This is one for the book

From time to time there are those great life moments where an event, person or maybe even a vacation makes you stop and put everything into perspective. Or, maybe it is an expereince where something new is learned or a battle is won. I often highlight these experiences by saying "one day I will write a book and this will be a chapter."

This week definately deserves a chapter in the book as I had the opportunity to attend the Florida Public Relations Association (FPRA) conference where speakers provided insight on everything from new media and research to leadership and internet marketing. However, the highlight was the opportunity to meet and learn from two leaders in our industry: Harold Burson, founding chairman of Burson - Marsteller and Aaron Cushman, former chairman and CEO of Cushman & Associates.

Notable achievements for Mr. Burson (pictured below) include being the architect of the largest public relations firm in the world today. He started practicing integrated marketing decades before the term was even invented. Mr. Cushman has represented clients including Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr. and dozens of Fortune 500 corporations. He also tells the story of representing the White Sox in 1950 and how he created a music night at the park with a large orchestra and a promotion where visitors had to come to the park with an instrument in addition to their ticket. At the seventh inning stretch he had the conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra lead the 50,000 or so attendees in playing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" and that is where the tradition started.

Attending the Counselors' Network meeting at the FPRA conference and having the opportunity to chat with these two industry giants in an intimate room with other PR professionals from around the state was priceless. Some of the highlights from this discussion included thoughts on new media and citizen journalism. Aaron Cushman (pictured below) discussed the concern of the increased need of authentication with blogging and Harold Burson indicated that new media is a revolutionary process that supports the First Amendment. Mr. Burson also discussed how the media is becoming more responsible in pulling information from the internet and our industry challenge is real time monitoring. Both agreed that there is a great opportunity for newspapers to be more analytical and interpretive and to set the agenda for what is on the internet.

What an honor to learn from these leaders and to personally meet both of them. This is one for chapter two, career highlights.

YouTube is our reality

If you tuned in to the recent Democratic Presidential Debate (or like me caught the outtakes on the news) you noticed something very different this year compared to eight years ago. Enter 2007: A world driven by new media—blogs, podcasts, YouTube—all in an effort to keep us connected. My applause goes to CNN for what was dubbed as “an experiment” and “something never done before”—taking video questions from 39 ordinary citizens. With 2.6 million viewers according to the Nielsen ratings, it was the second most watched debate of the campaign season.

Even more interesting was that for the first time in history this debate had the highest 18 to 30 year old viewers. This is one more example of the power that new media has to reach this niche (and quite important) target audience.

The Republican Debate will be in our backyard on September 17 in St. Petersburg, FL, and you still have time to submit your questions on YouTube. In a political world with way too much hot air, the winner here is YouTube for adding some flavor and humor, and maybe even coming up with the summer’s hottest reality show.

How many geckos and cavemen have you seen lately?

One of my favorite commercials right now is the Geico campaign with cavemen. It really doesn’t get any better than a caveman in a psychiatrist’s office wanting to put his mom on speaker phone. And, I can even hear the music of the commercial with the “airport scene” running through my head. I don’t know if you call that branding or brainwashing.

At any rate, I found it interesting to learn that Geico’s $500 million advertising campaign has paid off with big dividends, according to a recent Advertising Age article (subscription required). With an increase in advertising spending by 75 percent since 2004, Geico now ranks number one in the industry for new customer acquisition. The next biggest spender was Progressive with a $265 million advertising campaign. Of the top four players—State Farm, Allstate, Progressive and Geico—Geico was the only company that achieved double-digit growth in the last four years. It is obvious that there is a pay-off for advertising spending (and having a solid brand). It is important to also remember that while advertising provides the big bang, public relations is a slow and steady course to tell the full story and build a relationship with the target audience. After the cavemen are dead we will always remember the public relations brand that has been ingrained in our consciousness. And, even a caveman can figure that out.

The power of social media

With social media, as with many things, practice makes progress. We are excited to take an important step forward with this blog and website, and I think Karen’s recent Tallahassee Democrat column on social media makes some important points:

Social media is all about sharing, and this can actually lead to (good) results. Yesterday I came across a video from this year’s Andy Awards, which gave an overview of Volkswagen’s “safe happens” campaign. The television ads caused a huge media stir for their depiction of shocking car crashes where the victims, in their trusty Volkswagen, would emerge unharmed thanks to the car’s impressive safety features.

The campaign extended onto the internet, where users could create custom Volkswagen Jettas and crash them into various virtual objects (trees, buildings, UFOs…)—hardly the image car makers are used to giving themselves. The media was outraged, and asked the question: Had Volkswagen gone to far? The dialogue continued, as the ad team struck back with a new ad featuring two women debating the media’s assertion that they had “gone to far”—only to get slammed into by an SUV half-way through their conversation.

Volkswagen’s campaign highlights the importance of integrating social media efforts with traditional advertising and public relations. And amid all the hype, the car maker’s previously desperate sales increased by 20 percent.

Want to know more about social media strategy? Check out Karen’s recent column featured in the Tallahassee Democrat.