My Take on Golden Globe Fashions

Disclaimer: I'm not a fashionista. My wardrobe is built around three basics: black, grey and turtlenecks. Only my fashion-forward best friend saves me from dressing too "matronly" (most of the time).

I do, however, enjoy checking out red carpet fashions and so this past Sunday, I curled up on the couch to watch the stars strut their stuff at the Golden Globes. What a disappointment.

Here's what I saw: re-purposed Christmas decorations (Angelina Jolie), a bed sheet (Natalie Portman), a deranged high school principal (Robert Downey, Jr.), drapery tassels (January Jones), my grandma's couch (Michelle Williams), Santa's toy sack (Julianne Moore) and LOTS of tragic hair (Al Pacino, Amy Adams, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Lea Michele, Robert Downey, Jr., Sandra Bullock).

My pics for best dressed?

Female -
Claire Danes with perfectly coiffed hair and a simple yet stunning gown in an unexpected, fun color.

Male -
Controversial host Ricky Gervais in a patterned three piece suit.

Multi-Beveraging

Not only am I a multi-tasker, those who know me well know that I am a multi-beverager. It doesn't often happen at work, but today was one of those days.

The Dilemma

It's been quiet on the old blog here. Did anyone miss me? ;-)

Here's my dilemma - I feel like this particular blog has been so unfocused that I'm not sure what to write about. And looking back over old posts, I feel as though I've climbed up on a soap box one too many times. I don't want to be preachy. I'm considering shutting this blog down and starting up 1-2 more focused blogs. One word be more professional and the other word be more personal.

My plan is to make a decision by the end of the week and I will let you know what I decided.

Either way, I need to write more.

Happy New Year:-)

Rainbow

I Can't Sleep

It's 1:30 a.m. and I have to get up for work in five hours. Yet here I am writing this blog post because I can't sleep.

I hurt - I have a sinus headache and "arthr" decided to visit - my right ankle, knee and hip really hurt.

My cat poked my cheek with her paw.

My other cat is attacking the window, presumably because he saw a bug outside, but with him, you never know.

My mind is busy. Before I got up to write this post, I
- came up with a goofy rap song for my godson
- wondered how behavioral targeting really works
- thought of three ideas for blog posts (besides this one)
- remembered a survey that's ready to be analyzed at work
- thought of a survey question that might be useful for work
- wondered when my office's "sharing week" is going to be this fall
- worried about my dad's declining health

Now that I've dumped this randomness on you, swallowed a couple of Advil and slurped a mug of warm milk, I'm headed back to bed - if the cats have left me any room, that is.

Wish me luck, folks. Otherwise you might be soon be seeing one of those other three blog posts I mentioned above;-)

Book Review: The Fall of Advertising & the Rise of PR

At PlayhouseSquare, my colleagues in the marketing department and I handle both advertising and publicity. I spend more of my time on publicity, so my curiosity piqued when I came across the book The Fall of Advertising & The Rise of PR, written by Al and Laura Ries and published in 2002.

Unfortunately, this book was a chore to slog through. The tone of the authors is so bitter that I suspect that one of them was humiliated by a termination from an advertising agency, or perhaps suffered a concussion at the hand of a Clio Award-wielding ex-lover.

Some of the references are so dated that I'm only familiar with the topics through anecdotes told by my parents. I can't imagine a recent college grad relating to this book. How many 20-somethings know what a Yugo is?

And then there's the litany of suggestions rejected by their clients with the not-so-subtle assertion that these clients were stupid for not listening to them.

Further, it's hard trust the assertions of authors whose foresight has proven to be less than reliable. For example, they asserted that 3G phones and Amazon would prove to be failures.

This book's coup de grace came when I was adding it to my list on goodreads.com. I mistakenly typed in "the rise of advertising" and to my surprise, up came a listing for a book entitled The Rise of Advertising & the Fall of PR, published in 2009 with a forward by Al Ries.

All this said, I did agree with some of the points made by the authors. I do believe that using PR to build a brand and advertising to maintain a brand can be the right strategy to use in many cases. But with today's fragmented communications channels, I do not believe there is a one-size-fits-all answer.

Nor do I believe that either PR or advertising is falling or rising - both are changing.

PR Lessons from "The Decision"

I'm not a basketball fan. Before last week, I'd never heard of Dwyane Wade or Chris Bosh. I followed the LeBron James announcement as a Clevelander, but mostly as a communications professional, looking to see if there were any PR lessons to learn.

Boy, were there:

1. Know your audience.
As a general rule, we Americans want our sports heroes to be confident yet humble. And though they'll get the ring, the trophy, and the glory, we want them to win for us. James made it clear that he wants to win for himself, and that just doesn't sit well.

Imagine that a company held a press conference to announce, "We're introducing the new iGadget/Wonder Drug/Clean-As-New Laundry Detergent/whatever so we can make more money." Ridiculous, right? We all know companies are in business to make money, but that's not the way to position a new product launch to consumers.

You have to know your audience, tailor your message accordingly and...

2. Choose the right medium for the message.
The one-hour ESPN special only would have worked well if James had announced his decision to stay in Cleveland. It would have further cemented his status as a hometown hero and commitment to overcome the curse on Cleveland sports. Instead, he came across as selfish.

Appropriate ways to announce his decision to leave: issue a statement or, possibly, hold a press conference in Cleveland, all the while expressing gratitude for the support of the Cavaliers fans and the opportunity given to him by the Cavaliers organization. Either of these could have been followed up with media interviews.

It's important to think carefully about how you are going to deliver your message. Does it merit a press conference? A video statement? A Facebook status update? Is it wiser to start a little smaller and follow up with something wider reaching if needed?

Consider the content and the audience you want to reach with it.

3. Protect the brand.
Up until last week, the LeBron James brand was extraordinarily talented athlete, hometown hero and classy guy. Cavs fans that I spoke with told me they felt duped; they had believed he was respectable. Over and over they repeated that it wasn't the fact that he was leaving, it was how he chose to announce his decision that cost him their respect.

Make sure each and every message is consistent with the brand.

4. Don't stoop to their level.
The way LeBron James announced his decision to go to Miami hurt all Northeast Ohioans in way that we haven't been hurt before, with the possible exception of Art Modell's removal of the Cleveland Browns to Baltimore. As much as it may feel justified, retaliation isn't the way to win in PR. Dan Gilbert's impassioned letter to Cavaliers fans and area residents would have been the perfect response minus the digs at James.

In PR, as in life, it's always better to be the bigger person.

5. Take full advantage of your opportunities.
I may be biased because I work for a not-for-profit organization, but I find myself most disappointed by the unrealized opportunity for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. Sure, they got some money and some national airtime, but James could have given them so much more.

Imagine if he had started his ESPN special like this: "Before I announce my decision, I'd like to take this opportunity to tell you about an organization that had a tremendous influence on me while I was growing up: the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. Specifics about his experience. I would not be where I am today without the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, so I am making a donation to the Clubs in each of the six cities I met with during the past few weeks, and also to the Boys & Girls Club of Akron, my hometown. I encourage everyone watching to learn more about the Boys & Girls Clubs of America by visiting bgca.org."

Maybe, just maybe, that would have softened the response to the mishandling of "The Decision" announcement.

When you have the stage, take full advantage of the opportunity to say what's most important.

Bonus quickie lessons:
Don't refer to yourself in the third person.
Don't announce your break-up in public until after you've told your significant other, your employer, your business partner, etc.
And please, don't use comic sans unless you are writing a letter to a child.