Doodling your way to success?

Back in high school history class, I had a friend who had a unique way of taking notes.


Rather than write down in words the salient points made by the teacher, Joe would sketch the images those words formed in his head.


His notebook was filled with illustrations of famous people voicing famous quotes or famous warriors doing battle with famous opponents. It was his way of having the information resonate more vibrantly and, therefore, more concretely for a longer lasting impact.


Turns out Joe may have been on to something that in current times the business world has discovered as a means of explaining complicated ideas. And to "help generate ideas, fuel collaboration and simplify communication."


Welcome to the Summer Solstice edition of Not Your Usual Marketing Tips from JDK Marketing Communications Management.


Most of you know that, in addition to copy writing in the marketing "game," I also comprise my professional time as a caricature artist. Happily, my ability to draw has served me well when brainstorming rough ideas on the proverbial napkin over coffee with a client, prospect or colleague.


I recently came across this online article in the Wall Street Journal that appealed not only to my creative bent, but my artistic capabilities.


In "Doodling for Dollars," author Rachel Silverman writes," Put down that smart phone; pick up that crayon," as firms are trying to get their "gadget-obsessed workers to look up...and sketch ideas.


"Doodling proponents say it can help generate ideas, fuel collaboration and simplify communication. It can be especially helpful among global colleagues who don't share a common first language. Putting pen to paper also is seen as an antidote to the pervasiveness of digital culture, getting workers to look up from their devices. And studies show it can help workers retain more information.


"Even with advanced gadgets such as smart phones and tablets, 'the hand is the easiest way to get something down,' says Everett Katigbak, a communication designer at Facebook. Most of the walls at the company's offices around the country have been coated with dry-erase or chalkboard paint or a treatment for glass to allow employees to sketch ideas whenever they arise. The company's offices are filled with jottings, from mathematical equations to doodles of cats and dollar signs.


"A 2009 study published in the journal Applied Cognitive Psychology found that doodlers retained more than non-doodlers when remembering information that had been presented in a boring context, such as a meeting or conference call. The logic, according to Jackie Andrade, a psychology professor at the University of Plymouth in England, is that doodling takes up just enough cognitive energy to prevent the mind from daydreaming.


"HomeAway, an Austin, Texas, vacation-rental company, hired a graphic facilitator to help train a dozen employees—including senior managers and training and human-resources staff—to use visual shorthand and sketching to help guide meetings, says Lori Knowlton, the company's vice president of human resources. The aim was to better 'capture ideas using images,' she says. Plus, it is more fun than 'being surrounded by spreadsheets and emails.'


"The company also brought in graphic recorder Sunni Brown to help sketch, in real time, what was discussed at a large company meeting on HomeAway's strategy. The resulting cartoonlike image, which serves as the meeting's minutes, hangs framed at the company's headquarters."

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So, does it pay to doodle? Draw your own conclusions.


(I couldn't resist.)


See you again the first Tuesday of next month for another broad brush stroke of Not Your Usual Marketing Tips.


Joel Kweskin


http://www.jdkmarketing.biz/
joel@jdkmarketing.biz
704.846.4835 office
704.575.8850 mobile
Facebook, LinkedIn,
NAWP. Visit Charlotte

How to handle "Open Mouth, Insert Foot"

It's Baseball season. Which can only mean Ozzie Guillen popping his mouth off again. Such as he did last month, when the Miami Marlins' new manager (he had a previous stint leading my charges, the White Sox, to a World Series title in 2005) shared his thoughts with Time Magazine on the admirable tenure and legacy of Fidel Castro.

Now, I happen to like Ozzie and, frankly, never minded his "shoot-from-the-lip" philosophy in general terms. However, here he is now in Miami and, well, Miami is home to nearly 800,000 Cuban descendents and refugees. Who are happy to be in Miami and not in Cuba because of, guess who, Fidel Castro.

Welcome to the May edition of Not Your Usual Marketing Tips from JDK Marketing Communications Management.

Marlins ownership and executive management immediately went into crisis management mode, suspending Guillen while encouraging him to offer a public apology, which he did.

(Just a few days ago, the Detroit Tigers' Delmon Young -- a problem child to begin with -- was arrested outside the New York hotel his visiting team was staying at, for having gotten into an oral altercation with tourists and a panhandler by hurling anti-semitic epithets at the latter. The Tigers have put Young on the Restricted List, which prohibits him from playing for the foreseeable future.)

Now, it's not likely that you will have loose cannon ballplayers to deal with. However, in our media-omniscient and litigious society, pretty much anything can happen at any time.

Even to you and your company.

So, how to deal with it...and how to prepare for it?

At JDK Marketing Communications Management, we do publicity, which is a component of the wider-ranging realm of public relations. Another component is crisis management.

I invited friend and colleague Dianne Chase to offer her take on the subject.

Dianne is President of Chase Media, a boutique media and public relations business, and Senior Partner at C4CS, LLC; responsible for development, and instruction in crisis communication, planning and management; message development, issues management, and presentation and interviewing skills training for corporate and government clients. Additionally, she has an extensive career in broadcast journalism; you can hear her anchor the news, weekends on WBT-AM 1110. Reach her at Dianne@chasemedia.us

Here are her (edited) thoughts:

1. Plan ahead and be prepared


A successful response to a business crisis typically demands making and effectively communicating far-reaching and emotionally difficult decisions while under pressure and perhaps lacking complete or fully accurate information. Proper crisis preparedness planning therefore inevitably calls for putting the necessary organizational structure, processes and tools in place before a crisis hits.


2. Maintain ongoing stakeholder dialogue


You have a much greater chance of achieving your communication objectives if there is already an ongoing and constructive dialogue with your stakeholders long before a crisis occurs. In-depth stakeholder analysis is a prerequisite for compelling and targeted stakeholder communication. Utilize automated Internet and intranet monitoring to identify and better understand stakeholder needs and customize your external and internal crisis communication accordingly. If employees are used to regular internal communication through certain channels, the same channels should also play a role in communicating with employees in times of crisis.

3. Talk to employees first


Whenever possible, internal crisis communication should precede external crisis communication. It is vital employees don’t hear negative crisis-related news from outside sources first, as it may alienate them and hinder the successful crisis response and recovery. Engaging in an honest dialogue with as many employees as possible also fosters better understanding and employee support for possibly unpopular yet necessary steps company leadership may have to take to manage the crisis and secure the future of the business.


4. Eradicate uncertainty


Ask yourself these questions before communicating with employees during a crisis:


• What is the desired outcome of the communication? [objective]


• What will be communicated? [message]


• Who will initiate the communication? [sender]


• Which groups of employees will be communicated with? [recipient]


• How and / or where is the communication going to happen? [channel and / or venue]


• When will the communication take place? [timeline]


• Address the following questions immediately after communicating with employees during a crisis and also as part of the post-crisis evaluation and ongoing crisis preparedness planning:


• Was the communication objective met? [evaluation]


• How can we do better? [optimization]


5. Tackle employees’ questions


Employees’ questions and concerns should be anticipated, identified and responded to on an ongoing basis. Because employees’ trust in management’s ability to handle the crisis is crucial, even those questions and concerns that seem unimportant or inconvenient should be addressed. Especially in cases where the company may be responsible for any harm to employees and their loved ones, consider communicating regret and empathy as well as a clear explanation of the steps the company is taking to deal with the situation and to prevent recurrences.

6. Create communication allies


Don’t forget that employees have a vested interest in working with management to prevail over the crisis – many are eager to put in extra time and effort to turn the ship around. Guide employees in their effort to speak up for the company. Empowering employees to take charge in times of crisis creates valuable communication allies who reinforce messages internally and also carry them into the community.


7. Be consistent in messaging


With the goal of coherent messages and simultaneous communication in mind, many companies implement a one-voice-policy: It means only appropriately trained and designated employees, who are electronically linked with senior management and one another, may act as company spokespersons. A disgruntled employee talking to the media may, however, pose a much more serious risk. Not only would this behavior sabotage the company’s one-voice-policy, but it may also threaten the entire crisis response. So be sensitive to employees’ needs and keep them informed and involved, while reiterating the company’s communication policies.


8. Convince leaders on feedback


Use the following three arguments if you need to convince senior managers of the value of employee feedback:


• Employee feedback allows you to track whether messages have reached the intended groups of employees and achieved the desired results.


• It enables you not only to track employees’ opinions, perceptions, and expectations, but also may reveal what colleagues and external stakeholders are saying to employees.


• Most importantly, employee feedback often contains valuable information and suggestions for minimizing damage, seizing opportunities and preventing future crises.


9. Involve senior management

Business crises can cause immense pressure and uneasiness for employees and their loved ones. In order to prevent debilitating rumors, false information and panic senior management must be actively involved in providing distressed employees and managers with relevant information, guidance and motivation. Aside from communicating with employees through traditional channels such as group meetings and employee newsletters, intranet-based crisis blogs are becoming increasingly popular. Blogs are an excellent listening tool and allow companies to establish rapport with external and internal stakeholders who are eager to comment on company positions and deeds. Blogs can easily be updated during a crisis, they enable instant and unfiltered two-way communication with stakeholders around the globe, and create a public record of opinions and related facts that helps to control rumors and speculation.


10. Consider external assistance


If you don’t have the necessary theoretical knowledge or crisis communication experience, consider retaining qualified external consultants. They can assist in boosting the company’s crisis readiness as well as its ability to effectively respond to and quickly recover from business crises.


Effective employee communication is a crucial component of any comprehensive crisis management strategy and indispensable to minimizing crisis-related damage and converting resulting organizational change into competitive advantages.



Join us again the first Tuesday of next month as we hope to present another crisis-free edition of Not Your Usual Marketing Tips.


Joel Kweskin

http://www.jdkmarketing.biz/
joel@jdkmarketing.biz
704.846.4835 office
704.575.8850 mobile
Facebook, LinkedIn, Plaxo
NAWP. Visit Charlotte

How many flavors do you have?

Quick -- Name the very first round chocolate cookie sandwich with vanilla cream icing in the middle. If you said Oreo, you'd be...wrong.

Hydrox cookies were introduced in 1908; four years later, Oreos came along. And an iconic American institution was born.

(Johnny-come-latelys, take note: there's opportunity for success yet.)

Welcome to the April edition of Not Your Usual Marketing tips from JDK Marketing Communications Management.

Oreo cookies celebrated their 100th birthday last month. In honor of the occasion, parent company Nabisco has debuted a limited edition Oreo flavor: Birthday Cake Oreos. The cookies look like standard Oreos, except the white frosting has flecks of rainbow sprinkles inside.

I was reminded of a piece I did on this product a few years back; here it us, updated. To account for still more Oreo flavors that have come along in the interim:

I was in the grocery store the other day and noticed the Oreo cookies. Only it wasn’t “just” Oreo cookies.

Sure, there were the “original” Oreo cookies that we all know and love. But, in separate packaging, there were also: Oreo Double-Stuff; Reduced Fat Oreo; Mint n’ Crème Oreo; Peppermint Oreo; Mini Oreo; Chocolate Crème Oreo -- whew, let me catch my breath here -- Golden Oreo Original; Fudge Covered Oreo; White Fudge Oreo; Fudge Mint Covered Oreo; Golden Oreo Chocolate Crème; Banana Split Oreo; Oreo Thin Crisps; and, not to be outdone, Double Delight Oreo Peanut Butter & Chocolate. And then, of course, in October, there's Halloween (colored) Oreo and Candy Cane Oreo at Christmas.

(I'm still waiting for Potato Latke Oreo for Hanukkah...)

Now why would arguably this nation’s most popular cookie product come up with all these different variations on an otherwise successful approach?

Because they want to either answer demand anticipate demand or create demand? Because they don’t want to get into a marketplace rut? Because they want to “keep things fresh?” Because they want to challenge themselves? Because they want to stay ahead of the cookie curve? Because with each new product introduction, they become top of mind? Again..?

The parallel to be drawn here presumes to ask the question, what are you doing to “diversify” yourself? Nothing wrong with staying just as you are. “Stick with whomever brought you to the dance,” goes the old saying. But in these volatile times of strong and plentiful competition for what we do for a living, it may behoove us to reach into the old tool box, metaphorically speaking, and see what else we can do to add to our equipment as we build upon our own “product.”

For example, among the products at JDK Marketing Communications Management is a service to help adoption parents create profiles on themselves. This helps promote their eligibility as parents-to-be candidates to the original birth mother in order for her to decide which family she would select to ultimately parent her child. It’s a fascinating, and touching, process that few people outside of adoption circles know about. I certainly didn’t until a friend of mine in the industry was thoughtful enough to “clue me in.” Helene Nathanson heads a home study agency, created to help North Carolina families with pre- and post-adoption requirements:

http://nathansonadopt.com/

It’s another way JDK Marketing Communications seeks to keep our fingers in an ever-growing pie -- or cookie -- of marketing diversity.

We’ll talk to you again the first Tuesday of next month, for another dunked-in-milk edition of Not Your Usual Marketing Tips.

Joel Kweskin
LinkedIn, Facebook,
Visit Charlotte

Wee Willie Keeler, Marketer

Jonathan Schwartz is a deejay back in New York (and on Sirius XM radio) who, every Super Bowl Sunday, addresses the Big Game by devoting his show to...Baseball.


He's a huge fan -- particularly of the Red Sox, which, in New York, is literally taking your life in your hands.

But I like his maverick approach. And so, because I too am a huge fan of the descendant of the old English game of Rounders, I thought I'd fly in the face of March Madness roundball. And, instead, acknowledge the March Madness that is...Spring Training.

Welcome to the "Get-yer-ice-cold-Ballantine" edition of Not Your Usual Marketing Tips from JDK Marketing Communications Management.

This at-bat has appeared in previous volumes; here's a replay:


Jacques Barzun, a French-born American historian of ideas and culture, once famously said "Whoever wants to know the heart and mind of America had better learn baseball..."

And along with it, some lessons we can apply to, yes, marketing.

There was a baseball player around the turn of the century -- at 5'4" the shortest ever to play the game -- named Wee Willie Keeler. Click here: Willie Keeler - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Known for perfecting the "Baltimore Chop," whenever Willie stepped to the plate the chant would ring out, “Hit’em where they ain’t!”

The meaning was simplistically clear: hit the ball where the fielders weren't positioned, to improve the chances for getting a base hit.

What if, metaphorically speaking, you could “hit” your target markets…where your competition “ain’t?”

Most businesses – however small or large – tend to market themselves through the standard avenues…the local newspaper, the local weekly, radio, TV, et al. And buckshot mailings to one’s database of clients, colleagues and friends. (And now, of course, through various forms of social media.) Chances are that your industry counterparts are doing mostly that same thing.

Maybe the next time you’re “at bat,” consider going – pardon the pun – farther afield. That is, think about hitting those markets not just among your primary audience but also to the outer periphery of your spheres of influence.

¶A CPA, for instance – whose services are needed by virtually everyone – can make herself the go-to professional with the local remodelers trade association.

¶A chiropractor might consider offering internal clinics to the staffs of Home Depot or Lowe's (think of all the lifting, stretching and bending those folks go through).

¶An etiquette consultant might consider aligning with a business or life coach to offer services to further their clients' business growth and social success.

¶A sometime caricature artist might join a wedding and event planners organization to be their unique source of party entertainment. (Hey wait a minute, that's me..!)

For that matter, maybe there’s a hobby you have, or a weekend passion you love, that can be parlayed into a business opportunity -- by providing your services to fellow aficionados. Do these enthusiasts have associations? Do they have meetings? Do they have means, i.e. literature or promotional materials, by which they communicate with one another…and in which you can contribute an ad or, better yet, an informative article?

Again, something that perhaps your competition hasn't customarily done...

Next time you grab that metaphorical bat and stand in the box…you may want to think outside of it every now and then. And hit’em where they -- your competition -- likely ain’t.

By the way, did you know that, after "Happy Birthday," the second most sung ditty among Americans is..."Take Me Out to The Ballgame?"

See you again the first Tuesday of next month, with another Moneyball edition of Not Your Usual Marketing Tips.

Joel Kweskin
http://www.jdkmarketing.biz/
joel@jdkmarketing.biz
704.846.4835 office
704.575.8850 mobile
Facebook, LinkedIn, Plaxo
NAWP. Visit Charlotte

Stupor Bowl

I, as did 114 million other viewers, watched the Super Bowl the other night.


I, as did 114 million other viewers, watched the commercials in rapt attention. In fact, I was loathe to go to either the kitchen or the loo, not for fear of missing the actions of Eli Manning and Tom Brady but the actions of Jerry Seinfeld and Matthew Broderick. Et al.

When I did manage to view the latter two, along with Jay Leno and Elton John and Rickey Gervais and Clint Eastwood and Danica Patrick and Jillian Michaels and Flavor Flav...(yawn)...I was reminded of the old Peggy Lee song (to drop yet another name), "Is that all there is?"

Welcome to another edition of Not Your Usual Marketing Tips from JDK Marketing Communications Management.

All I can say is, I wish when I worked as a copywriter at both New York and Charlotte ad agencies, I had the seemingly carte blanche expense account to suggest to my creative directors that, "Here's my concept -- all it needs to work is for you to get Betty White..."

This isn't just sour grapes on my part. (Well, maybe just a little...) The extravagance of some of these spots was cancelled out by the head-scratching query: "Okay...but what was the product? Who was the advertiser? Other than to entertain, what was the point? Especially if I can't even remember what they were trying to sell..."

Many of these spots were so intent on being over the top that, in my estimation, they ended up falling flat on their fiscally fatuous faces.

Where was the focus, I might additionally ask.

Most of us won't ever have the privilege or pleasure of promoting our businesses on television. But many of us might advertise in print, or on the web. Which can actually be tougher, less forgiving mediums because your audience is likely to rush through the pages to continue with their content reading.

Unless you’re doing a catalogue with umpteen items to sell, your best bet is to focus on one main service or product. Not that you shouldn’t mention that you have more than one commodity to offer (best rendered in a web site), but in the short space – not to mention time – in which your audience is flipping pages, on paper or online, your ad has to get at the crux of what you do. Simply. And quickly.

I attended a seminar once where an ad guru brought a couple of props to the podium. One was a small square platform with neat rows of sharp points sticking up. The other was a similar square platform, but with one sharp point sticking up (as in the old fashioned kind of retail receipts “holder”).

He took a single sheet of paper and tried impaling it first through the rows of points. Though it created minor little “impressions,” the sheet would not cut through; it remained on top of the sharp points. When he took the same sheet and forced it over the single sharp point, however, guess what happened?

The single, “focused message” broke through, while the “many-messaged” sheet -- or in the case of the Super Bowl spots, many layered visuals or with multiple celebrities -- hardly made a dent.

And now you get the...you-know-what.

So take that, John Stamos, Donald Trump and Deion Sanders.

Whatever it was you were selling.

See you again the first Tuesday of next month for another prime-time presentation of Not Your Usual Marketing Tips.



Joel Kweskin

http://www.jdkmarketing.biz/
joel@jdkmarketing.biz
704.846.4835 office
704.575.8850 mobile
Facebook, LinkedIn, Plaxo,
NAWP, Visit Charlotte

Resolute About Resolutions

Volume 10, Number 1.

A new year for us all, and the tenth year of my musings on the general subject of marketing communications and its many permutations.

Each January, it's been our tradition to offer up 12 resolutions -- one corresponding to each month -- for the New Year. For those of you who missed it last year, here we go again. For those of you who read it last year...here we go again.

Welcome to the Let's-Hope-The-Mayans-Are-Wrong Opus of Not Your Usual Marketing Tips from JDK Marketing Communications Management.

Here are 12 initiatives you can apply to your marketing plan this new year.

In no particular order:

1. Guerilla Marketing: Think outside the box for ways to promote yourself. There are rules…and sometimes they're made to be broken.

2. Networking: Don't just focus on the standard business networking group. Look into joining associations, fraternal organizations, MeetUps, groups comprising fellow hobbyists, etc. That means getting more active in the social media milieu, as well, i.e. Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, et al.

3. Publicity: You're probably too close to see the forest for the trees. In other words, just because you may think you have nothing new to tell the world...doesn't mean you don't.

4. Volunteer Programs: Join an organization to help a favored cause. It's good networking, along with it being "good works."

5. Seminars: You think you know it all? Heck, maybe you do – at least as far as certain audiences are concerned, and the new business development opportunities they might provide for you.

6. Newsletters: Share your ideas, broaden your constituency by sending out industry-relevant information either as hard copy…or as an e-zine (such as what you’re presently reading).

7. Trade Shows: Go to them, be in them, network within them, write a program article for them, propose to give a seminar at them.

8. Event Marketing: Sponsor a cause, host an Open House; it’s good P.R. by “socializing” your business.

9. The Newspaper: Remember that old-fashioned medium? For business ideas, for client contact opportunities, for ways to promote yourself through Letters to the Editor...simply to stay topical...don’t just rely on the 11:00 PM news. Read the newspaper.

10. Greeting Cards: It doesn’t have to be Christmas to send them to clients, prospects, colleagues, friends. Stay top of mind year-round, with Valentine’s Day, July 4th, Arbor Day – whatever! – as your "excuse."

11. Postcards: Along with greeting cards, postcards are a fast, convenient, economical way to let people know about what's new with your business (think Realtors and Financial Advisor).

12. Re-tool Your Website: updated info, add new pictures, introduce a video, sponsor a contest.

Have a happy, healthy and prosperous 2012. Hope to catch you again the first Tuesday of next month with another perspective during our 10th Anniversary year.

(And if you want to buy me something, it should be in tin...)

Joel Kweskin

http://www.jdkmarketing.biz/
joel@jdkmarketing.biz
704.846.4835 office
704.575.8850 mobile
Facebook, LinkedIn, Plaxo,
NAWP, Visit Charlotte

Love-ing the Holidays

The holidays are a time for gift giving and good cheer.

And so I thought I'd use the auspices of this column to step away from its customary charge to educate and inspire on matters marketing -- how presumptuous of me to begin with -- and, while lacking in gifts for you, at least spread some of that good cheer.

Welcome to the Winter Solstice edition of Not Your Usual Marketing Tips from JDK Marketing Communications Management.

Not wishing to come across as too treacly, I am still sufficiently bitten by the Holiday bug to where I'd like to put forth some thoughts on one particular kind of "gift."

This is lifted from a column that appeared in this space about five years ago. Enjoy:

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What does Love mean?

A group of professional people posed this question to a group of four-to-eight-year-olds. The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined. See what you think:

"When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth."
Billy, age 4

"Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other."
Karl, age 5

"Love is what makes you smile when you're tired."
Terri, age 4

Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen."
Bobby, age 7

"If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate."
Nikka, age 6

"Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well."
Tommy, age 6

"During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling. He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore."
Cindy, age 8

"My mommy loves me more than anybody. You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night."
Clare, age 6

"Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day."
Mary Ann, age 4

"When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you."
Karen, age 7

"You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget."
Jessica, age 8

Finally, author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia recalls a contest he was asked to judge, the purpose of which was to find "the most caring child."

The winner was a four year old whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife.

Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there.

When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said, "Nothing, I just helped him cry."

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On second thought, maybe there was a gift or two in there...

Happy Holidays, and a prosperous and healthy New Year to you and yours.

Joel Kweskin

http://www.jdkmarketing.biz/
joel@jdkmarketing.biz
704.846.4835 office
704.575.8850 mobile
Facebook, LinkedIn, Plaxo,
NAWP, Visit Charlotte