In honor of the holiday, this post will simply be one of thanks. While we give employees the Friday after Thanksgiving off, I like to take advantage of the quiet office to get things done…like write a blog post. When I was brainstorming what to write, I just kept reflecting back to a comment made by a member of the staff last week about being thankful for working with truly good people. It shouldn’t have surprised me, but it did, and I’ve thought a lot about it since. I’m not shy about proclaiming how much I love my job, but I don’t often say why. So here are the reasons I’m thankful for where I’ve landed:
1) I’m thankful for truly talented staff. There is not one person in here that I don’t trust to do their job, and do it well. I’ve experienced the opposite before, and it’s not fun. It’s incredibly comforting to know that I can do my job without worrying about what everyone else is doing.
2) I’m thankful for the good people working around me. Not only do I trust everyone in here to do their work…I trust everyone in here. Period. We’ve surrounded ourselves with great people. Honest. Genuine. Caring. Committed. I’m proud of our team, not for who they claim to be, but for who they really are (and trust me…we’re small enough to have seen the good, bad and ugly from all!)
3) I’m thankful for a shared vision. With the addition of Mission Assist to our service offerings, which took a year to develop and required an incredible amount of patience, I feel blessed that everyone understands the purpose and feels the passion. I believe it was divinely inspired and could only have happened with the support and conviction of the whole team. It was literally a leap of faith…and each time someone from an organization actually gives me a heartfelt thanks for what we’re offering, I am grateful for a team that believes in a mission bigger than ourselves.
4) I am thankful to be working in Des Moines, Iowa. This town is a great place to live and work. I’ve worked in Phoenix and St. Louis, and there’s no comparison. The connections, the loyalty and the enthusiasm of Des Moines businesses and their employees cannot be matched. It creates such a sense of community and goodwill. I’m willing to overlook the blustery winters for this fact. And coming from someone who hates cold…that says a lot.
It’s a short list of thanks, but these are at the very core of why I love my job and the people with whom I spend 50% of my life. What are some things about your job you’re thankful for? Hopefully there’s a list…or you better be moving on
Car trouble over the past few weeks has consumed me. Having to rely on others for transportation, learning to drive a stick shift (sad, I know.) and just trying to coordinate schedules when there are two people sharing one car is a HUGE pain, but it sort of works itself out. The biggest surprise has been my experience working with a mechanic who sent me to the Dealer. What mechanic sends work AWAY from their business? Looking back, this situation segued nicely with some life lessons we should all be reminded of now and again. Let me back up and tell the story from the beginning.
I’ve been having some dashboard lights going on in my car recently. I took the car to an auto shop to get checked out. They said everything was fine. Took the car home, the lights come back on, wash, rinse, repeat. In fact, I took my car back to the same auto shop three times!!! Each time they told me it was nothing. I was doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result.
Lesson one: If you keep trying the same thing, you’re going to get the same results. Try something different if you want something else to happen.
Two weeks ago, I take the car to a mechanic who specializes in my make of vehicle. He tries a few things out, then tells me if the car isn’t running funny the lights are nothing to worry about. But he gives me a warning, “as soon as your gas mileage changes or the car doesn’t seem right, call me!” Well guess what happened one week after I took the car to him? I took it back. Insanity, right? Not exactly…the lights were still on, but the car started to act funny – pardon my lack of proper mechanical terminology – but it sounded like my car was going to explode when it was in idle. I take the car immediately back to the mechanic.
Lesson two: Know what red flags you need to be watching for…and when you find one, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! Don’t wait, act!
Mechanic spends several hours trying to figure out what’s wrong with the car. Calls me and tells me he has no idea. He’s stumped. He actually recommends I take the car to the dealer. I’ve NEVER had a private mechanic recommend I take a car to the dealer.
Lesson three: Know when to give up. There is no shame in admitting you’re stumped or don’t have the answers.
So I take the car to the dealer. The dealer gives me an estimate for repairs. I get detail from the dealer on exactly what they think is wrong. I call back the specialty mechanic and ask him if the dealer sounds like they’re legit. I also ask him if he wants the work. He tells me the dealer is legit in the diagnosis, and he doesn’t want to do the work because it’s outside his area of expertise.
Lesson four: Check your sources when you feel like something might be “off.”
AND lesson five: Know when something is outside your area of expertise and communicate that to the person you’re trying to help.
Picked up the car today…and it purrs like a kitten! So who gets my future business – the original auto shop, the mechanic or the dealer? Well, as much as I loved my old auto shop, the mechanic is taking this one. Not only did he try to help me (without charging me when he couldn’t find/fix the problem) he let me know when he couldn’t help me AND he sent me to the place that could. Because of his actions, I’ll remember him as someone I WANT to do business with in the future.
Lesson six: Honestly and integrity will always win in the end.
Phew! Another successful Meals from the Heartland event under our belts, and it never fails to inspire and energize us all over again. It’s our second year of helping to promote Meals from the Heartland (MftH), a mass food-packaging effort that brings together more than 14,000 Iowans to package and transport more than 4 million meals around the world. When we took on MftH two years ago as our pro bono client, we never imagined the impact working with this group of people would make on our own business. The kindness, the genuine hearts, the “don’t expect ‘no’ as an answer” attitude, and the fearlessness…I am consistently blown away by what this group of volunteers produces. Every year I think they’ve topped the last, but I’m now convinced more than ever, this is still just the beginning
Don’t get me wrong – it’s a lot of work. I’m fairly certain our agency has never put this amount of time toward any other non-paying client. But when we made the commitment, we all agreed we were makinga commitment. And trust me, we’ve reminded ourselves and each other many times that we are fulfilling a commitment that we made. Inevitably, it all comes around to remembering the end goal…a starving person receiving a nutritional meal. That’s what it’s all about.
My favorite moment of the last two years working with MftH is standing in the middle of Hy-Vee Hall during the event with literally hundreds of cheerful Iowans buzzing around me – young, old, every race and religion, working together to feed people they will likely never see or hear a “thanks” from, and I get chills as my throat tightens and eyes fill. I get teary just writing about it. It is SO WORTH the time and effort. It restores my faith in humanity, and even in myself.
This year made me especially proud of everyone involved. The special vignettes constructed by MftH volunteers who visited Haiti served as a life-size visual of how people are living there. “Tent City”, as we called it, brought reality closer to home for most of us who have only seen the images on TV. I watched as adults cried their way through the maze of tents, and children asked their parents “but where are the bathrooms? What about bedrooms?” and their eyes grow wide as they were told the truth. When the idea of building the vignettes was first discussed in a committee meeting, I remember thinking it’d be a miracle if it really came together…so much effort, so much work. But it did. And it was my favorite place to be while volunteering that weekend.
I’ve taken lessons from the Meals group on how to make things happen, even if the rest of the world (literally) deems it impossible. It is this experience that has led our agency to a new venture in our business. While we can’t offer this same free service to all non-profits and still keep our doors open, we can offer our expertise and hearts to these organizations through an affordable and practical program that provides fundraising and marketing expertise. We’ve spent a good portion of the last year brainstorming, developing, refining and polishing our Mission Assist program, and I’m proud to say my heart is wrapped up in the offer.
As I ushered people into Tent City last week, a little girl who couldn’t have been more than 6-years old, walked by me and said in a shy, sweet voice, “Thank you for helping people who need it.” THAT, my friends, was my payment in full.
John Ortberg ( Twitter @JohnOrtberg ), one of my favorite authors, once asked a mentor of his for the one piece of advice that would make the most difference in someone’s life. Without skipping a beat, the mentor answered, “You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life.”
When I first read this a few years ago, I did some thinking about the way I was living and resolved to begin eliminating hurry from my life. It seemed like a great idea at the time, and still does. But I soon learned that eliminating hurry from my life is easier said than done.
Civilization has been gathering speed since day one. Every important advancement mankind has made has brought with it the capacity to do things faster. And so we have. The more we can get done, the more we can get done. The ability to multi-task has somehow become an admirable quality in today’s hectic world. Busyness is often confused with productivity and most of the time, the busier we are the more in a hurry we are. But being busy does not mean you have to be in a hurry.
The simple truth is, nothing truly important… nothing… can be done in a hurry.
You can’t do your best work in a hurry. You can’t establish meaningful relationships in a hurry. You can’t spend quality time with your kids in a hurry. You can’t be there for your friends in a hurry. You can’t rest in a hurry. You can’t plan for and live a healthy, productive life in a hurry.
So I have recently redoubled my resolve to ruthlessly eliminate hurry from my life. I’ve discovered the operative word here is “ruthlessly.” Eliminating hurry is simply not a casual occupation. It involves a purposeful, “ruthless”turning away from the way I’ve lived most of my life and an equally “ruthless” resolve to re-learn how to live at a manageable pace. It involves an almost minute-by-minute realization of how I am reacting to the pressures that cause hurriedness. It involves a lot of talking to myself and a lot of accountability to those who know about my quest and aren’t shy about calling me on it when I begin to give in to hurriedness.
I’ve discovered that hurry does, in fact, breed waste. I find the old sayings “haste makes waste” and “the hurrieder I go, the behinder I get” to be absolutely true. Hurry is a terrible waste of valuable time. When I’m in a hurry, it takes me much longer to do something than when I’m not in a hurry.
But the most important realization I’ve come to is that when I’m in a hurry, I don’t have time to be a better person. I can’t be the person I want to be because I don’t have time. How pathetic is that? My goal is to slow down and begin smelling the roses and being an encouragement to someone who needs a good word and pausing to appreciate the natural beauty all around me and contributing my time to serve someone in need and reading a book slowly enough to actually breathe it in and going on a road trip with no particular schedule in mind and stop caring about being interrupted because, after all, I’m in no hurry.
I want to ruthlessly eliminate hurry from my life and I encourage you to do the same. Your life will be better for it.
If you ever see me and I seem to be in a hurry, please call me on it. Be ruthless! Say to me, “You know that thing about ruthlessly eliminating hurry from your life, how’s that going?”
Sit back for a second and think about the word, “Focus.” What comes to mind? A pinpointed laser? Crisp, clear visions of a serene horizon? The brushstrokes of a VanGogh?
All of those are viable visuals for “focus,” but what does “focus” mean to your writing?
When I apply the word “focus” to writing, whether it’s a simple blog post, a press release for a client, or a story for my children, I see it as a metaphor derived from my background as a photographer.
Photographers want their images to be “in focus,” as sharp and as clear as they can be (in most cases). As the photographer focuses on their subject by making slight turns and adjustments of the lens, so the writer tries to see the story as clearly as possible through visualization, drafting, revisualization, editing (and more editing)until “the picture” is crystal clear. Then, snap. Done.
So how does focus express itself in your writing? How can you, as a writer, achieve better focus?
Here are some common questions I ask while writing that help sharpen the picture:
1 – Who’s the story talking to?
2 – What’s the news?
3 – What’s one thing the reader MUST know?
4 – What makes this story interesting?(Is it interesting to others or just you?) 5 – What is the story about?(No, REALLY, what’s it about?) 5.5 – Walk away and look at it later with fresh eyes. (Revisualization)
While anyone can pick up a pencil, pen or pull out a keyboard and write, if it’s focused, writing can have impact. With focus, writing can help your community, help make change, help save lives and inspire the world.
What brand wouldn’t love to be so popular it could put on a one-hour special about their future and have everyone watching, on the edge of their seats waiting to find out the news? That’s what LeBron James did last Thursday. With his impending free agency, he had the sports and advertising worlds on the edge of their seats. By now, you’ve probably heard the critics and basic public relations bust that this was. I think there are several ways to look at it.
Speaking as a sports fan, this was a complete debacle. Maybe I have too many Midwestern values, but you don’t go on national TV to tell the world you are leaving your hometown. He is literally crippling the Cleveland sports economy – perhaps the economy period. Think of all the tickets (tourism), merchandising (shopping) and advertising (business) he is ripping from the city, not to mention their hearts. This is a hometown kid that made it big, put Cleveland on the NBA map for a while, and is now “taking his talents to South Beach.” That statement says it all for me. He didn’t say “I’m going to the Miami Heat.” He said “I’m going to South Beach” – the glitz and glam of celebrity. I may not be a normal sports fan in that I really don’t care how much a player makes because its all relative. Who doesn’t want to succeed and make more money at their job? I think some sports athletes may even deserve a one-hour special if they are popular enough. Good for LeBron that he generates enough interest that people in the middle of July on a Thursday night will tune into a cable channel to watch him. That’s cool. I just think he lost sight of his decision. If Lebron is staying in Cleveland – have the special, donate the proceeds to charity and the city rejoices. He still gets his money and he is still on a good team. His brand keeps moving forward and he is on to even more riches. If LeBron is going to “South Beach” to seek more fame, then announce it like any other player and don’t crush the city that supports and depends on you in front of a nation. Now LeBron’s personal brand has to hit the “reset” button.
As an advertiser, this event poses an interesting question to me – do you want your brand to be associated with this kind of public relations flop? From what I can tell, most people are down on LeBron, and I haven’t heard too much about the advertisers that actually made this special happen. Many of the sponsors were already tied to LeBron – Nike, McDonalds, and VitaminWater. But some were not – University of Phoenix, Microsoft, and Facebook. This article in AdAge, it breaks down the advertising exposure and value of the mention. It also talks about how this TV special came together. What it doesn’t talk about is who was the biggest brand this night?
I think it was LeBron James, because it’s easier for people to identify with a person over a product. LeBron made it very evident he was the brand “taking his talents”, which include marketability, to South Beach. That’s where he lost relevance to his “corporate brand.” It became his decision without considering his brand community.
In this day and age, sports figures have a lot of control over their message – to the point that they easily make a “corporate brand” out of their celebrity. They no longer have to rely on the media to break a story or message for them, they can take the message to the media themselves and monetize it by asking, “What is it worth to you?” They can even go one step further to break news themselves via Twitter, Facebook or their own personal websites. This is all a public relations puzzle as much as an advertising puzzle. Because the relationship that the person has with their consumer (fans in this case), is what drives the brand they’ve created.
LeBron thought his personal brand was above scrutiny and that people would realize it was a “business” decision. Yes, there is absolutely a business side of sports, but the core of what drives that business is the fans and the personal connection the fans have with a team or a player. LeBron failed to see where his brand starts. He thought that LeBron James creates marketability with his talents. No, the fans create his marketability because they admire his talents. When you tarnish your connection to people, you lose your brand.
The great thing about sports and America really, is there are usually second chances. LeBron’s brand took a big time hit last week. He might think he can just garner new fans in a new city and things will be repaired. I think its going to be more than that. He needs to connect again, which is going to be tough. He had a big advantage being the hometown kid. Cleveland likely would have loved him no matter if he won or lost championships. Now in Miami, he has to win. He has to build relationships and find a way not to come across as a narcissistic celebrity trying to be seen. Winning could be the cure, but a lot of people have a new view of him after last week.
Do you think his brand will be repaired? How might he do it?
I love words. I love how they form in your head, rattling around like jellybeans in a glass jar until they come clinking down through your inner ear, into your throat and out your mouth. With steamy, sensual passion or sand-blown rage these simple words change the world around us one syllable at a time.
As consumers, listen to the words that are spoken to you. Don’t just hear what the voice over is saying, but listen to the tone, the timbre and the way that they form the words before they roll out. Do they feel crafted? Do they have substance? Are they soothing or inspirational? Do they feel rehearsed or recited? Do they grate and scale against the soft parts of your emotional under belly?
Words have a lot of power. Especially when it comes to marketing and advertising. A client’s need to move a product or provide a service must be communicated to the audience in such a compelling manner that the burden on copywriters is sometimes overwhelming. But with that responsibility, a lot of ad copywriters have genius when it comes to crafting copy or dialogue that moves people. Think of your favorite television spots or your favorite print ads – ads that made you think or moved you into action. That’s copy writing genius.
***
On the other hand there is the dry, uninspired, rote, garish and simply boring side to that world as well (We’ve all seen those, so no need to embed one here…).
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak out and remove all doubt. – Mark Twain
Clients need to understand that the message with which their brand is associated will last long after the commercial has gone off the air or the magazine has been thrown away. If the words move a person to turn the channel or flip the page, then they’ve just embedded their perception to your brand. If the words, dialogue or copy make the reader pause and takes them to an emotion other than boredom or frustration, that too affects the brand perception. Which would you rather have?Good language can be wasted in a matter of seconds and redemption takes an eternity when it comes to building and maintaining a strong brand.
The common denominator we have in communication is the word. Whether spoken, written, illustrated or otherwise, don’t underestimate the power of being human.
Love Scott was proud to sponsor the Greater Des Moines Convention and Visitors Bureau (DSMCVB) “Marketing Panel” a couple weeks ago. Our third time sponsoring one of their events, we’ve come to recognize it as a valuable service they provide to their metro partners as a source of marketing/PR education, updating and networking.
After I gave a brief introduction on the importance of research in a solid marketing plan, participants listened as three speaker panels answered questions. I took particular interest in two panels made up of a few of our local media representatives and personalities.
I listened closely to these panels because, as a PR person, I’m intrigued to hear their takes on how the industry has changed, their pet peeves when receiving information or interviewing, and what helps them report most accurately.
One comment repeated in both panels was on the topic of granting media interviews. A few years back, I did a short stint reporting for a business publication in St. Louis and will never forget times I’d call a business for information or a quote, and nobody would call me back. I wasn’t digging anything up – simply needing accurate information to complete a story…that most often would help promote that company! It astounded me that they would blatantly ignore me, I assume out of some sort of fear. Maybe they’d been burned before by the media – inaccurate information, misquotes, negative story angle, who knows? But every time I was left to think “well, you’re not doing yourselves any favors this way!” Either the story would get scrapped (no free publicity for them) for lack of information, or we’d have to say something ridiculous like “representatives from ‘Company X’ were unavailable for comment.” That is more damaging than no story at all, in my opinion.
Both media panels at the DSMCVB’s event mentioned that companies are doing a disservice to themselves when ignoring opportunities for interviews. Especially when they are associated with a controversial event, an interview is an opportunity to tell their story. Both times the subject came up in the panels, both the TV media reps and the print reps said even if you don’t grant the interview, “the story is going to run anyway”. So basically you have the opportunity to say what YOU want to say, or take a chance that somebody else will say what you wouldn’t want them saying FOR you.
If the idea of speaking to the media scares you, take the time for spokesperson training. Most times, if you’re prepared, it’s actually a positive PR opportunity, not a burden.
What do you think when a company has “no comment”? What are some of the best TV/print interviews you’ve seen or read, even in times of crisis?
Andrea James, President / Director of Public Relations
I’m sure everyone has heard of the Late Night Wars between Jay and Conan (I’m on Team Coco) or the current “Map” wars between AT&T and Verizon. Well, if you haven’t noticed, there is something very close to my heart in a bit of a tussle – Pizza Chains. I know a lot about very few things in life, but one of them is pizza. I’ve dedicated at least half of my life to pizza. Okay, I may be exaggerating for dramatic effect. However, if you need a good pizza recommendation for any occasion or location – I’m your man.
The top three pizza chains in America are Pizza Hut, Domino’s, and Papa Johns. Currently they are all running campaigns that are very creative and yet different from one another. Pizza Hut is stressing value. They are hawking the $10 pizza and it looks to be a major hit especially in this economy. In the past they’ve had the 3 pizzas for $5 campaign as well. They’ve also branched off into pastas and wings. Pizza Hut was the first chain to develop an iPhone application and consumers can order a pizza in two clicks. Domino’s has been running a new recipe campaign trying to address their critics and draw in more customers or bring old ones back. They’ve run a major tv campaign and combined that with a very aggressive social media campaign. We had an employee make a comment about the new recipe on Twitter and received a free pizza coupon! Papa John’s is a very strong #3 in the market and charging. They are running a “Papa’s In the House” campaign that features their founder possibly showing up at your door to deliver your order and good times. They are about to launch a strong social media campaign as well, encouraging consumers to “create a recipe” and partake in the rewards if it takes off.
I think the common thread between these three is that they are marketing aggressively and with a media mix. You see them on tv, hear them on radio, read them in print, clip their coupons and now they are all online in creative ways. Not to mention their public relations teams that keep their brands in front of the consumer. All three are after your hard earned dollars. All three are taking different approaches and thriving.
Our president, Andrea James, spoke today at the Des Moines Convention and Visitor’s Bureau seminar on marketing. The topic was “Making the Most of Your Marketing Budget.” At Love Scott, we endorse research first. Find out what you don’t know. Have a professional administer the process. The second part of research is believing what it says. You would be amazed at how many clients don’t want to believe the results of research. You have to accept what the research tells you to take correct action. Once you assess the research and create a marketing plan, execute your plan. Our plans always include a media mix. There is no “magic” medium that will fix all of your marketing problems. Just like a good financial plan, you can’t put all of your eggs in the stock market. A strategic mix is always the best course of action. Of course just like a good financial plan – this can be done on a budget. We constantly strive to work with our clients to create the best course of action for them to thrive strategically.
You don’t need to be in a “war” to be creative, strategic and responsible. Are you using the media mix to your advantage?
We had a discussion among the Love Scott staff the other day about how businesses create value. When it comes time to pay a bill, you automatically measure the perceived value of that item against the price before handing over your money. If the value is considered less than the price tag, there are bound to be complications. But creating value is so much more than a product or service – it’s really about the entire experience.
When was the last time you walked away from a business transaction thinking, “WOW! That was worth every penny AND my time!” What was it that made you feel that way? Was it a unique product? Was it outstanding service? Most likely, you were “wowed” through the entire experience – from invitation to invoice. Or in this digital age, from log-on to log-off, because your website is certainly an extension of your brand’s perceived value.
Customer service/relations has changed a lot in the last decade with the emersion of social media in business. I still see ambiguity from business leaders to the idea of getting involved in social media marketing. While there’s definitely been a shift from the idea of social media being a “phase” to a general acceptance of it as a tool that will be around for awhile, many businesses are still not completely understanding the magnitude it can have in terms of hearing the customer, communicating with the customer, and improving customer service.
I faced it head-on a couple weeks ago when I innocently tweeted about trouble I was having with our postage machine. This is what I said:
I didn’t expect anyone to really care or even pay attention. Not five minutes later, I got this response from @PBCares:
It was, in fact, a Pitney Bowes machine, and long story short, there was a repairman in our office within 24 hours. Voila! Without even a phone call, Pitney Bowes made it clear that they noticed, appreciated our business, and valued us as customers. They created very real value. And my response was – WOW. Their Twitter handle is “@PBCares”, and they proved to me that they do.
As a necessary brand-building exercise, we are focusing on how we create value for our customers. From invite to invoice, do we go the extra step to help them understand the way we do things? Can we help them to feel more comfortable, even if it takes us a little out of our own comfort zones? When they get our invoice, do they scratch their heads or do they accept it knowing we created real value equal to the price on the paper?
So, how do you define value? How do you make sure your clients/customers are feeling valued? Put some thought into it and let us know what perceived value your customers should expect. Because at the end of the day, without value, what are you providing to your customers?
Andrea James, President / Public Relations Director
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Who is Love Scott, anyway?
Love Scott is a full-service marketing communications company. If you know what a marketing communications company is, you either work for one or you have way too much time on your hands. We know what a marketing communications company is, but we find it hard to explain to others. When pressed, here’s what we say:
We help businesses identify markets for their products and services and create efficient, cost-effective methods of communicating their stories to those markets.
Mainly through advertising, public relations, interactive media, etc.
You know… marketing.
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Great meeting today with Blessman Ministries. If you're not familiar, check them out - feeding and sheltering... http://fb.me/tCMrHK7M2010-08-31
Beautiful! RT @MftH: Check out original, hand-crafted furniture donated to be sold at Hy-Vee Hall this wkend on FB --> http://bit.ly/dkCHjr2010-08-31
Thx to @DSMEgotist for mentioning our blog. We've slacked lately, but after Labor Day Wkend, we'll be right back at it! Stay tuned... 2010-08-30
Very excited to announce a new addition to the @Love_Scott team next week! But for now...lips sealed... 2010-08-27
Thank you! Agreed! RT @storeykenworthy: @Love_Scott We took part last yr, it was not only rewarding, but a great team blding experience! 2010-08-27
s consumed me. Having to rely on others for transportation, learning to drive a stick shift (sad, I know.) and just trying to coordinate schedules when there are two people sharing one car is a HUGE pain, but it sort of works itself out. The biggest surprise has been my experience working with a mechanic who sent me to the Dealer. What mechanic sends work AWAY from their business? Looking back, this situation segued nicely with some life lessons we should all be reminded of now and again. Let me back up and tell the story from the beginning.
ake the car to a mechanic who specializes in my make of vehicle. He tries a few things out, then tells me if the car isn’t running funny the lights are nothing to worry about. But he gives me a warning, “as soon as your gas mileage changes or the car doesn’t seem right, call me!” Well guess what happened one week after I took the car to him? I took it back. Insanity, right? Not exactly…the lights were still on, but the car started to act funny – pardon my lack of proper mechanical terminology – but it sounded like my car was going to explode when it was in idle. I take the car immediately back to the mechanic.
Phew! Another successful 
I’ve taken lessons from the Meals group on how to make things happen, even if the rest of the world (literally) deems it impossible. It is this experience that has led our agency to a new venture in our business. While we can’t offer this same free service to all non-profits and still keep our doors open, we can offer our expertise and hearts to these organizations through an affordable and practical program that provides fundraising and marketing expertise. We’ve spent a good portion of the last year brainstorming, developing, refining and polishing 
When I first read this a few years ago, I did some thinking about the way I was living and resolved to begin eliminating hurry from my life. It seemed like a great idea at the time, and still does. But I soon learned that eliminating hurry from my life is easier said than done.
When I apply the word “focus” to writing, whether it’s a simple blog post, a press release for a client, or a story for my children, I see it as a metaphor derived from my background as a photographer.
The top three pizza chains in America are Pizza Hut, Domino’s, and Papa Johns. Currently they are all running campaigns that are very creative and yet different from one another. 
We had a discussion among the 
Don’t Let Your Story Get Away From You
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Posted in Public Relations | 3 Comments 5/12/2010
Love Scott was proud to sponsor the Greater Des Moines Convention and Visitors Bureau (DSMCVB) “Marketing Panel” a couple weeks ago. Our third time sponsoring one of their events, we’ve come to recognize it as a valuable service they provide to their metro partners as a source of marketing/PR education, updating and networking.
On a broadcast media panel sat:
• Eric Hanson, TV reporter for KCCI
• Van Hardin, radio show host at WHO-AM 1040
• Maxwell Schaeffer, host at KIOA 93.3
• Brooke Bouma, morning co-host at WHO-TV
On a print media panel sat:
• Lynn Hicks, business editor of the Des Moines Register
• Jim Pollock, editor of the Des Moines Business Record
• Polly Clark with Pioneer Communications
• Kendra Williams with Midwest Living.
I listened closely to these panels because, as a PR person, I’m intrigued to hear their takes on how the industry has changed, their pet peeves when receiving information or interviewing, and what helps them report most accurately.
One comment repeated in both panels was on the topic of granting media interviews. A few years back, I did a short stint reporting for a business publication in St. Louis and will never forget times I’d call a business for information or a quote, and nobody would call me back. I wasn’t digging anything up – simply needing accurate information to complete a story…that most often would help promote that company! It astounded me that they would blatantly ignore me, I assume out of some sort of fear. Maybe they’d been burned before by the media – inaccurate information, misquotes, negative story angle, who knows? But every time I was left to think “well, you’re not doing yourselves any favors this way!” Either the story would get scrapped (no free publicity for them) for lack of information, or we’d have to say something ridiculous like “representatives from ‘Company X’ were unavailable for comment.” That is more damaging than no story at all, in my opinion.
Both media panels at the DSMCVB’s event mentioned that companies are doing a disservice to themselves when ignoring opportunities for interviews. Especially when they are associated with a controversial event, an interview is an opportunity to tell their story. Both times the subject came up in the panels, both the TV media reps and the print reps said even if you don’t grant the interview, “the story is going to run anyway”. So basically you have the opportunity to say what YOU want to say, or take a chance that somebody else will say what you wouldn’t want them saying FOR you.
If the idea of speaking to the media scares you, take the time for spokesperson training. Most times, if you’re prepared, it’s actually a positive PR opportunity, not a burden.
What do you think when a company has “no comment”? What are some of the best TV/print interviews you’ve seen or read, even in times of crisis?
Andrea James, President / Director of Public Relations