Here’s a little humour for all of you the next time you deal with a professional photographer. Chances are, you’ve probably asked one of these questions (or several). One thing I can tell you, from personal experience, a lot of people try to tell professional photographers what to do. Try to let photographers do their job.
Hey, Photographer, can you do this…?
February 8, 2012 By Leave a Comment
The most important but forgotten question in marketing
February 7, 2012 By Leave a Comment
A marketing or communications plan can be like an octopus. There can be lots of tentacles going in many different directions. You jot down notes. You hash out ideas. And you go around and around in meetings that never seem to end.
Almost everyone talks about the first necessary component of marketing anything, be it a product, service or event. That component, of course, would be: Who is the intended target audience?
But here’s the question that is often forgotten when developing any marketing or communication plan: “For us to call this a success, what results are needed?”
Watch those files sizes! (Some of your audience may be on dialup)
January 19, 2012 By Leave a Comment
If you are an organization or small business based in a rural area here’s a dose of reality: some of your audience may be on dialup Internet. Yes, as prehistoric as that may seem, dialup still exists today. Just take a drive out into the country and ask. There’s a lot of pain out there when a big file takes forever to download on someone’s email.
A new hyper-local startup that’s designed to make a difference for small businesses in community where I live
December 30, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Giving back is something that many of us hold in high regard today. In the communications business, especially when you’re based in a rural community, you hear many stories from small businesses. Many of these stories are the same: the same old traditional marketing approaches aren’t working any more. The other dilemma? Marketing budgets are limited. So, what do you do?
Simple communications failures that can hurt your small business
December 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment
The other day I decided to surf the web and call around to inquire about dinner reservations for New Year’s Eve. A few things immediately stood out. Some restaurants have let their communications efforts fall way, way by the wayside.
Oh please, I beg you, don’t write festive blog headlines like these about communications
December 4, 2011 By Leave a Comment
I promise. I promise. No ‘Tis the season headlines here. That’s one headline in particular that makes me cringe. Yet, it is used over and over again in traditional media news headlines, and in marketing promotions at this time of year.
Something else happens with ridiculous headlines at Christmastime among many communications bloggers. Call it the dreaded ho ho horrible run on headlines that are designed to capitalize on the festive season. Maybe you read the articles beneath the headlines. I rarely do.
Here’s a top-10 list of potential headlines that will make me race for the bowl of spiked eggnog this Christmas:
(If you search hard enough, you will find headlines like these by public relations bloggers and communications pros this season!)
Communications lessons from the greeting cards aisle
December 1, 2011 By Leave a Comment
If you’re ever in a rut about creating messaging, head to the greeting card aisle in your favourite pharmacy or department store. There’s inspiration galore. And plenty of humour too.
Here are five communications lessons to be learned from greeting cards:
Ad design: 5 reasons not to put your design in the hands of newspapers
November 20, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Many businesses today continue to let newspapers handle the design of their ads. It’s seen as the easy way. Buy ad space. Have the newspaper design the ad.
But the results often speak for themselves today, especially in small to medium markets.
You can easily tell which businesses and organizations have put their ad design in the hands of professional designers, rather than letting a newspaper take care of the design. The difference in quality is noticeable.
5 ways to tick off a reporter right from the get-go
November 15, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Planning to telephone a reporter? Here are 5 opening lines to avoid (unless your plan is to be like a pit bull from the beginning!):
1. It must’ve been a slow news day! This one really raises the hairs on any reporter’s neck. There are very few “slow” news days. Most reporters or editors put potential stories through a vigorous analysis before they are tackled. If anything, dramatic staff cutbacks are seriously impacting how much a newsroom can cover on any one day.
5 ways Fido pooped on its dog contest through bad communications
November 12, 2011 By 4 Comments
It started out as a great idea by cellphone company Fido. Hold a contest to select a dog to appear in its advertisements. But weeks after the contest began, Fido found itself literally buried in complaints one morning by barking entrants. And we don’t mean the dogs.
With less than a week before the contest deadline, Fido disqualified hundreds and hundreds of dogs without notice. “It was blatantly the case that some people were voting multiple times for the same dog” in violation of the contest rules which limits daily voting, a spokesperson told the Montreal Gazette.
