Day: March 7, 2003

The ultimate conference giveaway….

Picture the scene.

You are sitting around the conference table with the marketing group.  You are half way through planning and organizing a user conference for your customers. The venue is booked, you have the entertainment, your partner conference hall is fully booked out.  Thousands of your customers are already confirmed, the media is showing high levels of interest in attending. Everyone is motivated and ready.

Towards the end of today’s agenda is an item concerning attendee packs.  You know the usual stuff, conference guides, computer bags etc.  Someone to your left pipes up.

“I’ve a great idea,” he blurts.  Everyone turns to him.

“Let’s give all the attendees dolls in the image of our executive team with bobbing heads.”

Do you: a) Ask the proposer to take a drug test or b) Break into spontaneous applause?

Here’s what one company decided.

Miscellaneous PR…. 

I found an interesting posting on Nick Denton’s blog from last May.  It’s an excerpt from a leaked internal memo from a large (un-named) PR firm detailing how to approach bloggers.

MediaMap‘s newsletter this month covers; fundamentals of successful pitching, helping your client publish a book, reminders for a successful press interview, the importance of media relationships and the lessons to be learned from how NASA handled their most recent crisis.   

The Register has a story on Microsoft’s pre-launch of Office 2003 which pokes fun at their use of NDA’s with journalists.

Strategic Marketing Montreal has a very informative article on how to think better!

Finally a Technology Marketing story on how iMakeNews is looking to jump on the blogging bandwagon.

Sound Analysts Relations Advice….. 

I’ve mentioned the Knowledge Capital Group here before, they’re a Texas based firm that offers analyst relations services to both PR firms and PR clients.  Their monthly newsletter AR Insider is well written and gives some excellent information and sound advice on dealing with industry analysts.  This month looks at IDC and the top issues facing analyst relations in 2003.

Although they are in the business of selling Analyst Relations services and sometimes they overplay the role of AR :-), nonetheless their newsletter is very valuable to anyone working with analysts.

KCG are hosting two free webinars in March on �The AR response to the challenges facing the Industry Analyst Community�. The events take place on Tuesday, March 18th at 3:30 pm CST and Wednesday, March 19th at 11:00 am CST.  For more information call or e-mail Stephen England at 512.334.5943.