So Long 2011, The Year Of Distractions

And welcome 2012, the year of pause, thought and enriching the brain!

It’s been several weeks since I posted anything, which is rather shameful for a blog. My reasons? An insane end-of-year rush to complete client deadlines, several new accounts and the inability to spend any time devoted to feeding my brain or thinking (which almost always leads to my being more productive). Isn’t it ironic that being “busier” actually moved me backwards by the year’s end?

So after two weeks of being immersed in reading and, well, doing nothing, I’m ready to tackle a year that will be filled with less rush and panic-driven deadlines and instead filled with more time to reflect, think, and strategize – which is really what my clients’ are looking to me for. And, most importantly, enjoy life.

This resolution is not unique to me, however. The author Pico Iyer wrote a brilliant piece in the New York times last week - “The Joy of Quiet” – lamenting about the loss of quiet and quiet time.

“We have more and more ways to communicate, as, but less and less to say. Partly because we’re so busy communicating. And we’re rushing to meet so many deadlines that we hardly register that what we need most are lifelines. So what to do? The central paradox of the machines that have made our lives so much brighter, quicker, longer and healthier is that they cannot teach us how to make the best use of them; the information revolution came without an instruction manual. All the data in the world cannot teach us how to sift through data; images don’t show us how to process images. The only way to do justice to our onscreen lives is by summoning exactly the emotional and moral clarity that can’t be found on any screen.”

Iyer was writing about all of us, wasn’t he?

But enough about me. I’ll be back tomorrow with a post on next week’s CES conference in Las Vegas – and why marketers and agencies should be going.

In the meantime, if you haven’t read the The Joy of Quiet I strongly urge you to.

Shame on Lowes for Pandering to Special Interests: When a Home Improvement Giant Could Use a Fixer-Up All its Own

“Never stop improving.”

Well, at least for Lowes, the above slogan parked in bold blue all caps on the top left corner of the home improvement giant’s webpage, it’s an appropriate start.

The question is how will the company’s recent public relations snafu ultimately pan out as their corporate brass has plenty to improve on now. (And we’re not talking basic roof repair) Earlier this week, the shopping behemoth that only days ago was about as far removed from politics as one of its featured bathroom redesigns, has landed itself in quite the brouhaha.

In yielding to mounting pressure from a variety of sources, including our very own Florida Family Association, (more on that later) the company pulled an ad it was running on commercial breaks for The Learning Channel’s All-American Muslim, a new reality TV show that purportedly shows real Muslims going about their daily lives – you know exactly like the rest of us. I don’t know about you, but the very fact that we need a program such as this to allay our tired and torturous fears of the proverbial “other” – in today’s day and age is frightening. But I digress.

As we enter the peak shopping days and weeks of the increasingly secular holiday season, you can bet this communications bombshell was not what Lowes was expecting. Already Google is working its magic. Google “Lowes” and the fallout from the pullout is the fourth hit. And with the decision making front pages news on CNN.com on Tuesday and Connecticut congressman Chris Murphy addressing the matter on the House floor, calling Lowes’s decision a rubber stamp on “basic foundational bigotry against a major American religious group,” you can bet their troubles are only beginning.

From a public relations perspective, this is the kind of textbook nightmare we dread: an apolitical company becoming unintentionally embroiled in a very politicizing and polarizing mess. So all this begs the question, where did Lowes go wrong?

Lowes went wrong by not following the advice I wrote about in my recent Blagojevich blunder post. Louder voices aren’t more credible voices. And while the company continues to say that its ad pulling had nothing to do specifically with the Florida Family Association, a nonprofit whose web “About Us” description says the group aims to, “educate people on what they can do to defend, protect and promote traditional, biblical values,” it seems VERY likely that it was at least a contributing factor to a collection of below-the-radar narrow-minded people and groups.

Shame on Lowes for pandering toward groups that mask McCarthy-style witch-hunting in the guise of religious enlightenment –whether they’re a 501C3 or not.

There’s comes a point in any communications campaign where all the writers, all the support staff, all the leaflet designers, and press release pitchers, must step aside and let the company speak for itself – without the buffer PR teams necessarily provide. While Lowes has been diligently responding via Tweet and in the press, perhaps a more transparent apology would be in order –without our help. Until now Lowes CEO Robert Niblock, 48, has been mum on the controversy.

As Lowes closes out 2011 and opens 2012 searching for repair and replacement parts in its “corporate improvement” aisle, we can all rest comfortably knowing that the modern social media landscape and blogosphere won’t let red meat like this out from under its digital jaw grip easily. And if there’s a communications upside to any of this, All-American Muslim, which has enjoyed modest success with 908,000 to 1.7 million viewers since its November 13 launch, stands to gain at least something of a ratings bump following the buzz.

Then again, the show’s producers probably wished Lowes would never have gotten involved in the first place and “never stopped improving” their advertising campaigns somewhere else.

The following article by Vanessa Horwell, Chief Visibility Offirce of ThinkInk, originally appeared on eHotelier on 12/14/11.

Shhhhhh. Listen. Can you hear them?

It's the sound of millions of consumers, leisure travelers, hotel guests and on-business patrons alike, across all demographics, adding to the mobile phone bandwidth super highway by jumping on the mobile phone bandwagon.

Roughly a quarter century into mobile phones' mainstream release, the technology - and its uses - has sure come a far piece. Mobile phones and their increasingly "intelligent" smartphone cousins have morphed into the ultimate digital Swiss Army Knife -marrying the best of computer-based processing power with the ease, simplicity and functionality of a 5-ounce pocket-sized device. Not bad, huh?

For hotel managers looking to capitalize on these rapid and profound changes there are only two words: Game on.

Without doubt, the mobile phone has become ubiquitous: 77% of the world's population (5.3 billion people) owns at least a basic mobile phone, capable of receiving SMS messages. Not to be outdone, though, the smartphone is playing some Major League catch-up ball, making up anywhere from 17% to as much as 63% of the global marketplace in some regions. Today the average global smartphone penetration rate hovers at around 27%, but is growing rapidly.

Increasingly mobile phone users see their devices as "always on" extensions of their everyday lives. From so-called "couch commerce," to mobile couponing, to booking airline flights while sitting at a traffic light (hands free of course), the mobile phone and the opportunities presented by the channel are just too great for hoteliers to ignore.

With this background picture in your mind right now, it's surprising, then, that the hospitality industry, specifically hotels, has been relatively slow at embracing the mobile platform. While the challenges to embrace mobile are real, ranging from hiring the necessary tech-savvy staff, to ensuring data security, guarding against errors, and incorporating an ability for users to book their stays on the go, and even choosing which mobile operating system to embrace, none of these obstacles should relegate hotels to the mobile sidelines. Surveys indicating a strong desire for hotels to adopt mobile (92%) don't seem to be enough, however.

In many cases, actions can speak louder than words, so let's see some action in the mobile game please hotels! That said, "action" without a game plan or playbook is equally foolish. For hotels, going mobile isn't simply a catch-all phrase or something that screams, "hey, we have an app too." It's about knowing your customers' wants, desires, and mobile habits: today's hotel booker is no longer tied to the home or office computer - but is mobilized with mobile in hand, capable of searching, comparing and booking from anywhere, at anytime.

So here are my five recommendations for hotel managers to consider when launching their mobile programs:

#5 KNOW THE DIFFERENCE between web surfers and web hunters. Here's the deal: laptop and desktop Internet users tend to "surf" the web, casually scanning data, comparing prices, and toggling between multiple sites. In other words, they take their time. Mobile customers lack this luxury. Instead, due in part to a smaller screen size and limited ability to multitask, (or multitask as effortlessly) mobile users are said to be "hunters," carefully picking and choosing exactly what they want from the website's they've visited or the app they've accessed. For hotel managers that means designing a mobile website that contains less superfluous data. Leave the "About Us" section for the web and instead have engaging, lively pictures and video of your hotel and current guests (with their permission). Consider thumbnails, though, and don't overwhelm a mobile users viewing space. Interactive maps, too, help zero-in on what your hotel is trying to promote in terms of neighborhood and curbside appeal - all of which a mobile user would like to know.

#4 DUE TO MOBILE USERS' hunting nature, they tend to book their trips in an even narrower window than their laptop or desktop counterparts - a tech sector that has also seen a closing of the booking widow. Earlier this fall, for instance, when New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut were hit with an intense power line-collapsing snowstorm, mobile bookings for hotel stays onPriceline.com jumped 270%. Although mobile booking on hotel sites directly remains a small part of the marketplace, there's every indication that if hotels build it, customers will come.

#3 APPS ARE NOT ALL THAT. Rely on what works: Here's the caveat to the above. Mobile bookers, regardless of whether they use a meta-search engine or an online travel agency, (OTA) want simplicity. It may not be necessary to have both a mobile-formatted website and an app. Choose which one works best. The time, money, and effort that goes into designing an app could, perhaps, be spent better elsewhere. With more than 500,000 apps in the iTunes App Store alone, it's incredibly easy for a hotel app - even a great one - to become buried in the digital noise.

#2 MOBILE GUESTS WANT TO TALK... about you: Mobile users increasingly expect and demand an ability to post their thoughts and opinions (good or bad) about their travel stay and booking experience. This is already being done through aggregator and OTA sites, as well as through Facebook and Twitter. Why not shift that buzz back to your hotels' mobile site?

#1 USE MOBILE TO WELCOME YOUR GUEST - long before they step foot in your lobby: Mobile patrons are often tech-savvy, out-of-the-box thinkers. Hoteliers can use this to their advantage, as customers are increasingly receptive to purchasing in-hotel amenities like movies and room service, or securing hotel conference space, gym and spa time - all while on the go.

Considering that smartphone penetration rates are likely to increase, it's fair to say -as many already have - that a critical mass of public interest and user engagement is being reached. Whether or not 2012 is the year that crosses that threshold is anyone's guess.

But like the airline and retail industries before them, the hotel industry, armed with the above knowledge, needs to fully embrace the mobile channel and all its capabilities while understanding the unique characteristics of their users, their potential guests. Is your hotel in the mobile game yet, or still sitting out on the sidelines?

The following article by Vanessa Horwell, Chief Visibility Offirce of ThinkInk, originally appeared on eHotelier on 12/14/11.

Bowled Over By Blagojevich

The following article by Vanessa Horwell, Chief Visibility Offirce of ThinkInk, originally appeared on Marketing Daily on 12/13/11.

Maybe he thought his retro mop-top/’80s-poof hairdo would equal the success of the mop-top-clad likes of John, Paul, Ringo and George? Well, it didn’t.

Then again, when it came to Rod Blagojevich, the eccentric former Illinois governor, who was sentenced to 14 years in prison last week for crimes related to his attempt to profit from then-president-elect Barack Obama’s vacated Senate seat, his voice – and the less-than-truthful words he was known for spouting – was really what was on his mind. Never mind his head.

Despite some of the most theatrical grandstanding and public performance antics from any politician since the likes of Ronald Regan proclaiming his televised innocence (or ignorance) to the weapons-for-hostages Iran-Contra scandal, an uncharacteristically muted Blagojevich accepted the 14-year fate handed down to him by U.S. District Court Judge James Zagel.

"The harm here is not measured in the value of money or property. The harm is the erosion of public trust,” said Zagel.

Sometimes, even in our 24-hour, talking-heads news cycle, no matter how loudly you say something, fact trumps fiction and public trust is preserved. (Score one for us.)

It’s a lesson Mr. Blagojevich will have some 5,110 days to ponder in prison. For public relations companies and communication experts, trust is the currency we necessarily deal in – both for our clients and through what prism the non-PR-world views our work. And it’s a lesson refresher we can work on right now.

Perhaps the greatest lie propagated about our profession is the myth that we’re all in the business of outright Blago-style distortion. (Minus the federal wiretaps and profanity.) Pardon the pun, but nothing could be farther from the truth. Where in the PR rulebook does it say it is okay to lie? Nowhere. Are there times when the industry, by design of its client-driven nature, requires positive spin? Of course.

But I’d like to think that that relationship has an inherent self-correcting nature to it. There are far too many examples of companies whose in-house and out-sourced communications teams alike throw too great a curve ball on the proverbial spin.

The result? A failed company; a failed politician; a failed business leader, and a failed PR message.

Imagine if a modern cigarette company tried to promote the safety of its products as it once did decades ago? Talk about blowing smoke.

To be sure, not all lies—like claiming one’s innocence when trying to blatantly sell a senate seat – are Blagojevich big. Some, as posted by a recent socialmediatoday article, are almost funny and a little disturbing. Here’s a snapshot of some winners:

Ford Motor Co.’s admission that some of its gas gauges read full when they actually weren’t. The logic? With soaring gas prices, it was felt that the faulty fuel readout would inspire positive thinking.

Famed New York City restaurant Tavern on the Green chef claimed to be serving gluten-free pasta. Their logic? What’s a few allergic reactions versus the savings?

A report that Office Depot sales people upsell their customers, duping them to spend more, telling them those certain items aren’t in stock, when in fact they are.

As communication professionals, it’s our job to ensure the message our client puts forth is credible — and that’s not always exactly what they want to hear.

To do anything less, however, would violate the trust we have with our clients. Maybe it’s not the same level of public trust Judge Zagel was speaking of, but breaking it comes with its own sentence, too.

The following article by Vanessa Horwell, Chief Visibility Offirce of ThinkInk, originally appeared on Marketing Daily on 12/13/11.

Empty Hands and Open Wallets: Amazon’s Amazing Little App

Don’t pay us, we’ll pay you.

That’s pretty much the simple genius behind a new marketing gimmick in the form of an app being launched today by Amazon, the online shopping goliath, and growing threat to brick and mortar stores everywhere.

Starting today, smartphone users will be able to use the company’s free Price Check app (available on iOS and Android platforms) to scan the bar code of items in stores, take their mug shots, and report their price comparison findings back to Big Bro….I mean Amazon. But here’s the best part. Even if customers walk – or click – away with nothing, Amazon will still give its faithful participants $5 or 5 percent of the value off up to three Amazon purchases.

Now, I don’t want to oversell this, but I have to say, I think this is a really great idea. There’s been growing buzz this year in marketing and consumer circles alike that mobile technology is finally coming into its own, maturing from being a cool toy to an everyday necessity. Tech blogs and mainstream media outlets salivate over the inching upward smartphone penetration rates, which stands as high as 63 percent in some US demographics and is approaching 30 percent as a global average. But dry statistics only tell part of the story. Anecdotes like Amazon’s promotional plan really underscore the rapid changes reshaping the mobile landscape.

Think of it like digital democratization. Consumers are being empowered to essentially do the marketing hard work that’s at the core of any successful company: finding out what your competition is offering and what they’re selling it for. Amazon’s approach turns this effort into an almost scavenger hunt or game. The dollar award amount is trivial, yet I’d suspect that at the height of holiday season shopping, it’s high enough to get shoppers to notice, and seek to save a few bucks on items they were already likely to buy for themselves or others on their wish lists. It’s also a very good way to till the digital soil for future, more expansive campaigns, or ones that rely on detailed message marketing tailored to specific shoppers and their typical buying habits.

Of course, all good things must come to an end, and Amazon’s Price Check App $5 promotion will be over almost as soon as it begins, ending shortly before midnight. I’m sure everyone from Mom and Pop stores to the Big Boxes and everything in between will cry foul over Amazon’s Invasion of the Body Snatchers-like consumer takeover. But as a communications professional, and one who tries to keep her fingers on the digital pulse of the people, I can’t help but sing Amazon’s praise for an amazingly simple idea, made possible through some amazingly cool technology.

Happy hunting! The clock is ticking.

The Gift That Keeps on Giving: To Yourself

Leave it to marketing professionals to come up with this one. Buying yourself that little “I’ve earned it” pick-me-up has a new name: self-gifting.

Just in time for the peak of holiday season giving and receiving, evidence suggests that 60 percent of all shoppers will add themselves to their holiday lists, spending an average of $130, a 16 percent increase from last year. In the short term, many are quick to call this yet another strong indication that the still-weak US and global economy is taking its vitamins and getting stronger all the time. Deep discounts and the relaxing of recession-era belt tightening seems to have left customers in the buying mood.

But is it me, or does anyone else see a bit of a problem with this “I, Me, Mine” relapse? I remember reading somewhere that Americans’ gluttonous consumerism and anemic savings rate was supposedly at the root of our current economic troubles?

Ellen Davis, Vice President of the National Retail Federation, who was quoted in an Advertising Age post that addressed the phenomenon, rightly points out the pragmatic downside to such an aggressive self-indulgent holiday marketing campaign. If the holiday season becomes overly connected with adding oneself to their annual guest list, as people patiently wait for the end-of-year price slashing, how will retailers attract business during the other 10 months of the calendar, she asks?

Davis’ concerns, however, aren’t even number one on my list, shopping or otherwise.

The bigger question is this: what happens when the over-terming of trends and excessive labeling, waters down the meaning behind such actions? There’s absolutely nothing wrong with an occasional spur-of-the-moment purchase. Such actions send your brain’s pleasure center into the stratosphere, washed over with the neurotransmitter dopamine. And like that coveted end-of-day piece of chocolate, provides your body with warm and fuzzy feel good feelings. But when impulse buys are turned into a self-promoting season of “You’ve Earned It” and “Gift Yourself” tag lines, as is being done by J. Crew, hasn’t the meaning behind the purchases been lost?

Instead, what once felt good has morphed into another transparent attempt to get consumers to open their wallets?

As a public relations professional, and one who is keenly aware of properly calibrating messages for clients, marketers this holiday season would be wise to consider the pitfalls of overly promoting the self-gifting fad. Otherwise self-gifts could rapidly become self-returns.

To Post or Not to Post

The following article by Vanessa Horwell, Chief Visibility Officer of Thinkink, originally appeared on ehotelier on 11/22/11.

"Get it in writing."

It's a phrase one often hears when guarding against legal action. It's also a physical affirmation of something positive or constructive. But when it comes to hoteliers, "getting it in writing" has a more nuanced meaning.

Ever since the first hotels and temporary lodging facilities arose, hoteliers have had to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of their most valued resource: their customers - especially when it came to the delicate world of written feedback.

But what was once relegated to a quaint leather-bound book on the corner of some concierge desk has expanded exponentially. First came widespread travel publications that would print with equal care both positive and negative reviews. Today, those efforts seem decidedly quaint as social media and the increasingly ubiquitous nature of mobile and smartphone technology allows current and former guests unparalleled commenting access - without the filter of a publisher. While it's easy for hoteliers to remain skeptical over such unfettered open access, the benefits of "going social" for hoteliers far outweigh the risks.

The logic behind this embrace is simple. The proverbial Pandora's box has already been opened. Former and future guests alike are already posting their opinions on sites like Facebook and Twitter about their travel experience, beginning with the initial booking and following through all aspects of the travel cycle including: dreaming, researching, experiencing and sharing. In addition, user generated content sites like TripAdvisor, and online travel agencies like Expedia and Priceline, among many others, are similarly embracing user comments. If hoteliers are concerned about losing control of their messaging, the best way to track what's being said about their hotel is by promoting a guest shift from private and independent site postings to include the more controlled public arena of a hotel website or its affiliated Facebook or Twitter page.

Recognizing the inevitability of this trend, a growing number of hotels are already jumping on board. Earlier this month Marriott Hotels announced it would allow guests from several of its locations, (Marriott Marquis in New York and the Marriott Courtyard near Orlando, among others) to post comments about their stay regardless of the quality of their experience. The announcement follows a similar move by Starwood Hotels & Resorts that also began allowing their preferred customers the ability to post comments directly to their website.

To be sure, hotels that choose this route require a firm commitment and necessary web-savvy staffing. In other words, it can't be done half way. Whether or not Marriott's open-access approach or Starwood's more limited approach is best for online guest reviews remains to be seen. One thing is clear. Even if hotels fail to embrace online customer reviews, they are already being written on numerous personal and public sites. Growing smartphone penetration rates, (around 62% for young adults ages 24-35) suggests postings will be grow easier, more mobile, and more frequent. In time not only will reviews alone be important to future guests, but the transparency and openness of a hotel that allows such access may also be factored in a guest's lodging decisions. This is similar to how some restaurant patrons choose their dining experience as much based on food quality as they do on whether the establishment offers free Wifi: an expected service.

So whether it's via text, personal website, or a hotel's own webpage, getting a customer's review in writing has always been a component to the hotel-guest relationship. It's time hotels welcomed the modern social media conversation by letting their guests joins theirs.

The following article by Vanessa Horwell, Chief Visibility Officer of Thinkink, originally appeared on ehotelier on 11/22/11.