Category: Entrepreneurship

What a year

Posted on by Brian Lee

On Jan. 4, Revelation PR, Advertising & Social Media celebrated its anniversary. I don’t mean “celebrated” like we had a party or anything. Nor did we gloat about it to our peers or through outlets like social media.

Instead, I quietly reflected while sitting on the newly installed futon. I remembered the ebbs and the flows throughout the year; now in the past month, it’s been a flood of new business and new business opportunities–a lot of it is due to my wonderful network.

I’m growing, the staff is growing and the business is growing. Heck, maybe I should replace the word “growing” with “evolving.”

Here’s to an exciting 2012. Let’s hope the Mayans are wrong.

Chicago Rocks

Posted on by Brian Lee

Last week was Chicago Ideas Week, which is described as bringing “the world’s top speakers together with Chicago’s best thinkers to create an ecosystem of innovation, exploration, and intellectual recreation.”

I was fortunate to be invited to the Chicago Rocks private party on Wednesday night at Park West. It featured a cocktail reception and a concert by Weezer.

It was more of a party atmosphere than networking event, though I still had the chance to meet many bright and energetic entrepreneurs. These types of individuals are exactly why Revelation works with startups; we love partnering with people that are passionate about their product or service.

(Plus, implementing PR and marketing strategies from the ground level is very important to a company’s success, as I explain to many entrepreneurs that I meet.)

Weezer was awesome, by the way. I wonder how much it cost to book them for this private event?

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.