Morningstar Communications Luminary Blog

I recently read an article titled “Connect Four” by Piet Levy in my monthly Marketing News publication. The article discussed event marketing and encouraged marketers to answer four questions to ensure an event fulfilled the greater marketing objectives.
•  What am I trying to accomplish?
•  How can I be relevant?
•  How will I integrate my event with other marketing plans?
•  How will I measure success?
    Taken from the 7.30.10 Marketing News
It strikes me that with a few tweaks these questions apply to any marketing or public relations initiative, not just events.
We all must connect four and ask ourselves “What’s the point?” of the particular initiative we’re creating. We should look at how the strategy:
•  Accomplishes our end-in-mind
•  Is relevant to our target audience in an often crowded space
•  Integrates with other marketing efforts and the overall efforts of the company and individual departments
•  Can be measured to show how we moved the needle.
Personally, I love the planning process and connecting all the dots to create a program that is strong and effective. In fact, I just spent the last day and a half doing just that for a client out of Houston. It’s an invigorating process and when all the puzzle pieces fit together magic really happens.

Media lists. Recycling. Future Visioning. Distribution. Media relations. Blogging. Proofing. News releases. Clips. What do all of these have in common? My life the past 10 weeks as an intern at Morningstar Communications.

As an intern at Morningstar Communications we get asked often “What did you learn?” Gaining experience is always at the forefront of everything we get to do as an intern. It is bittersweet to say I only get to answer that question one last time since my internship is ending this week and I head back to my senior year at the University of Iowa. It’s a challenge to answer the question, not because I didn’t learn anything but because I learned so much.

My final answer to the question is integrated marketing.

Before this internship I felt I had a good handle on integrated marketing. And, I think I had an excellent knowledge base from what I was taught. Using a mixture of all forms of marketing will, in turn, provide the best results for communication programs. It’s something I knew all along, but this summer I got to see it in action.

There have been numerous accounts that I’ve worked on this summer that used integrated marketing but there is one project that stands out. A Future Visioning^TM session I was a part of truly encompassed integrated marketing strategies. Future Visioning is the process of working with a client to figure out where they want to be in the next few years and providing the plan to get there. Using as many different marketing tactics helped create a strategically sound communications plan. Social media, tradeshows, white papers and blogs were just some of the different marketing strategies recommended for the client.

For me, I got a chance to see integrated marketing be properly implemented – that’s better than any classroom lecture.

With integrated marketing we unify methods to create the best possible communications map for our clients using traditional and new media. Paying attention to details and the big picture are key to a successful integrated marketing strategy and are things we sometimes overlook. We often get excited with new communication tools such as Twitter and LinkedIn but it is important to remember that combining marketing approaches includes both the tried-and true and new tactics.Whether an intern or a seasoned professional, going back to the basics and remembering the keys to integrated marketing will prove succesfful for your next communications project.

I’m taking with me this valuable knowledge and I hope everyday to ask and answer the question “What did I learn?” I know I will be putting this information to good use in the school year and beyond.

A few weeks ago I blogged about what got termed “accidental networking.” I have picked up meaningful connections throughout my career, but I never had a formal plan for expanding my network.

Something clicked a couple years ago and made me think about how to be smarter about developing my professional network. One of the first things I did was reach out to KC/IABC and asked about volunteer opportunities. I was connected with Sara Miller who was in charge of the Bronze Quills and a few weeks later I was managing registration at the event. I had a great time and got to see a lot of people that I hadn’t seen for a while. A few weeks later, Sara called and asked if I was willing to take on an even larger role in the chapter and serve as her deputy for the 2010 Bronze Quills. I didn’t have to think very long. I knew it was something I wanted to do.

This year, I’ve taken on an even greater role in the chapter. I attended my first KC/IABC Board meeting last week and it was interesting to see how many of the other board members got involved the same way I did – just by expressing an interest in participating.

If you’re interested in getting to know a great group of people, test it out by volunteering a little of your time. It doesn’t have to be with IABC, there are dozens of organizations that offer exceptional professional development opportunities. However, I just happen to be looking for volunteers to assist with the 2011 Bronze Quills. I’d love to have you join the committee. I have openings at all levels of involvement. It’s possible you’ll find it as valuable as I did and stick around.

We are all publishers. This is the era of Wordpress and Twitter. If you have something to say, you can find somewhere to say it and probably people to listen. This is empowering and exciting. You don’t have to be a full-time journalist to share news.

With this fundamental shift, the obvious next question is what does this mean for journalism? This is not a new question, but in light of devices such as smartphones and iPads that accelerate the death of newspapers, these thoughts cannot take a backseat. As an industry that works closely with the media, public relations professionals must be on the forefront of this question. While I am no expert, I have noticed and read about a few trends in journalism. By familiarizing ourselves with these trends we will better understand the media’s perspective and purpose.

Niche Journalism: People are tired of multiple outlets telling the same story over and over again. We are interested in more expertise in anything, whether it be topical, regional or ideological. Two of my favorite examples of niche journalism are Wired and Ars Technica. They are both thriving in their respective spaces. This shift will not completely eliminate the big national media, but they will have to spend some time considering how to survive in this world of new media. We will need to think more creatively beyond traditional outlets to smaller, specialized outlets.

Dynamic Journalism: The traditional static news story is a thing of the past. Consumers are interested in real-time journalism. If someone asked me my favorite news outlet, I would say Twitter. It is in real time from real people. The after-the-fact story that used to monopolize the news wire, will not cut it anymore. In the PR world we have to adapt and understand this. We always knew that journalists moved quickly, but they are even under more pressure to deliver as-it-happens news.

Journalism is here to stay, but the vehicle that makes it move forward no longer needs a stone building and large printing presses. As long as we understand what and who powers the vehicle, we can keep up.

In the public relations area, measuring success always seems a bit nebulous. How do you ascertain the power of a news story? How do you demonstrate an article prompted a purchase? For years, the amount of output, and resulting pickup, served as the main measurement guide. Slowly, assessment of key messaging inclusion, branding elements and other components of the story worked their way into the measurement metrics.

But now output doesn’t cut it, regardless of your methodology. Today’s world requires outcomes. Exposure alone, in a world of email newsletters, banner ads and RSS feeds, simply doesn’t create results. The average consumer is exposed to 247 advertising messages each day. Hard to believe any of them really work.

Measuring outcomes rather than outputs provides a better way to understand engagement. And engaged people – whether employees or consumers – are happier, healthier and more positive in general.

While plenty of information is out there touting how employee engagement will help your workforce, and truly, employee engagement is the first step, imagine how extrapolating the concept to your customers and prospects might work.

Start with the basics. Do you receive comments on your blogposts, do your key customers or prospects follow you on Twitter or “Like” your business on Facebook? Does your participation in LinkedIn groups foster robust conversations? If your organization can move beyond outputs and truly measure how engaged your stakeholders are, you will surely uncover ways to move the needle.

This afternoon my colleague, Matt Dunn, and I ventured out of the office to indulge in $4.35 burgers at West Chase Grille. The special was part of 435 South Magazine’s Tasty Tuesday series. For food lovers on a budget, Tasty Tuesday’s are a great way to try different restaurants out south on the cheap. 

As a marketer, I immediately lit up on how this promotion can really help drive traffic to your location. I’d never heard of West Chase Grille before…and I live a couple of blocks away! I would have never considered dining there if not for the Tasty Tuesday notice we received from Dion’s Daily Deal. This deal got me in the door.  What will get me to go back – besides the great burger – is the buy-one-get-one free offer we received from the waitress with our tab. I was impressed with this marketing effort from the restaurant. It took advantage of pulling people in the door through Tasty Tuesday and found a way to bring folks back, securing repeat customers.

For more Tasty Tuesday finds, visit 435 South Magazine on Facebook.

In the communications world especially, six degrees of separation is really more like three in Kansas City. Everybody seems to know everybody, or their friend.

I joined the outstanding team at Morningstar Communications last month, but I’ve been a part of the Morningstar fold for much longer. Several years ago, I was a client. Over the years, I have managed many agency relationships as a client. I find this is very helpful as I am now on the other side serving as a strategist.

Each stop in my career has introduced me to people who have enriched my personal and professional network. I went to graduate school at KU in the IMC program. I learned about integrated marketing, but the people I met through the program have been just as valuable.

I am active in KC/IABC and will be serving as the Bronze Quill Director in 2011. This means I will join the Board and my network will be extended even more. I am excited to get to know this interesting group of people.

Connections are one of the things that make being in this business so exciting. We can learn so much from our colleagues and contacts to make our jobs that much more enriching. Chances are we know many of the same people. It is Kansas City, after all.