I got the email today, the Alphabet Bash is returning again this year.
Here's where I'd like to get some input from my fellow colleagues with the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA): do you feel this event is helpful or detrimental?
I've been the last couple years; and the venue is a nice place. As long as I can remember, the event has been at the Epic club in downtown Minneapolis. But, I've found some problems.
First, there are so many organizations that come to this event. I know last year, it was hard for me to find colleagues within the PRSA. Not to say I didn't find any, but they were hard to come by. When you're networking, it gets to be hard when you're a PR professional, and you run into lots of advertising and marketing people.
A colleague of mine told me last year that the PRSA typically has one of the lowest attendances of all the organizations at the ABC Bash.
Second, it seems to me to be a tad loud for quality networking. More than once I've almost felt like I had to yell at the people I was talking to, just to be heard. Well, "yell" might be a little harsh, but you get the idea.
I know that our chapter of the PRSA has semi-monthly networking events, but when I found out about the ABC Bash a few years back, I thought that it might be much more fruitful with a large event to find even more people in the PR industry. I don't think that's the case. Maybe that's just me.
Finally, the cost seems to be a bit high. MNPRSA events are a fraction of the cost of the ABC Bash.
It's nice to meet lots of people, but, when you're looking to get connections with public relations people, I found that the ABC Bash just wasn't the right fit. I will probably find myself at more of the MNPRSA networking events in the future.
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Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Monday, June 27, 2011
Newspapers and TV news...rebounding?
This was quite a surprise: perusing the internet tonight, I came across something that piqued my interest: apparently, newspapers and TV news are making a comeback, according to a recent Gallup poll.
In the last few years, I have only heard how traditional media, like newspapers, have been on a steady decline. So much so, some golden standards in the newspaper industry switched to a Web-only format (i.e.Seattle Post-Intelligencer), and some closed altogether (i.e. Rocky Mountain News).
With all the advances in technology, cell phones, iPads, Kindle, print newspapers were all but dead. Of course, I'm still an old-fashioned kind of guy, and I still like my printed edition of the newspaper every once in a while.
A blog called Hot Air noted that the increase in confidence wasn't substantial; but that the increase was at least noticeable enough for Gallup to make a news item out of it.
Let's not get too excited though, the findings appear to have a political undertone to them. There doesn't seem to be any age demographic noted for the increase. The only age group that Hot Air mentions is the 18-29-year-old demographic; but, the problem there is that confidence in newspapers declined 10 points with that age group.
Hot Air also notes that the uptick in newspaper confidence seems to be with Democrats. Conversely, conservative Republicans still remain wary of both media.
In the last few years, I have only heard how traditional media, like newspapers, have been on a steady decline. So much so, some golden standards in the newspaper industry switched to a Web-only format (i.e.Seattle Post-Intelligencer), and some closed altogether (i.e. Rocky Mountain News).
With all the advances in technology, cell phones, iPads, Kindle, print newspapers were all but dead. Of course, I'm still an old-fashioned kind of guy, and I still like my printed edition of the newspaper every once in a while.
A blog called Hot Air noted that the increase in confidence wasn't substantial; but that the increase was at least noticeable enough for Gallup to make a news item out of it.
Let's not get too excited though, the findings appear to have a political undertone to them. There doesn't seem to be any age demographic noted for the increase. The only age group that Hot Air mentions is the 18-29-year-old demographic; but, the problem there is that confidence in newspapers declined 10 points with that age group.
Hot Air also notes that the uptick in newspaper confidence seems to be with Democrats. Conversely, conservative Republicans still remain wary of both media.
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Winnipeg Jets are back
It's been a lot of years, 16 to be exact, but the Winnipeg Jets are back in the National Hockey League (NHL).
The name was announced yesterday at the Xcel Energy Center during the NHL Draft. It's funny, because there were a ton of people saying that the Jets' name would not be resurrected. The original Jets moved to Phoenix and became the Coyotes in the 1996-97 season.
Which means, that all the history, color schemes, uniforms, logos and everything attached to the Jets in some fashion moved with the team to Phoenix in 1996. Even the mayor of Winnipeg said that the Jets name wouldn't come back.
Unless they had been smart, like Cleveland was. When Art Modell took the Cleveland Browns (NFL) to Baltimore, the city of Cleveland retained the rights to everything: history, logos, team colors, uniforms, etc. Essentially, Modell was bringing an expansion team to Baltimore. Two years later when Cleveland was awarded another NFL franchise, it was as if the team never left.
But, the newest installment of the Jets won't have too much history. Eleven years, all of which were in Atlanta. The Thrashers weren't the best team, winning only a handful of games every season. So, the short history the Jets will have once they make it up to Winnipeg won't be looked upon fondly, if at all.
Some teams don't really even acknowledge the history of the team once they've moved. Case in point, the Minnesota Twins. Relocated to the Twin Cities from Washington DC in 1960, the Twins technically have been a franchise since the early 1900s. Incidentally, the Twins technically have won three World Series, their first coming in 1924, but as the Washington Senators.
As for the Jets, they'll somewhat be starting all over again: a new logo, color scheme, corporate identity, etc. will be chosen in the months ahead. As for the folks in Atlanta, they might be scratching their heads trying to figure out how they've lost two NHL franchises, both to Canada. Atlanta lost the Flames to Calgary in 1980.
It will be nice to see "Winnipeg Jets" back in the standings next season.
The name was announced yesterday at the Xcel Energy Center during the NHL Draft. It's funny, because there were a ton of people saying that the Jets' name would not be resurrected. The original Jets moved to Phoenix and became the Coyotes in the 1996-97 season.
Which means, that all the history, color schemes, uniforms, logos and everything attached to the Jets in some fashion moved with the team to Phoenix in 1996. Even the mayor of Winnipeg said that the Jets name wouldn't come back.
Unless they had been smart, like Cleveland was. When Art Modell took the Cleveland Browns (NFL) to Baltimore, the city of Cleveland retained the rights to everything: history, logos, team colors, uniforms, etc. Essentially, Modell was bringing an expansion team to Baltimore. Two years later when Cleveland was awarded another NFL franchise, it was as if the team never left.
But, the newest installment of the Jets won't have too much history. Eleven years, all of which were in Atlanta. The Thrashers weren't the best team, winning only a handful of games every season. So, the short history the Jets will have once they make it up to Winnipeg won't be looked upon fondly, if at all.
Some teams don't really even acknowledge the history of the team once they've moved. Case in point, the Minnesota Twins. Relocated to the Twin Cities from Washington DC in 1960, the Twins technically have been a franchise since the early 1900s. Incidentally, the Twins technically have won three World Series, their first coming in 1924, but as the Washington Senators.
As for the Jets, they'll somewhat be starting all over again: a new logo, color scheme, corporate identity, etc. will be chosen in the months ahead. As for the folks in Atlanta, they might be scratching their heads trying to figure out how they've lost two NHL franchises, both to Canada. Atlanta lost the Flames to Calgary in 1980.
It will be nice to see "Winnipeg Jets" back in the standings next season.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Clever tactic, or invasion of privacy?
I'm sure it's been written about online before, but I saw an article in my email edition of Advertising Age today that caught me a bit off-guard. The article (linked to the title of this post) talked about how, just in a search engine, Google can target consumers with ads, based on what they search.
On one hand, that's all well and good. We all hate pop-up ads, and most of us probably have pop-up blockers on our computers. However, if those pop-up ads appeal to us, would we be more likely to turn off the blocker and actually pay attention to what they're trying to sell us?
Say I'm doing a search on Google for a synopsis on a movie. All of a sudden, an ad pops up for Netflix; or a small little advertisement for Red Dot. That's actually clever. Of course, I already subscribe to Netflix; so the ad would have fallen subject to being "x'd out." I was just looking for a synopsis on a movie.
Or, I could be doing some sort of product research. An ad pops up for just that product and maybe a "click to save 50 cents" sort of thing. That probably appeals to consumers.
But, on the other hand, what about the unusual searches? Sometimes, people search for the oddest things on Google. Price even said in the interview that the internet was becoming more "personalized," so he's trying to adapt ads to meet that personalization. Might that approach become too personal in some cases? Almost like a case of Big Brother knowing what we're doing on the internet?
If that's the case, will it turn consumers off?
On one hand, that's all well and good. We all hate pop-up ads, and most of us probably have pop-up blockers on our computers. However, if those pop-up ads appeal to us, would we be more likely to turn off the blocker and actually pay attention to what they're trying to sell us?
Say I'm doing a search on Google for a synopsis on a movie. All of a sudden, an ad pops up for Netflix; or a small little advertisement for Red Dot. That's actually clever. Of course, I already subscribe to Netflix; so the ad would have fallen subject to being "x'd out." I was just looking for a synopsis on a movie.
Or, I could be doing some sort of product research. An ad pops up for just that product and maybe a "click to save 50 cents" sort of thing. That probably appeals to consumers.
But, on the other hand, what about the unusual searches? Sometimes, people search for the oddest things on Google. Price even said in the interview that the internet was becoming more "personalized," so he's trying to adapt ads to meet that personalization. Might that approach become too personal in some cases? Almost like a case of Big Brother knowing what we're doing on the internet?
If that's the case, will it turn consumers off?
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Atlanta Thrashers relocation approved
The National Hockey League (NHL) unanimously approved the sale and relocation of the Atlanta Thrashers. The Thrashers will be moving to Winnipeg, Manitoba next season. Atlanta has now lost two NHL teams; and both have been to Canada. Atlanta lost the Flames in 1980 to Calgary.
Winnipeg has been without NHL hockey for 15 years. Their previous team, the Jets, moved to Phoenix in 1995. Now, with a new arena, Winnipeg is ready to re-enter the league. But, a few snags exist that will require, in my opinion, a great deal of good PR and marketing strategy.
The arena in Winnipeg, the MTS Centre, only seats 15,000. It will be the smallest arena in the NHL. The NHL required the group that purchased the team, True North, to sell 13,000 season tickets, which they have done. The Thrashers were in the bottom 5 in attendance last season. There are 30 teams overall in the NHL. The Thrashers were bringing in, on average, about 13,200.
Here's a problem: that number won't change. The only difference is, 13,200 is closer to a sellout in a 15,000-seat arena. That same number equated to an arena that was about 60% full in Atlanta. My thinking is that the critics will say, "What's changed? They're still getting the same attendance, just in a different city."
Then, there's the issue of how to brand the team. Should they bring the Jets back? The mayor of Winnipeg says that won't happen. Problem there is that the Winnipeg Jets' team history, colors, logos and such moved with the team in 1995 to Phoenix. Just like what happened with the North Stars when they moved in 1993 to Dallas. For lack of a better phrase, it stinks to see Bill Goldsworthy's retired number hanging in the rafters at American Airlines Center in Dallas. He wasn't a Dallas Star, he was a Minnesota North Star. But, the franchise and its long history moved.
The Jets (we'll call them that for now) have a great deal of work ahead of them in the months ahead. A new name, logo and color scheme have to be decided upon. That's just the start. And, re-entering a market that has been without hockey for so long will be a difficult PR challenge as well.
Winnipeg has been without NHL hockey for 15 years. Their previous team, the Jets, moved to Phoenix in 1995. Now, with a new arena, Winnipeg is ready to re-enter the league. But, a few snags exist that will require, in my opinion, a great deal of good PR and marketing strategy.
The arena in Winnipeg, the MTS Centre, only seats 15,000. It will be the smallest arena in the NHL. The NHL required the group that purchased the team, True North, to sell 13,000 season tickets, which they have done. The Thrashers were in the bottom 5 in attendance last season. There are 30 teams overall in the NHL. The Thrashers were bringing in, on average, about 13,200.
Here's a problem: that number won't change. The only difference is, 13,200 is closer to a sellout in a 15,000-seat arena. That same number equated to an arena that was about 60% full in Atlanta. My thinking is that the critics will say, "What's changed? They're still getting the same attendance, just in a different city."
Then, there's the issue of how to brand the team. Should they bring the Jets back? The mayor of Winnipeg says that won't happen. Problem there is that the Winnipeg Jets' team history, colors, logos and such moved with the team in 1995 to Phoenix. Just like what happened with the North Stars when they moved in 1993 to Dallas. For lack of a better phrase, it stinks to see Bill Goldsworthy's retired number hanging in the rafters at American Airlines Center in Dallas. He wasn't a Dallas Star, he was a Minnesota North Star. But, the franchise and its long history moved.
The Jets (we'll call them that for now) have a great deal of work ahead of them in the months ahead. A new name, logo and color scheme have to be decided upon. That's just the start. And, re-entering a market that has been without hockey for so long will be a difficult PR challenge as well.
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