Out of Control Marketing

Hi everyone.  Exciting news.  Out of Control Marketing is moving to http://www.gianninimpr.com/mpr-the-blog.html to better support my book, Marketing Public Relations.  Please take a minute to subscribe to the new feed.  Feel free to email me with any comments or suggestions.  Thanks, Gaetan

OK marketing PR people, we’ve been hearing the news media is dead for years, but I think we’ve always known it was just change we are seeing.  Take a listen to the On the Media segment below. Pay particular attention to the ideas of the Goldilocks approach and the “five F’s.”  These illustrate the changing demands on journalists, and when demand on journalists change our behavior as marketers has to change too-especially with regard to our relationship building and pitching techniques.  Can you prepare your media contacts to deal with the three possible outcomes of an anticipated story?  If so, you are an ideal Goldilocks source.  Forget about plain old exclusives and embargoes you need to help those best media contacts of yours to be first, fastest, factual, final and future.  Spend some time checking out Bloomberg and ProPublica and compare them to the more traditional media outlets you work with.  I’d love to have your take on this change.

Good morning Out of Control Marketers.  As you are well aware, word-of-mouth marketing (WOM) is a big part of Out of Control Marketing.  So, if you really want to know more about how to build WOM into your marketing repertoire, you need to check out SWOMFEST LIVE.  You should also think about joining SWOM.

While I am still busily working on finishing Marketing Public Relations, I thought I’d try to at least to pass along some good information when I get it.  So, I’d like to suggest that you check out Solutions Stars Video Conference.  I had the pleasure of working with a few of these folks while writing the social media chapter of the book, and I think you will find them insightful.  Make sure you spread the word.

Also, I bookmarks lots of great current marketing public relations and social media stuff to my Delicious account.  You can check that out at Delicious, through my Facebook page, or at the right side of my blog page. Feel free to share any of this.

I know I said I'd be back in September, but the book is on the fast track and the publisher wants it done, so that's what I've been up to.  I just finished the chapter on social media, and I've had the pleasure to work with Gary Vaynerchuk, among other great modern marketers.  If you are interested in social media, check out Gary's appearance on Fox's strategy room.  Remember to follow me on Twitter-you can also find me on Facebook, LinkedIn, and I even have a youTube channel now.  Enjoy.

OOCM is getting ready for a new season of following the world of PR and Consumer Generated Marketing.  This link is to get us set up with Technorati.  If you are not familiar with it, check it out.

Hi folks.  Web host has had some trouble.  Out of Control website and blog are running again.  Stay tuned for a post soon.  Thanks for your patience.

Hi everyone. A quick note to let you know that the Out of Control Library has been updated and is more user friendly.  Make sure you check it out. 

If you have read a book that is relevant to Out of Control Marketers let me know about it and I’ll add it to the library.

The first half of segment one of this episode of To the Best of Our Knowledge gets right to the point of the new media twist of Out of Control Marketing.  Clay Shirky  (author of Here Comes Everybody ) discusses consumer to consumer and political manifestations of OOCM, but they are great metaphors for businesses.  In his story about the stolen phone, Sasha-the alleged phone thief- behaves very similarly to the way many companies do when confronted by consumers or customers that expect something from them that they do not want to give.  Companies have had a history of hiding behind bureaucracy and technology, and using their size and strength to threaten the consumer, or, at least, make them feel helpless.  This is sort of what Sasha tried to do, but Evan used the power of the new media to build power of his own.  He managed to get millions of virtual supporters, and eventually get his friend’s phone back.   You’ll find a similar example of Warner Brothers® bending to the will of Harry Potter fans who wanted the freedom to indulge in “Wizard Rock” in segment 2.

The lesson to business is that you can’t hide from consumers anymore.  Mistreated or underserved consumers have the tools to band together and start a movement that is equal to the power of the company, and to potentially sway public opinion.  Fortunately, it works the other way as well.  Companies can work with consumers to create customer evangelists that spread the word because they appreciate a product or the experience of working with a company.  Fiskars®, the orange handled scissors people, have done an outstanding job of creating community with consumers through the creation of the Fiskateers “Crafting Ambassadors.”

For my professor friends who’d like a few discussion questions on this topic, please click here.



 

I have been asked to put up some of my older articles and interviews.  Here is a link to some of my articles and a video of me on television. I am the guy in the middle. My tie matched my shirt too well for TV. 

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