Went to OMMA today and was pleasantly surprised.  Heard from Rishad Tobaccowala, CEO, Denuo (what a smart and funny guy with lots of common sense), Ross Levinsohn, President, Fox Interactive Media who I had read about…was impressed then and impressed now by his gut instincts and his ability to move quickly and smartly into the digital age.  We all broke out into mini sessions where my favorite moment of the day came during the “Creative that makes friends with Social networks” where Henry Copeland, CEO, Blogads moderated…smart comments came from Sandy Marks on political campaigns online (she made statements like “you can create a sexy ad with click throughs but once the viewer has clicked are they finding what they are truly looking for or was the image/copy a ruse to get some fleeting attention from the viewer that in the long run doesn’t make sense (or get business or votes) for the client”) and Frank Radice, SVP The NBC Agency (the inhouse agency for NBC) said that less copy, more images and video makes for a strong presense on the web and can drive online users to TV which is a new equation for many to think about.

So the cool thing that I have concluded on my own especially after today is that this social media new digital age has leveled the playing field which is something to take advantage of.  All ages have entered the race and all backgrounds, men and women….it takes passion, thinking out of the box and flexibility to make something happen.  The truly creative, the truly hard working and the great listeners of the world will be able to make something of this new media.  It is very cool to be a part of this change in media and communications!!

Got a mailer yesterday which I found interesting because it falls into the same category as my last entry which is, in my words, the power of the internet is unleashing the dregs of the earth and the con artists. 

This flyer said “Valorie gets a free conference invitation to learn how to earn income by attending the internet training conference.”  They have logos from ebay, yahoo, google and msn. 

At first you think wow here is something that could be interesting but when you look closer and see that the only contact is an 800# (with no website to check them out…hey wait, I thought they were internet based!) and that the confernece is at a Holiday Inn (sorry holiday inn) and that you get a free business organizer that has actual hard copy pages in it, then you must know it is a scam.

Does ebay know about them?  Does google know about them?  Does yahoo know about them?  How about MSN?  I don’t think so!

For a legitimate learning experience, you can attend the Business Smart Tools Conference where legit companies come and speak on how they are using the internet to gain more exposure and to bring on more clients.  GE, Hearst, BusinessWeek to name a few are supporters of this conference.  Xeorx is speaking next year.

You can also call Creative Concepts directly to learn more about social media and public relations and how you can leverage the internet to futher your business goals.

My team and I, Valorie Luther, will work with you to not only investigate all of the opportunities existing for you but we will also work hard to preserve your hard earned reputation by making the right choices for your firm.

Call 203.259.4202 or email info@creative-conceptsllc.com.  We are in Fairfield, Ct but can work with you wherever you are…we are virtual and international!

Ran into a PR firm who tried to play the social media game…they used buzz words in their client plan like “blog” and “viral marketing” without fully understanding the meaning or approach (look up the words at least so you know the definition)…ran into a company (many times) who says they have social media tools like video emails but all they want to do is create a pyramid scheme so they can make money off of your selling their product vs. their product being the answer to a business dilemma (Joe, you are loosing the quality race and in time will feel the affects of signing on the helpless and naive).

I have 2 points to make:  Social Media has now hit a new level of power and success because the bottom feeders, as my associate David Parmet calls them, are rising to the surface and trying to make money. 

My second point is why do so many PR people have to bullshit their way through the door….if they know something (please, anything at all), then stick to that or go out and learn a thing or two, practice it and then bring it to the customer. 

One of my goals is that Creative Concepts will change the face of PR!  The client will pay for actual work completed vs. paying for lots of empty words that amount to nothing.  CC isn’t going to lie and say we know how to do something if we have no idea.  If we have no idea about a topic or business direction, then we go out and educate ourselves to the point of becoming experts so we can pass on the knowledge so we can support our clients and vendors which always leads to a strong partnership!

There are so many PR firms out there who have frustrated and annoyed clients (did you know that your clients were feeling this way?  Did you ask?).  Creative Concepts will create positive buzz about the PR industry one client at a time.

On a side bar, I saw a study done by BzzAgent who says that word of mouth (for the above PR firm mentioned by me, this is “viral marketing”) hinges on quality not novelty.  Thank god, I always hope for the best to rise above!  People move towards the best of anything instinctively (the best movies, the best clothes, the best cars… have longer staying power) and so when you have a superior product, it is only a matter of time before the word gets out and stays out!

Quality always wins the race no matter how long that race can take.  Creative Concepts is here to stay!!

Hello hello, yes I have been busy trying to catch up from visiting lots of cool customers who are having lots of amazing conversations about the internet and how to use it…yahoo is all I can say…give me a pillow is what I say too.

Here is something to note:  came across this blog entry from Ted Jenkins.  At one point in this blog, I listed all of the demo companies for the Business Smart Tools conference.  One of the goals for the conference was to showcase new companies that could enhance various processes in business or provide a completely new product or service for the corporate community.  Ted listed these companies as tech PR tools which is incorrect.  I tried to make a comment on his blog but you need a password to leave a note…Hey Ted, check out the companies so you can learn more about them, Hey Ted, is that really blog when you don’t allow others to make a comment?  Just curious!

On another note, check out Helloworld.  I would give you the link but I like you too much.  It isn’t that the product they offer is bad because video anything is very hot right now (they do web based streaming video solutions) but what is truly scary is how they are trying to make money.  It feels like Amway all over again.  Two guys called me before the conference saying that they wanted to talk to me and they wanted to be involved.  OK, that is valid but I said it was too late to participate but they could come as attendees.  They had no time for that..they kept talking about….you know I can’t remember what they said but they did not listen to me and they talked a lot!  Not a great beginning!  Later, I realized that they make money mostly via pyramid scheme.  They care more about bringing on people to sell vs. being passionate about their product. 

You know that social media is heating up when it brings these kinds of characters to the surface.

Just read a blog entry from Eric Weaver of Brand Dialogue, www.branddialogue.com, and he talked about how annoyed he was that he missed many great conferences. Well me too…I agree. Check out his entry listing national and international conferences in the Marketing/Web 2.0 arena. It is very interesting plus it includes the Business Smart Tools Conference, www.BusinessSmartTools.com on June 13.

A nod goes out to MarketWire who sent out a press release on the Business Smart Tools Conference. They made sure that it had their version of SEO (search engine optimization). I have to say that I am very impressed with the pick up based on my past experiences with other wire services. I have this feeling that they are always figuring out ways to enhance their service which is why they are ahead of the game vs. other wire services who are playing catch up…just an observation.

Do PR people and bloggers get along? 

If you were to go to Robert Scoble’s blog (www.scobelizer.wordpress.com), you would say no.  Mr. Scoble is faced with family troubles which he writes about freely in his blog and PR people are pitching him regardless.  Here, PR people are heartless and frankly stupid!

If you were to go to the Syndicate Conference taking place in NYC right now, you would hear Richard Edelman defending his PR position in the world of blogging while he alludes to changes he needs to make within his firm in order to stay current and effective. 

If you were to go to a PRSA meeting (a PR networking/educational group), I think many members would say, “what is a blog….we still don’t get it and we don’t want to!” (sorry to those who do get it, but this is the conversation I hear on a regular basis at the local meetings).

While there seems to be tension between the two entities, I fully believe that PR and blogging belong together and will coexist peacefully once the old regime of PR people is replaced by the new.   

The newer version of PR is one where you are spreading an honest message where you are representing a product, message or service that has a true value to many.  A company can no longer hide behind their messaging, their advertising, and their less than stellar product or service.  The world moves too quickly and word, both good and bad, spreads like wildfire now.  The lies catch up and are catching up faster than ever.  Good news does the same.  A good PR person will follow the path that blogging has forged…a path of information sharing that starts with one person and ends with another…it starts with a passion for a certain subject and ends with information gathering and sharing.

I, being a PR person, have put together a conference, www.BusinessSmartTools.com,  based on this idea that PR, Marketing and frankly business in general have a strong partnership with new media.  I believe that if you call yourself a PR executive, you will not be effective unless you understand this emerging technology.  I am forging ahead with the Business Smart Tools Conference with a strong gut feeling that Creative Concepts will no longer be ahead of the game by using these marketing and communication tools but will be the norm in the not too distant future because at some point everyone will know that you have to spread your message in many different mediums in order to gain new business.

Cinnamon and sugar are used in many ways by themselves but when mixed together, they create a toxic, homey and frankly yummy taste that can’t be matched when they are apart.  Not that PR and blogging are yummy but they can be toxic in a good way and homey in a way that invokes trust in the consumer, the employer, the employee, the board, and the investors. 

PR and Blogging belong together.

There are two new tech tools that make me very happy.  Have you checked out the new Google trends?  It is so interesting and informative.  If you wanted some information on Blogging vs. Podcasting, you could see that most searches within google are going towards podcasting but in another chart they show that there is a close tie in reported news between the two.  How about PR vs. Marketing?  There are clearly more searches and more news items featurng marketing over PR.  How about soccer vs. baseball (my son asked me this one)?  There are more searches for soccer in 2005 but more news items about basketball.  Can’t live without stats…I love this Google trends!!

And another good stat driver?  Performancing stat package for bloggers.  You can see who is coming to visit, how long, what search engine you are showing up in, how peopel are searching for you, and a ton more.  www.Performancing.com  It is worth it especially if you want or have ads on your blog and need the numbers to make the numbers.

In google trends they say that bad days have more searches but good and bad days have equal coverage in the news….I say have a great day!!

Being in promotion mode, I have to think about every which way to get a an idea, a logo, a thought through to a million people and do it five or more times so people can remember what they saw the first time.

Just read an article from a guy who said save your money and put many smaller ads into the paper instead of just one big one (this backs up the idea of getting the point across as many times as possible)

I remember a story that I heard from Eve Ensler of the Vagina Monologues.  For her first ever production in New York City, she hadn’t sold a single ticket and it was 2 days before the big show.  She hardly had any money and she had called everyone she knew to fill the seats to no avail.  With her last pennies (I am sure it took more than pennies but you get the idea), she took out a full page ad in the NY Times…the house was filled on opening night.

A client told me that the only way to get through to really busy people is to fax them.  There are so many emails today that yours can get lost.  After she emailed a potential client for 3 months, once she sent the fax, he called that afternoon.

Of course there is the traditional route of press releases where you can get TV, radio and print coverage…is anyone paying attention…i think so but the bang is not as big as it used to be.

How about a press release on the wire…that works because the releases go out to websites and online newsletters in addition to the traditional editors, so you not only get coverage but your search engine rankings rise because of placement on other websites, blogs and more..a double exposure.

How about blogs…word gets out quickly if you truly have something to say but use the right keywords so interested parties can find you!!

If you have a client lively and passionate about their product or service, line them up for speeches…people love to hook into others who are knowledgeable and excited about what they do and nothing works better than a live show!  That is why networking can be so effective…you are in person and making a connection…you are believable (hopefully).

And what about putting your thoughts/ads/logo out there in unusual places?  Inside subways and trains, airplanes, elevators…any place where people are forced to sit or stand still….that is when the eye can rest on your special message/product or service.

Anymore ideas?  Send them my way so the list can continue.

Happy hunting.

Have you asked yourself any of these questions?

Who wants to learn about social media?

who wants to hear from fellow bloggers?

who wants to learn about podcasting?

what the heck is TV on the internet?

what do i do for better search engine visibility”?

how is journalism changing because of these new media tools?

what are the big companies doing and what direction are they turning?

what should I do with these tools if I am a pr or marketing person?

can I use these tools for better communication within my company?

are there some products or services out there that can make my business life easier?

If you have asked yourself any of these questions, then you belong at the Business Smart Tools Conference, June 13th 2-6, Stamford Marriott.

Go to www.BusinessSmartTools.com for more information and to register!

The plight of newspapers is written about all of the time.  Because the new media/internet is taking over, sales are down..advertisers are going elsewhere…what are they going to do??  I saw one recent article about how newspapers will survive if they make the transition over to web/new media.  Something will have to happen, someone will have to move away from the old and be a little creative to maintain readership. 

I read a story recently about Rupert Murdock.  His Senior level guys were sitting with a consultant talking about this very subject…the future.  The consultant said they needed to blog, podcast…get on the web.  The senior guy said, “oh no, we can’t do that…that is impossible!”  Just then Mr. Murdock walked into the room and said, “we are doing it, nothing is impossible!”  Don’t you love that?

Had a recent go around with a local paper.  The business editor says no to so much that I wonder what she actually says yes to.  She and the paper don’t understand the new media, she especially doesn’t understand it impact (the paper might but I doubt it..they claim to have a blogging section but it is a web page with advertisements last time I checked).  If she writes about a business it must be no futher than Norwalk, CT (they are based in Bridgeport) because they can’t afford to go further South even though the paper distributes to Fairfield County.  If she covers a meeting or conference the attendance fee must be $100 or less because she supports the struggling business organizations despite the subject matter.  She won’t accept a story written by the organization/company, the paper must write it themselves but they can’t write the stories because they have no money to pay reporters.  They will feature stories from around the country to the exclusion of local stories because they can pull them from the wire and save money.

Now, does the Connecticut Post Newspaper sound like a publication full of life and good ideas?  Does it sound like it has a strong future because they are thinking outside the box?  Do you think they are going to make it?  Only time will tell! 

Good luck!!