Get To The Grapes

Is this your worst nightmare? You sit down at your computer to write a press release, letter, etc. only to find that all you can muster is the uninspired “Dear Henry,” or “Today, OUR COMPANY is pleased to announce…” And after wasting a little time perusing a few of your favorite websites, reading a handful of emails and a finally scheduling that dentist appointment you’ve been avoiding, you return to your document to continue writing, only to discover that you’ve come up empty again! You fall to your knees and, pulling at your hair, yell to no one in particular, “WHAT DO I WRITE?!”

Photo source: Rennett Stowe

Was that too melodramatic? Perhaps. It’s writer’s block, and if it’s not your worst nightmare, it’s most certainly a time-consuming annoyance. Writer’s block happens to everyone. The key to overcoming it is to identify the small things that help reset your mind to open the floodgates. How does one break writer’s block? Here are five tips that can help:

Change position. We sit for a majority of our workdays and in that time it’s easy to forget to get up and move around. A couple of laps outside around the block, or a brisk walk through a different part of the office can help to clear your mind. When you return, don’t sit down. Stand up and work for a while. Not only does this burn more calories, but the change in position can help put you in a new frame of mind.

Nix the distractions. Close your office door (if you have one), turn off your email (<gasp!>) and ignore your phone (who would do that?!) to narrow your focus to the task at hand. By no means do I mean that you should lock yourself away and force the writing. Rather by cutting of the distractions, it can help you hone in on those words for which you’ve been searching.

Let those neurons fire. Writing, whether technical or creative, is an art. The crafting together of language to effect an action or communicate a piece of news and tell a story requires us to exercise the creative portion of our brains. Reset your “right brain” by doing something else creative. Grab your note pad and doodle, build a paper clip sculpture or make up a song. Take ten minutes to be creative in another manner and then return to your writing.

Brain dump. Just write. It doesn’t matter what it’s about. Put a stream of consciousness down on paper – or in most cases, on your preferred word-processor. Write out everything you know about the topic you’re trying to write about. I find that by doing this, I’m eventually left with a working outline of the thoughts and points I’m trying to communicate. As I string these together, I find that I’m crafting the piece I intended to write.

Trade Beyonce for Bach. Many of us listen to music while we work. It energizes us and helps with productivity. However, lyrics can be distracting. Tune into something more serene like classical, solo piano or even spa-type music. These tunes can provide the momentum that you need without distracting lyrics. Build a channel on Pandora, tap into AOL Radio or utilize Spotify to stream the right background music on your computer.

Do you have any tried and true cures for writer’s block? Share them in the comments section.

The California Milk Processor Board altered a PMS-themed ad campaign after two weeks because of criticism to its subject matter.  The original campaign portrayed men as the victims of temperamental women who were well, “pms-ing.” The goal of the campaign was to highlight that milk can actually soften the effects of PMS symptoms, according to ad campaign spokeswoman Tatum Wan.

As a marketer, I found the campaign clever and humorous.  Ah humor… The Super Bowl is watched by millions of people, many of whom are not football fans. Why? Because of humorous, heart-warming and sometimes quite inappropriate (but funny) commercials.  It will be a sad day when ALL advertisers give in to the pressures of the very few overly sensitive consumers that take themselves far too seriously.  In fact, I thought AdRants did a pretty good job of summing it up in a July 22 post by Steve Hall who wrote: “Unlike many, we have no problem with this campaign. Why? Because if we can’t poke fun at ourselves, what’s left? If we can’t inject a bit of humor into our lives, we might as well all become monks. Oh wait, even they know how to have fun. If we can’t take a moment and just chuckle, we’re going to turn into a world filled with cause groups that will dumb us down to the point where we all turn into emotionless robotic automatons.”

The question we’ll soon be asking ourselves is “Got funny ads?”And the answer will be “No.” Because after all, great humor must have an element of truth and it seems as though the small but humorous element of “truth” hurts too much.  The original URL was www.everythingidoiswrong.org, but now consumers are being redirected to  www.gotdiscussion.org, which is meant to “encourage discussion of the issue,” which I can promise you is not nearly as funny as “everything I do is wrong…”

What are your thoughts? Humorous or humiliating? I’d like to know… See one of many articles here.

Campaigns should be organized, engaging, meaningful and fun

Thinking about launching a social media program?

Start with a plan.

We’ve all heard the saying, “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” Yet that is exactly what most companies do when it comes to social media: They fail to plan.

You wouldn’t launch an advertising campaign without planning. And you certainly wouldn’t launch a public relations program without planning. Yet somehow many businesses, especially small businesses, launch social media programs without a plan. So, before you ask your intern or simply the person on your staff with the most free time, to start posting, blogging and tweeting on your behalf, follow these guidelines to get your program off to a successful start. (more…)

Let me tell you, as someone who drinks more than 128 ounces of water a day, I know a thing or two about the importance of clean water.

As a company, we at Merlot Marketing have taken small, yet significant, steps to become more socially responsible, by offering our employees, clients and guests filtered tap water instead of bottled water. We feel it is our responsibility to provide the highest quality of service, right down to the H2O we provide our clients.

We must say, we are a bit biased when it comes to the water filtration we use.  Our client, Everpure, has led the water filtration industry as the number one provider of commercial grade water filtration throughout the world for more than 75 years.  So, naturally, we serve Everpure filtered water to all of our guests from national, regional and local media representatives to industry influencers and beyond.

On a much more serious note, we shouldn’t take having access to the best-tasting water possible for granted.  Did you know that wars have broken out for years around the world due to a lack of access to clean water? According to a report dating back to 1999 and sponsored by the UN Development Program, fighting over the scarcity of water, over the next 25 years, will possibly be the leading reason for major conflicts in Africa, not oil.  This is why we are getting involved in today’s Blog Action Day 2010.

During today’s celebration of Blog Action Day 2010, we ask you to take a moment and consider the amount of water you and your family consume each day.  While we of course don’t recommend cutting down on (Everpure filtered) drinking water (yes, that’s a not-so-subtle hint), we do ask that you think about how much water you’re consuming other than drinking water.  To get your juices flowing on how you can help reduce water waste, I’ve included a list below, provided by Treehugger.com, on the many products we each buy and how much water it takes to produce them.  I realize that water is a necessity for the things we eat, drink and use everyday, so I’m by no means saying we shouldn’t manufacturer or consume these products, but the statistics below should at least get you thinking about just how water is consumed and how we might be able to help conserve it.
Car
It takes an estimated 39,090 gallons of water to make a car. It’s unclear if that includes the more 2,000 gallons used to make its tires–each tire takes 518 gallons.

Pair of Jeans
It takes around 1,800 gallons of water to grow enough cotton to produce just one pair of regular ol’ blue jeans.

Cotton T-Shirt
Not as bad as jeans, it still takes a whopping 400 gallons of water to grow the cotton required for an ordinary cotton shirt.

Single Board of Lumber
5.4 gallons of water are used to grow enough wood for one lumber board.

Barrel of Beer
In order to process a single barrel of beer (32 gallons of booze), 1,500 gallons of water are sucked down.

To-Go Latte
It takes 53 gallons to make every latte.

So, what do you think? Can we make changes in our lifestyle so that there is enough water for others in the world?  I’m not saying to reduce your lattes, after all, your latte-drinking provides jobs; however, I am saying to think about your overall consumption and where we all might cut back, i.e. watering the lawn, letting your water run while doing the dishes and brushing your teeth. If we all make small changes, we all can make a big impact.

People continue to talk about the “death” of print media.  And although I don’t think print is dead, there are a lot of carcasses which makes for an ominous landscape. (Recently shuttered magazines include Gourmet, Southern Accents, Domino, Green Business, Oprah at Home, Teen, Metropolitan Home and more) With more and more content available for free online, it’s making it difficult for print mediums to carve a unique space for themselves.  And even more difficult is creating a business model that garners similar profits as the traditional one.

One publication making some daring changes is Forbes.  In an effort to adapt and stay relevant, Forbes redesigned the magazine and is changing the way it creates its content.  In fact, Forbes.com will be utilizing a vast network of bloggers who will actually be able to publish straight to the Web, rather than going through copy editing.  That is a huge shift for a magazine of Forbes stature.   In fact, they have already been criticized, noting that the content quality may suffer and thus start to erode a brand that has been more than 90 years in the making. Not surprising, social media will play a huge role in promoting the website and the brand. They are planning a steady stream of posts and links to social sites such as Twitter and Facebook.

I think it’s an innovative approach and I just might start subscribing! Read Associated Press article here.

According to a study by GfK MRI and reported by Advertising Age, “‘Green’ coverage, negative emotions and, surprisingly, celebrity scandals are more likely to hurt than help” magazine circulation. The research reviewed various topics on 11,161 magazine covers between May 2006 and April 2010. Advertising Age added that “The economy, beach bodies, and ‘best of’ treatments all help magazines draw bigger audiences than usual.” The surprise for me was the low interest in ‘green’ edit given that it seems” everyone” is going “green” these days.

The article also noted a story about Vanity Fair‘s Editor in Chief Graydon Carter placing Paris Hilton on the cover in 2005 and a smart aleck accusing him of using the heiress like “newsstand crack.” My how times have changed… Who would have thought Paris Hilton would become a magazine cover “don’t.” Okay, well, I’ll reserve comment…

So, which public figures still “sell” covers?

• Jennifer Aniston
• George W. Bush
• Barack Obama

As previously noted, other topics that sell include:

• The economy
• Beach bodies (surprised?)
• “Best of” topics (I mean who does love the ‘best of’ anything?)

And for the betterment of society (that’s my commentary), what’s out is the aforementioned Ms. Hilton and former MTV reality star Lauren Conrad. It’s looks like there is hope for humanity and the future of magazines after all.

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p>Find the full article at AdAge.com

I just received this article via BurrellesLuce Newsletter (check it out here).

It’s true, a lot of the information found below is fairly obvious, but an oh-so-good reminder, because quite frankly, PR pros tend to get a little lazy now and then…

So the next time you send out a press release, just take a quick gander at these five tips:

1. Un-newsworthy releases. Let’s face it, to the company, brand, or organization that generates it, any “news” could be worthy of a press release. While it is perfectly acceptable to add all types of releases to your online press center, where you can optimize it for search, it may not be necessary for every piece to hit the wire — especially if it’s of little value to your audience. If you are crafting and sending a release just so you have something to show or to remain in front of eyeballs, you may want to think twice. Chances are that you’re only diminishing your credibility for when there is something worth announcing. (Keep in mind the story of the boy who cried “wolf.”)

2. Lack of intrigue. If a release doesn’t excite or spark some form of interest, who is going to bother to read it, let alone act on it? With the increasingly shorter news cycle and abundance of content available to readers, it is imperative that you create a piece that draws attention (in a good way) without being over the top. Otherwise, you’re just adding to the clutter and noise. One good way to measure your impact is to include a call to action in your release. [oh, you'll want to keep reading...] (more…)

Change is inevitable; success comes from harnessing its power

Sacramento Business Journal – by Debi Hammond Contributing writer

Are you in the zone? People love the zone — the end zone, the “I’m totally focused” zone and their comfort zone.

Let’s take a closer look at that last zone. The comfort zone is extremely easy to fall into, but one of the most difficult to get out of.

The comfort zone keeps us doing what is comfortable and familiar. It also keeps us from changing and trying something new. It keeps us in the same place, avoiding the ever-frightening unknown.

Well, in today’s business and marketing landscape, a lot is changing, which means there are a lot of unknowns. We need to step outside of our comfort zone and start to embrace change.

Keeping up with change

So, what’s really changing and why should we care? Here’s a list of five significant changes and tips on how you can capitalize on them.

(more…)

Don't be a Jesse James

It seems as though, if given the opportunity, marketers will try to blur the line between fact and fiction and this holds true no where better than the ‘wild wild Web.’ Since the first blog was posted, marketers have been seeking ways to capitalize on those blogs with significant audiences, and at times (shocking!), they have forgone transparency for the sake of the sale. 

A perfect example is Wal-mart’s Walmarting Across America blog (no longer active).  Basically the premise was about a  couple who just “happened” to drive their RV around the United States, parking in Wal-Mart parking lots as they went and blogging about their great Wal-mart experiences. The problem was it was billed as authentic when, in fact, it was a carefully scripted (and paid) campaign by Edelman (a well-regarded worldwide PR agency) for Wal-mart. 

There are many examples of the misuse of blogs and bloggers by companies marketing their products and services as well as a blatant disregard for disclosure and as such, the FTC has stepped in with guidelines to help keep unethical marketers (and companies) at bay. 

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued final changes to its Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising. While advisory in nature, the new guidelines will reset standards of behavior that public relations, marketing and advertising professionals should adopt to avoid violating underlying laws against unfair competition and false advertising.

As outlined in a notice provided by The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), the FTC Guidelines  make three key departures from previous guidelines that could impact marketing professional’s practices:

• The FTC advises that “endorsers” as well as advertisers can be held liable for false or unsubstantiated claims or for failing to disclose material connections between the parties.
• The Guides no longer offer the “safe harbor” whereby testimonials can be qualified by a “results may vary” disclaimer.
• Regarding endorsements, the Guides specify that celebrities should disclose relationships with advertisers.

While the FTC will approach each potential violation on a case-by-case basis, the new guidelines will impact how professionals should approach some common practice scenarios. Here are some applications of the guidelines:

• Bloggers who receive cash or in-kind payment (including free products or services for review) are deemed endorsers and so must disclose material connections they share with the seller of the product or service.
• Any firm that engages bloggers by paying them outright to create or influence editorial content or by supplying goods or services to them at no cost may be liable if the blogger does not disclose the relationship.
• Advertisements or promotions that feature a consumer who conveys his or her experience with a product or service as “typical” should clearly disclose what results consumers can generally expect or specify how the results were unique to the individual circumstances.
• If research is cited in an advertisement or promotion, any sponsorship of the research by the client or the marketer should be clearly disclosed.
• Celebrities who make endorsements outside the context of traditional ads, such as on talk shows or in social media, should disclose any relationship with the advertiser or marketer.

A note to marketers, we owe it to ourselves and our profession to do what’s right by, not only our clients, but by the general public as well.  Consumers are already wary of advertising, so let’s not ruin it in the online community too.  Just because it’s the ‘wild wild Web’ doesn’t mean we need to act like Jesse James.

Okay, so even I’m shocked by this one.  Gourmet magazine will publish its last issue November 2009.  The magazine has been in publications since December 1940.  Yes, 1940!

The New York Times reported that Conde Nast was up in the air between which food title they were going to shut down – Gourmet or Bon Appetit – and given that Gourmet was considered the more upscale of the two, they decided to keep the book for the ‘masses.’  Given the economy, it seems consumers are looking for more value than ‘gourmet.’

The magazine has won numerous awards over the years for photography and editorial, so it’s a sad day in the publishing world – as well as for the close to one million people who either subscribe to or purchase the magazine on the newsstand.