CaliberPulse

Earlier in my career, I met with a business owner who asked me to promote his achievements. His goal was to build awareness and credibility as an expert in his field, among his prospective customers, peers and the media. After telling me about his many good deeds that deserved recognition, I asked him whether he had done any bad things that could harm his reputation and would make it impossible to reach his goal. Naturally, he responded that he had a stellar career and there were no skeletons in his closet. This challenge sounded intriguing, so I went to work and developed a smart public relations strategy to build his reputation. While I was preparing to execute this strategy, I opened the newspaper and discovered one skeleton that my client failed to share with me. To counter the bad news, my client asked me to immediately ramp up his public relations plan and start communicating all of his accomplishments. However, he failed to explain why he was not truthful earlier about his past mistake that made the news.

Lindsay Lohan, the controversial actress and singer, wrote a song in 2004 called “Rumors” that focused on her need for privacy. Even though she hasn’t done the best job of staying out of the news, her pop hit was slightly prophetic, as confidentiality and personal space has become one of the largest issues surrounding social media use. Whether it’s regarding a Facebook account or an internal networking system, people may be feeling a little like Lindsay did and say, “Well, I just need a little space to breathe. Can you respect my privacy?” Companies and their employees should know the intricacies of their privacy settings to ensure that needed breathing room is always available.

Imagine a reporter is interviewing you on a topic of your expertise, whether print, broadcast or online. You’re having a robust, yet friendly discussion that wanders from the original topic into area that is more sensitive. The reporter is engaging and disarming. You’re comfortable with the reporter and begin a sentence: “Off the record …” You feel deceived and a bit hurt when your “off the record” words are in ink and blasted all over the Internet the next day.

Building good relationships with your potential competitors could lead to your phone ringing. Sevans Strategy, a public relations company based in Chicago, has decided to create a page on the owner’s blog, PRSarahEvans.com, recommending other public relations companies.

Have you noticed that multi-tasking is no longer a unique skill, but rather, it is universally expected? The largest contributor to our lengthy, daily task list is technology. Some of us see it as a huge hill and have to prepare ourselves for the challenge. Others see technology as the wrapped package that sat under the Christmas tree the longest. You finally get to open it, but first you shake it, try to peak through the paper and then quickly tear the paper away and begin exploring it. However you embrace technology, consider it a tool on your marketing tool belt. It is a mechanism to help get you from point A to point Z, as society is no longer happy going from A to B anymore.

Your phone may replace your scissors when it comes to coupon savings. More than 42 million people in the United States own a smartphone, which means that they have the capability to receive media-rich information from companies and organizations. Some marketers have been wary to send information about their products or services to current and potential customers’ mobile devices, even though smartphone owners are requesting information about their favorite brands.

As social media becomes more popular in practically every demographic group, so is its ability to communicate directly with companies and agencies. This trend extends to reaching out through platforms such as Twitter for help, whether to properly fix a customer service issue or to relieve a true emergency. The American Red Cross recently conducted a survey that concluded about one in five adults in the United States would use social media to contact emergency responders in a disaster. The immediacy of social media enables it to spread information about an ongoing emergency as people want or need help. If 911 systems are inundated with calls or phone lines are down, it’s reasonable to expect use of available communication tools and expect a prompt response. Thus, tweeting and posting can be a matter of life and death.

After a long month of controversial legislative decisions putting Arizona in the national media hot seat, some welcome positive news emerged: Tucson came in as number 19 on Forbes’ list of “America's Most Innovative Cities.” Tucson’s rankings, as reported by the May 27 Arizona Daily Star: • 31st for technology and science jobs • 27th for creative jobs • 16th in patents per capita • 45th in venture investments per capita. The ranking puts Tucson is the company of San Jose, Calif., was at the top of the list, followed by Austin, Texas; Raleigh, N.C.; San Francisco; and Seattle. Phoenix or New York did not make the top-20.

If you want a hot deal close to home, check Facebook. Marketers are turning to social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, to attract locals into tourist-dependent businesses during the off-season. Loews Ventana Canyon in Tucson and Loews Lake Las Vegas applied the airlines’ concept of flying standby to the hotel industry with its clever “Standby Staycations.”

Signs that conspicuous consumption is passé abound, even as business sees an upturn in consumer spending. Savvy businesses will seize the opportunity of an economic rally dovetailing with price-sensitivity to build brand loyalty. The Wall Street Journal reported April 26 that first-quarter sales show a second consecutive period of gains with consumer-oriented companies, retailers and restaurants enjoying increased sales. By some measures, these trends indicate the economy is pulling out of recession. However, amid upward economic trend reports, value remains a top priority and thriftiness is a virtue. The frugality is chic and evident in everyday conversations when pricey vacations are discussed in apologetic tones and a compliment on a designer bag is quickly dismissed with “got it at the outlet store with a coupon.”

“There’s a app for that,” the simple, iconic tagline from the iPhone commercials, could apply to your business. An application — or an “app” when speaking Apple-ese — specific to your business or organization could be a valuable addition to your marketing cache. The iPhone app created for the Tucson Festival of Books gave a quick, concise look at the festival events with a flick of the iPhone. The festival, Arizona’s largest literary event held March 13-14, attracted an estimated 70,000-80,000 bibliophiles to the University of Arizona campus to meet and mingle with about 450 authors who spoke and signed books.

Traditional media — television, radio, newspapers, outdoor — are seeing a bounce in advertising, especially from local companies. Solid business practices and client relations are bolstering this positive trend, according to media executives. “Two-thousand-eight was bad, 2009 was awful! This year is getting much better,” said Jeff Green, KVOA general sales manager. Historically, a large share of KVOA’s business came from national and regional advertisers — up to 80 percent. Now KVOA’s advertising sales are split at about 50 percent national/regional and 50 percent local.