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I can be the talent, too

Posted on by Brian Lee

A couple of months ago, the Greater Madison Convention & Visitors Bureau asked me to be a part of its fall marketing campaign, to which I quickly answered YES!

We did photo shoots at the Dane County Farmers’ Market, Capitol Chophouse (at 10 a.m. for a romantic dinner) and the downtown location of the Great Dane (at 11 a.m. for a post-football game celebration) in mid-August.

I’ve been on the other side of the shoots before, telling the talent how to pose and the photographer/videographer what I want shot/filmed. It was interesting being on the other side–I hope my perspective made me easier to work with!

It also was nice working with Kate Dale, the marketing manager that I knew through a mutual friend, and John Maniaci, the photographer with whom I used to work at the Wisconsin State Journal.

So, do you want to see the results? Click through all the links on the following landing page to see the photos: http://www.visitmadison.com/food/

Bad decisions by a company

Posted on by Brian Lee

One responsibility of a public relations or marketing department is to explain to senior management what the outcomes of any company decision would be. Usually, bad decisions can be stopped or altered in the pre-planning stages before it gets too late.

I can’t imagine this scenario was played out at Netflix. In July, it announced its DVD rental and streaming video services would be sold separately at $8 each. Netflix’s indifference toward its customers’ backlash led one analyst to say, “This would appear to illustrate that Netflix is simply not concerned with the prospect of losing customers.”

Customers will always have concerns over price increases, but Netflix had a double-whammy, as its streaming service also was being reduced (despite promises of increases). One or the other could have been tolerated over time, but not both.

In this AP article, it mentions Starz Entertainment ending negotiations (meaning fewer streaming options), and Netflix losing 600,000 customers from June to September.

Well Netflix, you’re getting what you deserve. Bad decisions for your customers always lead to bad outcomes for your company.

Need for media training

Posted on by Brian Lee

I always advocate to clients the need for media training. Even if they are never interviewed by the press, it’s still good to learn how to speak on message in front of other audiences. And most importantly, you don’t want to miss an opportunity to say something positive.

The last point is clear in The New York Times Magazine‘s interview with Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder. The billionaire has been a constant target of criticism by both fans and the media since buying the team in 1999.

Snyder certainly didn’t make things better for himself in the article. He comes off as defensive and uncaring; I can’t imagine he’s ever had any media training. For example:

  • He babbles when asked why as a Republican is he going to install solar panels and plug-in stations at the stadium. A better answer would have been, “We care about enhancing the fan experience at FedEx Field, and this provides us the opportunity to do so.”
  • Snyder becomes irrational when asked about his lawsuit against a newspaper and admits he did not read the (entire) article. First of all, I can’t believe his lawyers agreed to allow him to sue, since those cases usually favor the medium. Still, he could have said, “There were many factual errors in the article, and we have repeatedly asked for a correction. That is all I can say.” 
  • He says “the media overblows most things” when asked about the constant drumbeat of negative stories about him. Dan should have said, “Winning is always the cure. We are putting the team in a position to have success. For example …”

It gets worse in the online extension of the article. See for yourself: http://6thfloor.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/09/12/daniel-snyder-owner-of-the-redskins-keeps-on-talking/?ref=magazine