September 19, 2005

Shameless Self-PromotionGlobal PR Week 2.0 starts today

Our very own Jud Branam is part of Global PR Blog Week 2.0. Jud is interviewed by Jeff Hardison of McClenahan-Bruer Communications in a podcast about product blogs.

Here's the program for Monday, Sept. 19:

* Elizabeth Albrycht - Blogs: Foundational tools for community network building
* Niall Cook - Blogging for our brand: Building a business blogging community for Hill & Knowlton
* Invited Paper | Nancy White & Lee LeFever - Surprising partners: Adding blogs to an existing non-profit community

Business blogs around the world

* Italo Vignoli: Growing a PR blog in a different language

CEO blogs

* Jeneane Sessum - Adding your voice to the conversation — Why CEOs should blog
* Dave Taylor - Why CEOs shouldn’t blog

External corporate blogs

* John Cass - Interacting with customers through corporate blogging
* Robb Hecht - The Freakonomics Blog - PR Machine interview
* Ryan May - Small company? Better blog!

Fake blogs

* Dave Taylor - Fake blogs: New marketing channel or really bad idea?

Internal blogs

* Matias Fernandez Dutto - How to designing powerful conversations that open possibilities for action and colaboration with blogs

Product blogs

* Jeff Hardison: Opening a product’s hood through blogs - Podcast interview with Jud Branam, Hass MS&L, PR counselor behind GM’s FastLane product blog

Posted by Tonja Deegan at 10:38 AM
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August 10, 2005

Shameless Self-PromotionNew blog on the block

We're happy to announce MS&L BlogWorks' launch of a new blog covering the voluminous news of automotive suppliers, Auto Supplier News. Times are tough for auto suppliers these days, and several are believed to be on the verge of filing Chapter 11. MediaQuotient, the research division of Manning Selvage & Lee, compiles and summarizes the daily news of original equipment and aftermarket manufacturers. Check it out, and let us know what you think.
autosupplier1.gif

Posted by Laurie Mayers at 05:05 PM
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July 20, 2005

Corporate BlogsShameless Self-PromotionMore about Boss Blogs

Christine Larson of U.S. News & World Report examines executive bloggers this week. While she revisits the best-known executive bloggers, Bob Lutz of General Motors, Jonathan Schwartz of Sun Microsystems, Randy Baseler of Boeing, and Rich Marcello of HP, she also adds Carole Brown of the Chicago Transit Board, who is attempting to fill the crying need for local government blogs we talked about recently.

Mark Hass, MS&L’s CEO, notes in the article that even though only a minority of Internet users actually know what a blog is (but that survey is 8 months old by now), “Blog readers are a small but very influential group of people.”

Larson gives the last word to Bob Lutz, who has an astute observation about which executives are cut out for blogging: “Most senior executives rise to the top by being very analytical and buttoned-up and left-brained. That very careful executive is probably not going to be a good blogger.”

PR practitioner John Wagner writes about the U.S. News piece:

“I think most PR folks would be tickled pink to have a CEO who actually wanted to communicate.

Yes, we've all cringed when the big boss gets away from his scripted remarks and wanders into never-never land.

But blogs or no blogs, it's always easier to work with a CEO who believes in communication and who at least attempts to be human and engaging.”

P.S. I’ll be part of a panel at the Blog Business Summit next month in San Francisco exploring the topic “When Worlds Collide: Traditional Public Relations and the Blogosphere.” I attended the January BBS in Seattle, which was great, but this conference promises to focus more on business issues and less on the basics of blogging. Get a discount if you register for the conference through this web page before Saturday.

Posted by Laurie Mayers at 07:04 PM
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June 22, 2005

Shameless Self-PromotionMeasuring Word of Mouth

By David Binkowski

I will be participating in the AD:Tech panel "Word of Mouth Marketing: Create a WOM Campaign in 5 Easy Steps" on July 12th in Chicago. The list of speakers for the full conference is impressive. AD:Tech even has its own blog.

On the following day, July 13th, WOMMA is putting on a measuring Word of Mouth conference. We have a $50 discount code for the WOMMA conference for our associates/friends/etc.: hassisawesome.

Posted by staff at 09:55 AM
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June 07, 2005

Shameless Self-PromotionSeeking bloggers who picnic: product review opportunity

By David Binkowski

Want to check out a new product for free?

Pactiv, the maker of the new Hefty Serve 'n Store interlocking plates & bowls (and a Hass MS&L client), is looking for a few good bloggers to try out this new product.

The plates and bowls are free far cooler than your average disposable (every plate's a bowl! every bowl's a plate!) and all we ask in return is that you post a review of the product on your blog. Interested? Drop me a comment or email David.Binkowski@hassmsl.com. Note: We have a limited number to give away so speak up soon.

Is this revolutionary? Nah, evolutionary at best. CooperKatz & Co. is working with Vespa to find bloggers who will talk about their scooters (but alas, no free Vespas). And Pennsylvania's state tourism office has six bloggers documenting their travels throughout the state. (via Strategic Public Relations)

Posted by staff at 12:58 PM
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June 01, 2005

Shameless Self-PromotionBlogging for Dollars

The Wall Street Journal's Career Journal has an article about blogging becoming a paid, corporate job. Stonyfield Farm has one full-time blogger and plans to add one or two more in the next couple of years.

The Washington Post profiles Jeff Jarvis, who left Advance.net for a life of bloggery with various ventures.

Another pro blogger, Tris Hussey, writes for several blogs and is chief blogging officer for Qumana Software. He penned the hilarious post in Yoda-speak on why you need to blog for business.

I'm a blogworker. My title is Blog/Web Project Manager. I write for BlogWorks, and also work on the General Motors blogs. (No, I don't ghostwrite or anything like that, but I do help review the thousands of comments that come in.)

Writing for a blog is nothing like writing for a newspaper or even a web site. For years, I was trained not to insert myself into my writing. Now, it's anti-bloggy if I don't.

Will more blogging jobs show up in your local classified section? You bet. It's no fad. From stay-at-home-moms to PR firms to corporations, everyone has something to say. And a blog is the easiest and quickest way to say it.

Posted by Tonja Deegan at 09:42 AM
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May 26, 2005

Shameless Self-PromotionPR Finding a Niche in Blogs

PRWeek featured MS&L's 2005 Marketing Management Survey (PDF) in a recent issue.

Some nuggets:


  • The report notes that PR has made enormous strides "in dealing with audience fragmentation using such tools as influencers, the web, and in particular, blogs."

  • Marketers continue to look at alternatives to traditional advertising, and PR is taking a bigger role in helping companies find those alternatives -- quickly.

MS&L CEO Mark Hass says: "We've been better at seeing what's on the horizon and adapting that. You can be sensitive to changes – a blog is the ultimate expression of that. Day to day, you can measure where things are going."

Hass again: "It's a challenge for the marketing and PR industry to find out how to influence that discussion in a genuine way, as opposed to trying to get into that discussion by coming in with a beard on and hiding our real intention. Blogs can be a very authentic way for companies to get into that influencer discussion, if they do it the right way. If a company or product understands the rules, participates in the right way and opens itself up to feedback, it can have a positive impact."

Rollerblade is mentioned and quoted as a watcher/monitor of blogs, but the company or executives don't have their own blog. I hope they're considering one because they're missing out on a huge opportunity. If their fans are writing about them on blogs, wouldn't they love to hear directly from people at the company? Blogs are a two-way street – give your customers what they want!

Posted by Tonja Deegan at 04:10 PM
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May 12, 2005

Shameless Self-PromotionAn Ear to the Ground, An Eye to the Blogs

By David Binkowski

A lot of articles are being written about corporate blogging and the opportunities being created by engaging in a little one to one communication. In particular, Clickz author Heidi Cohen mentions several ways to measure your company's blog marketing strategy.

While I understand that not every company should blog, I can't believe that almost EVERY company isn't monitoring what is being said about them online.

When I was in college I earned a few bucks working seasonal retail at the mall. One of the biggest frustrations store managers have is watching a customer walk into their store and leave without knowing WHY that customer left without buying. Was it a lack of customer service? Sizes? Colors? What?

Unlike the retail setting, blogs DO allow companies to know what their customers are thinking. Whether your company is blogging or monitoring blogs, it's to your advantage to get as much feedback as possible from your customers and potential customers. In advertising, companies pay big bucks to get feedback from focus groups - so doesn't it make complete sense to engage an audience that already cares about your products?

Think of it this way - your company's next big idea, success story, product improvement, etc. might be out there in the blogosphere and you don't even know it.

Let me ask you this - ever Google yourself? Thought so. And you don't even have investors, shareholders or employees to report to.

P.S. Did I mention that our MediaQuotient division monitors blogs for clients?

Posted by root at 01:46 PM
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May 04, 2005

Shameless Self-PromotionGM's FastLane blog

GM’s FastLane blog was mentioned in a column by Brian Steinberg in The Wall Street Journal recently (subscription required).

The story said:

While at first blush General Motors' fastlane.gmblogs.com looks like a mouthpiece for GM Vice Chairman Robert A. Lutz, critical voices are also posted. An important part of a corporate blog, says Michael Wiley, director of new media in the auto maker's communications department, is a strong stomach for consumer comment. 'A lot of what blogging is about is authenticity, getting beyond corporate speak and PR, and really creating a conversation,' Mr. Wiley says. 'Not being thin-skinned and accepting the negatives, that's key.'

Hass MS&L is the agency of record on GM’s FastLane blog.

Posted by root at 03:57 PM
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