by Nicole Jordan on April 2, 2009
While scanning my morning newsletters I noticed a story in AdWeek about Sportgenic, an ad network traditionally helping sports-related advertisers reach a sports-minded audience through online content sites such as Camping.com. In order to further expand revenue within the niche segment of sports, Sportgenic is beginning to offer a blend of offline and online campaigns. The article cites “… the ability for its advertisers to run placements in traditional media, pairing a slate of Web ads on running sites, for instance, with a print campaign in Runner’s World.”
I think this is brilliant and a new way of thinking that PR people need to begin integrating into their planning. That blend of offline and online to feed each other for the greater good of driving traffic, leads, branding, whatever the goal is.
In a discussion at SXSWi interactive someone brought up seeing a Vitamin Water commercial on TV that didn’t say much but pointed to the company’s Facebook fan page. Offline driving online interaction. Taking passive and turning it into action. For those motivated enough to go to the website and join, they’re now connected to the company to receive any number of communications that (hopefully) furthers their interest in the brand and products.
Now that’s PR.
Read one sport fan’s take on joining the Vitamin Water Facebook page.
Read the full AdWeek article: For One Ad Net, the Web Isn’t Enough; Sportgenic looks to old as well as new media for growth
by Nicole Jordan on March 18, 2009
No #FAIL here.
I’ll first warn you that I am exhausted and exhausted in a way I never have been before. I feel it in my body, my eyes are crossing because I badly need sleep, and I’m on total mental sensory overload so it’s amazing I’m even cognizant enough to write this post. As the astute @stephdub said:
I honestly do not think I should have operated a motor vehicle this morning, nor should I be at work right now. #sxswaftermath #exhausted
I knew it was going to be crazy with sessions and events and conversations but I was not prepared for my first SX. It should be illegal to have that many intelligent, thoughtful, driven and fun professionals in one location, especially when steeped in endless opportunities to engage.
[click to continue...]
by Nicole Jordan on March 11, 2009
A month ago I was at dinner in New York with Kara, my VP of Marketing. I was relaying how my recent attendance at NATPE to learn more about the state of broadcast, especially as it relates to advertising, had inspired me on many unexpected levels. It provided me with new insights and angles for work, resulted in new industry connections around common interests and it lit a fire to focus back on writing and examining the changing PR industry.
I shared with Kara something I heard my senior year of college while at the University of Oregon. I attended an awards ceremony for Allen Hall Advertising (the J-school’s student-run ad shop) and a former student and AHA member gave a short speech. Something he said was very wise and has stuck with me ever since.
“When you work in any creative industry where you are forced to constantly output it is crucial to have constant input.”
It’s easy to get lost in the day-to-day but it’s important we remember to extract ourselves from the bubble once in awhile for fresh insights. I am always more motivated and full of ideas after attending talks, exhibits, conferences, interviews, co-working, etc. I’ve learned it’s optimal if I can keep the input equal with the output. When I don’t is when I start to feel like I’ve run out of steam.
I encouraged Kara to go to more events related to what she’s interested in. Take a day and get some input before the well runs dry (because it does happen and re-filling it is usually sleeping for a weekend and not an adequate replacement.)
Input is crucial. In whatever form it takes for you.
For me, my next major input dose starts later this week with SXSWi. I’ve never been and am beyond excited to go. I’ve already built out my calendar with a lot of attention paid to digital media, advertising, privacy and data.
There are so many people I’m looking forward to connecting with for the first time. I’ll be armed with Twitterberry, Zannel and a Flip so I just might corner you for a convo about PR, advertising, digital media, or the best place to get a drink in Austin.
Look forward to seeing, and meeting, you there. Now go get your input on!
by Nicole Jordan on March 5, 2009
I recently attended a talk with Paul Holmes for an annual PRSA LA event and I walked away with so many points to contemplate but I’ll save all that for another post.
The one main takeaway was a point Paul made (reading between-the-lines) and that I’ve been harping on for a long time, a lot longer than this blog has existed, is that the PR industry needs a reality check on what people outside our industry think of us as well as what we think of each other before we can address the issues and move forward.
Jennifer Leggio, a blogger with ZDNET, started the process with an insightful survey aimed at in-house reps to uncover what clients are satisfied, and unsatisfied with, from their agency counterparts.
As many of you have read, Jennifer and I have teamed up for a follow-on to that survey that examines the p.o.v. from the agency perspective. The motivation behind the survey is to show the other side and help further pin point the areas of disconnect between agencies and their clients in an attempt to make the overall relationship stronger.
Is it a lofty goal? Hell yes. Is it the be-all-answer? Hell no.
But it is a starting point.
[click to continue...]
by Nicole Jordan on March 3, 2009
Looking like a slower event month and Thank God because I am tired after February! Not that SXSW is going to do anything to make me feel more rested…I’ll continue to update this list as I hear about more relevant events to add.
—————————-
RECURRING WEEKLY:
—————————-
Tuesday’s with Exectec
7:30 PM @ D’Amore’s Pizza Connection on Westwood
1136 Westwood Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90024
Thursday Lunch
12PM @ Santa Monica/ 3rd
—————————-
MARCH EVENTS
—————————-
Thursday, March 5th
Dealmaker[LA] - Revenue: The Internet Wants to Be Free, but You Need to Get Paid
Strategy Series: 6:00-7:30pm (Sold out)
Mixer: 7:30-9:30pm (Get tix)
Rustic Canyon Partners
2425 Olympic Boulevard, Suite 6050 West
Santa Monica, CA 90404
Monetization strategies for web companies, from the startups to the tycoons, has proven to be hard…really freakin’ hard. Let’s face it – it’s put up or shut up time when it comes to turning eyeballs into dollars.
Don’t be fooled - attracting users doesn’t mean immediate revenue. How do you bring home the dough?
[click to continue...]
by Nicole Jordan on February 25, 2009
Todd Defren reached out asking if I’d do a guest post for his series on the value of PR Agencies. I was much obliged, especially since SHIFT was my former agency (see note at bottom of post.) You can find the original post here.
Being a former client of SHIFT’s and a fellow PR blogger, I welcomed the chance to contribute to Todd’s series around the value of PR agencies. The majority of my career was spent in high-tech PR agencies, so having the shoe on the other foot is definitely an enlightening experience.
I got to experience the RFP process with different agencies and clearly saw the ones who nailed it (SHIFT) and the ones who didn’t (I won’t say). In fact, we hired SHIFT on the spot. We liked their ideas and opinions on my company’s industry and, more importantly, we liked their energy and enthusiasm. We could easily see them as part of our team.
My SHIFT team literally helped be the company’s eyes and ears. Alerting us to posts and trends that we should comment on or create discussions around with panels, awards, keynotes, etc. The team kept an eye on reporting trends and recommended timely angles that addressed our key markets. And while I was busy dealing with internal messaging and strategies, contributed articles, customer relations activities and countless other things, my team kept the boat steered straight ahead by keeping us current with the people we needed to.
I am a big believer in the value of PR agencies; I just think the traditional agency model needs a little refinement of its knowledge base. That’s one reason I was drawn to SHIFT in the first place: I know they don’t like the box and embrace the bold. They’re working hard to elevate the meaning of a “PR agency.” They genuinely want to help move the needle for their clients.
But sometimes clients don’t make it easy. I’ve had tough clients, we all have. Just a few communication adjustments on the client side when working with an agency can help yield even greater results from a passionate agency team.
[click to continue...]
by Nicole Jordan on February 22, 2009
Jennifer Leggio recently released insightful survey results from several months work capturing opinions from in-house PR reps about client satisfaction. The results caused a stir amongst agencies as certain points were driven home:
* Many agencies who did not make the list and those who fared negatively seemed surprised
* Some agencies aren’t grokking that having a social network presence for their own brands does not necessarily dictate good social programs for clients
* Clients increasingly want social PR elements included in their traditional PR programs
* Many agencies — those both on the negative and positive side of the spectrum — are ready to take action to improve client satisfaction
* However, some agencies are hitting some walls with their clients in trying to do so
And while that’s all and good, we both felt it was time to hear the agency side of things.
[click to continue...]
by Nicole Jordan on February 21, 2009
I’ll post my thoughts on this in the coming days but I wanted to get something up asap. On Monday there will be a wider push to request participation from agency and contractor PR professionals. I lifted this from Jennifer Leggio’s post on ZDNET. I don’t think she’ll mind. We’re working together on it. Give it a read, check out the first survey’s results and then please help spread the word to people you know who have something to say.
Social PR Survey II: Digging deeper into agency/client relationships
Originally posted by Jennifer Leggio at ZDNET on February 21st, 2009.
When I published the first part of the Social Public Relations research report last week I didn’t anticipate the reaction and response it received. The research was based on a survey that dug into client satisfaction and desires for social PR campaigns. A handful of interesting takeaways from the response: [click to continue...]
by Nicole Jordan on February 20, 2009
I’ve had the recent pleasure of hanging with two of my favorite PR pro’s: JoAnn Peach-Cerutti and Vanessa Camones. We’re all cut from the “same PR cloth” and are passionate about re-defining what PR is and how it’s perceived. Also core to these discussions are commiserating over the executives that won’t just let us do our job as it should be done (thankfully not my problem now.) Some are control freaks that can’t extract themselves from marketing details, others think PR is mainly for SEO purposes, there are all kinds. Almost all are guilty for not understanding how you get the most power out of PR.
[click to continue...]
by Nicole Jordan on February 18, 2009
This recent discussion got my mind to thinking after I read his post a second time and saw how angry and defensive he was. And it’s OK. I totally get it. He’s passionate about what he does. And I am too. And we’re both actually working toward the same thing, which is to make professionals smarter.
[click to continue...]
