Brand Central Station

Pitching in the PR world sometimes includes people other than journalists. Here’s a handy list of five tips for preparing presentations/pitches to venture capitalist firms from the PR Machine Blog.

PR MACHINE: 5 VC Pitching Tips

So, here I am in Las Vega$ … city of lights, fast action, endless buffets, easy money and hard-luck stories. And so what does my mind turn to when I have my first chance to take a break out by the pool?

Branding.

Yeah, it’s a sickness. But I can’t help it. I used to work with casinos and the gaming industry quite a bit in the 1990’s, during the explosion of gaming across the country. It was a great chance to get in on the ground floor level of a new industry.

And while deciding not to become an “expert” in marketing gaming establishments was a choice I made, I do owe a great deal of what I am today to the time I spent in the market then. You see, if you learn one thing in the marketing of casinos and games of chance, you learn how important it is to keep the promises you make to the customer.

Maybe the casino promotion business is a little different than most – but I can’t think of another industry where the business turns so much on brand perception.

Think about it. With the exception of a few percentage points, the odds for every game in every casino are equal to the odds for similar games in competing casinos. There is, in essence, extreme parity in the casino marketplace.

So the challenge for a marketer is how to differentiate your “product” from the similar games and products offered by other casinos. To make matters even more confusing, when it comes to slot machines (by far the most lucrative part of a casino operation), almost every casino has the exact same games as their competitors. Add to that the fact that there are literally thousands of slot machine “brand names” and claims of unique games or slot “titles” becomes almost irrelevant. Prospective customers can’t hear the claims of one casino over another because of the excessive ring-a-ding-ding of slot payouts.

That’s why in the 1990’s casinos started to lead the way in customer segmentation and maximization strategies. Player’s clubs started to evolve from the Telly Savalis days (“who loves ya’ baby) into a kind of hyperactive preferred customer program. Comps (complimentary goods and services) were bid by casinos in an effort to attract the best players. Players learned how to play this game as well as blackjack, poker or slots and quickly learned how rating systems worked and how to maximize the comps for the least amount of play.

As a result, more than one casino saw their drop increase (the amount of money bet) but their margins erode. They were, in effect, buying market share and not managing their margins.

About the mid-90’s, Gary Inks of High Performance Profits and I started working with smaller casinos to teach a relatively new concept. The idea was to integrate the external promise making function (advertising, promotions and PR) with internal customer service training to create a more “customer-centered” experience. The results were pretty remarkable.

Working with casino brands that didn’t have a reputation for high-rollers or lavish environments, we developed ad campaigns that went beyond the traditional “stand-up” shot of a slot winner holding a big check to show our winners were actually people who were able to do something with the money they won at the casino. On top of that, Gary worked inside the organizations to make them more responsive and engaging with customers.

We were actually able to show that trained and engaged dealers (slot or table game employees) managed to stimulate higher average bets, more profit per hour at their station and – best of all – elicit bigger and better tips from customers as a result of the experience. We made it okay for dealers to root for players rather than act staid and bored by following the house rules. We made singing and dancing in the casino an expectation.

Everything was a show and the customers showed their appreciation by leaving larger tips and staying longer.

It worked so well that most of the casinos we worked for were bought by casino-operator roll-ups who wanted to “capture the magic” for their larger organizations. But, of course, in order to afford the acquisition, they had to cut out the consulting contracts for those services they deemed “non-essential” to the operations of the casino.

Gary still works in the industry and is continuing to do great things for casinos and resorts in outer market destinations and start-ups. I’ve moved on to apply what I learned about making and keeping promises to customers in industries outside the gaming business.

I think that, in a way, we’ve both won.

Later.

This information is (c) 2004, Brand Central Station, all rights reserved. If you are interested in receiving news and analysis directly from BCS, please log onto our website.

Not neccesarily the freshest entry – but new to me. This is a quick little screed on what’s wrong with most of the businesses trying to do business today.

Indifference kills.

Will you be part of the solution or continue to be part of the problem? John Porcaro offers his perspective.

John Porcaro: Indifference is Death

Sylvester Stallone may soon replace Hugh Hefner as the most over-worked, over-extended old guy who can get great tail anywhere on the planet. Go figure. No Sly has his own magazine.

This is from one of my favorite blogs: AdRants.

Snarky and informative.

Adrants: Sylvester Stallone to Launch Magazine

Always on the lookout for the “best” of anything bloggy … here is the “Media Guerrilla’s” pick for best tech blogs. From the mighty pen of Mike Manuel.

Media Guerrilla: The Best Tech Blogs

What’s this? Richard Edelman has started blogging. Go figure.

Reading it is a bit like reading something written by someone who was TOLD they had to write a blog. I’m sure Mr. Edelman is a better writer than this:

“Attended a speech by pollster Peter Hart entitled “The New Persuasion.” These are mostly findings from US research, but parts are relevant to whole world. Some major trends include Personalization (a statistic I find hard to believe but they say is true–39% of Americans under 21 have a tattoo or body piercing). There are 3 kinds of loyalty: based on convenience, coercion (loyalty programs like frequent flyer) and commitment based on brands we grew up with.”

This reads like notes from a high school history lecture, not what you’d expect from the CEO of one of the leading PR firms in the world. Then again, I’m sure once he gets the hang of it he’ll be as snarky as the rest of the bloggers out there.

Welcome to the club, Dick.

Speak Up

See what the PR Machine has to say about the way Merck has handled the Vioxx crisis. I’ll be we’ll be reading this case study in text books in a few years.

PR MACHINE: Crisis PR: Vioxx

Colin McKay is known for his serious approach to the PR business … well, not really. This is a list worthy of the David Letterman show. Enjoy.

Many of my business partners wonder where I come up with terms like “communications chain” – but my B2B clients understand the concept. You see, the general concept is that the process of moving a person from “prospect” to “loyal customer” is a lot like moving raw materials and finished goods through the supply chain.

In our model, each step along the way results in a behavioral change that makes the individual more pre-disposed to our sales pitch. In general, the every individual goes through the same continuum. They start out in ignorance, become aware, get educated, are motivated and then the behavior is reinforced.

This continuum is handy in understanding the basic concept, but the “communications chain” planning process we use breaks it down even further. Each critical decision made by a person as he or she makes the journey from prospect to brand “believer” can be described by a unique (and measurable) action.

One of the most critical links in that chain is the conversion process from qualified lead/prospect to first-time customer. John M. Coe’s white paper is a concise outline of the “steps within the step”. Coe, the president of Database Marketing Associates, helps identify the various communications obstacles that often become present in the B2B marketing process.

Why is this important for marketers – either agencies or in-house people to understand?

Because this is the point where sales and marketing first mix. And if you don’t get it right here, you’ll find it difficult to retain customers and build your market share on the inside (ref. share-of-customer strategies) where it can make a real difference to your bottom line.

Take some time and understand the lead conversion process in your company and draw your own “communications chain” based on your research. You’ll find, most likely, that your company has several chains (sometimes multiple chains per sales person or target market).

In your conversations with sales people, customers, suppliers and customer service people, you’ll probably come to the same realization we often do – that many of the chains can be combined. For us, this serves as the foundation for a communications plan that works toward developing more efficient and effective marketing programs down the road.

Understanding how sales and marketing mix to turn top-line prospects into top-line customers also forces both departments to find ways to communicate and work together. It’s remarkable, really, how often these two functions don’t communicate – and yet both departments are responsible for setting customer expectations.

The additional internal and external discussions will help point out other weak links in your communications chain. Production shortfalls which limit your company’s ability to perform (meet customer expectations) can be, in many cases, worked around through directed communications efforts. At the very least your company can keep customers informed of product delays, service problems or other issues.

In fact, each link in the communications chain can be strengthened through well-crafted communications. But first you have to define and organize your chain.

It’s time well spent and should serve as your first step on that most elusive of marketing grails: measurable return on marketing investment.

But, more on that later.

(c)2004, Brand Central Station – all rights reserved. To learn more about BCS, please visit our website.

Kristen Osolind, who writes the re:invention blog provided some great insights into a growing new media trend: Bloggers pitching bloggers.

I think I’ve been pretty clear that I feel there’s something a bit incestuous about this whole blogging thing. It seems bloggers’ favorite subject is blogging. It’s just too damn circular – I keep getting dizzy.

It’s kind of like the literary version of pop-up windows. Ugh.

But Kristen’s points in her October 1 blog entry are well taken – especially when you read the blog entry that inspired it which eventually leads to an apologetic posting from the originators of this entire chain of events – the guys from Marketing Playbook.

Dizzy yet?

OK, the point of this entire entry is not to point out the silliness that is blogging about blogs and bloggers, but more importantly to demonstrate how important it is for a person to understand the needs, wants, desires and (most importantly) expectations of people when you approach them with a new idea. This is certainly true of members of the “traditional” media and it is also true, as all of these bloggers point out, with members of the blog community.

Guess what, though. It’s also true with customers and employees. In fact, I’d hazard a guess that any successful, interpersonal relationship relies on mutual understanding.

I don’t mean to make it sound like common sense, even though it is. You would be amazed how many people don’t practice common courtesy as soon as contact is relegated to less personal/less direct methods like telephone, fax or e-mail. I listen to employees pitch stories to the media and new concepts to clients and can tell which relationships matter.

The interesting thing is we’re all in a position to do things differently and form relationships that matter – whether they are with customers or faceless bloggers in another time zone. The basic listening and understanding skills that worked in elementary school still apply and, for the sake of repetition, are re-stated below:

1.) Deal with people on a personal level – find a way to make a connection. If you’ve never met them, read about them or read what they’ve written to gain some insights that will help you associate with them.

2.) Respect their space – don’t litter it with useless gifts, don’t send unwanted attachments don’t “make yourself at home” unless you’ve been invited to do so.

3.) Identify and reinforce the culture in which they operate – if they’re formal, be formal. Talking to someone who is in a hurry and doesn’t have time for small talk, don’t go into what you did this weekend. Pitching a snarky blogger? Better be ready to trade jabs.

4.) Make sure communications channels are open in both directions – don’t send your message/make your pitch without providing adequate methods for responding to you. You can’t make a sale if you’re not listening.

5.) Look for opportunities to work together – collaboration is a relationship building activity. You don’t start off as friends. But by accomplishing something together, you might become friendly.

6.) Understand what constitutes an acceptable reward – some call it a “thank you” gift. For me, I just appreciate a “thanks” or an update on how things have gone after concluding an assignment. For others (like Kristen), shoes seem to do the trick.

If these basic rules may seem universal, they are. Use them when you pitch blogs, producers, your boss, a new client or whoever matters the most to you right now. And realize that if you do it right, you’ll be building your own brand equity in the process.

re:invention blog – for women entrepreneurs

This information is (c) 2004, Brand Central Station, all rights reserved. If you are interested in receiving news and analysis directly from BCS, please log onto our website.

John Moore, from Brand Autopsy provides keen insight and a glowing recommendation to Malcolm Gladwell’s latest article for the New Yorker. Here’s the review, complete with a link to the article.

A must read if you’re in to condiments or marketing. Seriously.

Brand Autopsy: Ketchup, Blinking, and Malcolm Gladwell

Just what New York City needs, one more coffee shop.

Juan Valdez – coming to a coffee shop near you :: adland ad-rag.com :: by the adgrunts for the adgrunts