Harvard Business School Professor John Kotter in an interview with Consulting Magazine reminds us that “researchers and experts believe the brain is hardwired to accept stories because that is how it developed over time…stories have emotional glue on them, they flow into the brain without getting rejected and stick easily, and thus anything connected to them sticks as well.”

Companies often underestimate the power of weaving a story into their messaging.  They shy away from it because they think the marketplace, like Colonel Jessup in a Few Good Men, can’t handle the truth or doesn’t care. They think it will make them seem too emotional as a company. I say “try it.” Executives often don’t realize how interesting what they do every day is, and how much the market would care if it was packaged better.  A place to start: within the company itself. Practice introducing your facts and figures with a story – see what resonates and hones the messages for the marketplace.

To help you get started, my colleague Elizabeth Sosnow wrote a blog post that offers companies an actual worksheet for finding and narrating stories in their intellectual capital. Jeff Ogden, in a recent guest post gave tips on what does and does not make a good story for print and the press; some of the same tips can be applied when thinking about internal communications.

When executives communicate to an internal team, entire employee base or board of directors they should try telling a story. Humanize the company, the business news or numbers being delivered.  Empower people to remember the company’s chronicles and messages, let them understand the emotional current underlying the news being delivered and measure the response.

What stories do you have to share? What have you found works for internal and external storytelling?

To reach Cortney:

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

We all do it – we jump to conclusions; we are human. The size of our mammalian brain means that we need to make sense of the world, to explain phenomena that we experience and to come to a conclusion until we are proven wrong. 

I learned about a really neat concept this week, one that has so much relevance for the way we think, the way we act, and the way we work. It’s not new – in fact, it’s about 700 years old. But it’s new to me, and it might be new to you, too.  

It’s called Occam’s razor. According to Wikipedia, it is the “meta-theoretical principle that ‘entities must not be multiplied beyond necessity’ (entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem) and the conclusion thereof, that the simplest solution is usually the correct one.” The principle is attributed to 14th-century English logician, theologian and Franciscan friar, William of Ockham.

 “The simplest solution is usually the correct one.” So what does that mean? It means that your sore finger is more likely due to the fact that your wedding ring is a little tight – not bone cancer. If you are confronted with several possible explanations, Occam’s razor would encourage you to prefer the simplest one over the more complicated ones, because it is more practical – and more likely to be right. 

What does this mean for PR? To me, it boils down to the following five handy reminders:

1. Keep it simple, stupid. I was writing a creative brief for a client project this week, and I had to remind myself over and over to boil it down, get down to the essence, turn the sap into syrup.  One message is better than three.
2. The best strategies are those that swim downstream. If a big concept is giving you fits, it’s probably not the right direction – either that or you don’t have enough information to proceed with confidence.
3. Flatter team structures are better. When a work team has more than three layers, it’s generally a precursor to disaster.
4. If it’s not important, razor it out. Have the courage to land on your main points and stay there. 
5. Don’t overthink things. We have access to so much information now – through Google and WebMD and Wikipedia and thousands of twitter followers and analysts – that it’s tempting to indulge in multiple hypotheses. Resist the urge. The simple solution is the elegant solution. 

Why don’t we go with simple?  Often it is because we are afraid. Afraid of being out of control. Afraid of looking unprepared. Afraid that we have not yet anticipated unarticulated needs. Afraid that we won’t fill the time. But these fears cause us to lose clarity.   

What can you razor out of your communications, your PR strategy, your to do list?

To reach Abby:

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

Welcome to another round-up of the financial news we’re keeping an eye on this week. In addition to a few deals happening here and there – including AIG’s announcement that it will sell its Alico business to MetLife, and Royal Dutch Shell and PetroChina offering to buy Arrow Energy of Australia – here’s what we’ll be watching (in addition to all of the best- and worst-dressed recaps from the Oscars):

Markets: The Wall Street Journal reports U.S. stocks opened slightly higher this morning, due to rising commodities prices that boosted materials and energy and easing concerns on Greece’s budgetary issues. U.S. financial stocks rose after AIG agreed to sell its American Life Insurance Co. to MetLife for approximately $15.5 billion cash and stock. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 12 points in early trading and McDonald’s was its strongest performer. Economic data for the beginning of the week is skimpy, but announcements around the Treasury budget will take place Wednesday, with data on international trade and jobless claims Thursday, and retail sales and consumer sentiment data out on Friday. Read more from: The Associated Press.

Banking: The Wall Street Journal has an interesting article this morning discussing the Fed’s tussle with Congress for control over bank regulation. According to the article, the Fed has reorganized its 3000 bank supervisors and in some cases pitted officials at the 12 regional Fed banks against those in the capital. The next few months will prove crucial as to who will win the battle. For the full article please click here.

Digital Media: This week Citigroup launched a new web-based branding campaign (which lives at www.new.citi.com) in an effort to rebuild customer trust by positioning the company as a more transparent, accessible and conversational corporation. The internet roll-out features personal blog posts from Chief Executive Officer Vikram Pandit, as well as testimonial videos from CitiMortgage President Sanjiv Das and CitiRisk’s Chief Risk Officer Brian Leach. Read more here.

For what it’s worth, my vote for Best Dressed goes to Demi Moore. See you next week.

To reach Meghan:

Phone:   212.840.1661 
Email: Meghan@blisspr.com
Twitter: @meghanlantier
LinkedIn: Meghan Lantier

The top three metrics that marketers use to measure and monitor the impact of social media, according to research from Marketing Sherpa are “visitors and sources of traffic,” “network size in terms of followers, fans, etc.,” and “quantity of commentary about your brand or product.” 

Our B2B clients often want a quick snapshot of “awareness” success shortly after pushing out of the gate with a new campaign (whether social media, traditional media or both). The “big 3” metrics mentioned above tend to be easier data points to collate. They give senior executives a sense of progress and tangible results while longer-term strategic work, like engagement with influential bloggers/journalists and search engine ranking, continues to take place behind the scenes. 

Following are a few tools and tips I’ve found useful for pulling together a preliminary social media awareness report one week after a campaign launch:

Social media press release (SMPR) views: You can very easily track the number people who have viewed your release by using platforms like Pitchengine.com. Be forewarned – producing the release can be time-consuming. The pay-off: a more robust and exciting way to present information than a drab release, and it’s more conducive to sharing online. It also a useful marketing tool to include in email campaigns, presentations, webinars and other marketing communications. 

Fans, Followers, “Potential Reach”: Social media and marketing expert Amber Naslund’s post on social media measurement offers a helpful run-down on potential reach vs. actual reach, along with details about how to accurately calculate your true reach across social media platforms. Here’s the “quick and dirty” one-week-out version I’ve used:  

• Add up the number of people tweeting or re-tweeting your information.  Topsy  is particularly helpful in that regard.
• Total the number of followers for those who shared your content on Twitter by looking at individual profiles to get follower counts.
• Url shorteners like bit.ly are also useful for tracking how many people are looking at your information, and to analyze what interests people most.
• Know the number of fans/followers you have on different platforms, and how that number has changed.
• Be sure to bookmark your release or other relevant information on sites like Delicious and Digg.  You can easily see how many others have bookmarked the information as well. Kipp Bodnar’s recent post on bookmarking offers great tips for B2B marketing.

Web Traffic: This can be quickly pulled via a Google Analytics account, along with the referral pages that are bringing people to the site.  

Blog Mentions: Fairly simple to track. Free tools like Google News Alerts will notify you of any mentions.   

Key Influencers:  If you do your homework in advance (and you should), it’s pretty easy to tell (via Twitter and blog metrics above) whether important influencers are talking about you online. The hard part is identifying the right people and building those relationships. While I’ve outlined mostly quantity-related metrics above, quality is equally important, if not more so. Unfortunately, I haven’t found many useful tools to help identify influential bloggers and Tweeters on a particular topic.  It’s mostly the result of digging around. What helped me most was identifying 2 or 3 key people, and then following their blog rolls or looking at their Twitter profiles to see who they follow or re-tweet. Mailana is also a useful tool to note who people are talking with most frequently on Twitter. In reports to clients, we’ll make note of any especially big influencers and why (i.e., the blog is ranked as one of the top 10 workplace blogs by X). 

What tools and metrics have you found most useful for reporting short-term social media awareness success?

To reach Kellie:

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

Why? In the 20 years I’ve spent helping clients develop content, I’ve noticed a critical (though perhaps blindingly obvious) fact. It’s pretty hard to become a thought leader. The hurdles include:

1. Analysis Paralysis: Your need to make something perfect essentially dooms the project.
2. Competitive Distractions: You are so focused on a competitor that you ignore your prospects.
3. Junior Partner Syndrome: You don’t believe your ideas are good enough.
4. Calendar before Content: You keep waiting for the right moment…that never comes.
5. Peer Review Ricochet: You need approval from an internal cast of thousands.
6. Your Idea is About You: Your audience is somehow supposed to “make the bridge” to why it matters to them.
7. You Make an Assumption About Your Audience: But your audience doesn’t agree with it.
8. Burning Wo/Man: You’ve been burned before. (Gentle reminder: That makes you exactly like every great thinker.)
9. No ‘So What:’ Your topic lacks differentiation, making it easy to ignore.
10. Coitus Interruptus: Your observations don’t build towards an actionable climax.

But you can jump over these hurdles. Here’s how:

• Get granular: Steer away from giant sized fears and focus on small do-able projects that build your confidence.
• Get Factual: Nothing beats hyperbole better than cold hard facts. Use research to cut through the emotional clutter.
• Get Creative: There is another way to accomplish your objective. Circle until you find it.
• Get off your High Horse: Compromise. Is there a study you can do to round out your hypothesis or an article you can co-author with a credible third party?

When all else fails, listen. The best thought leaders start by reflecting on the wisdom of others.

Have you encountered another hurdle for this list? How do you jump them?

To reach Elizabeth:

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

Markets: Today, the government reported a 0.5 percent increase in January personal income spending and  the labor market is being watched closely for any signs of revival as we await February’s unemployment rate on Friday, a number that is expected to rise just slightly to 9.8%.  On Wednesday we can expect the Fed to release its Beige Book, which will outline economic conditions in various regions.  Additionally we can expect, at some point this week, the House to take up the $15 billion jobs measure passed by the Senate last Wednesday.  The bill is expected to give businesses tax incentives to hire new workers. To learn more about the bill intended to spur job creation, click here.

Insurance: Prudential of Britain (not to be confused with U.S.-based Prudential Financial) will purchase AIG’s Asian life insurance unit, AIA, in a $35 billion deal which will contribute to the repayment of AIG’s $180 billion debt to the U.S. government (more from the The New York Times).  The deal establishes Prudential as the leading life insurer in several countries as well as the top foreign provider of life insurance to China and India.  Back in the U.S. market, delays in federal legislative votes have resulted in the temporary suspension of several government programs, including the National Flood Insurance Program.  No new policies will be issued until the Senate votes (the House has already approved the bill extending the program through March) and payment of claims could be affected.  See additional details from Insurance Journal.

Banking: Today, Fed Vice Chairman Donald Kohn announced his retirement in June, when his term ends.  Kohn’s retirement marks a noteworthy time in Fed history as he provided over 40 years of public service and has been a trusted advisor to Ben Bernanke regarding critical decisions during the financial crisis. Now, President Obama will have another seat to fill on the Fed board and news will likely continue regarding Obama’s plans to replace Kohn as well as features on Kohn himself. The Wall Street Journal offers a full report on the announcement and Kohn’s contributions.

What financial news is on your radar today?

To reach Rachel:

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

Social media today represents a parallel to the commercial real estate industry’s slow embrace of email in the 1990’s:  late to start, but critical mass builds on a steep curve.

Remember the first person in your real estate company to sign up for an email address?  I do – and it was me, in 1995. But my former coworkers from that office and industrial development company who resisted email and “that Google thing” are now Blackberry addicts.  They are also the social media users of the future, and I have no doubt they’ll make money doing it.

National Real Estate Investor, the Wall Street Journal and titans of the industry are already blogging, tweeting and linking.   Case in point:  the full service commercial real estate service firms like CB Richard Ellis, Jones Lang LaSalle and Cushman & Wakefield are all embracing social media in various forms, and the industry’s many entrepreneurs have formed communities online via LinkedIn, Twitter and even in some cases Facebook.

On this blog, we have already discussed how banks are handling social media and the impact of the guidelines recently issued by FINRA. These guidelines are relevant to many in the commercial real estate finance corner of this industry.  We’ve also blogged about social media tips for wealth managers – many of whom advise on real estate investments.

Below we offer 5 suggestions on how commercial real estate executives can start to engage in social media:

1) LinkedIn Engagement  

Hands-down, there is more engagement in the commercial real estate industry on LinkedIn than in any other social media forum.  Join it.  Link to everyone you can.  Work it like an ICSC cocktail party, but with less small talk.  Once you’re connected, join groups and participate in the discussions. Post comments and recommend people you like and respect. 

Rule of thumb: You’re a successful networker, or you wouldn’t be in commercial real estate.  Take it online, and take it up a notch.

2) Commercial Real Estate Blogs

The Wall Street Journal blogs are among the most popular and user-friendly blogs out there, and they offer one of the most widely-read blogs in the industry. The Developments blog focuses on trends and deals of national interest alike, for example.  Get started by reading the blog regularly, following the links they offer to find additional blogs of interest, then maybe begin making comments online.  To find blogs germane to your sector and business goals, look at your regular sources of news and networking:  industry associations like CoreNet Global, ICSC, NAIOP and trade publications like Commercial Property Executive, France Publications and others.  Company blogs, such as the AlterNOW blog, can also provide timely interpretations that provide a strong perspective and point of view on issues important to this industry.

Rule of thumb:  If you read it or join it, look for its blog, then read it and share it.

3) Webcasts/Podcasts

Many commercial real estate firms offer a variety of informative materials (in some cases Thought Leadership) presented to clients or potential deal partners on a regular basis. It comes in a wide range of forms including market information, road shows, economic commentary, private event presentations or articles on commercial real estate trends.  This can all be repackaged as webcasts, podcasts or other social media friendly materials. For example, you can produce short commercial real estate market commentary segments, or host a Q&A session on upcoming trends and recent transactions.

Rule of thumb:  If you used marketing dollars to create a traditional marketing or thought leadership piece, get more for your money by making it social, interactive and online.

4) Social Media Press Releases

Social Media Press Releases (SMPRs) are optimized press releases that can include video segments, pictures and links to further information. Because of the extra information they can provide, many view them as more of a resource than a promotion. You can include videos of interviews with key spokespeople, links to other data in a particular area, or previous pieces you have published.  Excellent for deal announcements where you still need to lease space in the remainder of the building, think about adding a video of finished space – and  also possibly video of the space that new tenants could visualize becoming their own.  For some video examples, check out the Leopardo Construction YouTube Channel.

Rule of thumb:  Add interactivity wherever you can – no more text-only announcements.

5) Twitter

Everyone jokes about “tweeting” and there are legitimate questions about current engagement in Twitter amongst high profile commercial real estate decision-makers.  But cynics be warned:  your competitors are signing up.  Do you want to be the last one there?   A recent article from Inc.com gives tips on how people can use social media outlets, such as Twitter to their advantage in attracting and engaging with new customers.  Give it a read – and I’ll see you in the Twitterverse (@margysweeney).

Rule of thumb:  Sign up, follow people and firms you respect, and engagement will follow down the line.

Are you still curious how to reach your commercial real estate clients in social media?  I suggest you ask them – and be prepared to receive lots of LinkedIn requests and new Twitter followers.

What is your commercial real estate firm doing to embrace social media?

To contact Margy Sweeney:

Phone:  312-252-7314 
Email: margy@blisspr.com
Twitter: @margysweeney
LinkedIn: Margy Sweeney

But wait a minute. Let’s put this in historical context. Professional services marketing hasn’t been around very long, only slightly more than 30 years. The critical date is 1977, which is when an Arizona court gave law firms the right to advertise. What was professional services marketing before that time?  Think male partners on golf courses and you won’t be far off the mark.

Ironically, given the green light, much of the legal profession did absolutely nothing. Some plaintiffs firms, such as Jacoby & Meyers, initiated ad campaigns aimed at individuals, but that was about it. The big defense firms hardly noticed. In fact, around 1990 a friend of ours was hired as director of marketing by a good-sized NY firm. We asked her how it was going after she’d been on the job for six months, and she said: “It’s getting better. They just allowed me to pick the firm Christmas card.” She soon left, not surprisingly.

In my opinion, the profession that “got it” in terms of recognizing and seizing the marketing opportunity was accounting. The Big Eight (yes, Virginia, there was such a thing) seemed simultaneously to jump on the bandwagon and begin talking “targeting” and churning out brochures, ads and other collateral. Arthur Young even produced a best-selling tax guide that is published today with its merger partner Ernst & Ernst. Our clients at Deloitte, Haskins & Sells were so proficient with brochures that some people thought they were a publishing company. There were also more than a few humorous moments when the accounting culture clashed with the strategies of the consumer packaged goods wizards who had been recruited to spearhead their marketing efforts.

But the accounting firms moved the marketing ball forward, and eventually other professions followed: management consulting, executive search, actuarial science and, finally, the lawyers. With marketing came price competition that grew steadily cut-throat. Mark Stevens even wrote a seminal book on The Accounting Wars. Professionals found that their technical skills were no longer enough to guarantee employment. They were now (gasp) also expected to sell.

Perhaps the first person to grasp the long-term implications of that trend was Ford Harding, the former marketing director of a relocation consulting firm. He established his own consultancy, Harding & Company, in the early 90’s with one goal in mind: to teach service professionals how to sell. To market his firm, Ford authored three terrific books that I recommend to anyone in this business: Rainmaking, Creating Rainmakers and Cross-Selling Success. His business has been an unqualified success.

That’s a quick summary of the genesis of professional services marketing. Were you involved in it during the ‘80s or ‘90s?  What do you remember about “the early days?”

To reach John:

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

Our news highlights will focus on our group’s areas of expertise, including:  banking, bankruptcy, insurance, asset management, investing, markets and private equity. We’ll also point out who we believe are “social media stars” – those in the FS industry who are truly leading the way in these still-uncharted waters.  So without further ado, here is this week’s financial services news roundup:

Banking & Bankruptcy: It’s only mid-February and the toll of banking failures already stands at 20. It seems someone forgot to inform the banks that there is a recovery going on out there. The four failures which happened late Friday cost the Government an expected $1 billion. One of the largest failures, year to date, was that of California based La Jolla Bank, who had $3.6 billion in assets. In a deal with the FDIC, La Jolla’s operations were sold to One West Bank which was launched in early 2009, to purchase the remains of IndyMac Bank. The three other failed banks were named as George Washington Savings bank, Marco Community Bank and The La Coste National Bank. For more on this story please click here.

Speculation is mounting that MGM Mirage could be on the verge again of entering Chapter 11. Following their disappointing earnings last week, the rumors are circulating that this time they won’t be able to patch things up and that bankruptcy is looming ever closer. Like Blockbuster which we discussed earlier this year, it seems that bankruptcy talks around MGM Mirage are a regular occurrence. Given their huge exposure to the Las Vegas Strip which many analysts believe is not going to see a turnaround in the near term, it’s not surprising that Chapter 11 fears are surfacing yet again. TheStreet.com has a nice analysis of the situation here.

Credit Cards: New credit-card regulations go into effect today (the second iteration of changes Americans have seen since President Obama signed the Credit CARD Act last year). The changes are aimed to help protect consumers and make account terms easier to understand and more transparent. But, credit card companies can still raise interest rates and impose annual fees on new cards, and there is no cap on how high interest rates can go. The bill’s provisions are filled with loopholes, outlined in the Washington Post here. This week, look for coverage of what Americans should do for the best deal on their credit card, and explanations of new tactics banks are undertaking to get around the regulations, as well as a preview to the next, and last, implementation date for the regulations: August 22, 2010.

Markets: There’s plenty to keep your eye on this week, with a number of earnings and some important meetings. Today we wait as the senate is slated to hold a procedural vote on a $15 billion legislation aimed at job creation. Broadly speaking, the market is concerned about the pace of spending and basically anything that points us towards another stimulus package is going to feed into that anxiety. Some important retail numbers to watch include Nordstrom earnings on Monday, Target reports on Tuesday and the Gap’s earnings are due out on Thursday while the department store company reports full results Tuesday. On Thursday the White House also plans to hold a bipartisan health-care meeting with lawmakers and has promised to publish its version of overhaul legislation by Sunday. And lastly, let’s not forget Bernanke’s semi-annual monetary policy report, which he is expected to deliver to Congress and the Senate Wednesday and Thursday respectively. To read more about Congress confronting the jobs bill, click here.

So there you have it, the Financial Services Practice Group’s “Two Cents” on what’s news in finance this week. Stay tuned for next week!

To reach Nicole:

Phone:   212.584.5473 
Email: nicole@blisspr.com
Twitter: @nicolejleblanc
LinkedIn: Nicole Leblanc

Frankly, I gave an exasperated sigh when I heard about Buzz – another social media site I’m going to need to track and engage in. How much socialization is too much? I’m not that good at the current social media sites. I tend to forget to tweet, then tweet about a million things at once. I have to send out 15 belated “happy birthday!” posts on Facebook because I haven’t logged on in three weeks. Thankfully LinkedIn constantly reminds me that it exists by sending me an email and letting me know what conversations are taking place. But, Google Buzz may just be the answer that I need to get my online social life in order

So aside from making my life a little easier, how will Buzz impact PR and marketing professionals? Just like with Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook, it’s not about the tool – it’s about the communications strategy. So whether or not to engage in Buzz isn’t really the question. The question is, “are my clients/customers/potential customers” engaged in Buzz? If the answer is yes, it may be time to get on board. Here’s how to start:

1)      Create a Profile: While there’s been talk of Google allowing folks to participate in Buzz without a Gmail address, for now that’s the only way to access it. Once the email address has been established, creating a profile takes just a few moments. Be sure to include a link to LinkedIn accounts, Twitter feed, websites and blogs.

2)      Find Connections: There are a few ways to find profiles on Buzz. The easiest way (that I’ve seen so far) is to search for a name or email address in Buzz. Alternatively, you can use tw2buzz, a service that searches your Twitter followers and helps you connect to them if they’re on Buzz. Since Buzz is new, building up a “friend list” on Buzz takes a little more time than it would on, say, Twitter, at this point. I, like many professionals, use Outlook most frequently for business communications, so I’ll likely import my Outlook contacts to Gmail soon to see who else is Buzzing.

3)      Monitor and Participate: It’s simple to respond to status updates and join conversations once you’re connected. The flip side is that it’s simple for everyone else to join conversations about you, or your brand, as well. As Travis Murdock pointed out in his post on PR and Buzz, Southwest Airlines found itself in a “Buzzed-about” situation when a well-known passenger was asked to disembark one of their airplanes because of his weight. When the passenger live-Tweeted the incident, it was also Buzzed-about, creating a multi-outlet communications situation. 

Google Buzz is still a new tool, and glitches are being worked out as I write this (see the privacy issue raised last week). But like any other social media tool, it’s important not to panic, or rush to engage – bear in mind that the overall communications strategy needs to drive the outposts, and not the other way around.

To reach Meghan:

Phone:  212.840.1661
Email: Meghan@blisspr.com
Twitter: @meghanlantier
LinkedIn: Meghan Lantier