I Dare You to Find a Better Wireless Handsfree Speakerphone Today

I
Bluetooth phones are everywhere. Whether you’re using the latest Treo, Pocket PC, Blackberry, or Razr, the ideal, must have companion is a wireless headset or handsfree speakerphone. Up until now, most of us were trading stylish designs for poor performance.

To be honest, almost everyday, I yank my Bluetooth headset from my ear and wind-up putting the phone right up to my ear.

Why, you ask, when Bluetooth is so advanced we couldn't possibly have any issues with it, right? No matter how sleek or capable the smartphone is, it IS at the end of the day a telephone, and as a phone, you want to hear and be heard. To date, the array of available Bluetooth headsets suffer from poor mic and earphone quality and ultimately, design/comfort to help prevent you appear as if you were assimilated by the Borg.

I was using a popular Bluetooth headset, even though its range and quality are far from what's advertised, it beats holding the phone to my ear most of the time – especially since the phone is wrapped in an aluminum case, (not the most comfortable thing to press against your head on long calls), and more importantly, dealing with the annoying hassles of corded headsets. Argh, just thinking about the knots and twists in long thin cables is maddening.

Ahh, but there's another solution to this dilemma – the third party hands-free speaker phone.
I've tried several of these from different manufacturers, but honestly, I haven't found one that lives up to my standards and expectations, or in most cases, their promises.

I picked up the MV900 because I have literally tried everything out there, and figured why not, since I'm single-handedly keeping all of these wireless manufacturers in business. To my astonishment, however, this was the first device that didn't force me to repeat things over and over. Also, people on the other end of the line wouldn't say, "um, you sound like you're in a tin can or a cave, take me off of speaker," or "what did you just say?"

With its relatively few "cons," it really is the best wireless "anything" out there...seriously. People don't realize that they're compromising on noise and echo cancellation, voice quality, etc., because all they're concerned with is small formfactors. Or, they're simply just ecstatic to finally have cut the cord from their old, cumbersome headsets.

Truth is, that they have no idea how annoying it is to be on the other end of the call.The MV900 is tiny, with a sleek and stylish design, and features a rechargeable LiON battery. To make dialing easier, and to keep both hands on the wheel, it offers voice dialing and voice caller ID. What's unique here though, is its dual SAMs (small array microphones), far field voice pickup, incredibly loud, full duplex speaker, and high performance noise/echo cancellation. I can even use this bad boy while driving with the windows open. Its performance is actually comparable to a traditional corded conference room speakerphone. Think of it as having a Polycom in your car.

If you need privacy, there’s a jack for a traditional headset. It also includes a handy clip for placing the speakerphone on your car visor.

So far in my inadvertent quest to become an expert in wireless communication devices, this is the best performing handsfree device I've owned to date. It hasn't completely replaced my Jabra headset with boom mic yet, simply because most of the time I need privacy. But when I'm in the car...this is my "go to" device.

It lives up to its claimed features and was definitely a hit with people on the other end of the call, many of whom weren't sure if they were on speaker phone, because none asked the infamous question, "Am I on speaker phone?" I had to tell them, "Hey I'm on a mobile speaker phone, how does it sound?" The combination of the portability, mics, speaker loudness and clarity, DSP, voice command interface, and most importantly, echo and noise cancellation, make this unit a top choice when shopping for a hands free device.

Pros: Portable, killer quality, voice recognition, noise/echo cancellation, incredible mics for accurate voice pickup Cons: Price is a bit steep, it could offer voice tags.

Tags: mvox bluetooth headset speakerphone wireless
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For Those About to Blog, We Salute You

Blogging is an interesting phenomenon. What started as diaries, op eds, reports, and commentaries, has now sparked a whirlwind of incredible proportions that can leave one spinning in place – dizzy from trying to figure out where to go, for what information, and why.

This is the first in a series of pieces that will explore blogging.

Having a blog these days is almost as mandatory as having a business card and a cell phone; especially if you’re in marketing or PR. I happen to be in the latter group, and almost everyone I talk to these days, publish daily blogs. In many cases, they’ll even post multiple entries per day, with links, tags, summaries, opinions, etc. all to prove that they are “in the know” and part of the elite group of influencers dictating and reporting on the next economic renaissance.

This piece questions the validity of marketing blogs, bloggers, and the frenzy they incite in order to give them an upper hand in their business. My bewilderment is this, with all of this blogging, strides to increase Technorati ranks, diggs, networking and self promotion, how is any work getting done?

First, let me say this, I subscribe to multiple blogs spanning several markets and topics. There are those people who should blog and there are those who should spend more time learning and doing, rather than run the race on a perpetual high tech treadmill with a wifi notebook mounted to the handrail. Sure they’re running, surfing, blogging, but are they getting anywhere?

I recently read that in order to hire the right marketing/PR person or agency, you should first read their blog to make sure that they’re actively entering posts, savvy, knowledgeable, and “in the know.”

Really?

What about experience and a proven track record for success?

There was a time when publishing contributed articles and interviews in trade PR, advertising and marketing trade mags and online pubs actually built a solid foundation for boosting professional credibility. I still believe this is a valid channel of demonstrating expertise and sharing knowledge, and it’s also a valuable learning exercise.

I believe that blogging is a powerful new medium that has incredible potential for impact and influence. Trade professionals who wish to share their insight with their peers to help them excel in their industry is noble, encouraging, and justified. It’s the trade pros who are pompous, just trying to get famous, and spending more time reading, commenting, and writing blogs over getting work done for either their employer or their clients that’s bewildering to me.

Here are some tips...

Do:
Read blogs
Read paper-based articles
Network w/peers
Look into writing your own blog, but think about what you want from it and what you want your visitors/readers to take away
Always strive to improve your craft
Succeed in everything you do

Don’t:
Read blogs, comment on blogs, write blogs during valuable company/client time (yes, it’s addicting I know. But, don’t worry, there’s a blogger patch available at Walgreens to help)
Start a blog just to have a blog
Lose sight of your career goals, it’s easy for blogging to become a distraction

This will be an ongoing discussion. Next up, journalists v. citizen bloggers.

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53,651 Readers, TechCrunch, Web 2.0, and More Tonight on Dateline, Silicon Valley

In this last week, we've learned that Arrington is a millionaire, been hit over the head about his troubles with his site design and the resignation of his designer, and now we have uncovered that his readers are the magnet for highly niche business models.

In a very interesting series of posts, Josh Kopelman, an East Coast angel investor, fueled a fever of comments about how Web 2.0 companies are targeting the TechCrunch genre.

"Too many companies are targeting an audience of 53,651. That’s how many people subscribe to Michael Arrington’s TechCrunch blog feed. I’m a big fan of Techcrunch – and read it every day. However, the Techcrunch audience is NOT a mainstream America audience."

Matt Marshall of SiliconBeat also picked up on the post and discussed it in his thread post, "The 53,651 Meme -- and the Silicon Valley geek echo chamber." I thought that was a clever title.

"Silicon Valley Web 2.0 startups have fallen into a trap of appealing to a
narrow, geeky audience."

Marshall sources Brad Feld, of Mobius, saying that first 25,000 users don't mean anything, seeming to agree that it is always the same 25,000 folks.

I could see that these Web 2.0 addicts are the quientessential test bench for trying, sharing, abandoning, and moving on to the next big thing.

In my not so humble opinion, the TechCrunch crowd is extremely tech and web savvy and is one of the most difficult groups to penetrate. I could not think of a more powerful focus group in order to test, validate and gain insight for a product/service, than this community. However, all things in moderation. There's a whole world out there, and they map exactly to the infamous chasm.

A friend of mine, who happens to be the CEO of an Internet start-up mentioned,

"The TechCrunch crowd is important for support and influence, but most of the
Web 2.0 products designed today are for geeks or teenagers."

Exactly.

My contribution to the whirlwind...

"I'm in Silicon Valley, and I wear floaties to work every day so I don't drown in the tech bath water. Truly this Web 2.0 phenomenon has spiraled into several camps. There's the dotcom 2.0 and then there's Web 2.0 as the idea of evolving beyond static to interactive design; implementing all of the available new tools and philosophies to more effectively engage visitors/customers and communicate with them. The Techcrunch crowd is the lunatic fringe, but they can help any start-up gain momentum for interacting in the realworld. If you're marketing a site/solution, remember who your
ultimate audience is and reach out to them through "their" channels of influence."

Tags: michael arrington, web2.0, web 2.0, techcrunch, bubble,

To View or not to Vyew

A recent post in Guy Kawasaki's blog, Signum sine tinnitu, prompted me to post this piece.

He recently discussed Web 2.0 startup, Vyew, (pronounced VIEW), based in Berkeley. I found this very interesting because here is a company that has done almost no PR and definetly zero hype generation, yet the true viral nature of the Web has enabled this company to gain momentum the organic way. Good for them! It is a tremendous feat indeed.

In the 90s and early 00s, I distanced myself from the PR madness that created and popped the last bubble, and the last thing we need in the economy, are marketers that exploit the essense of Web 2.0 and its ideology for their own benefit.

Guy's intro was very compelling...

If most venture capitalists weren’t liars, we’d tell you that if we had the opportunity to fund Google, we would have passed. Seriously, who would have thought the world needed another search engine in 1995? Fast forward to 2006. Does the world need another web conferencing product? Maybe.

While writing this piece, I decided to see if anyone else was blogging about Vyew, and then I found an interesting summary written by Ken Molay on his Webinar Blog.

He too offered a convincing quote:

Citrix GoToMeeting should be very worried.

I actually signed up for Vyew in December and have used it for cross team and client discussions and reporting/obtaining feedback. Prior, I was paying $$$ using raindance and before that, WebEx.

Don't get me wrong, both services offer incredible feature-sets. However, Vyew seems to distill the key ingredients into one killer package necessary SMBs. They've put a lot of effort and, to be honest, the price is right - FREE.

In all honestly, I initially stumbled onto them after participating in a very cool online training program through their main business, Simulate, http://www.simulat.com

Vyew is a Web 2.0 conferencing and always-on platform that facilitates instant visual-based communication and collaboration. Vyew's multimedia workspace enables shared viewing of presentations, files, photos as well as desktop snapshots without the need for client downloads or installations. Vyew also provides all necessary tools to host effective and dynamic webinars including whiteboarding, annotating, text chatting, and phone conferencing.

Within seconds, users can start an online meeting session, where up to 20 participants can share, annotate, and save files/photos (.doc, .xls, .ppt, .jpg, .pdf, etc.) in real-time.Vyew enables whiteboarding, one-click screen share and capture, client-less operability and session persistence - which allows users to start/stop/save any presentation, anytime. Meeting participants can also communicate via instant text chat, pull up Yahoo! Maps and share Google searches.

Vyew is currently in public BETA and now available for instant conferencing. Additional information of how Vyew stacks-up against the competition can be found online at http://vyew.com/content/Main.ComparisonChart

Traditional Paper Meets Digital Notepad

Adesso Inc. has a new product that takes business productivity to a new level. Meetings are held every day, and the information passed along at these meetings is often vital. What happens to this information? It gets written down in a fast-paced scrawl, often the leaving the author themselves confused as to what they wrote not more than an hour ago. "When did I learn heiroglyphics?" I ask myself that question after every meeting. And to be honest, my thumb typing is pretty good, but my Treo650 isn't the most egonimcally designed tool for rapid note-taking.

Paper-based notepads and notebooks are still the most popular choice for writing notes, capturing ideas, and drawing sketches – even with the incredible variety of laptops, PDAs, and tablet PCs available today.

The new CyberPad offers a sleek, leatherbound (yeah baby) paper-based electronic writing tablet that combines the familiarity and comfort of a regular notepad combined with the added benefits of PC connectivity. And, since it doubles as a PC tablet, users can also naturally draw and write freehand graphics and text as comfortably as they would on real paper.

This babynot only stores our handwritten notes and graphics, but through special handwriting recognition software (which is bundled), it translates it into clear, definitive notes that can be seamlessly uploaded to any PC, making these important documents readily available (and legible) to any and all who need them. With the need to translate meeting notes eliminated, businesses can share information with greater ease and efficiency.

The CyberPad The CyberPad includes 32MB of internal memory which provides 26 directories (A-Z) with 99 pages available in each – and is further expandable with the integrated SD slot – which can also function as an SD card reader. It then connects to a PC via USB to instantly transfer and manage notes and images.

Adesso's very cool and uber stylish CyberPad is available today for $199.99 MSRP through Ingram Micro, Tech-Data and Synnex, direct vendors including AMAZON, Buy.com, mWave, TigerDirect, and Insight; retail stores such as Fry’s and Micro Center; and through leading catalogs including CDW, PC Mall and PC Connection. I just ordered mine, and I paid a bit less than MSRP.

Tags: adesso, cyberpad, notebook, notepad, notes, treo, handwriting, recognition, ocr, amazon, buy.com, cdw

Game on! Surround Sound for Xbox and Play Station

Late at night, when the house is still, the family is sleeping, and nothing is stirring - except for me CRANKING up the volume with a pair of these bad boys!

Digital optical out. Dolby Certified 5.1. Eight speakers. Subwoofer. Rumble Effect. Wow.

The Audio Xtreme 360 (AX360) connects to the console optical port to deliver optimum,Dolby certified 2.1 and 5.1 digital sound separation. It features eight strategically placed speakers, four in each ear cup. The external 5.1 audio controller amplifies each individual speaker. The AX360gives total control with inline adjustments for front, side, rear, andsubwoofer to customize the user's own audio extravaganza. The integratedrumble effect will blow their minds, giving them more realistic and immersed experience.

While this was marketed towards gamers, I am a big audio/video-phile and I will be directly connecting this to the optical-out on my upcoverting DVD player.

And this is my favorite part, according to the site, "users who pre-register before May 31st at http://www.trittonusa.com will receive a $20rebate when they purchase the AX360."

Tags: tritton, ax360, playstation, play station, xbox, xbox360, xbox 360, console, gaming, microsoft

Web 2.0 is a Snail

...at least that the way this interesting post begins. While reading Nick Carr's incredibly relevant Rough Type, I linked through to Cloud Street authored by Phil Edwards and his poignant perspective on Web 2.0 entitled, "Not a Fish at All."

Worth a read.

"But Web 2.0 is not a snail.Web 2.0 is the people pointing and shouting 'The snail! The snail!'Web 2.0 is also the people who overhear the first group and join in, shouting 'The whale! The whale!' and pointing vaguely upwards and towards the nearest ocean.

Web 2.0 is also the people who hear the second group and panic about the approaching whale, or is it a land-whale? what is a land-whale anyway? whatever it is, there's one coming and we'd all better... well, we'd better tell someone about it, anyway - I mean, there's a land-whale coming, how often does something like that happen?

Web 2.0 is also the people who hear the third group and improvise a land-whale parade, with floats and dancers and drummers and at its centre a giant paper land-whale held aloft by fifteen people, because, I don't know, but everyone was talking about land-whales and it just seemed like a good idea, you know?

And Web 2.0 is the people who come along halfway through the parade and sell the roadside spectators standing-room tickets."

My contribution to thought link...

"And what of the marketers behind anything Web 2.0? They are the scalpers, creating the frenzy, selling overpriced tickets that may or may not even be related to the 2.0 show. But they are definitely flooding the market with expensive tickets, and unfortunately people are buying them."

Hospice du Rhone May 11-13

Do you love wine? Are you burnt out on Cabernet, Merlot and Chardonnay? If you're like me, Rhône varietals have become an indulgence. Well, lucky for us, the 14th annual Hospice du Rhône (HdR) will be held May 11-13 in Paso Robles.

HdR is the largest celebration of Rhône wines in the world. The event is a combination of education, fun and fellowship. HdR has been recognized for its serious and playful virtues, as well as its efforts to structure seminars that focus on wine regions, varieties and categories.

The theme for this HdR is “So many Rhônes, so little time…” which is completely TRUE - although, I'm doing my best to drink my way through the process.

The event brings together hundreds of the world's leading Rhône producers with countless wine enthusiasts in attendance (including yours truly).

The 2006 program is highlighted by dynamic and versatile seminars, dinners, and of course, wine tasting.

Keep an eye out for Paso's own Four Vines and join the anarchy that I'm sure they'll incite!!!

Four Vines' ANARCHY is an unconventional Rhone Blend, which replaced Grenache with Old Vine Zinfandel. The blend is based on Syrah for that velvet mouthfeel and rich fruit, Old Vine Zin for spice and that brambly backbone, and Mourvedre provides some anise and makes the whole blend resonate. If you like the Rhone this wine will blow you away.

More info here:
Hospice du Rhone

Four Vines

Web 2.0, Internet 2.0, Dotcom 2.0

I have been diving head first into the emerging realm of Web 2.0, and I have to say, damn if it doesn’t feel like the 90’s all over again. I mean, the only thing missing here are the inflated marketing and PR budgets, rooftop parties, and gigantic, celebrity-studded events associated with marketing anything.com for everyone.com.

The interesting thing here though, is that the Valley is so anxious for a resurgence that we’ve already leapt beyond the early adopter stage straight to the early market majority. Some are already blaming the notorious "Hype Machine” for creating what might be a premature frenzy.

Now seemingly everyone is 2.0...with RSS feeds, tags, trackbacks, hosted applications, etc. Unfortunately, in my opinion, most of these new companies are merely hohum dotcoms in disguise, hoping for a shot at stardom under the thinly veiled shroud of "interactivity."

But honestly, ever since O’Reilly and Arrington and the Web 2.0 Workgroup started to rise to rock star status, it seems that we’re losing sight of the original foundation for 2.0 and its evolution from static to interactive.

Web 2.0, in my research and my experience with 2.0 startups, held the essence of creating a more visitor-driven or customer-centric experience; meaning, that rather than click and serve, we are evolving to click, read, interact, and be heard!

Is Web 2.0 evolving into the next dotcom? It seems that many companies are misusing the 2.0 moniker as a way of saying, “we’re a whole new Web solution for a whole new e-conomy, look at us.” When in reality, they’re just a new product with a new approach using the latest technology. If that’s the case, then I’m typing on my keyboard 2.0 (because it’s the second generation wireless upgrade). I’m also using a teleconference 2.0 solution because I’m using Skype instead of a real phone. Oh, and that’s right, I’m also using my headset 2.0 with my Treo because it’s wireless and an upgrade from my lame, original wired headset.

Really though, other than new tools, the concept of blogging, forums, forms, newsletters, layers, etc. all provide a more enriched and engaging experience for customers and prospects. Web 2.0 is at its core, the idea of connecting businesses and people to provide a better organic relationship and more grassroots foundation for growth.

Stay tuned. More info, references and links to come...

“Designing for Web 2.0 will not be about technology for designers. No? No, it will be about people. It will be about designing stuff that people use and all that goes along with it.”
- Mark Boulton

“I think of web 2.0 as the inevitable evolution of the web from a read-mostly medium to a read-write, or two-way medium (think geocities v. weblogs). Web 1.0 was static html pages. Web 2.0 is dynamic and interactive.”
- Michael Arrington

A friend of mine, Ivaylo Lenkov, recently wrote a great article regarding Web 2.0 for SMBs.

Tags: web 2.0, web2.0, michael arrington, sitekreator, oreilly, rss, techcrunch

Mergers and Acquisitions: Creating the Ultimate Marketing Team from the Aftermath

Everyday businesses increase their value by fusing new capabilities and products under the corporate umbrella and by consolidating, merging, and/or acquiring competitive and complementary companies. After the agreements are signed and finalized, an incredible amount of change ensues; the department heads are left to pick up the pieces and put it all back together in the most efficient way. Other than the obvious IT, CRM, HRM and other day-to-day business infrastructure acronyms, MRM (marketing resource management) is usually under-analyzed in the overall scope of integration and alignment for future success. The real issue is how to create a solid marketing team that can deliver visibility for the new, distinct product divisions as well as the overall corporate brand.

The lead company usually employs a well-oiled marketing machine. It assumes that any new internal marketable elements that are the net result of a merger can be easily managed by the existing marketing communications (MARCOM) infrastructure. However, processes and intellectual property are usually lost in the fray, ultimately impacting internal enthusiasm and priority in day-to-day marketing. And if the acquired company depended on the talents of external consultants, specialists or agencies, those assets would usually vanish as well. The net result is the increased risk of faulty marketing execution and the ultimate loss of visibility among prospective customers.

Marketing Leverage
Budgets aside, corporate and marketing executives need to truly analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the incumbent MARCOM organization and compare and contrast it to the incoming team. One commonly overlooked component of any marketing analysis is whether or not either team offers unique market expertise, industry alliances and a successful track record in order to make sure the best person or team gets the job.

The acquiring company typically scrutinizes the numbers, headcount and redundancies in key positions, usually awarding job security to those with seniority; thus potentially eliminating valuable intellectual resources and perspectives. Among those usually hit the hardest are the MARCOM managers, the communications/PR team, and external consultants. This usually places the MARCOM function with the central team of marketers who may or may not have the vision and
capacity to properly “sell and spin” the new additions to the existing company product portfolio. While on paper, the company is potentially saving money by consolidating; however, this strategy
could induce a drop in consistent public visibility and brand resonance, potentially setting the stage for the company to miss its quarterly numbers or revenue targets.

Is it possible to build an all-star team from each product marketing group, including consultants and agencies, in order to maximize the opportunity for each product line, without overspending? The answer is yes.

New Paradigm: Increasing the Marketing Budget Increases Sales
In today’s economy, e-staff, investors, and any other influential groups guiding the direction of the company may wish to consider the advantages of creating a workgroup of marketing entities to
mirror the infrastructure of the product management/marketing organization. Creating a MARCOM lead for each product category enables existing, already proven and trained internal and external
teams to be leveraged with very little downsizing. This leaves the experts in place and prevents the overburdening of incumbent marketers with the required additional knowledge gathering necessary to become experts in a new field. This approach also empowers the evangelists within each category to properly support each product from launch to end of life.

Prior to the merger, if the businesses were independently profitable with the current sales and marketing budgets, then merging them together could be seamless. Each group can simply report to the overall chief marketing officer whose management is based less on product category specifics and linked directly to standard business metrics.

On the other hand, there are occasions where the acquired company’s infrastructure is inadequate; and by merging the weaker team into the mix, goals can continue to go unmet. But this is where
executive-level analysis is critical. A more powerful and proven marketing organization could absorb a new product line or family and effectively brand and increase sales over a weak team any day. In doing so, the company is grooming market experts without losing traction.

I have been on both sides of the equation. On several occasions, we have acquired companies and let go of valuable marketing professionals. Unfortunately, I have also been part of numerous
teams that were given notice simply because it seemed redundant to have more than one MARCOM and PR entity within an organization.

The common mistake in each of these experiences was that executive management did not first assess the strengths and weaknesses of its existing and incoming marketing teams in order to
make the best decision for its short and long-term future. I believe that even today, marketing and especially the value of PR is largely undervalued and misunderstood.

Ticker PR' Closes the Gap Between IR and PR

While Investor Relations is a critical component of a company's financial trading stature, PR cannot be overlooked, as it is equally critical to influencing customer behavior. Maybe even more so, what with the fallout from the dot com era and the ensuing excitement and hype building around Internet 2.0. Perhaps that’s why IR teams have started to borrow tactics from the PR playbook as a way to increase the visibility of the stock through non-financial media channels.

This new kind of service is a way to move the stock using tools that are staples in the PR toolbox, including customer success stories, executive interviews, customer win press releases, speakers bureaus, and contributed articles.

At the same time, IR is merging with internal and external communications teams to create what I call “Ticker PR.” In its purest sense, Ticker PR is designed to increase visibility and fuel excitement for the company and its stock symbol without using traditional IR tools such as finances, stock history, sales revenue or financial analysts. But, the question is, who should own the Ticker PR initiative?

Granted, the ultimate goal is increasing the stock value, but the means to get there are rooted in traditional PR. IR's use of traditional PR tools also affects the potential effectiveness of the overall PR initiative.

For example, pitching a case study to a business or trade publication or writing and issuing a customer win press release might seem to be a given PR initiative, yet IR teams must take the lead on these projects as a way of driving the visibility of the stock in magazines and on stock tracking sites.

Isn't the lesson we learned from the dot-com Wall Street era tied directly to revenue, apabilities and real-world benefits to the customer and not hype? With all of the jockeying around Internet 2.0, we're poised to make the same mistakes again. After all, IR is qualified, staffed and capable to move stock prices, influence market makers, and appease the investor community.

But much in the same way that the PR team is not qualified to manage investor relations, IR should not attempt to extend itself into the ranks of public relations and brand management.
Yet IR's use of PR tools to promote a ticker symbol is robbing PR of its value within its own spheres of influence.

The use of milestones, customer success stories and customer win press releases are the key ingredients of a successful PR campaign. If overused or sent out to the public before the media can use it in a story, the value is greatly diminished and almost unusable by any worthy reporter. On the contrary, the investor community, whether institutional or even individual, is becoming much more savvy and skeptical of hype.

Customers have needs, pains and are constantly looking to address them. Without applying a team that understands how and where to reach those customers, the value proposition will never make its way to the decision-makers.

If potential customers are not convinced that they need to consider the value proposition, then revenue will not grow and may in fact shrink. If revenue shrinks then the company's appeal to the investment community will quickly lose its luster no matter how brilliant the IR strategy. The right IR team will take the corporate story and the market opportunity and establish working relations within the investor/financial markets. If the company is performingwell, then IR will make sure that the financial community is taking note of the growth.

The once Grand Canyonesque division between traditional PR and IR is quickly closing.
Ultimately, the fusion of IR/PR initiatives undervalues the effectiveness of PR and maybe IR overall. It is important for companies to not confuse the role of one with the other, as both provide tremendous benefits to the company and its stock. A good “total relations” team is vital to successfully create a well-rounded presence with the investment community, the media, influencers, analysts, and customers.

At the end of the day, “Ticker PR” really is just a buzzword for traditional corporate publicity, aka corporate PR. And as long as it's not hype, the company will only be better off for treating the brand as a dedicated component of the overall marketing mix.

Renaissance for Napa Gamay Noir?

Andrew Lane 2004 Gamay

I tried this the other night after attending an event hosted by 7x7 Magazine in San Francisco. I meet Andrew Dickson, winemaker of Andrew Lane Wines. It was amazing, so I tracked down a bottle for myself.

I paired it with spicy sesame/chili noodles with chicken and green onions. OH MY OH MY!

The AL Gamay Noir has the mouth-feel and velvety texture of a Pinot Noir, but with a more vibrant, red fruit character. It offers a lively bouquet and flavor of fresh red cherries, red currents, with touches of strawberry and spice on the finish.

The 2004 Gamay is produced from one of the last remaining Gamay vineyards in Napa Valley.

Food Pairings
Andrew Lane Gamay pairings often relate to the “style” of Beaujolais, France, where the bistro originated: tomato soup in puff pastry and coq au vin for example. Maple glazed king salmon and Andrew Lane is a match made in heaven. Gamay is also a compliment for many delicate, and even spicy, Asian dishes. The wine is diverse and considered as close to white wine as red wine gets.

A fresh fruit style is prevalent here acting to form a natural bridge for sweet (n’ sour) recipes even though the wine is dry. Crisp acidity will cut through fat. Andrew Lane Gamay Noir enjoys low alcohol levels (12.9%), low tannin levels and aged in neutral oak barrels so oak extraction is minimized. All three of these components act to reduce the amplifying effect of spicy food while also complimenting vegetarian cuisine. Low tannin, crisp acidity and the star bright- fruitiness of Andrew Lane Gamay Noir is a profile that begs for soy sauce!

Andrew Lane Gamay Noir is a fantastic picnic wine drinkable on its own or with food.

The Gamay Noir promises to turn Pinot Noir fans sideways over this incredibly fruit-forward, vibrant, anytime, anywhere wine.

www.alwines.com

http://www.westcoastwine.net/ubb/showthreaded.php?Cat=0&Number=541543&an=0&page=0#Post541543

The Start-up’s Dilemma: Competing Against Cash-Rich Rivals through the Art of PR

The art of PR should never be underestimated it should be thoroughly embraced.

New companies that enter markets with well-established competitors may have great solutions and truly superior designs, but they also have an intractable problem. The competition is established, they are not, and markets always bend toward the familiar.

Add to that the typically limited budget of a start-up and the barriers are high enough to predestine new companies to failure unless they have a very effective mechanism of some sort, in place and ready to help carve a piece of the existing market for themselves.

At the end of the business day, it all comes down to building awareness among potential customers, despite the din and noise that a cash-rich, established rival can typically raise. There are many ways to build bridges to potential customers, and the best method depends on the company, its products or services and its potential customers or markets. No single formula fits all.

But for maximum effect, nothing comes close to Public Relations for effectively building a market presence, especially when funds are limited. PR is simply the most credible way to get a company’s message across. Any company can buy advertising space, and audiences know this. A well-designed PR initiative gives a company exposure that has not been bought. Potential customers know the difference between articles and ads.

Study after study shows that people believe what others say about a company before they believe what a company says about itself. Reviews and articles are simply more believable than paid ads.

Because of this well-established principle, a start-up that plans to go head-to-head with a deep-pockets competitor using ads to differentiate itself will almost always lose. Few start-ups have pockets deep enough to vie for attention with established competitors. But the right PR, carried out by the right team, can raise a company’s credibility immediately with the media while it cultivates both mindshare and market share in its targeted markets. It won’t matter how loudly the competition’s ads beat the drums if it’s the new player that gets the kind of credible exposure that drives markets.

Successfully creating and cultivating strategic presence in a market is challenging. Both the company and its PR team must start with a solid understanding of its products and services, including how they impact markets, before designing a plan of action. This understanding must include a clear idea of where the new player fits in against other players, its own weaknesses as well as its strengths as a company and as a solution. The company’s leadership must be ready to discuss both, without dodging the hard questions or doubting the company’s rightful place in the market.

Such discussions can be grueling, because the kinds of market influencers who can do the most good are also those with the greatest stake in being right, and unlike a company’s internal staff, they will not shy away from asking questions that might make an unprepared executive stumble. The right PR agency will brief an executive thoroughly on the audience being reached, its specific markets, the needs of both, and the analyst or journalist being briefed. Briefings will need to be repeated frequently, because both the influencers and their audiences have grown too sophisticated for one approach to fit all.

For PR pros working with a start-up technology account, the responsibility includes becoming familiar with the technology and doing the background homework to be effective:
• Have solid lines of communications to top-tier journalists and analysts, so you can become a trusted news source, not just a pitch person• Be qualified to answer media questions intelligently and knowledgeably and know when to refer questions to other executives or staff
• Know how to use "guerilla" tactics as well as traditional channels to increase market recognition
• Know how to combine traditional and new-media strategies effectively to create the kind of instantaneous buzz that only the Internet can make possible
• Set realistic goals for a PR program and devise ways to measure your results

The principles are the same for a company that “goes it alone” without expert PR help:
• Know which markets are appropriate and do not waste time and resources on markets with no bearing on your products or services
• Determine how your target markets gets news and then tailor your campaign to make it relevant to EACH audience – one story doesn't apply to everyone
• Know whether to focus on TV, newsletters, online communities, magazines or other news outlets for your particular product or service, and when to expand to another type of media outlet
• Avoid a pure technology focus –highlight the benefits to your specific markets
• Ditch the hyperbole if you want journalists to take you seriously – skepticism is rampant, especially when the market bulls become bears

Finally, companies need to remember that in PR, you generally get what you pay for. The right team will know what it is doing and will be ready to show you measurable results for your investment. If an agency isn’t willing to pledge that level of accountability – turn your back and find another agency.

Brian Solis is founder and president of FutureWorks, Inc., an award-winning technology PR agency with offices in Silicon Valley and Orange County.