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Sidebar: Three Ways to Communicate
by Mark D. Lutchen
Book (Excerpt)
Just as a company can have different key messages for different audiences, so too can those messages take different forms, depending on the venue used to deliver them. This article provides a good overview of the differences between using marketing, public relations, and other communications formats such as company meetings to deliver those messages.
Click here for full story.
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Gartner EXP Survey Shows CIOs Are Cautiously Optimistic Regarding Increased IT Spending in 2004
Global Survey Shows How CIOs are Preparing for the Upswing
CIOs look to be cautiously optimistic regarding the prospect of increased IT spending in 2004. Those are the results of a recent survey by Gartner EXP. While there's no sign of a return to the high flying days of 1999, the CIOs say an upturn in business could have a significant impact on spending, releasing a lot of pent-up demand.
[FULL STORY]
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Wi-Fi/Wireless Statistics
More signs that technology is on the rise again. According to research by In-Stat/MDR, wireless hot spots are popping up all over like mushrooms. Soon it seems no matter where you are in the world, you’ll be able to pop in for a Quarter Pounder with Cheese and a quick review of your e-mail. Check out these stats.
[FULL STORY]
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Partner Corner
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Worldcom Public Relations Group Names New Group Board Chair
Names Asia/Pacific and European Chairs, and Welcomes New Partner
As many of you know, Tech Image is a member of the Worldcom Public Relations Group, the world’s largest network of independent public relations agencies. The Group recently announced some new chairs and inducted a new member at its worldwide meeting in Australia, which Tech Image’s Mike Nikolich attended.
[FULL STORY]
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Survey Results
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Last month we asked how important thought leadership is in your PR mix. Half of the respondents said it is a cornerstone of their programs, while the rest participate occasionally. No one said they didn’t do it at all. For those who answered that they should do it more, Tech Image’s award-winning thought leadership program might be just the thing. Contact Dennis Collins at dennis.collins@techimage.com.
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In Messaging, Honesty Is Still the Best Policy
by Ken Krause
Sometimes serendipity is the best friend of a newsletter editor. Mike Nikolich’s My 2 Cents article this month talks about John Adams, second President of the United States and one of the leaders of the American Revolution.
Mike had already written the article when an event occurred that allowed us to quote one of his contemporaries and traveling companions – Benjamin Franklin. It was Franklin who was first credited with the familiar saying “honesty is the best policy.” More than 220 years later, it rings true for marketers of technology products who need to make public statements. Smart marketers make sure they get the truth out there quickly so they can make positive statements rather than denials later.
The event was the closing of 188 company stores by Gateway Computers. The evening news on March 31, 2004 was filled with stories about the announcement, and speculation about what it meant about the company’s health.
The next morning Tech Image’s Dennis Collins received an e-mail from Gateway designed to end any further speculation. In it, Gateway co-Founder and Chairman Ted Wiatt presented what can only be described as a very straightforward message about the store closings. It included very little in the way of traditional marketing hype. Sure, there were mentions that they’d become the number-three manufacturer due to the acquisition of eMachines in 2003, and the note provided a quick listing of all the various products the combined company could provide. But for a technology company it was very restrained.
What made this communiqué interesting (in addition to the timing) was that Wiatt also confronted some negative issues head-on. He talked about Gateway closing the stores, even stating that they were unable to run them profitably despite their best efforts, while simultaneously letting customers know their products would be available direct and through the channel. He referred to Gateway as a “solid” company, which is hardly the ringing endorsement you usually expect from the Chairman. Rather than try to present the company as better than it is, he kept the message simple and believable.
Why go through that? Very simply, whoever is in charge of Gateway’s messaging had done some very serious thinking. They knew there was potential for the company to be shown in a bad light, so rather than letting the news media evaluate the news and determine what the story would be, they got there first. They acknowledged their failings while showing what they were doing to change things.
In other words, rather than waiting for pot shots to be taken at them, or trying to hide behind platitudes and claptrap, they controlled the news and made many of the negatives a non-event. After all, if the company admits its failings, it’s a lot less fun for the media to point them out. Customers had the feeling that the company had dealt with them honestly, which certainly will help them through the transition period. In fact, by presenting their side of the story immediately, they turned customers into advocates who could then promote the Gateway message via word of mouth.
Only time will tell whether closing the company stores turns out the way Gateway hopes. But their handling of the news could easily become a case study on how to create, disseminate, and control a message effectively.
When crafting your messages, keep them simple, keep them honest, and make sure you get them out there first. It’s a lot easier to make a statement than to defend yourself against one.
[PRINTER FRIENDLY VERSION]
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