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FIFTEEN PRINCIPLES FOR CREATIVE SLOGANS

2010-12-06T15:10:00.004+02:00

In June I published a post about a dozen principles for creative slogans. Now, after further study, I wish to add some principles and increase their number to fifteen.

1. Alliteration:
“I’m fit not fat”.
This is a slogan many women need to remember.

2. Concord:
The Generic Pharmaceutical Association’s slogan is “Same Medicine, Same Results.”

3. Contraries:
George Eastman coined the slogan, "you press the button, we do the rest," when he introduced the Kodak camera in 1888 and within a year, it became a well-known phrase.

4. Direct command:
"Think Different" is an advertising slogan created for Apple Computer in 1997 by the Los Angeles office of advertising agency TBWA.

5. Rhyme:
"Better dead than Red" was an anti-Communist phrase, possibly first used during World War II (in German as "Lieber tot als rot") and later during the Cold War by the United States.

6. Pun:
“The Conservative party’s 1978 poster of a snaking line of people queuing for the unemployment office under the slogan ‘Labour isn’t working’ has been voted the poster advertisement of the century.
Do you see what is the pun here? The word 'Labour' has two meanings: (1) a party's name, (2) the very word 'labour' means 'work'.

7. Imitation, parody:
In one of its ads, Verizon mocks the iPhone's catchphrase, "there's an app for that." Verizon has tweaked it, and says instead, "there's a map for that."

8. Direct appeal to "You":
Yahoo has slogans: “The Internet is under new management: Yours” and “The Internet has a new personality: Yours.”

9. Famous Name:
There is a company claiming to forecast the future - The Channeled Readings. It announced a new company slogan . . . The Nostradamus of the NEWS!

10. Other dimension:
In this case a smell is used as a new dimension for a slogan:
In Summer 2009, after city workers, who went back to work after a strike that lasted 36 days, had cleaned up the mess on streets of Toronto, Tourism Toronto launched a newspaper campaign celebrating the end of the strike.
The headline was: "Toronto Never Smelled So Good." The ads were meant to remind Ontarians that Toronto is a great place to come during the summer - especially now that city workers had cleaned up the mess on streets and makeshift landfills.

11. Compliment to the customer:
The SYMS discount clothing chain has an unforgettable slogan: “An educated consumer is our best customer.”

12. Logical Statement:
Deng Xiaoping (in China) became famous for saying: “It doesn’t matter whether the cat is black or white as long as it catches the mice” – a slogan he used to start capitalist-style economic reforms in a country that officially subscribed to communism.

13. Rhetorical question:
Bold for Breast Cancer is an event created in the summer of 2008 to help raise awareness of breast cancer in a less conventional way through the art of body painting. The slogan is, "breast cancer isn't shy, why should we be?"

14. Humor:
"It's the economy, stupid" was a phrase widely used during Bill Clinton's successful 1992 presidential campaign against George H.W. Bush. For a time, Bush was considered unbeatable because of foreign policy developments such as the end of the Cold War and the Persian Gulf War. The phrase refers to the notion that Clinton was a better choice because Bush had not adequately addressed the economy, which had recently undergone a recession.

15. Figure of speech:
There are various figures of speech. One of them is chiasmus. Like this: Mankind must put an end to war or war will put an end to mankind." John F. Kennedy

CASE STUDY: SLOGAN IDEA FOR A TEEN PREGNANCY PREVENTION PROGRAM

2010-09-12T21:37:00.004+02:00

Somebody asked a question: "Anybody have ideas? Looking for a slogan idea for a teen pregnancy prevention program!?"
Let us help her to find a slogan. I just take two of the principles:

First, Alliteration:
(For example: "Enjoy Star & Story" was a slogan of the competition at Seoul Int'l Drama Awards)
Now our case is about the word "safe". So let say it like:
SAFE IS SMART.

Then, Imitation, or parody:
In our case it could be like:
YES WE ARE SAFE.
Or simpler: YES WE SAFE.

CREATIVE SLOGAN BY CHIASMUS

2010-07-17T19:15:00.005+03:00

Jeff Larche in his comment to this blog points to chiasmus as a figure of speech.
Chiasmus (ki-az'-mus) is repetition of ideas in inverted order. Word order in one clause is inverted in the other (inverted parallelism).
Jeff brings this example: "Say No to No Say" was 1984 slogan of Greater London Council.

Here are more examples:
"Mankind must put an end to war or war will put an end to mankind." John F. Kennedy
"America did not invent human rights... Human rights invented America." Jimmy Carter
"What counts is not necessarily the size of the dog in the fight — it's the size of the fight in the dog." Dwight D. Eisenhower
"Some people use change to promote their careers; other people use their careers to promote change." Sarah Palin
"By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail." Benjamin Franklin

DOZEN PRINCIPLES FOR CREATIVE SLOGANS

2010-06-12T20:12:00.002+03:00

My recent analysis for creative & funny slogans shows a dozen (plus one) of main principles:

1. Alliteration:
"Rats Rock",
"Go Google"

2. Congruence:
"One City: One Goal",
“Real Health, Real People, Real Results”

3. Contraries:
"Make love not war"
“Getting a DUI is easy, calling your mom from jail is hard”

4. Direct command:
"Work smart", “Just Do It”, "Just say no"

5. Rhyme:
“Today was a good day”, "I Like Ike"

6. Pun:
"NOBAMA", "Westoxification"

7. Imitation, parody:
"Yes Pecan!", “yes we cannabis”

8. The use of the word "You":
“Broadcast Yourself”,
“Make Your Ideas Count”

9. The use of a Famous Name:
"A film with the passion of Tennessee Williams"

10. Compliment to the customer:
"A great nation deserves great art",

11. Logical Statement:
'Abortion is not Healthcare'

12. Rhetorical question:
"Where is our vote?"
"Breast cancer isn't shy, why should we be?"

13. Humor:
"It's the economy, stupid"

PERSONAL NAME FOR SLOGAN

2010-05-21T20:42:00.004+03:00

It is interesting how the personal name gets a role in slogan making.
For example:
"Give 'em Hell, Harry!" became a lifetime slogan for Truman supporters.
"I Like Ike" was Eisenhower's funny campaign slogan.

Issey Miyake's first fragrance was L'eau d'Issey for women. The name L'eau d'Issey (engl.: Issey's water) is a pun. In French, it sounds identical to "l'odyssée" (eng. odyssey).

Remember how 'Lolita' by Nabokov starts?
Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo. Lee. Ta.
This famous excerpt shows us the importance of the NAME.

More examples for rhyme in funny slogans

2010-02-16T22:38:00.014+02:00

One more example for RHYME slogan. “If it bleeds, it leads.”
This slogan is about TV reporting. If the news has violence, crime, or injury, it guarantees top story status.
This slogan has been around for a long time. Now there is a new one: “If it moves, it grooves”. Anything out of the ordinary becomes stuff for a TV newscast.

More example. Farmers in Scotland and Canada tried to boost the sale of pork with a campaign slogan urging people to “put PORK on your FORK”.

I bring a video here about a song with a plenty of RHYME. This is a Michel Legrand's song THE WINDMILLS OF YOUR MIND. There was a movie in the 1960s "Thomas Crown Affair". The movie was not so famous, but the music by Michel Legrand... May it supply an inspiration for you toward more rhymes in your funny campaign slogans.

RHYME FOR A FUNNY SLOGAN

2010-02-06T22:58:00.019+02:00

It's fun to see how they use RHYME to produce creative slogans.

For example, how the "I Like Ike" slogan was created?
If you don't remember who is 'Ike' - I am talking about Dwight "Ike" Eisenhower. He was the President of the United States from 1953 until 1961.

Imagine you are a campaign researcher for a president's campaign. You have two options:
A. You can ask people to describe their views on all the political issues.
B. You can just ask the people what they think / feel about your candidate.
So which option would you choose?

They did research for the campaign and found out more people wanted to talk about how they trusted and felt comfortable with Ike, but didn't like to describe their views on all the issues.

Eisenhower's campaign slogan in 1952, "I Like Ike", was simple but effective. Оne of the most popular in American history.

FUNNY SLOGANS: ATTRIBUTING YOUR PHRASE TO ANOTHER CHARACTER

2009-08-12T22:26:00.007+03:00

Reading Woody Allen's "The Insanity Defense", I think about using his principle while inventing funny campaign slogans.
This book consists of 46 short stories. Many of them have a main character, so that Woody Allen can attribute his own phrases, conceptions, ideas to that character.
You really never know whether this or that phrase is serious or not, whether Woody actually thinks so or not. It is the character who is speaking!
Thus one of his characters, Needleman ("Remembering Needleman"), is aware about absurdity of life: "God is silent, now if we can only get Man to shut up."
Or take this phrase ("Conversations with Helmholtz"): "I don't beleive in an afterlife, although I am bringing a change of underwear."
Inventing funny campaign slogans, you could use this Woodey Allen's principle.

creative writing ideas by nicole krauss: summary

2008-10-14T17:11:00.003+02:00

Let me summarize my last posts on creative writing ideas gained from 'The History of Love'.
1. no antagonist
No antagonist / evil character / bad guy.
2. unconventional start
The very first sentence on the very first page should be eccentric / unconventional / unusual / uncommon.
3. the death topic
The very first sentence of 'The History of Love' refers to death: "When they write my obituary".
4. syncopated rhythm
The rhythm of 'The History of Love' is unusual / irregular / syncopated.
5. identifying with a character
The reader should identify / associate / affiliate oneself closely with a person or group. 'The History of Love' has even three such characters.
6. great sayings
Her ability to produce great sayings / aphorisms / maxims.

creative writing idea by nicole krauss: great sayings

2008-10-05T23:03:00.011+02:00

My last post in this series on creative writing ideas from Nicole Krauss is about her ability to produce great sayings / aphorisms / maxims.

One day the main character, Leo Gursky, is looking out of the window. Just contemplating the sky. Then he thoughts on this situation about himself, with a good sense of humor: 'Put even a fool in front of the window and you'll get a Spinoza' (p. 6).
This scene reminds me of one episode ffom my own life. One night being a boy of about fifteen I didn't sleep at night. So I just got up and stood in front of the window thinking about something. Later, my father told me how he saw me standing in 'such a philosophical posture', as he put it.

One more saying, reminding me of my troubles with my son. 'Perhaps that is what it means to be a father - to teach you child to live without you. If so, no one was a greater father than I.' (p. 262)

creative writing idea by nicole krauss: identifying with a character

2008-10-01T23:51:00.019+03:00

One of the Kurt Vonnegut's basics for creative writing says: 'Give the reader at least one character he or she can root for'.
The reader should identify / associate / affiliate oneself closely with a person or group.
'The History of Love' has even three such characters.
First, Leo Gursky. A writer aged 80+.
Second, Alma Singer. A girl fourteen or fifteen years old.
Third, Bird (his name is Emanuel Chaim, but everyone calls him 'Bird'), Alma's brother about eight years old.
The formal method for making me identify myself with each of the characters is simple using the first person. But that's not all. The deeper point is that you find many thoughts/feelings of theirs appealing to your heart.

creative writing idea by nicole krauss: syncopated rhythm

2008-09-22T22:48:00.005+03:00

The rhythm of 'The History of Love' is unusual / irregular / syncopated.
Look at this: 'When they write my obituary. Tomorrow. Or the next day'.
Now and again we meet short sentences like: 'And yet'. Or: 'But'. Just one single word 'but'. What for? It helps to control the readers' rhythm.

creative writing idea by nicole krauss: the death topic

2008-09-17T23:28:00.011+03:00

A friend of mine, a great public speaker, told me once: "Each audience has its favorite topic. But there are three topics common to ALL the audiences. Those are: love, death and prestige."
The very first sentence of 'The History of Love' refers to death: "When they write my obituary".
And that's not all. What about the second paragraph? "I often wonder who will be the last person to see me alive".
And the third one: "I try to make a point of being seen... All I want is not to die on a day when I went unseen".
Now see the final page: 'Leopold Gursky started dying on August 18, 1920. He died learning to walk. He died standing at the blackboard...'
No, you should not think now the novel is about death. Next time I will show more optimistic sides of it.

creative writing idea by nicole krauss: unconventional start

2008-09-15T22:04:00.007+03:00

The second point while reading "The History of Love" by Nicole Krauss: the very first sentence on the very first page should be eccentric / unconventional / unusual / uncommon.
What is the first sentence? 'When they write my obituary.' Period.
How do you like such an opening?

creative writing idea by nicole krauss: no antagonist

2008-09-14T18:06:00.003+03:00

Reading "The History of Love" by Nicole Krauss.
Though she does not formulate any explicit creative writing ideas, tips or prompts. That's me doing it after reading her novel.
First. No antagonist / evil character / bad guy.
You may disagree now: there is Rosa (Litvinoff's wife) performing some bad action (destroying the book). But you should agree: this is not the important point. This action is too side-issue.
However, this is similar to the real life. Can you tell me now that you are conducting any war against some kind of villains? I think, the answer is NO.
But does it mean there are no dramas in your life?
Because of the absence of bad guys, the main character's situation makes the reader feel involvement / empathy / rapport with the protagonist.

HOW TO INVENT A CATCHY SLOGAN? CREATIVE WRITING IDEA

2008-06-17T21:42:00.013+03:00

SITUATION

I saw a question about slogans. The reader was asking creative writing ideas for:
1. Creating awareness for road safety through wearing of helmets.
2. Conserving fuel energy
3. Preventing noise/air pollution.

Inventing slogans is a challenge, is it not? So we need some way to invent creative writing ideas for slogans.

DIRECTIONS & EXAMPLES

First, I started looking for good slogan examples. 'Nothing runs like a Deere' is a slogan of John Deere (a great tractor manufacturer). Deere – deer. It is a play of words, isn't it? A pun.

Second, it is short. Just four words.

Third, just for the sake of the wordplay: let us use alliteration. No, I don't say it is the only way to build a pun. There are several ways, as in the above example: Deere – deer. But I wish to use alliteration just for the sake of training.

Remember good examples for alliteration? 'Donald Duck', 'busy as a bee', 'good as gold'. And plenty of others.
One more example I found thanks to Seth Godin. "Wanna See my Socks?" - this is a slogan of 'Little Miss Matched', a sock company. Do you hear the alliteration?
By the way, do you see another wordplay here: 'Miss Matched'? And why is it 'mismatched'? Because their funky socks never match.

SOLUTION

OK, let us start with the first slogan. Helmet is in the center. Let us find words with 'h' and 'l'. A helmet is holding. What is a helmet holding? A head? 'A helmet is holding a head.' Maybe. There is another word: a hull. It is not a head exactly, but it sounds good.
'Helmet's holding your hull'

Now the second slogan. It is about energy. I've found three words alliterating with 'energy'. These are the words: enable / encourage / enhance.
I like it like this:
'Enhance Energy Economy'.

Finally, the third slogan: it is about pollution. Let's find the alliterating word to the word pollution. 'Pull', for example. Let's say it like this:
'Pull polluters down'

Those are creative writing ideas for our three slogans.

BLOG MAP, SELECTED

2008-06-09T14:22:00.006+03:00

SHOULD I CONFESS IN THE TITLE? CREATIVE WRITING IDEAS
As you know, today it is common to write various help-articles 'How-to'. There are 1,140,000,000 (yes, one billion) search results on Google about 'how to'.
I am thinking now how to title such an article 'How to?'? Because the standard title 'How to' is too common. Read more

TITLE ANTITHETICAL OR PLAIN? CREATIVE WRITING IDEA
Plain or fancy? Apparent or paradoxical? Straight or contradictory?
I am talking about creative writing ideas for titles / summaries. I have read a question at 'Yahoo answers'. The question is about a title. The girl is writing a story and asking for help about creative title.
Read more

MEN'S BODY IMAGE: HOW TO IMPROVE IT?
What do you think about your own body image? Are you satisfied with it?
There are plenty of men not satisfied with their body images because of various reasons. One because of obesity. Another because of hair on his body. Or because of sweat. Or because of smells. Or he might be bald. Or he might have too many skin blemishes.

HOW TO PROMOTE A BLOG: SOCIAL MEDIA VS SEARCH ENGINE

HOW TO PROMOTE YOUR SITE ON YAHOO ANSWERS ?

HOW TO GET A FREE PROMOTION ON TWITTER?

SHOULD I CONFESS IN THE TITLE? CREATIVE WRITING IDEAS

2008-06-07T23:25:00.013+03:00

As you know, today it is common to write various help-articles 'How-to'. There are 1,140,000,000 (yes, one billion) search results on Google about 'how to'.
I am thinking now how to title such an article 'How to?'? Because the standard title 'How to' is too common.
And now I see the same question at 'Yahoo Answers': Jessica needs a creative title for her essay on 'how to put a baby to sleep?'.
See the problem? How to title the essay about 'how to'? We need some creative writing ideas.

Fortunately, we have a prompt: the author acknowledges / admits / confesses she/he has similar problems during her/his own life.
As this great example of the famous author and child pedagogue Janusz Korczak: "My greatest fault is that I am no longer a child".

Here you see Seth Godin is not ashamed to confess about his 'IDEAS THAT DIDN'T WORK':
That makes Seth a great blogger!

Now I remember how in a public admission in July 2007, Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (= Lula) confessed that he fears for his life when flying under the current safety conditions at the Brazilian aviation.

Let us agree on a few points:
The title should contain a question.
The title not necessary needs to imply the word 'how'.
Let the title imply some confession of mine.

Beyond that I don't know exactly (yes, I confess to not knowing everything).
Have more good examples of great authors for creative writing ideas? Share them.

TITLE ANTITHETICAL OR PLAIN? CREATIVE WRITING IDEA

2008-06-01T21:31:00.014+03:00

Plain or fancy? Apparent or paradoxical? Straight or contradictory?
I am talking about creative writing ideas for titles / summaries. Today I have read a question at 'Yahoo answers'. The question is about a title. The girl is writing a story and asking for help about creative title.
I assume the author wishes to write it catchy, doesn't she? To grab the attention?

What are the known/possible solutions?

As you know, this problem may have several solutions. You may go straight to the point: the principal heroine has such a character (a bad/good temper, an eccentric/normal nature, etc).
Or you may use a rhetorical question: "How to…?" "What do you know about…?"
Or you may scare / shock your readers: "If you don't know this information, you may happen to lose…".

How to choose the suitable solution?

I need to mention: we have more information on the story's main character. Rylie (that's the heroine's name) 'begins her senior year in bitterness that leads to rebellion. Once a sweet, innocent teen now an angry, faithless girl etc.'
OK. So we see a kind of contradiction here. This leads us to using a rhetorical device named Antithesis.

What is Antithesis?

You remember good known examples of antithesis:
"That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind." (Neil Armstrong)
"Man proposes - God disposes".
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; It was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness." (Charles Dickens's "A Tale of Two Cities").
Brutus: Not that I loved Caesar less, but that I loved Rome more. (Shakespeare, Julius Caesar)
"We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools." (Martin Luther King, Jr., speech at St. Louis, 1964)

How would I title / begin the story?

Maybe like this: "Is Rylie sweet or harsh, charming or nasty, attractive or unpleasant?"
Or: "How can a girl be innocent and impure, spiritual and worldly?"
Or: "Naive but experienced, open but angry, spiritual but faithless…".

Practice it, try other creative writing ideas (antithetical) and get new possible titles.
The above photo is from Flickr

MEN'S BODY IMAGE: HOW TO IMPROVE IT?

2008-05-10T23:28:00.006+03:00

What do you think about your own body image? Are you satisfied with it? I am not so much with mine. Because I am too slim, not muscular like Rambo. Additionally, my nose is big and hooked.
There are much more men not satisfied with their body images because of other reasons. One because of obesity (= increased body weight, fatness). Another because of hair on his body. Or because of sweat. Or because of smells. Or he might be bald. Or he might have too many skin blemishes.

What is the problem with a male body image?

The common bad problem is that a poor image of a male body does not begin and stop just in one's mind. Instead, a man not satisfied with his muscles tries to use anabolic steroids to improve his appearance. A guy with a long nose goes to plastic surgery. Are you sure it is always safe?

What is NOT a solution?

I am not talking about usual diet for fighting obesity. I am not talking about all the stuff on cosmetics you can find on the web without me. I am going to talk about much more important point. I am going to talk on what you transmit to others. What does your image convey to the public? What does it do to the people subconsciously?
My point is psychology / public relations.

What is a solution?

The solution to improve your image is between the body and psychology. It is about the influence your POSTURE makes to your mind / self esteem and then to your image in the public opinion.
For that purpose I put this video here. It is about your posture: shoulders, chin, muscles.

IMAGE TRAINING FOR MEN

2008-04-27T18:23:00.006+03:00

I am proud to announce an on-line training for men's image. The trainer is a woman, Julia Bakhtina, and she knows what she is talking about.
However, it will be in Russian, not in English.
Имидж-тренинг для мужчин. Подробности здесь http://training.myluximage.com/

HOW TO PROMOTE A BLOG: SOCIAL MEDIA VS SEARCH ENGINE

2008-04-19T21:39:00.005+03:00

In this video I am talking about promoting a blog/site.
The main point: I receive the traffic on my blog mostly by social media. 72% of visits to my blog come from Referring Sites, and only 18% come from search engines.
So, if you are not going on social media, you are not known. If you are not known, you are out.

HOW TO PROMOTE YOUR SITE ON YAHOO ANSWERS ?

2008-04-14T20:33:00.010+03:00

Today I am checking one more instrument for linkbaiting a blog on social media. It is Yahoo! Answers. Do you know how it works? People ask questions, and anybody may answer. Once upon a time there was a similar service at Google.
Now what exactly can you do with it? Two things:
1. You read the questions and see the themes being popular.
2. You can submit your answer on the selected theme. Make a link to your site/blog inside your answer. Sure, you don't spam. Instead, your answer should be substantial to the question.
This is an example how I do it. And this is one example more.

So, try this linkbaiting / social media marketing technique. If you have positive results, let me know and get a FREE bonus. You can post in the comments and/or privately to me (at the right side of the screen).

HOW TO GET A FREE PROMOTION ON TWITTER?

2008-04-12T18:24:00.014+03:00

I am pondering promoting my readers on Twitter. It is one of the new social networks. You may call it a viral / social media marketing tool.
Now I have read an article of Jennifer Laycock 'Five Reasons Twitter is an Essential Social Media Tool'. A few of her points I like especially:

Twitter is sort of like a giant dinner party. There are tons of conversations going on and you can easily join one, or you can start a new one. If you start a new one, others can easily join in. You can even carry on multiple conversations at once. It's total conversational freedom.

It's a no-brainer (= simple or easy to understand) that you can send out a tweet with a link to your latest blog post (= actually, Jennifer is talking about linkbaiting).

OK, I have joined Twitter just now. My Twitter name is jacobskir.
Now what do I wish to do?
I would like to make a one time free promotion action on Twitter. My readers can address me by one of the two ways:
1. There is a 'Your Feedback' form on this blog at the right side of the screen.
2. My name on Twitter is jacobskir.

I will see the site/blog suggested and promote it by building a link to it (if it is worth promoting at all).

HOW TO GET A GOOD/HIGH RANKING LINK?

2008-04-09T20:55:00.011+03:00

I have read a useful article of Dinesh B. It is about good link building. The main point: stop focusing on 'little weight' links. Instead, start focusing on links that matter a lot.
Which links do matter a lot? Links from an Authority Website. Especially from the same niche. Why the same niche is so good? Because it means the linking site has content that is relevant to your website.
Needless to say that the issue of good link building is relevant to the issue of social media marketing and/or viral marketing.
OK, now I wish to implement this in practice. The readers of my blog can get from me a one-time service: free linking from Authority Websites. I would take care of writing a post to an Authority Site. Inside my post I would bury a link/anchor to the readers site. Which one Authority Site do I mean? It depends on the Readers site and should be discussed specifically case by case.

Contact me on this issue. Do you see the 'Your Feedback' in the right side of the screen? Go there, click and send a mail to me.

FREE SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING

2008-04-03T12:58:00.005+03:00

As you know, the promotion today means social media marketing. If you are not present at a social network, you are 'out'. Nobody knows you.
This is the trend.
But if anybody submits a post to promote your site/blog, then you are on the right side. So you just need somebody go and tell at a social network: 'I know this guy, I know his site, it is so great/interesting/important!'.
It is that simple.
Now I announce: these days I am taking a FREE promotional action for my readers. I will just go to social networks and submit one promotion post for the sake of your site/blog. It might be a comment on a forum you wish. It might be digg etc. The particular points might be discussed in a private mail.
Important: I am talking about not just link to your site, but about much more: a short promotional post linking to your site. To make it, I will take the following actions:
1. Read your site: what is it about?
2. Find an APPROPRIATE social network for your site (or if you have some specific consideration, tell me).
3. Go to this social network, login with my name, write a short post about your site and submit it.
All you need is to contact me on this issue. Do you see the 'Your Feedback' in the right side of the screen? Go there, click and send a mail to me about your site/blog.

BLOG SELLING TECHNIQUES TRAINING

2008-03-29T16:27:00.012+03:00

Dear friends,
I have great news for my Russian readers: Sergey Zhukovsky and Ivan Trapeznikov are going to make a FREE training course how to sell anything to anybody and to earn $1000 during the two-weeks training.
The training program comprises:
What is the main 'trick' of selling?
The '21 contacts' principle.
Blogging is the facility for the contact with the customer.
How to promote your blog?
How to find out your target niche customers?
And much more.
Just go to this link and see.

VIRAL MARKETING FOR THE MOVIE

2008-03-27T14:55:00.025+02:00

Let's take it as a case study for viral marketing.
PROBLEM. Suppose, you have got to promote a movie. Then you need to praise it in all the possible ways, don't you? You need to publish ads etc. OK, this is a conventional way. Still you are thinking about something more creative. You are thinking about something 'viral'. You are thinking about people saying 'Wow!'.

CONTRADICTION. Then you get a sudden / unusual idea: instead of praising the movie - let us do it 'the other way round'. Instead of tedious complimenting - let us criticize it.
Is this already the final solution? Sure, it is not. You may not just say 'the movie is bad'. Bad is just bad - so why are you talking about this movie?
Formulating a contradiction means we are on the right way to solution.

SOLUTION. So we have got the contradiction 'criticizing vs praising'. How can we solve it? Can we praise and criticize at the same time?
The Theory tells: one of the ways to solve this contradiction is to divide the object (= the movie) to the parts. Now one of the parts may be criticized without damaging the whole movie.

REAL CASE. These very days you might see billboards around the city of Dallas – the ones that say: "My mom always hated you, Sarah Marshall" or "You do look fat in those jeans, Sarah Marshall."
Who is Sarah Marshall, and why is someone trying to publicly humiliate her?
If you wondered "Who is spending all this money to hurt Sarah Marshall?," then you fell for a viral marketing campaign. 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall' is the comedy's name. It centers on Peter who is dumped by his girlfriend Sarah Marshall. The movie will play at the Dallas International Film Festival on April, but we see the campaign already now.
So, the initial contradiction has been solved: humiliating one of the characters, still complimenting the whole movie.

The above case study shows the viral marketing example built, first, on the principle of 'the other way round', second, on the principle of dividing the object to the parts.

WHERE TO GET VIRAL MARKETING CASE STUDIES?

2008-03-25T23:21:00.016+02:00

Reading the site of WOMMA (= Word of Mouth Marketing Association), I have found plenty of 'case studies' and viral marketing examples.
However, the WOMMA terminology is a little bit different. They prefer the term 'Word of Mouth Marketing' instead of 'Viral Marketing'. Because they think 'Word of Mouth' is a broader term than 'Viral'. The last is only a part of the first. The 'Word of Mouth Marketing' comprises, in itself, many types of marketing as, for example, 'Buzz Marketing', 'Community Marketing', 'Grassroots Marketing', 'Viral Marketing' of course, and others. As for me, I can add one more term I have found recently: 'peer-to-peer marketing'.

WHAT IS LINKBAITING?

2008-03-17T21:38:00.013+02:00

I have read a useful article on 'Linkbaiting'. Though written in 2006, it is still interesting.
Do you know what 'Linkbaiting' means? 'Bait' is a worm placed on a hook for taking fish. And 'Link' is a link that you wish to get from other sites.
So linkbaiting is about hooking. Link bait is a feature within your website that somehow baits viewers to place links to it from other websites.
The above mentioned article by Darren Rowse is talking about 20 Linkbaiting Techniques: tools, quizzes, contests, humor, etc.
I personally like the technique named 'Lists'. Organize your info in a form of a list: first..., second..., third... There is something about a list that people latch onto and want to pass on to others (check out digg and delicious to see plenty of examples).

Learn good techniques for linkbaiting. It can be an extremely powerful form of marketing as it is viral in nature.

WHAT IS 'GRASSROOTS MOVEMENT' AND HOW TO BUILD IT?

2008-03-15T19:39:00.010+02:00

Do you know what 'grassroots marketing' or 'grassroots movement' is? It is a great tool for PR.
Grassroots movement is one driven by the community itself. The term 'grassroots' implies: the creation of the movement is natural and spontaneous. It is not orchestrated by traditional power structures.
You may call it a brother (or a sister) of a viral marketing.
Grassroots procedures include:
house meetings / parties,
posters,
talking with pedestrians on the street,
gathering signatures for petitions,
raising money from many small donors,
large demonstrations,
reminding people to vote and transporting them to polling places.

However, you need to distinguish between a real grassroots movement and a faked one.
Faking a grassroots movement is known as astroturfing. Astroturfing is named after a brand of artificial grass, AstroTurf. The practice of astroturfing is similar to the practice of grassroots, so it is hard to distinguish. Still, what is the difference? There are lobbyists behind astroturfing which try to hide their agenda and pretend they are just ordinary folks voicing their opinions.

Try (when it is possible) organize your PR / marketing campaign as a grassroots one.

HOW TO MAKE VIRAL MARKETING THROUGH HIRING FOLKS?

2008-03-14T21:46:00.003+02:00

More and more I see this simple & effective viral marketing example: job ads as if a company is hiring folks. What happens? 'Join us', 'Recruitment', 'Vacancies', 'Career' - all this buzz is passing on from one guy to another.
The fresh example is the site of Microsoft Israel R&D Center.
Another example is about Google. In 2004 Google Labs published so called GLAT - Google Labs Aptitude Test. Readers were asked to mail in their answers and promised that they would be contacted by Google if they scored well.
The declared reason was to attract high quality people into their ranks. Actually, it was a clever viral marketing which generated a lot of interest.
How does it improve the company PR image?
1. The public gets the idea that the company (= Google Labs, in this case) is hiring only very clever folks.
2. The public gets the reminder that the company is on the map.
3. You get much buzz, interest and involvement about this point.

Now I remember one example more. In September 2006 the Shin Bet (= Shabak, the Internal Security Service of Israel) launched its first-ever public recruitment drive. The employment campaign was targeting computer programmers.

The viral marketing example for brains, intellectuals and know-it-all guys is declare that you are hiring folks.

VIRAL MARKETING EXAMPLE: BRAND & PRODUCT IDENTIFICATION

2008-03-10T10:51:00.001+02:00

While talking about viral marketing examples, we should remember that viral marketing started much before the Internet era.
Let us see the examples about brands or trademarks.
As you know, 'Jeep' is a registered trademark of Chrysler. Not all 4x4 or off-road vehicles are to be called 'Jeep'. Still, as a matter of fact, you hear the word 'Jeep' in the meaning 'off-road vehicle', even if it is made in Japan or Korea. I heard it in Russia, Belarus & Israel.
Then, do you know that in Russia 'Pampers' means a disposable diaper? Not only diapers marketed by Procter & Gamble but all kinds of diapers.
More examples:
'Xerox' means 'copier' (= copying machine) of each kind and not only a copier of Xerox per se.
Tampax means a tampon, in spite of its being a brand of Procter & Gamble.
Thanks to Alexandr Blokhin for the above examples (in Russian).
A flush toilet (= Water Closet) is called in Russia 'Unitas', because of the Spanish company 'Unitas" in the beginning of 20th century.
Do you think those examples characterize Russia only? No, there are examples everywhere. In UK the popular word for a flush toilet is 'crapper'. Why? Thomas Crapper's company built such toilets in 1880s. After the company received a royal warrant, Crapper's name became synonymous with flush toilets.
In Israel 'pelephone' means a cellphone, because the Israeli-based telecommunications company "Pelephone" was the first to offer mobile phone services in the beginning of 1990s. Then the brand-name "Pelephone" became the ubiquitous term for mobile phones in Israel.
Some more examples from Israel: 'vespa' means a motorscooter, 'venta' means a fan, 'fluke' means an electrician's multimeter.
Now there is a fresh example about Google: some people say they "googled" something as a synonym for searching.
There is a special term for these cases: 'Genericized trademark', or 'generic trade mark', or 'proprietary eponym'.
Some classic examples are, as well: Scotch Tape, Jacuzzi (whirlpool bathtubs), Sellotape, Aspirin.

Be the first on the market and make your brand a generic trade mark.

VIRAL MARKETING EXAMPLE: MUSIC VIDEO

2008-03-08T14:45:00.002+02:00

Thanks to Robert F. Hogeboom, I have learned about a successful viral marketing example.
What's great about it?
As you know, viral marketing means self promoting message. So, which principles can we learn out of this example?
First, what is the story behind the case?
Presidential candidate Barack Obama delivered a speech on the eve of the New Hampshire primary. 'Yes We Can' was the speech motto.
Afterwards a hip-hop singer created music video using the same lyrics 'Yes We Can'. As his distribution platform, the singer chose the largest online video site, YouTube. Its popularity has been great = over 13 million views to date.
Watching the video, what do we see?
* Authenticity. It seems to come out of the heart. 'Home made' style.
* Simplicity. It is just black & white, as opposed to the usual colorful TV shows.
* The video is calm, quiet, soft, gentle. Not noisy rallies.
* The distribution platform is not the last point.

So, we learn a few principles of this viral marketing example: authenticity, simplicity, softness, and a good platform.

VIRAL MARKETING EXAMPLE: FUN VIDEO

2008-03-03T17:54:00.006+02:00

Which problem do you need to solve in your marketing effort?
You wish your potential customers to receive your message, and not just to receive but to pass it on to others, don't you?
So this is the point. Why would the customers pass along your message voluntarily? This is your challenge.
So, you need to make them say "This is fun!". Let us see one viral marketing example. This is a video promoting 'F-Series' truck of Ford. Several videos show you situations when a guy (driving a F-150 truck) is punished for not being 'tough' enough. For example, one driver is arrested for wearing a pink shirt ('No pink shirts for Ford tough guys!'). Another is obliged to pour his caffe latte out ('NO FANCY COFFEE') etc.
Ford trucks are for 'tough' guys - this is the message that you as a viral marketing transmitter are supposed to pass along.
One more thing. There is a button 'SHARE' on the video, so you are reminded to send the video to your friends.

HOW TO RAISE YOUR PR IMAGE SUCCEEDING YOUR BOSS?

2008-02-27T11:56:00.005+02:00

I have read an article depicting the future Russian president Dmitry Medvedev's speech patterns.
He appears to continue Putin's patterns. For example:
* A style of articulation that intentionally mimics that of the tough-talking Putin.
* Sharply stressing the first syllable of each word and pausing for effect.
* Specialists have worked with Medvedev to make his voice sound "tougher" in response to focus-group data showing that voters want "someone like Putin,"
* Medvedev is even imitating Putin's gait.

By having him talk like Putin, Medvedev is emphasizing that he is the president's heir.
Former President Boris Yeltsin was not so popular in the country, so Putin had to do his best to distance himself from him. Now the situation is different. Any resemblance to Putin is only positive.
By parroting Putin's speech, Medvedev is also reassuring voters that the relative stability under Putin will continue after he leaves office.
Medvedev has only recently begun studying up to become president, and the first step of any apprenticeship involves imitation, like babies do with adults.
When he becomes president he will develop his own way of walking and talking, and then we may have Putin parroting him.

So, to raise your image you should learn the image of your predecessor / boss. If his image is not popular in the country, then you should distance yourself from him. But if his image is popular, then any resemblance to him is only positive.

WHAT ARE THE MAIN FEATURES OF VIRAL MARKETING?

2008-02-23T20:01:00.005+02:00

Today I have read the article Marketing More Powerful Than SEO. It brings some successful viral marketing examples from the near past: Xbox, Gmail, Viral Videos.
These are the article headings:
* Anatomy of Viral Marketing
* Buzz-worthy Sites Stroke People's Egos
* Buzz-worthy Sites Promise to Amaze
* Buzz-worthy Sites are Original
* Considering Buzz for Your Business

There are useful ideas and good viral marketing examples.

HOW TO UNDERSTAND THE REAL MOTIVATION BEHIND THE HUMAN BEHAVIOR?

2008-02-22T21:55:00.006+02:00

What is celibacy?
Celibacy refers either to being unmarried or to sexual abstinence.
The Roman Catholic Church maintains laws mandating Clerical celibacy as a requirement for priests. The monastic orders of Hindu and Buddhist traditions mandate Clerical celibacy as well.
What is the reason for that? We as PR gurus need to distinguish between the proclaimed reason and the real reason. The proclaimed reason for celibacy is something like 'spiritual life', maintaining high 'spiritual demands' etc.
And really? Historically, churches, abbeys, monasteries did not want the priests and the monks to have heirs of their own. All the priest's property must return to the church, not to his family.

So, to understand the real motivation behind the human behavior, we need to analyze the economic motivation.

WHAT IS 'HISTORICAL PSYCHOLOGY' AND HOW TO USE IT IN PR?

2008-02-15T12:08:00.001+02:00

Today in the morning I wished to coin a new term: 'Historical Psychology'. Then I went to the Google and found a similar term present already: there is a journal of ‘Cultural-Historical Psychology’. And there is a book named The Theory and Practice of Cultural-Historical Psychology.
Afterwards I found even a longer term "Socio-cultural historical psychology". OK, it's correct. Still I prefer to talk on 'Historical Psychology' just because it sounds shorter.
Now what is my specific instance? The instance is Baptism and mikvah.
In Christianity, baptism is the sacramental act of cleansing in water that admits one as a full member of the Church.
In Judaism, Mikvah is a specific bath for the purpose of ritual immersion.
I know there is a difference. The mikvah is a rite that is meant to be carried out repeatedly, and is thus essentially different from baptism, which has an unrepeatable character.
Still I see much in common. All the issue of ritual immersion in water. This is a question to the Historical Psychology: how come various religions got the similar ritual?
I know what they may say: Christianity was born out of Judaism. Still I believe there are deeper reasons. Because you see some deep psychological idea in using water. There is a case for Historical psychology studies.

However, what all this has to do with the issue of PR? Knowing / seeing / understanding the roots of the human rituals. If you see common roots, then you can appeal to these roots (= appeal to the factor uniting different cultures), instead of appealing to the factor separating the cultures.

WHAT IS VIRAL MARKETING? JUST ONE INSTANCE

2008-02-14T10:32:00.001+02:00

What is viral marketing? It encourages individuals to pass on a marketing message to others. It facilitates people to pass along a message voluntarily!
Off the Internet, there have been expressions as "word-of-mouth," "creating a buzz," "leveraging the media," "network marketing." But on the Internet it's called "viral marketing."
A few days ago I received an email from 'Bad Language' about illusionist Derren Brown’s televised 'Russian Roulette'. I became interested and went to Derren Brown’s site. Then I started searching in Youtube for his clips, and found a lot of his stunts and tricks on NLP, Subliminal Advertising etc.

So, that's how the viral marketing worked in this case: email --> Derren Brown's site on Russian roulette --> youtube --> other Derren Brown's clips.

WHAT IS THE BEST PR MOVE?

2008-02-09T20:28:00.002+02:00

Do you know the structure in the video? It is an aqueduct. Aqueduct is a channel to transport water. It is a conduit that resembles a bridge but carries water.
Where is it? It is near the city of Caesarea, Israel.
When was it built? Two thousand years ago.
Who built it? The ancient Romans built it.
Now you see: each time we talk about this aqueduct, we remember the Romans.
Isn't this a great public relations move: to build a structure lasting for two thousand years? To erect an artifact existing for a long time?

HOW TO USE PITHY SAYING TO BELITTLE YOUR RIVAL?

2008-02-03T20:42:00.006+02:00

Do you know the popular expression "a quiche-eater"? It means a person far removed from practice and concerned only with academic matters, unwilling to "get their hands dirty"; a man who is effeminate or who lacks some putative masculine virtue. The source of the term quiche-eater was a bestselling humorous book "Real Men Don't Eat Quiche", by Bruce Feirstein, published in 1982. And why? Because a quiche is considered to be a "womanly" dish like other Carbohydrate dishes (сasserole, pasta etc.).

More example for the use of catch-words.
Arthur J. Finkelstein (a United States Republican Party PR professional) is credited with helping to make "liberal" a dirty word in the late 1980s and 1990s by using messages like this, intended to damage Jack Reed's image:
"That's liberal. That's Jack Reed. That's wrong. Call liberal Jack Reed and tell him his record on welfare is just too liberal for you."

Using negative buzzwords is an effective PR move to humiliate your rival.

WHAT IS THE TRUE ROLE OF POLITICAL PR ADVISERS?

2008-01-19T19:19:00.005+02:00

US PR professional Arthur J. Finkelstein is known in Israel for running Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli politician Avigdor Lieberman.
Another American adviser Stan Greenberg served as pollster to Israeli Former Prime Minister Ehud Barak.
Now the question is: what is the role of political consulters (like Finkelstein and Greenberg)? Why are the journalists eager to contact them? What do the journalists get from them?
The answer is simple: the journalists get from them information. All kind of information. Scoops, stories, details, news. Otherwise, where could the media get all the stuff?
So, seeing this point makes it easier for PR professionals to play their role and to contact the media. Because now you know the eagerness of the media to eat up every piece of info.

HOW TO ESTABLISH YOUR IMAGE AS A HUMANE ONE?

2008-01-08T22:22:00.002+02:00

Today Hillary Clinton began campaigning before dawn at a Manchester (New Hampshire) elementary school. Joined by her daughter, Chelsea, she poured coffee for voters at the school and pledged, "We're going to work all day to get the vote out."
So, Hillary, first, appears with her daughter, second, hands some material, perceptible, tangible item to the voters. This acts psychologically.

IS IT POSSIBLE TO PRESENT A DANGEROUS PHENOMENON AS A FRIENDLY ONE?

2007-11-06T22:44:00.001+02:00

Do you know what 'Greenwash' means? It is a portmanteau (= a new word formed by joining two others) of green and whitewash. It means the actions of a company, which advertises positive environmental practices while acting in the opposite way.
For instance, when more money or time has been spent advertising being green, rather than spending resources on environmentally sound practices.
'Clean coal' is a good example of greenwash. Clean coal means coal chemically washed of minerals and impurities with the purpose of eradicating sulfur dioxide and other pollution. It designed to enhance the environmental acceptability of coal use.
Prominent environmentalists believe that the term clean coal is misleading: "There is no such thing as 'clean coal' and there never will be. It's an oxymoron".

Let us see it schematically. This is how the general model
'From Input to Output' looks like:

This is a more specific model when you have some Dangerous Phenomenon as an Input,
you fulfill your Action (PR move = Decoration),
and finally you receive your result (= you present the initial Dangerous Phenomenon as a Friendly Phenomenon instead):

Now you specify the initial general model even more. The Input (= Dangerous Phenomenon) turns to be "Coal", the Action (= Decoration) is Greenwash, and the Output (= Friendly Phenomenon) is "Clean Coal":

This is a simple PR tactics of giving something dangerous a more friendly name.

HOW DID CULTURAL GLOBALIZATION ENTER MY HOME?

2007-10-30T23:32:00.001+02:00

What is the "Cultural Globalization"? Cross-cultural contacts; consuming and enjoying foreign ideas; participating in a world culture.
So how does it apply to me and my family?
I have bought an album of the band 'HaBanot Nehama' (= 'consolation girls'). Three girls singing with acoustic guitar. Very fresh music. What impressed me that these girls sing in two languages: both Hebrew and English, this language transition taking place very naturally inside a song. I mean first of all their song 'So far'. I even don't always pay attention which language they sing at the moment.
I think this is a good product of the Cultural Globalization.
I have given this album to my daughter to listen.

I see this language transition as a fine PR move.

HOW DID I BUILD AN EDUCATIONAL MOVE?

2007-10-15T23:24:00.003+02:00

I am going to change my usual theme: instead of writing on PR tips in the public life, I am writing now about my recent experience with my family. Specifically, with my daughter. Positive experience is worth talking about. We learn from it.
So now I am talking about an event with my daughter. It is about some cultural / spiritual experience. It is about an attempt / effort to actively construct an educational situation.

The background is this: there was a movie on TV last Sunday about Jan Vermeer, a Dutch painter (1632 - 1675). 'Girl with a Pearl Earring' is the movie's name. It is about a Vermeer's painting with the same name.

So, I used this situation to connect several resources into one psychological / cultural / spiritual / educational move. These resources were:
a. The above-mentioned movie on TV.
b. My daughter (15 years old) is taking lessons on painting. So there was a ground for discussing the paintings shown in the movie.
c. I found the painting 'Girl with a Pearl Earring' on the web, showed her, and discussed with her.
d. As it turned out later, my daughter knows about the actress Scarlett Johansson (playing one of the main parts in the movie). So this helped her to feel connected to the movie.
e. Additionally, there is an interesting psychological point in this movie. I mean the main character, the painter Jan Vermeer. His personality is very interesting. His manner of talking to the girl serving in his house (the same girl we see on the painting) is worth learning if we wish to learn talking non-aggressively.
For example, when he orders her to grind paints for oil-colors, she answers she has no time because she is very busy with her main tasks as cleaning, shopping, cooking. How does he answer her? Does he show any aggression? Nervousness? Irritation? No. He just tells her: 'Make time'.

When you have a chance and resources to create an educational situation / move, do it.

WHY TO CONCENTRATE ON THE RIGHT PUBLICS ONLY?

2007-10-09T21:47:00.001+02:00

What do you prefer: to draw the crowds or to get the votes? Jim Horton has noticed that Barack Obama is drawing the crowds but Hillary Clinton is getting the votes. Why?
Not all the population is likely to vote. The essential voters are only those who are going to vote, and they are a minority of the population.
So you don't need to reach all the voters, it is certainly not anyone in your state. There are only certain groups of public you must reach.

PR tip is to focus on targeting the right groups of public at the right time.

PR TIP: USE OVERHEAD AERIAL IMAGES OF BUILDINGS

2007-09-29T23:16:00.001+02:00

When you look at the overhead aerial image of the building of a Naval base in California, you see a strange thing: this building, which from above, looks like a swastika (= the symbol of Nazism).
This instance is about a negative effect. However, I am trying to derive a positive effect, a positive PR tip: pay attention how you look from every possible angle.

Use overhead aerial images of buildings in the way you prefer.

PR MOVE: JUST SAY WHAT YOU WISH TO PROMOTE

2007-09-28T21:52:00.001+02:00

I have read about General Musharraf saying there is now genuine democracy in Pakistan.
Once I wrote already: Want the people to think you are a genius? Just tell them about it.
Now we see the similar principle in the above instance of General Musharraf.

Want to promote PR on a specific point? Just say it.

SELF-PROPAGATING INFORMATION VIRUS

2007-09-22T22:19:00.001+02:00

Three months ago I wrote about information viruses. Now we have a new instance of such a virus.
When asked why democracy was not taking hold in Iraq, Bush said that it was because the people of Iraq are still traumatized by Saddam’s rule, and that Saddam killed all the Mandelas. (Nelson Mandela was a freedom fighter in South Africa.)
This Bush's saying 'Saddam killed all the Mandelas' being right or wrong, still people repeat it. So this is the main point in public relations: to build a construction to be repeated by the public.

A PR tip to make the public talk about you and propagate your words is to launch an information virus capable of self-propagating.

PR TIP: ERECT A SMALL PIECE TO DEMO YOU CARE ABOUT A BIG ONE

2007-09-22T17:31:00.001+02:00

As you know, the 2008 Summer Olympics will be celebrated in Beijing, People's Republic of China. However, concern has been raised over the air quality of Beijing and its potential effect on the athletes.
The Chinese will do something before the Olympics. One of the moves is to erect Solar panels. Even if they will be mainly for show. Putting a few Solar panels won’t cure any pollution issues but will be a good public relations move. Beijing will definitely try to show that they are committed to the environmental cause to all the visitors and the media.

So, which PR tip can be derived from it? Raise a small but visible piece to display you care about a big issue.

HOW TO DEMO YOUR POLITICAL SELF-CONFIDENCE?

2007-09-08T17:01:00.002+03:00

President Putin has been photographed bare-chested, with his perfect muscles on proud display. It was quite audacious demonstration of political self-confidence from a political leader. Vladimir Putin certainly absorbed everything one needs to know about psychological warfare. How many of the politicians do you estimate would emerge enhanced if their torsos were laid out for all to see on a summer fishing trip?
What Vlad’s tactical strip has revealed is the continuing role that nudity plays in male power relations.

However, not only the nudity is the point. If you have anything good to show - show it. That's a PR tip about it.

WHAT STORY IS YOUR PUBLIC LIVING?

2007-09-01T23:11:00.002+03:00

This book by Carol Pearson, Ph.D., and Hugh Marr, Ph.D., WHAT STORY ARE YOU LIVING?, is talking about so called Archetype. We are all heroes of our own life stories. We live according to some archetype (Innocent, Orphan, Warrior, Caregiver etc.).

So what is the PR tip about it? When you appeal to some specific public, learn the archetype of that public. What does that public think of itself? What story is it living?

HOW TO INCREASE THE CREDIBILITY OF YOUR ORGANIZATION?

2007-08-17T14:21:00.001+03:00

When you don't update the content of your web site, the customer may find wrong information. It's frustrating. The customer asks whether the information can be trusted. See this article of Jim Horton about it.

So what is the PR tip here? Update your site at least monthly. And, more important, let everyone know the very fact that you update your site.

HOW TO BROADEN TARGET PUBLIC FOR YOUR PR EFFORTS?

2007-08-10T21:38:00.001+03:00

This article advises to remember faith-based communities when identifying target public.
Faith-based communities are large, active, and influential. They are well organized and have regular methods of communicating via websites, newsletters, direct mail, and face-to-face interactions. For example, if your restaurant is near a church, make sure your hours and staffing can accommodate parishioners before and after church services, and let the church leaders know you are happy to serve their members. If you are near a Jewish temple, you may want to offer some authentic Jewish and kosher food items.

The PR tip here is to remember faith-based communities when identifying target public for your PR efforts.

PR TIP: HOW TO MAKE THE PEOPLE TALK ABOUT YOU?

2007-08-05T23:45:00.002+03:00

In an extraordinary public admission in July, Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (popularly known as Lula) confessed that he fears for his life when flying under the current conditions.
"It's no secret to any Brazilian that we have an aviation crisis," he said. "Personally, when the airplane door closes, I deliver myself to God. Even with my luck in the hands of God, I confess I'm afraid. I confess this publicly because I am not embarrassed to say we are afraid." Silva vowed to "do what has to be done and spend what has to be spent" to make air travel safe in Brazil.

The PR tip to induce the public to talk about you is to make an extraordinary public admission.

PR TIP: HOW TO FURTHER INCREASE YOUR POPULARITY EVEN IF YOU CHALLENGE PROBLEMS?

2007-07-29T21:38:00.002+03:00

Jessica Simpson’s (an American pop singer and actress) recent divorce further increased her popularity. Why? Because people wish to relate to others. They wish to relate to somebody facing similar problems. Ordinary people are struggling all the time, and they wish to see they are not alone.
So, showing you struggling improves your image.

The PR tip is to share your own personal challenges, battles and triumphs, because you inspire your target audience to continue working to overcome their problems.

HOW TO STAKE YOUR CLAIM? A PR TIP

2007-07-27T21:27:00.001+03:00

A Russian expedition set sail on July 25 for the North Pole, where it plans to send a mini-submarine crew to plant a flag on the seabed and symbolically claim the Arctic for the Kremlin.
The objective is to be the first to put a flag there, a Russian flag at the bottom of the Arctic Ocean, at the very point of the North Pole. Legal and defence experts see the move as part of a Russian push to assert itself globally and equally, a canny public relations move.
How are they going to fulfill it? If all goes according to plan, the nuclear-powered icebreaker Rossiya will smash through the ice, leading the way for the main expedition ship, which will launch the submarine. We are talking about a small submarine for three members of the team. A Mir submersible vehicle will delve 4,000 meters to the bottom of the ocean beneath the pole.

Which PR tip can we learn from this example? Wish to claim your rights to some territory? Wish to make PR about your success in a new scope? So stake a visible/ concrete/ real/ physical object to prove it.

WHICH NAME IS GOOD FOR A PUBLIC RELATIONS PROFESSIONAL?

2007-07-17T23:52:00.003+03:00

These are alternate titles for PR people you can find in the media:

Digital Media Manager
Communications Planning Director
Media and Advertising Coordinator
Director of News and PR
PR Manager
Online Publicist
PR pro (= professional)
PRO (= public relations officer)
Propagandist
Media Relations
Media Affairs
Spokesperson
Information Officer
PR flack
PR trend setter
image-maker
spin-doctor
PR person
PR guru
and more.

So which name is the most appropriate?

HOW TO GAIN PRAISE FROM YOUR ENEMY?

2007-07-05T00:01:00.001+03:00

After the BBC's Gaza correspondent Alan Johnston's release on July 4, Hamas made a great PR on his release. David Miliband, Foreign Secretary praised Palestinian leaders, including Hamas: “I fully acknowledge the crucial role they have played in securing this happy outcome."
You should learn to make such PR moves when necessary. First, encourage somebody (let's call him an X-person) to fulfill a dirty work (= take a hostage etc.). Second, remove/ eliminate the X-person, solve the problem and show/ portray/ present yourself as a great leader/ hero/ liberator.

To present yourself as a great hero, encourage an X-person to fulfill a dirty work, then eliminate the same X-person.

HOW TO PERSUADE ATTORNEY GENERAL?

2007-06-30T18:59:00.001+03:00

Everyone is talking about Katsav's (= Former Israel’s president, Moshe Katsav) plea bargain. What do I say? Is he guilty or not? I don't know exactly. I know only what I hear and see on the media. So I hear that in January Attorney General (= State Prosecutor) Menachem Mazuz announced he planned to indict Katsav on charges of rape. But he allowed Katsav's attorneys (two famous lawyers of high caliber) to appear before him at a hearing in May to plead their case. After that hearing he changed his decision (new evidence was presented, he told, but did not give further details). Now according to the deal, Katsav will plead guilty to several counts of sexual harassment. The more serious rape charges have been dropped. Harassment instead of rape. Suspended jail sentence.
I suppose: much depends on your attorneys ability to persuade. The persuasion means not only new evidence. It means, first of all, presentation to the State Prosecutor the ability to distress his life if he does not obey.

The real principle to persuade a high rank person is to present/ show/ demonstrate to him/her your ability to distress/ trouble his/her life afterwards.

INFORMATION VIRUS - WHAT IS IT AND HOW TO LAUNCH IT?

2007-06-23T20:34:00.001+03:00

Avigdor Lieberman (Strategic Affairs Minister of Israel) said on June 22 he was opposed to government plans to funnel funds and arms to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to embolden / prop up his security forces. Then he added a statement which caused a lot of PR noise: "It has been proven that transferring arms and money to Fatah strengthen terror elements. Even if we supply Abbas with F-16 jets, he has no ability and no chance (to fight Hamas)".
What happened next, all the news releases began repeating his phrase on F-16. As well as a computer virus is capable of reproducing itself, an information virus is capable of spreading itself.
I am talking neither about the essence of the matter on F-16, nor about my personal attitude.
I am talking only about the capability of self propagating.

The PR move to propagate your idea is to build an information virus.

HOW TO SET UP A PUBLIC DISCOURSE AROUND YOUR POLITICAL CAMPAIGN?

2007-06-16T11:00:00.001+03:00

Rudy Giuliani (one of the 2008 Republican presidential candidates) released his so-called Twelve Commitments to the American People. War on terrorism, end illegal immigration, fiscal discipline etc. No matter what exactly. The matter is to set up a lot of public talk around his candidacy. It sounds good: 'Twelve Commitments' resembles 'Ten Commandments'. And twelve is a lucky number (unlike thirteen).

The PR move to raise a public discourse is to release a brief number of concise propositions/ statements/ promises.

HOW DID ROMANS COIN WORDS TO PROMOTE THEIR PR CONCEPTS?

2007-06-12T22:15:00.002+03:00

It appears that ancient Romans were great public relations makers. When they wished to promote a certain understanding, they used to invent a new word (or a new couple of words) and to imprint it onto the public opinion. Examples are: vox populi (= voice of the people), and res publicae (= public affairs), from which we get our term 'republic'.
Today we call this phenomenon 'buzz' or 'buzzwords'.

The very fact of the word existence convinces the public of the necessity of that social phenomenon in real life.

HOW TO IMPROVE THE COUNTRY'S INTERNATIONAL IMAGE?

2007-05-12T23:48:00.001+03:00

The article ANNALS OF MARKETING by ARON HELLER is talking about revealing new sides: liberal, cool and funky – of a country's international image. Call it "a new face", or "framing a new look", or "rebranding", or "an image makeover". You may call it image marketing. In this case he is talking about Israel. The following PR moves should be reminded:
1. Sending unofficial envoys to improve an international image; focusing on their personal stories to create basic empathy.
2. Portraying Israel as a desirable tourist destination.
3. Sending women, Ethiopian immigrants and Israeli Arabs into high-profile positions.
4. Presenting Israel as a vibrant, modern society - with recent Nobel Prize winners in chemistry and economics, cutting-edge medical industries and innovative companies traded on NASDAQ.
5. Shifting away from the conflict and focusing instead on Israel's successes in business, medicine, science and technology. Separating the issue of policy and everything else. Reporting exclusively on Israeli achievements and non-conflict issues.

The PR move to reframe a country's international image is to reveal its new sides: liberal, cool and funky.

WHY TO INVENT A NEW EXPRESSION?

2007-04-21T18:34:00.001+03:00

What do you think of the term PR relations? Isn't it a tautology (= redundancy, useless repetition)? PR means public relations, so why to repeat relations twice? Nevertheless, this term became common: 10,600 search results for PR relations in Google.
You see, the formal logic is not enough here. The real life is stronger than formal logic. If the real language practice feels it needs some expression, it will invent it.
Today there are plenty examples of buzzwords (= a neologism commonly used, like Web 2.0, podcast etc.). Buzzwords often have unclear meanings. They are typically intended to impress one's audience with the pretense of knowledge. They are often universal. They make sentences difficult to dispute, on account of their cloudy meaning.

So you too don't be afraid of inventing new expressions when you need them.

HOW TO PROMOTE A NEW POINT OF VIEW, A FRESH PROBLEM CONTEXT?

2007-04-13T23:03:00.001+03:00

The Hebrew word Hasbara (it literally means "explanation") entered the common language.
E.g. Bled Manifesto on a European Communication Policy in 2006 uses this word like this: "In Israel the use of Hasbara fuelled a movement toward a new nation state and a new national identity".
If you go to Google search, you will find about 188,000 results for "hasbara".

The PR move to promote a new point of view, a novel context of the problem, an original attitude towards something is inventing a new term / buzzword of your own.

HOW TO IMMORTALIZE YOUR PERSONAL NAME?

2007-04-09T20:30:00.001+03:00

What is the Google's term "PageRank"? What does it stand for? Does it stand for the word "page" (= a page of an Internet site)? Or for the name of the Google's cofounder Larry Page?
At the end of the day, it makes no difference. You invent a new word pointing both to your personal name and to the technical/scientific/political term.
Another great example is the memorable PR move of Russian tsar Peter the Great. He founded the city of Saint Petersburg in 1703. What's the official explanation? That it was named after Saint Peter the Apostle. Then why not to name it after Saint Paul? Because Peter himself named it.
A fresh Internet example is Craigslist (a centralized network of online classified advertisements) founded in 1995 by Craig Newmark.

When you invent a new term / buzzword, try to think about your own personal name.

PROPOSE SUGGESTIONS ALREADY WELCOMED BY SOCIETY

2007-03-31T21:44:00.001+03:00

The speaker of Russia's upper house Sergei Mironov made a proposal to amend the Constitution and allow one person to be president for three consecutive terms.
With one year left before the 2008 presidential elections, there has been broad speculation about President Vladimir Putin's possible reelection for a third term, considering his high popularity ratings. But Putin has repeatedly denied any possibility of running for a third term, saying he would never violate the Constitution.
However, it does not matter for Mironov, if Putin runs or not for a third term. What does matter, is that Mironov knows: any proposal to extend Putin's term in office would be welcomed by society considering the high presidential ratings. Mironov's proposal was a PR move designed to promote his party before the parliamentary elections due in December 2007.
The unbeatable PR move is a proposal certain to be welcomed by electoral society.

PRESENT YOURSELF AS OPEN-MINDED & TOLERANT

2007-03-22T23:51:00.001+02:00

In January Pizza Patron (Dallas-based company) began accepting Mexican pesos.
The company's goal was to sell more pizza to its Latino customers. But the company's action attracted public attention. The promotion has been a boon to the company. In January and February sales were up more than 35% compared with the same period last year. The experiment in pesos was to end in February, but then the company extended it through April.
I am not arguing the controversy of using foreign currency in the United States. The very fact of using foreign currency points (in the public judgment) to some broad-mindedness.

So, the PR move for various social, ethnic, racial, national, religious, linguistic, or cultural groups / communities is to present your image to these groups as tolerant & broad-minded.

PR TIP: PUBLISH A TEST

2007-03-17T23:44:00.001+02:00

In 2004 Google Labs published so called GLAT - Google Labs Aptitude Test.
Readers were asked to mail in their answers and promised that they would be contacted by Google if they scored well.
The declared reason was to attract high quality people into their ranks. Actually, it was a clever PR move which generated a lot of interest from it.
First, the public gets the idea that the company (= Google Labs, in this case) is hiring only very clever folks.
Second, the public gets the reminder that the company is on the map.
Third, you get much buzz, interest and involvement about this point. Public involvement is necessary for good PR. You may call it even 'viral marketing'.

The PR move for brains, intellectuals and know-it-all guys is to publish a test as if you were hiring folks.

PR TIP: AVOID "DUCK AND COVER"

2007-02-24T12:59:00.001+02:00

A crisis stalled JetBlue Airways (JBLU) over nearly a week following a Feb. 14 ice storm in New York. Hundreds of passengers were stranded and flights canceled in the wake of the storm.
Not only JetBlue printed an apology to customers in a handful of U.S. newspapers but also the chief executive of JetBlue David Neeleman issued profuse public apologies on network television, on the video-sharing site YouTube, and on the JetBlue website. Most importantly, Neeleman looked and sounded sincere in all his public appearances.
Let us divide all the tenets of sound crisis management to three parts:
1. Before the crisis: Be prepared, know that all companies will have a crisis. Know your crisis team.
2. During the crisis: Run to it, avoid "duck and cover." Avoid saying "no comment." No vacuum.
3. After the crisis: Make a sacrifice, don't want to win it all.

(As you know, Duck and Cover was a method of protection against the effects of a nuclear war which the US government taught to generations of school children. Immediately after they saw a flash, they had to get on the ground and assume fetal position, lying face down and covering their heads with their hands.)

The good PR move to face a crisis is to run to it, to avoid "duck and cover".

ONCE MORE: PROMOTE YOURSELF AS ANIMAL-FRIENDLY (PR TIP)

2007-02-19T22:22:00.001+02:00

In January 2007, the Mayor of the city of Saskatoon (Canada) Don Atchison expressed a desire to see a mounted police patrol (= officers on horseback), saying it would be beneficial and a great public relations move.

First, "In any city where I've seen a horse patrol, people have been drawn to the animals. You never see them running away," said Atchison.
Second, positioning officers at such a height above large crowds improves their safety and gives them a clear view of what's going on. The horse can go where a patrol car can't and can move faster than an officer on foot.

So, once more we see the PR move to present one's image as animal-friendly. Wish to make the public feel good towards you? Present yourself connected to an animal.

PR TIP: TELL THE PEOPLE YOU ARE A GENIUS

2007-02-16T18:52:00.001+02:00

From time to time we hear of a person having visions.
Anne Catherine Emmerich (1774 - 1824), the German Nun, claimed to have had visions in which she talked with Jesus.
Emanuel Swedenborg (1688 – 1772) was a Swedish scientist. At the age of fifty six he experienced dreams and visions. He felt he was appointed by the Lord to write a doctrine based on a reformed Christianity. He claimed that the Lord had opened his eyes, so that from then on he could freely visit heaven and hell, and talk with angels, devils, and other spirits.
Joseph Smith, Jr. (1805 – 1844) was an American religious leader who founded Mormonism.In autobiographical accounts of his life, Smith said that during his adolescence he had a number of visions, including a theophany (= an appearance of God to man, or a divine disclosure) in his early teens. Smith said that from about 1823 to 1827, he had been visited by an angel named Moroni.
Nat Turner (1800 – 1831) was an American slave, a leader of slave rebellion in Southampton County, Virginia. He frequently received visions which he interpreted as being messages from God.
My question is: how do we know they really had visions? The answer is simple: they themselves told us.

So I remember a joke:
"Our rabbi carries conversations with God every day."
"How do you know?"
"He himself told me that."
"What if he lies?"
"How could a person lie while every day he carries conversations with God?!"

What is my point? Just learn a PR tip on building your PR image from these examples. Want the people to think you are a genius in your field? Just tell them about it.

PR TIP: ADD ACCOMPANYING ARTICLE TO YOUR PRODUCTION

2007-02-10T13:56:00.001+02:00

Glassware magnate Max Riedel and Oregon pinot noir makers have announced the design of a new glass specifically for Oregon Pinot Noir (pinot noir = dry red table wine made from purple Pinot grapes).
What makes this glass special? It's a large-bowled, tulip-shaped glass that flares out gently at the top. Tasters say that the slightly narrower opening of this glass seems to focus aromas.
What is my point? It is not about the aroma, nor about the special shape. My point is the main idea of this PR move: every wine should get its own glass. As if it's really so important!?
This is your way to promote your main production, as if it is so 'special', so exclusive that one cannot fully enjoy it without special equipment.
You can further develop this idea: every car should get its own tire, every breed of dogs its own dog-collar, etc.
So the PR tip is: Add some accompanying article to your main production.

PR TIP: PROMOTE YOUR INNOVATION AS ANIMAL-FRIENDLY

2007-02-03T11:26:00.001+02:00

We read on the new innovation, synthetic surfaces for horse racing. They are combinations of materials including shredded fibers and chopped plastics coated by wax. First in the UK, then in the United States and Australia they are replacing traditional dirt racing surfaces.
The most important reason is safety, both of the rider and of the horse. Smoother surfaces cause less physical stress on horses.
When horses suffer major injuries in front of large crowds, it makes very negative impression. So providing better conditions for horses is a positive public relations move.

So the PR tip is: Wish to make the public think your innovation is good? Promote it as animal-friendly.

DO THE OPPOSITE THING TO THAT EXPECTED

2007-01-12T08:25:00.001+02:00

In November 2006 the Philip Morris tobacco company announced a new advertising campaign: begging the movie industry not to use Marlboro cigarettes in movies. You thought there is more smoking in the movies now than ever before? You thought smoking in the movies increases adolescent smoking? You thought the tobacco industry has worked hard over the decades to get smoking into the movies? You thought they take advantage of the movies extensive, under-the-radar advertising value?
No and no. You are mistaken. They are "good guys". They do the opposite. They "beg" not to use cigarettes in movies.

So the PR move is: Wish to make the public think you are a good guy? Do the opposite to the expected.

BALANCE OF POWER

2006-11-27T22:52:00.001+02:00

If one of the two sides in conflict thinks that he is going to win (and win undoubtedly), then he will never agree to any compromise. Only if he sees that his victory is in doubt, then he will enter into negotiations.
Look at the today's situation between Israel and the palestinians. They agree to negotiate because each side has got the conclusion that he cannot beat one another undoubtedly.

So we can learn the PR tip: Wish to make your opponent agree to your proposed compromise? First, make him think that you have many options to beat him. Second, make him think that he cannot win undoubtedly.

KEEP UP WITH THE TIMES

2006-11-05T21:23:00.001+02:00

Who rules in America, demos (= people) or chronos (= time)? America is a chronocracy no less than a democracy. Clothes and household things still of good quality are thrown out for the simple reason that they are old. Scientific, economic, and cultural trends are replaced every certain period of time. Presidents, computers, car models, artistic trends, dress cuts, textbooks have to change periodically to maintain their authoritative status as "new."

So we can learn the PR tip: Make your image as if you keep up with the times. Wish to promote your production? Present it as NEW.

WHICH POLITICIAN IS CHARISMATIC, AND WHICH ONE IS NOT?

2006-10-01T23:31:00.002+02:00

Charisma is about PR image.
Not arguing the definition of the charisma, let us just agree on the main point: charisma means personal attractiveness, interestingness, influence, charm, magnetism, appeal.
Look at the today's leaders, and tell: which politician is charismatic? Who is a real leader?
What impression do you get from looking at Palestinian Chairman Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) or Lebanon's Prime Minister Fuad Siniora? Can you call them charismatic leaders?
When you see them on TV, you think something is wrong with them. You see them hide themselves and their real feelings behind their glasses, or behind the expression of their look. Compare it with the open expression of other Arab leaders like Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak or Hamas PM Ismail Haniya.
One choosing to support not-charismatic politicians has some non-clear reason for that.

WHAT IS REAL MOTIVATION BEHIND BEHAVIOR? (2)

2006-09-11T00:02:00.006+03:00

When they teach you that you can't take your money to your grave - what do they do it for? What do they really mean? They "forget" that you can hand it down to your children and grandchildren. Or your friends. Or lovers. To make their life easier.
Usually, the real motivation behind this propaganda is just simple: to make you deliver your savings to some political party, or church, or other institution.

WHAT IS REAL MOTIVATION BEHIND BEHAVIOR? (1)

2006-09-10T23:58:00.001+03:00

When they teach you that you can buy everything with money - what do they do it for? What do they really mean?
Remember: you can buy only common goods and simple services. You can buy a prostitute and not love. You can buy food and not health. You can buy a tuxedo, however, you cannot buy a knack for its wearing. You can buy a computer, but you cannot buy brains. You can buy a weight, but you cannot buy muscles. You can buy a PR specialist to make yourself known, however, you cannot buy real power. Everything except simple stuff you need to produce yourself.
So, what is the real motivation to this brainwashing? They wish you to work just for money today. Tomorrow you will buy all these goods. Tomorrow. But meanwhile, please, work hard.

CHANGING ORGANIZATION'S PR IMAGE

2006-09-08T20:35:00.002+03:00

In September 2006 the Shin Bet (= Shabak, the Internal Security Service of Israel), launched its first-ever public recruitment drive. The employment campaign is targeting computer programmers. The security service is calling on high-tech geeks to join the anti-terror battle.
The ad campaign is also intended to change the organization's image. Do you think it's investigations and dark rooms? No, it's high-tech! Advanced technology! Software development!
Which PR move we learn?
Wish to change your organization's image? Launch employment campaign.

EACH GROUP IS PUSHING ITS INTEREST BY MEANS OF COMMITTEES AFTER THE WAR

2006-08-21T23:00:00.001+03:00

All the media in Israel are talking about establishing a committee of inquiry to look into the management of the war in Lebanon.
The discussion is about the type of committee to be set up. Should it be an independent committee of inquiry? A full-blown state commission of inquiry? A hybrid type of committee, set up by the cabinet, with less power? Remember: one committee is set up already - that of defense minister Amir Peretz.

So, be sure: after each war there will be plenty of committees. Each committee will get a full coverage. PR is everything. Each group will promote its view, its interest & its PR image.

HOW TO PROMOTE WITHOUT STRAIGHT PROMOTING?

2006-08-17T00:05:00.001+03:00

"Doctor Zhivago", a Nobel Prize book from Boris Pasternak.
What is the original problem? You are a poet, you need to promote your poetry. However, you cannot advertise it in a straightforward, direct, outspoken way: this is not a cola drink to pay thousands of bucks for usual, conventional ad campaign. Besides, it is a good style for a poet to be humble.
So you wish to advertise it without advertising it. Then you compose a novel, and the lead character is a poet, his verses are in fact your verses. Then you can even arrange some discussion around the hero's (in fact: yours) poetry inside the novel.
So we learn the PR move: Wish to promote your production? Invent a situation, create circumstances when it is not you who promotes your production, however, it is some other person.

WHAT IS AN ADEQUATE CONCEPTION OF THE REALITY? (CONTINUATION)

2006-08-12T10:38:00.001+03:00

What does it mean "to have an adequate conception of the reality"?
Suppose, I have been robbed, or got a traffic accident, or some other trouble. I am going to the police station to make a complaint. Now I have two options.
First, I can imagine how I will meet a clever policeman. He will puff at his pipe, like Sherlock Holmes, listen to me attentively, take my case with great interest, show his consideration for me and do his best to solve my problem. Unexpectedly I meet a strange lack of interest. They try to explain me that I am just misdirected, I have got to the wrong door. Moreover, sometimes I even hear that I have not delivered enough information and this is my fault: "Imagine, how can we catch your offender if we don't know his name? And even you don't! How can we fill in the file? Without knowing neither his name, nor his address!". At this statement I open wide my mouth and hence present myself as a perfect nerd - thus provoking them to being even more confident.
The second option is to know the reality. In every epoch, every country police never likes to receive complaints. Then I go to the police station being prepared. I explain them quietly and calmly that their legal duty is to accept every complaint. Even one seeming stupid. So I present myself as a confident person knowing the laws and reality.
That is the difference between two conceptions of the reality: not adequate and adequate.

WHAT IS AN ADEQUATE CONCEPTION OF THE REALITY?

2006-08-05T00:19:00.001+03:00

When there is no crisis, no war, you may get impression that the modern Welfare State can solve most of the problems. It can take care of poverty, of health, of education, of dwelling.
However, in the time of crisis, we see the State forgetting the poor.

Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in 2005. The 2000 U.S. census put New Orleans's population at 484,674, but Hurricane Katrina in 2005 caused the city's evacuation. Population estimates as of June 2006 range from 192,000 to 230,000.

Today the people in the North of Israel can move to the South and escape from the rockets. If they have money to dwell in a hotel during several weeks. If they have not, the best advise they get from the government is to sit in the shelter.

WELCOME TO THE PR-MOVE

2006-07-30T04:01:00.001+03:00

Reality itself means nothing, PR means everything.
These days we can read in the media on "a great public relations move" at Guantanamo Bay. On "a nice PR move" of a Canadian Prime Minister. On "a dumb PR move" of top executives at oil giant Shell.
What is "a great PR move"? "a dumb PR move"? "a gimmicky PR move?" "an excellent move?" What makes it great or dumb? This project is about it.
This project is about to gather the people's experience. What makes PR moves effective? The research proceeds from the practice, from the facts, from the reality.