Author Archives: Don Beehler

Foursquare Will Have Ad Agencies Buzzing

It’s been called the Twitter of 2010, which gives Foursquare a lot to live up to.

This new social networking site is the ultimate way to enhance consumer-business relationships online. Foursquare provides reward points to users when they visit local merchants, and if a user checks in a particular place more than others, he or she is honored as the Foursquare Mayor.

Since its launch earlier this year, Foursquare has acquired more than 100,000 users in more than 100 cities worldwide.

“Users are alerted when their friends check in to different places. They can give tips about their dining or shopping experiences and can list their favorite hangouts. Foursquare also lets users know who else is checked in at a particular hot spot,” according to an article in The Tennessean.

To read more, visit: http://tinyurl.com/yhn8dux

Don Beehler provides public relations consulting services to small- and medium-sized advertising agencies and businesses.

Ad Agencies: PRWeb Launches News Release Creation Tool

PRWeb has simplified its news release submission process, which is welcome news.

The old method always seemed a bit awkward to me, but now with a streamlined approach users have what PRWeb calls “a What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get (WYSIWYG) experience,” which means users can create and manage content within a news release template.

In the 10+ years it has been around, PRWeb has proven itself to be a very effective way to increase online visibility. Now, the process itself has gotten easier and more user friendly, and new features reportedly will be added in the months ahead.

Don Beehler provides public relations consulting services to small- and medium-sized advertising agencies and businesses.

Ad Agencies Increasingly Pitching Consumers Directly

An unintended consequence of the decrease in news media outlets and the shrinking news holes of those that remain in business is that more and more public relations pitches are going directly to consumers.

“According to the website Paper Cuts, which tracks layoffs and buyouts at U.S. newspapers, nearly 30,000 reporters have left the industry since the beginning of 2008. So instead of pitching their stories to reporters, a growing number of marketers are directly engaging consumers through original content they and their agencies are creating,” Michael Bush writes in the October 26 issue of Ad Age.

Bypassing reporters was unthinkable when I started in PR in the mid-80s. You had to live with the journalists covering a particular beat or industry, and find a way to work with them even when they were hostile and biased. Opportunities to respond to inaccurate or distorted stories generally were very limited.

Now days, PR executives have tools such as company Web sites, blogs, PRWeb, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter to tell their stories without them being filtered through news media outlets.

As an example, Ad Age cites Coldwell Banker which, with the help of its PR firm Cooper Katz, launched a YouTube channel in May called Coldwell Banker on Location. David Siroty, Coldwell Banker Real Estate’s senior director for PR, explains how the company uses the channel to post educational videos about the housing market and purchase process as well as house listings:

“We can bypass the media and do videos from our CEO, brokers and agents talking about what first-time home buyers should do. You have a consumer that needs and wants to be re-educated on the nuances of housing. So we post the videos and drive traffic through social media.”

The channel launched with 300 videos and is now at 5,000 with just under 500,000 views.

While marketers such as Coldwell Banker are doing a great job of creating content and taking it to their audiences, this approach can’t provide the same level of credibility as a favorable news media article or the same reach as a national story during prime time.

Traditional media outlets will remain an important part of the PR mix for ad agencies and their clients – it’s just that they won’t dominate the way they used to.

Don Beehler provides public relations consulting services to small- and medium-sized advertising agencies and businesses.

A New Resource for Ad Agencies: AgencyLand

Google AgencyLand, which launched in March 2009, is a limited beta test for agencies and third parties in the United States and Canada that manage Google media spending for clients.

AgencyLand helps participating agencies stay current with digital media, as well as create and execute advertising campaigns using Google Solutions.

Users can access case studies, white papers, research findings and industry blogs to help plan, create, place and measure Google media campaigns. There also are on-line courses, quick links and announcements.

I especially like the fact that AgencyLand offers users access to content specific to one’s role, skill level and clients’ needs. To request an invitation, visit http://www.google.com/agencyland.

Don Beehler provides public relations consulting services to small- and medium-sized advertising agencies and businesses.

Google Sidewiki Offers Challenges and Opportunities for Ad Agencies

An amazing new Google tool is going to have huge implications for the advertising and public relations industries.

Google Sidewiki is a browser sidebar that lets you contribute and read information alongside any Web page.

User-added comments–whether supportive, critical or raising a question–appear as a sidebar on the page. You also can share Sidewiki entries through Blogger, Facebook, Twitter and Google profiles.

You can even add information that criticizes a competing company on its own Web site–and vice versa.

Google Sidewiki is sure to make some big changes in the way Ad and PR professionals use the Internet, because companies and individuals on the Web can no longer hide or refuse to post critical comments. Now, they have to deal publicly with comments, whether they are good or bad.

While much positive and helpful information can be disseminated this way, there’s also great potential for abuse and misinformation.

Ad Agencies need to carefully monitor their clients’ Web sites, as well as their own, for Sidewiki entries and be ready to respond promptly to criticism, misinformation and questions.

Don Beehler provides public relations consulting services to small- and medium-sized advertising agencies and businesses.

Chairman Serving As Spokesman Has Potential Risks, Rewards

Lee Iacocca became the face of Chrysler when it was going through a very difficult financial time. Having lived in Michigan during that period, I still remember the TV ads with Mr. Iacocca confidently saying, “If you can find a better car, buy it.”

He was a natural salesman who knew the automotive industry inside out, and projected confidence in his company and its products. He also was a well known and respected leader. As a result, Mr. Iacocca was able to gain the public’s confidence and save his company from bankruptcy.

Now General Motors is taking a similar approach with its new chairman, Ed Whitacre, pitching the company’s “May the best car win” campaign, which offers buyers a 60-day money back guarantee.

Mr. Whitacre, who came from AT&T, is not as well known as Mr. Iacoccas was in his day, nor does he have the same level of credibility in the auto industry. And while GM says the ads have been received positively, some in the ad world are not so sure about the strategy.

According to an Associated Press article on MSNBC.com, “Some even say the ad starring the 67-year-old Whitacre hurts the Detroit automaker’s efforts to freshen up its image and woo younger buyers,” adding, “Commenters on Twitter aren’t having quite as rosy a reaction, saying he’s too old, too stiff and his presence in the ads doesn’t make them want to buy GM cars.”

Selecting the right person to become the face of a company is one of the most important decisions advertising and PR executives make. Will people trust an unknown such as Mr. Whitacre? GM will soon find out.

Don Beehler provides public relations consulting services to small- and medium-sized advertising agencies and businesses.

Ad Agencies: Twitter Helps Professional Services Clients Gain Exposure

Increasingly, accountants, attorneys and physicians are using Twitter as a way to reach new audiences; speak directly with their clients/patients; and develop expert status on particular topics.

According to an article in the South Florida Business Journal, some surgeons are tweeting live from the operating room and providing opportunities for people to follow them through their days.

“Cosmetic surgeon Jason Pozner’s most recent tweets focused on laser hair removal, medical spa lawsuits, celebrity endorsements and armpit Botox. The variety keeps the Twitter stream topical, and links steer people back to his blog site, Cosmetic MD Nation,” notes Journal reporter Jeff Zbar.

“The variety has boosted traffic to the blog and led to ‘re-tweets’ (where his Twitter followers pass along his tweet). Pozner believes he’s reaching the Generation Y, X and baby boomer demographic that’s both conscious of their appearance – and increasingly active on social media.”

Twitter also is being used as a search tool by consumers, peers and others, and companies are using it for market research.

While some in professional services shun marketing, those who embrace Twitter and other social media to promote their practices are differentiating themselves, establishing their expertise and effectively reaching their target markets in an increasingly competitive environment.

To read the article, go to: http://tinyurl.com/l7uveo

Don Beehler provides public relations consulting services to small- and medium-sized advertising agencies and businesses.

Getting the Story Right

Deborah Fisher, senior editor for news at The Tennessean, wrote a column in last Sunday’s edition about the paper’s policy for using anonymous sources and its commitment to accurate reporting.

“The most important factor for us in using an anonymous source is that the information given us by the source is true.” At first glance that seems like a “duh” statement for a news editor to make.

Unfortunately, getting a story right rather than just getting a story is not always a priority for some media outlets these days.

Sloppy reporting, lack of accountability and pressure to be first to break a story are all contributing factors in the decline of journalism.

“It’s too easy for people to hide behind anonymity, planting information with no accountability,” Ms. Fisher continues. “And when you’re not accountable, isn’t it easier to stretch the truth?”

I couldn’t agree more, and I hope some of Ms. Fisher’s colleagues at other news media outlets read her column and take it to heart.

Recently I became aware of one of our local TV stations carrying a report alleging a businessman had lost a $1 million judgment. I know the man and when I asked him about the report, he said a lawsuit had been filed but no judgment was rendered. In fact, the case hasn’t even been to court yet.

It turns out the TV station got its information from a less-than-credible source. Even worse, all the reporter who covered the story needed to do was call the court to verify the information and he would have found out it wasn’t true, but he didn’t bother.

Apparently, truth and the businessman’s reputation were less important to him than getting the story on air that evening. Soon, the false report was picked up by other media outlets that likewise didn’t bother to check out the facts.

The Tennessean’s Williamson AM section reported the man was being held in the county jail, which also was not true.

No wonder so many people don’t trust the news media these days. And no wonder Ms. Fisher felt it necessary to state what should be obvious: that truth is the most important factor in any news story.

Don Beehler provides public relations consulting services to small- and medium-sized advertising agencies and businesses.

Online Debates Create Opportunities for Agencies

In California, where the mainstream media has cut back its coverage of state government and public policy debates, one P.R. agency is getting around these cuts by increasing its online public affairs presence.

Edelman, the largest public relations firm in California, found through proprietary research that online media outlets, such as blogs and Facebook, “are becoming more trusted as messengers — making them even more influential in the public policy debates that have a big impact on business in our state,” according to Gail Becker, president of Edelman’s Western region, in latest edition of the Sacramento Business Journal.

As public policy debates increasing shift to being online, Edelman is actively engaging in the conversation.

Steve Telliano, general manager for Edelman’s Sacramento office, likened online communication to a cocktail party.

If you stand on the kitchen table and start making a speech, “you’re not going to have credibility and no one’s going to pay attention,” he said, adding, “You have to join the conversation in a relevant way and transparently.”

As the way we communicate continues to change, and traditional communication channels become less dominant, ad agencies need to make sure their clients are joining important conversations with their audiences and that they are taking the lead in helping clients make important online connections.

Don Beehler provides public relations consulting services to small- and medium-sized advertising agencies and businesses.

Webinar Will Help Ad Agencies Implement Effective Social Media Strategy

On September 8 from 1:30-3 p.m. ET, the Software and Information Industry Association will have a free webinar titled “Overview of Business Applications of Social Media.”

The webinar will explain ways to implement an effective social media strategy. Gail Nelson, SVP of marketing for BurrellesLuce, is one of the panelists.

Ad agencies interested in learning more about the impact social media can have on how their clients are perceived, and ways in which they can improve interaction with customers online, should check it out.

To register, go to https://www.siia.net/events/prereg.asp?eventid=1172

Don Beehler provides public relations consulting services to small- and medium-sized advertising agencies and businesses.