Is the Big Idea Dead?

PR News has published my latest Management POV column in the July 2 issue, tackling an issue that’s becoming more prevalent in the communications and marketing industry: the demise of the big idea.

I know, that’s a pretty bold assertion, but since the U.S. was celebrating its Independence Day, there was no more apt time to let the fireworks fly.

While I won’t give away all of the column (and disrupt PR News’ paid content model, which actually works!), here’s an excerpt:

"Too many practitioners are trying to be everything to everybody at every minute of the day. Since when has throwing tactics at the wall, hoping at least some of them stick, become a substitute for a differentiated strategy?

Who’s to blame? We could point toward the rise of social media, which has the tendency to make pros and audiences alike have the attention spans of squirrels. Or how about the pressure to do more in less time with less budget, the new normal for business?

Throw away the excuses. The accountability for this change in behavior lies squarely with our senior practitioners who have allowed brute force – ramrodding messages into the public consciousness – to supplant one-of-a-kind insights.”

Let us know why you’re standing in solidarity with us, or why we’ve got it all wrong. But just don’t remain on the sidelines — get in the game, and help bring creativity back before it’s subsumed by the “more, more, more; now, now, now” mentality!

Mike McDougall, APR

The Secrets of Integrated Comms?

In late July, I'll be hosting a full-day seminar at PRSA headquarters in lower Manhattan on integrated communications, then reprising it at the PRSA International Conference in San Francisco this fall.

Here's an inside peek at one tip: recognize the politics at play. Just because a cross-linked program makes sense for your business, don't assume your peers will jump on board. Silo owners may be protecting their turf, nodding their heads in the meeting room while figuring out ways to keep you at arms length.

A little dose of reality will help you overcome this issue. How? That's a topic for another post (or join me in NYC or San Fran).

What are your personal secrets for successful integrated comms? Share one, two or a few, and I'll try to highlight them -- and you! -- as we take our show on the road.

Gordon Gekko Be Damned: Making the Best of Non-Profit Mergers

This post originally appeared on “Over Coffee,” the blog from the Advertising Council of Rochester.
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Mention “merger” to a friend or neighbor, and chances are that visions of a Gordon Gekko-like corporate raider come to mind. We’ve all seen our fair share of companies being swallowed by another, typically with mixed outcomes.

But what about non-profit mergers? A 2009 poll by the Bridgespan Group indicated that one in five non-profits were considering this possibility as a way to increase efficiencies and maintain services. Closer to home, we saw the combination of Mercy Residential Services and Mercy Outreach Center last year, forming Mercy Community Services.

Although I had been on the inside of multiple corporate M&A programs over the years, my work with the Ad Council and the Mercy team represented my first foray on the non-profit side of the equation. Once we dug in, it was soon apparent that much of what applied in the for-profit world directly correlated to non-profit merger communications.

So how do you best communicate a merger? Keep my four “Cs” in mind, and you’ll be off to a good start:

1. Clarify Your Objectives. Understand your objectives in sharing news about the formation of a combined organization. Too often, teams are simply told to spread word without comprehending the underlying rationale and implications. Do you need to shore up funding from existing donors? Rebuild reputation? Keep staff from running for the exits?
   
2. Cull Your Audience. Sure, you want to tell the entire world about the merger, but unless you have limitless resources, that’s a pipe dream. Prioritize your audiences, and then zero in on the most important groups. Successfully reach them, and only then turn your attention to the “B” list.
   
3. Crystallize Your Messages. On average, a person can internalize no more than three of four messages, so resist the urge to tell your entire story in a single breath. Recognize what’s most important at this moment in time, based on your objectives and audiences, and tailor your messages for an exact fit.
   
4. Create a Strategy. How will you share your tale of wedded bliss? Put pen to paper, or electrons to screen, and plot out a simple path. Will it change as the program unfolds? Sure, but without a roadmap, you’ll never come close to your intended destination.

Go forth, merge and serve your community well. Make magic out of your communications efforts, and take one more bite out of that Gekko stereotype!

Mike McDougall, APR, is an Ad Council board member and managing partner of McDougall Travers Collins, a public relations, digital marketing and advertising firm with offices in Rochester and Buffalo. Contact Mike at mmcdougall@mcdougalltc.com, 585-955-8211 or follow him on Twitter.

Duh! Facing the Reality of “The Pitch”

Have you been watching AMC’s “The Pitch,” where two ad agencies face off in a battle for a new client? We recently blogged about agencies who chose not compete, but for those who preferred to put themselves out there, our own Kellie Mazur has been filing episode updates (read her most recent here).


We’re not surprised by much of what occurs in our business. But the reaction to Kellie’s posts by “contestants” — via our comments section — took us aback. Agencies from both winning and losing sides have expressed their dismay that what we’re seeing in the final episode didn’t completely represent the entire process.

Well… duh.

Any professional in the communications and marketing profession worth his or her salt understands the distinction between reality and reality TV. Distilling 400+ hours of footage into 40 minutes of drama-filled excitement takes skillful editing, plus some self-comfort in manipulating the truth.

So don’t moan that the series isn’t accurate. Don’t try to explain away what made you look less than intelligent. “The Pitch” is a documentary; it’s entertainment. And if you don’t know that, you shouldn’t be throwing your hat into the world of reality TV.

Cleveland Indians Invite Fans to Tweet… in a Suite

I recently wrote a blog post about the Cleveland Indians’ social media presence, mostly around the club’s adoption of Pinterest (which I am still following and enjoying every minute of). Another social media adoption by the Tribe has really got people talking, literally.

The Indians opened the Social Suite in 2010, but this year it has really taken off and become a big element in the club’s marketing mix. The #IndiansSocialSuite invites Tribe fans to participate in a game through social media – inside one of the Indians’ all inclusive suites. Social Suite hopefuls can enter online and share why they would make a great content curator for the day.

Social Suite game winners enjoy the game at the expense of the organization, and are treated to all the finest the ballpark has to offer. This includes a great seat and at times, visits from Mark Shapiro (Indians’ president) and other members of the Tribe family.

ESPN has hailed the Indians’ efforts in optimizing the game experience for fans and quoted Shapiro saying:

“We’re cognizant of the importance of social media as a tool to engage with fans. We now have the opportunity to directly connect to our fans and engage in authentic, two-way conversations. These connections with fans strengthen our brand vision to create memories, connect generations and celebrate families.”

I foresee other clubs adopting social sharing initiatives such as this. Many times, fans feel as though their voices go unheard, but in this case – it’s clear the Indians care about what fans have to say. Giving fans the chance to sound off can only do positive things for the organization, especially when making them feel like a VIP. Cleveland is really serving as an example of the future, and how social media can give businesses a big boost.

Since Twitter came along, I’ve been making connections with the Cleveland baseball scene and participating in the live commentary and conversation. I for one, would be over the moon for a chance to participate in this initiative – and I’d LOVE to meet Tom Hamilton and hear his booming voice in person. Just sayin’.

Follow Katie on Twitter @katie_corbut

Why Rochester?

Last year, I found myself taking a serious look at career opportunities in other markets. Portland. Pittsburgh. NYC. Philly. LA.

But when the smoke cleared, I chose to remain in Rochester.

“I just don’t understand,” came the refrain from recruiters. “What’s so great about that place?”

As attendees at this morning’s Eyes on the Future event know, a response could fill pages, volumes, and shelves. Residents of this region are passionate about extolling the cost of living. Short commutes. Access to world-class healthcare and culture. Top ranked schools. The overall quality of life. [Check out this "Why ROC" compilation from GRE.]

At the same time, the business climate is positive. Despite the well-publicized struggles of Kodak and some other old-line companies, corporations are thriving. Investment capital is available. The “open for business” signs are hung with pride.

Sure, we’re not lying in a bed of roses (or lilacs, as the case may be). From my own perspective, trying to grow a marketing communications firm based on Rochester business alone could be a challenge.

In our first few months of operation, we’ve taken on some incredible locally-based clients, but we’re also doing work with companies in Shanghai.  In Switzerland. Virginia and California. Mexico. How? Despite its location, Rochester’s workforce has a global perspective, honed by decades of executives passing through the ranks of Xerox, Bausch & Lomb and other multinationals, plus mid-sized start-ups of late.

When I first moved from the New York City area to Rochester in 1997, my decision was met with skepticism. “You’ll be back,” was the refrain.

Fifteen years later, when those same friends pay our family a visit, their words have miraculously changed. “How could you ever think of leaving?” they ask. We just hand them another white hot and glass of Finger Lakes wine, and smile.

A Love Letter 15 Years in the Making

“Hello gorgeous. You know, I traveled over 1,000 miles to see you. Stepping through the doors of the hotel, there you were. A decade had passed, but it seemed as if we’d never left each other. Your warm smile, welcome hello, and gigantic embrace welcomed me back, picking up from where we’d left off.” 

Before you starting texting and calling my wife, let me explain.

15 years ago, I found myself surrounded by some of the most brilliant public relations minds in the world. Industry legends and emerging thought leaders would sit down next to me and engage in spirited conversation. We’d debate and discuss our opinions, our profession, and the future of communications, while at the same time forming long-lasting personal connections and friendships. 

These gatherings were occurring in Beijing and Toronto. In Rome and Orlando. In Boston and Lisbon. I’d become a partner in the Worldcom Public Relations Group, the largest partnership of independent PR firms on the planet.

But those relationships extended beyond gathering in person twice each year. We shared information, insights and business. I vividly recall pulling together 18 partners for a same-day, multi-city product introduction – something that would have been next to impossible without this tight-knit team working in lockstep.

So when I left Worldcom in late 2002, recruited from my agency to take a senior in-house role with Eastman Kodak Company, there was more than a little regret and sadness. 

Sure, we saw each other now and then. I gave that speech when you gathered in Australia, sharing advice from the “other” side. We saw each other on the street now and then, with a quick hug at a Silver Anvil evening or PR Week Awards dinner.   

I even flirted with some other groups who claimed to be like you. But it just wasn’t the same. Their ‘partnerships’ were just names on a page. They didn’t know each other the way we did. They didn’t have each other’s interests at heart. They didn’t have your soul.” 

Fast forward to late 2011, when I left my position leading Bausch & Lomb’s global communications and public affairs efforts to return to consulting. My business partner? You guessed it – Bill Collins of Travers Collins, a Worldcom partner whom I’d first met years ago at a meeting in Boston. McDougall Travers Collins was born, and the Rochester office found itself in Worldcom as of March 1.

Last week, I made my way to my first gathering of partners since 2002. The bonds I’d formed from years ago had held strong, with conversations seemingly picking up right from where they’d left off. Better yet, new partners became old friends in a span of days. It was a remarkable experience.

But then again, I’m talking about a remarkable group of individuals and agencies. Agencies with whom we’re now working on projects in China and the UK. Agencies that have opened doors to some of the world’s top media at the blink of an eye. Agencies that are currently assisting a MTC client with one of the most unique challenges of my career (a topic for a later Schism post). Agencies that are acting not as dots on a map, but as vested partners.

“When I returned after all those years, we’d both grown. You’d become more wise. More open to new ideas. And more vivacious than ever before. Is it crazy to love your business partners? Not in this case.” 

My friends, it’s good to be back.

Opting Out of AMC's "The Pitch"

AMC’s much anticipated (or much hyped) reality series “The Pitch” premiered this week, following advertising agencies as they face off to win new accounts.

Much has been written about the series, including a post from our own Kellie Mazur on our sister Smarty Rants blog. The show makes for good TV, but is it real?

In some cases, it can be too real. Want proof? Take a gander at the list of major shops that declined to participate. Taking a concept from a blank page to the real world can be rewarding, enthralling, and often dramatic, but laying out your business strategies, your processes, and your warts for all to see perhaps takes the notion of radical transparency too far.

Coke isn’t letting TV cameras into its vault to film the secret formula, so why should an agency do the same? Publicity? The urge to show their brilliance?  Sheer ego?

Jim Edwards of Business Insider labels those who chose to opt out as cowards. He believes that messages can no longer be controlled.

We beg to differ. While the degree of control has been eroded in recent years, corporations still have a responsibility to guide and shape their message. If you saw one of your associates suddenly begin to live stream a pitch to a major prospect,  you’d probably have his head. So why bring an entire production crew into the mix, and let your approach to securing and retaining business be critiqued by every household with a cable subscription or iTunes account?

I faced the same scenario in 2009, declining to place my then chairman and CEO on the pilot season of CBS Television’s “Undercover Boss.” The unknowns were too great, and the returns too uncertain. I’m a risk taker, but only when I know the odds at the table.

The agencies who said no to “The Pitch?” They’re well known and well respected because they’re stewards of their own brands, acting for themselves in the same way they’d treat their clients (to which I can attest, having worked with a handful of them during my corporate days).

Now isn’t that the type of agency with whom you want to work?

Peer-to-Peer: The Future of Employee Engagement

The Worldcom Public Relations Group, the largest partnership of independently-owned communications firms, today released “PR in 2012: Emerging Tactics and Trends from Around the Globe.” McDougall Travers Collins was honored to be asked to contribute.

Our viewpoint on the new realities of internal communications follows, yet it’s just a taste of insights and opinion from some of the most talented communications professionals in the industry. Download the entire eBook — for free — by clicking here (PDF).

—————

- How a Peer-To-Peer Model Drives Employee Engagement -

Organizations seeking to improve their market positions
typically begin searching for external solutions among customers,
prospects, distributors, retailers and suppliers. They look to their
communications and marketing teams to refine and amplif y messages.
They take another glance at burgeoning digital media efforts, perhaps
placing some additional budget allocation against promising programs.
That’s expected and most certainly fair.

Some companies, though, are tapping into a method often hidden
in plain sight: reinvigorating and sometimes reinventing their
internal communications function to better align employees against
the challenges at hand. This goes beyond refreshing an internal
newsletter, placing some lipstick on the intranet site or increasing
the frequency of senior leadership messages to their teams. Savvy
executive teams are developing and executing plans to deploy peer-to-peer
communications skills – and instill the desire to use them – across all
levels of the company.

Doesn’t this amount to a decentralization of the employee
communications infrastructure? In many ways, yes. The peer-to-peer
model is what our associates are experiencing every day beyond
the office, through increased personal use of digital media – social
sites, blog posting and commenting and even that old killer app called
email. Unfortunately, in the corporate setting, there continues to be
an over-reliance on messages emanating from the center.

Moving to a peer-to-peer model – one in which the company’s
communications professionals become the educators, evangelists,
and mentors – presents myriad business advantages that can drive
measurable market impact. Information moves more quickly among
teams and individuals, creating a more nimble culture that can rapidly
adapt to changing conditions. Strategic concepts are given added
context by those in the trenches, helping promote understanding
of how business decisions will directly affect employees if executed
as planned. Feedback originates from all levels, bringing to light new
viewpoints and potentially game-changing innovation. Collaboration
reaches new heights, especially among groups once separated by
power silos that were deemed impenetrable. Combined, these
benefits tap the knowledge of the entire organization to form new,
powerful insights on a more frequent basis.

Establishing a differentiated internal communications model isn’t
easy. It isn’t immediate. And it isn’t always fun, at least during
the early stages. But the peer-to-peer construct is the future of
how companies will develop and nurture optimum organizational
performance that translates into market success. What we give up
in control we’ll more than earn back in engaged and empowered
employees across the enterprise.

–
Download the entire eBook — for free — by clicking here (PDF).

Indians Baseball on Pinterest = Happy Fans

Baseball season starts next week week. More importantly, Cleveland Indians baseball starts next Thursday – my most favorite time of year. Sadly, living in Western New York doesn’t lend itself to participating much in live games, but I’ve purchased MLB.TV to fulfill that void.

To me, there’s nothing better than a baseball game. Tom Hamilton, the Tribe’s AM radio play-by-play announcer is one of the league’s best. He can paint a picture of every play, every hit, every stolen base. His home run calls are the best because you can see his eyes widening and feel his lungs filling with air when he screams “WAAAAAAYYYY BACK … GONNNNNNNNE!” Check out any of these YouTube videos to see what I mean.

I’m excited to see what new talent comes forth this year, as the Tribe still claims to be in “rebuilding” times, a familiar term for Cleveland clubs. The #bullpenmafia is juggling around starters, relievers and closers to find the right rotations – especially after the whole Fausto Carmona debacle (sheesh, that was embarrassing).

While I can’t go to as many games as I’d like, the Tribe is making it easier than ever for out-of-town fans to enjoy the ball club through social media. Twitter and Facebook have always been go-to sources for Tribe news and in-game commentary. Cleveland has a great, entertaining (and articulate?) sports reporting community complete with journalists, bloggers, freelancers and life-long fans who post online.

New this year, is a Tribe baseball Pinterest account. Words cannot contain my excitement. This chick loves baseball. Now, I will be able to connect with other chicks who love baseball on one of my favorite social media platforms.

The Indians account features some of the following boards:

• Tribe Eats: awesome Tribe-inspired culinary delights
• Indians Shop (Kids, Men and Women): the newest outerwear and Indians fashion
• Tribe Memories: back when the Indians created more smiles than tears
• Tribe Pride: pins from fans of Indians baseball

Indians Cake from Pinterest

Between Twitter, Facebook, MLB.TV and Pinterest, I’ll almost be able to taste the ballpark hotdogs and insanely-priced beer. Strikeout batters will almost be able to feel my wrath and the evil glares I send their way through cyber space.

Pinterest is a great way for brands to interact with fans, and I’m glad to see the Indians jump on board – especially considering the large female fan population hanging around. It must be something about the high-rise socks. Pinterest allows fans to share visual favorites on organized boards – and cross pollinate content on Twitter and Facebook.

I forsee the Indians Pinterest account generating more content than expected – it’s a perfect platform for the Pinterest audience of women. Afterall, it is estimated that more than 90 percent of Pinterest users are women. Women love taking photos, women love sharing, women love baseball and women love Pinterest. It’s a match made in baseball heaven.

Katie Corbut, Account Coordinator