gonzoblogging

What do you want to know about marketing?

I will be giving a presentation on Marketing to at the Inland Empire Women's Business Center on Wednesday, July 13 from 9:00 to 11:00 am.  Maybe I'll see you there. 

The Power of PR

A few months ago 60 Minutes ran a piece on a group in New York called Gospel for Teens, a seat-of-the-pants non-profit that brings in teenagers and instills in them an appreciation for the tradition of Gospel Music.  60 Minutes must have known it was special.  They ran it as a double-length vignette, something they seldom do.

It was an emotional story.  The kids have compelling

stories.  I’m sure the producers had to stop the cameras several times so Leslie Stahl could quit crying, get her make-up fixed, and get composed. 

The results were predicable.  Within a week The Chronicle of Philanthropy reported on how the phones are ringing off the book at the offices of Gospel for Teens.  Money is pouring in from donors across the country.

Last week the Los Angeles Times ran an interview on their op-ed pages of an executive from KIVA, the microfinancing non-profit that takes in $25 donations from folks and then allows them to lend the money to third-world businesspeople and entrepreneurs.  It’s all done over the Internet.  The money is paid back and then you lend it out again.  I’ve lent the same $25 out many times.  I purchased purchased a goat in Africa, financed a shoe cobbler’s operation in the Balkans, and helped build a dance studio in Mongolia. 

The article reminded me that there was $50 sitting in my KIVA account, so my wife and I scrolled through the pages and found a deserving soul to lend it out to.  As I was completing the process, I noticed that KIVA now has a Facebook logo that you can click and post to your wall that you just loaned the money out.  Within a few hours two of my Facebook friends had also joined KIVA and lent out money for the first time. 

I didn’t find any articles in the web talking about the spike in KIVA donations after the interview in the L. A. Times, but I’m willing to guess that it was substantial. 

The key to both was that these two groups had a narrative—a story to tell—and they told it through public relations.  That is why it is so important, as a business owner, a non-profit, an artist—whatever you are, to cultivate your narrative and understand how powerful the press is.  You may not be able to get your company or non-profit highlighted on 60 Minutes, or get interviewed by the L. A. Times, but often times it’s the little stuff, the things that take some time, but pay off big.

Here’s what I would like to know about both stories.  How long did it take the Mama Foundation, the organizers of Gospel for Teens, to cultivate that 60 Minutes story?  How long was KIVA schmoozing the L.A. Times.  Neither one of those stories happened overnight.  They were part of a coordinated, strategic public relations story.   

My guess is it took some time, at least months.  But somebody stuck to it and didn’t give up.  Good PR takes a good story, but it also takes persistence.    

 

Mobile Apps Have Unique Considerations

As of recent I have been confronted by several different opportunities where a mobile app comes into play as part of the marketing plan.  Check out this recent article at Mashable.com about using mobile apps for marketing. Click here. 

The Scoop on Microsoft Tags vs. QR Codes

Here is some more information on Microsoft Tags, as opposed to QR codes. I have not seen these around yet. Going to have to look harder--http://ow.ly/4RyaT

More on QR Codes

My good friend Phil Melnik sent me a link to more info about QR codes--http://tinyurl.com/3hmfxdk. What I find interesting is that MS codes are more prevalent. Also that women use QR codes more than men. I have some more info about MS codes that I will try to share later.

QR Codes Might be Here to Stay

Several weeks ago I traded electronic messages with Russ Cornelius of Brand Savants about the value of QR codes (QR stands for quick response), those little boxes that we are seeing  all over  that look similar to crossword puzzles.  

I expressed my skepticism over whether they are going to take.  This is unusual.  Russ typically takes the role of curmudgeon on these issues.  

I am familiar with QR codes because I recently worked on them with a client.  If you have a Smartphone with a QR code scanner (downloadable for free, although the app now comes standard many new phones), you activate the app.  Your phone then looks like it is in camera mode and you scan the QR code.  Don't try to take a photo like I did.  Once the phone has a lock on the QR code, it automatically captures it and opens the message that has been programmed in. 

QR codes are typically seen in print, in ads or POP displays, but you can also scan them off a computer monitor, and I heard a rumor that there is one on a billboard on Interstate 10 as you come in from Palm Springs (talk about distracted driving!).

My doubts were many.  I'm not seeing a lot of articles explaining QR codes in the mainstream media.  Anyone who has a Smartphone older than three months has to download the app and even then it's confusing.

Then last week I logged into Hootsuite, a social media dashboard that I am going to use as part of the marketing effort for my novel (BTW, Hootsuite is pretty cool).  After I got everything set up, I decided to get the Hootsuite app for my Smartphone.  When I clicked that link, it brought up a QR code that I scanned off of my monitor with my cell phone.  I was immediately taken to download site for the app for my Smartphone.  Pretty cool.  I was closer to being a convert. 

Later that afternoon I went on the website of the upcoming Los Angeles Times Festival of Books to register for some panel discussions.  I also noticed they had a Smartphone app for the event which included directions, a venue map, a schedule of events and several other features I deemed valuable.  Gotta download it. 

But wait a minute.  They didn't have a QR code to make the process as easy as when I was working with Hootsuite.

This was an inconvenience.  I had to go to my phone and manually type in the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books and then download the app.  Why couldn't they have a QR code?  It would have made my life a lot easier.

Okay, I'm closer to becoming a convert.  

 

QR Codes Might be Here to Stay

Several weeks ago I traded electronic messages with Russ Cornelius of Brand Savants about the value of QR codes (QR stands for quick response), those little boxes that we are seeing  all over  that look similar to crossword puzzles.  

I expressed my skepticism over whether they are going to take.  This is unusual.  Russ typically takes the role of curmudgeon on these issues.  

I am familiar with QR codes because I recently worked on them with a client.  If you have a Smartphone with a QR code scanner (downloadable for free, although the app now comes standard many new phones), you activate the app.  Your phone then looks like it is in camera mode and you scan the QR code.  Don't try to take a photo like I did.  Once the phone has a lock on the QR code, it automatically captures it and opens the message that has been programmed in. 

QR codes are typically seen in print, in ads or POP displays, but you can also scan them off a computer monitor, and I heard a rumor that there is one on a billboard on Interstate 10 as you come in from Palm Springs (talk about distracted driving!).

My doubts were many.  I'm not seeing a lot of articles explaining QR codes in the mainstream media.  Anyone who has a Smartphone older than three months has to download the app and even then it's confusing.

Then last week I logged into Hootsuite, a social media dashboard that I am going to use as part of the marketing effort for my novel (BTW, Hootsuite is pretty cool).  After I got everything set up, I decided to get the Hootsuite app for my Smartphone.  When I clicked that link, it brought up a QR code that I scanned off of my monitor with my cell phone.  I was immediately taken to download site for the app for my Smartphone.  Pretty cool.  I was closer to being a convert. 

Later that afternoon I went on the website of the upcoming Los Angeles Times Festival of Books to register for some panel discussions.  I also noticed they had a Smartphone app for the event which included directions, a venue map, a schedule of events and several other features I deemed valuable.  Gotta download it. 

But wait a minute.  They didn't have a QR code to make the process as easy as when I was working with Hootsuite.

This was an inconvenience.  I had to go to my phone and manually type in the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books and then download the app.  Why couldn't they have a QR code?  It would have made my life a lot easier.

Okay, I'm closer to becoming a convert.  

 

The Google Doodle Breaks the Rules, but it Works!

Know the rules so you can break them properly—attributed to The Dalai Lama.

 

For years I have wondered about the Google logo.  I notice that they change it every so often to match a holiday or a newsworthy event.  According to the best marketing folks, you are not supposed to mess with the logo, that’s your brand—your identity.  As on example, look at the image above, which was the way the Google logo looked the day they announced the Missing Link fossil (by the way, the artist’s rendering of  that fossil strongly resembles a cat we have hanging around the Gonzo Hut).

            Don’t mess with the logo!!! We preach this to our clients all the time.

            Not so at Google.  They change the logo on a regular basis.  But with Google it has come to be expected.  Now it is part of their brand.  These variations on the Google logo are called the Google Doodle.  In fact, if you want to go to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_logo) you can read about the Google Doodles.  Wikipedia even tells you about the Doodle4Google competitions regularly held grades K through 12. 

            Google has not only made the Google Doodle part of their brand, but they have turned it into a way to interact with the customer.  Small wonder these guys are on top.

 

I Pay Bargain Rate for My Newspaper Subscriptions

I learned a secret about newspapers several years ago that I’m going to share with you:  they are starving for circulation!

            Duh, Gonzo!  Tell us something we don’t know.

            Here’s what you might not know.  Newspapers are so starving for circulation that if you play them right you can renew your subscription for far less than the renewal form they sent you last month.

            A few years ago I let my ten-dollar-month subscription lapse to the local newspaper.  I walked out in my robe each morning to pick up my daily collection of newspapers, fully expecting to see that particular paper gone one day.  But there is was—without fail—every morning. 

            Finally the phone rang one afternoon.

            “Mr. Gonzo, we noticed you have not renewed your monthly subscription.”

            “That’s right. I find I don’t read your paper and I have no birdcage I need to line.”

            “Well, Mr. Gonzo, if you want to give us a credit card number, we would be happy to renew it over the phone for $39.99 for a full year.”

            This is where I did the quick math.  That’s a third of what I’m paying now.  I sensed an opening. 

            “That’s still a lot of money.”

            “Alright, don’t tell anyone, but today the boss said I can let go of a couple of annual subscriptions for $19.99 a month.  I have one left and I will give it to you if you renew right now.”

            More quick math.  That’s one-sixth of what I’m paying now.

            “Deal!”

            The lesson here was that if the local paper was willing to do this, what about the big guys?  What about The Los Angeles Times and The Wall Street Journal?  Turns out they play the same game.  I have annual subscriptions to both papers and by letting them lapse each year I force that phone call. I pay far less than the best offer they make me in print.

            Of course the bad news is that newspapers are going out of business left and right, and for all except a few businesses, they are losing their value every day as an advertising vehicle. 

            But I’ll take the trade-off in lower subscription rates.  I like my morning newspaper. 

           

ED and Responsible Advertising

Whoa, it has been more than a year since I posted to this blog.  I gotta get back on the stick.  Look for weekly entries from here out.

 

I have never understood the visual used in commercials for Cialis of the two bathtubs. 

First, why two bathtubs?  If I am going to ultimately do what Cialis is supposed to help me do, I’m surely not going to be laying the groundwork for it with his and her bathtubs for me and Mrs. Gonzo.  This is a one-bathtub scenario (for those of you having trouble with the visual image, I am sorry). 

            Second, those bathtubs are always in the most unlikely places—the beach, in the middle of a field of flowers, whatever.  How did they get there?  Those tubs are heavy! Did the couple have to haul the water all the way to the tubs?  How did they keep it warm?  We all know what a cold bath does to your sexual drive.  Maybe that’s why they need the Cialis.  I know I’d be too tired to do anything after dragging those tubs out there.

            I think about these things, and I know I am not unique.  If something in a commercial bothers me, I know it bothers other people, too. When I see those spots I’m not thinking about the benefits of Cialis. I am thinking about the hernia I am going to get hauling those bathtubs (erectile dysfunction is only one of many things us men have to worry about as we get older). 

            Evidently those spots bother someone else, too.  Witness the article in yesterday’s Los Angeles Times by Dan Neil, their famed auto journalist.  The Times, probably under pressure from the same demons haunting most newspapers these days, has decided to get more work out of Dan, so they have him multi-tasking in the business section, mostly writing about marketing related issues.  Check out the article at http://www.gonzomarketers.com/blog/ED--L.A.Times.pdf.  Neil is a great writer.

            A bill is currently snaking its way through the U.S. House of Representatives that would “’treat as indecent’ ads for erectile dysfunction cures between the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 p.m.”

            I don’t like it when government starts to limit free speech and the media, but I equally dislike it when companies ignore common sense and air these types of spots while I am battling with my grandson between Hannah Montana and CNN.

            It comes back to the old adage of yelling boner!—I mean fire!—in a crowded theater.  Free speech and a free media means that we use them responsibly. My grandkids don’t need to know about erectile dysfunction right now.  They just want to see the next episide of SpongeBob SquarePants—as soon as they get the remote away from me. It shouldn’t be too hard because I’ll be falling asleep.  Just thinking about those bathtubs makes me tired.