Where does superior work come from in the PR and marketing communications field? Ok, so you say the work comes out of the heads of talented people. To be sure. But what separates the players from the posers? How do some people take their careers and business solutions to higher levels while others just mark their time “executing the project”?
We all think of super successful professional athletes and musicians or actors as people with incredible talent. Born that way maybe? Physically designed for success in their chosen field in some way? Lucky even? Maybe not. Read on.
The Brains Business…
In the PR and marketing game, we live in an intellectual property world informed by big ideas and remarkable insights. Certainly at the academic level there’s specific training in communications, public relations and marketing that helps fill the brain with understanding how these tools and disciplines work. But as said earlier some will succeed on higher levels down the line.
How can PR people achieve at the top levels? What separates the best from less than that? Is it luck? Ingrained talent? IQ scores? Contacts and relationships? No truer words were ever spoken on this earth than “You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know.” And therein lies the start of understanding the path to better performances. And nowhere is this better illustrated than by example from one of the most successful rock bands of all time, The Beatles.
Fab Four Fame an Act of God, Force of Nature or Sheer Luck?
In his fabulous book, Outliers, author Malcolm Gladwell dissects success and achievement, blowing away the myths of fate and born-with-it talent that seems to pave the way for superstardom in one’s chosen field. The Beatles it turns out were a living example of what Gladwell calls the 10,000-hour rule. The band, formed in 1957 in Liverpool, was unremarkable in its early days. Until, a club owner in Hamburg, Germany signed them up to play over a period of years in a setting that is absolutely remarkable for one thing: the Clubs were open 24 hours. The band played seven days a week, often for 5 to 6 hours a day or more.
Over a two-year period, The Beatles played 1,200 times. Most bands don’t even secure that much on-stage performance experience in the course of a career. They played non-stop thus having to learn extraordinary amounts of material. They played, and played, and played. Outcome: the enormous amount of work put in forged a band with incredible skill sets. Gladwell’s conclusion: what separates the major winners from also-rans is at least 10,000 hours of focus and dedication to learning, growing and doing in ones field. Mastery is achieved when the effort put in is exceptional and extraordinary. Anything less and mastery is virtually impossible to secure.
How does this play out in PR?
Study, study, study and then study some more. Know everything about your client’s business and category. Read every publication you can get your hands on related to our field and practice generally. Feed your head through a continued effort to draw from the best minds in the marketing and communications field.
How do you leap ahead of “You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know”? By making the communications and brand-building world an avocation as much as it is an occupation. Study, absorb, listen, read and focus your efforts on learning. Write and publish in our field – writing by the way is an essential practice (we’re story tellers) and one that you get better at only by doing. The more you know about a business and the competitors and the consumer who buys, the more creative and strategic the solutions get.
Out-sized ideas are not accidents, they are the outcome knowing, studying, digging deep to get your arms around the grist of what drives a business and what stands in the way of its growth.
As you work to expand what you know and understand about communication, human behavior and brand creation, the more clients will believe you have something special to offer. Programs get better, more creative. Your ability to help solve more problems grows exponentially.
How can you get to your 10,000 hours more quickly? Sorry there’s no way around it. Hard work followed by more of the same.
Your brand as expert in third-party content key to completing media picture
By Robert Wheatley
Ok, you’re doing business in a high involvement category like pet care, or you’re competing in a business where you’ve found a relevant issue or passion your consumers truly care about — like childcare products and addressing the parenting advice needs of new moms and dads.
You want to take advantage of the vast capabilities social networks provide along with other digital channels to publish, to inform, to give your brand a voice as a trusted source of education and information on topics that matter to your best customers.
Curating — another step along the path…
To be sure optimizing earned, owned, shared and paid channels is critical to taking a holistic approach to communication – one that recognizes the consumer is truly in control of the relationship and we need to be present where and when they choose to engage.
That said there’s another and equally compelling arena for engagement that truly helps complete the picture on the road to becoming more valuable and enticing as a trusted, useful source.
This story in the Chicago Tribune charts the sea change in the pet care category as super-premium diets gain traction and consumers increasingly see their pets as family. So behaviorally they’re working over-time to understand the finer points of pet nutrition. There’s just so much to learn for so many sources. Who can make sense of it?
Savvy pet care brands can help. You can help too in your category. How? Curate the third party info out there.
The Internet presents itself as a gigantic and perhaps infinite library and broadcaster of material, information, media and advice. Brands can play an invaluable role to help separate wheat from chaff in the overwhelming landslide of this content — and in doing so bring the best of third party media forward in an organized, easy-to-consume way.
The goal: be an expert and respected tour guide in subject areas that matter to the relevant lifestyle passions and interests of your core consumers. Simply said don’t just publish exciting original content but also edit the abundance that’s already out there from other credible sources.
Add context to the content…
There’s more to it than simply aggregating a portfolio of blogs, articles and broadcasts. Add context and commentary that helps layer on a sense of meaning, direction, guidance and interpretation. This is what a trusted source does: separate the useful from the not so and then add color and value to the most relevant material out there.
After all, your brand is an “expert” in its category, right? Who better to help sift through and identify the best and then provide it to your fans and followers. Just another way to add greater value — to matter — in the relationship you’re working tirelessly to build with consumers and stakeholders.
In the most recent issue of ADWEEK we find an article about the iconic and revered media fashion bible Vogue magazine, and its new Influencer Network of 1,000 women bloggers who have some form of sway with fashionistas in the fashion world.
So a highly respected media property recognizes the power of self-appointed fashion experts and works to align itself with this incremental and important cog in the marketing wheel. The Influencer network of course is accessible to the magazine’s advertisers. And according to ADWEEK the panel members are not paid. Very important and thus credibility maintained. They are asked to provide “feedback” on everything from new product concepts to fashion collections and new campaign materials. And encouraged to talk about products in their networks.
Some time ago we developed a rough approximation of this phenomena and called it the Circle of Influence. Influence matters greatly – to traction of messaging, to credibility, to awareness, to driving word of mouth, to trial and ultimately to sales growth.
Here’s the nuance that matters: Collaboration with bloggers and experts…
Forging a deeper relationship that goes beyond treating the blogger media channel as simply that, another channel of media. Take Neiman Marcus for example. In their NM Daily maga-blog, they recently ran a post featuring photos and links to fashion bloggers they know and respect who wore the season’s new hot color pink – a trend condition thus verified through the involvement of bloggers on the topic.
So what does this mean to you? In a nutshell, it means working to create a closer-in connection and collegial relationship with the most respected bloggers and experts in your category. Not just reaching out to inform them of new products and other initiatives. We’re talking about investment and infrastructure.
Bloggers are media so access to news and information before it hits the mainstream is meaningful. Giving them the opportunity to try, sample and experience new products, new marketing platforms before they go live are important. Seeking out their opinions and views on new programs and campaigns helps make them insiders. Inviting them to your offices for visits, tours and meetings helps build the rapport.
How do you define who matters? Here are some tips to identify the best of the best:
1. Cross platform engagement: the most savvy bloggers and experts (who usually are also bloggers) spread their work across multiple platforms including email, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.
2. Passion and strength of voice: you can tell by reading their work, the frequency of the posts, the due diligence done to unearth new information, whether you’re dealing with a poser or a passionate expert.
3. Audience: numbers are useful as verification tools but should not be treated as the determining metric. Quality of the editorial product needs to be weighed with this. Look for linking with other leading experts and those who actively engage with commentary in other blogs.
4. Quote-able source: bloggers who rate higher in the influence arena are also quote-able sources in mainstream channels and online editions of conventional media properties. It’s a measure of their value and power when traditional channels look to them for comment.
5. Compatibility: you know your brand’s voice, it’s point of view in the marketplace. Does the blogger share your sensibilities? More likely the relationship will prosper if you find yourselves frequently on the same side of the opinion fence. Doesn’t mean you need to agree 100% of the time, just more often than not.
Relationships matter and our advice is this: treat these important constituents like your very best customers. Identify the top players and develop infrastructure to facilitate a close-in relationship. Consider embedding that relationship in our social media platforms, too.
I love my two Newfoundland’s Goliath and Olympus. I care about them. I enjoy being with them, drool and all. But you know who loves them even more than me? Dr. Marty Becker, perhaps the most famous of all Veterinarians in America and certainly one of the most visible, knowledgeable pet care experts on the planet. He’s a regular contributor on ABC’s Good Morning America and the Dr. Oz Show.
Does he know my two black behemoths? No. But this man genuinely cares about animals and their health and welfare like a passionate preacher cares for his flock.
Dr. Becker’s book-tour-on-a-rock ‘n roll bus steered into Chicago recently for an appearance at the Bloomingdale PETCO store. The book signing sandwiched between various media interviews and a nice helping on the side of warm greetings and hugs with his many fans and acquaintances. He’s on a national tour to promote a his new book “Your Dog: The Owner’s Manual” – perhaps the best book of its kind – to provide innovative, creative and practical guidance for pet parents in caring for their four-legged family members.
I ran out to Bloomingdale on a mission to chat with Marty about FOUND (I’m on the Board), the unique Chicago-based animal rescue organization that focuses on the most extreme cases of abuse and health problems – those animals who will be put down if not treated with the transformational care and therapies at FOUND. I arrived early but no matter, from the moment I set foot in the parking lot and walked up to Marty to say hello, admirers from near and far were at hand.
It’s great to be loved and clearly he is. His warmth and accessibility made for instant rapport and inclusion for all who approached. More importantly his affinity for the four-legged fans was obvious and apparent. And thus why his book will do well. It’s the authenticity and passion that drives this man and thus his ability to exude from every pore the innate sense of trust people gravitate to.
He’s also pretty good at creating handles for pet care ideas and short cuts such that the rest of us will remembers his suggestions on improved wellness, nutrition and training. (Watch the ABC7 interview link above).
I digress. This blog is about marketing and communications best practices and you can see it here in the seamless integration of experience (bus tour) combined with media appearances (earned media this credible awareness) and wrapped within an outstanding social media presence where conversation meets content brilliantly. Marty knows that helping people is how you build relationships and achieve success in the longer run.
Social media is not about a transactional mentality to strict adherence to product feature and benefit messaging. Rather its about being genuinely helpful and providing information that’s relevant to people and their lifestyles. Pet ownership by the way, is absolutely a lifestyle. So with passion and purpose Marty populates his book launch campaign with useful information, genuine caring, up-close conversation and a strong measure of media savvy. It takes hard work and obviously Marty is up for it. Then again why wouldn’t he when it’s obviously his life’s mission.
Bravo. By the way, Marty’s bus was previously rolling on the Lady GaGa tour. Lots of strategically placed mirrors. What fun…
Ok, so what’s an editorial voice and why does it matter? If you’re exploring the role of content marketing (brand produced media content) in the mix of your communications efforts, then editorial voice is job one in helping you define the best practices to position your brand as a trusted source.
In a recent edition of AdWeek magazine some important facts emerged: 27 million pieces of online content are shared daily. 23 percent of social media messages contain links to content. There are brands in virtually every consumer category now looking for the right path to more productively activate their presence in social media channels. Fundamental to that goal is creating and offering compelling content that serves as the fuel to drive and activate social engagement.
So it’s no surprise brand owned content is rapidly gaining traction as a rising star in the marketing arsenal. Back in the day brands looked at media as something you bought. Today brands ARE media – publishers and producers of video and narrative content that operates in the same way as conventional media to reach, engage, educate and sometimes purely entertain your best customers.
But this is unlike the media proposition most CMOs are used to. It is not advertising. And shouldn’t be handled as such. It is closer in many respects to the tenets and principles of editorial media and reporting – the province of PR. News has always thrived no matter if its investigative or soft feature oriented, based on its relevance, value and credibility as a reliable source of interesting information. Even as brands acquire the tools to become publishers and producers, the same rules apply: you must first be a trusted source. And that’s as much in the saying as it is in the doing.
What’s the key to making all this work? Finding your editorial voice.
It is hard for businesses to do this internally. The skill sets and needs require a blend of editorial savvy, experience AND creativity. Consumers recognize a voice that is pure promotion from one that is meant to inform, teach, advise, explain or entertain. And its not that easy – you can’t bore your audience into engagement either.
Public relations has been viewed and defined for decades as a discipline focused on knowledge of the news media, reporting principles and access to this credible and powerful channel of communication. To be sure there’s more going on in the PR discipline than publicity. But for the most part, the outside world quickly “goes there” when looking at the value proposition for PR in the mix of communications tools for businesses and brands.
Now that same expertise and capability you reached for to get into the newspaper, magazine or TV program, is coming to the fore as best-in-class creators of content published by brands in social channels.
Editorial voice is about how messages are crafted and presented. Whether in narrative or video form yes, it MUST BE entertaining and interesting but it also can’t feel like a sales pitch.
Here are the essential keys to doing this right:
Editorial calendar
Put some infrastructure underneath this effort to think and operate like a traditional media organization. From quarter to quarter, what topics will you cover that will be of interest to your consumers? Build an editorial calendar to shape this content schedule and help you focus on tasks required to produce it.
Deploying outside expert voices
Outside experts bring added cachet to the table, respect and credibility to what’s being said. Trust is key here to success and can be helped along by routinely using outside experts as quote-able sources. The brand gets instant rub-off benefits of reliability when respected third parties are involved in the content you develop.
Reportorial approach
Don’t pitch, inform. Start a conversation. Speak with not at. Yes authority is useful and important but the editorial voice doesn’t cross the line into overt selling. It’s an unselfish form of communication that springs from businesses that truly care about their customers and thus want to become a relevant part of their lifestyles.
Emerging trends
“You heard it here first.” Well if not first then at least early in. Start the discussion on emerging trends. Become a valued source on information about subjects that impact your consumer’s lifestyle.
Frequency matters
What’s the shelf life of a newspaper? One day and then it lines the cat box. Similarly news and content should be constantly in a state of evolution and change. New episodes, articles, interviews. Keep it fresh. Short lead media like blogs can be supplemented with long-lead material like e-zines, webinars and e-books. Mid-stream content in the form of video and podcasts should be considered in context of where these mediums most benefit the story telling.
Aggregate and curate
Bring in and showcase other outside sources of content you know are relevant and offer it up to your audience of brand fans. Again your objective is to be a respected and trusted source and thus a reason to be generous in recognizing other work from other places that is meaningful.
PR lives in the editorial space and understands how to create messaging that conveys information in this way. The great news: the end product is nonetheless a controlled message. Its delivery is assured. And the platforms where it exists are measurable in every way. What is your responsibility though to make this work successfully? First find and retain your editorial voice.
The value proposition for what a great agency can (should?) deliver
By Robert Wheatley
What is powerful communication? Well you know it when you’re confronted with it, right? When it moves you. When it evokes a strong feeling or visceral response. This leads us directly to discovering the value proposition for an agency such as W&T. What is it exactly that we deliver to our clients?
Hopefully it includes transformational ideas that can alter the course of a brand’s trajectory and business results. To be sure the usual litmus test of our capability is often examined through the lens of campaign-able events and larger-scale integrated projects and programs.
That said at a fundamental level PR and social media communication is made powerful by how we use specific words and pictures to convey a story. In-other-words WHAT we say and importantly, HOW we say it. With sentiment. With anticipation. With passion and emotion. Please watch this video all the way through — then let’s talk some more.
Was there an “aha” moment here? Yep. A change of verbiage delivers a change in behavior. Sure this is a story well told. Point has been made: words matter. They can be used to great impact or something less than that. You can state the obvious — or develop dramatic new context by altering the way a brand message or proposition is conveyed.
Every so often we come face-to-face with process working to overtake ideas. With the urgency to “get the word out” driving the program boat, sometimes there’s a chance this momentum will super-cede the need to devote time and energy to creating a stronger and more compelling message.
Words can take you somewhere unexpected – or not. What you say can be simply a statement of the obvious – here’s my product, my feature and my benefit. Or, with a change of positioning, you can alter the course of brand history with a thought that grabs consumers in compelling fashion.
This is what we’re on the planet to accomplish at W&T. To find the right context that inspires and engages.
Pet Food Forum presentation challenges industry to consider new pet ownership paradigm
By Robert Wheatley
If anything our agency has a long-standing love affair with the pet care category. It’s a business we have a passion for. And that comes out routinely in our efforts to position ourselves as thought-leaders and public relations/social media experts in generating pet care brand growth.
This week I had the wonderful privilege of presenting at the Pet Food Forum convention here in Chicago. Delightfully, the folks at Watt Publishing (Debbie Phillips in particular) who produce Pet Food Industry magazine and this annual conference for pet food manufacturers, allowed me to collaborate on a unique presentation with David Lummis of Packaged Facts research.
Both David and I share a personal interest in emerging evidence that there is a tangible, demonstrable, documented connection between pet ownership and human health and wellness benefits. This is a transformative idea for pet ownership and may well be for the pet care business generally. Bottom line: successful brand communication springs from relevance of the message to the consumer. And what could be more relevant than your pet supporting your own health?
Dr. Marty Becker, perhaps the nation’s most well-known celebrity vet and pet care advocate wrote a book called the “Healing Power of Pets” where we describes pet ownership as a “Human Life Support System.” Marty deserves credit and a big thank you for helping me gather data for this presentation.
Human health — virgin territory for pet brand building…
Right now the go-to-market platform for most pet care brands is focused on celebrating the emotional bond that resides at the center of the relationship between pets and their two-legged parents. More recently there’s been an avalanche of pet food brand communication centered on superior pet food ingredient story telling. A phenomenon we call “premiumization” has taken root and drives the entire industry. The massive 2007 pet food recall opened the doors to public discovery of what pet food ingredient terms mean and ushered in a new era of redefinition and re-staging of higher quality pet diets. That said, the focus on ingredients breeds too much similarity (we call this specsmanship) in brand conversations with consumers.
No one has really moved as yet to expand their brand voice to address the connection between pet ownership and improved health and wellness for the pet parent. Hence our goal at the conference to get this on the industry’s radar screen…
What rich territory to mine for engagement when you consider the chance to expand the pet care value proposition to include protecting, elevating your own health. The pet and pet parent relationship is an amazing story of emotional bond in itself. The symbiotic nature of this – one protects the health and wellbeing of the other – is just exciting. Brands that get this right can redefine the conversation and drive a wedge of differentiation in how they go to market.
YouTube functionality supports converting engagement to sale
By Robert Wheatley
Scanning the recent edition of Google’s recent self-published e-zine Think Quarterly, I ran across an article on functionality improvements at YouTube that permit viewers to buy items they like within the production via a point/click hotlink to another web platform.
Video is an engaging and entertaining medium. With high involvement categories that naturally attract an enthusiastic fan base, you can immediately see the business-generating opportunities when taking advantage of viewer interest and converting “in the moment” to a purchase opportunity.
The site above, You-Tique, is a great example of a fashion business aggregating a series of trend videos around everything from “What’s New for Spring” to occasion based ideas, such as what to wear for a hot date. The use of a Stylist expert helps set the credibility and value equation at the right level right out of the gate.
From there viewers can watch a model wearing the products and click to buy while viewing the video. It’s easy, pretty painless and, in my opinion, way more effective than looking at still photos of a product with narrative information alongside.
Zappos has figured out that online e-tailing gets compelling when you combine the right products with exemplary service. So who knows if the folks behind You-Tique have similar policies for returns and friendly live support. That said, the concept of watch and buy is just plain captivating.
You get richer story telling, context, validation and other benefits that outshine static web site galleries by adding the flavor of video production to the whole proposition. May not be right for every product category but this peek at the future is exciting none-the-less. Think Quarterly says the click through rates for You-Tique have been stellar…
How a strategic mission can fuel the next historic move in marketing and PR.
By Robert Wheatley
Most of us have experienced a point in our careers when the stars aligned as our PR campaigns and marketing programs achieved dramatic perhaps even monumental results. A moment in time when we almost can’t believe what we’ve just witnessed in business growth, consumer buzz, perhaps major media attention — or to leap-frog a much bigger competitor with a better idea the world says yes to.
Life’s achievements, career or otherwise, are to be savored — and we hope dearly, to be repeated. No one-hit-wonder here. Nope, not a one-trick pony, right? We always say this under our breath with a slight tinge of trepidation that maybe the big outcome will be hard to come by a second or third time. So we push ahead eager that some of the magic and creative lightening will strike twice and hit the results jackpot again. Dumb luck you think? No….
So what is the grist of this success made of these days? Is there a consistent theme within these experiences and projects that metaphorically or mathematically blew the doors off? It is highly probable they were big bets representing a strategic swing for the fence. Some risk capital, personal and otherwise, was expended. Let’s explore some evolutions in the current path to remarkable marketing achievement….
Finding Your Mission…
Lately we’re seeing some organizations up the ante and scope of their marketing and outreach efforts by enveloping their brands in an initiative that draws from a more cinematic scope and mission.
Take ConAgra’s recent announcement of a multi-brand campaign entitled Child Hunger Ends Here. No small cause and one that resonates with moms everywhere who understand and appreciate the plight of less fortunate children. The project unites a portfolio of their packaged foods brands under a single banner.
Or Pepsico’s massive “Refresh Project” – an initiative that falls from the company’s efforts to emphasize social values while working to embed greater meaning into their brands and businesses. Refresh invites investment proposals from all comers at the local level for arts, music, community and education projects.
And the comprehensive, “Live Music Series” lifestyle program from Jim Beam bourbon that helps unlock the social connections inherent in their business category. Beam is sponsoring and presenting an array of music events, offers and experiences. What resonates here is the commitment to relevance with their core target audience’s lifestyle passions and aspirations.
By definition we’re wading into territory populated with larger-in-scope, transformative projects that carry with them the potential to impact brand and business behavior. And in doing so fulfill the definition of what we would call a “BIG” idea: bigger in agenda, bigger in reach, bigger in ambition and hopefully attached also to bigger outcomes and long-term benefits.
Efforts in this vein surely will work harder to break through the rust of rampant, epidemic indifference that exists virtually everywhere. Sounds good, but what’s the path look like? Let’s examine five key elements that together bring some magic to the table when working to elevate the brand’s mission and meaning to a higher level:
1. A historic sense of gravitas, mattering and purpose – consumer behaviorists tell us that people want to be a part of something bigger than themselves (And so by the way do employees, too). Projects that spring from a foundation of greater meaning, value and symbolism in turn infuse the business with superior significance and worth. There’s just a richer conversation to be had than the year-to-year rework of product feature and benefit messaging
2. Momentum to ante-up a clutter-busting focus of resources (not tonnage in spend but in cross-channel deployment) – more horsepower is secured when the concept also waves the flag of moral imperative or corporate calling. The aggregation of assets on a single platform creates potential homerun clout. Much needed in a marketing environment already riven with attention deficits and loss of grip in conventional media channels
3. The concept is drenched with inherent merit, married to simplicity – and thus it immediately gains power and demands attention. Said another way the intellectual space a brand can expect to own exists in direct proportion to its meaning and value to the consumer. Projects of larger scope won’t work successfully if burdened by too many agendas or alternative messaging priorities all competing for brain time. Instead the simple thrust of hunger, community betterment and music are liberating in their ability to finally get somewhere with a human who invests very little mental territory with any one idea before moving on
4. Relentless devotion to consumer insight – These platforms all spring from understanding consumer aspirations, values and passions. Hunger, what gives? It’s the common thread of value and importance moms place on their primary role as caretaker of their children’s welfare. This is an over-arching common trait and mission within moms’ understanding of what matters. Matching the brand agenda to this prevailing behavior embraces the emotional ties so important in building brand relationships
5. Corporate reputation and brand reputation no longer separated – both are intertwined. Consumers watch and observe businesses to see if actions match words. Are an organization’s beliefs and values of equal priority with the demands of commerce and balance sheets? You are making a statement about what you believe in, what is important as a business and as a brand. A strategic mission creates an internal and external flagpole all stakeholders can rally around and salute. In doing so the faceless corporation gets an endearing face and the business results can benefit from this humanizing experience
Yes there’s a process required to correctly sync an organization’s DNA, values and understanding of the consumer’s lifestyle priorities with a mission that makes sense. But in equal measure it requires one other thing to make this “jackpot” moment recur. Fearlessness.
Go for it. Life is short and no great thing is accomplished by staying in the comfort zone.
The word “remarkable” now transformed for the digital age…
By Robert Wheatley
Yes, there was a time – way back when in the very early years of my career that I succumbed to an age old maneuver popularized by the likes of P.T.Barnum — and others way before me who discovered the media magic of a stunt.
I built the tallest cake in the world. At least it was the tallest then at 36-feet and weighing in at well over a 1,000 pounds. Why you ask? My client, a local independent TV station in the Seattle area had just completed a new broadcast tower that would be the highest man-made thing in the city. How to gin up some clutter busting awareness for something so benign as a massive pile of steel tubes? Sure it would radically improve the broadcast signal thus reception for this channel (stop laughing already — I know this sounds reminiscent of rabbit ears), but, yawn, it just didn’t feel like it would be rewarded with more than a mention here and there.
What to do? Wait I know, let’s build the tallest cake in the world in a popular shopping mall and sell pieces of it for charity! How cake got into the mix in my head I don’t quite remember but baked goods were always a favorite of mine. Perhaps the best move of all was the Associated Press photographer I had hired who got the perfect vertical moment-in-time photo: a large crowd gathered around TV news cameras pointed upwards to the ceiling just as the baker — standing on a giant lift – leaned over to place the last layer of cake that topped the world record. It was media magic around the globe – the remarkable photo and story ran everywhere…west coast, east coast and beyond.
Remarkable then not so remarkable now…
So this cake gambit brought added value in the era of push marketing communication when businesses were at the top of the heap in controlling the flow of news and information outward. Now we’ve seen it all, been there and done that. Shock and awe from around the world sits in our hands via smart phones. Thus the sheer novelty of really tall cakes seems quaint and underwhelming like the 4th of July farm tractor parade in a rural town.
We’ve dialed out the noise, disconnected ourselves from irrelevant stuff, put a hold on what’s coming at us as we self-select only the media channels that most reflect our personal interests and passions. We’re in the era of “me.”
Today remarkable means a brand and business has found a way to connect with us directly – as if in a personal conversation that’s about our self-interests not their own. We are amazed when businesses seem to know us personally and understand our needs. And even more surprised when the effort includes tangible acts of unselfishness and dare we say “friendship” behaviors that transcend the traditional “sell-buy” dynamic that pervades the old transactional style of marketing.
No what’s remarkable now has evolved. Not about stunts, cakes, shotgun media hits and PR by the pound. Today best practices aren’t found solely through the lens of a TV news camera trained on a larger-then-life stunt. We gain more ground now through intimate connections and relationship building. It’s tougher, requires more patience, more strategy, more effort and more insight than a Guinness record-breaking cake will ever serve up.
What do you think?
(The cake tasted great and editors ate it up, literally – ok, I’ll stop here)
By Robert Wheatley
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