News Stories

Kerry Welch, our Media Buyer and Account Director, Is Professor for a Day

Persuading, presenting and public speaking are all necessary components of communications, especially Public Relations.

But what about when you are the Media Buyer? How do you articulate to a class of college students what media buying is? Well, I had the pleasure of figuring it out and presenting Media Buying 101 this week to bright, young marketing students at the College of Charleston School of Business.

While prepping the materials and mapping out my talking points, I realized I had a lot of interesting things to tell the students.

I focused on the following three key messages:

1. What is media? Describing the different mediums that encompass media.
2. Determining the client’s demographic. This is key because you need to know who to reach and how.
3. Planning never ends. Even when you have a completed media buy, you have to be prepared for date changes. Always be prepared to re-do the plan and tweak as needed.

Teaching was fun and exciting. I enjoyed sharing all of my knowledge and case studies with the students. I’m not sure they found media buying as exciting as I do, but I might have gotten an intern out of it!

10 Amazing Trends to Sweep PR in the Past 10 Years

We recently celebrated a milestone around here: Touchpoint’s 10^th anniversary.

And since we know everybody loves a listicle (thank you, Mashable!), we thought we’d create one.

So here’s our summary of the most amazing trends to sweep PR and communications in the past 10 years:

10. The world is flatter, and that makes it better. One outcome of the Great Recession was a loss of corporate hierarchy. As a result, people at every level are expected to step up and contribute. Minus all those layers, there’s nowhere to hide. We live life that way, so we think this is a fine change.

9. Content is king, but not everyone should be producing content. Sure, anybody can update their status, but that doesn’t mean just anyone should update yours. Organizations must recognize that good communications requires good content created by thoughtful practitioners. Reminds us of one of our favorite book critics’ lines: “that’s not writing, it’s typing.” Don’t just type.

8. The walls came tumbling down. We remember the days when “integrated” communications meant a bunch of different disciplines shared an office space. Now, they share a single brain. The morphing of disciplines has torn down the walls dividing them. So … great social media and advertising ideas can come from a PR pro (and vice versa!)

7. Lunches eaten at one’s desk are more delicious than they used to be. Really. Google it.

6. Clients want to collaborate. With the decline of hierarchy, we’ve also seen the death of the Wizard’s wall of obfuscation. Clients enjoy knowing what you’re doing, how you’re doing it and how it’s working. Smoke and mirrors frustrates good clients.

5. Analytics rock. It used to be nearly impossible to judge the value of a PR campaign. So we counted potential eyeballs. But today, you can see an immediate impact on your brand, thanks to web analytics, social engagement and more.

4. Personal skills win the day, every time. While we counsel young pros against saying they want a career in PR because they “love people,” we do agree that to be successful, one must “get” people. This business is a mix of overt and subtle signals. Understanding both matters.

3. Multi-taskers need to apply. Modern communicators are necessarily jugglers. Make that: jugglers who also play several instruments at once, while pulling several rabbits out of a single hat.

2. Media pros are more important than ever. The scarcity of reporters has had a profound impact on our industry. With fewer employed reporters/producers to pitch, every relationship is heightened in importance. And their flat organizations mean PR people are more important to the media than ever. Let the symbiosis begin!

1. There isn’t a better business to be in, period. Yep, after years here (and decades in total) we can’t imagine a bigger thrill than an amazing national hit, an event that goes off without a hitch, or a well-negotiated ad plan that delivers more than we bargained for. We’re smitten with this business, and looking forward to whatever the next 10 years bring!

Start Spring Cleaning Now to Get Ahead!

It’s getting warmer outside, it keeps raining and flowers are starting to bloom. These signs are all pointing to one thing - spring is finally here! With the season comes spring cleaning.

“The spaces we occupy shape who we are and how we behave,” says Dr. Christian Garrett, a psychologist turned writer. “This has serious consequences for our psychological well-being and creative performance. Given that many of us spend years working in the same room, or even at the same desk, it makes sense to organize and optimize that space in the most beneficial ways possible.”

Organizing and optimizing is especially appropriate for an open concept office space. We have vowed to de-clutter and reorganize to improve our productivity during this busy work season (and, ahem, hopefully everyone around us will catch on! ).

Here are 8 spring cleaning tips for around the office:

1. Organize and de-clutter. Make a second-quarter resolution to keep your desk clean and clear. Take three minutes a day to go through all of the paperwork and newspapers on your desk.

2. Chunk it out. Any task can seem daunting if you do it all at once. Deal with it in sections. Even if you only clean a little bit of your office space each day, you’ll feel better than if you don’t clean at all.

3. If It’s Empty, Toss It. Non-working pens seem to outnumber the working ones. Go through that overfilled pen cup.

4. Sort your papers. Your email inbox isn’t the only one that’s overflowing. Go through any stacks of papers that have been accumulating since the last time you cleaned your desk. It helps if you create a system and stick with it.

5. Clean your Electronics. We use computers and other devices everyday and you might not know how dirty they are. Grab yourself a pack of special wipes for screens and keyboards. This will preserve your devices and clear any winter cold germs that are lying around.

6. Organize your emails. We all receive crazy amounts of emails that demand our attention. Sometimes it’s hard to navigate. Get in the habit of “foldering” your emails as they come.

7. Create a to-do list. Use your email as a communication tool, as it was originally intended, not a to-do list.

8. Keep or delete. Purge all papers on and around your desk that are of no use any longer.

Celebrating the Fruits of Our Labor

It’s been an eventful few weeks here at Touchpoint, and we couldn’t be more thrilled. We live in this world of “work hard, play hard,” although usually we find ourselves weighted more toward the working end. But we always manage to find time for a good laugh, a great meal, and a delicious cocktail.

Here at 522 King Street, we have a collaborative workspace with some other boutique companies. It’s inspiring to have this “open concept” working environment where we can collaborate and let our creative juices flow.

“People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing,” said Dale Carnegie and we agree. Luckily, we pride ourselves in partnering with companies and organizations that make the work, well, fun. (Plus we like to believe we have a pretty cool company culture.)

In the last two weeks, we were grateful to be recognized by peers for our PR efforts, helped a client execute a beautiful garden space at Wine + Food, saw our favorite chefs cook up a buzz-worthy brunch, assisted with a groundbreaking and celebrated our Irish roots to the fullest. (And that was just the stuff we took photos of!) It’s clear that we’ve been having fun in what we’ve been doing.

Check out some of our recent adventures:

- BB&T Charleston Wine + Food Festival with our client Summers Corner

- Charleston Grill’s Executive Chef Michelle Weaver at the Southern Betty Brunch

- Charleston American Marketing Association Spark Award for Best Public Relations Campaign for Gotcha Ride

- St. Patrick’s Day celebration with our friends at 522

Third Spaces Are becoming the Hearts of Communities…and We See Why!

We keep hearing about this idea of “third space,” and we’re on board! We’re all about rediscovery, especially when it comes to community – and even more so now that our client Summers Corner is knitting such spaces into its community.

Interestingly, this idea has become a movement, where home and work are distinct from community spaces. Both indoors and outdoors, these places are meant to spark creativity and encourage collaboration. Urban Sociologist Ray Oldenburg coined the term “third space” and believes these are the heart of a community.

We’re lucky that we get to be a part of the creation of this cool, new community. At Summers Corner, a new community in Summerville, you will experience such spaces from the Corner House at The Commons to Buffalo Lake, on bike and walking trails, in parks and community gardens, beside lakes and fire pits – all designed to create tight knit neighborhoods.

The BB&T Charleston Wine + Food Festival is here, and we’re excited to be on site with Summers Corner. If you were one of the lucky ones to snag a ticket to this year’s event, come visit The Third Space sponsored by Summers Corner in the Culinary Village. (summerscorner.com). And kudos to Two Forks Collective and Gathering for terrific event activation!

Start Strong, Finish Strong

So as we all draw to the end of another wonderful year here in Charleston, SC, it seems apt to think about happy endings. Thanks to wonderful clients and vendor partners, we’re closing the books on a successful 2014. We grew in lots of ways: we added new talent and energy to the team. We amped up services that clients asked for. We shed some things that just didn’t gel. And we got to do the work we love. Can’t beat that.

But there are lots of ways to achieve a happy ending. We don’t mean the kind Cinderella sought. We mean the kind business owners experience when they look at a healthy balance sheet. The kind we see when we review an annual PR plan and realize we hit most of our expected highs.

Over the weekend, we worked a big event that reminded us that success isn’t just about a great start..it’s also about finishing strong. That was true for racers of the Nexton Cocoa Cup, and it’s true for just about every aspect of life.

After all, you can do everything right, but if the end is bumpy, that’s what everybody will remember. Or if you fail to pre-plan, you won’t know if you were epically awesome or otherwise.

We love the old saw that you must start with the finish in sight. Imagine from the launch of any endeavor what success will look like: is it a big national PR placement? Is it a smiling client (and a clean parking lot?) post event? Is it truly measurable, or will you just feel it? And how do you build in opportunities to achieve that outcome, every step of the way?

Didn’t plan to measure the success of your most recent plan? Doh! Failed to debrief and learn how to make the next round even better? Shame. Failed to take the time to ponder what worked - and what didn’t - over the past year? Do it now.

Here’s to happy endings, and new beginnings this, and every day!

Planning, Planning, Planning

It is that magical time of the year when company leaders confront two realities:

Many customers have waited, and now need orders turned around fast - surely before 12/31.

and

We’re all working hard on our own company plans. We’re assessing 2014; what worked, what didn’t, what we should try in 2015.

Since our business is all about helping people tell their stories, we thought it might be helpful to provide a little year-end gift: a tool that can help steer them to strategy, and ultimately fleshes out their story.

As you plan your operations, HR, finances, etc. for the new year, be thinking about your communication strategy. By thinking hard about communication, you could be well on your way to a fantastic ’15. We like this blog post, which articulates the important question every leader should ask…before they start thinking about ads, or videos, or social media management:

Don’t Let FOMO Drive Your Communication Strategy

When it comes to marketing communications, we live in a mad, mad world. So many choices, so little time. In the social media realm, businesses manage Facebook pages, Twitter feeds, LinkedIn groups, Instagram profiles, and much more. The array is dizzying, and the effort to keep all those balls in the air can be daunting. Often, we feel compelled to “do it all” because our Fear of Missing Out is so great.

Our mantra: Say No to FOMO. There are few organizations for whom every channel makes sense. And if you’re considering managing more than one channel, you may find that introducing them slowly, over time is ideal.

But how does an organization decide what channel to open, and which to shut down?

It all comes down to the age-old questions: what’s your goal, and what’s your strategy for reaching it? If you can answer those two questions (you may be surprised how hard that can be!), then you can begin to consider which tools will get you there. After all, those social media platforms - when harnessed for business - are simply tools. Some are workhorses that accomplish so much with so little effort (Facebook, anyone?). Some are single-use gadgets that get a very specific job done (we’d argue that’s part of LinkedIn’s charm).

Whatever tool you choose, remember that social media is all about connection. It’s not about telling, it’s about sharing - and that indicates a two-way street.

And if all else fails, remember the strength of one old technology that rocked the world in its day: pick up the telephone, and schedule a meeting. Now THAT will be radical, and you won’t experience a bit of FOMO!

Tell a Good Story and the World Is Your Oyster

It’s Monday, and that means one thing: we spent the weekend scrolling through our Facebook feeds, downloading Pinterest recipes, checking out Reddit and wondering what on earth Kim Kardashian could say that would excite 24.4 million fans (jealous? you bet).

So what does this have to do with marketing? Everything. You see, we’re old school enough to believe that in the world of communication, stories sell. And we’re new school enough to appreciate the plethora of channels we have available to tell them.

This recent Mashable article offers five tips for creating great social media content. We agree with all of them.

So we asked ourselves to think a bit about what passes our “sniff test” when it comes to determining a good story. The list could be really long, but we have a few essential items we think are key:

1. You know the old saying that if someone can’t explain a complex subject simply, it means they don’t understand it? We agree. So one of our key rules is: unless we can boil this story down into a nut graph that fits a 30 second voice mail or a two sentence pitch, we aren’t ready to tell it.

2. Does this pass the Wheaties test? We often advise clients that what they think is interesting can differ greatly from what the public desires to know. An editor/producer/media channel is in the business of engaging distracted, bored and exhausted humans. If you can’t explain why John and Jane Smith should care about this story as they read the paper over breakfast, you have failed the Wheaties test. Good PR placements must be earned. Good ads must tap an authentic emotion or interest. And both need to snap and crackle a bit better than the Rice Krispies.

3. It matters. For us, the factor that drives the best story telling is that the subject matter really matters. Sure, Kim Kardashian-West can do inscrutable things and gobble up ever-more followers. But most brands cannot. They need to respect the time and energy of their readers/followers/fans. They do this by sharing information that is authentic, interesting, and in some way important. Steve Jobs said it’s up to each of us to try to put a dent in the universe. We think a story well told can do exactly that.

Long Live CSR

The notion of Corporate Social Responsibility - an organization’s responsibility to society (not merely shareholders) - endures.

While many CSR programs were muted during the Great Recession, as companies fought to stay alive, efforts have re-emerged in most sectors. And clearly there is no decline in the need for companies to do right, even as they do well. Society is fired up and ready to go (witness the record crowds at the Climate Change rally in NYC last week and its after effects on Rockefeller descendents’ investments. We also look forward to a corporate response to the UN/Emma Watson feminism push (we applaud her great speech).

But companies don’t have to play on a global stage, or hang out with Ban Ki Moon, to make a difference. We work with numerous clients who strive daily to make the communities they serve stronger, healthier and sustainable. But we also try to live that commitment here at the home office. Members of our staff work long, busy hours on behalf of our clients. We earn them coverage, we negotiate millions of dollars of paid media, and we execute robust social media campaigns.

And then, we devote lunch hours or after-work time to volunteering with great causes. Among them: the new Fisher House in Charleston, the new Creative Mornings effort, past work with the Center for Women, and others. We launched our own CSR program - Take Five - over the summer, and look forward to expanding it next beach season.