Web Ink Now

The Gobbledygook Manifesto -- Cutting Edge! Mission Critical! An analysis of gobbledygook in over 388,000 press releases sent in 2006

Oh jeez, not another flexible, scalable, groundbreaking, industry-standard, cutting-edge product from a market-leading, well positioned company! Ugh. I think I'm gonna puke! Just like with a teenager's use of annoying catch phrases, I notice the same words cropping up again and again in Web sites and news releases—so much so that the gobbledygook grates against my nerves and many other people's, too. Well, duh. Like, companies just totally don't communicate very well, you know?

Many of the thousands of Web sites I've analyzed over the years and the hundred or so news releases I receive each week are laden with these meaningless gobbledygook adjectives. So I wanted to see exactly how many of these words are being used and created an analysis to do so.

AN ANALYSIS OF GOBBLEDYGOOK

First, I selected words and phrases that are overused in news releases by polling select PR people and journalists to get a list of gobbledygook phrases. Then I turned to Factiva, a Dow Jones & Reuters Company, for help with my analysis. The folks at the Factiva Reputation Lab used text mining tools to analyze news releases sent by companies in North America. Factiva analyzed each release in its database that had been sent to one of the North American news release wires it distributes for the period from January 1, 2006, to September 30, 2006. The news release wires included in the analysis were Business Wire, Canada NewsWire, CCNMatthews, Commweb.com, Market Wire, Moody’s, PR Newswire, and Primezone Media Network. Thanks to David Hamm, Glenn Fannick and Melanie Surplice at Factiva for their help.

The results were staggering. (Click on the chart to load a larger image). The news release wires collectively distributed just over 388,000 news releases in the nine-month period, and just over 74,000 of them mentioned at least one of the Gobbledygook phrases. The winner was "next generation," with 9,895 uses. There were over 5,000 uses of each of the following words and phrases: "flexible," "robust," "world class," "scalable," and "easy to use." Other notably overused phrases with between 2,000 and 5,000 uses included "cutting edge," "mission critical," "market leading," "industry standard," "turnkey," and "groundbreaking." Oh and don't forget "interoperable," "best of breed," and "user friendly," each with over 1,000 uses in news releases.

WRITE FOR YOUR BUYERS

Your buyers (and the media that cover your company) want to know what specific problems your product solves, and they want proof that it works—in plain language. Your marketing and PR is meant to be the beginning of a relationship with buyers and to drive action (such as generating sales leads), which requires a focus on buyer problems. Your buyers want to hear this in their own words. Every time you write—yes, even in news releases—you have an opportunity to communicate. At each stage of the sales process, well written materials will help your buyers understand how you, specifically, will help them.

Whenever you set out to write something, you should be writing specifically for one or more of the buyer personas that you want to reach. You should avoid jargon-laden phrases that are over-used in your industry. In the technology business, words like "groundbreaking," "industry-standard," and "cutting-edge" are what I call gobbledygook. The worst gobbledygook offenders seem to be business-to-business technology companies. For some reason, marketing people at technology companies have a particularly tough time explaining how products solve customer problems. Because these writers don’t understand how their products solve customer problems, or are too lazy to write for buyers, they cover by explaining myriad nuances of how the product works and pepper this blather with industry jargon that sounds vaguely impressive. What ends up in marketing materials and news releases is a bunch of talk about "industry-leading" solutions that purport to help companies "streamline business process," "achieve business objectives," or "conserve organizational resources." Huh?

HOW DID WE GET HERE?

When I see words like "flexible," "scalable," "groundbreaking," "industry standard," or "cutting-edge," my eyes glaze over. What, I ask myself, is this supposed to mean? Just saying your widget is "industry standard" means nothing unless some aspect of that standardization is important to your buyers. In the next sentence, I want to know what you mean by "industry standard," and I also want you to tell my why that standard matters and give me some proof that what you say is indeed true.

People often say to me, "Everyone in my industry writes this way. Why?"

Here's how the usual dysfunctional process works and why these phrases are so overused: Marketers don't understand buyers, the problems buyers face, or how their product helps solve these problems. That's where the gobbledygook happens. First the marketing person bugs the product managers and others in the organization to provide a set of the product's features. Then the marketing person reverse-engineers the language that they think the buyer wants to hear based not on buyer input but on what the product does. A favorite trick these ineffective marketers use is to take the language that the product manager provides, go into Microsoft Word's find-and-replace mode, substitute the word "solution" for "product," and then slather the whole thing with superlative-laden, jargon-sprinkled hype. By just decreeing, through an electronic word substitution, that "our product" is "your solution," these companies effectively deprive themselves of the opportunity to convince people that this is the case.

Another major drawback of the generic gobbledygook approach is that it doesn't make your company stand out from the crowd. Here's a test: Take the language that the marketers at your company dreamed up and substitute the name of a competitor and the competitor’s product for your own. Does it still make sense to you? Marketing language that can be substituted for another company's isn't effective in explaining to a buyer why your company is the right choice.

I'll admit that the gobbledygook phrases I chose are mainly use by technology companies operating in the business-to-business space. If you are writing for a company that sells different kinds of products (shoes, perhaps), then you would probably not be tempted to use many of the above phrases. The same thing is true for nonprofits, churches, rock bands, and other organizations—you're also unlikely to use these sorts of phrases. But the lessons are the same. Avoid the insular jargon of your company and your industry. Instead, write for your buyers.

"Hold on," you might say. "The technology industry may be dysfunctional, but I don't write that way!" The fact is that there is equivalent nonsense going on in all industries. Here's an example from the world of local government. "The sustainability group has convened a task force to study the cause of energy inefficiency and to develop a plan to encourage local businesses to apply renewable-energy and energy-efficient technologies which will go a long way toward encouraging community buy-in to potential behavioral changes." Hmm... What the heck is that? Or consider this example from the first paragraph of a well-known company's corporate overview page. "…[Company X] has remained faithful in its commitment to producing unparalleled entertainment experiences based on its rich legacy of quality creative content and exceptional storytelling. Today, [Company X] is divided into four major business segments… Each segment consists of integrated, well-connected businesses that operate in concert to maximize exposure and growth worldwide." Can you guess the company? Answer here.

EFFECTIVE WRITING FOR MARKETING AND PR

Your marketing and PR is meant to be the beginning of a relationship with buyers (and journalists). This begins when you work at understanding your target audience and figure out how they should be sliced into distinct buying segments or buyer personas. Once this exercise is complete, identify the situations each target audience may find themselves in. What are their problems? Business issues? Needs? Only then are you ready to communicate your expertise to the market. Here's the rule: when you write, start with your buyers, not with your product.

Your online and offline marketing content is meant to drive action (such as generating sales leads), which requires a focus on buyer problems. Your buyers want this in their own words, and then they want proof. Every time you write, you have an opportunity to communicate and to convince. At each stage of the sales process, well written materials combined with effective marketing programs will lead your buyers to understand how your company can help them. Good marketing is rare indeed, but a focus on doing it right will most certainly pay off with increased sales, higher retention rates, and more ink from journalists.

I'll be writing a lot more about this in my upcoming book The New Rules of Marketing and PR which will be published by Wiley in mid 2007.

Do you have favorite gobbledygook phrases? Comment on this post or on your blog with a trackback and let me know. Larry Schwartz at Newstex has offered "anything 2,0" as in Web 2.0 and PR 2.0 as his nomination. What about you?

Jonathan Kranz in MarketingProfs DailyFix on the real way to attract a publisher's attention

Yesterday I was chatting with my friend Jonathan Kranz, author of Writing Copy for Dummies (love his tagline by the way—"smart clients turn to this dummy"). Since we have four books between us, as usual we got on the subject of books and publishers and agents. As I started talking about my new book, Jonathan stopped me. "I've just got to blog about this on my blog and on MarketingProfs DailyFix," he said.

Yes the Internet has certainly turned the book pitching and publishing and writing model around as Jonathan said so well. How different the old school approach is from my experience. I wrote a (free) ebook which allowed me to sign with an agent and get a book deal. And now I am blogging draft parts of my book (for free) to get (free) feedback from my readers (many of whom will be featured or mentioned in the book – free PR for them). All the interaction will eventually make the book better when if comes out. Only then will it be a "product" and finally for sale.

The book model has changed because of the Web.

Now that you can easily reach buyers directly, Marketing and PR has changed because of the Web.

Has your approach changed along with it? Or are you still doing things the old way?

The Web has changed the rules. On the Web, you are what you publish.

Thanks again Jonathan.

Your best customers participate in online forums—so should you—a case study

Here is another fascinating case study that will appear in my upcoming book The New Rules of Marketing and PR.

On the Web, customers, stakeholders, and the media can immediately see what's on people’s minds. There’s never been as good of an opportunity to monitor what’s being said about you and your products than the one we have now. The Internet is like a massive focus group with uninhibited customers offering up their thoughts for free!

Tapping this resource is simple: You've got to monitor what’s being said. And when an organization is the subject of heated discussions, particularly negative ones, it just feels weird if a representative of that organization doesn’t jump in with a response. If the company is dark, not saying a thing online, participants start wondering, "What are they hiding?" Just having a presence on the blogs, forums, and chat rooms that your customers frequent shows that you care about the people who spend money with your organization. It is best not to wait for a crisis. You should participate as appropriate all the time. How can you afford not to become closer to your most vocal constituents?

Let's look at another example, but one with a much different outcome than the Sony BMG case that I wrote about a few days ago. In late 2005, Nikon introduced a new "prosumer" digital camera, the D200 model, which appeals to very advanced amateur photographers and professionals alike. Nikon launched the new model globally through specialty distributors and high-end camera stores frequented by experienced hobbyists and professionals. But Nikon also offered the D200 outside of the normal distribution channels by selling the model in "big box" stores such as Circuit City and Best Buy. The camera was a hot commodity when launched just prior to the holidays, and supply was constrained when it first hit the stores.

"The places where camera guys like me normally get Nikon gear were caught out because of a lack of supply," says Alan Scott, an experienced photographer and long-time Nikon customer. "People who preordered the D200 or who were waiting for camera retailer sites to go live with an announcement of availability were gnashing their teeth wanting to get the camera."

Like many other photographers, Scott frequents popular online digital photography forums, including Nikonians: The Nikon User Community and DPR: Digital Photography Review. "The forums were active with lots of people complaining that they couldn’t get the camera from their normal long-term suppliers but that the big box stores had them," Scott says. "Then a thread was started on Nikonians and later picked up on DPR that discussed how popular New York City photography supplier B&H, a trusted source with a knowledgeable staff that many professionals and high-end hobbyists go to, had taken orders but then were canceling them."

The first post, from ceo1939, said, "I ordered a D200 from B & H this afternoon about 4:30 mountain time. The charge was made against my credit card. A hour later I got an E Mail that said they had a technical problem and the camera was actually not in stock, but they would hold my order and charge for when they actually get in stock. I tried cancelling the charge, and got an e mail back on how to handle a disputed charge. I will see what happens when I call them in the morning."

Many camera enthusiasts and customers of B&H were monitoring the thread at this point. "Within a few hours, several dozen posts appeared on the thread and the tone had become critical of B&H, with people complaining that the company was purposely screwing them," Scott says. "Forum participants said that e-mail notifications from B&H did not work and people who called in were getting cameras in front of those who had signed up for an alert system."

The B&H situation sounds a bit like the Sony BMG incident, doesn’t it? In both cases, avid participants in specialty online forums sounded off about a company, its products, and its business practices. Both sets of threads occurred in little-known nooks of the Web, far outside mainstream media channels and other typical places that PR people monitor for what’s being said about their company and its products. But the B&H case is very different because a B&H employee was an active participant on the boards.

"Unfortunately as everyone who frequents this site knows, Nikon USA has been remarkably reluctant (diplomatic, eh?) to put this camera in retailers' hands," wrote Henry Posner of B&H Photo-Video, Inc on the DPR thread. "The result in this particular case is that had we left the order open, we'd still be sitting on your money and would have been unable to fulfill the D200 order and it's reasonable to presume you'd be chafing to get your camera, which we'd have been (and are) unable to supply due to circumstances beyond our control… We regret and apologize for having vexed you."

Unlike in the Sony BMG example, people at B&H had been monitoring the messages and were prepared to participate. "So in steps Henry Posner, who is with B&H," Scott says. "He came into the forum and said, basically, 'you’re right, we screwed you,' but then explained what happened, apologized, and said that B&H will make it right. By acknowledging the issue, one guy with one post changed the whole tone of the thread and the reputation of B&H. After that, the posts changed to become incredibly positive."

Indeed they were. "Henry's participation in various web forums is something I respect greatly," wrote BJNicholls on one thread. "I can't think of someone of power with any other business who engages in public discussion of store issues and products."

"I also admire his forthrightness," added N80. "He admits there have been some mistakes and that the situation has been hard to handle. However, he firmly denies the charges of lying and deceitfulness that have been flying around. And I absolutely believe him."

Don't you wish your customers had been this understanding the last time your company screwed up? If you participate in an active way in the online communities that they do, you will gain more sympathy.

Ignore message boards and chat rooms at your own peril - a case example: Sony BMG

As millions of people use the Web for doing detailed research on products and services, getting involved in political campaigns, joining music and film fan clubs, and reviewing and discussing hobbies and passions, they congregate in all kinds of online places. The technologies go by various names but all include a way for people to express opinions online: Chat rooms and message boards (places where people meet and discuss topics online), list serves (similar to a chat room but with messages going out by email to members who have registered), Wikis (a Web site that anybody can update), and blogs that have an active community of people who provide comments to blog posts written by the blog author. At specialty sites of all kinds, like-minded hobbyists, professionals, fans, and supporters meet and discuss the intricate nuances of subjects that interest them. Interactive forums like these were once seen as insignificant backwaters by PR and marketing people—not worth the time to even monitor, let alone participate in. I've heard many marketers dismiss online forums with disdain, saying things like, "Why should I worry about a bunch of geeks obsessively typing away in the dead of night?" But as many marketers have learned, ignoring forums can be hazardous to your brand while participating as a member reaps rewards.

On October 31, 2005, in a post on his blog called Sony, Rootkits And Digital Rights Management Gone Too Far, Mark Russinovich detailed an analysis he conducted on characteristics of the software used on Sony BMG music CDs to manage permissions for the purchased music. Russinovich argued that shortcomings in the software design create security issues that might be exploited by malicious software such as worms or viruses. He also showed that both the way the software is installed and its lack of an uninstaller utility were troublesome.

"The entire experience was frustrating and irritating," Russinovich wrote on his blog. "Not only had Sony put software on my system that uses techniques commonly used by malware [malicious software] to mask its presence, the software is poorly written and provides no means for uninstall. Worse, most users that stumble across the cloaked files with a RKR scan will cripple their computer if they attempt the obvious step of deleting the cloaked files. While I believe in the media industry's right to use copy protection mechanisms to prevent illegal copying, I don't think that we've found the right balance of fair use and copy protection, yet. This is a clear case of Sony taking DRM too far."

The reaction to Russinovich's post was immediate and dramatic. In the next several days, hundreds of comments, many harshly critical of Sony BMG Music, were posted on his blog. "Thank you very much for bringing to light what Sony is doing. I have purchased many thousands of dollars of their products over the years. Next year’s purchases will be zero," said User101. "I SAY BOYCOTT THE BASTARDS!!" said Jack3617. "If you plan on boycotting, let the offending company know. They need to know that they are loosing customers and WHY. Perhaps others companies will get the message as well," said Kolby. "Great article by Mark and scandalous behavior by Sony," said Petter Lindgren.

Hundreds of other bloggers jumped in with their own take on the issue, and chat rooms and forums such as Slashdot were abuzz. Many people expressed frustration that the music industry disapproves of music piracy and sues music downloaders yet treats its customers poorly (which reflected negatively on the entire industry, not just Sony BMG). Soon, reporters from online news sites such as ZDNet and InformationWeek wrote their own analyses, and the issue became international news.

So where was Sony BMG during the online hullabaloo? Not on the blogs. Not on the message boards. Nobody from Sony BMG participated in the online discussions. Nobody spoke with online media. Sony BMG was dark (not participating in the communities at all), which added to the frustrations of those who were concerned about the issues. Finally on November 4, 2005, Sony BMG's global digital business president Thomas Hesse went on NPR's Morning Edition to defend the company. The choice of NPR (radio) as a forum to react to a storm of protest on the Web was a poor one. Had Hesse immediately commented on Russinovich's blog or agreed to speak with a technology reporter for an online publication, he could have gotten his take on the issue onto the screens of concerned people early in the crisis to help diffuse the anger. But instead of understanding customer concerns, Hesse downplayed the issue on Morning Edition, saying he objected to terms such as "malware," "spyware," and "rootkit." "Most people, I think, don't even know what a rootkit is, so why should they care about it?" he said in the interview.

Online debate intensified. On November 18, 2005, Sony BMG reacted with the announcement of an exchange program. "To Our Valued Customers," the announcement read. "You may be aware of the recent attention given to the XCP content protection software included on some SONY BMG CDs. This software was provided to us by a third-party vendor, First4Internet. Discussion has centered on security concerns raised about the use of CDs containing this software. We share the concerns of consumers regarding these discs, and we are instituting a mail-in program that will allow consumers to exchange any CD with XCP software for the same CD without copy protection and receive MP3 files of the same title…"

Unfortunately for Sony BMG, the exchange program didn't end the issue. On November 21, 2005, Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott sued Sony BMG under the state’s 2005 spyware law. California and New York followed with class action lawsuits. Soon after, law student Mark Lyon started a blog to track Sony BMG XCP rootkit lawsuits. "I trusted Sony BMG when they asked to install a 'small program' on my computer," Lyon wrote on his blog. "Instead, they infected my computer with poorly written code, which even if it wasn't designed for a malicious purpose (like reporting my activities—something they expressly promised they were not going to do), opened me up to a number of computer viruses and security problems. This site exists to help others who have been harmed by Sony BMG and their XCP Content Protection." Several cases have since been settled, and Lyon has continued to cover all the action on his Sony Suit blog.

Of course, we will never know what would have happened if someone from Sony BMG had quickly jumped into the blogstorm, apologized, stated Sony's plan of action, and offered the exchange program immediately. Yes, I'm sure it would still have been a crisis situation for the music publisher, but I'm also certain that the negative effects would have been substantially diminished.

What's important for all organizations to take away from this incident is that it is critical to respond quickly to situations as they unfold on the Web. Reacting quickly and honestly in the same forums where the discussions are taking place is essential. You may not be able to completely turn a negative situation around, but you will instantly be seen as a real person who gives a name and a personality to a large, seemingly uncaring organization. Just by participating you will contribute to making the situation right. The Web's power of linking should insure that participants who see your posts on one forum or blog will link to them from other forums and blogs, so you don’t have to worry about contributing to multiple places. What's important is first getting out there; after that, remember that authenticity and honesty are always paramount.

Terrific new ebook - Colin Delany's Online Politics 101: The Tools and Tactics of Online Advocacy

As the 2006 political season moves into the home stretch, my friend Colin Delany editor in chief at epolitics.com has released a terrific new free e-book Online Politics 101: The Tools and Tactics of Online Advocacy to help campaigns useful ideas on how to spread the word on the Web. Colin totally gets the online political world and helped me to understand it enough to include some case studies in my upcoming book The New Rules of Marketing and PR. Colin's ebook shows how to use the Internet to promote candidates, shape public opinion, motivate supporters and raise money. Read the press release here.

For years I've been saying that we all learn from each other on the Web. Although this ebook is about online politics, marketers at non-profits, corporations, churches, and even rock bands can learn from what Colin has to say. I've found that the best ideas for Web marketing are always found in another industry, not your own. You won't succeed by copying your competitor's online efforts, but you will find something useful from a completely different industry. So check out this ebook and its ideas even if you don't run a political campaign or advocacy group.

Online Politics 101: The Tools and Tactics of Online Advocacy, looks comprehensively at the online organizing methods that work today -- including cutting-edge applications such as MySpace, viral marketing, text messaging and video distribution channels such as YouTube.

Microsoft fixes the bugs in its marketing

In technology businesses, the biggest companies are rather arrogant when it comes to marketing, aren't they? For years, marketing at big tech companies like Microsoft has been about letting customers know when the new product release is ready and then sitting back and taking orders.

How fascinating it is for me to see that Microsoft has identified that the egocentric, big brother, product-focused marketing of the past doesn’t work anymore! Wow. Microsoft was always my poster child for the "you will like it because Microsoft made it" approach to technology marketing. Now they are investing in marketing that focuses on the customer first. Holy cow. Microsoft, the most product oriented company out there is now becoming customer oriented in their marketing approach.

In a fascinating article called On the Campaign Trail in Redmond Channel Partner Online the details of Microsoft’s new customer campaigns are spelled out. According to the article, the Microsoft customer campaigns are based on customer aspirations like "drive business performance" and "enable your mobile workforce."

In the past, Microsoft had product oriented "go-to-markets" that were based on what Microsoft wanted to sell. Now they focus on customer campaigns that focus on market problems and what customers want to buy. That's a huge change.

The reinvention of Microsoft marketing has been an ongoing effort for several years. In a terrific June 2005 article by Rob O'Regan, Editor in Chief of the late, great CMO Magazine (sadly, this article is no longer available online), Mich Mathews, Microsoft's senior vice president of corporate marketing, said that the process to become customer focused will take ten years. "I know that sounds like an incredible amount of time, but when you’re a company of 57,000 people and still very much an engineering culture, you can't have some corporate mandate and expect everyone to dance to it."

In a sidebar article called Under the Hood, Mathews said: "The area that we are investing in like crazy is around relationship marketing: the systems, tools and processes that allow us to have an ongoing conversation with our customers. The area around this that excites me the most is Microsoft.com. We are the second most visited website on the planet. And those are the people every day who are coming to say, 'Hey I’m interested in you.' It’s just the most amazing magnet. We’re just scratching the surface in using Microsoft.com as that relationship engine."

This is all heady stuff. The dinosaur is morphing in order to survive for many years to come. I've been a marketer for 20 years. When I had a "real job" as VP Marketing at various public companies, I always worked for the smaller guy, the scrappy competitor that had to be smarter at marketing and PR than the dinosaur at the top. Now I write and consult about the new rules of marketing and PR as well as teach the Pragmatic Marketing Effective Product Marketing course to help companies to compete against the big guy. But it’s weird when the big guy begins to "get it" and acts a less like a dinosaur…

Elevator ads? Here is some great data from a company that took the ride

David Hamm, Director of Global Marketing Communications & Advertising at Factiva, a Dow Jones and Reuters Company posted this great analysis of elevator advertising. It is worth a read of you've ever wondered how elevator advertising works or thought of trying it.

As many readers of this blog know, I am not a fan of traditional broadcast style advertising. I just think it is wasteful and that Web marketing works better and is far cheaper. That being said, I do see room for highly specific advertising that reaches a targeted buyer persona. I've always been intrigued with those little TV screens in elevators. But does advertising on them really work?

This form of advertising is fascinating because it allows an advertiser to micro-target a specific potential customer. For example, if you know what building in New York City your big prospect is headquartered in, you can cross reference the address to the network to see if they have TVs in the elevators at that building. Factiva went with Captivate Network for their advertising. Imagine broadcasting a message to people every day as they are going to and from their office.

David's post has great data on his campaign. Check it out.

I would encourage anyone who wants to try this to be very careful about creative. Because the audience is so concentrated and they cannot leave the elevator, the ads that you use must not piss people off. The potential to damage your brand with annoying ads is large. Try to provide something of value.

Press release distribution business consolidation should benefit marketers

As I continue to say to anyone who will listen (or read) press releases are one of the best ways companies can reach buyers directly.

We all have choice when it comes to press release distribution.

I find it fascinating that 2006 four significant press release distribution services have been rolled up into new ownership structures. My take is that this is good for marketers and communicators because the consolidation will make the wires more competitive, putting downward pressure on fees and forcing upgrades to service an innovation.

These deals also means that the middle tier of press release distribution services are no longer "independent". We’ve now got consolidation into several big services or big pocket owners. These deals and the valuations placed on the companies also tell me that press release distribution is a good business and my take is that it will only get better under new ownership. There are still a slew of small press release distribution services out there.

Here’s a recap of the deals:

October 2, 2006 -- PR Newswire acquires U.S. Newswire
Yesterday, PR Newswire, a top press release distribution service for corporations (owned by United Business Media) acquired U.S. Newswire from Medialink Worldwide. U.S. Newswire became the first news release distribution vehicle dedicated solely to servicing the needs of public information officers within governmental agencies, public interest groups, not-for-profit organizations, civic groups, unions, colleges and universities, cultural organizations, research organizations, political organizations and foreign embassies.
My take: One of the two biggest corporate press release distribution services teaming up with a major public and non-profit distribution service extends the reach of PRNewswire in a good way.

August 7, 2006 Vocus acquires PRWeb
Direct to consumer news release pioneer PRWeb teams up with media communications leader Vocus. I find it fascinating that Vocus, a company with strength in the media relations aspect of communications services is bringing a direct to consumer news service into the fold.
My take: This deal confirms what many of us have been saying on this and other blogs about the lines between communicating with the media and communicating directly with buyers (The New Rules of PR) is blurring.

June 12, 2006 NASDAQ acquires PrimeZone Media Network
PrimeZone Media Network, a privately held, Los Angeles-based firm specializing in press release newswire and multimedia services was acquired by the NASDAQ Stock Exchange. PrimeZone's comprehensive suite of information distribution and multimedia services becomes a part of the NASDAQ Investor Relations and Corporate Communications suite.
My take: For NASDAQ listed companies, issuing releases through PrimeZone means there is a one-stop shop for PR and IR and when compbined with other recent NASDAQ acquisitions such as Shareholder.com, the lives of communications people at NASDAQ listed companies should be made easier.

April 3, 2006 - CCNMatthews acquired Market Wire
CCNMatthews is one of Canada's leading newswires and Market Wire is a full-service distributor of company press releases and material news in the US. In April, the companies announced that CCNMatthews was acquiring 100% of Market Wire to join forces to form the full-service newswire with largest media distribution footprint in North America.
My take: This deal is interesting because it brings together big players in the U.S. and Canada into one service making it easy to distribute releases to the media and buyers in North America at once.

January 17, 2006 Berkshire Hathaway acquires BusinessWire
Berkshire Hathaway, of course, is controlled by legendary investor Warren Buffett. In making the announcement, Buffett said: "In making this acquisition of Business Wire, we have followed our blueprint of buying profitable companies that are industry leaders, yet have significant growth potential. We quickly realized that Business Wire was a gem of a company. I expect Business Wire to continue to do what it has always done and I'll be there if I can help in any way."
My take: If Warren Buffett sees value in a press release distribution service, it must be a good business for the long term.

Bottom line: You have a choice in how you distribute press releases. The important things to consider before you send a release through any service are:
1. What reach does the service have into the ways that buyers search for news such as Google News, Yahoo News, vertical portals and online news sites?
2. What reach does the service have into the media that you want to target?
3. What value added social media tools such as tagging via Technorati, DIGG, and del.icio.us does the service provide?

Compare the various services and the pricing levels and choose accordingly. "We've always sent releases through XYZ wire" is not a good reason to continue to use that service.

Writing White Papers: Michael Stelzner shows how to capture readers and keep them engaged

Oh, how I love to receive advance copies of books. It makes me feel special to read something and perhaps begin to use some great ideas before the book goes on sale and others have a chance.

Michael Stelzner whose blog I have been reading sent me an advance review copy of Writing White Papers: How to Capture Readers and Keep Them Engaged (thanks Mike). This is an excellent guide for anyone who would like to take advantage of delivering compelling Web content in the form of white papers. Beginners will learn the basics, but there is a ton of valuable information for people like me who have written a lot of white papers over the years.

The chapter on creating a compelling title by itself is worth the price of the book. The chapter begins: “What’s the value of a title? A title is a nice suit, a cocktail dress, a pretty face, a head-turner or any other metaphor that grabs your attention.” I’ll be using the advice on titles frequently as I struggle for titles to book chapters, columns, and speeches.

Done well, white papers deliver authentic thought leadership, branding an organization as one to do business with. Sadly, many white papers are simply product pitches that annoy readers. Throughout his book, Stelzner shows you how to get it right. He’s written nearly 100 white papers himself for recognized companies, including Microsoft, FedEx, Motorola, Monster, HP and SAP so he speaks from experience.

Show, Don't Tell – U.S. Navy Blue Angels

This weekend I went to the Nantucket Air Show, featuring the U.S. Navy Blue Angels flight demonstration team. The Blue Angels (and the Air Force Thunderbirds) are truly impressive, not only as an awesome display of precision flying, but also as a terrific marketing tool.

Young people see the six Boeing F/A-18 Hornets zooming in tight formation and many say: "I want to do that too." I've always said that marketing is much better when the approach is "show, don’t tell." In this example, don't tell me that it is cool to be in the military, show me.

A Blue Angels flight demonstration exhibits choreographed refinements of skills possessed by all naval aviators. It includes the graceful aerobatic maneuvers of the four-plane Diamond Formation, in concert with the fast-paced, high-performance maneuvers of its two Solo Pilots. The Blue Angels are scheduled to fly nearly 68 air shows at 35 locations in the United States during the 2006 season. Last season brought out more than 17 million spectators. Recruiters were at the event to answer questions and encourage people to join the Navy.

Of course, we all don't have hundreds of millions of dollars of air power to demonstrate our capabilities. But every organization has something that can be demonstrated, given away, or showcased in some way.

What about your organization? How can you show people that you’re the right choice to do business with? How can you encourage people to join your group, vote for your candidate, buy your product, or donate money to your cause?