Have you ever used NO-AD sunscreen on vacation?  It's really good stuff... great value for the money too because the bottles are ginormous.  What makes this sunscreen really different than Banana Boat, Panama Jack and Coppertone is they don't advertise - hence the name "no-ad."

This company has relied on word of mouth marketing for years.  I first started using it when I was in middle school because I saw a friend with a hot pink bottle of 15 SPF.

While it makes for an interesting case study, NO-AD is also very unique.  Many companies are creating "word of mouth" marketing campaigns which rely heavily on social media sites like Facebook or MySpace, emails (like those sent out by Indianapolis-based ExactTarget), blogs (like your's truly here) and SMS text messaging.  NO-AD really relied on good, solid, old-fashioned word of mouth.

On the American Marketing Association's Web site, Marketing Power, they currently have a survey posted which I found to be extremely interesting.  They ask, "What is your most effective word-of-mouth technique?"  The responses are what got my attention:

• Social Media Sites - 22%
• Email - 54%
• Blogs - 16%
• SMS - 8%

Honestly, I voted for blogs.  I have experienced a great deal of success in gaining coverage for my clients in blogs.  Many blogs have a daily traffic snapshots reaching over 2.2 million making their online viewership greater than the printed circulation of the same company or other reputable media outlets in the same space.

I believe people are more likely to believe the word of a blogger than some group on Facebook or some email they've received.  Emails have a leg-up on blogs though... many campaigns are opt-in and all [should be] opt-out compliant.  To find a blog takes more effort than just checking your inbox - I'll give you that!

I am sad to see that SMS isn't appearing to catch on as quickly as I had anticipated.  I've yet to participate in any opt-in SMS campaign and I really don't think it's for me.  I equate it to receiving a phone call from a telemarketer right when I sit down for dinner.  There's never a good time to receive a random text message from a stranger... not for me, at least!

So what about you?  How will/would you vote?

The first time I began to think about my personal brand, you know, how you want people to perceive you, was a few months ago. I was graduating from Michigan State (GO SPARTANS), eye-deep in student loans and in serious need of a job.

 

My job search was probably the toughest thing I’ve ever been through. First, you’ve got to have an amazing resume. Then if you get to meet your future employer in person, you have to look, think and speak the part. Any misstep, however minute (a speaker once told me she discarded resumes for fonts she didn’t like … a little hasty, no?), and its ramen and PB&J for another month.

 

So, I began to take a good hard look at my current image and what I needed to do to build it into a brand that employers couldn’t resist. The more I thought about my brand, the more I began to see it not as a professional facade, but as a real life change for myself. I didn’t know what my brand was, but I knew what I wanted it to be and I had a good idea of how to get there.

 

As I dove deeper into my search, I found that personal branding was a professional strategy used by many. I started following The Personal Branding Blog (great, by the way), talking to mentors and role models, and being more self-aware, and within a few months, landed my current position at Dittoe PR.

 

I’ve come to realize that one well-branded person makes a great company addition, but a team full of those people is pretty unstoppable. What’s more, those people drive one another to dig deeper, try harder, and be better. Here at Dittoe, I’m finding myself still building upon that personal brand day-by-day and working with wonderful people who are doing the same. And wouldn’t you know (voila!) building great client brands flows so much more naturally from people who are cognizant of their own.

 

So, if you haven’t thought about your personal brand, maybe today’s the day to start. And Lindsay, girl, give me a call. We’ll see what we can do about yours.

In this job, I am trying to spread the word about my clients and help them get exposure on a local, national and even international level. 

I am the little bird in reporters, writers, editors, producers and bloggers ears.  I'm informing them of something they don't know.  They might know about a technology, a company or an individual -- but the whole reason why I'm writing or calling them is to tell them something newsworthy.  It's up to them to decide if the story I'm telling is something they want to run with.  I'm just the messenger.

Spreading the word isn't as easy as it appears.  I try very hard to tell my clients' stories to the appropriate media contacts, but sometimes I, undoubtedly, reach the wrong person.  In the instances where I'm redirected, I'm extremely appreciative and apologetic.  By no means do I want to aggravate anyone in the media -- after all, it's my job to communicate with them every day.  Why would I ever intentionally jeopardize that relationship?

Ever heard the saying, "Don't hate the player, hate the game?"  I don't think I've said that since college, but it comes to mind today.  I am a player in the game of public relations.  I know it might sound corny, but it's true.  I work with CEOs, directors of marketing, company presidents and founders, lawyers and other PR professionals long before I ever involve the media, and once that communication begins there's no telling who I'm directed to.  To quote presidential hopeful, Senator Hillary Clinton, "It takes a village!"

Lately there seems to be a lot of buzz in various blogs and e-newsletters about PR professionals "spamming" editors and contacting media with incorrect information or inappropriate messages (i.e. Calling a journalist "Bob" when his name is "Rob" or pitching a sports writer on an entertainment story).  While I'm sure this happens frequently, I'd like to speak up for the PR pros who try their very hardest to avoid this stigma the media has placed on us.

Do I spam?  It seems this term gets thrown around quite a bit these days.  The definition of spam is the use of mailing lists to blanket groups or private e-mail boxes with unsolicited messages of a promotional nature. 

Do I use mailing lists?  No.  I also don't email to "lists" -- each contact gets a personalized email from me.  I do create media lists based off of research either I or someone else at Dittoe has recently done.  I also double check online to see if a reporter is still on a particular beat and if the contact has written something related to my story in the past.  I want to make sure I understand what he or she is looking for when it comes to content. 

Are my emails unsolicited?  This is what I struggle with.  Initially, no one asks to receive a pitch via email or telephone call from me.  So in that respect, my contact is unsolicited.  However, doesn't a journalist, blogger or producer who has provided an email address or phone number to the public automatically opt-in to be contacted?  Otherwise, how would they ever find out about new companies, products, services or rising business, sports, philanthropic and political figures?  After all, they can always "opt-out."

Our PR tactics at Dittoe are very simple but have proved to be extremely effective for our clients.  We don't want to anger anyone who could help us, and we definitely want to treat everyone with the same amount of respect we would want to receive.  If someone asks me to never email them again, I won't -- and I'll pass the word onto my colleagues as well.  

On behalf of all hardworking, honest public relations executives everywhere... I ask journalists and bloggers to hate the game, not the player.  Some of us are very genuine and don't deserve to be lumped into the category of "spammers" that we sometimes end up in.  PR people need journalists and journalists need us -- can't we all just get along?

One of my clients, Bob Compton, is screening his documentary film, Two Million Minutes, in various locations across the country throughout the upcoming weeks. This allows we, at Dittoe PR, the opportunity to work with the media in a variety of locations.

The film, which compares high school education in the U.S., India, and China, is being screened in Columbia, SC, Orlando, FL, Washington, DC, and Indianapolis before the end of the month. Dittoe is working with the local media in each of these locations to secure coverage and to promote the film using various tactics. By promoting Two Million Minutes throughout the country, we hope to gain as much national awareness of the film as possible.

This is one aspect of PR that makes it interesting - there are always new audiences to reach and new industries to learn about. I never knew much about the various organizations existing to promote education until I started working on the Two Million Minutes account. Now each day, I seem to come across another related organization.

Whether you're like me and you're just starting to blog or you're already a professional blogger, I have to let you in a great event taking place later this month that you MUST take advantage of!

Compendium Blogware CEO and co-founder Chris Baggott is hosting a webinar on the value of corporate blogging, hot trends for 2008, and how organizations can benefit from a blogging strategy.

Here's the scoop:
Top 10 Blogging Trends for 2008
January 31st, 2008
1:00pm – 2:00pm EST
Free of charge

Only 100 attendee spots are available on a first come, first serve basis, so you’ll want to register today. Just visit Compendium Blogware to register!

Saturday morning I woke up experiencing the worst pain I have ever had in my life. By 8 o'clock that night I was in an ambulance on my way to the hospital for an appendectomy.

After seeing three doctors, numerous nurses and one orderly, I had no idea why my abdomen hurt so badly. "Your appendix is inflamed and your white blood cell count is high," was the only explanation I received.

I don't know about you, but the only science I took in college was Astronomy and Geology (I was a Communication major, so sue me). I was baffled by the purpose of this small organ causing me so much pain and misery. What is the appendix?!

It wasn't until after my surgery that my surgeon explained to me the purpose of the appendix, "It really has no purpose... but if it ruptures, patients can go into shock and actually die."

It occurred to me as I laid in my hospital bed, that doctors could use a PR class or two in med school. There has to be an easier, more positive way to explain an illness or procedure to a patient. Instead of, "We are going to perform an appendectomy," how about:

"Off of your large intestine is a little, insignificant appendage called the appendix. It's not a vital organ, and presents no benefit to you; however right now it's infected and if we don't remove it, you will feel worse. Once it's gone, you're going to feel a thousand times better - and you'll be up and moving around in no time. Wouldn't you like us to take care of that for you?"

I think everyone could use some PR tactics. I've found myself promoting restaurants, toothpaste and even sweet tea (try mine, and you'll never go with unsweet again) unconsciously to friends and family. Once you have your mind wrapped around what makes a product, service or company great, it's easy to promote it.

Bottom-line: The appendix is infected and you're in pain - this appendectomy will take care of your pain like nothing else can!