Carrying On

You can CarryOn now catch recent posts from CarryOn Fresh as well as updates on the latest and greatest in the CO world by following us at: twitter.com/CarryOnPR. The goal of having an agency feed is not just to cut down on the number of employees Tweeting from their mobile phones during meetings, it’s also to demonstrate a lot of the cool business applications that can be realized through Twitter. Keep an eye on it as we’ll be sharing those soon!

Ah…so here we are in Brian Solis’ world of PR 2.0.  As practitioners, we’re watching what was our “tried and true” media dwindle over shrinking ad revenues, closures and layoffs.  I personally have friends recently affected by the LA Times cuts.  We’re observing a mass migration of trained, qualified journalists over to the brave new world of blogging and social media.  Every day I receive email newsletters encouraging me to attend the latest social media boot camp, seminar or Webinar.  ”Come learn how to pitch bloggers!”  “Why Twitter and Facebook are your key to capturing a journalist’s attention.”  ”Learn ‘the rules’ for online communication.” (Is it arrogant to say I could teach many of these myself?)

While there may be new rules for communicating online, that doesn’t mean the old rules no longer apply. Yes, it’s true that today’s journalists are now blogging, Twittering, Facebooking, and carrying hand-held video devices to print interviews. However, they are still professional media members, which means the standard protocol and etiquette for PR practitioners remains the same.

My point?  Journalism and PR are in a significant state of flux.  As both sides scramble to gain solid footing, it’s more important than ever to adhere to the core skills we’ve spent years honing and developing - writing and research.  By default, the blogosphere presents a very casual, conversational style (which I personally love).  Unfortunately, many PR practitioners are adopting this casual approach in their execution, not just content.  We need to be smart about our content and even smarter about whom we target.  If not, the same rules apply…we lose credibility and damage our earned relationships with the media, or even worse, are publicly flogged like poor Amanda Miller on Joe Nocera’s New York Times blog.  Whether or not you agree with Nocera’s humiliating approach, one issue rings clear - excellence in our work must never take a back seat.

We, as practitioners, have a fantastic opportunity to become a value-add to journalists now expected to do the jobs of five people.  Our content, connections, access to thought leaders and research can be invaluable to them.  In return, their coverage and attention is invaluable to us (namely our clients).  Too often, we are considered “flacks.”  I strongly disagree.  We are an indispensible cog in the machine, but it’s up to us to stay well-oiled to maintain that relevance.

After finishing a very frustrating conversation with a vendor last week,  and discussions with some of my colleagues, I  became more and more irritated with the service provided to us by many of our vendors.  I then took a step back and tried to reflect on what the issues were and came to the realization that it probably wasn’t all one-sided, there are things I could improve as well. So, here are my five insights to making vendor relationships work.  I’ve already had the opportunity to try it with one vendor and achieved success—hopefully I can make it SOP.   

1.    Treat it as a partnership – yes, you’re hiring the vendor, but that doesn’t make them your slave.  The old adage, treat those as you’d like to be treated definitely holds true here.  You’re in this together and in order to ensure success, you’ve got to act as a team.

2.    Set and manage expectations – I prefer to have everything in writing and I’m often on conference calls all day, so I prefer to try and conduct as many transactions as possible via e-mail.  I had one vendor who seemed to only want to use the phone, so I finally said, I’m available at this time, or we can just handle this via e-mail.  If you prefer to discuss via phone, let them know in advance.  And, be clear on when things are needed.

3.    Invest in making it work – take the time to make the partnership – 30 seconds doesn’t cut it.

4.    Share information – this should go without saying, but it’s important to give the vendor the big picture and all the information they need to get the job done. In the same way as you’d do for a colleague, explain the program, why you’re executing it and provide the details.

5.    Give feedback – throughout the process give regular feedback and discuss it when the program/assignment is wrapped. 

Now, I just need to take my own advice!  

Nuts! I just realized it’s been weeks since I checked my mailbox here at CarryOn. Never a good move with our ever-vigilant receptionist, Judith, who’s been known to shout into the office-wide intercom with threats of fire and brimstone and throw packs of staples at people who let their mailbox get too full. So it was with trepidation that I snuck past her desk and peeked at my name on the wall lined with mailboxes. Nothing. Zip. Nada. Not a single piece of mail in WEEKS. I breathed a sigh of relief.

The truth is this sort of finding is becoming more and more frequent. Where as recently as 12 months ago I was receiving at least a dozen pieces of mail a week (at my office that is – Lord only knows how many pounds of mail I received at my house), I’m now finding fewer and fewer trees have cursed my name as they crashed to the ground.

What’s my secret? Well, first of all as a Web 2.0 guy I don’t think I’ve signed up for any sort of paper mailing in… well… ever. More importantly, I think this trend signals the long overdue realization that direct mail marketing to office buildings is about as effective as putting fliers on my windshield while I’m eating dinner. Email, RSS, social networks, evites, discussion groups, these are the ways of keeping people informed of upcoming events and new products in today’s service and retail environment.

I do have a secret, however…It’s called Green Dimes and I used it for both my home addresses and my office address. Am I the most environmentally-friendly guy in the world? No. Far from it, unfortunately. Heck, I still haven’t gotten my computers greenified. But this Green Dimes business isn’t just about eating soy products and showering bi-weekly to save energy. For a few bucks, they practically stopped junk mail coming to my house and office. Sure, I still wake up every morning to 3 Chinese menus, 2 tree trimming postcards, and a handful of Molly Maid fliers rubber-banded to my fence, but I’m pretty sure nothing short of a tiger pit is going to prevent that. This Green Dimes thing makes it much easier for me to find the few paper bills that still come regardless of my having paid them online since the first month and repeatedly selected the “Turn Off Paper Notices” option online. And it makes me more environmentally-friendly both for Mother Earth and father living room, which is where junk mail used to accumulate in my house.

Check it out – breaking your dependence on the postal service will also help turn you to the wonders of a web-based life where organization newsletters and coupons to KFC come on a largely opt-in basis.

A recent CNN story about political attack ads explored negative ads in American politics. These are definitely not a new phenomenon. The fear-inducing “Daisy” ad for Lyndon B. Johnson was devastating for Goldwater in the 1964 presidential campaign. The Willie Horton ad was a huge factor in the 1988 presidential campaign.

Social media has changed a lot of the rules for politics and business in general. We’re just starting to see how much of an impact this will have as the first presidential campaign since the explosion of social media heats up.
Now anyone with a laptop and a cursory understanding of video editing can reach a huge audience without the traditional barriers to entry. A negative campaign ad mashup of the famous 1984 Apple Super Bowl ad resonated with Obama supporters earlier this year when it replaced the image of “Big Brother” with Hillary Clinton. It will be interesting to see how these types of videos influence the presidential election as we get closer to the final vote in November.

The discussion about negative political ads got us thinking. How do these tactics apply to the business world?

The exciting thing about social media is that anyone now can make a video that could reach a huge audience. A huge community can also easily come together to share ideas about a specific topic. Unfortunately, however, anonymity often doesn’t help dialogue as some people leave comments they wouldn’t make if their real names and faces were somehow required. This is one of the biggest problems with political attack ads. It is often not clear who creates them, and they never contribute to meaningful dialogue.

The best way for companies to engage their customers using social media is to use be open and honest with them. Blogs, forums and other social media can be useful platforms for encouraging legitimate discussion of issues and can provide a mechanism for customers to give feedback.

We’re CarryOn Communication and we support this message!

A recent guest post on TechCrunch by Dan Ackerman-Greenberg, co-founder of a viral video marketing company, touched a nerve with readers. He shared “secret strategies” behind many of the viral videos that appear on YouTube and elsewhere on the Internet. What is striking about the post is that he was willing to share so unapologetically some controversial tactics used to promote viral videos.

Among the shady YouTube tactics Ackerman-Greenberg outlined are the use of misleading titles, creating fake user accounts, creating false controversy by posting phony comments back and forth, deleting comments they don’t like, paying bloggers to post videos and more. The post generated about 500 comments, mostly decrying these tactics.

First, people shouldn’t be surprised that these tactics are being used by some to push viral videos. The ultimate search for marketers is to reach the elusive youth demographic. The potential to reach such a huge audience makes us all consider how to get our message to them.

So, back to the angry response of many TechCrunch readers …

What are they expecting? Don’t most videos that appear on the most viewed page have some agenda? Of course they do. One comment by “rico” says it well: “i know a lot of people would like to keep their youtube experience pure - heaven forbid their viewing of cat videos and snl skits be tainted by marketing, but don’t get angry just because someone figured out how to make money in a creative way.”

YouTube and other social media resources are a great way to reach a lot of people. We think that it is just not worth it to use unethical tactics. It’s a good rule of thumb in PR that if something could embarrass your client if found out, then don’t do it.

Ultimately, good content is key to any viral video’s success. If done correctly, hundreds of thousands of potential customers may view your message. But that is not really the end goal, is it? While stupid videos like this one mentioned by Ackerman-Greenberg may generate a lot of views, we doubt that it is really going to influence the company’s bottom line. It is hard to correlate a large number of views with actual actions taken by consumers, voters, etc. But that doesn’t mean that it’s not worth creating good viral videos. If the video encapsulates your brand well and inspires people to act, it can have a huge impact.

Greenberg states, “You simply can’t expect to post great videos on YouTube and have them go viral on their own, even if you think you have the best videos ever. These days, achieving true virality takes serious creativity, some luck, and a lot of hard work.” Yeah, that is probably true, but we believe that there are more ethical ways of “greasing the wheel.” Doing it the wrong way just gives our profession a bad name and ultimately hurts our clients.

Let us know what you think. Post a comment or two.

Dear PR Student –

I recently read an article by Paul Holmes titled A Manifesto for the 21st Century Public Relations Firm where he very succinctly recapped the Internet revolution and the role of PR, advertising, etc.

His basic premise was that one discipline can never claim ownership of the online medium, but that public relations has failed so far to even make a case for its rightful leadership in developing strategies to help clients make the most of the medium.

The reason he called it “rightful leadership” was because the Internet is really and truly a public relations medium – all about information and education and it gave everyone the opportunity to earn attention. And if something smelled funny, you can call B.S and share your POV on the subject. And now, with the second generation of the Web (buzz word: Web 2.0) being all about community and sharing, I think we all in the industry are fiddling and tweaking and brainstorming and recommending and uncovering (little by little) authentic communication strategies.

With that said, Mr. Holmes’ theory that PR needs to take its rightful throne is truly inspiring, and should be for all of us in the industry, and to those PR students sitting in their PR classes.

How are we going do it? And how will the next generation help us?

I leave you with this thought.

I can’t wait for the day a 21-year old intern comes in for an interview without a single iota of “PR experience” on their resume. Instead, their sales pitch is, “Well, I do have 10 + years of firsthand experience developing UGC content and sharing it with friends, plus bookmarking stuff I like on my del.ic.ious page. I also like to share video and photos with all my friends from my mobile phone. Did I mention I have a personal blog where I review gadgets just for fun? I think it gets about one million views a week.”

You see, PR is not like sports, where a rookie stud can come in and hit 50 homeruns and become a leader right away. In PR, unfortunately maybe, there is a “climb the ranks” approach. But with social media becoming so important, I can almost see the day where the hotshot graduate shoots right up to the clean-up spot in the lineup because they can flat out rake (that’s baseball lingo for hit the ball well).

In fact, I think we are there now…

Navigating the uneven ground of social networking continues to uncover ethical dilemmas traditional media is unconcerned with.  While marketing to children has long been considered a touchy subject, there exists a fine line between capitalizing on one of the largest influencers and convincing children they are inferior unless they purchase the endless stream of gadgets and gizmos.  Social networking sites aimed at youngsters bring these issues to the forefront.

Traditional media and advertising have the distinct advantage to claim persuasive commercial messaging is geared toward adults and therefore, ethical.  Social networking sites specifically for children are another story.  As seen in this CNET article, virtual worlds are inherently commercial.  Kids are encouraged to buy virtual goods to make their avatars “happy.”  This early form of consumerism paired with the traditional Web based advertising targeting children could spell long term consequences.

As new opportunities present themselves, marketers and consultants must carry a sense of accountability to ensure an ethical use of messaging.  Explosively popular mediums like virtual worlds give marketers the opportunity to be judicious in how they leverage them.  Just as the Joe Camel debate brought advertising to children to the public’s eye, will virtual worlds spark similar interest?

Laughter frequently spills into the hallways of CarryOn. Sometimes it’s the natural response to a shared joke between colleagues at lunch or the result of a funny staff photo that emerges on the company intranet. Whatever may be its cause, laughter is more than just comic relief in the demanding world of public relations, it is the serum fueling creativity!

 Upon a recent visit to our Los Angeles office, a client noted CarryOn’s strong camaraderie. To his surprise, not only did we produce excellent results working together, we actually seemed to genuinely enjoy each others company. Truth be told, this shouldn’t come as a surprise! Although agency life is notorious for its stress-inducing environment of deadlines and crises, there exist anomalies that manage to escape the cattiness and hostility rampant among certain agencies. 

So the next time you’re shopping for the right agency to represent your business, make sure you get a feel for the agency’s internal culture. Happy employees who get along and have fun with one another will be better at managing job stress and in turn support one another to be more productive. Don’t take my word for it? Here’s an excerpt from a recent NYT’s article on the value of work friendships: “Because work friendships lower job stress and risk for major depression, employees who get along and support each other are likely to be more productive.” When you catch us laughing, know that you’ve stumbled upon one secret to our success. 

We’ll beat any price or your mattress is freeeeee!  Or so says the man with the high-pitched voice in the bad commercials that pepper Southern California TV and radio.  Suddenly the idea of free is not such a bad thing and it’s catching on across media.

In a move that would surely make steam spout out of Scrooge McDuck’s ears, Rupert Murdoch announced that his newly-acquired baby and venerable symbol of corporate penny watching, The Wall Street Journal, would “make access to The Wall Street Journal’s Web site free, dropping subscription fees in exchange for anticipated ad revenue.”  This comes on the heels of the New York Times making a similar announcement and the announcement by Paste Magazine that it would allow new subscribers to pay as much as they wanted for their subscription.  And of course THIS happened.  And THIS.  And THAT.  And just to be safe, this will probably be free one day too.

So, as always, we must ask ourselves what does all this free media mean for P.R.?  Well, these announcements by WSJ, NYT and Paste should serve as the last of many wake-up calls that ring the death knell for the printed word.  Conde Nast’s Portfolio suggests that WSJ’s print circulation could drop by as much as 50% now that all content will be available online. 

P.R. professionals must now re-evaluate what qualifies as homerun coverage.  Sure the front page of the New York Times and Wall Street Journal is a great hit.  But it’s a hit that only a printer could love. Do these hits really grab as many viewers as an online hit would have?  Increasingly, the answer has to be no.  Especially once one factors in viral traction through email, book marking services, and outside links from websites or blogs like this one.  So, just to be on the safe side, be sure to include those Web editors on your media lists.

Why would anyone pay for something that they could get for free online (especially now that the guilt/shadiness of illegal downloading or re-using member passwords has been lifted)?  Thankfully, consumers of digital media can finally breathe knowing that there’s a good chance many of the things they love will one day be freeeeee! 

Every band, TV show, disease and industry has a message board.  Most likely there is a message board about message boards.  They are typically basic in design, but are a key component to driving buzz about a brand and communicating to the masses.  That’s because they rely on the power of word of mouth and message board readers essentially follow the rule that people are inherently good (whether or not this is actually true).  Most people assume that when tigerpeanut809 responds to Cowbell1999 about a product she believes to be the best or worst for his concern she has tried it and really believes in what she is writing.  We all know consumers are more likely to respond positively to a word of mouth recommendation than an ad; and if your client really is top notch, message boards are a great place to generate buzz. However, as a PR practitioner there are few things to be aware of:

• Be ethical – don’t post on message boards posing as Joe Shmoe from Kentucky.  You’ll get caught by the board moderators and have your name and your client’s name smeared.  Not all press is good press.
• It’s not free advertising– be honest and know that message boards are not the place to pitch or advertise a product.  It’s a place to be open and honest about why a product or brand is amazing written by someone who has first hand experience with it.
• Use it your advantage– consumers are smart and many early adopters pop up on message boards.  Use them to see which trends are emerging and what people are talking about.
• You can’t hide – remember that the entire world can see what you post and any posting can be traced back to you and your clients.  Be responsible and represent yourself in the best light possible.
• Handle the criticism – there is bound to be someone who will write a negative post and you can only hope that these are few and far between.  Be prepared to do damage control.  Take advantage of negative hits by offering counsel to your clients based on consumer feedback.  They’ll appreciate your grassroots research.

 Links:

Board Tracker– http://boardtracker.com

Board Reader – http://boardreader.com

Once a company chooses the appropriate channel to reach their desired audience, the challenge lies in creating a compelling and effective campaign.  After observing current flyers, groups, polls, events and applications it becomes clear that certain tactics work and some simply don’t.  The following is a list of effective marketing strategies on Facebook:

1. Offer something for free - It doesn’t matter what it is, Facebook users love free gifts.  This could be anything from a free download, to a free “Facebook gift” to a discount coupon.  A shining example is the Apple group which offers periodic downloads of pre-selected music or TV samples.
2. Support a charity or social cause - Facebook users want to make a difference, and if they can do it quickly and easily through Facebook they will.  Some examples are the “Causes” application that helps charities raise money, the badges or ribbons that people can post on their pages to show support for a cause and the groups that raise awareness about a cause and sometimes even donate money per number of group members.
3. Allow for a new ways to interact with friends - Facebook users want to build relationships with their friends.  Some of the post popular applications are the “Super Poke” and the “X me” applications which allow users to send messages to their friends that says they’ve been punched, drop-kicked, hugged, stepped on and a range of other actions.  Facebook users like the “Free Gift” application where users send graphics of presents they’d like to give, the “Happy Hour” application where users can send a virtual drink or the “Vampires” application where people can bite their friends and turn them into virtual vampires.
4. Provide entertainment value - Applications that allow users to play games, listen to music, share photos or watch videos are always popular.
5. Be edgy, current and funny - Facebook users want to be associated with what is hip, fun, funny and cool. 
6. Allow for self-promotion and narcissism - Facebook users love to share information about themselves, their personalities and their lifestyles.  Most Facebook users view their profiles as a direct reflection of themselves.  Users will install/join applications and groups that fit their own personal brand or garner compliments or ego boosts.  Some examples are the “Compare me application,” “The Honesty Box,” “Horoscopes” and the “Are you interested? Application”
7. Balance eye-catching yet simple - There are two schools of thought among Facebook users: those who want flashy pages that stand out, and those who cling to the nostalgic uniformity of Facebook before applications.  An effective application will be colorful and valuable yet not too distracting or take up too much space.  The choice to create a flashy application or a simple application might also depend on the target demographic.  Older Facebook users gravitate toward the simplicity and professionalism of “old-skool” Facebook, while younger users are drawn to the busy, flashy “MySpace-like” applications.

While the persona of a Facebook user is evolving, it’s important to remember what Facebook users were drawn to in the first place.  Facebook created a feeling of privacy and focus on friends.  Users could customize their privacy settings and show information to only their close friends.  Facebook was simple, uniform and uncluttered.  It was also exclusive and separated users by network.  While Facebook has expanded and lost some of its original draw, many of the most loyal Facebookers still appreciate these qualities about the site and look for those attributes when choosing groups, applications, and activities on Facebook.

10) Do: Join Digg, read Digg, get a profile and start interacting with those that Digg in order to get familiar with the subject matter being discussed. There’s eight topics to choose from (thousands of stories submitted per day) so you might want to use Digg Spy to see real-time story updates or Digg Swarm to feel like you are part of a news culture! Also, be aware of who is on Digg — it could be your paperboy, the cable guy, it could even be your Grandma hooked on People’s Court!

9) Don’t: Join Digg and title your profile “John Smith, CTO Insert Fortune 500 Company Name Here.” Assuming a corporate identity can lump you in with a not so complementary title of the one that keeps bringing us all down, “The Man.”

8) Do: Loosen up, be casual, take off that restricting necktie and let your hair down. When posting, interacting and communicating in general with fellow Diggers, be yourself, but realize that you are on a very hip, Web 2.0-meets-social-everything media site, it’s ok to talk casually, fun, sarcastic and ironic at times (think Seinfeld meets CES).

7) Don’t: Take everything personal and bring your list of agenda’s to the party. When you submit, comment and interact, taking on a “my way or the high way” attitude alienates you from the crowd and lessens your following.

6) Do: Think before you submit or Digg someone’s submission. Find articles, podcasts and videos that matter to you and that truly stand out, then take a step back and ask, “Who cares?” If the answer is

a) Lots of people

b) This is hilarious

c) Holy smokes I didn’t know that!

Then by all means, submit or Digg a submission.

5) Don’t: Submit press releases of “me too” information. That’s a sure fire way to get you buried on Digg. Buried = Bad, fyi.

4) Do: Find out which print, broadcast and blog media are submitting to Digg or getting Dugg the most. Is your favorite gadget reviewer from Crunch Gear always on the front page? Is the “2 On Your Side” investigative reporter from Poughkeepsie always getting her show in the top ten on Digg? If that’s the case, find out if your product, story, service or paradigm shifting widget is a good story or trend for s/he to cover and go pitch the good pitch.

3) Don’t: Tell the top five bloggers in your area of interest that the reason you want them to give you coverage is to get on Digg.

2) Do: Be passionate about what you like and don’t like. Digg is a reflection of society as a whole, if you are animated and excited about a topic you will come across as genuine, a quality that people tend to follow.

1) Don’t: Think that Digg is the only social media site there, it’s more of a barometer of how your communication strategy is working overall. Keep your eyes peeled, new sites and trends pop up every day, might even find out about them on Digg.

I’ve pitched bloggers, media blasted podcasters and hunted down reporters like big game. Now Justin.tv comes along. What’s a PR pro to do?

First a little background. Last week Justin.tv opened its platform to the public. What began as one guy with a camera attached to the side of his baseball cap has turned into a media darling and Web 2.0 sensation that gives each of us the opportunity to start our own “lifecast.”

According to the site “[Co-founders] Justin and Emmett were driving around late at night in Boston trying to figure out what to do about their previous startup (Kiko Calendar) after Google Calendar dried up the early adopter market. Justin realized that their conversation might be interesting for other young entrepreneurs, then thought that perhaps you can create really compelling content by just live broadcasting the lives of ordinary people, then thought… why don’t I wear a camera on my head 24/7.”

The concept of using the Internet to create an instant audience for one’s personal life is nothing new. Blogs, YouTube, MySpace, Facebook and the rest are each examples of tools that offered mass audiences the opportunity to personalize and popularize their lives. But the concept of Justin.tv took this basic premise to another level. Justin Kan voluntary offered to broadcast his every day activities and was savvy enough to realize that advertisers are only too eager to A) reach new and innovative audiences and B) grab consumers on a personal level. Justin.tv accomplished both of those things. No lie, but Justin.tv actually gained sponsors like Bawls energy drink and ZipCar. Every time Justin stepped into a mall or offered his opinion on his favorite food, it became commercialized whether intended or not. Fast Company has some interesting thoughts on this as well.

Kan, however, has more idealistic hopes for the company, telling the San Francisco Chronicle:

“Broadcasting something live from a remote site has always been the sole domain of large media corporations with access to satellite trucks,” says Kan. “What we want to do is put it in the hands of the people. Imagine what you could do if you had the ability to broadcast live video from anywhere, anytime. It changes the way news is gathered. It makes a whole new kind of travel show possible. It allows the broadcast of sports that aren’t large enough for ESPN. And I don’t think we’ve even predicted 10 percent of the possible uses yet.”

Enter the PR crowd. What are the possibilities that Kan mentions? Can we really turn ourselves into walking, talking media placements? The ability to broadcast a single event from unlimited points of view certainly presents options and benefits that a traditional media hit never could. With Justin.tv, we can eliminate the need to secure broadcast crews and instead choose to broadcast whatever we want, whenever we want, getting our clients messages out to a tech-savvy, highly influential audience.

Now, these are obviously the gold rush thoughts that cycle through every PR professional’s mind when a new technology is introduced. As always, the PR practitioners who take the time to understand the nuances behind each platform will be the ones who maximize its potential. And certainly there will be a glut of competition as marketers from all fields race to get their clients to the front of the line. But the clock is certainly ticking for Justin.tv’s first viral sensation to emerge. Just remember to smile for the camera.

Welcome to Fresh - a glimpse into the creative (and sometimes wacky) minds that make up the dynamic culture of CarryOn Communication and its family of services (CarryOn Interactive). As communicators, we’re keenly aware of the millions of blogs offering as many opinions about as many matters. And as contemporary communicators, we are equally understanding of the need for the majority of them to go away. That said, and never willing to simply bypass the fray, we submit here our own colored and most likely partisan approach to the purview of public relations, communication, branding and social media.

The CarryOn system offers a team of consumer-focused communicators and branding experts who dive deeply into the world of media, and who work incessantly to understand those who influence it. Daily we write, comment, pitch and in every other way entertain the various notions that allow us to reach these media who perhaps make up our clients’ most important publics. We share our unsolicited thoughts on these virtual pages and encourage you to feed the fire.