Insights for Leaders Navigating
Visibility, Credibility, and Growth.
From media strategy to reputation management, we explore the trends shaping public perception and share the approaches that drive measurable results for growing brands.
Case studies can be an excellent way to shape perceptions about a company’s service, software or products. For instance, consider Serials Solutions, a provider of services for more than 3,000 libraries worldwide.
When I headed off to college in the late 80s, I took a typewriter not a computer. Similarly, the process of conducting research for term papers was very different back then. Today’s students are accustomed to searching for information using Google (or some other search engine), and because of this, expect a Google-like experience when they go to their university libraries to do research.
Serials Solutions has developed unique services to help students and librarians alike. For example, Serials Solutions Summon™ service makes it possible for students to find and access material in their library from a single search box. Serials Solutions’ family of 360 services also provides solutions to librarians that make the discovery, management and access of electronic resources easier as well.
Serials Solutions’ services are critical as many of today’s libraries are subscribing to more and more electronic content. Stanford University’s engineering library, for instance is embracing the “age of bookless libraries” with most of its periodicals moving online.
To help others understand the unique capabilities of Serials Solutions’ services, we recently completed the development of ten case studies. Each case study illustrates the distinct needs of each college and university, provides insight on why the librarians selected Serials Solutions and explains the impact of its services on both researchers and librarians.
The case studies were developed after in-depth interviews with librarians, and careful review and assimilation of our notes. We then wrote first drafts and secured feedback and approvals from all parties.
When completed, the case studies will be published on the Serials Solutions website and will be an excellent tool for the sales force to reference in the field. Additionally, these case studies can serve as background for journalists wanting to better understand how these services are being used, the future of information literacy and how libraries are measuring return on investment from the adoption of Serials Solutions’ services. Finally, they’ll be a good source of content for the Serials Solutions Facebook and Twitter pages.
For more information about Communiqué PR case studies, please take a look at Securing Placements of Case Studies in Vertical Publications.
Every day on my way home from work, I drive by the same auto body shop, Collision One, and every day its sign catches my eye. It’s not because the sign is particularly flashy or that the colors are surprising – it catches my eye because I think the tagline is brilliant. The tagline reads, “Like It Never Happened.”
Simple and easy to read quickly, this tagline sums up the exact feeling its patrons want to experience when they leave the shop. No one wants to be in a fender bender and it’s even less fun to be reminded of the accident by dents and scratches on your car. “Like It Never Happened” lets the consumer know that the company cares about you AND your car, and signals that it takes pride in quality work. That’s a lot of information to derive about a company from just a few words on a sign, isn’t it?
There are many studies that show first impressions are often the most lasting. In a way, I look at a company’s tagline as an opportunity to make its best first impression about its brand. Given this, it’s important that your tagline be appropriate to the type of business you are running; not only that it’s catchy, but that it also conveys a positive feeling to your target consumer. The risk of having a tagline that confuses or puts customers off is very costly as they may simply opt to go to your competitor.
Here are a few other taglines that are getting the job done:
- “Works Like A Dream” – Ambien
- “The Quicker Picker Upper” – Bounty
- “The Happiest Place on Earth” – Disneyland
- “Play. Laugh. Grow.” – Fisher Price
- “American by birth. Rebel by choice.” – Harley Davidson
- “Every Kiss Begins with Kay” – Kay Jewelers
- “What Happens Here, Stays Here” – Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority
- “Hope. Care. Cure” – Seattle Children’s Hospital
Do you have any favorites? I’d love to hear about taglines that have kept you going back to a business year after year.
A few weeks ago, while conducting blogger outreach for a client, I ran up against an interesting dilemma. Several of the bloggers I reached out to had agreed to write about my client’s event, but requested money in the form of a “sponsored post” to do so. Generally the fee was $100-150 a post, which doesn’t sound like much, but coming from a world where “earned media” is the name of the game, I was a little taken aback.
Not exactly sure how sponsored posts play into my position as a PR counselor, I wanted to see what others in the industry had to say about sponsored posts and their value. I found a fascinating article on DaveFleet.com called “Why Paying Bloggers For Posts Changes The Game.”
In the article, Dave discusses three ways that sponsored posts are changing the game:
- Earned media has more credibility. According to Dave, “PR has traditionally played in the ‘earned media’ space,” and “earned media brings with it lots of advantages.” The main advantage is simply that earned media has more credibility thanks to third-party endorsement. Even though bloggers ultimately have the ability to decline a story idea or write on something totally different than what you suggest, I agree with Dave. Speaking from personal experience, when I see sponsored posts I question if the product is REALLY good or not. Says Dave: “You earn coverage; you pay for ads. You can’t have things both ways.”
- The roles change. According to the article, “On the earned media side, the PR person is looking for a win-win situation – they’re looking to win through favorable coverage; meanwhile, they’re looking to provide value to the blogger through content opportunities that fit their needs.” Once a blogger accepts payment for a post, Dave contends, they become a service provider and the PR person is the client. This puts a lot of pressure on the blogger as now there is a real expectation of quality service (i.e., positive coverage of your client organization).
- Bloggers need to compete for budget. With a lagging economy there is competition for marketing expense budgets. As such, PR pros and marketers have found creative ways to maximize the value and results they can earn on a limited budget. Paying for placements in a budget-conscious environment may be difficult.
After reading this article, I can see both the benefits and drawbacks of paid blog posts. However, because earned media has more credibility, I believe in most instances it’s best to develop compelling story ideas and work closely with the bloggers to create a mutually beneficial story without paying them.
We recently started working with The Shops at the Bravern, a stylish shopping center in Bellevue that offers a wide variety of shops and restaurants such as Neiman Marcus, Karen Millen, Tory Burch and local favorites John Howie Steak and Chocopolis.
Our first task was driving awareness for The Bravern’s Christmas tree lighting on Fri., Nov. 19, which also served as the kick-off to its “Enchanted Holidays at The Bravern.” Hosted by KIRO TV’s Jenni Hogan, along with the SeaGals escorting Santa’s sleigh, attendees were treated to carolers, kettle corn and hot cocoa to help kick-off the holiday shopping season in style.
In order to drive awareness and attendance at the event, we developed a media alert and conducted outreach to local print and broadcast media as well fashion, food and mommy bloggers. As a result of our outreach we garnered coverage in several local publications including 425 Magazine, Bellevue Reporter, Downtown Bellevue Network, MOMStart, Red Tricycle. We also secured more than 18 placements in local event calendars.
The tree lighting was only the beginning of a season full of wonderful holiday events at The Bravern. The Bravern has a wide variety of fun holiday activities for the whole family including free pony rides, breakfast with Santa and Mrs. Claus, cookie decorating and photos and letters with Santa. Big kids at heart are invited to partake in “Cool Winter Nights,” a happy hour-inspired evening by the fire sipping cocktails and enjoying nibbles from Wild Ginger. If you are interested in any of these events, feel free to visit The Bravern’s holiday website at http://www.thebravern.com/holiday.
If you’ve never experienced The Bravern, the holidays are a great time to visit, whether it’s shopping for the perfect gift or looking for a unique stress-free holiday experience for the family. Communiqué decided to host our holiday gathering at The Bravern enjoying spa services at Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spas and lunch at Wild Ginger. It was a perfect place to relax and enjoy each other’s company.
We recently started working with The Shops at the Bravern, a stylish shopping center in Bellevue that offers a wide variety of shops and restaurants such as Neiman Marcus, Karen Millen, Tory Burch and local favorites John Howie Steak and Chocopolis.
Our first task was driving awareness for The Bravern’s Christmas tree lighting on Fri., Nov. 19, which also served as the kick-off to its “Enchanted Holidays at The Bravern.” Hosted by KIRO TV’s Jenni Hogan, along with the SeaGals escorting Santa’s sleigh, attendees were treated to carolers, kettle corn and hot cocoa to help kick-off the holiday shopping season in style.
In order to drive awareness and attendance at the event, we developed a media alert and conducted outreach to local print and broadcast media as well fashion, food and mommy bloggers. As a result of our outreach we garnered coverage in several local publications including 425 Magazine, Bellevue Reporter, Downtown Bellevue Network, MOMStart, Red Tricycle. We also secured more than 18 placements in local event calendars.
The tree lighting was only the beginning of a season full of wonderful holiday events at The Bravern. The Bravern has a wide variety of fun holiday activities for the whole family including free pony rides, breakfast with Santa and Mrs. Claus, cookie decorating and photos and letters with Santa. Big kids at heart are invited to partake in “Cool Winter Nights,” a happy hour-inspired evening by the fire sipping cocktails and enjoying nibbles from Wild Ginger. If you are interested in any of these events, feel free to visit The Bravern’s holiday website at http://www.thebravern.com/holiday.
If you’ve never experienced The Bravern, the holidays are a great time to visit, whether it’s shopping for the perfect gift or looking for a unique stress-free holiday experience for the family. Communiqué decided to host our holiday gathering at The Bravern enjoying spa services at Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spas and lunch at Wild Ginger. It was a perfect place to relax and enjoy each other’s company.
Recently, my colleague and I attended a focus group conducted by Hebert Research for one of our clients. The aim of the session was to get feedback on a nonprofit’s website and other marketing materials, and it was a productive event.
As a result of our experience at Hebert, we thought we’d share a few of our thoughts around best practices for successful focus groups. Here are our thoughts:
- Be clear on the purpose of the focus group and what you want to achieve. For example, our client was particularly interested in obtaining feedback on its website and a video it created so it could determine what enhancements or changes needed to be made.
- Develop a set of questions. Ideally, you want to develop questions that encourage discussion and solicit honest perspective. Before finalizing the questions, think about what response it will elicit in order to ensure the questions will enable you to gather the information you seek.
- Identify participants. A key component of a successful focus group is the right mix of participants. In our session, Herbert Research invited men and women between the ages of 40 and 50 years of age, which is representative of our client’s target audience.
- Make sure you have a strong moderator. Jim Hebert was the moderator at our session. He was tactful, kept the participants on track, and was able to engage everyone in the room. He was really adept at building a rapport with the range of personalities within the group.
- Analyze results. This was the best part of the session. Clear themes emerged from the discussion about the design of the site as well as the video. At the end of the session, which we listened to from behind a one-way mirror, we revisited the feedback and decided how to make it actionable in the coming weeks and months.
Our client successfully achieved its objectives from the session. Clearly, focus groups can be a treasure trove of insight but only when they are well-planned and efficiently conducted. We’d love to hear your thoughts on other best practices for conducting a successful focus group.