Lessons Learned from Pfizer: Choose A Spokesperson Carefully

Having a spokesperson for your business is only a good idea if the spokesperson truly represents your message. Using a celebrity either of the hollywood or ground-breaking kind can really give your product or service a boost. But when the chosen spokesperson is scrutinized for not being all that your company purports, your company receives unintended negative attention.

That is what happened to Pfizer recently when its commercials featuring Robert Jarvik were scrutized for offering "misimpressions." You might remember Jarvik as the pioneer behind the artificial heart. In Pfizer commericals for Lipitor, Jarvik refers to himself as a physician. It is that reference that is under scrutiny.

You see Jarvik is not a practicing physician - anywhere at this time. I have seen the television commericals featuring Jarvik (prior to the scrutiny) and I wondered whether he was still a practicing physician myself. You see I remember all of the hubbub over the artificial heart and I know for a fact that I was just a little girl. It was at least 28 years ago. So when I saw the commerical for the first time, I said to myself "is this guy really still a doctor?" Obviously, that same thought came to the minds of the Federal Drug Administration officials - hence the removal of the ad campaign.

So Pfizer has now pulled all of the ads featuring Jarvik. But I wonder who were the marketing and advertising executives that thought it was okay to have a non-practicing physician reference being a doctor or physcian in an advertisement? Had someone on the advertising team (external or internal) raised their hand and asked "Can we have Jarvik reference being a physician even though he is currently not?" I would not be writing about this topic. But alas, I am because someone on Pfizer's team failed to do their due diligence on the matter. Just think, if he had only referenced his experience in the medical field rather than calling himself a physician these ads would have been fine and still effective. Who would lik

The lesson here is to choose your celebrity carefully and conduct due diligence. Yes, it might be nice to have a local celebrity represent your car dealership in ads and commercials, but it will do your business no good if that same celebrity has a record of DUI's and perhaps one of them driving one of your cars.

Do your business and yourself a favor: when selecting a company spokesman make sure you ask the right questions of your spokesman and your marketing team. Avoid embarrassing moments like having to pull all of your advertising (which wastes money) and having to apologize to your customers.

Industry Ticks Up and Down Can Yield Opportunities for Small Businesses

In the Wall Street Journal's Small Business section, a story ran about how a small cleaning company was reaping the benefits of the housing downturn/subprime fiasco. Because many homes have gone into foreclosure or people are simply walking away (leaving physical and financial messes behind), banks are left with homes that are not clean or presentable enough to put on the market. That is where the small business came in.

The small cleaning company was able to secure multiple contracts with realtors eager to put foreclosed homes on the market. The cleaning company actually got a surge in new business because of the housing crisis.

The above is a great example of how to innovate your business to keep pace with market trends. No matter what industry, you can create opportunities generate new business to establish an edge over your competition.

Eco-friendly products and services are huge. Is there a way for your business to take advantage of the green phenomenon? Examine your business for green opportunities. If you run a business that uses chemicals for various purposes, are there green products you can use or offer your customers? Can your use green office supplies or institute green policies to save energy at your company? Seize the opportunities and once you establish your green initiative, you market your efforts via your website or promotional materials.

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In order to ride the wave of today's trends, your small business must constantly look for ways to leverage what's hot in the marketplace. Keep in mind your competitors might be looking for an edge up to, so be vigilant and leverage industry ups and downs to maximize your company's performance.

Maximize Holidays to Boost Your Brand and Sales

On the morning of Valentine's Day, as I neared my office in New York City I noticed a new street vendor. As I got closer, I noticed that it was a hotdog truck. I thought it was odd for a hotdog truck to be open for business at 7:45 am, but then I noticed that he wasn't selling hotdogs.

The truck had been transformed into a street-side Valentine's Day gift shop. He had large gift baskets wrapped in red cellophane with teddy bears and candy stuffed inside. The gift items were displayed in the customer window and he setup three tables in front of the truck that were stacked with Valentine items. Behind the woman in the customer window you can see the soft serve ice cream machine (obviously not running in 30 degree temperatures) which I am certain gets lots of use during the summer months. They even had roses for sale in a bucket of water.

The hotdog truck vendor made good use out of his truck to benefit and hopefully profit off of what I call a built-in marketing opportunity - Valentine's Day. Hate it or love it is here to stay. And as long as people are willing to spend money on flowers and candy, retailers will always promote it.

Obviously, this street vendor knows a thing or two about consumers. If you bring it, they will come. The spot where he was setup has thousands of professionals and tourists walking by. He is sure to sell his items to those who need a quick gift on the run.

Sometimes a simple idea can lead to big profts. When a high profile holiday comes around, consider doing a promotion of your own. For some businesses, it may not be appropriate to take advantage of a holiday. But for retailers and restaurants, leverage built-in marketing opportuntities such as President's Day, Christmas or Mother's Day can give your business a jolt.

I have noticed that more and more restaurants have "Mardi Gra" promotions. Who said it is only celebrated in New Orleans. For the last several years, chain restaurants all over the country now promote Mardi Gra by giving out beads, decorating and having special "Fat Tuesday" promotions. The idea is if you cannot make it to New Orleans you can still celebrate at INSERT YOUR FAVORITE RESTAURANT HERE.

Check the calendar for the next big holiday. Maybe there is a way for you to leverage the holiday and market your company.

Recession Proof Your Business with Steady Marketing

During down times, many large companies make cutbacks to departments that are considered excessive overhead. In many cases, the marketing department is the first to conduct layoffs and cutbacks in a down economy. For a large multi-million or billion dollar company that may mean releasing half of a 100 person marketing workforce and reducing advertising spending by 50%. Even with a reduction, large organizations can still have a decent amount of marketing to get the job done. Smaller firms should not follow this approach and actually do the complete opposite -keep spending.

Economists are forecasting that we are heading toward a recession (with some saying we are in one already.) Small competitive businesses should not look to cutback on their marketing and advertising. In fact, small businesses should be spending as much as money possible on marketing to keep new business opportunities coming in.

For business-to-business companies the strategy is simple, invest in marketing and advertising to increase/maintain your company's brand awareness. In no way do I suggest that small businesses divert all dollars toward marketing and branding efforts. Instead, small firms should consider maintaining or stepping up existing marketing initiatives. This could mean taking out a few extra targeted ads in print publications or conducting a smart online ad campaign on high traffic website your customers might visit. It also means keeping your sales force strong and providing additional incentives to keep them motivated.

Business-to-consumer firms should offer more incentives to keep customers spending. Perhaps, offer reduced prices on slow moving inventory to generate more sales. Post new banners and signs in store front windows letting your customers know about deals you are offering. Start a Do-It-Yourself email marketing campaign to increase buzz. If you have a nice office or store space, offer your space for a charity event and draft a press release to send to local media.

When it comes to advertising, you may find that publishers might be willing to reduce advertising fees due to a decrease in advertising volume. You might be able to negotiate rates for a series of advertisements that meet your budget. Maximize your ad dollars by placing ads in programs or journals at business events in your area. There are many ways to advertise without breaking the bank, investigate the opportunities that best meet your business goals.

Brand awareness is essential to the ongoing success of your business. Make sure that when the economy is at its worst that you are poised to remain competitive and provide services as you always have. Stay top of mind and make it easy for your customers and clients to continue spending their dollars with your business.


About the Author:
Shakira Brown is an award-winning public relations and marketing professional with nearly 15 years of experience in radio, print, and television journalism and corporate communications. She has worked with high profile news broadcasters, entertainers, moguls, financial experts, small business owners and c-suite level executives in various industries. Learn more about Ms. Brown at www.pradviser.net and prbrandingzone.blogspot.com.

Super Bowl Ads: The Smart, the Bold and the Funny

It was no doubt a great football game. The New York Giants gave it their all to beat the once thought unbeatable New England Patriots. But admidst all the excitement was the high price legendary Super Bowl advertising blitz. Some big brands spent their advertising dollars wiser than others, but there were some clear stand out favorites. But I must mention that those who did spend the millions to run their ad during the super bowl invested well since the ads will get even more exposure from myspace.com where the ads can live on in infamy - at least for a little. This is due to FOX (which ran the game) and Myspace both being owned by News Corp. which is clever in leveraging its popular social networking site.

A few years ago, a little internet technology company named Godaddy.com spent major bucks on its first television ad that ran during the Super Bowl. (Those who are fans might remember an attractive woman in a court scene in a skimpy outfit that few have forgotten.) It was a very sexy commercial which had everyone buzzing and talking about Godaddy. This year, instead of giving one of their sexy ads direct to Super Bowl viewers, they chose to use the ad to tease the sexy ad now appearing on the godaddy.com website. This ad was smart because there is no better way for an internet-based company to get consumers to its site than to have a sexy video running on www.GoDaddy.com that will no doubt become viral. Plus, they will more than likely convert many of the gawkers into paid clients. A smart move indeed.

Bridgestone over the last years has been marred by a tire scandal and definitely needs a fresh start with consumers. Two Bridgrstone commercials ran during the game that were quite humorous. One featured furry animals screaming in fright as a car with Bridestone tires came barreling toward them (no animals appeared to be harmed.) Another featured metal legend Alice Cooper and exercise guru Richard Simmons who escaped being run down by a car with Bridgestone tires. These were fun and light-hearted ads that appealed to animal lovers and Richard Simmons haters.

My favorite commercial was the Diet Pepsi Max (energy beverage) commercial featuring the song "What is love?" by 90's one hit wonder, Haddaway. You might recall a skit from Saturday Night Live (SNL) by Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan dressed in shiny suits going club hopping and incessantly bopping their head to the Haddaway tune. Well, the Pepsi Max commercial played on the head bop by showing actors and well-know celebrites needing a little boost of energy to get their heads bopping. Some of celebs featured included: Troy Aikman, Busta Rhymes, Missy Elliott and LL Cool J. After getting fueled with the beverage, everyone was shown bopping their heads to the tune just like the famous SNL skit. Chris Kattan made a cameo at the end yelling "stop it" - seeming annoyed that everyone was STILL doing his old routine. This commercial used an infamous tv skit to get its point across. Brilliant!

Audi used a memorable scene from The Godfather to introduce its new luxury muscle car the "R8". The commercial took The Godfather scene in which a movie executive wakes up screaming in horror to find that his sheets are wet with the blood of his thoroughbred horse's head that was lying at the foot of his bed. In the commercial, the actor wakes up to find oil all over his beautiful sheets and the front end of his luxury car (could it have been a Mercedes?) at the foot of his bed. The commercial ends with the R8 racing of the man's estate. I loved this commercial because it used the same intimidation The Godfather's Corleone family did to "send a message" to its foes. Of course, those who have never seen The Godfather were oblivious to this, but those few should check the movie out.

Fox was the biggest winner. The network intertwined its Super Bowl coverage with branding from its new show Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. The NFL on FOX has a big football player robot that jumps around during interstitials. During the game, the NFL robot still jumped around, but had a few encounters with the Terminator robot. They battled for three interstitials with the last one ending with the Terminator robot being approached by two other NFL robots. The use of these built-in interstitials to promote network programming was extremely clever and done quite effectively. Although, I do not watch the Terminator program (and I have no intention on watching it) I appreciated the co-branding and thought behind the promotion.

Alcatel Lucent Allegedly Lays Off Employees via Email

When you fire employees via email it is information that will spread quickly. Unfortunately, I learned that Alcatel Lucent allegedly laid off some of its employees via an email. I actually met someone who was one of four Alcatel Lucent employees in New Jersey allegedly emailed that they were being let go on January 25. It was simple, they arrived at work, logged into their computer, checked their email and learned their fate.

Obviously, this is not the way to handle a lay off. Perhaps it is a cultural difference in the french company Alcatel and the american employees of Alcatel Lucent in New Jersey. Maybe it is standard to inform employees in France that they will be unemployed via email, but that is not the case in the United States.

I heard that all of the employees retained a copy of the alleged ill-fated email which is why this is a bad idea. Anything electronic can go mobile quickly. The employees receiving the bad emailed news can hit forward and send it to everyone in their department or the company. The worse case scenario is that the disgruntled former employees start forwarding the note outside the company. That is when the company at fault loses control of the situation causing a public relations fiasco.

A business should never provide negative news via electronic communications. In certain circumstances an email might be a solution to get important news out quickly. But there are few circumstance that should cause individuals to find out they are losing their jobs via an emotionless, remorseless email.

Emailing company news is only appropriate when it is not unique to an individual. Sometimes company news about merger and acquisitions can come via an email or letter and then later followed by a company-wide live meeting. Most large and small organizations handle individual employee news with care. It is unfortunate to hear that such a useful and effective tool such as email is being used to handle sensitive company business. Do yourself and your company a favor, dissemminate company and employee news with care.

Small Businesses Shouldn't Try to Be Something They are Not

Recently, I entered a small street level eatery which appeared to be your standard pizza shop. It had neon signs in the window with the name of the establishment "Joe's Italian Kitchen" and the word "pizza". Seeing a neon sign means to me this is a casual eatery where I can get fast food. (How many upscale restaurant's have you seen with neon signage? Not many I would guess.)

I entered the shop and went to a counter where two people stood. One was an older woman on the phone taking an order. I asked for two slices. The young lady said to me that they didn't have slices. I thought perhaps she meant there were no pizzas at the time for slices. The older woman (who I believe was an owner) got off the phone and explained that they do not sell slices, but rather individual thin crust pizzas for $5.95 each. Let me just say that this place looked like a regular fast food pizza joint. Two inexpensive tables, soda and juice fridges, and nondescript decor. No pizza slices? Remember the neon sign did say "pizza", usually an indication of very casual dining.

The thought in offering the individual pizzas I believe is that every customer will get their own fresh pie. But this was a shop on a busy street. What about those who want to just get a QUICK slice to go?

My issue is that is not easy to convert a $2 slice purchase that takes two mintutes into a $6 pie purchase that would probably take 10 - 15 minutes. So why bother? I have a feeling that this "Italian Kitchen" is trying to be something it is not - a nice italian restaurant. But it has all the looks and feel of a pizza shop. The best part of this is that there is a REAL PIZZA SHOP about 30 yards away on the same side of the street that sells slices. So that is where I ended up.

The average person walks into a pizza shop looking for a slice. So sell it to them. Most pizzeria's mark up the slices about 40% per slice. For instance you can buy a large cheese pie for $9.50 but purchase a slice for $2. This is a great revenue stream.

If you want to brand your restaurant as a fine italian restaurant don't use standard pizza shop branding like a neon sign and nondescript decor. Quite frankly, if they didnt have the neon sign that said pizza, I would not have wasted my time going in there. Make sure your storefront branding matches what you really are. This will prevent disappointed customers leaving your establishment to spend money elsewhere.

I do understand that it is up to indiviual proprietors to sell the merchandise they wish, but you have to be smart about it. When I walked into the restaurant I mentioned above, they were taking a phone order, but they were NOT bursting at the seam with customers. They lost my sale, I just wonder how many customers they lose each day to their competitor just 30 yards away because they have made the decision not to sell slices. I wish that the restaurant looked at selling pizza slices as a way to market their food and not a way to diminish it. Perhaps they could have converted me into a new customer. I sometimes drive 20 minutes away to buy A whole pizza pies from a place that I fell in love with when I purchased just a slice at lunch one day. Joe's Italian Kitchen won't get that from me.

Virtual Small Businesses Can Thrive with the Right Technology

Office space and equipment can be very pricey. The decision to start a small business usually hinges on the start-up costs. Fortunately, high-speed internet connections and online business productivity tools can help you start-up and run a business that is both professional and efficient.

For instance, I run a small public relations consultancy. I originally started out using my cell phone number as my business number. On the website I created for free with Microsoft Office Live Basic, I wanted my website to be found easily, so I did a little search engine optimization (SEO) to make sure that those who needed my services could find me via search engines.

Well, I had done such a good job with my SEO, that my website was coming up when people were searching a certain Columbian singer who shares my first name. (I dare not mention her name with the fear that it will have consequences.) People from all over the world were calling me looking for the singer. I was getting calls from the Ukraine at 3 am! I was receiving emails from people professing that they were my biggest fans. It was terrible.

I needed to remove my cell phone number and email address pronto. Because I do not like overhead, so I started searching for free voicemail services online. I lucked in when I found NetZero’s Private Phone. Basically, you can have a phone number and area code from your business area ring directly to a voicemail – all for free. The best part is you can set it to ring a number of times, rather than go straight to voicemail. It is really a great free way to have a telephone number for a small business. I also set it up to send me an email and text message to my cell when I have a new voicemail. This solved the problem with the crazy phone calls. I solved the problem with the emails by setting up an email contact form on my website rather than provide my direct email. (Unfortunately, I just learned that Private Phone will be discontinued as of February 19, 2008, so I will need to find a new service.)

For small businesses that have employees that work remotely, services such as WebEx MeetMeNow can help your remote employees better collaborate with each other. MeetMeNowallows small business owners to engage clients and customers in a formal setting. MeetMeNow gives you unlimited, cost-effective, and easy-to-use web meetings on demand.

Ring Central is a communications productivity tool that can help you run a smoother virtual business. It can give you all the appearances of running a brick and mortar business. Basically you can have a virtual phone system from $9.99/mo. Ring Central takes the hassle out of communications and allows small business owners to focus on their business.

If you are running a small business, I highly recommend you utilize online productivity tools. For one they will help you and your staff work more efficiently. But they also help to give your company a feel of it being a professional establishment, which is important to your overall branding. Go the extra mile with your business to make it great for your employees as well as your clients and/or customers.

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Selling A Lifestyle Rather Than A Product Can Be Your Next Innovation

Recently, I walked through Penn Station train station in New York and noticed a theme with regard to the display advertising. Kellogg's had purchased every display ad area on two levels (at least) to promote its Special K brand. Special K is a cereal, but Kelloggs has reinvented this cereal brand into a lifestyle product.

Each ad displayed another Special K product which is not only a cereal now, but a line of protein meal bars, protein water, waffles, protein water mix, protein snack bars and cereal bars. Kelloggs has turned a breakfast cereal into a way of life. It's campaign "Re Solution" clearly promotes the weight management use of the products. I think this is a smart direction to move from the breakfast table into the lives of the diet conscious everywhere.

Small businesses can take this strategy and make it work. Think of new ways to promote your brand. Is there a way to increase the use of your service to meet the needs of more people? Can your product line expand to reach other consumers. These are all questions business leaders should ask themselves regularly.

You never know where your next competitor will come from, so you must always be on the edge of innovation. Get a team of your best thought leaders together and figure out how to take your product or service to the next level.

Abandoning A Dying Trade Might Leave a Monopoly

Recently, I was looking into ordering reprints made for an article that a client was featured in. When my assistant called the company we worked with last year, she found that they had been bought buy a larger provider. The estimate the larger company gave her for a one page color reprint was twice the amount we paid for a 4 page color reprint purchased just under six months ago. When we tried to negotiate, they dismissed us without trying to win our business. The fact is they have a monopoly.

As we later found out, almost all of the reprint companies we called six month ago had been gobbled up by bigger players. I remember getting estimates from several companies and they were all willing to low-ball each other. Now, with only the big boys left, there is no more negotiating, just outrageous prices.

Should the smaller reprint companies have sold-out? For some it might have been the only alternative for others, I think they just gave up. The print business is re-invention mode and maybe the owners of reprint companies felt they didn't stand a chance in the digital world. But the smaller reprinters who were willing to negotiate pricing for companies with small marketing budgets has helped the larger print publishing companies become monolopolies.

Being the last one standing is a benefit in this case. The larger reprinters now are getting all of the business without competitive pricing. I am now trying to help my client negotiate with the magazine directly for reprint permission, so they can have them printed up themselves. It is a small magazine so it shouldn't be a problem. In the end, the larger reprinters might find that reprints will become less popular due to the enormous cost to produce them.

I also noticed that one hour photo desks at large retailers are disappearing. In Pennsylvania Station in NYC, there is a K-mart that used to have a one hour photo desk on the main aisle where commuters walked by. You didn't even have to go in the store, it was right there on the aisle for commuters to dip in and out on their way home.

Today, I walked by and notcied that the one hour photo has been replaced with a quickie pharmacy department. Now commuters can dip in and out for their favorite meds. With more than 50% of Americans printing their own digital photos, one hour photo shops are becoming a thing of the past. But I am sure for the precious few that hang on, they will be compelled to charge outrageous prices at some point, just because they can.

But I know one thing for sure, there is no chance that precription drugs will disappear anytime soon. For every ache and pain there is a medicine. The quickie pharmacy department at the train station is a brilliant idea. As long as there are still diseases, ailments and illness, pharmaceutical retail sales will remain a safe bet.