May 05 | Ashley, Public Relations Account Executive
Ashley Krauser, Patterson/Bach’s public relations account executive, competes year round in Eventing. Eventing, often referred to as the “equestrian triathlon,” is a test of horse and rider in three phases: dressage, stadium, and cross country.
May 05 | Ashley, Public Relations Account Executive
Patterson/Bach has hired Cameron Thomas as Interactive Media Director, as the agency focuses on expanding its Web Design department.
May 03 | Dan, Creative Director
As part of our commitment to maximizing the value of the P/B Twitter Experience, Creative Director Dan McDonald is introducing Tweets of the Weird, featuring news and updates you simply won’t get on the networks or cable TV (or any credible news source for that matter).
Apr 26 | Ashley, Public Relations Account Executive
I often hear people refer to public relations (PR) professionals as “spin doctors,” meaning they ‘spin’ or manipulate information to persuade public opinion for or against something or someone. It’s also a common misconception that PR pros always have an agenda and are rarely truthful. Therefore, journalists, and the public in general, are weary of trusting PR practitioners.
In reality, the role and responsibility of PR professionals is to guide an organization or individual to make ethical decisions and attempt two-way communication to develop and maintain mutually beneficial relationships with each key public. PR pros are actually accountable for all of our actions and decisions made for our organization(s) and ourselves. PR pros strive to practice public relations in an ethical manner, following the Public Relations Society of America’s Code of Ethics. PRSA, the industry’s overseeing association, can revoke practitioners’ memberships if a professional does not adhere to its Code of Ethics. Although a PR pro may practice PR without being a PRSA member, membership is important and one of a list of credentials people should look for when choosing a PR counselor.
PR professionals have specific education and experience to strategically manage many communications challenges. Most PR pros have studied and graduated with a degree in public relations from communication colleges across the U.S. It’s important to remember that these professionals have been taught the appropriate way to communicate a message to a diverse list of target audiences, as well as how and when the message should be delivered.
As professionals, we endeavor to educate the public about PRSA’s fundamental values, including, “…advocacy, honesty, loyalty, professional development, and objectivity…” Helping people understand the many disciplines within public relations (i.e., charitable giving, community relations, and employee communications, to name a few), and see us as communication facilitators, not barriers, contributes to increased trust and respect for our industry.
Apr 06 | Dan, Creative Director
In advertising, we bat around the word creative like Forrest Gump swatted ping pong balls. We use the word to describe our profession, our work and ourselves, but rarely do we pause to consider just what creativity is and what it means to be creative. So let’s take a moment to reflect on the nature of creativity as it is and has been perceived by some of history’s most—well, creative—minds:
BUCKMINSTER FULLER:
There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it’s going to be a butterfly.
PABLO PICASSO:
All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.
ALBERT CAMUS:
All great deeds and all great thoughts have a ridiculous beginning.
JOHN CAGE:
I can’t understand why people are frightened of new ideas. I’m frightened of the old ones.
NIELS BOHR:
Your theory is crazy, but it’s not crazy enough to be true.
MICHELANGELO:
I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.
DR. SEUSS:
Think left and think right and think low and think high. Oh, the thinks you can think up if only you try!
MARK TWAIN:
You can’t depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.
G.K. CHESTERTON:
There are no rules of architecture for a castle in the clouds.
LEWIS CARROLL:
Sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.
MILES DAVIS:
Don’t play what’s there, play what’s not there.
VINCENT VAN GOUGH:
If you hear a voice within you say “You cannot paint,” then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.
ISAAC BASHEVIS SINGER:
The wastebasket is a writer’s best friend.
MARCEL PROUST:
The voyage of discovery is not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.
JOHN UPDIKE:
Creativity is merely a plus name for regular activity. Any activity becomes creative when the doer cares about doing it right, or better.
And finally …
VICTOR HUGO:
An invasion of armies can be resisted, but not an idea whose time has come.
Ahh, so that’s why I can’t get “oo-la-oo-ga-ga” out of my head.
Mar 30 | Brian, Director of Marketing
Internet, cable, and phone. Flight, hotel, and car rental. Whopper, fries, and a drink. What do these products and services have in common? They are all among the most recognized examples of product bundling.
What is Product Bundling?
In marketing, bundling is commonly defined as a selling strategy where two or more products are sold at one price, often at a discount to the customer.
For example, a communications company may choose to offer a cable TV bundle that allows the subscriber to enjoy cable television, local telephone service, and Internet access as a single product offering, rather than having to purchase three different services at a cumulative higher rate.
Benefits of Bundling
Product bundling can save your customers time and money. Rather than having to deal with multiple vendors in order to have access to multiple products, the customer has one central vendor for all his or her needs. This concept of one-stop shopping means the client spends less time keeping up with various vendors, and has one central pipeline when there is a need for customer support.
Companies also benefit from providing various types of bundled packages to their clients. In many cases, the cost and convenience created by product bundling go a long way toward promoting customer loyalty. This makes the client less likely to switch to another company for any of the products or services, especially if the price for the bundle is competitive. Product bundling also gives you more latitude when it comes to pricing. Anytime you eliminate pricing by line item, people can’t shop your price as easily.
How to Bundle
What are some of the considerations that go into developing a product bundling strategy? First, look at unique ways to bundle complementary products. Then, identify customers that would be good candidates, determine product configurations and set a pricing strategy. Also, think about how to advertise the bundling program. Get your sales staff involved and consult your advertising agency early on.
After developing a pricing strategy, you should test it on a sample group to determine whether it has appeal for a wide range of customers.
A company that can provide its customers with hard-to-resist ‘package deals’ will move more product, bring in more money, and attract loyal customers. Contact us today to build your own bundling strategy.
Mar 02 | Ashley, Public Relations Account Executive
Patterson/Bach’s public relations team believes in encouraging organizations to establish and maintain a comprehensive public relations program. Many times, our team receives only one request from an organization or business in regard to what it wants to achieve through a public relations campaign: proactive media relations.
While we understand the importance and value of media relations, it’s also our job to educate clients on other public relations disciplines, including, crisis communications, community relations, internal relations, and social media, among others.
As public relations counselors, we have a responsibility to inform clients of all available resources when we develop and implement a comprehensive public relations program tailored to help achieve an organization’s goals and objectives.
With so much emphasis on media relations, it’s easy to forget the positive impact of having (or the consequences of not having) a comprehensive public relations program in place, so we’ve decided to take this opportunity to remind you of a few key benefits:
Now, more than ever, organizations should consider implementing a comprehensive public relations program that prioritizes key initiatives to consistently meet the needs of internal and external publics, ultimately strengthening the core business and producing long-lasting results.
Feb 22 | Dan, Creative Director
Here at the agency, we’ve filled out a slew of RFPs and RFQs recently in connection with some business presentations. In many cases, these documents are a client’s first impression of a particular advertising agency—and you know what they say about first impressions. So we put lots of care and thought into answering them.
One thing you’ll find in most RFPs and RFQs is a section asking the responding agency about its previous experience in the client’s business category. Agencies with relevant experience pounce on this to demonstrate their expertise, and understanding of the client’s business. Meanwhile, agencies lacking experience brew a fresh pot of coffee and ponder, How are we gonna dance around this?
Common sense tells you an agency with previous experience in a business category has a leg up on one lacking such experience. But common sense also told us the sun revolves around the earth, and humans would never fly. Let’s look at both sides of the experience coin.
The case for experience
Obviously, there’s some comfort level knowing an ad agency has previous experience in a client’s business category. If the agency has had notable success in a particular field, such as a spectacular and well-received ad campaign, so much the better. Of course, there are no guarantees that the people who created the great work of the past are the ones who will work on the present piece of business: that’s one thing an advertiser should verify.
There’s something else an advertiser should consider. Namely, for all its experience in a business category, will an agency bring fresh thinking and ideas to your business? It’s not uncommon for an ad person (or an entire agency) to get burned out working years and years on the same piece of business. Eventually the idea well runs dry, and it’s time for a change.
As they say in the investment world, past performance is no guarantee of future results. Nevertheless, previous business experience does provide a measure of comfort, along with a track record a client can use to evaluate a potential ad agency.
The case for a fresh slate
Can an ad agency that has never worked on a widget account jump in there and make them fly off the shelves (or wherever widgets fly from)? Absolutely. Success in the ad business demands that you be a fast learner, capable of getting up to speed quickly in a wide variety of business categories. This skill is simply part of a good ad person’s DNA. A little research into an agency’s account roster, along with a probing question or two, should give an idea of how quickly and effectively an agency can learn the ropes of a client’s business.
Also, don’t discount the benefits of bringing a new perspective to your advertising needs—a perspective unaffected by accumulated experience. Sometimes, it’s the agency that’s never had a widget account that finds fresh and interesting ways to advertise them.
Of course, inexperience can be a challenge in the case of a particularly esoteric business category—like for instance psychoneurobiochemical photospectroscopy machines (I’ve got one at home!). You may not feel comfortable having a Gen Y, Kings of Leon-worshipping creative team working on that one. Under normal circumstances however, lack of experience shouldn’t be an automatic disqualifier for a client seeking an agency.
So, how do you choose?
My two cents: choose the agency you feel most comfortable with, regardless of their experience in your business category. If they have tons of experience in your category, that’s great. And if not, don’t sweat it. The real question you should be asking throughout the selection process isn’t how much or little category experience the agency possesses, but:
How good is the agency at the business of advertising?
After all, that’s what you’re really hiring them for, isn’t it?
For examples of this, visit—you guessed it—pat-bach.com. Some of the work you’ll see stems from our considerable experience in various business categories, while other campaigns demonstrate our ability to bring fresh perspectives to new fields of business.
The common denominator in both cases? Quality. That says all you need to know about the “experience vs. novice” debate. And about Patterson/Bach, too.
Jan 25 | Erin, Director of Public Relations
So, you think the economy is making times tough… Have you considered what a crisis would do to your organization? In better times, we’re so busy keeping up with in-your-face daily demands that we rarely think proactively about planning for the unexpected. I relate crisis communications planning to insurance; you may not need it, and let’s hope that you don’t, but when you do, it’s invaluable. Many organizations are experiencing a slow-down in daily operations during this challenging economic climate. Why not use the small amount of extra time you now have to commit to a complete communications audit and development of a crisis plan? Some of you may be thinking, “I already pay enough to our attorneys, let them handle it.” Allow me to suggest to you now that he or she will only be valuable behind the scenes of a crisis. Do not make the mistake others have made of having your attorney be your spokesperson or even the words behind the face of your organization. This is an area where an experienced public relations counselor really shines. We’re able to step away from the “business side” of the situation, see the entire picture, and determine how the crisis may affect every one of your publics, then create channels of communication that speak to each of them. Different audiences have specific concerns during a crisis, and they need to be heard and responded to appropriately. Public relations can provide 1) a thorough review of what processes you already have in place, 2) recommendations for what should be modified or newly created, 3) ongoing environmental scanning to identify pain points early, and 4) proactive issues management, so that a problem doesn’t become a crisis. Don’t take this quiet time for granted, engage a public relations professional today to get you prepared for the worst, while helping your organization strive to be the best.
Jan 18 | Dan, Creative Director
Try this experiment. One night, before going to sleep, turn to your significant other and say, “I love you.” Then the next night, try something like, “Of the three billion (men/women) on this planet, not a single one has your seductive charm, sublime grace and ravishing beauty.”
Okay—which of these Goodnights guarantees you’ll be doing something besides sleeping when the lights are out?
Finding new ways to say the same old thing can make a dramatic difference—in the boudoir, and in advertising too. Heck, especially in advertising, where clichés, stock phrases and stock situations (ah, the good old Slice Of Life!) have been reused, repeated and recycled until consumers react with indifference. That first “I love you” that swept them off their feet has been uttered so many times by so many advertisers that it’s now stale, blasé, yawn-inducing. You’ve gotta find new ways to court them.
Fortunately, as our experiment confirms, it’s entirely possible to find new ways of expressing oft-repeated messages, keeping them fresh, engaging and persuasive. In advertising it takes verbal and visual skill along with imagination—but most of all, it takes the simple determination not to say the same old thing the same old way.
One classic example is the Where’s the Beef? commercial Wendy’s ran (more than 20 years ago!) to tout its beefier burgers. The message—“our burgers are better”—was hardly a new one in the burger marketing wars. But the fresh, unique twist on this message, the “Where’s the beef?” line delivered in the froggy voice of the immortal Clara Pell, single handedly catapulted Wendy’s from a relatively obscure burger chain to one of the big three in the business. Twenty-five years after the commercial launched, it’s still remembered and loved, and “Where’s the beef?” is still a punch line heard in offices, TV shows and even presidential campaigns.
Think for a moment of the awesome return Wendy’s got for simply finding a fresh way to say Our burgers are better. And think too about finding fresh ways to tout your own products and services in your advertising. The fact is, unless you have a completely new and unheard of gizmo (A Revolutionary Device!), your messages are likely to fall into one of several categories:
• Your product saves time
• Your product saves money
• Your product makes life easier for users
• Your product is superior to your competitor’s
There’s nothing wrong with this: these messages are entirely legitimate ones, and they’re meaningful to your customers. But you’ve got to come up with fresh, compelling ways to express these messages or your customers will eventually tune them out—because they’ve heard them before, over and over.
At Patterson/Bach, we preach the gospel of fresh messaging, and we practice it too. Go to pat-bach.com for examples. Maybe there’s not much new under the sun, but there are always new and exciting ways of describing what is—and that’s what we do best.