Rocks Are Hard

Just Because You Can Doesn't Mean You Should

Just because you can flip the finger to a police officer, doesn't mean it's a good idea.

Just because you have the right under the law to  __fill in your own action here___ doesn't mean it makes sense or won't cause havoc.

Just because you are allowed to work from home, doesn't mean that YOU, with your own work productivity issues -- be they technical or innate -- should.

Just because you can choose not to tell the truth, doesn't mean your choice won't have repercussions now or in the future.

Just because one person does something, doesn't mean you should too (or even that it's allowed).

Just because ... oh I could go on.

While rights and rules leave significant leeway in behavior in society and in the workplace, it remains squarely on the person to choose how to act, how to work, how to react based on that person's skills, situation, capacity, etc.

It feels like common sense, but what is common to me, may not be common to you. What is clear is that reading the environment -- understanding your place in it -- is a vital step in action and reaction.  When you're the boss, more leeway in some things, much less in others. When you're an employee, understanding what the rules are -- written and implied -- is critical to success.  When you're the agency, understanding and adhering to the extra layer of client norms is key to keeping that client, regardless of how good the work product is. When you're a citizen, grasping authority, rights and boundaries can be the difference between "thank you m'am" and "spread 'em."

Sort of like when your mother said "and if Jeff jumped off a bridge, would you do that too?"

Be alert. Know yourself. Understand that your choices have consequences, good and bad.

It Doesn't Work That Way: Relevancy in Today's Media Market

From where I sit it doesn't matter how old you are or what process you use in generating positive coverage for companies, products and people. What matters is HOW RELEVANT YOU ARE.

This is particularly true for companies providing consumer products and services.  We've had a rash of conversations about this topic with clients in the last 6 weeks --  spurred on by Sequoia's Deck. Clients wondering why some of their/our outreach programs have stalled.

PEOPLE! We were/are  in the middle of a worldwide financial crisis the dynamics of which the experts don't understand (hello! when John Doerr says he doesn't understand what's going on, that there is time to worry), on top of a game-changing presidential election on top of highly contentious statewide and regional elections. PEOPLE! If your company or product or executive doesn't have something precient to offer about these issues, you're not going to get covered in a meaningful way. Really, not many companies MATTER in this environment.

COMPOUNDING this problem is the huge number of reporters who have lost their jobs in the last 12 months -- todays reporters are covering more topics, in more formats, and simply do not have the time to respond to everything they like. Today, the pitch needs to be "cut and pasteable" so that if they like it, the cut and paste and bookend it and they're done -- you've got your story, without any feedback and they're on to the next. It's not rude, it's practical.

Of course we saw this coming and started changing tactics in mid September. We moved to con calls and virtual meetings over in-person meetings. We started changing up the pitches and "loading in" different options so that when the election was done, reporters would have a suite of stories to pick up. 

And it's working. The whole situation started changing last Wednesday -- loosening up with more reporters freed up from the election back to their regular business. 

So now the pitches seem to be working and moving into print or tv. BUT NOT JUST ANY OLD STORY. Stories that are RELEVANT to the national financial situation, to the time of year, to the trends going on (job losses, healthcare costs, smaller personal budgets, etc.). 

So -- the job is to get postive, business-driving coverage for our clients. In many cases today that will mean, NOT delivering the kind of stories the client wants, but stories where the client is cast in a positive and relevant light in relation to the macro trends impacting the consumer today. That is the job -- stop doing what doesn't work, start doing what does.

Be relevant. Focus. Be HELPFUL to reporters. And help your client understand what is possible and what is not for their programs.

Hoarding Our Nuts

So here we are again..... economy is crunching (well that sound you hear is credit lines being zeroed out), clients are tightening their belts in anticipation and, well, all *&^% rolls down hill.

Double Forte was started at the end of 2002 when the economy quite frankly sucked. Six years later and it looks like groundhog day, all over again.  The difference for us is that we're not in a closet in Ghiradelli Square with just Lee and Dan and some freelancers who need the work more than we do.

Now we're 18 strong -- and strong I mean. Strong professionals who do the work. With a real office and many clients, big and small.  How to prepare? What to do?

DO NOT PANIC! NOW IS THE TIME TO STICK TO OUR KNITTING.

Here's what I know about operating a service firm in this type of tough market:

- Being easy to work with MATTERS. Say yes, and work around to no. DO NOT say no and get forced into being proved wrong.  Say yes, figure out what can be done and then make something happen.

- Attitude Matters.

- Performance Matters. Just because it's harder doesn't mean that you can "let it go," get lazy or think that the results don't matter -- they MATTER MORE

    On the Media Relations side of the equation, that means finding ways to make your client RELEVANT in a crazy time when the Dow vacillates from day to day, with 30ish days to go until a new president (please God make it only 30 days) is elected, when attention will then turn to how shitty the Holiday retail season will be.

In ADVERSITY THERE IS TREMENDOUS OPPORTUNITY if you have your head on straight and have a good attitude. 

What does this mean? This means the client may not get the story they want, our job is to get them the story they NEED for THEM TO BE RELEVANT.

Simpler is better.

Working from fear causes more fear. Everyone's going to be hoarding their nuts, clamping down, being more critical of spend. This is perfect for us.

In San Franciso it is really hard to find anyone with 5 years of experience doing what we do. Why? Becuase no one hired any entry level people between mid-2001 and 2004. Now 4, 5, 6 years later the agencies like us have gotten to 10 - 15 people and stayed. Medium to Big agencies re filled with newbies with 1,2, 3 years of experience -- and I mean filled.

So as clients squeeze the budgets down, transfer funds from advertising to WOM and PR, the traditional model firms will get further squeezed on capacity and margin while we can just do what we do -- provide excellent results that drive business executed quickly by professionals who know what they're doing.

Tally Ho!