PR 20/20 Blog

Cut Through Content Clutter

By Christina Capadona-Schmitz | Posted Dec 17, 2009 | 0 Comment(s) | Filed in: Content Marketing
There is no disputing the value of great content and its importance to an organization's marketing strategy. But we have entered an era in which the Internet is being flooded with "fast food content," as described by Michael Arrington in a recent TechCrunch article. To help break through the clutter, you need to make your copywriting highly relevant, focused, creative and technically sound.

Copywriting is the use of words to promote a person, business, opinion or idea. Think about the copy you read, including Web content, and notice that strong writing doesn’t always mean dazzling readers with jargon (i.e. Gobbledygook). It’s the pieces that speak direct to the audiences, and offer something to take away, that drive readers to take action and share with others.

3 Tips to Strengthen Your Copywriting

Know Your Purpose

It may seem obvious, but with so much content being published, it is important to set objectives for your writing. Whether to inform and educate, fulfill a need, answer or ask a question, share new ideas, generate leads, or create an emotional connection, write with purpose and prompt readers to take the desired action.

Make it Relevant

Strong copywriting is relevant (i.e. has value, addresses needs) to the audience it is intended to reach and the publishing medium. Relevancy is not based solely on the understanding of readers and platforms, but through the research and discovery work done to create the piece. Length parameters are not as important when highly relevant content is being presented.

Be Style-Conscious and Consistent
- Concise & Powerful – Time and space constraints, combined with ever-decreasing attention spans, warrant the need for concise and powerful content. Writers can find success completing ideas in as few words as necessary, using plain language, and reducing Gobbledygook, idioms, slang, clichés and jargon. You can grade your content at the Gobbledygook Grader.
- Tone – Writing tone should match the purpose of the piece, from formal to casual, serious to light, or positive to negative. Consistency is key unless a strategic change in tone supports the goal of the piece.
- Format – Whether it is a technical, creative, or a philosophical piece, the style format should not be hard to identify, and should fit the audience.
- Reading level – Work to write to the level of potential readers, and keep the level in mind throughout the piece.
- Consistent in person and voice – Strong writing uses an active voice to create a personal connection, and offers consistency when writing in first, second or third person.
What else?

I’ve offered a few guidelines, but what else can copywriters do to differentiate their work from the mass content being published?

For more resources on making copywriting concise and powerful, view David Meerman Scott's Web Ink Now blog post Top Gobbledygook phrases used in 2008 and how to avoid them.

Capadona-Schmitz is an assistant vice president and consultant at PR 20/20, a Cleveland-based inbound marketing agency and PR firm. She can be found on Twitter @ChristinaCS.
Social Media Transforms Spokesmodels Into Friends

By Christina Capadona-Schmitz | Posted Oct 30, 2009 | 1 Comment(s) | Filed in: Advertising, Social Media
When finding inspiration for your Halloween costume this year, did you turn to TV commercial breaks (remember that stuff you fast forward through on your DVR)? If so, you might be one of many dressing as "Flo" for Halloween.

Flo, the face of Progressive Insurance, has garnered more than 209,000 Facebook fans, is the topic of multiple fan sites and forum chatter, and the cornerstone photo of the insurance company’s Twitter feed. The Facebook group, "I'm dressing up as Flo for Halloween," had more than 350 members at the time of this post.

Enter the spokesfriends

The advent of social media has enabled brand spokepersons to turn into what I call spokesfriends. By integrating inbound marketing techniques into traditional advertising campaigns, companies are creating personas that people connect with and trust.

While spokesfriends can’t define your product or service, or make it stand out in the market, they can give the personality and connection needed to create buzz.

Historically companies have found successful formulas to relate non-celebrity spokesmodels with audiences, such as the Dunkin’ Donuts Fred the Baker , the Marlboro Man, and the “Where’s the Beef” lady. Whether they are friendly, funny or downright odd, they somehow engage the masses, and likewise become celebrities in their own right.

In today’s social media world, it’s not enough to have a celebrity hype your brand, or leverage the power of a regular Joe, without adding that opportunity for customers to connect with them online.

Giving life to these characters through social networks adds the permission-based marketing element that can bring the brand closer to customers than ever before.

Some current spokesfriends and social media

Flo, the Progressive girl

The PR 20/20 office overlooks Progressive Field in Cleveland, Ohio, the home base of Progressive Insurance. Earlier this year Flo traveled to Cleveland to throw out a first pitch for a Cleveland Indians game and also made the local media circuit. On a radio interview, she shared that people frequently cite her as their reason for switching insurances, and are disappointed when their insurance policies don’t come in the boxes as shown in the fantasy retail shop of the commercials.

Flo is played LA-based actress Stephanie Courtney, who also has roles in TV and is in a comedy troupe, and shared this quote in an October Boston Herald article "Insurance pitchgirl a surprise TV hit," by writer Lauren Beckham Falcone: “I’m glad people aren’t mad at me for interrupting their programs,” she said. “It’s all a very pleasant surprise.”

TGI Friday's Woody

Woody was created as a social media experiment as detailed in the Adweek article "TGIF's Very Friendly Online Promotion" and MarketingTom.com post.

Through media support, Woody achieved a Facebook promotional goal of gaining 500,000 Facebook fans in exchange for a coupon for a free Jack Daniel's burger or chicken sandwich. What was expected over 30 days happened in six days, and TGIF had to quickly respond. The company rewrote the rules of the contest to accommodate for influx of online participants, extending to 1 million fans through page by end of September. There were issues with coupons and getting the free food, but the likable character combined with the offer helped to demonstrate the power of social media.

The Glade Lady

Spokesfriends can sometimes become popular for their more deviant attributes, such as seen in the Glade Lady, a truly desperate housewife. There are several blog posts and social media groups dedicated to Glade Lady’s deceiving ways, tricking her family and friends that she is baking instead of burning scented candles. Take for instance, the 64-member Facebook group, "I think the lady on the Glade commercials is a pathological liar...”

Spokesfriends of the pasts that would've been great in social media
- A Facebook fan page on the Country Crock family: I need to see the faces behind the hands that share the bread spread, and dig deeper into their carb obsession.
- How about a Taster’s Choice soap opera romance played out through Twitter?
- “Where’s the beef” blog tracks the quest of the lady to find a bigger burger, until she’s exposed to the cruelty of a mass production facility, fueling the goal to start her own free range farm. There's a "Where's the Beef" tribute page on Facebook with 175 fans.
A matter of choice

While it’s not reasonable to assume that all companies or brands can employ a spokesfriend to tout their product or service, they serve as a testament that social media gives brands the opportunity to connect in a more meaningful and personal way. Check out Rohit Bargava’s post, “Do You Know Someone Who Loves Your Brand?” He discusses Honda’s "everyone knows someone who loves a Honda” campaign driving more than 133,000 people to access an application through Honda’s Facebook fan page.

We can learn from the extended reach of the spokesfriends to explore how social media, as part of an inbound marketing strategy, can change the way customers connect with your brand.

Do you think it’s better for brands to create spokesfriends and harness power of social media, or leverage the power of celebrities already engaged in social media for extended connection, or forget spokesmodels altogether and simply offer a unique product or servicea and participate in the social communities of your customers?

Capadona-Schmitz is an assistant vice president and consultant at PR 20/20, a Cleveland-based inbound marketing agency and PR firm. She can be found on Twitter @ChristinaCS. It's also worth noting that Halloween is her favorite holiday!
Recession-Themed Marketing: Three Lessons from Schooner Tuna

By Christina Capadona-Schmitz | Posted Jun 25, 2009 | 0 Comment(s) | Filed in: Advertising, Brand Marketing
Get out of bed each day and chances are you’ll hear a marketing message tied to the economy. From car companies offering to cover monthly payments for those that lose their jobs, to budget-friendly brand offshoots, trying times have created new opportunities for companies to communicate with their audiences.

With all the economy-based marketing messages out there in these conditions, “bailout” promotions and similar messages have become white noise. It’s almost expected that companies should be doing something to help out their loyal customers during troubling financial times.

So what makes a message stand out from the competition in this economic environment? What drives consumers to spend the limited money they have now and build brand loyalty for the future? How do businesses project sincerity in the delivery of these campaigns? Let's look at one of Hollywood's most famous economy-based ad campaigns.

The Schooner Tuna Campaign

In the 1983 movie “Mr. Mom,” Terri Garr’s character Caroline Butler is thrown back into the workforce when trying economic times remove Jack Butler (Michael Keaton) from his architecture job. While comedy ensues on the home front, Caroline breaks through barriers at her new advertising job.

At a campaign pitch meeting for premium brand Schnooner Tuna, Caroline offers the idea of “Tuna with a heart,” based on her experiences as a stay-at-home Mom. The pitch: reduce the price of each can of the premium Schooner Tuna by $.50 to help families through the tough times.

There are articles published each week about recession marketing, including plenty of references to Mr. Mom and the tuna ads in relation to current advertising and marketing campaigns. I’ve gathered three simple takeaway lessons from the Schooner Tuna campaign:

1) Relate to your audience now to gain loyalty in the future.

Calling on her recent experience as a mom and housewife, Caroline was the only person in the Schooner Tuna pitch meeting that knew how to talk to the decision makers – and what they’d respond to:

A September 2008 Misery Index blog post “Schooner Tuna Where Are You When We Need You,” explains it well: “From “Yum Yum Tuna Bits” to “The Tuna With a Heart”, it was she who brought the priorities of consumers - of moms like her - to that boardroom. She reminded Humphries that housewives didn’t need corporate gimmicks, but in fact needed a break on the high price of tuna. And by doing this, Schooner Tuna would win over the housewives’ loyalty.”

A similar reference is found in the Haggin Marketing January 2009 post “America, we’re doing this for you,”: “Caroline knew that if Mr. Humphrey lowered the price of a can of tuna so American housewives could stretch their grocery dollar, then they would be loyal to Schooner Tuna for life.”

While bigger companies may be able to reach a wider audience through larger campaigns, small businesses could have the advantage of knowing their customers on a more personal level, thus being able to respond to the struggles the customers are facing, which the businesses may actually share. A June 9 post in The Wall Street Journal Small Business section gives a few examples of this: In Recession Specials, Small Firms Revise Pricing - Discounts and Lower-End Offerings Help Lure Cash-Strapped Customers.

2) Offer savings without discounting the value of your product or service.

The fictitious Schooner Tuna was a premium brand. President Mr. Humphrey solidifies this position in his commercial for the “Tuna with a Heart” campaign with the line “When these difficult times are over, we will return to our regular pricing…”

The last thing you want to do by offering savings or discounts, is to devalue your product or service in the eyes of current and potential customers. If you offer a premium brand or service, there’s the option to find ways that your customers’ dollars can go further, such as investing into community programs to support schools or other initiatives, without taking the leap into price lowering. However, if affordability is one of your strong suits, don’t be afraid to let it shine.

Keep in mind, that although the recession may be thought of as a temporary situation, it can have lasting effects and represent a shift in peoples’ buying habits, no matter the duration.

An example of this can been seen in the recently published story on the luxury handbag company Coach, and its decision to develop and launch a less expensive brand. The line, called “Poppy,” runs an average of 20 percent less than their normal product, while retaining the quality and luxury image associated with the current brand.

On the contrary, Tiffany’s luxury brand was not willing to risk sacrificing its high-end status, and stated last quarter that it would not cut prices despite falling sales and earnings.

The right approach can vary from company to company, but if you are able to retain the value of your product or service in the minds of customers, they’ll be more willing to pay that extra $.50 for your tuna when the economy improves.

3) Be sincere.

In the movie, Mr. Humphrey’s excitement in the boardroom when “Tuna with a heart” is introduced doesn’t appear to be derived from the opportunity to help his fellow man. He has found a clever way to sell tuna. The cheesy commercial confirms this, especially in the delivery of his closing remarks, “Remember, we’re all in this together.”

While the long-term effects of the Schooner Tuna campaign are unknown (no “Mr. Mom 2” that I’ve seen), it’s safe to say people can see through lack of sincerity, and today can search online product reviews and comments through their social networks to confirm. This especially rings true if you offer a discount or promotion and don’t deliver on the promises.

It’s simply hard for people to take corporate spokespersons, such as CEOs of large companies, seriously when they say “we are in this together,” and actions speak louder than words. Earlier this year, Under Armour premium sports wear company CEO and founder Kevin Plank voluntarily cut his 2008 salary to $26,000 – the amount he made in 1996 when he started the company – until financial performance improved. It could be perceived as a small sacrifice on his part, but a potentially large impact on customer loyalty.

Sincerely having interest in the welfare of customers will make it easier to generate quality messages that last through any state of the economy.

What economy-based campaigns have resonated with you? What could marketers do better to gain loyalty, retain value and project sincerity in their campaigns?

Additional resources:
- In February, AdWeek posted 10 Things to Remember in Marketing in a Recession
- BusinessWeek has an entire feed on Recession Marketing in the Business Exchange section
- NY Times April 2009 article: Sellers Woo Shoppers With Guarantees to Address Layoff Worries
Capadona-Schmitz is an assistant vice president and consultant at PR 20/20, a Cleveland-based inbound marketing agency and PR firm. She can be found on Twitter @ChristinaCS and loves movies. She couldn't find a sample video of the Schooner ad and would love to add it in if anyone has seen it online.
Google Yourself: Claim Your Online Brand with Google Profiles

By Christina Capadona-Schmitz | Posted May 11, 2009 | 0 Comment(s) | Filed in: Brand Marketing, Internet Marketing
At PR 20/20, we frequently refer to Long Tail author and Wired Magazine editor Chris Anderson’s quote, "Your brand is what Google says it is, not what you say your brand is."

Now that Google has publicized its personal profiles to the mass market and added profiles to search results at the bottom of U.S. name-query search pages, there’s an easier way to manage what Google says about you, claim your online identity, build your personal brand, and associate yourself with your preferred Websites and social networks.

According to the official Google blog post, “These results offer abbreviated information from user-created Google profiles and a link to the full profiles,” and “added links so it's easy to search for the same name on MySpace, Facebook, Classmates and LinkedIn.”

Sample Profile Search: Christina Capadona Schmitz (no hyphen)

Why set up your Google Profile?

Because the majority of people never search beyond the first page of Google search results, it’s a good idea to claim your Google Profile, which enables name searches associated with you and your business to join the highly favorable top 10 rankings.

Marketing expert David Meerman Scott offers a few more reasons to “Stop what you are doing and get or update your Google Profile Now,” including: job seekers being sought after by potential employers, professional service providers being searched by clients, salespersons being searched by potential customers, and interpersonal communications, such as potential significant others.

For those with more common names, such as John Smith, you can customize your profile to find the correct name when searching. Scott recommends that individuals with unique names, that may be happy with the search results associated with the name, still take the time to create a Google profile and keep it updated regularly. This allows one to claims themselves in Google Profiles and gives another method of access to your information.

A few more reasons to claim your online brand and instances when people may be searching for you:
- You want to volunteer at your community center, coach a youth sports team, etc.
- You have a speaking engagement at a business event
- Someone with your same name is appearing in the news
- Your family or high school is organizing a reunion
Building your Profile

Google offers a How-To online guide to build your profile and utilize the available features.

If you have an account with Google, including Gmail, you already have a profile. You just need to enable it to be searchable.

Users can choose their own profile URL. Please note that once created, the URL can’t be customized again, only reverted to the original, non-customized version.

Here are some of the profile features according to the How-To guide:
- Receive messages. Enable the 'Send a message' feature to allow anyone with a Google Account to email you without revealing your email address.
- Add photos.
- Create a page about you, your work and interests.
- Add your contact information with ability to control who can see it.
- Add links to your other profiles and sites.
- Show your location.
Will Google become the global social Web directory?

With the recent publicity surrounding Google profiles, including Google giving away 250,000 free business cards featuring Google Profile addresses, this could be the prelude to a bigger plan of consolidation of online social networking and directories.

Check out the posts below for further insight:

Google Profiles pave the way for global directory, Facebook killer
Seth H. Weintraub - April 22, 2009 - Computer World Google Ink Blog
“Google is publicizing their Google Profiles for the first time this week. If you do a Google search for your name (and who hasn't), you'll now see your Google profile at the bottom of the search results. This is a big deal...”

Google Wants You to Profile Yourself
Ryan Singel - April 21, 2009 - Wired.com Epicenter
“Google’s information appetite is never-ending , and now the search-and-advertising giant wants your help in building a profile page that will show up anytime anyone searches on your name. Be afraid…”

Google Profiles and Creating a ‘Social Hub’ on the Open Web
Michael Calore - April 20, 2009 - WebMonkey.com monkey_bites
“When Google added the ability for its users to generate a social profile with a vanity URL last week, a bunch of us went into our profiles to enable the new feature…”

It doesn't take too long to set up, so go Google yourself today.
Despamming Publicity Campaigns

By Christina | Posted Mar 11, 2009 | 0 Comment(s) | Filed in: Public Relations
Strong communications and relationships with the media are at the core of every successful publicity campaign.

It’s not about the numbers — contacts in your media database, emails sent, pitches made — but rather it’s about the quality of the connections you create.

Today’s transparent social Web, combined with the evolution of email into a spam machine, makes it more important than ever for PR pros to tailor their campaigns and reach media contacts with information targeted to their beats, blogs and interests.

Bad PR Exposed

Forrester Research VP Josh Bernoff recently published a post on the Groundswell blog examining three examples of publicity spam, as well as an informative follow-up post on email titled, “Three quarters of the PR email I receive is irrelevant. Why?”

As the mass market catches up to technology and social media, the acceptable ways of distributing information are increasingly targeted and personalized. Unfortunately, this concept isn't always perceived as a sound strategy for generating publicity, even though it can lead to stronger opportunities.

Do This and Don't Do That

There are several simple concepts involved with starting to despam your campaigns. In homage to author David Zinkzenco’s "Eat This, Not That" healthy food choices section in Men’s Health magazine, below are "Do This, Don't Do That" recommendations to create effective and social Web-acceptable publicity campaigns.
- DO: Create a targeted media database, based on solid research, social networks and media relationships. Consider a news wire service if mass distribution is required.
- DON’T: Create a mass media database adding as many contacts as you can find; or adopt a “see-what-sticks” attitude.
- DO: Introduce yourself to key media contacts, ask them how they prefer updates, and give them the opportunity to opt-in and/or subscribe to your company’s blog or media room feeds. In short, run permission-based publicity campaigns.
- DON’T: Place your release on wires without checking out distribution policies, or post the same news to multiple wire services.
- DO: Compose a press release that is clear, concise and relevant.
- DON’T: Produce a solely promotional release using various gobbledygook words.
- DO: Provide links in the email body so recipients can voluntarily access supplemental documents, relevant Websites, photos, videos and further information.
- DON’T: Attach documents, photos, videos or other large files to your email without request from the media.
- DO: Compose personalized emails containing the release information when appropriate.
- DON’T: Send form emails to individuals that appear as personalized greetings.
Integrating these recommendations into your publicity campaigns not only keeps your clients’ best interests in mind, but also gives you the chance to experience the benefits of permission-based marketing.

Christina Capadona-Schmitz is a PR 20/20 consultant, who has been with the Cleveland-based inbound marketing agency and PR firm since March 2006. She can be found on Twitter @christinacs.
Keeping corporate blogs updated and relevant

By Christina | Posted Dec 17, 2008 | 0 Comment(s) | Filed in: Internet Marketing
You launched a blog for your business, or helped guide your corporate client into the blogosphere. Now weeks or months have passed, and your faced with the difficulties of keeping the content fresh and relevant.

Here are a few potential challenges and some simple solutions to help. You’ll find the most effective way to tackle these challenges is to share relevant, timely links that have interest to your target audience.

Audiences
You created your corporate blog to stay connected with your audience and capture new audiences. Now you are losing that connection or your blog is turning into a promotional vehicle. Or possibly you are having trouble attracting new readers and subscribers.
- To connect or reconnect with your audiences, seek feedback and invite commentary on the blog, and see what readers are interested in.
- To stay relevant, monitor and participate in the online communities, blogs and forums where your target audiences are active. This helps you get a feel for interests and keep a pulse on trends.
- Understand your buyer personas. Buyer personas are profiles or biographies on distinct market segments (e.g. customers, prospects, mainstream media, bloggers) you plan to reach and influence. David Meerman Scott (author of The New Rules of Marketing & PR), believes buyer personas are a fundamental aspect of great marketing. Check out his full post on buyer personas.
Time
You created your corporate blog as a quick, simple communication tool to provide real-time news, updates and information to your audiences. Now it’s hard to find time in your schedule to post items, and stay updated on important news and trends.
- Plan ahead by creating an editorial calendar of blog topics and schedule specific times for your posts each week.
- Invite guest bloggers to share information and expertise.
- Not every post has to be an earth-shattering revelation, or take hours of writing and research. Time is important to your readers too, so don’t be afraid to add shorter posts, and save your longer, thought-provoking entries for another time.
- Use RSS feed readers for quick access to the important industry and social media channels that you monitor.
Content
You created your corporate blog to publish valuable content for your audiences. You’re an expert on your topic (that’s why you author the blog in the first place), but it can be a challenge to continually produce new and useful content.
- The simplest and most effective blog post can be the sharing of valuable and relevant links. Link to news stories, other blog posts, resources, Websites and more. Add your insight and position to connect to your audience.
- Consider linking to online tools, videos, photos, tips, ideas, and lists that have use to your audience, making sure to provide proper attribution to the sources.
- Another great advantage is that by sharing timely information, you’re blog becomes a source of timely information that your audiences will value. It also connects you with influentials in your industry.
Corporate Blog With Caution
Josh Bernoff (VP of Forrester Research, co-author of Groundswell) gave some strong points on effective corporate blogging in his Dec. 9 post, “People don’t trust company blogs. What you should do about it.”

The post centers around a Forrester Research project from Q2 2008 on consumers trust of information sources such as personal email, traditional media, social media, and more, with corporate blogs recording the lowest trust levels at 16 percent of participants. Click here for the full post.

Bernoff believes that blogs created exclusively about companies and products are the possible causes of the low trust ratings.

Says Bernoff in the post, “If you want to be a thought leader and helper for your customers, and you blog frequently about those customers’ problems and solutions, then you can generate trust. This takes time and effort, but it will enhance your company’s reputation and it’s worth it…” He also states a few tips for corporate bloggers including that a blog “has to be more about your customers than it is about you,” and to “adjust your strategy based on your objectives.”

Blog Health Check
Unsure if your corporate blog is trusted by readers? Check out a great resource published by Jeremiah Owyang, senior analyst at Forrester Research, in his Dec. 10 post Health Check: How Trusted Is Your Corporate Blog? Owyang describes his methodology as a "very simple heuristic health check to gauge whether your corporate blog is going to be trusted by your readers."

What are some of the challenges you are facing with your corporate blog?

Christina Capadona-Schmitz is a PR 20/20 consultant, who has been with the Cleveland-based inbound marketing agency and PR firm since March 2006. She can be found on Twitter @christinacs.
Is it time to change your brand name?

By Christina | Posted Oct 30, 2008 | 0 Comment(s) | Filed in: Brand Marketing
From the very abstract, to a founder's family name, corporate brand names have a story behind them.

However, when markets shift, and the brand itself changes, company leaders may find themselves considering a new name for a well-established brand.

There are a number of factors that drive organizations to contemplate a change:
- The brand name is difficult to pronounce.
- The brand name has limited awareness outside of geographic markets.
- The brand name appeals to a limited market.
- The brand identity is tired and obsolete.
- The organization needs a more contemporary, Internet-focused brand.
- The brand does not resonate with younger generations.
Companies can start the decision-making process by asking several important questions.
- Has your brand changed?
- Has your competition changed?
- What is your competitive advantage? (e.g. why do customers buy from your organization instead of your competitors). Does your brand align with your competitive advantage?
- How do people perceive your current brand? How do you want your brand to be perceived?
- What would a new brand name deliver to customers?
- Who are the audiences that would be affected by a brand name change?
- Which objectives do you believe that your organization must accomplish in order to build your business and reach desired growth goals?
- What are the evident strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of a brand name change?
- What are the time, financial and human resources available to take on a project of this magnitude?
- What are the time, financial and human resources available to roll out and maintain a brand name change marketing campaign?
When companies are looking at a name change, they not only must conduct comprehensive research and analysis in making the decision, but also need to consider the potential impact on all of its constituents: customers, employees, partners, board members and the industry overall. It’s these audiences that will be responsible for telling the new story.

Food for thought: KFC

One prominent brand currently in a unique rebranding process is KFC. In March 2008, KFC released news that it would be testing Kentucky Grilled Chicken as a co-brand of Kentucky Fried Chicken. The news garnered attention from online and mainstream media including USA Today and Reuters.

The release stated that at the time, it was “Currently being tested in Indianapolis, Colorado Springs, San Diego, Oklahoma City, Jacksonville, Fla., and Austin, Texas, KFC’s Kentucky Grilled Chicken is expected to be unveiled nationwide in early 2009.”

NameWire: The Name Development Blog posted its take on the news in a March 24, 2008 post:

“In the coming weeks you can expect to see "Now Grilling" signs at select KFC stores. And storefront signs will be changed to feature "Kentucky Grilled Chicken." The London Free Press says that "Even the brand's ubiquitous chicken buckets will get a makeover..."

“…First of all, customers have to accept that KFC can grill chicken and that the product is indeed healthier than its fried alternative. Will they really believe that a piece of grilled chicken from KFC is better for them than a piece of extra crispy chicken?" Click here for the full post.

According to the Yum! Brands, Inc. (YUM) Q3 2008 earnings call transcripts from Oct. 8, 2008, Yum! chairman, president and chief executive officer David C. Novak stated, “We expect to turn around KFC performance in 2009 with the introduction of our successfully tested Kentucky Grilled Chicken.”
Selling to the Future (Part 2 of 5): Learn your XYZs

By Christina | Posted Oct 21, 2008 | 0 Comment(s) | Filed in: Internet Marketing, Social Media
(Part 2 of a 5-part blog series on Selling to the Future)

Tools such as search engine optimization, pay-per-click campaigns, online ads and viral marketing are important elements of a company’s Internet marketing strategy.

However, the emergence of social media, including forums, blogs, social networking, wikis and more, has given businesses the chance for dialogue — in the figurative online sense — with both current and potential customers.

But for your voice to be heard with online generations, first understand whom you’re talking to.

GENERATION X (Born 1965-1982)
- The MTV generation of divorce, social problems and economic strain
- The generation between the baby boomers and their children
- Digital adaptives — technologies began to emerge (in a mass sense) largely during the teen years of Generation X
GENERATION Y (born 1980-1994)
- The Net Generation, The “Millennials” of the work place
- Represents more than 70 million consumers in the U.S.
- Peer oriented and seek instant gratification
- Heavy users of Internet forums, email, Wikipedia, search engines, social networking sites, etc.
In a survey of 7,705 college students:
- 97% own a computer
- 94% own a cell phone
- 34% use websites as their primary source of news
- 28% own a blog
- 44% read blogs
Generation Y is a prime target for Internet marketing. According to the online article, “Why Gen Y is going to Change the Web,” Generation Y doesn’t care about advertising: they care what their friends think.

The article continues: “Because they are immersed in media, both online and off, Gen Y'ers are marketed to left and right. But when it comes to making decisions, Gen Y tends to rely on their network of friends and their recommendations, not traditional ads…They're also somewhat distrusting of ads, which is why grassroots efforts can also work.”

Source: Wikipedia reference - Connecting to the Net.Generation: What Higher Education Professionals Need to Know About Today's Students, Reynol Junco and Jeanna Mastrodicasa (2007).

GENERATION Z (born 1995-present)
- Today’s children and students, and tomorrow’s employees and leaders
- History's first 21st Century generation
- The digital natives, the dot com kids, Generation Media
- The 'Multichannel Teens' — super-communicators who have a host of technology options for dealing with family and friends
Sources: Wikipedia.com; Marketingvox.com, Marketingcharts.com

Where the wealthy are

According to The Luxury Institute’s latest WealthSurvey, “The Wealthy and Web 2.0,” the participation of wealthy online consumers (average of $287,000 income) in social networks dramatically increased to 60 percent in 2008, from 27 percent in 2007. The wealthy average membership in 2.8 social networks, with an average of 110 connections.

Selling to the Future Blog Series Links

Part 1 - Connecting with Younger Audiences

Part 2 - Learn your XYZs

Part 3 - Facebook is life for college students and beyond (coming soon)

Part 4 - Blogging in business (coming soon)

Part 5 - Don't call us, we'll text u (coming soon)
Inbound Marketing Takes Center Stage in Boston

By Christina | Posted Sep 11, 2008 | 0 Comment(s) | Filed in: Internet Marketing
Inbound marketing masterminds and thought-leaders converged at the first Inbound Marketing Summit Sept. 8 at the Boston Marriott Cambridge, and the entire office of PR 20/20 was fortunate enough to be a part of it.

Hubspot, creator of the industry's leading inbound marketing system and WebsiteGrader.com, organized the event, garnering 300 guests in attendance and reaching nearly 100,000 people through social media connections. Click here to visit the stream page with Summit activity throughout the Web.

PR 20/20 joined a host of companies that sponsored the one-day event filled with educational presentations, networking opportunities, ideas exchange and more.

Highlighted by keynote speakers David Meerman Scott and Seth Godin in the morning and afternoon sessions respectively, PR 20/20 marketing consultants spent their day attending seminars, and sharing information and insights. Check out the full Flickr slideshow for pictures of the keynote speakers.

PR 20/20 president and founder Paul Roetzer presented "Blogging for Business: Improve Your Search Engine Rank & Engage with Your Customers,” prompting interesting discussion of blog best practices in the Q&A session (see event photos below). Presentation videos will be available on the Inbound Marketing Summit Website in the near future.

In addition to the many Summit activities, PR 20/20ians were able to take in the fine local establishments of Cambridge and Harvard Square, including Legal Seafood, Tommy Doyles, The Blue Room, Cambridge Brewing Company, Grendel’s and more.

We'd highly recommend planning to attend a future Inbound Marketing Summit and checking out the resources available at www.InboundMarketingSummit.com.

Paul discussing a slide in his "Blogging for Business" presentation.

The PR 20/20 team talking with Melanie from Marketwire.

PR 20/20 consultants Keith and Lyndsey at the table during a session break.

Laurel and Paul enjoying a coffee break between sessions.

For the full Flickr slideshow on the Inbound Marketing Summit, visit www.flickr.com/photos/tags/ims08/.
Selling to the Future (Part 4 of 5): Blogging in business

By Christina | Posted Sep 5, 2008 | 0 Comment(s) | Filed in: Internet Marketing
(Part 4 of a 5-part blog series on Selling to the Future)

Teenagers and young professionals of Generation Y are the true ambassadors of the blogosphere. Not only are blogs vital for a strong inbound marketing campaign - increasing your search engine visibility through inbound links to your Websites – but also a great way to share content and create discussions.

A 2007 report, Teens and Social Media, highlights creative content sharing as a growing trend. The report is based on a national phone survey of 935 youth ages 12-17 conducted in November 2006.
- Content creation by teenagers continues to grow, with 64 percent of online teenagers ages 12 to 17 engaging in at least one type of content creation, up from 57 percent of online teens in 2004
- 39 percent of online teens share their own artistic creations online such as artwork, photos stories or videos.
- 33 percent of online teens create or work on Web pages or blogs for others, including friends, groups they belong to or school assignments.
- 28 percent of online teens have created their own blog, up from 19 percent in 2004 - almost completely driven by the popularity of blogging among girls.
- 27 percent of online teens maintain their own webpage.
Making Blogs Work For You
Blogs thrive on two-way communication – publishing interesting content, and communicating directly through comments, linkbacks, and social bookmarking through StumbleUpon, digg and more.

In a Seth Godin blog post titled “The wealthy gardener,” he states:

“The best bloggers make money, but mostly as a side effect, not as a direct result of setting out to use a blog to make a profit…If it makes you happy (and your readers happy) it's a great place to start. Step by step you get better at it, and then you discover the ancillary benefits. But the benefits kick in best when you don't set out to achieve them...”

A great place to start is to search where your target markets are hanging out in the blogosphere by doing a blog search on Technorati or Google Blogs. This will help you get a feel for what’s already being said and where you can fit in.

In addition to using blogs to connect with customers, corporations are also seeing the benefits of internal blogs as employee communication tools.

How organizations are using blogs in business
- Establish professionals as experts, thought leaders and innovators.
- Educate employees, customers, prospects and the media.
- Manage crisis situations.
- Optimize Websites for improved search engine rankings.
- Publish company news, information.
Not sure if blogging is right for your business?

Check out the Corporate Blog Creative Brief posted on the PR 20/20 Blog, or contact a PR 20/20 Internet marketing consultant today.

With 1.4 blogs created each second, and 22 of the top 100 Websites being blogs, maybe it’s time your business thought about blogging.

Part 1 - Connect to convert

Part 2 - Learn your XYZs

Part 3 - Facebook is life for college students and beyond

Part 4 - Blogging in business

Part 5 - Don't call us, we'll text u (coming soon)