Opportunity Knocking

It's called the telephone - use it

Everyone has a purspose during each and every workday.  Calling on the services of others is typically a standard procedure no matter what your position.  Working in the PR and Marketing world you must rely on others to call you back when you are asking a question, pitching a story or trying to lay the ground work for a great marketing collaboration. 

One thing that has ALWAYS bothered me is when people fail to call back or even shoot a quick email in response to a question or story idea.  I don't know about you, but for me, the only thing worse than hearing "no" or "that's a terrible story" is hearing nothing at all.  I respect someone that at least has the good will to return a phone call - it's called being nice.  I work with reporters all the time, and the ones that take a few minutes out of their day to speak with me, are the ones I respect and will continue to work with and embargo information.

Just remember - your job, no matter what it is - eventually will rely on people returning your calls. 

I just hope you get what is coming to you.

Obama Pol-Cation Tour?

Like most of his predecessors - President Obama’s image has been up and down during his first year in office.  Now, in an effort to keep his approval ratings up he has taken to the road. I’m talking about his healthcare policy and his work to gain support around it.

Right now, Obama is on vacation and the West Coast swing of his healthcare tour, which is bringing even more controversy to his policies. The most current poll shows that 49% of those surveyed disapprove of the healthcare policy and 43% approve. With basically a split, Obama is working to speak directly to “the common man” (the way he won the presidency in the first place).

Obama is spending his time out west checking out several national parks with his family and plans to stop at a few town hall meetings in Montana and Colorado on the way to promote his healthcare policy. His goal is to attend at least three question and answer sessions at town hall meetings to address what he is calling “misunderstanding and misinformation.”

On the one hand, this is a good way to get some positive PR, reach out to small-town folks and try to gain their support for his plan. On the other, many people are upset that he is taking yet another vacation with the family, seeing as he has already taken 55 days off in his seven months of service.

There have been protests every time that Obama has been somewhere to promote his plan, but the president’s advocates say that the protests have not been representative of the entire population.

So what do you think about how Obama is handling his critics? Whether you agree with his healthcare policy or not, the real issue is how his image will hold up. Is this good or bad PR? How do you think this vacation/healthcare tour will overall affect the president’s image?

Marketing Opportunities Await, Is “The Machine” Man Enough to Make them Work?

 

What do you think when you think of Albert Pujols?  Triple Crown Threat?  World Series Champ?  Half-Man, Half-Machine?  Regardless, whether you’re a Cards lover or hater it’s impossible to pinpoint a weakness in his game.  Just look at his stats this year: .332 BA, 32 HR, 87 RBI, .456 OBP, .723 SLG, 1.179 OPS, and 10 SB.  He’s putting up those numbers (1^st in the MLB in each category above except BA and SB’s) while striking out only 35 times in 307 at bats and consistently making highlight reel plays at first base.  Quite frankly, the man is having an absurd season and will have a more than legitimate chance to become the first triple crown winner since Yaz in the sixties.

What’s even more absurd is that he’s having a career year (or as close to a career year as a lifetime .334 BA, .427 OBP, .630 SLG hitter can achieve) and he has rarely been the top headline.  As in the past, the media has been fixated with underdog stories like Zack Greinke and Raul Ibanez and the continuing steroids saga as A-Rod and Sammy Sosa have been exposed as former users.  The media loves new or controversial stories: phenoms like Bryce Harper, lovable underdogs like last year’s Rays, and, obviously, Manny continuing to be Manny (whatever that means nowadays). 

In the midst of the fresh excitement, this year, like every other year, you’ll find Albert being, well, Albert.  ESPN got it right: he is no doubt “a machine.”  But where is his media buzz?  Why do we see Josh Hamilton, and not Pujols, on ESPN every day when he was on the DL for the better part of the first half?  Why does Jimmy Rollins, and not Pujols, lock up a lucrative deal with Red Bull when his career and season numbers pale in comparison?

I’ll tell you why: Albert hasn’t achieved his marketable potential.  Sure he just signed a deal with Nike but he is far from the face of that brand.  He is well-spoken and well-intentioned as he possesses a humble personality and has established his own charity but he lacks the charisma and charm that drive marketability.  What’s his story?  What challenges has he faced in his life?  What are his interests?  What does he do away from the field?  WHO IS ALBERT PUJOLS?

Obviously, nothing is better for your marketing potential than being a machine on the field.  His in-game production, flawless image, and superb baseball IQ have won him excellent credibility amongst his teammates and other players.  But until Albert can shed the mechanical image off the field, his marketability will remain low.  For endorsement deals to work there must be a solid connection between the athlete’s interests and the brand he/she is promoting.  Only then will the athlete endorsement ring true with fans and consumers alike. 

So please Albert fill out a simple survey and list out your favorite consumer products.  Talking to a copy machine is great, but you can do so much more because you are, quite simply, “El Hombre.”  

Opportunity Knocking Wins Ad Agency Blog of the Month!

During the heart of baseball season, the online world witnessed a different type of fierce competition as the 919 Marketing blog held strong in Michael Gass’ Fuel Lines blog’s Ad Agency Blog of the Month contest.

In a tight race that went down to the wire, Opportunity Knocking outlasted the field, earning 260 of the 673 votes cast.  I wanted to personally thank anyone and everyone who voted for our blog.   It really means a lot and shows that you see value in the advertising, marketing and public relations worlds. It also gives us confidence that what we are doing is not in vain and you look to us for knowledge and insight. Without your votes, we could never have won - so thank you all.

By winning the June edition of the competition, we will be pitted against the other 11 winners of the year at the end of 2009 in a blog of the year competition -so be on the watch for that. We anticipate another tight race with a lot of good competition and we can’t do it without your support.

Keep checking back here for the latest insight on all things advertising, marketing, and PR!

 

Hang Your Hat On These Business Moves

CNN Money recently published their mid-year edition of the “Dumbest Moments in Business 2009 - Midyear Edition.”

The list is certainly interesting, or possibly upsetting, depending on whether you want to laugh or cry about decisions some of these multi-million dollar executives are making. When I first saw the headline for this list, I didn’t know what could be worse than the CEO's of GM, Ford and Chrysler and their private jet excursion to plead for public funds - but some of these just might be.

My 2009 favorites (or least favorites, however you want to look at it) are: GM’s decision to partner with Segway and unleash a useless vehicle right after its bailout; Apple’s “Baby Shaker” app; Bank of America CEO’s $35K “commode on legs;” New York Yankees’ $200K seats in the middle of a recession; and Mark Sanford’s (SC governor)… well, everything.

What were your favorites? Anything missing from the list?

 $1,250 per game ticket? In a recession? The public says NO!

 

One Blogs Favorite Blogs

 

Being a blogger myself (albeit an inconsistent one) and hoping that people value my “insight”, I like to reciprocate by reading other people’s blogs as well.

Now I would like to give credit where credit is due.

The following is a list of blogs that I have linked up to my Google Reader and consistently check to get fresh ideas and see witty insight from some key Internet/marketing professionals:

www.guykawasaki.com - enjoyable take on products and marketing campaigns

www.sethgodin.typepad.com - Quite possibly "THE" blog on marketing

www.ignitesocialmedia.com - great insight from the entire staff on how social media marketing can help your brand

www.perrybelcher.com - an in-your-face look at marketing and sales

www.digitalcapitalism.com - exhaustive look at social media marketing and everything internet

www.altitudebranding.com - social media and marketing from one seriously smart woman

www.techcrunch.com - EVERYTHING technology

Death, Image and the King of Pop

Now that Michael Jackson is gone, two questions come to mind:

1. Do you love him or hate him?

2. Why do you feel so strongly one way or the other?

I think we love him because we have followed him from the beginning. It started back when he was the loveable face of the Jackson 5, and continued to grow as his innovative music and dance moves compelled the world - culminating in his Thriller album.

Over the last few decades though, Jackson’s appeal has taken a serious nosedive. Controversy has surrounded him for years in regards to his ever-changing physical appearance and surgery stories, multiple charges of child abuse, crazy lifestyle and lack of a notable album.  He had become more of the butt of jokes rather than a revered pop star.

While this changed many people’s opinions of Jackson, no one can deny his King of Pop status. His 13 No.1 hits on Billboard magazine’s weekly pop singles charts rank him fourth most all-time, while Thriller is the world's best-selling album of all time ( 100+ million copies sold).

The outpouring of support since his death got me wondering if in death people who had previously abandoned him have now decided to forgive and focus on his younger image and the imprint he left on pop music.

Do you think Michael is receiving public forgiveness because of his death? When is death good for someone’s image?

Coming Together Online For the Greater Good

It is amazing to see all the different sites online that pool people with the same interests together to perform tasks for little or no money.  These are sites where these internet junkies can submit content that others can either use, vote on or talk about freely.  Seems like the new wave - a business and cultural revolution if you ask me.  What do you think?  Below are a few examples of what I'm talking about.  Any great sites that fit this category you are using?

www.threadless.com- Submit a design, get rated by the community, win prizes!

www.istockphoto.com- Amateur photog? submit and be famous! (well, maybe.)

www.goteamsgo.com - love your team? hate your team? talk trash with the best and win $0!

www.innocentive.com- Intellectual? nowhere to showcase your huge cranium? Solve problems and win some money from businesses at the same time.

 Photo Courtesy: www.threadless.com

Rebranding of a Champion

Today you can find Lakers star Kobe Bryant everywhere.  Conan O’Brien, Nike and ESPN are all hailing him and his fourth NBA championship.  The spotlight isn’t anything new for Kobe.  The only difference is that now Kobe's face is on a Wheaties Box instead of the police blotter. The events of July 2003 in Eagle, CO robbed the NBA of its MJ (Michael Jordan) heir apparent, and cost Kobe millions in endorsements deals that suddenly were extinct, including lucrative deals with McDonald’s, Spalding and Coca-Cola. His No.8 Lakers jersey, the NBA’s top seller before his arrest, plummeted out of the top 50 in sales. Whether he was actually guilty of the charges or the front office meddling afterwards is immaterial - association with these types of allegations can be career ending to someone who makes their money in the public eye.

Now, amazingly, he has not only returned to championship glory, but he has returned to the mainstream and has once again become a role model to kids across the nation. His high profile campaigns with Vitamin Water and Nike’s attention grabbing Most Valuable Puppets campaign show you how much Bryant’s image has changed in just six years.  

Kobe accepted that he would never have the universal MJ appeal after what happened. So instead of worrying about being the game’s brightest star in the media – he gradually built himself back up through a complete rebranding of his image, including a change of numbers from No.8 to No.24 – he has shown the world he can still shine on the court. Of course, having LeBron James as the NBA’s new poster boy has helped, but Kobe has rebounded by rebranding himself as Mr. Performance. You may not like him as a person, but his will to win makes you respect him as a player.  

This effort has paid off in a big way. Kobe’s No.24 jersey is now the NBA’s top jersey sold in the world.  He is a video game cover athlete again and Nike has re-launched the Kobe Zoom shoe brand, products largely marketed to adolescents. Kobe was the 5th highest paid pro athlete endorser in the US in 2008, a fact that would have been thought impossible six years ago and would never have been possible without the rebranding of his image.

Is Twitter a Useful Outlet for Marketing?

 

The mircroblogging service, Twitter, has gotten so much Media Coverage in the last few months that it has quite frankly become nauseating just to hear the word. Well, that word, along with “tweet”, “fail whale”, “twittering”, “RT” and “DM.” (If you don’t know the meaning of any of those consider yourself uninformed.

As far as the service goes, I personally think it has proven to be beneficial from a marketing perspective.  Does every company need to hire someone full time to tweet like Pizza Hut or Sky Mall – absolutely not.  But does it make sense to survey the landscape for your company and decide just how beneficial it can be for you and how much time you should spend using the service – YES.

As Twitter continues to grow (currently 32 million users) it is forming a niche as one of the largest platforms on the Web to share real-time information.  It has also proven to be a place where companies can build their brand, send information, empower brand lovers, and create user communities, among other things.

If you are still skeptical, give this cover article from TIME writer Steven Johnson a read.  That’s right – the TIME cover! Maybe the title is an indication of where Twitter is headed – maybe not.  But, if you’re not using it at all, or have no idea about the keywords mentioned above - tell me why you aren’t in 140 characters or less.