Falling victim to this #1 pitfall is the business, non-profit,
government agency and association manager who fails
to achieve the best that public relations has to offer.
And that’s because he or she is preoccupied with simple
communications tactics like press releases, broadcast
plugs, special events and brochures.

So severe is the preoccupation with PR tactics that such
a manager actually fails to do something really positive
about the behaviors of those important outside audiences
that most affect his or her operation.

And if that is not alarming enough, he/she then compounds
matters by overlooking the creation of stakeholder
behavior CHANGE that leads directly to achieving their
managerial objectives.

The sad result is that such managers fail both to persuade
those key outside folks to their way of thinking, AND to
move them to take actions that allow their department,
division, group or subsidiary to succeed.

Now that really IS public relation’s biggest pitfall!

But it needn’t be that way when managers base their
public relations planning on its underlying premise:
People act on their own perception of the facts before
them, which leads to predictable behaviors about which
something can be done. When we create, change or
reinforce that opinion by reaching, persuading and
moving-to-desired-action the very people whose
behaviors affect the organization the most, the public
relations mission is usually accomplished.

Implicit in that premise is this reality: public relations
planning really CAN alter individual perception and
result in changed behaviors among key outside
audiences. But you’ll only get there when your PR
demands more than special events, news releases,
and brochures. Only then will you receive the quality
public relations results you deserve.

But what kind of results? Here are a few: new prospects
actually start to do business with you; welcome bounces
in show room visits occur; community leaders begin to
seek you out; new proposals for strategic alliances and
joint ventures start showing up; politicians and legislators
begin looking at you as a key member of the business,
non-profit or association communities; customers begin
to make repeat purchases; capital givers or specifying
sources begin to look your way; or membership
applications start to rise.

Because they’re already in the perception and behavior
business, look first to your public relations professionals
for your new opinion monitoring project. But be certain
that the PR staff really accepts why it’s SO important
to know how your most important outside audiences
perceive your operations, products or services.
Essentially, be sure they believe that perceptions almost
always result in behaviors that can help or hurt your
operation.

Spend a period of time with them going over your plans
for monitoring and gathering perceptions by questioning
members of your most important outside audiences.
Ask questions like these: how much do you know
about our organization? Have you had prior contact
with us and were you pleased with the interchange?
Are you familiar with our services or products and
employees? Have you experienced problems with our
people or procedures?

The use of professional survey firms to do the
opinion gathering work can run up your costs way
beyond the expense of using those PR folks of
yours in that monitoring capacity. But whether
it’s your people or a survey firm asking the
questions, the objective remains the same: identify
untruths, false assumptions, unfounded rumors,
inaccuracies, misconceptions and any other negative
perception that might translate into hurtful behaviors.

Of course no program succeeds without a clearcut,
realistic goal. And it must be a goal calling for action
on the most serious problem areas you uncovered
during your key audience perception monitoring.
You might decide to stop that potentially painful
rumor cold. Or straighten out that dangerous
misconception? Or correct that gross inaccuracy?

The reality is that you cannot set your PR goal
without linking it to an equally specific strategy
that tells you how to get there. Fact is, you have
just three strategic options available to you when
it comes to doing something about perception and
opinion. Change existing perception, create
perception where there may be none, or reinforce
it. The wrong strategy pick will taste like Crme
Brulee on your Kosher pickles. So be sure your
new strategy fits well with your new public
relations goal. You certainly don’t want to select
“change” when the facts dictate a strategy of
reinforcement.

Good writing, of course, is a core aptitude for
public relations people. And sure enough, here,
the best writer on your team will have to prepare
a persuasive message that will help move your
key audience to your way of thinking. It must be
a carefully-written message targeted directly at
your key external audience. Select that best
writer because s/he must come up with really
corrective language that is not merely compelling,
persuasive and believable, but clear and factual if
they are to shift perception/opinion towards your
point of view and lead to the behaviors you have
in mind.

Now we move to what some practitioners feel
comprise the “fun” part of PR action programming
- the communications tactics most likely to carry
your message to the attention of your target
audience. There are many available. From speeches,
facility tours, emails and brochures to consumer
briefings, media interviews, newsletters, personal
meetings and many others. But be certain that the
tactics you pick are known to reach folks just like
your audience members.

As you probably know, the “believability” of any
message is fragile and always suspect. The means
by which you communicate should always be a
concern. Which is why you may wish to unveil your
corrective message before smaller meetings through
presentations rather than using higher-profile news
releases.

You must take suggestions for progress reports as
a cue to begin a second perception monitoring
session with members of your external audience.
You’ll want to use many of the same questions
used in the benchmark session. But now, you will
be on strict alert for signs that the bad news
perception is being altered in your direction.

Because any action program can suffer slowdown
periods, please be aware that you can always speed
things up by adding more communications tactics
as well as increasing their frequencies.

Above all, do keep your eye on the core of this
approach to public relations. Namely, persuade your
most important outside audiences with the greatest
impacts on your organization to your way of thinking.
Then move them to take actions that help your
department, group, division or subsidiary prevail.

Please feel free to publish this article and resource box
in your ezine, newsletter, offline publication or website.
A copy would be appreciated at bobkelly@TNI.net.
Word count is 1215 including guidelines and resource box.
Robert A. Kelly © 2006

Bob Kelly counsels and writes for business, non-profit and
association managers about using the fundamental premise of public
relations to achieve their operating objectives. He has published over
200 articles on the subject which are listed at EzineArticles.com, click
Expert Author, click Robert A. Kelly. He has been DPR, Pepsi-Cola
Co.; AGM-PR, Texaco Inc.; VP-PR, Olin Corp.; VP-PR, Newport
News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.; director of communications, U.S.
Department of the Interior, and deputy assistant press secretary, The
White House. He holds a bachelor of science degree from Columbia
University, major in public relations.
mailto:bobkelly@TNI.net Visit:http://www.PRCommentary.com

In a sense, the entrance to SFGT is a window into the person who
leads the company, Dudley Fitzpatrick, CEO. Open the big front
door of the old town house on Walnut Street and the first thing
you notice is three old stone steps. Couldn’t they afford new
steps? Then you see the second door. It’s all glass and through
it you see the modern reception room, the classic furniture, the
attractive receptionist and the small oriental rug in the center
of the beautiful wood floor. “I get it,” you think to yourself.

When you meet Dudley and chat with him, you really get it. He’s
a traditionalist, like the steps and the beams on the ceiling.
He’s confident and assertive, like the stately furniture and the
offices themselves. He’s tasteful, like the oriental rug and
like the conference room on the fifth floor. You go there for
the interview after a trip on the modern elevator.

And Dudley’s a trip.

This is a man who knows where he’s going, who wants to do it the
right way, who has strong feelings about his beloved business.
Notice that I didn’t say “his beloved advertising business.” He
has different views about that way of looking at the business of
marketing and advertising.

Life and career are quite different than he would have
anticipated when he graduated from Miami University in Ohio. He
got a degree in Mass Communication even though he says he went
there primarily “to play hockey.” While there, he discovered
that “movies were more fun” and decided that he would like to
write movies. Off to New York, he “bummed around for over two
years” trying to connect in the film business and finally had to
get a steady job.

He decided to settle for “30 second movies” and he landed a job
in the creative department of one of New York’s biggest
agencies, now known as Ammirati Puris Lintas. There, he worked
exclusively on television and participated in network spots for
Heineken, Diet Coke, Lysol and Mennen.

The agency was account-service dominated which influenced his
firm belief that “strategy and creative are really the same
thing.” That is an idea which continues to drive his work and
the agency’s intentions.

While in New York, he was recruited to a Los Angeles agency,
Dancer Fitzgerald-Sample. He took the job and became their
youngest ever vice president but he admits that he probably took
it because making movies still had some intrigue for him. At
D-F, he worked on their efforts to get accounts to supplement
their Toyota business. The agency landed Pioneer Electronics
which became one of his proudest successes. His campaign, “Catch
The Spirit of a True Pioneer,” led Pioneer to great success.

Dudley created and produced the first music-video commercial in
the industry for his client, Pioneer. It was a takeoff on West
Side Story. Because it reflected the social realities of that
era, it was selected to be part of the permanent collection of
the Smithsonian’s Cultural Mores Section.

Both Dudley and his wife, Tanice, were raised in New Jersey.
They live there now, in Pennington, with their three children:
Aubrey, Drew and Tess. The two older children go to The
Lawrenceville School, Dudley’s alma mater. The proximity to New
Jersey was one of the reasons he responded to an opportunity at
Lewis Gilman and Kynett (now Tierney Communications.)

He was very impressed by the quality of LG&K’s work. As vice
president and group creative director, he participated in what
he calls their “glory years” but was one of the victims of one
of their many top management changes.

He and a good friend at LGK, Bob Schell, were both let go with
quite limited severance. Fortuitously, they were contacted by
Herr’s Potato Chips which offered them the account if they
wanted to start an agency. That was in 1992, the beginning of
what is now SFGT. Herr’s was with them for 12 productive years.
Today, the agency has 30 people and serves eight accounts.
Interestingly, two of their accounts, Tylenol and Sunoco, are
deeply involved in NASCAR racing.

Dudley feels that their work with NASCAR is one example of why
he prefers not to be thought of as a traditional advertising
agency. He insists that the agencies which rely primarily on
“advertising” for success are on the wrong track. His vision
calls for an agency which is deeply involved in all aspects of a
client’s marketing communications activities. For SFGT’s
clients, NACAR is one (important) ingredient in all-inclusive
programs for the clients’ core consumer markets, for clients’
public relations focus and for clients’ employee pride.

When asked about the account he is most proud of, he winces and
reminds me that he’s proud of every account. Prodded, he
volunteers that he is particularly proud of the work SFGT did
for the opening of the Constitution Center. His feelings of
patriotism seem to be reflected in the positioning they created
for the Center, “The Freedom To Be You. It All Starts With The
Constitution.”

Oddly, he says that the “dumbest” and the “smartest” things he
ever did in business are actually the same thing. “The smartest
thing I ever did was to surround myself with my two partners:
Sarah Lenhard, Managing Director and head of Account Service and
Dan Reeves, Managing Director and Executive Creative Director.”
The dumbest thing? “Not bringing them on board sooner.”

That supports his conviction that the toughest part of the ad
business is finding, hiring, nurturing and growing with good
people. He worries about that because he finds it difficult to
find candidates with outstanding talent, valuable experience and
a good cultural fit. He also worries about the possibility that
good clients may be losing confidence in agencies. He says,
“Agencies have to be emotionally able to have complete
confidence in themselves in order to be secure enough to warrant
meaningful collaboration from clients and in order to provide
optimal service.”

Dudley Fitzpatrick is confident. It’s apparent. Think about the
old stone steps leading into the agency. Sure, they could afford
something new but “old” has character and character is what he
wants to project. It’s apparent when you take the elevator to
the spiffy conference room on the fifth floor. That’s another,
positive message to visitors. It’s apparent when you hear his
straight forward answers to direct questions. Yes, Dudley
Fitzpatrick is confident about his agency, about his vision of
the business he’s in and about himself.

A trendsetter and expensive is what the ipod nano is to most people. It makes a statement that I have arrived and I appreciate technology to the fullest. To some it is just another music player to others it is the best.

Here are a few reasons why you may want one:

1. It is pencil thin and can fit into your wallet along with other paraphernalia.

2. Imagine a space of 2GB or 4 GBthis means you can store from 500-1000 songs. Pure listening pleasure.

3. The click wheel and color display take music towards new horizons—plays 14 hours of music.

4. Carries photos, pod casts, and audio books. You can navigate through many photographs using the click wheel. Photos can be transferred and synced with a folder using the itunes softwear.

5. The ipod can be accessorized using the dock connector and head phone jack. So music follows you around at home, in the car, and even while walking or running. Where ever you go the ipod will follow.

6. Its feather weight and so easy to lug around. The screen does not crack or break easily contrary to fears. However the ipod is not scratch or stain proof.

7. Synchronized with iTunes and the iTunes Music Store, the ipod can access the world’s largest selection of music.

8. The pod has a state of the art processor, system performance, and flash memory. The technology is such that it never skips.

9. The system requirements are everyday, either a MAC OS x 10.3.4 with aUSB port or Windows 2000 SP4 or windows XP.

10. Music is your whole life and pure unadulterated sound is something to die for.

Expensive, the ipod retails at US$199 for 2GB and US$249 for 4 GB. But it sets the trend and gives a vison of what music heaven can be.

Paul Wilson is a freelance writer for http://www.1888discuss.com/shopping-deal/, the premier REVENUE SHARING discussion forum for Online Shopping including topics on shopping deals, finding coupons, shopping discounts, price comparison, and more. He also freelances for the premier Cheap Shopping Deals site http://www.1866shopping.com

Let’s not beat around the bush here. We all hate popups. Every time we see one we want to head for the nearest axe and put it through our computer, or at least through the company’s web site. But why? There are many HTML functions of web sites that are equally as annoying and yet we don’t go ballistic over them. The answer is simple. Many companies use popups in a way that serve no useful purpose and are just plain annoying. The truth is, popups can actually be very useful and welcome if used properly.

One example of a well designed and very useful popup would be as follows. You are browsing through a web site and you reach a section where you want to sign up for a particular offer that requires you to enter your name and address because this is something that is actually going to be physically mailed to you. You get to the offer on the page. While you are there you notice that there are other offers you are probably interested in. You really don’t want to have to go to another page to fill out your mailing info because you want to stay on this page to look at the other offers. This is where a popup would be welcome. In clicking on the link to fill out your personal information if a popup were to appear, you could simply type the info in the popup and then after you were done and clicked the submit button, the popup closed. You would then be back at your original page and could continue on to look at more offers you were interested in. If each offer was set up this way you would never have to leave the main page. This is an example where a popup window is a wonderful thing.

Another example of where we would want a popup window, and a site that uses this technology with pure brilliance, is POGO, one of the top Internet game sites. Many of their programs require that the game be played in a popup window. But even if they didn’t, with all the games available on their main page it would become a real pain to have to keep going back to the main page after playing a game and to access another one. With the popup window you can play your game while keeping the main page open. After you are done playing your game you simply close it up and you’re back at the main page of games again quickly, ready to pick another one to play. Nobody makes better use of popup windows than POGO.

An example of poor popup use is a site, who’s name won’t be mentioned, that is a work at home site. Every link on their navigation page functions as a popup. With so many areas on this site to go to, including affiliate area, tools, jobs, personal info and tons more, you can easily end up with 7 or 8 windows open for this one site when clearly there is no need for it. In this case a simple HTML link would be sufficient to take the user to another page.

And yes, there are the companies and sales pages that insist on opening up a popup window even after you have decided you want nothing to do with their site. One sales page actually pops up a window that has an audio on it screaming at you, “Hey, this is Rod, where are you going?”. This is the ultimate in annoyance. It is because of sites like these that popups get a bad rap, which is sad because they can actually be of great use.

——————————————————-
Michael Russell
Your Independent guide to Popups
——————————————————-

People are so focused on promoting their websites on the web these days that many are overlooking the original marketing mediumthe offline world! Many tried and true methods of advertising exist for brick and mortar businesses that could just as easily be applied to online businesses. These methods have been developed over hundreds if not thousands of yearswhat cavemen used to sell I have no ideabut the point is still valid. Business promotion existed long before the internet. So what methods of marketing in the “real” world can an online business owner apply to the cyber world?

One extremely effective method is brand marketing through merchandise. Think about itbefore the web existed, how did businesses like real estate companies market their brands? One way they did it was to give stuff awaya marketing trick that is still being applied effectively today. How many pens, pencils, and magnets do you have lying around the house, stuck to the refrigerator, placed behind your earwhereverthat bear some company’s logo or name? If you have ever worked in an office environment doubtless you would have noticed several different slogans on a hodgepodge collection of pens (some that might even still work) and pencils collected over time from seminars, informational fairs, trade events, etc. Brick and mortar businesses are doing it, so why aren’t you?

If you don’t want to market your website on writing utensils or magnets you have several alternatives. Other products that work well for marketing include coffee mugs, travel-and-go cups, mouse pads, bumper stickers, key tags, and stress balls. Let’s not forget another great place to show off your websiteon your body! No, I’m not talking about taking drastic measures like tattooing your company URL on your forehead. Clothing advertisements are the name of the game. Clothing is a wonderful way to advertise your website, especially if you have a funny slogan or eye-catching logo. You can have your website address printed on hats, shirts, umbrellas, tote bags, and all sorts of wearable accessories. The best thing about advertising on clothing is that the advertisement is mobileit goes wherever you go. The next time you get dressed to go out why not wear something that promotes your business? Don’t forget that you can give away things as wellimagine a hundred walking billboards for your website!

There are plenty of companies that will apply your brands to products. The cost is cheap and the rewards can be high, so what are you waiting for? Look through your local phonebook or do an internet search for companies that print to merchandise and then go get branding!

Copyright 2005 Jon Castle

Article may be reprinted freely as long as the author bylines are included.

We are each a single drop of rain strafed by the wind to merge with other droplets and thereby form an ocean. For more unconventional home business wisdom, home business opportunities, and more please visit Jon Castle’s website http://www.AmericanHouseDad.com