Day: June 2, 2004

Mark Weiner, CEO of PR measurement firm Delahaye Medialink penned an article (PDF) in the January-February issue of the IABC’s Communication World on the use of Six Sigma techniques to improve PR activties and their return.

Six Sigma is quite complex, but in essence it is a method for identifying defects in a process and thereby helping you to remove those defects to create more effective processes.

Mark includes a case study of how GE used this approach to measure their PR efforts.

“Essentially, the purpose of Six Sigma is to gain breakthrough knowledge on how to improve processes to do things better, faster and at lower cost.”

Footnote:

Thanks to John Porcaro for the link.

Guerilla marketing could be defined as marketing programs that attempt to achieve successful outcomes through using innovative, non-traditional tactics that attempt to encourage “buzz” or word of mouth communication.

It became a hugely popular pursuit towards the end of the 1990’s to the present day, though the vast majority of “guerilla” marketing could be filed in the “what were they thinking category” from beautiful people using mobile phones to artwork on the pavement.

Of course clever guerilla marketing can be tremendously effective, but like most marketing disciplines, the greater the volume, the lower the quality and the less effective they become.

A colleague, commenting on my recent post about JBoss and their attempts to promote their products anonymously on message boards, pointed out that such ham fisted attempts at Guerilla marketing should really be called “Gorilla Marketing” because of its unimaginative fumbling efforts at creating buzz (a term I’m not hugely fond of).

That got me thinking and I am delighted to announce that JBoss is the first winner of the sporadic “PR Opinions Gorilla Marketing Award”.

All nominations welcome.