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.
A recent post in the New York Times “After Deadline” blog – an online section devoted to examining questions of grammar, usage and style – examined the words writers love to overuse. Since we’re increasingly called upon to create more written content on behalf of our clients, we find this blog helpful to improve our writing. Some of the words writer Philip Corbett highlighted in his post include the following:
Icon/Iconic: Times editors have waged a long battle against the trite overuse of these terms. Ask yourself whether a person or thing is truly worthy of these descriptions before using them.
Arguably: A sneaky way to say something without having to take full responsibility for saying it.
Famously: If it’s so famous, do we have to say so?
[Blank]gate: Troopergate was the latest. This is an overdone play on the name of a well-known historic event.
Toxic: As in “toxic assets.” This has become ubiquitous as the standard term to describe the troubled investments at the heart of the fiscal crisis. Avoid it if you can.
I found this post to be particularly interesting because as a writer and PR professional, we often struggle with developing content that is straight-forward, easy-to-read and when possible, devoid of marketing language.
From a PR perspective, there are thousands of overused words and phrases I’m sure journalists would like to see banned from press and marketing materials. A few that come to mind include:
Revolutionize
Leverage
Cost-effective
Unveiled
Best-of-breed
Turnkey
Robust
Flexible
Next generation
Mission critical
I admit that in my 10 years in PR I’ve used all of these words hundreds of times. But in the interest of continuous improvement, it may be time to chuck these old phrases and get back to simplify our writing.
What other words or phrases do you think should be banned from PR and marketing materials? We’d love to hear your opinion. Leave us a comment!
Communiqué PR recently completed a project with Dashwire, an independent connected services platform provider. Dashwire offers an industry-leading connected services platform solution that delivers mobile-to-Web consumer services. This means mobile users can sync and manage their personal contacts, text messages, calls, photos, videos and settings from their phone to the Web.
The connected services market is heating up, and Microsoft’s recent entry into the game with its MyPhone service validates what Apple, Nokia and Google are already betting on. Competition is no longer from device maker to device maker (i.e., Nokia vs. Motorola phones). Now, software services are competing to deliver value-added services to consumers on top of phone platforms.
According to a December 2008 press release from IDC, mobile phone shipments in 2009 are expected to decline, however, converged mobile devices (smartphones) are expected to grow 8.9 percent worldwide in 2009. The report states:
“Users have come to realize what these devices can do beyond voice telephony, especially when it comes to running applications. Take a look at how gaming, mapping and location, entertainment, news, and social networking applications for converged mobile devices have taken off, allowing users to do much more than just make phone calls. In response, handset vendors have been building their product and applications portfolios to catch this wave of opportunity.”
Ford Davidson, founder and CEO of Dashwire, has been an active voice in the connected services market. Ford carefully watches market trends, actively blogs about news and trends within and provides the media with a clear point of view on which players are well positioned to emerge as the market leader. As an independent vendor, Ford is well positioned to offer his perspective and expertise to help educate media, consumers and industry influencers.
From a PR perspective, providing media and analysts with a strong point of view on market trends is a great way to help build thought leadership and increase awareness for an organization. Just recently, Ford was quoted in a Reuters’ article about how Nokia’s OVI store stacks up against Apple’s App Store. This placement resulted from our proactive outreach offering Ford’s point of view on the connected services market on the heels of Microsoft’s MyPhone announcement earlier this year.
Ford commented on the increasing competition in the space, saying, “These companies are really entering the arms race.” Reporter Tarmo Virki included the quote in the title of his article, “Nokia takes on Apple in online software arms race.”
The Reuters piece has been picked up by more than 39 publications and blogs, including CNBC, MSNBC, Forbes, Condé Nast Portfolio, International Business Times, the Guardian, eWeek and PC Magazine. The piece also helped Dashwire meet one of their key business objectives and it positioned the company as an emerging leader in the connected services market alongside larger companies such as Nokia, Apple and Microsoft.
For more information about Dashwire, please visit www.dashwire.com, or visit http://blog.dashwire.com/ to read more about Ford’s thoughts on the connected services industry.
In a recent Wall Street Journal article, Emily Steel explores the world-wide movement to ban the Comic Sans font. This raises an interesting point about the importance choosing the right fonts in business.
Comic Sans has become synonymous with materials for kids and communicates a light-hearted, upbeat sentiment. Originally intended by its creator to mimic the font found in comic strip speech-bubbles, to some Comic Sans has become what the Ban Comic Sans movement describes as “the evil of typographical ignorance.”
While Comic Sans stirs up a decidedly less heated response for most readers in the context of grade school flyers, they would almost certainly be surprised to see it on a legal document. The same goes for its typographical cousins such as Lucida or Papyrus, both of which would seem markedly out of place on a business document.
Since when did Times New Roman become the font du jour of the professional world? According to a Wikipedia article on the topic, the font was originally created and commissioned by the British newspaper, The Times, in 1931. Ever since it became commercially available in 1933, Times New Roman has become “one of the most successful and ubiquitous typefaces in history.”
Unlike Comic Sans, Times New Roman uses serifs and is therefore easier to read. Says Tim North, author of “Better Writing Skills,” the serif makes each letter more distinctive and easier for our brains to quickly recognize. Without the serif, “the brain has to spend longer identifying a letter because its shape is less distinct.”
At Communiqué PR, we use Times New Roman in nearly all written communication except e-mail, where Arial is our font of choice. E-mail seems to be the only place in business where experimentation is acceptable, with many people using different fonts and colors for their signatures.
Do you have a favorite font or thoughts on the Ban Comic Sans movement? We’d love to hear your opinion.
Apple recently announced plans to release its iPhone 3.0 operating system software upgrade later this summer. This announcement has gained significant attention from the media about what the upgrade will mean not only for iPhone users but also for developers.
Among many of the new capabilities for users including copy-and-paste functionality, a landscaped keyboard and push notifications, Apple is introducing micropayments and in-app purchases. This means users will have the opportunity to purchase application upgrades and virtual gifts directly within an application.
So what does this mean for users and developers? Media are saying Apple has created a new mobile economy by allowing in-app purchases. The company’s App Store, which has received more than one billion app downloads in less than nine months, will is poised to see increased revenues and more offerings.
We asked Satoshi Nakajima, CEO of Big Canvas Inc., to share his thoughts on what the new operating system will mean for competitors. Says Satoshi, “The App Store is 18 to 24 months ahead of competitors, and additional billing capabilities such as in-app purchases and subscriptions will secure their leadership position.”
According to a recent article by Ben Parr with Mashable.com, developers will now have the opportunity to develop a relationship with iPhone customers, establish a steady stream of income and create digital stores within applications. iPhone users will also benefit and see an influx of up-to-date and better apps as well as an increase in goods and services to choose from.
Ben says, “The ability for the creators of applications to build relationships with customers by selling items and creating stores within applications is a bold step towards the iPhone becoming its own micro-economy.”
With these new changes to the iPhone OS, Apple is well positioned to continue expanding its popular app store and bringing new innovation to the mobile market. Click here to get a preview of Apple’s new iPhone 3.0 OS.
This week, Target plans to open a pop-up store in downtown Chicago, the first time the company has used one of its pop-up stores in the Midwest.
For the uninitiated, a pop-up store is a temporary store that is open for a limited time – typically in a major city or mall – to create buzz around particular brand or product. Currently, one of the latest trends in retailing, pop-up stores give retailers an opportunity to quickly connect with consumers and give them a sense of urgency to purchase their products.
According to the Milwaukee Business Journal, Target will open the Bullseye Bazaar in the Tribune Tower to showcase items that are usually only sold on the retailer’s Website, Target.com. The bazaar will feature more than a dozen Target designers including Sonia Kashuk, Mossimo, Thomas O’Brien and Michael Graves as well as some limited-time collaborations from other up and coming designers.
In 2006, Gap also implemented a 60s themed pop-up store campaign. The company used a school bus as a traveling pop-up store in Los Angeles and New York and stopped at beaches on both coasts. Instead of seats, the bus was stocked with t-shirts, flip-flops, and beach hats that people bought and paid for at a cash register near the driver’s seat. Other brands using these “act now” techniques to get customers into their stores include Nike, Wal-Mart and the now-defunct airline Song.
Blair McCaw, president of the Constellation Management Group, a brand management firm in Chicago, said in a 2008 Brandweek interview that, “pop-up stores are an effective channel for turning short-term marketing promotions into long-term “brand-building vehicles” by actively engaging consumers.”
In addition to providing a quick and effective way to interact with consumers, pop-up stores are a cost effective way to get the pulse on a retailer’s customer base. Pop-up stores are relatively inexpensive to launch when compared to the costs for producing and distributing print and broadcast advertisements. From a PR perspective, pop-up stores can provide an ideal vehicle for generating buzz and garnering high profile media coverage on a shoestring budget. In 2007, The U.S. Potato Board launched a pop-up store in New York to promote the fact that potatoes contain more potassium than bananas as well as nutrients like folic acid and vitamin C. The campaign was featured in the New York Times and all of the national network morning shows.
While I’m a self-professed shopaholic (particularly at Target), I have never had the opportunity to shop at a pop-up store. However, I can see the appeal of being able to purchase Michael Kors’ (just an example) new discount line at Target or H&M for a limited time at a store in downtown Seattle or San Francisco. It would certainly encourage me to quickly get into the store and check out the collection – and maybe even increase my brand loyalty to a particular store.
Have you ever shopped at a pop-up store? Tell us about your experience by leaving a comment.
There’s been a lot of discussion about the popularity of Twitter and its growth over the past year. Twitter’s popularity has extended into the media with many high profile and prolific journalists (think CNN’s Larry King, NBC News’ David Gregory and Wall Street Journal‘s Walt Mossberg) using the micro-blogging site to interact with their readers and colleagues. Given this, we thought it would be helpful to share some insights on how to leverage Twitter to reach key influencers and reporters.
Here are a couple tips on how to pitch reporters on Twitter and forge relationships with key influencers, such as industry analysts or bloggers:
- To find key influencers and reporters, you can use Twitter directories like twellow.com or search for relevant keywords on search.twitter.com. Muck Rack is also a great resource that allows you to follow online, real time reporting by journalists.
- Follow targets and monitor their conversations. In order to build a successful relationship, it’s important to continuously monitor Twitter conversations, share information through tweets and comment on general posts or questions. This will also present a great opportunity to share information with a reporter about your organization or product that is relevant and may be of interest to them.
For example, if a reporter posts a question regarding an article he/she is working on and you have built a relationship with him/her, you could send a tweet offering some data or statistics or offer to put him/her in touch with your client to offer their perspective. You can look for specific topics that people are tweeting about by searching for Twitter hashtags.
Visit our previous blog about hashtags by clicking here to learn more about how you can leverage relevant topics to pitch reporters.
As with any media relations initiative, building relationships before pitching is crucial. It’s also important to remember to follow Twitter guidelines and practice proper etiquette, or “Twittequette”. Read our past blog about Twitter etiquette by clicking here.