Hello. Is creativity a RIOT or does it deliver ROI? And why am I thinking about Christmas in June? All shall be revealed in this month's Think.

In other news, I have some new clients I'd like you to know. Find out more about them in the links column to the right.

Please help me spread the Hoover ink virus by using forwarding this to a friend. Now, let's get started.

Cordially,

Harry Hoover
harry@hoover-ink.com

Ink Briefs
I believe everyone is creative, but not everyone is creative in the same way. Can you learn to be more creative? Indeed. Read my Think piece on creativity.


Youth Link USA has joined the Hoover ink family. This is a nonprofit set up to provide nutrition and physical therapy and fitness programs for the 107,000 people in Charlotte who have physical and mental disabilities.

Another new client is TeamHeidi, a team of Realtors headed up by Heidi Hines. Their expertise is in staging homes for rapid sale at premium prices.


You are probably asking yourself, "what are the best websites for marketing and PR people?" I'm glad you asked that question. Of course, Hoover ink should be at the top of your list. However, there are a number of other sites which you should have bookmarked.

Please allow me to name the Hoover ink Top 5. The envelope, please.

MarketingProfs

Know This

Online PR

ClickZ

Brand Channel


You remember all those college classes you slept through? Me neither. But that's OK. Now there is Tutor 2 U to bail you out when you need an answer to that question about cost benefit analysis from Econ 101.

Yes, I know it is a British site and their economy has not been a model of excellence, but there are sections devoted to marketing, accounting, business studies and politics, too.


About Hoover ink PR

Hoover ink PR helps position businesses that are serious about their success. Then, we craft and deliver bottom line messages that ensure it.

Who are we? We're a marketing communications firm with more than 26 years experience in providing services to financial, high tech, real estate, tourism and consumer products companies.

From employee relations and media relations to collateral material and e-newsletters, we develop the programs and communication tools that will differentiate you from your competitors. And that's the bottom line.

 
  A Creative RIOT
Relevant, original and impactful: that's what my friend Creative Director Jim Mountjoy says that effective creative must be. With apologies to Jim, I have my own acronym because I think ROI is only 75 percent of the way there. Effective creative is a RIOT: relevant, impactful, original and true.

Let's say you are a personal injury attorney who represents the people. Do you think that a blue collar worker cares if you have "protected North Carolinians since 1975," or would a message like "fighting the system for you" resonate more? The second - I believe - is more relevant.

A campaign we once did for Verbatim data storage products is a great "impactful" example. Everyone else in the industry was doing technical feature ads, but consumers told us they didn't care how the products were made, they wanted to know their data was safe. We took that relevant message and brought it to life. A comet streaks toward earth and a cartoon bubble from the planet says, "We may not live but at least the data will survive. Verbatim. Your best defense against data loss." Sales leads increased by more than 300 percent. Impactful? I think so.

Original is hard. How many times have you seen lame creative that steals from the successful "Got Milk?" creative? That doesn't mean you can't use things from popular culture in an original way. In a branding campaign I worked on for First Federal of Charleston, we took the Hal computer imagery from the movie "2001," turned it into an ATM, and let it be a surrogate for the big, impersonal banks.

Truth, however, is the most important element. What if you had an ad that said: "Remember when a small business had access to the bank president, when you could talk with a loan officer who understood your business and when the bank would actually send a courier to pick up your deposit? No? We don't either that's why..." Now, would you believe that ad from Bank of America? I don't think so. But from my client, the start-up Bank of Commerce, it is true and believable.

There you have it. Now, what's keeping you from starting a creative RIOT?

  All I Want For Christmas...

Publicity seekers know that Christmas can provide a bonanza of media coverage. Every media outlet, it seems is cranking out a special edition on gifts for the winter holidays.

For many of these opportunities you need to be thinking at least six months out so that your product or service finds its way into the special sections. Magazines like Better Homes have long lead times, while newspapers have deadlines a few weeks from the holiday. Don't forget trade magazines that reach your customers. Electronic media typically will work closer to the actual holiday date. Another avenue to consider is syndicated columnists, who also have shorter lead times.

A great way to get coverage is to suggest an overarching story idea into which your product or service fits. Think about the users as well as the use for your offering, and think about the publication.

Let's take some of my clients for example. Charleston Cookies might be positioned as part of a story in Southern Living about Gifts of the South, or Gifts For Southerners Who Moved North. Bank of Commerce stock, which is now on sale, could be part of a story on Kids' Gifts That Keep On Giving. Ty Boyd's Executive Speaking Institute might be part of a story on the Gift Of Learning.

A pet store might publicize Warm and Fuzzy Gifts. Your product might fit into Gifts for Teens, Gifts for Executives, Gifts For Chilling Out, Gifts For Those Who Have Everything: you get the idea.

Now, here is what you should send to the media. Send a pitch letter, or email, that explains how the gift fits into their editorial needs and with their readers or viewers. A one-page release and product photos also should be sent. If you send via email, do not attach a bunch of photos. Find out how the editor prefers to receive them and follow her instructions.

Our next task is to decide where to send the information. Yahoo! has a directory of media that you can use for free. There are all sorts of paid services - like PR Newswire's Mediatlas - that provide media lists. And there is the excellent Christmas Gift Guide produced by the League of American Communications Professionals.

Get to work now, and get the gift of coverage this Christmas.