The Power of Free – Part II

by Dan Ward

Roger Pynn wrote about the Power of Free … how the word “free” is a strong driver of consumer action.

I want to write about the power of Free from another angle … our rights, as individuals and as businesses or associations, to Free Speech.

The Jan. 21 Supreme Court decision striking down portions of the McCain-Feingold Act has been roundly criticized, because it will open the door to increased spending by corporations on political campaigns.

My response?  Deal with it.

The First Amendment is not meant to be convenient.  At times it can be annoying, unpopular, and even disturbing.  But it lays out essential freedoms that help to define who we are as a country.

Many pundits, media organizations and legislators are claiming that businesses do not and should not have the same rights to free speech as ordinary citizens.  I’m not buying it.

“Congress shall make no law … abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press …”

That is not followed by “*this freedom applies only to individuals, and not to businesses, associations, unions or clubs.”  The framers were sparse with their words for a reason.  The freedom of speech is meant to be expansive, not restrictive.

Some are saying that the increased power of corporations to use their wallets to gain air time will drown out the voices of ordinary citizens.  But we as citizens have a powerful right unavailable to any corporation. 

We have the right to a vote … and when we take the time to learn about issues and candidates rather than basing our decisions solely on ad buys and sound bites, nothing speaks louder.

The Power of FREE

by Roger Pynn

It has been a long time since I’ve written about Seth Godin. He’s prolific and I could write about his musings all day long, but this one differentiating between a bonus and what’s free reminded me of the power of a single word.

Free is perhaps the most powerful word in our language. We found that out 25 years ago when helping a cataract surgeon build his practice. Physicians were just beginning to market themselves (it was a brave new world for doctors who had been educated to believe that self-promotion was unprofessional behavior) and no one quite knew what to do.

Cataracts are part of the aging process. People who have them find it hard to read your collateral, and yet some ad agency had convinced our client to produce a costly four-color brochure … with 10-point type. Cost of the brochures: $2.75 (remember, this was in 1985).

Our advice was to take the cart load of brochures in his storeroom straight to the dumpster.

In their stead, we placed large-type ads in the local newspaper’s Sunday magazine (average age of readers 50+) offering FREE INFORMATION FOR CATARACT SUFFERERS and listed a toll FREE phone number to call. It rang off the hook and in those low-tech days 80 percent of the callers left their names and phone numbers on an answering device after listening to a 60-second message telling them we would call back to invite them to a FREE SEMINAR ON CATARACT SURGERY with FREE REFRESHMENTS (and FREE TRANSPORTATION if they needed it).

Sixty percent of those who left their names attended the seminars … a simple gathering in the surgeon’s lobby after hours with cookies, punch and coffee. The conversion rate to surgery was almost 100 percent. Bingo!

Next up was the most powerful tool … one that the surgeon’s practice continues to use today, even though he has retired from active surgery and simply oversees what has become one of the largest cataract practices in the country.

We produced “The Book on Cataracts” … a large-type paperback book, ghostwritten in partnership by the surgeon and a 70-year-old retired journalist who had himself gone through cataract surgery. Then we offered “The Book on Cataracts” FREE in those Sunday newspaper ads, did away with the seminars and converted an even greater percentage of callers. Cost of the books: fifty cents.

In times like these, FREE doesn’t just speak to the early bird dinner crowd. What do you have that you can give away? “I’ve got this: Four Questions White Paper“. If you’d like help with the answers, drop me a line.

Good Plagiarism

by Roger Pynn

Yesterday’s introduction of the iPad came the same day as an intriguing future buzz post by Dayne Shuda of Hunting Business Marketing touting the importance of imitation in innovation.

Had the iPad been introduced a few days earlier, I imagine Shuda would have pointed to it as proof perfect of his premise. Apple folks have been building on good ideas for ages … proving my longstanding belief that there’s no such thing as original creativity, only good plagiarism. Once they develop a good concept they work tirelessly to milk it for additional opportunities that generate revenue because they’ve outdone themselves.

When I was a newspaper reporter I remember an editor who told me that one day I’d move on because “once you’ve covered one bank robbery, you’ve covered them all.” He was right, and wrong. I moved on, but every time I went to a crime scene I found a new story to tell. My job was to make reading the news interesting … not repetitive.

Shuda’s point is that innovation includes looking at what has already been done and finding new and better ways to meet needs … even if sometimes people don’t know they need anything.

Innovation is not just about invention. It is like a spreadsheet. It is about asking “what if?”

Foursquare … Do you Care?

by Kim Taylor

Until recently, Four Square conjured up images of my brother and sisters throwing a rubber ball around on our parents’ driveway. 

Of course, if you’re in the social media realm (and, who isn’t these days?), you know foursquare is the latest (and greatest?) way to tell anyone and everyone where you are.

People can use foursquare to “check in” at locations all over their city, which then updates their friends with their location.  Every check-in earns points, and interesting check-ins will earn you badges.  Check in at a location more than any other foursquare user and you become the Mayor of that location. 

So, what’s the point of all this checking in?  Here are my takeaways:

• If you have enough foursquare friends, you can learn about cool and interesting places around your city that you may not have known about pre-check in.
• You can take advantage of businesses that are ‘in the know’ … many are offering specials like Free Drinks for the Mayor (no, not that Mayor … sorry, Buddy)
• You can find out who has the best burger or who gives the best manicure by reading your friends’ Top 12 list of things To Do.

I’m a foursquare newbie.  I’m still trying to find my way around, while also reconciling whether the pros (deals & info) outweigh the cons (telling people where I am at every moment).  But, I certainly see the appeal for businesses seeking to market to their most loyal fans.

Now that you know the basics, tell me, do you care?  Will you foursquare?

Thou Shalt Blog

by Ashley Pinder
*We’re not a religiously affiliated company, but we believe in analyzing the communication plans of any type of organization.

Leave it to the Pope to share solid strategic communications principles with the world.

Not only did news break recently that Pope Benedict XVI is urging priests to engage in social media using blogs and other audiovisual online tools to spread the Gospel, but it seems he’s providing some resources. Several Vatican partners already manage for the Pope a clearinghouse of shareable, downloadable tools like e-cards in several languages on Pope2you. (It’s a pretty extensive Web site from the Holy Father that incorporates a number of interactive social media platforms in one place.)

The Pope wants priests to foster friendship by connecting with new audiences online, using some of these tools.

According to the AP, he said:

“Priests present in the world of digital communications should be less notable for their media savvy than for their priestly heart, their closeness to Christ.”

Priests won’t be judged on how many Twitter followers they have or views their videos get on YouTube, but by their message and what’s in their heart. Maybe he thinks if they are transparent with their purpose, the benefits of getting involved online will come.

This principle is something we tell our clients at C&P all the time. You can’t just be “in social media.” You need a good business plan, a message and an objective for engaging.

Amen.

So That’s the Rest of the Story

by Dan Ward

I wasn’t surprised to learn that legendary broadcaster Paul Harvey occasionally sought assistance in writing his scripts. Every good writer knows the power of constructive criticism.

But who would have expected that the respected commentator turned to the FBI for such advice, and that he sent advance copies of scripts to them for review and edit?

If such an undisclosed relationship between a respected news broadcaster and a government agency became public today, we’d hear calls for investigations and a demand for heightened transparency.

Actually, Harvey’s relationship with the FBI doesn’t seem so different from the cozy relationships many journalists enjoy with high-ranking government officials. The issue is whether those relationships are transparent, and whether they impact the objectivity of the journalist or the news organization.

I mean, imagine if we learn tomorrow that MSNBC commentators regularly endorse Democratic proposals, and that FOX leans heavily to the right. It would make us all question the accuracy of their news reports … wouldn’t it?

Location, Location, Location

by Dan Ward

I don’t know Ellie Light, but I’m envious of her real estate holdings.  According to Sabrina Eaton of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer, Light has had “Letters to the Editor” published in newspapers all around the country, each time claiming a local address in the newspaper’s circulation area.

Variations of a recent letter written by Light ran in Pennsylvania, California, New Mexico, Ohio, Michigan, Iowa, West Virginia, South Carolina and Maine, and a local address was included each time.  Her letter was supportive of President Obama, but the message is not what is important.

As someone who has written several “Letters to the Editor” himself, and advised organizations that have developed op-eds for newspapers around the state, I see two issues here.

First, of course, is whether Light provided accurate information to these newspapers.  If you live in Orlando but want to get a message across in San Francisco, you either need to create a message so strong that your residence doesn’t matter, or you need to find someone in San Francisco who shares your views and is willing to write a letter of their own.  But you need to be honest about who you are and where you live.

If you are a company looking to share a message with newspapers across the state or country, be honest about the location of the author and your plans to share the letter on a non-exclusive basis with other papers.  Some papers may choose not to run it, but that’s better than a follow-up story about your company’s lack of transparency.

The other issue is what effort, if any, the newspapers that ran Light’s letters took to confirm that she was who – and where – she claimed to be.

The Orlando Sentinel has long had a policy in which those who write Letters to the Editor provide address and telephone information, and the Sentinel often doublechecks this information before letters appear.  It’s a good policy that ensures accuracy and accountability.

Newspapers should check their sources not just on the News pages, but on Opinion as well.  Otherwise, we might as well allow the print editions to follow the Wild West path taken in the newspapers’ online message boards, where anonymity and hyperbole rule.

Friend Me on Twitter

by Dan Ward

I was passing a digital billboard on Interstate 4 the other day, and seriously considered violating traffic laws to get a cell phone photo of one of its revolving ads. I chose, however, not to risk life and limb for a fuzzy photo, so this post is visual-free.

So let me describe this simple, text-only ad, which was promoting the outdoor advertising company to those who are active on social media. The bold type encouraged drivers to “Friend Me!”

Not a bad idea in this day and age to engage in social media conversation. Minor problem, though. “Friend Me!” was followed by the company’s Twitter address.

Perhaps they figured that a Pied Piper-ish “Follow Me” message would encourage too many drivers to exit the highway immediately and search aimlessly for the next board. It’s more likely that they just got this one wrong.

If you want friends, fans and followers, make sure you know your terminology.

Puh-leeze!

by Roger Pynn

Chris Matyszczyk’s creative work and his edgy writing as a CNET blogger have always appealed to me, but c’mon Chris … you’re living in fantasyland if you think this is the first time Google has commercialized its home page.

Chris suggests that Google offering a chance to sample the new Nexus One Google Android Phone on the hallowed ground of its home page is somehow going to destroy the confidence of the faithful.

In fact, they’ve been promoting Google services there for years. If the rest of the world – like Chris – hasn’t noticed it might make someone in Mountain View very nervous about the effectiveness (and, hence, the value) of that space.

You Never Know … Unless You Ask

by Roger Pynn

First staff meeting of the year today and I learned a lot about the people I work with … largely because my partner Kim Taylor asked everyone to bring “just one goal” with them for the New Year. First thing I learned is that they can’t count to one … because most brought several and were hugely conflicted trying to identify which was most important.

And their goals were business-oriented, wanting to achieve things that will make them better as practitioners of our art and our company more attractive and effective for our clients and for prospective clients.

They are young. They are driven. They are hungry to learn. I love working with people who see the glass half full … especially at a time when the gloom and doom we hear daily about the economy could so easily make one skeptical about what lies ahead.

As long as there are positive attitudes there’s a bright future.