Voice from the PR Maven

Rave: My first Mac

2011-10-21T10:57:00.007-04:00

I was working in the secretarial pool at Cadillac Fairview in the 80s working supporting a few executives. I used to smoke at my desk, drink black tea and type endless boring letters on my IBM Selectric typewriter. I became used to liquid paper, correction tape and re-dos all day long. I once typed a long formal letter, sent it to my boss for his signature. He hated how he signed the letter and had me re-do the entire bloody thing because of his sloppy penmanship! No computers, no files, not even a floppy... all hard copies. Ugh.

One day all of us girls each got a new typewriter. Ah yes, the Olivetti part typewriter, part computer wonder! It looked like a typewriter but had a small green bar/screen at the top where you could edit one sentence at a time before you committed it to paper. Character by character, line by line, you could see what you wrote, before it printed. What a technological marvel. Imagine, being able to correct an entire line before sending it to print. I was in heaven.

Still within CF, I applied for a marketing position at the Toronto Eaton Centre (a client of mine today!) and I got the use of another trusty Olivetti machine. One day, the boss said I was going to be a guinea pig for a new kind of computer they were introducing to the marketing department, an Apple Macintosh. A what? Whatever. In comes a tech guy carrying the cutest little beige computer with a periscope like screen. It was my first Apple Macintosh.

He plunked it down, plugged it in, handed me a funny looking instrument with a button on it (a mouse) and told me to watch the screen. There it was, the computer screen lit up … and ta dah! … a smiley face! On my computer, something smiled at me. How adorable. This is a sophisticated computer?

Well, you can imagine how overjoyed I was to see this little b/w screen, with folders, files and a trash can all at the touch of a mouse. So intuitive, so easy. Where has this been all my life. I had software programs like MacWrite, MacPaint, FileMaker, and a cool desktop publishing program called Ready Set Go! OMG. That coupled with my LaserWriter (a printer), I was the desktop publishing princess of the Eaton Centre. I couldn’t write for shit, but boy, did my stuff look professional.

A year later, I found myself at a PR agency in Canada, NATIONAL, working alongside my first boss and wonderful mentor, Ed Gould. He gave me a Mac SE as my desktop computer and again, found myself blissfully happy. While I had no idea what the heck PR was, I got to type, create and express myself on the best platform the world had ever seen.

A few months later, the agency landed the coveted Apple account, and because I was so passionate about the technology (and begged for several days), I got to work on the business. Not only that, but I had the privilege to travel several times to the Mecca of all trade shows, MacWorld at the Moscone Center in San Fran. It was as if the universe and stars were aligned just for me. For the five years I worked on the business I met both Sculley and Spindler, who were incredible leaders. It would have been something to have met Jobs himself.

When I left National in 1993, I asked my boss if I could keep the Macintosh Classic II he loaned me to work from home with. He said sure, it was a relic anyways and it was ready for landfill.

Last week I went hunting for that relic in the bowels of my basement. I found it. In a box, taped up, neglected, dusty complete with a dead spider on the mouse. I plunked it down, plugged it in and waited for the magic to happen. It did, my Mac lit up and smiled at me as if I never left it alone. No landfill for you…..

Thank you Steve. For that Mac, for your genius, for that smile.

The world smiles at you. >

Rave: Partners

2011-08-12T20:35:00.001-04:00

Today I pitched a piece of business in the tourism area with two other marketing partners on the team. All I can say is "you can't boil the ocean” ... which is why you work with great partners in other marketing disciplines.

What I love about PR is the lens in which we see the world of a brand. It may be limited, but it’s precise and exacting. I don’t buy media. I don’t create logos. I don’t write tag lines. And.... you know what? I don’t want to. There are agencies of all shapes and sizes that can do this. They know what GRPs are, how to achieve eyeball numbers and how to reach buying audiences. There are brand and creative agencies who weave creative narratives in one line or two. Or even without words. I’m always in awe of these guys.

However. What PR agencies do ... now get ready ad and brand agencies ... you cannot even attempt.

Our discipline is a mystery to most. Difficult at most times..We combine a blend of science, skill and luck. Oh, and throw in a little witchcraft and a strong tailwind.

Today was all about collaboration. Each marketing partner bringing a best practice expertise to the client with a sense of a team approach. I absolutely love being part of a pitch where I’m the third wheel.

We had fun, we were smart and provided a solid team approach. We may have had three logos up on the board, but we acted like one voice.

Hope the prospect thought so too!

RAVE: Stress: It doesn't exist

2011-08-05T10:12:00.003-04:00

Now who on earth would ever rave about stress? Me, that’s who.

Like any other entrepreneur you can never leave the office behind -- you can’t go on vacation and not think of a client, an employee or the future of the firm. Your head can bust wide open if you try and solve the little gnarly problems of the day at 3 a.m. I’ve tried it, nothing gets resolved and you’re meaner than a snake the next day. Thank goodness for Advil NightTime.

The albatross of work will always be there, and stress is the grip. It’s how we handle the day to day roadblocks, curves and twists of daily work or home life, that will either create an atmosphere of anxiety or bliss.

An acquaintance of mine, Gina Mollicone Long, who has written a great self help book and is a wonderful motivational speaker, asked me once to pick up stress and hand it to her. I told her I couldn’t do that, it was impossible to hold. And she replied “you can’t hold stress, because it doesn’t exist.” Stress only occurs when reacting to a situation.

Best thing I ever heard. (that and “your table is ready ..”)

But we are faced with stressful situations each and every day. Ruthless demanding clients, cranky journalists on deadlines, traffic jams, leaving the red sock in your load of whites ... you get the picture.

Gina tells me that the easiest and most beneficial way to react to stress is to breathe. Deep gut breathing for at least a few minutes. Six counts breathing in – six counts out. We are by nature shallow breathers (people who do yoga, know this better than anyone) and by simply getting oxygen to our brain creates a better balance in our system, release tension and ability to think more clearly. There are countless articles on breathing techniques on the internet, but I found the 6 count in and out method works perfectly. Try it next time you are in a stressful situation. Don’t react. Close your eyes breathe deep in and out. You’ll be surprised at the emotional stability that sets in and the clarity of thought by which to handle the situation.

By the way, closing your eyes and breathing doesn’t work when you get cut off on the 401!

Stress. Bring it on.

Coming Soon ... Rant or Rave

2011-08-02T16:32:00.002-04:00

Bless me blogosphere, for I have sinned, it’s been nearly seven months since my last post. What is my penance?

Ok gang, I confess – I have been remarkably absent from blogging. And it’s weird; I keep running into people who ask me, when are you going to blog again? Stop already. I’m on it ...
Sorry folks, I can’t use the excuse, “I’m busy” cuz, we all are, and some of the busiest people get a lot done in a day, including writing a blog post. And I’m not without opinions and ideas either. I could have had a field day writing about a terrible RFP experience earlier this year, the ego-maniac prospect I met a month ago who wants to take on Google and Apple with a $5K retainer, or the employee who quit on me just days before she was launching a major client initiative. Nice eh?

But no, I will save those dark tales and more in a new feature on my blog called Rant or Rave Friday. Each Friday I will either Rant or Rave about a topic near and dear to me. I will try and post every Friday. Promise.

Check out this Friday’s post ... it will be a RAVE on stress.

Now, where’s that rosary?

Boot Camp for PR agency pros

2011-01-12T13:13:00.003-05:00

Now here's a nifty little PR program being driven by the Canadian Council of Public Relations Firms called the PR Agency Bootcamp being held on one day Friday January 28th, 2011. It's an all day program designed for PR professionals to hone their skills and understanding of the new world and role of PR.

I do like some of the sessions, I think the first one at 8:30 a.m. sounds like the best with a client panel discussion. Right now, no clients are listed, but I'm sure the organizers will pull out some heavy hitters. There is a session on Presenting with Impact run by Edelman, which I'm sure will be great, but I would have brought in RogenSi to deliver that. We have taken all our presenation training from RogenSi and I think they are the absolute best in the business. They've helped us close business time and time again.

I think there are some valuable sessions and insights that young PR practitioners will take away from this day so I would sign up now as I hear space is running out.

I hope the CCPRF run another one of these events, but perhaps with more clients and outside experts giving us old PR dogs some new tricks!!

The Legends are Announced

2010-12-08T11:11:00.003-05:00

The Marketing Hall of Legends just announced the 2011 inductees. The gala event takes place next year, April 14th at Roy Thomson Hall. The MHOL was conceived in 2004 by Mandrake and the Toronto Chapter of the AMA.

My firm has been involved with the MHOL for a number of years and this year we will once again be conducting media relations around the announcement and the gala event. This year I personally lent my support to the MHOL judging panel.... I can tell you first hand, not an easy task with so many qualified and outstanding marketing professionals in Canada. But the list of inductees is impressive and sooooooo truly Canadian. I am so proud to have been part of making this selection. See all the inductees here.

The gala format will have a new twist: a two-tiered format. So if you want the full enchilada .... sit down VIP dinner (no enchiladas will be served!), networking event, gala and after party you need to fork out $495 a ticket. (total deal and you get up close and personal with the legends). Second tier is at $225. For that you still get fed (buffet), networking, gala and after party. A great price point if you don’t want the swish sit down dinner part. And oh ya .... alcohol is included. For tickets please call 416 922-5600 ext. 255.

I am urging the PR community to get behind this event and come out and support the MHOL and the honourees. I’d like to see way more PR folks support these kinds of events and be part of the larger marketing community. Last year, there were only a handful of PR agency professionals in attendance. Too bad, because the event was outstanding. If you didn’t make it out last year, you missed inductee, the legendary Geoffrey Roche, pay tribute to his wife with a full –on gospel choir! The highlight of the evening for sure!

Congrats to all the inductees and see you on the 14th.

An Afternoon of Inspiration

2010-11-29T12:52:00.006-05:00

I take my daughter Rachel to piano lessons every Saturday. For more than a year she has never complained and looks forward to each session. When I picked her up after her lesson this past Saturday, she had the saddest look on her face. Pouting and close to tears she told me she wanted to quit. That it was “too hard” and “I just can’t read the notes.” I felt terrible for her. I pulled out the best Mommy Pep-Talk 101 speech and tried to encourage her to stick with it. That the further she goes, the more challenges she will face. That nothing comes easy and with time and practice she will master the piano. She wasn’t convinced and was “going to think about it.”

The next day I attended a very special Holiday High Tea fundraiser for amateur Canadian athletes put on by my friend and client Jane Roos, who has raised more money for Canadian athletes outside of the COC. She is a powerhouse of a woman and runs the Canadian Athletes Now Fund. I took Rachel with me. She really didn’t want to go to a “grown up” event but the mention of Canadian athletes showing their medals was enough to entice my nine year old .. and the idea of eating “itsy bitsy sandwiches” sounded interesting too!

The room at the Park Hyatt was full and more than 20 athletes were in the room. Four female Canadian athletes took the stage to share their amazing stories of challenges and triumphs. They were Jayna Hefford, four time Olympic Gold Medalist in women’s hockey; Annamay Pierse, swimmer, who made her Olympic debut in Beijing this year and who currently holds the world record in the 200 meter breast stroke; Karen Cockburn, three time Olympic medalist in Trampoline and my favourite speaker of the day and finally, Tracy Cameron, the bubbly rower from Nova Scotia who won bronze at Beijing in lightweight doubles rowing.

One overriding message was clear .... The road to your end goal is not an easy one. Fraught with injuries, personal challenges, mental commitment and endurance limitations, these young women overcame huge obstacles to get to the Olympics. The athletes sheer determination to “go for gold” is unlike anything I could ever imagine. I don’t think I’ve approached an RFP with that much guts! I was truly inspired by their stories.

By the end of the afternoon, my daughter was enthralled with each speaker. She listened attentively and without missing a word. She took it all in and absorbed the messages. She found four real role-models.

We got to the car, and she didn’t say a thing. She just stared out the front windshield. After a few minutes she turned to me and said “Mom, I’ll be going to my piano lesson next Saturday.”

Mission accomplished. Thanks Jane ... for everything!

Annamay Pierse (swimmer) and Rachel

Karen Cockburn (tramploine) with Silver medal and Rachel

Founder of CanFund Jane Roos, Rachel and Moi!

All the amazing athletes in attendance yesterday!

Information Session at Maverick

2010-10-25T12:14:00.003-04:00

We get a ton of requests monthly for information sessions from budding PR professionals who are seeking a career in PR. I wish we could accommodate all the requests (but work gets in the way), as I know how important it is to these young PR wannabes who need some guidance and some sage advice.

We don’t want to turn down these requests so we’ve decided to hold an “Open Mic” Information Session inside the Maverick Manor. The session is open to any recent public relations/corporate communications grads and current students. We are hosting the session the evening of November 9th at 6:00 p.m. We’ll have several Maverick professionals from various levels and practice areas on hand who can address all kinds of questions.

If you’re interested, please RSVP to Elana, at elanaz@maverickpr.com. We are almost full ... so let Elana know if you want to attend asap. We only have so many seats left.

Hope you see you out on the 9th and come armed with questions (and your resume!) – we hope to answer them all!

I just called, to say, I love you!

2010-10-19T09:48:00.008-04:00

I love stinkin’ rich people .... better still, I love them even more when they open their hearts and wallets to great causes.

This past Saturday night was no exception. The glitz and glam of Toronto’s high society were out in full force to benefit a charity that is near and dear to me, Villa Charities. I was there too, with my corporate table of great clients, and loving every minute of it.

The evening raised just over $1.3 million dollars and guests were treated to some of the finest food, decor, champagne and entertainment. Capping off the evening was a surprise performance by the legendary Stevie Wonder who played for almost 90 minutes. The audience went completely gaga over Stevie and I saw lots of folks tweeting immediately when he hit the stage. "Guess who is playing at the Venetian Ball!!?"

It was a magical evening indeed.

But these events don’t get pulled off without some talented, passionate individuals who work tirelessly for months orchestrating this grand affair. The two gentlemen I want to single out are James DiLuca and Steven Muzzo – two young entrepreneurs with big hearts, big wallets and an even bigger vision on how a charity event gets to the next level. They did just that – drawing the biggest attendance record with just over 2,300 people.

Hard to top that for next year!

Congrats to all those involved on a successful event and enjoy the pics below!

Co-Chairs: Steven Muzzo and James DiLuca (the Dynamic Duo!)

The Great One! Legendary Stevie (Wonderful) Wonder!

The gorgeous tables

That's me and my honey, Gerry Riddell

Why I don’t Tweet

2010-10-14T13:46:00.003-04:00

I get asked quite often why I don’t Tweet or use Twitter. First off, our agency does use Twitter regularly and I am a huge fan of Twitter from a business perspective. I think businesses with something important to say or offer salient information quickly makes perfect sense to use Twitter. I easily see business applications for it, but that's it. From a personal use perspective, I see no significant value in the use of Twitter.

And I will give you my five reasons why:

1. My life it not that exciting to be Tweeting my daily random thoughts, routine, musings and happenings. Quite frankly, neither are most people who use Twitter. Sorry. But why in the name of sweet baby Jesus do you think people care about your life that much?

2. Keeping up with that much incessant noise and clutter is a colossal waste of time. We are bombarded with thousands of messages daily from all sorts of sources. Why do I need more meaningless distractions in my life?

3. Tweeting time is not billable. That one was easy!

4. Too much exposure is a bad thing. Frankly, I don’t need to let my competitors know what I am doing, where I am travelling to, or what I am working on. Loose tweets sink twits!

5. Finally ... I need to save my news and other shenanigans I’ve been up to with my dear friends when we lunch or get together over vino. Surely we need something to talk about. Yesterday, I met up with my three good friends at the Four Seasons Hotel for lunch where we spent a solid two hours catching up on all the latest gossip, our lives, kids, the Toronto Mayoral election and who we know who got a botched plastic surgery job.

Ahhhh .. you can’t get that kind of quality time on Twitter.

Five celebs I would love to have as clients

2010-10-01T15:10:00.005-04:00

Recently a few celebs have been in the media a little more often than not ... not for their great works or deeds, but rather for indiscretions, DUIs, philandering and a lot of bad judgement!

If I could take on five celebs I liked to scrub down and rub the tarnish off, here is my wish list:

Tiger Woods: I know, I know ... isn’t 20 a little too excessive?!! But really, this guy is a PR dream come true for any makeover artist. First thing I would do, is stage the customary photo opp with the kids. Always a hit with the media and pulls at the heartstrings of even the most right-wing evangelical mother. Show him at the zoo, amusement park or having a family breakfast at Perkins. A visit to the Buddist Temple with mom is a good follow up story. Now all he has to do is win a major (or kick-ass at the Ryder Cup!) and figure out that putting. He'll be back on the leaderboard in no time.

Lindsay Lohan: Poor little Lilo. Here’s a train wreck begging for a transformation from a professional PR person. My action plan with this diva is to call a press conference pronto. She needs to beg forgiveness from family, friends and the public for her reckless behaviour. She needs to look sorry and shed a few tears a la crying preacher. Then I would beg Quentin Tarantino to put her in one of his films (he can resuscitate any failing career, ask John Travolta!) and you’ve got the come-back kid of the year. If Robert Downy Jr. can do it .... she can too. Just stay off the sauce kid.

Mel Gibson: In my opinion, this guy’s got more talent in his pinky finger than anyone in Hollywood including James Cameron. But why can’t this guy shut the hell up and keep his fists in his pocket. First order of business, he needs to be seen in public with squeaky clean women beyond reproach. Taylor Swift is a good start. Not to be dating her, but at a public dinner discussing his next film project. He needs to go on a few chat shows and work the couch. Namely The View, he can put Hasselbeck in her place, and I’d bet she’d enjoy it. If he wins the female audience back, we’ll all be asking “Oksana who?”

Kanye West: After his disturbing interruption on Taylor Swift during last year’s MTV awards, the guy has uttered a few insincere apologies, but has lost a young audience namely due to his unabashed arrogance and self indulgent music. I have only two words for Kanye that will make him a sure-fire hit with anyone under 16 ... Justin Bieber! Get that duet underway and the most powerful buying group in North America will put you squarely on top again. A photo shoot of you and Bieber on the cover of J-14, and you’ll never have to beg forgiveness again .. not your style anyways Kanye.

And lastly, for my PR miracle cure ...

President Obama: Now how could this man with such an impeccable pedigree make my list of celebs who need a PR makeover. But President or not, he is a bona-fide celebrity of supreme stature who makes TV appearances, followed by the press and whose every word in the public domain is documented and analyzed to the core. But he’s not scoring any points with the American public -- with little or no progress on the economy, a healthcare reform getting a lukewarm reception and foreign policy that no party is happy with ... Obama needs a defibrillator to get that approval rating back up. Well, everyone knows that behind every great man, there is a woman rolling her eyes. That’s right... Michelle get out there now .. faster than you can pump those arms! He needs your help. Go on the campaign trail, go on The View, Lopez Tonight, do stand up on SNL – look what that did for that Alaskan beauty queen ... but for God’s sake woman help your man out!! That’s what First Ladies are for. Make America forget their woes and have them fall in love with you!

Ok. Any takers?

A PR Legend

2010-09-21T14:07:00.004-04:00

Hope you all get a chance to read PR Week’s special Career Guide supplement out this month. There is a lovely tribute to legendary PR veteran, Harold Burson of Burson Marstellar.

Many years ago when I was with Cohn & Wolfe (then a sister agency to Burson Marstellar) I had the unique opportunity to actually meet and talk with Mr. Burson. I was in Connecticut on a three day training session (the agency was well-known for internal education) and during one of the session breaks we had a special visit by Harold Burson. There was a sea of people crowding Mr. Burson in a scrum formation and I thought I would never get a foot into the conversation. I waited patiently, then got my turn. Here I was face to face with the master of PR, the “father of modern PR” and already a legend back then. What do I ask this accomplished man? The role of PR in the 21st century? Corporate citizenship? What makes a great leader? The secret to a solid client/agency working relationship? My mind was racing. But when I opened my mouth, all I could muster was, “So Mr. Burson, what makes you get out of bed in the morning?”

He smiled and chuckled then told me how much he just loved the business. Everything about the business interested him. The clients, the work, the people, staff. He was hard-pressed to say anything negative and he said he felt lucky and blessed at the same time to be doing something that gave him so much satisfaction. As he spoke there was such a quiet elegance about him. Dignified, classy, a real gentleman. Here’s a guy running the world’s largest PR agency and you’d think you were talking to your dad. I wish there were more leaders like him in the world (or at least in PR) that can inspire and lead with such grace and intellect. They don’t make them like that anymore ... sigh.

Before he left I managed to get one of the photographers snap a pic of us. I keep the photo on my desk to remind me I have a long, long way to go in this business ... and why the hell was I dyeing my hair red!!

Too Sexy for the Office?

2010-06-08T14:46:00.004-04:00

Oh my sweet Lord! We are still debating about what is appropriate to wear in an office environment and how women have to “dress appropriately” and not be overly sexy as it distracts males. Really? Read today’s Globe and Mail and the story of Debrahlee Lorenzana who was allegedly fired for distracting her male co-workers who complained about her sexy attire. Citibank fired Ms. Lorenzana citing poor work performance, she contends it was because of her provocative clothes. You be the judge.

Where the story really irritates me are these so called puritan “business etiquette experts” who are quoted in the article. A Ms. Blake and Ms. Linda Allan have views on women’s business dress that come straight out of the civil war era. According to these two women, we ladies should be buying clothes two sizes bigger, no high heels and not show any skin. Yes, I like looking like a schoolmarm at the office. Let’s throw in a dirndl skirt and Amish shoes too. Watch me get clients looking like that.

Let’s get real people. Offices have dress code policies to follow (we do here at Maverick) and both men and women should just use common sense when getting dressed for the office. Too much cleavage, too much leg, too much make up ...too much chest hair showing .... too much anything .... is no good.

Now how come men never seem to make these articles? It’s always women who get attacked and outed for the way they dress. Over the past 20 years I’ve worked with a ton of men who could use some “dress for success” advice. A few of the men I’ve worked with have had all kinds of attire infractions. Like the guy who used to come to work in a wool cap? It looked like he had gerbils living in his head. The guy who wore the same dingy corduroy beige pants to the office, I’m sure when he took them off at night, they stood up. I had a senior guy whose shirts had frayed cuffs and collars... was he waiting for the last fibres to just fall off his back before he splurged for a new K-Mart shirt? My simple advice for men ... no sandals, no khakis, no spandex, invest in deodorant, wash your hair daily, shine your shoes, pop a breath mint once in awhile and always keep a dress jacket in your office in case of important meetings that just suddenly come up.

When men look dishevelled or unkept, the remarks are always, “Oh, he’s got his own style.” “He likes looking that way.” “He’s the nutty professor around here.” Women ... we get attacked and frowned upon, or worse, get fired. A double-standard I can’t stand and don’t put up with.

Let’s get over this dress code stuff and get back to work ... or back to shopping ..... whatever.

Just like family to me

2010-05-28T15:37:00.005-04:00

Besides running a high octane office I go to every day, I also love the hands-on PR work I do for clients. One in particular, is Miele Canada. Miele is the world's most foremost innovative, high-end appliance company which is all still family owned. Yes, there really is a Mr. Miele. But you can call him Dr. I had the ultimate pleasure of working alongside the marketing team at Miele Canada to help usher in the latest little marvel to the Miele vacuum family, the S2. This little gem can really suck and is light weight and cool looking too.

Our launch plans started way back in December. We kicked off the PR activities in April with a trip to Milan, Italy for Eurocucina, with two designers, five media, two clients, one ad exec and a very nervous PR person ... me! And then it was off to Germany for an exclusive tour of the Miele factory and head office. That’s where it got a little sticky and the trip got side-lined mid-way due to a lovely little volcano in Iceland, that no one can pronounce, spewing ash and all sorts of nonsense. We managed to get to Germany from Milan in the coolest bistro bus I’ve ever seen. We went through the Swiss Alps, lago di Como (no sightings of Clooney..), St. Moritz, Zurich then Frankfurt to catch our plane home. Hats off to my client, Jan Heck, president of Miele Canada who got us out of sooooo much trouble on that junket!

Last week, we had the honor of hosting Dr. Markus Miele for two-days of media and designer events. See pics below. There wasn’t a minute to spare in his schedule and we jam-packed it with interviews, launch events and special dinners. All for a little vacuum!

I want to say thanks to my wonderful team at Maverick who pulled off a great campaign and to my client, the Miele team, it really does feel like we're part of your family.

The wonderful Miele Canada team. Just like family to me!

Dr. Markus Miele demostrating the latest little powerhouse the S2 vacuum for Global TV.

Designer evening at the St. Lawrence Market Kitchen. Great turnout!

That's Jan Heck (left), president of Miele Canada and fourth-generation Managing Director and Co-Proprietor Dr. Markus Miele (right).

Jumbo sized Miele vacuum ... And the baby too!

Will you be our next PR intern this summer?

2010-04-23T11:42:00.004-04:00

Well, it’s back!

The second annual search for our next intern is underway with the Maverick Idol Contest and anyone can enter!

We had a great time doing this last year, and ended up with a terrific intern who is now a full-time employee.

The winner of the contest gets a PAID (that’s right: PAID!), twelve-week internship starting May 31st, 2010. The intern will work on a variety of accounts across our three practice areas and will gain valuable experience in media monitoring, writing and social media. It’s a great opportunity for anyone seeking a fast-paced, fun environment in the communications field.

The details of the competition can be found here. Auditions will be in front of a panel of MAVERICK employees on May 12th (don’t worry – it won’t be in front of the other applicants!).

Those who make it past the first round will be invited to stay for lunch. The second round will be finished by 3:00 p.m., and the panel will decide on the winner by 4:00 p.m.

It’s easy, fast and painless and you could end up with a terrific gig at Maverick. How awesome is that?

See you on May 12th!

Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse ...

2010-03-01T17:48:00.003-05:00

There is a legendary tale that the great Jackie Gleason never liked rehearsing. He would show up just before going live on air for The Honeymooners, and when he didn’t know a line, he could simply ad lib – even after a few cocktails! Well, if it’s true, he was truly gifted and well beyond the definition of genius.

I, for one, am a big believer in rehearsing for everything and being meticulously well prepared. Especially so when pitching for new business. Those who have worked with me know I’m a stickler for rehearsal and I build in loads of practise time before a pitch. The week an employee remarked, “Oh, Julie, I don’t need rehearsal. I’ll just wing it” was the week her short career at MAVERICK ended.

Rehearsals are key to nailing down any presentation and mastering the flow. This becomes even more important when more than two people are presenting. Content may be king, but the ace in hole is all in the delivery. Knowing the content on your slides is one thing, but it’s critical to rehearse all aspects of the pitch.

Here are some key areas where you will find a rehearsal will greatly improve your live pitch and odds at winning the biz:

-- Practice your introductions, because it’s amazing how many people say the wrong things about themselves in front of a client or discuss non-relevant experience
-- Rehearse transitions between presenters
-- Practice answering anticipated questions
-- Go over finer details like budgets and timelines
-- Pepper presentations with client examples and analogies, and practise those examples aloud and at what point you will use them
-- Rehearse jokes ... yup, nothing is ad libbed in a presentation
-- Run through videos at least 10 times before a pitch, and if there is narrative around them practice that, too
-- Do at least one full dry run of a presentation in front of other employees to get timing and rhythm down;
-- Practice standing, sitting and walk-ins
-- If you are presenting in the client’s boardroom, get the dimensions beforehand so you know exactly where to position yourselves
-- Finally, rehearse the close and how you are going to ask for the business!

Back to blogging

2010-02-22T17:29:00.003-05:00

I’ve been struggling lately over my blog. It’s been dormant for a while and, quite frankly, it was intentional. There are a million and one things I could blog about, but I want to stay somewhat focused from a PR perspective.

The worst part of blogging is once you start, you really shouldn’t stop, especially when you get so much grief from friends who complain about your long absence from your last blog post.

I’ll let the theme of this blog post centre around getting that first PR internship position. I truly understand how important getting a foot in the door is because it can be a life altering meeting. Believe me, I’ve been there and I’m still grateful to this day that Edward Gould at NATIONAL PR took a chance on me 22 years ago. Thank you, Ed!

When you get a shot in front of a senior decision maker and you’re applying for that one internship position, here are a few pointers from a gal who has been there done that.

1. Do some research on the person interviewing you and the company. Check out their LinkedIn profile, read their blog/twitter posts, do an in-depth Google search on the company, and look for news about the company. Pretend you are cramming for a test. During the interview, pull a “Brian Linehan” kind of question – he was the best interviewer ever and totally shocked celebrities with his breakthrough questions. If you don’t know who he was, ask someone over 40.

2. Look great! Yup, I still believe you need to dress the part. Shoes, hair, makeup, nails – pay attention to the little details. The person interviewing you is not just sizing you up as an intern, but actually thinking, “Could I put this person in front of a client?”

3. When you get asked why you want the job, be really creative, insightful and profound. Comment on the company’s culture being a great fit or the kind of contribution you’d like to make. Make a direct correlation between you and the company.

4. A few don’ts: Don’t fidget, don’t check your mobile device, don’t take a phone call, don’t talk too much, don’t play with your hair and don’t ask stupid questions. Easy stuff.

5. Lastly. Ask when a decision will be made and follow up quickly with something creative. You need to stand out after the interview. Look like you want the job. It’s ok to be a little aggressive. You’ll look hungry. Just remember your ABCs: Always Be Closing... until you hear those three dreaded words, “No, thank-you.”

Good luck!

Canadian Marketing Awards: My Highlights

2009-11-29T09:54:00.004-05:00

Friday night I attended the Canadian Marketing Awards at the Westin Harbor Castle. It was my first time attending this show, and it definitely won’t be my last!

It was a fabulous evening that celebrated spectacular work in Canada from various marketing disciplines like traditional advertising, digital, promotions and of course a few PR campaigns made the list.

The big winner was DDB Toronto for their work on Subaru—you know the ads with those loveable, hunky, Sumo wrestlers! Go Big or Go Home! And they did go home, with tons of awards. It was the Ben Hur of the evening. DDB were up on the podium seven times – sweeping category after category and then finishing with the top overall award of the night. I had the pleasure of having drinks with the DDB team and the Subaru client just prior to the show and their wins couldn’t happen to a nicer bunch of guys! Thanks to Prez David Leonard for buying me all those very expensive cocktails! Next one is on me.

Other highlights of the evening included big wins for John Street and their War Child campaign; McDonald’s Free Coffee campaign; Rethink’s Coast Capital Savings; TAXI II for Mini (nice going Lance!) and my pals at Doner Canada for their win on MAZDA3 “33 Keys” – that was a proud moment for Maverick too as our little agency helped spread the word on that campaign. Nice work Dave! Get Strategy Magazine that will run down the bronze, silver and gold award winners in full.

However, the best part of the evening for me was connecting with all the ad agency folks I have done business with in the past and continue to. The blessing of the evening was the fact that I didn’t run into any smarmy PR folks .. so refreshing to mingle with creative and agency heads who don’t speak to you like their on a message track.

I ran into my friend, Geoffrey Roche (his agency won an award for their work on ALS, a very moving, compelling spot); Aldo Cundari who was a major sponsor of the show and took home some hardware too for work with the LCBO; the dynamic duo Bill Sharpe and Tom Blackmore, the most sincerest and funniest guys in the biz and finally met Mitch Joel of Twist Image very cool guy, he looks just like his blog photo. But making my highlight reel complete is when I ran into Tony Chapman of Capital C. The guy is truly one of Canada’s most creative guys and knows the value of PR for his own brand, even better than Lavoie. So I see him, and I say “Hi.” I get the blank stare, he has no clue who I am, and I don’t blame him. He probably knows like a million people and I have one of those forgettable faces. So I’m like, “Remember me? Julie from Maverick.” Ahhhh, the fog lifts, he puts two and two together. “Ya right, how are you? You’re independent right? We should do some business together.” Yeah, I’ve been waiting over a year. So call me already! By the way Tony, nice skinny tie you were wearing, you pulled that look off.

I have to give a special shout out to two people who literally saved my night. As a last minute ticket buyer, I was relegated to the backwoods table – you know the one, the sorry ass singles table where they forget to put the centerpiece, no wait staff and you are up in a corner with dim lighting talking to a guy selling post cards. Well, David Engel of Innovative Graphics (a client of ours) and marketing maven Mona Goldstein come and whisk me away from purgatory and placed me at their very prominent table holding centre court. That was sweet! Thank you sooooo much!

'Cuz in the words of the immortal Patrick Swayze … “Nobody puts Baby in the corner.”

To next year. I’m buying my ticket early!

You know you are getting old when ...

2009-11-05T15:44:00.003-05:00

(Julie Rusciolelli and Don Novello (Father Guido Sarducci at the Venetian Ball gala)

Last Friday night I had the pleasure of attending the Venetian Ball, Toronto’s grandest event in support of Villa Charities and the wonderful work they do in the Italian community. This is also a client and I also sit on a yearlong organizing committee in order to mount this extravaganza.

And even in a recession we managed to raise more than $1 million dollars for the charity and we had well over 1,500 guests (that’s up from 800 a year ago).

When identifying for talent for the evening, it’s a long and arduous process of fit, availability and of course .... price!

This year we blew it out of the park with two incredible Italian-American talents who treated us to humour and song with Father Guido Sarducci (played by Don Novello) taking the stage first and then singing sensation, Frankie Valli. Both created a considerable buzz amongst the guests, with Frankie Valli performing a sizzling set for one hour that got people up dancing instead of scarfing down truffles at the sweet tables! (I went for the cheese station myself!)

But you know you’re getting old when you enthusiastically tell your “younger” employees that Father Guido Sarducci is coming up for this! And the collective response is “Father who?” So then you go into the whole bit on SNL -- the Mother Theresa skit, the “bill from the Last Brunch” ... still no reaction. My stock answer to those blank stares is .. “go YouTube him.” Gotta love YouTube. Sarducci’s best stand up is the Five Minute University bit. A classic.

Thank god Jersey Boys was playing in Toronto, otherwise I would have been going into the third chorus of Sherry Baby at the office to get some reaction to Frankie Valli.

Lord, bring me some grey hairs to the firm .....

Those two little words

2009-09-15T11:12:00.002-04:00

The greatest lesson I learned in the PR business was about 15 years ago.

I busted my hump for a client, stayed up nights fretting over a launch event, did the “pride swallowing siege” thing with media, and became a living nightmare around friends and family as I prepped for this project.

Naturally (ahem), the launch was beyond brilliant: coverage galore, flawlessly executed, on time, on budget .. yadda, yadda, yadda ...

I was expecting just one thing from the client: a thank you, some recognition, a verbal token of appreciation.

I got bupkis.

The next day I hightailed it into my boss’ office where I unleashed a 10-minute soliloquy of “Don’t they know how hard I’ve worked on this?” and “Didn’t the client see the effort?” and, of course, “Why was I not thanked for my efforts?” and on and on I ranted.

She looked at me and didn’t bat an eye and said, “The client pays us and keeps us on retainer month after month. That’s how they thank you for the work you do.”

Blimey! I always hated it when she was right.

The client didn’t need to thank me. As I quickly learned, they did so by their commitment to the agency and entrusting us with their brand. And, in turn, it was my job to continuously deliver results.

That was 15 years ago, and to this very day I never expect to be thanked for the work we do. Don’t get me wrong, I still love to hear those two little words of praise. When it does come our way, it’s a great a bonus of recognition and makes us all feel warm and fuzzy inside. But today I remind my staff not to get all hot and bothered if a client doesn’t express thanks after every initiative. When it happens, relish it, bask in it, but move on to the next thing ... ‘cuz our clients have moved on, too.

The late great Bette Davis once said that if studio heads would have thanked her just once for a performance, she would have worked harder and may have even took less money – that’s how much she craved that verbal recognition.

I agree ... well, maybe not on the less money part.

TIFF: Stargazing at La Bruschetta

2009-09-11T14:51:00.006-04:00

I love when TIFF (Toronto International Film Festival) rolls around. We work a few blocks away from all the action and like every year, I pop into Yorkville hoping to catch a glimpse of the rich and famous ... but I never do!

Well, for you stargazers, you don't have to go to snooty Yorkville to get a glimpse of your favourite star. Nope, just head on over to my friend’s restaurant in Little Italy on St. Clair Avenue West called La Bruschetta. This incredible family-owned Italian eatery (which celebrates 30 years in the business next month) not only serves up the best pasta and veal dishes on the planet – but serves them to celebrities each year during TIFF.

Last night the Piantoni family were honoured to have hosted Warner Brothers and movie star hunkie Matt Damon at their restaurant last night.

In the picture are owners, Benny, Anna and Franca.

Everyone had a marvellous time and the food was spectacular!

Too bad my friend Silvia forgot my invite in the mail – well, at least I got this photo!

Back to work baby mama

2009-08-31T11:27:00.004-04:00

Congratulations! You’ve had a baby. Oh, the joys of parenthood are just too many to list. You’ve had a year off, watched junior grow, watched your baby take that first gulp of pablum, changed hundreds of diapers, lay awake nights waiting for the next wail for feeding time, and marvelled at her little toes and hands are wondered how you ever created such a breathtaking human being.

Reality sets in and it’s time to go back to work. Time to dip back into stockings, high heels and plastering on the war paint (I’m obviously speaking to women here, but if you’re a guy and this sounds like you, too, call me – we need to talk).

Integrating back into the work environment after cocooning with baby and family can be rough if you’ve been completely cut off from the mother-ship. You see, while you’ve been off at Gymboree classes, your office hasn’t stopped winning business and supporting clients. And this whole Twitter thing you’ve been hearing about? It’s very real and pervasive and you should have been tweeting on MAT leave!

So now you’re back and ready to take your rightful place back in the office as you should. But you’re not the same you! You’re a mom now and proud of it. You want to tell your co-workers, managers, clients, media, suppliers, the janitor, and anyone who comes within ear shot just how wonderful baby is and motherhood.

Well, I feel for you and have been exactly in that position. I love babies, baby stories, stories about how you had to leave a party due to baby’s mudslide incident on the back of the sleeper. I love baby pictures, mom stories, baby talk, cool new baby toys ... you name it, I can spend countless hours talking to you.

But guess what? Not everyone wants to hear about bambino. So, let me share with you my Top Five Baby pointers for being a Baby Mama at the office:

1. Don’t build a shrine to your baby with a collage of photos on your desk. A couple of choice photos makes for a nice display. Show the baby-in-the-bath pix only to your best friends.

2. When someone asks you how your weekend was, remember, a one-syllable answer is what is expected (fine, good, great ..etc.) Start in with a telethon of “let me tell you what junior is up to” and you may lose everyone at the first hello.

3. Don’t complain to your boss that you are very tired ‘cuz junior was teething all night so you didn’t manage to get any sleep. This is a big no-no. Never blame the kid for anything. You are Super Mom and that’s why there is Red Bull, eye concealer and, hopefully, a helpful husband or night nanny in the evenings.

4. Wash out your clothes with the dried spit-up milk on the shoulder before getting another wear out of it. The aroma of rancid milk wafting in the boardroom is a turn off. Your nose may be used to it, but others don’t want that whiff in the air.

5. And never, ever, ever discuss lactation issues, birthing horrors, stretch marks or stitches around men. Women who have been there can sympathize and often relish in a new mom's misery.

Hope this helps! Welcome back mom.

My blog is bloglining

2009-08-26T18:58:00.003-04:00

There is flatlining when the heart monitor displays you are “sleeping with the fishes.” And then there is bloglining, when your blog goes flat from a lack of content being published.

Okay, I made up that word. But truthfully, a blog should have a constant pulse (a little beep) to keep readers aware that you’re not dead, that you’re serious about blogging and that you have an opinion to share.

When you've bloglined like me from a lack postings, you get calls from friends and family: “Why aren’t you blogging? Have you been sick or something?”

I really hate the “I’m too busy to blog” excuse. It shows a lack of commitment. No matter how good of a writer you are or how strong your desire is to blog, you must carve out time to do it. I admit that for the past few months I’ve been disenchanted a little bit about the whole blog thing. I mean, blogging is the first tool you think about in social media, but what’s so social about it? Most of the time you’re alone in front of a glowing screen pounding out a message for someone else to read. That’s being social? There's no one in sight! I also think the summer (or lack thereof in rainy Toronto) seemed to have put the entire city in a bad mood ... and I felt that I would probably rant too much on my blog as a way to cope with a lack of vitamin D.

But enough whining already, Rusciolelli. It’s time to go back to basics and re-energize my blog with fresh new, exciting content.

After all, I’m a broad with an attitude and 20-plus years in the biz to back me up. Lord knows I have something to say.

My blog hasn't flatlined... Looks like I just found the defibrillator!

Many voices at Maverick

2009-07-15T14:29:00.002-04:00

For those who enjoy reading my blog, please make sure you also RSS the entire Maverick blog site by clicking here. I'll be posting blogs on this site as well ... You'll get a better sense of our agency, people and our POV -- a better experience for sure than just reading my discombobulated ramblings.

We’ve encouraged the entire Maverick staff to blog .. sounds crazy and dangerous doesn’t it? A totally green-field opportunity for our staff to express their thoughts and opinions and better still, no censorship on management’s part.

I’ve set only one ground rule: Don’t write anything stupid.

I should probably follow that rule once in awhile.

Happy reading …

Our facelift is complete

2009-06-30T14:10:00.002-04:00

Well, we could have gone for a shot of Botox up in the forehead and few band-aid solutions, but our web site needed a massive face-lift to get it where we wanted.

I’m so thrilled to announce that we went live with our new site this week! Check out the much new and improved Maverick web site. Hope you like it -- and would welcome your feedback. There’s a few more tweaks coming in the weeks ahead, but we’re really happy with this puppy. The site will be a lot more active and relevant than our old standard brochure-ware site.

I want to thank the wonderful folks at Igloo Software, a terrific Canadian software company that re-architected our site and gave us the tools and know-how to really develop a site worthy of being called “kick-ass.”

I also want to give a huge thanks to Dan Riley at Openminds (a Venture Communications company) for truly inspired creative. Dan, you not only have an open mind .... but you can read my mind most of the time! Hugs to you!

And of course, our very own SVP Stephen Rouse, who quarter-backed this non-billable, thankless initiative and who worked tirelessly to ensure this site finally got airlifted.

Hats off to everyone involved!

10 years goes by like a blink of an eye

2009-06-07T08:51:00.000-04:00

Today we’ve hit a very emotional milestone in our company’s existence: the 10-year mark. I still can’t believe it. I will never forget the day I opened the doors to Maverick Public Relations. It was June 7, 1999 – exactly 10 years ago today. Our first office was located at the corner of Bloor and Church street in downtown Toronto. We occupied a small office and had a few pieces of furniture, leased computers, a basic telephone system ... and an abundance of hope! That hope – combined with a lot of hard work – has paid off big-time. We now own three buildings in Toronto’s beautiful Annex district with an enviable roster of clients.

So much has happened over the last decade that a blog post isn’t enough space to recall memories of years gone by. It would take a book.

The early Maverick years are perhaps my favourite, I think because we had few expectations and we had no clue how to run a business. Everything was new and exciting. We walked into prospects’ offices with a big swagger and huge bravado. We were like petulant adolescents you couldn’t say no to. We had nothing to lose and everything to gain. If a client asked us if we can take them IPO, we said yes ... and then on the cab ride back to the office we tried to figure out how to do it! But we always, always delivered.

In 10 years we’ve survived the tech bubble bust, the 9/11 aftermath, pesky lawsuits by former employers (we’re still here, they’re still mad), stock market crashes and the current recession. We’ve had countless successes (too many to list) and a few “I’d rather not talk about it” moments.

So how I can sum up the last 10 years? It’s almost impossible, but here goes:

We’ve won clients, lost clients and fired a few clients, too.

We’ve generated countless headlines, datelines and cutlines and met deadlines.

We’ve celebrated births, promotions, graduations, weddings and divorces.

We’ve shed tears of joy, tears of frustration and tears for lost family and friends.

We’ve had spills, falls, near misses and near drownings.

We’ve partied in and on Caribbean islands, casinos, snowcaps and hot tubs.

We’ve been drunk, a little foul-mouthed and just plain silly at times.

We’ve been talked about, kicked around, laughed at and mocked.

We’ve been shilling, dealing, pitching and selling.

We’ve been hired, fired, neglected, shoved aside but rarely ignored.

We’ve been embraced, ensconced and a little embarrassed, too.

We’ve been squeezed, screwed, stiffed and shafted.

We’ve been called partners, suppliers, agents, flacks and publicity hounds.

We’ve been showered with praise, awards and accolades.

We’ve worked with big budgets, small budgets and sometimes no budgets at all.

We’ve experienced brownouts, blackouts and personal burnouts.

We’ve dealt with bull, crap, lies and mild exaggerations.

We’ve been wowed by clients, wooed by clients and awed by clients.

We’ve had terrific off-sites, insights and websites.

We’ve taken to Facebook, Twitter and blogs oh my!

We've delivered kick-ass results, kick-ass plans and kick-ass events.

We’ve been profitable, we’ve broken even, but we’ve never been broke.

We’ve hired great people, said goodbye to some and welcomed a few back to the manor.

We’ve moved products, built brands and reinforced corporate reputations for all of our wonderful clients.

Whew!

It has certainly been a hell of a ride; I don’t want to get off.

What will the next 10 years bring? More of the same?

I can only hope.

Top 20 under 20

2009-06-03T11:30:00.003-04:00

I was just at a wonderful inspirational breakfast this morning for the Top 20 under 20 which is one of the many programs put on by the Youth in Motion organization.

I heard 20 of the most amazing stories from youth from across the country. Young kids looking for a cure for cancer, raising loads of money for charity, environmental crusaders, and social entrepreneurs bettering the world every chance they can. One after another I was in awe of their incredible talent and will to know that the power of one can change the world.

I sat with a young, talented woman named Alyssa Larson from Hanna, Alberta, who came up with a novel new way de-worm horses. Her invention led to her to form her own company, Rock Worm Inc. and she’s about to launch the Equine MediWormer. All this at the ripe old age of 17!

It got me thinking ... what was I doing at 17? Oh ya, I invented the perfect shade of coral nail-polish by mixing red and pink to match my graduation dress! That was my eureka moment!

These kids were exceptionally bright and poised, and when interviewed live on stage, they banged out key messages and stories better than some of our trained executives!

Truly impressive. What wonderful role models for us all. It was a magical morning.

Check out today’s Globe and Mail for the complete line up of the Top 20. I see some future clients there for sure!

And Alyssa, when you’re ready to launch the “horse worm thing-a-ma-jig”, call me!

To mothers everywhere

2009-05-08T15:15:00.003-04:00

Sunday May 10th we celebrate Mother’s Day, a wonderful tradition first introduced on May 10, 1908, by Anna Jarvis and six years later made a national holiday by U.S. President Woodrow Wilson. This holiday is a licence to print money for any telecommunications company (it’s the busiest phone day) and any greeting card company (50 per cent of households give Mother’s Day cards). Mommy bloggers the world over are probably also going to see a spike in readership, too. Here’s a very good round up of top mommy blogs.

I became a mother more than eight years ago, so I really love this special day. It's nice to be recognized at least once a year for all the good deeds of motherhood I do each day! Raising a girl isn’t easy. Rachel is a lot like me so some days we spend time head-butting over the most inane issues. Being a very busy working mom complicates the motherhood thing even more. You basically live an existence of pain and guilt with almost every decision you make. Attending clients’ events are critical, but missing your daughter’s first recital because of it is heart-wrenching. Those are the decisions you have to make and then live with them without regret. It’s a fine balancing act that requires some nerves of steel … and a double martini on some nights! It reminds me of a saying I once heard: “By the time you think your mother is right, you have a daughter who thinks you’re wrong.” How true!

So to all the stay-at-home moms, working moms, CEO moms, entrepreneurial moms, blogger moms, young moms, cougar moms, menopausal moms, prison moms, celebrity moms, soccer moms, MILF moms, millionaire moms, pill-popping moms, and single moms ... I wish you a very Happy Mother’s Day.

Remember this is your day. Don’t cook, don’t take out the garbage, don’t take “no” for an answer. If you don’t like the robe and slippers your significant other bought you, tell him to return it and to get you a box of those new Titleist Pro V-1 balls you’ve been asking for… got that, honey?

So you think you can be my intern?

2009-04-27T19:54:00.011-04:00

Well c'mon, you knew I was going to do this at some point? Read on ... we just released this today to the press. We need an intern ... a la American Idol style .... Let the games begin ....

Creativity and impact earns points at first-ever MAVERICK Idol competition

(Toronto, ON - April 28, 2009) – Ripping a page out of the American Idol handbook, MAVERICK Public Relations Inc. today announced the launch of an innovative interview competition for the company’s annual summer PR internship position. The lucky winner of the first MAVERICK Idol will be granted an eight-week paid internship at the award-winning PR firm during the summer of 2009.

The inaugural MAVERICK Idol will be held Wednesday May 20th, 2009. Qualifying contestants are asked to arrive in person at 39 Madison Avenue to officially register. Registration opens at 10 a.m. (Visit the Maverick Facebook site for full details or contest rules, or send an email inquiry to idolinternship@maverickpr.com.

Each participant will have exactly two minutes to demonstrate to judges why they would make the perfect MAVERICK intern. The two-minute freestyle opportunity is all about creativity and impact. If participants pass the first audition, finalists will be asked back to the final round later that afternoon and have an additional five minutes to strut their stuff in front of the judges by answering a series of pointed questions. Total audition time: seven fast-paced minutes.

“Candidates can read, sing, dance, bring in their mother or father, use sock puppets – we don’t care, as long as they give the judges a reason to advance them to the question stage of the competition,” said Julie Rusciolelli, President, MAVERICK. “We see this as an innovative way to interview as many intern candidates as possible in a short period of time, while providing budding PR practitioners with an opportunity to stand out from the crowd by strutting their creative side,” adds Rusciolelli.

Ms. Rusciolelli estimates she receives about 10 resumes and inquiries a week from recent PR grads and students seeking advice on how to get into the business or further their careers. With internships in short supply due to the economic downturn, she says this competition is an excellent way to give everyone an even playing field in their quest to join the boutique PR firm.

Candidates will compete in front of judges only, not in front of other contestants. Cynical American Idol judge Simon Cowell will not be in attendance, but MAVERICK’s senior leadership team will forgo coffee that day to ensure they are as grumpy as possible when judging MAVERICK Idol contestants.

Competition Eligibility
MAVERICK hopes to attract the industry’s best and brightest by outreaching to potential contestants using Twitter and Facebook. Regular updates will be posted on the popular social media platforms, which will also serve as a means for online discussion around the contest. The competition is open to any resident of Canada who has graduated from a recognized PR program in either 2007 or 2008. PR students who will graduate by June 1, 2009, are also eligible.

Catch the latest MAVERICK Idol news on Twitter by following @Scotty Mac.”

About MAVERICK
MAVERICK Public Relations is an award-winning full-service agency based in Toronto. The agency, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, boasts a roster of blue-chip clients and as well as many of Canada’s top up and coming brands. The agency has four distinct practice areas, including consumer marketing, advanced technology, corporate and professional services, and health and wellness. For more information about the company please visit: www.maverickpr.com.

Facebook friends - Who are you again?

2009-04-15T12:53:00.004-04:00

I was eavesdropping the other day at Starbucks (ok, what do you do at a coffee shop after you’ve finished reading the paper?) and I had a little chuckle listening a group of ladies comparing numbers. “I have 226,” said one, to which the other retorted, “Ha, that’s nothing, I have 552!” to which a sombre-looking young thing sighed, “Oh, I haven’t broken a hundred yet.”

For a minute I thought they were comparing their own cholesterol count (I mean, it couldn’t have been their male conquests ... could it?), when I realized they were too skinny and too young to be taking Crestor. Nope, these fine young ladies were comparing the number of Facebook friends they have amassed. Ah yes, the new badge of honour: the accumulation of friends, contacts, followers and fans on your social media pages. The meaning here is simple: the more you have, the more popular you are.

The #552 gal made me really think about the meaning of friendship. I mean, how can anyone can have 552 friends? Who was she – Kim Kardashian (for those over 40, Kim Kardashian had this sex tape released a few years ago and her father is .. oh never mind, it would take too long to explain). As for me, I can count about 10 close friends, and that’s on a good day.

Which got me thinking: has the word “friend” taken on new meaning in the social media sphere? Have social media sites devalued our meaning of friends? We keep adding and adding friends and contacts, but what do we do with them? How close a friend are they? Do you tell your Facebook friends your secrets or your innermost thoughts? Do you tell them that you cheated on your expense report (okay, don’t even tell a good friend that one!)? Has your offline interaction with your friends been taken over by posts on your Facebook page?

In social media terms, more means better, more means popular, more means influence, more means more. What happened to quality in all this?

I’m not that impressed with the accumulation of your so-called friends and followers on your social media sites. Nope, as an aging boomer, here’s what impresses me:

The number of cool people you can get at your house party with little notice;
The number of high profile people sitting on your charity board;
The number of birthday cards (real cards only) you get every year;
The number of people who fly to your wedding in a remote Caribbean island – which they paid for themselves;
And lastly and most importantly, the number of people at your funeral who didn’t come just for the food at the wake.

As the great Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “The ornament of a house is the friends who frequent it."

Take that, Facebook!

IABC Toronto Maverick Student of the Year Award

2009-03-30T10:10:00.002-04:00

Ok, kids. You have exactly one month to get your entry in for the most coveted award at the IABC Ovation Awards ceremonies coming up end of May in Toronto.

That’s right, you can forget about the Best Media Relations Campaign or Best Event awards (I sure have, ‘cuz we’re not picking up any trophies this year, the judges apparently didn’t understand our objectives section, which is too bad, because we kicked-ass on measurement and creativity and the judges seemingly have tunnel vision when it comes to reading award submissions) ooops sorry, that was my inner voice talking....back to original blog post.

The Maverick Student of the Year Award is all about you, the great PR student. This is the fifth straight year that Maverick has sponsored this award through IABC and we love handing it out to worthy students!

It’s easy (and FREE!) to enter. Just click on this link, for details and write a two-page press release on how you plan to make a difference in the PR industry. HINT: social media better make a star appearance in your submission.

If you are the lucky winner of this award, here’s what’s in it for you: an evening out with the Who’s Who of the Toronto PR community, a seat at my corporate table (which, for you, will probably feel like a three-hour interview!); the opportunity to go on stage, shake my hand and be publicly recognized by the PR community; bragging rights on your resume, a few trade media hits and a feature in your school newsletter; and, lastly and most importantly, a handsome $500 cheque to be spent on anything you like. And if you want to buy me dinner with it, that’s cool, too!

I’m the key judge on the entries so ensure you do the following:

Don’t make any spelling errors on the submission or I will toss it directly into the blue bin;
Be creative. Make your submission stand out;
Showcase extracurricular activities and volunteer work;
Make the deadline of April 30.

Good luck, and may the best PR student win!

Mexico: A case for good PR

2009-03-24T15:55:00.003-04:00

Just got back from a beautiful trip to sunny Mexico! I stayed in a luxury hotel just outside the lovely fishing village of Puerto Morales. For two weeks I enjoyed nothing but eating, swimming, drinking, eating, eating a bit more and, of course, afternoon snacking!

I love everything about Mexico: the people, the weather, the beaches. Oh, did I mention the food? I think I ate my body weight in guacamole!

But what troubles me about this country is the bad publicity this nation is generating with the media. Oh, the blasted one-sided media! Yes, there are some serious problems in Mexico, thanks in large part to the insatiable U.S. appetite for drugs, which unfortunately travel up through Mexico. The Mexican drug cartels and the violence associated with them are ruining this country’s brand image on a global scale.

I was researching my trip prior to leaving and I was inundated by the amount of cautionary tales about travelling to Mexico. There are tons of travel warnings issued by the Canadian and US governments. Now if you think on taking a family vacation to Juarez or Tijuana, well, amigo, think again. This is probably the area you want to avoid at all costs. But the beautiful state of Quintana Roo, where you will find the glorious beaches of Playa de Carmen and Cancun, are a beach traveller’s dream and far away from any cartel gun warfare -- at least where tourists are concerned. I’ve been to Mexico 15 times, and not once have I seen tourists in the middle of gun fire. I’ve been ripped off on price when haggling for silver jewellery in the street market, but that’s about it! I really wish the media would put this story in better perspective. Cancun City is more like Daytona Beach than the Gaza Strip as the media would have you believe.

There have been a few stories about tourists who have had some trouble in Mexico and all I can say is don’t go acting like a drunken jackass at three o’clock in the morning in the pueblo and you’ll be okay. I wouldn’t act crazy in the streets of Toronto – so why would you do it in another country?

If the Mexican tourist board in Canada needs a little help dispelling the misconceptions of Mexico, I’m here to help. Call me. I don’t even want any money for it. Just keep the guacamole flowing my way.

Adios.

You lose, you learn

2009-02-24T12:00:00.002-05:00

“You live, you learn
You love, you learn
You cry, you learn
You lose, you learn
You bleed, you learn
You scream, you learn.”
- From the song “You Learn” by Alannis Morissette

January has been a banner month for us in terms of closing new business (and one of the reasons for my lack of blogging and sleep). In fact, we closed six new pieces of business so far this year, Maverick’s best record yet in our company’s history. But this blog isn’t about gloating about wins (that’s what Adnews is for); it’s about loss and failure ... something I know too well. Because at the end of the day, without failure you can’t have a winning season.

One of the worst calls you can get in this business is from a prospect that starts out by saying, “We just want to say how much we appreciated all your efforts in the pitch. It was a tough decision, but we’re going with company xbc.” Your heart sinks, and you think to yourself, “What? Those bozos? All that other agency can do is fashion shows and surveys!” Yet all you can muster is, “Oh, we are so disappointed. They are a wonderful agency. If things don’t work out, you can always call us.” Yah, nice try, because they never call you back.

What happens to many of us is the fear of asking why they didn’t pick our agency. I can tell you from experience that you must demand an honest and unfiltered explanation. Get as much feedback as you can and force an answer. This is the best opportunity to learn what mistakes were made and how to correct them in the future. It’s hard to hear criticism, but probe the prospect on your team about your research/analysis, creative, measurement, tactics, and other criteria to find out what went wrong. If it’s just a personality fit that didn’t work in the room, that will be tougher to probe, but try to find out.

It all changed for me when we lost the Virgin Mobile pitch a number of years ago. We busted our collective asses off in research and creative for that pitch. I felt really good about the pitch, but we lost. When I received a phone call from the marketing director’s secretary informing us we lost “but thanks for coming out,” I was pretty upset. Oh, not that we lost, but the manner in which we were told and by whom. It was not acceptable, not after all that work. I called Virgin’s head of marketing and demanded to know why we lost. I was expecting a five-minute phone chat to go over specifics, but what I got was better than expected. Nathan Rosenberg, Virgin’s top marketing guy, took me out for an hour-long coffee (c’mon, when does that ever happen?) He was wonderful, gracious and extremely helpful. It was the first time a prospect took that much time to be thorough in their evaluation of a pitch. I couldn’t have asked for more.

What happened after that is the best part. His insights helped to re-shape our pitch process, streamline our focus and change up our internal structure when it came to business development. The next month we won our biggest client that year.

Losing is never fun. It hurts in so many different ways, especially when it’s those pieces of business you are really passionate about. But look at is as a great opportunity to learn. Then take some time to reflect and don't sulk. I guarantee you’ll come out swinging harder and better the next time.

We’re atheists, thank God!

2009-02-04T15:43:00.005-05:00

Oh, the furor over some bus ads! A few simple words can spark controversy, hate and censorship. This all comes courtesy of a group called Humanist Canada and their new ad campaign entitled “Good without God” making its way onto the sides of some city buses. But not in Halifax, where the folks at Metro Transit have deemed the ads too controversial. Here’s the story along with a bunch of comments from readers.

In my humble opinion, I quite like the campaign. It’s so sublime it borders on brilliant. Does it change my mind about God or Jesus? No. I think this particular organization is entitled to a POV. As long as the ads are not derogatory toward another religion – go ahead, buy your ads and support the local economy. Lord knows we need it!

The mission of the Humanist Canada organization is “to promote the separation of religion from public policy and foster the development of reason, compassion and critical thinking for all Canadians through secular education and community support.”

Ok, fair enough, it’s an atheist group whose main guiding principle is to “reject beliefs held in absence of verifiable evidence, such as beliefs based solely on dogma, revelation, mysticism or appeals to the supernatural.” Sounds like they are just promoting rationale thinking. I know a few warring countries that can use a dose of rationale thinking!

So why the ban? Why the censorship? Don’t other religious groups advertise and proclaim the way to salvation? I mean, isn’t there one ad-toting religious fundamentalist group whose strong belief is in plural marriages? Is that ok?

At the end of the day, Humanist Canada will have achieved so much advertising value and brand recognition with the PR buzz generated that they will have more than accomplished their goal of getting the word out. In fact, I didn't see the bus ad in Toronto, I read it about it online!

Small miracle indeed ... and a lesson to all!

I smell a rat

2009-01-27T12:57:00.002-05:00

Well just when you thought grocery giant Loblaws was turning a corner ... great ad campaign promoting no name brands in these economic times, better produce, better store layout, fresh food stations – they had to get a vermin problem!

Yup, that’s right, as of last night the Loblaws at Dupont and Christie (where I do a lot of lunch shopping during the week) has closed down due to a major rat infestation. How did I find out? Not through the papers, or a tweet, but by showing up and witnessing a gaggle of reporters and cameras outside their doors. My partner Gerry was at the store today doing his regular lobster bisque soup run (I think they make the best lobster bisque in the city!) when he couldn’t get in. He thought it was due to a robbery, but no, something worse, vermin.

Sadly, Loblaws has been mum on the situation and there was no sign of a press relations officer at the scene, leaving it to employees to handle media and talk to angry customers. The last thing you want is a health inspector telling media the infestation is 'serious.' And that's what happened.

PR 101 – if you’re a leading brand in the food business and health inspectors shut you down to due to rats or mice, my best advice is to plant a spokesperson ASAP and get some information out there. Good or bad, people need to know what’s going on and what next steps are.

I’m sure they will clean up the rat infestation problem soon, scrub the place clean and it will be back in business in no time.

I just have one question? In these harsh economic times, were those “no name” rats on the premises?

Recession proof your PR job

2009-01-22T14:02:00.004-05:00

Well, talk about a productive first day on the job! If President Barack Obama was working in a PR agency, he’d have a banner first day of great billable hours. No long lunches for this guy on his first day in the White House. He put pen to paper from the get go.

And speaking of productivity, agencies talk a lot about billable hours, simply because staff are the primary revenue streams for the agency. At my agency, I review billable hours and capacity levels weekly against client budgets. Not my favourite part of the biz but if there is a part of the engine not functioning properly, we flag it early. As a general rule, most agencies don’t carry around extra baggage in the staff department.

But what happens in an economic climate like a recession when clients start to cut back budgets or worse, halt work altogether and it starts to cut into your personal billability levels?

If you’re worried about your billability, don’t be too worried sick over it. There are other ways to recession proof your job at your agency.

Here are five things your boss is looking at besides your billability level:

5. Special skill set. Ok, this one is key if you have a special skill you bring to the agency that is needed time again. Perhaps it’s a strong second language skill, or you’re the best editor in the place or better yet, you’re the social media guru. Your boss may find it hard to replace these special skills and keep you on staff.

4. Your a new biz “whiz kid.” If your hours are lower than normal but you’re a cracker jack at developing presentations, RFPs, research etc. Stay calm, your boss will recognize that new business development is expertise that is much needed in a recession. You’ll be safe for now.

3. Volunteer for special projects: Don’t be out of sight in tough times, don’t close the door to your office too much. Be visible. Be heard. Volunteer for internal events, develop new content for the web site, write new cases studies, work on pro bono clients etc. Show a meaningful contribution to the agency in other ways.

2. Seniority and track record: This one is a no-brainer. If you have more than five years in the agency (some consider that a “lifer’) and your track record has been impeccable for most of it, I can safely say your job is not in peril. You’re a seasoned practitioner to the agency and once things pick up, you’ll be the first to be billing up a storm and contributing to the bottom-line once again.

1. The boss likes you! Now some of you might be rolling your eyes at this one, but if you and the boss have a unique or special relationship – you both love to sail, have a lot in common, kids have play dates together .... it will be tougher for your manager to axe you because your billables are a little lower. But don’t suck up to your boss at this time either, he’ll see through that little game. Just stay in his face and keep it business as usual and don’t show any fear.

Hopefully some of you will sleep better tonight.

If anyone has other points, please share them, I know this is an important discussion for some of you out there.

Inside PR .. thanks for the memories!

2009-01-05T13:50:00.004-05:00

Hope you get a chance to listen to episode #143 of the Inside PR podcast. It’s a special broadcast ... since it’s the last time you’ll hear me on the show.

I had a great time being part of the Inside PR panel. It was a wonderful experience and I learned so much about the podcasting process. I wanted to do it for a year and I was really fortunate to have been asked to join the group by the creators of the show Terry Fallis and David Jones. They are consummate professionals and were willing to take a chance with a podcasting novice like me.

Martin Waxman was also a new addition to the panel this year and is staying on in 2009. I think Martin is my long lost Jewish half brother. Martin is so easy to talk to and his intelligent wit is something I looked forward to each week. His popular culture references all date back somewhere in the sixties (thank god I watched Laugh-In) and his stories of his youth in Winnipeg are so freakin’ funny.

As for Terry Fallis, he must be the most gracious and genuine human being on the planet. I’ve never met anyone so accommodating, sincere and articulate. His vast use of the English language astounds me every time he opens his mouth. It’s no wonder that he’s an accomplished novelist, winning the 2008 Stephen Leacock award for humour for his book Best Laid Plans. Joe Thornley is lucky to have such a business partner.

Okay, here comes my Wizard of Oz “Dorothy” moment. Of all the men on the show, I will miss David the most. He’s a big reason for the show’s success. I’ve known David the longest and we’ve crisscrossed many times throughout our careers. I first met David when we volunteered for a CPRS awards show more than ten years ago. David is a dichotomy of sorts. He has a boyish face but sports an incredible head of silver fox hair. He has the warmest smile but watch his Don Rickles mouth. He’s got a tough business edge, but knows how to get a choice seat at Cinderella's Royal Table at DisneyWorld. David has been my competitor, my client, golf buddy, fellow panellist and peer in the industry. But most of all David is my friend and I am so grateful for the opportunity to have been part this show with him.

The best part of this podcast for me was the “pre-show chatter” before we went live to tape with the topic of the week. We usually spent 10 – 15 minutes nattering about the business, our competitors, our clients, our previous week’s ups and downs. It was like being in a PR executive support group. I never felt threatened or undermined and always felt at ease to say whatever came to mind. I think a lot of our pre-chatter discussions were even better than what we put on air! Get the guys to air those once in awhile!

So with that, let me urge all my blog readers to keep on listening to this wonderful podcast. If you’re in PR, the show is a must listen to each week.

Go ahead ... Use the “C” word with me.

2008-12-21T13:15:00.002-05:00

I received an email the other day from a friend of mine and in her salutation she wrote, “Have a Merry Christmas and yes, I am using the “C” word.”

I laughed my face off when I read it, then it made me realize how politically sensitive we’ve all become. While my friend was being funny, it does underscore just how vigilant we are of not offending anyone. For years now we’ve sent out holiday cards that read “Happy Holidays” or some such innocuous greeting like that. Apparently, it is incredibly insensitive to wish someone Merry Christmas. How dare you! We live in a politically correct world where Christmas trees should now be called “winter trees” and don’t you dare put up any Christmas symbol in a public space. No sir.

In the U.S. the War on Christmas is in full force. A very bizarre story is that of a nine year old boy who was forbidden to bring in candy canes to his school Christmas party because the canes contained a ‘religious’ meaning. Ah that’s right, let me see, there was Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh ... There was a fourth King no one knows about, who showed up at the manger with a basket of candy canes and peppermint bark from Williams-Sonoma. Gee, I completely forgot about that guy.

I understand the decision to uniformly drop Merry Christmas to Season’s Greetings or Festive Season etc. and I suppose it's the right thing to do. But still, it's not Happy Bunny Day is it? It’s Happy Easter right? Isn’t Christmas the “reason for the season?” I respect those that don’t celebrate Christmas, but to inoculate this holiday from those that do, is a sad commentary on our values and our religious freedoms.

So when you see me shopping, at the bank or ordering take out ... please wish me a Merry Christmas. I won’t be offended.

So with that, let me be fully inclusive and wish all my faithful readers a very Merry Christmas ... and of course ... Happy Holidays to you and yours and a safe and prosperous New Year!

You like me! You really like me!

2008-12-10T11:54:00.004-05:00

I had a conversation with my SVP the other day who thought there was some bad blood between me and one of our client contacts. I couldn’t believe he even suggested that! I responded with a big-eyed “No waaaaaaay! That guy loves me over there. Everybody loves me!” Wait a minute, not everybody loves me, but my track record for being highly likable is up there. I work hard at it, even with the grumpiest of curmudgeons, because I want you all to like me!

Let’s face it, if you’re in PR, you have to be simpatico to most people you encounter (especially because everyone is a potential client!) and you must be able to build solid rapport within minutes of meeting a prospect. This is a people-centric business where building trust and rapport early in the game is the cornerstone to success.

So can anyone learn to build rapport and make a connection? You betcha! One of my favourite self-help books is from my friend and author Nicholas Boothman. His easy-to-read books have been worldwide bestsellers for years now and I highly recommend his books for anyone in business, period. His book, How to Connect in Business in 90 Seconds or Less, is a great read and his lessons are remarkably simple yet proven. He also has a few other books on connecting with people, his latest being How to Make Someone Fall in Love With You in 90 Minutes or Less. Frankly, I think you can also accomplish this in 90 seconds or less provided you’ve each had several martinis and Shakira is playing in the background. But I digress.

My favourite exercise in the book is about eye contact. As Boothman explains: “Eye contact is one for the most important non-verbal channels we have for communication.” So, for one day, make a mental note of the eye colour of every person you meet. You don’t have to try to remember the colour, but this small exercise will increase rapport and self-confidence. And yes, it works!

In another chapter entitled “Work on Your ABC: Attitude, Body Language and Congruence,” Boothman explains that attitude is the first thing people pick up on in face-to-face communication. He runs down very useful attitudes to project (e.g. warm, enthusiastic, confident) and very useless attitudes (e.g. angry, sarcastic, bored). He’s got some very useful attitude adjustment games as exercises that underscore how attitude affects body language.

The book is chock full of great lessons, tips and tricks to ensuring you connect well in business. I highly recommend this little gem if you’re looking for something to read over the holidays. Better yet, buy it as a stocking stuffer for everyone on your staff.

How to get promoted

2008-12-03T12:23:00.004-05:00

I was throwing out some old files today and stumbled upon this motivating memo I had in one of my personal folders. It was written by the great Bill Marsteller back in 1963 when an employee asked him how to get ahead in his company. I received a copy of this memo about 15 years ago when I was working at Cohn & Wolfe (sister agency to Burson-Marsteller).

If you are looking for a promotion in your firm, make sure you read this. Many, if not all of these suggestions, still hold up today.

I sincerely hope my own employees read this!

I couldn’t have said this better.

Date: April 25, 1963
TO: Everyone
From: Wm. A. Marsteller
SUBJECT: How to get promoted

Be loyal. Don’t just be loyal to me or to the company as a name, but to the people who make up the company.

Reserve your opinion of people, good, or bad, until you’ve observed them and lived with them long enough to be sure you’re right.

Quit worrying about your competition. The only real competitor you will ever have is yourself. Remember, I don’t pick our leaders; the followers do.

Look for the best in others and remember all of us have more weaknesses than we see in ourselves.

Be interested in the other person’s job. Make suggestions humbly. Ask advice. Build up your associates – to each other, to media reps and editors, to friends, neighbours, your family and visitors from our other offices.

Don’t waste your ability—write articles, make speeches. Stand out from the crowd or be lost in the crowd.

If you have problems, doubts or suggestions about the management of this business, go to the management with your comments, not the guy at the next desk. He can’t do anything about it.

Never quit creating. The world is run by creative people.

Other people like a compliment as much as you do.

Don’t get discouraged. Look back at your progress, account by account, job by job, person by person. Thousands of good novels were never written because the author got bored or discouraged after the first chapter.

Put a “Pride” file in your desk. This is a file of the jobs you have done that you’re really, really proud of. See how fast you can make it grow. Review it from time to time and to see if the oldest entries look ordinary to you. Great performers grow.

Never lose your sense of humour.

Don’t take yourself too seriously.

Hang on to your humility.

Remember, almost no one holds a confidence. It’s human nature to pass along stories. Be sure when you tell tales about someone else that you’re willing to have the subject get the story second-hand, credited to you.

You think you are able; I think you are able. When other people around you begin saying so, unsolicited, then you’re promotable.

Learn from the young pros

2008-11-25T13:09:00.002-05:00

Looking for some great advice on how to break into PR? Then you really should attend a great session this Thursday at 6:00 p.m. at the Sutton Place Hotel hosted by IABC. Yours truly and the very talented Mia Wedgbury of High Road are just two of the featured panellists. But the real treat of the evening will come from four very young PR practitioners, two of whom work for me, who will dispense some salient advice. Their insights will be invaluable to young wannabe PR types and they’ll answer all your burgeoning questions. The cost for students is only 15 bucks.

Hope to see you there!

In tough times ... you gotta keep on laughing.

2008-11-17T14:23:00.004-05:00

I haven’t posted in awhile, simply because I couldn't find anything uplifting to write about. And I didn't feel like compounding the economic doom and gloom in my blog post. What’s the point of writing about the shitty economic times we're in? Why make people feel worse than they already are? Although I went to the mall over the weekend and I couldn’t find a blasted parking space! It was jam packed with shoppers … no recession at Sherway Mall that’s for sure!

So in dire times like these, it’s best to laugh. And thankfully our dear family friend, Mr. Peter Zeeeee, forwarded these new stock market terms that will surely put a smile on your face. So enjoy life, always laugh and do what I do … don’t open your financial statements until 2010!

CEO --Chief Embezzlement Officer.
CFO-- Corporate Fraud Officer.
BULL MARKET -- A random market movement causing an investor to mistake himself for a financial genius.
BEAR MARKET -- A 6 to 18 month period when the kids get no allowance, the wife gets no jewelry, and the husband gets no sex.
VALUE INVESTING -- The art of buying low and selling lower.
P/E RATIO -- The percentage of investors wetting their pants as the market keeps crashing.
BROKER -- What my broker has made me. (my personal fav!)
STANDARD & POOR -- Your life in a nutshell.
STOCK ANALYST -- Idiot who just downgraded your stock.
STOCK SPLIT -- When your ex-wife and her lawyer split your assets equally between themselves.
FINANCIAL PLANNER -- A guy whose phone has been disconnected.
MARKET CORRECTION -- The day after you buy stocks.
CASH FLOW-- The movement your money makes as it disappears down the toilet.
YAHOO -- What you yell after selling it to some poor sucker for $240 per share.
WINDOWS -- What you jump out of when you're the sucker who bought Yahoo @ $240 per share.
INSTITUTIONAL INVESTOR -- Past year investor who's now locked up in a nuthouse.
PROFIT -- An archaic word no longer in use.

Too senior to make a media call? Think again.

2008-10-29T12:45:00.002-04:00

About three years ago I hired a very senior guy out of a big multinational to join my firm. During my several interviews with him I never bothered to ask him if he could develop a plan, analyze research, manage people or for that matter, secure media coverage. Why would I ask such pedantic questions to such a seasoned PR prospect? After all, with his 15-plus years experience in the business, you don’t rise to the level of SVP in a big firm without doing all of the above… and a lot more.

Boy, was I wrong! After a couple of weeks, one of my employees told me that my shiny new SVP boastfully told his staff that he never had to make a media call in his life and that he’s not a media strategist. Oh, and he was damned proud of it too. One of our key offerings to clients is our media relations services and here I just hired this bozo, who slid up to a high position in the PR world, who never made a media call and never plans to! Thank you, Mr. Headhunter, for this gem.

So why did this irk me?

I cut my teeth early in my career developing deep relationships with media across key sectors like business and technology. I still have many media contacts and strong relationships with those individuals. I still pride myself on my media savviness and just recently pitched a story to a prominent Globe and Mail reporter which generated superb coverage for my client. Understanding media and the media landscape is essential to any PR professional, at every level of the organization. I’ll never be too senior to contact a journalist, write a release or, for that matter, make a pot of coffee.

Senior PR practitioners should never feel so self-important where they don’t need to make a media call or draft a press release? In my opinion, public relations is a professional “trade” just like carpentry, drywall or landscaping. The more you practise your craft, the more expert you’ll become as a practitioner. Moreover, the better you’ll service your clients and coach your staff.

We had a great discussion about this very topic on our Inside PR podcast (have a listen here). Oh, and for those senior PR flacks recently interviewed in Marketing Magazine who said they didn’t have to blog to understand the blogosphere … uh, think again, folks. Only by doing will you know how it works and how to advise your clients. For as long as we’re in the business and no matter how senior we are, we need to continually keep our skills sharp and learn something new each day. Because if our leaders can’t construct a decent sentence or they get tongue tied on the phone, how can we be role models and how can we teach the next generation of PR pros?

As for the bozo I hired and quickly fired three years ago, he went freelance and now he’s making media calls!

Why your interests interest me

2008-10-23T16:37:00.002-04:00

Recently we’ve been interviewing for a junior position in our office (don’t send me any more resumes please as we’ve just filled it) and many of the candidates were really solid. But something I found a bit odd when reviewing the resumes was the lack of personal interest information. That section in a resume called “Interests” is really of interest to me.

I’m not sure when teachers told students not to add anything personal to a resume. When did resume writing become so stiff, bland and boring? Kinda of like our Canadian elections, but I digress...

At the account coordinator level, I’m not expecting a vast portfolio of work and press clippings to impress me. You and your personality need to impress me. I don’t care to pour over your school project portfolio. It’s meaningless. But what I do care about is your summer job flipping burgers and the fact that you like hot yoga or traveling through Eastern Europe with a backpack.

Don’t skip the interest section. Tell me something about yourself so that we can find some common ground or a point of discussion. That’s called building rapport and it’s essential to winning new clients and getting your foot in the door. In fact, make that section stand out. Instead of saying you like reading, cooking and fitness, reword it and say you love spy novels, Nigella Lawson cooking, and extreme kick-boxing. Be creative and stand out.

I once wrote in my resume that I would one day like to write a book. It was more of an aspirational interest but that little point landed me a part-time job working for one of my professors. He was so impressed by that. Note: I never did actually get around to writing that book.

So my tip for job seekers is this: spice up your resume, be creative, and show me who you really are. Add a little personality to an otherwise dreary two-page CV.

It might be the only section I actually will read.

Venice and Paul Sorvino … coming to T.O.!

2008-09-29T14:33:00.004-04:00

Now for an overt plug for a wonderful charity I do work for and their upcoming gala. This event is not to be missed. On October 10 at Toronto’s Fairmount Royal York Hotel, Villa Charities presents its annual Venetian Ball. This is the grandest of grandest charity galas where men and women come out in full black-tie regalia to enjoy exquisite food, hob-knobbing with the rich and almost famous, and non-stop partying. Each year the theme plays on Venice masquerade balls that made Venice well-known for their “Venetian masks.”

What makes this year’s ball so special are a few things. First, it’s a milestone year … it’s the 15th anniversary of the gala and this means lots of little extras. The event is moving from Vaughan to downtown Toronto ... yippee! And this year’s special guest and honourary patron is none other than Italian-American actor Paul Sorvino. Landing Sorvino for this night makes this an extra delicioso evening. He truly is an exceptional actor. The image of Sorvino in prison wearing slippers and knee socks and thinly slicing a garlic clove with a razor is burned in my memory! Watch Goodfellas and you’ll know the scene.

Now, you don’t have to be Italian to buy a ticket to the Venetian Ball.

But just in case you’re having some doubts about attending, here’s a helpful hint to get you started in on the action the moment you arrive: If all else fails, try out one of these conversation starters with the paisanos :

You know, I really didn’t mind Godfather III. It put closure to the saga, don’t you think? And how about that Sofia Coppola … abysmal performance, no?

Gee, it’s a tossup on who the greatest Italian athlete is: Baggio or Tomba. What do you think?

I don’t have a La Sem or a Commisso bakery near me, so where else can you get great cannoli?

Do you have any panettone left from last Christmas?

So where were you when Italy won the FIFA World Cup?

There are only a few tables still left for this amazing evening. So for you high-rollers that read my blog (I know you’re out there - I can smell your money from here!), please buy a table and come and enjoy in this incredible evening.

Grazie mille. Ci vediamo presto!

When PR Pros need to outsource creative

2008-09-18T15:56:00.003-04:00

In the most recent PR Week Career Guide, I came across the section “Employer Zone” a sponsored resource guide in which PR firms can pay for a full page ad followed by a company profile. The company profiles were a good read, and I found the section on company benefits particularly enjoyable. Apparently GolinHarris offers pet care discounts to its employees while Cone PR has an on-site fitness room and Fleishman-Hillard offers domestic-partner benefits. Good stuff.

But the real problem with the guide is not the written profiles but the accompanying ads. Good Lord! Why can’t PR agencies spend some mullah and hire an ad agency to develop their brand ads? Now, this is just my opinion, but I have a pretty keen eye for advertising having worked alongside some great ad agencies in Canada. So here goes my two cents with some of my favourites and not so favourites:

GolinHarris: This one is hilarious. My daughter’s Grade One yearbook had better art direction. The tag line: Real People. Real Stories. The ad shows various digital photos of GH’s events and parties. It’s cute and they probably saved a ton of money using low-res digital shots from someone’s camera. Just a little too saccharine for me. Save it for the internal company newsletter.

Cone PR: Tag line: Find your potential. Then a series of pictures of rubber bands, a plane, a pair of glasses, a mask and a charm bracelet. I don’t get it! I don’t get it! This one is really bugging me!

Ketchum: The copy basically looks like a ransom note. A variety of type face colours and sizes, oddly laid out. The photo is from Bizarroland, too. A woman holding a red umbrella who looks like she is about to take flight. Looks like the front cover of the book The Nanny Diaries. What is she doing with that umbrella? It’s not even raining in the picture. Bloody hell ...

Manning Selvage & Lee: This ad simply makes me want to scratch my head on go, “Hmmmmm? “ The tag line: To change the way others see you, change the way you see yourself. Change minds. Kinda catchy, eh? The ad has a shot of a woman, wait no, it’s a man … no it’s a woman … nope, (is it Pat?) wait a second those shoes are definitely male. I couldn’t tell the gender from the photo because it’s all blurred. And the guy is wearing a white suit!

Porter Novelli: Tag line: Look beyond the obvious. Too bad the creative is so blatantly obvious. A guy peeling an apple only to reveal an orange underneath the peel. Ooooooh, must have taken these guys 10 minutes and a bottle of Cutty Sark to come up with that creative.

Cohn & Wolfe: This has to be that ad that was developed by an account coordinator while she was taking the train into their Manhattan offices. The ad simply reads “Cohn & Wolfe” (I think it's their new logo) with their URL listed on the bottom. Deep. But hey, they were too busy merging with GCI to think about creating an ad. Give them a break.

Weber Shandwick: Finalmente! Very interesting creative and compelling ad copy. It's taken from Weber's web-site so I like the consistency of messaging. An über-cool Asian girl standing on a crate and wearing the latest in street attire, complete with ipod earbuds. Tag line: The Advocate. Love it. It speaks to their future employees and dares to be different. Thank goodness for courage over there.

Equally good …

Ogilvy PR Worldwide: Amazing ad copy, it says everthing: Smart people create new rules. Ya ... Brilliant. Big, bold, simple, typeface, nice use of space. Beautifully laid out. They clearly know their audience.

Oh, wait a second. Isn’t Ogilvy one of the world’s best ad shops too? It figures.

Why I like it behind the camera

2008-09-08T20:01:00.004-04:00

Last month I was asked by the producers of the MoneyTalk show to appear on the segment which is hosted by Patricia Lovett-Reid. The show airs on Canada’s BNN and it airs nationally three times during one week and then posted to the web site.

I was more than happy to be interviewed since the topic was right up my alley – women entrepreneurs. I can talk all day about entrepreneurship and women’s struggles and accomplishments, the do's and don’ts, the pitfalls and opportunities, the children and, of course, the whole work-life balance thing.

When I received the questions in advance of the taping, I knew I would be in my element and couldn’t wait for the gems to flow out of my mouth. When you know a topic inside and out, it makes any interview smooth as silk. I rehearsed in front of the mirror for a few days prior (I always prep in front of a mirror, stops me from frowning). I was confident and ready for my close-up.

I arrived very early in the morning at the BNN studios where I went directly to the makeup room. I was greeted by the effervescent Pattie (who is much cuter in person than on TV!). She’s a real fireball and one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet. She greeted me with a big hello and then said, “Julie, since you’re in PR and a branding expert, I thought we could talk about personal branding and what it means in business as opposed to corporate brands. Sound okay with you?”

Huh? Personal branding? What the heck does that mean? What happened to the entrepreneurial stuff you were gonna ask me? I know about corporate branding and messaging (heck, we do that every day).But personal branding? All I could think of was, “Geez. Am I ever f^$%!"

After an inch thick of pancake foundation was applied, I was led into the deep freeze of a studio where I was rigged for sound under my jacket, given a mug of warm water and was told to look at Pattie and not the camera during the 10-minute interview. Ok, I got that part. As for the interview itself, I had no idea what was going to come out of my mouth.

So if you want to have a good laugh, have a look at my interview here and watch me squirm. I have no ego, so be brutally honest with me. I think I managed a few good sound bites, too bad they can’t cut down the interview to 60 seconds. Check out my ummms and "you knows." Brutal!

This abysmal interview further validates my decision to stay behind the camera at all times. I mean, I can tell someone else what to do in front of the camera -- no problemo. But sweet baby Jesus – I can’t save myself.

What I did on my summer vacation ...

2008-09-02T15:38:00.001-04:00

I WORKED!

Have a Splenda-ful day!

2008-08-12T15:36:00.002-04:00

Recently I was selected as one of 75 women in Canada targeted by Matchstick for a word of mouth (WOM) campaign for the product Splenda, that zero-calorie sweetener made from real sugar. In exchange for my participation, I would receive a lovely basketful of baking tools, free coupons to hand out and Splenda products. Hey, I like freebies! Moreover, I was very curious and interested enough in the product to want to offer the company my own opinion. It was nice to participate in someone’s marketing program.

After an initial screening process I received my Splenda package in the mail along with some recipes to try. After a few weeks, I would be contacted again to give my thoughts and opinions on my baked goodies.

To start, I baked chocolate chip cookies and blueberry muffins. Both were recipes supplied by Splenda. The Splenda product measures exactly cup for cup to that of regular sugar, except for brown sugar, where you use only half. It was pretty easy to use in fact. The only weird thing about Splenda is the blending of butter/margarine and liquids. It blends fine, but when you add an egg or liquids, it does a funny separation thing and starts to resemble curdled milk. I checked the Splenda website and apparently this is a common appearance that does not affect the baking process.

The baked goodies both came out fairly well and consistent with the picture. But the real test was in the taste. And who better to taste chocolate chip cookies but my very own seven-year-old. She took one bite and exclaimed: “Mommy, these are AMAZING.” Verdict was in. The blueberry muffins were also a big hit. So was my banana loaf and my own cookie recipe. As for an aftertaste, there was none.

All in all -- I like the product very much and continue to use it today. It’s a wonderful alternative to sugar, especially if you are watching your weight or you’re a diabetic.

I enjoyed the process of being selected for this WOM campaign. I told Matchstick right from the start that I would only blog about the product if it passed the taste test. I would not diss the product publicly. I told them, I’m neither a journalist nor a paid blogger, so the last thing I would do is trash their product. In fact, I was pleasantly surprised at how good it was. I was just glad I was able to help out in their program.

Now in case you’re wondering: I’m certainly not going to use my blog as a public forum to plug products. However, I am in the market for a new car. Soooooo… any dealers out there who want me to test-drive a 2009 luxury hybrid car? You know where to find me!

Perez Hilton has a heart

2008-08-06T13:43:00.003-04:00

Well, who would have thought that celebrity gossip blogger Perez Hilton has a heart? A few weeks ago, Perez’s site featured a Canadian charity that is near and dear to our hearts here at MAVERICK. It’s Sleeping Children Around the World (SCAW), a wonderful charity that was founded in 1970 by Murray Dryden, father to hockey greats Ken and Dave Dryden. The charity is focused on providing bed kits and treated mosquito nets to children in poor regions around the world. We’ve been involved with the charity a few years now and every time we get coverage for them it’s a wonderful feeling.

But when Perez Hilton included a piece on SCAW in his website’s Worthwhile Cause section, it just blew me away! We have no idea how this happened, it was never our target, but we are over the moon with joy!

The direct result from this blog post …. Tons of traffic to the SCAW website and U.S. donations are up, up, up -- for the very first time.

Boy, those high profile blog mentions really do work!

Ladies … Start your whining!

2008-08-02T08:06:00.003-04:00

Earlier this week, the New York Times ran a piece entitled “Blogging’s Glass Ceiling” about women feeling frustrated at the fact they are not getting the recognition and rewards that their male counterparts do in the blogosphere. The article was a direct result from a recent Blogher convention. Once again, we’re hearing that women are getting the short end of the stick in comparison to men. Who would have thought that the Internet (the great equalizer that knows no gender) would be at the very heart of women’s irritation?

Okay, it was bound to happen. Get a bunch of women in a room and invariably the discussion will come around to why men are getting most of the credit and riches. We constantly create our own so called “pink ghettos” and by vocalizing our discontentment it usually becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. It’s as if we are looking for statistics to go a man’s way. Women seem to complain about everything when comparing ourselves to men. They get better Tee-Off times. Their haircuts and dry cleaning is cheaper. They sit on more corporate boards than women. And when they’re aggressive they’re deemed “tough” while we’re called “bitches.” It never ends, and I hate to say it but it may never be perfectly equal, but we’ve come a long way baby in so many areas.

This is why I purposefully avoid most chick clubs, simply because I don’t want to engage in a discussion about why men get all the breaks. Oh, it’s so tiresome and gets us nowhere. Can’t we just celebrate our womanhood more often, rejoice in our femininity, and marvel at the fact we can pass a human being through our legs and still get our figure back!

I’ve been part of Profit’s TOP 100 Women Entrepreneurs list for a few years now, and it’s been a privilege and honour being part of such an elite group of women. And what I’ve learned from these powerful, successful women is they don’t sit around complaining about getting snubbed by "the system." They’ve done it their way –sans balls.

So ladies, when you encounter a glass ceiling at work or heaven forbid on the blogosphere, stop whining about it. Instead, learn how to shatter it.

You don't call, you don't write, you don't blog enough

2008-07-30T11:09:00.003-04:00

When I run into friends I haven’t stayed in touch with, I hear the usual whine “Why don’t you call more often?” Now when I run into people I barely know I get, “Why don’t you blog more often?” Jeeez, you can’t catch a break these days. I confess, I have a problem. My blogs are too long and I don’t post that often. I tend to over-think everything. Ever since I started this blog (it’s all Dave’s fault, he got me into this, and he hasn't posted since June 9th!), I approach blogging like some kind of English exam. I research my assignment, I re-write entries many times over, and I cram the day before. It’s not good.

Now, I have a ton of excuses for not blogging more than once a week or a few times a month. Here goes: I run a company. Between business development, client service and HR stuff I have a pretty busy day. Next up, I’m a mom, too. I have a rambunctious seven-year-old who loves dance, dress-up, soccer and Wii – and I’m there for most of it. And finally, summer is in full swing in Toronto and I’d rather be golfing, barbequing and swimming than banging out a few hundred words for my blog. But hey … I can come up with 101 excuses for not blogging more, but I won’t. Because once you have committed to blogging, I don’t think you should make lame excuses for not doing what you started.

And herein lies the big issue with blogging. It’s not just about having the skill to blog (yes, you need to know how to write well) but you need a firm commitment to the practice of blogging. Time is such a precious commodity (more than oil) and for me there are days when I just can’t find that 20 minutes to write. I have a ton of thought-ware, but it’s about dedicating time to write it down.

So here’s my promise, I will try to get to my blog thingie more often. And above all, I’ll keep it short and sweet.

Okay, maybe not so sweet.

Now this will make me look cool

2008-07-09T20:14:00.002-04:00

I really don’t get too excited about new gadgets and consumer electronics anymore.

I have a three-year-old Motorola clam-shell mobile, and an older model BlackBerry. I’m one of those weird people that still uses a mobile phone for voice calls and BlackBerry just for email. But I do have friends who get excited over their little tech toys. I recently had dinner with four girlfriends, sipping Cosmos, when suddenly we started whipping out our BlackBerrys in a moment of electronics show-and-tell. I’m sure the bartender had quite a chuckle at four gals oooohing and ahhhhhing over a pearl button.

But I have to admit, there is only one piece of consumer technology I cannot wait to get my hands on. Apple’s iPhone. I know, I know, if I was so hot and bothered about owning an iPhone I would have bought one already stateside and found some 16-year old pimply-faced geek to unlock that puppy for me. But alas, I will wait, along with all the other tech lemmings in this country, until Rogers makes it widely available this coming Friday. And I don’t give a darn how much Rogers is charging for data fees cuz I just bloody want one.

I don’t really know why I want one so badly. I have a mobile phone that works just fine. But I think it must have something to do with the “cool factor” of owning one. Let’s face it, there isn’t a lot of cool going on in the mobile handset area. You can take mobile phones from LG, Samsung , Motorola and Nokia, mix them all up together and you won’t even come close to an iPhone. And I’m certainly not going to pimp up my phone with a silly Hello Kitty diamond studded face plate either.

I think all the hype and PR around the iPhone is justified. It’s sleek, beautiful, Apple branded, extremely functional, very swish and yes, it has earned the right to being uber-cool.

You can go your own way

2008-06-23T10:54:00.002-04:00

In 1999, I caught the entrepreneurial bug and started MAVERICK. In one of my earlier posts, I described myself as an accidental entrepreneur because I really didn’t have aspirations to have my own business until someone pointed out to me that I would be pretty good at it.

I’m writing this blog post for anyone who is perhaps thinking about starting up their own PR shop. I have loads of professional experience to share with you.

There are several ways to launch your own PR shop. First off, you can simply go freelance or contract. You are essentially a free-agent, picking up PR gigs here and there. You don’t need fancy schmancy office space (you can work out of your garage if you like) and you can hire independent contractors when you need more feet on the street. This can be a very sustainable business model provided you like to work alone most of the time, you are self-motivated and you like to be the accountant, the media pitcher, the sales guy, the creative, the writer and the dishwasher. You don’t need a lot of capital to start this kind of business and it’s a sensible way to migrate to a larger scale operation in the future. I thought about this model when I launched my own firm, but I had much loftier goals in mind from the start.

If you think you are ready for prime-time and want to launch a full service PR firm complete with full time staff, office space and a solid presence, then it takes a little more than a rolodex of prospects. If this sounds like more your vision, then read on.

First off, you need money and lots of it. Rent, salaries, phones, computers and coffee all cost money. I started with a $250,000 float to start MAVERICK. You can probably get away with less, but I rented very expensive space in downtown Toronto. I was always planning on hunting big game so I needed a posh address to show clients and potential employees that I was a serious player. And yes, a lot of prospects still want to see the space you operate out of. You can start your PR firm with a partner to share costs, but be prepared to be highly collaborative and have only a 50 per cent share of voice.

Next up, you better know how to sell and persuade because you’ll be doing that until you are blue in the face -- with suppliers, banks, clients etc. You’ll also need a healthy dose of sheer determination and a vision for your firm. Oh, and don’t forget, you need to love rejection too.

Finally, surround yourself with positive people who want to see you succeed. Nothing is more important than an encouraging atmosphere, whether it’s your family, friends or co-workers. I hate naysayers and pessimists. Get rid of people like that. I sound very Deepak right now, but I can’t stress how vital it is to have positive karma all around you - especially during a start-up phase. I worked with the four best guys in the biz when I started MAVERICK: Gerry, Stephen, Andre and Andrew. I was incredibly lucky to work with this line up of talent and inspiration.

Above all, be fearless. As an entrepreneur, all eyes are on you to steer the boat during good and bad times. It’s a huge responsibility when you have staff to take care of, but the payoff is worth all the sleepless nights. I promise.

So whether you’re launching a freelance career or a full service PR shop, just remember the words of the great Beverly Sills: "You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don't try."

Mille Femmes and me

2008-06-12T20:02:00.006-04:00

Well, it finally happened! Someone out there thinks I'm creative ... and along with 999 other dynamo women, my pic is hanging up at Brookfield Place (formerly BCE Place in downtown Toronto) in a stunning exhibit called Mille Femmes, which celebrates 1,000 of Toronto’s most creative, inspiring and artistic women.

This is part of the Luminato festival happening this week.

Last night I was at the official launch of this show stopper and it is truly amazing. I recognized so many faces from the arts, journalism, marketing and fashion arenas. I ran into Valerie Pringle who is just a class act.

I also named several protégés of mine who were included in this photographic extravaganza. They looked marvelous and of course, larger than life.

All the women had to choose a one word adjective that would be printed on your photo. I chose “irrepressible” … what else? I should have picked “maverick” but the obvious is so pedestrian don’t you think?

So when I saw Jane Hope’s photo of Taxi Canada I was expecting some blazing word to describe her. Know what her word was? … “hope.” Oh well…

Thanks to Luminato and Lancome for the recognition and for including me in such an extraordinary exhibit.

I'm humbled. Hey, I should have picked that word!

Don’t kill off my print magazine!

2008-06-11T15:10:00.003-04:00

I read one of those “quotable quotes” from Ballmer who recently said that the print industry will die off in ten years. We’ve all seen the digital effect on newspapers as they continue to scale back on editorial pages. But books and magazines? I really can’t see my favourite magazines going solely online in ten years.

I don’t mind reading short current news bites, weather, sports scores and headlines off my BlackBerry or computer. But for full-feature coverage complete with photos, please give me my magazines.

My favourite magazine of all time has to be Vanity Fair. It is brilliant. Everything about the magazine is flawless. The writing, photography and even the ads are simply sublime. I look forward to my copy in the mail every month. This month’s issue did not disappoint as usual. The brilliance of Vanity Fair is how they seduce the reader with a glossy, Hollywood front cover and then take you inside some of the most outstanding writing and research on subjects ranging from war, presidents (past and present), current events, socialites gone mad, actors who kill, and European philanderers. Their writers have no problem digging up sordid details and going deep into issues. Last year I read the story about that beautiful thoroughbred horse named Barbaro and how his trainers and owners had to put the lovely creature down. The article celebrated the life of this horse and captured the pain and suffering of everyone who loved him. Not one television story or newspaper article captured the essence and the human-like soul of Barbaro than that story in Vanity Fair. Because this is what Vanity Fair is all about: in-depth, provocative writing that sets the standard in journalism.

This month’s article on President Clinton is a real page turner, too. This is the same article that prompted Clinton to call its writer a “scumbag.” The article is hilarious and a bit shocking. Apparently Clinton’s best buddy is some jet-setting billionaire whose private plane is aptly nicknamed “Air Fuck One.” And another piece of the puzzle is put into place … poor Hilary.

I realize that Vanity Fair also has a dotcom site chock-full of content. But it’s just not the same reading experience.

So are you to tell me that my favourite high-gloss magazine that I can take to the beach, on a plane and curl up with in bed will become extinct in ten years?

Say it ain’t so! I have no desire to ever, ever, ever go to the bathroom with my laptop propped up on my knees!

Pleasantville meets The Stepford Wives

2008-05-27T13:25:00.003-04:00

This Thursday night I will be attending the annual IABC Ovation Awards in Toronto. This is one of Toronto’s most prestigious and important award shows for the PR industry. MAVERICK is not only going to grab a few awards that night, but we are the proud sponsors of the Student of the Year Award.

I really look forward to this event as it’s nice to get out every once in a while and see some old friends and colleagues in the business. Since you can’t write on my Facebook wall ('cuz I don’t have an account), this is a great way for me to catch up.

I particularly love chatting it up with other agency folks. But, I swear, I have the same conversation each year. PR agency types are known for their warm handshakes, ear-to-ear grins and gushing positivity. It’s like the Stepford Wives descended into Pleasantville for a night.

If you’re not going to the show, don’t worry. This is how most of the conversations will go. I will write the dialogue à la James Frey (that Million Little Pieces faker):

Heeeeeeey! Great to see you!
Omigod, great to see you too! Love that outfit!
Did you cut your hair? Looks awesome!
Thanks! Seeing this wonderful stylist in Yorkville.
Are you up for any awards tonight?
Of course! And I’m here with my client too.
Oh, that’s great. How is business?
Amazing, having one of our best years yet. And you?
Oh fantastico. Just landed a huge client. We’re so thrilled.
That’s terrific. How is (insert name here) working out?
Oh, just grand. One of my best hires yet.
That’s great to hear.
Well, it was wonderful seeing you. You look great, as usual.
Ya, you too! See you around. Have fun tonight.
You, too!
(end with big teeth smiles and air kisses)

Feel a sugar rush coming on? ‘Cuz that’s basically the dialogue most of the night. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that PR people are fake or laying it on thick, but PR people pretty much stick to a standard core message. After all, didn’t we invent the message track?

Once, just once, I would love to hear a conversation go something like this:

Hey, are you okay? You look like crap.
I’m so bloody tired.
Why?
I’m short staffed and I can’t seem to find anybody at the mid-level with half a brain.
I hear so and so is looking. Have you talked to her?
Are you kidding? I heard that miserable cow can’t hold down a gig for six months. What about you? How’s biz?
Not bad, but just had one of my big clients back off a huge project this quarter.
That’s gonna leave a mark.
No kidding.
I heard you won the XYZ account. How’s that working out?
Talk about high-maintenance. We’re over servicing it big time. I think we’re 50K in the hole already.
So glad we lost that pitch to you!
Listen I gotta run. My table ran out of drink chits and they’re too cheap to buy any themselves.
Yeah, me too. Gotta go.
Bye
See Ya
(both shrug and wave a gentle goodbye)

What conversation will you have on Thursday night?

Til then…

Sounding all too familiar

2008-05-22T15:52:00.004-04:00

I’m getting a little worried about the state of marketing and social media conferences being held in Toronto. On any given week, I get at least one announcement about a “Must Register” conference I shouldn’t miss. I read each conference outline carefully looking for new information, new case studies and, yes, some new and refreshing speakers. But I keep seeing same old, same old. For such a burgeoning sector like marketing and social media, I’m surprised we aren’t seeing a slew of new best practices and case studies that the players are willing to share.

Our agency is earmarking a lot of dollars to attend these conferences and the last thing we want to come away with is: “I’ve heard it before.” I have two staffers at Mesh this week, so I hope to hear about some original new ideas they picked up.

Recently I received two conference overviews from the CMA. One was a word-of-mouth conference called From Mass to Grass and the other was a branding conference entitled Brand Navigation. Both conferences offer up some fine speakers, but frankly I’ve heard a number of the speakers before and not sure I would spend $745 to hear them preach the same gospel.

Here’s my suggestion. Maybe organizers can start implementing a “pay as you go” model. Let’s say you just want to attend the luncheon keynote and one plenary session. Well, you just pay for a pass for those sessions. I would probably attend more events this way. Case in point, there are two individual sessions at the aforementioned conferences that suit my needs. The closing keynote at the WOM conference by Douglas Rushkoff looks very promising and original, while Chris Staples is also giving a fascinating closing keynote at the branding conference. Actually, I could listen to Staples recite the phone book for $745 – he’s simply brilliant!

Right now there’s an insatiable appetite to learn and glean as much information and best practices from leaders who are pioneering social media against marketing, branding and PR. But I hope conference organizers don’t keep retreading the same solutions and faces just to sell tickets. After all, shouldn’t conference organizers be guided by the fact that they should produce great conferences with compelling content, than just use these events as a license to print money?

I do live in Wonderland, don’t I?

The Annual Closet Switcheroo

2008-05-19T10:27:00.004-04:00

Ah … spring is finally here (if you were in Toronto this weekend, you know I'm slighty off by this statement ...brrrrrrr....) and for me that means making the closet switch.

Now most guys have no idea what this means. But for my female readers, you know the drill. Basically it’s taking your itchy wool winter suits to another closet in your house while you transfer your entire summer attire (including bags and shoes) into your main closet. This ritual signals the season for open-toed sandals, and many of you can ditch the control-top pantyhose. Well, some of you anyways.

I did the closet switcheroo this weekend and the best part was getting rid of all those dull dreary colours that I’d been staring at since October. You know the ones: black, midnight black, off-black, washed out black and the dreaded “I thought it was black when I bought it but it’s really dark blue” .. I can’t believe how much black I wear during the fall and winter. I look like some post-war widowed Italian lady all winter long. Well, those schmattes will now go away for another season, to be replaced with cheery hues of pinks, blues, the whitest of whites and, of course, a delicious range of shades in ecru (that’s beige for my male readers).

After my closet is ready for spring and summer, I go shopping to add a few more pieces, like some trendy bits and a few new summer halter dresses. But I do have one fashion wish for this summer … I pray that designers will not bring back any of the following fashion faux pas:.

Ultra low–rise jeans: These jeans are just wrong for women who are still sporting a muffin-top due to little junior … or those whose little ones are all grown up and off to college. Please, if you have a heart “up” those waists. And while you’re at, make sure you add at least two percent Lycra to the mix for those days when one piece of chocolate just won’t do!

Spiky stilettos: Jimmy Choo, Manolo Blahnik, and Miu Miu all played a dirty trick on us gals. They designed the highest of heels, made us sport ugly toe-cleavage and made us pay a G-note for shoes to feel like a real woman. Well, my bunions are saying “no” to high heels this summer. It’s comfy wedgies and Nike Air heels for me!

Ballerina flats: Ballerina flats should be reserved for young girls, or tall women whose legs go on forever. The rest of us look like waddling ducks in those ridiculous things called shoes.

Oversized handbags: I’m not sure what the fascination is with giant sized metallic handbags. Are these women running away from home? What are they carrying in those sacks? You can fit both Olsen twins and a laptop in those hand-bags. Ladies, all you need to ever carry is a credit card and lip gloss.

And finally, the worst summer offence they need to haul to a faraway landfill site is:

Empire-waist mini dresses: No, no, no. Women should not be dressing like their eight-year old daughters in dresses that only look good on ultra-skinny runway models. These dresses make most women look pregnant. Pair this dress with ballerina flats, a pixie haircut and you’ve got Rosemary Woodhouse.

Now, I can’t really comment on men’s fashion … but I will!

Skinny Ties: One word - stupid. America voted. You can only wear a skinny tie if you are Ryan Seacrest.

Happy Closet Switching Ladies!

You lost me at “Hello”

2008-05-13T15:56:00.002-04:00

I’m sorry if I am being a tad harsh on future would-be PR interns, but your cover letters to me can only be described this way: GAH!!

Let me run down the biggest mistake when sending me a cover memo with your resume attached: Get my last name right! I know, I know, I have too many vowels and Ls in my last name. Sorry, blame my ex. He gave it to me, along with a Tylenol 3 headache that lasted about 8 years until we divorced. But I digress. Please, if you are sending me a letter then at least get the “Ms. Rusciolelli” right. I’m easy to please, really.

When you spell my last name wrong, two things instantly happen – I don’t read the rest of your cover letter and I quickly trash your accompanying CV. No saving it, no lovely response telling you how much I loved your letter, that I have no openings right now but will keep your CV on file ... nada, niente, zilch. Why? Because when you can’t spell my name that tells me you are sloppy, hurried and careless. Three attributes that don’t go over well in our business. Do you have any idea how many emails and letters we send to media, clients, analysts, politicians, dignitaries, CEOs and VIPs every day? Well, I don’t really know the answer either, but it must be a ton for sure. One misspelled cover letter could cost us big.

So, a little advice my dear young students: when sending those well crafted cover letters to me that you agonized over writing, get my name right and you’ll get a response. Maybe not the response you want, but you will hear from me. Promise.

Oh, and by the way, if I read “To whom it may concern” (why I still get those is beyond me?) your email address instantly goes into my spam filter and I place a much needed call to your parents.

Remembering Madeleine

2008-05-06T16:20:00.002-04:00

It was one year ago that Madeleine McCann went missing while vacationing with her parents in Portugal. I remember watching the news in utter shock (I think when you have young children you feel a mother’s pain even more) and thinking to myself, “How could those parents have left their children 50 meters away while having dinner? What kind of parents are they?” Then I realized how hypocritical my thoughts were.

It was five years ago this past April when I left Rachel, my daughter, who was two at the time, playing in the backyard by herself when I walked into the kitchen to grab her a juice box. I was in the house no more than a couple of minutes when I returned to find that she had vanished. After screaming for her and doing a quick search around our property, I called 911. They dispatched a team of police and emergency crews in an effort to locate my missing girl. It was 25 minutes later when she was found, face down in the pond of the golf club behind our home. She was not breathing. She was blue in the face with a very cold body temperature.

With help from my neighbour and two wonderful constables from 22 Division, Rachel was revived at the scene. She was then rushed to the Hospital for Sick Children, where a team of doctors and specialists brought my little girl to a full recovery. It was determined by her body temperature that she had been in the water at least 15 minutes. After a few short days at Sick Kids, she was home again playing with her dolls and toys. No injuries were sustained, no brain damage, nothing. I had left my daughter alone for two minutes, that’s all.

Rachel survived a terrible accident. I lived through a parent’s worst nightmare that ended up being a miracle (actually, it was hypothermia that saved her, but I’d like to think God had something to do with it, too!). But not all incidents like this end up with a happy ending. The McCanns know full well that their innocent action led to the biggest mistake of their lives. They left their children in what they thought was a safe environment not too far from where they were dining. It sounds all too familiar.

Madeleine’s parents aren’t villains. They are victims. On the one-year anniversary of this little girl’s disappearance, let’s also remember her parents who have to live with their actions every single day of their lives.

I could have easily been that Mom you would have referred to as the mother who neglected her child. Instead, I’m the blessed mom with the very, very lucky little girl.

I’m grateful that Rachel has no recollection of the incident. I, on the other hand, will never forget it for as long as I live.

The Talented Mr. Sacca

2008-05-02T15:10:00.004-04:00

Yesterday I had the pleasure of speaking at the annual Communitech conference in the Kitchener-Waterloo area on the subject of public relations and social media. I thought it was an exceptionally orchestrated event, with some terrific keynotes and panel discussions throughout the day.

Chris Anderson, editor of Wired Magazine and author of The Long Tail, was there to kick things off. Chris started right in showing his famous Long Tail graph and discussing the Pareto 80:20 rule. He was great, of course, but as soon as there is math involved before 11 a.m. my head hurts. I left after 20 minutes cuz I had to set up for my breakout session anywas.

And speaking of my session, I had an enthusiastic, standing-room-only crowd who listened attentively as I discussed the onslaught of social media tools shaping our traditional PR world. For those who wanted my PowerPoint presentation, please email me to request a copy cuz I can’t remember who wanted it from all the business cards I collected yesterday.

I stayed for lunch (the chocolate tart at the end was delish!) and sat with a patent lawyer who works in the Waterloo region and an old acquaintance of mine, Eric from DECODE. The lunchtime keynote was Chris Sacca, a former bigwig at Google who headed up Special Initiatives for the company. He’s now a VC investing in very early stage companies in the consumer web, mobile, and wireless space. I had no idea who he was so I asked Mr. Patent Lawyer what Chris invests in. To which he replied: “Oh, he was an early stage investor in Twister.” Huh? The ‘60s contortionist game? I quickly surmised he meant Twitter and corrected the dear man. (at least I found someone in the joint who knew less than I did about Twitter!)

I listened intently as Mr. Sacca took the stage. I had no idea what to expect from this guy and well, he blew me away. I was so impressed with him: his humility, his intellect and his mild-mannered approach to public speaking. He had a kick-ass presentation (the word kick-ass was used so much yesterday, I wanted to shout out to the audience that we use that word liberally in our mission statement!).

Chris did an awesome impression of a southern Baptist Republican senator, and got a rousing applause when he told his story of confronting the Bush administration and winning key decisions for Google. But perhaps what I liked most about Chris’ address was the endearing way he spoke of his old bosses at Google, Larry and Sergey, and the culture they built at the Google Campus. His fondness for the company he used to work for came through loud and clear. It was so refreshing to see such ambassadorship of a brand from a former employee (yes, I know, he made a gazillion dollars out of Google, but still …). Without a doubt, the mythology of the Google brand certainly lives up to the tales of great free food from 18 cafes, pet insurance and open mic sessions for all 17,500 employees every Friday afternoon complete with pizza, beer and snacks. And that’s just scratching the surface.

Chris Sacca certainly has a great talent for storytelling. As for that Twitter thingie of his, I still don’t know ….

Ethics in PR

2008-04-25T09:48:00.002-04:00

I’ve been enjoying my time as a panelist on Inside PR and lending some commentary on social media and PR in general. The last few shows dealt a bit with the issue of PR and ethics. I can’t remember the genesis of the dialogue but it had something to do with tobacco companies receiving qualified PR representation. That discussion generated some very interesting call-in responses from Joe Thornley and Shel Holtz. I’m not sure where we netted out (there is no right or wrong on the show), but I made the comment that ethics and ethical behaviour is very much predicated on one’s personal beliefs and value system. While PR professionals have a “code of ethics” most adhere to, the question of ethics and ethical standards also pertain to the kinds of clients and mandates a firm represents. After all, aren’t we judged by the company we keep?

I know first-hand that running a PR firm is a huge responsibility and I need to set the example by the clients we take on and represent. I am ultimately responsible and accountable for every brand we represent in the public domain and what we say about them. I believe a company’s ethics starts at the top and filters through the whole organization. We also, as a collective team, must embrace and fully support our clients’ actions, products and services, while at the same time serve as their public conscience. We need to be their brand ambassadors 24/7. That’s the kind of unwavering commitment to PR and to our clients that we need to demonstrate each and every day. Because if you don’t believe in your clients’ brand or products, you cannot serve them well, or at all.

There isn’t one client on our roster that I am not proud of. I have no issue representing a bottled water company, a cola company, a video game company, an alcohol or automobile company. It’s only been on a few rare occasions where we declined to pitch business because there was a perceived ethical issue in what the company produced or stood for. These decisions are not easy to make and are not based on some textbook guidelines. In fact, so much of our personal beliefs and core values come into play whenever we deal with a client. If you feel that representing a hunting association is just ethically wrong, you have every right not to compromise your own beliefs and not to represent that client.

At the end of the day, your ethics can never be waived, compromised or challenged. You live your life by your own personal code of what is right or wrong. While fitting that into a workplace can sometimes be challenging, you have to be true to yourself at all times and be able to sleep at night with a clear conscience.

I know I do, each and every night.

Going 'Green' in moderation

2008-04-18T10:14:00.003-04:00

If you think you're too small to make a difference, try sleeping in a room with a mosquito.
- African proverb

Well, it has finally happened. I am making my own baking-soda-vinegar-water cleaning solution at home to scrub my tub and sinks. It would be a lot easier and faster just to use Vim or Ajax, but the "greening of Julie" is starting in meaningful baby steps. Did I say baby steps? I know a lot of PR and ad agencies are making public announcements about their eco-friendly habits and policies in their offices, but before I decree a "green edict" at my own office I better practise what I preach. It's kind of like recommending a blogging tactic to a client when you've never blogged yourself. Better walk the talk first.

Our family is undergoing some simple changes that are easy to adopt - like switching to low-energy lightbulbs, turning off lights and TVs, buying only rechargeable batteries and reducing waste. I've also bought my daughter a Klean Kanteen for water. We recycle like crazy.

Still, I drive a 4x4 (it's not a big one) and the lease comes up at the end of the year. I will be looking at something more economical and green. But I still need a vehicle that can haul huge cans of tuna and bathroom tissue from Costco, as we seem to go through a lot of the stuff!

I think adopting a greener viewpoint and putting it into practice should happen in small incremental steps. In my opinion, going green is akin to dieting. If you want to drop 10 pounds, don't cut out bread, pasta, rice, butter and sugar all in the same week. Most people who try to do everything all at once, usually have a relapse after one whiff of nonna's sugo Bolognese! If you are too strict with yourself, you'll be deprived and meaner than a snake by the end of the first day of dieting.

Likewise, on your first day of going green don't try to retrofit your home with solar panels. The cost is astronomical and you should probably start with a small compost in your backyard – with or without the earthworms! The Green Living Show is coming up in Toronto (Clinton is back .. does this guy have a house in Toronto?) and I'm sure there will be loads of earth-friendly advice to be had.

Moderation is key; and making wise, easy-to-adopt solutions that you feel good about will eventually lead to making a difference. Yes, even one person can make a huge difference on our big blue beautiful planet.

Celebrate upcoming Earth Week for the rest of your life.

What’s the deal with Twitter?

2008-04-14T11:37:00.002-04:00

I’m not slow or dim-witted, but I just don’t get it? I really don’t. This whole Twitter hullabaloo seems like such a waste of time, energy and focus. Many bloggers describe Twitter as an addiction, like crack cocaine. Bloggers even write about kicking the habit and going cold turkey. Oh, that’s nice. Another vice I don’t need.

I’ve done my research, went to the Twitter site and watched the video, read enough blogs on the subject to bore me to tears, talked with a bunch of folks in the industry, and I can only surmise that Twitter is nothing more than an outlet to outpour every insignificant (and sometimes significant) thought for everyone else to read. What’s with the need to share every bit of information? “Hi, I landed at the airport.” “I’m at a trade show and this speaker is awesome!” “Has anyone seen my sunglasses?” “Here’s a cool site with some great stats.” Twittering reminds me of Jerry Seinfeld constantly divulging every little detail of his life to his friends … “like the other day I went to the bank and this teller gives me this look …” Enough already!

Share what is really important to those that matter. Have we reached a point in our social media circles that we must be "in the know" all the time? I thought Madonna wrote the book on voyeurism in her ego-stroking film Truth or Dare but I think those that Twitter have an equally insatiable appetite to tell all and read all. Are we so full of self-importance that our thoughts must be on someone’s radar 24/7? Follow me: I have so much to tell you in 140 characters. Yah ok, I’ll get right on it.

One of my employees uses Twitter and finds the online cacophony deafening. He says he’s too busy at work to keep up with the Twittering. He’s lost interest. So have I, and I haven’t even subscribed to the service yet.

Perhaps I’m not the target market for Twitter so I don’t want to fully pooh-pooh something just because it doesn’t make sense for me. It has an obvious following and growing every day. Funny though, none of my close friends even know what Twitter is. We use the antiquated route of updating each other with phone calls and email. I even get together with friends for regular catch ups. Oh so nineties of me.

At the end of the day, keeping up with the random thoughts and interests of my peers, competitors, acquaintances etc., has no appeal.

I have a life, thank you very much, and I need to get back to it now.

I really hate the sound of my own voice

2008-04-03T10:59:00.003-04:00

For the last few weeks I’ve had the pleasure and privilege of being part of the ever-popular podcast Inside PR started by Terry Fallis and David Jones. Their two-year-old podcast on all things PR and social media has been a great success and this year they decided to stir things up a bit by adding some new voices to their show. The format is kind of like The View but I’m the only chick on the show so far. I’ve been asked to participate on a weekly basis along with some other fine PR folks including Martin Waxman of Palette PR (the Dick Cavett of the group) as well as PR newcomer Keith McArthur of VERITAS who had a stellar career as a journalist at the Globe & Mail before turning to the darker side about a year ago.

I must admit, podcasting is a bit overwhelming when you are alongside Terry and David who are smooth as silk. They’ve been doing the show for so long and have managed to create a great rhythm and cadence to which the rest of us need to catch up. But I think their new format is working and connecting with a new audience.

Last night we did our podcast in front of the Third Tuesday Meet-up group at the Groundhog pub in Toronto. There was a lot of audience participation to create some terrific discussion around social media, content, clients, etc. Tune in next week to get the full podcast. It was great.

As for me and my podcasting experience, I can say one thing: I really hate the sound of my own voice. It’s kinda like watching yourself on video. I remember once going on Canada AM for a very serious discussion. When I watched the show at home to see how I did, I was horrified to see that my entire upper lip vanished on screen. It was obvious that I don’t have those to-die-for Angelina Jolie lips. I didn’t even listen to my interview cuz I was so fixated on my thin upper lip vanishing on screen. The next morning I walked into a skin clinic and pumped my lips full of Restylane. It was brutal. The only difference between me and a platypus was the blonde hair.

Thank goodness there’s no video on our podcasts. Hope you all tune in weekly. Lips or no lips, we’ll make the discussions worthwhile.

Best Health is here!

2008-04-02T11:20:00.003-04:00

Last week we launched the much-awaited for Best Health Magazine, published by the good folks at Reader’s Digest. The launch event was held at Muzik in Toronto (fab venue) and it was a bash not to be missed. The hysterically funny Jessica Holmes was there in supreme maternal form! She is four months pregnant and looking like a glowing mom-to-be. She is no doubt one of Canada’s bright lights on the comedy scene and her impression of Celine Dion is well … better than Celine! I just love her and she delivered a great performance for the crowd. (that’s me and Jessica in the pic!).

So, what’s with Best Health Magazine you ask? It’s a winner if I do say so myself. Notwithstanding the fact we were hired to launch the magazine, as a woman directly in the target audience for this magazine, it appeals to me on so many levels. The magazine covers a wide variety of subjects on health, beauty and food, and there is a section in the mag called “Embrace Life” which delves into issues like stress and sex. The magazine is beautifully shot and the articles are all well-written and researched. This is a proud Canadian moment in publishing!

We implemented a media relations campaign and launch event, but what’s really cool is the YouTube contest. Check it out and post your very own “Best Health Tip” and win some fabulous prizes. It's so easy to do, have fun with it.

My best health tip to staying fit and young is simple: have children later in life, they keep you running around so you don’t have time to think about how old you’re actually getting!

Humour in the workplace

2008-04-01T11:26:00.003-04:00

In last week's workplace section of the Globe and Mail, Wallace Immen writes about pranks in the workplace. With April Fool’s Day upon us, a number of recent surveys suggest that most workers don’t appreciate pranks in the office and are not tolerated.

I must admit, I hate practical jokes. I don’t take them very well and see them as hurtful and mean-spirited. I will, however, tell you that there is lots of room in the workplace for good-old fashioned humour and funny story-telling. I love to laugh. Anybody who has worked with me knows I have a permanent smile on my face (unless someone has irked me into a scowl) but my personal DNA is made up of passion, perfection … and a good healthy dose of humour.

I love to surround myself with optimistic, charismatic, funny people. Not “Bozo the Clown” funny but people who can laugh at themselves and make light of situations when you really need to smile. These are usually smart driven people, who have amassed a ton of popular culture and a have a gift for high level wit. I met Warren Buffett a few weeks ago and, let me tell you, if this guy wasn’t a business genius he could easily have a career as a standup comic!

My friend Catherine Lawrence is one of the smartest and funniest people I know. She actually runs a company that teaches corporations of all sizes (law, accounting, finance too!) on how to infuse humour in the workplace. She calls humour a "critical survival skill" and I agree. She is a wonderful speaker, and is the quintessential “Chief Laughter Officer.” I think what she preaches is sorely needed in today’s businesses.

Our agency culture is built on several guiding principles that put our clients first and foremost, but the undercurrent of the company’s culture is rooted in fun and laughter. Why? Because nobody wants to work in a gulag. Yes, we handle serious situations for our clients including managing hardcore crisis and issues, but should a workplace be devoid of humour because of a dire situation? I think just the opposite. I believe the tougher the situation, the more you need to see a lighter side to get through it.

I’ll never forget the day of my dad’s funeral. The saddest day of my life. On the way to the funeral home in the back of the limo, my brother and I were discussing who would be the most appropriate pallbearers to carry my dad. My mother (whose second language is English and certain words still escape her), who was seated next to us, looked at us in a maddening and disgusting way. She remarked in her heavy Italian accent, “I don’t understand why you and your brother are discussing polar bears at a time like this!” My brother and I laughed hysterically in the back seat and, to this day, I’ll always remember my dad’s funeral with a smile. Even then, in the toughest of times, humour went a long way to alleviate the pain and trauma of the situation.

Certainly we can bring that thinking and style to the workplace.

After all, it’s just PR… so lighten up!

Happy April Fool’s Day!

The Ice Age is here ... at least in Toronto!

2008-03-06T09:57:00.002-05:00

This is unbelievable. Anybody living in Toronto or the surrounding areas knows exactly what I’m talking about. The topic of discussion right now is the weather and the amount of snow that has been dumping onto our beautiful city. Last month we shattered the snowfall record set back in 1950 of 66.6 cm. I believe we were well over 70 cm by the end of the month. It’s early March and Toronto is hit yet again with another winter storm and another on the way Friday night. So much for global warming, right?

According to Gilles Langis, a senior forecaster with the Canadian Ice Service in Ottawa, the Arctic Sea ice has not only recovered but is 10 to 20 cm thicker than this time last year! Where is this warm heat going? Well, looking out my window this morning I have some of that arctic ice on my driveway and sidewalks. Ladies, forget those high-heeled boots this winter. Instead, invest in a safe pair of fashionable Kodiaks.

I really shouldn’t be complaining right now because our family is flying out this weekend for the tropical islands that make up Hawaii. It’s our first trip to this stunningly beautiful American state and I really can’t wait. We plan on visiting many of the islands for some much needed R&R. I’ve packed a great book (another Sophie Kinsella classic!), some old issues of Hello! Magazine (my Economist reading can wait ‘til I get back) and loads of suntan lotion. I don’t know any of the local language or expressions other than “aloha” and “Book ’em, Danno,” but I’m sure I’ll get by ….

Spring is less than four weeks away. I hope that when I return most of this fluffy, white cold stuff has melted.

So I bid you adieu. Enjoy the cold (suck it up, we’re Canadian) and talk to you all later in March.

The junk man talks about PR

2008-02-26T09:52:00.003-05:00

Brian Scudamore of 1-800-GOT-JUNK writes an interesting byline in Profit magazine’s March issue. He basically thinks most if not all PR agencies are caca ‘cause he was able to pick up the phone and make his own headlines. He said he hired and fired three PR firms because in his words his “staff could identify and exploit” opportunities better than an outsourced PR firm. Well, good for you Mr. Scudamore. So glad you like calling media and pitching your own story.

But the fact is that most companies don’t know how to do it, do it well, or even know where to start. That’s precisely, why PR firms are flourishing in Toronto and communications in general is a sought after service. And while some companies hire internal PR staffers, many of them are so busy posturing, playing office politics or taking on other responsibilities that they have no time to perform the media relations function they were hired to do.

So in the beginning you got lucky. You made a few calls and sold your story. Big deal. Even the blind squirrel finds an occasional nut! But what happens when your story starts to be “more of the same” and the competition starts eating away at your market share? What if you’re not the “it” kid on the block anymore? That’s when you need a sound PR strategy and creative execution to sustain your value proposition. That’s where a high caliber PR firm comes into play. Besides, why did you buy the dog if you were going to do all the barking?

PR agencies thrive and deliver stellar results on a daily basis, but only with great client relationships. My favourite saying is: “Clients get the work they deserve.” So perhaps, Mr. Scudamore, you need to look inwards to gauge whether you created a positive working relationship with your agencies so the ground was fertile to deliver results.

Here are five easy ways to create that kind of environment with your outside PR help:

· Treat your PR agency as a “partner.” Don’t call them a supplier or an outsourced service provider. We’re not the copier repair people. We take a vested interest in your business. As you grow, we grow.

· Invite your agency reps to sales meetings, company off-sites, trade shows and parties. Why? Because we want to get into the skin of a client and glean tacit knowledge to better serve your business. We want to feel part of your team.

· Give your agency specific milestones, metrics and deliverables each month or quarter. Everyone has to know what the outcomes should be and expectations should be set out at the beginning of the plan.

· Have a decent budget for your agency to work with. If the budget is really tight, you won’t get the results. Period. Clients who are cheap get cheap results – or none at all.

· Say “thanks” and “good job” to your agency team every once in a while. That means a heck of a lot to the poor souls who are on the phone pitching the virtues of your business each and every day. A little thanks goes a long way to motivating frontline agency staffers.

So there you have it, Mr. Scudamore. A lesson for you, too.

Oh and by the way, if you don’t like my blog, you can always file it under “junk.”

I’ve turned into my mother

2008-02-21T16:54:00.002-05:00

It’s official, I’ve turned into my mom. I didn’t think it would happen but the inevitable became a reality this weekend. To be quite honest, it has been slowly creeping up on me for the past year. I make grunting noises when I get up from the Lazyboy. I wear scarves more and more, both to keep me warm and to hide my soon-to-be-middle-aged neck. I constantly tell my daughter to wear slippers and put on a sweater (even in July) and I complain about loud music in stores.

But this weekend was the moment of truth: I transcended from a stubborn, petulant daughter and turned right into the woman I swore I would never become.

It’s like this. I’ve been having a clothing crisis for quite some time (yes, I know, there are more important issues in the world, but let me vent). My regular fashion choices just seem a bit … well, too young and a little too trendy. My body begs to wear today’s hottest trends, but my face says, “Cover me with a paper bag!” So when it came time this weekend to purchase some cruisewear for our next vacation, I dragged myself in to what I used to call the “old lady shops” – c’mon, you know them: Talbot’s, Jones of New York, Laura (though I will never venture into Tabi unless I need a sweater with a reindeer on it). And you know what? I had a pleasant experience. No loud music, no sales personnel with nose rings and tattoos, no long lineup at the checkout counter, no tiny change rooms. Just a bright, beautiful shopping experience with clothes that looked pretty darn good on me.

Before I knew it I had picked up some much needed separates and dropped a few hundred dollars at Jones of New York. I left the store so happy and hummed myself all the way home. As I walked through the door, I was still pleased as punch. And when my partner Gerry looked at the big fat shopping bag I was holding and said, “Isn’t that an old ladies store?” all I could do was grin.

“Yes,” I replied proudly. “I’ve turned into my mother and loving every minute of it.”

They say it’s a rite of passage for daughters to become their moms … right? I’m going with that. Grazie, mamma!

Chatting it up with the coolest rich guy I know

2008-02-07T15:21:00.000-05:00

Well, I was there last night. Me and about 200 Bay Street guys and gals all suited up at the Toronto Board of Trade to meet the richest guy in the world (okay, he’s #2 after Bill Gates).

Warren Buffett came into town yesterday, courtesy of his new company purchase, Business Wire, which is now set up in Canada to do business. Another wire service for us PR folks to choose from…goody.

The evening was spectacular and I was pleased as punch to get on the select invite list. Only a few months before when he was in town speaking at some gala event, the going price for a coveted table was $25,000 … and there I was with a free ticket to hear him speak for 90 minutes, with some free drinks and munchies to boot!

I had no idea just how charismatic and funny Mr. Buffet is. He is full of “quotable quotes” and wonderful anecdotes. The program for the evening was exceptionally well done. Mr. Buffett set the stage for the evening – an open Q&A session allowing the audience to participate in the conversation. He said he is open to discussing anything and would answer any question because, as he put it, “I’m not that discreet.”

Well, the evening got off to a quick start with a number of hands shooting up instantly to get some mic time. They came fast and furious: questions on the recession, inflation rates, the mortgage crisis, the state of the U.S. dollar, the U.S. election blah, his investment habits blah, blah… okay, they are all important questions, especially for one of the richest guys. But I can read that by grabbing a copy of his book The Essays of Warren Buffett: Lessons for Corporate America. Or by reading the paper.

But I went last night wanting to know something about the real Warren Buffett. Like if he works out, his favorite leisure activity, whether he ever made a decision based on gut instinct, how he spends his weekends, his favorite travel destination. As one of only a handful of publicists in the room, I wanted to know the human side of this extraordinary individual.

I was relieved when someone finally asked him a question about his philanthropic views, his charity-giving, and why a lot of his fortune is going to Bill and Melinda’s foundation. “I can only sleep on one mattress and watch one T.V. at a time,” he answered. Poignant and moving, much like all of his answers were (but I bet he owns some mother of a flat-screen television!).

Mr. Buffet can teach all of us a thing or two about public speaking. Although he addressed complex topics, all of his answers were colorful and easy to understand. He didn’t use jargon, he wasn’t convoluted. He answered like your next door neighbor might speak if you asked him why his rosebushes always look so healthy and yours never even bloom: he used simple language, threw in a few compelling anecdotes, and gave a big hearty smile. I was so impressed.

At the end of the evening, I finally got up to approach Mr. Buffett. As the scrum around him started to dissipate, I mustered enough courage to stand in the queue to say hello and ask him my very profound questions. He looked at me with a warm smile and, as he shook my hand, all I could utter was an excitable schoolgirl squeal and the words, “Mr. Buffett I can’t believe I’m shaking your hand!” To which my new American idol so graciously replied, “And I can’t believe I’m shaking yours!” Everyone around us roared, while I blushed. Don’t ask me what I asked him – it was all a blur after that.

What a cool rich guy.

So what’s your client acquisition strategy?

2008-01-30T20:32:00.000-05:00

"You got leads. Mitch & Murray paid good money. Get their names to sell them. You can't close the leads you're given, you can't close shit, *you are* shit, hit the bricks pal, and beat it, 'cause you are going *out*." -- From the movie Glengarry Glen Ross, Written by David Mamet.

I’ve been leading the new business charge from a PR perspective for about 15 years. Everything from prospecting identification to designing “spec” campaigns, leading the pitch and closing the deal. And if I can say so myself, I’ve become quite good at it.

Most of our business leads are referral based (nothing like the environment of the Glengarry Glen Ross film!). In fact, more than 80 percent of our business comes in via a recommendation. The rest come way of RFPs, our web site and some aggressive prospecting from our end. At our annual MAVERICK retreat - we held our most recent one earlier this month - we spend a considerable amount of time drumming up names of companies we’d like to work for (our motto is: “We chase the brand, not the buck!”) and then we try to brainstorm ways to get our foot in the door.

However, one of the ways we don’t go after new clients is the proverbial cold call. Whether it’s a smile-and-dial attempt or a letter writing campaign, we don’t do it. Simply because it doesn’t work for our industry.

Unfortunately, some PR folks just don’t get it. One of my esteemed competitors is currently littering my clients’ in-boxes with an insipid letter that goes something like this:

“Hi. I’m (insert name). I work for a multinational called (blank.) We’re really smart and have won a ton of awards. Are you happy with your PR firm? Because if you’re not, here is my business card. You should consider us in the future. So call me. Signed: Lackluster PR Guy.”

When one of my clients laughingly told me he received this ridiculous letter, I had only one comment:“ I do believe this strategy does work, but only in the Bizarro World!”

My competitor’s letter only reaffirms my belief that there a lot of senior PR people out there who haven’t a clue when it comes to sourcing new business or how to attract new clients.

With competition like this, I’ll have no trouble sleeping at night.

What's it like to work here?

2008-01-21T14:08:00.000-05:00

If you've ever wondered what it's like to work at Maverick in a big old Victorian Mansion read this. Dave LeBlanc, the "Architourist" of the Globe & Mail did a wonderful piece on our historic home and interviewed some of my staff for their thoughts. No scripting before hand and no Q&A given out before the interviews took place. These were the thoughts and sentiments of my staff, no coaching required. I am so blessed to be working in this grand, luxurious environment (warts and all) with the best staff in the world. Hope you like the article as much as we did. And yes, I was the one who pitched the story concept!

Why I still rely on mainstream media

2008-01-11T10:29:00.000-05:00

Okay, am I the only one who relies on mainstream media to tell me what is happening on the Internet?

I never find out anything “as it happens” on the Net. It first takes a news story to appear in a newspaper or on the radio to alert me of some provocative YouTube video or interesting website.

For example, I learned about the Diet Coke/Mentos great experiment through the Globe and Mail. It seems Republican presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee has released an awesome YouTube video with Chuck Norris yet I only learned about this a few days ago from CBC Radio. The Sunsilk wig-out video came to me courtesy of Toronto’s City-TV’s news broadcast, and both of Dove’s viral campaigns came to me via trade publications. While all of this is going on, I’m a bit oblivious to it all until one of my trusted media sources tells me “it’s out there so you’d better check it out.”

I think the role of mainstream media is very much under-valued in the social media ecosystem. There is definitely a “working in tandem” theme between the digital social media world and the old media guard alerting most of us on what is going on out there. I actually like the fact that mainstream media acts almost as a bit of a filter and guide, pointing us to what’s cool and newsworthy so you’re not perpetually lost in the digital pipeline.

So while companies rush to the web, YouTube and the like to get their messages out there, a little help from authoritative media helps everyone navigate some very busy social media waters.

Back from the magic

2008-01-08T14:54:00.000-05:00

If Disney is known for anything, then it must be “magic.”

I spent last week at DisneyWorld Florida followed by a four-day cruise on the Disney Wonder. It was nothing short of spectacular. Whether you are young at heart or have young children, book your next trip to Disney. It won’t disappoint you. I promise.

Disney definitely lives up to its brand of “Making People Happy.” And it did. I had an ear-to-ear grin the whole time. I think I’m a big kid at the end of the day and Disney was the right vacation to cap off a very busy year at MAVERICK.

Here’s what impressed me about Disney:

Efficiency: Walt and his buddies wrote the book on time management, and I certainly took notes. I cannot comprehend how the Disney Corporation manages so many people on land and on a cruise ship so seamlessly and efficiently. I was beyond impressed. From our luggage showing up on time to the wonderful beach excursion on Disney’s private island, it was all so perfect.

Excitement: Casino Rama may claim to “deal excitement” but Disney lives and breathes it in every respect. From the rides to the shows, Disney is all about exciting experiences. I got caught up in the moment meeting Mickey, Minnie, Pluto and Goofy and the rest of the Disney characters. In fact, I think I may have trampled on some poor kid’s feet as I rushed in to hug Mickey … sorry, little guy! (The photo above is of Rachel, Belle and me on the Disney Wonder).

Superb Quality & Value: The food went beyond my expectations. Whether you get a slice of pizza on the boat or a breakfast platter at Magic Kingdom, the value and quality of each meal met my high standards. I had lamb chops at Palo (on the cruise ship) I am still savouring the flavour.. Magnifico!

Friendliness: Everyone associated with Disney seems to have overdosed on happy pills. From the cruise wait staff to the park personnel, these folks make Elmo look cynical.

Exceptional Atmosphere: I know, I know, I wasn’t in Bali or the Caymen islands, but for a family vacation filled with princesses and over-stuffed characters, there was a ton of atmosphere. The balcony off our room on the cruise ship was stunning and we caught a beautiful sunset the first night out. Our room at the Animal Kingdom Lodge in Orlando was also terrific with great vistas – we had large African animals roaming around right outside our balcony! Don’t see that in Toronto. Very cool.

I knew this trip met my little girl’s expectations, when she turned to us and said “Mom, Dad, this is the place where dreams really do come true.”

We couldn’t have agreed more.

And as they say in Disney .... "Thanks and have a magical day."

I'm outta here ...

2007-12-26T14:39:00.000-05:00

This is the first time in more than eight years that our family is going away during the Christmas break. Getting ready for this trip was like preparing for an open-book algebra test. For the past six months I’ve been buying guidebooks, studying schedules, looking up restaurant reviews, and booking sightseeing excursions. I’ve also developed a critical path and workback schedule. (Good thing my PR background comes in handy once in awhile).

No, we aren’t trekking somewhere in Nepal … we are going to Disney World in Florida!

That’s right my friends, mapping out this trip with a soon-to-be seven-year-old girl in tow had to be planned and thought through months before we even booked our seats on the plane. Who knew there would be wall-to-wall bookshelf space devoted to designing the ultimate Disney experience? Sometime last year, social media butterfly, Dave Jones told me to start preparing well in advance for this vacation. Of course I thought he was kidding … he wasn’t. Specifically, he said, if we had serious intentions about getting in on the highly coveted Once Upon a Time Breakfast at Cinderella Castle, we had to book our table at least six months beforehand. We did, and so we will be dining with the princess and her friends for the happiest meal ever. Pre--paid no less!

The branding and marketing of Disney is not just pure genius, it’s pure commerce! We have spent a lot already on this trip just to ensure that all of our little girl’s dreams are met in what they call the happiest place on earth. (I always thought it was around my mother’s kitchen table?)

I hope the folks at Disney take a page out of the PR Agency Handbook: under promise and over deliver ‘cuz my expectations are at an all-time high.

Gotta go now and finish packing … too many shoes to fit in a silly little carry on.

Have a prosperous New Year, everyone, and keep on reading this PR Maven’s blog.

More juicy stuff coming in 2008.

Ads that really work!

2007-12-22T09:00:00.000-05:00

Whoever said advertising doesn’t work, hasn’t seen this glorious ad for Armani briefs, superbly modeled by David Beckham. The ad campaign launches next March, but a sneak peak of this (package) campaign has sent sales soaring by up to 50 per cent of the white briefs at upscale Selfridges in London.

My Xmas gift to you ladies! Enjoy!

The battle of the Christmas bulge

2007-12-19T12:04:00.000-05:00

Well it’s Christmas time. And for most of us it means stress, shopping and a whole lot of eating.

Open up any newspaper or magazine and we’re bombarded with food advertisements encouraging us to entertain and consume over the holiday season. While reporters can’t wait to share with us just how many calories we’ll be gobbling down. Thanks for the reminder. I recently read that there are about 4,500 calories in the typical Christmas turkey dinner. And because our family celebrates Christmas with an Italian twist, add a few cheese cannelloni as a starter and a tiramisu for dessert and you basically have a heart attack on a plate.

But ‘tis only once a year and I say go for it! Scarf down your rum ‘n egg nog, double dip your cracker in that oozing brie, and make sure you pile on that salted ham and turkey on your plate. It’s Christmas. The most glorious time of the year and no one should be counting calories or watching their waistline.

After all, by the time January rolls around, every diet clinic and fitness centre in the country will be reminding us just how flabby we all are!

So have a very merry Christmas and eat up!

Best word of mouth ... came from on high

2007-12-07T10:48:00.000-05:00

“Oh, it's the meek! Blessed are the meek! Oh, that's nice, isn't it? I'm glad they're getting something, 'cause they have a hell of a time.” From the movie - Monty Python’s Life of Brian

There is a ton of buzz out there about word of mouth campaigns. My friend Sean Moffitt, the guru on the subject, can fill you in on how companies design and implement WOM campaigns to support everything from free hugs on city streets to mobile phones. According to WPP Media Edge:cia 76 percent of consumers trust a friend’s recommendation; editorial comes in at 22 percent; ad placement -- 15 percent; website -- 8 percent (somebody better tell those corporate web guys).

But my personal opinion is this ... the world’s best word of mouth campaign, which started without the use of Internet, or any form of technology was started by just one Man, Jesus Christ and 12 of his closest buddies. OK…Judas is a bit of a stretch but he had a few good moments.

Imagine, you have a story to tell, a vision of universal hope, a message from your Father and a mission to save the world from its sins. And the only way you have to communicate all this, is through a word of mouth campaign sans technology and through multiple languages!

Your geographic reach is well, the world, and you have a short time to do it. No help from bloggers, no YouTube posting, no Flickr photos of His time in Galilee and no universal Wiki to get the masses scribing His teachings. Imagine a Wiki around this time, everyone contributing to the New Testament. Cool. I digress.

Jesus was the master of word of mouth proliferation. He told 12 guys, who told a bunch of other guys and gals, who told crowds and built legions of followers. And with each personal appearance (yes, He managed His own speaker’s calendar too) Jesus had standing room only on hillsides and mountain tops (thanks to pre-event buzz), and He had no PowerPoint support either. He spoke to crowds who didn’t Twitter, or pop open laptops to jot down his keynote address. You couldn’t Google anything about Him and yet the world became well aware of His inspirational message.

Now imagine trying to mount a word of mouth campaign today without the use of any social media. Without a doubt, we’d all say that would be next to impossible. More than 2,000 years ago, it seems the impossible was possible. This proves one thing: great storytelling and content is at the heart of a successful WOM campaign. We have plenty of newfangled tech tools to get the message out quickly but one thing they can’t do is make a story better.

Amen to that.

Wash your hands, get a donut: what a concept!

2007-11-21T13:14:00.000-05:00

What a ridiculous incentive program the University Health Network recently implemented for their doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers. To get hospital workers to wash their hands properly, the hospitals will reward staff with a $2 Tim Hortons gift certificate if they are caught scrubbing their hands the right way.

Ok, maybe I’m naïve, but isn’t it a duty for every healthcare worker in a hospital to wash their hands before dealing with patients? Shouldn’t this be in a nurse’s or doctor’s oath? Why are hospital administrators rewarding behaviour which should happen anyway? My sister-in-law has been an ER nurse for more than 25 years and has the highest regard for patients and patient care. She doesn’t need a donut or coffee as an incentive to wash her hands – she would be appalled!

So here’s what I find really amusing. The University Health Network – which consists of Princess Margaret, Toronto General and Toronto Western hospitals – actually thought this was a cool story and pitched it to the Globe and Mail. Uh, why? Personally, I find this news very embarrassing for the hospitals. Rewarding healthcare workers for something that should be sacrosanct – like washing hands – is ludicrous. Even my six-year-old does not need to be rewarded with a piece of chocolate every time she washes her hands before dinner.

As for the healthcare workers being rewarded with Tim Hortons, I hope they appreciate all that caffeine and tasty carb-heavy treats. But I’m pretty sure patients won’t be thrilled with all that bed-side coffee breath coming their way.

Obama gets my vote for public speaking

2007-11-13T20:03:00.000-05:00

Donna Papacosta’s blog recently points to Heidi Miller’s blog on public speaking. It’s a great blog and I recommend it to anyone teaching public speaking.

I love watching great speakers. In my opinion, one of the best and most charismatic speakers of our time is presidential hopeful Barack Obama. What a pleasure is to watch him. He embodies every quality I can think of that’s needed in a talented public speaker. Beyond his good looks (sorry, I know that sounds sexist, but it helps when the camera likes your face!), Obama is a reflection of our times and delivers a fresh and truly genuine quality of public speaking.

It doesn’t matter what your political views are – just watch and learn. He is skillful at delivering key messages, uses humor eloquently (this is a long video ... but the first minute and a half of this footage is hilarious) and he has an uncanny ability to draw the audience in. He connects almost instantly with his audience. Once he starts to speak, he’s like the Starship Enterprise tractor beam … you get sucked right in. The combination of superb speechwriting and delivery is what makes him outstanding.

Obama is highly intellectual, yet he doesn’t pontificate on the podium or bore us with hyperbole. And every single one of his speeches contains the three most essential ingredients a speaker should try to deliver at the podium: entertainment, information, and moving you to action. If you can’t accomplish any of that through your speech, please sit down and shut up.

For anyone teaching media training or presentation skill training, be sure you get loads of YouTube footage on Obama to study because he’s pure genius.

I realize that this talent alone won’t get him to the White House … but he sure beats what’s in there now!

You always remember your first

2007-11-07T17:07:00.000-05:00

I remember it perfectly. It was a beautiful spring morning and I was driving up the DVP heading north of the city to a prospect meeting. I had just incorporated MAVERICK PR a week before . My business cards were literally still drying. I had no employees, no office space, no presence on the web. Most of all, I had no clients. This was my very first pitch I would make as a “maverick.” I was no longer a VP at a large multinational agency. I was a starving entrepreneur.

When I got to the offices of Atelier America (rebranded now as Brushstrokes Fine Art), my jaw dropped to the floor. I felt as if I had walked into a Paris museum. The reception area was stunning, with magnificent oil paintings adorning the walls. I recognized some of the works of art, but surely, I thought to myself, they can’t be real.

I was greeted by a woman named Christine, who led me to another spectacular room. The boardroom was large but comfortable. There were 10 high-back cushion chairs around a dark mahogany table. Beautiful Chinese lamps were scattered throughout the room and historical artifacts were peppered throughout the area. The walls were covered with more gorgeous paintings. Monets next to Renoirs .. it was sublime.

An older gentlemen walked in whom I figured to be in his sixties. He was impeccably dressed in a pinstriped suit, crisp white shirt, red tie, and manicured nails. His eyes sparkled with the enthusiasm of a child and his smile was warm and inviting. He held out his hand and introduced himself as Harvey Kalef.

We started the meeting discussing his business. Art. Art reproductions, actually. So perfect were these reproductions that they maintained the integrity of the artist, right down to each brushstroke. Harvey had invented a patented process by which he could copy art so faithful to the original that it was almost impossible to discern the fake from the original. His business was doing well, but he wanted to use PR to tell the world about his invention.

My mind was spinning. I was practically writing the PR strategy in my head as Harvey explained his vision of offering “art to the masses.” I was impressed with the business and smitten with Harvey. What an amazing human being, I thought. He was special. I knew I was in the presence of a remarkable human being. I wanted Harvey’s account but, moreover, I wanted to work alongside this man.

A week later I was up at his offices again, only this time with my PR proposal in hand. I had worked night and day developing a PR recommendation. I had researched art magazines, studied art books and literally scoured the Internet for art information. After I presented the strategy, I boldly asked Harvey for the business, but I knew I had to sell him on MAVERICK too. I launched hard into my sales pitch. I had to make a winning case for MAVERICK and myself. I wasn’t desperate, but this man knew full well I was a one-woman show. At the end of my sales soliloquy, Harvey said, “Ok kid, you’ve sold me. I’m one of the best sales guys in the business, and you’ve managed to sell me.”

His next move was one I will never forget: he came back into boardroom with a cheque, a two-month PR retainer upfront. He didn’t question my quote. He didn’t haggle or ask for a discount. He paid what I quoted on. He said he knew I would be hard up for cash as a sole PR practitioner and he’d hope this would help kick-start my company. Wow, I thought, were all first-time meetings going to be like this?

Our relationship blossomed over the years and Harvey stayed my client from Day One. The launch event for his company in New York was – and still is – one of the highlights of my career. Over the years I learned more from him than from any other client. He was the most inspirational man in business I had ever met.

This past Saturday, Harvey passed away from cancer. He fought the battle well and continued to work up until his frail body could not stand anymore.

Every entrepreneur needs that first big break – the first client who believes in your vision and gives you a chance to prove yourself.

For me, that client was Harvey. I will miss his storytelling, his generosity and his unrelenting passion to invent and create. He was my client, my mentor, my hero. But most of all, he was my friend.

You never forget your first, and I will never forget Harvey. Rest in peace, dear friend. And thank you for believing in me.

The retail war has finally begun!

2007-11-01T07:30:00.000-04:00

The dollar reaching parity and beyond has left many consumers feeling ripped off at the cash registers. But today at 6 a.m. eastern time, Wal-Mart put a stake in the ground and issued what I believe will not only get the mega retailer more traffic though its doors, but a ton of great PR and goodwill.

Today Wal-Mart announced it will “sell all books, magazines, greeting cards and gift wrap at U.S. list prices, building on its yearlong record price reductions, supported in part by a stronger Canadian dollar.”

While other retailers are making some discounts or cutting out GST on “special days”, the Wal-Mart announcement is symbolic and penetrating. From what I understand, they are the first major retailer to accept Canadian dollars for US listed prices on select items – and that is a reason to celebrate. For example, the delta between Canadian and US list prices on books alone is enough of a reason to buy your best-sellers from Wal-Mart.

I applaud Wal-Mart for leading the charge in this country, acknowledging our strong dollar and acting (somewhat fast) to pass on savings to consumers.

The PR on this announcement will no doubt generate considerable buzz and hopefully spur on other retailers to match this pricing strategy.

Zellers … we’re waiting!

Brand loyalty to a fault

2007-10-25T14:22:00.000-04:00

Imagine you buy a product. In fact, you are eternally loyal to the brand. Nothing else will do. You know lots of people who share your passion for the brand. You brag about it. You dream about it. There is nothing more sacred than this brand.

But there’s one snag: this particular product lets you down time and time again. It fails to perform, it fails to deliver on its promises, and it hurts to even look at it sometimes. So you bitch and complain about it to your friends. You even call radio DJs to voice your disgust and you curse the product to the heavens above.

Still, you keep coming back. There is no other choice for you. There is no other choice, period. You have pledged allegiance to the brand and you will pay whatever it costs to get your hands on the product. The odd time when the brand performs well, you grab the megaphone and tell the world about it. Those are rare occasions, but you live for those moments. It’s the best feeling in the world.

Now you’re probably thinking: Who are these fanatic brand loyalists? What the heck is their problem? And what kind of Holy Grail product offering is this anyway?

Attention Toronto Maple Leaf fans: I’m talking about you!

No other brand in this country has so many fans with undying loyalty. It’s almost sickening. And it’s sad because the fans have been let down, time and time and time again.

When your car keeps breaking down, you’ll probably switch models next purchase. When your dry cleaner keeps shrinking your shirts, you’ll probably kiss him goodbye. When your volumizing shampoo stops poofing, you’ll be switching brands soon enough. But Toronto hockey fans are a special kind of brand enthusiast bunch. They won’t boycott a game to show displeasure … anything but. Hey, they’ll, even pay more for tickets! A marketer's dream indeed!

The worst team in the league keeps getting worse. But Leaf fans don’t care. They drank the Kool-Aid years ago and are clinging to the refrain “It can’t get any worse than this.” The game against the Atlanta Thrashers the other night proves this team has hit rock bottom. But it doesn’t matter. Leaf fans are believers, forever loyal, and will defend their choice to the end.

Now if only Unilever, Colgate or Nestle can figure out how to bottle that kind of brand loyalty...!

Dove does it again

2007-10-16T20:05:00.000-04:00

Another provocative look at the beauty industry, again brought to us by Dove. The company’s new viral video, entitled Onslaught, stars a bright seven-year-old girl, all smiley and freckle-faced, staring blissfully into the camera. The serene scene takes a drastic u-turn as the young girl is bombarded with images from the beauty industry. The rapid fire-like scenes are set to compelling music (performed by British band Simian) and each frame is fabulously choreographed. The end of the video offers up a wonderful inspirational message. I won’t spoil it – you’ve gotta watch it. Both Adage and Adweek give the viral piece two thumbs up. Adage calls the video a “triumph”, while Adweek calls it “technically beautiful.”

I couldn’t agree more. Perhaps it’s not as powerful or universally themed as Dove’s previous Evolution viral video, but the message is provocative and very current. It’s yet another great example of how social media can be used to unleash viral videos. Onslaught, like Evolution, is the brain child of Tim Piper. He was art director, director, writer and editor of the new film.

I asked Nancy Vonk, Chief Creative Officer at Ogilvy, for her thoughts on the campaign. Here’s what she had to say:

“Onslaught was presented as an idea to our Dove client in the same meeting as we presented Evolution and other short film concepts. They're designed to encourage mothers to sign up for Dove's mother-daughter self esteem workshops provided through the Dove Self Esteem Fund. The Dove clients came to Ogilvy with a request to identify the best way to achieve this goal, and didn't have preconceived ideas about what medium to use. In the end, the web was the best place to speak from both a cost perspective and creatively; we could tell compelling stories without the time restraints of TV. And online we could be far more engaging, with opportunity for people to join in a discussion on the issues. And, of course, the Dove site is full of helpful information.

The reaction to Onslaught is huge (no pressure after Evolution) and there's some debate going on about true motives. Dove isn't trying to hide the hope that this work will create interest in its products. Of course we all hope for that. And it's working. But the hope to make a positive impact on the world is equally genuine. They've made a huge investment in helping women and girls, and the passion they bring to the table is inspiring to us.”

Nicely put, Nancy.

As a mother of a soon–to-be seven-year-old girl, the Onslaught message seems to be pinpointed squarely at me. I am the beauty industry’s best customer and sucker for all miracle creams and potions. I buy endless books on fitness and dieting and have my own personal supply of “all things Hoodia.” I’m not overweight, just trying to stay fit and prolong the inevitable Wrinkled Neck Syndrome. Beauty images are all around us and, to some extent, hound us every day. I can’t escape it either.

I try to set a good example in front of my daughter. But I got caught this weekend. My daughter saw me reading Skinny Bitch the other day (very funny book - I recommend some junk reading once in a while). She asked me what the book was called. “Skinny Girl,” I said. Problem is she’s a very good reader and figured out I was lying. Ugh.

Onslaught, like Evolution is meant to start conversations with our most valuable resources – our children, specifically our young daughters. Dove might not be able to save my generation from feeling inadequate, fat, bloated, deprived and totally body conscious. But we can sure as hell make sure our daughters, granddaughters, nieces and other young girls we love don’t feel this way. Ever.

TV Commercials are alive and well

2007-10-12T11:54:00.000-04:00

I just watched the most amazing European television commercial. Not 30 seconds, but two minutes! One word: BRILLIANT. If only every television ad was like this.

Fellini would be proud.

Thanks to Buket in our office for flagging this one on our Maverick Facebook Group!

Blogging about Blogs ... I'm bored already!

2007-10-10T16:09:00.000-04:00

I had a great chat with Martin Waxman today who runs a PR shop called Palette. Very charming and likable fellow. We talked about feeling like ‘outsiders’ in the social media scene. While we both blog and lead active social media lives, we both feel that this elite ecosystem made up of media, PR people, marketers and some corporate types seems to have a vernacular and secret handshake all on its own when it comes to social media.

My complaint to Martin was that the PR blogs I read regularly seem to focus so heavily on the subject of blogging and social media. It’s as if we found a new toy and we can’t stop talking about it. Quite frankly, I’m bored reading about podcasts, wikis, blogging, word of mouth … yawn.

Yes, our industry is in a topsy-turvy time as citizen journalism is creating new issues for us and our clients and social media practices must be addressed. However, little is being written or discussed about real and pressing issues affecting our industry. This may be due to the fact that there is a lack of senior PR voices in Canada on the blogosphere that can address these issues in an open collaborative environment. PR blogging, I believe, can be more meaningful and valuable to our community if we open up subject areas that move us off the social media phenomenon and into genuine issues affecting our business.

I would love to see PR blogs discuss topics of interest including:

HR: Where is great PR talent hiding? How are agencies attracting talent? Are we poaching from the same shops all the time or is anyone out there doing anything innovative in the HR arena? What are some great retention strategies? Are Gen Y’s that different from the rest of us?

Compensation: When do you say enough is enough? How are agencies tackling the issue of booming salary expectations? Does anyone have interesting compensation models? Any cool rewards you want to talk about, what's worked in the past? Let’s share some best practices once in awhile.

Work-Life Balance: Where do we start? How are some agencies creating sustainable work-life balance for staffers? Work from home? Nap rooms? Confess … we want to know and learn from each other.

Employee Mentorship: How do some firms mount mentorship programs? Do they work? Can your client be your mentor?

This is just the start of some online conversations. I’m hopeful that some PR bloggers will take it upon themselves to shelf the “blogging blogs” for a little while and get down to the business of PR. And yes, I’ll be leading the way for sure. Stay tuned …

A Venetian Night!

2007-10-05T13:43:00.000-04:00

Last night I attended one of the city’s most beautiful and elegant charity galas … The Venetian Ball!

It was a spectacular event filled with glamorous people in Venetian masks (I almost torched my mask when a candle got a little too close to the feathers!) succulent Italian food and wonderful entertainment. Erin Davis was Master of Ceremonies along with wonderful performances from the Doo Wops (yes, they made fun of us Italians- it was bang on) and imported from Italy was heartthrob Italian sensation Patrizio Buanne who thrilled us with his musical performance.

This was the 14th year of the Venetian Ball that supports Villa Charities (our firm handles PR for this charity.) The charity is near and dear to my heart as it supports a number of culturally sensitive programs for Italian/Canadians, including the well renowned Villa Colombo, which provides residential long-term care for seniors.

This year we purchased a corporate table and invited some of our clients and their respective others to experience una notta da ricordare (A night to remember). We all had a blast. It was great to share this evening with some of my clients. I do so enjoy this part of PR agency life!

For those who want to be entertained, take in enough eye-candy to last a month and support a wonderful cause, please mark your calendar for next year and get out to this event. Call Executive Director of the charity, Laura Dal Bo, she’ll make sure you get a reserved table.

Al prossimo anno!

You know Summer is over when ...

2007-09-29T20:07:00.000-04:00

For many of us who live in countries with distinct seasons, the transition is felt both on a physical and an emotional level. In Canada, going from summer to fall is felt in myriad of ways. For some, the end of summer is marked by the start of the first day of school . For others, it’s the first fallen leaves. And if you’re like my friend Jackie, it’s the first sign of sweaters and boots on display at her favourite stores (her summer usually ends around mid-August!).

But for me, there is one deliberate act that undeniably signals the finality of summer: the closing of the pool. It happened this past weekend, punctuated by a visual representation that always makes me shudder. Nothing says summer is “finito” than watching a green tarp pulled over a beautiful azul pool.

What an opposite feeling I had this past spring. I was giddy with childlike anticipation when the pool boys arrived one warm May morning and unfurled the pool cover to expose the murky water that slept silently underneath all winter long. The water was green and cloudy, but it didn’t matter because I knew that in a few short days the salt water system would do its usual cleansing and soon I would be dipping my toes into our bath-like 86°F tub.

Our backyard is an extension of our family room. One side of our yard is marked by five-hole putting green complete with chipping areas, while the other side houses our oversized heated outdoor pool (see photo above). Oh, what fun we had this summer. I watched my little girl swim without water wings and watched her masterfuly touch the bottom of the pool and swim full lengths. This was an ego boost for her (and a relief for her parents!) to know that she can master a 10-foot-deep pool. We had numerous parties and late night swims with friends and, if we were feeling a little uninhibited, we even dove in sans bathing suits. But it was the mid-summer’s warm air when I would go into a hyptonic state as I watched the lamp light’s evening glow dance over the aqua.

But this weekend brought about a feeling of dread and sadness because I know the pool will hibernate for at least eight months before we splash in her again. The pool boys arrived at exactly 10:03 a.m. Saturday morning and, with the focused attention of surgeons, they went to work. I watched sadly as they removed the pool toys, stairs, diving board and floaties and then attached a huge hose to suck out some of the water. A backwash, a skimming and a vacuum and it was finally time to once again stretch the dark green cover over the open mouth of pool. As they fastened the last latch I winced and knew that I would not be treading water under a bright hot sun in our backyard until next year.

Later that night, during dinner, Gerry looked at me in that matter-of-fact way of his and said, “Honey, remind me tomorrow to order a cord of wood for the fireplace.”

Oy Vay, I thought. Summer really is over.

Which reminds me: Wherever did we put that darn snow shovel?

Press Releases are here to Stay!

2007-09-21T14:59:00.000-04:00

Poor little “press release.” This standard tool of the trade for most PR professionals is getting no respect these days and everyone is calling for its head. In the September 24th edition of Marketing Magazine on page 6 (wow - PR coverage! ) there is a little story by Rob Gerlsbeck about what he describes as an antiquated tactic known as issuing press releases. A very good story with the usual suspects quoted including High Road, Weber and CNW Group.

Personally, I wouldn’t dismiss the art of press release writing and dissemination over the wires anytime soon. For publicly traded companies, issuing material releases over the wire is a must. And as for most large multinationals, this is the best way of distributing timely news announcements efficiently and en masse.

But don’t call press releases “static” as Kerry Harris does over at Weber. The only thing static about press releases are the people who are writing them. Press release writing is a skill, a dying art quite frankly. Many releases I read have headlines that are weak, lead paragraphs that are verbose, and just too many pontificating CEO quotes for my liking. Releases should focus on news and answer the mandatory: Who, What, When, Why and How. Lazy PR practitioners still believe in the “Spray and Pray” PR model; Spray a release over the wire and pray that someone picks it up!”

A press release is just a tool, that’s it, not a strategy. Social media is not going to kill off press releases or wire services either. That’s just silly. Just like the advent of television didn’t kill off radio, and the Internet didn’t stop people from watching TV.

The press release is here to stay. Bad writers should kindly exit their premises.

Buying Votes with Family Day Holiday

2007-09-04T16:10:00.000-04:00

So the Liberals plan on buying up some votes with their latest campaign promise to add a new statutory holiday for Ontarians. Called “Family Day” it would fall sometime in the dreary month of February. Read official release here. What’s really sad is that we actually need a holiday called Family Day to remind us to spend more time with our children and loved ones. I mean, isn’t that what weekends are for?

As an owner/operator of a small business, this new proposed Family Day basically means dipping into my own pocket to pay for my employees to have a day off. A great campaign promise, but one that people like me essentially have to underwrite.

Unless Mr. McGuinty plans on reimbursing me the cash I’ll have to burn, all I can say is Bah Humbug … and it’s not even Christmas yet!

Building a Brand for Toronto

2007-08-20T12:56:00.000-04:00

I can’t think of a tougher job right now than being the new CEO over at Toronto Tourism. David Whitaker has been on the job since April 30th and it’s his mandate to put Toronto back on the tourist map and to create a tangible brand for this city – something we’ve lacked for years. He hails from Miami where he turned around that city’s musty, sun-drenched image into a vibrant, hip, fashionista place to be. And it worked. I flew to South Beach two years ago just to have a drink at the chic Delano Hotel and take a stroll past Gianni Versace’s house, and it was certainly worth the trip!

So what is Mr. Whitaker going to do for Toronto? One thing’s for sure: I hope he slashes and burns that insipid “Toronto Unlimited” tagline from every piece of literature it’s on now. When they unleashed that puppy, after spending $4 million to come up with it in 2005, the city became a collective vomitorium. It meant nothing, said nothing, and was an embarrassment for the city.

Now, let me be very transparent about this fact: I love this city! I don’t think anyone loves Toronto as much as I do. I was born and raised here, with no plans of leaving. But for the life of me, I can’t understand why we are failing to lure tourists to this remarkable city. Okay, the rising dollar is indeed a factor, but the SARS scare is history. So why aren’t Americans coming to T.O. for all we have to offer?

We have swanky hotels, some of the best restaurants (please don’t close down Scaramouche), a nightlife with a distinct vibe, and some of the most amazing attractions (yes, the CN Tower is still very cool). We have a new opera house that rivals those on the world stage (credit to the late great Richard Bradshaw, whose funeral will be held tomorrow at 11 a.m. at Toronto's Anglican Cathedral Church of St. James) and more unique theatre productions popping up every year. And above all, this place is ultra clean and safe, safe, safe … did I say safe?

The only thing we have to fix in this city (no, not the potholes) is our “service” mentality. The one major complaint I have about this city is not with the physical beauty or the offerings: it’s the people. Those in the service business have to exude a service-like attitude all the time. Just travel to New York City where they take customer service to the highest degree. From the waiters to the concierge at any hotel, they treat every visitor with kid gloves. It’s the service in a city that keeps you coming back for more. You feel special, and who doesn’t want to feel that way?

Other than our snobbish service issues, Toronto has a lot to offer. But still we just can’t find the right lever to pull with that elusive American audience.

One thing’s for sure, I don’t envy Mr. Whitaker’s job. He’s got to reach out to the world, create a brand for our city, and keep a ton of people happy, including about 2.5 million Torontonians who are vocal ambassadors for this city.

Good luck, sir. I’ll be watching.

What's in a Voice?

2007-08-16T10:17:00.000-04:00

So much of a company’s brand persona is embodied in every customer touch point - from the company’s logo to its tagline to the way a company conducts its call centre. Even a company’s voice mail system says a lot about the firm and the people who work there. Just call my friends at Toronto ad agency Lowe Roche … they have best voice mail in the country, hands down!

That’s why I had the biggest shock of my life when I recently called the offices of former CHUM/CITY-TV in Toronto. The big booming voice of TV broadcaster Mark Daley has been replaced by some squeaky sounding guy telling me I just dialed CTVglobemedia. I thought I had dialed the wrong number so I hung up. Who was that? Where was Mark? And what happened to the CHUM I know? Where’s that familiar greeter on the phone system I am so used to hearing?

Ok, I know CHUM was sold. But did they have to lose Mark Daley's distinctive voice on the phone system?

For those of you who know what I mean, there is a deep sense of character loss when you dial that number now. It’s just not the same anymore.

Let’s face it, you don’t have to get rid of every piece of branding after a merger or buyout. A great example is when Telus bought Clearnet years ago. They adopted Clearnet’s tag “The Future is Friendly” and most of the iconic branding that was associated with Clearnet. Telus did the right thing.

So my message to CTVglobemedia is this: bring back Mark’s voice! Even that simple recognizable voice on the phone is part of CHUM/CITY-TV’s hallmark. Don’t dump it simply because of new ownership. Embrace it. Keep it. It still works.

Btw, August 16th has a real significance for me. First, it was on this day in 1977 that The King, Elvis Presley, passed away (shhh, I can still hear him in the building). Second, it’s singer Madonna’s birthday, she and her fab abs turn 49 today. And finally, it was one year ago today that I posted my first blog and entered the blogosphere. So … Happy Anniversary to me!

Faceless on Facebook

2007-08-09T20:26:00.000-04:00

Yes, I am still “faceless on Facebook” and I have no desire to show up there anytime soon. Sorry folks (please, no public stoning outside my building for this honest admission). I’ve declined so many invites lately I feel as if I’m the world’s biggest party pooper. Fact is, whenever I ask someone why I should go on Facebook, I get the same answer: “You can hook up with your friends and find your old schoolmates.” Honestly, if my friends and school chums wanted to look me up, I’m not that hard to find.

I’m relatively virtual right now. I have a LinkedIn account (which is great for business contacts), a Flickr Pro account, and I am an active blogger (ok, semi-active). Do I really need to be a virtual social butterfly and get swept up on Facebook? I’m busy enough thanks. I also run a business, raise a daughter, love spending time with my partner, and work very hard on improving my back swing on the golf course. I really don’t have any spare time to look for live bodies that want to get in touch with me again. I’m sure there is a ton of other stuff on Facebook, but who has the luxury of that much time to go Facebook orienteering?

I think Facebook is extremely valuable for anyone under 30. After all, these folks haven’t figured out how to use a phone yet and Facebook (and IMing) is their lifeline. It’s a perfect medium (and time waster) for teens and 20-somethings whose badge of honour is how many friends they can brag about having on their Facebook site and reporting on the mundane goings-on of their friends.

So, if I really needed to get in touch with old acquaintances, I’ll do it on my blog. Here goes …. If you hail from Azzano Decimo in the Northern Italian province of Pordenone, call me – we’re probably related. If you went to Madonna High School in Toronto (stop laughing, it’s a real school) circa 1977, get in touch with me cuz I want to find out what happened to all the cool FCJ Sisters who whipped us into shape. If you are Mr. Chindemi, my old drama teacher, or you know where he is … Sir, I didn’t become an actress, but I’m happy and successful and at least I’ve never been to rehab. And if you owe me money, call me. Or better still, just send me a cheque.

Who needs Facebook when I can put an APB out on my blog? I’ll sit this one out for now.

Everything I learned about PR … I learned at McDonald’s

2007-07-24T16:33:00.000-04:00

I’ve been interviewing a lot of interns lately and they all have similar backgrounds: a BA in some useless course and a theory-based PR course from one of the Toronto-based colleges. Just enough to get a foot in the communications door.

When I landed my first PR gig almost 20 years ago (as a receptionist at National PR), I had great computer skills but absolutely no formal schooling in PR. I didn’t know it then, but I had number of skills that made me uniquely suited for the PR field. Oddly enough, those skills were gleaned over a two-year period in my very first job – at McDonald’s! At 16, it was a great experience and I took away some valuable lessons that I applied in my role as a PR practitioner and still do today as an entrepreneur. Specifically:

Teamwork: Nothing makes you gel as a collective team than working the lunch shift on a busy Saturday afternoon. Long hungry lines of kids and parents made everyone from the cooks in the back to the servers act in unison. When one batch of fries came out, another went in. When the coffee was low, we quickly made another pot. When the Apple and Cherry pies got cold, we fried new ones and threw out the cold batch. We all helped and looked out for each other. No customer ever waited for food on our shift.

Billability: I learned very quickly that productivity counts in the service business. I started my shift with a $50.00 float in my till and when my shift was over the swing manager on duty would cash me out. After a few months I was asked to see the head manager in his office. He sat me down as he was eyeballing a large spreadsheet in front of him. He said he never saw anyone in a four-hour shift move so many orders through. I was the top server in productivity for three months straight.

Creativity: After about a year of working four shifts per week and eating countless McChicken meals (I’m addicted to those), I was getting quickly bored of the food. So I got creative. If I worked a breakfast shift, instead of the standard boxed breakfast that was on the menu I had the boys on the grill whip me up a cheese and sausage omelet or create piggies in a blanket with sausages rolled up in pancakes. For dessert I’d crunch cookies as a sundae topping and mix soda and orange juice for an afternoon pick-me-up. I probably broke some rules, but with a little creativity and ingenuity I kept my taste buds active.

Customer Service: One day a gentleman ordered a Big Mac and fries. He opened the box and looked at his Big Mac and said there was no mustard on the bun. “Oh, I’m sorry”, I said. “They must have forgotten to add that condiment. I’ll put some on the bun immediately.” The manager on duty overheard the discussion and quickly chimed in, “Sir, the Big Mac does not come with mustard but its own special sauce so we can’t add that.” The customer insisted on the mustard but the manager stuck to his guns. The argument went on for several minutes until finally my manager succumbed to pressure and went to the back and squirted mustard on the burger and handed it back to the customer in a huff. I couldn’t believe it. This poor guy just wanted mustard! A few weeks later the same customer returned and ordered a Big Mac. I remembered him, added his mustard to the pattie and, with a wink, told him the burger was just as he liked it. “Thanks,” he said, and handed me a one dollar tip. The lesson: customers may not always be right, but give them what they want anyway.

Patience: During my second year, I graduated from the front till to being the hostess for children’s parties. Nothing can try a teenager’s patience more than screaming, demanding little snot-nosed three-year-olds. Throw in the overbearing parent and it’s enough to make Ronald McDonald lose his grin. Still, I learned to be patient, stay cool and calm and remember that tomorrow is another day.

I’m not suggesting you start your PR career at the Golden Arches. But if you do, try and garner as much from the experience as I did.

Thanks, McDonald’s, for some valuable career lessons.

Mama Mia

2007-07-10T10:56:00.000-04:00

One of my clients just gave birth to a happy, healthy baby boy. Mom is a high-powered marketing executive for a large professional services firm in Toronto. It’s her first baby and I’m sure she is over the moon just about now. I can honestly say that I know exactly what she is feeling and going through right about now ... a boatful of emotions ranging from pure joy to utter fear. She is a smart, driven, A-Type personality, but newborns know none of this! She’ll be teary and blurry eyed in no time, and checking her BlackBerry will be a distant memory. The house will look like a typhoon went through it, and the notion of dipping into high-heeled shoes or putting on makeup will be the furthest thing from her mind.

Having a child is the most amazing gift. I remember giving birth to Rachel (how can I ever forget … it was 31 hours of pure agony!). I mean, I thought launching a business was exhilarating and fulfilling but nothing, absolutely nothing, can ever compare to becoming a Mom. Those without children will never know the purest form of unconditional love and how your whole life changes in an instant with that little human being consuming every bit of your existence. As Tiger Woods said when he recently became a Dad: “How can you love something so much that didn't exist the day before?” I couldn’t agree more!

My client, who is just entering motherhood, will be dealing with seemingly mundane tasks like changing poopie nappies and feeding at ungodly hours. It’s a far cry from her powerhouse meetings and big-time career, but she’ll be entering a new stage of her life that will yield more meaning than any accomplishment she may have achieved in her paid job.

Our firm has been dispensing PR advice to her for years, but here’s my personal counsel now that she’s a parent:

Take as much time off as you need and completely disconnect from the office – Your child needs you more than your boss does.

Don’t fuss over the house or your body – Forget the vacuuming and just sleep when the baby does. It’s more important than clean carpets.

Accept help – If anyone offers to take care of junior for the evening, say yes and pull out the calendar pronto!

Congratulations, my fellow Mom, and best wishes for the journey of a lifetime.

(Photo of my little Rachel and me circa summer 1999)

Golf Marketing: A sport in itself

2007-07-05T13:31:00.000-04:00

(Photo of Greg Norman designed "White Course" in Doral -- I played there two years ago -- awesome!)

It’s July in Toronto and you know what that means … the golf season is in full swing. Just about everyone I meet these days has picked up the game in some way and is making time for this unforgiving sport. What I love about the game isn’t the 4½ hours of sublime scenery or the colourful golf attire (thanks Linda Hipp!) but the unbelievable array of choices in clubs, balls, gloves, shoes, putters, etc.. You name it and there are hundreds of choices out there and, for the golf amateur, the local Golf Town store can be dizzying.

But what I find most entertaining about the golf industry is the amount of technology and marketing that is going into this sport. I mean, it’s all out frightening! I have never seen so much hype around golf clubs, especially drivers. For instance, the latest driver that just hit the market is a very cool-looking square, flat head driver from Callaway called the FT-i. Apparently, its code name while in the R&D stage was “SpongeBob SquarePants.” Today, everyone is talking about this club, with Callaway claiming it’s designed to be the “world’s straightest driver.” Well, give it to me for a round and I’ll show you how you can slice every shot with that driver – I’ll prove those engineers wrong in no time!

This club uses something called patented Fusion technology (what on earth is that?) and claims greater improvements in stability and overall accuracy. It also has more technology jam packed in its head than my BlackBerry.

But it’s not just Callaway that is making big promo claims. Ping, Wilson, Titleist, TaylorMade and others are all making powerful marketing assertions about distance and control with the all-mighty purpose of shaving your score down.

As a golfer who only recently was bitten by the proverbial bug, even I have been sucked into the golf marketing vortex. Oooooh, look at that Rescue club from TaylorMade with “Movable Weight Technology which gives players the power to change the CG to create a larger draw bias or a neutral trajectory bias, promoting greater accuracy and/or distance.” Huh? Sounds very technical so it must work … right?

Last year my friend Marie handed me a sleeve of Crystal Volvik golf balls. She swears by them and told me they were the most optimal ball for ladies to use. I love ‘em! Exceptional distance and great feel, but better still they come in a myriad of cool colours like pink and tangerine that match all my outfits. I mean, who needs superior technology when your golf ball matches your skort?

As for the Callway FT-i driver … well it’s more than just marketing hype. It really works. My main squeeze has been using a demo club for the past three weeks and is a huge believer. In fact, he has already ordered one.

I’d love one, too… but does it come with a pink grip?

Get out and Smell the Lilac Trees

2007-06-29T07:21:00.000-04:00

Ah, the lilac tree. Blooming early in Spring and lasting only a short while, it has one of the best smells in the world. We have two lilac trees at our place: one in our front yard and one in the back. Every so often, I walk our golden retriever Haley early in the morning and I can’t help noticing how many lilac trees there are in our pristine little neighbourhood. With each passing tree I stop and have a sniff – ironically, the dog waits for me. And sometimes I wonder: have the lilac trees always been there and I’ve just never noticed them, or have I actually slowed down to take in my surroundings?

I’ve come to the conclusion that PR people are completely in touch with the world (the good ones, anyways) and are perpetually “on” all the time. From popular culture, politics, green issues, new products, restaurant openings, Web 2.0 and more, it’s no wonder we never slow down and simply chill.

But is slowing down a sign of weakness or complacency? If we forget to read the paper in the morning, is it a personal catastrophe? Is it not in our best interest to clear the mind and just be? For agency folks especially, I think we are so consumed with solving our client’s communications’ issues that we sometimes forget to take a moment each day for ourselves. Some unashamedly “All About Me” time is not self-indulgent – it’s a right!

I’m a strong proponent of personal downtime. It’s crucial for our little brain nodes to self-heal and re-energize to ready for the next thing that will come at us. Stealing an hour each day in the morning or at night shouldn’t be an everyday extravagance even though career and family demands play a constant tug-of-war with our priorities.

So, starting today through to Labour Day, MAVERICK staffers have the luxury of half-day Friday workdays to be used in the most selfish of ways. When I founded MAVERICK eight years ago, The Summer Half-Day was the first HR policy I implemented. We stuck to that policy, not out of duty but because it’s what we value, because everyone needs a hot lazy Friday afternoon to unwind. With a guilt-free half-day off every summer work week, we get some much-needed “All About Me” time. Whether we choose to hit the links, beat the cottage traffic, play with our children, meet up with friends, catch an afternoon matinee or any other self-serving pastime, summer half-days are refreshing, enjoyable and downright indulgent.

Life is short and summer is even shorter, so get out and smell the lilac trees once in a while. Because before you know it, summer is over.

Vanity Sizing

2007-06-22T14:06:00.000-04:00

There is something very sneaky and sinister going on in the fashion world and I think I'm the last to figure it out. Designers are lying to women … and we’re loving every minute of it!

A fashion designer’s latest salvo in the customer experience area is called Vanity Sizing.

A number of years ago a new size was introduced to unsuspecting consumers … Size 0. We all know the Size 0 lady: no hips, no waist, and certainly no pecan pie has ever touched her lips. She’s not even a lady, but some pre-pubescent “woman-girl” who likes designer duds.

The first time I knew there was a Size 0 in stores was when I was trying on some clothes at Holt Renfrew on Bloor Street a little while back. I was desperately in need of a pair of funky jeans and was in the change room trying to squeeze myself into a very tight pair of Burberry pants. Just as I was inhaling as deeply as I could to pull up the zipper, a lady in the next change room yelled out to the sales associate, “This Size 2 is too big. Can you please bring me a zero?” I was so disturbed that I felt like running to the nearest Harvey’s and shoving a great big Angus Burger down her throat.

And then I realized the Burberry jeans had slid quite nicely over my J.Lo thighs. “I’m a Size 6!” I almost shouted at the lady next door. “I’ve never been a Size 6 in jeans.” I was on such a high that I ended up trying on Calvin Klein pants, a Ralph Lauren jacket, and a Donna Karan blouse, with my sizes ranging anywhere from 4 to 6! “This is amazing!” I thought. “Either I’m losing weight or my flab is shifting!”

Sadly, I knew the jig was up when I walked into the Betsey Johnson shop in Yorkville and managed to get into a Size 2 frilly camisole. The last time I was a Size 2 … I was two years old. Something was amiss.

And then it finally hit me. I’m not getting any thinner. Rather, designers are getting shifty with their sizing and giving us gals the biggest ego boost ever in return for brand loyalty. Designers have figured out how to get a positive brand experience from consumers simply by dressing that Rubenesque Size 14 gal into a Size 10 dress. If you’re a classic Size 8 (the average woman’s size), you’ll be dipping into a Size 6 or 4 easily these days. And it’s not just my conspiracy theory mentality. Every woman I know is talking about this new “thin” phenomenon and a number of press around this subject.

So how is this even possible? Well, with the mass introduction of Size 0, which essentially is a Size 2, all of the clothes we are trying on now have moved down a notch or two to accommodate making the twos feel like zeros. And, of course, they’re adding Lycra to everything from bras to jeans to evening gowns making it so much easier to slide into our teensy-sized clothes. Lycra seems to be everywhere – hey, I think there’s even a hint of it in my furniture polish!

Suffice to say, designers are having a field day with the female mind by helping them buy into the slim myth. The good news is that there’s really no harm being done here. It’s a win-win for everyone: designers get repeat business and women get size bragging rights.

Now if only those designer price tags would downsize, too…!