June 03, 2007
Face-to-Face is a good thing - Plan well
In a previous blog-o-rant, I noted the importance of face-to-face meetings. It's what keeps trade shows "alive" despite the advances of the Internet and keeps Jeff Pulver in the frequent flier club with multiple airlines.
A face-to-face meeting at a trade show gives you the opportunity to get your message across in a concentrated settling. You can present the party line, give reasons why the party line is valid, and (potentially) demonstrate new products -- or at least show a pretty painted empty case.
Let's emphasize CONCENTRATED. Thirty minutes or less. Preferably less, around 10-15 minutes for presentations 5-10 minutes for Q&A.
KNOW YOUR AGENDA - Too many times (due to poor prep by in-house or external PR people) I have shown up to meet with someone and they ask ME what I want to know first up. No-no-no-no... You should have a short agenda you can lay out, with pieces you can drop if I go "OK, I already know about---, let's get to the new announcements."
There's a cliche' about having three key points that you need to repeat at the beginning, the middle, and the end. If you have 5-7 key points, well, I'm not going to remember them all, and you are diluting your message...
Be brief, be to the point, and move onto the next meeting. I shouldn't be the only guy (but I'd be flattered if I was) you are meeting at a trade show. There are
People get obsessed with meeting with the Editor-In-Chief. Guess what? I only write a portion of the magazine. And I don't micromanage/assign or dictate who writers should talk to. Occasionally I'll have a discussion with a writer about what they write about, but most of the time, they're adults and they understand what they need to do without backseat driving. Making a good impression with other writers for a publication is just as important as talking to the Editor-in-Chief. Sometimes more so, cuz I'm not writing the piece on IP Video or billing solutions for the August edition...
Posted by dmohney at 07:47 PM | Comments (0)
May 16, 2007
A Little Praise...
About 10 minutes ago, I received a nice warm e-mail from a VP of a testing company (Clue: They wear hunter orange shirts).
He said all sorts of nice things about a piece I did for the May VON Magazine... and his company wasn't even mentioned in the article!
As Quincy of Little Einstein's fame would say "I CAN NOT BELIEVE IT."
Well, actually, I do. It's a little thing that doesn't cost a lot.
Most of the time, I get C-level e-mail that starts a dialogue/impression with "Why didn't you mention our company...."
All too often, it is easy to talk about what is wrong rather than what is right... (which is funny, but not ha-ha funny, because I had planned to do a post about a PR firm that had done The Right Thing on embargo before I got this e-mail).
Done right by anyone today?
(At this right, I'm going to start babbling about "Carry It Forward").
Seriously, if you like what VON Magazine contributors have done, e-mail them and let them know, and CC: me...
Posted by dmohney at 11:25 PM | Comments (0)
April 16, 2007
Fenway Park here I come...
Tomorrow, I'm going to be a guest at Dialogic's Press/Analyst's briefing in Boston.
Among the highlights, I'll get to walk around Fenway Park and hit some balls, according to the agenda.
It'll be a nice change of pace from the typical gogogo of a trade show and provide some quality time rather than the typical 30 minute/gotta go/back-to-back meetings.
Part of the unspoken agenda at this event is the building of RELATIONSHIPS between Dialogic and media and analysts. You can't build a relationship or corporate image in a one-off 30 minute briefing. Sure, there's going to be a number of presentations on Thursday evening and Friday, but today's news is perishable.
Relationships and corporate image are priceless.
Best event I ever ended upon was a 24 hour whirlwind tour of ArianeSpace's launch site in French Guiana. Participants had to rendezvous in Paris the evening before, take the Air France 7 hour direct flight to Cayenne, get loaded into a bus for the whirlwind tour of the launch center, dinner, hotel, bed. Up early in the morning to drive out to see the launch pads for the Ariane 4 and 5, assembly buildings. Rush back to the hotel for lunch and pack up. Get on the bus with the token stop at some shack by the side of the road to pick up rum, then back on the plane for a 7 hour flight back.
Did I mention the yellow fever vaccination and the anti-malarials?
Still, it was was pretty breathtaking...
Posted by dmohney at 06:27 PM | Comments (0)
April 04, 2007
Wish I had a stopwatch...
Love 'em or hate 'em, Microsoft knows how to do PR...
At 10:49 AM ET, I dashed off a note to the Rapid Response Team at Waggener Edstrom -- Microsoft's agency of record, asking for more information about the new TV broadband gizmo they sent over to the FCC.
At 10:55 AM ET, I received a response from the RRT, saying someone would be in touch with me. (timestamped at 7:55 AM PT)
By 11:33 AM, the words "Microsoft" and a 202 number -- their Capital Hill/DC office -- appeared on my caller ID and I was chatting with someone who knew a bit about the gizmo and put me in touch with a compadre in the "White Space Coalition" who had more of the technical and holistic (my word, not theirs) details.
I don't know how much Microsoft pays W-E, but I'm seriously impressed. This doesn't mean I'm going to convert all my boxes to Vista (sorry, guys), but it's still a demonstration of serious organization and execution.
People could learn serious stuff from this example. I've called into various government agencies and had to go through three levels of sub-contractors and two days of time before someone called me back (Yes, it's the Federal Government, but still...).
Most of my encounters with the private sector have been good; even the independent one-man shops are happy to call back, but you've always got the exception to the rule.
I remember trying everything to get a hold of someone at one DC-based company that had just sent out a press release about Something Wonderful. E-mailed their designed PR contact two or three times. Called at least twice to their switchboard, getting to the mailbox of the designed "media contact," leaving a message. I suppose I could have driven out there and shown up in their lobby, but people just don't like that... something about stalking and/or "60 Minutes."
Funny thing, the article I wrote goes into print and a week later I'm getting a call from the company's PR firm and they're wondering why they didn't end up in the piece. So I go tell the poor sap that's following up what I did and when and there's a bit of silence on the phone and he says "Yes, our client just recently had some issues in that area..."
*sigh*
Posted by dmohney at 08:28 PM