Oh, the pain...

I am the last person (or more specifically put, mom) in the world to get offended.  I mean, life’s short, people, get over it.  However, after watching the “basically your baby is worse than a ball and chain and more of a hindrance than a blessing, and if I wear him or her on my chest it’s really because I just want to look like an official mom,” Motrin mom ad by Motrin, I just had to comment - especially as a marketer.  Granted, the VP of marketing apologized for the ad (see below), but how did we get here in the first place?  I am sure Motrin must be doing some market research. Heck, talk to anyone with children: A sister-in-law, a friend, a friend of a friend, a mom-to-be, anyone with some insight as to how the commercial would be received.  After carrying that ‘bundle of joy’ inside for nine months, the last thing I want to be reminded of after it’s out is the “pain” of carrying it. 

The ad could have been funny if it wasn’t so darn snarky.  I don’t think I have ever used that word in print, but trust me, it’s appropriate here.  I mean really, it wasn’t funny. Nope, not even slightly humorous. It had all the potential of being funny, but it really missed the mark.  

Too often, we see big companies go to big agencies to get the ‘best’ creative, but what these companies get instead is creative that resonates with ‘Creatives.’  What you want to ask yourself is ‘will the creative resonate with my audience?’  Companies spend so much money on clever creative yet won’t spend a dime to test it.  Maybe next time Motrin will talk to a mom before acting like they understand what’s it’s like to be one. 

THE APOLOGY…

(more…)

Have you ever received an email that if printed out it would be two pages long? How motivated are you to read each and every word? If you’re like me, you want the meat and potatoes in the very first sentence. Give me what I want up front. Now imagine you are an editor from a top national newspaper and receive thousands of email pitches daily from PR professionals. If each one of those emails is 1-3 pages long, do you think the editor is going to read it? Probably not.

When pitching the media, it needs to be an appetizer not a buffet. Just enough to get the editor/reporter/producer interested and to see why the information is relevant to them (Key word: relevant).

The following is a guideline to a strategic pitch:

1. PRE-PITCH: Simply put - be prepared!

• Know who you are pitching. Google the name of the editor to find out what they have written about in the past and their specific writing style/tone.

• Start a relationship with the editor before a story is on the line. Reach out to them and position yourself and your clients as a resource for future articles.

2. PITCH: Short, concise and to the point.

• Open the pitch with a hook that is newsworthy. Provide information on why it is relevant to the editor’s story and why it is important to their readers.

• Support the opening with facts. 70% of the information you send to a reporter should be industry stats that are relevant to the reporters beat. i.e. links to case studies, industry research outside of the category, supporting statistics, etc.
• End with a call to action. Let the reporter know that you will be following up in a few days and avoid leaving it open-ended.

1. POST-PITCH: Follow-through but don’t be a stalker.

• Under no circumstances start your follow-up call with “Hi, my name is Jane and I’m following up to make sure you received the product information I sent to you last week.” This is a major pet peeve with media professionals and you’ll probably hear a ring tone with this approach.

• It is important to provide value every step of the way. Call with new information. For example, you can find a new fact or withhold a relevant fact from the original pitch and use this to start the conversation.

It is that simple but it takes time, thought and strategy to craft a perfect pitch. Bottom line, make it short and sweet and be sure your pitch is newsworthy, relevant and provides value.

Happy Pitching!

Do you blog? Tweet? Write on “walls?” Are you “linked in,” so to speak? Web 2.0 (or the wild wild Web as I like to call it) is not only here, it’s here to stay. And what about social media?  Well, it isn’t so ’social’ anymore. It’s business. Big business. 

For the rest of the article check out the San Francisco Business Times or the Sacramento Business Journal. Enjoy!

During this time of DVR and TiVo, consumers have the luxury of fast forwarding through commercials. Personally, I like to watch the commercials because hey, it’s what I do. However, because of this new technology, marketers are desperate to find new ways to promote their products.

The latest tactic I’ve seen to combat DVR? Recently, while watching The Family Guy on TBS, a commercial spot to promote “The Bill Engvall Show” aired during the middle of the episode. Engvall walks on the bottom of the screen, pauses “The Family Guy” with a remote, and talks about how great his show is before pressing play.

From a marketing perspective, I understand that you need to be creative in order to cut through the clutter of a world that is over saturated with ads. However, you need to walk a fine line between getting your message heard and being so annoying that your target audience will refuse to use the product…or watch the show in this instance.

Just my $.02