Like many, I have been reading with consternation the trouble affecting Toyota concerning their defective gas pedal and Prius brake problems. Any company can have a faulty part. I don’t take issue with that or expect Toyota to be perfect. But what I think has many of us concerned is the idea that Toyota has known about this problem for years and done nothing until now to resolve it. It doesn’t help to have the finger pointing between Toyota and their Indiana supplier CTS. I have driven Toyotas almost exclusively for more than 20 years. So too have my wife and children. I am not “into” cars. The reason I chose Toyota is that I wanted a well made car with a high safety rating and lower than normal incidence of repair that would get me from point A to point B reliably. My Toyotas always did that. Now, my daughter’s car is part of the recall and I feel responsible for recommending that she purchase a Toyota.

If you are going to build your reputation on quality and safety, then you need to make an uncompromising promise to deliver. That means following up on reports of sticky gas pedals as soon as they are reported and not just after multiple deaths have occurred. Like the Firestone 500 tire did to Firestone, Toyota will be forever tarnished by this safety overlook. Toyota also pulled the plug on a major new marketing campaign that, in part, promoted the company’s record in terms of safety and reliability. Consumer Reports editors—get out your red pens.

Large companies take a major risk when they build their reputation on certain principles and then fail miserably on those same principles.

Take Tiger and Accenture as a prime case in point.

But it doesn’t end with just corporations. How about John Edwards and his fall from grace as the real John Edwards reared his ugly head over a two-year period. His reputation as the consummate family man may have been a larger fall than Tiger Woods because whereas most of us knew precious little about Tiger Woods private life (and now we know why), we felt we knew John Edwards. How can you not when you are running for the highest position in the land and the press hounds you day and night? Once again, the PR machine did not ultimately match the product.

Ever think what your company’s reputation is? If your company could afford to run a super bowl ad, what image would your company be projecting?

Occasionally, I Google my own name to see what comes up. Save the e-mails about my ego. I am hoping that I will find links to our company website, links to my LinkedIn page, my blog, and other industry associations I am apart of.

What I hope not to find are links to any other “Larry Claymans” that are up to no good out in the world. In a recent search, I found a link that stated F**K Larry Clayman. Quite disturbing but in this case, it was a Larry Clayman who is head of a group called Judicial Watch and is sometimes a controversial or polarizing figure. This was on Page One of a Google search for my name. OUCH!

What can I do about it? Not much. The only thing I can hope to do is to create enough links about the “good” Larry Clayman (that would be me, dear reader) so as to push the link to the “bad” Larry Clayman off of page one. Easier said than done but that is one of the reasons why we recommend having as many different opportunities as possible for someone to find you or your company or products. You never know through which door they will come—and ultimately it doesn’t matter which door they come through as long as they enter.

If you do not have a common name (and my last name is not that common), you will have fewer issues in this area. But if you have a very common name such as John Smith, you can be assured that among all of the “good” John Smiths, you will have to fight for your position among all of the “bad” John Smiths. Good luck with that one.

Go ahead. Try Googling your name and see what you find. You might be surprised. I would be interested in hearing about your experience.

Oh yeah, don’t feel that you are an ego-maniac for Googling your own name. It’s all in the name of research, you know.

As we enter the world of content, word choice becomes a considerable factor as we create all of the content we need for our website, our blogs, our social media sites, let alone our literature, ads, etc.

Content has become the “handle” that we all use when we discuss what will fill these vast empty spaces. It’s one thing to say we need to revamp our website. But with what? And where will that content come from? When I was young and asked my Dad for money, he would often say, “I don’t see any money trees growing in the backyard.” Well I don’t see any content trees growing back there either. Creating good content doesn’t just happen. It takes time, effort, research and good writing.

Proper word choice is a key ingredient. One only need watch the tube for any period of time to find examples of poor word choice. For instance, two days after the earthquake in Haiti, a CNN commentator noted that if help did not come soon, officials were concerned about looting. LOOTING? Looting is what happens when riots take place or when protests go awry. On the other hand, when one is starving and there is no help in sight, I don’t see how anyone could call that looting! If the quake had hit us, don’t you think you would do what ever it took to keep you and your loved ones alive—including “stealing” food from wherever you could find it? I would hardly call that looting. Yet, I have seen many other networks and reporters pick up this unfortunate word choice.

The above may be an extreme example but you can see how choosing the wrong word can create the entire wrong connotation.

So next time you need to create content for your various marketing vehicles, think about word choice. The right word can make all of the difference in your message.

And those are my words of the day.

How many times have we all heard that phrase? Usually it’s a politician, sports figure or a Hollywood type outraged by a story in the press where they claim they were quoted “out of context.” The underlying assumption of course is that had the entire quote been used, the complete opposite position was actually the one intended by the subject of the quote.

In advertising and marketing, context is also vitally important. In fact, it may be the most important aspect to good media buying decisions. After all, is it any surprise that we see beer commercials during football games? Yet while that logic is easy to deduce, one must wonder if everyone watching the nightly national news reports is suffering from some serious health issue requiring numerous prescription drugs. What’s more, one must further wonder if most of the people watching the national news at 6:30 are impotent men. This conclusion would also be logical given the number of Cialis and Viagra commercials in this time slot. I guess they don’t call it “broadcasting” for nothing. Network TV is “broadcast” to the masses. It’s like a direct mail piece going out to everybody. You know your target is in there somewhere so you’ll deal with the waste to find the gold. Cable channels created “narrow casting” where science lovers could tune in the National Geographic channel; animal lovers could dial in Animal Planet and history buffs could watch The History Channel. This provided the opportunity for much more targeted advertising, knowing that you are reaching a specific audience. I must admit though that I don’t see this being done with great aplomb as one would think.

So it reasons to follow that if it makes sense to have your advertising message in proximity to an audience who is predisposed to that subject matter, your message will be more roundly approved.

Having said all that, the world of online contextual advertising is certainly where it is at as we enter 2010. In a broader sense, Google AdWord ads (the little text ads to the right of the organic search results) are the best example of this. Unfortunately, as we all have learned, those little ads don’t always deliver the goods for what you were hoping to find. So what other options are there?

Here are just a few:

• sponsorship of an e-newsletter with relevant articles related to your product or service

• sponsorship of a specific page of an industry website with highly targeted information related to your product or service

• an online ad on a key trade show site where your company will be exhibiting

• an online ad on a major distributor’s website who handles your product

There are many more opportunities to engage in contextual advertising but don’t feel that your opportunities are limited to Google, Yahoo or Bing. In the industrial sector, thomasnet.com, globalspec.com and industrynet.com are just three online directories that provide an opportunity for advertisers to do contextual advertising based on keyword searches.

So as you prepare for 2010, keep it all in context and spend your marketing dollar where it best reaches your audience.

I keep coming back to the healthcare topic not just because as I write this, the Senate is about to start debate on the proposed new plan. No, I keep coming back to this topic because it affects every single American whether or not you currently have coverage. If you do, you are seeing your premiums (or at least your contribution) go up by double digits almost every year and if you don’t have coverage, we who do are paying your freight. This madness has to end.

But you may have wondered as did I how we ever got into this mess in the first place. How and why was our health insurance system first started through employers? What are the various roles of insurance companies, pharmaceutical manufacturers, medical facilities and physicians in this complex mix? Who is really calling the shots and what needs to be done to right the system?

These are questions that should be of interest to all regardless of what side of the aisle you sit.

Fortunately, I can point you in the right direction. It will take 2 hours of your life but given the gravity of the situation, it might be helpful to have this background information before you start sending letters to your congressional representative pleading with them to vote one way or the other.

The NPR radio show “The American Life” hosted by Ira Glass has investigated the healthcare issue from a historical perspective right up to the current crisis. I guarantee you that you will learn plenty from these two shows that you most likely did not know. I certainly did.

I challenge you to listen to these two show and then let me know what you think so we can have an informed dialogue. I assure you that it will be well worth your time.

The first program explains why costs keep rising.

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?sched=1320

 

The second program goes deeper into the healthcare insurance industry. You need to hear this.

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/Radio_Episode.aspx?sched=1321

Remember, I want to hear from you. Comment to this blog, send me an e-mail or pick up the phone. Let’s talk healthcare. It’s a subject we can all relate to.

 

I Walked Into My Office and Nothing Made Sense

I was talking to my friend Jack the other day. He is one of my most loyal readers of this blog (that means he has read at least one posting one time in his life). He commented that it had been a while since I had last offered my meanderings. So, loyal readers, I offer you the ultimate brownie sundae—three topics for the price of one! That’s right—you get three somewhat fully formed missives for the low, low price you have been used to paying in the past. So, without further ado. . .

Can Print Take On A New Life?

If you are a football fan, you are well aware of the technology introduced a few years ago that allows broadcasters to artificially show you where the first down line is through a bright yellow line. This line somehow is not “painted” over any players who may stand in front of it or even on it. Although I am not a hockey fan, I am told this same technology is used to help viewers follow the puck during the action. This technology is called AR—short for augmented reality.

It turns out that AR may play a significant role in the future of print.

The current issue (December) of Esquire magazine incorporates AR that allows the reader to hold the page up to a web cam, which, in turn, triggers a video, to play. I know. Sounds like science fiction but it could be the next wave in making print more interactive. Would B2B publishers ever consider using AR? Who knows? But since B2B publishers typically adopt ideas from the consumer world once they are convinced it will fly, we could see AR in our favorite trade magazine as early as—say—2015?

OK, if you’ve ever walked into my office, you would know that nothing has made sense there for quite a few years. But in this case, I’m not talking about your every day disorganization or slovenliness. I am talking about a much higher order of chaos.

I am talking about the fact that we marketers may not be sitting on top of the mountain preaching to the masses (our customers) for much longer. Through the power of social media, which effectively is the universe’s largest word of mouth vehicle, the masses are now talking amongst themselves. They are tired of being preached to. They want to tell US what they want and when they want it. And if we still want to get their attention, we had better find a damn creative way to do it that entices their curiosity. The world of marketing and advertising is in the midst of a mind-numbing storm that makes Katrina look like scattered showers (no offense intended to the tragedy of those who suffered and or died). I can assure you that nobody knows where this will go. If somebody does attempt to tell you the end story of this seismic shift, they are probably the same people trying to tell you which stocks will go up or down and which teams will win on Sunday. In short, they are taking educated guesses. Stay tuned because when everything in my office stops flying around and finally settles, it will be a much different world. I’ll keep you posted. Meanwhile, I’m wearing a hard hat.

What Does LeBron James Have To Do With the Machine Tool Business?

Absolutely nothing. But that is why I love Today’s Machining World.

This wonderful trade magazine is the brainchild of Lloyd Graff. Lloyd is a different kind of trade magazine publisher. First, he knows of what he speaks as he has run a company – Graf Pinkert—that actually sells equipment into the industry about which he writes. Conflict of interest? Maybe but he addressed that long ago. Other than one self-serving ad for his company in each issue, his presentation is even handed. So not being the most technical guy in the world (some would say that is an exaggerated understatement), why do I enjoy this magazine? Because Lloyd is one of the only people in B2B publishing that recognizes that if he put a variety of content into his magazine, people are more apt to read it. Therefore, each issue includes a book review, a puzzle, and an article on an out-of-the-box thinker who may or may not be part of the machine tool industry. In short, I read Today’s Machining World with the same mindset that I read magazines that I subscribe to at home. I’m relaxed. I pour a glass of wine and I dig in. It is always a pleasure. Lloyd also puts a lot of himself into the magazine both through his regular column, which includes snippets about local Chicago sports, his religion, his health, his family, and politics in addition to his keen insight on what is going on in his industry. It’s the ultimate gossip column for his readers because, after all, we are not just what we do for a living. Lloyd recognizes this and brings this to his readers. It was Lloyd who actually inspired the blog you are reading. It has been my mission to infuse my marketing blog with a lot of other issues important to me. Not all of these topics will be important to you but hopefully enough will be to keep you reading.

NOTE TO READER: Here is the self-serving part. Lloyd was kind enough to ask me to write a book review on Shooting Stars, the new book by LeBron James and Buzz Bissinger about LeBron’s high school years. He asked me because he wanted the spin of an Akron observer.

In the Wizard of Oz, it may have been lions and tigers and bears that put fear in the hearts of Dorothy and her friends but today, hush money, blackmail and extortion are much more in vogue. But be ready to pay the piper because the price of hush money has risen far faster than the cost of living.

About a month ago, I saw the Hollywood film Frost/Nixon that depicted the back-story of how the Nixon interviews with David Frost came to happen. This later inspired me to check with NetFlix to see if they had the actual Nixon/Frost interviews. Sure enough, they did. I had seen them back in the day, but I was not the political animal then that I am now so they were seen through the eyes of a 20-something college kid as opposed to a more shall we say seasoned observer. A couple of things caught my eye. First, the amazing fact that Frost was able to pull this interview off by cobbling together financing for an independent production is amazing in itself. The networks were sideline observers to an event of colossal proportions. They were not willing to offer as many hours in prime time as Frost was guaranteeing. Not only did Frost beat them at their own game, he actually got Nixon and his people to agree that they would not be privy to any questions prior to the interview nor would they have any ability to see the final program before airing. Now stop right there. Imagine an interview with any former president (or any key figure for that matter) agreeing to those terms today. Not a chance.

The other interesting thing I noticed was the kind of money being offered as “hush money” to make sure that people like E. Howard Hunt and others would not spill the beans. In Hunt’s case, the payoff being bandied about was the lofty sum of $120,000. A tidy sum to be sure in those days but certainly that figure pails by comparison to the 2 million that Bob Halderman allegedly tried to extort from David Letterman recently to keep some untimely sexual liaisons quiet.

So, the bottom line is this. In 2009, it takes 2 million dollars to keep a sexual tryst (or shall we say several sexual trysts) quiet and a mere 37 years earlier it only took $120k to keep a white house “plumber” from springing leaks. And they say we’re in a recession?

Recently, I blogged about the current healthcare debate. I noted that no matter where you stand politically, most people agree that something radical must be done.

Now here are some facts to chew on. Just 15% of the people use 75% of the benefits. This disparity will only grow as the baby boomer generation continues to age. Today, the average cost to cover a family with reasonable health insurance is $13,000 a year.
At the rate the health insurance costs have increased over the last ten years, it could cost as much as $25,000 per year to cover that same family ten years from now—if nothing is done to stop the bleeding (no pun intended). Most families simply cannot afford that. Furthermore, I can’t think of too many employers who will pay that kind of a premium for an employee and his or her family.

Add to this the fact that Medicare was not funded to handle these kinds of increases and our aging population is destined for serious trouble if nothing is done.

Yes, it is going to be expensive. Yes, it will be painful. Yes, we are leaving a terrible legacy (and debt) for our children. But in the long run, this will be less painful and less costly for all than the alternative. Nobody is saying the next few years will be a picnic while we go through this transition as a country. There is no good time to do this so we best take it on now.

Got a better idea? I’d love to hear it.

Working in a field that is in the middle of a cyclone of change, I am constantly fascinated by what the long term affects will be of some of the things we are currently experiencing. For instance, I have already instructed my staff that when preparing our e-newsletter, make sure the most important information is covered first and clearly. We know that people “scan” copy online where they are more inclined to “read” it in print. Therefore, we must make our copy “scannable”. If we are building a website, we must keep in mind that our copy needs to be “SEO-friendly”. If we are sending a Tweet, it must be 140 characters. If we are posting to Facebook, nobody wants to read a book. Keep it short and mostly inane. Where is this going to take us as a society? We are already seeing the death of print. The question is “what is it being replaced with”? Will our children and grandchildren be writing their Master theses with 3-letter acronyms since that is what they have been using for much of their correspondence throughout their life? More importantly, will their professors accept it?

I am in a quandary. I make my living in communications yet I wonder how we are communicating today and what it means for tomorrow. Am I just getting old and not in touch? Yes to the first part but I think no to the second. I think there is a real issue here that needs more attention.

In his new book, “The Tyranny of E-Mail”, John Freeman, acting editor of Granta magazine, makes some of these points much better than I could. He points out “The faster we talk and chat and type over tools such as email and text messages, the more our communication will resemble traveling at great speed. Bumped and jostled, queasy from the constant ocular and muscular adjustments to our body must make to keep up, we will live in a constant state of digital jet lag.” I couldn’t have said it better.

The US postal service is going broke because it is handling a fraction of the mail it used to. Our fax machine lies almost dormant since almost every communication is through e-mail. I explain to my 30-year old daughter that our media orders used to be mailed and the acknowledgements from the publications were also mailed. And yet, business got done.

It is our business to guide our clients through this maze and consul them about the business benefits of social media and yet, one side of my brain is saying, let’s back away and send a customer a hand written letter and then knock off early and take a hike in the park.

These days, we hear the phrase “historically speaking” a lot. It is typically used in analyzing the current economic meltdown we are experiencing. Oh, I know, things are getting better so they tell us.
But everyone admits that unemployment numbers always trail an economic improvement. But if we still have double-digit unemployment six months from now, are we really improving?
Is the average family going to feel better? More confidant? More likely to spend money on big-ticket items? I don’t think so. And since consumer spending is 2/3s of the GDP, I think we still have a long way to go.

When you delve into the phrase “historically speaking”, you are really talking about statistics about how the economy has returned after past recessions or depressions. But are all times we live in the same? Are we the same country that we were in the 30s, the 70s, the 80s? Hardly. We are now living in a global economy that simply didn’t exist during these past meltdowns. We are also living in a time when many Americans have their retirement tied up in the market. This was certainly not the case in these past times and has only been the case since 401K pension plans were created. Before then, only wealthy people were “in the market.” The rest of us saved as much as we could and planned to retire on social security.

As I’ve stated in earlier columns, I love statistics. I first fell in love with statistics because of my love of baseball. For any serious baseball fan, the game and the stats are never far apart. But in my beloved sport of baseball, where all of the lore is based on past statistics, we now have the added element of steroids and other performing enhancing drugs. So, the term “historically speaking” in the world of baseball has taken on a whole new meaning. Do the stats of Bonds, A-Rod, Ortiz, Manny, Clemons and so many others really mean anything when compared to players who accomplished their stats with no more than a couple of beers and a pack of smokes?

In a similar vein, how do we then feel that we can do comparable statistical overlays between what our country is experiencing now and what it experienced in decades past? I am of the belief that we are comparing apples and oranges and that no one really knows how we will come out of this and when and what we will look like when we do. I have read scores of articles and listened to hours of “expert” testimony on the subject, much of it one expert reading the “tea leaves” completely opposite to his counterpart. Therefore, who should we really choose to believe anyway? Look at how the big banks are bragging about huge profits in the quarter after they received billions in bale out money. Does anybody really believe they are miraculously solvent again?

Whether we’re talking economics or baseball, I say take your history, flush it and start all over again.