Blogger Outreach: Sharp Aquos Thin Panel HD TV

November 13, 2008 • Joseph Thornley • Aquos, bloggeroutreach, Sharp

I’m doing something I rarely do. Talking about a piece of Thornley Fallis‘ work.

But I just have to point to something that makes me very, very proud – a blogger outreach pitch that our team did this week for the Sharp Aquos XS1. That’s the new thin, thin HD television that Sharp has introduced. Thin? 1″ at its thinnest point.

Smart people have taught me that great design is knowing what to leave out so that you can get at the essence of something. And that leads to simplicity. And impact. And comprehension.

So, imagine my delight when Tod Maffin’s post showed up in Google Reader last night. You have to see to understand. Here’s Tod’s post:

Form mirrors content. Awesome.

The team could simply have sent the news release to the bloggers they wanted to reach out to. But they didn’t. They did something else. A slimmed down pitch that conveyed in its form the core feature of the Sharp Aquos XS1.

A simple pitch. An elegant pitch. An effective pitch.

I’m really, really proud of the creative people I work with. So, here’s a public shoutout to Michael O’Connor Clarke and his Sharp account team. Keep it up

And thank you Tod for liking the pitch.

Moustaches for Kids Week 1 – Make a child's wish come true

November 12, 2008 • Joseph Thornley • MustachesforKids

Mustaches for Kids Week 1

I’m one week into this year’s Mustaches for Kids campaign to raise money for the Make a Wish Foundation. And as you can see from the head shot on this post, the people who live and work with me are having to put up with the dirty lip phase of moustache growing. As my daughter said, “Eeeewwww.”

So, there has to be a reason to subject myself to the laughter that people emit when they look at my stubbly lip. And there is. Helping to make an ill child’s wish come true.

Read about what a wish come true meant to Rachel or what it meant to Jesse, and I’m sure that you too will understand why I am doing this.

So, help me out. Please click on the donate button on the Mustaches for Kids home page to make a child’s wish come true. And remember, I’ll match every dollar up to $1,000 contributed by readers of my blog. So, when you make your contribution, please email me at joseph.thornley [at] gmail [dot] com to let me know that you’ve contributed.

John Wiseman, Dave Fleet, Parker Mason and Francis Wooby all made donations following last week’s post. Thank you John, Dave, Parker and Francis for helping to make a child’s wish come true.

If you’ve read this far in this post and you want to make a terminally ill child’s wish come true, please contribute.

Steve Rubel is coming to Third Tuesday Toronto

November 6, 2008 • Joseph Thornley • SteveRubel, ThirdTuesdayToronto

One of the real pioneers in social media, Steve Rubel, is coming to Third Tuesday Toronto on November 24. When I first started to explore blogging and social media, Steve was already there. From the outset, Steve Rubel had a clear focus of the potential of the new social digital media. Steve staked out his territory and his vision with his very first post on his blog, Micropersuasion, in April 2004:

The proliferation of Weblogs and RSS news feeds has changed the practice of public relations forever. Despite all of the hype about media consolidation, we are no longer living in a mass media world dominated by conglomerates.

Today we’re just as likely to be influenced by something we read on a blog like Scobleizer as we are by an article in the Wall Street Journal or a segment on Good Morning America.

This means that the role of the public relations counselor is changing…quickly. Clients are still looking to agencies to reach key audiences. This hasn’t changed. The difference, however, is now PR pros must not only secure “earned media coverage” but also know how to influence influential bloggers, many of whom are part of the audiences we covet.

The rules of engagement are different in this world of micro persuasion. PR pros now must: 1) continually study how news spreads online, 2) identify and qualify the most influential and vocal members of their audience, 3) know how to reach these influencers and 4) learn how to easily assimilate into the audiences they want to reach by launching and promoting their own weblogs.

Talk about prescient!

Today, Steve can be found not just on Micropersuasion, but on other platforms like Twitter and Friendfeed. Of if you want to know what Steve is reading, you can subscribe to Steve’s shared items on Google Reader. While he (like the many of us) has backed off the frequency of his posts, he is still looked to for his ability to identify and make sense of trends.

This past summer, I had a chance to hear him make a killer presentation at the IABC International Conference on the trends he’s watching. I’m hoping that he’ll talk about this at Third Tuesday. If he does, I know we’ll all leave with a lot to think about.

We know that lots of people will want to meet and hear Steve. So, we’re moving this month’s event to a larger venue, Pravda.

If you’d like to hear and meet one of social media’s true pioneers, RSVP at the Third Tuesday Toronto meetup site.

Thanks again to our national sponsor, CNW Group, for enabling us to keep Third Tuesday a free community-based event.

Double your money for a good cause – and watch me grow a 'stash

November 4, 2008 • Joseph Thornley • MustachesforKids

Make a child’s wish come true

Over the next five weeks, you’ll have a chance to see me grow (or attempt to) a radiant, bushy, geeky moustache. Yep, I’m going hirsute.

I’m growing my ‘stash as part of the Ottawa Mustaches for Kids campaign that some of the fine fellows in my community have organized.

Clean shaven - one last time

Between now and December 5, my fellow mustache-growers will go razorless (at least on our upper lips). And as we do this, we’ll raise money from family, friends and even strangers on the street for a most worthshile cause – the Make-a-Wish Foundation.

Make-a-Wish grants wishes to create hope and happiness for children with life-threatening illnesses around the world. It has granted more than 210,000 wishes since it was founded.

Mustaches for Kids was first organized in 1999 in Los Angeles. Since then, it has spread to cities throughout North America. Participants have raised over $150,000 for worthwhile causes like Make-a-Wish through the annual mustache-growing campaign.

Last year, our local Mustaches for Kids campaign granted wishes for Victoria, Jakob and Michael. I don’t think I need to say more. This is worth doing.

Every dollar you contribute will turn into 2 dollars

This year, I will match every contribution that is pledged through me up to $1,000.

If you’d like to pledge a contribution of $25 or more, simply contribute directly on the Mustaches for Kids site and email me at joseph.thornley[a-t]gmail[d.o.t.]com. I’ll match your contribution.

So, please consider making a contribution to help a child’s wish come true. I know you’ll feel good that you did.

Third Tuesday Toronto dinner with Shel Holtz

November 3, 2008 • Joseph Thornley • ShelHoltz, ThirdTuesdayToronto

Shel Holtz of For Immediate Release and A Shel of My Former Self will be joining us for a Third Tuesday dinner tomorrow. We`re not planning any special presentation this week. Just a chance for people to meet and talk with Shel – and for us all to enjoy one another`s company.

Because of the dinner format, attendance will be limited to only 30 people. We`re instituting a $20 sign up fee to try to cut down on no shows. All people who register will be refunded their sign up fee by way of a credit on your dinner bill. So, in fact it won`t cost you any extra.

RSVP on the Third Tuesday Toronto meetup site to let us know whether you plan to attend.

I just want to celebrate

November 2, 2008 • Joseph Thornley • cancer

Today is an important anniversary for me.

Eight years ago today I had surgery for prostate cancer. And eight years later I’m still here to write about it. That’s something to celebrate.

My cancer was detected early through a blood test for PSA – prostate specific antigens. A simple test that my doctor included as part of my annual physical routine. And because he did that, he saved my life. My cancer was detected early enough that surgery could remove it before it spread.

So, I’ve had eight more years. Eight summers. Eight winters – lots of snow (I’m Canadian, so I see lots of snow.) Time with my wife and family. Time with friends. Time to discover and become fascinated by social media. Time. Lots of time.

Today is an important anniversary for me. A day to celebrate.

One man in six will get prostate cancer during his life time.

If you’re a man who’s made it this far in this post, make sure that your Doctor includes the PSA test in your annual physical routine. Early detection could save your life. And then you too will just want to celebrate.

What would you tell PR students about social media?

October 29, 2008 • Joseph Thornley • students education publicrelations Humber

I’d like to test social media’s culture of generosity by asking for your help in giving young PR students a sense of the impact of social media on PR as a discipline and their prospective careers as PR practitioners.

Social media demands new skills

I’ve been invited to speak about social media to the the students in the public relations program at Humber College in Toronto. In setting up the session, the organizers have told me:

We feel our classmates will benefit most from a lecture focusing on how social media is functioning within PR, primarily how it has emerged and how it is changing the field. As we all have first-hand experience with social media and popular sites (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc), we would like you to focus on the aspects of social media and PR of which we may not be aware: are there new technologies or sites that will impact the field in the next year? Are there common preconceptions about social media that we should know as we enter the field? How should we be incorporating social media into our careers

I’ve pulled out of this three topics to discuss with the students of Humber College:

how social media has affected PR;
new developments, technologies or sites that will impact the field in the next year; and
how aspiring PR practitioners should be incorporating social media into their career preparation.

Here’s where you come in

If you were talking to a class of PR students, what would you tell them about social media?

How is social media affecting organizational and group communications?
What are the technology trends that they should be watching?
What will it mean for their careers?

I plan to show the Humber class this post and the comments it receives as an illustration of the power of crowdsourcing. So, please give generously of your experience and advice.

Managing through the recession – Focus on customer service

October 28, 2008 • Joseph Thornley • customerservice, Fairmont, listening

As the economy worsens, I continue to think about what Thornley Fallis and 76design can do to weather the recession. And as I do this, I look at what other companies are doing to cope with tough times.

No industry has been hit harder and faster by the economic downturn than the travel and tourism industry. One company in the industry, Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, has reminded me of the ongoing importance of customer service.

Great customer service is in limited supply today

Customer service can set a company apart from competitors in an era when all competitors are only a click away. In this environment, products and many services become commodities. It’s the personal element that cannot be replicated and differentiates the great company from the pack.

Much of today’s so called customer service is really driven by time management considerations. Not the time of the client, but the time of the call centre rep or the customer service representative. In this environment, an organization that creates a work environment in which it’s customer-facing personnel can actually relate on a human level with the person in front of them will stand out from their competitors.

Fairmont Hotels is a case study of great customer service

I originally started to stay at Fairmont Hotels because of the unique physical plant and location of their Canadian properties (think grand hotels from the golden age of rail travel.) However, what drew me back time and time again was the warmth and attentiveness of the employees. They actually seemed to enjoy their work, showed pride in the company they worked for and made me feel like a valued guest. That’s not something that is common to all hotel chains.

Last week, Fairmont asked me to participate in a video interview for use in new internal staff training videos they are preparing.

This is smart on the part of Fairmont. Not because I’m photogenic. (Brad Pitt I’m not.) It’s smart because I stay frequently at Fairmont Hotels and I have real stories to tell about my experience. And if Fairmont employees want to truly know the impact their decisions have on guests, how better to understand this than through the words and eyes of actual guests?

In setting up this interview, Fairmont didn’t ask me to gild the lily. Not at all, they asked me to talk about not only my positive experiences, but also the ones that weren’t so positive. To be truthful, I really couldn’t think of any negative experiences.

My experience with Fairmont employees

One time I could not get an Internet connection in my room. The hotel put me through to the telephone support (fairly standard procedure.) When that didn’t work, a technician came to my room. When that didn’t work, the desk staff assigned a new room to me, a bellman showed up at my door and I was transferred from my existing room to another (and the Internet was tested for me). Throughout this process, the Fairmont staff were patient and willingly helpful. And what makes this even more remarkable was that I later discovered the problem was with my computer, not the hotel’s Internet connection. I repeat: Throughout the troubleshooting process, the Fairmont staff were paitent and willingly helpful – even in the face of a technically challenged guest.

I’ve experienced the same caring approach when I’ve travelled with my family (a time when a good experience is even more important than when I’m travelling on my own.) My children love to go to Toronto in the summer. One year, we were assigned a rambling suite that gave us room to stretch out in a comfortable sitting area and had a round dining table large enough for a family of five. The room was perfect. When I made my reservations for the following year, I couldn’t remember the room number. However, the reservation agent searched my stay history and identified the room we like and assigned it to us for our return stay. A small extra gesture. But small things leave big impressions.

What’s the bottom line for me on why I think that Fairmont charaterizes great service? In every interaction with someone who works at the Fairmont, I feel like I’m dealing with another person who’s treating me as an individual. And I feel that I’m dealing with people who care enough to make it that way and an organization that has created a culture and organized their work in a way that supports this type of behaviour.

Great service. I don’t expect it, but I have become accustomed to receiving it from Fairmont.

How do we achieve great customer service?

Good service cannot be generated by the imposition of “cookie cutter uniformity.” Good service flows instead from consistency in the values that are shared by employees. It also comes from a culture that encourages service providers to focus on the people they are helping as individuals, not as units in a quota to be processed. If the quality of the interaction, not the quantity of transactions, is the objective then quality of service will be the outcome.

Dealing with complaints is very important as well. I believe that most problems actually go unreported. We all make a cost benefit analysis of the effort we will need to invest in order to get a response. The smart organization understands that The unsuccessful handling of a complaint makes me question whether I want to repeat my experience again. A complaint acknowledged and dealt with will outweigh the memory of the original complaint. I will return to an organization that has acknowledged my complaint and responded.

As businesses of all kinds think about how to cope with the coming recession, it’s well worth looking at a company like Fairmont as a model. I bet they make it through the recession with relatively less damage than their competitors. I’d like to do the same for my business.

A glimpse of things to come?

October 23, 2008 • Joseph Thornley • No Tags

The economic downturn is being felt by businesses and their employees everywhere.

Katie Paine points to a heart breaking post by an employee who has just been laid off by Cision.

I feel for the laid off employee.

And I also know that no employer – regardless of how hard we try to provide a caring, progressive work environment – is immune to anger and attacks from former employees.

It’s to be expected that the people you lay off first are the disaffected and less effective. And in this era of social media, they can share their views – with little effort.

Regardless of how hard I try to be kind in a termination situation, I understand that it is essentially a gesture of rejection. And it’s only natural that the person who has just been let go will search for justification. And in doing this, it’s only human to magnify all the shortcomings of the employer – real or imagined.

That’s not excusing any employer. That’s just recognizing that, “There but for the grace of God go I.”

And I think we are going to see a lot more of this in the future. A sign of the times.