Credibility Gap

This week, Brett Favre shocked and amazed the sports world by announcing his un-retirement from football. Again.

Obviously, I’m being facetious. He did shock and amaze the sports world the first time he un-retired. This time, it fanned a series of searing stories focused on his credibility gap.

Favre, best known as the longtime quarterback for the Green Bay Packers, has enjoyed an immensely successful career in professional football, building a reputation both on and off the field as a man of character.
Unfortunately, his retirement-related flip-flops from the past few years put all that at risk.

It should come as no surprise that the media is gleefully covering the fact that Favre has contradicted himself. Reporters always cover contradictions or untruths. And they rarely cover it the way the person in question would have liked.

It offers every one of us a valuable lesson. Not matter what role you play in life, it’s important to say what you mean and mean what you say. And only talk about what you actually know.

Clearly, life’s situations change and none of us can predict the future with any certainty. But we can control how we portray our plans and our decisions.

In Brett Favre’s case, when he unequivocally told reporters in February that his retirement was for good this time, he boxed himself in. He could have said, “At this moment, I do not see myself returning to football” to reduce the future credibility gap should he change his mind. Unfortunately, he left himself open to charges of flip-flopping. Again.

In my PR 101 course, I recommend avoiding words like “Never” or “Always.” Do not fall into the trap of predicting the future or speculating about what lies ahead, a favorite tactic of reporters. Instead, talk about the current situation as you know it. Period. Smart decisions now will help you avoid falling into the credibility gap in the future.

It's SHOWTIME, Seriously! Part II

I'd like to continue on giving you insight on BrightBlue Marketing's Event Planning Web Seminar series with the Oracle Academy and the Oracle Accelerate Office to help their partners sell in the midsize space. The second of the three-part series is called "Will They Come? Driving Attendance." The title of the entire series, "Showtime Seriously," reminds everyone that you must take an event seriously, but at the same time you want to entertain, educate and be memorable. A few tips from "Will They Come?" are:

* The first step in driving attendance is your database. It's the foundation for all marketing activities, especially events
* Next, start building a BUZZ! Drop hints in your outreach campaigns, newsletters, tell clients that your "marketing department" is up to something big, but you are not sure what it is. Come up with teaser headlines that lead up to the event that you include in Twitter, e-mail news bulletins, and on your website
* But make sure what you are doing is worthy of the buzz! Going back to seminar One, make sure the event addresses the big "So What?"!
* There is both Art and Science that goes into crafting an invitation. Do a Quality Assurance Test. Look at your invitation and ask: Who, What, Where, Why, When and How? Make sure none of that information is left off. Then apply art and creativity with fun shapes, images, paper and words
* "Piggybacking" is what I refer to as building on an existing event. If you don't have the budget or the time to create your own event, hop onto an existing event
* Think out of the fishbowl when driving attendance by reaching out to your customers in unique ways. Maybe have a contest with employees to see who can drive the most prospects. Give a prize to the attendees if they bring a large quantity of guests or coworkers with them. Include a link to share with a friend in e-mail invitations
* Post the event on online technology groups. Work your memberships: Ask the head of an industry association of which you're a member to make an announcement about your event. Pick a unique venue that will be a draw. Ask others to hand out your event flyers to their contacts
* Create a Legacy - Find ways to make your event live on and on and on. Post videos of the event on You Tube. Take your web seminar and turn it into a series. Or how about write about it in your blog? Start a discussion around the featured event topic!

In order to be successful, you must reach out with event reminders on a regular basis leading up to the event. And don't forget to end with a Call to Action: Sign up for the event! BrightBlue's call to action - FOR YOU, RIGHT NOW! - is to e-mail us if you are interested in watching the web seminar series and we will gladly send you an invitation: info@brightbluemarketing.com BrightBlue Marketing will be rebroadcasting the event web seminars next month. For Oracle partners, the web seminar series is posted on the OraclePartnerNetwork. These web seminars expand on the above providing you with examples and fun stories!

Stay tuned for next week's tips: The Details that Make an Event Successful

It's Showtime Seriously!

A blog is the perfect place to store your notes from an event and share with others! I’d like to give you a bit of insight on an Event Planning Web Seminar series that BrightBlue Marketing is doing with the Oracle Academy and the Oracle Accelerate Office to help their partners sell in the midsize space.

The first of the three part series is called “Taking the Event to a Deeper Level” Using the Event to Drive Sales, Reach Prospects and Follow-up.

The title of the entire series, “Showtime Seriously”, reminds everyone that you must take an event seriously, but at the same time you want to entertain, educate and be memorable.

A few tips from the first Web Seminar in the series: “Taking the Event to a Deeper Level”

Start your event planning by asking yourself 6 questions: Who? What? Where? Why? When? and How? In this first seminar, we address the Why, the Who, the What and the When…

Why – Why will people care? The big so what of the event! Have a draw.
Who – Quality over Quantity is the key. Postpone your event if you don’t have the ideal target audience in your list.
What – The meat of the event: The presenter, the delivery by the presenter, and the presentation!
When – When not only involves When the event takes place, but how often you plan on touching the prospects. Read more about our 6+ philosophy on our BrightBlue Web site capabilities page: http://www.brightbluemarketing.com/Creative_Outreach.html

In order to be successful, you must follow-up, persistently and consistently! And don’t forget to end with a Call to Action! Our call to action is for you to email us if you are interested in watching the web seminar series and we will send you an invitation: info@brightbluemarketing.com

BrightBlue Marketing will be rebroadcasting the event web seminars to all that want to listen in September. For Oracle partners, the web seminar series is posted on the OraclePartnerNetwork. These web seminars expand on the above providing you with examples and fun stories!

Stay tuned next week for more tips on “Driving Attendance”!

Let's dance!

I've had traditions on my mind since seeing the youtube sensation of the young couple and their wedding party dancing down the aisle. Haven't seen it? Check it out here. I watched it over and over and over and it just keeps getting better. You can tell that, when the music started and the dancing began, the congregation was shocked. But then everyone is smiling, laughing, clapping and cheering as the wedding party dances down the aisle in pairs or singles. By the time it's the bride's turn, I wondered why on earth no one has ever thought of this before. Or, if they had thought of it, why didn't someone do it before?

Most of our American wedding traditions come from Albert and Victoria's wedding in England's Victorian era. It was 1840, y'all, and when I got married in 1994, I'll bet it still looked pretty dang similar. But you know what? Your business isn't like anyone else's any more than your wedding or your spouse or worldview or fingerprints. The same old-same old is TIRED. Dance down that aisle. And BrightBlue Marketing? We'll be dancing right there beside you. Let's make new traditions, starting now.

Marketing Michael Vick

On Monday, the National Football League reinstated Michael Vick after he served a two year sentence in federal prison for his role in a grisly dogfighting ring. Prior to his incarceration, Vick made millions of dollars from lucrative sponsorship deals with Nike, EA Sports, Coca-Cola, PowerAde, Kraft and more. Some of these companies started distancing themselves from Vick before charges were filed against him, and the rest dropped him like a hot potato once the scandal broke.

Even if Vick finds a team willing to hire him, he will never be the sports celebrity that he was a few years ago. So far, only one organization has stepped forward wanting to employ him as a spokesperson. Who, you might ask, would want to associate their product or service with a personality who is as damaged as Michael Vick? How about the biggest animal advocacy group in the country?

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is currently talking with Vick about his possible involvement in their anti-dogfighting outreach programs. No one was tougher than the HSUS on Vick when the charges first came to light: led by President and CEO Wayne Pacelle, the HSUS campaigned to persuade the NFL to suspend Vick, the Atlanta Falcons to drop Vick, and his remaining corporate sponsors to cancel their contracts. They pressured state and federal authorities to prosecute him and provided informants whose testimony proved essential to the federal case against him. So their interest in his rehabilitation is notable.

In May Pacelle sent a letter to HSUS members around the country, explaining his decision to sit down with Vick. Pacelle said “…I think I'd be the least likely guy to end up sitting at a small table and talking calmly with Michael Vick about his interest in working with us. But when you step back and ponder it, we are actually the most logical place for him to go. We have the most developed programs on the (dogfighting) issue, so if he's sincere about making a difference, there’s no better place to land.”

Pacelle continues “He said this experience has been a trauma and he's changed forever... He asked for an opportunity to help. I want to give him that opportunity. If he makes the most of it, and demonstrates a sincere, long-term commitment to the task, then it may prove to be a tipping point in our campaign to eradicate dogfighting.

“We've done a lot with the law, and with law enforcement, and that work continues. But the most urgent challenge we face is interrupting the cycle of violence that leads kids down this dead end path, one that's paved with animal misery. They need to see that dogfighters never succeed. They are criminals, and there's no good outcome. Michael Vick's story is a narrative they need to hear.”

Politics makes strange bedfellows, and so does a provocative marketing campaign.

A little grace goes a long way

Off the topic of marketing (but still under the category of bright ideas) I thought I’d tell you about a Ning community I recently joined called Grace in Small Things, founded by Schmutzie, a prolific blogger, cat lover, needleworker, poet, photographer - an overall creative type - who lives with her husband in Canada.

I can imagine what you’re thinking - not another social network. I know, I thought the same thing, but I’d been a fan of the concept for a while (the tag line grabbed me right away, “Waging a battle against embitterment since 2008” – love that) and so I finally decided to pull the trigger.

Grace in Small Things is about identifying five small, graceful things every day. It’s about choosing not to allow the noisiness of life to rob you of the time and energy to be mindful of yourself and those you love and to recognize the grace that exists in small things.

While I feel I subscribe to this way of thinking in general, writing it down - actually publishing it for the world – has given it more teeth. It’s held me more accountable for sure, but more importantly it’s providing a ritual, reinforcing ‘best practice’ behavior to consistently appreciate life. Admittedly I’m a little lax with daily publishing, but I notice that I’m noticing the small things more. I’m searching for the good stuff, actively LOOKING for those five things. And I like it.

I have a salesman friend who likes to say ‘shavings make a pile’ and that’s how I think of Grace in Small Things. A little grace here, a little grace there. Eventually, all that grace adds up to something big.

Trading Places.

I've found that most people are able to sell/position someone else's company and effectively critique it, too. Yet when it comes to your own companies, isn't it the most difficult thing to do? Maybe it's because we are perfectionists. Or maybe we know so much about our own company, we expect everyone to read our minds and just get it. I love taking other companies through branding exercises, crafting their unique stories, writing their web content, and identifying their differentiators, but when it comes to my OWN company, I want to procrastinate. We are developing an exciting new BrightBlue Marketing online service and I finally took myself through our branding workshop exercise that we perform for our customers. It was actually fun! If you're in the same situation, try to look at your marketing materials from different points of view. Would your grandmother understand it? Your best friend from college? A teller at the bank? Trade places with them and see through their eyes. Betcha it'll be easier for you!