Do you want to alienate a client, just because he uses AOL Mail?

Email clients (the programs you use to access your email, such as Outlook, Gmail, Lotus Mail, etc.) change unpredictably. Sometimes they are undergo updates. Other times, people simply use a different email client. You have no control over these changes. However, you can make an effort to accommodate most of them.

But, everybody uses Outlook, right?

I can’t tell you the number of times clients say, “Our customers only use Microsoft Outlook.” This is patently false and it will sabotage your email marketing campaign. Smart customers don’t just follow the IT people blindly. They use the tools that help them maximize their productivity. Look at the graph on the right. It’s an email to “business users”. Outlook still maintains a strong lead, but it is by no means exclusive.

How do we keep an e-newsletter consistent?

Periodically, have a professional web developer test it and tune it up. They’ll make sure it follows the current web standards. More importantly, their work will keep your brand and image consistent in the inboxes of your customers and prospects.

From the NY Times: “Secret Selves,” an exhibition of 26 color photographs, 11 of them life size,  at Mass MoCA ; it is Mr. Nimoy’s first solo show at a major museum. He got the idea for it from the passage in Plato’s “Symposium” speculating that humans were originally double-sided creatures, split apart by jealous gods and doomed forever to seek their lost other halves. Over a couple of very long days in 2008, he photographed 95 or so residents of nearby Northampton, Mass., who had been encouraged to reveal their hidden natures any way they chose.”

Here are photos taken at the Michelson Gallery, Northampton, MA and the Opening at MoCA. The photographer was Seth Kaye.

Ira and Leonard with Autographed Book

Ira and Leonard Nimoy at MoCA Opening

Ira at MoCA opening with guests

Leonard Nimoy Photo of Ira (Camera extra!)

People love to talk about SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and Google. For many clients it seems like yet another holy grail of marketing, right up there with getting an article in the New York Times. Truth be told, Google and other search engines still lack an ability to discern credibility. They can infer the reputation of a site based on an algorithm, but you’ll still be filtering through a lot of chaff before you find what you’re looking for.

This article from ReadWriteWeb explains how there is a viable business model for creating reams of content. Search Engine Optimization depends on it (at least until search engines decide if it’s worth pushing out 2 million results for a search.) If you’re thinking about SEO for your organization and you want to understand “off-page” optimization (a common service offered by SEO firms), a little research on content farms will be well worth the time invested.

Alternity

Alternity is a specialized medical practice that addresses Age Management Medicine issues for preventive medicine, focusing on regaining and maintaining optimal health and vigor.

Hartford Financial Management (HFM)

HFM offers comprehensive investment advisory services in a highly customized team approach. Their portfolio managers average 25 years of financial and portfolio experience.

CONNSTEP

CONNSTEP, a public/private organization, have helped Connecticut’s small and midsize manufacturers compete and grow.  Through highly personalized services tailored to the specific needs of client companies, they help develop more effective business leaders, execute plant-wide operational excellence and promote creative strategies for business growth and greater profitability.

Connecticut Council on Developmental Disabilities

The Council on Developmental Disabilities is a Governor-appointed body of people with disabilities, family members and professionals who work together to promote the full inclusion of people with disabilities in community life.

Everybody Wins! CT

Everybody Wins! CT is a not-for-profit organization that provides reading enrichment programs for young children. We currently work with public and charter schools. The program pairs volunteer readers with young children with a goal is to engage students, inspire a love of books, encourage leadership and learning, and build community.

Hartford Preservation Alliance (HPA)

HPA focuses on educating the public about preservation issues, convening and collaborating with interested parties for positive change, advocating for rehabilitation and proper “mothballing” of older structures, and placing appropriate properties on state and federal historic registries.

Mount St. John

Mount Saint John is a residential treatment program that provides comprehensive and integrated treatment services to adolescent boys and young men who are not able to function in their home community due to combinations of behavioral, emotional, family and educational problems.

presents

Leonard Nimoy

Leonard Nimoy © Seth Kaye 2008

Do you have a Secret Self?

According to Greek mythology, humans were once four legged and four armed. When they became too arrogant and powerful, Zeus split them in two. Since then we have been searching constantly for our other half in order to feel complete. Do you have another half? Do you have a self never revealed? Who do you think you are?

In November 2008, Leonard Nimoy was at R. Michelson Galleries in Northampton, Massachusetts, to begin his latest photographic journey: Secret Selves. He gathered over one hundred subjects from all walks of life and asked them the question, “Who do you think you are?”

Each subject was recorded as Mr. Nimoy interviewed them and created a photographic portrait of their “alternate identity”. As Mr. Nimoy wrote: “I am hoping to be surprised and delighted by what shows up in front of me. Anything from full costume to nudity–I would encourage all of it.” From the popular rock star and superman to the more unexpected dog lover and Pan, these secret identities offer an intimate, sometimes humorous, and often profound new look at the inner yearnings and fantasies that we all share. Ira Yellen is one of the featured subjects. To learn more about this project and the go to Leonard Nimoy and see if you can find the photograph he took of me.

Today, we’re celebrating the work of one of our former interns, Steve Lin. He has since moved on to the mobility division of Accenture. As a member of the FEC team, he helped us analyze the value of the vast array of digital challenges facing our clients. As a shining example of his work, here is Steve’s position paper on e-reality, the growing force that changes our perceptions of organizations and relationships.

Excerpt

What Is E-Reality?

Throughout history, there has been consistent documentation of how nature and social forces impact people. What is more important to understand in this day and age, is how the Internet affects us as social beings.

E-Reality is the domain of influence the Internet has in determining what people believe to be true and how that impacts behavior and attitude. This white paper interprets the process of E-Reality by discussing recent developments in 1) how people communicate and exchange information and 2) how people form perceptions and opinions of organizations and institutions.

The Changing World and Web 3.0

In the real world immediately prior to the Internet era, communication was a manageable activity. The extent of our inter-personal interactions were limited by the number of people we would meet up with or reach by phone during the day. Our knowledge base was also limited by what we would read about and see in the physical world.

>>> Download the full white paper

Note: This article also appears in the Hartford Business Journal, July 11, 2010.

My experience interacting with Margaret Mead in 1971-72 taught me the importance of  exploring relationships that intertwine commerce, civic institutions, society and human nature — a philosophy that continues to influence my approach in working with all types of individuals and organizations.

As an aging baby boomer, who was active and influenced by events in the 1960s, these times feel similar to those times — institutional distrust, factional and cultural instability, stress on the day-to-day familiar that usually created stability such as family, community, friends, and business associates.

There is a general impatience and insecurity now that invades our daily lives. I see more stress related illnesses, inattention to detail, and lack of the “forgive and forget” approach to honest mistakes. Our current environment is encouraging us to: take short cuts, just get it done, and skip any strategy for long-term outcomes.

But the turmoil of the 1960s also led to major systemic changes for the good in racial relations, women’s rights, and a change in how America deals with foreign relations. Of course, there were other great cultural advances — music, arts, drama, and a growing awareness of the shortcomings of ethnocentric thinking. These, plus more, have led to tremendous opportunities for all.

Other stresses on family, community, and opportunity also drastically changed how we developed relationships. As many baby boomers left the “nest” and security of a close-to- home environment, we had to learn to work and relate to people of different backgrounds and experiences.  Our traditional comfort zone was gone, and we needed to work on building relationships in a new and better way.

Last week I watched the movie, “To Kill a Mockingbird.” It’s a timeless classic about a time in America when there were clear divisions between races, and how one man, Atticus, through his experience and family involvement was able to demonstrate the importance of community relationship building in the most positive way. The memorable line from Atticus, as conveyed by his daughter Scout, said,  “you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them.”

Maybe we should all walk in someone else’s shoes every so often. That’s a good place to start building meaningful relationships.

Faced with decreasing funding from the Connecticut Legislature and low awareness of the value of community health care centers to the state’s health and economy, CPCA retained First Experience Communications (FEC) to help them develop and execute a strategic public relations campaign to retain funding for the community health centers, as well as HUSKY and SAGA programs for low-income Connecticut families that would otherwise be medically uninsured.

 

Strategy and Tactics

After interviewing senior staff members, patients and staff at individual health centers, FEC developed a PR plan that narrowed the perception gap between the health centers and their audiences. By thoroughly understanding the patient and staff experience, we were able to create messages that raised awareness of the value of community health centers. A key component of this strategic plan was to build consensus internally so that front-line staff would continually educate press, patients and boards. FEC developed public relations toolkits and held training workshops to prepare health center staff and their board members to take advantage of publicity opportunities. FEC provided the individual centers with access to a centralized photo library, as well as website templates. Rather than forcing centers to follow a centralized plan, CPCA and FEC provided the necessary tools, training and messaging, and encouraged them to participate. As a result, each center promoted its own value to the community it served, as well as the community health care system on a statewide basis.

Execution

CPCA’s plan included strategies to bring their message to public policy makers. FEC developed a position paper that defined the role of CPCA as a leader in public health and fiscal responsibilities, overcoming perceptions of the association as a charity or social service agency. Other projects supported this leadership role and ultimately brought attention and focus to the importance of health centers’ work. FEC produced and directed a public service announcement with Governor M. Jodi Rell, a breast cancer survivor, which explained the health centers’ important role in providing statewide health for uninsured women. FEC provided counsel to health center staff and citizens testifying before the legislature, resulting in personal testimony and real-life stories directed to policy makers when key decisions were pending. FEC also coordinated a photography exhibit at the State Capital showcasing personal stories of quality health care. FEC assisted CPCA with media relations efforts by arranging editorial meetings and submitting op-ed pieces and letters to the editor to key publications. This proactive and reactive strategy helped to promote CPCA’s commitment to state health and correct misperceptions. Through this activity, the media began to view CPCA as a valued information source, which created additional opportunities for editorial meetings, national TV coverage and fostered a community health center visit and tour from Senator Joseph Lieberman. For the first time, Connecticut community health centers were taking an active role in public health issues.

Results

CPCA’s long-term integrated communications plan has resulted in extended state financial support of both the HUSKY and SAGA programs. Severe projected budget cuts to these programs have been greatly reduced; enabling community health centers to provide care to uninsured and underinsured Connecticut citizens. Also, the consensus at the level of individual community health centers has created the foundation of a strong public position.

Well, this past July 4th holiday which was a federal and state holiday on July 5th, our trash service didn’t follow the normal procedure to pick up the garbage a day later. I called them and said, “I saw that some of my neighbors put their garbage out and was picked up today and I thought you would pick up on Wednesday.”

But this is when the phone call got really weird. The customer service rep said Monday was not a holiday, July 4th was the holiday. I pointed out that the legal federal and state holiday was July 5th just like the last Monday in May is the legal holiday for Memorial Day. But then she said we don’t recognize federal or state holidays. Anyway, you can imagine this “dada” discussion was going nowhere.

The moral of this story is: “Garbage, is garbage, is garbage, is garbage” except on July 5th is July 4th…

Carlos is also generous in his support of the Hartford Preservation Alliance, a nonprofit organization that helps property owners, developers, and home owners in preserving Hartford’s architecture heritage through various technical support services. This tie-in between profit and nonprofit organizations demonstrates that a city grows and evolves positively because of individuals like Carlos and organizations like the Hartford Preservation Alliance.

You will be amazed what a small group of determined individuals can do when left to their creative and passionate drive. Check them out.

Brochure

Website

University of Connecticut — Neag School of Education Educational Leadership Department

The Department of Educational Leadership in the Neag School of Education at the University of Connecticut was charged with coordinating the rollout of a statewide program to create systemic school change to enhance teaching and learning through leadership development to support technology integration. The initiative was funded through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation State Challenge Grant for Leadership Development and supported by the Connecticut Consortium for Technology Integration in School Leadership. A four-day program was pilot tested, modified based on participant feedback and six cohorts were scheduled beginning in the fall of 2002. Participation is voluntary and is encouraged as a team approach with five members from each school district, including a superintendent or senior staff person and at least one principal. We were engaged to promote the program to the educational community.

Research

A thorough information review of data, program (or “cohort”) materials and grant specifications was performed. The target audience was identified by the requirements of the Gates grant: school superintendents, elementary and secondary school principals. Our next step was to analyze evaluations from the pilot program participants. We discovered the ratings in certain areas were low and learned this had prompted a revision of the program. However, a background meeting with the client revealed that the pilot participants were not aware of the revised program. From FEC’s prior extensive work within the educational system, we were sensitive to the strong “grapevine” of communication that exists in Connecticut’s educational community. Primary research was done conducting phone interviews with pilot program participants for feedback and supportive promotional quotes. Negative feedback surfaced in the phone interviews about certain aspects of the pilot program, but when superintendents and principals were informed of the changes made as a result of their written feedback, they were pleased. We used the information learned to identify our initial strategy of “managing the grapevine.”

Planning and Objectives

First Experience Communications identified the following objectives and challenges in the planning process:Objectives:

1. Get 400 educators (80 five-member administrative teams from school districts throughout Connecticut) to participate in leadership/ technology program by end of2002-03 school year.
2. Strategically position and market the program so educators will see value in its potentialimmediate and long-term benefits.
3. Build ownership of the leadership/ technology concept at the school level to transition

from “program implementation” to “standard operating procedure.”

Challenges:

• Getting the attention of key administrators especially superintendents
• Superintendents commitment for involving other key administrators for 4 days
• Learning concrete and specific tools and devices that can be implemented immediately
• Sustaining long-term interest and participation to create systems change.Understanding our target audience and the influence of its grapevine on success and failure of past programs, our project team put a priority on stemming negative talk about the programfrom pilot participants. Significant changes had been made to the “roll-out program”, which addressed all major concerns that arose from pilot participants. They needed to know they hadbeen listened to … and they needed to know it quickly. To differentiate this program frominnumerable others that had been marketed to this audience in the past, we needed to look likewe had our act together right out of the starting gate. Key to our success would be to developan identity, a professional look and carry that through every facet of the marketingcommunications campaign.

Execution

A. Launch Image and Awareness Campaign

Build a high quality program image with educators and the general public to cultivate interestand maximize capacity for participating in the initiative.

Preempt possible negative grapevine and misinformation.

• Action (Immediate): Drafted letter to pilot participants. Thanked them for their input; letthem know their insights led to an improved, redesigned program. Included book“Lincoln on Leadership” as a thank you gift for their leadership in participating in thepilot program
• Action (Immediate): Sent letter with program flyer to prospective participants building
• up the redesigned leadership/ technology program..Create program identity and marketing materials.
• Action: Developed name and logo for Connecticut’s leadership/ technology program.Name: “TL2C: Technology for Leadership & Learning in Connecticut.” Logo:“Appears to be a flower about to blossom but turns out to be a mouse emerging from between the pages of an open book. This TL2C symbol does double duty by leveragingthe flower image as a metaphor for potential and achievement, while the mouse/book image alludes to the integration of technology and tradition in the TL2C educationalmodel. The connection to the TLC acronym for “tender loving care” is particularlyappropriate to the symbol of a budding plant.”
• Action: Developed program tagline/compelling message: “For our children’s future”
• Action: Created promotional materials/ participant kit (fact sheet, image brochure, CD)
• Action: Redesigned website to be more interactive with prospective participants
• Action: Designed tabletop tradeshow display

B. Call for Enrollment Get people to sign up. Make it easy for them to register.

• Action: Use direct marketing, internal communication vehicles, and e-mail to promoteprogram participation and facilitate sign-up.
• Action: Enhance website to allow for online enrollment.

Results/Evaluation

Every scheduled session was filled to capacity; three had waiting lists. Sign-up has exceeded the goal of 400 participants and school districts are asking to send additional teams. Extrasessions have been scheduled beyond the intended end date to accommodate demand. Onlinesign-up through the website drew high numbers and the program coordinator was thrilled tohave the problem of juggling scheduling as opposed to beating the bushes, which was herinitial fear. The program’s academic oversight committee agreed the use of a sharp logo, taglineand visual image coordinated through every facet of the campaign (brochure, envelopes,letterhead, business cards, premium giveaway items, slip covers for course notebooks),elevated the image and value of the program to their educational colleagues. The program costswere on budget, at $25,000 plus production costs. FEC was able to provide more client servicewith premium items, e-mail counsel and web development than originally planned byeliminating a second brochure design (since the first one met the registration goals). FEC is looking at a Phase II with the client to sustain the program long-term, so this is still “work inprogress.”

First Experience Communications has realized tremendous value from the educationalgrapevine, starting with the program coordinator publicly stating to her academic colleagues onthe oversight committee, “the best thing we did on this project was to go to First Experience.”The logo and materials have generated new business for FEC from educators who “wantsomething like the Gates brochure.”

Parent Brochure

Parent Brochure

Brochure Spanish

Hartford School Readiness Program— Creating a Public Service Campaign to a Diverse Audience

Recognizing the correlation between participation in a early childhood program and improved academic performance later on, The Hartford School Readiness Council initiated the Hartford School Readiness Project and contracted First Experience Communications to inform the community of the importance and availability of school readiness opportunities by creating a public service campaign that will reach the various audiences affected by the program.

Case Study

Overview

We were contracted to work with Hartford Children First Initiative, the Hartford, School Readiness Council (businesses, early childhood providers, community-based organizations, city government, etc.), the City of Hartford, the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, and the Hartford Public Schools to:

• conduct research and facilitate focus groups and interviews with key audiences (Early Childhood Leadership, Community Leadership, and Parents) in order to develop and precisely target key communications themes and messages;
• create a sustainable public service and community relations program to raise awareness of the opportunities in preschool programs and build trust about the quality of care and instruction that children will receive while attending the programs. Tactics included: articles, white papers, legislative updates, billboards, bus ads, print ads, scripts, brochures, and staff training.

Strategy

• To inform the community of the importance and availability of school readiness opportunities, creating an integrated marketing/communications strategy that will reach the various audiences, e.g., young parents, referral community agencies, community groups, etc., in order to enroll as many 3 and 4 year-olds as possible in a 1999 marketing/public relations campaign.
• To increase enrollment from 590 children to at least 1000 children for the school year 1999-2000.
• Create an environment of trust between parents and programs.
• Create a referral alliance among civic, cultural, religious, parent, health and community groups who would be willing to share information with parents and families and be willing to share information about potential participants with school readiness programs.
• Produce specific promotion and marketing materials, such as brochures, advertising, etc., that promotes the programs and encourages families enrolling their children in school readiness programs, offer marketing services and technical assistance to other city school readiness programs that need to increase enrollment in their programs.
• Create a sustainable communication and public relations plan to encourage on-going and additional funding for the city’s school readiness programs.

Research

Challenges and Assumptions: Early childhood programs are often perceived by parents and families as a baby-sitting service with low-paid, non-professional staff. The Council believes that most of the new school readiness programs have been filled by families who already understand the value of such programs and had been waiting for new opportunities to arise. We now need to reach parents and families who are not traditionally connected to early childhood services. This is a very difficult task requiring sound research and creative outreach methods.

Primary Research — Following a focus group with representatives from the School Readiness Council Leadership to define the information the research should produce as well as the criteria and direction for this project, we conducted focus groups and interviews with five separate groups of parents and community agency audiences. Over 80 parents made up of a diverse and representative group of Hispanics, African-Americans and other minorities were either interviewed or asked to participate in focus groups. Their input provided us with their perceptions and experiences in early childhood programs along with their expectations for this new program and the messages that they believe would be effective in recruiting the families of 3 and 4 year olds for this program. A focus group of representatives from community groups (health, social service, education, etc.) assisted us in identifying messages and media delivery vehicles for creating an effective internal referral network.

Secondary Research — There has been substantial research on the brain development of children under the age of five. The Council provided us with the following reports: The Connecticut Commission on Childrens’ assessment of existing programs; Connecticut Voices for Children — Children and Families in the New Economy; and Aetna Foundation Child Health Data Center — An Assessment of the Hartford Preschool Population and of Resources for Children and Families in Hartford, and Benton Foundation — Effective Language for Discussing Early Childhood Education and Policy.

Results/Expectations — The consensus among the focus group participants (Parents and Community Contacts) and Early Childhood leadership was to create more of an awareness of the value of early childhood school readiness, and communicate what a parent should know about Hartford’s programs. Along with the fundamental goal of recruiting three and four year-olds for enrollment, there are other purposes for marketing and communicating the school readiness program. This includes: creating trust between schools and parents, presenting the success of the program and illustrating the fun the child and parent will have by participating in the program. After meeting with the Superintendent of Schools, it became clear that he was committed to assigning 44 classrooms to the school readiness program for the next school year, so there will be plenty of open spaces for preschool candidates. By focusing upon the instructional/developmental value of the experience a young child will have in this program, as well as other opportunities for enrichment, it will be possible to both increase awareness and build trust.

Campaign Components

Internal Communication and Marketing

• Targeted Groups: School Readiness and Early Childhood Providers, Referral agencies (health, social service, education, etc.), Parent facilitators (public school advocates), Parent advocate groups, and Educators
• Goal: Be proactive by providing information to parents and guardians in a friendly and thoughtful way in order to enroll 3 and 4 year olds in the program and encourage parent involvement
• Tactics: Training, training materials, and information literature

External Communication and Marketing

• Targeted Groups: Parents, Educators, Referral agencies, Public Policy Officials
• Goal: Reassure and encourage the parents and the guardians of 3 and 4 year-olds of the importance of enrolling their child in a school readiness program
• Tactics: Creation of bilingual (English & Spanish) promotional materials: banners at school readiness sites, brochure, bus display, bus shelter display, billboards, weekly neighborhood newspapers, State of Connecticut Infoline Telephone system

Public Relations

• Goal: Create a script and talking points to all professionals and support groups to talk about school readiness in a single voice using bona fide information provided by authorized officials.
• Tactics: White paper, presentations and guest appearances with local radio shows, churches, civic groups and other officials

The campaign was rolled-out during the months of July, August and September using the above strategy and tactics along with support from the members of the partnership. Many of the providers of early childhood programs participated in a referral alliance among civic, cultural, religious, parent and community groups who would be willing to share information with parents and families and be willing to share information about potential participants with school readiness programs. We realized that the interpersonal relationships between these groups and the parents/guardians was critical to the success of the campaign. A major part of this public service campaign was to make enrolling a 3- or 4-year-old child as easy as possible for parents. The primary message that was used over and over was for parents to visit their closest elementary school for information and registration information, because we knew from research that the majority of these parents did not have cars and therefore would not travel far to get information. This strategy was so successful, that majority of the sites became over registered, which has lead to requests for additional funding resources to meet the need.

Results

In February 1999, there were 592 children using School Readiness-funded slots. We knew that by the summer there would be an additional 360 openings and that they would need to be filled quickly in order to receive continued local and state funding. We were also hoping to demonstrate that there was a need for additional funding. One of the most valuable pieces of this project was the focus group research we did with parents. We found out that parents want these services and that they understood how important it was for their children to be in quality programs. However, we also discovered that parents found it very difficult to get basic information about the programs—where there were openings and how to register their children, for example. Not only did the focus groups help us design the campaign, we also used the research to show the Hartford School Readiness Council the need for creating a coordinated system of pre-K education for the city. They have adopted this goal and are currently working to create a consumer-friendly system. Through a media campaign and community outreach and public relations efforts, we were able to place 1,320 children in school readiness classrooms, an increase of enrollment of 728 children, a 123% improvement over the previous year. The public awareness campaign not only quickly filled classrooms, but also served as the catalyst for the community-based providers and the school system to work closer together and begin creating a better coordinated system. As of December 1999, an additional funding from the State of Connecticut was requested for and additional 819 slots. This request is currently under review by the state.

Brochure

Catalog

Catalog

Tunxis Community College, Farmington, Connecticut

Tunxis Community College hosted the pilot program for the Connecticut Community College System’s Integrated Marketing Communications plan. They were the first of Connecticut’s 12 community colleges to leverage the IMC strategies at the local level of implementation.