By Robert Wheatley

Image c/o Getty Image

When I first got started in the PR business, I was impressed with our unique ability to bring a higher standard of proof, credibility and demonstration to new products and brand promises. But additionally I was concerned by an all-too-frequent focus on tactics (read: publicity) and what appeared to me to be an absence of connecting the dots between our work and business strategy. You know the old saying, “if the only thing you do is a hammer then the answer to every problem will be a nail.”

Just seemed to me that a stronger business proposition was to help client’s better understand their barriers to growth and success – before applying the cure. And in doing so to make sure the remedy laddered back to specific business outcomes, not fuzzy claims of “increased awareness.”

My first attempt at changing the view that PR was the province of press releases came in the form of a brand guidance plan developed for a regional food company called Nalley’s Fine Foods, based in Tacoma, Washington. My client didn’t ask for the plan, instead I treated this as “extracurricular” homework that might open the door to a larger playing field for our firm. It did.

In its day Nalley’s was a successful brand playing effectively in categories dominated by national stalwarts like Kraft, Frito-Lay and Vlasic – from salad dressings to snacks, canned meals, pickles and other packaged food categories. The platform I worked on was a refined recipe for go-to-market strategy and new product development behaviors appropriate for a business that sat in between generic store brand and large national players.

To get it done I had to study the categories and more fully acquaint myself with the channels of distribution and the growth drivers within each product category my client was competing in. There was no mention of PR in the brief. It was a great exercise and I learned a lot. The client was impressed that a PR guy would come to the table with this sort of perspective. Their opinion of what we did and were about changed. It was interesting to watch the transformation in their views and opinions. The experience had an impact to this day.

Wheatley & Timmons is a unique joining of similar strands of thinking – that the craft of editorial and social media forms of communication are enhanced and our value to clients improved as we marry our great creative work more closely to brand strategy guidance and the consumer insights required to make that leap.

It would probably be easier just to continue cultivating our best practices along traditional lines and devote all of our energies to being great tacticians. We think that’s table stakes. We fundamentally believe the world needs a better, more strategic PR firm and so we’re not satisfied with the traditional scope. My partner, Rich Timmons, shares this view and it’s our collective mission to redefine what a PR firm is all about. Missionary work to be sure given the perceptual baggage we carry with us — that “get me on Oprah” thing.

I couldn’t be prouder of the great people who’ve joined our team and their ability to embrace our calling and to deliver on this promise every day in the services we provide. It’s a challenge, but I think part of what makes you successful is your willingness to embrace a higher calling – to tackle something that goes beyond the communications training you’ve had. Makes you stretch.

Have we got it all figured out? Not by a long shot. Everyday is a learning experience, a chance to grow and refine our premise and our capabilities to deliver. We remain steadfastly determined on this path. Persistence can be a great ally, so we forge ahead and believe it’s by “demonstrating and doing” that all of this comes to life. This agency’s work for Sargento Foods is an example of bringing new perspective and ideas to the table about a brand’s future business opportunities in their category. Much the same as Rich and our team has done to such dramatic effect for Thermos brand and for Crescent in the art framing business.

We’re in the early stages of a new relationship with Crown Imports and the Corona beer franchise. It’s exciting. And not just because we know the beer business, but also we believe we can play a measurable role in helping improve their business outcomes and relevancy to a consumer — who is evolving right now.

The future

We believe that earned media (various forms of editorial media from conventional to digital) will continue to be vital but also see incremental growth for “owned” media – content created, published and distributed by brands themselves. Technology now allows us to leapfrog reporters, editors, producers and other media gatekeepers, to talk directly to consumers in environments that are more interactive and thus seen as honest.

Profoundly we see the mix of media solutions moving to embrace social platforms and other venues where brands and consumers can meet each other on more equal terms. Thus the over-arching need for relevancy between brand propositions and the lifestyle interests of their users.

One lesson remains true, from the days with Nalley’s to our work at Wheatley & Timmons over the next ten years: whatever we do in communications must be tied to a foundation of consumer insight and understanding. It’s what will inform our future and our ability to change and improve the growth path of the brands we represent.

I for one am looking forward to it. Cheers…

Happy couple now resides in Springfield, MO

By Robert Wheatley

From left to right — Andy Hopson, strategist and consultant to our firm and Noble, Bob Noble, CEO of his namesake agency and Rich Timmons, President of W&T standing in front of Noble’s 50-foot fork totem –an iconic nod to their firm’s heritage and expertise in food communications.

Our agency, like many these days, is in a constant state of reinvention as we work to align ourselves with the changing media landscape and resulting client communication needs. Chief among the requirements of effective communications and brand strategy guidance is the overwhelming need for up-to-the-minute insight into trends, consumer attitudes and behaviors.

We’re about to introduce you to CultureWaves…

Just a little background to start: We happen to believe in strategic partnerships, especially when a combination can change math so that 1 + 1 = 3 or more. And so it is that we are embarking on a partnership with Noble, a fascinating advertising, test kitchen, new product creation, Internet media and insight firm run by the visionary Bob Noble and his team of experts from, of all places, Springfield, MO. Yes they have a growing Chicago office, but the nerve center of Bob’s operations flows from his loft building environs on the business end of a shopping mall plaza in the Show Me state.

Bob’s unique take on the changing landscape is to re-think the agency business model. Voila, we had a simpatico going right out of the chute from our first meeting, as we share the same view that old agency business models and tactical capabilities simply won’t cut it in this increasingly social media-driven world.

So Noble has launched a unique, proprietary “human insights engine” called CultureWaves. Key to its functionality is the software underneath that Noble created called Neemee. So what’s it do, you ask? CultureWaves is fueled by hundreds of “farmers” – essentially a large group of intensely curious human observers who contribute articles and ideas to a searchable Thought Bank. So the magic isn’t in algorithms but in thoughts and perspective that flow from real people.

W&T now plugged into Neemee and CultureWaves…

Candidly we’re still in the training mode over here, so we have much to learn about extracting insights. What we can tell you is this — the entire process is much about discovery and the ability to aggregate information in one place in such a way that patterns and trends become noticeable. And that in turn can lead to new ideas and observations around emerging human needs and interests.

The end game is simple. We want to increase our value to clients by helping them see emerging trends and needs on the horizon that they can meet and fulfill. At the end of the day, brand relationships are built on a foundation of relevance and greater meaning. And how can you possibly expect to divine the elements of relevance without firm human understanding of what people are into these days.

Human behavior rules…

Often said that agencies exist to help brands better understand how to influence consumer attitudes and behaviors, and in doing so to earn permission for a relationship – one that hopefully drives brand preference and thus sales. So knowing more about human behavior serves to fulfill our primary mission.

So far the journey proves to be fascinating. In the coming weeks, we’ll reveal more details about the CultureWaves model and share our learning with you.

Stay tuned.

W&T comes up big in awards season

By Robert Wheatley

There’s winning and then there’s winning. Our firm struck gold twice for Nature’s Variety pet foods. And silver once for Thermos brand. It’s award season, the time when industry peers assess and evaluate the finest work out there to determine the campaigns worthy of a best-in-class trophy.

For W&T the win isn’t in the trophy. It is in the validation of our strategies, insights and work by those who arguably can tell the difference between medium and outstanding. Interestingly the Gold level recognition is for the same program on behalf of Nature’s Variety pet foods.

Bravo to all of our brilliant team members who made this happen and at the source of all the effort and great ideas that led to this outcome…

Publicity Club of Chicago has awarded a Gold Trumpet in the Marketing category to W&T for Nature’s Variety, and a Silver Trumpet in the same category for Thermos brand’s Hydration For All campaign. At the hotly contested national Sabre Award competition, Nature’s Variety is one of five finalists for the top prize in marketing, the Gold Sabre. Getting to this level is no easy task as the largest global brands on the planet participate. Our work bested a broad field of iconic household names with very deep pockets.

The Rotation Diet campaign for Nature’s Variety was an outcome of a close collaboration between agency and client. Our goal was to identify the right path to building distinction and differentiation into an emerging pet food brand that is fighting for growth and share. In the end the victory is found in the client’s business results. So here’s to 20 percent year on year growth at the bottom line! This outcome is really our finest hour. And importantly an hour now acknowledged by our peers and colleagues.

Likewise the strategic campaign for Thermos similarly helped fuel sales and distribution growth in a difficult economy. The core idea: leverage Thermos as part of the rising tide of consumer interest in moving off of drinking water in plastic bottles and on to more environmentally appropriate solutions. The project put Thermos in the center of public and media discourse on the evolution of hydration and water consumption.

As a former national award judge, I understand the criteria separating winners from the rest. It is not just a judgment on the freshness of an idea or its superlative execution. Rather, it is the result that weighs heaviest. The goal of marketing communication investments for any brand is acquiring and keeping more customers. The extent to which W&T’s work contributes to client business growth is the real measure of excellence. That our peers agree is just icing on the cake.

By Robert Wheatley

Sponsorship yields opportunity for national attention

Events and brand experiences are vital to creating tangible meaningful connections with consumers. Especially when the audience consists of those most dedicated and interested in the category where you do business, above and beyond the opportunity for media coverage.

The ability to touch and interact with consumers can be priceless in creating an authentic relationship with people who are potentially your best and most devoted customers. Importantly though, events offer enormous leverage for even greater benefit in communications. We wanted to share a recent example with you. Here’s the story:

Client Sargento Foods is launching an important new item in its Artisan Blends line – Authentic Mexican Cheese blend of Artisan and Sargento cheeses – a product that further drives a wedge of uniqueness in the supermarket dairy cheese business. Under economic conditions that push consumers increasingly toward private label options on anything they perceive to be a commodity, this product launch bears strategic significance as we work to elevate and differentiate the Sargento brand.

Enter the South Beach Wine and Food Festival, one of the nation’s largest and most well attended culinary events. We developed a significant and integrated sponsorship package for Sargento, as a platform to support the launch of the new product.

This is an example of sponsorship strategy at work. While it is true that the festival affords a wonderful sampling opportunity for a new product like this in an environment populated with culinary glitterati and food influencers, the real excitement is connected to how this was used as a backdrop for outbound communications on a national level.

The key ingredients:

See photo coverage of the projects below…

Celebrity Chef Michelle Bernstein became the centerpiece of the effort, creating recipes for the new product and adding significant cachet to the launch from both festival and media perspectives.

South Beach serves as a newsworthy platform for coverage around the nation, secured by kicking off the event with a live national satellite media tour in 27 cities. Chef Michelle conducts real-time cooking demonstrations featuring the new Sargento Artisan Blend in each segment with the festival as the draw for bookings.

NBC Today Show’s coverage included a live segment with Al Roker from the event. Chef Michelle was booked for a top-of-the-hour interview with Al at 8:00 a.m. on Friday morning, when viewership is peaking. The product package has prominent placement on the set. The interview creates a stampede to the Sargento booth that morning to sample the Chef’s creations and meet her.

Meanwhile the client participates in a Reuters wire service story about how festivals are faring in the difficult economy. The story includes multiple quotes about the Sargento participation and goals. The story goes national and garners additional pick-up.

Content creation in the digital age is simply an opportunity waiting to happen. So the agency team blogs the event with daily video posts “live from South Beach” to help spur traffic a artisancheesecenter.com — a subject relevant web platform hot-linked to Sargento.com.

The culmination of all these activities helps support traffic to the Sargento booth where hundreds of hungry consumers meet the chef and sample a unique dish created especially for the Mexican Blends product.

The Sargento sponsorship is extended to include a presence at Burger Bash, one of the most popular consumer venues at the South Beach festival. A chef competition to create new gourmet burgers presents an ideal platform to promote the brand’s natural sliced cheese business – Sargento products were featured in winning Chef Spike Mendelsohn’s recipe.

By Robert Wheatley

Motivated humans not processes build brands and business

In the end all brands and organizations are led, developed and built by people. It is our expertise, vision and decisions that impact what we do, what we sell and how we go to market.

All processes and tactics aside, behind every business are the individuals who pilot the ship and make things happen. Sure businesses have a certain amount of inertia and momentum based on their history and other “entrenched” conditions that seem to push things forward no matter who is in the drivers seat. But I see this always as a glass half full or half empty proposition.

People can take something that’s successful and make it much more so. Witness the deluge of press about Steve Jobs, his influence on Apple’s progress to date and thus the alarm over a leave of absence. He is an inspirational, iconic figure and no doubt a driver within the company for innovation and ideas.

However, we ALL have the capacity to make a difference, to be extraordinarily influential in defining a new destiny for the businesses and brands we’re helping build. Sure you can see yourself as a functionary, an important cog in a good machine. For the most part I think it is human nature to enjoy, seek out comfort and to resist discomfort. So fear holds many people back from doing the extraordinary. Why? Because there is risk involved. There is always potential for a mistake to occur. Compounded further by the thought that criticism of a bad performance may be lurking in the wings.

There’s that little knot in the pit of your stomach when you believe your head is out there, exposed.

Head Liners

I say it’s time we all step up to be Head Liners. To put ourselves out there. To enjoy and embrace the discomfort and purposefully disrupt the environment around us when we feel the natural tug to get too comfortable.

That said there is also a magic ingredient underneath that helps this process along!!

Empowerment…

Our organization is in the thralls of change as we make improvements in our structure to help position the agency for incremental growth. Two of our key people have been asked to step up and take more responsibility. In parallel with this added charge comes empowerment: permission and authorization if you will to make key decisions and implement them without inordinate oversight or interference.

The idea of empowerment springs from trust, confidence and faith in the individuals who receive it. The effects are fascinating to observe. Empowered people move with palpable enthusiasm, with dedication, with ideas, with strength, with passion, with grace under pressure, with confidence and wisdom. It’s a form of “permission” that can unleash the limitations we self-impose at times.

All this is vital and important in a business driven by the ideas and experience of people. So who knows, if we continue down a path of empowerment, what could happen? What do you think?

Recognition Follows Brains and Talent

Agencies love awards. Love getting them, love having them lined up in the office lobby. Love the recognition and validation of great work. Love the events (except maybe the rubber chicken and cold peas part) where we receive them and the opportunity to see other examples of top performances up close, all in one room.

As a former Sabre Awards judge you know what to look for in the “instantly recognizable” creative arena Read More»

Team can’t be a team when it’s all about what we take from each other

This blog is primarily devoted to brand strategy and communications subject matter, but today we take a break to talk about something impacting our firm now – an imperative in how we operate that we believe will pay long-term dividends in staff development and how well we interact with clients. That said, it bears an uncanny similarity to how some brands treat Read More»