Communicating in Beijing

And now a special post from our own Ramonna Tooley who is attending the Olympics in Bejing...

You probably won’t be surprised when I tell you that the little Spanish I know does me absolutely no good in China. That said, I keep resorting to it when trying to communicate because it’s the only foreign language I know. Here in Beijing, however, there is nothing about the language that is familiar to English or Spanish – or anything else I can conjure up for that matter. Regardless, everyone here tries very hard to communicate beyond the “hello” and “thank you” that I’ve learned in Mandarin. The volunteers at the venues are very good at saying, “Nice to meet you” and “Please turn around” (as they wand you in security) and “This way, please.”

My favorite recent example of communication is the sweet cab driver who pulled out a book that listed several countries and pointed to United States of America, to which I nodded enthusiastically. He then did the breaststroke in the air to ask if I’d gone to see swimming at the Olympic venue. I had really gone to see gymnastics, but I didn’t know how to motion that in the air in the cab, so, I said that I had seen swimming.

Upon exiting the cab, I provided my new friend with a USA Basketball Olympic pin, which he seemed to really appreciate. He waved the whole way as I walked through security to go into the hotel. One more good thing on the first sunny day I’ve spent in China and the day I saw the Americans win gold and silver medals at the women’s gymnastics all-around competition!

PS – When I went to Blogger to post this, the Web site was in Mandarin and wouldn’t let me log in. That’s why I asked Ashley to post this for me. So much for communication!

Get Connected: Three Speakers - Three Great Points of View

Last week GroundFloor Media hosted the latest in its Get Connected series, this time focused on the emerging world of social media. The three guest speakers included Tara Anderson from Lijit (http://www.lijit.com/), Tiffany Childs from Yelp (http://www.yelp.com/), and James Clark from Room 214 (http://www.room214.com/).

Tara, Tiffany and James provided insight and answered questions about social media outlets such as Twitter, Facebook and other technologies that are quickly staking their importance as communications outlets for public relations professionals. The insight shared at the meeting was insightful and had it not been for a necessary stopping point, I think we might still be chatting about best practices, tips and tricks for keeping up with these exciting new outlets! Briefly, here are the top tips given by each of the panelists as parting words for the event attendees:

• Tara suggested that anyone dabbling in social media, particularly those representing a company, don't act robotic. Be yourself!


• Tiffany had two great tips. Since people are talking about you, you might as well listen. And, she suggested that in the case of a negative review or posting or article, you step back, calm down and think your response through before you send it. In the world of social media, a hasty, heated response is likely to be cut and pasted faster than you can say "Whoops!"
  
• James suggested updating your contact book and starting to connect with your friends, family and colleagues through social media. The more you participate in social media on a personal level, the more savvy you'll become and soon it will become a natural part of your business practice.

The New Look of Facebook: Love it or hate it?

I've gotten a lot of questions in recent weeks about Facebook's new user design. (If you haven't seen it yet, just log into your usual account through this URL.) To be honest, I'm still processing how I feel about it. I applaud Facebook for keeping things simple and clean and not being wooed by splashy bubbles or cheesy graphics. This was (and still is) one of my biggest reasons for switching from MySpace to Facebook in the first place. I also like that my profile is now spread across multiple tabs instead of one ridiculously long page that requires about 30 minutes to scroll through. At the same time, I'm a creature of habit and I've really gotten comfortable with the old/current user interface. I know it's cliche, but I have to wonder... why fix it if it ain't that broke?

I'd love to hear what you guys think about the new design. Love it? Hate it? Still deciding like me?

And if you find yourself stumbling around the new design, Laurence John just did a blog post on www.makeuseof.com called "Finding your way around the new Facebook. He has a pretty strong opinion about the design, but also highlights the points you won't want to miss.

Take the Trek

One of the fabulous things about working at GroundFloor Media is that we are committed to working with great clients who have great stories to tell. And that’s not just lip service. That’s why it’s been so wonderful to work with the Denver Story Trek – the epitome of having great stories to tell!

If you haven’t checked it out yet, visit www.denverstorytrek.org to choose your trek through some of the best kept secrets in Denver. The landmark “hubs” of the Trek include the Molly Brown House Museum, Four Mile Historic Park, Black American West Museum, Byers-Evans House Museum and Kirkland Museum of Fine & Decorative Art. And while all of these establishments are well worth the visit, there are so many things to see along the way as well – like the Stoiberhof Mansion, which reveals a second Denver connection to the Titanic through mysterious passenger Hugh Rood, who lived in this mansion just blocks away from the Unsinkable Margaret “Molly” Brown.

The coolest thing about the Denver Story Trek, in my opinion, is the Trek Connect feature. By dialing in on your mobile phone, you can listen to stories along the Trek and record your own memories. There are nearly 40 recorded stories to choose from (and the list is growing), all with a unique perspective on Denver’s rich heritage. Go ahead, call in to share your story and become part of history!

TYKES ON TRIKES (and other wheels, too!)

One of our favorite non-profit partners, The Tennyson Center for Children (www.childabuse.org), is launching a huge initiative around the presidential election. If you have kids, get them involved by writing their first letter to the new president. "Dear Mr. New President" is a new Children's Letter Writing Contest that allows kid to have their voices heard in this most important election season. This contest is open to all children 18 years or younger and the top three entries will be given their awards and invited to read their letters aloud on the steps of the Colorado State Capital on Saturday, August 16 during the "Tykes on Trikes" parade at Denver's Civic Center Park. All entries will be forwarded to the presidential campaigns of both candidates. To submit a letter or to find out more, click here: Dear Mr. New President contest

So what is TYKES ON TRIKES (and other wheels, too!)? Hundreds of kids and families will celebrate kids at Denver's Civic Center Park on Saturday, August 16 at 9:00 a.m. With Denver being the center the American political arena and national media attention in late August, Colorado children’s groups are standing together in unity for the welfare and future of the children of our state with a powerful message to candidates running for public office. Denver’s Mayor John Hickenlooper and First Lady Helen Thorpe, along with other dignitaries will lead Children on decorated tricycles, bikes, scooters, wheelchairs and wagons from Denver’s City & County Building, down Bannock Street and 14th Avenue to the west steps on the lawn of the Colorado State Capitol. Once gathered on the lawn of the Capitol, leading elected officials will speak to the importance of this campaign, followed by a series of fun events for young and old alike.

This is a non-partisan, 501(c)3 public education event so come out and join and don't forget your Big Wheels!

- Laura

YELP! (No I didn't just cut myself, I've joined a new online community!)

Several months ago I attended a PR conference for GroundFloor Media client Morton's The Steakhouse. One of the sessions focused on social media, and one of the speakers was Andrea from Yelp.com, an online community where people can review almost anything in their local community (think restaurants, salons, shops - even banks and museums). I have to admit that when the session kicked off I had never even heard of Yelp.com and I was still just dipping my toe into the social media pool. But - after hearing Andrea speak I was intrigued and earlier this month I set up my own Yelp account.

After only a few weeks in the Yelp community I am Yelping every chance I get! To date I've Yelped about restaurants, my dog's veterinarian, local shops that I adore and even landmarks in New York City including Ellis Island and The Top of the Rock! And, beyond what I can share with others, what I'm learning from the Yelp community is tremendous. I've already established some new Yelp friends, determined that I live smack dab between the two best restaurants in Denver for fried chicken (hello, larger pant size), and I'm starting to dive a little deeper into the social media pool which is fantastically refreshing!

See here for a link to my personal Yelp reviews. Whether you decide to become a Yelper or simply want to lurk around on Yelp to find the best fried chicken in your neighborhood, I suggest that you give Yelp a try. Enjoy!

Recent reviews by Carissa M.

What's this?

Small Businesses and Social Networks

When people find out that we have a social media practice at GroundFloor Media, their first question almost always concerns social networking. Should I be using social networks to market my business? If so, which ones? And once I'm on a social network, how do I use it to attract new customers?

All good questions and a recent Forbes.com article offers some good advice for small business owners who are pondering taking the social networking plunge.

Be sure to check out the slide show on how to build your social network too.

Creative Campaigns That Actually Work

I think its safe to say that the majority of GFMers are suckers for super creative, out-of-the-box, thank-god-I'm-not-one-of-the-models marketing and PR campaigns. We love reading about them, we love brainstorming for them, we love executing them and we love pushing our clients out of their comfort zones. Of course, we do have one big caveat... the campaigns have to actually work. Unleashing street teams in clown costumes might sound creative (This is just an example. We never did a campaign involving clowns. Ever.), but it doesn't mean squat if it doesn't meet your overall program objectives.

Through the years, I've had the opportunity to witness and participate in many such campaigns. (You can read about one of my personal favorites during the launch of Coors Light's Cold Activated Bottle here.) Yesterday I stumbled across another one by Chik-Fil-A. If you missed it on your calendar, last Friday was Cow Appreciation Day at Chik-Fil-A restaurants across the country. The one-day promotion, an extension of its popular "Eat Mor Chikin" campaign, promised free meals to anyone who showed up a Chik-Fil-A restaurant wearing a cow costume. Apparently, the results were great and allowed Chik-Fil-A to capture many great snapshots of their customers in full moo regalia. MediaPost has a great write-up on the campaign here.

What about you? Do you have any favorite creative campaigns that actually delivered results? I'd love to hear about them!

Owen's Wish Comes True (in a galaxy not so far away...)

Thank you very much to everyone who has been sending get-well wishes to my son Owen over the past several months. We are very excited that his latest scans look great with no new cancer since the end of chemo. As many of you know, Owen was diagnosed with a malignant form of kidney cancer that had metastasized and spread to a couple of other spots in his body…but the surgery, radiation and chemotherapy have been effective and he is doing very well. Yaay, Owen! I truly appreciate how much support Lisa and I have gotten from so many people during this – from family, friends, current colleagues, former colleagues and friends of GroundFloor.

Our Make-a-Wish trip to Disneyworld for Star Wars weekend was fantastic and Owen had so much fun. He and Sela got to meet Darth Vader and Princess Leia and Anakin and so many other Star Wars characters. Owen even got to go on the Star Wars ride with the entire Star Wars Cantina Band!

Thank you to everyone at Make-a-Wish and Disney who put so much time and effort into making this an unforgettable experience for Owen. The chapter here in Portland (OR) has done so much for our family and for other families we have met at the children’s hospitals here…and I have heard wonderful stories about the wishes that the Denver chapter has granted as well.

For your viewing enjoyment, here are some photos of Owen’s Wish trip and of him playing with some of the goodies he got during his adventure. He’s pretty darn cute, huh?

--Rich (Miller)

Therapy Garden Healing the “Lost”

This past Saturday I visited a therapy garden with Cheryl Preheim of KUSA (NBC) at an organization called Lost and Found (www.lostandfoundinc.org). We were met at the front door by Loren Lichti, a counselor/therapist and an avid gardener. Lost and Found’s Transitional Living Program (TLP) emancipation program is based in Arvada and gives residential treatment support to emancipating youth who’ve typically come from the “system” (foster care, social services and/or youth corrections). The therapy garden was made possible by a $3,000 grant from the Colorado Garden Show.

Loren has worked with the young men in the TLP program to develop a therapy garden that includes natural space for one-on-one and group sessions. The garden has been carefully designed to incorporate flowers, vegetable and fruit bearing plants, bird houses/feeders/baths and seating areas. It is a vast improvement from the formerly weed-infested area. Loren told us it has been a slow process getting the guys outside to work with him in the garden. “Initially, the guys just watched, but after a few days, they decided to get their hands dirty and now they work in the garden 2-3 hours per day.” We spoke with several of the youth that morning which all have a tough story from serious addictions to broken families to mental health problems. One youth walked me through the garden and showed me various peppers and onions in his plot. He didn’t want to be on camera but mentioned he once thought gardening was for women but had changed his mind. “Now that my garden is growing, I kind of like coming out here. It is peaceful and I can think.”

Therapeutically speaking, remarkable things have happened in the attitudes and hearts of these young men. Loren shared a story about a young man who asked him how long the garden paths they created would exist as he wanted to know if, when he had a wife and kids, he could bring them back to show them the path he built. It was decided that all the garden paths would be named after the youth who built the path. Each path has a sign with the youth’s name, even the ones who have left. “It is kind of cool that when I leave a piece of me will be remembered here in the garden,” a youth told me.

It was an eye-opening experience to speak with these youth. I went home and hugged my kids. I also thanked my parents.

To learn more, check out the segment and interview with Cheryl Preheim here.

~Amy M.

Customer Service at its Finest

I love Seth Godin's blog, and his recent post about customer service is definitely worth sharing.

Enjoy...

When you least expect it.

I sent in a t-shirt order to Customlink a few weeks ago. Three days later, I got a note from someone named Lori that said, "Hi Seth,I noticed that you have designed shirts that appear to be for a charity event. If that’s the case, CustomInk would love to make a small donation to your team or to the charity itself on your behalf. Please let me know if your order is for one of these events. If you would like us to pitch in and support your cause, please include information about your charity event, a link if you have one or the organization’s name if there is no link to a team web page."

That's it. No policy, no standard operating procedure, no promise in advance. Just plain generosity.
It turns out that Customink does this as a matter of course, regardless of whether the customer has a blog or not. They don't do it as an inducement, they just do it.

Formula: The value of a perk is inversely related to the expectation of that perk.

Have a great Independence Day!

~Ramonna

HARO Happy Hour

Last weekend I had the pleasure of meeting the illustrious Peter Shankman in person. He was kind enough to host a public relations gathering Saturday night while he was in Denver. I’m happy to report that Peter is as witty as his e-mails suggest, and he is a genuinely nice person. The Denver-ites had a lovely time playing pool and sipping cocktails at the Wynkoop Brewing Company. If you’re on Facebook, you can check out the photos at http://tinyurl.com/6ekdlz. While you’re there, you can become a fan of HARO (Help a Reporter Out), too! All of the PR folks I know rave about the leads they get from this free service from Peter.
~Ramonna

One Last Post About Online Viral Video...

Yes, I've written about online viral video twice in the past three weeks, but I can't help it. Blame it on Gatorade and NewTeeVee, not me. I've already admitted hundreds of posts ago that I was addicted to social media and yes, viral video is a big part of that addiction. So here is one last fix that I'd like to share with you and then I promise to switch to a new drug of choice (Twitter perhaps?).

Our friends at NPR's Talk of the Nation just did a great show focused on online viral video. Called Behind the Viral Video: What's Fake, What's Real, host Neal Conan and his guests explore how videos like the Gatorade one are able to become to popular. Take a listen here. It's about 30 minutes long, but it's worth it.

Okay, now I'm off to viral video rehab.

Gatorade Gets it Right

A couple weeks ago I did a post entitled "Viral Video Done Right". In that post, I talked about NewTeeVee blogger Liz Shannon Miller and her thoughts about what makes a successful viral video campaign. With Liz's thoughts in mind, I'd like to share another example of a viral video that I believe deserves some serious kudos.

If you haven't seen it yet, take a peek below:



Though you wouldn't necessarily know it just by watching it once, this video was done by Gatorade. (If you watch it again you'll see the Gatorade bottle by her feet.) Supposedly the original version included some text referring to Gatorade, but subsequent versions have lost the ad copy and it's now running like wildfire across the Internet.

Great job, Gatorade. Proof again that in order to be viral, keep your focus on entertainment, not necessarily marketing.

Digital media and marketing... the love affair continues

According to a recent survey by PRWeek and MS&L Marketing, the use of digital and social media in marketing campaigns is on the rise. Now, unless you've been living under a rock for the last five years (or doing PR for a really old-school type company), this information shouldn't surprise you in the least. In fact, it's kind of like me telling you that kids' desire for pizza is on the rise. However, if you dig a little deeper into the results (which PRWeek does here along with some great case studies), you might find yourself raising an eyebrow or at least feeling vindicated. For example:

Of the survey respondents, 75.4% expect spending for digital/online initiatives to increase, compared to 42.5% for direct marketing spend, 36.5% for PR budgets, and 32.5% for ad budgets.

Check out the ad and PR numbers. Interesting, no? Mark Hass, CEO of MS&L, attributes the percentages to the kind of interaction or conversation that marketers are having nowadays with their customers. [Note: I'm paraphrasing here.] Imagine advertising being a monologue and traditional PR being a dialogue. More and more marketers are realizing that digital media enables them to engage in a multi-logue with their target audience. Totally makes sense to me.

Here's another interesting tidbit from the survey:

When asked which disciplines would be most likely to be cut if forced to do so because of economic conditions, digital was the least likely with only 11.1% of respondents noting that they'd cut budgets for those initiatives. Advertising was the most likely to be cut (58.3%), followed by point-of-sale marketing (55.6%), direct marketing (41.3%), and PR (35.3%).

PRWeek attributes these figures to the flexibility digital media offers marketers - especially in a shaky economic environment. Gone are the days of a six-month media buy that requires up-front payment. Digital media enables marketers to make changes on the fly and gather specific metrics.

The bottomline? The love affair between digital media and marketing still seems pretty steamy.

Check out the full article and download a copy of the report here.

Forget the "lucky duck" - he's one lucky dog!

One of the great benefits of working at GroundFloor Media is that dogs are a welcome part of the office environment. It's not unusual to see Maddie Love, Simba Tooley or Maxwell Wills running around our office space - so today when I felt a little guilty about leaving my dog, Otis, home for the next week while I'm off on vacation, it took only a second to realize that I'd simply bring him to work so we could spend the whole day together.

Little did I know that today is Take Your Dog to Work Day! Not only have Otis and I spent the day together, but he's already been the star of a photo shoot, eaten two cookies, received multiple belly rubs, chased a gingerbread girl toy, and had about three naps. Although there isn't much time at GroundFloor Media for chasing balls or squirrels, Otis is currently napping under my desk while I type away - just one more reason that GroundFloor Media qualifies as the best place to work in Denver!

Getting Grounded through AirLife

One of my favorite things about working at GroundFloor Media – besides the awesome people with whom I get to hang out every day – is our Get Grounded program. Through this program, I was recently able to support a charity near to my heart, Friends of AirLife. Each year, Friends of AirLife hosts the Annual AirLife Memorial Run/Walk and EMS Celebration in honor of the everyday heroes in EMS and those EMS providers who have lost their lives.

The race was created in memory of Pete Albplanalp, Beth Barber, Leslie Feldmann and Julie Olmstead, who died on Dec. 14, 1997, in an AirLife helicopter crash and related car accident. Since its inception, the race has evolved to include honoring the fallen heroes of air medical, EMS, fire and police, as well as the beloved Friends of AirLife founder and good friend of mine, Jim Ulrich, who lost his battle with leukemia in Dec. 2006.

Being able to take time to support this event each year as a committee volunteer is extremely important to me, as is the support I receive from GroundFloor Media in order to do so. Here’s how the Get Grounded program works in a nutshell… GroundFloor Media team members are able to volunteer for qualifying nonprofit organizations during normal business hours. And – if our volunteerism takes place after hours, GroundFloor Media donates funds to the nonprofit on behalf of our efforts at the end of each year. Not a bad way to support the charity of your choice!

Beyond the Get Grounded program, my friends at GroundFloor Media turn out to support the event and the Friends of AirLife, which truly means more than they ever know!

~Ramonna

Looking For Love?

If you've followed my blog posts, you know that I'm typically GroundFloor Media's resident foodie. But, if you've read my real story you'll know that another of my real passions is the health and well-being of animals. That's why it's my pleasure to break away from food for just a minute to remind you all that June is Adopt-a-Cat month. If you're looking for love in the form of a faithful, feisty, friendly or fearless companion like Salty Reilly (pictured here), a cat might just be the right fit for you! In Denver, you can visit the Dumb Friends League (www.ddfl.org) or any number of other area shelters to learn more about the many cats who are at just waiting to find the right family to call their own. GroundFloor Media is working with the Dumb Friends League and a handful of other feline-focused partners to launch an exciting cat-related campaign that we look forward to revealing later this summer. In the meantime, let us know if you add a feline family member to your home this month!

Tomatoes Create Headlines

As PR practitioners, we are always reminding our clients about the need for a crisis communications plan. No matter the industry – healthcare, technology, restaurant or education – you can never predict when a crisis will hit, or what the crisis will be. On June 4, in a move to ensure the health and safety of its customers, GroundFloor Media client Qdoba Mexican Grill pulled raw tomatoes from its menu in response to a reported salmonella outbreak among certain varieties of tomatoes.

Kudos to Qdoba for jumping on this issue before it became a media headliner! Together with the client, GroundFloor Media had time to help craft messaging and developed signage surrounding the preventative measure – and sure enough, the phones started ringing. Thanks to a fantastic partnership with our client and a willingness to drop everything and walk in lock-step, not only have we navigated a sea of nationwide media inquiries, the combined GroundFloor Media/Qdoba team actually maintained a sense of humor and, dare I say, is comfortably prepared to tackle the next crisis that comes our way.

If you’re contemplating adding a crisis communications plan to your “PR toolbox”, keep in mind these basic principles:

1. Develop your key message(s) and stick to them
2. Respond to the media as quickly as possible, but take time to gather the facts before answering
3. Follow through on commitments to answer additional questions the media may have
4. Utilize your corporate Web site to disseminate information to key audiences

Viral Video Done Right

I'm a big fan of the blog NewTeeVee.com. If you haven't visited it before, it offers a great perspective on the online video industry - part video critic, part industry reporter and almost always entertaining and newsworthy. Whenever a GroundFloor Media client mentions that they're interested in producing an online viral video, I always point them to NewTeeVee for a good dose of online video realism.

Last week, NewTeeVee blogger Liz Shannon Miller posted a great example of "Viral Marketing Done Right". The video shows an impromtu musical number at an airport and only briefly mentions the actual advertiser (lastminute.com).

"What makes it so effective?" asks Liz. In her own words..."Three things:

1. It doesn’t lie. While the video does not state up front what product it’s advertising, it doesn’t claim to be “found footage,” or an amateur recording, or anything other than what it is. In fact, it makes a big deal of mentioning up front that the production was put together by a large team of professionals. At the end, the lastminute.com text pops up, clear as anything. It isn’t exactly straightforward, but there’s no attempt at deception.
2. It’s really fun to watch. The performers are talented, the songwriting is tolerable and the hidden cameras do a great job of catching the surprised looks of those watching. I was more entertained by these three minutes than I was by the entirety of Chris Columbus’s Rent.
3. It’s relevant to the product being advertised. By capturing the looks on people’s faces as they’re ambushed by live performance, the ad is a poignant reminder of the joy of the theater. Lastminute.com is a ticket-selling service, and the swift URL drop at the end of the video connects the message to the product."