I'm so loyal I can hardly see straight

Yesterday on Brandweek.com:

Miller Brewing claims it has created the first loyalty program of its kind for the beer category, which allows consumers to earn redeemable points when they purchase specially marked packs of beer.

As Windell Middlebrooks might say, "clean up on aisle common sense!"

Nancy Nall on how not to write a press release

Nancy Nall, now world-famous for her plagiarizer-wranglin', has some not-so-complimentary things to say about the news release that tried to put a happy face on the Lincoln Museum closing. And when you learn that the release was titled "Lincoln Financial Foundation to Make Its Lincoln Museum Collection More Accessible and Visible," it's pretty hard to disagree with her.

If you're in the press release-writing business, Nall's post provides a great reality check for those moments when you think you can fool your audience. In short, you can't. And if you try, you'll be setting yourself up for an even worse public response than would have been generated by the bad news you were trying to cover up in the first place. The old, venerable "go ugly early" rule is old and venerable for a reason: it works.

No, Lincoln wouldn't have made anyone happy had they titled their release "Lincoln Museum to close in June." But by adding insult to injury, they've set themselves up for a lot more criticism. Here's one example of the anger it inspires. And here's another.

Six Minutes' 25 essential presentation skills

The Six Minutes blog compiled a great list: "25 Skills Every Public Speaker Should Have." Here are two of my favorites--both of which sound obvious, but that most presenters still miss more often than not:

11. Utilize 3-dimensional space - Chaining yourself to the lectern limits the energy and passion you can exhibit. Lose the notes, and lose the chain.

15. Interact with the audience - Ask questions (and care about the answers). Solicit volunteers. Make your presentation a dialogue.

23 more great tips are waiting for you here.

Billboard backlash enboldens vandals

A couple of years ago, one of my client's billboards was defaced by someone with a can of spray paint and way too much free time. We were pretty lucky for a couple of reasons: the message painted on the board was just random graffiti not directed at the advertiser, and we had a second vinyl in inventory that we were able to get up within hours.

Other advertisers aren't so lucky. Last week, for example, the Billboard Liberation Front, a California-based group that has been "'improving' outdoor advertising since 1977," changed this board...:

into this:

The BLF's tounge-in-cheek press release stated that the goal was "to promote and celebrate the innovative collaboration of these two global communications giants."

"NSA gets the data it needs to keep America safe," the release continues, "telecom customers get free services, and AT&T makes a fortune. That kind of cooperation between the public and private sectors should serve as a model to all of us, and a harbinger of things to come.”

In case you didn't notice, they're being sarcastic.

Now there's part of me that thinks the BLF's efforts are funny and smart. After all, it's hard not to laugh when the joke's aimed at a corporate behemoth and the governmental equivalent of Big Brother. But it's easy to see the humor when it's at someone else's (literal and figurative) expense. I'm guessing I wouldn't be laughing as much if the joke was on one of my clients.

Part of the problem is the ongoing controversy surrounding outdoor advertising (see this post for more). Billboards aren't very popular, and they can be pretty ugly and obtrusive. As a marketing strategy, however, they also can be pretty damn effective.

My take is that like most other things in life, the key is moderation. Citizens and municipalities should work together to develop common sense ordinances that allow for some outdoor advertising, while limiting the kind of proliferation that blights the landscape (and also makes individual messages less effective). That's easier said than done, but even striving for this type of compromise would be a step in the right direction.

In the meantime, I'll try to stay off the BLF's radar, while keeping a backup vinyl at the ready, just in case.

Hats tipped to AdFreak, boingboing, billboardom
Photos from the Billboard Liberation Front's photostream on Flickr

The people behind the posts

Two markedly different recent events provide stark reminders of the power of blogs--and the very real consequences involved for those who provide fodder for bloggers and commenters.

The first, obviously, is the Nancy Nall/Tim Goeglein blockbuster. I've discussed this one already, but I'll summarize by saying that blogs have real power today. Nall's post went from local curiosity to national news within hours, and Goeglein turned in his resignation not 12 hours after it first appeared. At the risk of sounding biased, I think Nall's post was very much fair play. Sure, she doesn't like Goeglein, and sure, she had mocked his writing in the past. But it was Goeglein's blatant plagiarism that caused his demise; Nall just hastened it. (Goeglein acknowledged as much in today's News-Sentinel.) It may be too soon to say where this story will end, but one thing's for sure: Goeglein has lost his job, maybe along with some future opportunities that were available to him as of Thursday. That's pretty serious stuff, regardless of who's to blame.

Tonight, Nall announced that she's shutting down comments on the Goeglein post. It's a matter of both self-preservation and maintaining the civil tone she strives to set, she explains:

Keeping up with the moderation queue is making it tough to get anything else done, and I think all that needs to be said has been said. The more recent poo-flinging is starting to get on my nerves as well. As many of our regulars have noted, this is a blog that keeps things fairly friendly, even when we’re fighting. I’m putting pretty much everything through in the interest of letting everyone have a say, but it’s really unwieldy now.

The important thing here, I think, is that Nall seems to understand that there are real people behind the posts and comments on her blog. While you might criticize her for calling attention to Goeglein's writing, she did notify the News-Sentinel first, as Leo Morris noted on his blog on Friday. Now she is making the judgment call that things are getting out of hand in the comments. Both appear to be good, carefully considered decisions.

Blogs, however, aren't always so civil, and things don't always end so well. Take the story of Paul Tilley, for example. Tilley, the creative director of DDB Chicago, committed suicide on February 23. Some are speculating that the way he was treated in blog postings and comments had something to do with it, as The New York Times reports:

Before his death, Mr. Tilley had come under particularly harsh criticism on the advertising blogs. AgencySpy, which is written by an anonymous advertising industry employee, was perhaps the most biting.

In a Feb. 19 posting, the site quoted excerpts from an internal e-mail message Mr. Tilley had sent to subordinates, in which he wrote: “Too many of you are only doing good work. And some of you are doing work that simply isn’t good enough.”

AgencySpy wrote that Mr. Tilley “needs to go back to management 101,” adding: “At one point, Paul thought he could make it as a game show host. Doesn’t one need to be charming for that?”

The site then published 12 comments peppered with personal insults aimed at Mr. Tilley — among them an insult signed by George Parker, the author of the AdScam blog.

Friends of Tilley's and blogs like the daily (ad) biz have suggested that someone doesn't commit suicide as a result of what they read on a blog--and they're probably right. But when bloggers create a hostile, uncivil environment, they're certainly not contributing to a constructive dialogue. The hard part is judging what's newsworthy and relevant, and what's just a personal attack.

When I first started this blog, a friend gave me some good advice: the tone you set will be the one adopted by the majority of your visitors. Keep things civil, and most of them will play along. But go into the gutter, and some people will be inclined to follow. And they likely will be the voices that dominate the conversation.

I'm lucky, because this blog's subjects aren't inherently controversial, and the traffic is slow enough to prevent much, if any, bickering. But if there's a lesson to be learned from Tilley's suicide, it's that even the most benign topics can lead to some ugly online conversations. And if there's a lesson to be learned from the Nall/Goeglein story, it's that a blogger has some control over the tone, even when the subject matter is politically charged or otherwise controversial.

If we hope to truly enhance our communication environment with help from technology, nothing is more important than remembering that there are real people behind the posts and comments we make, and that there are real consequences for the things we say online. As technology gives us the safety of physical distance, it also can make us forget the true power of words. You're responsible for what you say online, just as you're responsible for what you say in the real world. Nancy Nall and Tim Goeglein are learning that lesson as we speak, and they seem to be handling it as constructively as possible. As for Paul Tilley, it's not clear whether a more civil tone would have made a difference--but that, of course, is enough to make you think before you hit the submit button.

The ADDY Awards--where everyone's a winner (especially B & Y, Ferguson, and OLG)

The Fort Wayne's ADDY Awards took place Saturday night, with a wide variety of the city's ad agency creatives receiving well-deserved kudos, congrats, and huzzahs. A lot of agencies went home happy, as the Journal Gazette reports, but some went home happier than others: Ferguson Advertising took home 13 gold ADDYs, Boyden & Youngblutt received 11, and One Lucky Guitar had an even 10. Catalyst Marketing & Design was honored with a Best of Show award, and LaBov & Beyond, Asher Agency, The Nichols Co., and Katie Kline, a University of Saint Francis student, all received judges' awards. A lot of other agencies did well, too.

Other highlights only hinted at, or not hinted at at all, by the JG:

• One member of the OLG team swears the red sweat suits were NOT a "punk move," but a long-planned show of agency chemistry, fashion sense, and Wu-Tang-Clanness.
• Some people can pull off fake tattoos; some can't (Matt Georgi, I'll let you guess where you fall).
• The T-shirts were awesome.
• If you see SBB reader Beth H., tell her congratulations on her shiny gold ADDY.
  
• Mad Anthony's is a fine location for an after party.

Nice job by everyone involved. Next year, red sweat suits for everyone--but let's leave the tattoos to the professionals.

Scott Howard launches Fort Wayne Forum

Yesterday, in a post about The Board on journalgazette.net, I challenged someone to start a true Fort Wayne social network on Ning.com. Well, less than 12 hours later, blogger and frequent SBB visitor Scott Howard had the Fort Wayne Forum up and running. And it looks great--you can upload photos and videos, and you can even host an RSS feed page on your page.

This is Scott's baby, so I'll leave it to him to discuss his vision for the FWF. I'll expand upon something I mentioned yesterday, however: I think micro networks are the next stage of social networking, and there are a lot of good reasons to connect with people who you already have something in common with (a common hometown, for example). Why would you want to be on another network if you're already connected to LinkedIn or Facebook, for example? Social networks are moving from an "or" to an "and" phenomenon--instead of being on Facebook or MySpace, you can be on multiple networks that reflect your interests. The great thing about Ning.com is that allows you to manage everything from the same hub. I'm currently connected to Smaller Indiana and Fort Wayne Born to Run on Ning, and now I can pop over to the Fort Wayne Forum in just one click.

As the image above suggests, I made good on my promise to join the new network right after it was launched. Now it's your turn: just visit the Fort Wayne Forum, set up a quick profile, and you're in. You might be the last of three people to join. But maybe not. As Scott suggested in his comment yesterday, "Let's see what happens."

VisionDirect to host free direct mail seminar for NFPs

VisionDirect, an Indianapolis direct mail and custom printing company, will host a free seminar for not-for-profit organizations on Friday, March 28. How to Create Effective Direct Mail will take place from 8:00 – 11:00 a.m. at Leadership Ventures, 303 N. Alabama St., Ste. 230 in Indianapolis. The details, as provided to me by VisionDirect:

The seminar will cover important topics for any non-profit organization that sends out direct mail for fundraising or membership development. We will show you how to improve your response rate, increase donations through effective copywriting, and find potential new members.

Topics will include:

• Mailing list selection: How to find people most likely to help your organization,
• Tell a story: How to increase donations by telling a simple story,
• Less is more: Improve open rates through basic envelope design, and
• How to save as much as 50% on your postal budget.

With Indianapolis less than two hours away, it's well worth the trip to get some free education that can help your organization reach donors and other influencers. To register, email edeckers@vdirect.us. Seating is limited to the first 30 respondents.

The Board reboots, leaves social networking opportunity up for grabs

The Board, the community discussion board hosted on the Journal Gazette website, relaunched last week with a few new features, at a new location. I've spent very little time on The Board, mainly because the conversation there seems dominated by a few people with the same old guns/abortion/religion rants where no one learns anything and everyone goes home mad.

Despite this considerable flaw, The Board seems to be doing pretty well. According to an e-mail I received from the Journal, the old Board had more than 9,800 members-- not too shabby, considering the size of Fort Wayne. However, I think it's probably grown about as big as it's ever going to get, and I see the relaunch as a big missed opportunity. Why? A couple of reasons:

• The name. "The Board" is pretty lame, and it does nothing to define who it's for and how that's different. Why not something Fort Wayne specific? "The Fort Forum," maybe? The relaunch would have been the perfect time for something different, but that window has closed.
  
• A lack of true social networking features. Discussion boards are a little...well, boring. What people seem to want is the functionality provided by sites like Facebook with a more manageable size and scope. The future of social networking appears to be micro networks that link people already connected through geography, work, or common interests (more on this topic here). One great example is Smaller Indiana, the recently launched social network specific to the Hoosier state that "makes creative people and innovative ideas easier to find." With a little extra work, then, The Board could have evolved into a true social network, which undoubtedly would have driven more traffic to JG website and created a more robust online community. Instead, it's just a discussion board. And while that's probably good enough for some of the people who were already members of the Board, it's not enough to create the buzz The Board would need to grow.
  

Here's a challenge to someone out there with more time and technical knowledge than I have: go to Ning.com and start your own "Fort Wayne Forum," or whatever you want to call it. It won't cost you anything, and the worst that can happen is that no one will join. (Actually, I'll join, so the worst that can happen is that only one other person will join.)

But what if it's successful? What skills might you learn, and who might you meet? The only way to find out is to try. If it doesn't work out, you can always become a member of The Board or the Fort Wayne group on Smaller Indiana. But wouldn't it be cool to start a group of your own instead?

Will the real Tim Goeglein please stand up?

Someone commenting under the name "Tim Goeglein" posted this on Nancy Nall's blog at 4:42 a.m. (it's the 289th comment):

You will pay Woman. One way or another. If it’s the last thing I ever do. You will pay and pay dearly. You cost me my job and now I have to find another one to feed my family.

You’re an jerk of the highest order.

What comes around, goes around, remember that.

Tim

My guess is that it's an imposter, based on Goeglein's contrition yesterday. But given the antipathy between Nall and Goeglein, and the pace at which this story has developed, you never know.