The PR Warrior

'Movember' a Big Hairy Audacious (Marketing) Goal That Works!

  Oh, is there a moustache in there...somewhere..?

Okay. I'm a sucker for a good marketing idea. And if it's for a good cause, so much the better!

This year I have succumbed to the retro marketing charms of the Movember campaign to support awareness of men's health, specifically prostate cancer and depression.

Great cause, and the campaign, which has been running for a few years now, continues to grow MOmentum (n'yuk, n'yuk) as it edges its way from the 'cool' fringes into the mainstream proper.

If you would like to follow the progress of the PR Warrior's hairy upper lip (or even better, donate to the cause), please click here.

Word is my partner in PR crime David Park is also embarking on a similar growth path. Interesting times ahead for the firm of parkyoung!

Oh yeah, and big ups to those behind the campaign. It doesn't focus on just getting people to donate but rather, creates a talking point that involves people emotionally in the cause. Great stuff!

Jamie Oliver's Lack of Spin is a Breath of Fresh PR Air

I've always admired Jamie Oliver's non-pretentious and humble attitude. His fresh and authentic demeanor has without doubt played a key role in his ongoing success achieved across a number of mediums.

On the other hand, you have the public relations industry which, one could argue, has elements that are the antithesis of Oliver - i.e. pretentious, boastful, insincere.

I'm not lumping the entire PR industry into this camp - far from it - but unfortunately there are those (a minority) who knowingly or unwittingly continue to give the profession a bad name.

Having worked in PR for 20 years, I understand totally that a core part of our business involves the development and delivery of key messages. Nothing wrong with that at all. Communicating with clarity is important for companies and organisations. And there's nothing wrong with persuasively putting your side of an argument, whether via the media, a blog, podcast or at a live event. These are staples of the public relations discipline.

'POSITIVE SPIN'

However, where it starts getting murky is when people start 'spinning' the truth - twisting words every which way in a deliberate attempt to distort the real situation.

It's a practice that can start so innocently, such as putting a 'positive spin' on a particular story, and this is understandable. Everyone wants to be seen in a positive light. Generally speaking, I think you'll find such a practice is by and large pretty harmless...simply a case of human nature. People doing what people do.

But then you get those who take 'positive spin' three steps further, and into the realm of 'black art'.

We all know that politicians are the worst purveyors of spin; they're advised by armies of strategists and media consultants who, in the eyes of the general public, embody what PR is all about.

And don't forget the corporate spinmeisters. There are a few of them around too who are not averse to perpetrating the odd distortion of the truth.

But, to be fair, let's not lay the blame solely at the feet of media advisers and corporate affairs personnel. After all, they're human - they work in high pressure jobs and they have to appease their bosses. I think you'll find that generally, it's the politicians and CEOs who set the scene. If a 'straight shooter' CEO wanted nothing to do with spin, then there's every chance his or her communications adviser would play ball and act accordingly.

The media too are not immune to blame as they put their own spin on stories. Their agenda often is to sensationalise - to sell more papers, attract more listeners, viewers etc. In reality, are editors and broadcast producers really any different to the sinister faceless spinmeisters they continually rail against? I'm generalising obviously, but this is a trend that's not going away, and it has serious implications for the public relations profession.

To me, true PR professionals are less about 'spin' and more about engendering two-way relationships with the people who matter to your business or organisation. It doesn't make sense to try and 'pull the wool' over people's eyes - how is that going to help your cause?

Which brings me back to Jamie Oliver.

In an article in The Guardian, Patrick Butler writes that Jamie Oliver's fashionable Fifteen restaurant has struggled to meet its ambitious social objectives.

Distracted by the demands of TV cameras and keeping the (unexpectedly successful) restaurant going, Fifteen's support, training and counselling services for its vulnerable trainees were under-resourced, erratic, and powered by a misplaced belief in the power of righteous enthusiasm.

The source of this information was a report conducted into the Fifteen operation.

But perhaps the most remarkable thing about the report, according to Butler, is that the report was commissioned and published by Fifteen itself. In the foreword, its (recently departed) director, Liam Black, writes: "This is not a typical annual report or PR document, it is a warts-and-all look into the guts of Fifteen, celebrating what's great about this place but acknowledging too when and how we have missed the mark."

Writes Butler: "With a generous and committed backer such as Oliver, perhaps Fifteen can afford to be virtuously candid about its shortcomings. But the report suggests that success for any social business involves being truthful about, and learning from, mistakes - and that listening to clients (in this case, the trainees) pays dividends. There is also a refreshing assumption that the public (and investors, donors and voters) will trust you more if you eschew glossy spin in favour of candour about your performance in running a complex and difficult business."

This last sentence deserves repeating.

There is also a refreshing assumption that the public (and investors, donors and voters) will trust you more if you eschew glossy spin in favour of candour about your performance in running a complex and difficult business.

This, my friends, is what true PR is all about.

Move Over 'Pink' - it's Movember Time!

Further to previous post re breast cancer's 'Pink Ribbon' campaign, the blokes are shaping up alright with the Movember fund-raiser for men's health, specifically prostate cancer and depression.

Once again, it demonstrates that a strong idea well executed can galvanise the community and bring people together for a common cause. In this case, guys getting sponsored by their friends and family to grow a moustache during November.

While men's health is a serious issue, having fun is all part of the event's appeal. Given the humble mo hasn't really been in vogue since the '70s, it's pretty freaky to see so many men getting around with fluff above their lip during November!

The other key to Movember's success is the ability to tightly integrate the theme across multiple channels and tactics e.g.

- media publicity
- celebrity endorsement
- sponsor-funded advertising
- events & promotions

Importantly, it's a really cool way to engage what is a difficult target audience, especially for a cause like this: young blokes. Driving it into the corporate sector with office parties is also a successful strategy of getting the broader community involved.

The Movember lesson for not-for-profits is that packaging up a 'branded' fundraising and awareness campaign and building it incrementally year-on-year is the most effective way to attract sponsors.

Movember has scored a number of blue-chip sponsors for 2007, including Holden, Commonwealth Bank, VB, Vodafone and Schick.

Breast Cancer Has Others Pink With Envy

In case you have been living in a cave recently, the National Breast Cancer Foundation's Pink Ribbon Day was on again this week.
But then, the build up of the fund-raising and awareness campaign is so comprehensive that the actual 'day' is practically irrelevant. Think of it as 'tsunami marketing' - it builds and builds into this massive wave of publicity, events, fund-raising merchandise, licensed products etc, swamping just about every other not-for-profit cause for something like a six-week period.

While the breast cancer 'Pink Ribbon' campaign gains tremendous publicity via the involvement of high profile celebrities such as Sarah Murdoch, Natalie Bassingthwaighte, Kate Ceberano, Layne Beachley and Liz Ellis, it's far more multi-faceted than a simple ambassador-driven effort.

Make no mistake - the Pink Ribbon campaign is produced by a clever marketing machine, one I'm tipping many brands in this country would kill to have working on their business!

Probably where Pink Ribbon makes its biggest impact (financially, at least) is in the area of licensed goods - everything from Pink water (Mt Franklin), Pink Wish Tim Tam biscuits (Arnotts), clothing (Bonds), Pink Salmon (Ally), Pink beauty products (Dove), Pink Coffee (Moccona) - I counted 59 different 'Pink' ranges available on the merchandise page of the breast cancer website www.nbcf.org.au.

It's a mighty effort, particularly when competition between not-for-profits large and small is exceptionally fierce - they're all gunning for the same celebrities to align themselves to their particular charity or cause, they're all pitching to the same journalists and producers in a bid to generate positive media coverage, they're all trying to sign up the same corporate partners, and they've all got their hand out for government and public donations. And, they're (generally) trying to do all this with minimal available funds, and marketing budgets that have never reached 'shoestring' stage.

It's super-tough in the not-for-profit world, which makes the 'Pink Ribbon' campaign stand out even more as a great success story.

A key factor in breast cancer's success has largely been its steely-eyed focus on the 'Pink Ribbon' brand.

However, just like any successful brand, Pink Ribbon potentially runs the risk of over-exposure and the potential backlash that might cause. Moving forward, perhaps some restraint in the Pink marketing efforts might not go astray? It's important to keep the brand refreshed and 'premium', and I just get the feeling that if the brand keeps up such break-neck pace, it might just wear out the public.