The Myth of the Marketing ‘No-Brainer’

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By Julie Wright, President

Over the past 20 years, I’ve often heard people ask for the ‘no-brainer’ marketing idea. Two weeks ago, it was an entrepreneur with a national retail product looking for a PR ‘slam dunk.’ And two days ago it was the nonprofit executive overseeing a multi-million dollar fundraising campaign who scoffed at the notion that marketing dollars should be budgeted for her organization’s social media program.

This thinking is a dangerous delusion: There are no marketing no-brainers, slam dunks or results without a commitment of time, resources and, yes, budget.

How can I be so sure? It’s pretty obvious to me: If it were that easy, we’d all be millionaires and every nonprofit would be well-funded.

It takes a lot of hard work and money to understand your target market’s needs, reach them with your messages and keep those messages top of mind so that they think of you when they are ready to buy or donate.

Social media may have low barriers to entry but that doesn’t mean that making it work is free. Far from it. Like press coverage, engaging your target audience via social media means you need to earn their attention—earn, as in “to receive as return for effort and especially work done or services rendered.”

Entrepreneurs underestimate the investment required in time, attention and dollars to earn both their market’s attention and its business. This myth may be a big reason that roughly half of all businesses fail within five years.

Nonprofits need to keep their cause “top of heart” with donors all year round through storytelling and sharing. Imagine how donors will feel when reading a yearend appeal letter when they know how hard an organization has been working all year round. Their heart is already open to the appeal.

Return on investment from marketing activities requires strategies, systems and the people in place to see them through. The first step to marketing success is letting go of the idea that there’s a slam dunk, no-brainer or result to be earned without any investment.

5 Tips for Great Pictures

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By Kairee Luna, Design Specialist

One job that I truly love doing — no matter the circumstances, time required or pay — is one that I taught myself. It sometimes requires me to work outside in the cold or heat, roll around in dirt, and occasionally endure public humiliation. This is the life of a family photographer. I love what I do, and I’ve learned simple tips along the way that can help anyone take great pictures.

1. Edit photos sparingly.

Editing can enhance a photograph, but it can also detract from a photograph if done incorrectly. Editing should emphasize the good that already exists. Whenever I edit a photo, I try to keep it looking  as natural as possible while still making it "pop." I do so by adjusting lighting, saturation and contrast. Many beginners over contrast, or over or under saturate an image. It's fun to experiment with filters, so it's easy to go overboard. Still, the best photos are the ones that look natural, with the main focus on the subjects, not the strange colors and dark shadows that may exist around them. Now if you're going for artful or abstract photography, that's another story.

2. Don't be afraid to embarrass yourself.

If you're photographing children and want their attention, you'll need to act a little goofy to get them to laugh. During one of my recent shoots, I spent a good portion of the session making popping sounds with my mouth. And don't be afraid to sing if you have to. Luckily for me, I now have a partner who accompanies me on my shoots to take over the embarrassing battle of making silly faces for the kids. However, that task never truly ends.

3. Don't over or under pose your subjects.

My biggest weakness as a photographer is not knowing appropriate pose techniques. This can lead to awkward pauses where I attempt to think of something quick and on the spot, which may not make for the smartest decisions. At the same time, I believe this is also one of my strengths as it allows me to capture the moments I do. I don't strive for perfection; I strive for the raw and natural. You'll rarely see me move a client's arm to the small of his wife’s back, or tilt a child's head to get the very best angle. Sure, I'll give my clients loose direction and make sure they're all facing the camera, but I allow them to pose how they want. And when a family laughs, or a child runs off to play on their own, they become the best moments to capture. If a client doesn't feel comfortable, you'll sense it in a photograph. Likewise, if they're caressing their boyfriend's cheek in a way they wouldn’t in real life, it’s awkward for everyone. Sure, the photo might look awesome and resemble a romantic novel cover, but it doesn't reflect the personalities of the people in it. 

4. It's not the camera or equipment that makes a great photographer, it's the person behind the lens.

My biggest pet peeve is when someone compliments an awesome photograph, but then follows up by saying, "What kind of camera do you have? It takes great photos!" I shoot with the bare basics — a camera body and a 50mm camera lens, no fancy flashes, accessories or even top-of-the-line lenses that might separate me from looking like a hobbyist on a regular day. But if a photographer knows how to use their camera, frame an image and work with their subjects, it doesn't matter how old or basic the camera is. The photos will always turn out beautifully. And just because someone has better or newer equipment, doesn't mean their photographs will be any better than your own. 

5. Practice, practice, practice.

Photography is a skill you'll never stop learning, and the more you do it, the more you'll grow as a photographer and develop your own style.

Fear Is Its Own Food

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By Grant Wright, CEO

It struck me the other day that America was consumed by fear for so many months leading to the election. Fear of more Obama. Fear of change to Romney. Fear that the housing market isn’t strong enough. Fear that it’s too strong and becoming unaffordable again. Fear of Obamacare. Fear that Obama really does care. Fear that things won’t be OK. Fear that things will be OK for us, but we’re not doing enough for others. Fear. Fear.

Watching a morning ‘news’ channel that for months pedaled little more than outrage, speculation and what-ifs, suddenly overnight seeming to set its communication priorities on a discussion of coffee varieties; reading of Mitt Romney no longer having Secret Service or his campaign plane, and leaving a meeting a couple days later by getting into the back seat of his son’s ordinary gray Subaru; seeing the media offer us the latest catchphrase to turn our suddenly vacant fear capacity to “fiscal cliff” (listen for it, it too was everywhere overnight) – reminds me to stop and refuse to buy into it.

Don’t get me wrong – if you’re a gazelle with a cheetah bearing down on you then fear is a good thing. And arguably a little more tempering fear and prudence preceding the 2008 financial meltdown would have been a good thing. But we’re not gazelles and so much of what we fear is manufactured by others who profit ridiculously by playing to our fear response. So it can be hard to know good fear and harmful fear.

I recently heard someone quote a study that something like 98 percent of what we fret about never comes to pass. Arguably, at least some of it doesn’t come to pass because we worried about it and prevented it. But still, the extraordinary price we humans pay by worrying is, well, extraordinary.

Antacid sales worldwide each year alone reportedly top more than $10 billion. Sure, a lot of this is to do with other health factors like the obesity epidemic here in the U.S., but I’m guessing another big factor in this is simply people worrying, often needlessly.

KPBS radio recently reported that each year in the U.S. hospitals and surgeons have to pay out a total of more than $1 billion to surgery patients who have had something left inside them, like a sponge. And this is because there’s on average 4,000 items unintentionally left inside patients each year. Should I fear this if I need surgery? Of course not, in the same way you can’t worry about your plane being the one to crash from the roughly 50,000 commercial flights that take off every day somewhere in the world.

Since we live in the information age, we are bombarded with things to worry about like no time before. Things to potentially worry about have always happened; it’s just that we never knew about a lot of them.

So, how do we filter but not become callous? I don’t know. If you have a sure-fire solution let me know. For now, and for me, I do my best to balance and try to err on the side of concern versus indifference. As they say, what goes around comes around. So we can hope to put out more good than less, and if we’re lucky maybe some of that will come back to us. But you can’t, and shouldn’t of course, have that expectation.

At (W)right On, we advise our clients not to make decisions from a platform of fear. It is a poor platform. Better to make it from a reasonably and intelligently informed position, and then put full effort behind making whatever that decision have the best possible outcome.

Fear. Worry. Unless there’s a cheetah chasing you, in the inimitable words of Meher Baba made even more famous by Bobby McFerrin, “Don’t worry, be happy.”


Image credit: ajlber / 123RF Stock Photo

Movember Tips from a Dedicated Mo

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By Chancelor Shay, Account Executive

While at the supermarket picking up supplies for Thanksgiving, did you find yourself thinking, “What's with all these horrendous mustaches?” Those in the know can tell you it’s no coincidence you’re seeing more mo’s around this time of year as the annual fundraising challenge Movember is in full swing. If you didn't know, Movember is an annual month-long campaign where men grow out their Flavor Savers to raise money and awareness for men’s health issues, particularly prostate and testicular cancer. Proud participants, such as myself, build teams and set up online accounts where friends, family, colleagues and extended supporters can donate some of their hard-earned cash to help the cause.

In my third year, I’m hardly an expert. In fact, that’s not even the point. But I have learned a few things and while I was sharing some tips with NBC San Diego, I decided a more thorough list of pointers was warranted. These guidelines won’t help thicken your Lip Rug, or at least they didn't for mine, but they will help you get the most out of your efforts and have a lot of fun in the process.

Create the conversation! First and foremost, Movember isn't simply an excuse to don a 'stache, it’s a movement not only to help fund research to develop a cure or treatment for a disease that affects one in two men, it’s also to make preventative and proactive men’s health decisions mainstream and acceptable. When someone compliments your Mouth Brow, don’t just say thanks; take it a step further and create a dialogue which will help connect them with the movement. Hopefully, this will have a ripple effect where they start other conversations around men’s health issues (and mustaches) and it keeps going.

Solicit team members, not donations. There are plenty of people with their hand out asking for money and many times it’s for a worthy cause. But if you ask a friend to join your team, they now have a vested interest in the team’s success and bring with them resources and connections that benefit your team and the entire campaign. The more people spreading the message and encouraging donations the more funds your team will raise. It’s simple math.

Share your team’s successes. Fundraising 101 says you don’t actively solicit donations until you’ve raised more than half your goal. While that can’t be true for this type of campaign, apply that concept and announce when you or your team receives a donation. Everyone wants to be on the winning team, so showing your team is doing well will renew interest and excitement in your campaign.

Stay committed! For many new mo growers, there’s a stage of awkwardness where your mustache is beyond stubble, but visible enough to get a few weird looks. Don’t give up! Continue to groom and shape your Muzzy regularly. I promise, your efforts will be rewarded.

Get personal. Compassion rarely translates in the digital world, so stay away from an impersonal social media blast asking for money. While that can generate some donations from others you know that are already passionate about the cause, it won’t inspire others who are yet to care. Talk about it when catching up with friends during happy hour. Your contagious enthusiasm will be more effective in getting friends on board and willing to open up their wallet.

Don’t forget the mo sistas! Just as NFL players don pink in support of Breast Cancer Awareness month, it’s important to include women in your team’s men’s health campaign and capitalize on the benefits that brings.

Say thanks! Say thanks for joining the team, spreading the word, generating donations…for everything! Everyone has 25 hours worth of obligations to fit into 24 hours. So when others create a blog post, send a shout out, even fill out the short form to join your team, they took time away from doing something else — not to mention disposable income is at a premium for most. Every dollar they donate to your campaign is a dollar they’re not saving for travel, using on a date with their significant other or spending on something else that makes them happy. That is worth a quick “thank you” note, right?

Have fun! Cookie Dusters are supposed to be fun, especially for those who don’t rock them year round. So get creative and have some fun with it. Personally, I like to name my mo and adopt a fitting persona. This year I've named it The Errol, after Errol Flynn, whom some say I resemble. I have to admit, I feel like I walk around with a certain air of Old Hollywood pizzazz and sophistication now that The Errol has graced my upper lip. Not to mention, every major city in the U.S. holds an end of Movember party. Hope to see many of you at the SD gala.

These tips are tried and proven, and great to keep in mind during your Movember efforts. But there are other Movember related problems that will arise…such as how to deal with the throngs of women infatuated with your Crumb Catcher. I don’t have a tip for that, but I imagine you’ll figure out a good solution. And to my mustache’s biggest fan: Sorry, but this thing is gone when the calendar flips to December, Mom. 

We're Thankful

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With Thanksgiving next week, we wanted to share what we're thankful for.

"Gratitude is a great stress buster. I have a Post-it note in my daytimer that reminds me to pause and think about those things I'm thankful for. My family, friends and coworkers always top the list! After that, I'm grateful for my health."  

-Julie Wright, President & Founder

  

"I'm thankful for being fortunate enough to have 'first world problems;' for love, laughter, family and friends; and for the smart and passionate people in my life who inspire me every day."

-Grant Wright, CEO & Managing Partner

  

"I'm always thankful for family, friends, food on the table and a place to call home, but this year I'm especially thankful for one thing in particular: my soon-to-be husband!"

-Rebecca Chappell, Account Executive

"I'm thankful for a supportive and loving family, beautiful girlfriend, handsome chocolate lab companion, Shakespear, and that I'm healthy enough to make every day enjoyable by taking advantage of life's opportunities. I'm also thankful for the little things in life like Internet memes, parody Twitter accounts, craft beer, Aziz Ansari, fish tacos and Google on my smart phone."

-Chancelor Shay, Account Executive

  

"I am grateful for my family because I always have a place where I belong and feel loved."

-Maureen Legg, Account Executive

 "I'm thankful for my loving husband, my amazing job and colleagues, and for living in beautiful San Diego."  

-Kristina Houck, Account Coordinator

"I am most thankful for my fiancé and having him as my best friend and the man that I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with! I am very thankful for my family who has always been there for me and helped me grow into the person I am today. I am also thankful for the two best friends that I left back in Chicago, but who I can still count on and always have for support even from across the country!"

-Kairee Luna, Design Specialist 

De-Stress Your Work Space

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By Rebecca Chappell, Account Executive 

Studies show that U.S. workers now spend more time at work than anyone else in the world. Back in 1970, American employees typically worked about 35 hours per week. Today, the average workweek is 46 hours.

Considering how many of us exist within an enclosed structure the majority of the time, it makes sense that we should reduce unnecessary stress from our work environment for the sake of our well-being.

Now and Zen

Try starting your day by reflecting on an inspirational message or what you hope to accomplish before quittin’ time. I always feel better equipped to handle the inevitable stress in the pipeline if I take a few minutes first thing in the morning to go over my to-do list or read a daily dose of goodness. To that end, I try to complete each workday by clearing off my desk and setting up my to-do list for the next day. This exercise in itself allows me to leave my work load at work rather than fretting at home over what may or may not have slipped through the cracks.

Brake for Breaks

According to time-management expert Peter Bregman, we all reach task fatigue – when the effort we're putting into staying on task seems greater than the effort we're putting into moving forward in the task. It's the point when our productivity plummets, when our eyes glaze over and our mind wanders. The solution is easy: Either switch to a new task or get up and move. Take a walk around the block, do some jumping jacks or engage in some desk yoga. And for Pete’s sake, even if you brown bag it, eat lunch somewhere other than your desk! Studies indicate that up to two-thirds of American workers skip lunch or eat lunch at their desks. Since I’m among the two-thirds, this advice falls into please-do-as-I-say-and-not-as-I-do category. But I do know the difference. Taking a real lunch as well as mini-breaks throughout the day not only recharges your energy for the next item on your to-do list, it helps head off the infamous afternoon slump.

Color Your World

When it comes to decorating your work space, don’t underestimate the psychological effects of color on mood and productivity. Red, for example, has been shown to increase concentration and stamina; however, it may also illicit feelings of aggression. On the other hand, its sister shade of pink induces feelings of relaxation. Generally speaking, warm tones such as orange and yellow are considered cheerful, happy colors. Cool tones such as blue and purple lower blood pressure and create a sense of balance, although too much dark blue can be depressing. If you work in a cubicle or your boss won’t let you paint the walls, try outfitting your zone with inspiring art or knickknacks in the colors that suit your needs.

Breathe Easy

Several studies from the past 10 to 15 years show a view from the window can affect our sense of well-being. Don’t have a window office? Research has also shown that indoor plants have direct beneficial effects on psychological health, task performance, illness reduction and productivity. What’s more, whether you have a window or not, indoor plants can significantly improve an office environment by purifying the air and balancing humidity, which may result in fewer sick days. Not sure what plant to get? NASA did a study to find out which plants were best to filter the air of the space station. Check out the results here.In recent years, scientists at NASA and the Associated Landscape Contractors of America (ALCA) have discovered that there are various houseplants that keep our household air clean and pure and balance indoor humidity. Not only do these plants absorb pollutants, they also scrub harmful gases out of the air and help fight pollution. How incredible! In recent years, scientists at NASA and the Associated Landscape Contractors of America (ALCA) have discovered that there are various houseplants that keep our household air clean and pure and balance indoor humidity. Not only do these plants absorb pollutants, they also scrub harmful gases out of the air and help fight pollution. How incredible! In recent years, scientists at NASA and the Associated Landscape Contractors of America (ALCA) have discovered that there are various houseplants that keep our household air clean and pure and balance indoor humidity. Not only do these plants absorb pollutants, they also scrub harmful gases out of the air and help fight pollution. How incredible! In recent years, scientists at NASA and the Associated Landscape Contractors of America (ALCA) have discovered that there are various houseplants that keep our household air clean and pure and balance indoor humidity. Not only do these plants absorb pollutants, they also scrub harmful gases out of the air and help fight pollution. How incredible!out tout

Image credit: ssilver / 123RF Stock Photo

Don’t Just Talk, Say Something

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By Maureen Legg, Account Executive

You’re at the end of your rope and they’ve given you enough to hang yourself. They wanted the job done yesterday but they’re not playing with a full deck. That big idea they had is on the tip of your tongue but you can’t put your finger on it. You’ve got a lot on your mind and need someone to take this project off your hands so you can get a grip and figure out what the heck they want. Well, wake up and smell the coffee, my friend. You’ve got to break a few eggs to make an omelet. So if you really want to whip up something special you’ve got to bite the bullet, mosey back in there and ask them what they meant.

Communication.

As communications professionals, we know better than anyone that it’s an art. Especially when it comes to giving direction. But what many people don’t realize is that it is also a critical component of productivity.

How many times have you stalled on a project because you really weren’t sure what was being asked of you?

As the loquacious Mike Meyers said in The Cat in the Hat,  “Well, sure, he can talk. But is he saying anything? No, not really…”

Quality communication not only engenders efficiency, it also boosts employee morale and impacts client satisfaction. Did you know that Communications is one of the top 10 college majors, according to The Princeton Review? And yet, the workplace is a minefield of unclear communication. People get confused. They waste time. They do it wrong. They miss deadlines. They feel bad about themselves. It’s a vicious cycle that can be broken by brushing up on a perhaps obvious but often underutilized skill set.

Be specific. If you’re asking somebody to do something, presumably you know a bit about what it’s going to take to get it done. Share that wisdom with your co-worker. While everyone loves a “self-starter,” pointing them in the right direction utilizes your big brain and helps them to be successful.

Invite questions. Co-workers may be embarrassed that they don’t know something they are expected to understand. While it’s great when someone “gets you,” giving them an invitation to clarify lets them off the hook when they don’t.

Bear the burden of successful transmission. I once had a supervisor say to me, “You need to read my color chart to figure out the best way to communicate with me.” Successful communication is not a one-way street. As a supervisor, take responsibility for making sure the task is understood.

Check in. Instead of waiting until it’s too late and they are long down the wrong path, schedule a status call to confirm all is well or respond to new questions that have surfaced.

Set deadlines. You know…with a date and time. Contrary to popular opinion, ASAP is not a real deadline, and “when you get a chance” is not really respecting someone’s time.

Confirm expectations. While we assume everyone has the same quality standards, reminders that the data should be proofed, fact checked or recalculated is never a waste of time.

Stay on point. Burying direction in a long and complicated explanation only dilutes focus and understanding on the receiving end. Try bullet-pointing the direction via email and then following up with a live discussion. This also gives a co-worker time to digest the direction and formulate questions.

Keep the team in the loop. Being clear on who’s doing what avoids duplication of a task and allows everyone to plan their workflow. It also enables managers to communicate effectively with clients about the status of projects.

Communicate about communication. In fact, make it a core value in your workplace. Review this skill set, discuss expectations and determine how course corrections will be made on a one-to-one basis.

In conclusion, I know that you believe you understand what you think I said, but I’m not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.

If that’s the case, call me.

Image credit: studiom1 / 123RF Stock Photo