CaliberPulse

At Caliber, we don’t let trends influence our creative. However, we do like to stay informed of what is going on in the creative world. As the years pass, design elements such as techniques, colors, and fonts change. One year, we’ll see a lot of red usage with serif typefaces; another year, we’ll see green in everything with san serif typefaces. 2010 seemed to be the year of re-branding and we foresee this trend continuing into 2011. As companies try to refresh their look to appear more modern or launch new advertising campaigns, here are a few new creative trends we may see and some existing trends that will continue.

With all the technological advances at our fingertips, proper etiquette is still a key to successful interactions. In this three-part series, we will provide tips to help you become more etiquette savvy with Facebook, Twitter, and sharing tools such as Digg, Delicious and Reddit. In this first post, we offer suggestions for managing your Facebook profile and tips to keep you on the appropriate social networking etiquette path.

I’m an avid motorcyclist. The current business environment feels a lot like some of the roads I’ve traveled, filled with sharp turns and unexpected hazards, but also plenty of promising pavement ahead. The events of the past few years have brought our profession into a new era of doing business. The pressure to perform is high. We’re asked to help business partners in ever-increasing ways—yet often with fewer resources—to anticipate change, enhance reputation, and deliver results that provide greater impact on business goals. Change of this magnitude also presents new opportunities for all PR pros. The trick is whether we’re “looking through the turn,” a fundamental principle of motorcycling that offers a great business insight. As you approach a turn, you must look where you want to go, rather than fixate on potential hazards within the turn itself. The challenge is keeping your eyes focused on where you want to end up while using your instincts and experience to make necessary adjustments—all at a moment’s notice. My firm is continually focused on looking through the turn for clients to help drive their business—and ours—forward in spite of the current environment. What’s working for us? Here are our five “driving” tips.

“Communication is a complex activity under the best of circumstances and turns exponentially intricate when a crisis occurs. The mass shooting this past January 8 is a crisis that rocked not only Tucson, but is still being felt across our state and nation, and even around the world.” -Daphne Gilman and Jan Howard, Presidents of IABC Tucson and the Southern Arizona chapter of PRSA. It is not often that those involved in communicating about a crisis talk publicly about the process of handling the events. But recently, Caliber team members had the privilege of attending a seminar at the University of Arizona: Crisis Communication in Action: Tucson in the International News. This program, sponsored by PRSA Southern Arizona Chapter and IABC Tucson, provided insight into the communications crisis that arose from the tragic shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and other victims on January 8. It was a unique opportunity to hear news leadership and institutional public information officers speak openly about this shared experience, and we would like to share the top takeaway messages with you.

Over the last decade, marketers have focused on moms as the primary shopper and decision-maker of most households. With the emergence of mommy bloggers and followers coinciding with an unabashed admission of female buying power, more marketing and PR professionals began focusing campaigns on these consumers. Where did this leave dads? Some dads report feeling ignored by brand ad campaigns. A recent Yahoo study about dad consumers is turning heads and should influence some retail marketers to expand their target audiences. Some of the misconceptions that researchers found about dads are: 1. Dads don’t do housework. 2. Dads aren’t interested in retail shopping. 3. Dads don’t sway spending on household products. 4. Dads don’t share brand choices with peers. 5. Dads don’t do brand research.

John C. Maxwell once said, “Feeling appreciated brings out the best in people.” We all want to be appreciated in our relationships; at work by our staff, boss, and clients, and at home by our family and friends. Eileen Shenker recently gave a seminar called “Romancing Your Relationships™” at the February Women’s Financial Group hosted by National Bank of Arizona. Shenker reminded attendees that we have to make a conscious effort to appreciate those around us. She pointed out that often times, we think about calling someone up and saying thank you or think about sending a small gift, but never end up following through. In this case, it is not the thought that counts. Shenker’s mantra is “When you think it, act on it.”

“Email is the original social media” according to social media scientist, Dan Zarella. Zarella, on behalf of Hubspot, presented findings from an analysis of 9.5 billion Mail Chimp emails, survey responses, and focus group information in a webinar that we participated in last week. We’d like to share the top six takeaways with you. Try using some of this advice on your next email campaign and give us feedback on the results.

In the past year Twitter use has exploded and is rapidly becoming an essential business marketing tool. Millions of people and companies have utilized Twitter to gain exposure, brand recognition, and maximize online marketing. Almost every successful brand has a powerful Twitter presence, but the magic question is: How do they obtain—and maintain—so many loyal and qualified followers? Whether seeking to increase your following personally, or for your business or brand, there are several strategies for building a successful Twitter account and an invaluable online marketing tool.

It’s relatively common knowledge in the business industry that building on existing customer relationships is more cost effective than trying to attract new customers altogether. But before you start trying to upsell your existing customer base, it might be a good idea to find out how they really feel about your business. Such information could help you come up with a winning strategy that entices them to purchase more of your services. Asking a customer at the counter what they think of your business is like asking your significant other if he or she thinks you’ve gained weight. Some couples have the kind of open and honest relationships that allow them to successfully navigate such a sensitive topic. Other couples might squirm and feel awkward. Or worse yet, the relationship is already lost and someone may take the opportunity to hurt the other.

We hate to break it to you, but the days of “Dear Media Outlet” with an attached press release are long gone. Generalized follow-up emails to journalists are quickly deleted. In today’s world of public relations, the traditional pitch to journalists is becoming outdated altogether. Now that social media and blogging have consumed our online agendas, PR specialists must take this into consideration. If you haven’t already heard, participation via social networking is the new pitch. Likewise, creating a personal pitch that will catch a blogger’s attention is the key to successfully sharing your news. If executed correctly, not only will your story get published, but your credibility among the blogger community will undoubtedly increase. PR practitioners have come to realize that bloggers can be some of the best and most responsive sources, when the pitch and follow-up are implemented genuinely and strategically. Every PR professional has his or her own unique process for creating a great pitch, but there are certain guidelines for pitching to bloggers, in particular, that tend to yield the most successfully receptive results.

Clients and colleagues are always asking “What’s the next ‘hot’ thing we should be doing?” Our latest answer? Quora. According to its administrators, “Quora is a collection of questions and answers created, edited, and organized by everyone who uses it. The main goal is to be the best possible resource for someone who wants to know about each question.” According to Peter Baskerville, Quora reviewer, entrepreneur, educational resource developer and vocational teacher, Quora is: -An online collaborative information sharing and learning platform. -An online engineering platform that connects the information needs of real people with information solutions provided by real people.

The return on investment of time spent posting messages on Twitter is directly related to the number of qualified impressions those messages make. One key to increasing Twitter impressions is to have followers retweet your message to their followers; hence, retweets become an important tactical goal. Researchers and astute students of Twitter user behavior have made observations about tweet characteristics that result in retweet activity. Below are 10 things that you can do to get retweeted more: