The Buzz at Lyman PR
Marketing Sherpa Special Report Loaded with Ideas for Real Estate Marketers
Marketing Sherpa has published a new special report titled “Online Strategies from Real Estate Marketers - Try Blogs, SEO, Spcial Media,” which is loaded with good ideas that are easy & inexpensive to incorporate. The article can be found here: http://www.marketingsherpa.com/article.php?ident=30921&pop=no&pop=no
Mother Nature Says “Let’s Rock” to the Sierra Nevada Mountains
Ma Nature finally decided it was time to send Indian Summer packin’ for the beach and usher Ole Man Winter into the Sierra Nevada Mountains. More than a foot of snow fell at Mammoth Mountain over the weekend, and today the resort decided to kick off the 08-09 season a full 10 days ahead of schedule. With more snow in the forecast tonight and tomorrow it looks like they’re off to a good start.
This time of year often triggers my Seasonal Confusion Disorder, which is currently collecting overtime While I love warm weather and the California sun, it’s hard to not get excited about everything going on this season: air service at Mammoth, the World Freeride Tour at Squaw Valley USA, and our friends at Moody’s opening their second restaurant, Baxter’s, which will be located in the Village at Northstar.
So Mother Nature, here’s a toast to you and good acquaintances the Snow Gods. We hope you’ll look kindly on all the ski resorts this season.
Flew to Mammoth for lunch yesterday…
And no, I’m not the jet setting sort. We actually had the good fortune to accompany Horizon crew & staff on a test flight from LAX to Mammoth Yosemite Airport for a preview of daily air service that will commence this season on December 18th. Press release: www.mammothmountain.com/company_info/press/latest_news/index.cfm
While I’ve always loved the drive to Mammoth (which I do often from Napa) for its scenery and serenity, I have to admit the view of the Eastern Sierra range from above is even more dramatic. Of course, the major change air access will impart on the resort & destination goes without saying.
Horizon touches down for first time in Mammoth
The hour and five minute flight literally flew by aboard the 76-seat Bombardier Q400 aircraft (pictured above landing in Mammoth yesterday). Upon landing we headed up to Mountain Side Grille and dined on some of Patina Group’s new culinary offerings before heading back to LAX.
Flights will start from $79 each way and can now be reserved here: www.mammothmountain.com/plan/getting_here/air/index.cfm
Lessons from the debate: Staying on message but not making a point
If there’s one thing we learned from the presidential debates is that both candidates are tenacious about staying on message. During the Town Hall performances you had to appreciate their ability to continuously drive home key points; as PR practitioners it’s a practiced ritual to rehearse over and over with spokespeople before throwing them to the media hounds.
However, as a voter, watching McCain-Obama II was at times about as exciting as, uh, listening to politicians stump. In their dogged determination to drive home a policy position or debunk the other candidate, there was a fundamental failure to present solutions for what ails Everyday Americans - especially when these everyday folks were standing in front of them and asking the questions. The candidates stayed on message but failed to make their point clear.
The takeaway for PR professionals is apparent: spokespeople have to deliver key messages but in an engaging manner that also addresses specific lines of inquiry. It’s not good enough to simply regurgitate a presentation finely tuned within the corporate office confines. Rather, spokespeople have to think on their feet, engage with (as opposed to lecture) media, and convey messages that build to a relevant, understandable story. Most importantly, spokespeople have to answer questions posed by the media, and convey how/why their widget is a game changer.
There’s not need to travel to the four corners of the earth or figure out if your insurance policy covers hair transplants. Just answer the question.
La Toque’s Move to Napa Recognized by San Francisco Chronicle
Opening: La Toque in Napa
Bringing a level of swank to Napa that’s uncommon in this Wine Country town, Ken Frank’s La Toque restaurant opened Thursday in the new Westin Verasa, a luxury condo-hotel on the Napa River. Full story here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/09/24/FDI3132L0O.DTL
The Westin Verasa, Napa Celebrates September Opening
The Westin Verasa, Napa opened its doors this month, continuing Downtown Napa’s transformation by introducing an unprecedented level of service, luxury and amenities while at the same time staying true to the region’s relaxed lifestyle.
Wine country travelers can savor the resort’s convenient location within walking distance of Downtown Napa’s most popular attractions as well as Chef Ken Frank’s renowned La Toque restaurant, which relocated to The Westin from Rutherford.
“The opening of The Westin Verasa, Napa is the culmination of years of planning, design and effort to create a resort that’s unprecedented in the region,” said Brian Collins, President, Intrawest. “It represents a marriage between the high level of quality for which Intrawest has become known and Westin’s outstanding reputation.”
The 180-room hotel, the first full-service, upper upscale property to be built in Napa in nearly five years is located blocks away from COPIA, The American Center for Wine, Food & the Arts, and the new Oxbow Public Market.
For more information visit www.westin.com/verasanapa.
The Top Ten Reasons Why PR Doesn’t Work
Authored by Guy Kawasaki on May 25, 2007 - 10:22am.
Margie Zable Fisher runs theprsite.com. Every day someone tells her that he or she has been “burned” by a PR firm, and Margie’s goal is to help small business find the right PR firm. I asked her to provide the top ten reasons why PR doesn’t work:
1. The client doesn’t understand the publicity process. PR folks need to better educate people about how publicity works. The first thing many clients ask is, “Can you get me on Oprah or the front page of the Wall Street Journal?” The answer might be “yes,” but the process to get to the “yes” may take months or years, and may first include a series of smaller placements.
2. The scope of work is not detailed and agreed upon by both parties. Here’s a typical example: a client signs an agreement to spend $3,000 per month. Client expects to get three publicity placements per month. PR person expects to work 20 hours, regardless of the outcome. The inevitable disconnect leads to customer frustration and the feeling of being “burned.”
3. The client has not been properly trained on how to communicate with the media. Proper training for interviews is crucial; otherwise, key messages can be misconstrued, and even negative stories can result. Clients seldom blame themselves when this happens.
4. The client and the PR person or firm are not a good match. Example: Client hears about a local PR person, meets and likes the PR person, and figures it’s a good match. Or the client chooses the lowest price PR option. And the PR person, instead of referring the client to another practitioner who is a better fit, decides to take on the client—and the money.
5. The client has not gotten results quickly enough and ends the relationship too soon. Client should plan on conducting a campaign for a minimum of six months. And even that is aggressive. A year should really be the bare minimum to commit to PR The media works on its own timetable, which is usually much longer than the client’s.
6. PR people don’t explain the kind of publicity placements a client will most likely receive. Every client wants a big profile of the company on the cover of a major magazine or newspaper, but most stories are about a “trend,” several companies, or some recent news with quotes from experts. Profiles are few and far between. Yet, instead of explaining this, PR people often tell potential clients what they want to hear, in order to get the business.
7. Clients don’t realize that what happens after you get the publicity coverage is sometimes more important than the actual placement. My smartest client didn’t care if he got a quote or a profile—he just wanted to be included in major media. When it was time to get an agent and publisher for his book, he handed them a list of all his media placements, and this clinched the deal. The agent and publisher figured that if all of the major media was willing to include him as a source, then he must have something important to say.
8. Clients refuse to be flexible on their story angles. One of my clients once said to me, “We only want profiles.” When the media wasn’t interested, they refused to consider other story angles that the media was interested in. Now I make sure clients are willing to have us pitch three to four angles.
9. Clients get upset when the media coverage is not 100% accurate or not the kind of coverage that they wanted. One of my former clients said, “That TV segment on me was only a minute long.” When I explained that length of time was impressive in TV Land, she refused to understand.
10. Clients won’t change their schedules for the media. Clients need to drop everything if the media calls. This may be inconvenient, but the media waits for no one. If you want to be a “media darling,” then you need to make yourself available at any time. Those who do will reap the best benefits and placements.
Guy Kawasaki
