Face Time

By Elisabeth King

In this month’s Harvard Business Review, Larry Kramer talks about what a few French companies are doing to stand out from the competition. Brace yourselves, it’s utterly revolutionary. They are meeting customers in person for quality time.

Linked-In, Facebook, Twitter, and email still are fundamental communication tools that have enhanced our ability to stay connected and top of mind with people. Every day, we help our clients tap these resources to get the word out.

As important as this type of communication is, virtual outreach activities must be complemented with something that seems rarer and rarer – face time for real, in-depth conversation.

In her post, Looking Ahead to 2011, Vijaya Dhillon reminded us how important it is to get regular customer feedback on technologies, messages and market approach to make sure that what you’re doing still resonates with what customers need.

What if you gathered a few of your very best customers around a table over dinner and asked them about their own business? If the meeting were carefully planned with complementary guests and partners, you would be putting yourself and your company at the center of a business network with real value for all involved.

You could use this opportunity to:

*       let customers share their own concerns for the future
*       get insight into how your technology is used – what’s working and what’s not
*       share insights and get feedback on technology offerings in the pipeline
*       say thank you to your top customers and partners for their business

The end result is an open dialogue that builds much deeper relationships with customers, sheds valuable light into your customers business challenges and sets the tone for your own customer engagement in the future.

Dinner, anyone?

Elisabeth King is Director of Strategy at ABI marketing public relations. You can reach her at +1 212-529-4756 and eking@abipr.com.

Looking Ahead to 2011

By Vijaya Dhillon

Even though I am still in denial, fall is here. It’s the time of year when despite the splendor of fall foliage (one of the many benefits of living on the East coast), stress levels run high.  There is a sense of urgency and intense planning evident at companies — big and small.

As companies, especially in the b2b space, gear up for the last quarter and start to formulate strategic plans for 2011, it is important to pause and think about whether your plans align marketing with sales objectives.  Shift in consumer mindset combined with budget/sales goals revisions as we move from recession to recovery will add some ‘welcome’ and some ‘unwelcome’ stress on the sales teams.  More than ever, sales will need marketing support to lay the groundwork for business opportunity generation.

Here are three best practices to consider as you work through your marketing plan:

1) Involve sales in the planning phase: It is imperative for marketing to get on the same page with sales.  Try to get as much information as possible about sales needs in the planning phase so you can effectively develop initiatives and allocate resources throughout the year. You don’t want to go through another year worrying about exhausting your budget on ad-hoc requests.

2) Targeting is critical: Even if corporate brand awareness is your number one marketing communications objective, leave room for initiatives that generate targeted leads for the sales staff.  I, and I suspect many of you, have been in a room full of sales people where their number one gripe is “wild goose chase” leads supplied by marketing that waste their time.

3) Set up feedback mechanisms: In your marketing planning, think about establishing regular feedback mechanisms, both from sales personnel on the quality of opportunities passed along as well as customers to determine if marketing communications messages are resonating and achieving the desired impact.  This will help you adjust your marketing plan in a meaningful way during the course of the year.

Vijaya Dhillon is Deputy Managing Director, Americas at ABI marketing public relations. You can reach her at +1 212-529-2633 and vdillon@abipr.com.

Virtual Marketing

by Jen Sprance

We marketers like to say that there’s a market for everything. Well now, there’s actually a market for nothing.  Enter virtual goods.

In b2b marketing and public relations, we sometimes think we have it tough, trying to take a list of complex features and translate them into the magical what’s in it for me message that will drive sales.

But how do you market and sell goods that don’t exist?

I remember a few years back the cover story of BusinessWeek focused on Second Life, the then newly launched virtual world aimed at creating a new online platform for socializing.  I could not believe that people were making real money in this non-existent world selling non-existent goods to be consumed by non-existent people called avatars. Consumers used actual dollars to buy their avatars modern homes and dress them in designer clothes so they could be the hit of their virtual parties.

And now big brands are trying to capitalize on this demand for virtual goods, using the virtual world to generate awareness of and preference for their goods amongst people n the real-world.

According to a recent article in the New York Times, companies from Volvo to H&M and MTV are going after the under-40 demographic with new marketing campaigns aimed at spurring sales of their pretend products in virtual platforms like MyTown and Second Life.

It’ll be interesting to see how virtual demand translates into real-world demand.

Many often use these virtual platforms to leave their real-life personas behind and live out their wildest dreams – morphing from the wallflower to the social butterfly, powerful executive or sports star.  Maybe virtual goods will be the way to get one step closer to realizing our ambitions in the real world.

Jen Sprance is Managing Director, EMEA at ABI marketing public relations. You can reach her at +44 (0)20 7014 3503 and jsprance@abipr.com.

On Background

by Elliot Schimel

Recently The Atlantic posted an article by Chuck Todd and Albert Oetgen about how the terms “off the record,” “on the record” and “on background” are defined.

Pete Williams, a correspondent for NBC who covers the Justice Department and Supreme Court, defined “on background” to mean “You can use the information without attribution, or with generic attribution [for instance]: ‘Santa Claus is a fraud,’ said a network correspondent.”

Mr. Williams’ definition of “on background” is different than mine. When giving information to reporters “on background,” I’ve never intended a quote to be attributed to me under an alias. My impression is that if a reporter was to quote me as “a source” or “a person with knowledge of the situation” she would ask me how I would like to be characterized. Had I worked with Pete Williams this may not have been the case.

In media training sessions we emphasize the importance of choosing one’s words wisely when speaking with reporters. Spokespeople must always act as if they are “on the record” even when the camera is off. As a precaution it is important to assume everything is fair game, even if it isn’t relevant to the story.

When it comes to our interaction, as publicists, with reporters, going “on background” may be essential in shaping a favorable story for our client.

But before speaking with a reporter “on background,” it is essential clarify how “on background” is defined.

Elliot Schimel is a Senior Account Manager at ABI marketing public relations. You can reach him at +1 212-529-2583 and eschimel@abipr.com.

She’s Funny that Way

by Tim Colbert

I don’t have cable and don’t watch much TV. Except during football season or when on the road. So settling in to catch the Pittsburgh/Atlanta match-up on Sunday, (good start, Dixon – hang in there for three more games) I was really fixated on the commercials. Very funny and very clever. Absent the hype surrounding the Super Bowl ads perhaps my expectations were low. But I don’t think so.

Which got me thinking – in B-to-B land why is there a lack of humor in communications? (I know, I know – not all.) Understandably we’re talking business and sales goals and moving the needle, articulating brand value to customers and prospects, and all the rest. But we’re not communicating with automatons — at the end of the day we’re trying to get our point across to human beings. And we are moved and motivated by many things, among them logic, fear, “what’s in it for me,” and humor.

Of course, if it was easy we’d all be Chelsea Handler.  But in all seriousness on a light topic, I think we should keep humor – or wit – in mind as we implement overall communication strategies. We’ve been fortunate enough to work with clients who appreciate humor and wit in telling the larger story — the value they bring to the marketplace, why they are an excellent supply chain partner/collaborator, etc.

When done right it can make a message more memorable, a company better positioned, breaking through all of the “Innovative, Value-Added, Reliable, Sustainable” jargon flotsam that sadly and too-frequently passes for effective communication in B-to-B.

And given the increasing work pressure in this recession-battered world, we could do worse than bring a bit of pleasure and a quick smile into the business day. The Bottom Line and the Smiley Face can surely work together.

Tim Colbert is a Director at ABI marketing public relations. You can reach him at +1 212-529-4811 and tcolbert@abipr.com.

Airport Presence

by Elisabeth King

Last Thursday I spent a pleasant (yes, pleasant) three hours waiting on a delayed flight to Maine in the US Airways terminal at LaGuardia airport. I relished in this gift of time, because it gave me an opportunity to browse the airport shops.

Airport shopping – and I’m talking domestic airport shopping not Duty Free – and eating are looking up, at least around US Airways.  Competition is fierce particularly among food vendors, who often sell the same products. The secret to success appears to be in how they package what they sell.

Airport retailers – and their smart suppliers – have figured out that travelers come from all walks of life and there’s money to be made in appealing to discrete groups, even (or especially) the harried ones.  That means opportunity for packaging and POP designers and suppliers.

One shop in particular caught my eye. It’s a Canadian-based beauty outfit catering to women and girls called Fruits and Passion. The store concept uses vibrant color and soothing scents to radiate positive energy out of the store and draw weary travelers in.

Every element of the store – from the in-store lighting, product displays, packaging, brand brochures, shopping bags and the products themselves – incorporates this theme. Melon-scented body mists are packaged in folding carton boxes the color of cantaloupe.  Tropical body butter gets the full treatment in gorgeous lime-colored plastic pots.  Even my shopping bag was printed in a lovely raspberry pink.

It’s a brilliant approach for building a brand that uses a simple platform, color, to appeal to a specific audience.

I took a few pictures of the displays and brought product samples back for my colleagues to see (and try). We smell of mango at ABI today. Not a bad way to kick off the fall.

Elisabeth King is Director of Strategy at ABI marketing public relations. You can reach her at +1 212-529-4756 and eking@abipr.com.

No Obsolescence in Media

by Elliot Schimel

Last week Barnes and Noble announced that they will be closing their location at Lincoln Center in New York City. It’s been one of my favorite places to write, cut class (when I was in high school) or peruse books while waiting for my movie to start at the Lowes (best theater in Manhattan). Mary Ellen Keating, a spokesperson for Barnes and Noble blamed the astronomical rent, but most blame the success of the e-reader which has caused in store book sales to plunge.

As many New Yorkers mourn the closing of their favorite Upper West Side bookstore, they forget the distress caused to them when they championed mom and pop bookstores that were put out of business due to the success of the mega-bookstore. Ironically, although they couldn’t withstand the megastore, mom and pop bookstores may be able to weather the e-reader storm. With less overhead and small personable staffs, these small stores could provide the personal, “in-store” experience that Barnes and Noble could never deliver to combat e-readers. Could the closing of the Lincoln Center Barnes and Noble lead to the reopening of these bookshops?

As the media landscape continues to evolve and death of print media is widely speculated, it is important to monitor and understand the evolution of media. Today, news publications have found that giving away their content free online has been detrimental to their business.

In January 2011, the New York Times plans to create a “paywall” (aka paid subscription service) for access to its web site. This decision was made amid news of their faltering circulation and website being flooded for free content…seems logical.

But if I have to pay to read the New York Times, I think I would prefer to get it in print.

Elliot Schimel is a Senior Account Manager at ABI marketing public relations. You can reach him at +1 212-529-2583 and eschimel@abipr.com.

Sustainability: to Promote or Not to Promote?

by Amy Epstein

It has become commonplace for companies to tout their sustainability efforts to bolster their brand image. Interestingly, in some consumer product categories, doing so may actually risk harming it. A recent New York Times article highlights Pommery, the French champagne house, as they balance this issue.

Pommery is implementing a new standard bottle, designed to cut carbon emissions. The bottles are produced by Saint Gobain, and weigh about 2.3 ounces (65 grams) lighter than traditional champagne bottles, so vehicles transporting them will require less fuel. But instead of shouting from the rooftops about its eco-friendliness, Pommery is remaining hush-hush, fearing that a less robust bottle will damage the champagne brand’s luxury image.

In B2B communications, however, there can be significant benefits to communicating sustainability efforts. Expanding concern for the environment, and pressures filtering through the entire supply chain are creating a need for companies to communicate sustainability efforts to shift brand image in a greener direction.

To capitalize on your company’s initiatives:

• Evaluate how you help customers provide a more sustainable product to end-users

• Look at your materials and technology as well as your processes to see where your efforts are particularly strong

• Create a messaging platform that highlights the benefits you provide

• Communicate to customers, potential customers, supply-chain partners and end-users through print, online and, if    your audience is there, social media

Though communication strategies for this messaging can be new territory, companies that aren’t communicating their green efforts are finding themselves at a competitive disadvantage as their industry peers take leadership roles in this area (and talk about it).

Amy Epstein is Managing Director, Americas at ABI marketing public relations. You can reach her at +1 212-529-4757 and aepstein@abipr.com.