Adventures in Candyland

Since this is my first post, let me start by introducing myself…consider me the “client concierge” at Sweet Talk, handling lots of details for our clients’ projects. 

I’ve been thinking about some of the tools we’re always using for our projects, and of course the first one I thought of was our Pantone book.  We can’t be without it when working on branding, websites, collateral, etc.  But not everyone has a Pantone book, so then I remembered that I thought we should share one of our fave sites with you - Colour Lovers.  This is a great site for a little inspiration, and a good place to find color combos and palettes you’ve never even thought of before!

On the same note, last week was Fashion Week in NYC and WWD directed us to Pantone’s Fashion Color Report Fall 2008.   Sweet Talk is lovin’ the Ochre!

Always fun to play with colors and brighten up the day.

I’ve been in the PR world for about ten years now, so I’ve learned and I think most people know it can be a tricky industry. For ages, agencies have charged their clients monthly retainers whether or not they pulled publicity that month. And many times, it’s not for lack of trying, often the story just doesn’t resonate with any writers. So there’s always this wierd struggle between clients and agencies. A client pays the agency to get publicity. The agency chooses an account person or team to work to get the publicity. The account person spends time researching, writing, pitching and then nothing happens. But, the client is still expected to pay the monthly retainer. And the agency still has to pay the account person. It’s definitely a dilemma. But, there does seem to be a shift occuring and frankly, I’m not sure what my opinion is on the topic — well, maybe I am.

Today’s WSJ featured a piece called, “Paying for PR — But Only When it Works.” It’s all about this semi-new trend of pay-per-placement PR, particularly in the small business arena. So, instead of hiring a agency or even consultant on retainer, a client would provide a story angle to a pr consultant or an agency who only focuses on pay-per-placement pitching and they would only get paid if the story got covered. In theory, it forces pr people to work extra hard and more strategically to get the placement. But, as much as I understand it, I think the business model is short-sighted (for the business being pitched) and unfortunately, a bit unfair(for the person doing the pitching).

Now, I completely understand and empathize with business owners who put a significant monthly retainer towards public relations and then barely have anything to show for it. There’s no doubt that this kind of agreement has the propensity to leave a bad taste in someone’s mouth as well as give public relations and it’s practioners a bad name (what doesn’t these days). And for agencies, yah, you might have made $60,000, but you’re usually left with a fractured relationship and bad word of mouth.

So, is there a middle ground? I think there is. Here at Sweet Talk, we always begin a business relationship by focusing on the overarching marketing goals of the business by developing a comprehensive marketing strategy plan. And strategy doesn’t exist on PR alone. And PR doesn’t exist on media alone. Today all the marketing rules have changed which is why marketing should start at the 10,000 foot level and then move downward. Many small businesses don’t see this or if they do, they don’t have the time or staff to do it- they might believe one piece of good PR is going to create an deluge of sales. But, readership and viewship is increasingly fragmented these days, so even if you do get one nice piece in your local newspaper you aren’t going to get the flood that being on Oprah would bring you (and yes that is every businesses dream and unfortunately it’s reality for a very lucky few).

The point here is that pay-per-placement agencies don’t really focus on strategy. They just focus on one piece of the pie. So, if as a business and you’ve created a cohesive marketing strategy and you want to farm out the media portion by providing the person with pitches that fit in the overall strategy that’s great! But, if it’s just a one off thing, you’re probably not going to get the response you hope for.

And I’m also not saying the answer is to choose a big agencies with more comprehensive services and overhead.

I think it’s more about finding a company that will work with you and your budget to build something a little more long-lasting, that just like trust, grows over time.

I love Wired Magazine (I read almost every story every month - went to WiredNext Fest and plan on seeing the WiredHouse in LA ) and The Long Tail is a genius theory from a genius man, but come on Chris Anderson. I get that you get a ton of spam that has nothing to do with you from PR people. Unfortunately, this is a frustration for every person these days, whether they are an editor of a magazine, a business owner or a uhhh, a human being. I’m not saying you aren’t justified in your opinion that PR people need to be more targeted when pitching a story, but have a little sympathy, people are just doing their job. This is my response to said editor’s rant on ignorant PR people in his blog, The Long Tail.

In essence and ideally, PR people exist to provide a very worthwhile service to writers and editors - to make them aware of companies, people, products and concepts that they may not have time to learn about as they are often harried individuals always on some kind of a deadline. But, somewhere this help that we are supposed to be providing has become an annoyance that journalists now thwart and harp negatively on.

But, instead of outing every poor person who is really just doing their job, even if they may not be doing it well, how about if as I have complained about for numerous years and this PR Week Q & A from one of the aforementioned outees seconds, that journalists be more proactive and detailed about keeping their beats and what they cover current on Bacons, Vocus or on the company website. For so many writers there is no detail provided and even so, beats change often and writers move around often. It’s not always easy to figure out who covers what - even if you are an avid reader of multiple publications. This would provide less of an excuse for PR people to flagrantly send mismatched pitches. No sob story here, but why not make it easier for both sides to give and get what is pertinent to and from them.

Would journalists prefer the whole business of PR would just go away for good? There is sort of a circle of life when it comes to editorial and PR, so I really don’t think that’s the solution. Besides PR people being consistently all-knowing, how can we solve this problem constructively and peacefully?

Come on, pitch me your ideas!

My brain wasn’t really melted by the heat. Yes - I know it’s only September 7th, but I got your attention! The funny thing is some people love Halloween so much, they actually start their seasonal buying binge in MAY. They want the newest stuff, they want it first and they don’t care about the cost. Sort of like women and their bags - well, not the woman writing this unfortunately.

Halloween is a holiday people feel passionate about. Can you blame them? It’s really the only holiday that is truly and only about having fun! Who doesn’t like to dress up to be someone else for a day. That’s why our client, HalloweenMart , is so successful. So, if you are sick of being yourself or maybe, someone else is sick of you, I have the solution! Just go to the site and choose someone different to be. You could be another someone different 365 days a year and then some. Believe me, I’ve spent some time in the company warehouse, and I’ve done a millions costume changes - they never get old. Par example, Elton John, you ain’t got nuthin on Lauren Tarne! If you look around the site, you might even find a few more of these gems (sense the sarcasm).

But, for those who need a little more inspiration, there is HalloweenMart’s new blog, Trick-or-Treat, where people can follow the stories of a bunch of fictional (or are they?) characters whose lives are engulfed by Halloween and all the holiday encompasses. You can even follow the characters as they twitter their way to the big day. So check out Candy, Nick, Jinx and others to get yourself revved up for the season.

Remember , Halloween is only 53 days away. That’s nothing. It takes time to develop the perfect costume. And although I have a plethora of ideas on the ensemble I plan on donning this year, I’m am perfectly willing to take suggestions. And that goes for Danielle and Limor as well. Don’t dissapoint us!