Media Archives - Page 7 of 12 - McLellan Marketing Group

Lies travel at the speed of the Internet – what to do if they’re about you

August 13, 2008

One of the amazing things about the Internet is the speed at which information is shared and digested. When a young journalist was jailed in Egypt that was a good thing.

But for American Airlines, sometimes the speed stings. Bad.

All over the net (and in print pubs like the Washington Times) headlines like "American Airlines Charges Soldiers For Extra Bags" appeared and then the stories go on to describe how American Airlines is charging soldiers traveling on orders to Iraq or elsewhere a fee for their 2nd and 3rd bags, in alignment with their new policies.

It’s a doozy of a headline. But, it’s not true. For the whole story, check out what the Seattle Times has to say.

But what should you do if you find your company in the spot American Airlines has been in – at the receiving end of false information (or misinformation) on a blog?

Secure the facts first. The last thing you want to do to accidentally deny something that’s got a kernel of truth in it or give false information.
Write a response that is clear (no weasel words), free of emotion and professional.
Decide how you’d like to release the response (based on the tone, impact, intent of original blog post).
Execute your plan and be accessible for follow up questions.
If you have a blog, deal with it there as well, even if it wasn’t raised there. That’s where many people will go to see if you have responded.

When you’re in the cross hairs — you need to respond quickly and judiciously. Unlike the good old days, you don’t have a lot of time to ponder the possibilities. If you’re wondering how quickly a spark can build into an inferno, ask American Girl.

United’s new TV campaign. Effective or not so much?

August 11, 2008

The airlines are in trouble, people complaining about flying, yours truly gets stuck in an airport or has a flight get canceled every time he turns around, and the hassle factor has never been worse.

Oh yeah…they’re now charging us for just about everything. I expect the pay toilets to be installed any day.

We all know the airlines are struggling. So if you were the VP of Marketing for United, what kind of commercials would you ask your agency for? What would be your key message?

Check out these two new United spots and tell us what you think. This first one is called "Heart." (If you’re reading this via e-mail or RSS — click on the headline to view the spots.)

This one is called "Two Worlds."

So….what’s your take on the ads, their intent and their effectiveness?

(To see the entire campaign…)

Help a reporter and help yourself

August 11, 2008

Peter Shankman is a smart cookie. He’s created a network of reporters which I’m sure is growing every day. He’s also creating a mailing list of PR folks, business owners, marketers etc. who would be good sources for those reporters.

Do you see Peter’s brilliance? He’s a media match maker. 3 times a day, he sends out an e-mail with reporter’s requests. If you fit the bill, you contact the reporter directly and you or your company may enjoy the glare of the media’s bright lights.

Help Out A Reporter (HARO) only works if people show a bit of self-restraint. If you really aren’t the perfect fit, then be responsible and don’t waste the reporter’s time.

Peter has organized his e-mails so we can scan them quickly. You could easily know if there’s anything for you within 3 minutes.

The needs range from parents who have faced a certain problem to accountants who can speak to an issue, to insurance questions, relationship stories and health care issues. There really is a huge range and sooner or later — you will be the right fit.

By the way — did I mention this was free?

Don’t pitch if it isn’t news

July 14, 2008

Everyone wants media coverage and gets frustrated when they don’t get it. Reporters and editors aren’t ignoring your news releases – they’re just doing their job.

If you help them do their job, they will help you do yours.

The media (of all kinds) gets bombarded with releases every day. Think about some of the recent releases you’ve written. Your business celebrates 25 years. You won an industry award. Important to you? You bet.

But remember, a journalist’s job is to report news that matters to their audience.

When you write a release, ask yourself a simple question. "So what?" And be honest. Why would this matter to someone outside our organization? If the answer is that it doesn’t, you need to find a way to make it relevant to them.

For example, let’s say you own an art store and are offering a pottery class. By itself, it’s not all that newsworthy, except perhaps in the community listings.

What if you did some research and found that 43% of all American adults claim that one of their hobbies is some form of art. You dig a little deeper and find some statistics about art therapy and stress reduction. Now you have something to offer. Your class listings can be a part of a bigger story about reducing stress through art therapy or how art is the nation’s fastest growing hobby.

One of the basic rules of writing marketing pieces is remember your audience. In the case of an effective news release you need to double that effort. Not only do you need to remember the reporter but you also need to think about the reporter’s audience and what matters to them.

Check out this post on Do’s and Don’t written by a reporter. Words to the wise for sure!

Want a beer with your Wall Street Journal?

June 26, 2008

Two very nice things happened over the past couple weeks. This blog was named by the Wall Street Journal as one of the 15 Entrepreneur Blogs Worth reading.

Then….as if that wasn’t cool enough, a blogger I have just discovered, Mark Nagurski from Really Practical Marketing wrote about a Marketing Minute post on his blog. He said, in part, "The more I read from Drew McLellan the more I want to buy him a beer…"

So of course, I commented on his blog, saying that I was printing off his post and if we were ever in the same place (he’s in Ireland) I was totally calling him on the beer offer. Come on…the man said free beer.

Mark goes one better and finds YouGotBeer.com. He was literally able to buy me a beer over the internet. I got an e-mail notice that he had bought me a beer. I go to the site and choose which restaurant (and there are several) I’d like to get my beer from and voila, they send me a gift card!

Being mentioned in the Wall Street Journal AND a free beer. It doesn’t get much better!

The other blogs mentioned in the WSJ article are:

The Eco-Capitalist
Get Elastic
Seth Godin
Guy Kawasaki
Lifestream
Malcolm Gladwell
WorkHappy.net
Small Biz Trends
Duct Tape Marketing
Drew’s Marketing Minute
Holly Dunlap
Justine Ezarik
Honest Tea
Craig Newmark
Mark Cuban

The evolution of today’s newspapers?

May 28, 2008

You see it in headlines everywhere. You can practically hear them clanging the church bells to signal it’s all over. "Newspapers are dying. Circulation is dropping. Blah, blah, blah." Which of course, sends advertisers into a panic. Maybe a newspaper buy is foolish?

Not so fast.

David Reich, an expert on such things, suggests that the death knoll is premature and I tend to agree with him.

Are the publishers under incredible pressures? You bet. Has the competition stepped up their game? Indeed. Is there simply more competition? Without a doubt. Are more young people turning to the internet to get their news? By the droves.

So how can David and I remain optimistic?

Ask yourself this. If you want to dive into the news of your local community, where do you turn? If there’s a natural disaster like a tornado or scandal at your local university, where do you go?

Research shows that most of us still turn to our local newspaper when we want to be in the know. Which makes sense. They’re right here, gathering the facts and creating tons of fresh content every day. Now, it’s true that many of us may go online to the paper’s website rather than read the actual paper. But, it’s still who we trust to give us the straight scoop.

Do I think today’s newspapers need to step it up and compete differently? Yes. I think they need to recognize that how (paper versus online or some other delivery model) they deliver their news is less important than understanding the news they can uniquely deliver.

I also think they need to get very comfortable straddling their historical place in the community and their need for being a part of this century. Check out this thought provoking by Jason Kintzler over at Social Media Today. How newspapers could harness and leverage the power of social media.

What do you think?

Tired of getting caught in the SPAM filter?

March 24, 2008

Are you using e-mail based marketing efforts only to discover that a good proportion of your target audience is never seeing your message? Is your e-zine or e-mail getting snagged by their SPAM filter and tossed into the trash?

As companies tighten their anti-spam filters, more and more legitimate e-mail is getting caught in the same trap.

Check out this free tool that will check your content for red flags before you send it. You just fill out a brief form, cut and paste your content into the right field and you will get an instant and free report. They’ll identify any problematic elements in your content and suggest alternatives.

It’s free. It’s easy. And it will save you time and headaches. What’s not to love?

WowOwow! And I really mean it.

March 9, 2008

Look at this list of women. Do your best not to say WOW at least once.

Lesley Stahl, Peggy Noonan, Liz Smith, Joni Evans, Mary Wells, Sheila Nevins, Joan Juliet Buck, Whoopi Goldberg, Julia Reed, Joan Ganz Cooney, Judith Martin, Candice Bergen, Lily Tomlin, Jane Wagner, and Marlo Thomas.

I know…can’t be done. Go ahead. Give yourself permission. Wow.

That is a power-packed list. Women who have incredible influence in many different fields. Apparently, they’ve been friends for some time and as they say:

"And for years we have been talking to each other about everything under the sun – our families, our work, our worlds. No matter what was happening in our lives, we made the time. We’ve shared what we think, observe and experience each day.

And now we want to share it with you."

The call it a conversation on the internet. I call it a blog. But….in very short order, we’re going to call it a force. Their question of the day for yesterday was….which 4 women would you like to see on Mt. Rushmore. 70+ comments.

Umm, that was on the day of their launch, International Women’s Day. Imagine how popular they’ll be in a week!

Hats off to these ladies, their fascinating conversations and their wisdom in inviting us to join in.

So here’s what I am wondering. How will this site and these women influence the blogosphere, the media, advertisers or public perception?

Viral video — are you the expert?

February 22, 2008

It started with a simple question. Do you viral video?

Let’s wrap up our discussion on the phenomenon of viral video and its many purposes.

We’ve culled through the stats that show the rapid rise of viral video viewing, we’ve talked about how some companies are using the medium to just get in front of as many people as possible and we’ve also looked at the educational aspects of the medium. In the last installment, we also talked about how some are using video simply to be heard over the din of marketing messages.

One of the other applications/goals that seems ideally suited for video is demonstrating an expertise. While writing a white paper for your website or even sharing your PowerPoint slides will allow you to share your expertise, it lacks the emotional connection that a video can give you.

Matt Dickman, from Fleishman-Hillard, has really established himself as a social media tools expert by producing a series of videos in which he dissects a particular application or site. In the example below, he introduces his subscribers to Utterz.

The beauty of what Matt has done is that he’s become our tour guide. He makes his audience comfortable with the new tools. He explains them in language that everyone can understand and he takes the time to lay some groundwork before he dives in.

With his series approach, we also make the assumption that he knows a lot about ALL the web-based tools out there. Does he? I don’t know, but he’d sure be one of the first I would ask. He’s proven to me that he’s an expert in this field.

How could you use viral video to spotlight your expertise in a way that’s both compelling and something people would want to pass onto their friends/peers?

How could you use viral video to showcase your skills if you wanted to be the on-air talent? How about if you didn’t?

Other posts in this series:
Do you viral video?
Viral video – are you looking for a lot of eyes?
Viral video — are you trying to educate?
Viral video – are you trying to be heard over the noise?
Viral video — are you establishing yourself as an expert?

What’s your Facebook strategy?

February 15, 2008

I’ve had Jason Alba and Jesse Stay’s new e-book I’m on Facebook – Now What?? for a few weeks. I’d planned on reviewing it sooner, but I found it to be incredibly slow reading.

Why?

Because every few pages, something they wrote had me going back to my Facebook account and adding, subtracting or adjusting something.

Jason and Jesse have created a very clear, concise guide to the many ways you can enhance your professional life with Facebook. There are plenty of screen shots and examples to illustrate their points. One of my favorite features is that each chapter ends with a little "To Do" list that helps readers apply what they just learned.

As you would imagine, the book is structured to take a novice from start to finish. So if you’re already a seasoned Facebook user, you can skip the first chapter or two. The meatiest part of the book are the center chapters but they are nicely bookended with the intro to Facebook on the front and the etiquette and glossary on the back.

Here’s how the book is laid out:

Introduction
Chapter 1: Getting Started
Chapter 2: Getting Involved
Chapter 3: Commonly Asked Questions
Chapter 4: Facebook Applications
Chapter 5: Privacy
Chapter 6: Your Facebook Strategy
Chapter 7: Facebook for Business(es)
Chapter 8: Facebook No-No’s
Chapter 9: Additional Resources
Conclusion
Appendix A: Non-storable Data

If you’re looking for a lot of background on Facebook or big picture statistics — this isn’t the book for you. But if you want to dig into this social media tool and really make it work for you and your business — it’s well worth the read.

You can buy it straight from their publishers. They also (of course) have a blog on the topic.

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