Hello. Charitable giving, media pitching and a lot of interesting links are on the Think holiday menu.

Let's get going.

Cordially,

Harry Hoover
harry@hoover-ink.com
Ink Briefs
We've launched a new website for Focus Four, the coach for small business owners. If you'd like to determine your leadership and management strengths and weaknesses, visit the site and take the quiz.


Hoover's - unfortunately no relation - which often has excellent white papers on business topics, has a new one on cold calling that you might like to download. It requires registration, but is worth it based on the quality of the content you can access at no charge.


As Jimmy Buffet wrote, "clichés, good ways to say what you mean, mean what you say." If you are looking for a few good clichés, may I recommend Cliché Finder? And remember, even a blind hog finds an acorn once in a while.


Got your ego in check? Well, turn it loose online by conducting some ego searches of your name, the name of your company, or keywords you are monitoring. Some of my favorite ego search tools are:

Google

BlogPulse

Technorati

Yahoo News


Did you know that October was Go Wild - Eat Country Ham Month, or that November is Vegan Month, and December is Sign Up For summer Camp Month? Well, neither did I until I checked Chase's Calendar of Events. January brings National Be On-Purpose Month and in February it's North Carolina Sweetpotato Month and Return Shopping Carts to the Supermarket Month. You can use these so-called holidays as a springboard for media coverage.


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.

    

 
  Give It Up

Americans spent almost as much in two months on holiday items as they did all year on charitable giving in 2004. Holiday retail sales for November and December 2004 in the general merchandise category were up 5.7 percent, totaling roughly
$229 billion, according to the National Retail Federation. Charitable giving for 2004 topped $248 billion.

Why am I telling you this? Because once again I'm promoting Holiday for Charity, the program I developed in 2002 to encourage more donations to charity.

The program works like this:

1. ask friends, family and business associates to donate to a charity instead of buying you holiday gifts

2. sell your gifts online at eBay's GivingWorks and donate the proceeds to charity

3. register and shop at iGive, whose merchants donate a portion of each transaction to the charities of your choice. If you sign up using this link and shop at iGive, Charlotte Reads gets an extra $5.00 donation.

4. offer to do volunteer work in lieu of buying holiday gifts

5. donate directly to charity in lieu of buying holiday gifts for clients and customers

Giving to charity in the names of your clients instead of buying holiday gifts is a good way for a business to establish itself as an upstanding corporate citizen. Charitable giving is tax deductible and - when properly done and communicated - helps a business position itself positively in the eyes of its key audiences.

Recent research indicates that 80 percent of Americans have a more positive image of businesses identified as supporting charitable causes. Two-thirds say they would likely switch brands or retailers to one associated with a good cause.

So, give it up this holiday season and get some goodwill.

  Meet The Media
 
A number of readers have requested more information about media changes and contacts. You ask and Think does your bidding.

US News & World Report, 202-955-2000, says it is changing focus to deliver more analysis and investigative pieces and less story chasing. It is consolidating print and online staff, so there should be some opportunities here. Media staff reductions always help the aggressive media relations person. We'll probably be seeing more list type pieces, like "Best of..." features.

New publications like Your Health Now, also offer good editorial opportunities. The bi-monthly book's focus is in empowering people to have productive conversations with their health care providers. It is published by Merck.

Meredith has bought Fitness and is trying to expand its female audience beyond the hard-core workout crowd. They are planning to boost nutrition, psychology and beauty coverage in the publication. Kate Moodie, 212-4999-2000, has been named executive style editor there.

Closer to my Carolina home, Sherry B. Melton has been named business editor of North Carolina Magazine, the publication put out since 1943 by the North Carolina Citizens for Business and Industry. Also, Mike Stobbe, formerly health reporter at the rlotte Observer now covering that beat for Associated Press.

Welcome to the broadcast Gordon Deal, 609-520-4000, who slides behind the mike at Wall Street Journal's radio shows This Morning and This Weekend.

Inc. has a new editor, Jane Berentson, 212-499-200.

By the way, Yahoo! has upgraded its media lists with a new regional subdirectory. This makes it easier to find publications on a state-by-state, metro and city basis. For example, here's the North Carolina subdirectory.

Got any media updates you'd like to pass on? Send them to me and I'll share with our Thinkers.