Posted by Ruth Atherley of AHA Creative Strategies on February 07th, 2012

Wallace and Ruth

We’re doing some (early) spring cleaning at the AHA office. As we go through files, media coverage binders and jump drives, we have the opportunity to reflect a little on campaigns and projects from the past. This week, we came across the files for one of our favourite creative campaigns. In the early days of AHA, we were fortunate enough to be asked to work on a documentary series called Healing with Animals, produced by Mystique Films. This was a fabulous series that focused on how animals help humans heal.

We wanted traditional media coverage for the launch of the series. (This was back before social media was as widely accepted as it is today… Seems like a million years ago, but in reality we’re only talking about seven years.) We also wanted ongoing coverage as well. We were fortunate that the filmmakers (Mary Bissell and Chris Bruyere) were out-of-the-box thinkers and “got” what we wanted to do, because we used a creative approach that took a bit of a leap of faith on their part. (Which is why we loved working with them!)

One of the segments focused on Wallace, a llama that would visit homes for the elderly. It turns out that Wallace loved people and that seeing a llama in their lobby created a positive reaction in some of the elderly, especially those suffering with dementia. Quite often, the surprise of seeing Wallace would pull the person into a period of reality. They were able to interact, converse and connect in a way that they normally struggled with due to their condition. Wallace loved the attention and the people he visited loved him.

We ended up generating a huge amount of national coverage for the series and Wallace was one of our “stars.” Our client was thrilled with the results.

The lessons we learned working with Wallace were many—below are the top three.

If you are pitching media, do your research.

We knew that (at that time) national talk show host Vicki Gabereau had a soft spot for animals. She ran a weekly spot showcasing pets that were up for adoption. She owned two labs. We saw an opportunity here to appeal to her personal interest in animals, as well as to pitch why it was good for the show as a whole.

We customized our pitch to reflect the key points we knew about Vicki and the show. It wasn’t a generic pitch; it reflected the show’s mandate and touched some personal interest points for the host. The producer loved the idea and Wallace and our client were invited to come on the show.

Get the most value for your efforts.

Wallace lived on Vancouver Island and The Vicki Gabereau Show taped in downtown Vancouver. There was a body of water between us. Wallace’s wranglers brought him over via ferry. (He loves the ride and had his own customized van for travel.) It took a lot of time and effort from everyone involved to bring Wallace to Vancouver to appear on the national talk show. In order to make the most of this opportunity we added an autograph session to Wallace’s visit. (I mean, really, how many times in a communicator’s career do you have a llama in the downtown core of Vancouver?) Prior to the taping of the talk show, we had Wallace at the corner of Burrard and Robson (one of Vancouver’s busiest corners) “signing” hoof autographs for fans. Wallace loves people, so he was in his glory with the tourists, the children and everyone coming to meet him and pet him. We sent out a photo opportunity notice to media across the country—explaining that Wallace was in town to be on The Vicki Gabereau Show to promote his segment in Healing with Animals.

There was huge national coverage on this. The coverage not only showed images of Wallace in downtown Vancouver, but also mentioned his upcoming appearance on The Vicki Gabereau Show (the show was live to tape so aired a day later) and mentioned Healing With Animals and when it aired. Everyone benefited.

We also had a shot taken of Wallace on the corner signing autographs and sent this out to community papers and other media that couldn’t make the photo opportunity. This also generated coverage and it was used in promotional materials for the show, providing additional value to the filmmakers and the broadcaster.

Do whatever it takes to get the job done.

People have an idea that the life of a communicator is filled with nice lunch meetings and business class trips to posh client organizations. Not my life, not that I would trade it for anything.

I learned a lot about llamas while working with Wallace. 1) They spit when they are mad. (I am grateful I never made Wallace mad at me.) 2) If Wallace really liked you, he would lean in for what seemed to be a kiss, and then he would expel air in your face. No spit, just stinky llama breath of affection. (He seemed to really love me!) 3) They won’t go to the bathroom unless there is already llama poop at the spot. Well, Wallace needed to do his business before we took him into the studio. His wranglers had thoughtfully brought a bag of llama poop with them. It was my job to put out the poop so Wallace would then do what he needed to… which he cheerfully did. Then it was my job to pick up all the poop.

There I was, in a small parking lot just off Burrard Street, picking up llama poop in my business clothes. Such a glam life I lead.

Posted by Paul Holman of AHA Creative Strategies on February 03rd, 2012

In today’s AHA Fast Take Friday Ruth talks about the importance of integration when it comes to your marketing and communications efforts.

Posted by Paul Holman of AHA Creative Strategies on February 01st, 2012

My friend, mentor and former boss, Della Smith of Q Workshops, is a smart cookie. She may, in fact, be the smartest person I have ever met. (And I have met a lot of really, really smart people!)

Now, I am not sure I would put Della up against Jeopardy genius Ken Jennings—that’s just a different kind of smart (and one that I believe has more to do with memory than anything else). But I have seen Della in a wide range of scenarios—from dealing with an organization facing a huge crisis to sipping a cold beverage at an outdoor patio on a hot summer day—and along with her strategic, steel trap of a mind… There is something else, something special and rare and well, simple, that is the foundation of her style of genius (and her success). She is a relationship builder.

Della recently launched a blog – Della’s Deck. It’s about effective, powerful and authentic communication. And it provides straightforward advice that can be put into action immediately. It is valuable to me from a professional communications perspective, and I get value from it in my personal life. This week, Della wrote about the power of authentic relationships. She also shared a list of questions that you should/could know about the people in your life… I was amazed at how many of them I couldn’t answer about people—clients and friends—who I would say I have particularly close or positive relationships with. I am going to change that.

Authentic relationships are at the heart of communication. And that doesn’t mean that, as a communicator, you need to meet every single person on your media distribution list—although you should know who they are, what they cover for their media outlet or blog, and understand why what you are sending them is of interest to them. That is a relationship. It might be a few steps removed from the kind of relationship where you can call a journalist and ask them to meet you for a coffee, but it is still a respectful relationship.

At AHA, we often have people call us out of the blue and tell us why we should hire them. No relationship building by commenting on this blog or chatting with us on Facebook or Twitter. Their calls are based on what we should know about them. I often wonder how much they know about us—if anything.

We recently had someone become quite persistent about calling to tell us why we should hire the company she works for to produce video for our clients. We asked her if she realized that we have a video crew here at AHA. She hesitated and then said: “But we’re better.”

Really?

Firstly, I don’t think she even checked our site. Secondly, our crew produces brand journalism videos. Had she looked at our site and paid attention to who we really are, she might have said: “Yes, I see you do brand journalism videos. I really liked the one that you did for Vancouver Community College’s Year of Science event. We actually produce a more corporate (or documentary or VH1-like) style. Perhaps we could chat and see if we can be of value to you, for those times when you need a different video style.” That might have gotten my attention. Opportunity lost because she didn’t even try to start an authentic, mutually beneficial relationship with us.

Relationships matter.

Posted by Paul Holman of AHA Creative Strategies on January 27th, 2012

In today’s AHA Fast Take Friday, Ruth uses her training for the Vancouver Sun Run as an analogy for a communications outreach.

Posted by Ruth Atherley of AHA Creative Strategies on January 26th, 2012

Years ago, as a journalist for a national magazine, I had the opportunity to interview music legend Jimmy Buffett. Now, I happen to be a Jimmy Buffett fan (we are affectionately known as Parrot Heads), so this was a pretty special interview for me!

Jimmy Buffett has an incredible business mind and a true entrepreneurial spirit. (There are unsubstantiated rumours that he is related to Warren Buffett, so the business part of his brain kind of makes sense.) He was one of the first in the music business to embrace digital technology; he recognized the coming shift in the music industry and left his big name label to start his own. He has ownership in two successful restaurant chains (Margaritaville and Cheeseburger in Paradise), interests in hotels and he just opened the Margaritaville Casino in Las Vegas. He still performs worldwide, has made over 30 albums, written several books (four made it to the New York Times Bestseller list), and he pilots his own plane… the list of his accomplishments goes on and on. And, of course, above all else, Jimmy is a storyteller. We talked about storytelling a lot in our interview.

I recently pulled out my interview notes and took a look at what Jimmy told me back then. His key points about storytelling are relevant, even for those of us who tell stories in a more corporate environment than Jimmy does.

Spend More Time Listening

One of the first things Jimmy told me was that he has stories to tell because he spends most of his time listening. It was obvious that he is interested in what others have to say. This man has done tens of thousands of interviews, knows how to give good sound bites and he is a consummate professional when it comes to the interview process. Yet, less than two minutes into our interview, he started asking me questions too. (The first one was why I knew so much about him!) Jimmy Buffett is an interesting person, but what I think a lot of people don’t realize is that he is really interested in everything. He engages people, asks questions, finds out what they think; he learns their story.

This is a valuable lesson for a communicator. We can be so focused on what we want the story to be—driven by deadlines and focused on key messages and positioning—that we forget to really listen. Sometimes really interesting stories are told to us and we don’t hear them because we have an agenda in our head. Other times, we are so busy multi-tasking, that we don’t even realize what is really being shared with us. Take your attention out of your own head and put it on the person in front you. It may sound simple, but it will bring big results.

Develop Compelling Characters

This doesn’t mean that you have to write about pirates, sailors and island eccentrics like Jimmy does, but—relevant to your brand—you should showcase what is interesting, unique, and even a little quirky about the people you are profiling.

Have a CEO who is a jazz musician by night or a customer service rep who does the Ironman? Share that. It is more compelling than knowing where they got their MBA or being told what business awards they have won.

A good story takes us into the lead character’s world—we get to know the real person, who they are when they aren’t at work, what drives them, what inspires them, and what scares them. We want to know what makes them leap out of bed in the morning and what drives them to keep going when times are tough. Bring the whole person to life, not just their professional résumé.

Use Words to Paint a Picture

No matter what the medium, Jimmy paints a compelling picture using words. From his songs to his books to what he talks about in concert—when he tells you a story, he describes the location, the people and the events in a way that makes you feel as if you are there. (Even the menu items in his restaurants tell their own story!)

We live in a world that is often shaped by statistics and facts. As communicators we are diligent about making sure the information we provide is accurate. We curse misinformation and errors. A good (corporate) storyteller uses stats and facts as the foundation, but then focuses on bringing the people, the place and the event to life. No one ever climbed Mt. Everest, changed a corporate culture or invented life-altering technology because they were inspired by stats and facts. If all you have are facts and stats, then you have a report, not a story. A good story is based in fact, but what connects us is the heart and soul of it.

Don’t Forget to Have Fun

Corporate storytelling can be challenging, but if you follow Jimmy’s advice, it gets much easier. And it’s so much more fun! Which was the last piece of advice that Jimmy gave me. He said, “No matter what you do, just don’t forget to have fun with it. If you aren’t having fun, it makes for really long, boring days. And no one needs that.”

…And if you’re reading this Jimmy, I’d love to buy you a cold one and talk “storytelling” with you again. (I will be at Margaritaville Las Vegas on February 22 from 6 – 8 p.m. sitting at the bar, listening.)

Posted by Ruth Atherley of AHA Creative Strategies on January 24th, 2012

Once you understand what the story currently being told about your organization focuses on (see last week’s post on “The art and science of telling a great corporate story”), the next step is to identify the storyline that you want to tell. There are many story structures that you can use to tell the story in a way that engages your audience. While, at first glance, some of these approaches may seem a little “Hollywood” – keep in mind that show business is a very successful industry that is based on telling stories.

There are some standard approaches to storytelling that consistently work – if you have compelling content. There is the “Hero’s Quest.” This tells the story of someone standing up – against the odds – for what they believe in. We have had many opportunities to use this in showcasing how individuals in an organization brought social responsibility to their workplace or how they overcame personal challenges to grow and evolve, and what that experience means to their professional role.

The “Coming of Age” is the story of transformation where there is a valuable life lesson that is learned through experience. This storyline can be very effective in our wired world. We have used it to showcase how an organization grew and evolved, how another embraced new methods of employee attraction and retention, and how one embraced the new conversational approach of social media and the active, online consumer.

There is the “Stranger in a Strange Land” approach, which speaks to change and how to adapt. We have used this with great success when introducing a new CEO or senior executive that has come from another industry.

And we can’t forget the “Romance” – in a corporate environment, this would be called “Collaboration” – which we have used during mergers and acquisitions, when two diverse divisions or departments were given an opportunity to work together.

These are just a few of the classic storylines that you can use to tell your story. At the heart of it is the human interest component, which we will talk more about in Thursday’s post.

Once you have defined your storyline and understand what it is you want to share, it is also important to identify the medium (or mediums) that will work for your stakeholder groups. Often we develop a storyline that is told through different mediums, which gives us the opportunity to share different aspects of the story. Writing a profile article is very different than a feature piece; telling the story through video will showcase different aspects than a print piece. A podcast is different again.

It isn’t just about what medium will tell the story most effectively; it’s also about how your target audience wants to engage. We often reach out with a brief survey and ask them whether they would prefer to read an article or watch a video or, in some cases, listen to the podcast. Instead of assuming, go to the stakeholder group and ask.

Posted by Ruth Atherley of AHA Creative Strategies on January 19th, 2012

Telling your organization’s story isn’t as easy as some would think, but it certainly isn’t hard. It does take some time and effort, but the results provide excellent return on investment.

The fact is, stories are being told about your organization all the time. Whether the stories are good or bad, they are being told by clients or customers, by service providers, employees and contractors (and their families and friends), by competitors, your board members, government officials and by the media.

When we start working with a client, we often do a little bit of research and find some of the stories that are being told about the organization. There is a great deal of information that can be found online, in blogs, in media coverage, on social media networking sites and on consumer review sites. We also often develop and execute communication audits that ask a range of stakeholder groups for their confidential feedback. Focus groups, both more formal and informal, can also help to inform us of what your story is “on the street.”

Once you have a sense of the story that others are telling about you, it helps to understand what type of story you should be telling at this point. Are the stories that are being told by stakeholders positive or negative? Are they accurate or do they contain errors or misinformation? What is the theme of the stories?

You can learn a great deal from what is being said about your organization now. Understanding this component is the first step in developing your organization’s story on your terms and, when you share it, having your stakeholder groups connect to it and retell it – the way it should be told.

Next week – step two and three.

Posted by Ruth Atherley of AHA Creative Strategies on January 17th, 2012

Step 1: Clearly identify your stakeholder groups.

This blog post isn’t about what to do should your organization be faced with an issue or a crisis. It is about what you can do today, proactively, even if there isn’t the slightest evidence that there might be a challenge in your future. (A word of warning: A small mistake by someone in your organization could get a lot of interest online and turn into a huge crisis. Don’t think a crisis would never happen to you. It can. And at some point, it likely will.)

Back to today’s post…

We are often asked to develop issues and crisis communications plans for clients. One of the components that we include focuses on what the organization is doing now, at this moment, when there isn’t a challenge looming on the horizon. We find that there are a lot of organizations that aren’t proactively building relationships with their stakeholder groups. Not only is that dangerous, but it’s bad business. (Marketing and sales information doesn’t count as relationship building material, just for the record. And from what I have seen on some Twitter and Facebook pages, there are organizations out there that don’t realize that.)

Using Groupon or promoting a product or service through advertising, direct marketing or other channels is fine, but if that is the only connection you have with your stakeholder group, then you aren’t building relationships—you are setting up transactions. Transactions don’t necessarily create loyalty, encourage your customers or clients to tell others about your organization, and they won’t come to your defence if you are facing an issue or crisis.

We have clients in diverse industry sectors. At first glance, some seem to have more sizzle than others; their stories are easy to identify. For others, it takes a bit of digging to see what would be of interest. However, in all the years that I have been a story chaser, both as a journalist for Maclean’s and as a communicator, I have not yet found one industry or organization that didn’t have a compelling story to tell to their stakeholder group. And that’s the thing to remember—the whole world doesn’t have to be engaged, just your stakeholder group.

The first step to proactively building relationships with your stakeholders is to clearly identify each of your stakeholder groups. Who are they? What is the relationship to your organization and to each other? What do they want to know about your organization? (Not what you want to tell them, but what do they want to know?) How do they want to learn about you? (Facebook, Twitter, your website, a blog, etc.) What traditional media do they read, watch or listen to? Spend some time really getting to know who your stakeholders are. You might be surprised at what you learn.

For our clients, we spend time understanding their stakeholders. Depending on the project, we often create stakeholder character profiles complete with visuals, personalities, likes and dislikes. It’s a creative exercise that gets us thinking about how we need to share information.

Stay tuned for my next blog post on how to identify your organization’s interesting and compelling story.

Posted by Ruth Atherley of AHA Creative Strategies on January 13th, 2012

In today’s AHA Fast Take Friday from St. Kitts, Ruth talks about knowing where you currently are, where you want to go and giving campaigns enough time to accomplish your objectives.

Posted by Paul Holman of AHA Creative Strategies on January 12th, 2012

The Vancouver Sun is reporting today that Shaw Media will launch an all-news channel for British Columbia in the summer of 2012. Global BC will be responsible for the content. Fingers are crossed at AHA that this also means that Global will have more television cameras available to record the news going on in the Lower Mainland.

Click here for a link to the story.