April 2, 2013 · 8:21 AM

Does Technology Serve You?

I would like to sincerely and publicly thank the men and women who volunteer to run the poling stations in our fair city, especially the one where I’ve voted for the past 14 years. Two and sometimes three times each year, they leave their warm beds to head for the church so that I can exercise my sometimes misguided right to vote. So, thank you.

This year, however, our beloved volunteers had a new challenge…an iPad-based electronic voter registration list that scans the bar code on your driver’s license to find your name in the registry. No longer will the volunteers have to struggle with the old cumbersome binders full of women (and men) to find the registered voter! It’s all electronic now.

Unless the name on your driver’s license is William and you’re registered to vote as Bill.

Now, I personally wasn’t in any particular hurry, and didn’t suffer any inconvenience (they did find my name reasonably quickly), but I did ask myself while watching the volunteers fumble with the iPad whether this was truly a better solution.

Oddly, this is the second time in two days where technology has been a hindrance rather than a help.

Yesterday, my better half suggested that I get reservations lined up for Mother’s Day, and forwarded an e-mail she’d received from one of her favorite restaurants, offering to make said reservations at the click of a link.

Being the world’s greatest husband, I clicked through, only to find that not only could I not get a table for 15 at 11:30, or for the two-hour window before or after 11:30, but there were no open reservations within 30 days of May 12. WTF?

“This can’t be right,” I thought. And it wasn’t. A five-minute telephone call to the restaurant netted a reservation for 15 at 11:15.

Technology is a wonderful thing. It can speed your day, organize your life, enable you to connect with long-lost friends and family, and access the world’s collective knowledge at the click of a button.

But how are you using technology to make the human experience more convenient, enjoyable, productive, joyful?

Sometimes I wonder who serves whom.

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March 1, 2013 · 11:30 AM

Is There No Such Thing as Bad Publicity?

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I am a huge fan of Wall Street Journal columnist Jason Gay. In all the world, only my brother Evan can make me laugh louder or harder. But his column today on the gawd-awful new basketball uniforms adidas has created for my beloved Jayhawks and other unfortuate D1 programs has me wondering if there really is “no such thing as bad publicity.” As a PR pro, I’ve long counseled clients to err on the side of caution when seeking attention.

“Better to keep silent and be thought a fool, than to open one’s mouth and remove all doubt.”

– Mark Twain

But lately I’m not so sure. As Gay points out in his column, by talking about adidas’ hideous new designs, he is in fact, achieving the publicity goals aiddas had in mind. Even if everyone and his brother (including mine) is ripping the new uniforms, we’re all talking about them.

And maybe that’s where we are as a society in the year 2013. Perhaps Oscar Wilde was right:

“The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about.”

In an age where Honey Boo Boo, Duck Dynasty, the Kardashians, etc. are rich and famous and I scuffle along, perhaps I’m the outlier.

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November 19, 2012 · 9:41 AM

When It Comes to Brands, Character Trumps Reputation

“Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.”
— John Wooden

It’s time to examine your “brand character.”

Today, your customers have the ability to see the difference between perception and reality.

Historically, marketers and agencies focused their resources on building reputations for their products and services. At first, mass media advertising was sufficient. Then we saw the era of PR take hold. Ries & Ries correctly noted that brands are built using PR and defended using advertising.

Now we’re into the days of social media. Your brand does not belong to you any longer, it belongs to those who feel passionately about your brand one way or another. And the true nature of your character will always come through.

When it comes to marketing success, your character—who you truly are—will ultimately be exposed, so it’s important to be honest when constructing your reputation—your brand—as you want it to be known by others.

As Bob Garfield correctly points out, you cannot spend your way to marketing success.

In the end, Garfield observes, the person-to-person passion for the President outweighed the Romney-SuperPAC advertising machine. And I suppose that’s true, although roughly 49 percent of Americans have already judged the President’s brand character to be out of synch with his brand reputation, and we have yet to see how the Affordable Care Act and other Obama-driven initiatives will affect the country.

In my opinion, the President’s re-election is less about his reputation matching his character than it is about Romney having his reputation (and character) defined for him early in the election cycle. His “47 percent” speech was likely his undoing, serving as Exhibit A for the opposition’s point that Romney’s character and reputation were aligned against the average American.

Character is how you behave when no one is watching. The trouble today is that people are watching even when you think they’re not.

Reputations take time to build and can be quickly lost, especially when you or your company are resistant to owning your own humanity (assuming corporations are people…or at least managed and staffed by people).

There will come a time when you make a mistake. When you do, own it. Apologize. Seek forgiveness. Learn. And move on.

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May 21, 2012 · 9:59 AM

Is Facebook Already Dead?

Facebook stock is trading around $33.50 a share as I type this post, down $4.50 from its Friday initial public offering price.

I don’t want to call myself Nostradamus, but the events of the past few weeks, along with this commentary from L. Gordon Crovitz in today’s Wall Street Journal reminded me of an item I posted just over two years ago.

My theory at the time was that Facebook someday would have to sell out its users’ (more than 900 million worldwide) personal data in order to become profitable. While this anticipated move is both logical and predictable, the user backlash will be strong, ugly and likely elicit government action that will slow

Crovitz’s opening joke says it all:

Q: Why did Facebook go public?

A: They couldn’t figure out the privacy settings either.

CNN recently aired/posted a story on “why people are leaving Facebook,” which cited five reasons why a growing number of people are deactivating their accounts:

  1. Maintaining a professional image
  2. Focusing on “real” communication
  3. Shedding an emotional burden
  4. Avoiding a time-waster
  5. Maintaining personal privacy

 

Little wonder a recent Associated Press-CNBC poll indicates Facebook may be a passing fad.

My own prediction is that Facebook will become similar to a television network, attracting a smaller number of heavy users (probably women ages 24-45), and that many other demographic groups will abandon the network in favor of the next big thing.

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May 4, 2012 · 7:06 AM

Don’t Forget to Think When Crisis Strikes

Rick Amme has an excellent piece in yesterday’s Ragan.com newsletter that I recommend highly.

In “[Nine] Popular Crisis Responses that Don’t Always Work,” Amme correctly points out 1) just because you are aware of the crisis doesn’t mean the rest of the world is aware (or necessarily cares), and 2) it’s more important to think than to speak.

As Hall of Fame Coach John Wooden would say, “be quick, but don’t hurry.”

Marketers and business owners take their brand reputations very seriously. This is a good thing, but it often impairs one’s thinking when bad things happen.

As human beings, we are acutely aware of any threat to our safety and/or brand integrity, and the urge to respond quickly and forcefully to threats is embedded deeply in our DNA.

Amme urges us not to allow our flight-or-fight instincts to rule our actions.

Over the years, crisis counselors have urged clients to “tell the truth, tell it all, tell it quickly,” which often results in an overblown response that only draws more attention to the situation than it would have received otherwise.

Before you release the hounds, consider the size and scope of the problem, and respond accordingly. Amme correctly points out that doing nothing is sometimes the best course of action.

My favorite piece of advice from Amme is an area that I especially enjoy when handling a crisis (if it’s possible to “enjoy” a crisis):

“Have great talking points.” You should first develop answers to the worst-case questions people will likely ask, if time permits. Yes, talking points give important focus to comments, but your credibility rests on your ability to answer tough, legitimate questions.

He couldn’t be more right. Spokespersons are so wrapped up in what they’re going to say that they forget that there will come a time for Q&A, and it’s likely someone will throw out a question from left field.

What you say is important, but what the public (via the news media or directly through social channels) wants—and feels they have a right—to know.

Your crisis plan is important and everyone should have one, but it’s even more important to have sound thinkers working the plan when you’re in a jam.

Smart thinking beats quick action every time.

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March 19, 2012 · 8:52 AM

Stop the Madness: Tournament Ads are Melting My Brain

Like many Americans, I’ve had a couch grafted to my posterior the past few days watching the Big 10 Invitational (also known as the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament).

And while the stress of KU’s escape from Purdue, the schadenfreude of seeing certain other schools lose, and the ramblings of Sir Charles Barkley have taken their toll on my heart and brain, it’s the commercials that are the cause of my own personal March Madness.

Without further ado, here is my own semi-professional critique of Madison Avenue’s contribution to my mental illness:

Seeing Peter Frampton stand in with the neighborhood bar band didn’t make me want a Buick, but did lead me to seek out Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band on Netflix, a film I remember liking when I was a kid. Bad idea. I could only handle about 30 minutes of the young Frampton with the Bee Gee’s. The highlight of the film for me was George Burns’ cover of “Fixing a Hole.”

As my long-suffering wife will tell you, I’m not the only over-the-hill teenager who enjoys belting out, “I bought a ticket to the Wor-or-orld! But now I’ve come back again!” every time “True” comes on the stereo. But how depressing to think I’m now the target audience for a Chevy hybrid sedan. There’s a middle age gut-punch if I’ve ever taken one.

I’m thinking a night on the town with Allstate’s Mayhem guy would likely end up in either the drunk tank or at the Free Clinic. I don’t know whether I should buy insurance or just turn off my cell phone, cancel my Facebook account and hide in the basement.

Mayhem is light years better than Allstate’s other campaign, although I do think it would be really cool to walk around with Dennis Haysbert’s voice for a day. (Especially if it was the voice of Pedro Cerrano.)

I’m thrilled for the Domino’s manager in Findlay, Ohio who came up with the idea to serve up leftover shards of dough covered with cheese, but I’d hardly place Parmesan Bread Bites on par with a cure for cancer. You can put feathers on a dog and call it a duck, but I’m still not going to order one of your pizzas. I guess folks have a lot of spare time in Findlay these days.

I think Wego the rescue dog would have been better off at the pound (or maybe even “living on a big farm in the countryside where he can run around with all the other dogs”). I mean, is it right to take an abused animal and force him to be your own personal enabler?

There are still two weekends to go. Which ads do you love to hate?

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February 15, 2012 · 10:02 AM

Privacy, Weblining and a Government That Knows Best

I was amused by Scott Canon’s article in yesterday’s edition of The Kansas City Star on his ever-growing dependency on all things Google and concerns about privacy issues. One notable quote:

“I’ve long understood that I have been engaged in a digital disrobing that reveals my digital self click by click, and byte by byte. I dropped almost all my veils, eagerly, in full view of the computer mind of a multinational corporation. It’s just that living in a Google world is so easy.”

Canon’s point is delivered tongue-in-cheek, but raises a broader and more serious concern, expressed on Sunday by  Chicago-Kent School of Law Professor Lori Andrews in her New York Times essay, “Facebook is Using You.”

“Material mined online has been used against people battling for child custody or defending themselves in criminal cases. LexisNexis has a product called Accurint for Law Enforcement, which gives government agents information about what people do on social networks. The Internal Revenue Service searches Facebook and MySpace for evidence of tax evaders’ income and whereabouts, and United States Citizenship and Immigration Services has been known to scrutinize photos and posts to confirm family relationships or weed out sham marriages. Employers sometimes decide whether to hire people based on their online profiles, with one study indicating that 70 percent of recruiters and human resource professionals in the United States have rejected candidates based on data found online. A company called Spokeo gathers online data for employers, the public and anyone else who wants it. The company even posts ads urging ‘HR Recruiters — Click Here Now!’ and asking women to submit their boyfriends’ e-mail addresses for an analysis of their online photos and activities to learn ‘Is He Cheating on You?’”

It’s not all bad, of course. As Jeffrey S. Trachtman points out in this response to Ms. Andrews’ piece, oftentimes, a site’s ability to deliver advertising offers that directly benefit both the site and the user, represents a win-win and is a positive outcome of data aggregation.

But the issue becomes more sinister when data are used to discriminate. More from Andrews:

“Now the map used in redlining is not a geographic map, but the map of your travels across the Web. The term Weblining describes the practice of denying people opportunities based on their digital selves. You might be refused health insurance based on a Google search you did about a medical condition. You might be shown a credit card with a lower credit limit, not because of your credit history, but because of your race, sex or ZIP code or the types of Web sites you visit.”

The key for me is the term “Weblining,” which could become a convenient excuse for greater government regulation of online sales and marketing practices. How many disgruntled consumers will it take before someone makes it his personal mission to ensure that no one is discriminated against due to his or her Web-surfing habits?

Where does efficient direct marketing end and Weblining begin? And is Weblining inherently a bad thing?

Stay tuned, sports fans. This is only the beginning.

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