Farewell to a Friend

There’s just not much to say, except that we are saddened by the news that the Rocky Mountain News will publish its last issue on Friday. We will certainly miss this long-standing community resource and the reporters and editors who have become our friends over the years. We thank them for the news coverage they've provided and the consistent quality of their work. Best wishes.

~GroundFloor Media

The State of the Media (and therefore, our profession)

I know I’m not catching anyone by surprise when I say that traditional media as we know it is in trouble. I follow “themediaisdying” on Twitter and am reminded of this sad fact every day. Now, with the Rocky Mountain News up for sale and its future uncertain, the fact is hitting home even harder than usual. As public relations professionals, this is changing our daily lives and the fundamental ways we do business. Gone are the days of beat reporters with column inches waiting to be filled with news about their beat – even good news. Nowadays it can take several calls to various contacts in the newsroom to determine who might be around that day and MIGHT have time to cover your story – if it’s a REALLY big story. I’m not complaining because that creates more work for PR practitioners; I truly feel for my friends in the media who have so little time and so few opportunities left to cover the things they are passionate about in meaningful ways.

As PR professionals, we must stay on the forefront of these changes, maintain strong relationships with the reporters who are lucky enough to be left out there, and shift our thinking toward new media and new ways to reach the consumers we need to reach. Whether that’s through blogs, microsites, special events or cause-inspired campaigns, now more than ever is the time to think out of the box, be creative, flexible and – most of all – strategic. It’s a challenging time in our industry, but there are some great opportunities out there to do things in new ways and really make an impact. Good luck!

Religion, Politics and Burritos

Two topics we’ve all been taught to avoid in business meetings and casual conversations are religion and politics. But when GroundFloor Media looked for a way for Qdoba Mexican Grill to enter the world of social media, we decided to enter a conversation already taking place, rather than trying to create a new one. And what better topic to enter than one about the upcoming election?

That’s how TasteBudPolitics.com was born, and nearly 100,000 unique visits later, it seems to be a great strategy. Qdoba’s campaign is a nonpartisan look at 1) how Mexican foods describe people’s personalities – or Q-dentities – and 2) which candidates and issues are important to those people who take the personality quiz.

Personally, I find it fascinating how closely the national Taste Bud Politics results have tracked with national voter polls. And I find it extremely interesting that the only Q-dentity that supports John McCain more than Barack Obama on the national front is the “chips & salsa” group and that, based on analysis conducted by Dr. Alan Hirsch, director of the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation, Mc Cain is a chips & salsa personality. There are a couple of great articles about consumer product marketing campaigns that are playing on the election; if you’re interested see Joy Davis’ article in the Rocky Mountain News (http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/oct/25/companies-rev-up-ballot-games/) and Mike Beirne’s article in Adweek (http://www.adweek.com/aw/content_display/esearch/e3i6d1955ff988810b8dcab2f3399bcf90e).

No matter your Q-dentity or your political party, I urge you to get out and vote! In Colorado, you can vote early in a variety of locations through Friday. To find your early voting polling place, contact your County Election Officials (http://www.elections.colorado.gov/DDefault.aspx?tid=147).

Acting Smart by Acting Small

I just have a few minutes this morning, but I’d like to point people to Seth Godin’s recent blog post about acting small -- because it just makes so much sense, especially during these challenging economic times. As he explains it, “A small acting bank would never have invested in tens of thousands of loans that they hadn't looked at. And a small acting startup wouldn't hire dozens of people before they had a business model...” Check out the entire post at http://sethgodin.typepad.com/. It’s worth a few minutes of your time today!

~Ramonna