Strategic Public Relations

PimpMyNews Interview with CEO John Atkinson

“I heard the news today, oh boy…”

PimpMyNews is a new, free service allowing you to hear the latest news from your personally selected mix of news sources and blogs. Anyone with an MP3 player and Internet access can use it. CEO John Atkinson will be speaking at the next Cincinnati Social Media Breakfast* so we did a quick Q&A with him to give some background on the event’s special guest.

1) PimpMyNews is a great name and service. What’s the inspiration behind each?
My Co-founder Roy Georgia and I used to always struggle to keep up with news and current events (editor’s note: John and Roy are pictured here to the right and left respectively). Before starting PimpMyNews, we were both "road warriors" in our previous jobs and we could never find the time to read newspapers, or to tune into scheduled TV or radio news broadcasts.

Using the Internet for news and blogs required us to be at computers- searching, sifting and reading. So, we came up with the idea of a service that would automatically find breaking stories from your favorite sources on the Internet and read them to you wherever you happen to be - kind of like TiVo for news and blogs.

Our users say that the strongest benefit is the "productivity benefit" of being able to get current on their favorite news and blogs by listening on-the-go, while they do other things like, drive, workout, ride the train and more.

After considering over 200 different names, we chose "PimpMyNews" because we feel that it conveys the "personalized news" aspect of the service - and because it seems to get people's attention ;)

2) How do you determine which news sources you cover?
We pride ourselves on PimpMyNews being a source of solid, trusted and obscure news and blog content.

There are so many news and blog sites out there that "information overload" is a real issue. Technorati reports that it tracks over 112 million blogs world-wide. To arrive at the roughly 1,200 sources we have in PimpMyNews, we reviewed tens of thousands of the world's most popular blogs and categorized the blogs that passed our editorial review into 59 unique categories.

So whether you're interested in Technology, Politics, Business, Sports, Entertainment or something else, there's a good chance you'll find it on PimpMyNews. We also receive a lot of suggestions from users. Anyone can suggest a blog by emailing Feeds AT PimpMyNews DOT com.

3) What's next for PimpMyNews? Scoble dubbed PimpMyNews as one of the best iPhone apps prior to the 3G release. Any plans to offer PimpMyNews as an application?
Because of the uniqueness of our service, we've received a lot of press, for which we're very thankful. Our current iPhone Web Application works on all iPhones and iPod Touch devices, including iPhone 3G. Anyone with a computer or an MP3 player can also use the service.

Our goal is to continually increase the mobile platforms we run on. In the near future, we'll be rolling out a native iPhone application that will be accessible through Apple's App Store, as well as applications for other mobile devices.

4) What do you think the news landscape will look like five years from now?
There's never been a more exciting time, or a more volatile time, in the news industry than right now. According to Pew Internet, nearly one-third of Americans now use the Internet for news. Ten years ago, only two percent of us used the Internet for news. The trend of people shifting from "traditional" news sources to "new media" sources will continue and accelerate. Personalized, mobile, social news is the new frontier, and we think that the smart phone explosion - sparked by the iPhone - will bring the market to a "tipping point" in the next couple of years.

Mobile "applications" (versus "sites") will instantly deliver the exact news you care about from thousands of sources - in the format you desire, no matter where you happen to be. Publishers who have great content and who embrace new digital distribution methods will thrive.

5) What are your personal favorite news sources? Same applies to gadgets (top 3 favorites).
I have the following sources in my PimpMyNews Playlist - I listen to them every day.

TechCrunch - A great source for news on Web 2.0 startups.
Mashable - I love their focus on social networking & social media.
Seth Godin - The world's best marketer

My number 1 favorite gadget is the iPhone - no surprise there. I'm curious about all of the alleged "iPhone-Killers" being rolled out by the wireless carriers. I'm also intrigued by the Amazon Kindle, but I haven't purchased one yet.
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*The Cincinnati Social Media Breakfast is SOLD OUT. However you can get on the waiting list by sending me an email.

Cross-posted to the Bad Pitch blog and Social Media Breakfast blog.
tags | John Atkinson | PimpMyNews | social media | media | news

Stoking Your Marketing Fire with Story

Will a cat in your store window incite purchase? The answer is probably no unless you’re a pet store, or perhaps Bromwell’s.

Founded in 1819, Bromwell's claims to be the oldest business in Cincinnati. It sells “luxury fireplace design and accessories.” Last year it completed a $1 million renovation, but its downtown store window has always drawn attention.

Two cats, Cinder and Heidi, are a big reason why. They are Bromwell’s mascots and have free reign over the store. You usually see one or both of them in the store window, curled up in balls sleeping or padding through the window vignette as if they were in your own home.

A cat in this unconventional setting will incite interest. Cinder and Heidi purring in the window of the city’s oldest business makes you warmer than another log on the fire. It gets people talking. It stops people as they walk past. It’s Bromwell’s story. It’s the story that differentiates them from the suburban super store that sells truckloads of fireplaces and accessories -- along with bar furniture and pool tables.

We all know a cat will not incite purchase. Bromwell’s knows this too. It’s why they had their store remodeled. It’s why they offer products you can’t find anywhere else. It’s why they provide great service. And it’s all of these reasons I will be going there to purchase fireplace accessories in the fall. But while I’m there I’ll definitely introduce my kids to Cinder and Heidi.

tags | advertising | marketing | Cincinnati | brand

Craigslist Brings The Long Tail to Retail

Saw this sign today in the window of a store near my office. It recently went out of business when its owner retired. It’s interesting to me because Craigslist gives small businesses like this furniture gallery a new option.

New rules come with new tools.
In the past it took a desperate “Everything Must Go” sale before a business would close its doors.

If you think I’m somehow proposing online trumps in-store, you clearly don't know where I work. I think there’s a need for both and this sign reinforces that opinion. I am proposing that new rules come with new tools and it's up to us to make them.

tags | Craigslist | Cincinnati | retail | advertising | marketing

“Speed without Strategy is Futile”

This quote from futurist Alvin Toffler is an important reminder for any marketer with a sense of urgency. And in today’s economic climate we can assume that’s most every marketer.

Consider Starbucks as they rush to establish a beach head of drive-thru locations at interstate highway exits across the nation. Ex-Starbucks marketer John Moore offers insight into how the advertising supporting these new locations is having a negative influence on the brand.

”There is not a faster, better, or cheaper route to commoditizing a brand than using unemotional language like: Faster, Better, Cheaper.”

Moore goes on to note how this strays from Starbucks marketing strategy. And in doing so he reminds us of another important reminder for marketers as we begin to explore what words like storytelling, experience and conversation mean to our brands. “Never allow a tactic to take priority over the company’s heritage and personality.”

Morning Juice uploaded by Rudy Malmquist
tags | advertising | marketing | brand

Nike | Social Media Strategy | Flickr | User-Generated Context | Four Links | 07.17.08

1) Nike 100 – Beijing, China | The Cool Hunter
Nike turns its 100 innovations from the last 50 years into a museum and creates a shock and awe brand experience in the process.

2) Are You Developing a Social Media Monitoring & Engagement Strategy? | Voce Nation
Mike Manuel’s been busy at Voce. This post shows his comprehensive approach to the much sought after conversation.

3) Blow Up Your Flickr | Cool Hunting
Watch you favorite Flickr pics...full-screen. Beautiful.

4) Havas Media Lab on User-Generated Context | Influx Insights
User-generated content can make magic for brands. Just ask Jeep.

But if you’re trying to incentivize users to generate the content (instead of just facilitating their efforts), the incentives should not suck.

More subtleties from Havas Media Lab: “People are using professional media as a springboard to create context. The value of this context lies (at) the mass network level.” Instead of trying to buy the content, Havas encourages brands to “find a way to open up and play with the crowd.”

tags | public relations | PR | advertising | marketing

Come to Cincinnati’s 2nd Social Media Breakfast on Tuesday, August 12

Come to the second Cincinnati Social Media Breakfast to listen, share, network and learn along with other area marketing and new media professionals.

Making communications more effective with multimedia is the theme of the free morning event as the definition of content continues to morph and include everything from 140-character Twitter bursts and Flickr images to Flip videos pushed to YouTube and of course the social media news release.

It’s a FREE event thanks to Marketwire’s sponsorship.

Our special guest is PimpMyNews CEO John Atkinson. PimpMyNews is a free service bringing you news in audio format. Anyone with Internet access or an MP3 player can listen to thousands of breaking text news and blog stories. Users create podcasts pushed to them daily based on their customized profiles.

Attendees will also be registered to win a copy of Pete Blackshaw’s new book “Satisfied Customers Tell Three Friends, Angry Customers Tell 3,000: Running a Business in Today's Consumer-Driven World"

Albert Maruggi and Bryan Person inspired this event. Maruggi held the first Cincinnati event and Bryan Person created the concept. Together they’re kind of the Johnny Appleseed of social media.

RSVP info is forthcoming, but Mark your calendars with these details and be sure to RSVP as space is limited.

Date: Tuesday, August 12, 2008, from 7:30 to 9:30 am
Location: Rookwood Pavilion First Watch on 2692 Madison Road, Cincinnati, OH 45208.
Cost: Did we mention it’s free? Thank Marketwire.

Uros Petrovic - Good Morning! uploaded by Uros Petrovic
tags | public relations | PR | media relations | media | advertising | marketing | social media | PimpMyNews | Marketwire

Social Media Brings G8 Summit, Olympics to a Screen Near You

Can a backstage pass create a connection between a brand and a consumer? The British Prime Minister and Lenovo are both trying to find out.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown has had a Twitter Twitter account set up for some time now. Brown recently built on this for the G8 Summit to bring voters, er, British citizens inside access via Flickr and a G8 blog.

Lenovo is taking a similar approach for Beijing with its "Voices of the Olympic Games." Ogilvy’s Rohit Bhargava is part of a team encouraging 100 athletes from more than 30 sports and 25 countries to use their Lenovo laptops and Flip cameras to detail their experiences.

Their video, Flickr, blogs and Twitter feeds will all roll up into the site and Lenovo is clear in noting it “HAS NOT required the athletes to say anything positive about Lenovo - the aim is to offer its technology to help them share their voices.”

Time Machines
This approach makes perfect sense for both groups and is clearly well-intended. My assumption is that, along with automotive, two of the most active groups online are politics and sports.

Anyone planning programs like this one needs to build in one key component – time. Once the sites go live and promotions are in full swing, true conversations take time. After content is published, the authors in question usually have something better to do other than wait for tweets, emails and comments to roll in for immediate response.

It takes time for plain old back and forth communication to happen. And that's one reason why the value of a social media campaign increases over time as traditional vehicles, like print ads, decrease over time.

Plan accordingly or don't plan on connecting with your consumers.

Light Holders uploaded by Downing Street
tags | public relations | PR | social media | G8 | Olympics | marketing | Lenovo | consumer-generated media | Rohit Bhargava

PR 2.0: Mixing Business with Social Media

SlideShare is to PowerPoint as Flickr is to photography and YouTube is to video. But without detailed speaker notes, SlideShare can be like watching the TV when it's on mute.

That said one of my presentations has been selected as part of SlideShare's Spotlight on PR 2.0.

The presentation expands on a few topics I‘ve discussed here including the concept of sticky vs. slippery brands online and how communicators are moving from being broadcasters to brokers.

tags | public relations | PR | SlideShare | social media