Randall Blaum's Marketing Blog

Using Twitter Backgrounds to Promote Yourself

Good New Years to you all.  Over the past several weeks people have been asking me a lot of questions about Twitter and how I do what I do within the Twitter environment.  For my final blog of 2008 I’d like to share with you a theory of mine about Twitter, which as evidenced by the number of direct messages I get seems to work.  The theory is that the more often you change the background on your Twitter home page, the often people come back to look at what you are doing now.

This is similar to why department stores change their window displays and why new commercials come out for the same product.  Keep ‘em guessing and keep ‘em coming back.  I have started a test on Twitter and have changed my backgrounds five or six times in the past few weeks.  Each time I make a change I get comments, so for 2009 I will change the background once a week and make a game out it.  I will offer prizes and incentives as well, so make sure you follow my tweets at www.twitter.com/randallblaum.

Here are just a few of the Twitter backgrounds I have used in the recent past, why I chose to create that background and what results came from the usage of the background.

This was the first background I used to get me going and to identify me with Hollywood, in which I have spent almost 30 years working with and promoting A-list stars like Madonna, Paula Abdul, George Lucas and all of the major Hollywood studios as well.  I have helps to create hundreds of marketing campaigns that are still being seen 'till this day around the world.

This background was used for the week that we launched the new KickBrix Energy Chew nationwide.  Since we were launching to retail as well as affiliates on the internet, this was a good billboard at no cost to me and it attracted several high-end affiliates that did not know about KickBrix until they saw my background.

This background is on my Twitter.com/RBlaum experience and is dedicated to helping people dump their credit card and other debts.
I directed a major motion picture a couple of years ago called UR Pre-Approved and it was about how the credit card companies and our own government want us in debt and how you can beat that system.  It is now available at www.urpreapproved.com on DVD.

This one is pretty straight forward.  A holidday background for the week prior to Christmas.  Note the photo I used of me is the one from my trek to Mount Everest Base Camp... A foreshadow of things to come (this week's background).

This background again brings in my ties to Hollywood and also shows a lighter side of Randall with the photo of me looking up and the coat over my shoulder.  This lets people know I'm not un-reachable, although most people cannot get hold of me without going through my assistant, Jolene.  In fact, one of the only ways for people to get hold of me wihtout going through the front door (this is a big tip) is to respond to items in this blog.  I read every comment and I try to respond to as many as I can.

Which brings me to the final background for 2008; me at the Mount Everest Base Camp.  This is to not only celebrate a huge accomplishment of mine, but also to lay the groundwork for upcoming themes I shall use for my backgrounds, which will lead people to be even more interested in what I am up to, which should translate into sales in the long term. 

For me, it's all about experiences, not just about the content and through lots of testing I have found that people enjoy the way I write, but also the way I use photos, videos, and audio squibs to enhance their experience with me.

Have a safe New Year and I am yours in success,

Randall

Top 5 Tips for Having a Great Interview with the Media

When Opportunity Knocks or calls, be ready to answer the questions...

My last post was of a new press release we sent out today to almost 6000 members of the media.  Since I am expecting a flood of calls today (I already have spoken to several people this morning) I thought I would add this post so that you can see 5 great tips you can use to have a great interview every time.

Randall

What to do to prepare for your interview
The fact is that a great majority of business owners totally freak out when they get a call, or worse a visit from a reporter.  When you do get a call from the media (and you will) because you’re sending out press releases, have a blog, write articles and so on, right?  Are you going to be one of the people who freaks out?   I hope not because the media can create huge opportunities for your business—if you know how to talk to the media and know how to handle them during an interview.

Most business owners are familiar with the different types of standard media (TV, radio, print, internet)  and many of you know how to contact the correct reporters, editors, producers, and the correct media outlets so when you send out killer press releases you get results.

However, getting free publicity from using press releases isn't the only way your company can generate positive attention. Many times reporters need an expert for a story they’re doing, or maybe your business gets involved in a controversy, is the victim of a crime or disaster, or plays a major role in an important development in our business niche.

The great news is that most of us will have the opportunity to get free publicity and use the media to tell our stories to their audiences that will then have a significant positive impact on your business. Here are a few tips to help you to prepare for that golden opportunity… the interview.

1. When you get a call from a reporter, take a moment to figure out exactly why the reporter is calling and what story they’re really trying to tell.
Find out exactly who is calling, what media outlet they represent, and why that person wants to talk to you. If the interview request is unsolicited and you feel a bit uneasy about why they’re calling you, ask politely what the reporter's deadline is and if you can get back to him or her shortly. 

That way you can double-check your facts.  Most reporters don’t mind being called back, because they don’t want to report wrong facts as much as you don’t want to be responsible for being the source of the wrong facts.

2. Always treat media representatives courteously and with respect
99.9% of the time reporters aren't out to get you, and being featured in a news story can be great for business. So be engaging and interesting, and stay focused on the purpose of the interview.

Unless it’s a “deadline emergency,” agree on the time the interview will take place.  Will it be over the phone, or in person?  If in person, where will you meet?  If over the phone, who will make the phone call? Also try and determine the length of the interview and the topics for discussion before hand.

WARNING: If your schedule changes and you cannot do the interview, notify the reporter immediately. Breaking an appointment at the last minute won't exactly inspire the reporter to say wonderful things about you or your business, but things do come up and if you’re up front with the reporter, they may not like a canceled interview, but they’ll thank you because you haven’t wasted their time waiting for an interview that’s not going to happen.

3. Know your topic, your industry, and test your knowledge
Know how to state your message clearly and concisely, and be able to support it through facts and figures, anecdotes, expert opinions, and examples.  One strategy I have recommend to people, especially those that have not done many interviews is to have a friend or family member ask you questions about your area of expertise (like a reporter will) and then in 30 seconds or less give them a concise answer.  Check with them for understanding.  If the person helping you with your message delivery doesn’t understand what you said, neither will the reporter.  Practice, practice, practice.

4. Understand why the news media will contact you
You need to be prepared for the time (and there will be one) when a reporter or editor calls you.  Knowing that, you need to learn something about the various types of media that might contact you—print, radio, television, and the web—and when the day comes that they do contact you, be as open and honest with your comments as possible.  DO research on why people write the stories they do so you will have some stable datum (common language) between you and the reporter.

WARNING:  Try to avoid saying "no comment," during an interview, but also realize that with rare exceptions, nothing you say is off the record.  Once you have developed a relationship with a reporter and know that when you say, “This is off the record,” it is, you’ll be fine, but until that level of trust has been reached assume everything you say will be used.

If you truly can't respond to a tough question, instead of saying no comment state a reason such as, "The agreement is currently being reviewed by my lawyer and my accountant, so I'm not certain of its status."   
This may seem like you’re “side stepping” the issue, but it’s a heck-of-a-lot better than seeing “Bill Smith of the XYZ Corporation, had no comment for this story.”  Are you hiding something?  The “no comment” line almost always makes consumers think you are.

When you're being interviewed, give the journalist your undivided attention and keep interruptions to a minimum (cell phones all the way off).  Make sure that you don’t give too much information, or the reporter may be overwhelmed and not know what the important points of your message are.  (Think short simple sentences known as sound bites.)

5. Stay in control
There are some journalists who will try to create controversy.  Think about it.  Have you ever seen a totally one-sided news story?  No, the reporters try to get someone on the other side of the issue to dispute the first person’ position.  You may be asked to comment on “the other side” of the story, which may not be the popular view.  Just be careful. Be on the lookout for strategies the reporter may use to create controversy, and always bridge a negative point with a positive one.

Every reporter I’ve worked with has had either an exceptional memory or great note taking abilities and will recall if you were candid, accommodating and prepared for the interview. So consider any interview a prime opportunity to favorably influence your businesses image.

The fact is that no interview or contact with the media is too routine or too trivial. You need to take every chance you get to influence the public about your product or service and interviews with the media is the way to do this

Press Release for New KickBrix Product

This went out today to almost 6000 media people and outlets as part of the roll out for KickBrix, the new product we are launching nationally.  Since many people who read my blogs and articles have asked to see some of the releases we send out, I thought you would enjoy reading the most current one.  the formatting is different in this blog than the actual release, but the words are identical to what went to the media early this morning.

For Immediate Release

Product review and promotion samples available for testing and on the air/website giveaways.

Contact:  Randall Blaum 310-947-1335  randall@randallblaum.com or simply hit reply to this email and provide us with your best street address

New! KickBrix Energy Chews Pack a High Energy Punch and Tasty Fresh Wallop All in One Bite

If you like the energy that caffeine gives you but worry about the calories and carbs contained in coffee drinks and energy drinks loaded with sugar, you’ll enjoy this new all natural high energy chewable snack.

KickBrix Energy Chews are a bold fresh flavored low carb no sugar chewable snack. 

   

KickBrix contain a powerful blend of vitamin B-12, ginseng, and taurine, with zero sugar and only 25 calories.  There are five chews in a bag.  KickBrix Energy Chews are currently available in two flavors – Citrus Blast and Berry Blast. 

Pow!  Whenever you need to boost your energy or concentration chew a KickBrix Energy Chew.

Suffering some serious mental and physical drain right before the big test at school?  Getting tired and sleepy on the road?  Falling a sleep at work? Need to wake up to get going at exercise class? Just pop ‘em in your mouth about 5 minutes before you need that burst of energy. You don’t need to wait 30 minutes like those “energy” (yawn) drinks … With KickBrix you get kickin’ right away!

Each KickBrix Energy Chew contains 90 mg of caffeine … which is way less than a small cup of Starbuck’s coffee.  The company recommends that you take no more than 5 KickBrix Energy Chews per day until you see how kickin’ the effects are for you personally. Remember there’s caffeine in there so make sure you’re not sensitive to it, as sensitivity varies from person to person.  Take caffeine responsibly!

KickBrix Energy Chews retail for $3.99 per bag (5 chews).  A box of KickBrix with ten bags (50 chews) is $24.99.  A jar with 100 chews s $44.99.  KickBrix Energy Chews are currently available in two flavors – Citrus Blast and Berry Blast. 

KickBrix Energy Chews are 100% Gluten Free 100% Vegetarian and Vegan.  The FDA categorizes KickBrix Energy Chews as a dietary supplements.

Available online at www.kickbrix.com and at selected stores nationwide.

Product review and promotion samples available for testing and on the air/website giveaways.

Contact:  Randall Blaum 310-947-1335  randall@randallblaum.com or simply hit reply to this email and provide us with your best street address
------------------------------------------

Be well and have a super Tuesday!
Randall

The Iceman (and the ice) Cometh

As I rest my feet and watch the flames of the fire flicker in the background I am reminded of a promotion I did when I was the GM of the AMC Alondra 6 Theatres in Cerritos (LA), California.  It was 1984 and it was hot.  It was July hot and I was opening the new Universal film, Iceman.  For those of you that have been alive since the 80's, the Alondra 6 was an in-line 6-screen theatre with 1500 seats or so.  We were the weak sister in the area as UA and Pacific got all the great movies and we got the left overs.  Except for Iceman...

Being the showman that I am I set out to create the single most-talked-about promotion that year.  For the opening of Iceman I brought in over 40 tons of snow, which took a few hours to blow all over the theatre.  The reason I wanted to create this event was so that the film companies could see that our theatre could throw a gross just as well as the competition and that way we would get more of the better movies.

This is the guy that created the snow for us and it was wild.  Huge blocks of ice go through a chipper and then get literally blown through a pipe and onto the building and ground.  Amazing, really.

We had lots of media coverage and the entire staff really got into the whole promotion, In fact, one usher, Ricky, was the Iceman and he played it to the hilt.  I wonder what he is up to these days.  Certianly he could never has thought this old photo would serface.  Well, so it goes...  The promotion went very well.  We sold out all shows all day long and the event got sdo much media coverage and the gross was exceptionally high for Alondra that the producers of the film drove all the way out to Cerritos to see what we were doing.

They had fun and even got into a snowball fight with each other and a few customers.  I was never one for just "making due" or just " doing my job" and I have found that the people I meet that also think this way not only have a great amount of fun, they make more money, live happier lives and even get to make it snow in LA in July.

Reach for the big time when you do promotions and you, too, will be your rainmaker (or snowmaker) for you and your company.  I am still making it snow for promotions as kids and parents love the stuff.  For over 24 years this simple, yet dramatic style of promotion has gotten me and my clients untold amounts of media coverage, created huge fans of their customers, and along the way, we all had a blast.

Be well, have a blast, and I am yoursin success,
Randall

p.s  That is me behind the concession stand at the ripe old age of 24 as the General Manager of the Alondra 6 Theatres.  Anyone up for a late night Thursday screening? 

What To Do If You Don’t Want Your Advertising To Work

If you are setting out for your advertising to fail, there are some very important things you should do. But, if you are planning on investing your advertising dollars in a plan that will work, then you will want to watch out for these things.  Does this make sense?  I hope so, and yet many people seem to ignore the obvious.  There are many times when your intentions are good but your natural abilities are lacking.  For those who want their business to reap the rewards of your advertising itself, you need to insure that you avoid these pitfalls:

• Don’t assume that you know best.  Are you the customer?  If you were the customer, you would be able to see that this method of advertising isn’t working or that that method of advertising is bland.  Being able to see from the customer’s point of view is rather difficult for the average business owner and no one expects you to realize this overnight, but it can be done. Another, more effective way is to allow real customers to help decide what your advertising can be.  You can have professionals help you or get a professional survey done.  You can just ask a few of your regular customers what they think as well. But, ask someone, don't just assume you know best.

• Secondly, make sure that you invest the time and effort in the right amount of advertising as well.  Too much advertising can overwhelm and bore your customers with your message and cause them to become less interested.  But, too little advertising can work against you as well in that it will provide you with little ability to sell your product.  So, balancing too much and too little is essential.

• If you want your advertising to fail, then you should advertise your product or service to the wrong people.  Have you ever been on a website where someone is advertising something that is totally weird and something you wouldn’t want anything to do with?  For example, if you are on a news website reading about the daily news stories, you most likely don’t want any ads having  to do with the latest CD for a rap group.  Directing your advertising dollars at the right audience is crucial to having a successful advertising plan. Always use the right words to the right people in the right way.

• For advertising to work for you, it needs to be delivered in the right manner and have the right message.  Many times people simply do not know how to put all the advertising pieces together (look, feel, color, sound, visuals, message points copy blocks, etc), so, it is important for you to put together this information through the help of professionals.  One place you can get good help at a reasonable price is www.elance.com.  So what do you need to do if you actually want your advertising to work for you?

What To Do If You Want Your Advertising To Work

Having a working advertising plan is essential to the continuation of your company.  Advertising tells your potential customers who you are, what you have to offer, what you can do for them, and why they need you.  The combination of these things will provide for a good advertising plan that will work.  There are many things that you should consider when developing the advertising.  Here are some of the aspects you should consider to help your advertising to work effectively:

• Begin with focusing your attention on what you plan to advertise.  First, decide on what your goal is and then develop a plan to achieve it.  The advertising plan should be precise in its details.  What will be advertised?  Where will it be advertised?  How will it be advertised?  Who will handle it?  What is the goal of it?  Your plan is necessary and needs to be as structured as possible.  This will help to focus the overall advertising plan.

• Next, you will need to work on the right amounts of exposure.  Sometimes, it is necessary for you to spend more on understanding where you should advertise than how much you need to advertise.  To make your advertising plan work, you should be able to know your targeted audience well. This is not an easy task for most businesses and the best thing to do is to gain that knowledge quickly so you might want a professional company to handle it.  They will help you to decide what enough is and where the advertising should be.  You can also do the research yourself.

• If you want your advertising to work, you need to deliver the right message to the right people in the right way as well.  This is often difficult because many people simply  do not realize how they should do this.  For example, it is necessary for you to know if one banner ad will work better than another, or if your product or service even needs a banner ad at all. The actual ad you place out in the market place, whether it is on the web or in the ‘real’ world, needs to deliver the right response from the customers.

Have a superb week and I am yours in success,
Randall

How the Market Research Process Can Help You

When I was asked to speak to a large group of people a day ago, one of the topics the organizers wanted me to address was the Marketing Research Process.   As they say, “you put 100 marketing professionals in a room and you’ll get 100 different answers to that question.”  This may be true, but if you do little market research, a lot of market research, or have an entire department doing your market research, there is a critical path that I have found to work 100% of the time.

In my experience, the research is important, but so is the system in acquiring the data.  If you have a flawed premise, everything you get in results after the flawed premise, by definition will also be flawed.
There may be hundreds of alternatives if you care to thin slice the “how to’s,” but I have found there are 6 major buckets the marketing research process fall into. 

They are:
1.    Define the problem, create a list of decision alternatives,  and research objectives
2.    Develop the research plan
3.    Collect the data
4.    Analyze the data
5.    Present the findings
6.    Make the decision

When you are creating and new ad campaign, launch a new product or service, or simply upgrade your current offerings, what system do you use?  Do you even have a system?  I hope you don’t make the big mistake of just creating a product or service without asking your customers what they want.  Hard to believe, but many people do exactly that and then wonder why they can’t sell anything.
Let’s take a quick look at each of the categories above and see how they can help you bring more revenue into your business sooner, rather than later.

1.    Define the problem, create a list of decision alternatives,  and research objectives

• You have to be careful not to define the problem so broadly or so narrow that the market researcher or you will wind up with more information than you can process or use, or you will wind up without all the needed information to make a good decision.
• When creating  a decision alternatives list think of these types of questions:

1. Should our company even offer this new product or service (make the case as to why or why not)
2. How many people are likely to buy and at what price?  Is this worth it?
3. What are the ways for people to understand what the offering is and how do we educate them?

2.    Develop the research plan

• The second phase of marketing research calls for creating the most efficient plan for gathering the need information.
• When you create the research plan, think about how much revenue you are likely to receive in the first year, 5 years, and 10 years of the product launch or enhancement.  i.e.  If you think that you can generate $50,000 the first year in new profits from this product or service, you can easily spend $10,000 or even $20,000 doing the research.  But, if you think you will only realize a $20,000 profit, you would want to spend probably no more than about $5000 (or less) to get your marketing data.

The secondary data paradox:  It can very inexpensive to collect and examine secondary data, rather than launch into a full-scale and expensive primary data collection program.  See what is on the internet, who is selling what, and what they charge for it. You can learn a lot without spending much money at all.

• There are dozens of ways to collect primary data.  Here is a short list for you to consider:

1. Observational Research (Watch the consumers in their environment)
2. Focus Groups
3. Oral or written surveys (great for internet) Written on-line surveys are very inexpensive and can generate a lot of quality data.
4. Interviews (in-person, over the phone)

3.    Collect the data

• While there are many ways to collect data, I will spend the next few minutes going over the advantages and disadvantages of online research:

ADVANTAGES:
i.    Inexpensive
ii.    Faster than other options
iii.    People tend to be more honest online (YouGov.com)
iv.    More versatile (can do 3-D models, photos, videos, etc)

DISADVANTAGES:
i.    Samples can be small and skewed (not everyone is online therefore you cannot get an absolute sample of the market)
ii.    Technological problems (ignore basic survey protocols,  transcription errors, etc)

4.    Analyze the data

• This is where many entrepreneurs screw themselves into a Gordian Knot.    In this step you must extract the accurate findings from the data collected.  You will also find additional information you had not counted on in the original research program.  Make sure you look for the precession (something else going on that is NOT what you think)

5.    Present the findings

• This is the last step and is where the researcher presents their findings.  If you are the researcher and the “listener” to the data, don’t blow this step off.  Really look at the data and what it means to you and your company.

Your findings can be short and may look something like this:

• The main reasons to launch this (insert name here) product are that people (insert solution to problem here)
• About (number) customers out of every 10 would use the new product/service over the next (time frame) and would be willing to pay ($).  Since our investment for implementing the new product or service would be ($X) it will take us (number of months / years) to break even.
• Offering (product / service) would build our brand, increase sales, and create the perception that we are the leading company when it comes to innovation in our niche and we would gain new customers for other products from this effort.

6.    Make the decision

• With a good plan and a valid premise you can determine the validity of a new product or service in a way that does not have to cost a lot of money, nor take a lot of time. One of the worst things you can do, however, is to not do any research and just “wing it.”

With this research strategy in place you will be able to test your theories, look at how your products will be accepted in the market and will be better able to launch successfully.

I am yours in success,
Randall

Top Things Every Business Professional Wants and What You Can do About it

Business people want many of the same things; even though they use different terminology use have a different filter to see things through.  In my experience here are the several of the top wishes and hope that all business professionals want for themselves and their business.  I have broken this list down into a few sections

HAVE A SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS
~ Start a new business
~ Increase profitability by 20-500% ~ Increase sales by 50-1000%
~ Develop a strategic and action plan
~ Strengthen the internal management/systems

CORPORATE WORK
~ Build cooperative culture of self-managing teams
~ Establish 5-20 year vision, mission and strategies
~ Train non-sales staff to sell, too (and enjoy it)
~ Strategic repositioning in markets/industry
~ Double firm's sales volume and profitability

PROFESSIONALS
~ Develop a full, successful practice
~ Develop a strong reputation, be known as a model ~ Manage clients better
~ Increase sales and profitability
~ Recognize and eliminate high, hidden delivery costs

COACHES
~ Get trained and master the craft of coaching
~ Develop a full, successful practice
~ Grow through resistance, blocks, the unknowns
~ Develop a strong reputation, be known as a model

So what does all this tell you as an entrepreneur?  A lot, I hope.  In some form or fashion each one of these hopes and dreams fits into two categories:  1.  Make more money, 2. Learn and live more.

What do you have as a product or service that fits these needs and wants?  Think about it.  Take a few minutes today from shopping hell and really think about how you can serve your customers and potential customers better.  And, of course... Have lots of leftovers!

I am yours in success,

Randall

Even I Make Mistakes...

Have you ever wondered how and why some mistakes get made and go unnoticed until it's too late?  I do.  In fact one of those mistakes happened to me yesterday.  Not a biggie, but when I started receiving comments on yesterday's blog I found myself embarrassed and laughing myself to tears.

In yesterday's blog I wrote about the Act III Smiley Face being "all over the place."  It was placed on buttons and on clocks... and only if I had actually written the word, "clocks," all would be dandy.  What I wrote was, "The smiley face was put on buttons and cocks." So simple that one missing letter "L."  You would hardly thing it was that important of a letter, would you...  Well, it was a very important letter in this case, wasn't it?

As Buckminster Fuller says, "Everything is learning" and I had some "learning" this morning on this blog.  To that end let me apologize about the mistake and I hope you will forgive the error. This does, however, remind me of another error I made several years ago and that you might find interesting, and funny, too.

When I was the Vice President of Advertising and Marketing for Act III Theatres we had the honor of being the number one THX certified auditorium theatre circuit in the world.  We went all out to build great theatres and the THX certification was a huge part of our program of quality for our customers.

One the major differences between a good auditorium and a bad one is how much echo you have inside the auditorium itself.  The more echo, the worse the presentation as the sound bounces all over the theatre.  In a THX auditorium, the echo is very minimal and to many ears, almost non-existent.

The best place to tell (and, yes you can test this at your local movie theatre) how much echo there is in a movie theatre is to stand several feet in front of the screen and face the back of the theatre (so you are looking at all the seats).  Then clap your hands together and see how many echoes you can count.  In a great theatre you should hear none.  In a good theatre you may hear one or two and in a not-so-good theatre you will hear many reverberations and echoes.  There’s a lot of reasons for this, but suffice it to say, not all theatres are created equal.

The reason I tell you this is because this test was the basis for a huge advertising program we were launching against our competition and we were in need of a name to give the test so the public would understand what it was we were talking about.   Here’s what we wanted our customers to do:
We wanted people to go into our competitor’s theatres, clap their hand together, hear all the echoes, and then repeat the test in our theatres and hear no echoes. 

So we put our collective marketing heads together and thought long and hard about what actions we wanted the customer to take (1.  Go to competition, 2. Clap hands, 3. Hear echoes) and then it came to us.  YES!!! We would call this test the Clap Test!  We were thrilled, we were overjoyed, and we were about to have a huge bucket of cold water thrown on us…

Many of you may be smiling right now and for those of you that aren’t, either it’s not as funny as I think it is, or you are unaware of the term we chose for the program.  The Clap Test is short hand for a test that you take for finding our if you have Gonorrhea.  This was turning out not to be such a good name after all for our marketing program.

It was funny, and thank goodness one of our employees brought this to our attention before it ever went to print, but we were ready to go and we were sure it would be a hit.  What it would have been was a total mess.

I bring you this story as an example of what to do when you make a marketing misstep or mistake.  In my experience it is better to point out the mistake to those who it affects, and then take that time to make it a learning moment for everyone; that way people see that you can and do make mistakes and more importantly, take responsibility for them, and then turn it into a positive experience.

As part of that experience it is everyone’s responsibility to let businesses and people know when they make a mistake, so they can take efforts not to make it in the future.  Thank you to those of you that wrote me this morning about mine.

I’ve made some big mistakes in my life and have learned from all of them.  What I learned from this error is to double-double check everything before it goes public.  That is a good take-away for you, too so you never have your version of The Clap Test go public.
Be well and have a wonderful error-free Christmas,

Randall

Marketing Stories to Warm the Cockels of Your Heart

Many people, in fact too many to respond to individually, have asked for some additional information on some of the promotions I have either created, "plused," and executed so here ar a few more that are very special to me.

The logo you see here is for the CANS Film Festival, started by Tom Moyer in Portland, Oregon and when Act III Theatres bought the Moyer chain, I was placed in charge of the campaign.  The CANS Film Festival took place at all Act III Theatres nationwide and during the final year I was in charge fo the event, we genrerated over 250,000 pounds of food for families in need.  After Act III was absorbed into Regal Cinema it continued for a few years and in some form it may still be going on. 

The CANS Film Festival was such a good thing for Act III because we were actually helping people in need and it also made us the local heroes for a day and that went a long way to adding positive feelings from our consumers towards the company.

Since I'm on the Act III Theatres kick now, here is another promotion I launched in Kansas City when I was tasked with opening the Kansas City 18 Theatres.  This was a tough town to be the new guy in.  You had major theatre chains including AMC Theatres, which had it's home office in KC, MO.  So, what did we come up with? 

Well, many things, actually, but one of the best (and we re-deployed this many more times in different markets) was our "The Happy Customer" campaign.  All over the city our (Designed for us) smilye face wound up on cocks, buttons, and even table tents in a major mall right across the street from the big-dog AMC in the KC suburb of Independence, MO.

We simply to the adage that if the customer is totally happy, they will come to us, even if we are few more miles away.  We implemented our "Always Guarantee" which afforded the customer the highest level of customer service we could provide and if, for any reason they did not enjoy the experience, we either gave them their  money back or a pass to come back at a later time. 

The theatre opening was a huge success and from a revenue standpoint exceeded the company's expectations for that location.  If you are ever in KC, MO make sure you got the Plaza are of town.  Nice place, good food.  Fun times.

And now for something completely different...  I get a lot of communications from people that say something like, "Randall, I'm a small business, not a big Hollywood studio.  What can I do on little or no budget?  I have hundreds of examples, but one came to mind last night and I was able to locate the image, so here it is...

Presenting Gallery Floral and Gift.  This simple double meaning headline (Your chances just doubled... for what you ask?  Good question...) got a good bit of attention and caused somewhat of a stir when it came out.  The floral shop was known for  an older clientele and with this one ad we brought in so many younger people that the florist sold out of flowers even though they had ordered 200% roses than they normally would.

The outlandish 2-dozen roses for essentially $11.00 blew the lid off the flower market in the town and the retailer had one of the highest revenue days in the company's history.  And not just from flower sales.  We had an employee sales contest on the same day so there were dozens of up-sells (vases, cards, balloons) and every one who sold, got some type of prize. 

So with this blog you have a sample of a philanthropic  marketing campaign, a customer service campaign, and a new market campaign.  I hope this gives you some ideas of what you can do for your own business.

Be well and I am yours in success,

Randall

4 proven Strategies for Getting Free Publicity Even You’ve Been Turned Down

There it is... The moment of  truth...  You lay yourself out for all the see and... And... AND!!.... Nothing,  Nada.  Zero. Zilch.  No media coverage,  no brass bands, no revenue pouring into your bank account.  What happened?  What do I do now?  I can't answer the what happened part, but I can offer you four of my proven strategies to get media coverage, or at least build relationships for future use.

This can be the “sink or swim” part of getting all the free publicity you want and deserve.  If you’ve followed this blog and used all of the strategies and methods I have written about over the years and you can’t get a reporter or editor to give you free coverage, don’t despair.  There are a number of ways you can overcome this obstacle without having to break out the snorkel gear to stay alive in the deep waters of the publicity game.  The four great strategies for getting free publicity even if you’ve been turned down are:

Strategy #1 Send the reporter or editor a hand written thank you card (no ecards or emails).  Tell them that you appreciated their time and that you will contact them in the future.  Make sure to include your business card and short note on areas in which you are an expert.  Tell them that you are always available for interviews on your area of specialty and that you would appreciate them keeping your information on file as the expert in your market area.

This, because it is not done very often, has a huge impact, and you get your business card int heir hand, and you get one more contact point with them that you did not have before.

Strategy #2 Call the reporter or editor directly.  DO NOT leave a message if they don’t answer their phone.  You must speak to them in person for this strategy to work.

When you reach them, ask them why they chose not to cover your event, service, or product.  They may tell you that it just wasn’t news for them or that there wasn’t room for the story.  No matter what they say, ask them how they like to receive their news release information.  They’ll tell you.  Thank them and then follow up with a hand written thank you as described in Strategy #1.

Strategy #3 Try a new angle or “spin” on your release and send it to a different editor or reporter at the same media outlet that handles a different “beat” or section of the news. 

WARNING: Don’t spam the media outlet.  If you send 20 press releases on the same topic to alot of the smae people, you’ll get a reputation of “over doing it” and no one will take you seriously.  Professionals don’t spam.

Strategy #4 If a reporter or editor really is slighting you, you can go to their boss and explain why you think you are not being fairly covered.  Before you take this action, and it is dramatic, You have to be positive that all of your press releases and communications with the editor or report have been:

a) Newsworthy     b) Timely     c) Were sent to the right person   d) Are relevant to the media outlet

You shouldn’t take this course until you are positive that you’re being slighted (after about 7 or 8 releases that are well written, offer a news angle, and fits the criteria of the media outlet). 

Once you are sure of these facts, I’ve found that you can get additional publicity by bringing the situation to the attention of the editor.  No editor wants his or her media outlet accused of unfair journalism.  If you are polite, and passionate, and ask them what you need to d, many times you can forge a good relationship with the media outlet. 

Beware:
This strategy can be a testy situation and no doubt you have a chance of burning a bridge with the reporter in question, so tread lightly.  This is the last option and I don’t recommend that you take this step if you don't have to.  It doesn’t always turn out the way you want it to, but if you’re not getting any coverage anyway, you have little to loose.  Just be ultra-professional (not whiny) and see what happens.

Be well and I am yours in success,

Randall