Historically, most financial services companies offered “peace of mind” in exchange for “control.” Individuals and companies outsourced their investment, insurance and risk management decisions to financial organizations who managed them on their customers’ behalf.   Today, a growing number of financial companies (e.g., 401(k) providers, insurers, banks, credit card companies) are offering a “give up some control to get some” proposition – i.e., they are embracing what policymakers call “soft paternalism.”

Rooted in behavioral economics, soft paternalism posits that people are most likely to act on their best intentions if they are guided by certain constraints (e.g., a smart default option).    This idea has met with strong success in the asset management community where automatic enrollment in pension and 401(k) plans is on the rise, as are retirement savings.

Last week, MasterCard added a new chapter to the soft paternalism story when it announced the launch of credit/debit cards that cut consumers off when they disregard their own monthly budgets.  These new cards, called inControl, are designed to protect consumers both from thieves – and from themselves.  Ron Lieber of the New York Times calls them a “sort of financial chastity belt that offers the potential to prevent a variety of budget sins and other money traps.”

InControl is just one example of how the financial sector is reframing our definition of “control.”   Give up some to get some.  Set limits to make smart choices.

Do you think constraints are necessary for smart financial decision-making?  What choices are you willing to give up to stay “in control?”

To reach Meg:
Phone:  212.840.0095
Email: meg@blisspr.com
Twitter: @megwildrick
LinkedIn: Meg Wildrick

The good news? Your good ideas are lurking in your subconscious, you just need to identify the right triggers to wake them up.

Most people start, logically enough, by identifying and describing the main categories of your business, including details that feel “humdrum.” In the infographic below, that’s the “Old School” approach that should yield some food for thought.  You can take the “Old School” queries even further by conducting a roundtable where you ask colleagues or clients to compare notes on how they would answer those questions.

But…you’ll be a better content marketer and storyteller if you ask the “New School” version of those questions:

What questions help you overcome Blank Sheet Syndrome and create great marketing ideas?

To reach Elizabeth:

Phone: 212.840.0017
Email: elizabeth@blisspr.com
Twitter: @elizabethsosnow
LinkedIn: Elizabeth Sosnow

Following are three research possibilities that fall in the “free” category.  We’ve worked with clients who have used each of these approaches and built highly successful marketing and PR campaigns around the results.

• Analyze Public Records. There is a wealth of free, public information online.  Records like proxy statements contain a goldmine of useful data and trends if you take the time to dig through and analyze. For example, our client Hay Group does a review of proxy statements annually for the Wall Street Journal to identify changes and trends in CEO compensation.  Not only is it great media exposure for the firm around an important business offering, but it’s the basis for a larger marketing campaign that includes webinars, blogger and trade media outreach,  and local events.




• Mine Your Own Database. Sniff around.  Internal data collection systems within some organizations can house powerful information that is right under your nose. What kind of data do you regularly collect from or about customers?  Are you already benchmarking information to report back to customers?  Are there surveys you send out to customers into which you can sprinkle a few PR-friendly questions?  If your organization collects data, then your job as a PR professional is to take the time to understand what’s there and explore looking at the data in different ways that might catch an outsider’s attention.
  
  One example: Our long-time client MetLife has an extensive database of disability claims for millions of employees.  They are able to look at aggregated information to analyze emerging patterns and trends.  A few years ago, they pulled some of this data into a research guide, which then fueled a marketing campaign and ongoing conversations with the media about how absence and disease management programs in the workplace.  However, data collection can also be as simple as making a point of asking the same three questions to every customer you meet with and collating those responses over time.




• Partner with an Association. If you don’t have the means or the size to do it all yourself, look externally for partners and powerful customer groups to survey.  Professional associations can be a perfect source for relevant professionals to survey.  However, it needs to be a true “partnership” to work; meaning both parties enjoy some type of gain.  In the category of practicing what we preach – my own firm recently did this. We partnered with a marketing firm (Bloom Group) and the Association of Management Consulting Firms (AMCF) to survey our collective contacts about how consulting firms are using social media.  From preliminary brainstorming discussions and conversations with various consultants, we knew marketers in this space were curious about what the competition was up to and if/how they could effectively embrace social media.  We used the survey results as a means to educate AMCF members about an issue their members wanted to learn more about and as a marketing tool to fuel conversations with clients and the media for BlissPR and Bloom Group.

One important note:  while all of the ideas above may be free from a dollar standpoint, it’s definitely not without a “price.”  You get what you pay for.  In this case, you’re not paying an external resource to help collect and crunch data or analyze information.  It’s all up to you.  To do a quality job requires a significant time investment from a group of people dedicated to doing the analysis, message development and marketing the results.

All of the hard work can pay off tremendously if you take the time to plan carefully and do it right.

You can check out other tips on how to maximize the value of surveys for PR by viewing the full presentation I gave via a webinar last week for the Central Ohio chapter of PRSA.

Have you used inexpensive means for gathering research to fuel a PR program?  What advice do you have to offer?

(photo by stuartpilbrow)

To reach Kellie:

Email: kellie@blisspr.com
Twitter: @kshe
LinkedIn: Kellie Sheehan

The Board of the Exchange, on which I sit, and the heads of the four business units recognize that more collaboration would benefit all concerned.  However, several factors stand in our way.  One is the strong cultures that have been built up over time both by the largest ad agency and by our firm, which are roughly the same size.  Another is the simple fact that we are not co-located with our “sisters.”  As a result, I offered to lead an initiative that would explore possible incentives that would engender more business development collaboration.

We first contacted David Rhoads of ThreePoint Consulting, which specializes in helping professional firms align partner and staff compensation with key strategic goals.  David gave us excellent counsel, suggesting an initial benchmarking study to determine best practices among organization similar to ours.  He also provided us with a very thorough template as a guide.

We thought that we had an excellent laboratory in which to begin our research.  BlissPR is a member of Worldcom, the largest network of independent PR firms on the planet.  We have been very active in the organization over 13 years and, as a result, know well the heads of many of our 100 partner firms.  Some  of these firms also have sister agencies as we do.  What better place to start our research?

Well, not really, because it turns out that all five of the firms we interviewed have solved the problem.  They are operationally and financially integrated, sharing a single P&L and balance sheet.  None of the organizations offered any incentives  for one business unit to help another generate leads, referrals or introductions.  It was just expected of them to do so, and everyone understood the rules.  By the way, this sample was pretty broad geographically; I spoke to colleagues in Buffalo, Cleveland, Des Moines, Jacksonville and Phoenix.

That’s why I thought I’d take my research to a broader audience: you!  We would love to hear from anyone that has seen business development incentives established successfully.  What incentives work?  And, what incentives don’t work?  Answers can come from beyond the marketing services field.  We promise to share all the answers we receive in a subsequent blog post so that everyone will have the benefit of this information.

Can you help?  Do you have a war story about incentives?

To reach John:

Phone:  212.840.0444 
Email: john@blisspr.com
LinkedIn:  John Bliss

• Procrastinate when it comes time to agree on messaging
• Pick the non-strategic program
• Refuse to do a pivotal interview
• Agree in theory to strong ideas and then balk at implementation

Duke University professor Dan Ariely conducts simple experiments that show human beings are hard-wired for irrationality, and these experiments shed some light on why we act the way we do. A recent Forbes article chronicled his latest: an online loan game where volunteers choose to pay off loans of various sizes and interest rates. Nearly all the players are constantly tempted to pay off low-interest small loans first, even when leaving them open would leave them richer in the long run.

Sound familiar? How many times have you crossed small projects off your to do-list while letting the really big one—the one that causes you the most stress when it’s unfinished—languish for days? The reason, according to Ariely, is our innate desire to feel like we are making some sort of progress, and that satisfaction can overpower our desire to do what we know is best.

It’s easy to feel discouraged when clients resist our advice. But we’d do well to remember Ariely’s experiment with the loan game: even people with the best intentions don’t always make the right decisions, often because they’re compelled to fulfill an underlying behavioral need that they may not even recognize. It’s our job to a) learn how to understand and recognize these underlying behaviors, b) anticipate them, and c) adapt to them so we can fulfill these needs while also helping our clients understand the best way forward.

A number of books we like have been written on this topic – there’s Ariely’s own The Upside of Irrationality, Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margin of Error by Kathryn Schulz, Normal Accidents by Charles Perrow, and Complications by Atul Gawande.  In other words, no shortage of accessible and insightful information on why we act in ways that are not in our own best interests. 

No one can force another person to behave in a totally rational, linear way; and even if we could, we’d all be pretty boring and predictable.  But you can make it part of your job to learn more about the unconscious needs that drive people’s (and even your own) desire to sometimes make irrational decisions, and in doing so, learn how to respond more nimbly to them. You might even find ways to guide people into becoming better decision-makers.  Here are some tacks we’ve taken:

• Break a large task into smaller, more easily digestible pieces
• Gently remind the client of the larger, end goal
• Help him or her connect the dots between the immediate task and another priority on his or her agenda
• Create an artificial deadline – an article, a speech, a staff meeting – that the needed work needs doing by

When all else fails, remember that they are human, and be forgiving and as understanding as possible.  Often we push our clients out of their comfort zone, which can cause them to – consciously or not – put what we’re asking into the “too hard, don’t want to do this” pile on their desks.

How do you respond when a client or colleague makes a decision that seems completely off? Can you spot any behavioral patterns that might help you adjust your feedback to them? Do you think their decision was tied to an unconscious need that has been left unfulfilled?

To reach Siobhan:

Phone: 212.840.1661
Email: siobhan@blisspr.com
Twitter: @shiv245
LinkedIn: Siobhan Ford

Spenser Baretz of Hellerman Baretz Communications LLC helped Ford & Harrison start the blog in 2006, and used it as a case study during the recent Law Firm Media Professionals (LFMP) social media panel discussion. Other panelists at the event included Russell Lawson of Sands Anderson (who also blogs about “Progressive Marketing” here) and the ubiquitous Peter Shankman of HARO; both of whom echoed the value of blogs in marketing for law firms and other professional services organizations.

But why are professional service and law firms such good candidates for blogging as opposed to other forms of social media? Lawson used a popular analogy to describe getting his firm started on social media: “it was like trying to drink from a fire hose.” (For more on this, check out the BlissPR blog post from Elizabeth Sosnow: 11 reasons why law firms should experiment with social media). To make the transition more manageable, Lawson limited the firm’s scope to blogs, and added Twitter and LinkedIn once they got more comfortable in the space. In addition to being perhaps the most manageable first step into the social media world, blogging is also a great medium to promote the ideas that are the backbone of what professional services firms are essentially “selling”.

Baretz also reinforced that social media is about promoting ideas and thought leadership that will be valued by clients. A blog is a great way to do this, as Ford & Harrison quickly found out. According to Baretz, associates at the firm were assigned blog posts each week, and were required to make updates immediately following each episode. This allowed them to capitalize on the high search volume for the term “The Office” thereby skyrocketing the firm’s SEO, and showcasing their employment law expertise to an audience of current and prospective clients. 

“That’s What She Said” has been a great success, and its strategy can be replicated for other professional services blogs. There seem to be three key pieces to the puzzle:

1. MAN POWER – A successful blog requires an extensive time commitment on behalf of the bloggers, usually the firm’s leadership. This blog is sustainable because it is driven by multiple associates at the firm, not just one person, and not by the partners who often do not have the bandwidth to regularly update a blog.  
2. FLOW OF CONTENT – Because this blog is linked to a weekly TV show, there is a regular flow of content sparking new ideas and raising new issues to blog about. This makes life a lot easier on the bloggers. What in your industry (or outside of it) could be used to spark regular content?
3. TIMING – Updates were posted immediately following each episode of The Office, keeping the blog relevant and SEO-friendly. Timing is critical across so many channels of media and PR, and linking a blog to something that will be newsworthy and relevant from a timing standpoint can be a key driver of success, as Ford & Harrison have demonstrated. 

Has your firm created a successful blog? If so, does it have any of the components listed above? What else helps to drive your blog’s success?

To reach Emily:

Phone: 212.840.8079
Email: Emily@blisspr.com
Twitter: @eweinman
LinkedIn: Emily Weinman

1. Do you have dedicated experts with an interest in promoting their industry knowledge and affiliation in the media? People may be industry experts but, if they don’t want to be identified with a sector or client set in the media, don’t bother. It is also helpful to have more than one person available to comment. While industries may be specific, the topics/specialty topic areas within are not.
2. Can your services be adapted specifically for an industry segment? Many professional services businesses have one service that they replicate across several different industries and then tout “industry expertise.” While this is an okay business strategy,the media will see right through it. Ensure your service offerings can be somewhat specialized for the specific industries you want to speak to.
3. Can the firm or industry practice leverage PR and media materials in a business development capacity? While inclusion in periodicals, websites and TV programs is excellent, you want to ensure a mechanism is in place to capitalize fully on those opportunities. Newsletters, email blasts, industry specific thought leadership and your website are great places for this content to “live” on.
4. Are there a large group of reporters covering the industry either nationally or locally? For example – most national and regional business publications have a dedicated real estate reporter, however very few have a dedicated nonprofit reporter.
5. Is there a wide range of applicable trade publications to target that are read by your client and prospect targets? If not, an industry focused media relations program may not be worth the effort.
6. Are there “breaking news” angles that can be of interest to both the business community and broader groups of consumers/buyers? While this is not always essential, it can help you get more variety in your PR communications. Reporters, even B2B reporters, like to hear about how a new service, piece of legislation or economic trend will impact the individual user or buyer.

What other questions do you recommend asking before embarking on an industry-specific PR program?

To reach Cortney:

Phone: 212.840.1661
Email: cortney@blisspr.com
Twitter: @cortneyr
LinkedIn: Cortney Rhoads Stapleton

Recently, we supported MetLife as they planned and launched an event tailored for the dynamic online parenting community also known as mommy and daddy bloggers. As a group, this blogger community is passionate, savvy and outspoken –and we wanted to talk to them on their turf: social media.

As the nation’s largest life insurer, MetLife has done extensive research on the life insurance purchase process and the hurdles that consumers often encounter when trying to obtain this important protection for their families. Through that research, they confirmed that many individuals go online to look for information and answers to their questions.

Parenthood is often an impetus for individuals to think about purchasing life insurance.  However, since life insurance is just one of the many financial considerations that new parents have to navigate, MetLife decided to host a live webcast to address a variety of money-related issues for this audience.  Among the topics discussed was a presentation by MetLife’s chief marketing officer, Beth Hirschhorn, a mom of two, about the basics of life insurance for new parents including how much life insurance consumers really need and, importantly, how much it will cost.  In terms of metrics, the goal was to have 50 bloggers register for the webcast (MetLife had 75).

Importantly, the team learned valuable lessons about what it takes to engage in social media and get an event like this off the ground, which will be integral to MetLife’s future interactions in the social space.

Here are some of the steps that helped us to be successful:

• Invite outside speakers. In addition to MetLife’s Beth Hirschhorn, we extended invitations to two authors (and new parents) with insights to share on family budgeting: Stacey Bradford (The Wall Street Journal Financial Guidebook for New Parents) and David Port (The Caveman’s Guide to Baby’s First Year). The invitation also promoted that the first 100 registrants to the webcast would receive free copies of both their books.
• Leave the logistics to the experts. MetLife partnered with Thomson Reuters, who helped them to create a customized media player for the event, managed the mechanics of registration, and hosted the online event, which was broadcast live from MetLife’s on-site studio.
• Listen before you leap.  MetLife PR had been following blogger conversations for more than six months to get a sense of their interest in issues such as family finance, insurance, etc. (a best practice before engaging).
• Spread the word on Twitter. Our colleagues at MetLife PR, Toni Griffin and Judi Mahaney, joined Twitter to participate in conversations about family budgeting and finance in the months leading up to the webcast. They also created a hashtag, #straightstory, which allowed participants in the event to weigh in on the presenters’ material and share their own tips for new parents.
• Promote the event through Facebook.  MetLife launched targeted advertising through Facebook to invite those interesting in blogging, family finance and parenting, among other interests, to view the webcast.
• Target relevant bloggers and reach out accordingly. The parenting blog community is one of the biggest on the web and encompasses a HUGE variety of subjects and styles. We identified and reached out to bloggers who have touched on family finance issues and/or offered advice to new parents.
• Create a home base for related content.  MetLife put together a micro site landing page devoted to the Family Finance webcast, where anyone who was interested in the event could go to learn more about the presenters, access their presentations, explore MetLife’s new life insurance tools and tips, and watch a replay of the webcast – which made it easy for anyone who missed the event or wanted more information to get everything they needed in one place.

We’re really pleased to have partnered with MetLife on this innovative social media program.  As more consumers and influencers search for financial information online, we expect our most innovative clients to continue to develop (and hone) their approaches to social media.

What lessons have you learned about social media engagement by experimenting with new initiatives and formats?

To reach Kelly:

Phone: 212.840.1661
Email: kellyd@blisspr.com
Twitter: @kellydavis226
LinkedIn: Kelly Davis

Last week, I had the opportunity to make a presentation to the St. Louis chapter of PRSA on this topic – which is based on multiple conversations with my fellow BlissPR colleagues about how we help our clients achieve their business goals. 

B2B service companies are great clients because they stretch us to come up with a clear vantage point on technical and often enterprise level matters.   But they can also be tough clients because they are very busy, as well as risk averse and slow to adopt change.   When we are faced with creating a new campaign, here are some of the things we think about to get out of the traditional “lather, rinse, repeat” kind of PR.  Here is what I said in St. Louis – what have I missed?  (Want to make sure you see this, @tressalynne)

1. Raise the Altitude.  First, get up above product.  If you are discussing the features and benefits of what the company sells, you won’t get the audience’s full attention.  It’s like looking at photos of someone else’s kids.  Find out what the audience truly cares about, and focus on that.  Here’s a great example of a major financial company surfacing the issues of concern to its customers, who are heads of HR:  MetLife’s 8th Annual Employee Benefits Trends Study.
2. Carve out an Issue to Own.  Second, don’t be afraid to make an idea the hero of the moment.  The idea can be an issue, a trend, a topic area – think “privacy” or “motivation” or “risk” or “capital flows” — but it’s not the product.  Then build a microsite or a blog or a strong point of view around that.  We have seen consulting firms take this tack, and predict that corporations will do so as well.  
3. Be of Service to the Communities you Care About.  What does your client know that can help the communities that they serve?   How can you help them do their own business better?  Often, research, benchmark data, opinion, counsel can be packaged in a way that galvanizes decision-making.  Here’s an example: BDO’s Retail Survey.
4. Enter the Ongoing Conversation. If your client is discussing a topic that matters, and has a point of view or research that extends the conversation, then you better be finding the right dialogues, and the people (bloggers) who are influencing them.  Addict-o-matic is a great way to find them. 
5. Learn to Share.  Once you have created your content, deliver it in many forms and formats.  SMPRs, video, data nuggets, how to advice, predictions.   And don’t be afraid to partner with a media outlet to deliver all that content goodness.  Here’s an example of what we mean:  Bloomberg BusinessWeek.com/Hay Group Study Identifies Best Companies for Leadership.
6. Don’t Hog the Microphone.  When your client is the only one talking –even if he or she is the smartest person in the room, it’s less interesting than if you invite other voices in to the discussion.  Open it up and more people will listen.    That’s what they found at McKinsey’s whatmatters microsite.   
7. Get Local.  If there’s a national trend – movement of some kind, whether it’s a rule change, a regulation, legislation – there will likely be local fallout.  Capture it!  People care about changes and problems happening in their own backyards, and are more likely to pick up the phone and call someone in their own area for help.
8. Build Your own Community.  In the old days, we used trade media to reach niche markets.  Not so much anymore.  Plus niche markets are getting nichier.  Sometimes you find them, sometimes you have to help your clients create them.  So if it’s CFOs of Canadian natural resources companies, or hospital facilities managers in the southwest, or med students who care about TB,  or meeting planners for financial services companies, sometimes it’s easiest to build your own audience.  

That’s what I came up with – what steps would you add? Click here to see the full deck or feel free to email me at abby@blisspr.com.

To reach Abby:

Phone: 212.840.0088
Email: abby@blisspr.com
Twitter: @abbycarr
LinkedIn: Abby Carr

Like many media relations enthusiasts, I crave the opportunity to really sink my teeth into a story and bring our spokespeople’s strategic thought leadership to life. In the case of financial reform, it is essential to investigate the media coverage around the issue and work closely with spokespeople to make sure they offer not only compelling insights during an interview, but also that they present their point of view in a way that is digestible for the media – and in turn, their potential clients and the media’s audience.

Oftentimes, a spokesperson’s success during an interview depends upon your ability to effectively support thought leadership development as well as offer media training tips. Here are a few things you can do to strengthen pitches and help your spokesperson be a better interviewee:

1)      Regularly “Checking-In” is Key. Remember to talk to each spokesperson on an ongoing basis – especially if your financial services account relies heavily on media relations. This may seem like a “no-brainer” but it is something that can be neglected as media relations specialists work at a fast pace. Remember, your spokesperson’s insights add color to your pitches, so “check yourself before your wreck yourself” especially when pitching complex financial related issues. If time is of the essence, run the pitch by the spokesperson at the very least. But for pitches with longer lead times, its best to speak with the spokesperson to verify the content of the pitch and learn any additional – and hopefully new and different – points you can use to promote their expertise/thought leadership. 

2)      Focus on the big picture. Even high-level executives like Mad Men’s Don Draper need media training. In the case of financial services, many bank, insurance and asset management spokespeople possess such a wealth of knowledge that it becomes difficult for them to drill down to the four main points. Remind them that they only have five-ten minutes to speak with journalists so it’s important to avoid getting bogged down by the technical details. Asking questions can help so… 

3)      Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Offering probing questions helps the spokesperson focus on the most important aspects of an issue while enabling you to learn the key points you need to develop a thoughtful pitch. For example, questions you may ask a spokesperson about a topic like financial reform could be “What are the major provisions of the bill and why? What is missing from the bill? What will the passing of the bill mean for investors, businesses and consumers?”

4)      Pepper the pitch with sound bites. Examine the points the spokesperson makes and highlight the main takeaways in sound bites throughout the pitch. More importantly, share the final pitch with the spokesperson – this will further their understanding of what points you consider to be the most media-friendly. Further, the pitch can serve as notes that will sharpen their focus during the actual interviews.  

How do you help spokespeople be better interviews on complex issues? What resources do you use to strengthen your pitches on complex financial topics?

To reach Rachel:

Phone:  212.840.5476
Email: rachel@blisspr.com
Twitter: @RachelBethG
LinkedIn: Rachel Gerber