Lexy Meyerson's blog

Some News and a Welcome to Polka Dot Boxes Gift Hampers!

So I have to apologise in advance for the delay in posting. I have been busy making some big changes in my life. So here it goes...

After five fantastic years, I'm no longer working at Howorth/ Ogilvy PR Australia - although my loyalty is still very much with the awesome team that i left behind as well as my old clients. I thought it was time for a sea change so i have ventured out into the big bad world opting for freelance work as well as launching my own online business.

Yep - you heard right! I've launched a gift hamper company with business partner and friend, Deahne Hemphill. The company is called Polka Dot Boxes. Polka Dot Boxes delivers gift hampers Australia-wide for any occasion - anniversaries, corporate celebrations, kosher hampers, baby showers, weddings, other hallmark occasions or to just simply say 'thank you.'

We offer gourmet gift box creations at very affordable prices. Our point of different to other players in the market is that we have a 'no-filler' policy on our range of hampers which means that our customers receive gift hampers overflowing with gourmet food, biscuits, chocolate, wine and other gifts and not with stuffing like straw and other fillers!

You can read about us on Tina Gray's blog, more recently in The Age - Epicure section and in The Daily Telegraph below:

Daily Telegraph 22 June 2010 cropped

The journey in launching a new business has been an experience unlike any other - from building a website, dealing with banks, gateway and merchant services, web designers and photographers and of course the media!

Not only is there the glory that comes with being a founder but Deahne and I are finding that we're also the company secretaries, PAs, phone consultants, technicians, accountants and the run-around staff. It's an experience that's for sure. 

It's been great being able to put our PR skills to use and see firsthand the impact that PR has on the bottom line. We've had hamper orders and supplier contacts off the back of our coverage to date. I'll make sure to keep you updated on the progress that Polka Dot Boxes gift hampers makes.

And in other news, I'm five months pregnant - wow! I thought that was worthy of sharing too! :)

Look forward to hearing from you all! It's been a while. x

 

 

Preference-based consumer marketing. Why do we ignore it?

There is a vast amount of research that has been conducted recently regarding the consumers' preferred method of receiving marketing communication. A recent study by Forrester Research, and commissioned by ExactTarget, highlights that the majority of consumers today still have a strong affinity towards email.

The important take out: Consumers prefer email at a rate of three-to-one when compared with any other avenue for marketing communications such as social media, Instant Messaging, phone and SMS!

Despite the abundance of research that all points towards email being the marketing method of choice for consumers, why do marketers continue to ignore this?

Despite the spike of Internet users using social media, for example three quarters of Australian online adults use social technologies (Forrester: Australian Adult Social Technographics Revealed 2008), consumers in general are NOT open to receiving marketing communication via this channel. 

As social media continues to boom with new channels for communication being created everyday with new social networking sites and the like popping up, there is an overreliance and tendency to use this medium for all-purposes in order to reach the masses.

Unfortunately we forego the very fundamental principles of Marketing 101. We need to stop, think, plan and go back to basics:

• Who are our customers?
• Where are they?
• What are their preferences for receiving marketing messages?
• What are the right messages for each customer segment? 
• What channel do we use to reach them?

A quick Google search and some top line research is enough to reveal where our customers' preferences sit. It's all very simple. Follow the basic principles of marketing and target the appropriate marketing messages to the appropriate consumers based on their preferences using the appropriate channels!

Sadly, we are missing the point! We're frustrating consumers and, ultimately, not getting the outcomes that we desire!

 

Is anonymous online commenting ethical?

Should anonymous commenting on blogs, forums, social networking sites and microblogging sites such as Twitter be allowed? Is it ethical? 

I'm inclined to lean strongly towards the negative argument. l'd suggest that anonymous posting goes against the very fundamental principles behind social media and the importance of authenticity and transparency when operating in online communities. It's therefore very interesting to see that there are new online tools and services popping up that encourage this very behaviour.

Two of the latest examples are as follows:

• Tweet From Above
• Tweet From Below

The company's tagline is: "Anonymous Tweeting: For what has to be said, just not by you"

One of the services implies tweeting for 'good' and the other for 'bad'.

I'll be interested to see the sorts of tweets that get shared on both of these services. I'm particularly interested to know what sort of tweets make it to the 'Tweet From Above' service. If there's something good to share - a fabulous CSR initiative by a company, something great that a colleague has helped you with, your love of Sunsilk shampoo - why not put your name to it and share it with the world?

I can understand the reason for not putting your name to posts that comes from 'Tweet From Below', but surely this is just another service that has the potential to flare up cyber-bullying!

Are there any valid reasons for commenting anonymously? The assumption would be that one would only do so if they have something to hide. Perhaps what they are posting is factually incorrect or perhaps they are simply gossip mongering. Whatever the case, I don't agree with it.

I'd be keen to hear if anyone has any thoughts on when anonymous commenting would be permissible.

 

Expanding your clients' online communities: think 'quality NOT quantity'

Nate Cochrane pens his rules for social media etiquette on iTNews . And in a style true to the very fundamentals of social media which encourage active sharing and participation, he has made a point to list the rules he outlines as a work in progress and has opened it up for discussion on the site.

 

One of the rules that he points out is one that we tend to forget: ‘Quality NOT quantity’. Too often PRs get flack for doing a last minute dash to sign up as many people in their network to become friends/ fans on their clients’ Facebook groups and pages or on their Twitter handles.

 

As PRs, we need to continue to educate our clients that the real value does not lie in the sheer volume of people we sign up but rather in the quality of the people we engage (even if it’s only a handful!).

 

Consider who your target audience is, where do they frequent and how to reach them. Who is in your fans/ friends extended networks. Are they the right audience to target?

 

Using Twitter as an example, it’s important to do the analysis and drill down into who the person is that you want to connect with, get to know them, follow them for a while and find out what they write about. Also have a look into who follows that person, are they the appropriate person for your client to be reaching out to or is there someone in their Twitter network that is better?

 

The following tool can help you determine the most appropriate people to follow:

http://flowingdata.com/2008/03/12/17-ways-to-visualize-the-twitter-universe/

 

If we want to get some real and long lasting results for our clients, the key is to make sure that we’re speaking to the right audiences!

Branded outdoor billboard helps pedestrians to safety

An Indian mobile service provider, Aircel, recently did some very clever and whacky guerilla advertising in Mumbai, India. The company created and erected a giant outdoor billboard that had a branded boat vessel on it with the tagline: "In case of emergency, cut rope".

Why is this so clever? Mumbai is known for its monsoon season this time of year. Would it be likely that a scenario like this pop up where a boat was needed to get people to safety? Well, yes.

Not only was this an innovative way to promote Aircel as well as a media-stealing publicity stunt to generate word of mouth for the brand in a high traffic area, but it also received widespread media attention as an actual emergency arose which lead to someone needing to cut the rope and make use out of the vessel.

Springwise reports that on July 15, monsoon floods made the Milan Subway virtually impassable. "The rope was cut on Aircel's billboard, the boat was released, and stranded pedestrians were ferried to safety."

 

Aircel outdoor billboard

 

Aircel boat helps pedestrians

What a clever outdoor campaign. It's just a shame that this wasn't executed by the local Government of the day!

 

Are we looking to trim the fat?

I want to explore the notion of people 'trimming the fat'. I think we are increasingly seeing people explore different avenues and ways to improve their lives, and 'trimming the fat' provides a good platform for people to do so.

There's no denying that times are tough - the current economic climate has impacted us all in one way or another... some stronger than others. Trimming the fat helps people declutter and space-save in order to regain a sense of control over their lives. This can be a cathartic experience.

People are trimming the fat with regards to 'self'. There has never been more low-fat food options on the market, nor have we seen more weight-loss clinics and services popping up around the world (think Jenny Craig, Lite 'n' Easy etc...).

With reference to the 'home', people are decluttering their personal space to free up space in their lives. Spring cleaning has become a more regular year-round activity rather than a seasonal one. Minimalist home design and decor is also becoming increasingly popular.

With regards to 'work', the latest technologies (gadgets, applications, hardware and software) are helping people trim the fat and stay connected to the things that matter (friends, family, colleagues, work).

Trimming out the fat in the workplace helps people work smarter and faster - ultimately encouraging more productive work practices.

Technologies such as smartphones, new ultra-thin notebooks and wireless Internet connectivity are making it easy for us to trim the fat at work - minimise downtime and remain connected.

I'm keen to explore this further. If anyone has any thoughts, please drop me a line.

Are people doing anything else to trim the fat in their lives?

Advertising Young Minds: Top 27 blogs of people under 27

A big thanks to Julian for pulling together the latest blog list - Advertising Young Minds: The Top 27 blogs of people under 27.

Happy to see that I have been bumped up the ranks a few spots from number 25 to number 19 this year. Now I just need to keep up my end of the bargain and make sure that I allocate a decent amount of time to keeping my blog updated.

I promise in between renovating a house and planning a wedding to make ample time to do my blog and my fellow readers well.

Watch this space my friends!

All the best,

Lex

 

IDEA: Enterns are the new interns

Hey peeps. I have been extremely slack when it comes to keeping my blog updated. I had vowed never to let life get in the way but somehow i managed to do exactly this. Not anymore.

 

I’d love to start sharing some ideas, insights and random musings with you to give you a little food for thought as you go about your daily life and work. Hopefully these musings can serve a greater purpose than mere entertainment value and that you can extract some interesting nuggets of information that you can use.

 

I welcome your feedback on this and any other ideas that i share on my blog. I hope you enjoy instalment 1.

 

Happy reading…

 

Enterns are the new interns

 

In the current economic climate, one would expect to see a rise in internship programs as people across a wide range of industry sectors struggle to find paid work and opt for any foot in the door with big brands and firms (something that an unpaid internship offers). On the contrary, could the GFC and rise in unemployment be responsible for a rise in the ‘entern’?

 

·         There is a growing groundswell of entrepreneurs, and they bandy together;

·         There are websites, forums, portals and blogs both dedicated to them and run by them;

·         Yet again, we are seeing an upsurge in start-up companies by young founders; and

·         Today’s business leaders are getting younger (see my247, Danoz Direct, Strike Group Australia, Moi Moi Fine Jewellery, Geekversity etc…).

 

Today, everyone is an entrepreneur and the art of entrepreneurship is a craft that cannot be taught.

 

Will we see more people bypass traditional internship programs, education institutions and other formal training programs as they start to hone their entrepreneurial skills and focus their efforts towards developing their own start up companies?

 

Something for smart companies and formal training institutions to think about…

Ogilvy PR Swine Flu Aggregator

Check out the news aggregator that Ogilvy PR has created: http://flu.ogilvy.com.hk/latest_news. It houses the latest up-to-the-minute information and news on Swine Flu.

It also includes information on business continuity - so managing through the flu - as well as the latest news alerts and relevant links.

 

I hope you find it useful! 

 

 

Video footage from SMCSYD - Adam Ferrier talks Witchery Man campaign

Adam Ferrier, Managing Partner of Naked Communications, discusses the widely talked about Witchery Man campaign, how it was brought to life, the challenges and key learnings.

 

Witchery Man Campaign - The girl with the jacket