, those that gave the market an accurate look at a publication's advertising tallies in numbers of distribution and ad dollars.

But, I digress.  It's no better to teach history on a blog, than it is to discuss the age of a good red wine.  Just drink it, swallow and move on.  The history lesson in itself bears the appreciation of an age now lost where PR took time, people were less impulsive more calculating, strategic and in a sense, were more accountable for their words when it graced the logo embossed page of an agency's letterhead.  Today most people would probably know a PR person's name before their Company, in this brand defragmented area of push email.

Research, thank goodness, has only benefitted from the Internet.  The key is to recognize when it can be used to your benefit.  The benefit of helping you not invent the invented, but fine tune your work. Cision comes to mind.

As I mentioned, Cision - the once green book goddess - is available online.  It's not perfect, but is a quick resource for any PR person looking up the contact information for a reporter.  Notice I wrote quick.  Looking for a contact?  Log into Cision, pop that person's name into the database and viola, there's your name, title, address, email and a sometimes spot on description of the person's background and how to work with him/her.  What's missing?  The holism of research.

Here's the blessing and curse of the Internet. It's fast, easy, convenient - yet, rushed, not detailed and over the top stuffed with print, online and bloggers who all "cover" the subject you or your client are pitching.  What's a PR person to do?  Blast a message to them all? You would surprised to learn how many PR people still take this tactic.

The key is in the broad strokes of research.  I think the word research is one of the few, including ice cream, where it conjures up the thought of many things combined or a selection of choices.  In other words, Cision is only one part of the solution.  And, while it offers many parts of the solution, as noted above, it can, and never will, absolute the fact that a PR person still has to read a journalist's articles (yes, plural) and find out if he/she wrote about you or your client - or anything related for that matter - in the past.

Easy, right?  Then why do so few PR people pass on it?  The issue is a complex one, but my psychotheraputical guess is that 1) while I want to say that most are lazy, they're not, they're needy, and want quick results fast both to influence their ego and their boss or client and 2) don't have the skills to think beyond writing a pitch and pitching the press.

It's not a lot easier said than done and will take the know how of a seasoned PR professional to put the pieces of the puzzle together from speaking with their client or executives all the way through to pitching the reporter.  There's a lot of in between work that ties it all together and while it may seem like a lot of work, it's really just dead simple research.

How Microsoft Got Me Blogging (again)

Oh, I've blogged off and on since 2002.  I even remember my old friend Rick Bruner rightly stating that if I am to blog, I should blog consistently.  Of course, I sent one to many blog posts - in those days - to Mr. Bruner, waving the blogging flag as so to convince him of my dedication to the medium.

Patting myself on back, I celebrated my truism, only to revert to my old ways of blogging every now and then.  

Six years have passed and rather than count the long list of forgotten blog topics and nascent followers, I talk about the blogs I've developed, and marketed, on behalf of my clients.  While the list isn't long, many are worth recounting.

But, what draws me back to blogging today, isn't Rick's head peeking around the corner, or an audience that I have culled.  

It's Microsoft.

Today, I was invited by The Conversation Group to personally witness the launch of Microsoft Online Services, as a blogger. 

Here I was, sitting in the center of a press conference listening to Microsoft announce an exciting suite of online services.  You know, like anyone else, I hate to sound to silly, but I do have to tell you what it felt like having this experience.

The event took place at the St Regis Hotel in San Francisco.  It's a living piece of art.  The decor shot from the floor like a modern tech rainbow and carried attendees to the 2nd Floor.  The breakfast spread was the breakfast spread. They're all the same.  Though, the energy in the room could not be matched. 

Microsoft partners were scouting for conversations, and talking up the launch like it was one of the greatest film premieres of all time.  No joke.  I've been to my share of press conferences and user conferences to know that this feeling was not one in the same.

Partners asked when I heard the news, what I heard, what I thought, before we even walked into the auditorium. Microsoft employees were welcoming, talkative and even responsive to peers who had some very tough questions.  

Let's just say here that Microsoft didn't pay me a dime to attend, nor is right now...

Fast forward, post press conference a fellow blogger - and the guy sitting next to me - no names mentioned asked me, "So, what's new?"  And that in itself lit my lightblub.

Nothing, and everything, I responded.

Yes, so, for many of us, Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft SharePoint, are now online, exactly as they are offline, it's truly amazing (to me).  But, what my fellow scribe wasn't seeing is that now creativity is in our hands, the hands of IT.

The IT departments of yesterday are gone.  Microsoft is now truly a platforms Company and like in many years past, is looking to its partners to create applications which will integrate, easily (yes, easily) for users without having to call on IT.  I saw it with my own eyes...

Sure, IT budgets and jobs have and will shift.  Do I need to give you a history lesson on the printing press? Facts are facts, and the world is changing, again, and the creatives are being allowed to rise.  In 1984, Apple galvanized a revolution, and today that revolution, in the enterprise, is ripening with Microsoft.

Six Ways to Become Part of a Conversation

I fumbled around this afternoon curiously trying to find more people to “follow” on Twitter and found that many like Twitterati were posting about the same thing.  The topic didn’t matter.  They were all like people, of course, because I have interests they all share.  What mattered to me most was that it was obvious many were trying to Tweet about their news first.  They all wanted to be the conversation starter.  But, after that, unless someone, and others respond, there is no conversation at all.  Full disclaimer: I was looking to “follow” a bunch of reporters.  And, that makes the point.

 

Reporters are storytellers.  Marketers are story developers.  We want to create as well as become part of a conversation that lifts our brands.  Not everyone has a captive “subscribed to” audience like a reporter.  Marketers talk about starting a conversation, engaging in conversation, marketing with conversation, but so few if rarely any we encounter want to become a part of a conversation.

 

Prospective clients come to us with messaging documents in bold talking about being the “first,” “best,” and “only.”  Yet, category creation is hardly a science.  And, in fact, in the vast universe of business creation there are only a handful of Twitters, and other creative inventions launching a communications phenomenon. 

 

Rather than “re-invent the wheel” of conversation, why not join one?  Rather than throw something at the wall and hope it sticks, why not find like pitchers and join in the game?  The more people waving their hands will get more attention.  With that said, I’ve put together six ways in which you can become part of a conversation and get more attention:

 

1) Empathize with another – Misery loves company, and if you’ve found something in common with another person, it’s best to reach out – and hold emotional hands.  Rather than become sympathetic and drown yourself in their thoughts, you can empathetically open yourself up to understanding how they feel.

 

2) Contradict – Don’t fight, but argue.  Discover something about what the other person said, do your research, and come back into the ring.  Bring some clear, thoughtful (and non-abusive) language making the other person see that there are two sides to every coin.

 

3) Be relevant – Don’t just join any all conversation to be heard.  Make sure that your opinion or fact is relevant to the conversation at hand, and that it will further the conversation.

 

4) Offer help – Step outside of yourself, and think about how you can help another person further their argument, position or thoughts.  Make sure to provide commentary that’s tangible and readily available for anyone to use.

 

5) Give support – Different than being empathetic, give others the view that they are not one, but many who feel the same way they do.  Support could come in many forms, but keep it simple, even if to just give a shout out, becoming another step in the pyramid.

 

6) Provide insight from experience – If you’ve been there, be there for someone else.  Tell them about what you went through and how to make it.  It doesn’t hurt to share your experience, even if it didn’t had a better than stellar outcome.

 

In conclusion (I just had to write that), there’s really no need to start your own movement just for the sake of wanting to be heard, when others have been carrying the torch for you after all of these years.  Take the time to find out where the conversations are – and join one (or two)!

Knowledge is "Powder"

My friends at Red Pill Media published "Knowledge is 'Powder'," written by yours truly.  Here's an excerpt from the article, which you can read more on the Red Pill Media site:

Knowledge is "Powder"

By David Libby

I’ll be the first to admit it: I have a flare for the dramatic. No, the world isn’t coming to an end, and the sky isn’t falling – yet. But knowledge is becoming “powder.” Knowledge has lost its power as it’s becoming dust in the wind. Baby Boomers are singing their swan song, and their knowledge is departing, albeit in mass retirement.

Read More

Interdependent Marketing: Part 1

I've decided to go public with a bunch of ideas, the first being my thoughts on "Interdependent Marketing."  I typically hold these kinds of thoughts close to my chest, never write them down, forget and move on.  Sometimes I drop a hint to a client (if it applies), and they go all Mickey Mouse on me, wide eyed and joyful (assuming it can be put into practice).  But, this one, Interdependent Marketing, I couldn't let go. Interdependent Marketing, unlike Integrated Marketing, is not all of the rage, but you do it every day, even in your personal relationships.

Have you ever gone camping?  There's a bunch of stuff integrated in the mix: clothes, tools, tent(s), gear, food, and so on and so on, but unless the people understand and can effectively execute on the inter-dependence of their actions, the outcome will be short lived and no long-term gain will be achieved.

The bottom line is: we interact with people every day, and are inter-dependent upon them, as they are on us.  So, how would it be any different if a marketing organization, in parallel to communication in a family or circle of friends, not depend upon each other in similar ways?

In contrast, Integrated Marketing speaks to the mix of marketing disciplines being integrated into each other, but the mix doesn't also highlight the inter-related needs of a marketing organization.  For example, a company can have dozens of stand-alone communications vehicles using varied social media tools such as Twitter, FriendFeed, facebook, as well as email marketing, direct marketing, PR, etc., but unless those marketing vehicles are in support of one another, the consistency of messaging and visual branding will be lost.

As a marketing organization it is critical that it re-read its marketing goals; take inventory on budget, resources, human capital and chart how one activity will affect another and how an organized marketing team can take advantage of such an orchestration.

The best example in my book is film marketing.  The goal is to have a successful, high grossing film launch.  Nuff said.  Back up from there.  From day one when the film marketing is set to go the planning begins.  I've personally been in this process many times and it is very exciting to basically "storyboard" marketing to the point where a marketing team is leveraging its best assets, best people, budgeted resources and mapping out creative ideas timed to launch.  The marketing is inter-dependent, integrated and strategic.

As more social media tools are developed and marketing is handled by more people (even outside of marketing) and across distributed media will marketing teams need to take quarterly camping trips to remind themselves of how many people it actually takes to build a fire.

Killing them softly

According to an anonymous source, analysts are touting that even the most conservative of companies are trying to move away from Microsoft.  So, needless to say why Alfresco got so much press coverage today.  The same could be said of the Cuil launch.  Are people looking for new ways to monetize their ads sans Google?  I also heard that the DOJ has been calling on search engine experts to learn more about where Google is headed...

Oh no, don't kill the press release

Michael Arrington in TechCrunch posted this new story today about the SEC recognizing bloggers and is suggesting we kill the press release.  Oh, no, don't kill the press release.  Why not?  It's a factual document, when done right, that aligns executives on positioning, messaging and voice.  The press release also give the PR team a foundation from which to build.  PR is an 'evolution, not a revolution' and besides the press coverage a company garners, the press release shows the maturation of a Company, albeit some abuse this channel with misinformation and hype.  The best thing we can do is to alter the way it works for a company or individual.

What we learned from Cuil

I for one, and am probably one of the few, who feels badly for the PR people (and engineers) behind the launch of Cuil.  After all, who didn't see Young Frankenstein?  FRANK-EN-SHTEIN.  Yeah, you pronounced it correctly.  Am I wrong?  Was I the only one who witnessed the gang up on Cuil crowd mentality.  Everybody chimed in, me too (it will probably help my Google ranking).  SO, as you sit in your laboratory thinking that you and your Igors have flipped every switch, remember what goes around, comes around.  And, with that said, let's highlight some of the more entertaining, if not educative postings and articles surrounding the rise and fall (down the stairs) life of Cuil.

Gotta start at the source, for reference purposes:

Cuil (pronounced COOL)

http://www.cuil.com/info/

Mark Logic CEO Blog on Cuil VS. SearchMe

http://marklogic.blogspot.com/2008/07/cuil-vs-searchme-plus-rant-on-powerset.html

TechWag on privacy issues

http://techwag.com/index.php/2008/07/30/google-and-cuil-lessons-to-be-learned-here/

MarketingHackz on marketing strategy (or lack thereof)

http://marketinghackz.com/cuils-marketing-strategy-not-so-cool/

Admedian - quotes from Kevin Ryan from ad:tech, always insightful

http://www.admedian.com/media_news/2008/07/30/sew-experts-whats-wrong-with-being-cuil/

Cynosure - talks about the obvious reasons the launch (and site) didn't work out of the box

http://cynosure.crystalking.com/?p=66

Mark Evans (we like Canadians) - on developing a solid go to market strategy

http://www.markevanstech.com/2008/07/30/first-impressions-tough-critics/

And, last, but not least, my take.

Cuil will be cool.  Think about it.  The site only has one way to go, up.  With all of the bad press, when the site makes it turn, the big ship will get noticed.  And, everyone LOVES an underdog.  I didn't read any blogs or articles which were cheering for Google.  Quite frankly, Google is smart to stay out of this conversation.  Do you really think of Google as search engine?  It's a behavioral targeting company, states Bill Flitter, CEO of Pheedo.

Now, a pop quiz.  Name five entrepreneurs who had big flops and came back to wow us all.

Think Globally, Act Locally

My wife's grandmother was born when her dad was 50. He was the artist type, very talented, aloof and focused on his work. Her mother was an early icon for the women's liberation movement, outgoing and out of the house, working, supporting the family, all 9 of them. Though, Elise, my wife's grandmother, didn't have 6 brothers and sisters.

Her uncle died at an early age, even for then, the depression era of the 1920s in Chicago. Her aunt, and three cousins, moved into their house. Elise became marginalized. Even more so when her sister got sick, time and time again. Her mother would leave the house in a towncar before she woke and not return until after she had gone to sleep. The family theme was survival, at any cost.

Across continents my grandfather was facing his own challenges. His father died when Saul, my grandfather, was 14. He and his three brothers were enlisted into the family business, then enlisted into the army in the early 40s. My great uncle Sid was on the front lines in Germany. Saul was a fireman, racing to fires throughout England. The family business was left behind, ultimately run into the ground and all of the boys went their separate ways.

What common themes did these families share? Each one overcame adversity. And while it may seem that our themes today are not so grandiose as the struggles facing those stuck in the Great Depression or on the front lines during World War II, even today such themes are not uncommon. People still die too young. Families come together, support one another in many ways. Family businesses make up a large percentage of our nation's workforce and men and women are called to war.

According to the National Bureau of Economic Research since 1980 there has been four recessions within the United States. The longest economic recession was 120 months, from 1980 to 2001. And, famous NYC professor, Nouriel Roubini, is predicting a global financial meltdown. What can we learn from yesterday to stave off this recession?

As David Brower put it in 1969, "think globally, act locally." Each company within an industry can exist and campaign in its own right before agreeing to coordinate its activities within a large affiliate organization that embodies all of those combined organizational strengths. In other words, the Internet has globalized our view on the world, yet given companies the opportunities to localize how they can quickly attain, mobilize and execute success focusing on niche growth markets.

In the case of Brower's organization, the FOEI, a small secretariat (based in Amsterdam), provides support for the network and its agreed major campaigns. The executive committee of elected representatives from national groups set policy and oversee the work of the secretariat.

Technology executives have culturally become accustomed to wanting to "take over the world" and create the "next Google," yet few realize the short and long-term gains of making a significant impact through relationship development, localization and social action.

It's time to stop worrying about the ozone, global warming and war in Iraq and start focusing on what we can do here, in our backyard, which will make a local, and ultimately global impact on our society and the world at large.

Even your dog has a blog

Even though your dog has a blog, I thought this would be a good time to re-start mine. Why? When tens of thousands of bloggers are blogging per day, why start a new banter, assuming people will want to chime in, link back and gosh knows what else? Well, there's a lot of blogs commenting on other blogs, posting news, giving away thoughts on how to do this and that, but few that are actually straight talking, not complaining, posts on the analysis of outside tech and non-tech influences which can gives ideas to the marketing and public relations of emerging technology businesses. Recently I sat down with a client who explained that he's the Barack Obama and his main competitor is the "incumbent," Hillary Clinton.

Barack Obama stands for change.

Hillary Clinton banks on experience.

And, our client, well, he's trying to think of how his company is differentiated from the market leader. Yeah, one could argue that Hillary is not the market leader, though she is better known, at least from her association with Bill Clinton, having been first lady to the 42nd President of the United States. Though, jumping back to our client's dilemma, does he really need one differentiated message to get himself into the House?

Both presidential candidates have different messages, yet are they really saying anything that will cause voters to cast their lines in one direction or another? That is to be determined. And, is either candidate's past successes enough to carry one or the other to the White House? I think not. Experience isn't necessarily the baseline for a Presidential nomination. So what really could take an incumbent off of his/her seat?

Maybe it's that "one issue" that hasn't been solidly addressed? Maybe it's a pledge of support from outside, third party advocates? Maybe it's just a matter of who gets more press in what major markets at what time. Timing is important, no doubt. And, unfortunately so, because people today, with the many choices, tend to be very fickle, but I digress.

What's really critical is that our client doesn't focus wholly on his opponent. I'm not a big sports fan, but have noticed on more than one occasion that when a football team is constantly on the defense, it's not because their winning. I've also noticed that when fellow colleagues are fighting every word, not listening, learning and strengthening their position, all focus is lost, and circular arguments set in.

I'm not suggesting that our client start waving his flag, hurriedly yelping for attention. That's not good either. But, rather, it's the series of a constant, evolving marketing of events which will lead his ultimate defeat of the giant. So where does he start? Like any good runner, at the beginning. But, not at the beginning of the race.

It is critical that he take the time to develop a message, stake in the ground, that he feels will resonate with his base, and that of his opponents. It's also important that he establish themes which will follow one another and build out his story speaking to the evolution of his business, as it relates to and fits within the market and what he ultimately wants to achieve. It's also necessary to be consistent across all vehicles of communication. Does any of this sound familiar to you? Why isn't this easy to do?

Just winning the popular vote won’t move you into the House (as Al Gore learned). It will take a strategy that knocks the other candidate out, presumes to know its competitor’s next move, and that skyrockets a candidate to the top of the heap. It will take a contender that is willing to take that big risk and, take a stand.