When terms get used and abused to the extent they lose some meaning, it forces me to reevaluate how I define the word. For example, SUSTAINABLE. Over the last couple months I’ve seen marketers throw around this word in ways I don’t feel are appropriate.

To think sustainable, I think you have to start with a point of view, a goal that is not related to the transaction, but to conversation. Rage Against the Haze was successful during unfunded times due to empowered, educated teens who really believed in their voice. We knew that RAGE funding was not guaranteed; we would be lucky to have funds for two years in a row. We used to say our goal was that if Brains on Fire got hit by a bus, RAGE would continue on tomorrow.

IMO many marketers shout sustainability but they really are still talking tactics. The beauty about true, deep insight is it begins relationships internally and externally. These conversations lead to conversations out of the original circle, which is a nice side effect. Compare this to the problems we see happening out there right now. People are using influencer models¹ that continue no conversation online or offline. It’s just people clicking buttons on a survey.

Continue reading " Thinking About Sustainable WOM — Revisited! "

Spike Jones and I have had a running joke about circles after I posted the cycle of the fan diagram. This became a company-wide joke when I tried unsuccessfully to turn a financial graph into a circle on a recent project. Several good things came out of my sharing of a cycle of how a brand can interact with and move people along the steps of fandom. I have to admit I had many reservations about putting a visual thought process out in the blogosphere. But as David Armano told me, “Geno, posting your thoughts to the world in the form of a visual is daunting, but feedback you get in return that helps shape thinking is worth it all.”

So I’ve decided to open the kimono and post about sustainability and the cycle model we use for our not-for-profit client Rage Against The Haze (South Carolina’s teen-led anti-tobacco use movement). When BOF was awarded the contract for RAGE five years ago we made a decision to build a sustainable movement, not another anti-tobacco industry campaign. I don’t know if this was a case of brilliant thinking more than the fact that funding was limited and also limited in terms of commitment of funding. Believe it or not, our mantra for RAGE was “if BOF got hit by a bus tomorrow, RAGE will need to continue to live. ”

As we traveled around the state talking to adults and teens, one thing became obvious — the teenagers needed to lead the movement. What I mean by lead is with their words and actions, so they have true ownership. The major problem we faced with RAGE is similar to a college or high school coach. You only have your current players for a limited amount of time; they grow older, and leave high school for college or the next step in their lives. The RAGE demo is 13–18; this rather wide demo was really a blessing. It forced us to think in terms of a continuous evolution.

Continue reading " Sustainability Cycles Create Sustainable Word-of-Mouth Movements "

Have you heard something lately about a down-turned economy? Just a little but, eh? Face it — it’s all around us. And while we’re very optimistic, the first thing that companies look to cut are their public relations and marketing budgets. Scary, right?

But what if you built something that was recession-proof? What if you created a movement of loud and proud fans that not only helped you better yourself in times of growth, but also carried you through hard times as well?

They’re out there, ya know — those fans of your company. Or maybe they are fans of your industry and just don’t know about you yet. 

So find them. There are a ton of online tools out there, from the basic, free ones like Google Alerts and Technorati, to the deep-dive conversation mining companies like Umbria, that you can use to find out what people are saying about you and your industry.

Then listen. That’s right. Listen. As professional communicators, we’ve been hard-wired to talk, to push out messages. So as hard as it may be, we need to shut our mouths, resist the urge to tell everyone how great our company is, and listen.

Continue reading " Where’s the Party? "

Media Relations 101 teaches you the basics of interacting with journalists. You provide media outlets with timely, honest, interesting information that’s relevant to their audience. You respond promptly when they ask questions and you follow up when needed to make sure they have everything they need for a story. In short, PR people are taught to help build a symbiotic relationship with journalists and provide them information they can use. You know the drill.

But in this new era of “citizen journalism,” where anyone with a computer can spread information about your brand, is client relations quickly becoming the new media relations?  Should PR practitioners counsel organizations to treat customers in the same way PR folk treat media: providing open, honest, authentic information in a timely manner?

A lot of companies still aren’t sure how to handle the onslaught of attention (both positive and negative) social media has allowed customers to give to a brand, let alone give up the illusion of control that they’ve always had.  This is where public relations is poised to take the lead. Imagine if companies started listening and responding to customers in the same way PR people follow up with their top editors?

Continue reading " Is Client Relations the New Media Relations? "