Thanks for a Great Year at PerkettPR

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With the close of 2008, I wanted to take this time to thank everyone who has contributed to a great year for PerkettPR. From our clients and partners to the very supportive community we’ve engaged with through social networks like Twitter, we have received an amazing amount of support and recognition this year. Our network has extended farther than ever before and we’ve learned so much from the relationships we’ve been fortunate enough to establish.

PerkettPR and Gary Vaynerchuck of Wine Library TV

PerkettPR - Christine Major, Lisa Dilg, Stephanie Trussell, Michele Campbell and Christine Perkett - with Gary Vaynerchuk of Winelibrary TV

I’d also like to thank our firm’s employees – both past and present. The people who come to work for us are what make this company the respected and successful entity that it’s become. Our staff is an eclectic and strong mix of accomplished individuals. At work, they amaze me every day with the creative ideas they come up with for clients and the value that they deliver as a result. Outside of work, their tenacity – in achieving both personal goals and overcoming life’s obstacles – continually inspires me. I feel very fortunate to have met them all.

PerkettPR at The New Marketing Summit, October 2008

Christine Perkett, Claire Spina-Russell, Stephanie Trussell and Mariana Pinner at The New Marketing Summit, October 2008

We’ve had comedians, jewelry designers and marathon runners on staff. Multiple cancer survivors, musicians who sing in bands and hard working moms and dads. A deejay, die cast car collector and world traveler. Together, they’ve all helped our clients make their mark on the world. Individually, they’ve left an imprint of one sort or another on our company and on me.

The American Business Awards, June 2008, New York City

Christine Perkett, Christine Major and Johanna Cappello at The American Business Awards, June 2008, NYC

As we move into another New Year, the world remains nervous around our economic outlook and relationships are more important than ever. I am confident that PerkettPR will continue to grow and prosper with the support of the tech and business community, loyal clients and whip-smart staff. If you are reading this blog you are to thank as well. We appreciate your insights, involvement and feedback.

May 2009 bring prosperity and successes we’ve all yet to imagine. Happy New Year!

Heather Mosley and Jeff Glasson - Boston TweetUp

Heather Mosley and Jeff Glasson - Boston TweetUp

Seesmic 1st Anniversary Party, San Francisco, September 2008

Greg Wind, Heather Mosley and Crystal Macaulay at Seesmic's 1st Anniversary Party, San Francisco, September 2008

Happy Holidays from PerkettPR!

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The entire PerkettPR Team wishes you and your family a safe and fun holiday season!

Journalists are People Too – a Q&A with Jennifer Leggio of ZDNet

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Yesterday Michael Arrington of TechCrunch created a big amount of buzz – as he has been know to do – with an angry blog post about the PR industry and its failure to do right by embargoes. This blog post is not about that – but it is our first in a series that we’ve been wanting to start, focused on personal Q&As with journalists, bloggers and industry analysts.

You see, there continues to be quite a snarky relationship between the PR world and the world of journalism. There are valid gripes on both sides but one that continues to be mentioned by journalists is that most PR folks don’t build relationships correctly. So this Q&A series is based on getting to know the journalists as the humans they are. No hidden agendas – just good, clean fun.

Thankfully, Jennifer Leggio, a blogger for ZDNet, agreed to be our first interview. You’ll learn things here that might surprise you or give you pause (favorite vacation spot – Long Island?!) but that will definitely make you laugh.

But we can’t guarantee it will help your pitching.

(Oh – and if you are a journalist or blogger that is game to play along and be interviewed, please let us know!)

PPR: You have  multiple roles listed on your Twitter bio – for ZDNet and Fortinet – what do  you do for each and how do you balance it all?

JL: For ZDNet, I write about what I call “social business” — everything from  enterprise 2.0 technology to marketing-focused social media issues. For Fortinet, my official title is director of strategic communications, which  includes managing global industry analyst relations, digital media, security research communications and community engagement. I’m a pragmatist when it comes to balance. My role at Fortinet is always my first and foremost  priority. It’s not only my day job, but I’m passionate about network security  and I take a great amount of pride in my company’s many wins. Which leaves my ZDNet work largely to my personal time and I am happy to make the sacrifice because it’s such a tremendous opportunity. I’m also a heck of  a multi-tasker.

PPR: How  did you become a blogger?

JL: Ironically, I started microblogging before I began blogging. I was on Twitter and thought,  “I should get one of those blog things.” I launched up my Mediaphyter blog and really started digging into social media trends, security and social media, and then launched the  Security Twits, a community of security professionals on Twitter. After that everything is a bit of a blur. I met Ryan Naraine, a ZDNet security blogger at SOURCE  Boston earlier this year and we became friends; stayed in contact via Twitter. ZDNet saw a need to bring in content similar to what I write and Ryan patched me through. I should note that this all started only a year ago; just goes to show the speed and impact of social media. Take that, naysayers.

PPR: We  see you love hockey – do you watch, play or both?

JL: Oh goodness, I can’t play hockey! I can’t even ice skate! I’m one of those know-it-all fans who sits in the stands and screams at my team. I am very passionate about it,  however. Until about four years ago I had never been a fan of any sport. A  co-worker at the time dragged me to a San Jose Sharks game and I fell in absolute, unequivocal, irreversible love.

PPR: What’s the  last book that you read?

JL: I just  finished “SocialCorp: Social Media Goes Corporate” by Joel Postman, which I actually got as a prize at a Silicon Valley tweet-up last week after co-winning a karaoke contest. The humiliation was  worth winning this book. It was a fabulous, educational read. On a more personal note, I read the entire “Twilight” saga from Stephenie Meyer in five days over Thanksgiving. I am such a sucker for handsome fictional  vampires. I’ve now moved onto the “Uglies” series from Scott Westerfeld, thanks to a recommendation from Kevin Marks.

PPR: What’s the coolest tech gadget that you own?

JL: OK, don’t  tell the folks over at ZDNet this, but I am not much of a gadget geek. I am a cyber nerd, Internet geek, and enterprise technology fangirl. So I suppose my  coolest tech gadget is my TomTom portable GPS. I am considering buying a Kindle, though. Does  that count?

PPR: If  you could meet anyone, who would it be and why?

JL: I know I am supposed to wax intellectual with this type of question, but I can’t get away from my honest answer. James Spader. I have had a crush on him since I was  about 12 years old. Something about geeky, cocky eccentricity. If I were to  wax intellectual, I would say Bob Woodward. Like many former journalists (I  worked at daily newspapers from 1993-2000), he was the reason I began my news career pursuits in the first place. I’ve had to settle for being his Facebook  friend, along with 3,000 other people. That’s closer than I’ve gotten with Spader.

PPR: How  many hours a day do you spend in front of the computer?

JL: Let’s see, I wake up every morning between 5-6 a.m., wash up, get on the laptop and write my ZDNet blog of the day, check into work email, then take a shower, get  ready, feed the cat and head into the office. I usually work through lunch at my desk and leave between 5-6 p.m. Come home, pet the cat, make or order dinner, then get back online and catch up on email, and begin outlining my blog post for the next morning, plus miscellaneous day job work. I go to bed  about 10-11 p.m. and read until I fall asleep. I’m afraid if I really add up  the hours I’ll cry. Not every day is like this, of course. I do make it out  for social events every now and then. If I am not  asleep.

PPR: What’s your favorite vacation destination?

JL: For the last couple of years, most of my vacations have been spent in beautiful Long Island, New York. Ah, paradise. I had the fortunate experience to discover some unknown family members a couple of years ago and I take every opportunity I can to immerse myself into their culture (“Old World” Italian) and learn as much about my heritage as I can. What’s funny to me is that I find it easier to relax there than say if I were on a beach somewhere, wishing my BlackBerry were nearby. My family’s quality of life and appreciation for quality time is contagious when I’m around it, and I love the disconnection from chaos  that I experience when I am there.

PPR: What do you  do for fun?

JL: See questions #3,  #4 and #8. Other than reading, hockey games and blogging, I play Wii (wait, is  that a tech gadget?), I like to go wander about trails in the Bay Area with  friends, I play every two weeks or so in a No Limit Texas Hold ‘Em poker tourney, I’m a huge music fan and I like to go out and see live shows (mostly of the rock persuasion) and I get my laughs at the Improv. That’s about all I have time for right now. In 2009 I hope to bring back some of my other hobbies. Especially those of the outdoor, active variety.

PPR: What’s the coolest thing that’s come your way as a result of  social media?

JL: Besides this interview? I’m fortunate in that it’s hard to pick just one. My ZDNet blog, for one. I never thought I’d again have a chance to write for a news organization after jumping the fence into marketing eight years ago. Book authorship-lite, is another. Julio  Ojeda-Zapata asked me to write the foreword for his “Twitter Means Business” book, and I’m currently writing a chapter for Tracy Tuten’s “Enterprise 2.0” book series due out in 2009. Top that all off with the icing of fabulously talented new friends I wouldn’t have otherwise met. I shudder to think where I’d be without social media. Is that sad? Nah. I think it’s spectacular.

PR Agencies Should Not Have to “Return” to Client Service in a Down Economy

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We’re excited and proud to welcome our two newest clients – Contactual and Litle & Co. We’re particularly proud of this announcement not only because it caps off another year of growth for us, but because Contactual’s CMO, Karen Leavitt, has returned to PerkettPR for the third time in her career. There is no better testament to our ability to deliver solid business ROI than when clients become repeat customers and continue to hire us as they move along to new companies over the years. Thank you, Karen!

While new client wins are certainly a reason to celebrate, the news also brings us back to a core value that should always be top-of-mind: client service. If we didn’t provide excellent client service we wouldn’t have repeat clients like Karen. I’ve read several articles over the last few months about the “return of client service” in a down economy. While I understand this mantra might be relevant (we can only hope) in consumer-facing businesses such as retail, travel & tourism or restaurants, it seems irrelevant for the PR industry.

If it takes a down economy for you to be treated right by your agency, then you are with the wrong agency. I know the situation – it’s part of what drove me to start PerkettPR over a decade ago: the economy booms, agencies get more incoming business calls than they can handle, they want as much revenue as possible and it drives them to take on new clients without having the proper account teams in place to deliver great client service. Staff is stretched too thin and as a result, service suffers.

In a down economy, when the client roster begins to shrink a bit, agencies are almost, by default, “right sized.” A smaller client roster can enable them to spend more time on each account and clients see an uptick in attention to detail, senior involvement and results. In addition, agencies can take a moment to reflect on what could be improved, what overall client health looks like and which services are delivering the best ROI – to the client and the agency.

So how is your agency relationship? What do you wish PR agencies would do better – now and in the future? Have you taken the time to assess if client service is consistent? Has your agency asked you how they can improve, or offered new ideas for what is certain to be a tumultuous year?

Agencies – use this time to focus on top-to-bottom client service improvements – and make them a part of your ongoing culture. Ask your clients if – and how – their priorities have changed for the year and how you can subsequently redirect communications efforts to ensure they meet their goals. Have you asked clients their assessment of the economy’s effect on their business? The industry? Are you helping them to focus on the most cost-effective campaigns, or have you been moving forward business-as-usual?

Excellent client service should be your staff’s number one priority at all times. If you’ve strayed from this focus in the past, take the necessary steps now to get back on track – and ensure such changes last well beyond the economic rebound.

Join us in Boston tonight for open party to benefit The Staley Foundation

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The holidays are here, times are uncertain and budgets are tight. But you can maintain your financial prowess and still help a good cause just by showing up at a party tonight.

The PerkettPR team has helped organize an informal, open holiday get together in an effort to raise funds for Alicia Staley’s Staley Foundation. Just by showing up and giving your name to us (find me and sign a list), $2 will be donated to Alicia’s new foundation.

The Staley Foundation is a non-profit charitable organization based in Boston. TSF raises money for patient programs at Tufts Medical Center and United Medical Memorial Hospital in Batavia, NY, through education, advocacy, and immediate financial assistance. Alicia is a three-time cancer survivor working to make a difference in other cancer patient’s lives.

If you’ve been looking for an affordable opportunity to give back this holiday season, please join us tonight. Bring your friends – the event is free and open to anyone* – and includes a 50/50 raffle. Alternately, if you cannot attend in person but still want to help, you may donate online here via ChipIn!

Special thanks to Charise Glasson of CPG Interiors and Mark Williams of The Social Net for their generous donations.

The Event:
Monday December 15, 2008 from 6:00pm – 11:00pm

Hennessey’s Upstairs
25 Union Street
Boston, Massachusetts 02113
*cash bar

Systems Thinking & the Unintended Long Term Consequences of Slashing Your Marketing Budget Now

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“If I was down to my last dollar, I’d spend it on public relations.”
– Bill Gates

I’ve been learning about Systems Thinking lately and I believe it applies to our blog post on Tuesday about why PR and marketing budgets should NOT be cut in a down economy (and of course, why our PR Stimulus offer can help!)

The basic belief behind Systems Thinking is that doing the most obvious thing is not always – in fact, rarely – the best thing to do. Problems are a result of multiple, integrated issues, not just one component. Few business leaders take the time – or understand how – to identify the events, trends and causes that lead to a problem or that should be considered in a solution (a “causal loop”). So often the “fixes” that business leaders apply to problems fail and rather create a temporary solution for today that lead to more problems tomorrow.

I would say that applies to pulling PR and marketing as one of the first cost cutting measures. If no one knows about you and your company, no one buys, if no one buys, well – you get the picture – it’s a related loop. Shouldn’t marketing continue to be a priority for businesses in a down economy…. shouldn’t PR be one of the last things to go? I’d be interested in how systems thinking experts would analyze this situation, given that systems thinking is supposed to help organizations that want to develop and sustain competitive advantage. Just as your competitors are going quiet, don’t you want to grab this opportunity to fill the void? If you put PR and marketing on hold now, you could spend even more money in the future trying to completely “relaunch” from a marketing perspective.

The noise is quieting down as your competitors are hunkering down – work with experts (PR agency, social media expert, marketing consultant – whatever is best for your business) to ensure that your marketing is smart, nimble, focused and effective. Take advantage of the opportunity left by others who only see the obvious route – to slash budgets – but haven’t taken the time to think about the long term ramifications and solutions. Look for agencies (yes, like ours) that know “PR 2.0” – the strategies and tools deployed for such can deliver more cost-effective campaigns that still keep awareness at an all time high.

Marketing and promotion in a down economy is a golden opportunity for those who can think dynamically and understand how “today’s decisions can have both intended and unintended consequences – leading to tomorrow’s successes and problems.”

Experts Say Don’t Cut PR in a Down Economy – PerkettPR’s “PR Stimulus Package” Can Help

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In this time of economic uncertainty, many organizations pull in their marketing efforts and go under the radar in an effort to save money. However, some of the most experienced business executives have suggested that slashing PR and Marketing is the last thing you should do:

“Historically, PR, Marketing and Advertising budgets are the first to be cut; however, that could be one of the first mistakes a business makes in an economic crisis.” CBSMarketwatch

“In a downturn, aggressive PR and Communications strategy is key.“ Doug Leone, VC, Sequoia Capital –
Silicon Alley Insider

“It’s incredibly important to be risk-takers in the economic climate we’re in, when people have a tendency to pull back. In economic times like these, you don’t hunker down and go in the bunker,” Michael Mendenhall, senior vice president and chief marketing officer at Hewlett-Packard
New York Times

“Ramp up PR and marketing communications aggressively,” Marketing Sherpa, (summary of Sequoia Capital presentation takeaways)

“Don’t go to the ledge. Don’t let the urgent overwhelm the important. It’s very easy now to panic, and we cannot panic. Invest in your brands now, especially in these dry times. The easiest thing is to shut down, and that’s the worst thing.” Joseph V. Tripodi, chief marketing and commercial officer, Coca-Cola
New York Times

So what can you do and how can we help?

So you’re not HP or Coca-Cola and you definitely need to watch your marketing budget. We want to help you do so without giving up on PR and Marketing. As a result, for any organization that partners with PerkettPR by 12/31/08, we’ll include a social media boot camp at no cost and an incentive-driven three month trial for your PR campaign*.

Why social media? Well, there’s a lot of chatter about PR and social media these days. In particular, a recent panel event hosted by an industry peer stirred up the question “Is Social Media Killing PR?” No, social media is not killing PR – in fact, for those who “get it,” social media is making PR stronger and better. But you need to make sure you’re working with someone who understands it – and that happens through participation. PerkettPR has long been participating and learning – and we want to help others understand why social media is a good thing for PR, not a PR killer. In addition, social media is an affordable way to maintain brand presence and increase awareness – when done right.

PerkettPR is proud to have received positive industry feedback about our ability to bridge the gap between traditional PR, “PR 2.0” and social media. Jennifer Leggio of ZDNet recently referred to us in her post “Social Media Will Not Kill PR but it does expose industry weakness” – as one of the handful of PR firms who “get it.” Well-known social media and digital relationship master, Chris Brogan, long ago referred to PerkettPR as an innovative agency leading the way in PR and social media:
“Perkett is versed in the traditional tools of PR, but also skilled in the emerging social media and social networking space. LOTS of organizations are claiming this, and there are lots of leopards out there changing stripes. Christine and her organization are walking the talk. Pick an emerging social network, and I promise you, Christine will have an account, or she’ll have already decided it’s not a value to her clients. That alone is worth your attention and consideration.”

In addition, IT journalists recently rated our firm as one of the Top Tech Communicators – proactively identifying (no predetermined list) PerkettPR as a “best of the best” to work with, in a survey by PRSourceCode. Mike Arrington of TechCrunch calls us “one of the good guys” and says, “When you guys call, I pick up the phone,” in the comments of his August post about PR.

PR is important and social media is a new and crucial element to enhancing its effectiveness. Work with us to learn how to maximize your PR and marketing efforts even in a down economy. Consider it our “PR Stimulus Package.”

*You can contact me directly at 781.834.5852 or cperkett[at]perkettpr.com to hear details and learn more. Better yet, connect with me or our firm on Twitter!

For more on the importance and influence of social media, read:

Moms and Motrin, New York Times

The Five Questions Companies Ask About Social Media, Web Strategy blog by Jeremiah

Social Media will Change your Business, BusinessWeek

How Twittering Critics Brought Down Motrin Mom Campaign, AdAge

Social Media: A Business Marketer’s Guide, iMedia Connection

Web2.0 Summit SF TweetUp 11/6

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Fred (@FredFunk) and I (@MosleyPPR) took a few moments to stop by the @TimOReilly Web2.0 TweetUp last night held at the House of Shields on New Montgomery street in SF (@schlomo). All in all, the event was the usual group of technophiles and entrepreneurs, but I don’t think they expected it to be so crowded and so difficult to network there. This was pretty evident when they tried to make an announcement to welcome everyone to the event and they had to resort to standing on a bar stool and shouting with very little success.

With no name tags and a ‘mix it up’ mentality of folks just meandering, among locals having drinks after work, it made it tough for us tech geeks to tell who was who. Our recommendation for next time is never doubt the power of Twitter and plan for a big crowd of folks to show up especially on a Thursday night. Must  have name tags or at least a separate room set aside to corral the tech geeks into the same place for optimal networking and cocktail enjoyment.

In any event, it was good to get out and unwind for a bit. It was also nice meeting Tim O’Reilly in person, and thanks to Luc Levesque from @TravelPod for snapping this shot of Fred and I with Tim on his way out for the night.

Fred Han, Tim O'Reilly and Heather Mosley at Web2.0 Summit SF TweetUp

Fred Han, Tim O'Reilly and Heather Mosley at the House of Shields

Christine Perkett interviewed on NewMarketingTV

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PerkettPR’s own Christine Perkett talks with BMA President Michael Lewis on NewMarketingTV during the last day of the 2008 New Marketing Summit at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts. All of the video interviews that Mike created during the summit can be found on the NewMarketingTV YouTube page.

Meeting of the New Marketing Minds, Part 3

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This is Part 3 of my series of takeaways from the 2008 New Marketing Summit at Gillette Stadium. Part 1 focused on the importance of listening, while Part 2 focused on content creation and becoming your own publisher. Today I’ll share some of the ideas mentioned around controlling your brand online.

Lose Control – Heck, you already lost it, but it’s all good

If you can’t beat them, join them. Smart corporations are quickly realizing the value in giving up control of their brands and putting it into the hands of their customers.

I really enjoyed David Meerman Scott’s keynote “World Wide Rave: Creating triggers to get millions of people to spread your ideas and share your stories.” During his presentation, David shared six “Rules of the Rave” from his upcoming book entitled “World Wide Rave” which will be available March 3, 2009.

According to a description from the book’s microsite, a World Wide Rave is when people around the world are talking about you, your company, and your products. Whether you’re located in San Francisco, Dubai, or Reykjavík, it’s when global communities eagerly link to your stuff on the Web. It’s when online buzz drives buyers to your virtual doorstep. And it’s when tons of fans visit your web site and your blog because they genuinely want to be there.

One of his six “Rules of the Rave” and a key theme from the conference was “Lose Control.” According to Scott, the new rules of marketing mean you have to give up control to reach your customers. Don’t require people to give up their information to get information because it’s not working. If you make your information totally free to the public then you are likely to get a better response.

Sometimes you have to give a little to get a lot – and it works. David offered the example of how the Grateful Dead was the first band to allow its audience to record live concerts. This practice ultimately made them the most popular touring band in history.

Another great example was the Cadbury Gorilla video. Cadbury created a video of a drum-playing gorilla set to Phil Collins’ – In the Air Tonight. Now Gorilla’s have nothing to do with the Cadbury brand and the viewer didn’t even know it was Cadbury behind the video until the end when its logo appeared. What was even cooler than this video concept was that people actually took the content (content creation again) and made mash-ups of the same video to different music and released their own version. And within each and every one, the Cadbury brand appeared at the end. That didn’t cost them a dime for that additional exposure – excellent!

This isn’t your grandfather’s marketing

While the concept of new marketing is really exciting, we need to remember, as Christopher S. Penn pointed out, that new marketing is not a shiny new object so don’t treat it as such. Instead, look at it as another tool in your toolbox. There are ideas that have been done way before the internet existed that you can incorporate into new media. It’s a balance of finding what will work best for your organization.

So before you decide to jump in and incorporate some new media into your organization be prepared to stop, listen, create and let go. Visit www.GoNewMarketing.com for more information on upcoming New Marketing Summit events throughout 2009.