Now with …. are you kidding?

I’ve been laughing at this all day. Look at this sandwich label. Look closer. What’s funny? Look at the claim “New Superior Taste,” which begs the question … what the heck did it used to taste like? What chain of unfortunate events from concept through design to approval found this little gem making it through the sifter? Hey, I’m all for celebrating the greatness of your product, but this is down right hysterical.  BTW I submitted this to a certain talk show host.  I hope it makes it on the air.

Behind the scenes at Babaloos

Once again our new media guru, Tony Arranaga, is out in the field producing great social media for our clients.  Here he visits with Chef Robert Gonzalez at Babaloos Cuban Cafe who describes this tasty dish.

Thanks Tony……er where is the sample you brought back to the office?

Julia and Me

© Columbia Pictures

I had the lucky fortune of seeing “Julie & Julia,” last night. When I heard that Meryl Streep was cast as Julia Child I remember thinking, “I love Meryl but as Julia Child…mmmm, I don’t know about that.”

What an incredible performance by Streep. She crafted the character with all of the quirkiness, charm and wry humor that one remembers of Julia but she also brought an unexpected lustiness to her that was brilliant. And I loved her all the more for it.

On to the story.  Although the theme  was to parallel a journey by both characters on separate paths yet united by food and the contemporary character’s sharing of her journey through writing a blog, I found my self disappointed when the film bounced from Julia Child’s story to the present day story line. As sparking as Amy Adams is, I still wished the story was entirely about Julia.

Still, I am left with wonderful feelings for the film. It was one of those rare occasions where I honestly did not want the film to end. I fell in love with Streep’s characterization and wanted to know more about Julia Child’s adventures.

I felt both fulfilled and still hungry for more.

I believe I enjoyed the film on two different levels connected by a common thread. What I mean is, both Streep’s performance as well as the true nature of Julia’s personality could be distilled into one word: authenticity. Julia was about “I am who I am and that’s enough.” Streep dug into that and revealed it in a magically effervescent, genuine performance that could easily be turned out in a lesser actor’s hands as a one-dimensional or over-the-top.

Authenticity is a powerful thing.

Everyday, I celebrate authenticity with my clients.  I want my clients to project authenticity with great story telling.  Making promises that they can keep and telling the truth. As individuals we want to be moved, we want to be inspired and we want to feel important.

Those chords within us are only struck by authentic actions, and the resulting tone is pure, fulfilling and lingers long.

TB4T

Too Busy for Twitter. That’s where I’m at today. After taking a short but very needed vacation, I’m back in the office and probably more overwhelmed than when I left. But that’s a good thing right?

Which get’s me thinking. How much do I let myself get bogged down in details that I could put off for later or for the weekend? Twittering is a very important part of my business, both for my clients as well as myself. I literally had to DRAG myself over to the twitter.com web site today to engage with my tweetpeeps. It got me thinking that I need to institute a morning, noon and night strategy for twitter. Meaning that I will make it a point to engage in conversation and share in the morning, at lunch time and in the evenings to catch up with what’s happening.

Monday night was the third anniversary for our client Ticoz. It was a huge success. As I greeted guests and tag teamed with the host on managing the event, my New Media Advisor, Tony Arranaga was busy as ever taking photos, posting comments on twitter and Face Book and engaging his audience in a play by play account of the action.

Having someone on staff who gets this and who is constantly thinking of ways to make our news vibrant and rich with content is truly a great thing. We’re working together in both the real and virtual worlds.  Yes, social media takes time from your day.  Yes, it can seem less important that other pressing issues.  But the reality is that social media is an essential part of our company’s success as well as the success of our clients.  Enough said.

Now, if I could just make more time for my blog….

I Bitz and Got the Bait and Switch

Come on in, the water's misleading

So I’ve been seeing these commercials for Orbitz with their offer “if you buy a ticket from us we will charge you no booking fees and guarantee your price so that if someone else books a ticket cheaper than yours we will refund you the difference.”  Fine. Sounds like a deal. Yeah right. It’s a deal all right.  Should’ve known there is a catch. See, what they don’t tell you is that when you supposedly choose seats, Orbitz does not send that information over to the airlines. It’s a ruse.

Yesterday, being a thorough and organized travel (or so I thought), I checked to see if the tickets I purchased last month were selling for less. No. Ok. So then I checked our seating assignments on the Northwest airlines site and found that I could not choose our seats even though we had secured seat assignments over a month ago.  So I called Northwest Airlines site directly.  I found that I did not have a seat assignment on the flight but my traveling companion did.  I tried to choose a site but the only seat that I could get was at the back of the plane in the center.

I discovered that when you choose a seat on Orbitz that they do not even send that information over to Northwest.  Orbitz purchases tickets in bulk and only pretends to offer you the opportunity to choose your seat.  What they don’t tell you is that you may not even be confirmed on the flight.  Unless they tell you in the small print somewhere, I don’t remember seeing anything about that. And Northwest? Refuses to do anything to help. Period. Airline policy. Whatever.

So, I called Orbitz and spoke to a lovely woman in India whose command of the English language was, well lets say interesting.  Nothing she could do. Then after much gnashing of teeth on my end she claimed that she was able to seat us together in 9A and 9B.  So, I went to the Northwest site, and again, only one seat confirmed the other with no assignment at all. Did she lie to me?

We called again and got a gentleman with better English and much compassion but no seat assignment.  We were told that the airline might be able to assign our seats together at the gate.  If we are one of the 30 or so passengers to arrive at the gate first.

Our lesson.  I find it crazy that with airlines and air travel in the tank that 1) Orbitz would mislead customers and 2) that Northwest would offer such crappy service.  Even though I was told by the NWA agent Northwest controls 70% of the seating arrangements online or over the phone I would still have to go to the airport no more than 24 hours before the flight in order to confirm a seat assignment.  So much for hanging on to customers and encouraging Americans to travel again.  So, the bottom line: 1) no seat assignment or confirmed seat as of today, 2) $35 in handling fees for 2 checked bags and 3) If I’m lucky, one of us gets to sit at the back of the plane between two strangers.  Am I being unreasonably picky? Our tickets are just under a thousand dollars round trip.  I don’t think so. Is it unreasonable to want to sit together when the chief part of the travel experience is to enjoy the exploration together?

What do you think?

Pssst…I’m talking about you.

I read a blog post by Linda Vandeverde today at Valley PR Blog about the changing world of old school PR and this new social media covered by the New York Times in regards to PR in Silicon Valley.  So, it got me thinking this would make a good post on my own blog.  See, we’re not talking just Silicon Valley here. This new kind of PR is everywhere, the point Linda makes.

Yesterday I *twittered* that, as I was writing the marketing and PR plan for a new client, I realized that the days where social media had its own section in the plan are gone.

Instead, we are motivated to reach specific audiences in support of various strategies by incorporating both the real and virtual worlds. Why? Because people are having conversations instantly and shaping the way we think about other people and brands every single moment.  But haven’t we always done this? Of course.  But now, technology gives us the opportunity to share these conversations with others, around the world, instantly.  Not just with a few friends over long stretches of time.  Instantly.  Now that’s a helluva word. Instantly.

Social media–this hybrid between print and verbal communication– is fascinating.  Just this weekend, out with friends, many of them were taking pictures and posting them to Facebook, real time, and talking about where we were and what we were doing. All the while, they were mentioning the name of the restaurant and commenting on the experience we were having. This was all to the benefit of the restaurant whose owners had no idea we were talking about them.  Basically, free PR and advertising. And who doesn’t want that?  Hold that thought.

So this got me thinking: how will this new social media affect not just PR but customer service and experience marketing?  Is anyone thinking about that?  They should.  Because, the stakes are higher. Here is where every second you interact with your customer is more important than ever.  You can’t afford to give lousy customer service.  You have to back up your product and service and make the whole experience fun. Memorable.  Something to talk about.  Are you doing that? Are you sure?  Every second?  Every employee buys into that idea? Why?

Because that diner over there in the corner, the one siting by himself, is talking about you right now…with thousands.

My Top Five Tips for Social Media

In social media, there are “rules of engagement” like any other type of social interaction. These common-sense rules are a must when engaging others and building an audience. It’s best to think of this like you would a networking event or a party. Would you approach someone, interrupt their conversation, start talking about yourself or selling your product with no introduction or relevance at all? Unlikely. So too, your foray into social media requires you to behave yourself.  Remember, people can’t see you or hear your voice (video cams/chat aside).  They don’t know you are a fun, likable person. So, you could be putting your virtual foot in your mouth so to speak. The appendage, a fait accompli in your social faux pas.

With that, here are my personal views about online interaction.

1. Be relevant (on topic)
2. Be timely (don’t go back to a conversation from four days ago and comment)
3. Be respectful (don’t jump in on other people’s conversations unless you are really good friends)
4. Be thoughtful (share insight, news people can use).
5. Be lighthearted (share anecdotes, funny stories completely unrelated to you or your brand)

If you follow these sensible rules than you will know instinctively when you can safely interject stuff about you and your brand.  Toot your own horn when you feel it’s worthwhile or newsworthy.

Whether you are on Facebook, Twitter or other social sites it’s important to remember that you only get one first impression and you can quickly become irrelevant and even annoying if you diminish the value of others around you.

And folks, please don’t share with us how many followers you have, what your twitter rank is or how many friends you have on Facebook.  Popularity grows from the value of your interaction, not the number of people who follow you.

These suggestions apply mostly to business and brand interaction with audiences though common courtesy is appropriate in any situation.  See you online and I can’t wait to see what you have to say.

Take the Shop Local Pledge

Click here to view and print the ticket

PLEDGE: YES! I understand that my dollars can help build a sense of place, a higher quality of life and a stronger economy!

I hereby take the pledge to buy locally during National Independents Week, June 29 through July 5, to help celebrate the diversity and vibrancy that makes me proud to call Arizona Home.

Don’t you feel better already?!

10 Tips for Shopping Local

Thank you for taking the pledge to shop 100% locally from Monday, June 29 – Sunday, July 5. With a little planning, you’ll find simple, local solutions for your every day needs.

1. Plan your week:
List all the things you do on a regular basis – lunch, groceries, etc. – and figure out a local alternative to the usual chain coffeehouse or mega-mart

2. Check out the Golden Coupon participants and download your ticket to saving 20%: Can these businesses help you hold up your end of the pledge this week?

3. Download the Small Wonders map for shopping and dining destinations in Central Phoenix.

4. Ask friends, family, colleagues for local recommendations.

5. Review the Top 10 Lists of Favorites from Arizona leaders for their recommendations.

6. Visit a Farmer’s Market to buy locally grown produce this week – or visit the Arizona Farm Bureau’s www.fillyourplate.org website to find local farmers and ranchers.

7. Look for the round, black and red Local First stickers in store windows to be sure!

8. Check the labels on the products you buy at local stores – and see if these items are made or grown in Arizona to double your impact.

9. Always use the serach directory at www.localfirstaz.com to look for products and services in a variety of categories and search by keyword, city or ZIP code.

10. Tell your friends and family that You’re Going 100% Local and ask them to join you!

The Value of Cross-Promotion Devotion

I love it when I get to work with smart people who understand the incredible value of cross-promotion where there’s no need to ask for monetary gain or inserting speed bumps that prevent the experience from being fully celebrated.

Case in point, I approached Carrie Law at ASU Gammage auditorium about a cross-promotion with London Luxury Car, a unique (in this context the word is appropriate) limo service comprising two genuine London cabs, tricked out and named “Penny Lane” and “Abbey Road,” that service the City of Phoenix and surrounding areas.  The idea was to provide one lucky winner two free tickets to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang as well as being transported to and from the theater by London Luxury Car.

Carrie loved the idea, and advised that they would promote the contest in their newsletter mailed to 65,000 or so of their subscribers.  She also suggested we bring the cabs to an upcoming press event and even repeat the promotion when Mary Poppins arrives at Gammage in February 2010.

We, of course, were elated.

Linking brands and creating fun promotions are what generates interest and word-of-mouth discussion among consumers.  Its power can be extraordinary. So too are the people who recognize these opportunities, seize them and honor them with the celebration they deserve.