I am going to comment on some of the PR tactics being employed by PCMR in announcing this issue into the public realm. I have not confirmed these tactics nor would any good PR department grant them, just analyzing them at my face value based on about a decade in ski business PR. PCMR may be quickly successful (or not) and there are many items to analyze regarding their chosen method, which seems to be breaking new ground as far as public pressure tactics within the ski industry in the internet/social media era. This sort of neighborly full court public press is new.
There has not been a new post in quite some time. That’s not because there’s been a lack of activity to talk about, just that I’ve been eyeball deep in client delivery AND starting a new FT job. Thankfully these two activities go hand in hand. It’s a little different than the norm. Here’s the story.
I am now the Marketing Content Strategist (since January) at the Vertek Division (Randolph, VT) of Applied Research Associates, which is based in Albuquerque, NM. They’re an engineering and R&D company that solves large national problems from divisions nationwide. I spend about 30% of my time developing their digital marketing presence around certain products (specifically a small robot for police and military use) within their overall ARA web scope. The other 70% of my time I continue to offer freelance communications and media services locally and within the national snowsports world. These clients are invoiced from ARA rather than me personally, but that’s the only difference. I have basically been “acquired” as a business entity by ARA (my word not theirs).
Gregg Blanchard who heads up the popular ski industry marketing blog Slopefillers contacted me regarding the recent online firestorm bestowed upon Snowbasin Resort in Utah.
One of my fav “smart guys” on the national stage is David Meerman Scott. I got a chance to hear from him in person a few years ago. This post called “what we all really want is attention” may have been the piece that coined the above phrase. It’s worth a click.
Those are your options when trying to bring eyeballs to your business. Read more
If your news releases are mostly netting you a few internet cut-and-pastes, then consider some professional help. You likely need to refine your message and timing to be more useful to media outlets. It may also be time to strip your marketing copy from your media relations.
Bonus tip: don’t oversend press releases turning your brand into more of an annoying pest rather than a trusted source. Restraint is a key component of media relations in today’s noisy news climate.
Vermont Toddler Announces LEGOS as Next Phase of Master Development Plan
New strategic direction aimed at establishing market dominance in motor skills, color identification and improving quality of construction
(December 1, 2011) Moretown, Vt. – Further establishing herself as a market leader in the toddler development industry, Kaylin Kaufman, 14 months, of Moretown, Vt. is making official her dedication to LEGO products as part of her Master Development Plan (MDP). This mutually beneficial relationship is slated to continue through at least 2014 with an option to renew based upon the parental purchase of new LEGOS.
Are you riding the new wave of opportunity effectively and in a resource smart way?
Traditional marketing agencies are great for long term projects like brochure creation/distribution, managing ad buys and re-brandings. What they do less well is help your business evolve into the new relevancy based marketing climate built upon quick thinking and ongoing multimedia communications.
What wins online is targeted listening, ongoing relevancy and speed. It’s noisy out there. Only relevant brands stay top of mind and gain market share. This requires one of two systems in place.
A capable person or team dedicated to and skilled at piloting your content initiatives and building relationships within your customer base and influencers/media.
Hiring someone to train your staff and/or do it for you.
Integrating this effort into your overall marketing strategy is modern day marketing and PR. It’s not just posting stuff to your social sites. It’s about building relationships with customers, media and influencers and growing the number of all of them. A bedrock business goal you’ve likely had since day one. It’s worth doing well. Either to catch up to your competition or get ahead of them. Having profiles and posting stuff is better than not, but it is the lowest common denominator. You’re better than that. Let’s get you a purpose and the tailored means to dominate.
I bring 10 years of content marketing and PR experience both as a freelancer and marketing manager for some of the nation’s largest ski areas. I’ll open up my brain for your business for the low cost of lunch. Maybe there will be a reason to work together, maybe not. Let’s find out.
Businesses that I work with typically select one of these services:
Half day staff training sessions on various modern marketing topics.
Social media development/management. Content, voice, advertising, updates.
Web video production.
Press release strategy and writing.
Marketing budget analysis.
SEO guidance and blogging purpose.
Crisis communications and change management consulting.
Marketing and communications solutions tailored to business.
See the “about” page for contact info and testimonials. Then let’s eat. Your business will thank you.
If you have yet to read the international coverage of the 18 year old Vermont ski racer who is (was) a member of the US Developmental Ski Team, then this post won’t make a lot of sense until you do. It hurts to read. Clearly a no win situation for the 11 year old girl, the 18 year old youth or any of the families. I do not need to recap what occurred. There are thousands of media outlets covering that. I also do not mean to condone the actions, but they deserve another look from a public relations standpoint.
Right now, the skier is being painted as an unapologetic affluent without a shade of remorse who cares little about where and upon whom he urinates. And sure, there might be lawyers advising against apologizing as it may convey guilt of some kind, but really this is about an 18 year old getting drunk and making a mistake. A mistake that while not pleasant to think about, did very little harm. We all get peed on once in a while by our dog, our baby, our grandparents, ourselves, it’s part of life. Read more
Sure, I could go out and buy this stuff on my own (to replace my beater setup) and then maybe find time and clients to use it with while also being employed full time, but where’s the fun and/or publicity in that? There was lots of interest in my recent video tips post (based on site traffic), so now seemed like an opportune time.
My goal with this challenge is to educate the curious about the tools needed to undertake video in-house (if you also have the skills/time to produce it) as well as potentially find a local business or organization that wants to have some on message video stories to share across their digital platforms for a very low time/money/brain power commitment. Read more
If you’ve been following along, you know that in each of the RV parks we have stopped at, I have produced specific videos tailored to their individual communications needs – some with local guidance – others first decline my offer – then change their mind once the product exists and is deemed valuable.
The park in Napa had no visual representation on their website and a simple message, so a broad visual documentation of the park, while also giving it some ownership as the location of choice in Napa was in order. This will be their prime online calling card for prospective guests.
Next we stopped in Pismo Beach and produced two videos in trade for two weeks of RV camping at the lovely Pismo Coast Village. The park decided to contract me for a third too! They had just launched a new website and needed content for the testimonials section, a highlight reel of their amenities and something to explain/link them to the local butterfly attraction. Done.
Now we are in Malibu at the Malibu Beach RV Park. It is one of the most unique spots to camp we have ever seen. I highly recommend checking it out. It’s a bummer that the park suffers from an overwhelming amount of negative online reviews, which can dissuade many travellers. Most of these reviews focus on distaste for the local rules. This park is in a highly desirable (close to LA) spot, has limited land on which to host guests, and has challenges with erosion on the steep slopes which can impact the entire camping equation. There are good reasons for the rules and the enforcement of them in this popular spot. As a reasonably experienced RVer now, they are not out of the question.
Rather than try to refute a flood of online negativity, the better bet is to put it into perspective and explain the situation on your own turf. With that scenario in mind, I produced this video for the Malibu Beach RV Park. Hopefully they elect to own it to help rebuild their online reputation and better set guest expectations for years to come. Once it resides on their website, potential guests will put much less weight onto the folks moaning about rules. I produced a first draft of the video and showed it to onsite management, got their tips and then added other topics before rendering the final. I have been unable to meet with ownership (onsite management passed along – thanks) to discuss our typical trade deal (which was a lock in prior locales), but I am hopeful that we’ll get together in some way (by Monday). Our “working trip” will carry on and they’ll start turning the electronic tide. It will equal more visitors and better educated visitors. Check it out.
