Silence is Golden

I came across a news item this past weekend that thoroughly surprised me. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has gone four complete terms, dating back to 2006, without uttering one word in any of the cases heard before the land's highest court. Not a word. Not a peep.

Rather, Justice Thomas prefers to sit back in his chair, rub his eyes, stare at the ceiling and listen to the proceedings. In the past 40 years no other Supreme Court justice has gone an entire term without saying something, yet Clarence Thomas is likely to make it five straight years with this coming session.

Some observers say Thomas appears bored. Other say he looks disinterested and almost irritated that he has to sit behind the bench day after day listening to the most complicated and challenging cases in jurisprudence.

Thomas, in his defense, says that when cases are invited to present before the Supreme Court the justices, at least from his perspective, should be quiet and listen to what both sides of the case have to say, rather than interject with numerous questions or insert asides that reflect personal opinion.

Whatever his reason may be for remaining silent, Justice Thomas may be onto something.

All too often in life, and especially in our business of public relations, people feel compelled to fill every empty space with words. I've been in meetings where high-powered PR execs speak in long, rambling sentences filled with so much jargon and hyperbole that when they finally do take a break to catch their breath, one is left numb, searching to find a single nugget of actual wisdom or useful advice.

It may be that many PR pros feel the need to talk incessantly because they believe that if they remain silent their clients may wonder if they have anything useful to contribute. Sure, there are times when a spirited colloquy is required to provide necessary counsel, but all too often PR people talk without really having anything important to say.

Years ago, I had the privilege to work at the PR agency Copithorne & Bellows. One of the aspects of the principals' approach to business that made the agency one of the most successful firms in the industry was their ability to listen. "If you ask the right questions and then listen, clients will inevitably outline their current situation and guide you toward an ultimate solution," they preached. And it worked.

Over the years I've learned to ask probing questions to clients, actively listen to how they respond, and then play back for them what they said intermixed with my personal observations. Nine times out of 10, this approach leads to a workable solution to almost any communications challenge faster and more effectively than coming to a meeting armed with preconceived ideas of what a client needs to do, and then bombard them with advice that they didn't ask for, and most likely don't need.

What's your experience? Do you have horror stories of PR people who just can't stop talking? Have you found value in listening? We're waiting to hear from you.

Valentine's Day: Celebrate it the Easy Way, or the Hard Way

This blog usually tackles a range of subject areas the team at 3Point are passionate about: mobile platforms, cloud computing, digital privacy, marketing strategy, social media, and public relations.

But with Valentine's Day literally around the corner (yes, it's Monday!), and in light of the seemingly incessant reminders we're getting from marketers via our favorite media outlets, I thought you wouldn't mind if "Beyond the Arc" took a temporary detour to share a few thoughts on THE romantic holiday.

For most of us (and I'm talking about guys), it's the same deal every year.  How much of a fuss should we make out of Valentine's Day.  Most guys over think this most famous of lovers' holidays.  And it doesn't matter if your newly dating or been married to the same person for 25 or more years.  Us guys definitely feel the pressure and our significant others definitely measure our treatment of Valentine's Day with the progression of the relationship.

My advice?  Relax.  Take a deep breadth.  Try to not read too much into this holiday. After all, it's meant to be a fun, romantic holiday.  You remember, fun, right?

Ok, I admit that what follows isn't so much my advice.  I'll leave relationship advice up to those who are "expert" at dishing it out and make their living from it -- like Dr. Phil and Dear Abby.

But as an infoholic (probably much like yourself), and as a public service, I've digested and then sorted out some of the best professional and informal (from a poll I did with friends on Facebook) advice on how to spend Monday. 

So here goes:

Many of the articles and promotions I've seen encourage us to dine out on Valentine's Day.  For this reason, many restaurants will be jammed on Monday night and you'll wind up waiting for your table -- reservations or not.  Actually, without reservations, I wouldn't even bother.

To be honest, I don't think dining out is for everyone on Valentine's Day. For example, if you're in a new relationship, you might reconsider your plans to dine out because a Valentine's Day dinner is brimming with pressure and future expectations.

Instead, consider a movie.  There are a number of "couples" movies playing at your local AMC Loews Cineplex.  Check out "Country Strong," about a rising country-music songwriter who falls for a fallen star.  Or "The Kings Speech," with 12 Oscar nominations, is sure to provide the fuel for your after-movie conversation at your favorite coffee shop where you can exchange movie insights over a caramel machiatto or other refreshment.

For the more adventurous and if you and your date are reasonably athletic, consider an ice-skating date.  Here's a listing of rinks in your area.  Or a bowling alley that offers food, refreshments and fun. A good option is Lucky Strike, a chain of upscale bowling alleys with lane-side food service and lounges across 12 states, plus an alley in Washington, D.C. and one in Canada (Ontario). 

For those of you who, like me, are in a serious relationship (longer term dating, engaged or married) remember that you don't have to save Valentine's Day to treat your special someone in a special way.  A friend of mine (he's recently divorced, so perhaps he's teaching us all something) said, "Always assume it's your first year of marriage and that EVERYTHING matters."

Dinner out is almost always a good idea on Valentine' Day when you're in a longer-term relationship.  You don't need to re-mortgage the house and dine at The Ritz, but wherever you decide to go, use OpenTable to make reservations.  It's fast and easy, you don't have to look up a restaurant's phone number and you can read what others are saying about previous dining experiences.  

Like so many of our holidays, Valentine's Day has been commercialized to excess. Companies who stand to gain a spike in Valentine's Day sales -- purveyors of sweets, flowers, jewelry and now smartphones, etc., --  have turned to social media and digital marketing in addition to traditional channels in an attempt to guilt us into spending more than necessary.

I for one am not falling for it.  However you decide to spend Valentine's Day this year, and maybe it's just dinner at home then plopping on the couch in front of the TV with your girlfriend, fiancée or your wife -- just remember to have fun.  

Cupid wouldn't want it any other way.

Redux: Worst Things Your PR Agency Could Tell You

Apparently, the number of worst things your public relations agency could tell you doesn't stop at 10.  Not even close. Not that I thought 10 was the limit to begin with.  But I'm getting the feeling from the "Tech PR" group on LinkedIn that the list of worst things a client could hear from their PR agency numbers in the hundreds, perhaps even in the thousands.  Perhaps to infinity and beyond!

What I am sure of is this: no matter who you talk with, there's always at least one more thing that can be added to the list.

A couple of months ago I shared a post -- "The 10 Worst Things Your PR Agency Could Tell You" -- with the "Tech PR" group on LinkedIn. Today, this group enjoys a global membership of more than 2,700 professionals. It would be great to see membership grow to 3,000 before the group celebrates its third birthday on April 28.  So if you're a tech PR pro, check out the group and sign up!

At the time of the post, several members of the group weighed in with their own suggestions while a few others commented on the original list of 10, especially this one:  We can't get any coverage for you if your customers won't speak to the media.

Here's what they had to say about that:

"When companies partner with PR firms that leverage a PR measurement solution, the 'we can't' excuse becomes difficult, if not impossible.  With data and charts at their fingertips, clients can see how much coverage the competitors are getting and whether or not customer references are making up the majority of that coverage. As you know, it's likely the competitors will have coverage that doesn't include customers."


"An activity without a result usually falls short in terms of deliverables to the client or company."


"You need a benchmark - as PR is always comparative."


These other comments and suggested additions to the list may be helpful to your business, whether you're on the client or agency side of the house.

"Worst thing your PR agency can tell you?  'We can measure our success by Equivalent Ad Value.'  This was never relevant, today even less so, yet incredibly it still gets said by some."

One of my personal favs:  " 'We have the right contacts....' Not always true and having the 'right' contact means nothing without a good story, analysts to back up your claims and customers willing to speak."

"Agencies that are so filled with hubris, laziness or sloppiness that when asked why a client left, respond with, 'Oh, we were doing a great job but the client just moved on.' .... The real answer is that the agency wasn't doing a great job, they are more involved with themselves than with the client, and they just weren't listening." Ouch!

One contributor suggests that one of the worst things your PR agency can tell you is their address:  "I always got a kick out of the 'downtown' agencies -- the ones that think they need a midtown Manhattan or Boston/Cambridge address. ...  Are you paying for results or the view from the conference room, or worse, the office of the CEO?  When was the last time he/she pitched a story?"

Another contributor, a chap from the U.K. with a most appropriate name (at least 'surname') for a PR pro -- Chris Measures -- offers this as among the worst things your PR agency can tell you:

"Simply saying 'yes' to whatever you ask them as a client - that's not providing consultancy or any added value."


Dead on, Chris.  Simple and to the point.

If I've left off a few, please let me know.

It Can Pay To Keep Agency and Client at a Safe Distance

I was reading a blog post today by RSW/US, a new business development firm based in the country's heartland -- Cincinnati, Ohio (that is the heartland, right?).  RSW/US works with agencies, advertising and public relations, and they talk with marketers all the time.

In addition to being in the business of new business development for agencies, they also do new biz dev for their own company too.  Well, of course they do.  This firm is not the cobbler's children.

I was introduced to RSW/US in the summer of 2009, and had a couple of conversations with Lee McKnight, Jr., their own director of business development.  He's a good consultative new biz dev pro and if you think your firm could benefit from having "more feet on the street," then a call to Lee would be time well spent in my opinion.

While 3Point isn't a paying customer of RSW/US -- at least not yet -- we do consume content from RSW/US. Their "ANB" Blog provides meaningful insights for agencies, including how the new business pitch process has morphed, how agencies could use social media in their new business efforts, etc.

If you work at an agency and have new business development responsibilities, you really should check out their blog.

The post that caught my attention today was actually published a week ago:  "Agency Search Going Local?  Watch Out for the Weeds".  It's a good take on the pitfalls of being geographically (too) close to your client(s).

Like a lot of agencies, we hear from prospects who insist on having a "local" team.  There's a safety net and comfort level clients have knowing members of their agency team can meet them in person on short notice whenever necessary -- and when it's unnecessary, too.  But as the RSW/US post points out, when there's no space between the client's living quarters and the agency's, there's a danger of getting "dragged down into the weeds of the tactics" leaving less time and less budget for strategic thinking.

An account team in close proximity to the client gives the client a false sense of security.  I've had many clients over the years who were located "just down the street" but the need for actual "face time" was infrequent.  At the same time, many of our clients have been located hundreds and even thousands of miles away from the actual account team.  These clients are most interested in the talent and skill sets of the team, the team's knowledge of the customer's business and the agency's ability to generate the desired results.

If you had a choice between a mediocre account team who sat 10 miles from your office or a great account team who was a thousand miles away, which would you choose?

Where the agency team sits is irrelevant.

Communication skills, phones, mobile and desktop devices, email and cloud-based collaboration solutions take care of the rest.

Communication Technology Doesn't Make Everything Better All the Time

Sometimes, modern communications make me pine for the old days.

As excited as I get about new technologies, especially the kind that facilitates and improves our experiences communicating with each other, I also think our over-reliance on communication technology can be a double-edge sword.

While we garner amazing amounts of information about people and places and things through advanced communication technology, I also believe we deprive ourselves of some of the mystery that existed -- and that some of us enjoyed --  before the invention of the tools we use to communicate on a daily basis basis.

Example.  When I traveled abroad as a college student, the adventure had a great element of mystery that's lacking for many of today's student travelers.  That's not to say that the anticipation of studying abroad is any less exciting for a college student in 2011.  I know that it is, as I recently witnessed my youngest daughter's anticipation of travelling abroad to study in Spain.

But the mystery, well, it wasn't quite at the same level for her as it was for me during my college years.  Let's just say it was different.

Before the availability of technologies like Google Street View, Facebook, Skype or Picasa, among others, college students travelling outside the U.S. for a semester abroad knew what the places they were visiting looked like through still images in brochures and magazines and textbooks, what they were told by other travelers and by what they saw on TV, etc.  They began getting to know their new room mates when they flopped jet-lagged into their living quarters, an apartment in Barcelona or a dorm room in Florence.  They decided if living with them would be tolerable after they got to know each other the old fashioned way, and not through a digital first impression courtesy of Facebook.

There was a great mystery to it all, a level of excitement that is different (better?) than what today's students are experiencing.

When my daughter received an email from her travel abroad administrator with the names of her soon-to-be roommates, she immediately viewed their pages on Facebook.  The pending roommates friended each other, exchanged messages, wrote on each others walls, viewed each others photos, knew each others interests -- all before meeting in person.

Using Google Street View, my daughter found the neighborhood she would be a part of for the next four months.  Together on her laptop, we scrolled up and down her street, checking out the shops, the apartment buildings, trying to figure out where the closest cafe was.

Now that Emily is safely (and happy) in Barcelona and settling in, we've been using Skype's chat tool as if she were in her dorm room at Northeastern University in Beantown.

We've had a few Skype video calls too, using the technology nonchalantly, taking for granted we are 3,651 miles apart.

Some of you may still remember the days when everyone in the house got so excited when a family member or friend was calling the U.S. from Europe.

There was a time when such a call was an exciting, planned event. Things are different today -- often better, but not always.

This evening, my daughter put up a batch of photos, taken earlier today, in a Picasa web album. 

A Game Changing Innovation Reaches a Milestone

One year ago today, Steve Jobs announced the iPad.  It came into the world with incredibly high expectations, and it exceeded them by every measure. 


It is a beautiful machine -- perfectly designed, finely crafted and an indispensable tool that adapts to a user's needs with incredible dexterity, as anyone who uses an iPad will attest.  It proved to be a truly disruptive technology instantly impacting netbooks, laptops, ereaders and the entire print publishing industry.


As with any great innovation, there were detractors, but most of them have fallen silent as the iPad raced to success. And there are imitators. Allegedly, there are many -- just waiting in the wings, prepared to imitate, because they have been left with so little room to innovate or differentiate.


After a year of predictions, only a scant few opponents have made it to market.  Of those that made it out, most seem like second string quarterbacks -- they function similarly but are not quite able to perform on the same level.  HP, Dell, Samsung, Toshiba Motorola and others will find competing head to head with this machine impossible unless they miraculously find a way to change the playing field in a meaningful way.


Those who have studied Michael Porter's activity maps might understand that this machine's perfect integration creates an inherent competitive advantage and a steep, if not insurmountable, barrier to entry. No other company can match the iPad's evolution from the vision of a genius, its unique processor, its long-life battery, an optimized mobile operating system, a well-conceived and robust app store, a true understanding of user interface and manufacturing and assembly processes intended to sell the iPad at a price that offers more value than any other digital device on the market.  Those were derived from choices -- at times hard and controversial choices such as abandoning Flash video and making a wholesale commitment to HTML.


But they were choices made without compromise, and that is the essence of the iPad's brilliance -- there are no compromises in this machine.


Love or hate Apple, the concept of innovation mated to use, craft and value is what seems to be missing in business today.  The idea that a brilliant mind committed to continuous innovation, flawless design and value that is enhanced rather than cheapened by its manufacturing process seems beyond the philosophical -- if not the operational -- reach of many companies.  


So, happy birthday, iPad.  You changed the way we think of computing.  Maybe the courage and commitment that led to your design can also change the way we approach innovation.

Some Know What's Coming Around the Next Corner

I haven't seen the most recent numbers on this, but it's painfully obvious that the number of senior-level professional services workers who were displaced during the recent recession is extraordinarily high.  From attorneys to architects to accountants to recruiters to public relations professionals, senior-level professional services positions have been eliminated en masse.

Realistically, the vast majority of these positions are gone forever.  If and when some do resurface, they will likely be filled by more junior-level professionals "on their way up" and at a significantly reduced salary given the "buyers market" employers are enjoying.

Let's face it: companies in the professional services industry that didn't see the Great Recession coming until it was too late had to take drastic measures to save their organizations from total defeat.  That often meant lopping off the larger salaries typically associated with the more experienced workers. And to do it quickly; oftentimes without a real plan.

(In the spirit of full disclosure, my position at a big PR firm was eliminated during the height of the recession).

Unfortunately, many organizations paid, or are paying, a dear price by laying off so many senior-level employees.  Watching your intellectual capital pack up their offices and leave the building forever isn't a scenic vista for any company.

For those the displaced workers left behind, who were grateful to still hold their jobs, well, that often meant "doing more without the right resources."  Nobody really wins in this scenario.  In fact, a recent survey by Right Management suggests heightened dissatisfaction by employees across industries and professions.

This particular report says that 84 percent of those surveyed will look for a new job this year.

84 percent!

Two blog posts, on different subjects but with a common thread, caught my eye and fuel this post.

The first, by Dan Pallota on behalf of Harvard Business Review, sings the praises of experienced workers and cites a laundry list of reasons why businesses should hire them.  My fav:  "My bullshit meter is highly attuned because I've heard a lot of bullshit.  At 25, I was naive enough to believe most of what everyone was dishing  out."  

As an experienced communications professional, I too understand the value of having a good bullshit meter.

The second is by Mark Suster, entrepreneur turned VC.  In his post (which is making the rounds on Twitter and is highly suggested reading for PR pros and startups), Mark advises startups with modest budgets on how to use PR firms. He counsels against hiring big PR firms at the outset.  "My rationale is that you won't have enough budget to be able to get enough of the senior team's focus.  All too often I've seen senior PR people from big firms come in and pitch for new business to startups while having 22 year-olds who do all the work once it's won."

If you have ever worked at a large PR firm (and I know the same holds true at a number of large law firms) or do so today, you know Mr. Suster knows what he's talking about.

Many experienced and entrepreneurial attorneys, architects, accountants, recruiters, and yes, even public relations professionals, have responded to this recession by creating new organizations -- small companies that care more about the success of their client than the number of billable hours legions of account executives at big firms are racking up.

Do yourself and your company a big favor next time you require outside professional services help -- whether it be legal or marketing or some other service -- or need to hire internally. Consider talking with experienced professionals -- those who know what's coming around the next corner because they've been there before, but also because they're open to new ways of doing things.

Chances are they will treat your company like it's their own.

It doesn't get any better than that.

An Agency Review Process That Spotlights the People -- Not The Process

It may not be a trend quite yet, but it's my observation that in recent months more and more customer prospects are placing a greater emphasis on chemistry in gauging prospective business relationships.

And if I may speak on behalf of public relations agencies everywhere, just this one time, we embrace this emerging tendency with open arms.

Several months ago I wrote about chemistry as the key to long-term business partnerships.  My point then was that assuming a level playing field, in that all of the agencies competing for a piece of business demonstrate a strong ability to meet the client's communications goals, chemistry is going to ultimately decide who wins the business.  

Starting around September of last year, several new business prospects we spoke with began their agency search by holding conference calls with the participating agencies, sans an RFP.  These calls -- with members of the agency account team on one end and the client-side decision makers on the other -- commonly begin with small talk.  Casual conversation that helps to break the ice and begins to determine if there's chemistry among those on the call.   Talking about current events, industry happenings, eventful weather and people you might know in common all help to make connections and all qualify as conversation starters.

If there's laughter involved, that means you're off to a great start.  If there's not, begin to worry.

The phone call is a critical first step.  Executed well, you'll move on to the next phase, which is the live meeting and the real test of chemistry.

At a recent new business meeting, the agency was to simply meet with the prospect's VP of marketing and head of communications. What ensued was a two-hour discussion that covered everything from global events to best area coffee shops, to how B2B companies are using marketing automation solutions and inbound marketing techniques to attract customers. Of course, each side still spent time providing background on themselves, their businesses and discussed ideas. But much of the time was spent just getting to know each other; and listening.  

In the second live meeting, each side did a much deeper dive on "what they are looking for" and "how we work."  But again, this was all done without an RFP.  In fact, the acronym never came up.  And I'd venture to say the prospect found out as much about 3Point and the proposed account team by visiting our web site, reading our blog, talking to references.  And finally, by talking with us.  

Let's hope this approach achieves trend status.  It's effective and efficient and allows all parties to get to the work more quickly.

Cloud Computing Marketeers Have Their Work Cut Out For Them

 Despite a plethora of information about cloud computing, it isn't only non-IT personnel who have yet to come to terms with the meaning of the term.

Perhaps the issue arises from an over-saturation of different interpretations about the term "cloud computing" in addition to the daily onslaught of information about this new (though some argue it's "not so new") computing paradigm.  And adding confusion on top of confusion, it's not just the term "cloud computing" IT and non-IT workers must understand but also cloud computing architecture, the various cloud computing layers and the increasing number of deployment models -- from public cloud to the Intercloud.

As a result, no one should really be surprised with the results of a recent survey of IT and business professionals working in midsized businesses where two-thirds of the participants admitted to not understanding the meaning the of the term "cloud computing."

A number of respondents have even deployed and adopted cloud computing solutions without knowing it.  For example, more than half of the respondents didn't know that cloud-based applications currently in use in their companies were, in fact, cloud-based.  Salesforce.com, Gmail and Google Docs and WebEx are among the applications mentioned.

Virtacore Sytems, a developer of hybrid cloud services (does anyone remember what that term means?) for the midmarket, sponsored the survey which was administered to 210 workers in companies ranging in employee population from 100 to 1,000.  About one-third of the group works in IT with the remainder working in sales, finance, management and other business-side departments.

According to the results, the cloud remains a bit of a mystery to nearly half of the respondents identifying themselves as IT personnel.

The cost benefits message associated with cloud computing also isn't getting through as evidenced by those respondents -- about half of the group -- who pointed to lack of budget as a reason their organization isn't using cloud-based solutions.  And cloud security, perhaps the number one reason some organizations shy away from cloud computing, didn't show up on the short list of the respondents' reasons to avoid the cloud.

The results point to at least two things:

• the midmarket needs to invest more resources in saturating its employees in the cloud if they are going to continue to innovate in their respective industry, thrive in the cloud computing age by exploiting its advantages and not get left in the dust by larger, resource-rich competitors.  
• cloud marketeers need to do a much better job of educating their target audiences on cloud benefits using crisp, jargon- and hype-free messages that are easy-to-digest, not easy to forget.  

The King is Dead, Long Live the King

Much has been written recently about the continued success of powerful technology companies such as Google, Facebook and Apple. These companies are reshaping the entire landscape of computing and telecommunications; how we talk to one another, how we gather information, how we entertain ourselves, and are leading the way toward a new way of human connection and interaction. As these companies ascend in prominence, many pundits have been simultaneously predicting the demise, and possible death, to the once all-powerful tech giant Microsoft. The PC is being replaced by tablets, smartphones and tablet/smartphone hybrids. As that happens, these pundits predict, the billion plus users of the Windows OS will stop buying from Microsoft and will begin using operating systems developed by Google, Apple, RIM, Nokia and others. This past summer, in an attempt to fight back, Microsoft decided to enter the smartphone business with Kin, which turned out to be one of the most disastrous new product introductions in the history of the technology industry. Microsoft pulled the plug on the ill-fated product less than a month after it was introduced. Again, the pundits had a field day with this news, using it as further evidence of Microsoft's decline. So it might be easy to dismiss the lumbering giant as a dinosaur headed for extinction. But not so fast. At this year's CES, video game consoles, along with smartphones and tablets, are center stage. And no company's video game console is selling more units in the US than Microsoft's Xbox, which moved 1.37 million units in November alone. The new Kinect accessory for the Xbox sold more than 8 million units in its first 60 days on the market. On the smartphone front Microsoft launched its Windows Phone 7, or WP7, in October and according to the company it has sold more than 1.5 million units in the first six weeks. In addition, the WP7 had more than 5000 apps available in the marketplace and reached that number 3 times faster than Google did with its Android OS. The analyst firm IDC says, "it is precisely the broad launch and sure-footed execution that allows us to predict long-term success for WP7 at this early stage." So obviously Microsoft learned a thing or two from its misstep with Kin. Microsoft's search engine, Bing, is now the power behind Yahoo Search and achieved its highest levels of success to date late in 2010, and the company expects Bing growth to continue. And with what might be Microsoft's biggest bet of all, cloud computing, the company seems to be fairing quite well as evidenced by its recent wins of federal, state, and local government contracts. Sure, Microsoft isn't perfect, and it is no longer the industry behemoth it was a decade ago, but it is still a force with which to be reckoned. It is a company with more than a $200 billion market cap and more than $35 billion in cash on hand. And with all of the momentum of the company's smartphones, game consoles and cloud computing, I think it would be unwise to count Microsoft out of the game quite yet.

When Bigger Clearly Isn't Better

The Internet crash of 2001 triggered a tech recession but was also responsible, ultimately, for the creation of many new small businesses born out of necessity.  Typically, small businesses -- which are often new businesses -- lead the way when it comes to the job creation that follows a recession.

This recession is no different.

Like many professions, public relations saw its fair share of new agencies, small companies, formed in the post-2001 period.  These independent shops were formed by PR pros who were displaced by the firms they worked for.  Many of these were large firms owned by the big holding companies; firms that bulked up during the dot-com mania and then thinned its ranks when the bottom fell out.

Not every new firm survived, of course.  But many did and some ten years later they are prospering or at least are weathering the storm of the current economic downturn and are looking forward to a stronger 2011.

In the recession that allegedly ended in June 2009, big marketing services holding companies once again displaced personnel -- en masse.  Of course, no industry or profession was sacred in this recession.  And, as in the 2001 downturn, the Great Recession of 2008 led to hundreds of spin outs from large PR agencies.

That is, in fact, how 3Point Communications came to be.  In the broadest sense, 3Point is an Omnicom Group spin out.

Ultimately, PR agency customers are the great beneficiaries of all this.

As the recession dust finally settles, the big agencies all are still standing. Some are lighter than they used to be. But many are now spending money to add new services (social, digital), hire specialists (social, digital), acquire specialty companies (social, digital), and expand globally - especially in Asia.  In the meantime, the newer entities are aggressively building their brands, reputations, staffs, developing their unique selling propositions while going head-to-head against the goliaths for the same pieces of business.

That's how the customer benefits.  The dynamics of the new communications landscape forces everyone to get better.  Big agencies are now not only competing with their peer group, but also with hungry, smart startups.  Or is is upstarts? And the startups/upstarts are moving quickly to build ultra competitive-offerings that tells a customer that being bigger isn't as important as faster and reputable service, a high quality and comprehensive offering and industry experience at affordable prices without the overhead.

 

Is Your Professional Value Diminishing?

If you are a PR professional stuck in traditional media relations, you probably know that your professional value is diminishing.  

The days of interruptive outbound PR are ebbing away. While you still may get kudos for a well-placed article in a publication, you might need a detailed analysis of what that article meant in terms of generating qualified leads or re-Tweets.  Marketers today need to be triple-threat athletes, equally talented in three key areas: content, technology and market research.  And PR professionals need to come inside the marketing tent to figure out how to redefine their skill sets to work more collaboratively with the rest of marketing.

You still need to research, develop and write great stories and messages based on business objectives, but you also need to be sure those stories are adapted for target market segments and packaged in ways that each segment understands and values.  You will need to know how to use that content to drive readers to take action -- preferably to a landing page or website.  And you need to know how long they stay there, what they look at and whether or not they buy.  Your job is no longer just about generating press coverage and dropping a stack of clips on someone's desk.  Your job is creating great content that generates coverage and qualified leads.  You, my friend, are now either a bona fide digital marketing expert or a side show to the main event.  

You think I'm kidding?  A recent McKinsey study found that marketing now oversees 74 percent of customer-facing Web 2.0 initiatives.  Marketing also is increasingly involved in Web 2.0 initiatives involving suppliers and partners.  In other words, marketing is moving into a position where it tried to go for many years -- driving business decisions based on understanding the people who buy the company's products and services.  The difference between then and now is that marketers today have a direct connection to customers via digital media, and they are armed with the ability to measure and analyze the results of those efforts quickly and accurately in ways that draw the attention of the rest of the C-suite.  

The door is wide open for traditional PR professionals to expand their awareness and their effectiveness, but it is closing fast as a new generation of professionals who have grown up with the world of digital PR moves to the forefront of meeting the digital marketing needs of internal and external clients.

"Trust" is the Key to Growing Your Follower Numbers - Tell it to the Beast

The Daily Beast must have an editorial calendar that builds in a university ranking of some sort every few months to boost readership and grow its follower numbers.

Earlier this week the news website released a new list, "50 Druggiest Colleges," sending the public relations and administration offices of 50 colleges and universities scrambling to either respond or to at least generate a message that could be sent to students, faculty, friends and the media.

Just about every time The Daily Beast releases a university ranking, it gets slammed for its use of unscientific data and analysis.  In the instance of the "50 Druggiest Colleges" list, it included inaccurate information about at least one university which greatly influenced the institution's ranking on the list.  Subsequently, The Daily Beast reported the correction and dropped this particular university's ranking by 21 spots.

But the damage had already been done to this university and to the 49 others who made the list.  Who reads corrections?  And besides, The Daily Beast had already received what it wanted: coast-to-coast news articles on the ""50 Druggiest Colleges" ranking since nearly every state in the U.S. was represented.

Last month, Newsweek, another struggling weekly news magazine, and The Daily Beast announced a merger  resulting in the creation of The Daily Beast Newsweek Publishing.

Time will tell if this convenient marriage has legs or if it's just a weekend affair.  If The Daily Beast is looking to earn credibility in the world of online news, though, its best bet is to learn to be more responsible.  It might start by reducing its over reliance on data for its university ranking features from the likes of College Prowler and employ a scientific method for collecting and reporting on useful data. 

Marketing Trumps Reality

Exactly one year, one month and one week after I received my Droid in the mail from Verizon Wireless -- on the day it first became available back in 2009 -- the battery died. After 57 weeks, more or less, of being always on, the wafer-thin power supply to my mobile life finally gave out. Not a bad run.

So, on a cold, rainy Sunday in December I made my way to my neighborhood Verizon store to get a new battery. As usual, the salespeople in Verizon were helpful, and even moved me to the front of the customer queue since all I needed was a new battery.

The kid who eventually helped me asked if I wanted the standard Droid battery, or for an additional $20 the extended life battery that could go up to two full days without needing a charge. I never turn off my Droid, so the thought of going an additional 24 hours without a charge appealed to me and I opted for the extended life battery.

As the saleskid was ringing up my purchase he asked me if I needed a wireless connection for my laptop since Verizon was now offering 4G LTE which provides "true 4G" for my computing needs. I had to stop him right there and explain that the device he was hawking might be good, and even faster than anything else on the market, but it was far from being "true 4G."

Oh no, my enthusiastic saleskid countered, what Verizon offers really is 4G, unlike competitors such as AT&T and Sprint.

It was then that I noticed the logo on his black shirt -- 4G LTE with the Verizon logo underneath. I then noticed the same graphic in hundreds of places around the store -- big posters, cutouts, window stencils, endcaps, brouchures, small placards on the counters, etc. The entire store was one giantic promotion for Verizon's 4G LTE.

Verizon's marketing department had certainly done its job making sure customers were bombarded with the 4G message. Likewise, Verizon's sales department had done its job making sure its salespeople in stores pushed the 4G messaging, no matter how "untrue" it might actually be.

You see, according to the International Telecommunications Union, which sets global standards for the telecommunications industry, "true 4G" provides a net bit rate capacity of up to 100Mbit/s in the downlink and up to 50 Mbit/s in the uplink.

I asked my saleskid what the downlink speeds were for Verizon's "true 4G" and he motioned toward a placard that in full color showed that Verizon's LTE offered download speeds up to 12Mbit/s! He was very proud.

I had to point out to him that was roughly 10x slower than what the ITU had defined for 4G speeds. He looked at me as if I had horns. I could see him processing my comment. He was struggling to remember his sales training and the marketing literature.

"What does ITU stand for again? I should know this one" "What's 12 Mbit/s times 10?" "Who is this guy and why doesn't he just take his battery and leave?"

My saleskid stood there for a moment staring at me before he finally said, "Verizon has true 4G, and we're the only company that does."

I had to hand it to the kid, he was staying on message.

I also had to hand it to Verizon. The company's marketing department has spent millions of dollars on TV, radio and online advertising to promote its 4G LTE technology. It's spent countless dollars and hours training its sales staff and providing them with in-store promotional items. And it was working.

I took my battery and left the store, without buying a 4G LTE wireless device. But I couldn't help but wonder how Verizon's marketing campaign might have swayed others into buying the 4G mythology.

What Company Spokespeople Can Learn from the New England Patriots

Stacey James must be the most relaxed person in the room during recent New England Patriots press conferences.  Sure, James has had his share of challenges in recent years, such as the illegal taping scandal -- Spy Gate.  And we won't soon forget Randy Moss' meandering stream of consciousness press conference earlier this year which left everyone in the room, including James (I'm sure), scratching his head or worse.

But it when it comes to official team press conferences, either following a win or rare loss, Mr. James might as well be sitting in a Lazy Boy in the back of the room.

And why not?  He's vice president of media relations for the company with the best media-trained executives in their industry.  From the franchise owners (Robert and Jonathan Kraft), to the head coach (Bill Belichick), to the team captain and quarterback (Tom Brady) and on through every employee who is permitted to talk to the media -- the New England Patriots stay on message.

And what happens when an employee of the New England Patriots deviates from the company's key messages playbook or when an employee of most any company does so?

Well, it inhibits the company's ability to leverage the interview to achieve company goals.  Remember BP's Tony "I'd like my life back" Hayward's handling of last summer's Gulf Coast tragedy?  I think Hayward is now based somewhere on the Russian front.  Or you can ask wide receiver/diva Randy Moss how beneficial to the New England Patriots his self-serving rant was, that is, if you can remember what franchise is employing him these days.

Before going into a media interview, a spokesperson must have specific goals for that interview.  Once the interview goals have been defined, they can be converted to key messages.  Like many smart organizations, the New England Patriots have a playbook of perpetual key messages and also develop each week a list of time sensitive, relevant key messages.  By limiting the number of points its spokespeople are asked to get across, the Patriots have more control of what ultimately appears in print or what is heard on the radio and seen on TV.

An example of a "perpetual" Patriots key message came on Sunday evening following the Patriots win over the Chicago Bears.  While at the podium during the post-game press conference, Belichick was informed that Patriots arch rival New York Jets had just lost to the Miami Dolphins.  "Oh, we can't worry about that," Belichick said. "We can't be scoreboard watching and worrying about every team in the league.  We worry about ourselves and just try to play well.  Whatever else happens, happens."

The message: the Patriots organization is the master of its destiny.  The Pats alone can control what they do on the field and they do so by being hyper-prepared.

An example of a time-sensitive message came from quarterback/captain Tom Brady yesterday during his weekly locker room press conference, talking about this weekend's match up.  "Yeah, we're in a good position, but we can be in a bad position really quickly ... Green Bay is a hell of a challenge for us. ... (They have a) great quarterback, great offensive scheme, great receivers, and a hell of a defense."

The message:  Any team good enough to be playing in the NFL is comprised of quality athletes.  Despite their leadership position, the Patriots never take any team for granted and respect every competitor no matter what their record may be. The Patriots take the high road, no matter who is doing the talking.

Listen to this week's conference calls with other team executives, such as the Patriots' director of player personnel or the defensive backs coach.

Like their head coach and quarterback, they too are trained to be on message and on target.

For Social Media Marketing, it's the End of the Innocence

It was really just two or three years ago when many "traditional" public relations agencies and their business-to-business clients were wondering if social media marketing was just another shiny new toy, a passing fancy, an amusement for idle minds and hands that would have its 15 minutes of fame and then fizzle.

Since then the question has transitioned from "what if social media marketing is real" to "how do we maximize it for our business?" Add to the list "how do we make sense of the hundreds of social media marketing channels, applications, and analytical tools, etc., that are evolving and being ushered in and out on a daily basis?" And "which ones are right for us and our key stakeholders?"

Flashback:  excluding the early adopters, from 2007-2008 business-to-business public relations and marketing professionals started to kick the social media marketing tires in earnest.  At that time, many professionals and their organizations were signing on to LinkedIn and Twitter for the first time just to be there;   to see what the fuss was all about.  Yes, the great recession influenced the number of LinkedIn and Twitter newbies as these platforms are ideal for job hunters.  But a great many also were logging on to figure out how to begin integrating social media into their existing marketing efforts.

Then in 2009, providers of marketing services in the business-to-business world started their deep dive, en masse, into social media marketing.  And at the same time, PR agency prospects took stock of whether the agencies involved in their new business reviews were walking the social media talk. Do you blog and comment on blogs?  How many Twitter followers does your agency have?  What type of content are you generating and tweeting?  Do the managing partners tweet?  What should we do?  If they didn't ask, they were thinking it.

2010 was a watershed year for the marketing services industry as far as the impact of social media marketing is concerned.

Today, as 2010 winds down, if you live in a B2B world and work in public relations and/or marketing, you are likely (hopefully) well versed in social media marketing -- as a counselor and/or as a practitioner. Because the train has left the station.  In 2011, social media marketing loses its innocence and you better be planning for it.

Confessions of a (sometimes) Twitter User

I've had a Twitter account now for several years. In fact, I have three Twitter pages -- one where I share personal thoughts and information, one for a hobby of mine and a third for work. In the beginning, I used to post to all three many times per week, and on occasion, several times per day.

But over the past months my Twitter activity has declined. It may be because I'm active on three different social networks or because I'm trying to manage the messages in my four email accounts. It could be that I read a couple of newspapers every day and try to read the many magazines to which I subscribe. Or it could be that I spend any available time reading numerous online news sites and blogs, or try to write for one of the two blogs to which I regularly post. I also listen to the radio and watch TV, which also takes up some of my "media" time.

My reduced Twitter use may also have something to do with the fact that I was getting inundated with tweets -- literally several every couple of seconds. By the time I'd read and commented on one, or re-tweeted it, 15 more demanded my attention!

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy social media in general and Twitter specifically, but with so many social media and news outlets, it's hard to keep up with all of them. Apparently I'm not the only one feeling a bit overwhelmed.

A report released today by the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project says that of all the Americans who log onto and use the Internet, only 8 percent of them use Twitter, and that a much higher percentage of Internet-connected Latinos and African-Americans use the service than whites.

There were other interesting findings from the study as well. Again, of all Internet users, 7% of men used Twitter while the number was 10% for women. Only 5% of white Internet users use Twitter while the number for blacks is 13% and Hispanics 18%. Urban dwellers use Twitter at more than twice the rate of their rural counterparts, 11% to 5%, while suburban usage fell in the middle at 8%.

Age also plays a factor in who uses Twitter. Fourteen percent of those 18-29 years old use the service, but the percentage drops to 7% for 30-49 year olds and 6% for those over 50.

So despite the estimated 50 million tweets per day in the US in 2010, a relatively small number of Internet-connected people seem to responsible for them.

Please feel free to tweet these findings.

The Won't Do Nation

Way back in September 2009, President Obama went to Hudson Valley Community College in New York to give a speech on innovation.  The choice of location was interesting, as the southward journey of the mighty Hudson River tells a sequential story of the demise of the American economy. 

The Hudson Valley runs due south from Albany to New York City. It is bordered on both banks by the tracks of railroads and the ancient mansions of families with names like Vanderbilt, Roosevelt, Delano, Astor and Rockefeller. On its southward journey it passes towns like Schenectady -- which Thomas Edison chose as the birthplace of GE. Then it moves further south past Kingston, Poughkeepsie and East Fishkill, which once housed more than 50,000 IBM employees in 3 bustling plants that built and tested mainframe computers and designed and developed advanced semiconductors. Those plants today are shadows of their former prosperity. Further south, it passes IBM's headquarters in Armonk, its research center in Yorktown Heights and continues to New York City, where it rolls past the palatial offices of investment banks and AIG.

So it was an interesting venue on that day 15 months ago when the President laid out a three-part plan to rejuvenate innovation in a country and a region that once set the bar for the world in technology innovation.  His plan called for:

1. Investing in the Building Blocks of American Innovation. 

2. Promoting Competitive Markets that Spur Productive Entrepreneurship, and 

3. Catalyzing Breakthroughs for National Priorities.

It was a bold and detailed plan that you can see in the accompanying diagram. It set as a priority restoring American leadership in fundamental research.  As we stand on the verge of continuing the Bush-era tax cuts, the idea of restoring our leadership in R&D seems remote. We appear to be a nation and an economy hell bent on cutting costs rather than investing in the kind of research and development that made us the most powerful and prosperous nation in the world for over a century.  While there are many who claim that stimulus plans rob future generations by burdening them with debt, it is hard to believe that the residual impact of cuts could exceed the negative impact of not investing in research and development required to create new jobs, revitalize industries, support education, create new industries and keep us focused on innovation in a world that is increasingly competitive.

We have always been a defiant nation. That has served our greatness when directed at outside threats.  But it serves to hasten our demise when used against each other. We seem to have forsaken the "Can Do" attitude that fostered more than a century of innovation along the banks of the Hudson River and across the nation. We have replaced it with a "Won't Do" attitude that divides us and defies any attempt to unify us in a common purpose to restore our greatness.  Has protecting wealth trumped stimulating innovation and the ability to compete globally?

Which Companies Will Lead the IT Industry's New Mainstream Platform?

'Tis the season for predictions.

Let's see.  Well, we have the 2011 world prophecies from top psychic astrologers.  I was elated to read on this web site that "all predictions of life on Earth and End of the World in 2012 will turn out to be false and untrue."  So not only "false" but "untrue" as well.  Now that's a relief.

The 2011 Oscar predictions started making the rounds in October. CNBC announced earlier today that on Dec. 8 it will unveil its predictions for the 2011 economy.  I also saw an article about the 2011 food trend predictions made by 1,500 chefs.  And of course there are thousands of professional sports-related predictions including this one from The Orange Country Register:  Lakers will lose!

But in a sea of annual predictions on subjects that are really just trivial, there's one list that I look forward to each year at this time.  And once again, it did not disappoint.

If you haven't seen International Data Corporation's 2011 IT industry predictions, you can find it here.  You to have register with IDC to read it, but if you want only the summary here's the press release.

Here are the reports' highlights:

• spending on public IT cloud services will grow at more than five times the rate of the IT industry in 2011, up 30% from this year.  Why?  Because more and more businesses, small, medium and large, are realizing the friendliness of cloud economics, the flexibility and reliability of cloud computing models, and that security issues have been over-stated;
• mobile computing will continue to explode.  Ok, that's obvious.  But what about this:  IDC says close to 25 billion mobile apps will be downloaded next year! That's compared to "only" 10 billion or so which were downloaded this year.  It's not time to kiss our PCs good-bye quite yet.  But it will be interesting to see how the manufacturers with PCs in their DNA reinvent themselves in a world where mobile computing dominates, and
• in 2011, business finally gets social.  More than 40% of SMBs will use social networks to promote themselves and we'll see a consolidation tsunami as the bigger software suppliers scoop up social software vendors to fuel their social business efforts.

The key prediction from IDC is not only will cloud computing, mobile computing and social networking grow and mature next year, but they will "coalesce" into a new, mainstream platform.  And the players who are today's leaders in the cloud, mobile and social may not be the same companies who will be leaders of the new coalesced platform.

"In addition to creating new markets and opportunities, this restructuring will overthrow nearly every assumption about who the industry's leaders will be and how they establish and maintain leadership," said Frank Gens, senior VP and chief analyst at IDC.

In 2010, the cloud, mobile and social all found their rhythm.  Things will get even more fascinating next year when they share the same stage on prime time. 

I don't know about you, but I can hardly wait! 

New King of the Court

No, it's not LeBron James. It's Apple Computer. Since 2008, Apple has been the most-sued company in the technology industry. It's most recent battle, being heard this week by the International Trade Commission, is against Finnish telecom giant Nokia over patents relating to the iPhone. At stake is the leadership position in the US smartphone market. Apple is trying to protect its right to import the iPhone, while keeping at bay its most powerful rivals, particularly smartphones powered by Google's Android operating system, the world's most popular smartphone software. I'm not going to go into the specifics of this particular case, or any of the dozens of lawsuits Apple has pending, rather, I'm more interested in why Apple has become the most litigious company in technology. The statistic that caught my eye was the time frame of Apple's ascent in courtroom appearances -- 2008 through today. What changed in 2008? Ah yes, the iPhone was available and was the hottest phone on the market. Prior to 2008, most of the technology patent battles happened among companies such as Intel, AMD, Microsoft, HP, Dell, Qualcomm and Oracle. But after 2008, Apple raises to the top of the heap. Apple's ubiquitous presence in the courtroom is because smartphones, and the applications that run on them, have become such essential parts of our lives. Not an hour goes by that I'm not either talking on my smartphone, sending a text, checking email or surfing the web. And who am I kidding? An hour? Try every few minutes, and I'm not alone. In the past, the battleground for our attention was on the PC, so it was natural for HP, Dell, Intel, AMD and Microsoft to sue anyone who dared venture near their turf. Today, that battleground is our iPhones, Droids, and Blackberries. Conventional wisdom in Silicon Valley has long been follow the VC money to determine the hot emerging tech market. But a corollary to that adage is watch who is suing whom to determine what market is currently hot and making money. Today that market is smartphones, and the hot company is Apple.