Best of the Holiday eCards

'Tis the season for electronic holiday greetings. We've posted our own "smashing" video card below, along with links to a few other favorites.



Check these out for some more holiday joy!

• American Airlines 
• Haynes and Boone
• World Famous Inc.

Lessons from a Bell Ringer

Ring-a-ling, ring-a-ling. "Merry Christmas!" So went the refrain this morning outside Macy's at Eastview Mall in Victor, N.Y., where McDougall Travers Collins manned a famous red kettle.

Aside from raising a considerable amount of donations for the Salvation Army, we were struck by how much some simple bell ringing -- when done with conviction -- can provide insights into marketing any product or service. 

1. Vary your volume. See those prospects in row 15 of the parking lot? Amplify that ring... make them notice you from afar, so they're ready to give (buy!) when they reach the destination. As they draw near, turn it down a notch, giving them a break from the otherwise earsplitting cacophony. 

2.  Mix up your rhythm. Who wants to hear the same ring pattern time and time again? Throw in a little variety to keep the message fresh, and to prevent your audiences from tuning out. 

3. Find a prop. Sleigh bells? Nah, we went with an old school dinner bell from home. Its silver plating, deep wooden handle, and loud (LOUD!), deep tone made quite an impression versus the standard issue equipment. That, as you might expect, led to more than a few questions, which allowed us to...

4. ... Engage in conversation. Bell ringing is the 18th-century version of social media -- you're not just asking for a dollar or some coins, but trying to strike up a discussion. Once your audience knows there's some substance behind that smile, they're more like to give a little more. 

5. Say thank you to everyone. Everyone, whether they give or not, receives a heartfelt thank you. They've taken the time to listen, whether they wanted to or not, and maybe -- just maybe -- they'll make that donation at another time.

Jumping out of the metaphorical world for a moment, consider giving of your own time or good fortune this week as the Salvation Army makes its final Red Kettle appeal. Click here to learn more!

Chat with us live!

We've just added a new slew of MTC-led presentations and discussions to our calendar for the end of this year and 2012. Glance to your right, and join us in Rochester, Chicago or Austin over the coming months!

Loser (How to Throw an Awards Competition)

ADDYs. Silver Anvils. Tellys. A Lion or two. Winning awards sometimes seems to be an agency discipline unto itself. I know of at least one large firm who employs a full-time awards coordinator. It’s serious business (well, in the minds of some, at least).

I have one question: With all this firepower, with all of this creativity, with all of these resources, why in the name of all things good and great are the majority of awards entries so lackluster?

OK, you’ve caught me climbing onto my soapbox. But stick around for a moment; as a long-time judge for a number of global, regional and local competitions, I’m trying to help.

Just yesterday, I had the opportunity to serve as a judge for a national competition focused on a conservative but somewhat creative industry. The first few entries were duds — the luck of the draw, we figured. As we dug deeper, the entire lot turned out to be just mediocre or less. This marked the second time in recent months where my fellow judges and I deemed no entrant worthy of an award. There was a trend afoot.

Ignore best practices — no one seems to care. Instead, how about I share a few ways to guarantee that your awards entry is tossed aside? With real examples included, yet masked to protect the not-so-innocent, here we go...

Intrigued? Read my full column at AgencyPost.com, which launched today to to equip communications professionals with information and insights that allow them to innovate and drive their own success.

Look Before You Leap: Social Media Around the World

We welcome Katie Corbut, account coordinator, in her first post for The Schism.

It’s no secret that social media use is growing exponentially. It seems as though new platforms pop up every month and at times it’s hard to keep up with this ever-changing medium.

Some say it started with AOL and instant messaging, others say they jumped on board with MySpace in the early 2000s. Regardless, it’s easy to see that any company wishing to engage with key audiences today, must do so on the Internet in some fashion. The same holds true for international businesses.

Organizations wishing to reach audiences in foreign countries, whether the company has roots there or not, must be guided and encouraged to follow the documented and undocumented rules.

We all know there are certain nuances that are not appropriate here in the U.S. It’s not okay to hold up your middle finger at someone, and people will always look at you funny if you say words backwards. So you wouldn’t go to the Middle East and give the “thumbs up,” or go to Saudi Arabia and say “hello” to a man if you’re a woman.

In the U.S., we enjoy a level of freedom of speech that some countries do not allow – and this must be taken into consideration for countries with strict speech laws.

In a New York Times article, the Chinese government was quoted saying: “Companies that do business in China must follow the laws of the land.” China recently set in motion legislation to further regulate the “spread of harmful information.” Such harmful information will be banned by the government immediately – so be sure to tailor your client’s messaging without using the list of banned keywords.

Christian Arno of Lingo24, a translation services provider, recently wrote a blog post about how to be successful when venturing into the social media realms abroad. Here are his top five tips, plus my commentary against each:

1. Choose the right social networks.

Facebook has over 700 million users (up from 600 million in 2010), but there are still other social media platforms used globally. In China, Qzone is the biggest network for teens and is popular with casual users, while Renren is used primarily by college students. Kaixin001 is like LinkedIn, but for the Chinese network. V Kontakte is also similar to LinkedIn, but is used by Russian professionals – and this network reportedly dominates all other social networks in the country. Orkut, owned by Google, is the biggest platform in Brazil and is also used heavily in India.

2. Find out what people like.

According to Arno, Asia uses social media primarily for sharing and downloading music and videos. In India, games and music sharing dominates social media use. Western Europe mirrors North America the most, as social media is used to share content and information.

3. Develop a [localized] strategy.

Is it more cost effective to develop and execute social media strategies yourself, or would hiring a specialist who lives in the demographic area in which your client is trying to market make more sense?

4. Localize your content.

This is what I was talking about earlier. Don’t walk into a black and white party wearing polka dots and plaid. Read the news, know where you’re going and who you’re talking to. For example, when American fast food giant Kentucky Fried Chicken opened their first restaurant in Beijing in in 1987, they accidentally translated KFC's famous slogan, “Finger-lickin' good” to “We'll Eat Your Fingers Off!” in Chinese.

5. Interact.

The purpose of social media doesn’t change on different continents. Platforms might be different but the idea remains the same: two-way communication is key.

When it comes to using social media around the world, it's important to really do your homework. Sometimes cultural norms are determined by years of tradition, and other times by a legislative entity. As the old saying goes, look before you leap.

QR: Quick Response or Questionable Reasoning

It was 5:30 a.m., and I'd just settled into a chair near by gate. Stifling a yawn, my eyelids opened just enough to see a cheery airport staffer headed my way with a stack of cards in her hand.

What could she be so eager to pass out at this time of the morning? Maybe a Dunkin' Donuts gift card? Some airline miles? None of the above. Instead, it was an invitation to take a short survey about the ROC airport experience, accessed via a QR code with your smart phone.

After seeing QR codes pop up overnight on all sorts of items, here was a well-thought-out application. At a time when the sun hadn't even crested the horizon, the last thing I want to do is punch a URL into my phone, or -- God help me -- speak to someone in person to provide insights on business travel. This was a better, and dare I say reasonable, request -- scan the bar code, answer a few mobile-optimized questions, and I was done.

My faith in QR codes restored, I boarded the plane. With the cabin door closing, I turned off my iPad, my Droid and other various devices, then grabbed a copy of the inflight magazine. I flipped a few pages before finding it...

There before me sat a beautifully designed, full page advertisement for something (I honestly can't remember the product). The copy then invited me to -- you guessed it -- scan a QR code for more information.

So let's think this through... chances are I'm reading this at 30,000 feet, on an airline that has no WiFi capability on its entire fleet of aircraft, and I'm not likely to take the magazine with me when I deplane. What in the hell was QR code doing on that ad, except frustrating the tech novice three rows behind me who kept scanning it only to receive a "page not found" message in her phone browser?

QR codes have their place, right alongside some of the other wah-wah pedals of our profession. Used creatively, they can turn interest into action. But placed in the hands of a team who only sees them as a cool accessory without understanding how they function, they too often miss the mark.

We want to hear from you. What are the best and worst uses of QR codes you've stumbled across over the past few weeks?

Our Sister Blog: Smarty Rants

Now and then, we like to cross-promote the great work being done by our Buffalo office -- Travers Collins. But don't wait for us... head over to the Smarty Rants blog for an inside look at what makes our colleagues to the west tick!

Excerpt 4: Balancing Corporate & Personal Brands

The following is the fourth excerpt from "Walking the Wire: Striking a Balance Between Corporate and Personal Brands" as presented by Mike McDougall, APR at the Ragan Communications / Southwest Airlines conference in October 2011.

Tip #4: Address the Problem Children

So you've screened out the vampires, but you're left with a few employees whose personal brands aren't simpatico with the corporate brand. They're the problem children.

I'm reminded of a conversation with the GM of a mid-market television station. He had a reporter whose personal brand was far outreaching the station brand via social media. That could be the foundation for a fantastic symbiotic relationship, but in this case, the reporter was Tweeting -- in large volumes -- questionable and subjective content.

The GM was troubled. "I know this is an issue, but [person] brings us so many eyeballs," he explained.

What would you do? Let the reporter continue unabated, or step in to make a much-needed change?

Ignoring the problem children won't make the situation disappear. In fact, the longer you ignore the issue, the more severe it will become. Plus, you'll be sending a signal to others in the organization that this type of action is condoned or even expected.

When you do take action, resist the urge to come in with guns a-blazin'. After all, the goal is not to force out the employee, but to find a way to modify his or her behavior in a way befitting the brand. It's a conversation, not an intervention (well, at least not at the beginning stage).

This isn't complex science. It's just a sound general management principle applied to a new medium.

And if you're a parent like me, you know that taking care of a whining child firmly yet with compassion is usually the best path forward. Address those problem children -- now!

To read additional insights from Mike McDougall's discussion, bookmark The Schism or follow our Twitter feed (@McDougallTC). For a copy of the presentation slides, contact us at info@McDougallTC.com.
 

Refreshing Perspectives from HR Chiefs

The auditorium was packed, with the din of  audience chatter overpowering the master of ceremonies' voice as he stepped to the podium. With the glare of the spotlights bouncing off their pearly smiles, the five panelists readied themselves for the discussion that was to come.

Another communications conference, perhaps? Not quite. It was "Up Close & Personal: a Conversation with Chief Human Resources Officers" held in Rochester last night.

The program topic would have you believe that the 130 registered attendees were there to discuss the intricacies of human resources. That's a fair assumption. In fact, I'd come to better understand the mindset of colleagues with whom I regularly work on employee communications challenges.

Carrying even more impact, however, were some broad-based recommendations and insights that just as easily apply to the communications profession as HR:

• From Michelle Graham, SVP HR at Greatbatch: "The secret to career success is rotation, rotation, rotation. You have to live in all of the roles which you someday hope to oversee."
• From Chuck Murphy, associate VP HR at the University of Rochester: "Speak the language of your business partner. How you discuss a topic with your CFO will differ from how you discuss it with your marketing chief or operations VP."
• From Lisa Critchley, SVP HR at Home Properties: "Don't be afraid to speak up. If you have the idea, chances are you'll be assigned the task."
• From Laurie Zaucha, SVP HR and OD at Paychex: "There is never an opportunity not to learn. Take advantage of the situation you're in."
• From Steve DePerrior of The Burke Group: "We're at the point of managing four generations in the workforce. It will take new ideas and skills to effectively communicate with and train them."

Thanks to Nazareth College for hosting this event, and for the panelists giving of their time.

Excerpt 3: Balancing Corporate & Personal Brands

The following is the third excerpt from "Walking the Wire: Striking a Balance Between Corporate and Personal Brands" as presented by Mike McDougall, APR at the Ragan Communications / Southwest Airlines conference in October 2011.

We've discussed setting expectations and seeking the true believers, but what about protecting your brand from those who might otherwise do it harm? It's essential that you screen for vampires.

Most of us don't live in Transylvania, and I wouldn't know where to find a silver spike if you asked me. It's crucial, though, that we know how to preempt a blood-sucking attack.

First and foremost, take an active role in screening candidates for hire, especially in senior or visible roles. We're not just talking about communications roles -- this extends to company-wide hiring.

But HR has that covered, right? They're obviously conducting screens of candidates' personal brands, especially on social media sites that could offer up revealing and salacious details best left under a cloak of darkness. Not so fast.

In my experience, a few progressive HR organizations are digging deep, but many others are assuming that the hiring manager is conducting his or her own research. That's a dangerous assumption to make, especially when a cursory, one-page Google search may turn up few items of interest to the harried executive desperate to get someone in the door.

I'm not advocating that communications screen every candidate ourselves. Far from it, in fact. Our role is to inject a healthy fear of the vampire into our hiring culture. It's a hell of a lot easier to screen out the trouble makers before they arrive in the company versus after they're on the payroll.

And what about the vampires who've already made their way inside, and whose personal brands conflict with the values and mission of the organization? We'll get to those in a moment with tip #4.

To read additional insights from Mike McDougall's discussion, bookmark The Schism or follow our Twitter feed (@McDougallTC). For a copy of the presentation slides, contact us at info@McDougallTC.com.