Blog posts

posted by Roger Halligan on Fri, 02/22/2013 - 09:07

Who Will Be The ‘Real Winners’ Of The 2013 Academy Awards?

Did you ever think about what makes a film truly successful? Is success measured by the amount of box office ticket sales? Is it the amount of award nominations it receives? Is it the amount of awards brought home, or is it the net profit it turns.
Success must be measured with a very contradictious eye. It is a commonly shared belief that more often than not, critically acclaimed films are box office busts. With exception of movies like Lord of the Rings and Titanic, the foremost complaint was that the Academy Awards ignore box office hits to instead focus on prestige pictures that relatively few people see. That was until 2012.
This year, seven of the nine ‘Best Picture’ nominees did not have huge marketing budgets compared to the expensive blockbusters, but still did very well at the box office. Movies like Argo, the Iranian hostage film that is set to gross over $140 million. Even with the uncertainty of audiences’ acceptance of musicals, Les Miserables is set to clear $150 million.
Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained also joined this list grossing $165 million along with Lincoln"($90 million), Zero Dark Thirty (soon to reach $100 million), and Life of Pi ($115 million in the United States and a remarkable $670 million worldwide). Even Oscar nominated films such as Beasts of the Southern Wild and Amour made a profit. Although the last two films mentioned will make approximately $12 million and $11 million respectively, they were extremely cheap to make and profit will soar pass budget. For example, ‘Beasts’ returned 12 times what the film cost to make.
So, what caused the change in the box office success of smaller budgeted films? Could it be that moviegoers are beginning to appreciate more artistic movies or that marketing people are getting more effective? Perhaps it is a combination of both?
One theory of the recent success of these expressive films is that producers are tapping into more strategic, multi-faceted marketing campaigns that are similar in style but more cost effective than those of the big-budget campaigns used to promote blockbusters. Let’s also hope it means peoples’ taste in good movies is getting more sophisticated.
The artistic movies may not always be able to compete with blockbuster films featuring explosions, killings, and scantily clad actors, but at least for one year, they are in the running.
Who are your picks to win Oscars?
posted by Freddy Guitron on Thu, 02/14/2013 - 12:59

Happy Valentine's Day!!!
posted by Roger Halligan on Fri, 02/08/2013 - 11:41
The Dreaded RFP .....
..... Can Actually Be A Good Thing

There are few things an agency dreads more than getting the ubiquitous Request For Proposal (RFP). This usually means that your team will spend countless hours doing some great work to compete against who-knows-how-many other agencies for business that may not even truly be "in play." You never know if another agency is already wired-in and the company is just going through the motions with an RFP. Or, if the current agency is the overwhelming favorite and it is just company policy to go out for an RFP every so often.

And if you are among the lucky half a dozen or so selected to make a presentation, it is many more hours of work with a slightly better chance of winning the business. That's assuming it is even truly "in play" to begin with.

In other words, RFP's usually require a great deal of work in a very short period of time with little chance of winning. That's why many agencies, including ours, normally won't reply to them.

However, when you get an RFP from a long-time client for an expanded piece of business, you definitely pay attention. That's what happened to us recently when a client decided to significantly expand their PR and Social Media programs and put it out for RFP. After getting over the initial surprise and then feeling grateful we were included, we realized there are several benefits to us and the client for participating in this exercise.

From the client's point of view:
They gain some new ideas and perspectives
They can compare their current agencies strengths and weaknesses against other agencies
They get a realistic look at what fees and costs truly are
They need to do some strategic thinking when putting the RFP together
It makes the current agency do some new strategic thinking
From the agency's perspective:
It motivates them to sharpen their thinking and take some new perspectives
It motivates them to analyze the relationship and see where things need to be improved
It may clarify to the client that the agency has been underpaid and the budgets too low
It allows them to showcase their accomplishments and unveil some innovative new ideas
Ideally, it also reinforces that they already have the best agency
So when it comes to RFPs from existing clients, I guess the answer to the question "What is worse than getting the dreaded RFP" would be "Not getting it!"
posted by Roger Halligan on Wed, 01/30/2013 - 15:51

Playing All The Angles

I think most MarCom Pros would agree that the most effective method of generating valuable and ongoing publicity is to have a good strategic plan that includes placing key messaging with the appropriate media. However, I think we would all also agree that occasionally you have to improvise to achieve your objectives. I'm reminded of this now as I am currently in Dallas attending a large trade show (AHR Expo) where some of our key clients are exhibiting. As it happens, the Show itself is also our client. We have robust strategic PR plans in place for all of our clients that have resulted in well over 100 major articles, including print and broadcast coverage, and more than three dozen onsite media interviews. We also have a post-show PR Plan in place. However, we happened to be in Dallas during an unusually warm period with winter temperatures reaching the high '70s. As part of our outreach to the local Dallas area broadcast media, we ended up speaking with the weatherman at the local NBC station who wanted to do a story on what some of the 50,000 people coming to the Show from around the world for the leading heating and cooling Expo thought about the unusually warm Dallas weather. The result was a two-minute spot on the evening newscasts about the Show that featured interviews with various attendees and a segment with the Show manager talking about the companies that were exhibiting products to deal with the humidity. This NBC coverage was in addition to other planned TV coverage of our clients' products they were displaying at their booths. The "unseasonably hot weather" angle wasn't planned but it resulted in some great coverage. We have taken advantage of many other unplanned PR opportunities like this over the years but since this just occurred two days ago, it reminded me of the importance of staying flexible and playing all the PR angles. How have you benefited from unplanned opportunities like this?
posted by Roger Halligan on Fri, 01/25/2013 - 14:02
The Power Of Trade Show PR
I'm sure most of you MarCom Pros would agree that generating publicity coverage around trade shows is one of the most powerful, but often overlooked, marketing tools for many companies.

At H+A International, we manage the PR function for several trade show organizers, as well as represent a variety of clients who exhibit at dozens of trade shows around the world. It is in our role as managing the PR function for trade show organizers that we deal with a variety of PR agencies and corporations that have varying degrees of expertise and success in generating PR editorial coverage before, during and after the events.

It never ceases to amaze us that only a very small percentage of the companies exhibiting at a trade show even attempt to generate editorial coverage. And many of these companies don't do a very effective job. When you consider that all the key media from around the world attend these industry events, most of the exhibitors are wasting a tremendous opportunity.

So after counseling many companies and agencies on the best way to maximize trade show PR opportunities, we thought it might be helpful to list some of the key recommendations here:

Read the Marketing & PR section of the Exhibitor's Manual VERY CAREFULLY! There is a wealth of valuable services and tips for maximizing your PR efforts - and most of the services are complimentary. For example, you can get a list of Pre-registered media, you can schedule a Press Conference in the Press Room, some shows have pre-show newsletters you can be included in and you can call the Show's PR agency and get some great tips on what media to speak with.
It is mind-boggling that most MarCom pros are not aware of this valuable resource. For some of the larger Shows we manage, we get more than 100 calls asking if there is a Press List they can have.

Have an integrated strategic plan that includes ROI Measurement - Create a "Show PR Plan" at least six months ahead of the event that includes pre-show outreach, onsite media meetings and post-show follow up. The PR plan should be closely integrated with the overall Show MarCom plan and include a robust social media component. Set goals of how many articles you plan to generate, how many interviews you will conduct onsite, how many retweets and social media posts you expect to generate, and other meaningful measurements.
Pre-Show PR - Reach out to the key editors a couple months in advance and if you can tease them with what you will be introducing at the Show, excellent. If not, just touch base and tell them you will have some news to share later on and ask them to please pencil you into their schedule onsite.
If you have truly big news to share, schedule a Press Conference with the Show Management's PR firm. Depending on the news you will be announcing and the convention facilities, you may want to have the Press Conference at your booth or another location instead of in the Press Conference Room. It is sometimes effective to have a special media breakfast, lunch, or dinner, although may editors are hesitant to devote that much time during a busy Show.

If it is not earth-shaking news you have to share, you may be better served arranging for one-on-one interviews with the editors in your booth or in the Press Room. This allows you to zero in on the most important media and spend quality time with them reviewing your products or services in your booth. You need to reach out to the media at least three to four weeks prior to the Show, depending on what you are planning.

In some instances, you may want to have your executives do pre-show interviews and/or podcasts with some of the key media. We have also placed case histories on installations where the Show is being held and then provide tours to the facility during the event.

You also need to be sure to reach out to all the key magazines that are running pre-show issues two months in advance to be sure your products are included in their "Products To See At The Show" sections. And, be sure to approach the Show Daily editor at least a month in advance to make sure your product is included.

You will also need to create a Press Kit that includes news releases on products announced at the Show, photos, fact sheets, and videos. Most companies put their Press Kits on Memory Sticks or DVDs and include a QR code back to the website.

Onsite PR - If you have done a good job on your strategic plan and pre-show activities, onsite activities should consist of coordinating the many media interviews you have already arranged. We usually arrange anywhere from two dozen to a handful of media interviews for each of our clients, depending on the client and the newsworthiness of our announcements.
You will also want to have an active social media plan in place so you can be tweeting and posting about your booth and products throughout the Show. If you have a special Show Offer that people have to come to the booth to redeem, you can track the effectiveness of your efforts back to the source. Part of this effort should also be shooting video that you can use for social media and a variety of other MarCom purposes.

If your product or service is of interest to consumers, you need to begin your media outreach to local newspapers and broadcast outlets just a few days before the event. Be sure to coordinate your efforts with the Show's PR firm as they too are trying to arrange local media coverage for the Show and may include your product in their overall pitch.

Of course, you will also need to check in the Press Room occasionally to be sure there is an adequate supply of your Press Kits.

Post-show Follow Up - This is perhaps the easiest, but also critical, part of the trade show program. It consists of diligently following up with all the editors you met with to ensure they have everything they need and to determine when the coverage will occur.
These may seem like simple and basic guidelines for generating very powerful editorial coverage for your trade show participation. However, less than 10% of the exhibitors at most trade shows actually do this. What a great opportunity for you to smoke the competition.