Archive for November, 2007

MediaLink, a company that produces and distributes video news releases on behalf of clients hoping to get on TV, apparently is slow to learn from its mistakes.  A couple of years ago, MediaLink was involved with Ketchum PR in producing several fake video news releases that were nothing more than promotion of an education-related political agenda by the White House at taxpayer expense.  The resulting scandal nearly sank MediaLink’s reputation.  Why?  Because the source of the video was not openly disclosed to either TV stations that aired the bogus news pieces or the public.

Now, MediaLink’s done it again with a phony video “news” piece for Bisquick, a product of General Mills.  The FCC says it is a “willful violation” of federal sponsorship identification rules.  The FCC also says that Comcast violated the rules by airing the Bisquick segment on the cable company’s CN8 news show.

Here’s the video … you decide –
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=is8_S_uU_p0 240 320]

So many organizations still believe they need a slogan — a hopefully clever or impressive catch phrase — and they are often willing to pay a significant fee even though slogans are becoming … well, becoming out of fashion and effectiveness. Today’s trend is toward more genuine and transparent-sounding positioning messages. Positioning messages are statements that incisively explain value or why anyone should care about you.

The wonderful country of Scotland, nonetheless, believed it needed a new slogan … something inspiring while, at the same time, perhaps romantic. (No one told them you can’t achieve that with a slogan.) Six months later and after spending $250,000, they decided on … “Welcome to Scotland.”

“Welcome to Scotland” at best is dull and passive and certainly does not begin to evoke images of the authentic nature of the country. Extremely poor creative work, in my opinion, by the Leith Agency, which should either give back the fat fee or donate it to a Scottish charity.

Google maps, like Google itself, has grown into a dominant force on the Internet … but have you tried using it to get from point A to point B? Here’s what I’ve found — if there are two ways to get someplace — simple, easy and quick versus complicated and overly out-of-the-way — Google maps chooses the latter.

My wife and I took a weekend trip to Chincoteague, Virginia, and trusted Google maps. Quite honestly, we weren’t paying a lot of attention at first but then, we realized - as we drove off the main highways and along two-lane country roads - that Google maps had steered us about 20 miles out of the way!

So, I tested Google maps on a couple of simple trips - including from our home in Virginia to a specific address in Washington, DC … normally a distance of about seven miles. Sure enough, Google maps plotted not only a longer route but one that would have encountered more traffic congestion, traffic lights and narrow streets. Beware!

Alternatives — Yahoo maps is consistently good. Mapquest is okay.

Here is a terrific story on how one pilot at United Airlines is creating outstanding word-of-mouth support among passengers. Now, if only the leaders of United would get on the program.

Thanks to word-of-mouth experts Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba for the story.

If you enjoy old photos of life in America years ago — particularly Washington, D.C. — as I do, then I recommend “Bound for Glory: America in Color, 1939-1943.” The site is a Library of Congress exhibition.

Last night, there was yet another so-called debate of presidential contenders.  This one by the Democrats.

These staged television events are so common these days and contrived that I wonder whether they might replace all those mindless reality TV shows. When I have watched these “debates,” what I see is a consistent lack of straight answers from the candidates, and they spend much of their time reacting to each other. Consequently, there is little differentiation among candidates. No one shines out. The public sees a gaggle of politicians yet … no authentic leader. I have an idea about why that is — their advisors.

A couple of hours before last night’s latest debate-TV-dance-with-the-candidates, long-time Democratic candidate advisor Joe Trippi appeared on MSNBC’s Hardball with Chris Matthews. Trippi is one of those political advisors who generally represents candidates like Howard Dean, and today works for John Edwards.

Matthews asked Trippi the same question four (4) times in what became a questioning marathon by Matthews designed solely to try to get a straight answer from Trippi. Clearly, it was beyond Trippi’s ability to utter a straight answer. Finally, Matthews laughed in frustration, gave up and got Trippi off the air.

And, then … we wonder what’s wrong with politics? I think the consultants are restricting any chance for an authentic leader to emerge, regardless of political party. And, an authentic leader is what this nation needs today.

As an extension to my blog posting yesterday about airport security … or the holes in the system … is a report today in The New York Times that the Government Accounting Office tested TSA’s screening process at a variety of airports in the U.S. Investigators smuggled liquid explosives and detonators through airport checkpoints, exposing dangerous vulnerabilities in security efforts.

While airport security may just be seen as an hourly job to the TSA workers that doesn’t require heavy thinking or lifting, airport security is critically important to all the many people who fly America’s airlines and want transportation to be safe and free from threat. What is being revealed as yet another example of incompetence by our government has long been a worry and is really nothing new for those of us who travel frequently.

TSA was created by bureaucrats, not professional leaders or managers, out of the political expediency of 9-11. It is clearly inadequate, and what is worse, the bad guys must know that.